Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There was a sharp knock on the doors to the Land of Departure. Aqua, Terra, and Ventus all paused in their meeting in the throne room, glancing between each other.

“I’m guessing you’re not expecting anyone,” Aqua concluded from the confusion on the boy’s faces.

“Could it be Riku here to give us an update?” Ven guessed, “Maybe they’ve found something else about Sora!”

“I don’t think so,” Terra carefully responded, putting a hand on Ven’s shoulder, “If anyone found anything, they’d probably call over the Gummiphone.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ven admitted with a sigh, shoulders dipping a little. The next moment, he lifted his head, “Who do you think it is, though?”

“One way to find out,” Aqua replied, heading towards the large front doors and calling to whoever was outside as the knock sounded again, “Coming!”

Terra abruptly stopped as he turned back to Ven, “Hey, did you remember to reshelve those books Aqua told you about yesterday?”

Ven stiffened, his eyes going wide as he remembered the task he’d promised to have done before now. Terra hastily gestured towards the library, giving him a silent promise not to tell if he hurried. He rushed down after Aqua, calling over his shoulder.

“I’ll stall her if I need to!”

Ven nodded in appreciation, watching as Terra’s spiky head disappeared down the stairs. However, instead of running straight to the library, Ven hesitated, creeping up to the railing that looked down on the entryway. Surely, there couldn’t be any harm in sticking around just long enough to see who was there, right? Ven promised himself that as soon as he knew who had come, he’d run to the library and sort out the books there.

From his vantage point, Ven could see Terra catch up with Aqua as she began pulling back the heavy, ornate doors to their home. Ven bit his lip, his heart pounding and leaping up for some reason he couldn’t explain. There was a buzzing in his veins that told him something very important was about to happen.

A whoosh came from behind him, and being distracted by the excitement, Ven took just a moment too long to notice it. In fact, he didn’t realize he’d heard anything until a pair of hands grabbed him and dragged him back. They were large hands, and the person holding him was strong, yanking him away from the balcony before the doors were even open enough for Ven to catch sight of the visitors. Frustrated at this, Ven jerked his head around to see his attacker, who was apparently now also his captor.

Ven twisted and writhed, but it was no use. Both his hands were pinned behind him, clutched in one of Pete’s meaty fists. The other was on Ven’s shoulder, keeping the boy from twisting out of his grip. Ven grit his teeth, attempting to jump up and wriggle his way out, but Pete merely tightened his grip on Ven's shoulder and yanked him off the ground as Ven’s feet kicked uselessly in the air.

“Put me down!” Ven barked, wishing he could just summon Wayward Wind. If he did, the fight would be over for Pete. Come to think of it, that was probably why he had such a tight grip on Ven’s hands, to prevent that from happening.

“Not a chance, Pipsqueak!” Pete growled back at him, “Now stop squirmin’ so much!”

“NO!” Ven screamed louder, knowing his friends were still well within shouting distance. Pete didn’t respond, but Ven managed to get a good kick at one of his arms, and Pete slammed him back on the ground to stop his flailing legs. Ven thought he might be able to pull away, now that his feet were on the ground, but Pete proved much stronger than him, and Ven felt himself being dragged back. From below him, Ven heard what sounded like two pairs of pounding feet.

“Ven!” two voices cried at once, coming upon the scene.

He jerked his head up, “Terra! Aqua!”

“Let him go right now, Pete,” Aqua’s eyes blazed as she held her Keyblade to the side. Terra said nothing, but the fire in his eyes and the way he held his Keyblade needed no explanation.

“Oh?” Pete chuckled to himself, “I don’t think so. In fact,” he snarled, moving his fat fingers from Ven’s shoulder to around his neck, “I think you’d best put your stupid Keyblades down if you don’t want this little brat to get a boo-boo.”

“Don't—” Ven twisted to glare at him, but was cut off as the fingers tightened around his throat, and Ven found it very difficult to breathe. The awkward way his arms were being yanked behind him didn’t help, as it drove his shoulder blades into his back. At least his feet were back on the ground, but even so, Ven couldn’t twist or pull himself into a comfortable position. Pete’s grip on his neck was vice-like, and he was holding his arms firmly, not budging an inch for all Ven’s flailing.

Pete’s deep, idiotic chuckling filled his ears as his stench filled Ven’s nose, not making breathing any easier. Lights began dancing in his vision, which Ven was pretty sure was a bad sign. Just when he was starting to get really worried, Ven heard two clatters of metal hitting the ground, echoing one after the other.

“Alright, let him go,” Terra’s deep voice called to them.

“No!” Ven rasped out, pulling his head up to see Terra and Aqua’s Keyblades on the ground, and both of them a step away, still looking furious, but far more cautious.

Pete’s self-satisfied chuckle increased as Ven felt his grip on his wrists tighten.

“You Keybrats really ain’t so tough, are ya?”

“Let go of my arm and I’ll show you how tough I am!” Ven jerked forward, but Pete still wasn’t budging the hand on his throat, so he ended up hacking a bit.

“What do you want, Pete?” Aqua drew his attention back to her. Ven couldn’t bring himself to look at her. It was just beginning to dawn on him how much stronger Pete was, and how tight his grip could be. Terra and Aqua wouldn’t touch their Keyblades with him like this, and if they got hurt because of him…

“Alright, let’s get to brass tacks,” Pete nodded his blubbery face, “I’ll be takin’ this runt with me, and if either of you tries to interfere, I’ve got orders from Maleficent to break his wimpy neck.”

Ven felt like he’d been punched in the gut, and judging by the look on Terra’s and Aqua’s faces, they did, too. They started forward as Pete yanked Ven backwards.

“NO!” Aqua cried, her eyes wide.

“What does Maleficent want with Ven?” Terra asked, and it made Pete pause a moment.

“Well, that’s for me and her to know, and you Keybrats to find out!” Pete caught the way Aqua flexed her fingers and tightened his grip on Ven’s neck, “And remember what I said, not a hand on those fancy Key-swords of yours.”

Ven tried not to cry out, but the sudden cutoff of air made him gasp and whimper. He dared a glance at Terra and Aqua, who were still looking horrified, but didn’t move a muscle as Pete dragged Ven back again. He heard the whooshing sound of a Dark Corridor opening up.

He had to do something! If Pete got him through that corridor, there was no telling where they’d end up! Ven’s mind raced as he grit his teeth again, his chin pressed up by one of Pete’s fingers…the fingers that were just a little looser now…wait a minute… Ven realized he could move his head a little, and if he dug his chin under that finger and positioned his head just right...

“YEOWCH!” Pete screamed a moment later, drawing back from Ven, “Did you just bite me, ya stupid Keybrat?! I’ll fix you for—uh oh…”

While Pete had been screaming, Ven had removed his teeth from the giant cat’s fingers and yanked a hand free, summoning Wayward Wind as quickly as he could. Pointing directly at Pete’s giant belly, Ven unleashed wind magic, sending the cat backwards across the room.

Unfortunately, Pete had maintained his grip on one of Ven’s hands, and Ven was yanked backwards with him. Pete crashed into a wall, and Ven landed on top of him. Ven leapt up immediately, but Pete hadn’t loosened his grip on his wrist. Growling, Pete stood up and swiped at Ven’s free hand. Ven blocked and sliced as best he could in the close quarters, but he realized quickly Pete would eventually grapple him again.

Fortunately, Ven wasn’t alone. A blast of water hit Pete right in the head, and a trembling from a shockwave made him flinch. Terra and Aqua were quickly closing the gap, Keyblades in hand. Ven grinned, twisting so he was below and to the side of Pete instead of in front of him. His friends took this cue and blasted beams of light directly at Pete, making the cat cry out more.

“Hello?” a voice called from below them, “Everything alright?”

But through all this, Pete still didn’t let go of Ven’s hand. In fact, as Ven tried to get away and Pete jerked around from the impact of the blast, Ven felt a pull, and heard a crack. He yelped as he felt his right wrist pulled in a way it wasn’t supposed to move. The pain momentarily distracted him, and the next thing he knew, he was being pulled from the ground again and held up by his aching wrist.

Ven opened his eyes to see Terra’s going wide as he drew up short, the charge he’d been performing and forced to stop making him fall to the ground. He landed on one knee, his Keyblade driving into the ground as he glanced up to Ven, who was kicking and trying to hit Pete again. Terra’s breath came in heaving gasps as the color drained from his face.

“Whelp, I’ll be goin’ now,” Pete grunted, turning swiftly as rapid footsteps stopped, more people coming into the room.

Ven tried to glance around Pete as he turned to see who else had come. He didn’t get a chance. A Dark Corridor appeared behind him, and Pete flung Ven through it, hurrying through himself.

“VEN!” he heard his name being called by many voices, and caught sight of a fuzzy movement of black and a flash of yellow-white light. But everything was going so fast that it all blurred together.

Ven felt the darkness clinging to him like mist, but getting steadily heavier as he fell through the air. He struggled to catch something or slow himself, but he hadn’t even been touching the ground when he’d gone through. As Ven felt his strength leaving him, another, more terrible realization hit him. He hadn’t even had enough time to summon his armor.

By the time he’d collected his thoughts enough to try and tap his shoulder, Ven found himself hitting the ground and rolling. He came to a stop with a scraping and scattering of dust, the exhaustion seeming to pounce on him the moment he stopped moving. Ven tried to take a deep breath, his eyes half-open.

“BAH!” Pete spluttered nearby, “What a ruckus over nuthin’! We’re not gonna have any more of that nonsense here, though.”

Ven felt his arms gripped again and thick, rough rope wrapping around him. He started, trying to shake off the exhaustion and disorientation. But by the time he’d come to himself, Ven found his wrists bound and Pete finishing up his ankles. He then pulled Ven up and wrapped a great deal of rope around his arms, securing them to his sides, and finally tying up his knees.

“Hey! Knock it off!” Ven struggled, but he already knew it was hopeless. Pete was pushing himself up, a very self-satisfied look on his face as he glowered down at him.

“There, that should keep you nice and tidily secured, Keybrat. And don’t think for a minute about undoing those knots; they’re done from years of sailin’ and not a storm that ever blew across the seven seas has ever undone one of ol’ Pete’s knots!”

Ven, growling, struggled against his bindings anyway. When that failed, he glared up at Pete, “What do you want?”

“It’s not what he wants,” a new voice purred, accompanied by the tap-thunk-tap-thunk of a staff, “it’s what I want, little Ventus.”

She stood before him, gazing down as though looking at some deranged puppy that showed up on her doorstep. She smiled, her yellow eyes fixed on Ven’s bound body. Her fingers ran across the ball of her staff, every inch of her speaking volumes of satisfaction.

“And what I want from you,” she pointed one of her claw-like fingers at him, “is to lay quietly where I put you. Do this, and it will be as well as can be for you.”

“Not gonna happen,” Ven spat, curling up and struggling again, only to find Pete’s rope was tight, and the knots didn’t budge as he’d promised. Ven couldn’t do anything more than writhe a little, like a worm. This mental image didn’t comfort him.

“You speak as though you have some choice in the matter,” Maleficent chuckled, but then her voice and face hardened as she gazed down in disgust, “But you should know, boy, I am not one to be crossed.”

“Yeah, well, neither are Terra and Aqua!” Ven replied.

“Oh, but don’t you see?” Maleficent bent down, cupping Ven’s cheek in her gnarled green hand, stroking each finger from his temple to his chin, her nails scratching his skin as he tried to turn away, “Neither Terra nor Aqua will lift a finger against me with you in my power!”

She abruptly struck Ven across his cheek, rising in the same motion, “Which makes this arrangement perfect for my purposes. It will be so delicious to watch the Keybearers fight against their own instincts—to do their duty or protect their friend? But Xehanort has already proved their choice, hasn’t he?”

The mention of that name silenced Ven, and the realization of what she’d said only struck him more. Maleficent continued talking as she strode away.

“I admit Pete had me concerned for a moment, what with his idiotic bumbling almost costing us everything again,” Maleficent’s tone made Pete flinch, almost beginning to tremble, but the next moment her false pleasantness was back, “Fortunately, he managed to come through in the end.”

“Aw, shucks, thanks, Male—” Pete began, rubbing the back of his head.

A ringing and buzzing cut him off, and Ven felt his Gummiphone in his pocket, but since he was lying on his side, it was trapped beneath his leg. Maleficent and Pete heard it though, and both paused. Maleficent still had her back to them, but Pete was thundering closer, his steps making pebbles bounce near Ven’s face.

“What’s that racket?” he demanded, arms folded.

Ven just glared, not saying anything. Pete’s ears twitched, and he focused his eyes on Ven’s pocket. Ven couldn’t do anything to stop him as Pete began feeling around on the pocket on Ven’s left, but found nothing. Frustrated, Pete grabbed Ven’s legs, yanking them up and checking the pocket on the other side.

“It’s one of those phone-thingies that old Organization member started passing among the Keybrats and their friends,” Pete declared, holding the ringing Gummiphone between two fingers as he dropped Ven’s feet back on the floor. “Suppose he didn’t want to get a Keyblade through the face and thought this would keep ‘em off his back awhile. Seems he got in a last jibe, though, made the ringtone so blasted annoying! Or maybe he just wasn’t smart enough to figure anythin' else out.”

“Don’t talk about Ienzo like that!” Ven snapped, grunting at the jarring experience.

“Enough!” Maleficent held out her hand with a flourish. From where his face was lying on the ground, Ven saw her turn her head towards him slightly, nodding, “Give me the trinket. Take the boy away; we must continue with the plan.”

Pete tossed the Gummiphone at Maleficent, who caught it with her outstretched hand, turning away from them and continuing up some stone stairs in front of her. It was then that Ven finally looked at his surroundings, noticing the dark grey stone and the tattered hangings around the circular room. With a start, he realized he’d been here before!

As Pete hefted Ven on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Ven got a better view, and was certain. This was the inside of Maleficent’s castle in the Enchanted Dominion. At first, he felt a swell of pride at realizing where he was…and then immediately faltered as he realized where he was. Getting out of here would not be easy.

“Not so hard to handle ya now,” Pete declared, striding out of the room, “You were flounderin’ as a fresh-caught fish, but it’s easier now that I got ya tressed up nicely.”

Ven tried to find some biting response for this, but he caught Maleficent’s voice as Pete passed through the doorway to the circular chamber.

“Greetings, Keybearers.”

“Maleficent!” He heard Terra and Aqua’s voices through the phone.

“But of course,” Maleficent laughed, “Who else but the Mistress of all Evil were you expecting? Oh…could it be you were looking for a certain young boy?”

“What did you do to Ven?!”

“Aqua! Terra!” Ven raised his head, shouting over Pete’s shoulder, “Don’t listen to her! Don’t worry about me; I’m—”

“Quiet, pipsqueak!” Pete roughly grabbed Ven, his fist clamping over Ven’s mouth. Pete hurried quickly away, probably to get Ven out of earshot. Even so, the open hallway echoed, and Ven heard clearly as Pete carried him into the darkness of Maleficent’s fortress.

“You appear so worried about him. But as I’m sure you’ve heard, Ven is staying with me as a guest for the moment,” Maleficent informed them.

“That’s not what I’d call it.” Terra was almost shouting through the Gummiphone. “And if you’ve hurt a hair on his head, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Maleficent challenged.

Pete turned a corner at that moment, and Ven had to strain to hear. The voices began to fade as Pete descended some stairs.

“Because let me promise you this, Keybearers,” Maleficent hissed, “if you ever want to see your precious Ventus alive again, you’ll listen well…”

There was silence, or maybe their reply was too quiet for Ven to hear. His heart was pounding pretty loudly in his ears, so maybe that was drowning it out. But even so, Ven caught Maleficent’s raised voice a moment later.

“Obey me, and seek not Ventus! Stray in that direction and there will hardly be enough of him left for you to find!”

Ven caught Terra and Aqua’s voices. They sounded worried, and angry. He couldn’t make out the words, but his heart sank as Pete rounded a turn in the stairs and he could no longer hear anything. It had been getting steadily darker the deeper they went, and now Ven had to squint to make anything out.

Not that there was much of anything to see—Maleficent’s entire castle was mostly barren, and it didn’t look like she’d done much renovation since he’d battled her here over a decade ago. Ven grunted as Pete carelessly deposited him on the ground.

“Ya know?” Pete growled as he fumbled with a ring of keys, unlocking a door Ven could barely get the outline of, “I seems to recall a brat looking a lot like you thinking he could get away with using me as a teething toy.”

Ven braced himself, but still wasn’t quite done with talking back, “Are you sure it wasn’t Roxas?”

“You little scamp!” Pete grabbed Ven's shirt and held him up, his feet not touching the ground, “I’ve a mind to give you a good ‘iding!”

“Why don’t you?” Ven shot back, and immediately regretted it as Pete’s jowl was crossed with a vile smile.

“Now, that’s a good question,” Pete gave a dark chuckle.

A movement occurred in the corner of his vision, and Ven barely had time to flinch before Pete’s fist slammed into his face. Already dangling off the ground, Ven kicked at the air, but didn’t even come close to hitting Pete. The cat’s eyes lit up, and he punched Ven again, this time in the gut, making Ven’s eyes pop out in surprise as he struggled to get his breathing back on track.

Pete then slammed him against the wall, his hand pressing Ven’s chest down, doing nothing to help his breathing. Spots danced in his vision, but the thing that clearly registered to Ven was the smell of smoke uncomfortably close by. In fact, a flame was less than an inch away from his cheek.

Ven sucked in his breath, trying to turn his head away as Pete’s leering face inched the flame closer. It was just a single candle, but the heat was already beginning to prick Ven’s skin uncomfortably. The flame reached towards his spiky hair, the edges smoldering…

“Alrighty!” Pete abruptly decided to pull the candle away, setting it back on the tiny dish that served as a candleholder, chuckling to himself, “That ought ta teach ya!”

Ven heaved in a few deep breaths, relief flooding him. Pete had decided to stop. But just as he thought this, a terrible truth struck Ven.

He’d had to let Pete decide to stop. He hadn’t been able to stop him or beat him. He couldn’t beat Pete. If Ven hadn’t realized his sorry, desperate state before, he did as Pete dragged him off the wall.

“And don’t you go makin’ noise and all,” Pete growled into Ven’s ear, “Or I’ll come down here and shove a gag down your throat!”

Ven desperately wanted to not give into despair…but as Pete threw him unceremoniously on the cold stone floor of a cell and yanked the door closed behind him, cutting off even the tiny light the flickering candle in the hall gave, Ven found that incredibly difficult. The darkness around him seemed to press down. Pete’s thundering footsteps receded down the hall, and the silence that followed was almost as bad as the darkness. Ven didn’t know if it was the lack of physical light or whether Maleficent’s darkness was somehow manifesting in her castle, but the shadows here felt chilling, not to mention depressing and maybe a bit scary.

But, due to the dark interior of the castle, even in the better-lit circular chamber where Maleficent was finishing her call with Terra and Aqua, it was very easy for someone in a dark coat to hide. And because Pete had been focused on Ven when he returned via Dark Corridor, there had been a window of time before Maleficent arrived when someone might have hidden among the cracks and alcoves of the dim room after following him through the Dark Corridor. And, if this person happened to also be good at sneaking around in aforementioned black coat, and dared to do so after Maleficent had finally left the room, then followed the hallway Pete went down, the person would have eventually found exactly where Ven was locked up.

Of course, none of this would have been possible had not the someone in a dark coat been incredibly, supernaturally fast and managed to jump into the Dark Corridor before Pete had closed it on Terra and Aqua.

But by some twist of coincidence, all these factors had lined up nicely, and a Somebody in a dark coat was crouched against the stone walls of the dungeon, taking a deep breath as she appreciated the effort and luck she’d had to get here. She also took another deep breath as she readied herself for the task that still lay before her. The easy bit was over; now the hard part began.

She fought the urge to take down her hood, and instead pulled it more firmly over her golden-yellow hair. Hair like hers would stick out in a dark place like this, even in low light, and she’d need all the stealth she could get. She smiled to herself as she thought that at least this time she didn’t have to hide bright boots and a jacket along with her yellow hair.

But that thought also made her shiver, her still-tender heart trembling as it hit her that she was back in this place, back where she’d been held and tortured and only barely managed to escape, only to be caught by—

She shook her head decidedly, gritting her teeth against such memories. She wasn’t an amnesic, scared little girl anymore. If anything, now she remembered and knew too much, though she still couldn’t recall everything. But she couldn’t let that stop her; she had a job to do, a job she had assigned herself as she leapt through the Dark Corridor. Even if she could, she wouldn't change her decision. She wouldn’t let this end like the last group of Keybearers who’d come to Maleficent’s castle…though their fates were not the fault of Maleficent alone. No, she couldn’t think of that! Those experiences were not her own—she already had plenty of her own nightmares about this place—and the terror was past. They’d laid it to rest (although somewhat accidentally) before they even thought of coming to Ventus.

But even though they may have put that unfortunate group of Keybearers to rest (and she thankfully found it very easy to put their experiences out of her mind), she still had her own pain to deal with. It was a pain that stupid heart of hers insisted on constantly bringing up again and again, along with…well, with everything, really. Why could the past never stay in the past for her? Why did it always have to creep up and get in front of her, making the past seem like it was yet to happen and stealing a sense of future from her?

She shook all those thoughts from her head, refocusing on her present situation. She wouldn't break down, wouldn't let herself lose focus. She'd kept focused in tough situations hundreds of times before. It would be no big deal now. Approaching the door that stood between her and Ventus, she tried the knob. Locked, of course. She sighed in frustration, but at least her next move was clear.

She needed to find a key. She didn’t want to risk the noise of breaking it down, and though her memories had returned, her blade didn’t seem to have. But then again…she wasn’t sure she’d ever really tried to summon it. Mainly because she wasn’t sure she wanted it back, after all the trouble those things seemed to cause everyone who had them, her especially. But a weapon would be nice, since for some reason she couldn’t summon her knives anymore, so she had to settle for carrying one with her, which wasn’t the same at all. At least she still had some magic; she wasn't completely defenseless.

Turning away from the door, she hesitated. She turned back, pressing her forehead to the thick wood. As loudly as she dared, she whispered.

“You’re not alone.”

She listened, but didn’t hear a response. Very well, if he hadn’t heard, he’d find out soon enough. Still…she’d just wanted him to know. The loneliness had been the worst part of it—not just her imprisonment here, but the whole time in this blasted world. Well, loneliness and the night terrors…

Shivering again in what she pretended was a sudden wind, she carefully made her way back up the stairs. She struggled between the urge to rush away to get past the ache growing in her chest and the knowledge that she had to be stealthy. All the while she was thinking of where the key might be kept. Out of the blue, a thought struck her, making her pause. Even as she forced herself to keep moving as carefully as before, it echoed in her head and heart.

Elrena wished Lauriam was with her.

Chapter Text

Ven bit his lip, trying to stop the tears welling up in his eyes. It wasn’t just the bleak situation he found himself in. There was also the pain in his right wrist; it had been hurt when Pete was grappling with him, and the tightness of the ropes didn’t seem to be helping, but rather hurting it more.

Ven remembered once when Master Eraqus had tried to teach him to use his Keyblade in the ‘proper’ style, which was forward. But try as Ven might, it just felt more natural to use the backhand style. On one occasion, when Ven had been trying really, really hard to please him and use the forward style, he’d held the Keyblade all wrong, and when Terra had struck his blade, Ven’s wrist bent completely backwards, and he hadn’t been able to use it at all for a week.

Aqua had wrapped his wrist up tightly, urging him to be more careful. Terra had apologized hundreds of times, even though it really hadn’t been his fault. Master Eraqus had finally realized it was better for Ven to use what felt natural.

Ven squeezed his eyes shut, but the tears had already started to trickle down his cheeks. Master Eraqus was gone, and Terra and Aqua were worlds away and wouldn’t be able to come to him. Ven had to get ahold of himself!

If he didn’t get out, Maleficent was going to make Terra and Aqua do something terrible, he was sure of it! That certainly seemed to be what she'd implied earlier. Ven wasn’t even really sure Maleficent would let him go after they’d done whatever she wanted. She hadn’t mentioned it, not to him, at least. Even if she had, Ven thought bitterly, there wasn’t much of a chance she’d keep that promise.

“C’mon, think,” he chided himself, twisting his body so at least he was lying on his back instead of his face, but that squished his hands against his back, “What would Terra or Aqua do? What would Chirithy say…wait.”

Ven’s mind flashed to the tiny grey cat that had mysteriously shown up at the Land of Departure. The creature had felt familiar, and Ven soon learned that he and Chirithy had been friends long ago, before Xehanort got him. Ven had tried to press Chirithy for more info about the life he couldn’t remember, but Chirithy had promised he’d reveal it all in time. Ven started getting strange dreams after that, and Chirithy said he was restoring his memory.

Ven had felt the dreams were familiar, and soon realized they were the same dreams from when he’d been asleep inside Sora, the dreams of people he didn’t recognize. What had begun to bother him was that he couldn’t articulate some of what he saw when he woke up, and he’d begun to wonder if the people he once knew were still around.

Were his parents still alive? What of the friends he knew he’d made? And most troubling of all, what had caused Ven to go from the place that felt so full of light and love into Xehanort’s hands?

Chirithy hadn’t said anything, and Ven didn’t have the courage yet to ask. He wanted to understand more of the person he had been before he asked such a question. Plus there was also all the pain Xehanort had already caused that Ven was still sorting through. And, well, there was Sora...poor Kairi almost couldn't handle it, and Riku wasn't much better. All their efforts still hadn't yielded a single clue.

But all that was beside the point! Ven snapped himself back into focus as his wrist throbbed in pain. If he could summon Chirithy, maybe his friend could help him get out.

“CHIRITHY!” Ven called, waiting. Nothing happened. No smoke cloud poofed up, and no friendly face appeared. Ven sighed, closing his eyes. The exhaustion from the Dark Corridor still clung to him, and the dark room invited sleep, even with his pains and uncomfortable position.

Ven couldn’t or wouldn’t sleep, though. The realization that not even the creature bound to his heart could get to him stung. So, he could add his last hope to the list of people who couldn’t help. He was really on his own in this dark, hostile place. He couldn’t move and he was alone and—

“You’re not alone.”

Ven started, thinking he heard a voice. He kept very still, straining to hear something, but there wasn’t another sound. He gulped, shifting his position to curl up on his side. As his fingers flexed, they brushed against something slightly softer than the stone he was lying on. As Ven squinted, he thought he could make out lines of straw stacked up in a pile. Rolling over, he realized he was right, and while not the comfiest, it was certainly preferable to the stone floor, so Ven settled in as best he could among the poking hay. He still wasn’t sure if he’d heard a voice or not, but he chose to believe so.

It gave him hope, and that was what he needed now more than anything. Whoever had spoken it might not be as strong as Terra, or as smart as Aqua, but he wasn’t alone. Ven finally let his eyes close, and he was disturbed at how little a difference it made. Still, he figured if he were going to do anything, maybe rest would help him regain the strength he’d lost, and then he’d be able to do something. It wasn’t long before his mind slipped into a shallow, dreamless sleep.

Ven awoke to the sound of metal scraping metal, and it sounded like it was coming from the direction of the door. He wasn’t sure how long it had been, but someone was coming, and he wondered if it were Pete or Maleficent. Ven, making a great effort, somewhat pushed himself up as he heard the click of a lock, and the door began to move inward.

“Terra? Aqua?” Ven half-whispered hopefully as a sliver of light from the candle flickered into his vision. He instantly wished it hadn’t.

The person who stood in the doorway was neither of his friends, but a figure in a long, black, all-too-familiar coat. Ven began shouting as they lunged forward.

“GET AWAY FROM ME! DON’T—”

“Be quiet!” the person hissed, pressing a gloved hand against his mouth, “You’ll get us caught!”

Ven, blinking, gradually caught on to the fact that, whoever this person was, they were not working with Maleficent. He relaxed, and the gloved hand was removed from his mouth. A pair of turquoise eyes stared at him from beneath the hood. Turquoise, not golden-yellow—that was good.

“Look, I totally get not wanting to be here, I’ve already spent more than enough time here myself,” the figure—Ven was pretty sure she was female—glanced towards the door, “But we’ve got to get out of here quietly, okay?”

“Okay,” Ven whispered back, and she reached into her coat, drawing out a very sharp knife. Ven stifled a cry, but she plunged the knife into the ropes binding his wrists, cutting away the cords and moving onto his arms. In moments, the bindings were no more, and Ven could stand up and stretch his aching muscles for the first time in hours.

“How long has it been?” Ven asked his rescuer.

“Huh? What was that, kid?” She looked like she’d been preoccupied with something, hovering near the door and glancing left and right.

“How long had it been?” Ven repeated, a little more anxious this time, “Since Pete dragged me here.”

“A couple hours—maybe three or four,” she waved her hand around vaguely, “Sorry, took me a long time to find the key to your cell, and even longer to finally snatch it off that oaf Maleficent has do all her dirty work.”

Ven nodded, but his stomach twisted. Had Terra and Aqua already done what Maleficent wanted? How fast or slow did time flow here compared to the Land of Departure? Could they still make it out in time? Ven held out his hand, wanting to summon his Keyblade just for its comfort. It appeared, but the moment he closed his fingers around it, pain shot through his wrist, and Ven cried out, Wayward Wind clattering to the floor.

“Are you alright?!” she was beside him instantly, a hand on his shoulder.

“Y-yeah, fine,” Ven muttered, massaging his right wrist, “I forgot that was the wrist Pete broke when he dragged me here.”

“Okay,” she breathed a sigh of relief, and hesitantly reached for his wrist, “Well, Cure magic isn’t my specialty, but…”

A small green light appeared beneath her hands, and Ven felt the ache in his wrist go down, though there was still a dull pain.

“Thanks,” he breathed as she removed her hand, striding towards the door.

“Alright,” she glanced up and down the hall once again, “We’ve got to move quickly, but quietly. I don’t know when Maleficent plans to check on you, but we’re going to have quite the time getting out of here as it is, and I’d prefer her to be looking for you as little as possible.”

“How do we get out?” Ven walked to stand beside her, “I never went into this part of the castle the one time I was here.”

“Don’t worry about that,” she waved her hand, plucking the key from the lock and sliding it into her robe, “I memorized the path down here, and there’s not a lot of exits, but I think the easiest is the goblin’s entrance near the kitchens. We’ll have to squeeze to fit through the door, but once we do, it’ll be a lot easier to sneak down the mountain than using the main entrance.”

Ven nodded, but stayed still as she moved forward. She noticed and paused at the foot of the stairs.

“What is it?” She sounded a little impatient, but like she was trying to hide it.

Ven stared at her, “I just…need to know. Who are you?”

She paused a minute. Then, lifting her fingers to her hood, pulled it back to reveal short blonde hair with two locks bouncing up, and a face with sharp features. She brushed her fingers through her hair as her sideswept bangs tried to join the rest of it. She hesitated a moment before she shoved her bangs back down over her forehead, as if she suddenly remembered they were there. Personally, Ven liked her better with the bangs; they softened her face.

Her turquoise eyes looked a little greener in the hallway, but still had strong hints of blue. It was like her eyes couldn’t quite decide if they wanted to be green or aquamarine. She looked like she was around Aqua’s age, maybe a little older, which made Ven feel a little better. In answer to his question, she gave him one word.

“Elrena.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ven smiled, “I’m Ventus, call me Ven.”

“I know,” she smiled, too, but her eyes looked for a moment like she might cry, and her smile faded too quickly. Ven was puzzled. Was it just the low light that made him think he saw it?

“C’mon,” she pulled her hood back up, “Let’s get moving.”

“Right,” Ven nodded, following without another word. He wasn’t sure why Elrena was helping him, or how she’d gotten here, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, especially when she clearly knew what she was doing.

Maybe he should have been more cautious; this was a former Organization member, after all. But Ven couldn’t quite seem to form a suspicion. Something about the way she crept around made Ven sure she wasn’t involved with Maleficent at all, especially with her comments about needing to be quiet. Not to mention, there was something about the way she gently held his wrist when she tried to heal it, or how the knife hadn’t once nicked him when she’d freed him, or how even when clamping his mouth shut she hadn’t been rough with him. It wasn’t like how Pete had flung him around like a sack of potatoes; it was the opposite, actually.

There was also something in his heart, a feeling that Elrena was…Ven wasn’t sure. Safe? Familiar? Honest? None of these were quite right, but as Elrena stopped him at the top of the stairs for a moment, Ven found he didn’t care. He’d sort through the odd feelings in his heart later, when he was safely back in the Land of Departure and whatever Maleficent was planning was stopped for good. If Elrena wanted to help him do that, so much the better for both of them. She had freed him, after all, and who else was Ven going to trust around here?

+=========+

They made their way back up the stairs that Pete had brought him down, and Ven began squinting slightly less as some unknown source of light increased. When they reached the hallway that led to the circular chamber, Elrena paused. She glanced left and right, then again. Nodding to him, she led him in the opposite direction of the chamber. Ven followed without a word. So far, so good! He couldn’t imagine the kitchens were very far away, and once they got out of the castle, he could summon his glider and get back to Terra and Aqua in no time! He considered trying to summon it here, but he knew that was stupid. This wasn’t the place for that.

Maleficent would definitely notice, and despite how unnaturally tall all the hallways were, the space was narrow. Besides, he didn’t want Elrena to be stuck here, even if he could somehow get out without Maleficent stopping him. Hey…how had Elrena gotten here, anyway? Did she use one of those Dark Corridors? Ven thought back, realizing he’d heard other voices besides Terra’s and Aqua’s when Pete had thrown him through the Dark Corridor. Could one of them have been Elrena’s?

Ven opened his mouth to ask her, but he noticed Elrena stiffen in front of him. Ven’s words died on his tongue, and the next moment he heard a faint tapping noise. Before he could even register what it meant, Elrena grabbed him and shoved him behind a tattered curtain hanging on a wall. Behind the curtain was a crack in the wall that both of them squeezed into. Ven drew in a sharp breath, peeking around Elrena’s frame and through tiny tears in the curtain as two figures came down the hall. He heard more than he saw.

“But I don’t get it, Maleficent,” Pete was complaining, “If the world’s got no one in it, why can’ts we just walk right in and take what we need? What do we need the Keybrats for? Dark Corridors work just fine.”

“For most worlds,” Maleficent said, her staff tapping in beat with her words, her voice coming closer and closer, “This one, however, is different. Acquiring entry is not as simple as any other world, and so we must have the Keybearers go before us and perform the necessary tasks.”

“But why—” Pete began, but stopped suddenly. Ven felt a shiver go down his spine. He could see the staff and purple edge of Maleficent’s coat! Had she spotted them?

“That will be all, Pete,” Maleficent said in a tone that allowed no argument, “I have explained as much of the plan as you need be aware of. You have also done your part for now; the boy was necessary for reasons I’m sure I need not explain to you. Now trouble me no further…I have preparations to make before we leave.”

The tapping resumed again, and Ven became aware of the pounding in his chest. What was Maleficent up to? It sounded like she was trying to get into a certain world, but couldn’t, for some reason. What was stopping her? What where the ‘necessary tasks’ she was trying to get Terra and Aqua to do? None of the theories Ven came up with comforted him. He had to stop her!

“They’re gone,” Elrena mumbled under her breath, coming out from behind the curtain when Maleficent and Pete’s footsteps had long since faded, “You alright, kid?”

“Yeah…” Ven trailed off, looking down the corridor in the direction Maleficent and Pete had gone, “What was that about? What ‘preparations’ is she making?”

“Not sure, and I’m completely sure I don’t want to find out,” Elrena sneered, and Ven noticed her shiver a bit. She took his good hand and pulled him down the corridor in the opposite direction, “C’mon, let’s get out of here. The kitchens shouldn’t be much farther.”

“Good,” Ven glanced back one last time, “Do you think she’s still got my Gummiphone?”

“Probably,” Elrena said before whirling on him suddenly, her voice a little strained, “Wait, do we need to get that back?”

Ven shrugged a little, “Uh…maybe? Ienzo made it for me, and I don’t want to lose it…”

Elrena stared him directly in the eye, “Is it worth staying here and dying painfully?”

“Fair point,” Ven conceded, regret already creeping up his spine at the thought of having to tell Ienzo what happened to the Gummiphone he’d made him. Ven followed after Elrena as she turned around again, keeping close to the walls this time as she kept glancing over her shoulder. Ven noticed her jaw was clenched, and every so often when she turned back, her teeth were showing.

They passed through a door, down some stairs and up others, pausing at corners and listening for any signs of life in this desolate place. With how much darkness was lurking here, Ven was surprised they hadn’t run into any Heartless yet, but he still kept his guard up. Elrena clearly wasn’t about to let anything get past her, if her posture and the fierce look on her face meant anything. Her fists were clenched, but she moved with a quietness that was almost frantic.

Satisfied that no one was coming after them, Elrena darted across a broad hallway and down some stairs Ven hadn’t noticed. He hurried after her, stumbling and almost falling over as he attempted to make his way in the dim light. Did Maleficent like the darkness that much or could she just not afford to light her castle?

“You okay?” Elrena asked as she caught his arm after his second stumble.

“Yeah, just a little dark in here,” Ven breathed, shaking himself, “Is it much farther?”

Elrena shook her head, glancing down the short stairway—which of course was darker than the hallway they were in—and headed forward. Ven followed after her, watching her stoop down once the stairway ended. The ceilings were getting lower, for some reason. He caught Elrena grumbling something, but didn’t catch what it was. Probably something to do with the diminishing space. As they went further on, the hallway twisted back and forth, the walls uneven as if someone had carelessly carved them.

Ven caught his foot on a stray stone, giving a small yelp as he stumbled into Elrena. She whirled, but moved too fast and smacked her arm against the wall and hit her head on the ceiling, making her curse as her hood was knocked off.

“Are you okay?” Ven asked, not needing to tilt his head to see her face, which was pinched together in annoyance.

“Fine,” Elrena growled, rubbing at her forehead, “Just low passages. But I’m not fifteen anymore; I’m not fifteen.” She took a deep breath for some reason, muttering one more time under her breath, “…not a kid.”

“Well, yeah,” Ven tried to force a laugh, "at least you're not the size of a mouse."

“A mouse? I wouldn't have gone that far, but I'll take your word for it,” Elrena turned from him as Ven started a little, “You certainly seem to be the expert. I can see you've dedicated years to being a tripping hazard.”

“Hey!” he frowned, catching her insult and following after her, “It’s not my fault I’m short!”

“I know,” Elrena’s voice, for the first time, wasn't harsh. The grating, high strain relaxed into a more natural tone, as if she wasn’t paying attention to the fact that she was talking, “but picking on people is pretty much the only way I know to interact with them.”

“Really?” Ven’s eyebrows drew together as he tilted his head, “Or is that supposed to be some sort of joke?”

Elrena paused, her face away from him, her hand resting on the wall. When she spoke, her voice had changed again. It was clipped, detached, and the strain was back. Ven felt like a stone wall had been erected in between the two of them.

“Yeah…C’mon, the kitchens are here. Let’s get out of this poor excuse for a crypt. If anyone wants an example of eternal torment, I'd send them here.”

Ven knew that wasn’t nice, but she wasn’t wrong, and seeing as how this was Maleficent’s castle, he couldn’t help but agree. As Elrena passed through a doorway that was more of a large crack in the wall, she straightened, and Ven was grateful that the room was much larger than the cavern they’d been crawling through. He’d been beginning to feel claustrophobic.

He had to rub his eyes at the excess of light in this room, though it was still not as bright as the outside must have been. Fires in sconces lined the walls about four or five feet apart. A scuffed and cracked black-and-white checkered tile was on the floor, and barrels and crates were shoved against the walls in vague imitations of cabinets. In the center of the room, a cauldron stood with a bed of dead coals underneath it. Chains hung from the ceiling, some of them holding pieces of meat that Ven couldn’t identify, and wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“Right,” Elrena sighed, shaking her head, “I see Maleficent’s tastes haven’t changed.”

“You said there was a door here?” Ven looked around, his stomach doing a little flip-flop when he couldn’t see any way out.

At that moment, there was a clattering and Elrena’s entire body seemed to activate at once. She shoved Ventus back into the hall, pressing herself in after him and drawing her hood over her head again. Ven opened his mouth to ask her what she was doing, but she clamped her glove over his face. Ven could feel her hand trembling as it pressed against his skin.

Ven peered around her and froze. There were shadows moving along the wall, and from some other entrance, three creatures came in. They weren’t Heartless, he was sure, but they didn’t look nice. They were about half his size, with green, bumpy skin and long, filthy nails and teeth. Metal cans surrounded their bodies and two had little helmets. They hurried into the kitchen—if it could be called that. One of them struck the coals to blazing. Another poured a bucket of water into the cauldron, rushed out of the room, returned with another bucket, and repeated this until the cauldron was nearly full. The third one started rifling through the crates, pulling out handfuls of things Ven wouldn’t have called food if he was starving.

He felt his stomach tighten, and realized he was really hungry…Some of the ingredients didn’t look too bad, actually. One was a fistful of grain; at least he thought it was. Another was a few shavings of some red-pink meat. The other ingredients, though…one was a wormy fruit that was so rotten Ven couldn’t even guess what it had originally been. The creature that pulled it out spotted the worm with a greedy look, pressed the fruit to his lips, and with a disgusting slurping sound, sucked the worm right out before throwing the fruit in the pot. Ven abruptly found his appetite gone from him.

The creature that lit the fire now pulled out a long wooden spoon, stepped on a stool, and began stirring. Ven caught him muttering to himself, though its voice was muddled and his pronunciation barely intelligible.

“Yup, yup,” it nodded, giving a vigorous stir, “Makin’ gruel for mistress—”

“For boy!” the one tossing in ingredients corrected.

“Mistress one who orders it!” the first snapped back, beating his friend on the head with the spoon, dripping a bit of greyish liquid over him in the process. What a shame this was the one without a helmet.

The one with the bucket returned then, tossing one last bucket of water in the pot, “Mistress says to hurry! She not patient!”

The other two trembled a little, the first stirring more vigorously and the second throwing a few more ingredients into the pot, talking to himself.

“Grain and fruit in already, meat, too…what else human children need?” he froze in front of a crate, digging around inside, “Already given him moss, too; pinch of sugar to make him fat and stupid; mushrooms…ah!”

The creature pulled his head out of the crate, a jar and handful of red and white mushrooms in one hand as well as something clenched in the other. Ven nearly gagged; the smell reaching him even in the tunnel, and he was surprised Elrena didn’t gag, though he saw her eyes flash with disgust from beneath her hood. The creature threw a handful of white powder from the jar into the pot, as well as the mushrooms. Finally, he held up his hand, and Ven could see the green slime on a white shell and something brown leaking out of it. As the creature dropped it into the pot, he proudly proclaimed.

“One egg!”

That was an egg?! From what? Ven shuddered, despite not wanting to be caught. The stirring creature gave a few more vicious strokes, then ladled some of the disgusting concoction into a cracked wooden bowl the other held. All three looked at their handiwork, nodding in satisfaction at the steaming pile of something before them.

“Wait!” the one throwing in ingredients said, dashing over to a corner and returning. Very carefully, he put one (1) feather on top of the creation. He turned to his companions as they glanced between the feather and him. Their flabby, wrinkly faces turned down in disgust.

“Why, Grulik? Every time,” the first shook his head in disgust.

The other glared down at the bowl, “Dumb you, Grulik—always messing with done food.”

The poor creature looked down at his bare feet, taking the bowl from them and shoving his way through as he muttered, “No one appreciate Grulik’s talents. No one likes his showmanship; all humans top food like this.”

“Speaking of human,” the first hurried the second on, “Fulfill mistress’s request—feed the boy!”

With a clattering of metal and scattering of stray stones, the three creatures disappeared where they had come from. Several minutes passed before Ven heard Elrena let out a shaky breath. They emerged from their hole again, the cauldron now bubbling with whatever the creatures had made.

“Goblins,” Elrena snorted at the concoction, “No wonder Maleficent conjured most of her food…Looks like she had other ideas for you, though.”

“They were expecting me to eat that?!” Ven blanched at the thought.

Elrena, however, seemed to snap to attention, her gaze being drawn to a door to the side that Ven hadn’t noticed. She passed through into a similar room, but this one had no cauldron in it, and there were bones lying on the floor. Ven made an effort not to look at or touch them, but with how many were lying on the ground, it was difficult.

“Oh…that might be a problem,” Elrena muttered to herself as Ven jerked his head up.

She was striding across to the other end of the room, where the area was clear of half-smashed crates and piles of mysterious bones that Ven really, really hoped were just from animals. There was a huge stone that looked like it wasn’t part of the wall. It was taller than Elrena by several feet. It tapered a little at the top, and the bottom spread out like an upside-down ice cream cone. As Ven approached and put his hand against it, he could feel faint currents of wind, and he knew the outside was just one oversized rock away.

Ven glanced to Elrena, and she had the same understanding. She got on one side of the rock, and Ven joined her, placing his hands, even his aching wrist, against it.

They shoved at the rock, and Ven felt it shift, but they couldn’t budge it after that. They tried digging their fingers underneath it and pulling it away from the wall, which also failed. They even tired shoving it through the wall, hoping it might fall through the door, but no such luck, of course. Ven caught Elrena curse under her breath as she shoved herself away, crossing her arms and glaring at the rock. She briefly chewed her lip, letting out a huff of air, her breath ragged as her eyes roved rapidly over the room.

“This wasn’t here before,” she muttered, her eyes begin drawn upwards as she paced back and forth, “Magic is probably too noisy, the goblins could still be around…maybe…”

She turned to Ven, “Wait here; I’m going to see if there’s anything I can find to move the boulder.”

“I’m coming with you!” Ven said without hesitation, unwilling to be left alone with the bones, “What if you need help?”

Elrena shook her head, “You need to stay as far from Maleficent as possible. I-I’ll figure this out…somehow.”

“Still,” Ven insisted, taking a step closer and summoning his Keyblade. He noticed Elrena flinch. “It’s good to have backup. Something might go wrong.”

At that moment, the entire castle trembled, as if there were an earthquake. Bones rattled around, dancing close to them as dust and pebbles rained from the ceiling. When it subsided, Ven stared with wide eyes at Elrena, whose face was drawn up tight and pale as a ghost.

“What was that, an earthquake?” Ven asked, clutching his Keyblade tighter, much to the objection of his wrist.

Elrena frowned deeply, “No…I think someone just found out you’re missing.”

“Oh no…” Ven winced, “Does that mean—?”

“Things—things get a lot harder from here on out,” Elrena gripped her hair before she forcibly massaged her forehead. Casting him a wild-eyed look, she tremblingly warned him, “Stick close, kid.”

Chapter Text

Elrena tried to take stock of their progress as calmly as she could. The escape plan so far: 50% complete. Unfortunately, the danger level had risen at least 75%. And the boulder hadn’t even shifted in the trembling, which meant there was nothing they could do to move it. When did Maleficent put this here? Had she even meant it as a door, or was it somehow sealed to the rest of the wall?

They might be able to try the front door…if it was open. But that meant going back into the upper levels of the castle, the levels where Maleficent was. If only this stone wasn’t sealing them in this tomb!

Elrena’s attention was thankfully diverted. She noticed the kid beside her staring thoughtfully at the boulder. His mind seemed to actually be dealing with this logically. But this was his first time here. Small mercies.

“If they already know I’m gone,” Ven said, tossing his Keyblade to his better hand, “Maybe this won’t matter…”

“Are you sure about that?” Elrena gripped his shoulder, “We can’t draw attention.”

“If outside is only on the other side of this boulder, then it shouldn’t matter,” Ven looked up at her, and his eyes held all the hope she never had, “We just need to get to the other side.”

Elrena hesitated a moment, but eventually released his shoulder. “So…we can get out,” Elrena wanted to laugh, raising her hand as well, “In that case, let’s see if we can’t get this down.”

Ven launched a burst of pure light from his Keyblade as Elrena sent an arc of lighting from her fingers at the boulder. Chips flew away from it as their spells landed. When the dust settled, there was a sizable chunk of the rock gone, and webs of cracks, but they couldn’t see the other side. Growling, Elrena sent another and another bolt of lightning as Ventus unleashed waves of ice to chip away at it. This time, they didn’t stop until they heard the crumbling sound.

It felt so good to pound away at it, the tension in her body finding a release, a target to vent all the things she knew she shouldn’t be feeling at. It reminded her she wasn’t a kid. Her stupid heart was trying to make her one again. But it wasn’t true. She had lightning in her veins and enough spite to hold onto life as someone tried to rip it from her. There was no reason for her to be afraid, not now, not ever again.

The large boulder broke to pieces and tumbled to the ground, and Ven and Elrena waited with bated breath. Sunlight poked through, but only faintly. When the rock fell apart completely, they froze. Between them and the sunlight, there was a swirling green barrier. Elrena crept closer, ignoring the bones, peering through the barrier, trying to keep her voice steady.

“The path’s gone…” She stared at the rocky cliff that had once been a footpath down the mountain. For a minute, she didn’t know if she even breathed. So not even tearing apart the boulder was enough. She shoved against the barrier, her voice getting a hard edge to it, “This isn’t going to work!” She kicked the barrier, but it did nothing. “C’mon, let us out!”

“Then we’ll find some other way!” Ven glanced around, “Look, why don’t we try the front door?”

“No way she’s letting us out there,” Elrena’s breath was coming fast, too fast, “But this was the only way…there’s no other way down the mountain…” Elrena could not forget the trembling that had shaken then entire castle, and she didn’t realize at first that she was speaking out loud, “Maleficent’s in here with us! Oh no, no, no…” not only was that fear from before coming, but memories were crawling in front of her. Memories of dark rooms and hard stone and her whole body aching but still tensing at the smallest sound. Memories of the spells that had hit her. Memories of what Maleficent had said to her, “We…we don’t stand a chance…and if we have to fight…of course I know she—No! I’m not a kid!”

Too much, too much. Was the room tilting again? Was she about to find them?! Elrena wrapped her arms around herself, her breath coming in even shorter gasps, her body trembling a little. No, no, she couldn’t let that happen! Be still, just be as still as possible and she’d probably take it out on something else.

“Elrena?” Ven asked, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” she spat, a cruel laugh on her lips as she raked a hand through her hair, grasping at it and almost tearing it out, “Let’s see—we’re in the middle of Maleficent’s fortress, you know, the sadistic witch who can absolutely kill anyone she wants, and now she knows we’re here, and she’s got us trapped and we’re gonna die here!”

“We’re not going to die!” Ven rushed over, getting in front of her and trying to stop her pacing, “Elrena, we can still get out.”

Elrena blinked once or twice. That’s right, she had to get the kid out. She dug her fingers into her arms, finally taking a deep breath as she turned her expression into a glare. Sarcasm dripped from her lips.

“Okay, genius, what are we supposed to do?” Light above knew whatever nonsense these guys tried somehow ended up working every time. Elrena rushed to add, though, “And don’t even think about trying to fight her, because that kind of dumb luck doesn’t work for everyone.”

Ven scratched the back of his head, thinking, “Well…I guess we’ll have to find another way out, but if there’s only the front door—wait, I have a glider!”

His face brightened as he smacked his forehead, “I’ve got a glider I can summon and we can ride it down the mountain! Actually, we could probably just fly off to another world! We just have to get outside—we don’t even need a proper door. We could probably just jump out a window.”

A window. All they needed was a window and they’d be out of here.

“Right,” Elrena brushed past him, through the door and back the way they’d come, “Find a window. I can do that. No problem.”

She could do something. She had to do something. Keep moving, keep the memories at bay. Why on earth had they come to see Ven anyways? It wasn’t like he should have to remember all this stuff. But, if they hadn’t come, Ven would really have been alone here…alone with the witch he didn’t understand the power and cruelty of.

“Hey,” Ven said, following after her, “Elrena…why are you so scared of Maleficent? I mean, she’s bad, but is she really worse than Xemnas or Xehanort?”

The air grew heavy, static drawing together and sparking. Elrena whirled on him, her eyes flashing dangerously. Ven took a step back, holding his empty hands up. How could this kid be afraid of her and not the monster upstairs?!

“How about,” Elrena’s voice was hard and sharp like a knife, “you shut up? Like you know anything about them…”

“Actually, I do,” Ven’s voice was surprisingly deep as he shoved off the wall and tried to return her glare, “I’ve fought Maleficent before, and I’ve dealt with Xehanort for as long as I can remember! I know what he can do, Elrena!”

Elrena froze for a moment, choosing her words carefully, “So…you don’t remember anything before him?”

Ven looked down at his shoes, “No. Nothing.”

“Oh,” was all Elrena said, turning away from him, “You’re lucky, then.”

Ven looked up, following after her. “Hey,” he tried to grab her arm, but she dodged, “Elrena, what did you mean by that?”

“Not important,” Elrena dismissed him. The last thing she needed was to have to explain what happened to Daybreak Town, especially if she didn’t have to. It was hard enough to just deal with the memories of this place, “C’mon, we’ve got to get out of here before that old hag finds us.”

“Is Maleficent really that bad, though?” Ven half-laughed, “I mean, with the lighting you threw at that boulder, between the two of us, I think we could take her if it came to it.”

“Will you shut up?!” She became violent again before she even knew what was happening, like a clap of thunder unleashing a storm, “I hate this place! I hate that witch! I hate this entire world!”

“Hey, take it easy!” Ven held up his hands again in surrender, “It’s not that bad!”

“You’re only saying that because you’re a kid!” Elrena spat, turning on her heel, practically clawing her own arms off. She wanted to scream at how stupid he could be, “Look, this world isn’t nice, it isn’t good for anything! And Maleficent isn’t anyone you can beat—she’ll destroy us! We have to—let’s just get out of here! I can’t stand being back here!”

“Back here?” Ven asked, and Elrena wished he would just stop talking, especially about her. Every word felt like a poke to her skin, except her skin was fractured glass. Unfortunately, it seemed this kid couldn’t take a hint, “So, Elrena…you’ve been here before? Have you been Maleficent’s prisoner?”

H-how…Surely, she wasn’t that transparent, was she? She couldn’t be afraid; no one could know she was afraid. Gritting her teeth and contorting her face into the most gruesome scowl she could, Elrena glared at him. But the look in her eyes answered his question.

“You have!” his eyes widened, “When? Why? Before the Organization?”

Elrena grabbed the front of his shirt, yanking him off his feet and to eye level, “Shut up, kid! You don’t know what she does. You don’t know anything about me! I don’t—”

She shook her head vigorously, her grip tightening as she struggled to take deep breaths. Her entire body trembled, and Ven reached out a hand, but she shoved him away, and Ven got strangely quiet. She would have expected him to get angry back. But he didn’t. Dusting himself off, Ven spoke much softer.

“Elrena…” Ven hesitated, “I-I’m sorry.”

“For what?” She hated the tiny break in her voice.

“I’m sorry I upset you,” Ven slowly reached out his hand, “Elrena, we—we can just not talk about it. Just forget I said anything.”

Elrena turned away from him. Her stomach was turning over and over, pulling together until it felt like it would combust. She would have preferred it if the kid had shouted at her. His eyes were too dark now, too alert. After some moments, she straightened, not looking at him as she shoved herself onwards. This wasn’t getting her anywhere, and they had to get out of here. But the churning in her stomach didn’t settle.

As they crept back into the crack in the wall, Elrena finally managed to speak. She couldn’t stand the quiet figure trailing her like a shadow. Maybe she would have been able to if she hadn’t seen that light-filled look in his eyes before.

“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s not your fault,” she forced herself to look back at the kid, “I’m sorry about that. It’s not your fault.”

Ven hesitantly came closer, shrugging, “Then let’s move on.”

“Like I said,” Elrena’s voice was still shaky, but she forced her tone to be playful, “it’s nothing you would understand.”

“Nothing I would understand?” The momentarily still air shattered, his eyes widening and narrowing as his entire body tensed. “How…how dare you say that?” Despite his quiet a moment earlier, now Ventus seemed like he was unleashing his own storm, “I was Xehanort’s apprentice! Don’t you know what he does?!”

Ven’s voice broke, tears forming in his eyes. Elrena took a step back. Oh no. Had she been so concerned with keeping down her own memories that she’d unintentionally brought up some of his? At this moment, where memories he tried hard to forget surging to his consciousness?

He clutched a hand over his chest, his breath uneven. His mouth opened, as if it operated before his mind could take charge again. If Elrena was trying to avoid feeling like a child, then she failed utterly at this moment.

“Nothing I would understand?! He tore apart my heart! He was always acting like he was our friend, but he was always planning to hurt all of us! And he never could cause us enough pain! It’s because of him that Master Eraqus—because I listened to him…I-I thought…” Ven had to hiccup in a breath before he went on, “I don’t know what I thought…but it was wrong.”

Ven winced, clamping his mouth shut as he staggered. His left hand reached for a wall but only scrapped stone, causing rocks to knock loose and scatter. Elrena swallowed, not sure what to do. She could see too clearly this kid falling into his head faster and faster. How could she stop this?

“No…no…nononononono,” Ven fell to his knees, his eyes bolting around but glazed at the same time, “No! You’re dead!”

“VENTUS!” Elrena dropped to her knees and grabbed him, shaking his shoulders. What could she do to get him out of this state? What would Lauriam do for her?

In a voice not as gentle as she intended, she said to him, “Breathe!”

Ven automatically drew in breath at the command, grasping her arms. He tried to steady himself, but it must have put too much pressure on his injured wrist. He gave a tiny yelp, and Elrena loosened her grip a little, gently holding him still. That’s right, Lauriam never held too tightly while she was like this, but his hold was never loose, either. Just keep him upright, just give him something to hold onto. Ven kept gripping her arms; he must not want to be alone. If even a stranger’s arms were welcome, then Ven was in a bad spot for sure. For what felt like years, he clung to her, his chest jerking out and in as he attempted to breathe.

Trying to remember what Lauriam did during these attacks, Elrena gently whispered to Ven, trying to make her voice soothing, which was not something it was used to doing, “Hey, hey, it’s okay…just breath, Ven.” His shaky breaths were becoming a little deeper and little more frequent. “That’s it, just breathe…” she thought he might be coming out of whatever recollection had held him, so she added, “Come on back to me now, Ven. It’s okay, just breathe…” She felt like telling him he was safe, but that was too much of a lie for her to manage. Instead, she repeated, "Come on back, breathe."

Again, his lungs obeyed, and Ven took a deep breath. Elrena could feel it through her arms. He shivered, letting himself be held a minute longer. In fact, he leaned into her support a little bit as he took a few more breaths, trying to hold the air in. Elrena wasn’t sure how long this was going to go on. In the back of her mind, she knew they had to get moving, that they couldn’t stay in any one place too long or they’d be found.

But Elrena couldn’t make herself move. She felt as though she was doing something wrong, having Ven clutch her like he’d known her for years, not like she’d just yelled at him and shoved him to the ground. But if it helped him, she’d endure it. He was the reason she’d come, after all.

“Wha—” Ven took one final gulp of air, his senses coming back to him. He looked up at Elrena’s face. She scanned him up and down, gently pulling her arms down. Maybe Ven didn’t realize what he’d done. In that case, she’d spare him the embarrassment.

“Ven?” she asked cautiously, “Hey, you alright? You back?”

“I-I think so,” Ven slowly took another deep breath, “I was just—that is—the thought…”

He trailed off, looking down again, leaning against the wall and letting the tears slide down his face. He tried to draw himself up from his seat on the floor. To the surprise of both, Elrena’s hand gently brushed away the tears that trembled on his chin and stained his cheeks. Ven closed his eyes, letting the worn leather press against his hot cheeks. When he had no tears left, Ven rubbed at the last of them himself, sniffled in the last of his sorrow, and stood up, setting his mouth in a determined line.

“Alright, enough of that,” he shook himself, “We’ve got work to do.” He did his best to make his voice sound cheerful as he lied, “Don’t know why I did that. Or frankly why you did. I’m not too sure of anything right now, heh…”

“Why I…did that…” she echoed his words. Oh, light, she’d messed up. It wasn’t that this kid didn’t know what was happening. It was that he couldn’t deal with it. Better in his mind to paint over everything to get through it than to stare it full in the face and be paralyzed.

A short time ago, she would have mocked him for it. But how different was his strategy than hers was? Just because one of them chose a shade of terror and another a shade of sunshine didn’t mean they both didn’t paint over a lot.

“Elrena? What’s wrong?” Ven asked, and Elrena realized she hadn’t spoken for some time. When she replied, her voice was low, concentrated, but also strangely detached. Her eyes never left a single spot on the ground.

“I should…probably tell you something.”

The kid had a right to know at least a little. He didn’t understand why she’d gone off on him like that. It really wasn’t his fault. He needed to know that; to know it was her problem and not his.

“Okay,” Ven scratched his head, “What?”

“This world…didn’t like me. No one in the city or castle wanted me; I ended up almost starving and freezing to death in the forest. Ma—” Elrena had to force herself to rush through the name, “Maleficent…found me. She took care of me…but, well, what happens with every master happened. I ended up down here and had to fight my way out. I managed to get out down the exit I showed you—there wasn’t a barrier then. When I saw it there, I…kind of lost it. Though I guess what happened when I did get out the first time wasn’t too great, either.”

She gave a snort of disgust; her hard tone was back again, “and to a bunch of weak Shadows, too!”

Elrena stopped talking. No more of that. She’d said as much as she cared to say right now. And frankly, it seemed so had Ven. His eyes were alight with curiosity, and she had probably excited about a dozen questions for him, but the kid didn’t say anything.

Closing his eyes a moment, he took a deep breath, walking to stand beside Elrena. He took her hand, glancing up and her and forcing his brightest smile onto his face. This kid sure bounced back fast; or perhaps he was just good at putting the paint back on. Elrena had to stop herself from frowning at that thought.

“It’s over now,” Ven gave her hand a gentle squeeze, “I’m here, and we’re together, and no matter what, it’s all over now. C’mon, let’s get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Elrena breathed, giving him a small squeeze back because it looked like he expected one, “I’m done acting like a kid—for light’s sake, I’m the one who came to get you.” She snorted at herself, shaking her head, “I’m the adult here, after all. Let’s get out of here.”

She hesitated a moment and added, “And, Ven…I’m sorry I snapped like that. It won’t happen again.”

Ven smiled, nodding. He continued along the narrow hallway and back up the stairs. There was nothing to indicate he held any of what just happened against her. Which was good, as both of them would need to work together and be on their guard until they got out of here.

Somewhere far behind her, she could already hear the sounds of scattering rocks and clanking metal. Garbled exclamations told her their boulder repurposing project had been discovered. She waited, listening for echoes to warn her if they came down this passage. But the noises only faded.

“Elrena, everything alright?” Ven said from the bottom steps of the staircase, and she jumped at how loud his voice was.

“Keep your voice down!” she said, creeping closer to him, “Someone was just in the kitchens behind us.”

Ven’s face went very pale, even in the dim light. He squinted down the passage, but Elrena shook her head.

“They’re not following, but we’ll have to be even more cautious from now on, and we shouldn’t talk very loud if we can help it. This place echoes like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Got it,” Ven said in a much quieter voice, “Let’s hurry and find a window.”

“We’ll need to get to the upper levels first,” Elrena pointed up the staircase, “Which means at least two more staircases.”

“Because this place didn’t have enough to begin with,” Ven said, rolling his eyes and climbing back up it.

“Oh, just wait—I’ve taken us on the shortest routes. Now we’ll have to go the most discrete,” Elrena allowed herself a tiny smile, but she didn’t laugh. Deep within her she felt a stirring in the shadows around them. Something was coming for them, and it was a dark something.

Chapter Text

They pressed on through the dark hallways and twisting passages and, of course, up more stairs. Ven was ready to never look at a staircase again. Elrena kept looking over her shoulder and obviously listening. Ven, too, was keeping his ears and eyes open. Maleficent and Pete had caught him by surprise once; he wasn’t about to let them do it again. If Maleficent knew he was gone, she’d be looking for him, and neither of them wanted that, though he took comfort in the memory that he’d beat Maleficent before, and even with his bad right wrist, he had Elrena, so he felt pretty good. Her lightning had done a real number on that boulder, even if she didn’t have a Keyblade.

The not-so-comforting thing, though, was that Ven was now completely lost. None of the hallways or rooms they looked into were familiar. Still, they pretty much just needed a window, and Ven would summon his glider, which should be big enough to carry both of them safely away from here. So why on earth was a window so hard to find?!

“Are you serious?” Ven said under his breath as they poked around in another room, this one pitch-black except for the light they let in from the torches in the hallway. “This place is huge—it should have a window somewhere!”

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” Elrena sighed heavily as she drew the door closed again, “Looks like this is just some storage closet, though.”

“Maybe we should just try the front entrance,” Ven mumbled as Elrena passed through a doorway and up a staircase.

“Maybe we should just try blasting a hole in the walls,” Elrena snorted, “This place is practically a rubble heap already, I doubt Maleficent would even notice.”

“If we said it was Pete, do you think she’d believe us?” Ven chuckled to himself, and a bit of tension in his shoulders gave way. Man, it felt so good to laugh.

“Maybe,” Elrena flashed him a grin, her eyes displaying more of their green shades as she came out of the closed stairwell and into a new room. She glanced this way and that, scanning the loft area they’d found themselves in. “Is this the library? Yeah…yeah, I think it is.”

“Is there a window?” Ven eagerly came to the railing of a balcony, the floor below spread with bookshelves in dusty rows. A few shelves and piles of books lined the level they were on, and it looked like there was a staircase down to the first floor on the other side of the rectangular balcony. Oh yeah, books…he still hadn't reshelved the ones Aqua asked him to. Maybe this adventure would give him enough of an excuse that he could just do it later without Aqua nagging him. But for that plan to work, they would need a window, which wasn’t present.

“Oh, come on…” Ven said, slumping down. Elrena gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“We’re not done yet,” she said with a surprisingly bright tone, “If this is where I think it is, then there may be a window nearby.”

“Really?” Ven’s spirit roused instantly, but he also asked, “Wait…how do you know that?”

Elrena glanced away a moment, running her fingers in idle circles along the banister, “Like I said, Maleficent took care of me for a while…she let me pretty much have the run of this place and taught me…things. Then, well, ya know…”

She waved her hand around vaguely, and while Ven didn’t know, he had a pretty good idea that something had happened that made Maleficent not like Elrena anymore, and she went from being her student to her prisoner. Ven shuddered, wishing he couldn’t relate. Coming a few steps closer, Ven laid his hand beside her on the banister, causing her to glance his way.

“I see,” was all he said, not wanting to upset her more, which questions seemed to do, if her reaction just outside the kitchens was anything to go by. And with what he saw after he snapped—no, enough of that. The old man was dead; he wasn’t going to torment Ven or any of his friends anymore. Ven opened his mouth to say they should go on, but he caught something in Elrena’s eyes. She moved before he’d even registered her flickering gaze.

“Look out!” she said, jerking him backwards as Ven felt a rush of wind behind him.

Ven’s head whipped around to see a blob of black drawing itself up from its failed lunge, golden eyes locked onto him. Breaking from Elrena’s hold, Ven summoned his Keyblade into his left hand, lowering himself. He glanced in Elrena’s direction, where she was facing three Shadows.

“Not good,” Ven mumbled to himself.

Elrena let out a disapproving huff of air, “Are you seriously threatened by this? Please, I’ve had tougher fights in my first week. This is nothing.”

“Really?” Ven asked as he caught the Shadow’s strike with his Keyblade, and with a slice, sent it away.

“Of course,” Elrena casually replied, and Ven caught a playful lilt in her voice.

When he’d cleared the area around him, he turned and saw Elrena jumping onto the banister and grabbing at a pillar to swing around and get behind the three Shadows, viciously kicking one down to the first floor and electrocuting the others with bolts of lightning from her fingers. A bright smile appeared on her lips, and she seemed to stand up straighter, twisting to look for more enemies. There was no doubt about it; she was in her element here. How long had the Organization been making her fight Heartless? Wouldn’t it all have been pointless, though, at least until Roxas and Xion showed up?

“Ven, look out!” she said, abruptly cutting off his thoughts as the knife she’d used before sailed past his head, hitting a Soldier behind him. Ven whirled, cutting with his Keyblade and snatching up the knife to return it to Elrena. His right wrist protested at even this simple action, but there wasn’t much Ven could do about it. Ven glanced at the knife; it was a simple blade of tapered grey steel, an inch or two longer than his hand, with a leather handle.

“Yeah, I know, it’s not the greatest,” Elrena said, making Ven jump as she appeared behind him, “But it’s the best we could find. I can’t summon any weapons anymore.”

“Oh,” Ven replied, remembering the weapons he’d seen Lea and Isa summon. He briefly wondered why they could summon their weapons and Elrena couldn’t. A question for later. He pressed the hilt into Elrena’s hand, and she nodded thanks, turning from him.

“Alright, let’s see if we can’t find that window…It’s more of an opening, really,” she strolled around the balcony, heading for the stairs. As she did, she glanced over her shoulder and added, “You really shouldn’t get that distracted in a fight. That’s how people disappear.”

Ven started, not just at the callousness of her words, but because, strangely, they tugged at a memory. “If you don’t pay attention, you’ll disappear.” Ven rubbed at his temple, forgetting until pain shot through his arm that he was using his bad wrist. He grimaced; he’d have to get this set soon if it was going to keep up like this.

However, Elrena interpreted his grimace another way, as she hastily added, “Not that I’m planning on letting that happen, mind you, but I also don’t plan on carrying you through this place, okay?”

Ven blinked, shaking his head rapidly as it pounded, his breath coming in short bursts. Yes, he had to be stronger to join a party, to gather—

“Augh!” Ven winced, stumbling back.

“Ven?” Elrena’s voice changed as she came nearer, “Ven, you alright?”

“I-I’m not,” Ven said, a surge of pain shooting through his brain, sending to him knees. His head snapped up, and something in his face made Elrena freeze where she was. In a shaky voice, he asked, “Elrena…have we had this conversation before?”

For a heartbeat, two, she stood still, eyes scanning his face for…for…what? Carefully, she shook her head.

“I don’t think we have…” she hesitated, biting her lip. As if forcing herself, she added, “But you may have had a similar conversation with someone else. Do you remember—No. No, nevermind. It’s not worth it.”

She looked away, her fists clenched. Ven’s eyes narrowed as he pushed himself up, slowly asking.

“Do I remember what?” when she didn’t immediately answer, he pressed harder, “What were you about to ask? What do you know about me?!”

“Ven, there’s nothing there to find,” Elrena said, crossing her arms, “trust me, for you especially, there’s nothing worth going back through it. You’ve already got more than you ever had there…”

Ven's heart skipped a beat, his vision completely changing, flashes of things that felt familiar but that he couldn’t recognize. There was a giant clock tower against a pure blue sky, dozens and hundreds of kids passing by, a feeling of some incredible danger approaching. Ven gasped, taking a step back as he put a hand to his head again. These…these were memories, weren’t they? Was this a part of who he had been? A precious part of his life that existed before Xehanort?

“Ven?” Elrena carefully asked, hesitantly reaching a hand forward, “Are you—do you remember…the Unions?”

“Where you there?” Ven asked, his voice harsh to his ears, “Where you in that place I saw? Did you know those kids and that city?”

Elrena nodded, her mouth glued shut. Ven gripped his head with his good hand. Something in him leapt with excitement, but at the same time his heart throbbed in pain.

“T-then…” he gulped, gazing again at her face, “Was I there? These Unions…did I know you? Are you part of my missing memories?!”

“Probably not,” Elrena shook her head, “I mean, yes, I was there, but no, you probably didn’t know me.”

“Isn't there anything else you can tell me?!” Anger rose in his throat. This wasn’t what he’d been expecting—to have Elrena, a former Organization member, of all people—know something about him he didn’t. And why wouldn’t she tell him more? Why wouldn’t she give him this part of him that Xehanort hadn’t tampered with? Ven didn’t notice how pinched and red his face was getting with anger, or that he’d taken two steps closer to Elrena.

Elrena took a step back, blurting, “I don’t want you to have those nightmares!”

Ven tilted his head to the side. Nightmares? Like the nightmares Chirithy warned him would come as they worked to slowly restore his memory? They hadn’t gotten very far, but Ven was certain whatever was in those memories was vital. It was something Xehanort couldn’t mess with. How could she say there was nothing when even a sliver of a life Xehanort and Vanitas didn’t define was everything?

“I don’t care about nightmares!” Ven said, balling his fists, “They’re my memories. It’s my past! I want to know who I was.”

“Why? So you can hurt even more over what you lost?” Elrena crossed her arms.

“It’s better than not having any past aside from what he gave me!” Ven stamped his foot.

“The past should be in boxes, Ven,” Elrena’s voice was like a growl, “You don’t even know what you’re asking me to put you through.”

“Easy for you to say, you’ve got your past!”

“Like I asked for it,” Elrena jerked her hand like she was smacking an imaginary insect, “I was fine not knowing, and even the pieces I have are more than enough!”

“You don’t have all your memories?” Ven paused, tilting his head to the side.

“Like I said,” Elrena crossed her arms again, “I’ve got enough. More than enough. You’re lucky, Ven.”

“I’ve got no idea what my life was like before Xehanort ripped my heart apart,” Ven’s voice was very slow and very low, “I don’t know how life works that he wasn’t a part of. I don’t even know what my parents looked like or what world I came from. I don’t have a life that he didn’t touch! And you say I’m lucky?” Ven came a step closer.

“Having your memories isn’t going to make it so you can go there, Ven,” Elrena jabbed a finger at him, “You’re still going to be stuck here with everything gone and everything Xehanort did.”

Ven froze. He pulled back his lips and grit his teeth in a scowl. “Yeah? Well putting your past in a box isn’t gonna undo what you went through, either! You’re just going to be stuck pretending everything didn't happen. You don't even get to enjoy what you had! You'll still have all the pain but you'll never even remember what it was like to be loved.”

Both of them went silent. Even the dust motes in the air stopped moving. They stared at each other with wide eyes and mouths that opened but didn’t form any words. Elrena was the first to look away, turning her back.

Ven wasn’t sure what to say. He looked up to where Elrena had stood. However, she’d moved away from him, about to head down the staircase.

“Hey!” he said, bounding after her, “Wait! Elrena, wait, I-I’m—”

“Don’t, Ven,” Elrena paused a moment, her hand on the broken stair railing. She didn’t look at Ven as she spoke. “Look…I hate it when people keep secrets, too. But I know what those memories are going to do to you, and like I said, I’m not carrying you out of here. Let’s focus on getting out of here, and then we’ll talk, okay?”

Ven wanted to object. If only she wasn’t right. Nearby, he heard an all-too-familiar whooshing sound. He immediately summoned his Keyblade again and whirled around. He caught a flicker of movement among the shadows. A glance at Elrena confirmed she’d noticed it, too, and she gestured him onward with caution. Whatever Heartless was here hadn’t attacked yet, but some could be very sneaky.

Sighing, Ven realized they were still in Maleficent’s castle, and she’d been using him to make Terra and Aqua do something, something bad that he had to stop as soon as possible. It looked like his past was going to have to wait—but he would be getting those precious answers out of Elrena when they were done!

“Where’s this window you were talking about?” Ven spoke low, keeping close to Elrena as she slunk down the stairs.

“Not far,” she replied, crouching low as she came to the bottom and scanned the shelves, “There’s another stairwell that should take us up to a loft area where there’s an opening in the roof—assuming Maleficent hasn’t blocked that off as well.”

“If she has,” Ven playfully suggested, “Maybe we could just blow the roof off.”

“I mean, it’s probably made of softer stuff than stone,” Elrena sounded like she was considering that as a legitimate second option. As she edged a foot into a narrow passage between bookshelves, there was another movement in the shadows.

“Look out!” Ven called, darting around her and striking the Heartless before he even got a good look at it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last one. Spider-like Heartless came crawling over the bookshelves, pincer jaws snapping at them. Shadows popped up from below, and the clanking of metal meant well-armored Heartless were somewhere nearby.

“Ugh, again already?” Elrena said, pulling out her knife, “We’re busy!”

Ven sent a blast of wind to knock the spiders away and give him and Elrena time to deal with the Shadows approaching them in the small space. “Actually, this is pretty normal for me. These things just can’t leave me alone.”

“Yeah, trust me, I know,” Elrena sighed, jabbing at the Shadow closest to her, “Of all the times to not have proper throwing knives…”

She sliced and kicked at the last of the Shadows near her, and then threw her knife into the face of the Spider-Heartless that had come crawling back. It disappeared in a poof of black smoke, and Elrena neatly caught the knife in her hands and sent it, charged with lightning, into the face of another spider.

Ven, confident she could take care of herself, turned his attention to two spiders crawling towards him. He sent a blast of ice to freeze one in its tracks, jumping up and cutting until it broke into pieces. He went after the other one, but it shot a web at him, striking Ven and sticking him to the top of the bookshelf. His feet dangled above the ground, and the rotting wood creaked at having to support his weight. Ven grunted, trying to get purchase on the shelves as he angled his Keyblade towards the spider, sending a jet of flame to burn the new web it shot at him, which hit the Heartless as well. Seeing his success, Ven shot another ball of flame towards it, incinerating it almost instantly, though Ven could have done without the nasty smell that came from the smoke.

He was wondering what to do about the web, but that problem was solved for him when the bookshelf collapsed, dropping him and many, many books onto the ground among splinters of wood. He heard Elrena yelp as the remaining part of the bookshelf almost fell on top of her, and Ven shouted.

“Sorry! You okay?”

“Yeah,” Elrena said as he dusted himself off, “Just not loving these cramped quarters. Let’s deal with these things quickly.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Ven caught sight of another spider descending from the ceiling and sent a ball of fire to knock it aside. Man, these things were super flammable. Lea would probably have taken them all out with barely a sweat. Which would actually have been nice, because Ven was starting to feel tired already, though he was far from done yet, just sore from his rough handling by Pete, and probably a little hungry, too. Lea would also have been good company, brightening his spirits in this damp place.

A crack of thunder drew his attention to Elrena, and he caught sight of a flash of yellow hair darting among falling spiders and a couple Soldiers. She seemed to have things well in hand, but Ven darted closer anyways, just in case, cutting down the various Heartless that popped up around him on his way. Thinking of Lea brought a question to his lips. As he drew up to Elrena in the main hallway of the shelves, knocking away the blade of a Soldier and allowing her to deal with web that had wrapped around one of her arms, he asked.

“Hey, is Thunder magic all you can do?”

Elrena ripped her arm free, giving him a withering look before directing her attention back to the enemies, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean,” Ven couldn’t resist teasing, “You’re lighting trick’s pretty good, but if that’s all you’ve got…”

“Excuse me?” Elrena whirled on him as lightning struck the Heartless behind her.

“I’m just saying, I’m pretty sure this is normal,” Ven cut through a Shadow and held up his hands in mock surrender, “I mean, Lea can pretty much only do Fire magic even after all his training.”

Elrena’s eyes flashed with challenge before she closed her eyes, a self-satisfied smirk playing on her lips as she said, “Oh, I’ll show you magic. Ice isn’t really my style, but…”

In one swift motion, Elrena lowered herself on one foot, spinning and dragging the other across the floor in an arc. Spiky ice shot out of it, piercing the Heartless ganging up on her and destroying them instantly. In the same motion, Elrena drew herself up, facing Ven with a wide grin on her face.

“How’s that for magic?”

“Really good,” Ven replied honestly, which made her smile wider, just a bit and just for a moment.

“Well, of course,” Elrena waved a hand airily, “I did it, after all.”

Ven laughed at that. Elrena did, too. She turned to leave, dusting off her cloak—woah, Ven had practically forgotten it was there. Noticing it again felt weird. She really didn’t seem to belong in it the more time passed. Ven had no idea what type of clothes she should be dressed in, but it certainly wasn’t that black robe. He followed after her as she went down the main aisle of the library and into an area where the bookshelves ended abruptly, making a circular space.

Elrena pitched forward without warning, something striking her from behind. She whirled, but there was only a book at her feet. Her gaze swept the circular area, but revealed no more Heartless. When a second book sailed out of nowhere, hitting her shoulder, she growled. Ven blinked, trying to spot who threw it.

“Hey, who’s doing that?!” Elrena snapped, her fists clenched and sending out sparks.

Ven pointed towards a bookshelf to their left, “Look!”

In front of them, five books pulled themselves off the shelf and hurled at their heads, pages snapping open like jaws. Ven and Elrena reacted without a blink, cutting with knife and Keyblade, but even so, some books caught up to them, causing pretty bad papercuts. Before they could even think, more books began to hop off the shelves, heading straight for Ven and Elrena, burying them in a flurry of paper and hardcovers.

“AAAAAAHHHHH!” Ven screamed, sending out a wild blast of wind, trying to get a moment to think. The books flailed around like confused birds, but eventually seemed to regain their footing, or well, whatever it was books had instead of feet.

“Hey, kid, could you do that wind thing again?” Elrena called through the maelstrom, “I think there’s a better way to deal with this!”

“Okay,” Ven coughed, choking on a piece of stray paper and tearing it from his face as he added, “One, two, THREE!”

Ven unleashed his whirlwind again, taking a little more time to focus the energy to avoid him and Elrena, creating an eye of the storm around them. This was fortunate, as Elrena sent lightning raining down. It struck the books dead on. They ignited strangely in the wind, pieces tearing away and crumbling to ash as they disintegrated in flashes of fire.

Ven caught a sharp gasp in Elrena’s throat as she flinched, squeezing her eyes shut and turning away. She took a step back, but the wind snapped at the bottom of her coat, making her whirl and jump back from the wind and flames behind her. Her breath hitched for a moment, and Ven caught her hand. Her fingers clamped around his, and she stood very, very still.

Wasn’t this what she’d planned? Even if it had been, Ven couldn’t blame her for being a little startled. The fire and wind swirled around them and snapped this way and that, books waved furiously yet helplessly as they were torn and dissolved, and the two of them stood untouched as the flame whirled around them. They pressed closer together. To be so close to the danger and yet be so unaffected was…unnerving, to say the least. What remained of the books dropped with mute thuds on the ground, and by the time the wind died down, no more volumes accosted them. Elrena took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair, brushing her bangs down again.

“Okay,” she breathed, her voice a little unsteady. She tugged on her hair again, “Okay…I guess that worked. I think that’s the last of that. You doing okay?”

Ven paused a moment to take stock of himself, “My wrist is still a little sore, and it kind of hurts to move it a lot, but I’m mostly fine.”

Elrena nodded decidedly, “Alright, then let’s keep moving…where is that staircase again?”

After a moment of deliberation, Elrena began searching through the narrow alleyways for the elusive staircase, and Ven began to poke around as well, shuffling through the mess of mostly-burned pages they’d left in their wake. When he came across an ascending staircase, he almost called out, before catching sight of the broken bookcase in front of it. This was the way they’d come in. Before he could resume his search, he heard a noise.

Ven whipped his head around at the sound of a door creaking open, dashing down the hallway to see what new foe had appeared. He drew up short at the main doors of the library, seeing a familiar, oversized black cat, his ears twitching and his nostrils flaring as he caught sight of Ventus.

“Well, lookie here!” Pete growled, cracking his knuckles as Ven lowered himself, ready for a fight. “Did the little Keybrat have a nice run around the castle? ‘Cause it’s time for you to get back to your room, kiddie.”

“Not happening!” Ven snapped back, “Now show me a way out or get out of my way!”

“How about I give ya the beating you’s beggin’ for?” Pete smacked his fists together.

“If you can even catch me, fat cat,” Ven hurled his Keyblade—a trick he’d learned from Sora—sending it spinning into Pete’s bulbous belly. The cat yelped, thrown back into the door with a thud. Ven recalled his Keyblade to his hand as he dashed in between the bookshelves. While it wasn’t an ideal battle ground for most enemies, Ven was much smaller and more agile than Pete, who would have a near impossible time catching him in the small space.

“Get back here, you little brat!” Pete said, and Ven glanced behind to see he was right—Pete was struggling to squeeze himself after Ven as he snarled, “How’d you even get out of my ropes, anyways? Nothing could untie those knots!”

“None of your business, Pete!” Ven said, realizing that he had no idea where Elrena was, but hopefully they were making enough noise that she was aware Pete had come.

“Oi! Heartless! Do somethin’ useful for once and get that kid!” Pete growled.

“Not gonna work!” Ven said with a laugh, darting through another cluster of bookshelves, “Already took out all the ones in here.”

“See, that’s the thing about Heartless, oddly enough,” Pete said, though Ven could no longer see him, “there’s always more where they came from…”

Ven was running too fast to realize what Pete meant before he twisted around another shelf and was promptly tackled by a living shadow. Ven raised his Keyblade, but before he could swing it, several more Heartless piled on top of his arm. Ven’s hand was stuck out in front of him, and he saw a Shadow sitting on top of his arm, golden eyes staring at him.

Ven wanted to curse, but his words froze in his throat. He could feel the darkness on top of him, the sharp claws that could cut through his skin easily and rip out his heart in seconds, leaving him nothing more than an empty shell, if that. And they almost had, once. It was so long ago, a memory he tried so hard to forget…

“Phew!” Pete finally plodded up next to them, hands on his hips, “Alright, now that’s enough of that, sonny. Let’s get you back in your cell where Maleficent wants ya.”

“No!” Ven said like a petulant child, which he guessed his was. It only made Pete laugh.

“No? Aw, and what are you gonna do to stop me?”

Ven glared at him, attempting to twist his Keyblade to see if he could shoot some magic at Pete or the Heartless on top of him. Unfortunately, Pete saw what he was doing and gave a fierce kick, sending the Keyblade out of Ven’s hand and making it smart with pain. Ven grit his teeth as Pete let out another guffaw of his deep, throaty laughter. Fortunately, this covered up the creaking sound from behind Pete, which became a soft thud, followed by more thuds as the creaking increased.

Ven’s eyes widened as he caught the bookcase in front of him teeter, then with surprising speed, fall over directly on top of Pete.

“Huh?!” was all Pete was able to say before he was on the ground, stars and little birds spinning above his head as his irises rolled around in his eyes. Ven didn’t have time to think what to do next before he felt a rush of air and the weight of the Heartless being removed. Blinking, he saw Elrena standing before him, lowering her knife and offering him her free hand.

“Ya know, you could have just stuck with me instead of running straight for the next enemy,” Elrena said as she pulled him to his feet. Ven looked away, brushing himself off. As she turned from him, Elrena added, in a quieter voice, “But…thanks…for not telling Pete about me.”

Ven was legitimately surprised at her thanks, but Elrena was already off and moving, calling over her shoulder, “C’mon, I found the staircase we need.”

Oh great. More stairs.

Chapter Text

The needed staircase was in the very back of the library, and it wound in a narrow spiral up and up, bricks occasionally sticking out from the wall and forcing them to squeeze through one at a time. The staircase led up to a wooden door, but Elrena turned and pressed through a large crack in the wall that was either a secret passage or the castle cracking apart enough that they could access the inside of the walls. Wooden beams ran like branches across a narrow space between two stone walls. He looked down, but couldn't see the bottom.

“Are we supposed to be able to get back here?” Ven asked as he pulled himself up on a beam, Elrena above him.

“Doesn’t matter,” she dismissed his concern, “We’ve just gotta…Ah! Over here, Ven.”

Elrena reached down, and Ven offered his left hand, letting her yank him up a couple of feet to crouch beside her. She pointed to a hole in the wall, which was under the top half of a stone monster’s head. Ven wondered what happened to the bottom of the mouth, and what creature this was even supposed to be in the first place, but quickly dismissed these thoughts and crawled through the small hole, standing up on a row of planks ringing the top of a circular tower. They seemed unstable; the different planks poked up and shifted apart and were probably riddled with splinters. He scooched over to give Elrena space to make her way through, which she did with some difficulty, being a bit bigger than he was.

She drew herself up, about to say something, but froze. Ven followed her gaze. He hadn’t bothered to look down, and he really should have. At the bottom of the tower, with no floors or other obstructions between them, Maleficent prowled around a steaming cauldron, softly muttering to herself as a dark aura followed her like smoke.

Elrena put a finger to her lips, but it wasn’t necessary. Ven held his breath for several minutes, but Maleficent appeared too absorbed in her work to notice them. After what felt like an eternity, Ven dared to raise a foot, wincing when the boards creaked, and carefully put it down. No reaction from Maleficent—so far, so good.

Elrena gestured for him to continue moving to the left as she picked her way along the boards, feet moving quietly but quickly, her body pressed against the wall. Maleficent chanted in a language Ven didn’t know, her voice echoing in the tower. The flames beneath the cauldron leapt up. Ven glanced to where, a third of the way across the circle, a section of the roof was propped up, allowing the steam and smoke to escape. It was plenty big enough to pass through. No barrier blocked their way.

His eyes locked on Maleficent again as if magnetized. Elrena waved her hand, signaling that he should back up from the edge of the loft. He took a step towards her and the opening, which invited them with every step. Ven had to stop himself from bounding and rattling over every single plank. He remembered faintly some sort of obstacle course, Sora running and tripping over a beam that was somehow always loose. Ven shook the memory from his mind, but that made him lose his focus at the worst moment.

His foot slipped into a gap between the boards, which splintered and cracked. Ven lost his balance. He stifled a cry of surprise, his arms pinwheeling as he almost fell off the loft. A pair of hands grabbed his right wrist. Ven bit his lip to stop from crying out. Twisting his head, he saw Elrena, her face a mild panic, clutching his arm. His left foot was stuck in between the boards, the other hovered in open air. His entire body leaned back over the edge of the loft. Both of them glanced down to where Maleficent paced.

The air grew heavy and the light dim, except for the green glow from the fire and cauldron. Maleficent’s voice rose dangerously in pitch, and the shadows cast from the fire danced in a frenzy. She hadn’t noticed the noise above her.

Elrena tugged at Ven, but when he came back over the edge, his foot slipped deeper into the boards, sinking up to his knee before it stopped, causing more cracks as the plank threatened to give way entirely. Elrena couldn’t get any closer without risking falling through herself. He hissed through his teeth as Elrena let him partially fall back again, his foot back to its original position. Ven tried to get his right foot back onto the planks so that his leg wouldn’t sink, but the awkward way his body was positioned made that difficult. He kept barely missing, or failing to get purchase, and each swipe tugged at his arm, making his wrist ache again.

They kept struggling but couldn’t quite get it. The need for complete silence didn’t help, either. Below them, the chanting and fire and smoke and shadows reached a fever pitch. The entire room trembled. Ven heard Elrena’s heavy breathing, but she made no other sound. The growing darkness was palpable and far too familiar and unpleasant. Ven grit his teeth, finally getting his free foot behind him onto the boards. Okay, now to shift his weight back onto that foot and get it off the wrist Elrena was still holding. Ven did not notice that Elrena was planting her feet, getting ready to pull Ven towards her now that his foot wouldn’t fall through the boards. He jerked his foot up at the same time Elrena tried to pull him back, her hands slipping from his wrist…

A splintering sound, falling backwards, and the next thing Ven knew, he struck something metal with a groan. Blinking, he looked to see a rolling cauldron, the contents of which had put out the fire. The room had returned to normal light, but there was a ringing in his ears.

“What is the meaning of this, boy?” a grand voice drew his attention. Maleficent glared down at him. He hesitated a moment, his head clearing a little.

“Oh…did I ruin your plan?” Ven glanced at the spilled cauldron, then glared at Maleficent, “I’m not sorry.”

“You will be by the time I am through with you, wretched boy!” Maleficent replied, her golden eyes flashing. Ven drew back. He’d forgotten how much her eyes looked like his…

He tried to jump to his feet, but tripped on hot coals, scattering them everywhere. He glanced up to where Elrena must have been on the loft. There was only a wall of green fire. Ven, gulping, glanced back to Maleficent, who lowered her glowing hands, presumably from surrounding the entire room in a wall of impassible green haze.

Ven summoned his Keyblade into his good hand, but he’d barely got it up before Maleficent’s staff crashed into it, nearly throwing him into the flames. Ven scampered back, right into a shot of darkness that made his entire body feel like he’d been dunked into a bucket of ice. He cried out in pain, drawing himself up slowly and blinking, just catching sight of Maleficent disappearing and having the sense to whirl behind him and get a barrier up in time to block her attack.

Taking a few steps back, Ven glanced up again, but he couldn’t see through the barrier. Where was his new friend? A familiar sound reached his ears, and Ven winced, staring at the shadows that swirled around and popped up from the floor. Long black antenna sprouted jaggedly from their heads as they circled him. Ven held out his Keyblade as he backed up, trying to keep track of all of them at once. This…this was too familiar.

+=========+

Elrena’s eyes bounced around, trying to find a safe way down. But for once, she was too slow. As she started forward to join Ven, a wall of fire shot up in front of her. Her breath caught in her throat, and she threw herself back as her eyes widened at the flames before her. No, no, this couldn’t be happening. Not now! Not again!

There was shouting, screaming. They were all furious at her for crimes she didn’t even understand, nevermind having committed. Her hands were tied—Elrena tried to breathe. Only smoke and sulfur clogged her nose and throat. Her chest started pounding, grabbing every muscle and pulling it in with every beat, only to shove it outward on the next. It demanded she move but refused to let her.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Elrena’s voice was small and scared, even to her. Stupid hearts! These things hurt!

She backed up, half bent over, her hand clutching at her chest. What the heck was wrong with her?! She wasn’t scared of fire. She wasn’t weak—she didn’t need anybody! Nothing could hurt her that she wouldn’t hurt worse! That was how she kept everything away, kept herself safe. Close everything precious into a tiny box and hide it so deep inside you no one even knows it’s there. Her secret.

Lauriam, Strelitzia, Chirithy, the few quiet days in Daybreak Town, Ven.

Elrena blinked rapidly. The rough stone on her back was not a wooden stake and the flames before her were not advancing. What had gotten into her? Why was she acting like some lonely old-timer and latching on to every stupid memory instead of focusing on her task?! Her master would be so disappointed in her, especially when Gula used to praise her focus. He said it was what made her control of lighting so absolute that she could do it wandless. And she knew focus and control were needed for that; she’d spent months perfecting the technique before she showed it to him.

“Enough of this,” Elrena growled, shoving herself off the wall and taking a step towards the barrier. Fire didn’t bother her as a Nobody, not more than anyone else, that is. And in the middle of combat she could ignore almost anything. But as a human, both before and apparently after the Organization…

“It doesn’t matter,” Elrena curled her fingers into fists, glaring at the flame as if able to smack away the terror it carried with her gaze. She’d been around fire before; she’d used it herself when she had to. This was no different. Creeping as close as she dared, Elrena was able to see below, though it was tinted green and kind of blurry. Still, it was enough to see Ven was in a bad spot.

Neoshadows surrounded him. Ven was rapidly glancing around, and if her eyes didn’t deceive her, his chest was heaving way more than it should be. Maleficent stood back, cackling and letting the creatures do her dirty work.

“Not on my watch,” Elrena said, glaring daggers at Maleficent, recalling all that witch had put her through. The thought of her now doing it to Ven made anger flare up in her, more anger than when she had been surrounded down there. At least she deserved it—she was always a wicked child. But Ven wasn’t.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Elrena concentrated. She dared not try and breach the flames, but maybe other things could pass through them. Stepping back, she held out her hand, eyes popping open and sparking with power. Oh yes, this was right, this was familiar. The static in her veins and the buildup in her bones. It just needed a target.

“Back. Off.” Elrena growled, spotting one Neoshadow jumping up while Ven’s back was turned to deal with another. She released the bolt.

It struck the Neoshadow directly, instantly destroying it. Both Ven and Maleficent turned in surprise, and Elrena didn’t wait for them to recover. She sent more bolts down from the sky, finishing off every Heartless that dared to approach Ven.

“What insolence?” Maleficent turned every which way, but she never bothered to look up, “Who dares interfere in my work?”

“Guess you’re not as feared as you thought you were!” Ven said, sending a gust of wind that knocked Maleficent back.

“Blasted boy!” Maleficent growled, readying herself as she raised her staff. In a whirl of shadows, she disappeared, only to reappear behind Ven. Elrena began to cry out, but Ven rolled to the side as he laughed.

“Did you think that was gonna work on me twice? You couldn't even get it to work the first time! Or is your memory fading in your old age?” He knocked her staff back and gave himself some distance. Ya know, for a Guardian of Light, the kid could throw a pretty good insult. Not that Elrena considered that a bad thing; she knew well just how effective words could be as a weapon.

Before she could return to raining down lightning, Elrena got distracted yet again, spotting a wiggling shadow crawling towards her. Her knife flew into her hand, and she knocked down the Heartless before it even finished getting off the floor. It wasn’t the last one, though, and before Elrena knew it, she was swatting a dozen of these monsters left and right. Was Maleficent sending them, or was this where they had all been hiding while she and Ven were searching for an exit?

It didn’t matter. With a vicious kick, Elrena sent one into the wall of flames, wincing a little at the screeching sound it made, but satisfied that it wouldn’t give Ven any trouble…how was he doing, anyway?

Quickly dispatching the last of the Heartless near her, Elrena turned to see the wall of flames had become thicker. Instead of a green haze, it was now a raging sheet of licking flames breaking off to snap at her. Panic gripped her throat again, her body finally registering the building heat as well as Maleficent’s raised voice.

“I will teach you to interfere!”

Elrena twisted and turned, but was unable to make anything out through the flames. She couldn’t just rain down lightning without knowing where Ventus was—it was as likely she’d hit him as Maleficent. C’mon…think…think…

Her eyes landed on a rock, one of the many crumbled parts of this castle. Seriously, how was this thing even standing? It was a miracle it had taken this long before something gave way under them. Yet…this did provide her with free ammunition.

Picking up the rock in one hand, Elrena hesitated. This wasn’t as dangerous as lightning, but she could still hit Ven by mistake. Still, she hated sitting and doing nothing, so she hurled the rock through the barrier. When she heard a cry of pain, she winced. But when she heard a child’s laughter, she knew she hadn’t hit Ven.

“Who dares?!” Maleficent’s voice definitely didn’t make Elrena flinch, no, not one bit.

“Maybe it’s just your castle crumbling down like all your plans!” Ven said.

“I warned you,” Maleficent’s voice was slow, drawn out, and ice hard. Her syrupy sweetness was gone. Elrena instinctively stiffened, trying to be as invisible as possible. “Insolence will not be tolerated, child…”

 “What do you—”

Ven! Oh no, she had to warn him! Elrena’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. Instead, she heard a scream.

No, no, no…

Her heart contracted, because it would choose now of all times to be unhelpful and hurt her again! It chose now to remind her Ven was a child, the same age she had been— Great Foretellers, he was the same age she had been! He’d been through all this hell of Daybreak Town and the Keyblade War and who knew what else, and yet he was as young as she had been when Maleficent began her torment! And after what she had done after Elrena simply said it was wrong to curse a baby…she couldn’t imagine what Maleficent planned for Ven.

She had to get down, had to help him now! Emotions were the last thing she needed! Think, think; use your head, not your heart… Elrena spied a hole in the wall—yes, the way they’d come through. She could backtrack and maybe get inside from below! She darted through, shoving down the worry and anxiety that bubbled in her blood.

Landing hard on the wooden beams, she nearly fell off. Her entire body felt out of balance, not good for her fighting style. C’mon control it!

More screams.

Elrena clawed through the crack, darting down the stairs as her blood swirled inside her veins. She tried to ignore it, gritting her teeth. That only made the feeling seep from her veins into her bones, trying to cause fractures with all the pressure it put on.

“You could at least be helpful!” Elrena snapped at her own emotions. She held out a hand to push off a wall and make a turn, feeling adrenaline numb the pain. If only she was able to beat this feeling out of her so she could focus.

Hey, speaking of focus, this feeling in her was not entirely unlike lightning. Maybe she could use it. Instantly, without her direction, her thoughts turned to Ven, and she could imagine the pain he was in—knew it all too well. Something lit up inside Elrena, and she found any exhaustion gone, any pain numbed except the palpitations of her heart and the trembling in her bones.

It took her several minutes to dash through the castle, taking twists and turns, running into Heartless, slaying them without a second thought, and doubling back. Eventually, she recognized an archway, and darted through it into a room with a spilled cauldron, coals growing cold, a strange design on the wall…and nothing else.

No green flames encircled the room. No Maleficent stood with her dangerous staff. No Ventus.

For a missing heartbeat, Elrena froze, everything arrested. Nothing made a sound. Then everything rushed back, doubled in pain and intensity.

“VEN?!” she screamed. It wasn’t like speaking. Speaking was when you said words to another person. This was a natural extension of the pain inside her, demanding something to release it.

“VEN?!” Elrena screamed again, looking everywhere. But he was gone. No…

Elrena fell to her knees, hands grasping her arms. For a moment, she tried to breathe, not even attempting to think yet. Whatever coursed through her now centered in her throat and chest, clenching it shut as her body tried to perform basic functions. It kept its burning hands there for several minutes, until finally her pulse broke through and her lungs drew in a sharp breath of smoke-scented air through her raw throat. As the raging power in her gave way to exhaustion, Elrena blinked, looking around again.

She glanced up at the opening in the roof, a faint gleam of sunlight coming through it. They’d been so close…and now what? She was alone again. She hadn’t been able to save Ven. She was still trembling on her knees like the little, helpless, weak girl from before.

“He’s still here,” she spoke as if saying the words would make it true.

Her hands curled into fists against the hard stone. “He is here.”

He had to be. Narrowing her eyes, she turned away from the opening in the roof. Words might not make it true, but she would.

“I’m gonna find him.”

It occurred to her how ridiculous this all was, how she should be the last of any of them here. She hadn’t even known Ven in the previous life, and she probably wouldn’t care too much if she did. Caring about people wasn’t something she did. There were only a few exceptions. And even with those exceptions, she knew nothing of love—but despite being called a traitor, Elrena knew a thing or two about loyalty.

There wasn’t a lot she gave her loyalty to, especially now, after everything with that old geezer. But when she did give her loyalty, she gave everything. Master Gula had it in the beginning as she daily broke herself to gather as much Lux as possible. Ava had it when Elrena agreed to join the Dandelions, even after her disappearance. Strelitzia had some lighter form of it after only one meeting, for reasons Elrena still didn’t understand. And Lauriam…it was his loyalty to his sister that had inspired her loyalty to him. After all, it wasn’t often she saw someone who cared so much about those who disappeared. No one would care if she did. But Lauriam’s loyalty to his sister was something else. And when she began to hope, ridiculously, that she might be included in his loyalty…

Lux above knew she had her walls, and was proud of them, but find yourself inside, somehow, and Elrena was embarrassed to admit there was little she wouldn’t do for you.

She shoved herself off the floor viciously, turning on her heel and facing the darkened archway. For the second time that day, Elrena went into the darkness of Maleficent’s castle to find Ventus.

But this time it was no idle errand done half by accident and half for Lauriam. No, Elrena would never admit it to anyone, but Ventus was part of her secret now. She didn’t know how he’d gotten there or why, or if he would or should stay there, but he was there now. Now he was being hurt by the same person who’d tormented her when she was at her most confused, isolated, and desperate point. But unlike her, Ventus would not have to drag himself out. She would not be that stupid little girl. She had lived through this before; she could survive it again, no matter what it did to her.

This time, she would bring him out, no matter what it took. This time, the witch would not have an easy victim. This time, Elrena would do for Ven what no one had done for her.

Chapter Text

Ven panted, grateful for the lightning that had struck down the Neoshadows, but that didn’t mean the fight was over, not by a long shot. If the flaring of Maleficent’s barrier was any indication, things were heating up, literally.

Maleficent raised her hand, darkness gathering around her fingertips. Ven swung his Keyblade and knocked the blast aside. He dashed forward, knowing that Maleficent’s scepter was dangerous, but she had a hard time fighting in close quarters. Maleficent knew this as well. As Ven jumped forward to strike, she blocked with her staff, and Ven barely got his feet under him in time to press back. He grit his teeth, locking eyes with Maleficent.

Her eyes narrowed as well, and their look added another layer of weight pressing down on him. It was so entrancing, Ven almost missed when her hand moved, fingers pointing towards him. Still, he caught a shift in their struggle, and his eyes widened.

“May you fall back to sleep forever, Ventus!” she said.

He threw himself backwards, screaming as he did, “Aero!”

The blast of air not only propelled him further from Maleficent, but it also pushed the dust of the sleeping spell back at her. Of course, it didn’t knock her out; no, that would be too easy. Instead her irrationally arched brows drew down as a fierce scowl overtook her face.

Ven landed, his shoes scraping stone. As he steadied himself, he panted, feeling the tension in his wrist increase. His muscles were screaming at him, and his stomach clenched. Ven knew he couldn’t keep up this much longer; he didn’t want to run away, but…

Glancing at the wall of green flame, he realized fleeing wasn’t even an option now. Would his armor protect him from the fire? He didn't want to test that right now.

“Augh!” Ven winced, caught off guard as he was trying to find a way out. Maleficent had taken advantage of this and struck him with a blast of darkness. Ven shook himself, clutching his Keyblade with his better arm, though he was less practiced this way.

Maleficent slammed her staff into the ground, and more green flames shot outwards, which Ven barely managed to dodge, sending waves of ice in response. They hit Maleficent dead on, but she wasn’t even bothered. Oh, this was not good.

Ven rushed at her again, rolling and getting behind her, cutting twice with his blade before she whirled and blocked. Not giving her a chance to try the sleep trick again, Ven shoved her away, hopping backwards and stopping just short of the flames. He could feel the heat on his back and rushed away, not about to get knocked into them and end up a very crispy Keybearer.

Maleficent was abruptly before him again, and Ven just barely blocked, but his balance was off, and he fell to the side. Shaking his head violently, he tried to get up, but Maleficent slammed her staff down on his hand, making him cry out and release his Keyblade as he jerked back. His gaze hesitantly traveled up to Maleficent’s leering face.

She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, something dark broke through the green flames, right above Maleficent’s head. Ven couldn’t help grinning. Maleficent, noticing his look, glanced above, just in time for the rock to hit her directly in the face.

“HA!” Ven chuckled as he got to his feet and darted away, calling his Keyblade back into his hand.

“Who dares?!” Maleficent growled, eyes scanning everywhere but where Elrena was probably crouching behind the flames.

“Maybe it’s just your castle crumbling down like all your plans!” Ven said, feeling an unusual amount of satisfaction in his reply. However, the look Maleficent cast him made his blood run cold. He could handle her. He’d done it before. He’d fought harder, darker foes than her. Right?

“I warned you,” Maleficent took a threatening step towards him. Her staff, no, her entire being, radiated darkness like Kairi radiated light, “insolence will not be tolerated, child…”

 “What do you—” Ven started to say, but was cut off. Before he could even blink, jagged shadows shot out from Maleficent, striking him like spears.

“AUGH!” Ven screamed, every muscle in his body tensing with each hit. He tried to pull himself out of the way, but the shadows that pierced him held him off the ground, several more striking him. When he was dropped, Ven struggled to find breath and process what had just happened.

There was no hope of avoiding the lightning Maleficent shot from her staff at him. Unlike Elrena’s, this was definitely aimed to hurt him. It did.

Ven winced on the ground, his muscles complaining of every movement, yet his mind and heart urging him to get up and move, to fight or run or do anything to get out of this situation. He managed to get up on his bad wrist, wince, and catch himself before he saw an orb of darkness headed for him.

On impact, it launched him backwards, and Ven felt a searing pain against his back. He writhed and threw himself on the ground, desperately trying to beat out the flames on his shirt, grateful for the cold stone floor. At least he put out the fire…

He dragged himself away, trying to put distance between himself and both the barrier and Maleficent, who casually strode towards him, a Cheshire grin on her face. Ven saw her eyes flash and knew she wasn’t done with him yet. When had she gotten this strong?! He was sure she hadn’t been this much trouble before…

Maleficent fired another ball of darkness at him, and Ven screamed again, his sore body feeling like it was being stabbed from the inside with thousands of sharp needles. The next moment, the jagged shadows from before were back, stabbing up from the floor through his chest, lifting him up and holding him painfully before dropping him back to the ground again. Ven heaved in a breath, placing a shaky hand on the floor, trying to push himself up. His strength gave out, and Ven collapsed to the ground. He looked up to see Maleficent glaring down at him, stroking the top of her staff agitatedly.

“Perhaps I was remis to trust Pete,” Her fingers stopped tapping, curling into a fist, a single finger pointing at him, “I assure you, that will not be happening again.”

Smoke peeled up from the floor, and Ven had just enough time to realize there was a Dark Corridor appearing beneath him. He didn’t get a chance to react, though, because Maleficent brought her golden staff down on his head, and his vision went dark, a crack echoing between his ears.

+========+

When Ven opened his eyes again, half his vision was of dark stone. As he struggled to push himself up, he found his wrists and ankles were again bound, but the clinking of metal made him realize a knife wasn’t gonna cut it this time. Cold, hard, thick steel bound his ankles and wrists together, and a short chain tied Ven’s wrists to the ground. Normal rope was again wrapped around his arms, but it was so tight that Ven had trouble breathing.

He wondered if that was intentional, and knowing Pete’s temper, it probably was. Growling in frustration, Ven tried to think where Elrena might be, and if she were in the same situation he was. It was possible that Maleficent hadn’t gotten her, and she was just waiting to help him, or maybe looking for another key. Ven glanced around, pretty certain this wasn’t the same cell he’d been thrown in before.

Still dwelling on what had become of Elrena, Ven glanced up as the door behind him opened. Rolling over, he saw Maleficent stride in, her thin lips pulled all the way across her bony face as she slightly inclined her head to inspect Ven. Her casual, satisfied gaze stoked something inside him.

“Alright, what is it you’re planning?” Ven said, which caused Maleficent to raise an arched eyebrow in surprise.

“Are you truly acting like you are in a situation to demand anything?” she gestured to his bound form, and Ven managed to push himself into a sitting position, making him feel a little better, though his right wrist throbbed in protest as he repeated.

“What is it you’re trying to get Terra and Aqua to do?”

Maleficent acted as though he hadn’t spoken as she casually asked, “Tell me, Ventus, do you fear me?”

“Not half as much as I feared Xehanort.” Ven tried to hide his gulp, his muscles contracting as they recalled the darkness piercing him. “You can’t split my heart like he did; you don’t have a Keyblade.”

“True,” Maleficent’s eyes lit up with a cold fire that made Ven shiver, “But I might be able to do more damage than that.” She prowled closer, her long cloak dragging on the floor as she circled him, “Just revealing the truth to you would make your heart buckle, and you’d become powerless to what lies locked up deep within you.”

“…What are you talking about?” Ven asked, momentarily too genuinely confused to be concerned.

“Did you never wonder,” Maleficent paused before him, “why it was that Xehanort chose you specifically for his plans?”

Ven had, many times, but he’d never come up with an answer aside from the one he gave, “He was a crazy, desperate old man, and he thought my heart was strong enough to survive the split.”

“True…” Maleficent said, leaning on her staff, “But there was another reason. Splitting your heart was merely the backup plan, since you proved yourself too stubborn an apprentice to unleash the great darkness in you.”

Ven grit his teeth, accidentally biting his cheek in the process. His head started to hurt—but this couldn’t be confusion; he knew all this already. Maleficent continued.

“As you doubtless know, both great darkness and great light clashing are required to forge the X-blade,” she slowly knelt at this point, “and Xehanort was lucky enough to come across a being that harbored both in his heart.” Her wiry fingers cupped his cheek, “A heart of pure light, in fact, concealing a great darkness.”

Ven winced, his head throbbing as he tried to turn away from her hand.

“I know—Xehanort took all the darkness from my heart—made Vanitas,” Ven inhaled sharply, his mind conjuring up some faint image he couldn’t grasp, “If you’re stupid enough to think I’m gonna let him out again…”

Maleficent cut him off with a laugh, “No, poor Ventus, your heart of pure light was not first made with Xehanort. And Vanitas was not the darkness he sought, but rather your own weak, natural darkness. Though perhaps he was somewhat enhanced,” Her eyes gleamed as her teeth showed, “by the other darkness, locked up tighter in your heart.”

“Wha-what are…what do you—AUGH!” Ven screamed as his heart and mind felt like they were caught in a vice and twisted. The dreams from before, of people he didn’t recognize, drifted to the surface of his consciousness. His past? What did Maleficent know of it?

Ven wrung his hands, trying to get out of the binding that rubbed his wrists raw. His breath came in short gasps as every once in a while, the visions in his mind snapped from blurry colors to solid images.

There was Chirithy, and a boy in a black hat. A cliff overlooking a town with purple roofs. Blue skies and a river by a clocktower. A room with a big table and lots of gears. A boy with white hair and a girl with black hair. Danger…something was wrong, and he knew it. A blur of white and orange.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!” Ven tried to clutch at his head, but his chains wouldn’t allow it. Each time an image flashed, he felt his heart contract, as though some previously unknown empty space had collapsed. The collapsing caused something in his heart to stir, to bubble over like ice cracking and falling into the swirling water beneath. Within that water, something lurked, something angry.

Ven tried to force himself back to reality, tried to focus on the pain in his wrist. Elrena had to be coming to help him soon, right?

Elrena. The name plunged him back into his thoughts again, like a stone had been tied to his legs and he’d been thrown into the sea. Ven was hurt, he was scared, he wanted…there was the outline of a boy, an older, taller boy. He was always so calm and cool and sure. He always took care of Ven; Ven wanted the boy…

They were meeting up on a rare free afternoon. Ven was standing among the bright stones that made up the streets. There was the fountain, and he stepped forward as the boy pointed to a girl that was leaving. The boy was regretting that they’d just missed each other.

“Ven, that was my friend, Elrena…”

“LAURIAM!”

The sound was coming from his own mouth. Ven registered the tears on his cheeks and the dryness of his throat at the same time.

“Lauriam…” he repeated, but it was like another boy was shouting those words, like he was looking down on his own body, but he was a stranger, “Help me…”

Ven pressed his eyes closed, driving his face into the ground. Dirt smudged across his face, but he didn’t care. He just wanted this aching to stop, the confusion to stop.

This wasn’t the past he wanted; this wasn’t the light it should have been. Surely this wasn’t all his past, was it? “You don’t even know what you’re asking me to put you through.”

“You see, Ventus?”

His gaze was drawn up to where Maleficent grinned down at him, “If I had kept going, you would be overcome. Now, will you cross me again?”

Ven felt he should glare, should shake his head, should do something to tell Maleficent she hadn’t won…but he couldn’t find the strength. His furrowed brows were over wide, exhausted eyes as his face slowly went lax, and he stared at the ground. Maleficent laughed again, drawing herself up.

“Disrespectful boy that you are, making me do all this bending over just for you,” she gave him a vicious kick in his nose—why did she have such pointy shoes?! Blood trickled down his face.

“Goodnight, young Ventus,” Maleficent called as she swept out of the room.

Ven closed his eyes as the door slammed shut, his head still throbbing. How could he make sense of these memories? Were they the reason for his strange feeling about Elrena? What other darkness was Maleficent talking about?

That last thought sent a blow like a knife cutting through his head and down his spine. Ven trembled, drawing himself together, not caring that he was behaving like a baby. His stomach growled, choosing that moment to remind him he was also starving. Tears and blood kept flowing hot down his face, and everything hurt so much. Why would Maleficent do this to him? How had she known? Why did these memories feel so true and yet so wrong at the same time?

Ven closed his eyes, struggling to draw breath in from his gritted teeth. He pressed his overheated head against the hard stone. At the moment, he didn’t care about memories or light or darkness or anything. Ven just cared about getting sleep. Whatever was happening was causing so much pain, Ven just wanted to forget it all.

Forget…light above, that’s what he’d done. His hands went slack, his entire body deflated. His past, even his earliest past, still wasn’t free of darkness, of Xehanort. Ven was never going to have a life that man wasn’t a part of. Ven knew that now, and he had just enough strength left to mutter into the darkness.

“No wonder…you didn’t share it with me…thanks, Elrena, I guess…”

As the first mercy of the day, sleep came quickly, dulling the pain and blurring it all into nothing as Ven’s thoughts muted themselves. Even his heart ceased its aching, as if it, too, finally realized Ventus had no strength left. Whatever stirred in his heart settled as well, sinking deeper as the waters calmed and the ice froze over again.

Chapter Text

Lauriam hesitated at the doors before him. How on earth had he gotten here? He tried to backtrack in his mind.

He had been prepared for many things. One couldn’t survive all he’d been through and not be prepared for a lot. Okay, well maybe he didn’t technically survive all of it, but he was alive now, so that was beside the point. The fact was that Lauriam had seen some insanity in his days, and knew he’d have to be ready for more. The return of his memories—most of them, at least—had only further proved that to him.

He’d been a Keybearer, a Union Leader, a big brother…and somehow lost it all, even the memory of it. And, courtesy of the worst one-eyed man in all the worlds, Lauriam had then turned from it all, becoming a Seeker of Darkness. But he couldn’t blame Xigbar for everything, Lauriam knew. That period of re-education had definitely twisted his mind, his empty heart completely unable to object to it, but so many actions had still been his own.

All the destruction wrought on Xemnas’ orders, the attempted coup at Castle Oblivion, meddling with Sora’s memories, destroying and leaving other Organization members to die, becoming Xehanort’s vessel, Rapunzel and Corona, Namine…

But it was over.

Lauriam had sworn that as he faded, and that resolve had hardened with every reclaimed memory, every ache his heart felt for his past actions, every tiny rush of hope that he had a second chance! Marluxia was dead for good, not even enough left to bury. Lauriam was back now, and he wasn’t going to lose what he'd regained.

But so much was still missing. He wasn’t sure what had become of the other Union Leaders, or even how they’d all ended up separated and without memory to begin with. He recalled their world was dying. They needed to flee, but something was wrong. It wasn’t as simple as making a cut with their Keyblades and walking through a portal. Lauriam couldn’t remember why, and neither could Elrena.

Still, he recalled Brain—what a clever, wonderful, loyal friend that boy had been—had come up with a plan. Somehow, he’d found a way out, and sent him, Elrena, and Ven away. Ven had been asleep; Lauriam wasn’t sure why he remembered this, or why it was significant, or why they hadn’t woken Ven up.

“May your heart be your guiding key.”

Those had been his parting words. Unfortunately, Brain hadn’t told him what to do if his heart was suddenly an empty husk and he didn’t even remember his own name.

But all that was beside the point.

Lauriam had to be ready for his next move. There was so much he still needed to do, so much to make up for and complete. In truth, between Namine, Strelitzia, and Ven, Lauriam felt his heart being tugged in so many directions he was afraid it would be ripped apart.

But the bleak reality was he and Elrena had no more new clues to his sister; in some ways, she was more lost than she had been in Daybreak Town. Lauriam wasn’t sure how that was even possible, but as usual, the universe was determined to amplify his suffering. And, well, Lauriam wasn’t sure what he could do for Namine. How did you even begin to make up for what he’d done? The girl deserved an apology, at least. But he didn’t know where to find her, either, or what had happened to her after being freed from Castle Oblivion.

So, that left Ven.

Of course, Lauriam knew he’d be received with incredibly cool suspicion in the very best-case scenario. There was no guarantee that Ven would have any memory of them, or that he’d want to see them if he did. Even if Ven remembered and wanted him, Lauriam was pretty certain literally every other Guardian of Light would be far more inclined to ending him as violently and quickly as possible, and not unreasonably so. Though he’d seen evidence of Sora’s quickness to forgive, he doubted that even that boy would be persuaded to tolerate his presence, especially when Lauriam confessed what exactly had occurred in Castle Oblivion.

But he had to go. He had to see Ven, to know he was alright and…maybe… stay with him. Maybe earn back some of that friendship that had filled the clocktower and reminded Lauriam why he had to find his sister.

It was ridiculous. Lauriam knew it, but he couldn’t stop his heart with its reclaimed memories and raging emotions from hoping. Even so, he still possessed enough of his senses to know that this was a delicate situation that would require all the decorum, tact, and patience in his reserve. He had to be prepared.

So, he’d enlisted Elrena’s help with a bit of roleplaying to prepare for their reintroduction. He pantomimed knocking on a door in front of the bed Elrena rested on. (Oh, yes, they’d had a bit of an adventure after their recompletion, one that had left her in need of some recovery.) She pantomimed opening it, and immediately screwed her face into a scowl.

“Get off of my lawn!” she said, and Lauriam drew back. A snarky smile played on her lips while her hands clutched the blankets, “What? You really think they’re gonna welcome us any other way?”

“No,” Lauriam sighed, rubbing his forehead and recomposing himself, “Okay, let’s go. I’m here for Ventus—no, no! I will be stabbed. Instantly. I heard that as soon as I said it, ugh, just, nevermind. Let’s try it again.”

Pacing a little in agitation and coming back around, he tried the introduction again, skipping the pretend door.

“I realize with everything pertaining to Xehanort, you want to stab me, but I assure you I have not come to harm anybody. How is Ventus doing?”

“Uh, small tip,” Elrena leaned back against her pillow, an eyebrow raised, “Maybe don’t mention that geezer first thing. And then don’t immediately transition from him to Ven.”

“Right, right, I know,” Lauriam clapped his hands together, “So, uh, I’m…in the past…” he turned on his heel and paced the small room before ending up in front of Elrena again, “I lost my memories, but I have them back and I need to see Ven.”

Elrena sighed, her fingers toying with the braided edge of her blanket, “Lauriam, you realize that if it’s just Terra, Aqua, and Ven living together, none of them know who we are, right? You might want to start with, I don’t know, your name.”

“Right,” Lauriam winced, “Sorry, sorry. Okay, let’s try again…”

+========+

So that was how he’d gotten here. Taking a final deep breath, Lauriam raised his fist to knock on the large, ornate doors before him. There was silence. What if they weren’t home? The duties of a Keybearer offered a million reasons for their absence from home, and who knew which world they went to and when they would be back? What if someone else came and saw them? How was he going to explain why he was camping out on their doorstep? Did they know he was here and merely pretending to be absent? Did Ven recognize him but truly want nothing to do with them?

“Anyone home?” Elrena leaned around him and knocked harder, louder, and more brisky on the door. Of course she would. There were some habits from her darker days that hadn’t quite faded, and Lauriam doubted they ever would, not with how Elrena hid behind them. But that was enough of that, not just because she’d punch him if she realized he was thinking that. A voice called through the thick door.

“Coming!”

Lauriam’s heart pounded against his ribcage. That wasn’t Ven’s voice, was it? Had it changed—well it obviously would have, wouldn’t it? The passage of time tended to do that. Look what it had done to them. What else might it have done to Ven? After what Xehanort had put him through—

The door moved.

Lauriam nearly bolted in fright, but thankfully Elrena had hold of his arm and gave him a look, which she quickly hid as soon as a face came into view. Right, she hadn’t come all this way for Lauriam to chicken out now. He could practically hear Brain’s cutting remark about needing to grow a backbone. But Lauriam made himself focus, because now he was face-to-face with a Guardian of Light.

She was a bit younger than them, with short blue hair and blue eyes, which were widening in surprise as she took them in. Figuring their past would be discovered soon enough, Elrena and Lauriam were wearing their coats. Now he wondered if that was the right choice; not that they had any others, though. Her eyes narrowed as she held her hand to the side, clearly ready to summon her Keyblade in a moment. Lauriam gulped, facing Master Aqua—the one who’d survived over a decade in the Realm of Darkness. Not one to the crossed.

“What are you doing here?” her voice was hard.

“I-I’m not here to hurt anyone,” Lauriam, despite Elrena’s advice, abruptly felt like this was the most important thing to communicate, “Please, I just came to talk.”

Aqua’s eyes didn’t lose their hardness as they flicked between the two of them. Behind her, Lauriam could see another familiar face. Terra. Terra, not the Superior. At the moment, though, both seemed equally inclined to attack him. Seeing as he wasn’t dead, though, Lauriam dared to continue, his empty hands in front of him.

“I’m Lauriam, and this is Elrena.”

She nodded her head, her hair bobbing slightly with the motion.

“And what are you doing here?” Terra asked, taking a step closer. Lauriam had to force himself to remain where he was.

“I wanted to see—that is, I just want to know that he’s alright.”

“He?” Aqua raised an eyebrow, “What are you talking about? If this is some kind of trick—”

“It’s not,” Lauriam rushed to say, probably too quickly, “Sorry, sorry, I just…I came to see someone important to me.”

Lauriam checked their reactions; they were still looking only one minor provocation away from destroying them. At that moment, though, there was a scream.

“PUT ME DOWN!”

“Ven?!” Aqua and Terra turned, and before Lauriam could say anything, they slammed the door in his face.

Lauriam was taken aback, and cast a glance at Elrena, who was equally anxious, but trying not to show it. Had Ven been screaming? Was he okay? Did Lauriam dare to enter?

He waited patiently for what felt like an eternity, but must have been closer to five or ten minutes. Finally, he reached out his hand and pushed against the door. To his surprise, it was unlocked. As he gently edged it open and tried to get a peek inside, he heard an inhuman bellowing and saw flashes of light coming from above them. More concerned, Lauriam opened the door a little more, pressing his face close to the crack. There was shouting from inside.

Elrena pushed past him, kicking the door the rest of the way open, which was frankly impressive, given how tall and thick the door was.

“Oh look,” she said dryly, “It opens.”

“Hello?” Lauriam called into the interior. The sounds of violence continued. “Everything alright?”

“Clearly they’re not,” Elrena huffed, striding into the place like she owned it. Lauriam’s lips twitched as he followed, finally finding his courage again.

He and Elrena picked up the pace as the shouts and sounds of violence grew louder. They flew up the stairs, turned sharply at the landing, and raced up another set, coming into what looked like a throne room. However, the grand, ornate nature of the room heavily contrasted with the tragedy unfolding right before their eyes.

Pete stood, clutching Ven awkwardly in front of him, and almost on top of him was Terra, his Keyblade slammed into the ground, as if he’d just missed…or pulled up short. Lauriam’s mind slammed the pieces together and quickly realized what had occurred. Unfortunately, before he could act, Pete’s eyes landed on him, and he started, immediately saying.

“Whelp, I’ll be going now.”

Lauriam’s blood ran cold, understanding just a second too late as he reached out his hand. The black and purple mist rose up before Pete even finished speaking, and he literally hurled Ven through it. Lauriam screamed, but it felt like he was hearing someone else speak. Maybe he was. All of them seemed to scream it at once.

“VEN!!!”

A rush of air shot by him as yellow-white light sparked to life. Pete turned and hurried through the corridor, but before it closed, Lauriam distinctly saw a streak of black and golden-yellow follow right at his heels, getting in just as the portal closed.

It took Lauriam’s shocked brain a moment to process what had just happened. He dropped his hand to his side again, closing his gaping mouth. Hope and dread filled his trembling heart at the same time. On the one hand, Ven had just been kidnapped. On the other, Elrena had managed to follow them…but she was alone.

Oh, and two very angry Keybearers were also snapping out of their daze and turning to him. Lauriam could feel himself break out sweating, which was unfortunate, as sweating was disgusting, especially if not worked up through honest training or fighting.

“Wha-how did…Ven…” Master Aqua shook her head, and when she lifted her face, her eyes lost all trace of confusion, and were instead blazing with purpose and focus—on him.

“My anger needed a simple, tangible target…selfish of me, I know.”

Huh? Lauriam blinked, surprised by the voice that seemed to be his own, but he couldn’t remember saying that…and to whom? More missing memories—can’t bother with that now! There were far more immediate concerns.

“Who are you?” Terra asked, and though it was certainly not the Superior’s voice, it had a similar deep edge.

“Lauriam,” he instantly replied, “I-uh, think I told you that already. But…what just happened?”

Of course, his brain had to pick now to go out to lunch.

Terra’s jaw was set in a snarl, “You weren’t in on this?”

“No!” Lauriam held up his hands, wishing he had any actual evidence to support that claim.

“Then what were you doing here?” Terra demanded.

“I-I wanted to see Ven,” Lauriam gulped, realizing too late this did not help his claim to innocence.

“How do we know you aren’t working with Maleficent?” Aqua growled, her Keyblade pointing directly at him.

“Of course I’m not,” Lauriam shook his head vehemently, “If I were, I certainly would have done a much better job of detaining you at the door, if not at least get you out of the house altogether—anything else would have been stupid.”

Lauriam realized what he’d said as Aqua and Terra took a step closer to him. Sweet Lux, Elrena, you’re supposed to be here to keep me from saying stuff like this!

“Also, I never wanted anything to happen to Ven,” Lauriam bit his lip, and Aqua and Terra looked understandably unconvinced, “I mean it,” Lauriam tried to explain, “I came to see…to see if he remembered me.”

“Remembered you? Why on earth would our friend remember you?” Aqua’s eyes narrowed on him, and Lauriam desperately tried to compose himself. Her gaze was almost as unnerving as Larxene’s had been. He briefly wondered if the two would have gotten along. Either incredibly, terrifyingly well, or they would have hated each other into eternity. Either way, everyone would have had reason to fear.

“Yes, I know it’s pretty unbelievable,” Lauriam tried to keep his voice steady, “Ven and I used to know each other, but I forgot; Elrena and I both did. I’m still not sure how, but our recompletion brought those memories back. I had to see him, to know Ven was alright.”

“And I assume you have some proof of this?” Terra’s fingers thumped on the hilt of his Keyblade.

“I’m afraid Lauriam wouldn’t,” a tiny voice spoke up, causing all of them to whirl as Ven’s Chirithy hopped over to them, “Any proof there might have been would have been destroyed…and I’m partially responsible.”

“What?!” Aqua stared in complete amazement at the tiny creature before her, “You mean he actually knew Ven?”

“More than that,” Chirithy nodded, “They were friends. It was because of Lauriam that Ven survived.”

Lauriam felt a sting in his head and pressed his hand against it as he gritted his teeth, “Chirithy, I am indebted to you, but I must confess, they’re not all back yet. Those memories of the end…when—when Daybreak Town…well, they’re the fuzziest. I can’t even remember how we left, but I know we had to. I know the world was dying and I couldn’t leave Ven nor Elrena behind and Brain somehow made it possible for us to leave, but everything else…”

“Your world fell to darkness?” Terra’s voice was different now, slower and with less of an edge, but Lauriam couldn’t name the exact emotion, “Was it…because of Xehanort?”

Lauriam sighed, shaking his head to clear it, “I don’t know, but I suspect not. Like I said, those memories are the fuzziest.”

“It sounds to me,” Aqua cut in, her Keyblade lowered but not dismissed, her eyes darting between Lauriam and Chirithy, “That you two have a lot of explaining to do. But we’ve got a more immediate problem.”

“Yes,” Lauriam nodded his head, his attention snapping to something he could actually do something about for once, “I’m sure Elrena will do everything she can to keep Ven safe, but they’d probably both appreciate some backup.”

“I’ll see if I can call him,” Terra pulled out his Gummiphone, but not before shooting Lauriam one last look, “Since Chirithy confirmed your story, you can stay and help us find Ven, for now, but try anything that hurts him or Aqua and I will deal with you appropriately.”

“Understood,” Lauriam nodded, holding his open hands up in surrender, “And…I’m sorry for the trouble I caused. For all of it.”

All in all, this was going about as well as he had expected it to, with the exception of Ven getting kidnapped. Elrena had followed, and he still wasn't sure how he felt about that. Lauriam silently prayed the coat was enough protection, and that she wasn’t getting herself into too much trouble on the other side of the Dark Corridor.

Then he remembered this was Elrena.

The Gummiphone rang for a long time, and Terra and Aqua shared a nervous glance as she drew nearer to him. The ringing stopped. The voice that came through shook Lauriam to the core. It reminded him of lying on cold, hard stone, his body aching.

“Greetings, Keybearers.”

“Maleficent!” Aqua and Terra didn’t need to scream that name for Lauriam to know. He grit his teeth, his hand going to his head again as the pain flooded it. Had he met Maleficent personally before? Maybe in those fake worlds the Book of Prophecies created? He knew of her, but that her voice should cause this reaction was…troubling.

“But of course,” Maleficent laughed from the other end of the Gummiphone, “Who else but the Mistress of all Evil were you expecting? Oh…could it be you were looking for a certain young boy?”

“What did you do to Ven?!” Terra demanded, his anger taking on a life of its own. Lauriam was abruptly relieved the man’s attention was not on him, and resolved not to change that anytime soon. But where was—

“Aqua! Terra!” Ven shouted to them, making Lauriam’s heart skip a beat, “Don’t listen to her! Don’t worry about me; I’m—”

“Quiet, pipsqueak!” Pete growled, and there was tussling somewhere far away.

“You appear so worried about him, but as I’m sure you’ve heard, Ven is staying with me as a guest for the moment,” Maleficent said, her voice airy and unconcerned, but with a dark undertone.

“That’s not what I’d call it.” Terra shouted through the Gummiphone. “And if you’ve hurt a hair on his head, I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” Maleficent challenged. Lauriam pressed his lips together in a line. His stomach clenched as the full weight of what was going on settled on him. No, please don’t let this be…

“Because let me promise you this, Keybearers,” Maleficent hissed, her voice no longer even pretending kindness, “if you ever want to see your precious Ventus alive again, you’ll listen well…”

Lauriam would gladly have charged her at that moment, but there was the glaring issue of his not knowing where she was. He witnessed Terra and Aqua share a look before turning grimly back towards Maleficent. Right, he forced his hands to unclench, he’d have to let them deal with it.

“What do you want?” Aqua’s voice quavered, but only slightly.

“Very well,” Maleficent was smiling; Lauriam knew it just from her tone, and it made him sick, “What I require from you is a pathway. The instructions you will need have been sent to this little device. Go now to Scala Ad Caelum and open a gate for me. I shall meet you there.”

“Scala Ad Caelum? What do you want there?” Terra’s brows drew together, and Lauriam was confused as well. He’d never heard of that world before.

“That does not concern you,” Maleficent stated, “These are my orders.”

“You really think you’re going to get away with whatever you’re planning?” Aqua said, stamping one foot on the ground, “We will find Ven, and—”

“Obey me, and seek not Ventus!” Maleficent said, and Larium felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, “Stray in that direction and there will hardly be enough of him left for you to find!”

“Don’t hurt him!” Aqua said, but her expression sobered as she realized what she had to do. She briefly closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before opening them, “We—we’ll build your gate.”

“Do so at once. You may inform me via this little trinket when you are done.”

“And after that?” the veins on Terra's hand stood out, only just not crushing the phone to pieces.

“I have told you it does not matter,” Maleficent’s voice was dangerously annoyed.

“About Ven,” Terra elaborated, his jaw clenched, “What about him, after we build this thing for you?”

“Very well,” Maleficent said, “I see your point. Complete this and I shall consider returning him. If you fail, well, I have already told you his fate.”

Terra and Aqua started, but Maleficent cut them off before they could say anything.

“Oh, and I suggest you keep this business between us for the time being. No need to get others involved. Adieu, Keybearers.”

The silence that ensued led Larium to believe Maleficent had hung up. How rude of her. Larium would remember it when he was tearing her to pieces for even daring to touch Ven in the first place.

Aqua and Terra slowly shared a glance. Terra lowered the phone into his pocket. Aqua took a shaky breath, one hand gripping her arm, the other curled around her chin.

“Oh, Ven,” she half-whispered, “what are we going to do?”

“Well,” Lauriam set his jaw, not fully aware of the red that tinted his vision, “I didn’t hear anything in those instructions about myself.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Terra raised an eyebrow.

“It means that Maleficent likely doesn’t know I’m here, since she didn’t mention me, which means she won’t be expecting me,” Lauriam said, “So the moment I know where Ven and Elrena ended up, I’m going after them.”

“Are you crazy?!” Aqua whirled on him, and Lauriam flinched, “What makes you think I’d allow you to get anywhere near Ven?”

Lauriam opened his mouth, but Aqua completely ignored it.

“He’s in enough danger as it is, and if you go looking for him, Maleficent will—” She cut herself off, looking away with clenched fists. Her voice darkened as she said, “Unless…that’s what you wanted the whole time.”

“No, not at all,” Lauriam shook his head, but it was like she didn’t hear him.

“I’ve half a mind to lock you in the dungeon until this is over,” her fingers curled tighter around her arm, “I’m still not convinced you weren’t a part of this.”

“I understand, I really do,” Lauriam held out his hands again, desperation creeping into his voice, “I just want to get Ventus and Elrena back safely. I just…assumed this was the best way.”

“Really?” Terra crossed his arms, “Running off on your own to an unknown world—let’s ignore how you’re even getting there—and fighting whatever Maleficent’s placed to guard Ven, maybe even Maleficent herself, when you don’t have any powers? Even if you did stand a chance in that fight, Maleficent would see you coming. She’s never surprised. What do you think she’d do to Ven if that happened?”

Lauriam looked down, gritting his teeth with each and every one of Terra and Aqua’s words. But at the same time, they made something stirring in his heart towards them. These two really cared about Ven.

“I—you’re right. I didn’t think of any of that. I don’t want him to get hurt,” Lauriam, having remembered this, wanted to beat himself for forgetting it so quickly, “I’m so sorry.”

He should have known better. Of course that plan was stupid. He would have seen it himself if he stopped to think for five consecutive seconds. And facing Maleficent alone would be above idiotic. Lauriam shuddered, remembering what she could do to Keybearers, as he had learned through another’s account during their previously mentioned adventure. But at least it had all ended as well as it could, so far as he could tell.

Lauriam caught noises of surprise from Terra and Aqua, and looked up to see them staring at him. Lauriam winced. Was him apologizing really that much of a shock?

“I won’t go. I won’t do anything you don’t want me to,” he promised, though he knew by this point his integrity was in shambles, “Just…what can I do to help?” He forced himself to look them in the eyes, reminding them and himself of his purpose, “Please, I just want to help, to make sure Ven’s okay.”

“That’s like you, Lauriam!” Chirithy spoke up from his ankle, and Aqua and Terra glanced down at the Dream Eater, whom all of them had momentarily forgotten, “But they’re right. Going off on your own would have been pretty stupid. Even I can’t sense where Ven is, just that he’s not on this world.”

“We’ll find him,” Lauriam knelt down to pat the creature on the head, giving him a reassuring smile, “don’t worry about it.”

Ah, that soft grey fur felt so familiar! Lauriam had to exert all his willpower to keep from gathering the chubby cat into his arms. This wasn’t his anyways, even if Ven was his friend.

“Well,” Terra cleared his throat, and Lauriam glanced up at him. His blue eyes searched over Lauriam, clearly looking for something, but Larium wasn’t sure what. Terra shared a look with Aqua, and the two had a silent conversation, but in the end Aqua nodded solemnly, and Terra turned back to him.

“That coat,” he pointed to Lauriam’s Organization robe, “It protects from darkness like our armor, right?”

“Yes, as I understand it,” Lauriam nodded, straightening, though he still wasn’t clear on all the specifics of the coat, or Keyblades for that matter. Despite having been a Keybearer himself, he never remembered any armor like he’d heard about; couldn’t remember anyone else having any, either. He’d definitely regained enough memory to know if it had been there.

“Alright then,” Terra turned, waving them on, “You’ll ride with me. We’re going to Scala Ad Caelum.”

“I can’t believe we’re actually doing this,” Aqua frowned deeply, giving Lauriam one last hard look, “And don’t think this means we’re not keeping an eye on you. We just clearly can’t leave you alone.”

“I hate it too, but the best thing we can do for now is play along with Maleficent,” Terra sighed heavily, looking with tired eyes at both of them, “We can’t let her hurt Ven.”

“No, no we can’t,” Lauriam agreed, Chirithy following after him.

“That’s not all!” Chirithy drew their attention again as he rushed in front of Lauriam and began excitedly waving his arms, “There’s something in Scala Ad Caelum that you need to see, Lauriam.”

“Huh?!” all three humans said at once, but Chirithy refused to elaborate, merely replying.

“I know you three will find a way to save Ven,” the Dream Eater hopped up onto Lauriam’s shoulder, “And I’m sure Elrena’s doing all she can, too.”

“Speaking of your…friend,” Aqua’s eyes hardened again, but Lauriam detected the worry beneath them, “Do you really think she’ll protect Ven? Maleficent didn’t mention her at all.”

Lauriam hesitated, unsure of exactly how to phrase this, “Well, I’m certain that she’ll do all she can to keep Maleficent from hurting Ven,” Aqua raised an eyebrow at this, which made Lauriam really, really want to stop there, but he felt it better that they were prepared, “but, well, Elrena has a habit of getting into trouble wherever she goes, whether she looks for it or not.”

Aqua’s hand clenched at that, her manner becoming icy again. Lauriam wondered if it had been wise to tell her that. Terra, however, snorted under his breath as he pushed open the front doors.

“I understand that feeling,” he sighed, “only too well…”

Lauriam didn’t catch what Terra said next. A bit odd, that comment. Did Terra often find trouble that he wasn’t looking for? Then again, that seemed to be both a prerequisite and an unfortunate side-effect of being a Keybearer, as Lauriam well knew. And no matter how prepared you were, there was always something that caught you by surprise.

Chapter Text

As they descended the long front steps and approached the grassy courtyard, it occurred to Lauriam that if he needed protection, Chirithy might as well.

“Chirithy,” he inquired of the Dream Eater on his shoulder, “are you alright to travel between worlds?”

“I’m not sure,” Chirithy admitted, his little ears twitching, “Normally I just hide inside Ven’s heart, but like I said, I can’t sense him now.”

“I see,” Lauriam nodded, “Best not to chance it, then. Will you let me try something? I think I might be able to send to you the Realm of Dreams to keep you safe until we get to Scala Ad Caelum, wherever that is.”

“Okay, sounds great,” Chirithy nodded, clapping his little paws…were they paws? They honestly looked more like little stubs than anything. He and Brain had actually had many, many discussions on this topic, but they’d been unable to settle on an answer.

“Excuse me?” Aqua raised her eyebrows at him, “What was that about the Realm of Dreams?”

“Chirithy is a Dream Eater, and one I have something of a connection to,” Lauriam turned to where she stood with a hand on her waist, “Calling on him will be easier than other Dream Eaters.”

“You’ve summoned Dream Eaters?” Terra asked.

“Chirithy is a Dream Eater?!” Aqua said at the same moment.

Confused that they lacked this bit of knowledge, he glanced to Chirithy, who hid behind Lauriam’s shoulder as he muttered, “I thought they already knew…I was going to elaborate on it when I got to Ven’s memories of you all making Dream Eaters.”

“You’ve made Dream Eaters before?” Aqua looked both furious and suspicious and completely lost at the same time. Best to get her out of that state as soon as possible.

“Yes, we have,” Lauriam nodded, “Brain, a friend of ours, was the main one behind it, but we all pitched in to help him.”

“You can make Dream Eaters?” Aqua repeated slowly, her eyes narrowing, “I didn’t think that was possible. Not in the waking world, at least.”

“Of course it is!” Chirithy popped up from behind Lauriam’s shoulder, “But that’s really not the point right now. I promise, Aqua, we’ll explain all of this, but we’ve got to get Ven back first!”

“Of course. Ven comes first,” Aqua snapped out of her confusion, but not before casting Lauriam one more suspicious glance, “but we will be discussing this later.”

“If you can keep Chirithy safe, do it,” Terra drew Lauriam’s attention as he struck the armor plate on his shoulder. In a flash of light, his body was encased in red and gold armor, and at another chime, Lauriam turned to see Aqua encased in blue and silver armor, holding out her hand to summon her Keyblade. Except instead of a blade, what appeared was...well, Lauriam wasn’t sure what it was aside from a vehicle of some sort. So this was how they got around without Gummiships. Taking a deep breath, he cast his surprise from his mind and placed a hand on Chirithy’s head.

“You ready?” he asked under his breath, and felt Chirithy nod.

Focusing on the pulsing energy from this creature, the light in its heart and the power of dreams that coursed through it, Lauriam sought out the current of energy that he knew was the Realm of Dreams. Currents like these ran in the background of every world. Sometimes the currents of dreams were more intertwined with the waking world than others, and that made summoning Dream Eaters easier or harder, depending on how separated the realms were. This world seemed a little closer than normal to the Realm of Dreams, which would make things easier.

Taking another deep breath, he pictured his will pushing Chirithy into that current of dreams, but not letting go. He kept the connection like a hand still gripping an object dipped in water, a connection that he could utilize later once they reached their destination. A faint light snuck under his closed eyelids, and he felt Chirithy fade from his shoulder. He waited a few minutes more, to be sure the connection he felt to Ven’s Chirithy didn’t disappear. Satisfied that he would be able to seek out the Dream Eater when the time came, Lauriam lowered his arm and opened his eyes. Two armored figures stared at him, their faces completely covered, so he couldn’t gauge their reactions at all.

He gave a brief nod, to signal that he’d successfully got Chirithy to where he’d be safe, and they seemed to understand, for Master Aqua swing herself onto her, uh, tiny spaceship? Terra also climbed aboard his and turned, holding out a hand to Lauriam. Taking one last, quick breath, Lauriam flipped up his hood out of habit and took Terra’s hand, feeling the surprisingly smooth metal that was neither cool nor warm.

With a jerk from Terra and a small jump from Lauriam, he landed behind Terra on whatever this contraption was. Sitting on something that was floating above the ground was a bit disorienting, but Lauriam desperately tried not to show it. Also, what was he supposed to grab onto? He quickly rejected the idea of holding onto Terra’s waist in the interest of the man not thinking he was attacking, but as the two Keybearers took off, Lauriam reconsidered his position. These things certainly possessed speed!

They gained altitude quickly, and a portal appeared, lights dancing in the center. It was so painfully familiar. Aqua shot through, Terra following close behind her. Lauriam cast a glance back at the rapidly diminishing castle, wondering at all that had happened in so short a time. Nothing in their rehearsals had covered this. Grimly, he turned back, hoping that Elrena and Ven would look after each other, that they'd be safe, somehow.

But what was Scala Ad Caelum, and what did Maleficent want there? Why was it necessary to go to such lengths to gain access to it? And if Ven was gone, how exactly was he supposed to prove to these two he was being honest?

Lauriam mulled it over in his mind as they continued through a whirl of stars. It looked like he might have some time to think. His mind, eager to not consider his current dilemma, wandered back to a dilemma he’d already solved, that strange adventure where he’d begun to discover the power of dreams and his aptitude for them. The odd dreams that started it, the strange feeling that the world they’d woken up in wasn’t quite right, the painting, the gravestones, the secrets and tragedy that those people wandering about in dreams had revealed to him and Elrena.

Lauriam closed his eyes against it, breathing deep, his unconsciousness reaching towards the Realm of Dreams. That had been what saved them, all of them, though even now, Lauriam wasn’t sure exactly what had happened. But one thing he knew was that innocent souls that had been trapped by darkness were now at rest, and through his new powers—and a Keybearer’s last-minute change of heart—they were all free, all finally at rest. Those that had been killed were allowed to move on from the Realm of Dreams to wherever souls were supposed to go after they loosed their mortal chains. He and Elrena were safely deposited back on the side of life where they belonged.

From this strange adventure, Lauriam had concluded that dreams and sleep must exist as some middle point between life and death. That would explain how they were able to interact with and free the dead. Lauriam also knew that Dream Eaters helped them banish the darkness that held the dead in the Realm of Dreams. Those Dream Eaters were the only thing that really dented darkness there. A Keyblade would probably be effective as well, but, he thought with a slightly bitter frown, they had no way to test that.

It been that adventure that forced them to learn all this, to learn about death and life and sleep, the history of their world, and that Dream Eaters were an effective method for travel. Yet so much about the Realm of Dreams still felt like a mystery. There were even blank spots in the world they’d woken up in; they’d never even found out its name. They probably should have asked one of the spirits at some point, things were just a little too busy. And in addition to all those questions, there were still spots in his own past that needed filling out.

You’d think that would have better prepared me for this, Lauriam sighed to himself. And yet, here I am, caught completely off-guard and stumbling my way through everything…again. This certainly seems to be a pattern.

But at least last time, things had worked out. Maybe he could keep up that habit.

Maybe. Possibly. Hopefully.

Lux above help him.

+=======+

Master Aqua gripped the handles of her glider, her teeth grinding each other into powder. Her head was still spinning, but she had to set it in order, not just because she had to focus on steering towards her destination.

Ven was gone. She started. It didn’t seem real, even now. Everything had happened so fast—the knock, Ven’s cry, trying to stop Pete, Elrena dashing through the Dark Corridor, and then they were gone, leaving Lauriam with them.

Her fingers flexed as she lowered her head, trying to concentrate on her intended destination. Scala Ad Caelum. What did Maleficent want there? As she’d hung up, a strange diagram had appeared on Terra’s phone. It was confusing, but it seemed to be a door with glyphs on it. That didn’t really explain what Maleficent was planning.

And why did she need them to make a gate for her, anyways? Shouldn’t she be able to get into any world simply by using a Dark Corridor? She and Pete clearly still had access to them. But this was the ancient city of Keybearers, even if it had been abandoned for years. It might have some sort of protection.

Aqua frowned to herself, trying to remember what her master had said about this place. He actually hadn’t even mentioned it. It had been through an offhand mention that she and Terra found out this wasn’t his original home. He’d said there used to be another world that Keybearers would gather in, but no one was there anymore, and this was their home now.

So what could Maleficent want with a world that had been abandoned? Had her master or those Keyblade Masters of old left something there Maleficent wanted?

Surely, they couldn’t let her get away with this! But there was Ven to consider. They didn’t even know which world he was in, and who knew what Maleficent had put in place to guard him. Of course, Lauriam had been prepared to run after him with no plan…

Was that proof of his innocence or not? Aqua shook her head, even now not certain that Lauriam wasn’t involved in Ven’s kidnapping. After all, how likely was it that they arrived only seconds before Pete? How likely was it Lauriam really knew or cared about Ven? It wasn’t as if he’d been cradling Ven and taking him to a safe place when no one could wake him up.

And yet, if he were part of the scheme, why didn’t Lauriam run through with Elrena? Pete’s face had flashed fear when he saw them appear, but that could well be an act. Perhaps Lauriam was there to spy on them for Maleficent, to make sure they didn’t do anything she didn’t want.

Aqua grit her teeth harder, but forced herself to relax. She’d nearly drifted off her intended course. Again. No matter what, this situation demanded that she not lose her focus or her concentration; Ven’s safety depended on it. Come on, think logically, she chided herself. There was one major point in Lauriam’s favor, which was the fact that Chirithy recognized him and confirmed he was Ven’s friend.

Aqua felt her aching heart harden. While Lauriam might well have been Ven’s friend, so to had Master Eraqus called Xehanort a friend. And he had shown up wearing an Organization coat, of all things! No, just because they might have been friends once, many years ago, didn’t mean Lauriam was in the clear now. Chirithy might have vouched for him, but how long had it been since Chirithy had seen him? Did the Dream Eater even understand what he must have done in the Organization?

The thought of the little grey cat sent Aqua’s heart plummeting again. She shivered, and tried to convince herself that it was the coldness of the Lanes Between. How much longer would it take to get there? While Aqua had once been fascinated by the light show speeding by every time she jumped worlds, now she could only feel the blanket of darkness that her armor barely kept at bay. The lights that had once dazzled her now looked impossibly far away, but even they were a comfort, at least a bit of light. Nothing was worse than the darkness right after the light disappeared. Even far-off light was better, since the world was a sea of darkness. Disaster would happen any moment.

It already has, Aqua sighed to herself, and blinked back the tears in her eyes. Right, don’t drift again. If only she could wrap armor around her friend now, keep him safe and away from Maleficent and Lauriam and everyone else, safe with her and Terra forever, completely armored against any darkness that might try to get them.

But she couldn’t.

How could she have let this happen to Ven? Not even Chirithy could reach him. They couldn’t reach Chirithy, either. Her hands nearly released the steering. She’d let Lauriam take him away, too. And that was right in front of them! He’d probably spent at least a good five minutes sending him away; why didn’t it occur to her that this might be a trick?! What if Lauriam refused to bring back the last link they had to Ven?

“He’d better…” Aqua said to herself, hands tightening on the steering again. If Chirithy wasn’t perfectly safe the moment they arrived in Scala Ad Caelum, Aqua was turning Lauriam’s glaringly pink hair red with his own blood. But even as she took small comfort in this thought, Aqua still felt the weight of worry crash down on her, knowing that she couldn’t do anything about the fact that Ven was stolen from home, taken by one of the wickedest fae ever to live. How was he doing?

She abruptly had a terrible vision of Ven locked up somewhere, alone and scared. The place was unfamiliar and empty, darkness tainting every corner of it. The place seemed incredibly vast and far too confining at the same time, trapping Ven by making him wander endless nothing. Oh, Ven… Had Maleficent hurt him? Did he know they were working to get him back safely? What of Lauriam’s friend Elrena, anyway? What was she doing?

Aqua shuddered, trying to shove down the terrible possibilities that whirled around in her head. Maleficent hadn’t mentioned Elrena at all, which meant she either didn’t know Elrena was there, or Elrena was working with her…which meant so was Lauriam, the man currently behind Terra. Why hadn’t she done anything to stop this?! She should have been with Ventus, should have reacted faster when Pete threw him into that awful Dark Corridor, should have made sure Ven was okay from the moment she opened the door and saw their coats, should have—

“Aqua!” Terra’s voice cut into her thoughts, distant and slightly muffled, but at the same time echoey. This normally happened in the Lanes Between, for reasons Aqua didn’t know. Nevertheless, the voice made her whip around as Terra added, “We’re coming up on Scala Ad Caelum. You ready?”

Aqua sighed, giving a curt nod, “Yes. You doing okay?”

“As good as can be expected,” Terra replied. He said nothing else, and Aqua wasn’t sure what else they could say.

They would get Ven back. Somehow, they would find a way, no matter what. And once they did, Aqua would make sure he stayed safe this time. Even if Lauriam had known Ven before, Aqua was going to make sure that man never saw him again. Ven would be safe from him forever if she had anything to say about it.

Shifting her weight forward as a star caught her eye, Aqua let the light grow brighter around her. She knew in a moment, her vision would fail her, but she was used to that by now. Still, there was a moment, pressing towards the light, when confusion overcame her. It was as if she’d run into some thin covering which pressed back against her. It was not very jarring, and in a moment she was past it and continuing on as normal, as if she’d only gone through a veil that required very little effort to give way before her. Her sight had already gone, and when it returned, piles of white buildings filled her vision, floating calmly on an endless sea.

Banking hard and slowing her descent, Aqua came to rest in a square that was near the foot of a hill devoid of people. The need for seclusion was more out of habit than anything else; this world was supposed to be abandoned, after all. Still, Aqua thought it better safe than sorry, as she had so recently been reminded.

She dismissed her armor and glider as she took in more of her surroundings. Terra landed beside her moments later, letting Lauriam hop off before he dismissed his armor and glider as well. All three looked around, Lauriam pulling down his hood and letting his bright pink hair spill down over his face and back again. Aqua gave him another look, trying to find any sigh of…well, Aqua wasn’t even sure what she was looking for, so she had no idea if she saw it or not.

Back in the Land of Departure, Lauriam had looked nervous—understandably, whether he was actually connected with Ven’s kidnapping or not. He had to keep taking deep breaths and he fidgeted with his hands often. His eyes never left her and Terra. His voice was soft yet deep, and there was a sad undertone, but Aqua couldn’t decide if it was sincere or not.

A part of her wished she could call Lea; he would know something about Lauriam and Elrena. While it wasn’t a guarantee that Lea would know much, he was bound to know at least a little bit, and that would help Aqua feel like her feet were under her again. Maybe Lea would even be able to tell her if there was anything she should look out for. Every Organization member was devious, an array of manipulative tools at their disposal like the cruel man who led them. Even Lea, when his only goal was to recover his lost friend, had been selfish and ruthless. Thankfully, he had come around to the side of light in the end.

But, unfortunately, she couldn’t call him. Maleficent had said not to tell anyone about Ven’s kidnapping. Aqua briefly considered leaving that part out, only stating that Lauriam had shown up, but she quickly realized that wasn’t possible. The two situations were too connected, and what if Lea insisted on coming over when he heard? There’d be no way to conceal it from him then. Besides, if Lauriam was working with Maleficent and he overheard her call, Maleficent might think she was trying to tell him, and Ven might be…

She couldn’t let that happen. Frustrating as it might be, calling Lea—or anyone else—was out of the question at the moment.

Thinking of Lea made her remember that he’d listed the names of everyone in the Organization once, and she tried to think of the ones she didn’t recognize. It couldn’t be any of Ansem’s apprentices, nor any of the copies of Xehanort, and not Vanitas, Roxas, Xion, nor Saix, so that left… Aqua racked her brain: Luxord, Larxene, Marluxia, Demyx. Were there any others? She didn’t think so, and so sorted through the four remaining ones she had. It took only a second for her to unscramble the letters to match Lauriam’s name. Marluxia.

Lea had spoken little of him, but if she were correct in thinking that she had heard Donald and Goofy mentioning him running after a Princess of Heart, Lauriam would have been in both Organizations. Lea had also mentioned something about a betrayal that Marluxia had been a part of, but she didn’t have details on that. Thinking about it, that was rather strange, seeing as how she was sure Xehanort wouldn’t have allowed anything like that with pieces of his heart inside them. But if this occurred when Xemnas was in power, why would Xehanort take them back in the Real Organization? Aqua put that issue away for now, but didn’t forget it. Huh, the list of things she was going to discuss with Lauriam later sure was getting long. That in and of itself was suspicious, yet he seemed determined to keep up this pretense...or was it a pretense?

Lauriam’s behavior in the Land of Departure hadn’t been overtly threatening, but it also hadn’t given her much reason to disbelieve that he was a threat. Now, though, something was different. As he looked at the marble buildings and twirling windmills and cobbled streets around him, Lauriam at first furrowed his brow, glanced at the square a little more, and relaxed. He turned to them.

“This is Scala Ad Caelum?” Lauriam waved his hand, slight wonderment on his face.

“Do you know this world?” Aqua asked, wondering if he had come here during his time in the Organization.

“I live here now,” Lauriam replied.

“You WHAT?” Terra and Aqua spoke at the same time, and Aqua noticed Lauriam flinch visibly. It wasn’t the first time. Was there some meaning in that?

“Well, yes,” he began, eyes locking onto the clocktower at the top of the hill, and he took a few steps towards it as he spoke, “Elrena and I woke up here and we didn’t find anyone; believe me, we looked everywhere. After wandering around for some time, we found some food in a house near the top of town, but aside from that, it looked like everyone just decided to leave one day. We’ve been here ever since.”

“And how long ago was this?” Aqua raised an eyebrow, not liking the idea of Organization members having unrestricted access to Scala Ad Caelum and all its secrets.

Lauriam paused a moment, considering, “We woke up here about three months ago by this world’s clock.”

Aqua pursed her lips, knowing that up to a year could pass between a Nobody’s destruction and awakening as a Somebody again, and for them, it had been a little over a year since the war. Discussions with Ansem’s apprentices revealed that there wasn’t any way of determining how long recompletion would take, and coupled with the fact that she wasn’t sure what this world’s time flow was compared to the Land of Departure, she had no idea if Lauriam’s story was true. Still, it wasn’t implausible…

“How did you get from here to the Land of Departure, then?” Aqua stared at him, and Lauriam straightened, snapping his fingers as if remembering something.

“Just one moment,” he held up a hand, closing his eyes and deliberately slowing his breath. Aqua tensed, ready for him to start his attack. It never came. Instead, after a few heavy moments, a glowing circle appeared, and then disappeared in a poof of smoke. When it cleared, Chirithy stood, shaking his oversized hand and tiny limbs.

“See, Lauriam?” Chirithy clapped his little hands together, “I knew it would work!”

He glanced around at the tall white buildings, “Oh yes, this is Scala Ad Caelum alright. Do you know what you need to do next?”

Aqua took a step forward, interjecting in a hard voice, “I’d like you to answer my question, Lauriam.”

He nodded immediately, gesturing to Chirithy. “We used Dream Eaters. If you hold onto one as it goes into the Realm of Dreams and focus, you can guide it to another world, and then hop off the Dream Eater and end up in the waking world.”

“I’ve never heard of that before,” Terra frowned, crossing his arms, “But I thought Master Yen Sid said Dream Eaters couldn’t even appear in Waking Worlds.”

“Then how do you explain me?” Chirithy objected, waving his tiny arms about, “And, well…I think I should tell you that I helped.”

“What?!” Terra, Aqua, and Lauriam said at the same time.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean you ‘helped’?” Lauriam asked the small Dream Eater in front of him. They stood next to giant oak at the end of the stone pier that jutted out into the ocean, a metal arch above them marking the entrance into a square and the rest of the city.

“You see, I sort of…brought you to the Land of Departure.” Chirithy said, all three humans staring at him, “I felt you, Lauriam. I could feel you traveling through the Realm of Dreams, quite a lot, actually. I didn’t know where you were, exactly, but I knew you were there, somewhere. So, I started reaching out, trying to get your attention. I didn’t know if worked, but earlier today, I felt you traveling again, but this time it was different. It felt like you were reaching out, looking for something. Thinking you were looking for Ven, I gave you a waypoint, guiding you to the Land of Departure.”

Lauriam tried to keep his head from spinning off. Ven’s Chirithy had guided him? Lauriam hadn’t even know the creature still existed until he’d appeared to defend him. He hadn’t been conscious of any guide, but thinking back, it was odd that he’d felt so confident traveling to a world he was so unfamiliar with. In fact, it was also odd that he knew with such certainty where Ventus was, seeing as they hadn’t even spoken since being separated.

“The dream…” Lauriam shivered, gazing at Chirithy, who slowly nodded.

While he hadn’t spoken to Ven, Lauriam had seen him in a dream, a dream so vivid it felt real, a dream that had repeated again and again. In the dream, he and Elrena arrived on a world full of hills. They caught sight of Terra, Aqua, and Ventus in front of a memorial he could only assume was for their master—another of Xehanort’s victims. With the setting sun behind it, Lauriam could only vaguely make out the silhouette, a Keyblade of some kind. Lauriam hadn’t seen Chirithy, hadn’t known Ven had that protection and comfort.

What he had seen was Ven smiling, bright and soft, at ease with his life and family. He had seen a light and warmth equal to the setting sun radiating from the three of them, a warmth that couldn’t help but spread out. Lauriam felt a pang, perhaps of jealousy, seeing them walk off with one another. At this point, he turned to Elrena, and the brightness of the dream faded.

He noticed her tense frame, her darting eyes with dark bags under them. They were a perfect match for his own. Memories echoed in their heads and stole their sleep, for all Lauriam’s newfound control of Dream Eaters. Nightmares were a constant companion, and a restful night was nothing short of a miracle.

Lauriam cast another glance at Ventus, catching him laugh at something Terra said. The man held his hand and gave it a little jerk, allowing Ven to hang in the air and kick with excitement. The boy was happy. His dark past, however much he remembered, didn’t bother him. He’d gotten a happy ending.

Lauriam turned back toward his Dream Eater, the one he always found easiest to summon for travel, the one that looked like a unicorn. There was some irony to that, given the last unicorn he had known and how Lauriam used to look up to him, before he dropped off the face of the earth, leaving Lauriam and his friends to pick up the pieces. Memories of his first master sealed the decision for him. Lauriam couldn’t take Ven’s happy ending away, couldn’t show up and drop an entire lifetime of strife and loss on his plate, couldn’t open the door to the nightmares and tormenting questions he and Elrena faced. There was nothing they could offer that Ventus wanted or needed.

The golden warmth of the dream followed after the three Keybearers as Lauriam turned away, taking Elrena’s hand. There was a tiny bit of warmth in it, but much like his own, it was still cold, much colder after the warmth they’d felt, which still hung around like scents of cooling pastries attempting to lure them into a bakery. For a moment, Lauriam hesitated, closing his eyes as he gripped the Dream Eater’s mane. The unicorn nuzzled him, ruffling Lauriam’s hair.

His fingers slowly loosened. He swung himself onto the unicorn’s back. Elrena did the same; despite her best efforts, she never became very good at summoning or controlling Dream Eaters, certainly not steering them to specific worlds. Lauriam ordered the Dream Eater to enter the stream of the Realm of Dreams, still gripping the mane. He turned back one last time as the warmth burst back towards them. With a pain like lowering himself into a bucket of cold water, he turned away, the warmth fading.

That was when he woke up. After the first night, Lauriam vowed to stay away, to leave Ven to his happy ending. He didn’t have anything to do with Strelitzia, and that was all Lauriam cared about now.

He managed to keep that conviction for about five days of having the same dream, each time taking longer and longer to leave. Despite everything, even the memory of his master, Lauriam couldn’t help but be drawn in. The warmth was so bright, so familiar. He had to at least talk to his friend one last time, if only to know Ven truly didn’t want him. Elrena, who he of course told about the dreams, had warned him that if they went, she was making sure they faced Ven, for better or worse.

And so, he’d ended up in this situation with two doubtful Keybearers and Ven’s Chirithy, staring up at the mysterious city that felt more like home than anywhere since Daybreak Town. And Chirithy had helped him. Had he given Lauriam those dreams? Yes, that must be what the nod meant.

“Why would you do that?” Aqua asked the question Lauriam was thinking, “And without telling us, too?”

“I didn’t think things were going to get this bad,” Chirithy rubbed his paws together, glancing around at the city before turning back to them, “See, I’d been working on Ven’s memories, though we hadn’t gotten very far. Once I knew for certain you were here,” he gestured to Lauriam, “I knew that you two would have to reunite eventually, and that you might need help finding each other. That’s why I kept calling out to you, and why I helped you find the Land of Departure when you responded.”

“I am most grateful,” Lauriam nodded, still a little in shock at the implications of Chirithy’s story. He knew that Dream Eaters were powerful, but he didn’t know about being able to sense all over the Realm of Dreams, send him specific dreams, and guide him across worlds, especially without him even realizing it, “I-I truly had no idea…”

“But why didn’t you tell us?” Aqua asked again. She was bending over, not quite crouching, but leaning towards the pale stones that made up the walkway they were on, her eyes narrowing. Chirithy hopped onto the rim of concrete around the oak, possibly so Aqua would stop her bending, and answered in a careful tone.

“Well, part of the reason was that it was so sudden; I’d only just managed to lock onto exactly where they were. I hadn’t been able to before, though I’d felt Lauriam moving through the Sleeping Worlds many times. And, well…” Chirithy looked away, “The memories that Ven might have awakened…they can be painful. I didn’t want to upset Ven before we had a chance to work through them, get him used to them.”

“In that case, wouldn’t seeing Lauriam trigger more of those memories than he could handle?” Terra put a hand on his hip, and Lauriam caught a glance toward him. It was far from a glare, but still attentive, and his head was tilted slightly, considering.

“And even if you didn’t tell Ven, you might have warned us,” Aqua said, folding her arms and rising to her full height, “You can’t just bring strangers to our door, especially ones that might endanger Ven.”

Lauriam wanted to object, but for once that day managed to keep his mouth shut. It wasn’t as if her suspicions were entirely unfounded, all things considered. Still, the kidnapping was not his fault, however poorly timed his arrival might have been!

“Not necessarily,” Chirithy answered Terra’s question, “With the current state of his memories, he would definitely get a familiar feeling, but just seeing him wouldn’t be enough to trigger his memories, at least not enough that it would cause a problem. I was hopping if Ven got to know Lauriam now, it would be easier for him to gradually remember what happened in the past.”

“And I would love to fill him in on everything,” Lauriam rubbed his head, closing his eyes against the suddenly too-bright day and too-bright city, trying not to wince at the vague impressions he got from the things he still didn’t remember, “But like I said, not all my memories are back, either. Still, thank you again for guiding me.”

“The Realm of Dreams can be dangerous,” Chirithy shook his head, “I couldn’t just let you roam around alone, especially without a firm waypoint. Who knows what you could have gotten into!”

“Indeed, I’m well aware of that,” Lauriam laughed a little, but he felt the tension still thick in the air.

“Since you seem to be in the mood to surprise us at every turn,” Terra spoke with a well-disguised undercurrent of displeasure, but Lauriam still caught it, “anything else you’d care to mention to us before we continue? Just so we’re all clear.”

Okay, now was not the time to make false moves; he needed to mind his words. His, uh, adventure was a bit long and complicated, and he wasn’t sure if they’d believe him if he told them. But it did feel like something they should at least be aware of, so Lauriam settled on a compromise.

“Well, you know how I said there wasn’t anyone else here?”

“Yes,” Aqua unfolded her arms, fingers tensing.

“Well, a little while ago, we did encounter…someone in the Realm of Dreams. A few people, actually. They used to live here, but they’re gone now. We found that we could visit them in sleep, and we talked to them and used Dream Eaters to help them remove some darkness there.”

“So, you’re telling me you met some ghosts while you were sleeping and destroyed some Heartless with them?” Terra raised an eyebrow, and Lauriam might have imagined it, but he thought there was a hint of laughter in his voice, “Are you sure that wasn’t just a dream?”

Lauriam shrugged and shook his head. Evidently, his compromise didn’t actually help matters. But he knew they weren’t dreams, at least, not normal ones. Normal dreams didn’t affect the real world. Normal dreams didn’t come to life when they weren’t sleeping. Normal dreams didn’t nearly kill his best friend.

“Okay, anything else you’d like to share?” Aqua’s gaze was fixed on him.

He didn’t want to go into more detail on the adventure they clearly didn’t believe, and there was no way he was giving the his and Ven’s history when he didn’t remember it himself, so in answer to Aqua’s question, Lauriam shook his head, “No, I don’t think so.”

“Alright, then,” Terra sighed, pulling out his phone, on which was a strange diagram, “Let’s get to work then. Aqua, do you think you could do the glyphs on this?”

“I think so,” Aqua set her mouth in a grim line, glancing around the city, “But what could Maleficent want here?”

“That's what I've been wondering, too,” Lauriam shook his head, “There aren’t any people, and as far as Elrena and I have found, there’s nothing worth stealing here that you couldn’t find on most other worlds. And can’t Maleficent use Dark Corridors? Why does she need you to let her in?”

“Maybe this world is protected,” Terra glanced up at the clock tower perched on top of the hill they were on, “While I’ve never heard of someone able to fully prevent use of Dark Corridors, if anyone was to figure it out, I’d put my bets on this world.”

“That seems the most likely reason,” Lauriam frowned, “Which means there was something here someone wanted to protect, presumably from people like Maleficent.”

“Or the Organization,” Aqua not-so-subtly jabbed at him.

Lauriam decided not to start a fight and merely nodded, “Probably. But can you really protect an entire world from Dark Corridors? That seems like cutting it off from the outside entirely.”

“I’m not sure,” Terra said, crossing his arms, “But that’s the best guess I’ve got.”

None of them spoke for a very awkward moment, standing around with the leaves of the tree rustling and the blades of two windmills spinning above them. The stared at one another. Lauriam stifled a laugh; Terra and Aqua looked exactly as uncomfortable as he felt. The only one who wasn’t affected was Chirithy, who, after tiring of the silence, began jumping around and waving his stubby limbs.

“Lauriam! Lauriam!” he tugged on his coat, “I remembered the thing you need to see!”

“Right,” Lauriam nodded to him before turning back to Terra and Aqua, “Anything I can do to help here?”

They shook their heads, pulling out their Keyblades. They walked a little further down the pier, towards the water. Both of them looked slightly ill, and Lauriam couldn’t blame them. While he wasn’t up to date on the latest duties of a Keybearer, he was pretty sure letting an evil fairy with a tendency towards darkness into an ancient city of Keybearers was frowned upon, at the very least. Wait, but how could it be ancient? Lauriam and his friends had never heard of such a world. A sharp pain struck behind his eyeballs, and he had to simply stop thinking about it. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. There were bigger problems to face at the moment, such as the fact that his friends were missing and in need of help.

Where were Ven and Elrena? Lux above, please let them be safe, the two of them alone. Of everything he’d dragged Elrena into, the living hell they’d had to face, why did he now have to not only drag her into another mess, but leave her to get out alone? Why didn’t he leap in after her? If he grabbed onto a Dream Eater and fixed her as his waypoint, might he not be able to overcome any obstacles Maleficent had set up? Well, no, he probably wouldn’t. He didn’t even have a weapon aside from Dream Eaters or whatever nearby sharp objects weren’t nailed down.

“You should go with Chirithy,” Terra said. He didn’t look at Lauriam, his face hyper-focused on the diagram, “The sooner you see what he wants, the sooner you can get back here.”

Aqua nodded as well, though when she looked at him, it was a glare, “Yes, we might…need your help.” A very poor excuse, but for decorum’s sake he didn’t call her out. She hesitated a moment, her eyes darkening as she added, more to herself, “I’ve never done something like this before. Though I guess it’s similar to how Sora connected our hearts before.”

“Speaking of which,” Lauriam said, hoping this was the right thing to say, “how is Sora doing? I wanted to thank him for restoring my memories. And…to apologize for what I’ve done to him.”

Terra and Aqua froze, and Lauriam instantly knew that was not the right thing to say. Neither would look at him for several tense moments, and Lauriam was about to apologize and take it all back when Terra spoke.

“Sora’s missing. He has been since he tried to bring Kairi back.”

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” Lauriam hung his head, questions and guilt surging inside him. No wonder Ven’s kidnapping had upset them so much. But what, exactly, did they mean that Sora was ‘missing’? They said he tried to bring back Kairi—had something happened to her? Was it during the War? How long had he been missing? What had they done to try and locate him? Was it certain he was alive or dead? Had another party been involved who might be keeping Sora away?

Fortunately, Lauriam knew enough this time to keep his mouth shut. Both were clearly pained by the news, and with Ven already missing and them still mistrustful, he wasn’t going to press. They probably thought it was none of his business anyway. Would the fact that he had once been a Keybearer change that idea? Probably not, but something else might.

“I—my sister is missing,” Lauriam let the words fall gracelessly out of his mouth, “she has been since our world fell. I forgot everything, including her…I have no idea where she is. That’s part of the reason I wanted to see Ven.”

Terra and Aqua started, staring at him, but aside from their surprise, Lauriam couldn’t read their looks at all. They glanced at one another, having a silent conversation. Despite the fact that he could carry one with Elrena easily, Lauriam couldn’t pick up on their meaning. Finally, Aqua turned back to him.

“You had a sister? Really?”

“Yes,” Lauriam’s voice was bittersweet, much like the memories he’d reclaimed. Gulping a little, he ran a hand through his hair, “She was…she was wonderous; short stature; long, bright coppery-orange hair; and dancing eyes. She could pack a punch, too—was a prodigy with magic, left me in the dust easily…so stupidly embarrassed and humble about it, though.” He snorted a soft laugh, realizing he could practically see her before him, not just her physical features, but all the little quirks and habits that he loved and was annoyed by.

“I had a tendency to brag on her—both because I was proud and because it made her blush. She was naturally shy, but once she warmed up to you,” he let out a short breath, the beginning of a chuckle, “would talk your ear off if you let her. She just adored plants, and could make a rose grow in a bed of sand. There was something about her, just made me feel calmer, made me know everything was going to be alright. Even though she always got me back when it came to teasing, coming home to her—”

He cut himself off, clenching his fists. The image before him was not his little sister, not the young girl he’d failed to protect. She was gone, and the vision before him was nothing but his own memories, memories he’d been careless enough to let slip away from him. Lauriam’s vision blurred, and he quickly swiped at his eyes to erase the tears he didn’t want them to see. Coughing, he straightened, and looked back to Terra and Aqua, abruptly changing the subject.

“Anyways, I’m sorry—about Sora…I’m just sorry.”

“What was her name?” Terra asked as if he couldn’t stop himself.

Lauriam closed his eyes, willing the image from before to come back, just for a moment, just for a few precious seconds to remember every detail of her face, every smile and laugh in her eyes. He feared if he spoke, it would scare her away, scatter everything about her like petals on the wind.

Before, when she’d first disappeared, Lauriam found a comfort in remembering his sister. She was his little sister, the one he would always take care of and always be teased by and joke with. The one he went out and gathered Lux for so she could be safe, only to have her summon her own Keyblade and have to join the hunt. He comforted himself that she would still be at home, waiting for him, trudging downstairs the next morning with hair a mess and stomach growling.

But lately, those memories didn’t have the same effect. All he could think was that she wasn’t there anymore, wasn’t where she was supposed to be. She was a million miles away or even farther. And he wanted to kill whoever took her.

Lauriam took another deep breath, frowning. Every year, she would wake him up insanely early the first day the cherry trees bloomed, her favorite flowers. He’d almost hated her then, wanting to sleep as much as possible before the next mission. But every year, he’d drag himself out of bed and go with her to the delicate, breathtaking display that would only last a week. Lauriam had to love her, he just had to, even then. And he still had to now, though the memories that should have warmed him burned instead.

He hesitated a moment, still holding the image in his mind, seeing the first buds of independence swelling in her as her magic exceeded his by miles. He had never spoken her name to anyone but Elrena, who already knew. But if he wanted to find her again, Lauriam would have to speak her name, would have to share those memories with another.

When he did speak, his vision solidified, clearing blurred lines and snapping missing details into place. The image shone gloriously for a few precious moments. She smiled at him as he finally replied.

“Strelitzia.”

Chapter Text

Terra’s jaw throbbed as he placed a final stone into the frame, feeling it settle into place. He forced himself to loosen his jaw as Aqua took up her part of the preparations, waving her Keyblade over the stone arch he had set up. Lauriam was gone, Chirithy adamant that there was something of great importance that he had to see. If Lauriam had lived here for months, though, wasn’t it likely he’d already found whatever Chirithy wanted to show him? And what on earth was this business about seeing ghosts?

He stepped up to the stack of crates they’d gathered from around the square and brought to the long pier, where they were making the door. They would use the wood to make doors for the arch. While that was easy enough, the actual magic part of the door, the thing that would make it a gateway for Maleficent, was what Aqua would do. The blueprint on his phone showed complex drawings all over the door. Frankly, Terra had no idea what they were, but they sent shivers down his spine. He tried to distract himself by thinking of Ven, the reason he was doing it. It only made him tense up more. Where was he? Was he okay? If Maleficent hurt him, he was going to—Ouch!

Terra rubbed at his temples, trying to disperse the sharp pain gathered there. He really was clenching his jaw far too much. It was a nervous habit; his master had more than once reminded him that if he kept up at it, he would break his teeth. He had gotten it mostly under control, at least when training. But in moments of high stress on or off the field, it returned. The headaches it brought were hard to ignore, and a good incentive to stop.

He glanced at Aqua. She paused, her limbs frozen like a ballerina on a music box. Her face, however, was set in a mix of anger and worry. Slowly, she lowered her hands and turned to face him, and he could tell she was fighting back tears.

“Terra,” she took a hoarse breath, “I don’t like this. Something’s wrong—it’s more than just Ven and Maleficent. I don’t like that Lauriam is here. I know Chirithy said he knew Ven, but does he know about everything Lauriam must have done in the Organization? What if—” Aqua cut herself off, rubbing her arm. “We’ve got to do something about him.”

Terra walked over to her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. To be honest, such thoughts swirled around in his head, too, particularly since every time he tried to get answers from Lauriam, he only ended up with more questions and plenty of surprises. Still, he couldn’t explain it, but despite everything, there was a part of him that couldn’t fully distrust Lauriam. Maybe it was his obvious concern for Ven, which Terra didn’t think he was faking, especially after the way he’d talked about his sister. Maybe it was that Chirithy trusted him so much. Maybe it was the way Pete immediately fled when he appeared. Whatever the reason, Terra hesitated to write him off as a complete and merciless threat.

Of course, Terra fought a grimace, he did not have the greatest track record with trusting the right people. Sure, he’d seen that Hades and that one queen had been using him, and used that in turn to get information; but he’d also let Maleficent use him to steal Aurora’s heart, been completely duped by Braig (and given him some scars as mementoes), and pretty much every interaction he had with Xehanort had him falling completely for his lies. So, perhaps he wasn’t the best judge of character. And it wasn’t like Lauriam was coming to them with a spotless record, either.

And yet, even knowing that, wasn’t it possible that Lauriam wasn’t lying? Or at the very least, wasn’t working for Maleficent? But that wouldn’t comfort Aqua, which was his immediate concern. She had certainly made up her mind as to what was going on. So, instead of telling her all this, he tried to put a positive spin on it.

“We may be glad he came along,” Terra said, “After all, what else were we going to do with him?”

“I’m still considering what I proposed back home,” Aqua gritted her teeth, “It would be much better to lock him up until all this is over.”

“Yeah, it’s a good thing he didn’t press you on that,” Terra half-laughed, trying to force some humor into the situation, “seeing as how we don’t have a dungeon.”

“I’d have figured something out,” Aqua replied, “There are some pretty sturdy rooms without windows that would serve. If I locked the door with my Keyblade, there’s no way he’d get out.”

“True,” Terra admitted, scratching the back of his head, “It’s just…Aqua, do you think there’s even a chance he really did come to see Ven?”

“No,” Aqua shook her head, “I’m certain they’re both working for Maleficent. I don’t care what Lauriam said, he was there to distract us. He must have been—there’s no other explanation!”

Putting her face in her hands, she groaned, “I should have checked on Ven. I should have talked with Chirithy and made him stop whatever he was doing. I should have known something was wrong and—”

“Hey now,” Terra took her wrists and gently pulled her hands down, “Aqua, this isn’t your fault. Maleficent and Pete are to blame, not you.”

Aqua shot a purposeful look at the way Chirithy had taken Lauriam, and Terra sighed. His head was stuffed full with so many facts he was trying to sort out and keep straight, and no combination gave him an accurate conclusion on whether Lauriam could be fully trusted or not.

“I know you’re certain,” Terra drew her attention back to him, “But Chirithy did say Lauriam knew Ven, and that they were friends. Chirithy led him here, after all. And Pete certainly wasn’t pleased to see the two of them. Because of that, I’m still not sure they’re working with Maleficent.”

Aqua gave him a severe look, “Are you serious? Terra, we both saw Elrena jump through that Dark Corridor. She must have ended up with them, but Maleficent never mentioned her in the call. Why wouldn’t she have told us about her unless Elrena was working with her?”

“Maybe Maleficent just didn’t see a point in telling us.” Terra gazed out over the sea and islands around them. “After all, it’s Ven we really care about. Or maybe Elrena didn’t get captured and Maleficent didn’t want to give us a reason to hesitate.” Or maybe she didn’t make it to the other side of the corridor. Terra didn’t say the last part, didn’t want to even consider that option.

“Maybe…” Aqua clearly wasn’t convinced, “but that seems highly unlikely, doesn’t it? Frankly, Lauriam’s entire story does.”

“Not so unlikely; Chirithy did confirm all of it, and he would know. Though I’ll admit it is strange that so many people from Ven’s past have started popping up out of nowhere lately,” Gears turned in Terra’s head, an idea finally starting to take shape, “When you think about it, with how many people and Dream Eaters know him, it’s probably more unlikely that we never met or heard about anyone from Ven’s previous family or home.”

“Unless Xehanort did something to keep them away.” Aqua’s hands tightened on her Keyblade and her voice hardened just talking about that man. She added, more to herself, “At least that’s one less thing we have to guard against.”

“That would actually be very in line for him,” Terra looked away a moment as his face went dark. He started to do some math in his head from what he only vaguely remembered from the Organization and what he had been told by the others.

Lauriam and Elrena had been inducted rather quickly after each other, with several years passing between them and Roxas’ addition. Xigbar claimed that he could spot that they were out of place in the worlds they’d been found in, and he had also predicted they’d been in their new worlds less than five years.

So, taking away about ten years for their time in the Organization, Lauriam and Elrena would have been about Ven’s age when they fell. And if they’d been in new worlds less than five years (assuming Xigbar was right about that, though Terra wasn’t sure how he would have guessed), it worked out that…

“What?” Aqua drew him out of his mind, “What are you thinking?”

“Remember how Lauriam said he and Elrena lost their memories and ended up on different worlds?” Terra ran a hand through his hair, “Isn’t it a little odd that the amnesia and getting scattered would have occurred right around the time Ven also lost his memories and was ‘found’ by Xehanort?”

“Wait…Terra, are you saying Xehanort destroyed their world and took their memories?!” Aqua took a step back, shaking her head violently, “No, that can’t be. With Ven I understand, but why the other two?”

“Maybe to keep them from him. Maybe they were also part of some backup plan; you know he always had one. And if they were, it might explain why he used them for vessels even after they betrayed the original Organization.”

Both of them fell silent. Terra had no idea what was going through her head, but he could tell where his thoughts were headed. If Xehanort had felt the need to prevent Lauriam and Elrena from getting to Ven, that meant he thought they would stop him, that they truly cared about what happened to Ven, and to their world. How exactly that had changed to the point of helping the same man to destroy all worlds, Terra didn’t know. But the loss of heart and memory had to have helped with it. And now that both heart and memory were back, well, it was a point in their favor.

Maleficent clearly wanted to get to Scala, which meant that in some way, trouble could be caused here, yet Lauriam and Elrena had been in this world for months, and nothing had happened. Well, except for the mention Lauriam had made about ghosts, but Terra wasn’t sure what to make of that. Still, nothing around here looked like it had been remotely tainted by darkness, so that was another point in their favor. Lauriam had even apologized, multiple times, for what he’d done. While not much of what he’d done really affected them, it was a good sign.

Lauriam had been Ven’s friend, of this Chirithy had repeatedly testified. Lauriam and Elrena probably weren’t working with Maleficent, though Terra really had nothing to prove that other than Pete’s look and the fact that Maleficent hadn’t mentioned either of them. But they clearly hadn’t messed with anything here, at least not in a negative way.

Terra put a hand over his heart and turned his head to face the city straight on. While Lauriam had certainly made mistakes, Terra was certain now that his heart was telling him to trust Lauriam, to give him a chance and see whatever happened next. If after applying the skills of his mind to the feelings of his heart, the guidance from his heart only felt firmer, then it was the right course as far as Terra would ever be able to tell.

After all, hadn’t Lauriam backed down the moment it was pointed out to him that his plan put Ven at risk? Hadn’t he promised to do anything just to make sure he was safe? And after so many people had so quickly given him a second chance, shouldn’t Terra at least try to give the same?

Maybe it was all an act, but now, Terra wasn’t so sure. Of course, most of this evidence was his own reasoning, but that just meant he needed more proof from Lauriam himself. He started towards the city, trying to remember what direction Lauriam had gone. Terra wasn’t even sure what he was going to say when he caught up, but he needed to talk to Lauriam. He was going to get more information.

“I’m going to see if I can find him,” Terra called back to Aqua.

“What are you going to do?” Aqua grabbed his arm, “Terra, if Lauriam tells Maleficent—”

“Aqua,” Terra put his hand on top of hers, giving her a reassuring smile, “I know you don’t trust him. But can you trust me?”

Aqua looked away, and after a moment answered, “I don’t doubt you, Terra, really, but it’s just that Lauriam…”

“I’ll be careful, don’t worry,” Terra held her hand, “And I’ll be back as soon as I can so we can finish this door and get Ven back.”

Aqua took a deep breath, slowly letting it out. Terra smiled unconsciously at the familiar relaxing technique. But her next few breaths were too fast, not deep enough. Her fingers—her entire body—went rigid.

“I know. Ven’s what’s important right now.” She shivered, “I just wish I hadn’t let this happen to him.”

“Believe me, so do I,” Terra sighed and folded his arms, “But there’s nothing we can do to change the past. We have to deal with what’s already happened.”

There was silence for a moment, before Aqua asked him, “Terra, what are you going to do when you find Lauriam? What do you think he’s up to?”

Terra glanced to the side, “I’m not completely certain one way or the other, but I think he might be telling the truth. That’s why I want to talk to him.”

“Talk to him?” Aqua drew back, her face distorting into a scowl, “Terra, what if he just lies to you?”

“We have to start somewhere,” Terra frowned, an uneasy feeling creeping over him, “If he is lying, we’ll find out eventually.”

“Oh, I already know,” Aqua bared her teeth, her fists clenched, “And I’m more than ready to deal with him. The moment I know he won’t be able to tell Maleficent, I’ll take him down.”

“Aqua,” Terra asked with a raised eyebrow, “are you being serious?” She didn’t answer right away, and Terra frowned deeper, “Believe me, if he did become a threat to you or Ven, I would eliminate him. But he hasn’t done anything. He does seem to be trying to help, at least.”

“But he kidnapped Ven!” Aqua said, “I know he did!”

“No, we don’t know that, Aqua!” Terra’s voice rose more than he would have liked to admit.

“Ven is gone and it’s his fault!” Aqua screamed, “We might never see him again and he could be hurt or alone or…or…” she shook her head violently, growling, “I’m going to kill him for this!”

“Aqua, calm down!” Terra was screaming now, too. He forced himself to take a deep breath, his tone softening a little, “We’re going to get Ven back; he’s not gone forever. You believe that, don’t you?”

Aqua looked away, not answering. Oh, this was not good. The more he stared at her, the more the silence went on, the more rapid her breath became, the more Terra felt his friend was moving away from him, and that scared him. He took a step toward her, reaching out a hand, “What happened to your faith in our bonds?”

“What happened to our master?!”

Terra froze, fingers slowly curling away. He took a step back. His fists clenched. He turned away.

He felt Aqua tense up behind him.

“Terra…no,” her voice shrank, rising and fading in audibility, “No, Terra, I didn’t mean—I wasn’t talking about…you weren’t…”

He trembled, the image too fresh before him. He hadn’t meant to do this. It was never supposed to come to this. He never even meant it while they were fighting. Everything just got so out of hand.

“I hurt you,” she said quietly, her voice drawing him back out of his head, “Terra, please, I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t mean that; it wasn’t your fault…”

He didn’t turn back, didn’t respond. She didn’t mean what he thought she meant, and he knew that. But he also knew he needed a minute. Deep breaths.

“Please, Terra, I’m so sorry! I—I…was angry with the darkness, not you.”

Her voice was heartbroken. Terra’s own heart nearly broke. Right, he wasn’t the only one hurting here. Really, he wasn’t angry at her, more angry at himself.

“I know,” Terra finally turned back to her, “I know that’s not what you meant, Aqua.”

“I still did it. I…I hurt you,” she hung her head, “Terra, I’m sorry.”

“And I forgive you,” Terra shook his head, keeping his voice soft, “But Aqua, you aren’t talking like yourself. You aren’t acting like yourself.”

He reached into his pocket, drawing out an orange star, “I know things have been hard, I know none of our lives went the way we planned, but we’re back together now, and we’re going to get Ven back and figure all this out. You said so yourself, an unbreakable connection.” He pressed the charm into her palm and cupped her hands in his, “Trust in that bond, Aqua. It’s what saved us before, and we’ll pull it off again.”

“But it didn’t…” Aqua hung her head, “Terra, it didn’t keep away the darkness, it didn’t stop it. And…I’m scared.”

“Believe me, I am, too,” Terra sighed, “But we can’t focus on that fear, Aqua. We have to focus on Ven, getting him back.”

“But he’s not here!” Aqua pulled her hands free, “He’s been taken somewhere and who knows what’s happening to him! And the person who helped is here with us!”

“Again, Aqua, we don’t know that!” Terra folded his arms, “And I’m starting to think this isn’t really about Lauriam. I’m not sure what exactly is going on, but you’re not acting like yourself. You’re better than that, Aqua, I know you are.”

And saying it, he really believed it. She was better than blindly fearing the darkness, better than he had been. That was why she was named a master, after all. But looking at her now, Terra saw fear in her eyes, a fear he’d only seen in one other place: his own. Yeah, definitely more going on here than just Lauriam.

“Aqua,” he said slowly, “What’s going on?”

She hesitated, her face desperately trying to compose itself, but it failed miserably. He held her gaze, not accusing, but trying to plead with his expression how desperately he wanted to know, “Aqua, please, tell me. I don’t even really care about Lauriam or Maleficent right now. There’s something going on with you, and I want to know what it is.”

She looked away from him, gripping her arms. She took a trembling breath that shook her whole body. Her shoulders sagged, and her voice dropped.

“Our master always told us we had to fight the darkness,” Aqua glanced back and forth, “But lately, I just…it’s everywhere, and in places I don’t expect, and I don’t know where it’s coming from or what to guard against. Everything was fine, but it’s like I’ve turned around and now I’m surrounded.”

“It’s certainly a lot more complicated than we were taught,” Terra rubbed the back of his head, “If there’s nothing else Riku taught me, it’s that darkness and light aren’t as black and white as we used to think.”

Aqua slowly released her arms, walking a little ways away from the door. She ran her hands along the iron railings, feet crunching the grass. Eventually, she curled her fingers around one of the poles, her gaze out towards the sea. Above them, the white clouds had thickened, casting a light grey shadow over the city.

“It’s crazy,” Aqua shook her head at herself, “that I used to worry about you so much. You’re dealing with this so much better.” She hesitated, and strained her next words through great effort, not looking at him as she said, “I don’t think you’re the one struggling with darkness anymore. In fact…you might have learned a lesson I didn’t.”

“If what I went through is what it takes to learn it, maybe it’s best you didn’t,” Terra came to stand beside her, leaning against the railing, “Believe me, Aqua, I know we’ve been through a lot, and I know things have gotten pretty bad again. The best I can do sometimes is just to hope what happened before taught me something I can use now.”

“I thought you didn’t remember any of it,” Aqua glanced up at him, her hand taking his.

“I don’t remember most of it,” Terra looked away, running a thumb over her fingers, “it’s like a bad dream. But…there are times when things come through so clear, so…” he shook his head, trying to shake off all the horrible images, “Dreams are the worst. I’m not sure how I’d handle it if I remembered it all perfectly.” He shuddered, “So trust me when I say I understand your fear, Aqua. I know that you’re scared, and that there is still reason to be suspicious of Lauriam. I’m not saying we leave him alone with all the Princesses of Heart or anything like that. But I do think we should at least give him a chance, all things considered.”

Aqua frowned, shaking her head, “I don’t know, Terra. Just thinking about him…I can’t right now. It doesn’t look any different.”

“And if that’s what your heart is telling you, I’m not going to argue with it,” Terra said, “I just don’t want you trying to face this fear on your own. Our master taught us what fear was of, and trust me, Aqua, I know where acting only out of fear leads to.”

“I know that,” Aqua sighed heavily, rubbing her forehead, “I just can’t stop thinking of Ven and being scared.” She was quiet for a moment, clutching the railing tightly as she slowly said, “Terra, something bad is happening to him. I know it. And I don’t even know what it is. It scares me.”

Terra shuddered, a chill creeping up his spine, “I know. I feel it, too. I just can’t let myself dwell on it; I have to make myself focus on getting him back.” Terra shook his head, forcing those thoughts back down. “And maybe part of caring for someone is being afraid for them,” he squeezed her hand, “and maybe a bit of fear is okay, just like Riku taught me a bit of darkness isn’t aways bad. But when it’s taken out of balance, well, then we’ve got problems, Aqua.”

She took a deep breath, “What you’re saying…” she grit her teeth again, “I know it’s right; I know it would help.” She glanced up at the city, at the clock tower high above. “I want to believe our master would be proud of us, but there are times when I’m sure that he wouldn’t have even considered it. And I hate to speak ill of him, but…that mindset didn’t save him…”

Her hand tightened on his as she nearly screamed again, “But it’s everything we know!”

“Not everything, not anymore,” Terra said, “Riku and Sora have shown us things we’d never have imagined before. And no matter what else we may see or go through,” He waited until she looked at him to add, “we’re not abandoning each other. We’re going to stick together, and we’re going to get Ven back. I promise, Aqua.”

Aqua took a deep breath, her fingers loosening, “I-I guess you’re right. Thanks, Terra."

He smiled, snorting, “Heh, feels nice to finally hear that.”

“Well, don’t get used to it,” Aqua laughed a little as well. Her tone went sober again as she said, “And…Terra, I’m sorry. I really am.”

He nodded, “We’re good, just don’t go getting lost on me now.”

“I won’t,” Aqua shook her head, her hands covering her heart, “I’m not leaving you alone. I know how awful that feels.”

Terra took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Ow, there was his sore jaw again. He really had to stop this. He rubbed a hand over his face, giving himself time to put his thoughts back in order.

“But there is someone else here alone,” Terra frowned, looking at the city, the reason they were here at all, “You’re right as well, Aqua. We do still have some reason to be suspicious of Lauriam. I think we should learn a bit more about him. Would that make you feel better?”

“A bit,” Aqua said, “But it’s still scary. Still, I guess threat or no, it would be best to know more of what we’re dealing with.”

“Then I’m going after Lauriam,” Terra said, giving her a nod, “I’ll be back.”

“I know,” Aqua nodded, letting her hand drop, “I trust you, Terra.”

Aqua took one last deep breath. Her shoulders finally dropped, and she shrank an inch in height, her muscles relaxed that much. Opening her eyes, she smiled at him.

“You…you’d better get going; it looks like it might rain soon. I’ll finish here.”

Terra nodded, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Giving her a wave, Terra passed under the large tree and headed deeper into the city, hoping to catch the man and Dream Eater. Though he tried to think of what he would ask Lauriam, Aqua’s behavior troubled him; there was clearly still much that needed to be addressed. But he would be there for her, no matter what. He knew how much she would need that support.

But how can I hope to support her in the fight I lost? Terra imagined smacking that thought so hard it skipped across the ocean to the next island. He would be there for Aqua because he had to be, just like he would get Ventus back because he had to. Those were his two goals right now, in addition to the current goal of finding out if he could trust Lauriam.

Aqua sure wasn’t happy about having him there, and her suspicions weren’t entirely unfounded, despite whatever was going on insider her that made her snap at him. Terra winced, shaking his head. She hadn’t meant to do that, and she’d already apologized. Hmm, apologizing…

Terra shifted his mind from his friend to his acquaintance of uncertain alignment. Taking a set of stairs deeper into the city as the clock chimed the hour above him, Terra centered on the main information he’d need to make his decision. To begin with, Terra just wanted to know if Lauriam was really sorry for what he’d done. Everything else could be set aside for the moment if Lauriam were really trying to be better. If he could only be certain of that, then Terra would feel better, would know that the man had come to make things right. But how to find that out?

Chapter Text

Lauriam glanced back at Terra and Aqua as he climbed the hill with Chirithy. They were an interesting pair, those two. The way Aqua’s Keyblade flashed through the air, drawing strange patterns, it was like a dance. It was an interesting counterbalance to Terra’s dark aura, which hadn’t left since he opened the door to them, but Lauriam hoped that was more due to circumstance than anything. He thought they were both people more inclined to be happy, if the dream Chirithy had shown him was any indication. Were he and Elrena so inclined?

Lauriam shook his head, memories and strong emotions tickling the surface of his consciousness. He would like to be happy, would like his sister back beside him, to introduce her to the other Union Leaders that should have been her friends, and to go back home—

Home was gone.

Thankfully, a streetlamp was there for him to grab onto, or Lauriam might have fallen over. The fact still shocked him, even now. He swept his gaze among the tall white buildings with their interconnecting edges and winding streets. Deep in his heart, he knew that if he had a home now, it was this place. Despite how much it differed from Daybreak Town, it also felt so, so familiar. Perhaps it was the giant clock tower at the top of the hill; if it had purple rooftops and a slightly more open middle section, it would be much like the Foretellers’ Tower they’d gathered in.

He shifted his gaze back down to the two he’d come with. He must have walked more than he realized, because they were now farther away, standing close together and talking. He couldn’t hear a word they said, but Lauriam could tell just from watching how special a bond the two of them had. As he stared at Aqua and Terra for a moment, an unbidden memory rose to the surface.

+=======+

Marluxia stared, his golden eyes piercing after Sora as he paraded around the square, the Princess spinning circles around him. What a ridiculous display. Neither he nor the Princess possessed the slightest training or natural grace—a headless chicken would have performed the dance better.

But the brat was smiling.

Everyone was.

The worlds were going to end in a matter of days, and the boy was hopping and flailing around a square with a girl he’d just met and everyone was smiling and thoughtless joy was so prevalent Marluxia could smell it. His nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Ignorance truly is bliss,” he hissed to himself. But how could the boy be so blissful when he knew? With everything he had seen, how could the youth still smile? Castle Oblivion was erased from his mind—Marluxia had seen proof enough of that in their first encounter. But all the rest the boy had gone through…

Sora joined hands with the Princess—whom he still didn’t realize the importance of—and continued their romp. Perhaps Sora was imagining he was dancing with Kairi. That would surely make the boy smile! Marluxia grit his teeth, something inside him gnawing, biting, clawing outward.

It couldn’t be emotion, or could it? Xemnas had claimed they had no hearts, but lo and behold, most of the Real Organization was formed from the hearts of Nobodies given Replica vessels. No hearts indeed. But if they couldn’t feel, what good were those hearts? His, with its lack of memory, had been little more than an empty husk. He couldn’t even pinpoint the moment he’d lost it. His chest had just felt slightly emptier than normal; he’d lost even the ability to feel, not just feeling.

But now, this welling in his empty chest, as if against his physical form…was this hatred? Marluxia glanced at Sora again. The boy’s lips parted in a laugh as he pumped his fist into the air, light dancing around him. And Xehanort had thought him a near-perfect vessel. The gnawing in Marluxia’s chest increased and directed itself at the boy dancing out in the open with everything about to be reset before the month was out.

He put a hand over his chest, savoring the feeling, if that was what it was. Xemnas had said they couldn’t feel. Xehanort had said they were here to save the worlds. Xigbar had said power would fill the void in his chest.

There had been a moment, back in the original Organization, when he had first begun to doubt Xemnas’ claims. He’d always known the man was suspicious, and he’d believed Xibgar’s teachings too much for anyone’s good. Not that he had any experience to counter them, so why shouldn’t he? If Marluxia wanted to be whole again, more whole than he could ever remember being, he needed to be stronger, needed to be in charge.

And so he would be.

But at that time, when doubt first began to creep in…it was different. He’d taken Larxene with him, and the two of them had ended up on a reconnaissance mission in the Castle of Dreams. Nothing much of note, aside from the Princess of Heart. Larxene had predicted the world would fall soon, and from the amount of Heartless popping up, Marluxia had to agree. The Princess was the only thing keeping the world afloat.

Not eager to return to the Castle that Never Was, they’d lingered around the giant clock above the castle, watching guests file in for a ball. By some luck, they were able to hear the music as it began, and with it came what was surely madness.

He’d held out his hand, and Larxene had taken it, stepping into form before either could think what was happening. Atop the ledge, beneath the clock, they’d waltzed. She’d been good, which surprised her as much as him. As the music picked up, they’d moved their promenade from the ledge to around the parapets, departing from traditional moves as the terrain was treacherous and their excitement drove them to try more dangerous jumps, each catching the other, he leading and she following as though they’d been doing it for years. Through it all, they’d kept near-perfect time.

They ended up in a secluded portion of the castle and sat on a balcony, the dance ending as silently as it had begun. But before they’d completely let whatever had happened drop, Larxene had leaned in close to him, her eyes narrowed and serious yet somehow wide and vulnerable at the same time.

“Elrena.”

“Huh?”

“That’s my real name. Keep it under your hood. It’s all I really remember.”

“Of course.”

His tone had remained steady and detached as always, but inside, Marluxia felt like he’d been shaken to the core. He’d opened his mouth, wanting to give her his true name. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have it; she could have it and never say it and he could never remember and he’d be…happy?

Impossible. They couldn’t feel such emotions. He just wanted to repay her so he wouldn’t be in her debt.

But Xemnas had lied.

At that moment, watching as Sora again leapt into the air from sheer joy, Marluxia knew Xigbar had lied, too. Power was what Marluxia had, power to be Xehanort’s hand and heart at any place, any time, all the time. Power hadn’t filled the void in his chest with anything he cared to have there. Power had changed him, made a blank slate of potential into a ruined tapestry better left burned to ash.

But Sora was weak. Sora had no defense against darkness save loyalty to his friends. Sora knew nothing of dancing and hardly anything of power. He would instinctively trust the first person that walked up to him and started talking, and he couldn’t comprehend anything other than completely literal language. He hadn’t even been originally chosen by the Keyblade; he’d been a sudden change in plans.

But Sora could walk in whatever world he chose—not just go there, but walk without fear or hesitation in broad daylight. He could make a fool of himself and still be loved and protected. He could dance in the square with anyone he wanted.

His memories had been tampered with to no end, but he could not forget his friends, not if he tried. Those feelings were engrained in the boy’s heart deeper than his own name. And Marluxia didn’t even know his real name. His past, and anyone treasured or detested in it, were nonexistent. There was not even an echo.

Sora had no power. Sora was weak and he had something greater. He had freedom. At that moment, the clawing mass in his chest surged forward, and he unconsciously took a few steps towards the boy.

Never, never in his life had he wanted to put his hands around someone’s throat so badly.

Not when he’d realized the extent to which Xemnas had lied to all of them, not when Namine had ruined their plan—he’d been annoyed then, at best. Not when Sora had slain Larxene. Not when Sora had moved on to him. Not when Axel revealed himself to be a traitor. Not when he woke up and saw that infuriating smirk on Xigbar’s face. Not when Xemnas had beaten him senseless as punishment for his betrayal. Not even when he saw the scars left on Larxene.

Marluxia wanted to watch the light fade from the boy’s eyes. His blood flowed hot as he flexed his fingers, already imagining the satisfaction of the brittle neck in his hands.

A sharp, familiar pain shocked him back to reality.

Xehanort’s heart took hold of him, forcing Marluxia back into the shadows. Sora was not his target; he was only to observe the Princess. Marluxia snarled in disgust. But he couldn’t disobey. The old man had been smart enough to put that precaution in place when it came to them.

“Very well, Sora,” Marluxia growled, too low for the boy to hear, “I’ll meet you again later, though.”

The Princess was dragged away from the crowd by the thief. Marluxia nodded to himself, summoning a Dark Corridor. He cast one last look at Sora, still carrying on his graceless spectacle. The “emotion” in his heart checked, Marluxia found himself disappointed.

It hadn’t been hate. It had been envy. Marluxia knew if he could only feel hate once, somehow everything would make sense.

But Sora hadn’t given Marluxia hate. The boy didn’t need power; he had something more valuable. Sora had freedom, and he had something to fight for.

It had been envy.

“You really are lucky, Sora,” Marluxia spat as he turned his gaze from the boy and let the darkness swallow him, “a shame it won’t mean anything.”

Or maybe it just didn’t mean anything to him.

+=========+

“Lauriam!”

The voice broke through his memory. Lauriam put a hand to his head, blinking. A chill clung to him, an icky fog swirling in his mind just from the few moments he spent remembering what had been. What he had been. He shuddered, despite the warm sunlight.

“Lauriam!” Chirithy repeated, “What’s wrong?”

“I was just…thinking,” Lauriam shook his head, as though that would dislodge whatever scum still lurked there and turned his stomach, “And remembering. And thinking some more.”

“About what?” Chirithy asked hopefully, tapping his paws together.

Lauriam hesitated, looking the small Dream Eater over. This Chirithy wasn’t his; Lauriam knew that, despite how similar all of them looked. Still, it had been so long since he’d been able to unburden his heart to someone who would understand so completely. Not that Elrena wouldn’t listen, but Lauriam sensed there were some things she preferred not to think about yet. Taking a deep breath, Lauriam rubbed his eyes as he continued up the semi-familiar streets.

“For the longest time, I only wanted two things, one of which I only wanted because of Xigbar,” Lauriam said, “to have power, and to feel hate.”

Chirithy tilted his oversized head, “You didn’t remember anything, did you?”

“Not even my own name,” Lauriam said, pausing at a raised flowerbed, noting a couple springs of fireweed and a few chrysanthemums among the other flowers.

“But that wasn’t what I was thinking on. I was thinking…” Lauriam took a deep breath, “I used to think that hate was the strongest emotion. If I could get myself to feel it, just once, I knew everything would align, that I would have a reason for my unbending will. I would understand what was going on around me, and maybe understand myself. But that wasn’t the case.”

“I’m kinda confused on how you got that answer, Lauriam,” Chirithy shook his head, “It doesn’t sound like you.”

“But maybe it’s not so far off,” Lauriam frowned, his fingers grazing the hair around his skull, “I was remembering my envy towards Sora for his freedom, while all my power ever seemed to bring me was chains, and I think I’ve started to realize something.”

“What?” Chirithy hopped up onto the flower bed, the wind from his landing stirring leaves and petals.

“I never wanted hate,” Lauriam ran his fingers over the delicate bunches of pink and purple blooms, “I was like a moth drawn to the flame, thinking the fire was what I wanted. But that wasn’t it at all. I wanted the light and warmth the blaze created. I wanted to feel love again. I've been told hate and love are two sides of the same coin. Maybe you can’t have love without hate, and hate can’t exist without love. And maybe…augh,” he rubbed his forehead in annoyance as he tried to get his words to work, “I’m not sure; it sounds like nonsense even to me. I just know I can’t diminish my hate without taking away my love, too. Maybe I don’t even want to.”

Chirithy said nothing as Lauriam stared again at the flowers. He kept speaking.

“The flame and its heat and light are inseparable, but as long as you don’t stand in it, you shouldn’t get hurt. I wish I understood that. I wish it hadn’t taken me this long to remember. But, well, obviously, I’ve been burned a few too many times for it to matter now.”

“But you recognize it now, Lauriam,” Chirithy put a paw on his sleeve, “I think that’s a great step in the right direction. And as for hate and love, maybe that hate doesn’t have to stay.”

Lauriam, not inclined to think about this anymore, stared at the flowers in front of him. They would wither in the next cold breeze, but for now, they were beautiful. They cared not if the worlds ended or continued. They didn’t mind the time of their unfolding, sooner or later. They only bloomed, and in doing so, made the world, if only for a moment, prettier. A world without flowers was not a world worth living in. Did this have something to do with the name they’d been given by Master Ava?

“You really can’t stop comforting former Dandelions, can you?” Lauriam half-laughed, but his tone darkened, “What would Master Ava say of me now? Probably nothing; she’d just kill me instantly.”

“I don’t think she would,” Chirithy shook his head, “The Foretellers had a lot more going on than you realize, Lauriam. They weren’t any more perfect than you are. And even if you don’t fully remember, they left their mark on you. It wasn’t always in a good way.”

“Maybe,” Lauriam turned away, running his hand across the worn concrete of the flowerbed. The Foretellers…all of them Keyblade Masters, yet they had failed. How on earth had he and the other Union Leaders thought they could succeed? Even Master Ira had fallen, the one Lauriam looked up to more than any. Or at least, he had.

They’d had an argument the last time they spoke. Not that Lauriam was personally close with Master Ira, but he still respected him, looked up to him as a Keyblade Master and warrior of light, and was loyal to him and his union. But Lauriam always felt there were closer ties than unions, especially when the Foretellers turned on one another. Lauriam hated that, so much so that he made a stupid mistake. He told Ira his sister was in a different union, but he wouldn’t turn on her for anything. Ira hadn’t taken well to that, and both of them…well, the long and short of it was Lauriam felt significantly less loyalty due to his former master, and significantly more to his sister.

Still, nothing could fully erase the feelings Lauriam had previously, the respect for his master before…before whatever happened had happened. Even after the argument, his lingering respect was one of the reasons he was so secretly pleased when Ava extended the role of Union Leader to him. And he, in his childish arrogance, actually believed he could rise to that challenge.

“I mean it!” Chirithy grabbed his arm again, “Lauriam, I know you think there’s nothing good about you anymore because you messed up, but that was the Foreteller’s idea, and that was wrong! Maybe you do still have some work to do, but you don’t need to get any light, not like before. You’ve got plenty inside of you.”

Lauriam froze, blinking slowly. Did the city get darker recently? He gazed up. Thick clouds were rolling in. It had rained here plenty, but the clouds were still light enough that it might blow over. They weren’t like the clouds that had greeted him when he returned to remove the final ghost from this place. His shoulders sagged; he shook his head.

“It’s so easy to say that, Chirithy, but a lot harder to believe,” he curled his fingers into a fist, “Regardless, no matter what I’ve done, I’ve got to find my sister. If I live still, it’s to find her. She’s my light.”

“Is she the only light in all the worlds?” Chirithy asked, tilting his head to the side, “Weren’t you too chosen by Ava? Can’t you try to believe in your own light?”

“Trying feels like a crime,” Lauriam said, “And if I failed again—or worse, if I succeeded and became stronger and then fell...”

His mind brought up that boy. The white hair and silver eyes, as well as the cloud of darkness. The screams of his victims that had first drawn Lauriam’s attention in the Realm of Dreams. And that boy had been taught of light and warned of darkness since his childhood. But even for all his crimes, hadn’t he turned to them in the very end? Hadn’t the boy done what was needed to free all of them?

“But the Foretellers were wrong!” Chirithy said, shaking his head back and forth so vigorously he nearly fell over, “Lauriam, you’re still alive—it’s not too late. You don’t have to be perfect, just don’t give up. You know about the flame now, so don’t be afraid to seek the light and warmth again. Please, for yourself, for your sister, can’t you try?”

Lauriam flinched, but couldn’t bring himself to look at Chirithy, “I don’t know. There’s still so much I can’t remember and even then, I don’t think I ever really understood anything. I’ll probably fail.”

“Probably,” Chirithy nodded and scrambled off the planter and to stand in front of him, “But if there’s one thing I’ve learned after waiting so long for Ven, it’s that trying is always better than doing nothing, even when you do fail.”

Was it really? What if he made it worse? Hadn’t Xehanort attempted to do something to fix a problem he saw? What of all the pain that had caused? And how was Lauriam to know where to even begin? Brain had told him to let his heart be his guiding key. But how trustworthy was his heart, even if Lauriam knew how to follow it?

But at the same time, what else was he going to do? Lauriam couldn’t just sit on the side and do nothing, especially not now that he knew about his sister. He had to find her, if nothing else, and he so desperately wanted for her to have a place to live safely, which couldn’t happen if Lauriam had Keybearers hunting him down. And really, Lauriam didn’t want to be like Marluxia. But he could never go back to being the boy he was in Daybreak Town. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be like that boy, either. So, what was left?

It looked like he’d have to go forward and find out. And in some ways, hadn’t he already begun? He looked around him, the gentle wind turning windmills all over the city. Everything felt lighter now, like when autumn crept in gently and replaced the boundless heat of summer with cool fulfillment. Lauriam let a smile tug at the corners of his mouth, and he had to use a great deal of resistance to not tear off his gloves and shove his bare hands into the earth.

He took a deep breath, “Very well. I’ll try. I have to. I’ll try to control the hate that comes with love. I’ll try to remember everything, for my sake and the others’. And, if I can do in other places what we’ve done here, then I guess so much the better.”

He stared at the flowers and frowned, “I just hope Ven and Elrena are doing okay; as much as I’d like to, I honestly can’t imagine any situation that’s going well for them right now. Nor can I think of any way to help.”

“I’m sure you’ll reunite with them. After all, even this world was connected again. In fact, come to think of it,” Chirithy said, looking Lauriam up and down, “It was you two, wasn’t it? You’re the reason that Scala is connected again; you removed what was suffocating it?”

“Maybe?” Lauriam shrugged, “I’m frankly not really sure what you’re talking about.”

“You said you helped this world,” Chirithy replied, “that you got rid of darkness.”

“Ah, that,” Lauriam rubbed his face, “Well, I’m not sure about connection or suffocation or anything big like that. It’s…hard to explain, since I don’t really understand it myself, but I think all we did is help some souls that were trapped here be free. They were…they were gone, but they weren’t at peace. One of them had a lot of darkness in him still, and that darkness was preventing himself and the others from moving on. We found them by accident, in our sleep. I think sleep and death must be pretty close with one another, because that was the only way we could get to them at first. But then, well, the one with great darkness started to cause problems. He wouldn’t stay in dreams, but came into the waking world.” Lauriam’s fists tightened. “He almost killed Elrena. But eventually, we were able to defeat his darkness, to free all the people who’d been trapped, including him. Ever since, this world feels different. In a good way.”

Speaking of Elrena, Lauriam paused. He knew now why his will was so unbreakable, but what about hers? Just how much had she given up in pursuit of a sister that wasn’t even hers? Could he even have called her and his sister friends? Why then was she so willing to follow him into darkness, to risk losing herself? And hadn’t she done so again, running after Ven? That had very little to do with locating his sister, so why did she do it?

He didn’t have an answer, but he knew that he had done very little to repay her loyalty. That must be fixed, and soon. Elrena loved this place as much as he did, and if she didn’t have a home at this point, he was partially to blame for dragging her along. But she still kept following him, so clearly she saw something tolerable in him.

“It sure does—and boy, you don’t realize how much you’ve helped, Lauriam! I knew there was something different here.” Chirithy hopped up and down in excitement. The next minute, he shook himself, “But time for that later. Now come on, you’ve still got something to see! If what you’ve said is true, then this could really help Ven!”

+========+

Terra stood silently and watched Lauriam follow the small Dream Eater. He’d lingered behind, maybe because he was still a little suspicious and maybe because he was curious what Chirithy could want to show Lauriam, of all people. He hadn’t exactly meant to eavesdrop, but it had sort of happened anyways. And maybe that was a good thing. He was sure Lauriam hadn’t been aware of his presence. Everything he’d just said, Terra was certain it hadn’t been an act.

It…changed things, kind of. Terra placed a fist over his heart, troubled memories flashing to the surface. He was no saint himself, and well acquainted with regret. He couldn’t help but feel a part of his heart soften for Lauriam. He wasn’t entirely sure about these Foretellers they’d mentioned, but he suspected they weren’t quite as uplifting as his own master had been.

Master Eraqus…Terra closed his eyes, lowering his head in respect. The loss still hurt, even now, even after a proper goodbye. His master would surely know what to do about Ven’s kidnapping and what to do with Lauriam. But he wasn’t here. Terra would have to figure out his own way to protect his friends.

Even though things looked bleak now, there was still a lot Terra had left to lose. There was also a lot to gain if he kept his wits about him. If Lauriam was working with Maleficent, as Aqua feared, Terra was going to hunt him and Elrena to the end of all worlds. But for the moment, Lauriam was certainly remorseful for his past actions. And there were Chirithy’s words to consider, that Lauriam should keep trying. Terra still had a lot of questions, but he put them on the shelf for now. He was also willing to put his suspicion right beside it. He’d been given a second chance, so he was willing to give Lauriam—and his currently absent friend Elrena—a chance, too. He just wished it was a chance that didn’t potentially endanger Ven. That was the thing he cared most about right now, but the only way to get him back was to give Maleficent her door. After that…Terra briefly closed his eyes, running a hand over his face as he prayed it would somehow work out.

“Stay safe, Ven,” Terra whispered to the wind, “I promise, we’re going to get you back, somehow.”

Terra stepped out from behind the building he'd been leanign against, though Lauriam and Chirithy were already gone. He hesitated, glancing back down the path to where Aqua was. He could faintly hear Chirithy and Lauriam’s voices up the path. Hadn't he learned what he came here to learn?

He turned around, but hesitated. Turning back once again, he felt his heart tug him up the path and towards the voices. He had to trust his heart, and for some strange reason, it was telling him to keep going.

Lauriam was sorry, and Terra knew that. But that wasn’t enough, not like he thought it would be. There was still so much else to know and no time to find it all out. Being sorry wasn’t enough; there was one other thing Terra needed to know. If only he could figure out what that thing was. There was only one way he could think of to find out what he was even looking for.

Terra picked up his pace, moving through the streets and up a staircase, following the voices, which grew louder. He was nearly upon them, and called as he rounded a corner, “Lauriam!”

“Terra?” The pink-haired man stopped, turning back to him, “What is it?”

“I needed to ask you something.” Terra hadn’t planned this far, so he said the first thing that came to his mind. “You mentioned something before about ghosts. I need to know, what were you talking about?”

Chapter Text

“You mentioned something before about ghosts. I need to know, what were you talking about?”

“Ah, that,” Lauriam recovered a little from Terra’s sudden appearance, at the same time confused as to what on earth had happened to send the man all the way up the hill just to ask about that, “Well, see, I was trying to summarize a very long train of events, but that didn’t really work.”

Terra didn’t move, but simply said, “Okay then, don’t summarize.”

“Oh…alright,” No way out of this, then. Lauriam rubbed his hands together and backtracked in his mind, “I suppose it all started about a month ago. We had sort of settled in, but we began having strange dreams, and eventually we met some people in those dreams. They looked like they needed help; they were bound in some kind of smoke. There were also…I’m not sure how to describe them. They were creatures like Dream Eaters, but wrong.”

“Nightmares,” Terra’s eyes darkened, “Master Yen Sid said there was a dark version of them. They exist to sow bad dreams.”

“Sounds about right,” Lauriam shuddered, forcing out of his mind the images of smoke around mouths and eyes crying tears of blood. That part was over; those dreams, at least, never returned, “Well, we clashed with those Nightmares. It seemed to help, because we were able to get rid of the smoke, and those people in dreams started speaking to us. They said that we had given them a chance.”

“To do what?” Terra crossed his arms.

“To talk, and, hopefully, to be free,” Lauriam said, “They explained that they used to be residents of this world—they never mentioned its name, so I didn’t know until we got here that it was the same place.”

“I see,” Terra replied, but didn’t offer anything else to indicate if he believed Lauriam or not, so he continued.

“They said the darkness was trapping them, that the creatures and the bad dreams we’d been having were a result of the darkness that lingered after they were killed.”

“Wait—killed?” Terra frowned, “They didn’t simply die?”

Lauriam leaned his hands against another raised flowerbed. Whoever decided this many were needed was wise beyond all reason; the sturdy concrete provided support, and the flowers offered a tiny bit of encouragement.

“At first, we thought, or rather hoped, that was the case,” Lauriam shook his head at himself, “But I think deep down we always knew better. They…they were children, Terra. All of them. They told us about how they had been killed, some of them in this world and some in others.”

Lauriam took a deep breath, “They could even take us to the exact spot in the dream version of Scala. That was when we found the first big Nightmare, and after a hard fight, we were able to beat it. While I couldn’t feel anything at first, the ones that died here said it felt like the binding on them had loosened. Elrena and I began trying to find a way to leave this world and search others, to see if we could free them by going to the places they’d been killed. That was how we discovered Dream Eaters can take you to other worlds.”

Lauriam felt his stomach clench. He hadn’t even begun the most difficult part, and it was already hard to speak. He hadn’t realized before just how raw the memory still was. Just how close things had really been. Just how much those poor ghosts were so like the many Keykids that disappeared in Daybreak Town. But he had to finish the story.

“But then…things got worse. We’d only visited one world briefly when Elrena,” he swallowed. His fingers were sore; he had to unclench his fists, “she started feeling sick. She’d been exhausted since this started happening, but it got worse now, to the point she would pass out; her skin got so pale at times. Her nightmares got worse, and she said she saw someone from her dreams when she was awake. That he…said things to her. They scared her.”

Terra’s brow furrowed deeper, “And did you feel the same?”

“No,” Lauriam shook his head, “That was the scariest part. We couldn’t account for it at first. But then we found the paintings.”

He waved his hand to the top of the hill, “They were in the clocktower, and all of the children from our dreams were in it. From the paintings we realized we could trace their names to a group of gravestones, a group with one extra marker that didn’t match up to anyone we’d seen yet, in dreams or in the pictures.”

“There was one more person who died?” Terra asked, “Was he the one Elrena was seeing?”

Lauriam nodded and turned to the flowers again for a moment, “Well, there’s no delicate way to put this part, but in life, the ghosts we met were all Keybearers, all students of the same master. One of them turned on the others. He…killed them. All of them. All but two, it seems.”

Terra inhaled sharply. Lauriam was grateful for a moment to not talk. He kept staring at the flowers. Of course, the moment didn’t last forever.

“So this fallen Keybearer was hurting Elrena?” Terra asked.

“In a way I’d never seen before,” Lauriam nodded again. The scent of the flowers was so sweet, so earthy, so alive, he wanted to shove his face in them just to get rid of the stench of death that filled mind, “He was…was draining her life. Her hair and eyes, they faded, as though someone stole their shine and vibrancy away. She could barely get out of bed. Potions and healing magic didn’t help. I had no idea what was wrong.” Lauriam’s voice darkened, “Then one day he appeared in front of me in broad daylight. His body was hazy, and I couldn’t touch him, but he was there. He threw shards of glass at me and promised to kill both of us.”

“That’s…” Terra gulped and started over, “I’ve never heard of such a thing."

Of course he hadn’t. Lauriam hadn’t, either, otherwise he might have been smart enough to do something sooner. And why was he even telling Terra this? It wasn’t like he’d believe him; Lauriam could hardly believe it himself. But the man had asked for the full story, and that was all Lauriam could give.

“That must have been terrifying,” Terra’s words startled Lauriam, “But then how did you deal with him?”

“Dream Eaters,” Lauriam plucked leaves and grass from the flowers, “I used them to travel to the places the others had been killed. Elrena was too weak to travel with me by then, so I think the fallen wielder didn’t know I’d managed to free them by fighting the other Nightmares holding them in the dream versions of those worlds. The freed spirits helped me, guided me to where the others were struck down and gave me the strength to win against the Nightmares.”

Lauriam spoke a little faster now, “When I had all eleven of them, we returned to Scala. We found him with Elrena, but she…”

He glanced at Terra, at his frowning face and shadowed eyes, “This might be the most unbelievable part. I’m not sure what exactly happened between the two of them while I was gone, but she finally convinced him to help us. She told me later that she drew a line between him and his darkness and pulled the boy out of it. That she told him weak heart or not, there was no point in continuing this suffering, since his options were either move on or keep rotting in the Realm of Dreams until someone finally made him leave. That even if they were the same, she didn’t care, and she was going to keep fighting.” Lauriam smiled, “Even then, there was still a spark of spirit in her eyes. I think, confronted with both her words and all of us, he finally gave up. More than that, even.”

Lauriam shook his head as he turned back to the flowers, a mix of marigold and lily of the valley, he noted in the back of his mind, “Even after all he’d done, he tried to turn back. But the darkness, all the sorrow he’d caused with his killing, had taken on a life of its own. It took the form of a huge wolf-like Nightmare. We all fought the creature, but I think his own efforts truly gave us victory; it must have been especially potent for him to fight against his own darkness…however late it was.” Lauriam ended with a scowl.

They were quiet for some time. Lauriam finally turned his attention away from the flowers and back to Terra, who was looking at him intently. His words were deliberate, his eyes calculating.

“And was that the end of it?”

“I think so, yes,” Lauriam nodded, “We haven’t seen any of the children since, in dreams or otherwise. I continued to practice with Dream Eaters, though I couldn’t erase all the nightmares we had from…other events.”

Terra pursed his lips, but didn’t address the last part of Lauriam’s sentence, “I’m guessing all that running around dreams was what made Chirithy realize you were here.”

“Pretty much!” Chirithy nodded, “That last battle with the fallen wielder was what really got my attention. That’s when Scala shifted, and when Scala shifts, everything feels it!”

Lauriam and Terra shared a confused glance. Lauriam raised an eyebrow at Chirithy, “What’s that mean?”

Chirithy tilted his head, “Didn’t you know? Scala was the first world rebuilt after the first Keyblade War. It was a beacon of light, and that light spread out and spawned all the other worlds, and that connection was never really lost. So when something as significant as your battle happens and changes Scala, all the other worlds feel it, to one degree or another.”

Lauriam staggered and gripped his hair. Why was he getting such a terrible headache? His hand tightened against the flowerbed, and he struggled to take normal breaths for a minute. Why did that explanation feel so right, so important?

“Lauriam?” Terra asked, and Lauriam shook his head, straightening.

“Sorry, I,” he took a deep breath and released his hair, “I’m not sure what that was.”

Chirithy looked at him intently, but didn’t comment on Lauriam’s odd lapse, “Well, anyways, that’s when I noticed, and that’s when I started giving Lauriam dreams.”

“Giving him dreams?” Terra glanced between Lauriam and Chirithy, “That’s how you guided him?”

“Yup!” Chirithy clapped his hands together in front of his face, “Just a little vision to tell him where we were, that Ven was there.”

“I’m not sure how comfortable I am with you giving out our location to people without telling us, Chirithy,” Terra frowned, “We’re going to talk about that later.”

“Understandable,” Chirithy nodded.

Terra rubbed his face, and Lauriam fought a smile. He had to admit that the idea of someone telling random people where you and your friends lived unnerved him a bit, too. Still, he found it a bit humorous how casually Chirithy had done and talked of it. For all their intelligence, these particular Dream Eaters seemed to not always get certain social customs.

“Well, I’m not sure if I’d even like to believe you or not, what with all this could mean,” Terra said frankly, a fist on his chin, “But regardless, seeing as how so much of it took place in dreams, I’m not sure aside from your skills with Dream Eaters what you could do to prove it…”

He stopped as he looked Lauriam in the eye, “But you say there was a picture. Can I see it?”

Lauriam turned to Chirithy, “Are you okay with a short detour? We’ll have to go all the way to the top of the hill.”

“Alright,” Chirithy said, “But don’t take too long. We’ve got to see if we can unlock the last of those memories. They might be important!”

“I’ve no doubt,” Lauriam fought a grimace at the pain that throbbed in his head again. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to smile at Terra, “Come, the two pictures are this way.”

They made their way up the twisting paths towards the top of the city as the clocktower ticked away. How similar it was… Lauriam shook his head, the familiar ache coming on. If time was supposed to dull wounds, it would take longer than anyone had to live for this to be worked to a point he could handle. Still, there was a strange comfort in the familiarity, in knowing that Scala was not Daybreak Town, but it was similar enough that it could become home.

They made their way into the clocktower and up more stairs and down hallways and through a small courtyard until they finally stopped before a set of doors that Lauriam opened with a few grunts of effort. On the other side was a rectangular gallery with stairs at either end and pictures on the walls every few feet, though everything was coated with dust. At the end closest to them, two paintings were hung with black veils.

“It took us a while to find this,” Lauriam reached for the chord on one and pulled back the cloth. Seven children stood in a group and smiled; one boy with brown skin and dark hair on a chair with the others circled around him.

“With it in such an obvious, easily accessible place?” Terra’s voice approached a laugh, “I can’t image why.”

“Yes, how could we possibly have missed this?” Lauriam heard his own voice lighten a little as he pulled back the veil on the other. The picture came into view, six children standing in a group, staring straight ahead and looking far too happy for what was shortly to befall them.

“Master?!” Terra took a step back. He slowly reached a hand towards the boy in the white coat. Lauriam might as well have been struck with a battering ram.

“Wait, this was your master?” Lauriam looked at the dark-haired boy, the one who reminded him so much of another friend, “I recognized Xehanort, but not…”

“You never met him,” Terra’s voice was thick, and Lauriam wanted to back away, to give him space. Terra, however, immediately shook himself, looking away a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was level, but there was still a hint of sorrow, “I always wondered why he left his old home, why he never spoke about his past…I guess this is why.”

“It’s hardly a happy story,” Lauriam’s voice dropped, “I’m sorry, Terra, I had no idea he was—”

“Don’t,” Terra shook his head again, “It wasn’t your fault.” He glanced at the painting again, “And it seems like you gave the story a happy end, at least a little.”

“As much as I could,” Lauriam half-closed his eyes. He hesitated before asking, “So, you’ve never been here before? Your master never spoke of this?”

“Never,” Terra shook his head, “He hardly ever talked about his past, and it never occurred to us to ask. We never even knew Xehanort existed until he came to deliver Ven.”

“Truly?” Lauriam’s eyebrows shot up, “And did he never tell you about him afterwards?”

“We were pretty excited to have Ven with us,” Terra snorted a little, “It had been just the three of us for so long, I guess we were more than ready to have someone else to talk to. We didn’t really question why he’d shown up.” Terra’s voice darkened as he added, “And if we did, it never occurred to us that Xehanort might have had ulterior motives.”

“I see,” Lauriam pursed his lips and crossed his arms, “If it’s any consolation, I doubt you were the first.”

He looked up at the portrait, “The one who killed them all…they called him a friend. From what I’ve heard, he was.”

“What changed?” Terra frowned deeply, “Which of them—”

“He’s not here,” Lauriam put his hand against the frame of the painting in front of them, “I don’t know why, but there’s one other member of this class that isn’t here. Baldr. He was the one that…that did this.”

“Why?” Terra asked.

“I’m not sure,” Lauriam hesitated, grimaced, and sighed, “well, no. I’m afraid I know all too well. The boy…he lost his sister.” He pointed to the white-haired girl in the other picture, “It caused him to spiral. He was convinced he had killed her. Maybe he did. I’m not sure. Neither of them really gave me a clear answer on that.”

Lauriam shook his head, “Regardless, his sister was dead, and he blamed himself. His darkness took over, and his grief mixed with old jealousy of his sister to make a terrifying concoction. He decided if his sister was light, that he was only there to cast a shadow, and so he fell to darkness.”

He moved to stand before the other painting, “His sister’s friends had their own plans. Vidar,” he gestured to the boy sitting on the chair, “felt her loss keenly, and he blamed darkness. He tried to summon Kingdom Hearts to wipe all darkness from the world, and he talked the rest of his classmates into helping him. With everyone trying to find them and figure out what happened, it made it easy for Baldr to pick them off. Still, credit where it’s due,” he put a hand near Vidar, “When he realized what was happening, he not only ceased his actions, but tried to stop Baldr. It didn’t work, but he still tried. I don’t know of anyone that started down his road that ever stopped on their own, much less turned back.”

“No one else comes to mind for me, either,” Terra put his hands on his hips, “At least Vidar had good intentions. Though the same could be said for many people who have done horrible things.” Terra’s face screwed up like he’d tasted something awful, “That’s not exactly comforting.”

Lauriam shook his head, “It’s not; it’s a terrifying story, really. How easily the very thing you think is your light can lead you to darkness.” Something like that had happened to his own master, leading him further and further from light. Lauriam frowned; wait, what had happened to him? What made the Foretellers disappear in the first place? Before he could follow that trail of thought further, Terra interrupted him.

“I hate to admit it,” he stared at the painting, his eyes focused a little too intently on the white-haired boy sitting in the chair, “But you’re not wrong. Still, I doubt at the time he was doing this that his sister was really his focus.”

Lauriam winced. There was no way Terra could know how deep those words cut, “True. You can get so focused on something that you lose sight of it completely. Sometimes the most powerful realization is that you’re not after what you wanted. Once the focus of your heart shifts, everything shifts.”

“Then it seems to me,” Terra’s arms hung at his side, his gaze straight ahead on the painting, “the desires of our heart are the best determiner of our actions.”

Lauriam felt a chill creep up his spine. Instead of drawing back, though, it made him stand up straighter.

“So tell me, Lauriam,” Terra turned his head and stared at him, “what’s the desire of your heart? Why are you doing this?”

Lauriam hesitated, closing his eyes for a moment. That was the key question. Among all his scrambled memories and mistakes and attempts to rebuild his life, what lay at the center of it? What was the source of his will? Slowly, he opened his eyes and met Terra’s gaze.

“I want to find my sister,” Lauriam glanced at the boy in the picture, at his easy and yet slightly smug manner, “I know you’ve got no reason to believe me, but that’s my goal. I lost it, lost her, I even forgot her entirely. But now that I know her again, I won’t let myself wander.”

“How are you so sure of that?” Terra asked, the question equal parts challenge, accusation, and honest inquiry.

“To be honest, I’ve asked myself the same question,” Lauriam said with a hint of an ironic laugh. He let out a breath, “But I think, in the end, keeping focused on her, on who she really was and why I want to find her, is what’s going to keep me going. It saved me in the Realm of Dreams. Remembering her smile, how she would get onto me, gave me the strength to keep going and keep focused. Elrena also knew her, so having her around helps a lot,” Lauriam’s eyes darkened a little as he added, “And after dragging her around with me for so long, I’ve got to find some way to make sure she’s okay, too…”

 He sighed, “But there’s not much I can do about that right now. Still, I know I have to remember my sister, and as she really was, too. After so long searching, it was as if I was looking for some other version of her, a version that justified everything I did, instead of my actual sister…and I have no idea how to make up for what I did then. But I have to find a way.”

They fell silent again. Lauriam closed his eyes and focused on his heavy breath until his thoughts eventually settled down. Somewhere far above the two of them, deep within the tower, the bells rang, chiming the hour in resonating strikes.

“I see,” Terra finally said, “That’s your purpose.”

“And I can't lose it again,” Lauriam clenched his fists, the image from before returning to him, still cut-clear and so bright it burned, “I can’t imagine what she’s going to say when she sees me again, after everything I’ve already done. I can’t add more to that.”

Lauriam forced his eyes open and glanced to the side. Terra’s gaze was still on him, but instead of the discomfort that he’d felt before, Lauriam was calm. He’d done horrible things. Let Terra know that, let all the Guardians know that. Ven would know it soon enough. So would Strelitzia. But let them also know that it was never going to happen again.

“I should get back to Aqua,” Terra finally turned away, “Thanks for showing me this.”

Lauriam reached to pull the black palls down over the paintings again. He paused before he asked, “Terra, please, is there anything I can do to help? Anything to get Ven and Elrena back safely?”

Terra hesitated a moment before he said, “Get the rest of your memories back. Go with Chirithy and see whatever he wants to show you. Then come back down and be ready for a fight. Whatever Maleficent wants here, it won’t be good, and I’m not sure just how bad things are going to get” Terra looked him dead in the eye. “And once we get Ven back, whether he remembers or not, I want a full story from you: your whole past, how you know Ven, how you were separated, why you joined the Organization, and what you plan to do now.”

“Understood,” Lauriam nodded, and the two parted ways, Terra descending to the foot of the hill and Lauriam following Chirithy deeper into the city. The clouds in the sky remained, but light still poked through here and there.

+=========+

Aqua strolled around the square to kill time. She couldn’t stand working on that door alone. It made a cold feeling creep over her when she tried to draw the symbols. She wished Terra would hurry up and come back. What was taking him so long? What happened to him?

What happened to our master?

Her own words struck her mind. She’d hurt Terra. She’d hurt him. She hadn’t meant to, she hadn’t even been angry with him, but she’d done it.

Her head ached as she rubbed it. This wasn’t working. This wasn’t getting Ven back. She needed to…to…

Her back struck a wall. Aqua gasped, her entire body tense as a spring. Her fingers curled against the marble into fists. She sank down against it and pressed her head into her knees. She stayed there for several minutes and struggled to breathe normally. Her head throbbed, but she eventually got in a few deep breaths. A gentle breeze carried the smell of saltwater to her nose. Somewhere far away, a seagull cawed.

“He’s coming back,” Aqua lifted her head, staring over her knees at the ocean beyond the square, “He’s coming back to me.”

Her fingers went into her pocket and pulled out the blue star, her wayfinder charm. That’s right, their connection. Her fingers ran slowly over the glass and wire. Break it.

Her fingers tightened instinctually. Aqua jerked her head up, looking around. No one was there. Her hands trembled as she brought her wayfinder to her chest.

“That…that was my own thought,” Aqua shuddered. She shook her head violently, “No. No. I’m not going to be like that!”

She shoved herself to her feet, looking around, though there was still no one there. She raised her voice, “Do you hear me? I’m not going to be like that!”

Her heart strained, thumping wildly. Where was everyone? This world was so quite, so empty…

“He’s coming back!” Aqua shouted to the air. She stepped towards the center of the square and shouted again, louder, “Terra’s coming back!”

But he wouldn’t. She’d lashed out and hurt him, and that was why he’d gone away. He left her because she’d blamed him, just like in Radiant Garden.

She looked at her Wayfinder. It hadn’t protected her or any of them. It was useless; it didn’t do anything to keep her friends near her. She really should just break it, cut herself from all the darkness of the past.

“But Terra isn’t darkness.” Aqua grabbed hold of that thought. Hadn’t Radiant Garden and all that followed showed her how much she should have trusted him, should have stayed with him and made sure Ven wasn’t left to be challenged by Vanitas? When she’d pushed the two of them away, she thought she was doing the right thing, but what had that helped?

Another sea-salt breeze tickled her nose. She snorted, choked, and barked a single laugh at herself. What on earth had she been thinking? Break her wayfinder? No, how could she? Terra was right; she didn’t sound like herself. She was speaking from fear, from…darkness.

No. She couldn’t keep doing that. That would take her friends away from her. That would shatter her.

“But I hurt him. I drove him away. They’re gone now,” Aqua wanted to crumple to the ground again, and she took a few shaky steps backwards, “It’s my fault.”

What if it was already too late? What if Terra really didn’t come back? Of course she needed her friends, but would they want her? Hadn’t she already shattered their bond? And even if she hadn’t, wouldn’t plenty of other things take them away?

She turned wildly, and her eyes landed on the clocktower. It sort of looked like her home. She let her hands fall to her sides, her fingers stroking her charm again. Terra still had his charm, and so did Ven. That hadn’t saved them before.

“No, it didn’t,” Aqua lifted the charm to her face, “But we did find each other eventually. We…we have to come back together again.”

Like a broken record, she clutched her wayfinder and said again, “Terra will come back.”

She’d let him go. She had to believe he would be back, that he wouldn’t be tricked or anything. She stared at the wayfinder in her hand, brows furrowing as she stared into the glass. A new idea formed, vague and washed-out like her reflection. She had made these charms the night before their exam, before their lives changed forever. Had some part of her known something was coming? If that was the case, then maybe it didn’t matter if they separated. Maybe all that mattered was that they came back together.

“Could that be?” she asked her charm, “Is that your real purpose?”

Lowering it and looking around at the city, she hesitated. What had happened to the dark clouds earlier that she thought would bring rain? Light grey traces hung in the air, sunlight piercing through them in golden beams.

The light struck the city, white with splashes of rich color, blue sky above and blue ocean below. It was as much of a complete opposite to the Dark Margin as you could get, while at the same time it had some strange echo of it. She turned slowly away from the clocktower, towards the sea. Tiny waves lapped against the edge of the city, carrying foam in and out.

Aqua rubbed her arm, “I guess I really have been acting different,” the seagull from before cawed again, “I’m still seeing darkness everywhere,” she walked slowly towards the water, passing the half-finished door. She frowned. Even though it was made from local materials, it didn’t belong. It was much like her dark thoughts in a time when she should have been happy and triumphant.

“I’m still waiting for something to go wrong, aren’t I?” Aqua glanced out over the water again. “I’m still waiting for them to go away and realize I’m still there.” She gripped her arms so tightly that her armor piece cut into her fingers. “I guess, in my mind…” her voice dropped to a whisper, “…I still am.”

She hissed in a breath as her entire body shuddered. Her knees buckled. Her head became very heavy, and her heart skipped a beat. And then…that was it. She blinked a couple of times, drawing herself up. She felt a little sore, a little woozy, and maybe in some deep part of her mind, she was still terrified. It hurt, like pulling out a thorn: hard, painful for a moment, and sore in the empty space it had been in. But it was out.

Light drops fell on her arms. She jumped, but let out a breath as she looked around at the faint mist of rain falling on the city. The clouds still let light through; what a strange feeling, rain in sunshine. The mist concentrated into a few drops, but it got no worse.

Aqua glanced at her arms, at the water that landed on them and across her face. It made her smile a little, though she couldn’t manage a laugh. She looked up again as a stronger breeze swept through her hair. The seagull she’d heard earlier swooped through the sky. She followed it with her gaze as it glided towards the clocktower before turning gracefully and disappearing from her view. Aqua smiled wider and raised her wayfinder to the sky, watching light glance off the glass and raindrops in shimmering patterns.

“It’s bright,” Aqua said to herself, a hand over her heart. For a moment, one precious moment, she let herself believe it was going to be okay, that Terra and Ven were going to come back to her.

“You aren’t going to keep them by me forever,” she said to her wayfinder, “But you can help me keep them in my heart. If I can do that…” she relaxed her shoulders and let out a long breath, “If I can keep that connection in me, then I can find my way back to them. I have to trust they’ll help me do that.”

She curled her fingers around the wayfinder before she put it back in her pocket. As she walked back towards the city, she passed the door again, and a shiver ran up her spine. She had to trust them, trust their bond, because she knew what the only other option was. She definitely didn’t want that.

“Please, Terra, come back,” she spoke low, “Come back and prove me right. I need that.”

She didn’t even care what he found out about Lauriam, she just wanted him to come back. Just prove her right this one time so she would have something to cling to when her doubts regathered themselves. Because they would come back. Whatever battle she had won here, whatever rest she had found, it wasn’t the end of what she faced.

“Aqua!”

That voice… She whirled. Terra came through the grand archway, a hand raised in greeting. Aqua’s knees trembled, but she raced forward. He’d fade when she got there. He would disappear and she’d be on her own. But she still raced forward, tripped on the damp stairs, reached out—

“Woah, careful!” Terra’s strong, warm, solid arms caught her, carefully pulling her up and holding her until she got her balance again, “That rain wasn’t much, but it’s not dry yet, either.”

“You came back!” Aqua’s eyes burned a little, and she blinked rapidly, hoping Terra didn’t notice.

“Yeah, I’m back,” Terra smiled, but Aqua noticed him look away a moment, “And I’ve got some things to tell you.”

Chapter Text

Aqua sat on the concrete beneath the oak tree and toyed with her wayfinder as she listened to Terra explain how he’d found Lauriam, what he had overheard, and where Lauriam was going now. He told her about the ghosts and dreams, how Lauriam and Elrena were able to free the trapped souls. At last, he told her of Lauriam’s goal.

“That last part,” Terra took a deep breath, “I think that was what I was looking for: his desire. Knowing that, I feel a lot better about him being here.”

“You mean it?” With her free hand, she rubbed her arm against the chill wind. The clouds had thinned out, but the rain had cooled the air around them.

Terra nodded solemnly, “Yes, and that’s not all. He showed me the portraits of the children, and…Aqua, one of the children involved was our master.”

The wayfinder started to fall from her fingers before she clenched them close, “Master Eraqus?”

“Yes,” Terra nodded, “If what Lauriam said is true, I think I understand why he didn’t tell us about this. I wish he had, but I understand why he didn’t. And as for Lauriam himself, especially with what I heard him say to Chirithy, I believe he’s trying to be good.”

“But if he’s lying…” Aqua gripped her arm and wayfinder tighter. Hadn’t it been less than five minutes ago when she felt everything would be fine? Hadn’t Terra come back to her? Why did her frame start to tremble again so soon? Deep breath, don’t let go, don’t let it win.

“I don’t think he is,” Terra ran his hand across the grass beneath the tree, “I think he really just wants to find his sister.” He frowned a little as he added, “I’m not saying what he did before was right—he said himself it wasn’t. But Chirithy seems convinced of the memory loss, and if that’s true, I can’t entirely blame him. Besides, it seems like now that he has his memories back, of his sister and Ven, now that he remembers how to feel, he’s trying to be better. He risked his life to save those kids, Aqua, and he’s willing to risk it again to save Ven.”

Aqua looked away, “But still, the timing…”

“I know,” Terra said, “But haven’t we had pretty bad timing before?”

“Even so, this entire story, it’s just bizarre. Unbelievable, really.” Aqua shook her head. “And Master Eraqus…he would never have let that happen. Maybe Lauriam just found the portraits and made it up?”

“Possible, but I don’t think it’s likely,” Terra leaned forward, his fist on his chin, his voice level in the way it was whenever he analyzed something, “There were several children in that picture with our master, children that should have grown up with him, but our master never mentioned them. He never talked about any of his past, actually. There had to be a reason. And I’m willing to bet if we went to the cemetery Lauriam mentioned, we could find those gravestones.”

“No, no need for that.” Aqua shook her head violently. “Not like it really matters what happened if it’s all settled now.” She took a deep breath and rubbed her fingers into her skull, “So, Lauriam freed some ghosts, okay, fine, but that doesn’t explain why he’s bothering us now.”

“Well, if what he said is true, we were likely going to meet him sometime,” Terra picked up a twig and tapped the air with each point, “Lauriam’s trying to find his sister, and he thought Ven could help him. He was also friends with Ven, so he probably wanted to see him again. And, well, I think he also might have come to try and repair the damage he’s done.”

Aqua frowned. Something still wasn’t right, “But why now? If Lauriam has been here months, why didn’t he appear sooner?”

“Remember, they don’t have gliders like we do,” Terra gazed up into the leaves of the tree, “Lauriam only recently learned how to get around using Dream Eaters. And Elrena was nearly killed by the fallen wielder. So, it probably took so long because they simply couldn’t get off the world. When they discovered a way, they had to wait for her to recover.”

Aqua breathed out heavily through her nose and wrinkled her face. Why was this story just possible enough to be true, but without enough evidence to completely prove it? She looked up at Terra, who had turned from the leaves to her. Right, he had come back, so things weren’t hopeless. They were still connected. His next question, though, shook her.

“Can I ask why you hate him so much?”

Aqua bit her lip. Hate was an emotion of the darkness. She didn’t hate Lauriam, did she? Did she hate the darkness? Was it okay to hate that? But wasn’t that the same as giving into darkness? Aqua’s brow furrowed.

“I…don’t.” she said briefly.

“Aqua,” Terra looked her dead in the eye, “earlier today you were threatening to kill him.”

“Well…yes,” Aqua stared very hard at her feet, “that…that was out of line. You might have a point there.”

Terra crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. Aqua pursed her lips and huffed out her nose. Fine, he definitely had a point.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Aqua watched dots of sunlight dance around as wind rustled the leaves of the oak tree, “I know it’s ridiculous, but I still feel like our master is going to come around the corner any minute and catch us talking like this.”

“Talking like what?” Terra glanced around, “Aqua, what are we doing that’s wrong?”

“We…we’re talking about darkness,” Aqua blinked slowly. She looked around. Nothing and no one else was there, though she swore she heard the seagull call again.

“And…” Terra waved his hand forward in a circle.

“And I…don’t want to,” Aqua crossed her arms, “It’s not easy for me like you.”

“You think this is easy for me?!” Terra’s voice caught, his laughed like crushed glass, “Trust me, Aqua, I don’t like talking about it any more than you do. I don’t like admitting what I did, what I became. Even if it is over now.”

“And it needs to stay over,” Aqua pushed herself up, “Darkness should be destroyed or sealed away and left there. Not brought back into the light.”

“And how do you think it’s defeated like that, Aqua?” Terra raised an eyebrow. “Darkness doesn’t disappear unless it’s faced directly. That’s why our master trained us, to confront it.”

“Even if it’s in…” Aqua clenched her hands over her chest. She turned on her heel and paced back and forth. “But I can’t. I can’t bring this all back; it’s like turning on what I know. And if I do that, what protection do I have?”

“You have me,” Terra stepped in front of her and took her hands, “I didn’t mean to imply confronting darkness was easy. But we have to do it, Aqua, because only when we face it can we overcome it.”

“And what if I can’t?!” her voice broke. She didn’t realize a few tears escaped her eyes until Terra wiped them away. His voice was very soft, very smooth.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ve found that it’s much easier to stand against the darkness when you’ve got friends on your side.” He left his hand on her cheek for a moment longer. “I’m here, Aqua. Don’t worry about that.”

She managed to raise her hand to Terra's and clear her vision. She gripped his hands, “Hate is of the darkness. You know that. And you still want me to…to say…to show you…”

“You’re not darkness,” Terra said in the same manner he might say the sky and her hair were blue, “But if there’s something going on—which I know there is, so let’s stop pretending there isn’t—then the only way you even have a chance to overcome it is to face it. That’s why I asked what I did.”

Aqua lowered her shoulders. She let her hands fall from Terra’s grip and sat down again on the concrete. She looked at her hands.

“And…you’re staying here?”

“Staying right here,” Terra seated himself beside her, “whatever happens.”

“And I…we’re going to…face it,” Aqua’s heartbeat pounded in her ears.

“Take your time,” Terra put a hand on hers, “But I do want to address this. I think we need to, for many reasons.”

What else were they going to do? She had enough tempest in her chest already without the clawing unease that came from working on the door. And Terra looked perfectly happy to sit there until the end of time or she answered him, whichever came first. Aqua sighed heavily, ignoring the triumphant gleam in Terra's eye.

“Well, then, in regards to your question, I guess my answer is,” she gripped his hand tightly, “I don’t like him,” she worked her lips back and forth, “because he kidnapped Ven? I know Chirithy said that wasn’t the case. I know you trust him. But still…my heart throws up walls the moment he’s mentioned.”

Terra brushed her knuckles, “So what about him makes you think you need to be on guard?”

“Because he,” the chill working in her chest was too familiar, “he brought darkness back into our lives.”

“Aqua,” Terra put a hand on her shoulder, “There’s a difference between darkness and a person connected to it. He’s a person, just like you and me.”

“He is not like us!”

“Maybe just me, then,” Terra shrugged.

“You see falling to darkness as some sort of bond?!” Aqua shoved herself up again, “It’s not! It’s…it’s…”

Terra didn’t interrupt, didn’t say anything. She looked at him seriously, “Terra, not everyone who falls to darkness wants to come back. Remember Pete earlier today? What about Maleficent? If they tried to tell you they were sorry, would you believe them?”

“No,” he shook his head, “I wouldn’t. But I get the feeling Lauriam isn’t like them. He’s looking for his sister; I’m as certain as I can be right now that is his true goal. With that as his guide, I trust his heart is at least in the right place.”

“How do you know?” Aqua's words came faster, “Lauriam has always been like Maleficent, not like…not like…”

In frustration, she balled her hands into fists. There was a sharp sting in her palm. Aqua looked down at her wayfinder, catching sight of the hazy reflection in the glass.

“Aqua?” Terra asked.

“Terra…” she hesitated, and forced herself to look him in the eyes, “I’ve felt what it’s like to fall to darkness, to lose yourself, and I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not a connection I want to have.”

“Darkness isn’t the connection,” Terra said, every word clear and decisive, “The connection is coming back from it.”

“Coming back,” Aqua repeated, taking a deep breath and looking around, “Then has he? How do you know? How do you know that he isn’t still there, that he isn’t bringing darkness with him, that we’re not still in the middle of—”

Still in the middle of all that darkness. Oh. Her thoughts had come full circle. She clenched her fists again. She hated going on in this manner, but how could she escape it? How could she move on and wall this fear away? How did it keep breaking out and coming between her and her friends?

“Aqua,” Terra frowned, an eyebrow raised, “Is this still about Lauriam?”

“…No. It’s…it’s,” she crumpled back onto the concrete, “It’s about everything. Me. You. Ven. Just…everything.” She looked at the ground, “I can still feel it. Sometimes. Nights aren’t the worst for me. The quiet is. And I…I can’t even talk about it.”

Terra wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his chest, “That must be terrifying. I’m so sorry.”

“You know the worst part?” Aqua’s voice caught on her garbled laughter, “I know you’re right. I know things should be fine now and I shouldn’t be afraid. I know fear is of the darkness, even fear of the darkness. It made me hurt you, not just now, but ten long years ago when you needed me more than ever. I know you’re right, but I can’t—”

She could only take shuddering breaths for a moment. She pressed her head against his chest. His heartbeat was so strong, so steady, “Terra, please, I’m sorry. I know you’re trying your hardest, and I hate to ask more, but…” she shook her head, “I don’t think I can do this. Every second Ven isn’t here, I feel more and more like I’m back there, back,” she swallowed the bile in her throat. She didn’t want to tell him, didn’t want to see the disgust in his eyes. But Light Above, she could feel the coldness spreading between them every second, and it scared the words out of her dry throat, “back in the Realm of Darkness. And I’m not sure what to do. All I know is Lauriam started this and I want it to stop. I want to stop him. I want to get rid of him and make sure he never comes back—”

It was like someone had choke-slammed her into a tub of liquid ice. She froze, her own words chilling her veins. She jerked away from Terra and her wayfinder clattered to the floor. Her words tumbled out of her, “How many people have I not hesitated to drive a Keyblade through just for speaking like that? Terra, I wanted to kill him!”

She gripped her arms, breath coming short and fast, “Oh Light, no, no, this isn’t right!”

“Easy there,” Terra took her arms until she looked up at him. He was smiling, a lot happier than she could ever be right now, “Aqua, you’re right.”

“Oh, good, wonderful!” Her tone was harsh, “I’m right about being, being…” She put her face in her hands, “What on earth is wrong with me?”

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Terra pulled her hands from her face, picked up her wayfinder, and placed it her palm, “You’re scared, and you’re hurt. But for what it’s worth, Aqua, you’re doing incredible.”

“Sure I am,” she looked away, “Just let me go threaten to kill about ten more people and I’m sure I’ll be perfect then.”

Terra put his hands on his hips, “That’s not what I’m talking about,” his tone lightened, “Listen to me, you’re a lot farther along than you think you are. It’s natural to be scared, to not want to talk about what happened, about losing yourself. But you’ve recognized what’s happening to you. You stopped it all on your own, Aqua. No one did it for you; you noticed it and you stopped it. That’s an achievement in and of itself.”

Recognized? Stopped it? Aqua hesitated a moment. Well, yes, she had, hadn’t she? But how awful had it gotten before she noticed? How much damage had she caused? And how much worse could it have been?

But it didn’t get worse. It wasn’t getting worse now. Aqua found that her throat had opened up enough that she could breathe normally, and the chill feeling dissipated a little along with the shock.

She loosened her fierce grip on her arm as Terra said, “I know it may not seem like it, but I can tell you’re trying, that you’re doing better. I know you, and I know you can handle this situation. And if something happens, I’m going to be there for you. I promise, Aqua,” he pulled out his wayfinder and held it next to hers, “with an unbreakable bond.”

She stared at the two stars, glinting in the speckled light that made its way through the leaves. She could feel Terra’s eyes on her. He had seen what was in her heart, and he still kept looking. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. He smiled in that slightly awkward and lopsided way that showed just a little too much teeth. He used that smile so often when Ven first started training, when he worked so hard to catch up with them.

“Terra…thank you,” Aqua wrapped her arms around him. The two of them sat there beneath the tree and held each other. It was nice, just being there, holding him and being held. Whatever cold still hung around her dissolved like morning dew, and Terra’s heartbeat filled her ears.

Eventually, she spoke, “And, Terra, I’m sorry…what you’re doing for me…I should have been there for you a long time ago. But I wasn’t. I abandoned you when you most needed me, and I lost you. Terra, I’m so sorry.”

Terra hugged her tightly, “Let’s not think about that. I abandoned you, too, and everything I was ever taught.”

He took her by the shoulders, “But we can learn from that. It’s not going to happen now, no matter what.”

“Not again,” Aqua said in a breath, “I—We are going to get through this.”

“Together,” Terra smiled again.

As she pulled out of the embrace, Aqua's gaze fell again on the door. She looked seriously at Terra, “Time to confront some things, then.”

She ran a hand through her hair, took five deep breaths, and asked him, “I guess Lauriam is the first thing to deal with. With what you found out about him, do you think he can be trusted?”

“For now, yes,” Terra nodded, “I’ve learned what he’s done here, and given the circumstances, I think we can keep him around at least until we deal with Maleficent and get Ven back. We can worry about everything else later, especially since much will depend on Ven and what he remembers and what he wants to do.”

“That’s something I hadn’t even considered,” Aqua put a hand to her head, snorting, “All this time I was so worried about keeping Ven safe, it didn’t even occur to me to question that he might actually want them…”

She looked at Terra and made herself continue in a level tone, “But no more of that. Yes, the first course of action is to get Ven back safely, then we can learn from Chirithy and Ven what their decision is regarding Lauriam…oh, and Elrena, too. I still can't help but wonder what she’s doing.”

Aqua rubbed the bridge of her nose, “But I guess we don’t have any information about that now. Much as I hate working blind like this, I guess we don’t have any other choice.”

“If it helps at all,” Terra folded his arms, “Lauriam seems pretty worried about Elrena, too. Which makes me think he also has no idea what’s going on with her.”

“I see,” Aqua frowned, “Then in that case, the best we can do is be ready for anything. While Lauriam gets his memories back, we get Ven back. And the only way to do that,” She eyed the frame before them, still half-done and wanting wood and glyphs, “is to finish this door.”

She had no idea what would happen after they were done. But regardless, they would get Ven back. She glanced at Terra, who stepped up beside her, setting his jaw. Whatever Lauriam was doing, there was someone Aqua knew she could trust, someone who would come back to her. Someone she had hurt by being so fearful.

That was not going to happen again, no matter what. She still didn’t know about Lauriam, but he wasn’t even her biggest concern anymore. Scary as it was to admit Lauriam might be honest, to let him trick them, scarier still was the thought of hurting Terra—or anyone else—like that again.

So, she was scared. She summoned Rainfell into her hand and pointed it at the unfinished door. Scared or not, her friends needed her. So she would go on scared out of her mind and not completely sure one way or another. The only thing she could be certain about is that they were all still connected. She slipped the wayfinder into her pocket with a trembling hand.

Unease crept up her back, but she walled it away. The only way to get Ven back was to finish this door. Lauriam hadn’t actually done anything to hurt them, and as for knowing if they could trust him…there was nothing to do but wait. She hated waiting. But for Ven’s sake, and for her own, she would. It was the best protection she could manage for them all right now.

+=======+

Lauriam gave up trying to track the twists and turns and staircases Chirithy led him up and down and around. He was pretty sure not even Castle Oblivion had been this confusing! Still, it was pleasant to get lost, as he and Elrena had done on multiple occasions during their stay in this strange yet familiar world.

He gazed up at the sky. The grey clouds from earlier had thinned out after dropping a mist of rain. He wasn’t certain, but he thought he caught glimpses of a white bird. On the ground, the city had a darker, older tone, and black lamps stuck up every few feet. He and Elrena hadn’t been to this part of town. Strange, Lauriam thought they’d explored everything.

“Are we almost there?” he fidgeted with his glove.

“Almost,” Chirithy turned back with a comically serious look on his face, “Are you ready, Lauriam?”

“I’m not sure what else I could do to prepare,” Lauriam ran a hand through his hair, trying to make it behave, which it never did, “But what are you taking me to see?”

“Something that might unlock the last of your memories,” Chirithy looked left and right, “Since I’m not your Chirithy, I can’t do it myself, but this might help you recall those memories on your own. So, what’s the last thing you can remember?”

Lauriam took a deep breath and massaged his head, which already hurt, “And how will this help Ven?”

“You’ll see!” Chirithy waved his little arms about, “Now what do you remember?”

“I remember glitches in Daybreak Town,” Lauriam frowned, “Ephemer and…and someone had gone to check them out, and Ephemer came back alone. I…I explored the tower again and ended up…in the basement? And there was something…someone—Maleficent?!” he took a half-step backwards as pain shot through him, “Why is she here? Oh…oh no, I lost that fight horribly, didn’t I?”

“Yes, you did,” Chirithy nodded, “And after that…?”

Lauriam grit his teeth and hissed in breath as he struggled to stay upright, “I…I was dreaming…there’s a field of flowers, and…and my sister…” he wanted to smile at the memory. The terrible end of the vision flashed before him, and Lauriam cried out just as he had in the dream, “Strelitzia!”

Tears flowed from his eyes, and he collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. He vaguely registered Chirithy muttering near him.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…”

“No, no,” Lauriam dragged himself up with the help of a lamp post, “It’s alright, Chirithy. I…I can’t remember beyond that, just that the data world started collapsing and Brain somehow managed to get me, Elrena, and Ven out and away.”

With a deep breath and a much deeper understanding of what he put Sora through in Castle Oblivion, Lauriam dusted himself off, “Let’s see if we can’t get the rest of those memories, shall we?”

“If you’re sure…” Chirithy hesitated, rubbing his paws together anxiously. He turned and took a single step forward before stopping cold and turning around carefully, “Lauriam, when you see—that is, if you remember…can you please…I mean, I know it’ll be upsetting, and you have a right to be angry, but…”

“What is it, Chirithy?” Lauriam inclined his head, and Chirithy shook himself.

“Just…don’t be too mad at Ven, please?”

“Alright,” Lauriam raised an eyebrow, wondering how on earth he could ever be mad at Ventus.

“Okay, then,” Chirithy wagged his oversized head, tiny ears flapping adorably, “Let’s go.”

Lauriam followed him around the corner, through a wrought-iron gate, and finally into another plaza. Because he was focused on Chirithy, he only caught the bottom of a fountain in the center. As Chirithy drew up short, Lauriam raised his gaze to the top of the fountain.

He froze. Static sounded in his head as he took a step closer, then another. He could now clearly read the plaque beneath the statue.

In memory of our honored founder,

Who made light shine forth in the deepest darkness,

His heart his guiding key:

MASTER EPHEMER

Lauriam’s head broke open like an eggshell. Screams of a wounded animal ripped from his throat as he fell to his knees. His entire skeleton rattled under the pressure. The last section of memories flooded in.

It wasn’t just the face, though that was painfully familiar. No, what triggered the flood was the Keyblade in his hand—Brain’s Keyblade. And Lauriam knew why he had it. He knew the only two times he’d seen Brain pull out that Keyblade.

Stumbling back to the Foretellers Chamber, his anger growing into recklessness as he attacked his fellow Leaders, Ven’s confession, Lauriam’s rage, and Darkness’ appearance—all of it played like a sick movie before him, turning Lauriam’s stomach. He hit the ground, but he wasn’t sure if that was in the present or because Darkness smacked him down in the past. There was nothing but that horrid shade, the ache in his body, his head, and his heart. It would not, could not, be alleviated.

Just in time, though, Ven awoke and they won. But what a minor victory that was compared to the horror that had happened on that wasteland. How could they all have ignored the thing that was literally tearing their reality apart? How could he have gone about his day lying to every Dandelion that everything was fine, that the bells never rung? Now what were they to do? Still, even then, Brain had a plan, a desperate one for all involved.

They had a limited number of pods, and time was short. Brain gave Ephemer his Keyblade and the Book of Prophecies, then took him and Ven to the real world. Lauriam convinced Elrena to board with them. After all, they had been chosen to look after the Dandelions—if they couldn’t save them all, they might at least save one.

Oh, how terrible all that had been, to go through all those emotions and all that pain and confusion and fear, only to wake up and forget how to feel. And then to have it all come rushing back as Sora bested him a second time.

But those weren’t the only memories that came to the surface. No, there was also a flickering of images that seemed to overtake and wrap around him, a collection of experiences that had faded into shadows during his waking hours. It felt like a dream, but Lauriam had a sinking feeling whatever was going on was far too real. His last clear thought was that, like everything in the data world, all this had happened before.

Chapter Text

He was falling, falling, falling. Time and place jumbled together until neither had any sense nor meaning. This had all happened before, but it was happening again. He didn’t even question why or how he knew. He wasn’t thinking clear enough to do so. The images had overtaken him, started something far beyond his control or understanding.

It began in a pitch-black box. He was all alone. Every joint and muscle ached and throbbed. Everything froze in an unnatural child, the air still and tight as the head of a drum. He tried to rise, but blood-red chains bound his wrists. More chains wrapped around his body, over his neck and back and arms. What, why?

You deserve this.

His memory crashed into him. It was a miracle it didn’t knock him through the floor. He knew the source of these chains. He knew why he was here. Everyone he’d hurt not just as a Nobody, but as far back as he could remember. And he remembered everything.

All the lifetimes he’d failed in: An older brother. A Union Leader. A lost boy. A Nobody. A Vessel. All the tears he’d made others—so many children—cry burned like acid on his skin. He shuddered and convulsed, but he couldn’t get to his feet, could barely get on his knees before more weight pressed down. How could he have forgotten his sister? How could he have done this to a fellow wielder? How could he have gone with them, provoked what he was supposed to have abstained from? How could he have become that creature?

All of it came in surges, returning again and again in review to ensure he didn’t miss anything. His heart screamed and ached under the putrid burden. It pressed down, ever present and somehow keeping back just enough that there was always more his almost-shattered heart could take. His throat was too dry and cracked to do anything but wheeze in air. Tears spilled from his eyes and nose like molten sludge. A fire raged through his body, but it refused to turn to ash. The thick air thinned in a vacuum around him as though not even it wanted to touch him.

“P-please…” he gripped his hair even though the chains pressed against his forehead, “Please, stop!”

But it didn’t. Why would it stop? How could it stop? Put even a spark to tinder and it ignites. In his charred fingers was the match. He stared at his hands a moment before he screamed.

He tried to reach out for someone, something, anything. How could so much pressure offer no resistance to his fingers? He clawed on empty air or the unyielding bottom of the box. It was both incredibly huge and far too confining at once. He could never find a wall to drag himself up on, but he knew they were there.

“Please…” tears stained his face, his throat raw, “Please, I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…please just kill me!”

Death had been less painful than this! To get a heart, to know how to feel, only to have all this…this torment shoved on him!

Oh, but his memories weren’t done yet. His behavior in Corona, everyone he’d cut down with his scythe, and all the harsh words he’d spoken to anyone and everyone he ever wanted to hurt, all of it noised itself to him. He wanted to tear himself apart piece by tainted piece.

He opened his mouth to beg, but only a pitiful half-gasp fell out.

And there was yet more. He remembered all the times he should have been there for his sister, should have helped and protected and comforted her more, but was too worried about Lux and the impending war he’d fled from like a coward only to return to fight in later. When she’d summoned her blade, he’d been angry. How dare the light give her this burden? How dare it put her in danger instead of having her stay safe at home? How dare it take everything away from him? How dare he take Elrena away from everything?

Among the endless memories, time would not pass. There was only his revelation, building and building in a constant crescendo. He’d done this—He had done this. The shame was like weights on his legs as he recalled everyone he’d let down: his sister, Ephemer, Master Ava, Master Ira, Brain, Skuld, Ven, Elrena. Even little Namine had once looked up to him with something like trust, like he was an end to her loneliness. How quickly he'd made her wish she was alone again.

All those many times he’d refused to help the other Union Leaders in order to look for fruitless clues to his sister—he should have checked on Elrena more often to make sure she was okay, but of course she was fine and would help him at the drop of a hat. How much she had paid for that. Was she now sharing his fate? If only he could reach out to her now…but what help could his touch offer?

He may as well have spilled her blood himself; he may as well have killed many, so many. He’d fled and abandoned the rest of the Union Leaders and the poor Dandelions to die in Daybreak Town. He hadn’t been strong enough, hadn’t trained enough to be able to defeat Maleficent. It was his fault they didn’t have enough pods. Dozens and thousands of other missteps added upon him, and he let out a wordless scream.

“PLEASE!” he clutched at his chest, his chains biting his skin, “PLEASE, I’M SO, SO SORRY!”

Pain seized every part of him, and for a brief moment, he thought this was finally the end, finally when he would give out and be torn into a million pieces. Finally when recompense would be made. But that was not to be—he crumpled in on himself as he realized that he would not break apart and disappear.

“I’m so sorry,” he struggled to get breath in, “Namine, Ephemer, Sora…” there weren’t enough words to reach all the people he needed to, “I’m so sorry…What have I done?”

He trashed against his chains, wanting to run as far and as fast as possible. But it wasn’t possible, not at all. He understood now that it didn’t matter where the black box was. It could be any world out there—Castle Oblivion or the Dwarf Woodlands or Daybreak Town or that wasteland or Destiny Islands or Corona or even Wonderland—and he would not be free.

He slammed his fists into the ground, his body convulsing like he’d been electrocuted. Tears had long since stolen his vision, yet he could still see the red chains clearly. His shriveled voice barely cut through the searing, purging pain. Yet, in the midst of his dissected chest, a vague thought shambled itself together from the debris between his ribs.

“I could have done better,” he stared at the chains around his arms, “I should have done better…”

The box trembled, and he finally got a halfway decent breath, “I want to do better…I just want to fix this…I’m so sorry…”

At that moment, he felt a presence nearby. Even through the weight of every muscle, Lauriam lifted his head. Did he imagine it? Far above him, a tiny hole opened and grew bigger. It was halfway to him when Lauriam realized it was not a hole but a light that descended to him and grew brighter, though it was still only about the size of an acorn, a halo around it the size of an orange. Lauriam reached for it.

The chains tightened around his wrists and arms. They pulled so hard Lauriam’s elbows dug into his chest. The unseen walls pressed in. Deafening silence pounded his eardrums. The burning was not just inside anymore, but also outside from the light itself. Yet still Lauriam struggled, his fingers stiff but extended towards the light. He could barely raise his hand past his bowed head.

The light floated down, brushed against his fingers, and flowed into his palms. A shock of warm, almost unbearable stillness flooded him. He lowered his trembling arm and cupped the light in his hands. Lauriam was finally able to hear the unmistakable answer to what he had cried out.

“You can change.”

Like a drowning man pulled to the surface, Lauriam’s chest expanded and exploded. He clutched the precious light between his fingers and felt something clutch back, as sure as a pair of sturdy brown gloves. Lauriam hacked out a breath, tears again falling down his face, but this time there were soft hands brushing them away. The breeze from their passing whispered to his heart.

It wasn’t words, but more like a familiar melody that he could only just catch mumbled patches of. How long had it been since he’d heard such song? How long since it had touched him? As Lauriam rubbed at his eyes, he heard the now familiar clack of chains. What use were his tears when he failed to wipe away so many he’d caused? His head faltered. Yet still, the familiar hands held his.

Lauriam had done everything he’d once despised. How could he hope to move on from that? How could anyone forgive him for forsaking everything he’d promised? For what he’d done to Namine? How could he look at himself again? What would he see?

He felt the hands squeeze his. At least he wouldn’t add more links to these dreadful chains. At least he would never hurt anyone again. Yet even still, that wasn’t enough. He could tell by the hunger clawing in his heart. How could he not at least reach out to brush those tears away?

At that moment, the light clutched in his hands grew brighter. Lauriam’s jaw hit the ground as the gleam faded. Kneeling before him was the masked face of Master Ava, her mouth sorrowfully downturned as she raised his arms to her face. She shook her head sadly.

“I…I have let you down. I failed,” Lauriam hung his head again, “I’m sorry…”

Ava gripped the chains in her hands. Looking him in the eye, she softly replied, “No…I’m sorry.”

She pulled back, and the chains shattered in her grip. A painful rush filled him like the pulse of blood into an unblocked vein. He stared and tried to catch his breath. Ava took his arms and raised him to his feet. Lauriam didn’t stop rising. The light he’d clutched so tightly floated upwards in a trail of sparks. He reached for it, paused, and glanced down once more. He was halfway between the light and Ava. She smiled at him and waved goodbye. Lauriam waved back, turned his attention to the light above him, and chased it. He went higher and higher, and he knew he’d left the black box, though everything around him was still a void, except for the light he followed. The darkness pressed down against him, and Lauriam had to kick and reach constantly for the light. He couldn’t let it out of his sight.

He was so focused, he didn’t notice the blue that crept into the blackness, or that the blue grew lighter, or that the light he chased began to merge with a brighter glow above him. But when Lauriam saw the light disappear in a mix of blue and white, he gave one final kick and reached as desperately as he could. He felt his hand emerge into an unfamiliar substance. Another hand reached down and pulled him into the air. Blinking in the bright sunlight and crystal-blue sky above him, Lauriam didn’t even question how he could be sprawled on the surface of water. A familiar voice brought his attention to the side. He was not disappointed at the figure kneeling beside him.

“I’m glad to see you, Lauriam,” he smiled his chubby-cheeked grin, “I finally found you again.”

“E…Eph—Ephemer,” Lauriam struggled to raise a hand toward him, his eyes wide, “Is this—that place I was in…are we dead?”

“Yes and no,” Ephemer laughed a little as he scratched his chin, “Do you remember what happened before this, Lauriam?”

His hand his the water with a tiny splash, and he covered his face with a groan, “Ephemer…I-I’m so—I shouldn’t have…Xehanort and, and…Ephemer, I’m so sorry…”

Ephemer slowly put his hand on Lauriam's and nodded his head in his knowing way, “Your apology is more than accepted, Lauriam. But it’s over now; your heart is healing, and your body is reforming. Your mind is putting itself fully back in order, too. I was able to make sure of it this time, unlike last time.”

“That’s good,” Lauriam breathed and glanced to the side. There was only more sea and sky as far as he could see.

Ephemer snorted a little at his casual response, “It is. But there’s something I’ve learned about healing, Lauriam.”

“Oh, what’s that?” Lauriam turned his head upwards and saw Ephemer look from the sky to his eyes.

“Healing is about being whole,” Ephemer leaned back on an arm, “Making people forget doesn’t work, because it robs them of a part of themselves. Maybe it’ll work initially, maybe it is even needed for a time. But whatever happened needs to be faced. If any part of us is hurt—heart, mind, body, dreams, or any of the many bits that make us up—the others all get affected. Those parts all need each other like friends need each other, and they need a stable place to exist together. That’s why I’m doing something special for you, Lauriam.”

“Are you sure about that?” Lauriam's eyes narrowed, “Ephemer…you know, don’t you?”

“Please, let me do this.” Ephemer glanced away as he traced ripples on the water. “I never told you this, but I secretly blamed you for your anger. I felt like if you could have just trusted us enough to not do anything stupid when you found out about the list, we could have solved this mystery sooner. And safer.” He shook his head with pursed lips. “But that was irrational. For one, I was the one keeping secrets; I even lied to one of my closest friends…Player. It was also completely inconsiderate of your feelings. Strelitzia was your little sister; you were all the other had. If I had any sympathy, I wouldn’t have wanted you to ignore those feelings. I still don’t think you should have attacked Ven, but…you had a right to be angry. You had a right to know. I’m sorry, Lauriam.”

“Well, as you said,” Lauriam rubbed his face with an exhausted hand, “I was no saint myself. I was mistrustful, and borderline obsessed, occasionally ignoring my duties as a Union Leader. But…I had to find her, Ephemer. I still do.”

“I know,” Ephemer’s voice broke as his eyes misted. He ran a hand over his face and cleared his throat before going on, “But I understand now. Our hearts—all our hearts—were weak. We’d witnessed a war, the beginning of the destruction of our world, and we didn’t take the time to heal. Not that we had much option, but still…there had to be a better solution than moving into a fake reality and pretending nothing happened.”

“That’s not all we did,” Lauriam’s lip twitched, “We also beat up holograms of each other. I’d say it’s the greatest prank you ever pulled.”

“HA!” Ephemer’s entire body trembled with his snorts of laughter. He wiped at his eyes and said with a gasp of breath, “And I suppose we also spent a good deal of time unconscious and making creatures to assist us in being unconscious.”

“Except Brain,” Lauriam shook his head, “Probably the one who needed unconsciousness the most.”

“Let’s be honest, which of us didn’t have an irrational, inconsistent, or nonexistent sleep schedule?” Ephemer grinned as he put a hand over his chest with shiny, sober eyes, “But we all need rest. We all need to relax and find something beneath our feet. It’s the only way we can prepare for what’s coming, for when we have to face the truth. Because our true memories always come out eventually.”

Lauriam’s eyes darkened as he half-laughed, “I have some experience with that.”

Ephemer’s lips pursed and his eyebrows lowered in the way they did whenever he found one of the Union Leaders doing something particularly foolish. Lauriam was now certain he knew everything. He wanted to sink beneath the surface again, but Ephemer put a hand on his shoulder and locked eyes with him.

“But I understand now why we need a safe place to heal,” Ephemer touched a fist against his chest, “So I’m doing you a favor, Lauriam. There’s a special world out there—a world with a rich past and pretty fine architecture, if I do say so myself. It’s quiet and safe and, at the moment, hidden. Normally, stuff like this isn’t allowed, but a certain strong-hearted boy has shaken so many things up, a lot of stuff that isn’t allowed can be done now.”

“Sora does have that effect,” Lauriam snorted as guilt pierced his heart and seized his body again. At least the pressure of Ephemer’s hand on his shoulder dissipated it.

“That, and,” a smile lit up Ephemer’s face, “well, while I don’t normally care for war, there are rules that can be a bit useful—such as the rule of spoils, where anyone who helps the winning side gets something from the loser’s side.”

Lauriam, who hadn’t a clue what that meant, muttered, “What have I done to that boy…?”

“Time for that later,” Ephemer said, “As though you haven’t had enough of it already. Lauriam, look at me.”

Obediently, Lauriam turned his head again and saw the exhausted look on Ephemer’s face. It was not the type of look any fourteen-year-old should have.

“Guilt…it’s a funny thing,” he rubbed his chin slowly, “I didn’t like what you had to go through.”

“I deserved it,” Lauriam clenched his fists, “Ephemer, you can’t say I didn’t.”

“Maybe…” Ephemer sighed and looked away a moment, “but the thing is, guilt is like pain. Pain in your body tells you something’s broken, so you should stop and fix it. Guilt in your heart tells you something you’re doing is wrong, so you should stop and fix it. Once you do, it’s not a good idea to keep calling it back. It’s like setting your arm only to smack it with a sledgehammer a week later. Maybe we need that pain sometimes, but we don’t need to cause it. I never heard of someone healing just by studying all the ways a bone can break. Remember that, okay, Lauriam?”

“I will,” Lauriam placed his hand over the timid beat in his chest. With each pulse it hammered in the hope that this time he really could keep his promise, that he wouldn’t forget.

“Good,” Ephemer beamed and looked almost like a real child again, “Now, as I was saying, there’s this special world. Darkness won’t be able to follow you there, not for a little bit, at least. Right now, it’s cut off from the other worlds, but that’ll work in your favor. Something tells me that’ll change soon anyways. I’m sending you and Elrena there so you can rest, so your hearts and bodies can heal from everything you’ve been through. Please, please, please take the rest, Lauriam. You’ll be surprised at how much it’ll help you later. Trust me.”

“I do,” Lauriam nodded through a heaviness in his limbs that hadn’t been there a moment ago. This was…familiar. In fact, all of this experience had been, as if it had all happened before. Panic gripped him as Ephemer began to stand up, and Lauriam snatched at his glove.

“Wait! Have we,” he shook his head, “has this all happened before?”

“You remember,” Ephemer smiled, “Yes, Lauriam. We talked like this when you were recompleted. That was when I sent you to Scala the first time. Soon you’ll go back.”

Lauriam gripped Ephemer’s glove harder. His eyes drank in his appearance, “Where are you—that is…the way you’re talking…won’t you be with us?”

“I’ll tell you what I told you last time,” Ephemer got down on one knee next to him. The soft but sad smile on his lips gave Lauriam his answer before he spoke.

“I’ll always be with you. Even if you can’t see me—”

“Which I’m guessing I won’t,” Lauriam’s tone was bitter, though he knew he had no right to complain. Ephemer merely smiled again and gently rubbed Lauriam’s head.

“No, I’m sorry. I can’t go with you.”

His apology stung Lauriam, who opened his mouth, but Ephemer held up a hand and shook his head. His brown glove rested with worn grace on Lauriam’s mess of hair. Ephemer gazed about, and Lauriam noticed the twinkling lights all around them, spinning and twisting into occasional flashes of star-shaped light.

“It’s okay to be upset,” Ephemer said, “Especially when you lose a friend. But I’m not lost, Lauriam. Not as long as you remember me and I remember you. We’re in each other’s hearts, so even if you can’t see or hear me, even when something clouds my ability to reach out, I want you to know that I’m always with you. You’ve been able to reach back and get to me before; you’re doing it now. Don’t forget that.”

His eyes misted again as he gripped Lauriam’s shoulder as fiercely as Lauriam gripped his glove, “Those days in Daybreak Town, even though it was only data, are some of the happiest I have. It wasn’t your fault you lost them, but I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you get every moment back, even if you also have to take the loss and regret that accompany it.”

“I wouldn’t trade it back for anything,” Lauriam’s entire form trembled with the force of his grip, “I’m holding onto it this time.”

“Alright, but give yourself time,” Ephemer breathed and loosened his hold, “You’re in a numb state right now when it comes to memories. This world has a strange relationship with time, so you’re not fully processing it all right now, but you’ll have to eventually. Still, I’m sending you to a place where, for once, you’ll have time to do that processing. At least that’s my hope.”

“Thank you…” Lauriam breathed, though that duo of words was poorly inadequate to what he felt spilling from his heart towards his generous friend. Ephemer beamed again and gave his head one final pat before he stood up.

As light gathered around both of them, Lauriam smiled up at his friend, “Ephemer, just…thank you. I can’t say it enough—thank you, thank you…”

Ephemer raised a hand in salute, “It’ll probably be years, Lauriam, but we’ll meet again. Until then, I’ll keep you in my heart.”

“I look forward to it,” Lauriam breathed, his limbs tinging as though they were cords connected to an electrical source, “And I’ll do the same.” The smile on Ephemer’s face was something Lauriam would have run a hundred miles to get, and he added, “The next time we meet, I’m going to have done something to make you glad of this!”

He flashed his most brilliant smile and saw Ephemer return it and raise his fist higher as Lauriam’s vision faded completely to white. He felt like he was falling down yet rising high at the same time. The white faded to black, and heaviness slammed into him.

For a moment, everything was confusion. Where was he? Why was he hurt? Who was he? He groaned, but even that aggravated the pain. It was some minutes before he could force his eyelids open.

When he did, a brilliant blue sky with long white clouds seared his eyes. The sight cut through the fog of his confusion and snapped memories into place. Lauriam flinched and shuddered in on himself. Aching muscles protested this movement, but he didn’t care. He just needed to get his eyes to adjust. After a few more attempts, he was able to turn his head away from the sky and to the cobbled streets and hills of white buildings. It was intricate, blocky, and beautiful. Elegantly grand geometry. But the best sight of all was the blonde woman lying a few feet from him. She stirred as he excitedly called her true name.

“Elrena!” Lauriam clutched the edge of the fountain as tears filled his eyes. He started, confused.

Why was he sitting on the fountain, Ephemer’s statue at his back? Why was it so quiet? Where was everyone? Somewhere far away, he thought someone might have been calling him. But where he sat, Lauriam was utterly alone.

He tried to order his thoughts as his fingers ground against the rough concrete. The pain brought him back to what he thought was reality. The memories and visions seeped in as he stared up at Ephemer’s statue. It felt so close and yet so far away at the same time, and it was all too vivid. Not too bright, for a fog covered everything outside of the plaza he was in. Just…vivid.

“This isn’t Scala Ad Caelum.”

Lauriam’s head jerked up. He was no longer alone. The boy before him looked much like Ephemer, but his eyes were silver. And Lauriam knew what this boy had done.

“It’s not the real world, Lauriam,” Baldr repeated.

“What are you doing here?!” Lauriam shot to his feet, “I thought—”

“You laid us to rest. All of us.” Baldr rubbed his arm.

“You nearly killed Elrena,” Lauriam said, his tone full of venom, “You killed your own friends.”

“I know,” Baldr’s hair shadowed his face.

Lauriam breathed out through his nose. It would do no one any good to keep berating him, especially when Lauriam knew why he’d done it. That didn’t make it right, not in the least…but Lauriam understood why.

“You did help us in the end,” Lauriam crossed his arms and looked him over carefully, “when we’d freed the others in the Realm of Dreams, you fought your own darkness. You killed it. Then all of you were allowed to rest, to go on to wherever the dead go, beyond that sea and sky. At least, that’s what I thought.”

Baldr nodded, “Yes, that’s more or less what happened, though there are some things you should know.”

“Such as?” Lauriam raised an eyebrow.

“First, it was Elrena. She convinced me to fight back,” Baldr raised his face, his tone borderline wonder, “Even at her weakest, she had something that endured more than all of us. There are people I always thought were only there to stand beside the light, to chase after it and cast shadows. She knew this, and she was one of them. Like me. But…she was okay with it.”

“Figured that out all by yourself?” Lauriam’s lip twitched upwards as he sat down on the fountain edge, “That doesn’t surprise me. Elrena, for all her pretended arrogance, was never actually one who enjoyed being the center of attention. But get her attention and you get all of it. It can be terrifying in its intensity and duration. It creates a light of its own,” he tilted his head up towards the mist and grinned, “it’s not a sunrise, like Ephemer’s. I would say it’s like lightning, but hers lasts far longer than a mere flash of illumination. It has moments it will shine so brightly it’s blinding, but most of the time it’s there, always there. Only for goals she is interested in, of course, which for some reason seem to be often the same as mine. I'm not sure why.”

“You’re not?” Baldr raised an eyebrow. “Do you think it was your sister?”

“What are you talking about?” Lauriam asked, but Baldr merely shook his head with a little chuckle.

“All this to say,” the boy continued, his gaze upon the mist that had pulled back to reveal gleaming rooftops, “she was what finally got through to me. Her and her sharp tongue. Everything that was so complicated before, she made clearer…so clear I didn’t want to look at it, look at what I had done.” Baldr turned away as his fingers strangled his sleeves, “But she showed it to me, and her determination was a light of its own. It made me think, for a moment, that I really could overcome this…if only I’d realized it sooner.”

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time for regrets later,” Lauriam tried to brush it aside, but his fists clenched. How could Baldr see such goodness in Elrena when he had nearly killed her? She could have died and he wouldn’t have even cared… Lauriam’s heart shuddered and winced. He hadn’t cared if she lived or died at one point. He hadn’t cared if anyone lived or died. He didn’t care what he put her through or what she lost along the way.

Lauriam’s shoulders sank as he stared at the ground. He caught sight of short black boots and glanced at their owner. The boy had fought with them. It was in the eleventh hour, but it had been because he turned and fought his own darkness that they were all okay. Even after everything, though, Lauriam couldn’t help being glad Elrena wasn’t here, at least for her sake. Awareness came over him like the evaporation of morning dew. Her not being here was because she was somewhere else, far away and unknown, probably in a lot of danger. Was she even still alive? Lauriam gripped his head. His fingers dug into his scalp. No, she was still alive, he’d stopped Baldr—this wasn’t about Baldr. Elrena wasn't here or even in the real Scala. Lux above, where was she? Why couldn’t he see her golden hair right out of the corner of his eye? Why couldn’t he reach out and take her hand?

His eyes bounced around the foreign, familiar square. They fell on the boy before him, and a whirl of disgust, recognition, and understanding swelled inside him. Baldr stared at him. Lauriam managed a few deep breaths before he carefully spoke.

“So, Elrena changed your mind. And she's not here, and this isn't Scala. Was there something else?”

“Right,” Baldr shifted away his intense gaze, “the second thing is this: when you removed us, you made room for something else.”

“What?” Lauriam’s heart jumped.

“A spirit that’s been sleeping for a long time. My actions blocked it, brought in so much darkness that it smothered that deeper spirit. But something made it stir, even before you removed my stain.”

Baldr stared down the street, where fog had receded greatly, “I think that deeper spirit brought you here. Sleep and death are much closer than anyone wants to admit, and reaching through that overlap, the deeper spirit found you and moved you. I could feel you relive it in your dream.”

“Ephemer…” Lauriam ran a hand through his hair, “This is the world he told me about.”

“Seems like it.” Baldr put his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight to one foot.

“And he thought we would rest here. We did, for a while,” Lauriam leaned back on his hands, eyes narrowed in thought, “That adventure with dreams, it really was only some three or four weeks previous. How long ago it seems. I’m just glad Elrena recovered quickly.”

“Time doesn’t really pass where I am,” Baldr replied, “But I will say, this world has a rejuvenating quality to it, if you let it heal you. Ephemer meant well, and I’m sure his spirit protected you for some time.”

“Protected us…” Lauriam frowned, “Wait, Ephemer said this world was hidden, cut off—Maleficent!” His mind formed the cursed image as he staggered to his feet. That was why Elrena wasn’t here, why he was here, “Maleficent needs a door to Scala. She can’t get here, and that’s because this world is sealed somehow, isn’t it?”

“Maleficent,” Baldr said the word like a curse, “is a creature of darkness, more so than normal, or even natural. If she’s involved, you’re in for a rough time.”

Baldr put a finger to his chin and tapped his foot against the dark brown stones, “In my time, this world could be treated as any other; dark corridors would have worked just fine. But something changed. I could feel it, faintly. It was as if someone deliberately sealed up this world. There’s a reason I could only get to you when you were deep in dreams, at least at first.”

The boy looked up at the clocktower, visible through a thin haze, and his eyes glazed over, “I could feel this place be cut off. But I also felt it change. There was a trembling unlike anything I could even imagine. That was when I felt them—”

“Them?” Lauriam wanted to dunk his whirling head in the fountain. Thank Lux the part of his brain in charge of his dignity still functioned.

“Oh, just two old friends of mine,” Baldr wiped at his eyes and failed to fake a light tone, “I think whatever caused the trembling also brought them back to Scala and loosened the seal on this world. It was still pretty strong, mind you, but it weakened, just like the lines between life and death did.”

“The Keyblade War,” Lauriam looked around for another flower planter to lean on, “An event like that would certainly have the power to shake a sealed world loose, especially if it shook the lines between life and death enough for Ephemer to come to me.”

“Perhaps it did; perhaps it also woke me up,” Baldr still stared up at the clocktower. The paper-thin mist barely obscured his view anymore.

“Why are you telling me this?” Lauriam came a step closer, “Why are you here if you’re at rest?”

“I tell you the first because I wanted to,” Baldr finally turned back, his steely eyes crystal clear, “The second because I felt like you’d need it for what’s coming.”

“What’s coming?” Lauriam nearly fell over as he grabbed at his head. The last little bits of his memory fell into place, and he remembered why he'd been overtaken by those images and brought to this confusing, shifting place, “Ven…this has something to do with Ven. I came to get my memories because of him. Maleficent stole him and Elrena ran after them. Maleficent wants a door here...she wants something to do with our past, doesn’t she?!”

“Maybe,” Baldr shrugged, “My knowledge of the living world is limited. What I do know is that the deeper spirit I told you about now has room to move around. If you ever need it, you can call upon it. That’s what your journey through dreams has done; it reconnected you with that deeper spirit. When the time comes, though it might be hard, you’ll be ready.”

Baldr looked him dead in the eyes, “And I know you can hold on to anger, to purpose, to whatever it is you need to hold on to. You’re better…” The boy hesitated, shook his head, and said, “you won’t be bothered by me anymore.”

Lauriam sat down heavily on the edge of the fountain. Ephemer was…here? Lauriam’s fists opened and closed slowly. His heart thudded with each twitch of his fingers. Ephemer was with him. Lauriam clutched his hands.

“That conversation we just had…”

“Was a replay of the one you had originally,” Baldr said, a hand on his waist, “Try to keep this straight. That conversation happened while you were being recompleted. During that time, Ephemer must have called upon your old bond and used it to find you and bring you to Scala. You reliving that experience in dreams reinvigorated that bond.”

“So, was that really Ephemer or not?” Lauriam rubbed his head, “I know part of that conversation happened before, but then it went different. I think that it really was him.”

“In one way or another, it was,” Baldr stared at the cerulean sky as wind picked up, “That bond of yours is strong, strong enough to carry over from death and dreams into the real, living world.”

“Wait…you said at the beginning this wasn’t Scala.” Lauriam rubbed his forehead.

“It’s not,” Baldr smiled as the wind dissolved the last remnants of fog and pelted leaves across the square, “But don’t worry, someone’s coming for you. A lot’s been going on while we’ve been talking. You’ll be out of your head soon enough. You do have great control over dreams, after all.”

“Wait, Baldr!” Lauriam shook himself, “What does all this mean? How does death and dreams and Ephemer help Ven? Baldr?”

Lauriam looked around him, but the boy was gone. On the breeze, he heard a faint call.

“Goodbye, Lauriam.”

Chapter Text

“That should be the last of them,” Aqua’s voice trembled as she pulled back her Keyblade.

In the center of the pier stood a crude wooden door in a stone arch, both covered in strange runes. The spell woven along with it had required all her skills as a Keyblade Master and then some. Supposedly, it would connect to another version of the door in another world and give someone the ability to walk through in minutes.

Aqua wanted to take it apart piece by piece and scatter each one across the stars. She yanked her Gummiphone out of her pocket with gritted teeth; soon she would have to see that leering face again. Her fingers tightened on her phone the same way a child grips when about to receive medicine. Would she finally find out that Elrena was working with Maleficent and so was Lauriam?

No. Aqua shook her head at herself. Whatever she found out, better to know for certain. It wouldn’t change anything between her and her friends. She had been prepared to consider Lauriam as not a threat after her conversation with Terra, and she had certainly been ready to take him as an enemy earlier, so whatever way this went, she was prepared. She’d even built the door while still scared about Ven and what would happen. Nothing could shake the walls she’d built up now.

She took a deep breath and tapped in Ven’s number as she glanced at Terra with a frown, “Where did Lauriam run off to anyways? Shouldn’t he and Chirithy be back by now?”

Terra shrugged, his arms crossed, “Not sure. Chirithy said they were going somewhere that should help him get the last of his memories.”

“And Chirithy didn’t say where that was?” Aqua felt the skin on the back of her neck prickle, though that might have been her proximity to the door.

Terra shook his head, “No. After he showed me the picture, we split up again.”

“I see,” Aqua rubbed her head as she pushed the call button on her Gummiphone. She straightened her back and blinked the exhaustion out of her eyes, “We need to tell Maleficent the door is done. The sooner she has what she wants, the sooner we get Ven back.”

Terra pursed his lips and nodded. They drew together and listened to the phone ring. Aqua’s heart pounded against her ribcage. After several minutes of waiting, they heard a faint click.

“Maleficent,” Aqua tried to keep her voice steady, “the door is ready.”

The dark fae’s smile grew larger than a wolf’s, “Very well done, Keybearers.”

“Where’s Ven?” Terra asked, his jaw clenched again.

“Ah, yes, about the boy,” Maleficent put a claw against her chin, “I suppose since you’ve made such quick work, you obedient children deserve at least a peek, true?”

Something was very wrong in her tone. Aqua’s stomach turned in a flurry of butterflies as she said, “Let us see Ven.”

“Well, if you insist,” Maleficent grinned, and the camera abruptly whirled, “Here’s your precious little boy.”

Aqua nearly threw up. Ven lay on the ground, eyes closed, face twisted in shadows of pain. Though the room was dark, she could see the heavy irons that bound his hands behind his back and the rope that held his arms in place. Traces of blood stained his face and parts of his shirt, and the dirt on his cheeks was washed with remnants of tears.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” Terra’s voice rose to a volume he only ever used with one other person. Aqua could feel darkness surge in him; in her, too. No, no, she couldn’t give in, not now, not with Ven—

“I merely kept the boy quiet,” Maleficent’s face returned, “It was far from the worst I could do, as you well know, child.”

“Let. Him. Go.” Terra said through clenched teeth.

“In good time,” Maleficent waved a hand grandly, “I shall finish my preparations and arrive, and I expect to meet you both there. Understood?”

In good time? No. No, she couldn’t leave him there!

“Give him back!” Aqua slammed her foot on the ground as though that would force it to become solid and still, “We built the door, we didn’t tell anyone, we played along, so give—”

“I will appear in my own time,” Maleficent gave her a hard look.

“But the—” Aqua felt the color leave her face.

+=======+

Maleficent forcibly pressed the button to end the call. The glass cracked and sparks scattered. It did not matter; she knew the door was ready. With one last glance at the prone boy, she swept away. She made sure to lock the door firmly behind her and handed the keys to Pete as he saluted and swore to keep guard over the boy.

“Good. He must not get free now.”

“Specially since you had that whole issue with him not goin' there in the first place,” Pete scratched his head, “Wait, then don’t we already have a problem, cause you sent to Keybrats there already—”

“It is not strictly the Keybearers whom we do not want in Scala,” Maleficent curled her lip, “It is those from another era, not from this time. For one of them to set foot in that place, it is almost certain to awaken what rests there.”

Despite the questions in his befuddled face, Maleficent turned from Pete as she said, “Easier to destroy things while they sleep.”

Fortunately, she had seen no others in this era—none that posed any sort of threat. Maleficent smiled to herself as she continued down the dim corridors of her castle, her staff in hand. Others there may be, but it was unlikely they had any way to access the world. There were few who could now.

Maleficent took a sharp turn and descended a staircase. That was why she needed the Keybearers, after all. When the final two masters had left that world, they’d sealed it up behind them. Now, both were gone, and the Keyblade War had shaken reality itself to its foundations. The seal was weak enough that some particularly determined Keybearers might enter. And they could let another in.

And so, really, Maleficent had nothing to fear. Even if she were correct in her assumptions and the information she had received, those two treacherous pawns were not in the least a threat to her plan. She’d handled the girl before.

Maleficent paused in the middle of the stairs. She loosened the death grip on her staff. How long had it been? A decade now, at least. Though she knew there was something peculiar about the child, Maleficent had not known before what the girl truly was; she had not seen her in that awful data world. It had taken hints from the lost master for her to piece it together. Maleficent forced her frown to become a smirk. Yes, let that ungrateful brat show up again and allow Maleficent to claim that long-overdue fee. After all the care she had taken, it really was disappointing how the girl had turned out. How she had gotten away.

“It was not worth my time,” Maleficent pursed her lips, “With how obstinate she had become, it was not worth the effort to hunt her down and bring her back into line.”

The shadows around her twisted. A chill breeze swept through the hall. “She still got away.”

“For the moment,” Maleficent set her staff down decidedly and stepped off the staircase and towards the arch at the other end of the hall, “I can be patient. And when we meet again, I will ensure she remembers who she belongs to.”

But that was a matter for later. Maleficent shut out the whispers around her. That girl had not bothered nor held her back for many years, and why should that change now? Ventus was the only one she need concern herself with, and soon she wouldn’t need to worry about anyone going to that precious nexus, because the world itself would be no more, and her goal would be well on its way to completion.

A rumble in the shadows echoed the happy beat of her heart. That was the other thing the lost master had shown her, though Maleficent couldn’t help but laugh at how he had so unwittingly revealed it to her, and all to safeguard that precious box of his. The fool likely did not realize that once she had accomplished her goal, it would be a simple matter to take the box from him, especially since he was reticent to use the power within him.

As Maleficent swept into the tower to prepare the cauldron again, she paused. With a frown, she slammed her staff into the ground, which cleared the failed remains and righted the pitch-black cauldron. Maleficent cast a glance behind her, but there was nothing and no one. Her faithful raven, Diablo, flapped down from the ceiling and settled on her shoulder as Maleficent distractedly stroked his head.

Strange it may be, but Maleficent felt that there was something amiss. But that was ridiculous—the boy was secure, Pete stood guard, and the Heartless and her goblins patrolled every inch of the castle. Only someone as intimately acquainted with it as herself could hope to pass through her stronghold undetected. Not even the boy Riku had ever possessed such knowledge.

“And yet…” Maleficent’s eyes carefully roved around the room, “how did the boy free himself? Surely not one of the Keybearers—the others know not where he is, and Terra and Aqua went at once to the ancient city of Keybearers. The ropes were clearly cut,” she tapped her nails on the rim of the cauldron, “the boy must have found some way to slice them and then merely summoned his Keyblade.” She grinned at her familiar, a finger under his chin, “In that case, our more secure bindings will hold him.”

Her raven cawed in agreement. Why, then, did Maleficent check over her shoulder again, only to see the same empty corridor? A purple tint among the shadows pulsed a little, like a belly in laughter. Such ridiculous behavior! The Mistress of All Evil did not quiver at the notion of interlopers, even if they did exist. It was the intruder who had reason to fear.

She turned again to the cauldron and waved her staff over it. A clear, misty substance filled it. The shadows in the hallway drew closer to her. With their recent skirmish, it was now more eager than ever. It had been all she could do to restrain it from its desire to free its fellow earlier.

A smile came to her lips. If the boy made himself a nuisance again, she would merely have to move up her plan. He had nearly caved with only the hints she’d given; when she told him in full, his heart would weaken enough to break through, and the Darkness within would be unleashed. Of course, there was the off chance this one would not cooperate, but reasonably, the boy was in the most danger in that case, and since she already had her door, there was no need to bring proof of his continued existence to the Keybearers. And what of it if it one more Darkness was about in the worlds? Soon enough all such forces would be under her control.

Horned head lifted in self-satisfaction, Maleficent raised her staff above her head, and green flames flared to life under the cauldron. Its original purpose had once been to create an immortal, undead army. Of course, due to an insufferable pigherd and the like, it was useless for that purpose. However, it was still an object tied to the darkness, and her magic was more suited to dark than undead.

Shadow gathered near her like an excited rush of waters. It was time to finish her preparations.

+=========+

“TERRA! AQUA!” They turned their heads as Chirithy skidded and barreled towards them.

“What is it?” Terra rushed over and got down on one knee.

“Is it Lauriam? Where is he?” Aqua summoned her Keyblade into her hand and swept her surroundings with narrowed eyes. All she could see were the dark stones stained with Ven’s blood. He’d been breathing, right? He hadn’t—Maleficent wouldn’t have… Why didn’t she do anything? Ven was hurt and trapped, just like she’d feared, and Maleficent—

“It’s him,” Chirithy said.

A surge of anger washed over and knocked her down. So he had been in on this! For what he’d done to Ven, she’d—

Chirithy waved his arms frantically, “I mean he’s in trouble, not that he is trouble!”

Her Keyblade slowly fell from her grip and clattered against the floor. No one paid it any attention. A breeze flitted past her, and Aqua was surprised she didn’t fall over.

“What are you talking about?” Terra glanced from her to the Dream Eater.

“Well, see,” Chirithy’s entire body deflated, “I took Lauriam to see something that might jog his memories and reconnected him with his past, and it worked…a little too well.”

“Worked too well? What happened? What did he see?” Aqua tried to make her voice sound normal, and with each question, her guise gained strength. She couldn’t imagine what Lauriam found that put him, of all people, in danger. If anything, what she had just seen put him in a far more deadly position than anything his memories may or may not contain. The last thought toppled the little strength she’d gained.

“I took him to see a statue of one of his old friends,” Chirithy looked beyond the oak tree and deeper into the city, “It unlocked the last of his memories that were being repressed. But, unfortunately, it also caused him to fall into a deep sleep as he processed those really painful memories.”

“So he’s…in a coma?” Terra rose and put a hand on Aqua’s shoulder, “Kind of like how Ven was when he first showed up and I tried to ask him about his past?”

“Somewhat,” Chirithy shook his head, “but not exactly. Ven was overwhelmed from a lack of memories. Lauriam is overwhelmed from too many memories.”

Terra gently squeezed her shoulder. Aqua started and rubbed her face. Right, so Lauriam was not only still of uncertain alignment, but he had also given her one more issue to deal with. Her hands fell limp at her sides. The last fragment of walls she’d built up crumbled, and she passed through the cracked, splintered, frayed straws. They bit her fingers as she tried to clutch them.

“When will he wake up?” Terra asked a little louder than he probably needed to.

Had her hands always looked like that? They didn’t even look like objects. More like compressed blades of the windmills around them.

“He may not…” Chirithy shook his head; the dappled sunlight from the branches and leaves played across his fur, “I shouldn’t have been so reckless.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Terra cast an uneasy glance at Aqua before he asked, “Can you take us to him?”

“Over that way,” Chirithy pointed towards the stairs he'd just come down, “And there may be. You have Keyblades, and those will let you dive into his dream. If you can find some connection to the waking world, you might be able to pull him out.”

“You mean the power of waking?” Terra glanced back at Aqua and used a hand to urge her forward, “Neither of us learned that…”

“It’s not quite the same thing,” Chirithy said as Aqua continued mechanically up the stairs, “Lauriam is sleeping, yes, but he didn’t go through darkness to get there, so we won’t need something as powerful as the power of waking, just someone to go in and remind him that there’s a waking world to get to. If you connect something in his dream to something that exists in the waking world—like Ven—that might give him the guidance he needs to cut through the confusion.”

Aqua froze in place. Slowly, she turned back to face them. With trembling breath, she told Chirithy, “But Maleficent just said she’d be here any minute.”

Aqua wanted to scream. For all her precautions, for all her suspicion of Lauriam and staying with Terra and waiting and building that blasted door, it hadn’t protected Ven. But if even her best defenses didn’t work, what would?

Terra took a step forward, but Aqua turned away. Beside her was a concreate flower planter. Aqua placed her hands on the uneven, porous surface. There was still faint moisture from the storm that had passed through. Gradually, she was able to take a deep breath. But a mere breath didn’t solve anything.

Maleficent would be here any minute and if Lauriam were unconscious and he was working with her, things would not go well. But if not, and she saw him—could she just get some solid ground beneath her again?!

“Aqua?” Terra put a hand on her shoulder.

She looked up at him, and for a moment, her chest opened up, and she could draw in a truly deep breath. Her words fell without her mind’s design.

“I don’t know what to do, Terra,” she could not raise her eyes any higher than the hem of his pants, “I’m supposed to be the Keyblade Master here, but I have no idea what to do, and everything I’ve tried doesn’t work. All this is hitting worse than a tidal wave and I can’t build a wall high enough to stop it. I thought I had done it, I really though I did, but just now…”

Terra squeezed her shoulder. Aqua continued talking to his chest.

“I want to make someone pay. I want to fight and win so that I can finally feel my feet under me again.” Aqua put a hand on her chest as if to rip out the heaviest part. “But I don’t even know who or what to fight.”

The bells in the clocktower tolled. Aqua raised her head and half-stepped toward the sound. Terra’s fingers traveled down her arm and loosely wrapped around her elbow.

It all came back to Aqua in a flash. It had taken place on top of that clocktower. She’d held Terra’s arm. She had let go. It was the only thing that had worked. He had come back. They had beaten Xehanort.

Now they stood in each other’s places. She slowly turned back to Terra. His hand crept down to hold hers. Aqua’s words trickled out, one by one at first.

“All this…I don’t want…I’ve been putting plaster on cracks for ages, building more walls all the while,” she licked her dry lips, “and yet still…everything—everything I do ends up like this! Everything comes back to those walls crumbling. I’m so, so tired, Terra. I don’t even want to reach out my hand to put the stones back as they’re ripped away.”

The soft look on Terra’s face never left. He gently folded her fingers in his, “We’ve had a hard blow.” He bit his lip and stared deeply into her face as he debated with himself. He closed his eyes a moment, “Maybe what you’re feeling isn’t a bad thing, Aqua.”

She shook her head. Did she imagine it, or did her muscles ache as they began to loosen?

“If this is coming, maybe we should let it come,” Terra glanced at the flowers beside them.

“WHY?!” Aqua said as though her head had just broken the surface.

“Because maybe not everything will get swept away. After all, I’ve got you,” he nodded to the creature near them, “and we’ve got Chirithy, and we will get Ven back. I know we can do that,” Terra held her gaze, “I told you before. You’re my light, and you never stopped being it.”

“And you…” Aqua took a shaky breath. Terra let his hand drop. She turned away a moment. Finally, she asked, “Even now?”

“Especially now,” Terra plucked a sprig of the tall, spindly plant full of purple flowers. He twined it through her fingers, “We’ll keep going with the same thing that got us this far.”

Aqua held the plant to her chest. With her other hand, she slowly traced the star charm in her pocket. What had gotten them this far. She clutched it once.

“You came back to me,” Aqua took his hand, the tiny sprig between them. Her next words sounded like a question, “I’m coming back to you. I-I can do that.”

“Never a doubt in my mind,” Terra rubbed his thumb over her knuckles.

“I may need to borrow some lack of doubt from you.” Aqua half-laughed as she watched a few petals fall to the concrete.

“Okay.”

She blinked up at Terra, who repeated, “Okay. If you need to lean on me for a while, do it.” He drew his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest, “You did the hoping for both of us for years. If you need some from me, please take it.”

Aqua closed her eyes and rested there for a minute. Inside her, something raged and thrashed. It hurt; it hurt so much to just stand there and be held and not do something to get Ven back. But what could she do? More than anything, she wanted to believe this would make things turn out right. So, she let Terra hold her, let him subdue the thing inside her that had sprung up she-didn’t-know-how-long-ago. Soon, though still angry, that part of her was quiet. She raised her eyes to meet Terra’s. For once, for the first time in many years, she didn’t care that she didn’t have an answer.

“Okay,” Aqua breathed and slowly pulled back. She glanced up at Terra, but a heat in her cheeks lowered her head, “Thanks. For that.”

At their feet, she spotted Chirithy’s concerned face. He didn’t say anything, but Aqua knew by his quick movements that he was anxious. He thought they could trust Lauriam, but how did you know if a person could be trusted? How did you stop all these terrible things from happening when everything crumbled to the ground? She hesitated and gazed again at the tiny Dream Eater. He was so upset…this was serious, wasn’t it? As serious as Ven’s situation? Her stomach clenched. Maybe Lauriam wasn’t working with Maleficent, but everything still felt as much a mess as when it started.

“Maleficent is coming,” Aqua shook her head, “We can’t do anything about that. And, until she does, we can’t do anything about Ven, either.”

She pursed her lips and glanced toward the clocktower again, “There’s really only one problem we can work on right now.” The one she least wanted to.

And maybe that was the one she most needed to work on. After all, she knew Terra was with her. She knew he’d help her when Maleficent came. She had to believe they’d get Ven back. There was one thing she still didn’t know.

“Before we go any further,” she looked at Terra, then especially at Chirithy, “Do you really think we can trust Lauriam? Are you certain he’s not working with Maleficent?”

Chirithy nodded, “Yes, Aqua, I do trust him. And I can’t imagine him working with Maleficent. He is Ven’s friend, and despite what he’s done in the past, he’s trying now, more than you know.”

“I wish I could be sure of that,” Aqua crossed her arms, “But it looks like I’ve got no choice now.” She noted the bunch of blossoms in her hand and slipped it into her pocket, “Still, if this is true, then we’ve got to wake him up, and soon. I’m just worried about Maleficent coming while we’re working on this.”

“I’ll stay,” Terra said after a moment of silence.

Aqua and Chirithy stared at him. Terra put a hand on his hip.

“Aqua, are you okay with going to wake Lauriam by yourself? If I stay outside, I can be here if Maleficent comes before you get back.”

“You’d face her on your own?” Aqua stared with wide eyes, “After what she did to you?”

Terra nodded, his face set, “We can’t leave Lauriam like this. And you’re the Keyblade Master, after all.” His smile was only a little forced. Aqua looked away with a sigh.

“You’re right. I have a duty. I need to fix this.”

“Not on your own, you don’t,” Terra playfully ruffled her hair, and she shoved him away. Terra gave her a more honest smile, “You’re not alone, Aqua. We’re going to solve this together, and we’re going to get Ven back together. Got it?”

“I know it.” Aqua squared her shoulders, “And once we have him, Maleficent isn’t going to hurt him ever again.”

“Oh, you can definitely count on me for that,” Terra nodded solemnly as a controlled rage built behind his eyes. Any other time, it might have scared her, but this time it was one more link between them.

“Then let’s go!” Chirithy bounded forward, an arm pointed and waved erratically. “There’s no time to lose!”

Aqua and Terra followed Chirithy at a rapid pace. They passed through streets and up more stairs and through alleyways until they finally came to an iron gate. Beyond it was a plaza with a fountain in the center. They started at the man sprawled out on the ground. He’d fallen flat on his face as if he were dead.

It took seconds for Aqua and Terra to get by his side and roll him over. Thankfully, he still breathed. Aqua gazed up at the fountain and the statue atop it. She squinted against the sun and made out the form of a boy.

“So this is the friend you took him to see?” Aqua asked.

“Is that…?” Terra shielded his eyes. He started at the same time Aqua made out the object raised in his hand.

“Our master’s Keyblade?!” Aqua stood up, but the improved view only confirmed her suspicions. “Why on earth would a friend of Lauriam’s have a statue in Scala holding our master’s Keyblade?”

Both of them turned to Chirithy, who shook his head, “A very long story. Your master wasn’t the only one to wield that blade; I suspect it was passed down to him.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense!” Aqua shook her head, “Our master was never without that Keyblade, and Lauriam isn’t that much older than us, especially counting all those years…” she rubbed her forehead, “I know time flows differently in other worlds, but I can’t work out any solution to explain this. Especially since this world’s supposed to have been abandoned.”

“I don’t suppose this is a case of identical Keyblades like Sora and Xion have?” Terra asked in the tone of one who already knows the answer.

“Nope,” Chirithy shook his head, “But I’m afraid I don’t have time to explain it—I’m not entirely sure why that is, either.”

“Yet another thing to straighten out later,” Aqua rubbed the bridge of her nose. “But we’re piling on so much already, why not add a mystery about our master to it all as well?”

Terra put a hand on her shoulder, and she turned and asked him.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay out here alone?”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay in there alone?” Terra countered.

Aqua’s lip twitched, and she pulled the blue star from her pocket, “I’m never alone, Terra. Not anymore.”

The sprig of purple blossoms clung to the string of the wayfinder charm. Aqua smiled and stuck both in her pocket. One more reminder couldn’t hurt. She rose and summoned Rainfell into her hand. Chirithy nodded to her.

“Remember, it’s the confusion that’s keeping Lauriam in. You’re looking for something in his dreams that also exists in the waking world. Connect the object in the dream with the real world counterpart, and it should give him an anchor back to the real world. With enough of them, Lauriam should be able to find his way back.”

“Understood,” Aqua recalled the technique for diving into dreams Riku had taught her before she’d left for the Realm of Darkness. She hadn’t practiced it very much, but it wasn’t too difficult to begin with. Connecting hearts, same as she’d always done. Well, maybe not always, but now was a good time to start again, even if it was with Lauriam.

“Oh, and one more thing,” Chirithy stopped her, “Thank you, Aqua. You too, Terra. Thank you for agreeing to save Lauriam.”

“Of course,” Aqua said, but Chirithy shook his head.

“Really, thank you,” he rubbed his little paws together, “I know you’re still suspicious of him, and with what he’s told me, you have a right to be. With Ven missing and you under a lot of stress, I really, really want to thank you for trying to wake him up, especially since it was my mistake.”

“You didn’t mean to do this, Chirithy,” Terra tried to pat him on the head, but Chirithy dodged out of the way.

“Maybe not,” Chirithy said with a glance to the statue above them, “But I should have known better. No one knows better than a Chirithy how much those memories affected people like Lauriam and Ven. I knew they were painful and that they could be dangerous, but I triggered Lauriam’s memories anyways.”

“Then, can I ask,” Terra frowned, “why did you do it? How was it going to help us with Ven?”

Chirithy looked away, “Lauriam already had immense control over Dream Eaters, and he could traverse the Realm of Dreams in a way unlike anyone in a long time. The reason is…well, it’s kind of a long story, but basically, Lauriam knows how to use something called the Unchained State. This allows him to slip into other levels of reality, such as the Realm of Dreams. But because Lauriam lacked all of his memories, he couldn’t use his abilities as fully as he might be able to. Specifically, he couldn’t connect to a power that rested in this world. I though, if I restored all his memories, Lauriam might be able to connect with that power through the Unchained State and use it to help Ven.”

Chirithy sighed and sunk to his bum, “The only reason I was able to sense this power at all is because Lauriam already cleared out another power that covered it.”

“Those ghosts he mentioned before?” Terra put a hand on his chin, “They were covering something up?”

“Yes,” Chirithy nodded, “They were spirits who, though dead, were not at peace. Their turmoil blocked another power. Through the Unchained State, Lauriam accessed their spirits in the Realm of Dreams, and there he was able to free them. With them gone, it freed the deeper power again.”

“Did Lauriam know about this deeper power?” Aqua asked.

Chirithy shook his head, “He couldn’t have. That’s why I tried to force his memories to come back, to make him connect with it.”

“Then…he did it just to save them.” For the first time, Aqua’s look softened as she glanced at Lauriam. He was connecting with some ‘deeper power’, then. Not the strangest thing she’d heard in her life. And really, at this point, what did she have to lose? Her barriers had failed, and if Lauriam were working with Maleficent, why knock himself out?

Of course, that could also mean he had some other plan to hurt them that just didn’t involve Maleficent. They could just leave him here until it was all over. Aqua closed her eyes for a moment. Was that really an option, to leave this person here? Was that really what her heart wanted her to do?

She opened her eyes and leveled her Keyblade at Lauriam. Terra had his reasons to trust him, and so did Chirithy. It was time Aqua found some of her own. And really, wasn’t Lauriam putting a lot more trust in her to wake him up, even if he didn’t realize it?

She tightened her grip on her Keyblade and nodded to them, “Let’s get him back.”

“I’ll help if I can,” Chirithy tried to give a salute, but his arms were far too small to reach past his nose, “I’m not his Chirithy, but I am still a Dream Eater. I might be able to reach his dream, and I’ll do what I can.”

Aqua nodded appreciatively at him. She sent a beam of light that struck Lauriam directly in the chest. A glowing, spiked orb appeared beside him. Aqua gazed one last time at Chirithy and Terra, “Alright, I’m going in. If Maleficent comes while I’m gone, try to stall her, but keep Ven safe, okay?”

“Will do,” Terra nodded, “You be safe too, okay? Riku warned us dreams can easily lead to darkness.”

“Well, I don’t have to worry about that too much,” Aqua smiled at him, “It’s your turn to be the light that guides me home.” A mischievous glint came into her eye as she added, “Or if that’s too big a job for you, you could give me a kiss instead.”

Terra’s mouth fell open. A red blush crept over his face, “Well, uh, don’t worry about it. That is—I’m always glad to. Guide you home, I mean, or…”

“Good,” Aqua took pity on him and cut off the rest of his stammers before she flicked her Keyblade at the spiked orb. She cast one last glance at the blue sky and blazing sun; a seagull circled above. There was a flash of light, and she fell a great distance.

For a moment, panic seized her throat. But she wasn’t untethered. She could feel a connection, and she clung to it as it pulled her through the void towards a very specific dream. She closed her eyes against the sensation and calmed herself as she focused on her purpose. Time to find some links and rechain Lauriam to reality. Time to finally do something. And Light above, please let it work. Please let it be the right thing.

Chapter Text

Aqua tensed against the free-fall as unseen wind whistled past her ears. It reminded her too much of another descent. Yet, strangely, it wasn’t a random fall; it was as if a current pulled her along a duct to some definite destination. Before the sensation overpowered her, Aqua stopped. It wasn’t a hard or soft stop; she fell one moment and the next she stood. If only the rest of her situation were so simple.

She felt something hard against her feet, but that was the only thing she could be certain of. All around her, the world looked like a toddler's first attempt at a modern art scrapbook. A black expanse lurked behind bits of tiled roof, twisted trees, rocky cliffs, sections of buildings, and bits and pieces of she-didn’t-know-what-else. Shadow whipped around the place like a fog, and every so often, a section would glitch in a staticky pattern of grey, white, and red.

Aqua couldn’t even figure out what it was all supposed to be, much less find something she could hope to link to the real world. Near where the ground should have been, the shadow-mist crawled and curled towards her. Her skin turned to gooseflesh.

“Lauriam?” Aqua raised her hands to her mouth.

A chorus of voices and music and nonsensical noise responded. None of them sounded like Lauriam. Aqua put her hands over her ears and stumbled back, but that only made the world shift like a kaleidoscope, with angles that bent into one another and appeared out of nowhere.

“Chirithy wasn’t kidding about the confusion.” She ran a hand through her hair and desperately tried not to think about how hard it was to tell her arm from the background.

What must Lauriam be feeling? At least some of this had to be familiar to him. Would that make it easier or harder to understand? Aqua gazed over the area again, this time in an attempt to separate each item to see if she could find a path or anything she could make into one. Despite her desperate search, she couldn’t find any way forward.

There was also no exit. If she couldn’t find Lauriam, she couldn’t find a way out. Her breath hitched and her pupils dilated. The shadow-mist brushed against her feet. Her heart thudded violently. Something cold within her chest spread out with every thump, as if drawn to something outside.

“No,” she said with a cracked voice. Her knees trembled, but she gripped her sash as she stumbled back. The world shifted wildly again, but Aqua didn’t pay it any attention. She clawed into her pocket and clutched the star inside. The shadow mist curled around her legs and sent spikes of cold up them.

She lost her balance and fell back. The floor smacked her like congealed pudding, firm enough to rattle her on impact, but soft enough that it wrapped up and around her afterwards. Aqua clenched her fist and kicked and dragged herself until she managed to get upright again on somewhat solid ground.

“What a great start,” she glanced down at her wayfinder, the little flower still entwined with the string, though it had lost quite a few petals. Aqua reached out and gently unwrapped it.

The world around her rumbled, and the shadow mist hissed as if in laughter. Aqua’s fists tightened. This wasn’t the same situation. She was not going to be stuck here for a decade. Terra waited on the outside for her. Chirithy waited for her to wake up Lauriam. Lauriam waited for her to give him some connections. Ven waited, hurt and alone, for them to find a way to get him back. Aqua glanced down at the blossom in her hand. More petals had fallen with her rough handling.

“C’mon, I’ve got work to do,” Aqua took a deep breath and tried to just take one more step forward. The shadow mist rolled forward and rose in a wall before her. Aqua clutched tighter to her wayfinder.

“You’re not going to win!” she shouted.

As if in response, the mist pressed through her in a wave, and Aqua crossed her arms in front of her to try and block it. The chill ran through her regardless. What was this? Why was it attacking her? Didn’t Chirithy say darkness wasn’t the issue? Was this just another part of Lauriam’s dream like all the other fragments around her? Did he will this into existence, to come after her? Did he know she’d wanted to kill him, and this was some sort of defense or retaliation?

“I don’t know,” Aqua gasped as the air chilled her mouth and lungs, “but he came and asked us for help, so at least some part of him had to be willing to accept that help. Some part of him knows he needs it. Chirithy wouldn't send me to find him if it wasn't possible to reach him somehow.”

The wayfinder in her hand felt a little warmer, as did the flower in her other. The dark mist rushed in to block her view, and the world teetered and glitched wildly, but it was too late. Aqua’s lips twitched in a smile. So, this thing didn’t like it when she talked of reaching out.

“You may have gotten Lauriam,” Aqua slipped her wayfinder into her pocket, gritted her teeth, and scooted a foot forward, “But I know this is a dream, and I know how to find connections.”

When next surge came, Aqua instinctively smacked her shoulder. The armor at first kept the chill away, but she felt like whatever current had taken her here let her fall as it ran on. The ground sank beneath her. She also felt something snap in her hand. Aqua glanced over to where the flower hung awkwardly in her fist. She slowly loosened her grip on it, but Aqua did not let go.

She glanced around, but what was not blacked out was still uncertain, and the ground tried to swallow her again. The shadow mist readied for another wave. Aqua held the flower close to her chest; it still had the same tiny, steady heat. It was almost like another hand in hers.

“If this armor isn’t working, then maybe,” she glanced at the flower in her hand and felt the warm fingers pressed against the outer shell of her armor. Despite her dry throat, she managed to eke out, “I can let it come.”

Her entire body tensed up. Every muscle in her worked to recall his warm, steady hand. His phantom presence just outside her reach maddened her from inside the metal. Aqua’s hand trembled with fear and, in some deep splinter of her bone, impatience. Her fingers found the edges of her shoulder plate. She could practically lace her fingers with his, if only this sheet of metal…

Her fingers dug in, and with a tug, another, the pieces fell.

The second her armor was gone, the chill slammed into her again. Aqua dug under her helmet and forced it off her head. She threw it into the mist and grasped that warm hand again and pressed it to her face. While she could see that nothing but her own hand and a luminescent blossom pressed against her cheek, it didn’t matter. For a moment, she swore she could feel the current rush over her again in welcome, a mix of warmth and cold and greeting at the same time. How many times she’d jumped into the pond with Ven and Terra like this!

Aqua found sturdy ground beneath her feet. The mist circled her and curled in anticipation. Aqua glared at it and held the blossom out like a lantern, “I know Terra believes in me, and I know I’m coming back to him!”

The flower lit up like a purple flame. She could feel the power in the tiny plant, one that pulsed and stirred behind a thin shell. A strange thought occurred to her. Despite the light, this flower wouldn’t keep its petals much longer. And what did flowers do then? How did these seeds release their restless desire to reach up again to the light?

Aqua loosened her fingers and watched the light and trail of sparks that followed the sprig as it fell to the ground. The shadow mist bowled out in anticipation and surged upward and swallowed it from all sides. As it disappeared beneath the wave of mist, the sprig burst in a flash of light that swept over everything like wildfire.

No more did the world tremble. No more did the ground try to eat her. The mist ebbed away.

After she stared at her hands to ensure it was her own pale flesh and grey gloves, Aqua managed to take a normal breath. She whispered to herself, “He’ll guide me back.”

Though she knew it was okay, Aqua took out the star again and held the charm close to her chest. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Terra’s face filled her mind’s eye, and she managed to smile. It had worked. The chill was still around, but it was much more muted, especially inside of her.

Aqua took a slightly deeper breath as she squared her shoulders, “Lauriam has to have some light in him somewhere. I just need to find it.”

She opened her eyes again. There in the distance, a blip of light, fainter than a meteor, shone in the sky. Its barely perceptible rays illuminated the edges of a path. While the rest of the world was still a shifting, glitching mess, she at least had a guide.

“This light,” Aqua took a step towards it, “Does it exist in the real world?”

She thought so, though she didn’t know what this light represented. Still, it was the best bet she had, and she walked towards it. The farther she went, the more the world coalesced into one image. Unfortunately, that image was a sea of abandoned Keyblades, their colors faded and blades rusted.

Aqua shuddered and walked on. The world was still hazy and unstable, with images that flickered in and out. As she brushed past one such flicker of movement that seemed vaguely human, she froze and turned to look it full-on. A woman walked quietly past her and paused briefly while white and pink robes whirled around her. Her fox mask shielded any distinct features, yet Aqua immediately felt a deep respect and gratitude towards this person. Where these Lauriam’s feelings? If so, why was there also an undercurrent and aftertaste of something bitter?

“It doesn’t matter,” Aqua shook her head and summoned her Keyblade, “As far as I can tell, you’re a connection back to the real world.”

Aqua willed her Keyblade to connect this image with the real thing. Nothing happened. With furrowed brow, Aqua tried again. Still nothing.

“You’re a connection, aren’t you?” Aqua asked the woman, but she didn’t respond. Her hidden eyes swept the Keyblades, mouth turned down. That hint of bitterness came back, and Aqua caught hold of it, though she knew this was a risk to handle something so dark. It was so close to her time in the Realm of Darkness, when Mickey had…

Aqua’s Keyblade lit up. No, she couldn’t think about such things now! She had to lock them back up where they couldn’t come between her and her friends. The light from her Keyblade dimmed. Aqua stared at it.

“Oh no,” She put a hand to her head, “No, this can’t be the answer! If these are Lauriam’s memories, his connections, why do I need to…to…”

She stared at the woman before her, who waited as if she’d been set there just for Aqua. Maybe she had. When Ven had reached out, Sora had answered. When Riku reached out to Sora’s dream to wake him, Roxas, Xion, and Ventus had answered. Was this woman, in some way, Lauriam reaching out?

“Okay. Okay, I can do this,” Aqua swallowed and tried to hold her Keyblade steady, “My barriers didn’t save Ven. Terra won’t let me fall.”

Just thinking of them lifted a weight from her shoulders. She’d gotten them back, even after a decade in darkness, even after Mickey abandoned her.

He’d abandoned her. He’d had good reasons, and he’d come back for her, but he’d still abandoned her. He’d been both a way out and the reason she’d been trapped even more. And somehow, this woman was the same thing to Lauriam.

A light gleamed on the tip of her Keyblade. Blue chains wrapped around the woman, whose gaze briefly turned to Aqua before she walked on and disappeared into the haze. She was gone, but Aqua could feel the bond like a string tied to her pinky. It trailed behind her, a gentle reminder where she had come from and what she moved towards.

Who was that woman? His mother? No, that didn’t feel right. The little sister he’d mentioned? Probably not, since the woman looked older than Lauriam was now, but Aqua couldn’t be sure with that mask over her face.

Aqua walked further on, the path before her winding through the wasteland and into a void. Just when she started to wonder if it would be smart to try and run for a bit to cover more distance, the path ended in a circle of stained glass divided into five sections. One of them lit up as she stepped onto the glass. A man rose up from the emblem on the ground. He wore robes similar to the woman from before, but his face was covered with a unicorn mask. He gazed at her, and a shiver ran up her spine. She straightened her back and gripped her Keyblade.

“Alright, one more connection,” she readied herself for whatever memories it would dig up.

“Do you not have enough already?” the man asked.

Aqua squinted at him, “What?”

“Why would you bind yourself further?” the man shook his head sadly, “You already have enough to fight. You have enough with me. To further connect yourself with those in the darkness will only make you more vulnerable to it.”

His words struck her, and the shiver came back, but this time, instead of a quick start, it prowled its way up her back slowly. Not only were the words disturbing, but something about them seemed familiar…almost like she could hear herself say it. She gritted her teeth against the bile that rose in her throat.

“No, you’re wrong!” Aqua leveled her Keyblade at him, “I know for myself how important my connections are. My friends strengthen, not weaken, me against the darkness.” Aqua curled a hand over her chest as she looked away a moment. “And if there is damage, perhaps our connection can heal it.”

“And if not?” the man asked, “If each of them prove to be untrustworthy and there is no option left but to fight?”

“If there was no other option…” Aqua squeezed her eyes shut, “No. I won’t let it get to that point again. There are people I can trust, people who will be there for me. If they struggle with darkness, we need each other more than ever.”

She opened her eyes and stared the man down, though he was at least a head taller than her, “It’s not my connections to the darkness that make me vulnerable, it’s severing them at the first sign of trouble. Maybe there will be those I trust that choose darkness, but if so, that’s their connection to break, not mine. I will not abandon them, I will not turn on them just because of a wrong choice, and I won’t stop making connections just because some of them went wrong!”

The blue chains rose up around the man. For a moment, his white robe morphed into another, one much more familiar to her. She drew in a sharp breath as her eyes widened. Her master gazed at her, and as he did, his hard look melted into the one he’d worn the last time they’d met. The time he’d begged her forgiveness.

This was the man that had taught her, shaped her view of the world and even herself, the man who had driven her for so many years. He was also the man she and so many of her friends had proven wrong. Her master smiled sadly, and Aqua could see the apology written all over again in his eyes. But the man on the circle frowned and raised his hand like a sword. The blue chains tightened. The man brought his hand down in a cutting motion.

The circle beneath her cracked, and in a flash of white light, Aqua found herself on the watery field of the Final World. As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, a figure burst up from the water several feet away. He gasped deeply, his black coat strangely not wet.

“Lauriam!” Aqua called, but she froze as she saw another person arrive.

This boy had pale white hair and a bright red scarf. He knelt down and put Lauriam’s head in his lap. She couldn’t make herself go after them; it felt too much like intrusion. To be fair, as far as privacy went, she’d already dived right into Lauriam’s dreams, but she’d done so at Chirithy’s request, and there was simply no way to ask Lauriam himself. Her trepidation kept her at bay until Lauriam slowly faded away, and the boy stood up. Aqua found strength in her limbs again and raced across the water.

“Wait!”

The boy froze and turned to her. Up close, she could see the soft curls in his hair and the shine in his sea-blue eyes. He gave her a smile that substituted introductions and small talk. Aqua put a hand over her mouth. He was the same boy whose statue stood over the fountain, the one who had shocked Lauriam into this state.

“You’re here to wake him up for real?” the boy asked.

“Yes,” Aqua nodded, but the then his last words hit her, “Wait…for real?”

“Lauriam’s reliving past experiences that occurred in the dream-like state during his recompletion,” the boy elaborated, “during that time, he and I had the same conversation that we just did. He became aware of this near the end, and we got to talk again, diverging from the original conversation. Thanks for giving us space.”

“Oh, uh, you’re welcome,” Aqua rubbed the back of her head, “So, basically, what Lauriam’s going through now is a dream…of a memory…of a dream he had when he was recompleted.”

The boy’s laugh started quick and sudden like the snap of a rubber band, but it resonated like a violin string, “Yeah, good to see you’re still with me. This stuff can get pretty complicated.”

“Tell me about it,” Aqua rubbed her head, “But, see, I need to wake him up quickly, because Ven’s in trouble and—”

“Ven?!” The boy’s eyes widened, “Then this is bigger than I thought. You need a link for both of you, right? Well, I’m ready when you are.”

“Wait…both of us?” Aqua pointed uncertainly at herself.

The boy nodded, “Haven’t you figured it out? You’re lost, too. You just know you need to wake up.”

Aqua felt as shaky as her rippling reflection, though at least now she knew, even if she’d always refused to let herself know. The boy reached out a hand.

“Don’t worry. Everyone’s lost. Everyone needs help. You’re everyone. And I sort of have this thing about helping lost people.”

“Alright then,” Aqua nodded, pointed her Keybalde at him, and stopped asking questions. Well, actually, she did have one more she couldn’t put off. “So…Lauriam really did know Ven?”

“He was like a little brother to Lauriam,” the boy smiled, “and after Strelitzia…” Too quickly, his smile faded. His eyes clouded over with a knowledge that looked far too heavy for someone his age, “what happened in the chamber that night…I don’t blame either of them, not really. It was the fault of Darkness.”

“I see,” Aqua pursed her lips, though she didn’t fully understand, “I’ll be honest, I’m getting tired of hearing about it. Or maybe just tired of fighting it.” She lowered her eyes as she muttered, “Just…tired in general.”

“When all this is over,” the boy put a hand on her arm, a worn smile on his lips, “you guys should all have some soup. I’d give you some right now, but I’m kind of short on corporeal ingredients. Oh!” he snapped his fingers, “Ask Lauriam to make you the potato-cheddar-broccoli soup. I taught him well. That’ll fill you all up nicely, and it goes with almost any kind of bread.”

Aqua laughed, and thought it sounded like the wheeze of a bellows, it loosened the tension in her shoulders, “I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks.”

The boy nodded and stepped back. Aqua found a brush of disappointment in her heart. But as he said, this was serious, and time was not on their side. She cast the spell, and for a moment, the image of the boy faded into another young man with the same pale hair but slightly greener eyes. A light not just against the darkness, but in the midst of it. An incredibly loyal and wise friend who not only saw the light in a person, but how to bring it out from where they were. Apparently, both she and Lauriam had someone they came back to the light for, since that someone had shown them the way. They may not be able to repay him, but Light above, they’d try.

Blue chains wrapped around the boy, and in a flash, he disappeared. Far in the distance, the original light she’d seen still shone, this time as bright as a campfire. Who or what could it be? Aqua didn’t have time to ponder that much, as just then she encountered a face she should have expected to see.

She rushed over the water and threw her arms around him. “Ven!”

Chapter Text

Oh, Light above, he was so warm, so close, so…small? Aqua blinked slowly as her mind caught up with her. Right, still in Lauriam’s dream. As she drew back and held him at arm’s length, the young boy smiled his adorable smile.

Except…this wasn’t the Ventus she remembered. At least that accounted for him being even shorter. This Ven looked nine or ten, maybe. The softness of his features was even softer and rounder with lingering baby fat. His spiky hair clung closer to his head.

There was something else different about this Ven. There was a twinkle in his eyes and a lightness about him that Aqua hadn’t ever seen. It was like everything that had hurt him never mattered. Because it hadn’t happened. Yet there was also a strange gravity about him, as though he discreetly carried the type of burden that made you stand up straighter because your worst fear isn’t to drop it, but for others to see you crumble under it.

Still, despite everything, Aqua couldn’t help but reach out and mess his hair along the natural curve of spikes. She felt another, phantasmal hand on top of hers and glanced to the side to see—

“Lauriam?” she gasped. He looked to be Sora or Riku’s age, his pink hair chopped much shorter and somewhat neater. Was this a past version of him from when he and Ventus were friends? With the decade or so that Ven had slept, it would put him and Lauriam about these ages. Both of them so young and untouched by what their fates would hold.

“Ven…” Aqua felt her stomach squelch, almost as hurt by the smiling young boy before her as the injured Ventus she’d seen over the Gummiphone. Something about this Ventus seemed unreachable to her, physically here but clouded by something she didn't or couldn't understand.

“I’m sorry,” Aqua slowly drew her hand back as Lauriam continued to ruffle Ven’s head, “I’m so sorry, Ven. I’ll get you back, somehow, I promise.”

After she finally blinked the tears from her eyes, she glanced at the younger version of Lauriam beside her. His lips rested in the shadow of a smirk, and the tilt of his head and the general way he carried himself had just a hint of arrogance, but in a charming way. Riku had a similar look at times, especially when he spoke to the younger Keybearers. And yet, Lauriam’s eyes were half-closed, as if in shame. Odd, but what to make of it?

Aqua slowly raised her Keyblade towards Ven, and blue chains rose around him. In the blink of an eye, grey shadow engulfed the world. She grasped a hand over her chest as she fought to forge the connection as a wave of hope, shame, anger, and desperation flooded her. Ven turned away from her. She stumbled forward and gripped his arm.

“I can’t lose you, too, Ven.”

Aqua whipped her head to the side. Lauriam held on with every muscle in his skinny arm. Ven turned and gave them a sad, tired smile.

“Everything’s going to be okay.”

 He tore his arm away. They screamed his name. Light flooded her vision.

Aqua didn’t need for it to clear in order to see that, for once, there was something she could agree with Lauriam on completely. If he had seen what they had, he too would have been disgusted and furious. Aqua allowed herself to believe this as the geyser of emotions in her heart abated.

When her vision cleared and her heart settled somewhat, Aqua pushed onward, her steps slow and her head slightly foggy. Where the sea and sky met, the light gleamed like a campfire. She wasn’t sure what to expect and didn’t attempt to predict it. The world rippled, shifted, and finally solidified again as Aqua stepped into a quaint little square surrounded by purple-roofed houses. In the center of the square, a fountain threw streams of water into the air. The crisp, musky scent of either incoming or departing rain hung in the air, not oppressive, but in a refreshing way.

“Alright,” Aqua put a hand over her heart, “I’ve gotten a few connections already. He must be close to waking, right?”

Chirithy hadn’t given her a specific number, so for all Aqua knew, she wasn’t even halfway done. But still, she felt like she was near the end. The wash of emotion had been stronger each time, and if that light were his strongest connection, it made sense it would also be his last. But would she finally reach it now, or were there still others? As Aqua approached the fountain, she glanced around, and her eyes brightened.

At the other end of the square, which had previously been hidden from her by the fountain, a set of stairs ran up towards a misty sky and deeper into the city. At the bottom of the stairs sat a girl in a teal jacket and boots. Like the unruly whiskers atop a kitten’s head, two short strands of her golden-blonde hair curved up from her messy bangs.

“If I remember correctly, you’re Elrena, right?” Aqua asked. The girl did not react, merely continued to stare at the pink-purple blossom in her hand. Huh, why did some of these connections acknowledge her and some didn’t? Another question for later.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Aqua lifted her Keyblade and had to reign in her excitement to correctly aim it.

Aqua still wasn’t sure exactly how Elrena and Lauriam were connected, but she was soon cleared of her confusion. As the blue chains wrapped around her, a spark flared to life in the girl, a light that Aqua hadn’t noticed before. The face that flashed into her mind was the same one that had smiled down on her earlier, the one that had given her a solid place to stand and provided hope even, and especially, when that seemed impossible.

Relief planted and cemented itself. A steadfast, almost unconscious trust welled up, and Aqua’s lips twitched in spite of herself. The response was so complete and so automatic; did this man realize the strength of his feelings? And what they likely tended towards?

How much of this did Elrena return? And in what form? Aqua hadn’t seen enough in their few moments together to be anywhere near sure. Still, if Elrena had come with him and stayed with him even through the Organization, that certainly counted for something.

As the chains disappeared, Aqua blinked in surprise. Elrena did not vanish. Instead, she pushed herself up from the steps. The connection had to have been forged, though. Aqua twitched her pinky, but instead of a string, the connections now felt like an entire rope wound around her hand. It was not restrictive but still had the same snug, gentle reminder that the string did.

“Was that not enough?” Aqua asked aloud. As if in response, a tremor went through her.

Something or someone else was present. Aqua could feel it like waves in the water as something passed nearby. She raised her voice, “Lauriam! Can you hear me?”

“Aqua!” Chirithy’s disembodied voice came from far away, “You’re almost there! I think I might be able to reach him with a bit of work.”

“That’s good,” Aqua counted the connections off on her fingers, “I’ve got five already…”

“Wow, you work fast!”

“Maybe once I get my feet under me,” seeds of laughter hid in Aqua’s voice.

“Well, look around and see if you can find any more.” Chirithy’s voice began to fade. “If you can find Lauriam, too, that might make it easier for all of us.”

“Understood.” She curled her fingers around her chin as the tremor passed over her again. Chirithy must have shifted his attention to Lauriam. That left Aqua to ponder the number of connections again.

“That light I saw wasn’t Elrena, was it?” As she said this, she glanced back at the stairs. The girl stared right at her. In her hands, she held the tiny sprig like a mourner’s candle.

“Oh!” Aqua took a step back, “Um, hello. You wouldn’t have anything to say to me, would you?”

Elrena thrust out a hand and pointed up the stairs. Aqua glanced up and gasped. The light she’d seen before rested at the top, closer and brighter than ever.

“Lauriam’s light!” Aqua mounted the stairs, but before she’d gone three steps, the light blipped out of existence. Aqua whipped her head around and found the light perched above the fountain. She rushed over, but as she drew up to the fountain wall, the light moved again. The stream of water burbled as if in laughter.

“Come back!” Aqua brandished her Keyblade as the light appeared on a rooftop near them. She attempted to jump up to it, but it vanished before she landed. Why was this one being so difficult?

This time, Aqua could no longer locate the light, though she scanned the entire town from the rooftop. A massive clocktower rose above the city a short distance away. But where was the light?

Aqua lept down from the roof with a sigh and growl. The clocktower reminded her of the one in Scala Ad Caelum, back in the real world where there were a lot of problems they still needed to face, and she was finally able to realize that having Lauriam on their side was probably a good idea. Not to mention, she still needed to get out of this dream. If only she could find that light!

Aqua scanned the area again for any clues. Elrena stood at the base of the stairs, her eyes fixed on her, the flower still in her hands. Aqua tilted her head and came closer. Connections were supposed to help, and the girl had offered before…

“Excuse me,” Aqua fought off the strangely focused gaze Elrena directed at her. It wasn’t angry, more curious and interested than anything, but there was an intensity and gravity to it that just didn’t seem right in a child her age, “that light seems to have slipped away. Could you take me to it? I need it so I can help Lauriam.”

A tiny, shy smile played on Elrena’s lips, and as if all her hope and vitality could no longer be suppressed in spite of herself, Elrena hopped up the stairs. Aqua followed quickly, and after several twists and turns and shortcuts she would never have been able to navigate on her own, Aqua found herself on a hill that overlooked the town. A carpet of bright flowers covered rich green grass that whispered in the slight breeze as it picked up petals and twirled them around. The sweet, earthy scent rose to Aqua's nostrils and eased into every part of her. Elrena sat down among the wildflowers next to the blaze of white light, one hand on the shapeless beacon.

“Thank you,” Aqua nodded to Elrena as she stepped up to the light.

This time, it did not flee. Aqua leveled her Keyblade. As she began to connect it, the light took shape. The white solidified into a lacy dress and belled sleeves. Bright orange hair tumbled down, held in pigtails by red ribbons. With a brilliant smile, her turquoise eyes lit up.

Aqua felt relief and jubilation overflow her heart. Her fingers curled over her chest. Unlike all the other connections, she couldn’t put a specific person to these emotions. Eagerly, memories of the shared wayfinders, passing her Mark of Mastery, Ven waking up, Terra's return, Castle Oblivion righting itself into their home, and countless other victories leapt to mind.

Back when they'd first arrived in Scala, they'd talked about Sora and Lauriam’s missing sister. There wasn’t a doubt in Aqua’s mind that before her stood Strelitzia. Aqua finally felt a sense of accomplishment as she tied the connection, though she did not know where in the real world his sister resided. Then again, she didn’t know where any of the others were, either, and that hadn’t stopped her. Still, this point felt fuzzier, as if it were in some farther, harder-to-see place.

As the bond forged, the light around Strelitzia exploded over Aqua’s vision. In the wash of alabaster, her mind whirled with everything she’d seen, everything she’d discovered about Lauriam. She thought mostly of the young girl about Ven’s age. To have her disappear must have been maddening to Lauriam. Ven had only been gone a day, and Aqua was ready to kill the moment it happened. A part of her shrank from the near-bloodthirsty rage she’d gone into. But the situation had been serious; she didn’t know what she did now. Still…

“She was your guiding light all along, wasn’t she? But somehow, you lost her, just like I lost mine at one point.”

Aqua suppressed with a shudder the last and worst days of her exile in the Realm of Darkness. She wasn’t there anymore. The light that danced against her cold skin was proof enough of that. How easily everyone forgot that sunlight had weight. But how had Lauriam lost his light? Did the amnesia have anything to do with it? Probably. Light could last you a long time, but if it disappeared, if it became your darkness…how cold and cruel it was, how hard to get rid of. With a deep, perfume-scented breath, Aqua opened her eyes again.

She blinked, still in the same flower field on the hill, petals picked up by the wind and twirled around. The only difference she could see was the dozens of tall, spindly, pink-purple flowers that had sprung up and now waved above the other plants. She couldn't see anyone or anything else.

“Lauriam?” she called.

A rustle. A blob of pink rose up from the carpet of grass and flowers like an unusually large, messy flower, the kind with hundreds of petals in a little bob. His blue eyes met hers. They blinked sleepily, clearly still in combat with the remnants of his nap. Aqua put a hand over her mouth; he looked so much like Ven, especially since Lauriam again appeared as a child. Was this still part of the dream, then?

She strode over and leaned in next to him. “Lauriam? Can you hear me?”

“Of course I can,” he rubbed his eyes, “You’re right here, aren’t you?”

“Okay, good, then you can wake up!” she let her shoulders drop.

He blinked and spoke slowly, “I…am awake. Who are you?”

Aqua dropped to her knees. She gripped his shoulders. She stared him dead in the eyes.

“Lauriam,” she spoke with all the patience she had left, “You have to wake up now. You have to follow the connections back to the waking world!”

He stared at her blankly.

“You’re still asleep!” she shook him a little, until the boy pushed her off and turned away, “You’re dreaming—this isn’t real! You can feel it, can’t you?”

“I…I’m not sure,” his fingers dug into his mess of pink hair, “This doesn’t quite feel right. You say I’m still asleep?”

“Yes!” Aqua took his hand and pulled it away from his head. It felt odd, as though she held solid water, “Lauriam, please, why can’t you wake up?”

“I’m not quite sure what’s going on,” he winced as his breath caught, “I feel… a not-quite-definable trepidation. Bad things are going to happen. Or maybe have happened?” He ended with a shudder, “It feels awful either way.”

“Ah, that kind of scared,” Aqua dropped his hand and pulled her knees up to her chin. A sudden exhaustion swept over every muscle. “I know a bit about it. It can make you do stupid things.” She leaned her cheek against the smooth fabric. “It can make you stop caring.”

“Or care too much,” Lauriam ran a hand over the flowers around him, “Or maybe I truly didn’t care enough. And after everything I tried to tell Master Ira…”

“What do you mean?” Aqua tilted her head.

“I got scared once,” Lauriam’s voice grew quiet, and she could hear the high tones that puberty hadn’t quite worked out, “I hurt someone I care about. If Ephemer hadn’t stopped me, I might have…”

His breath came way too fast, “I don’t even know what I’m going to do to fix it. Knowing what I do now, and everything I planned when I didn’t know, and how I promised the opposite, and now,” He put his head in his hands, “I’m just lost.”

“I know what that feels like,” Aqua ran a thumb over her ankles, “I got lost earlier today. I hurt a friend of mine, one I wasn’t even angry at.”

“Oh dear,” Lauriam raised his head from his hands with a broken laugh, “Looks like we’re both rather awful disasters.”

Aqua opened her mouth. She paused and sighed, “Yeah. Looks like.”

For some time, silence stretched between them. Aqua squinted; had there always been such a fog around them? The grey mist covered the town, even the hill, except for a circle around her and Lauriam. The haze stirred something inside Aqua, a restlessness that spun the tired gears in her mind. She hadn’t come this far to give up here. But how to move forward? What was she even moving towards again?

“What a lot of fireweed,” Lauriam snapped a sprig of the spindly plants.

“What?” Aqua glanced to him as Lauriam held up the sprig. Their sweet aroma, interposed with spicy scents, reached her nose.

“Didn’t expect to see any around here. Normally it grows in poor soil.” He draped an arm over his knee and put his other hand on his chin. “It’s actually called that because it’s the first flower to grow in area that’s been destroyed by fire. And it can grow almost as fast as the fire can spread. A stubborn little plant.”

Aqua looked up with a spark in her eyes. Someone had given her that flower, some she'd spent enough time away from. And with that realization Terra's words found place in her heart. “Well, that flower isn't the only stubborn one. I am, too.” She laid a hand on his shoulder, “and I think so are you, Lauriam. You want to help your friend, to fix what you did, right?”

“Of course,” Lauriam blinked, and things began to get weird.

Aqua wasn’t just in the field anymore. She also sat on the edge of a fountain with the adult Lauriam beside her. The two images wove together like a veil over a painting.

“Then you’ve got to wake up!” she said, “I connected everything, you just need to follow that connection. Please, you’ve got to do it now; Ven’s life depends on it!”

“Ven?” Lauriam rubbed his eyes, “That’s right, I need to find him, to help him.”

Aqua watched the change come over him. Gradually, his eyes lost their dull film. One hand reached up, as though he reached into a stream, and the other curled around his chest. He hesitated a moment before he breathed, “It’s…my dream.”

“Yes!” Aqua said, “You’re dreaming; you have to wake up!”

He looked away a moment, and she could see he was trying. Nothing changed around them, but from the agitated look in his eyes, she knew he gave it his best effort. He constantly tightened and loosened his fists. He ground his teeth together. Still, he threw up his hands in frustration.

“It’s no easier than trying to decide where to begin with all this!” Lauriam groaned.

His eyes locked onto her, and he hesitated a moment, “But you…you’re here to help. That’s right, I think I remember now,” Aqua tensed a split-second before he smiled at her, “you’re Ven’s friend.”

“Yes,” Aqua relaxed as she held out a hand to him, “And I know you’re one of his friends, too.”

Lauriam, a determined look in his eyes, lifted and stretched his hand towards hers, “Then let’s help him. If there’s a way back, I’ll find it. There has to be a connection, a waypoint, somewhere I can use.”

Their hands joined, and a spark of energy coursed through them. The threads she’d carried this far tightened to one another and to Lauriam.  They wrapped around her, too, like a favorite blanket or a well-worn banister. She may have gotten all the older connections, but maybe former ones weren’t enough. She had forged the chain, but Lauriam still needed someone to throw it to him. He needed a point to cling to and follow back.

She looked into his eyes, “You remember your sister, don’t you?”

His eyes widened at that. The blossom in his hand morphed into a fan of orange and blue feather-like petals. Aqua did not know the name of the flower, but she did know no matter what happened in the past, it was time for Lauriam to wake up and follow his light. And on that fountain, with her hand pressed in his, Aqua knew he could. More than that, she knew he would. Ven was enough; their connections were enough. She held on to his warm, solid hand as the invisible current swept and thundered over her.

Chapter Text

“What in the name of Lux was all that about?” Lauriam blinked as Baldr’s final words faded from his ears.

The man sat on the fountain beneath Ephemer’s statue. He shook his head. There persisted a vague feeling something was supposed to happen now. He faintly recalled that in the original version of events, he’d woken right after that conversation with Ephemer and found Elrena and they’d begun their new lives. And right before all these strange visions overtook him, he’d been with Chirithy in Scala, in front of the statue. Now everyone was gone.

“Not real…” Lauriam shook his head as he recalled Baldr’s words. What he’d experienced before had been real, but it occurred in the past. He rubbed his head hard enough to dull the barrage of thoughts. He needed a minute to focus, to sort through it all.

Where to even begin? For some reason, all he could focus on at the moment was the disappointment that Elrena was, sadly, not near him. When was the last time she’d been away from him for this long? When he left to free the last few children. And when he came back…Lauriam shuddered. She wasn’t in Baldr’s hand, at least. No, she was in some unknown location with the same witch who’d put him flat on his back when he’d been arguably at his most powerful point. Because that was so much better!

At least with Baldr he knew where she was, had some idea what to do to help her, or could at least let her know she wasn’t alone, that of course she would be okay if he had to face a hundred Nightmares to do it. Now he had no idea where she even was. What if she got hurt? How was he going to fix this? Why on earth had she jumped through that Dark Corridor?

Lauriam ran a shaky hand through his hair. Baldr’s words returned to him again. “Do you think it was your sister?” Well, that had been how they met. But for the rest of it, Lauriam had to admit he’d never even considered it. Why would Elrena do so much for him? For several minutes, gears turned in his head. Why did a girl usually do such things for a boy?

The gears ground to a halt as his face blanched. No, no, surely, he read too much into this—it was the first time he’d bothered to read her actions at all. In fact, it was the first time he could remember thinking of her as girl; not that he hadn’t always known, but he never really considered it in that manner. And she really wasn’t a girl anymore. She was a beautiful young woman, mature and childish at the same time. And she wasn’t here. She could be dead for all he knew. And only now did he finally stop to realize there might have been far more to her actions than finding his sister.

Of all the turbulent thoughts that his consideration of her motives caused, that one struck him deeper than any. She could be dead, and she might never know he’d begun to pick up on her interest. He might never get the chance to ask her if her interest even tended in that direction. He might never see her again, never be able to repay her or even just have her support. Lauriam had to scramble for several deep breaths to calm himself. That was why he was here, after all: to calm down.

Ephemer had interfered in their recompletion, brought him and Elrena safely from wherever they would have appeared to this sanctuary. Scala Ad Caelum, a world special to him…

“Why this world?” Lauriam let his thoughts mercifully shift to a different topic as he gazed up. The statue had a resolute smile on his face and Brain’s Keyblade raised high, “What did he do here?”

“Ephemer founded this city,” Chirithy spoke softly.

At what point Ven’s Chirithy joined him, Lauriam didn’t know. But he did know this still didn’t feel right.

“So,” Lauriam chuckled darkly, “Ephemer was the only one of us to actually accomplish Ava’s mission—but I suppose Skuld was with him, too.”

Chirithy said nothing as Lauriam shifted so he could gaze at Ephemer, or rather the boy’s statue. They’d captured every detail of the boy’s face and figure; it was exactly as Lauriam remembered him, down to the folds of his scarf. His eyes drank the image in and burned it deep into his mind and heart—the last thing he wanted to do was forget again.

Ven killed his sister. Lauriam winced as he put his face in his hands. No, no, that wasn’t right. It was Darkness. Because that was such a useful answer!

“Darkness,” Lauriam shook his head with a snort, “you really couldn’t be more specific than that, could you?”

Who or what he growled at, he didn’t know. Lauriam shoved his fingers against his forehead as he struggled for deep breaths. The data world, the desolation, the pods that launched them into the future, the people they’d left behind in a vain attempt to fulfill Ava’s mission and find his sister, the Keyblade War…

“Xehanort!” Lauriam cursed his name to the bottom of the void, “If you had any idea what you were trying to replicate you selfish, prideful, desperate, deranged old man!”

He shoved himself off the fountain with hisses of breath as he clenched his fists, molten anger in his veins. After everything they’d done—the Foretellers and the Union Leaders and the Dandelions and Ephemer—that…that self-worshiping imbecile had to go and undo all of it! And he had helped! If only everything available to hit wasn’t part of Ephemer’s city.

“Lauriam?” Chirithy gently tugged at the edge of his coat. Lauriam finally looked down. What an anxious face. How could the little Dream Eater hold such expressions when nothing but his eyes moved? It made him snort with laughter, and enough of the anger left for him to rein in the rest. That was right; rage had never been his true goal. If he was to cling to something, anger wasn’t it. Hadn’t someone asked him about something like that?

“I…I’m alright, Chirithy,” Lauriam wished he could make it true.

“No, you’re not,” Chirithy shook his head, paws still on the hem of his coat, “Lauriam, I’m sorry. I knew it would stir memories, but—”

“Did you know about Ven—about my sister?” He asked. His hair fell over his face.

 Carefully, Chirithy answered, his head turned away, “Not the whole time. I only knew just before he told you.”

“Ah.”

What an absurdly insignificant sound compared to all the pain and confusion and hurt in his still-tender heart. Where to even start? Lauriam fell heavily back onto the fountain’s edge. Even now, he could feel the statue at his back, and Lauriam dared to look up. Just the sight made his lip twitch upwards. At least he had remembered Ephemer. But where to go now?

“Lauriam!” an echoey voice called to him, “You have to wake up now. You have to follow the connection back to the waking world!”

He started and glanced around. He couldn’t see anyone, but he could have sworn he’d heard that voice somewhere before. Chirithy’s ears perked up, and he glanced around eagerly. Lauriam rubbed his eyes; what was all this about waking up?

“You’re still asleep!” the voice rose, “You’re dreaming—this isn’t real! You can feel it, can’t you?”

Lauriam glanced around again, and before his eyes, tall shoots of pink and purple blossoms sprung up from the ground. He gazed at the blossoms as if they would tell him something if he listened correctly. Murmured words burbled into his ears. The presence behind the voice drew closer to him in some way. Chirithy leapt up onto the fountain’s edge with him.

“What a lot of fireweed,” Lauriam reached out and snapped a sprig off the spindly plants.

“What?” the voice asked in clear words again.

“Fireweed,” he considered the plant closely, but there was no denying it, especially since he’d seen it recently somewhere, “I didn’t expect to see any around here. Normally it grows in poor soil. It’s actually called that because it’s the first flower to grow in area that’s been destroyed by fire.” A grin tugged at his lips. “And it can grow almost as fast as the fire can spread. A stubborn little plant.”

“Well, that flower isn’t the only one,” The echoey voice sounded steady and resolute now, “I’m stubborn, too, and I think so are you, Lauriam. You want to help your friend, to fix what you did, right?”

“Of course,” Lauriam blinked, and things began to get truly bizarre.

Someone was with him on the fountain now, expect they were also both in a field of flowers and he looked up at her instead of down. When had Master Aqua gotten here?

“Then you’ve got to wake up!” she said, “I connected everything. You just need to follow that connection. You’ve got to do it now; Ven’s life depends on it!”

“Lauriam?” Chirithy rubbed his paws together, his head tilted in expectation.

“Ven?” Lauriam closed his eyes. Ephemer had said not to hit his arm with a sledgehammer. Lauriam looked down at his arms, the arms that had cradled Ven and bore him away from a crumbling world, “That’s right, I need to find him…to help him.”

That was his goal. That’s why he had started this. He wanted to help Ven. And despite everything, he still wanted to help the boy.

Lauriam slowly became aware of the heaviness that clung to him, as well as the slightly ethereal sensation that he was weightless. It was like he sat underwater, where everything lifted and crushed him at the same time. And, faintly, he could feel currents around him. Currents of dreams…but these were sluggish compared to the others he’d felt, as if bound to a smaller area. Surely, he was just in a place with more separation between the realms, which accounted for the difficulty. Lauriam tried to tap more into the background of dreams. He put a hand over his chest. Instead of the pulse he normally felt, there was only a sedate throb. As if he rested…or slumbered.

“It’s…my dream,” he breathed. The moment he realized this, it was utter foolishness to have considered anything else. Even by the standards of his life, this whole experience was far too exceptional to have occurred in anything but a dream!

“Yes!” Aqua threw her hands in the air with the tone of one who has tried to explain something far too many times, “You’re dreaming, you have to wake up!”

Lauriam tried to, he really did. In every other instance of using the Realm of Dreams, he simply pulled himself out through his waypoint; move from the background into the foreground. This time, though, it was like trying to get out of water in the middle of an ocean. Lauriam gasped and tried to grab onto something. Nothing worked; it all just circled back into his dream. Oh no. How could he get out? How could he return to where he was supposed to be? What was he supposed to do?

“It’s no easier than trying to decide where to begin with all this!” Lauriam groaned.

After a brief attempt to rip out his hair, he looked around again. His eyes locked onto Aqua, and he hesitated a moment. Why was she here? He glanced to Chirithy, how nodded and gestured towards Aqua eagerly. She had been with him before all this started, and she was the one to help him realize his need to awaken.

Slowly, he put it together, “But you…you’re here to help. That’s right, I think I remember now,” his thoughts stirred as he smiled, “you’re Ven’s friend.”

“Yes,” Aqua smiled as she reached out a hand, “And I know you’re one of his friends, too.”

Well, this was certainly a change, if the sharp looks from before were any indication. But after everything, it was a change he welcomed, even if her statement made him flinch. What he had almost done…it had filled him with rage back in the Foreteller’s Camber and shame in the black box. And what had been gained by it?

There was a reason Ephemer had pulled him from that box. There was a promise Lauriam had to fulfill. As he took Aqua’s hand, Lauriam felt the current of dreams swell around him, “Then let’s help him. If there’s a way back, I’ll find it. There has to be a connection, a waypoint, somewhere I can use.”

Almost immediately, he found said waypoint. Her hand was like a half-dozen strings laced around him. It sent a shiver across Lauriam. Chirithy bounced up and down excitedly. Lauriam could feel the strength of this connection, if only he could focus it on one thing, one thing that wouldn’t just trap him back in his head again. One good reason to get back to the waking world.

Aqua gripped his hand tighter, “You remember your sister, don’t you?”

“Strelitzia,” Lauriam shook his head and gazed up at Ephemer’s statue. He glanced back down to where Master Aqua held his hand. In that moment, he knew where to start with all of this.

He had to start with the people he’d come to find. He had to start with the sister he once had. He had to start with the boy who felt like his brother. He had to start with the friend who’d followed him through time and into the dark twice. Lauriam was going to get Elrena back. He was going to sort this out with Ven—without his weapon this time. He was going to bring his sister home. He would reunite with them.

“I need my friends,” he took a deep breath and let himself slip out of his own head and into the currents of the Realm of Dreams. He reached out for a waypoint and felt the hand in his, the one that also cared deeply about Ven, enough to make him a waypoint for them both. Lauriam's hand followed the connection like a string someone had run through various anchors. It was stronger than anything he could make himself. The power behind it felt familiar, just like the voice had. He wrapped his fingers tighter around the hand in his and let the connection pull him away, towards where he could find his friends again.

Instantly, he crashed through the currents, sleep torn from his mind. Again, he felt the heavy sensation of his body, but he wasn’t frightened. A bit of grogginess remained, but the memories stayed firmly in place beneath it. And the purpose—the purpose was the first thing that came through clearly. The light in his heart shimmered and burst into full brilliance.

He fully awoke to the sound of his name, called by that familiar voice.

+=========+

“Lauriam!” He jerked his eyes open to see Master Aqua, Terra, and Chirithy huddled around him. Somewhere nearby, a seagull happily cawed.

He opened his mouth to convey everything he’d just discovered as he uneasily attempted to sit up. His throat tightened. He registered their grim faces, their quick movements, and the red around Aqua’s eyes. There could only be one cause.

Ven.

No…no, what had happened? Lauriam found it hard to breathe. It became even harder as he realized exactly what he’d done. This pain, this fear and consuming anxiety, he’d done this to Sora, to all his friends; he’d isolated Namine and forced her to play a cruel role; he’d participated in the very thing he swore he would abstain from. Was this the brother that was come to claim his little sister?

Failing to compose himself, he could only sob out, “I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry…”

“What brought this up?” Aqua asked. For the first time, her words didn’t sound wrapped in barbed wire.

Lauriam opened his mouth, but he could barely get air in. It was almost as terrible as that black box. Yet even still, there was the light that propelled him forward. There was a reason he endured this, a direction he headed.

“I’m so sorry…” he whispered again.

“For what?” Terra asked.

“Everything,” Lauriam shook his head, “I’m sorry about Ven and Sora and the war and everything in Castle Oblivion…I’m sorry I made a mess of not only my life, but everyone else’s.”

What else could he say? What else could he do? What falsifiable, hollow words these were. He wouldn’t blame them if they didn’t—

“I know,” Aqua raised her eyes from the floor and met his as she repeated, “Lauriam, I know that now.”

“I lived through that,” Lauriam shook his head and shoved hair from his face, “I knew exactly what that felt like…memories or no, I should have known better. And I…I’m sorry. I’m just so sorry.”

Silence permeated the air. Lauriam felt a hand on his shoulder. He meet Terra’s eyes as the man knelt beside him. He offered his hand. Lauriam hesitantly raised his and gripped Terra’s palm.

“Well then, that settles it for now,” he pulled Lauriam up, “Ven’s still in trouble, and we need all the help we can get.”

Lauriam found himself lost for words. But he nearly fell to the ground again when Aqua stepped up to him, her eyes still worried but resting on him easily instead of accusingly.

“You really,” she took a breath, a hand over her heart, “you really do care about Ven. You care about the people you hurt. It’s not an act, is it?”

Lauriam shook his head, as he seemed to have exhausted his reserve of words. Aqua nodded to herself and wiped her eyes discreetly.

“Then Terra’s right, we do need the help,” she bit her lip as she added, “I’m still a little uneasy, even after everything, but I do think you deserve a chance, all things considered. You want to prove your words?”

Lauriam nodded eagerly.

Aqua raised her head to the cloud-covered sky, “Then I expect you to prove it here today.”

“Alright, we’re all friends again!” Chirithy jumped into the air.

The three humans shared uneasy smiles and abashed looks at each other. Chirithy might have oversimplified it, but he wasn’t entirely wrong. Whatever was about to happen, it was going to be bad. They would all need each other. Silently, Lauriam begged Ven and Elrena to endure a bit longer. He would be there soon.

“Let’s press on, then,” Lauriam found his voice at last, “You can fill me in on the way.”

Terra and Aqua nodded and waved him on as they all hurried back through the gate and towards the foot of the city. The seagull perched on a black lamppost watched them go with eyes like wells of ink for an as-yet unwritten story.

Chapter Text

Ven woke up crying, but it was really the hard scratch of metal-on-metal that roused him. His fingers clenched behind him as though they still tried to grab the fragments of images that had faded in his sleep. For a moment while the door creaked open behind him, Ven tried to piece together where he was and what was happening. His heart lept at how familiar it all was.

“Elrena?” He twisted his face towards the door. His heart immediately shrank back as two large feet filled his vision.

Pete settled both fists on his hips, “Now what did I tell you, Keybrat? Your screams was a bit satisfyin’, I’ll admit, but all this stupid simpering is just gettin’ on my nerves!”

Ven opened his mouth, but that only made it easier for Pete to shove a rag in his face, a rag that tasted a bit less than clean. With another strip of cloth, Pete secured his mouth closed, the rag pressed down Ven’s throat—as if it wasn’t hard enough to breathe already! Ven hacked out a growl as Pete stood up and dusted off his hands.

“There! Now finally some peace and quiet while Maleficent gets the last of what she needs from the Keybrats.”

Maleficent was almost finished?! Ven’s eyes widened as he struggled anew, but now he couldn’t even demand answers. Not that he’d ever gotten any, not even with his own past. He winced as a fraction of that pain returned. No, no, can’t think about that now; Elrena had a reason to keep it from him.

Elrena…Ven cursed himself for calling her name without seeing her. He could have revealed her and then where would they both be? To be fair, for all Ven knew, she had already been caught, but it was better to be safe, better to hope she hadn’t been captured.

“Eh, what’s that?” Pete scratched his tiny head with his meaty hand, a wicked grin on his face, “Say somethin’ to me, kid?”

Ven shouted some very angry words he’d learned on accident from Terra, but they all came out as muffled nonsense. Pete gave a hearty chuckle that shook his round belly.

“What’s the matter?” drops of water spurted from his eyes with all his laughter, “Cat got your tongue? Heh heh heh heh…”

Ven narrowed his eyes. The first chance he got, he’d smack Pete’s fat stomach so hard it popped like a pinata. That thought comforted him a bit, but it didn’t change the fact that Maleficent was almost done with her plan, and Ven was no closer to freedom than he had been hours ago. Now his heart cracked with an unknown loss, and his body still ached. He had to find a way out, though. Somehow. Through the door, a sound skittered into Ven’s ears. Something echoed down the corridor, faint thumps and whooshes that steadily got louder.

Pete’s laughter abruptly stopped. His jaw worked as though he chewed a piece of hard meat. He glared down at Ven, who glared right back. Pete’s fists clenched as he took a step towards Ven.

“Somethin’ tells me you’re not done yet,” Pete flexed his fingers, and Ven’s stomach sank, “I had a son like you, one who always had that spark of impudence in his eyes. But I fixed him right, just like I’m gonna fix you!”

Ven braced himself, but he still wasn’t prepared for Pete’s foot to slam down into his chest. His ribs cracked and bile rose in his throat. The gag muffled his wet scream and forced him to swallow it all back down. Ven shuddered as he fought tears, but the dust that ground against his face and into his eyes didn’t help. A sharp ring like the cut of metal on stone sent a chill down his spine.

“Pshaw,” Pete grumbled, “Don’t tell me ya can only take one good kick! Why I oughtta—”

He kicked Ven across the cold stone. The irons dug into his skin; as if his wrist hadn’t been through enough! The sounds from before came again, louder and more rapid, with a mechanical determination. They started to make his head ache. His mind abandoned its last few thoughts and just prayed Pete would stop now.

Ven felt a step behind him, twisted his face to see Pete’s foot aimed right at his head—

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

Ven heard a buzz and CRACK. For a moment, several identical but not-quite-recognizable figures surrounded his attacker. Pete cried out as Ven blinked against the flashes of light. Noises bounced around in his ears as his vision disconnectedly made out movement he could only describe as savage. When Ven could finally make sense of his surroundings again, he stared up at Pete only to find that the cat had been replaced with a familiar blonde head.

Elrena wasted just enough time for Ven to register her. She turned him over and slammed her knife into his shackles. Ice magic breached and raced into the metal, which splintered and shattered under the invasion. Miraculously, the magic didn’t touch him. A single slice took care of the ropes, and another charged stab removed the metal around his ankles.

For the second time that day, Ven sat up and rubbed his wrists as Elrena reached behind his head and yanked off the cloth. Ven inhaled deeply through his nose as he spat out the rag. His entire midsection objected to any and all movement, but Ven didn’t want to have to stare up at anyone a moment longer.

The moment the rag was gone, though, Ven felt his stomach churn. He wrenched his face away from Elrena just in time to vomit all over the floor. He gasped for breath, a gurgle in his ears. His stomach lurched, much to the chagrin of his ribs, and Ven hurled another wave onto the floor.

While he trembled there for a moment, Ven tried to take deep breaths, like Aqua had advised him to do when he was sick. His arms shook violently as they held him above the floor, but thankfully, he didn’t fall. After several minutes, he felt his stomach was finally done, and he bit back a groan as he slowly sat back and faced Elrena.

She immediately pressed a bottle into his hands, “Gargle with some water; don’t swallow it, just wash the bile out of your mouth.”

Ven was all too happy to get the taste out. He took a few deep breaths after that, too. As he handed the bottle back to her with an uneasy grip, Ven’s mind finally caught up. Pain struck his head. Maleficent’s words, the visions, the ache in his heart.

“Ven?” Elrena uncertainly laid a hand on his shoulder, “What’s wrong? Where are you hurt?”

Ven tried to speak, but his mouth wouldn’t work. The images weren’t as strong anymore, but they still clung like a fog around him. He gritted his teeth against the suspicion that if he focused on any of them too hard, they would be as sharp and piercing as before. He wasn’t even sure where to begin, or if he even wanted to. He looked away. Pete lay on the ground near them, still as stone. Ven jerked his head back to Elrena, who barely held his gaze.

“He’s not dead. But I wasn’t gonna let him hurt you,” she bit her lip as she looked him over, “Looks like I didn’t come quick enough, though.”

She tightened her grip slightly on his shoulder, and green light filtered over Ven’s whole body. The physical pain lessened, but that only cleared room for the mental strain in his mind. If something didn’t give, his head was going to split open!

“Ven?” Elrena asked again, a lot of worry packed into one word.

“I’m getting all these dreams that are memories but I’m awake,” Ven said in a burst, “She told me and I didn’t understand at first but you were there and Lauriam but I don’t remember who that is and everything hurts and now even escaping this castle feels familiar and there were other people and I knew them and Chirity knew them but I don’t recognize anyone and Maleficent knew and now there’s not even a past without Xehanort and I can feel something wrong in my heart and in my mind but it won’t make sense without hurting and I don’t know,” he lurched forward and death-gripped her arms as he gasped, “what’s happening to me?!”

Elrena took a deep breath, her hands pressed together in front of her lips. “She told you…” Her voice had a hard edge to it, but Ven didn’t, couldn’t, loosen his grip.

Elrena breathed deeply again and took him gently by the shoulders, “Ven…I’m not sure what you remember, but yes, you knew Lauriam. We both did. He’s here, or, well—look, you’ll see him again. And as for the old geezer, well,” she shook her head and waved her hand as if that dismissed everything, “No, we’re not even touching him right now, or anyone else you might have seen. I know those memories are awful, and honestly, we were afraid we might trigger them just by showing up. That’s why we put it off so long.”

“You…you came to find me?” Ven tried to arrange his words into sentences as he felt Elrena press something against his lips. He drank it down without complaint. A potion, he numbly noted in the back of his mind. His hands fell from her arms.

“Yes,” Elrena nodded. She rubbed her thumb over the rim of the bottle, “We lost our memories, too, and we just got them back. Most of them, anyways. But you’ve got your Chirithy, right?”

“Yeah,” Ven rubbed dried blood from his face, “did you know Chirithy, too?”

“Sort of,” Elrena shrugged, “but, well, Ven, your Chirithy wasn’t the only one. A lot of us had Chirithies back then.”

“Really?!” Ven grabbed at his head with a gasp. Elrena stared in horror as something snapped inside of her.

“Ven, listen,” she locked eyes with him, and this time he could see the intensity that sparked beneath them, “I can tell you all sorts of things about our past, and Lauriam can tell you more, but right now, we’ve got to focus on getting out and getting you home.”

Home. Right, with Terra and Aqua. They needed him, and he needed them. There was still light, still a reason he had to get up. Even if he knew something dark waited inside his own heart, ready to burst open.

Elrena softly added, “the past comes later. We can’t deal with it now.”

“I know,” Ven looked at the ground, “I-I felt it. Maleficent…” he gritted his teeth and shook his head, “I couldn’t deal with it, whatever it was.” He glanced up at Elrena, “Sorry I pushed you earlier. I just…I wanted my past, but I didn’t know…I didn’t think…this wasn’t what it was supposed to be.”

Elrena pouted her lips and sighed a little, “Well, I hate when people keep stuff from me, too.” She forced a smile as she added, “Listen, it won’t be so bad for you. If you’re still upset after all this, then your Chirithy can help with the pain those memories cause, okay?”

“Okay,” Ven unsteadily rose to his feet. Elrena gripped his arm, her teeth on her lip. She softly muttered.

“Curaga.”

The healing magic wasn’t the best, but it definitely helped, especially after the previous healing spell and potion. With a last deep breath, Ven cast Maleficent’s words from his mind. Maleficent had told him about his past to hurt him. But from the fragile warmth in his heart, Ven could tell Elrena hadn’t spoken to hurt him, and Lauriam wouldn’t, either. They wanted to help him. They could help him find the light in this, even if Xehanort was somehow a part of it, even if darkness tainted it. And there was light in Terra and Aqua, who waited anxiously to see him again. The cracks in his heart weren't as sharp anymore.

“Let’s go,” Ven stepped forward, Elrena right by his side. Neither looked at Pete, only clung to one another and hastened through the door.

Gradually, Ven found it easier to walk on his own. Elrena guided him along corridors and down staircases. She didn’t hesitate, didn’t look like there was any doubt as to where she was headed. Though both were quiet, Elrena didn’t slink around shadows or step as if the cobblestones were shards of glass. Ven tilted his head a little at her; what was so different now? Elrena had been so scared of Maleficent before…scared like she knew exactly what the witch could do.

Ven froze in the middle of a long, desolate corridor. Elrena turned. Whatever she saw in his face, it made her kneel down to look in his eyes, “Ven?”

His throat closed on the dusty, tomb-still air. Her eyes were so similar to Riku’s, but hers were a bit greener. That wasn’t the only thing those two had in common. Ven’s mind, finally distracted from his own past, considered hers. Little bits and pieces of information she’d given him snapped into place.

“You…you were Maleficent’s apprentice,” Ven gulped as the full weight and implications set in, “You went through—she hurt you like that, didn’t she?”

“Ven, there’s no use thinking of that,” Elrena’s voice was soft yet harsh at the same time, “We’ve got to leave. You’ve seen what the past does. Leave it there.”

“But she did, didn’t she?!” Ven grabbed her arm as though she might cease existing if he let go, “Did she…did she promise you things?” Elrena looked away, a heat in her cheeks. Ven asked again, “Did she try and get you to use the darkness like she did with Riku?”

“I’m nothing like him!” Elrena shot up and tore her arm away. She wouldn’t look at Ven, her fists clenched as she slowly added, “I’m not like him…he wanted out as soon as he got in. He had all kinds of idiots running after him. I’m nothing like him.”

“You hate yourself.”

The moment he spoke the truth, it was ridiculous to Ven that it took him this long to notice it. Elrena continued to avoid his gaze. Softly, he added.

“I don’t hate you. I think you’re pretty cool, actually.”

Elrena snorted and rubbed her arm as her face went red, “Uh…that’s not—I’m not…” she rubbed her hands over her face with a tired breath. “Look, I’m not a good person, Ven. I don’t think I ever was. Maybe that’s why I keep getting grabbed by people like Maleficent. At least I’m not dumb enough to think they care about me anymore.”

“But you came to save me. Twice.” Ven took a step closer. The tall walls and dim light may as well have put the two of them in a void. “You helped me fight Maleficent and Pete, even though you didn’t need to. Even though you’re scared of her. You ran into a Dark Corridor after me. No one made you.”

Elrena shot him a look of fury, but Ven could see it waver, then come back fiercer, only to falter again. The fear he thought she’d lost poked through cracks in her eyes. But why would you be scared of being told you were a good person?

Elrena abruptly turned on her heel a walked a few feet away, “Look, you were in a coma, you don’t know what I’ve done.”

He didn’t. He didn’t really know what Lea or Isa had gotten up to in the Organization. They didn’t like to talk about it. But even so, even if she had been as horrible as Xehanort, that was in the past. And she had advocated leaving the past behind. Ven rubbed his wrists. Faint red bands lingered on his skin. Shouldn’t she be allowed to escape that pain? Shouldn’t they all be allowed to leave that darkness behind? Even with the worst crimes, must they be carried through the rest of life, locked up within them forever?

Maybe it was hypocrisy, since he’s recklessly pursued his unknown past this whole time, but he only sought it to leave what Xehanort did behind. That wasn’t going to happen, as Maleficent had made plain. You couldn’t run from it, but the past shouldn’t consume you, either. There had to be some better way to deal with it.

“Are you sorry?”

“Huh?” Elrena whirled back to him. Her hand had gone into her pocket, and at his voice, it jerked out. Two metal objects struck the floor. Elrena snatched up her knife and accidentally knocked a key across the stones.

“Are you sorry for what you’ve done?” Ven came closer.

“That doesn’t matter,” Elrena shoved the knife back into her pocket, “I don’t think about the past, Ven. I hate everyone I’ve ever met; there’s no need to dwell on them.”

“Elrena,” Ven pressed a hand over his heart, “I’ve made mistakes, too. Whatever you’ve done, whatever you’ve been through, you’ve got to face it. You’ve got to overcome it.” At that moment, his soft blue eyes and her turbulent aquamarine ones locked together.

“Overcome it?” Elrena said very slowly, her fists clenched as she snorted, her lips curled back from her teeth, “You have no idea what you’re asking.”

“Like I said, I’ve made mistakes—”

“I abused Namine,” her hard, hollow voice said, “I made her alter Sora’s memories and punished her even when she did.”

Ven had no idea what to say to that, so he didn’t say anything.

Her fingers dug into her arms as though she were about to tear them off, “I had a hand in other Organization member’s deaths. I used darkness even before I lost my heart, to hurt anyone I wanted. And then just to hurt anyone. They said I was a witch and they were probably right. And that Replica…” She latched a hand over her mouth as though to force down the bile that rose instead of words. "I actually went and willing let that old geezer take my heart!"

Ven stared on with a vague sense of sorrow. Though her words should have made him furious and disgusted, not a drop of anger stirred in him as he viewed Elrena’s wild movements and confessions. She tried to take a deep breath, but her eyes widened. Like a gush of water, she said, “I lied to Sora—Elsa’s not a Princess of Heart, I just wanted him to hurry up and finish his stupid quest already so this would be over! One way or the other, just over!”

Elrena’s breath came in gasps, her hands clutched over her chest as she crumpled to the ground, “I shouldn’t be here! I should have died with everyone else—you think I don’t know that?! I killed our world; I know I did! If I didn’t, I wouldn’t feel this stupid pain—Every! Single! Day!”

Elrena folded in on herself. Her worn voice slowed, all tones of jest, spite, and arrogance gone, “I should be dead. But I’m not.”

Her heavy breath filled the vast hallway. Ven knelt down and placed his hands on her shoulders, despite the sparks between her clenched fingers. Once the first shock of her rapid-fire words had passed, it was a fight to keep the pity from his furrowed brows and straight mouth. Yeah, this was a bit more than he’d intended to unlock, and honestly, he could barely process some of what just happened. She thought she’d killed their world? No, that couldn’t be right. It just wasn’t right. And that was as far as Ven could get with that vein. But there were other veins that Ven couldn’t just leave alone.

“Yeah, those you did are terrible.” Ven pursed his lips as he thought of the shy girl he had met, the one who had brought back Terra and saved them all. There, that seemed the easiest thing to deal with, even if it also felt like the worst. He looked seriously at Elrena. “You’re gonna have to apologize. You know that, right?”

“Ven, that’s not going to fix anything,” Elrena shook her head.

“It will,” Ven gripped her shoulders tighter, “For one, it’s going to fix the ache in your heart. You feel it, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Elrena stared hard at her own hands, “Hearts only hurt, for any reason…but yeah, I guess that especially.”

“Don’t you want to fix those mistakes?” Ven tilted his head. It could be done; he’d seen it in both his friends, especially after he learned what happened to Aqua. If she could literally come back from the bottom of the Realm of Darkness, couldn’t—

“I can’t, Ven.” Elrena’s hands still clenched each other in front of her chest, “You have no idea everything I broke. I can’t fix it. What would it even look like if I did?”

“It looks better than you can imagine. Aren’t you willing to try?” Ven glanced at the hard stone around them and saw the key that had fallen from her pocket. The same key she’d originally used to free him, to start him on a path back to his friends. Ven leaned over and picked it up, “Weren’t you willing to try and save me?”

“I am saving you,” Elrena ceased to tremble as she fixed her gaze on him, “Don’t get any doubts about that.”

“Then it can be fixed,” Ven smiled again and gently tugged at her arms, “You can fix what you broke, Elrena.”

“No I can’t!” Elrena hid her head in her hands, “How can you still not understand by now?!”

“Maybe I don’t understand what you’ve done or what you’ve been through,” Ven looked away. The ache in his heart threatened to return again if he strayed too deep into the thought that there was something they’d both been through. He bit his lip. Finally, he spoke in a sober but steady voice, “But I know there’s power in apologizing, even if the person doesn’t or shouldn’t forgive you.” He put a hand on hers. “C’mon, Elrena, do you want to spend the rest of your life like this? Do you truly want to hate yourself?”

“I deserve it!” Elrena pulled back and crossed her arms.

“Maybe…” Ven shrugged. He gazed at the key across his palm, “maybe not.”

“What?” Elrena stared at him with furrowed brow.

“Elrena, let’s get out of here.” Ven shook his head to dislodge the last of the overwhelming emotions that muddled his mind.

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Elrena sighed with relief, “I think there’s an exit—”

“Not just the castle,” Ven took her hand in his, the key between their fingers. He refused to let her pull away as he gazed into her eyes again, “I want you to come back to the light, Elrena. There’s a way to dawn for you, I know it. Can you trust me on that?”

Elrena snorted, “To be honest, I stopped caring about light and dark a long time ago. I’m just trying to stay alive and not get hurt.”

“Then come back with me!” Ven pulled forward. Elrena froze in her tracks, and Ven’s hand tore from hers. The key rattled to the dark floor. He glanced back. She rubbed her arms as she turned and feigned a disinterested tone.

“I could just leave, ya know,” Elrena put a finger on her chin, “I could drop you off and run away. I could disappear and no one would find me again.”

Ven had the feeling this was as much a question as a statement and a threat. Yet he couldn’t quite figure out what the question was. “I guess you could,” Ven bit his lip, “But…”

Elrena, a wild alertness in her eyes, added, “But you wouldn’t let me go, would you?”

He didn’t know what to respond. He rubbed the back of his head. Elrena’s eyes grew dark and unfocused.

“That against me, huh. Can’t even let me leave you alone. Guess it figures, all things considered,” Elrena rubbed the back of her head with an embarrassed smile, but Ven could see, even in the dim light, a flash of hurt in her eyes.

Ven balled his fists; his wrist throbbed. What kind of answer was he supposed to give? Why couldn’t she see that he wanted her to come back? That he wanted to take her out of this place as much as she wanted to get him out?

“Is this really what makes you happy?” Ven didn’t care that his voice was loud enough to shake dust from the stones. “Is that really what you want? To disappear forever? To run away like it never mattered you were here in the first place? To always have this fear chasing you and nowhere to come back to, even in an emergency? Is that really how you want to live?”

Elrena stiffened with every word as though he’d physically struck her. A part of him stood shocked at his own ferocity, another part still trembled from his own sincerity and rage. Elrena’s mouth parted a little as she slowly, slightly shook her head.

“Then, for once, why not do something not out of fear?” Ven extended his arm as far as he could. “I don’t want you to be afraid.”

Complete silence hung between them. The air itself went still. Their eyes met one last time.

“I’m pretty sure no other guardian’s gonna share your sentiment,” Elrena let her arms drop. She bit her lip. Her eyes heavily closed. Ven could practically see the weight settle onto her. Her fingers and jaw clenched. Ven hardly breathed as his heart pounded.

Her eyes half-opened to the key on the floor. Her head tilted a little. Her fingers curled open. Slowly, the weight on her shoulders broke down, and a lightness seeped over her that made her look a lot younger. For the first time, instead of someone who didn’t have an age, she looked only a little younger than Lea and Isa. She lifted her foot and took a step towards him.

In the same motion, she bent down and snatched up the key, “But I do like getting rid of pain,” her half-open eyes darkened as she added, “and I owe Namine quite a bit. And I’m already bringing you back anyways and, well, there’s some other stuff I should tell you…but later.” Elrena brushed herself off, and her face faltered again as she struggled to say, “I—Ah, you…are you…do you really—”

She stared at him as though he’d single-handedly turn back the ocean, “I don’t know how you broke all that open. You somehow caused that flood when I couldn’t find you. And now…” she ran a hand through her hair, and her bangs fell through her fingers and back across her forehead. “Do you even know how many boxes you opened? How you did it?”

Ven shrugged. If that was some reference to their joint past, it didn’t make his head throb, “Should I?”

“No,” Elrena snorted, “And I guess that’s part of how you did it; I don’t know if you could have done it if you were trying. I would have known and wouldn’t have let you.”

“Look, if I helped, I’m glad I did,” Ven put his hands behind his head, “But I’m completely lost as to what you’re talking about.”

“I am, too,” She shook her head and gave him a half-hearted smile, her fingers on her temple, “Yeah, I think I’m actually starting to lose it.” She took a step across the claw-scratched stones and waved him on, “Let’s get out of here.”

“I’ll be on the lookout for Heartless—and loose floorboards,” Ven dropped his hands from his head as he followed.

“Only really need to worry about the second,” Elrena’s eyes lowered as her mouth quirked upward, “I, ah, took care of most of anything that moved on my way to find you.”

“Really?” Ven’s eyes widened in an impressed, interested, and slightly terrified mix.

“Really,” Elrena forced a lightness into her tone as she flexed her fingers, “Can’t ever recall it being so easy. Like everything in me was wholly focused and yet the reactions were so automatic. Can hardly remember most of it now,” she rubbed her neck and shoulders with a heavy breath, “Though my body seems like it won’t soon let me forget all the magic and energy I used up.”

“Huh,” Ven smiled mischievously, “And you decided to do all that yourself? Seems like something a person who really ca—”

Elrena shot him a look that dared him to finish that sentence.

Ven said nothing, but he beamed in perhaps a little too smug a way for walking by someone who just admitted to rapid Heartless annihilation and other crimes. Nevertheless, the assurance that Elrena would follow him out of this dark place kept the whispers of Ven’s painful memories at bay. He wasn’t naïve enough to think an apology was going to solve everything she did, but it was a start. And frankly, with her being a part of his past and all she’d done to rescue him, she deserved a chance, whatever she thought of herself. And no matter what, he'd get back to Aqua and Terra soon. Ven’s lip flicked upwards, and he felt the chill in his heart actively draw back. Or maybe he pushed it back. He didn’t care which, as long as it was more manageable.

Still, just thinking about what had happened in that cell made Ven walk a bit closer to Elrena. She stiffened, and her hand moved, but froze in midair. She hesitated a half-step. Her hand brushed against his shoulder and gave a light pat.

They both made themselves walk on. There was still so much they needed to say, but this was not the place to say it. After what he’d just been through with Maleficent, Ven shuddered to think what else Elrena might have endured during her stay here. And that didn’t even take into account whatever shared event Elrena (and apparently his own heart) had deemed too terrible to even talk about. Whatever it was, it was in the past, and however painful, it was time to stop his pursuit of it. Maybe the past wouldn’t leave them alone, but it wasn’t going to beat them this time.

Chapter Text

The unlikely duo continued their way through the twisted castle which was still far too familiar to Elrena. Ven had been kept in one of the towers, so Elrena guided him down several more flights of stairs until at last they were near the ground levels. Since fate had decided to throw everything wrong with this place in her face, Elrena decided it was finally time to try the front door. Maleficent was probably busy with something anyways, and Elrena had cleared out most of the Heartless on her surprisingly quite rampage to find Ventus.

Elrena closed her eyes for a moment. She needed a deep breath. When she had finally found him, followed Pete’s voice and found him standing over the kid, it hadn’t been pleasant. Her body filled with a venom that sent every millimeter of her into attack mode. And she’d thought whatever broke her in that room with the cauldron had been powerful. It hadn’t even occurred to her until Ven looked at the cat to wonder if he was alive or dead. But that huge belly of his heaved, so there was that. Really, she’d been more focused on shoving some of the potion she’d gotten from one of the chests down Ven’s throat.

And then what he’d said to her…Something inside reacted to that, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. But sweet Lux, whatever it was wouldn’t be still! Every five seconds she had to remind herself that the child who’d sworn herself to light, bathed in it daily and felt approved by it, if not accepted, was dead. What she turned into made way too much of a mess to go back. Not that she’d ever been that valuable. Not even to someone like Maleficent.

She fought back a shiver. Elrena had never liked Maleficent—at least that was what she told herself as she shoved down all the times she’d stayed up all night to earn a kind word, a soft caress on her cheek, or a pat on her head. Those brief touches filled some hole in Elrena’s heart…no, it wasn’t a hole, more like a hunger. There was something that made her heart tremble like an empty stomach, and it greedily snatched up and savored every morsel Maleficent gave her. It had been more or less the same with Master Gula, though he had seen her far less frequently and only hit her once, and he was really angry that time and she’d been pressing, so really, she had been asking for it. It wasn’t like being locked up for saying it was wrong to curse a baby.

And then there was Ava. Elrena had only met her a handful of times, and even fewer of those were personal meetings, but when she had, there was just something about her. It wasn’t soft, no…inviting. Yes, inviting. That was the word. Almost every word from Ava's mouth invited her to come and fill that hunger, but at the same time, her heart hesitated to respond. Elrena could never shake the feeling that she waited for something before her heart could fully enjoy the sustenance. She still didn’t know why. And yet, the thing in her heart that reacted to Ven rumbled the same way the hunger did. Maybe they were the same thing.

She gazed at the boy as he continued to walk down the corridor with her. One eye swelled black, and dried blood lingered on his chin, but he walked easily on his own. That reactive part acted up again. The two of them must be quite a sight. For a moment, all she could think of was that Ven reached out to her.

Ven rubbed his wrist again, and Elrena put a hand on his shoulder. The motion made her skin and muscles draw together, as if they were curious what possible purpose this action could have.

“You alright?” She couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I will be once we’re out of this place,” Ven faced down the hallway with shudder, but he didn’t pull away from her touch.

“Can you still summon your glider-thing?” Elrena staved off the silence a moment longer.

He nodded, “It’s not too difficult, once you get the hang of it. And learn to stop flying straight into mountains.”

“I guess you’ve accomplished that last one,” Elrena looked him up and down with a finger on her chin, “since you seem to have all your limbs.”

“Oh, yes,” Ven nodded with far too much gravity to be serious, “though I feel the need to remind you that not crashing into mountains and keeping firm connection to all your limbs are different skills that must be acquired and practiced separately. Not crashing into mountains, however, is a subset of the keeping bones unbroken skill.”

“Ah, beginner’s mistake,” Elrena’s lips twitched, “sounds like I’ll need to brush up on my own skills soon.”

“Well, I’m kind of an expert on this,” Ven put his hands behind his head, “so, I could give you some pointers,” a gleam came into his eye as he added, “but I don’t plan on carrying you through this place.”

Elrena laughed at his allusion to her past comment, but the sound echoed loudly off the walls. She and Ventus froze for a moment. Elrena took another deep breath, “Alright…let’s get out of here first.”

They continued on with no more talk than necessary, and Elrena occasionally redirected him down a different corridor or staircase. They were close. The witch must have been close, too, but when Elrena tried to think of that, everything blurred over. The fact wasn’t real. The only real thing was the boy beside her and the door they proceeded towards. Everything else was a blur she could navigate as long as she didn’t think too hard. Yet at the same time, other things lurked somewhere nearby, not close or clear enough for her to pick out. Whatever. She didn’t need them. It was good she couldn’t pick them out. It meant they were in boxes, as they should be.

Elrena gritted her teeth with a glance at Ven. Darker undertones hid in his eyes. If she didn’t know her own and Lauriam’s eyes so well, she might have missed it. That witch had broken open his memories, or tried to, anyways. That venom woke in her blood again, and Elrena hurried Ven down a staircase a little faster than she needed to. Okay, right level. Only a few more corridors, and they were out. Then Ven was safe. Then that dark fae would only be another bad memory. Then she and Lauriam could make sure Ven’s memories were put in check like theirs. Ven had his Chirithy, at least.

Ven snorted and chuckled without warning. Elrena shot him a look, and he opened his mouth to say something. He snapped his mouth shut. A familiar tap-thunk-tap-thunk echoed down the corridor. Darkness prickled their skin.

The witch made herself real again.

Elrena grabbed Ven and thrust them both against the wall behind a pillar. A heartbeat later, Maleficent strode down the corridor, her face twisted in a scowl, her oversized eyebrows narrowed as much as they were able.

“Where is that buffoon?” Maleficent’s fingers agitatedly stroked her staff, her stride too rigid and too tense, her movements and voice too quick. “PETE! Respond to me at once!”

After some moments of silence—in which Elrena definitely exerted no force on herself to not jump out and do whatever the witch wanted—Maleficent shook her horned head, “Nevermind that simpleton,” Maleficent sighed, “The darkness waits with the cauldron. I had best do this myself. It is too important to trust to one who could not even hold a boy for one day.”

With a mutter under her breath, Maleficent strode past their hiding place. Ven and Elrena held their breath. However, distracted by her lack of competent help, Maleficent didn’t notice them. Good, because she was in way too foul a mood to catch the attention of, too quick to respond. At least if she sat down to plan your punishment, there were ways to soften it, even if the planned ones were worse when you couldn’t soften her. When the taps faded away, Elrena finally let out her breath and slowly emerged from behind the pillar.

“What was that about?” Ven squinted down the hallway.

“Her wanting Pete for something,” Elrena shook her head. Why did the solidness of the floor surprise her? “Maybe trying to remake that potion you spilled. I wonder what she’s going to do if they call her and she’s not ready.”

“My Gummiphone!” Ven raised his hand to smack himself, but remembered just in time that he raised his right wrist, “Maleficent still has my Gummiphone!”

Elrena put a finger to her lips. She was pretty sure she’d seen the witch put it away after the first call, “Yeah; she probably still has in on her, in one of those ridiculously deep pockets in her cloak.”

Ven sighed, a heaviness about him, “Then I guess we won’t get it back.” He shook himself, though the heaviness did not dissipate. “But we need to get out of here first thing. I’m sure Ienzo will understand.”

Man, that little box sure was important to him. The venom in her blood still hadn’t settled, and it didn’t like that Maleficent might keep something so important to Ven. They didn’t have time to search the castle, but if the fae did have it on her…hmm, that could be manageable. Elrena’s eyes brightened as her lips curled into a mischievous smile, “Hey, we can do both.”

“Huh?” Ven blinked and rubbed the back of his head, “Look, Elrena, you’ve already helped a lot. I just want to get out of here and back to Terra and Aqua.”

“You will,” Elrena got down on one knee and took Ven by the shoulders as her eyes bore into his, “Ven, I promise, you’re going home today. It’s not often I promise anyone anything, but when I do, I stick to it. So don’t even worry about that. I will get you home. Understand?”

Ven gulped but smiled. A very pleasant mix of the fill of her hunger and the venom in her veins rushed through her. Elrena smiled, and her hand gently patted the top of Ven’s head as more of her teeth showed. If the Guardians felt like this all the time, no wonder they did such stupid things.

“Alright,” Elrena drew herself up and tapped a finger to her chin, “That way’s the supply room, which means she’ll be coming back soon.”

No way was Elrena actually going to fight the witch. She hadn’t completely lost her senses. But she could guess which pocket the witch had the phone-thing in. And no one was faster than her. Yes, that would be a perfect parting gift. Nothing of theirs would be left with her. Nothing could draw them back to this place. Just do it quick and don’t think. Especially don’t feel.

Elrena gestured to the pillar on the other side of the hall, “Okay, here’s the plan, we’re going to hide, you on that side, and I’ll hide here.”

“But what—” Ven started to say. Elrena shushed him.

“She’s coming!”

Ven immediately pressed his back against the pillar. A few moments of silence crept by, and then the tap-thunk-tap-thunk of Maleficent’s staff echoed down the hall. Ven glanced at Elrena. She didn’t smile, but gave him a reassured look. Making the look for him made her feel a little steadier. It would work; the witch would not keep anything.

The witch passed between them. Maleficent carried something in a jar in her free hand, and even though the lid was on tight, the foul stench snuck into their nostrils. The ingredients in the kitchen were minty fresh compared to whatever rested in the jar. Maleficent passed their hiding spots, and a split-second before it occurred, Elrena cast all thoughts from her mind.

She threw the key from her pocket directly at the witch, who recoiled for a necessary split-second. Elrena shot out of her hiding place with inhuman speed and reached into Maleficent’s robes before either the witch or Ven registered the movement. Fingers wrapped around the Gummiphone and tore it from the cloak without a pause.

Elrena screamed, “RUN!”

“Oh, so that’s the plan,” Ven said as he bolted after her before Maleficent could even utter a confused exclamation. After the first few seconds, though, they heard her roar of rage.

“YOU WOULD DARE?!” Maleficent’s voice shook the castle.

Elrena grabbed Ven’s good wrist and pulled him along faster. Through the castle they dashed, the walls in a state of more and more decay until they rushed through an area of ruins more than anything else. They found themselves in front of a giant drawbridge, and Elrena let go of Ven, jumped up, and struck one of the chains. Ven whipped out his Keyblade and struck the other. The chains went slack. The drawbridge jerked downward with a groan—and then froze.

A green barrier covered it, and Ven and Elrena slowly turned. A livid Maleficent bore down on them, green flames at her sides. The sulfur burned in Elrena’s nose. She stifled a sigh of relief when Maleficent and her flames drew up short. Her eyes narrowed first at Ven, then traveled to Elrena, where they widened a moment before narrowing even further.

“You…” she spoke with so much venom, it overflowed.

No, no. This was not how this was supposed to work. They were supposed to leave. Elrena’s face went pale as she scrambled for something, anything, to hide behind. Maleficent came a step closer. The wall bumped against Elrena’s back.

“I never imagined that my wayward apprentice would dare show her face in my palace again.”

“Palace?” Elrena said through a bone-dry throat. She unconsciously brought her arms up and hastily crossed them, “It’s only your magic that’s keeping this…this pile of rubble upright.”

“And yet, my little magpie,” Maleficent’s abruptly soft voice crept into her ears. “Did you not once describe this place to me as a sanctuary, a refuge,” her eyes locked onto Elrena’s and held her there, “perhaps, even, a home?”

“Speaks to what’s in this world,” Elrena mumbled as her fists tightened on her sleeves. Don’t panic; she can’t have planned, can’t have known how exactly to hurt her. What she wouldn’t give for Larxene’s protection right now! “No wonder it’s the birthplace of a creature like you.”

“And what of your birthplace, little magpie—oh, wait,” Maleficent curled her nails in front of her mouth in mock shame before she placed them across her chest, “I forgot, you have no memory. Poor little thing.”

Don’t think about the last time she called me that. Don’t think about how good it sounded then. It stays in the box.

Maleficent could see all of this frantic thought through Elrena’s eyes, and she laughed. With a casual step, Maleficent extended her fingers and gently placed her claws on the strands of Elrena’s hair that curled upwards. She twirled the hair around her claws as she moved them from Elrena’s forehead and down her skull until her nails scraped the back of Elrena’s ear and across her jawbone. “But that’s a link between you and Ventus, is it not?”

All the overtime calculations came to a screeching halt as her hair shifted back into place. Elrena had never told her. Ven couldn’t have told her. And yet, the witch had somehow told Ven…

“You know…” How? Elrena stared as a tiny latch in her mind flew open. A hand flew over her mouth. Her voice trembled as she pointed a shaky finger at Maleficent. She shouted and cried at the same time. “It was you! You were that evil fairy! You took the pod—you killed our world!”

Everything shook like the basement of the tower. Why, why would the witch have been there that night? Had she known the whole time who Elrena was? Was that some reason for her treatment?

Maleficent’s eyebrows raised, “My, my, so you do possess some memory.” Her grin spread as Elrena drew back against the wall. “Quite a surprise, since you seem to have forgotten who you owe your life to.” Despite the years, the witch was still able to look down on her, “But yes, I see deep in those eyes, somewhere you remember that it is entirely right for me to retract my interference.”

“What are you talking about?” Ven stepped towards them, his Keyblade still out. Confusion gave way to anger on his face, “You know what, I don’t care. Get away from her!”

“No!” Elrena grabbed him and forced him away; she couldn’t have the kid make the witch angrier.

Maleficent backed away a few unhurried steps, but not before she placed a hand between the two strands that curved up from Elrena’s hair. Though it sent ice into the pit of Elrena’s stomach, she hated most that there was still a warmth from the touch that was just a little gentler than a pat.

Maleficent continued her speech as if Ven did not even exist, “Yes, the memory is there. It is just as you remember somewhere the night when your master’s folly—” Elrena winced as the memory of that night in the basement came back with more disturbing clarity than it ever had before, all but what appeared on the screen in front of Brain, “oh, but you don’t remember fully, do you?” Maleficent laughed. “What an embarrassment that I let all that slip. I didn’t happen to trigger anything upsetting, did I?”

“No,” Elrena gripped at her head as she tried to sort through things that now desperately needed to make sense. She’d been so content to leave everything behind, but if Maleficent was somehow involved, she had to know, had to prepare. And yet, at the same time, Elrena felt dread spread over every part of her, “No, this isn’t right—it’s dead, you can’t know anything…then why were you there, why would you need a pod when you had Dark Corridors?”

Elrena put a hand against the side of her forehead, her fingers inches from where Maleficent’s had just been. She knew, deep down, that Maleficent needed a pod and not a Dark Corridor because they needed pods and not Keyblades. Why? What did Maleficent know about that night? How would she use it to hurt her?

“So it’s true?!” Ven glanced between them, his eyes narrowed, “Elrena and I, we really did come from the same place. And you killed it?”

Maleficent rested her hands lightly on her staff. Ven growled, his Keyblade at the ready. Elrena curled a hand over her chest as if that would stop the ache that began to build. What new nasty surprise waited in her memory? What did she forget about that night? There was the shaking, the pods, her Chiri—

“Now, I’m sure there’s no need to get upset,” Maleficent’s fingers played across the ball of her staff, “You surely want to remember the things that were so precious, don’t you? You would love to recall exactly what happened to those you knew.” Elrena wanted to move her eyes, but the fae held her gaze. “There were surely devoted members of your life, the only things of value about you.”

“I don’t care what you and Xehanort knew about us!” Ven said to Maleficent, his voice brighter and sturdier than Elrena had ever heard, “You’re not gonna get away with this. You won’t do to anyone else what you did to our world.”

But for the first time, it wasn’t Xehanort. It wasn’t really Maleficent that wrecked their world. Elrena couldn’t get her mouth to work. What would rush out if she did? How would it hurt her? What had she left behind while her world crumbled? Her heavy breaths couldn’t quell the knowledge that there was something, someone important. It would be remembered. That hunger and the part that reacted to Ven’s words shook itself inside her heart.

“No,” Elrena shook her head violently, “you don’t know anything, you can’t. You can’t know about her. S-stay in…”

Maleficent laughed lightly, “Oh dear, such fledgling recollections, bearing such false results.” Carefully, her yellow eyes searched both of them, “Do you two still not recognize what you are? What you survived? Why you were delivered to be scourged in this new era?”

No. No, she didn’t know. But she had to find out. There were thousands of wielders, maybe millions. How could they all just disappear?

In the midst of her scramble, a memory tapped at the back of her mind. It was tiny, but like a woodpecker, it would not stop. There was an answer to all her questions about where her pain came from, an answer to what she left behind, an answer to how Maleficent would hurt her. It was all on that screen Brain pulled up. It was why they needed pods and Lauriam dragged her into one. It was the reason Lauriam was so desperate to find his sister. Elrena’s heart trembled and ached. For the first time, she couldn’t stop what was going to happen.

“Shall I enlighten both of you?” Maleficent asked, a hand held out in entreaty, “I’m sure you’re very curious about what happened to those precious to you. About how you ended up where you are. About how you were broken as you are.” Her gaze wrapped around Elrena, “Come. Here is all you wanted, all you deserve.” Her lips curled, “I will see every mite rest on you.”

Elrena couldn’t move; the memories had hands that grabbed every part of her. And yet, despite their icy, tyrannical grip, it was familiar. She knew where they would take her. She hated it. She hated that Maleficent knew exactly what to say to turn her own heart against her and drag her back to the reason her heart hungered.

“I’m not interested in anything you’ve got to say!” Ven threw his arm to the side.

Elrena didn’t want to hear it, either, but it was too late for that. The hands pulled her away. Elrena fell to her knees with a strangled cry, fingers dug into her hair. The voices around her grew fainter. Everything that wasn’t in her head trickled out of reach.

“Elrena?” Static mixed with Ven’s voice, “Elrena, are you okay?”

“M-master Ava, it can’t be…” Elrena knew what she’d been asked to do, why she had to do it, what was going to happen. She still tried to deny it, “All those wielders, up against each other—but they just disappeared!”

But they hadn’t. They were gone. They fought over Lux, it all got out of hand, and… Her lips moved, but she didn’t know what she mumbled. She wanted them to come back, to stand sure as the masters they were supposed to be while she stood by and held her small, grey, fuzzy—

She could never control Dream Eaters like Lauriam. She couldn’t let herself. There was one missing, a lost one she’d never let go of. One who had been there, who she left when they took pods.

“What?” Ven said, “Elrena, what’s wrong?”

“Only the truth, dear boy,” Maleficent’s laugh was too sharp, too clear, “Only the pain she knows she deserves. Do you not remember your part in it? What you brought among all of them? And the price of your entry?”

Elrena fell faster, gripped tighter the more she struggled. They needed the pods because their world was dying. Her mutter became a shriek, and she gasped for air, “He had to prove…I had the proof…she didn’t go…to war.”

The Keyblade War.

Anything that still kept her memories at bay shattered. Static broke across the sky and everything glitched and fractured as Brain pulled up the nightmare on the screen. So much like Strelitzia’s static form. But at least safe in her arms was— Make it stop, make it stop, make it stop. Please, make it stop. Bring her back.

“Elrena!” Ven grabbed her arm, “Elrena, it’s me, Ven! Don’t listen to Maleficent. Remember what you said, that the past comes later? El—”

Chapter Text

Ven ceased to shake Elrena as she stiffened, her shaky breath sucked to an abrupt stop. Ven held his own breath, unsure what to do. The fire still snapped on either side of them, with the drawbridge behind them and Maleficent before them. Elrena lifted her head from the ball she’d curled herself into. With unfocused eyes, she half-whispered and half-whimpered.

“Chirithy?”

Ven tilted his head, confused. Wait, she’d said others had a Chirithy. Did she call for hers? Ven winced; his hand rested between her shoulders. Elrena covered her face with her hands, and Ven swore he heard a sob.

“Tell me, my dear Elrena,” Maleficent took a step closer, the better to revel in every moment of Elrena’s increasing distress. Ven jumped to his feet, his Keyblade in front of both of them, “what was the source of Xehanort’s interest in you, Ventus, and Lauriam? What truly began the decay of your precious world? What masters, leaders, and spirits did you selfishly abandon?”

Ven’s head pounded. The names stirred memories that seared against his eyeballs and increased pressure on his heart. If only Terra or Aqua were here!

Ven felt the pressure momentarily lift. He did not reach for his wayfinder, but he could feel it and, more importantly, the bond it represented. He was closer to them now than ever. He couldn’t give in to the pain. He couldn’t fall into the past, not when his friends counted on him. They needed him as much as he needed them. And that included Elrena.

Ven grit his teeth so hard he accidentally bit his lip. If Xehanort had taught him anything, it was to never trust information from an enemy, even if it was true. Elrena’s sobs grew in intensity and frequency, a constant reminder that whatever Maleficent revealed—no matter how true—was to hurt them. Ven wanted his past, more than anything, but he wouldn’t hear it from her. If even the light Xehanort had stolen was to mean anything, it had to come from the people Ven had shared it with.

“Leave us alone!” Ven tried to imitate Terra’s authoritative voice, but it sounded more like a kitten’s hiss.

Maleficent stroked her staff, and the black stone on her finger glinted in the unnatural light of the fire, “Or else what, child?”

Ven held his Keyblade at the ready. Elrena had fallen silent, and Ven wanted to check on her, but he couldn’t give Maleficent an opening. Elrena’s breath sounded labored, and Ven hoped there were no nightmares.

Maleficent raised one eyebrow as her staff glowed dangerously and darkness once again gathered around her. Ven’s muscles tensed. He’d nowhere near recovered from their last battle. Still, he couldn’t give up. He couldn’t lose any chance of seeing Terra and Aqua again. He couldn’t leave Elrena defenseless when she’d done so much for him. So, with an angry look at Maleficent, he readied himself.

“Very well,” Maleficent chuckled, “Though do remember this time I am under no obligation to leave you unharmed.” Her fingers hovered over the orb of her staff as she tilted her head in consideration, “I suppose the Keybearers do not need to know that your life has been snuffed out until I present them with your remains, if there be any.” Once again, the fire on either side of them rose, “And who knows, that darkness within you might not perish, but be released, as I intended.”

That darkness again. The feeling of cracked ice worked in his chest. Ven tightened his grip on his Keyblade, thankful for the slight pain still in his wrist. He was all that stood between Elrena and Maleficent. Terra and Aqua waited for him to come home. Lauriam, that unknown friend, waited to see him again. The thing that lurked in his heart was shoved down again, and Ven could almost hear it hiss in anger. Elrena, Terra, Aqua—even those friends he couldn’t remember—were more important than it.

“I won’t let you hurt her,” Ven glared right into Maleficent’s eyes, “I don’t know what you did to her before, but you’re not hurting Elrena again!”

Behind him, something shifted and stirred. Neither Ven nor Maleficent moved their eyes from each other.

“You may try,” Maleficent raised her staff and leveled it at him, “But then who will protect you, little Ventus?”

A whimper and a tiny groan sounded behind him. An orb of pure darkness gathered at the tip of Maleficent’s staff. Ven narrowed his eyes and smacked the armor plate on his shoulder. In a flash, his armor materialized around him.

“Do you truly believe your own heart to be enough protection from me?” Maleficent curled her free hand into a claw.

“We’ll find out.” Ven stepped more fully in front of Elrena, despite the heat from the fire.

The orb launched towards him, but Ven planted his feet. It connected and made him stagger, but Ven shoved himself up, the pain minimized. In fact, his heart, for once, warmed and kindled higher with the knowledge of who lay behind him. That didn’t stop Maleficent from sending another blast at him, and another. Ven struggled to hold his place, to stay between Maleficent and Elrena.

The blasts kept coming, and Ven could feel the strain on his armor and himself, but the warmth continued to come back. He tried to send a wave of ice at Maleficent, but she summoned such a large blast that it cut through his ice with an explosion that carried him backwards and slammed him into the partially open drawbridge. At least there was no fire there, just a solid green barrier and even more solid wood.

Ven forced himself to his feet with a groan. A web of cracks and splinters ran across the drawbridge behind the green barrier. Maleficent frowned at him.

“I tire of these games quickly, boy,” her entire body emitted darkness like smoke. Ven shivered but took a few uncertain steps towards Elrena. She was still on the ground, but her breath was regular, and her fingers twitched. Her face scrunched up every now and again. Ven glanced back at the drawbridge, at the web of cracks. Behind his mask, his eyes widened slightly. He turned back to face the dark faerie.

“Then why don’t you end it once and for all?” Ven stood as tall and straight as he could. Maleficent smirked. For five seconds, they waited as the attack charged.

The moment the attack fired, Ven threw himself towards the ground. He gripped Elrena’s arm and pulled it across his back. His ears rang as the blast shattered the barrier and drawbridge. He felt Elrena’s hand grip his shoulder.

“C’mon,” he raised his Keyblade and summoned wind, which threw even more dust and debris around, “We’re getting out of here!”

Ven jumped up and pulled his friend along as best he could. Elrena awkwardly surged to her feet, her eyes now half-open. Ven threw them through the now-open door. As Maleficent called out in rage behind them, Elrena’s free arm shot up as if pulled by a string. With a wild cry of her own, she sent a nasty spasm of blue-white lightning in the fae’s direction. Ven heard a screech but didn’t turn to see.

He threw his Keyblade out and summoned the glider for them to land on, and they shot through the sky, regardless of if anyone saw them.

“You alright?” Ven called back to Elrena.

“Where’d the door go? What happened? Where are—” she replied in a breath, a white-knuckle grip on him as the glider banked.

“I’ll explain later,” Ven tore open a portal as Maleficent’s entire castle became awash with darkness. Fear shot through both of them and propelled them through the swirl of colors. It was only when they were safely in the Lanes Between that Ven stopped to catch his breath and inspect his armor. With a start, he remembered Elrena didn’t have any, and he turned worriedly to her.

Her face was pale, and she curled up on the glider, one hand clutched over her chest. Her breath came far too fast, despite her evident attempts to reign it in. Ven knelt down, which was difficult on the tiny surface, but he managed.

“You alright?” he asked, his voice slightly muffled and echoey.

After a few more minutes of struggle to breathe, Elrena’s entire body stiffened and gradually went lax. A far-off look came into her eyes, as though she didn’t see what was around her or in her head.

“Elrena?” Ven raised a hand, about to touch her shoulder.

She abruptly nodded and tugged at her coat, “Pretty sure this is enough to protect me from the darkness at least,” she looked away from him, “but to be honest, I wouldn’t really care if it wasn’t. Hearts are more trouble than they’re worth.”

Ven raised his eyebrows. Oh, wait, she couldn’t see his face through the mask. Straightening, he looked around at the dazzling stars around them and the tiny world below them.

“Good to have you back,” Ven turned to her, “I thought you were—”

“Down for the count?” Elrena ran a hand through her mussed hair, “Me too. Came to just as you pulled me up. I think I heard you say…something. I’m not too sure, just that it started to wake me up.”

“I’m not sure either,” Ven sighed, “but at least you’re back, and we’re out.” He gazed at the stars around them. “Where to next?”

“Not sure,” Elrena pressed something into his hand, “But we got this thing back.”

“My Gummiphone!” Ven beamed and pressed the power button. After several attempts, though, it didn’t respond. He slowly lowered it. “It’s broken,” he shook his head, “I can’t call Terra or Aqua or anyone.”

“Well,” Elrena managed to focus her gaze on him, her voice almost back to normal, “I happened to overhear the rest of that first call Maleficent made to your friends, and I heard her mention someplace called Scala Ad Caelum. Know it?”

“Yeah, actually!” Ven whirled to face the front of his glider and set his feet apart in travel position. “I’ve only been there once, but if Terra and Aqua are there, then I’ll find them.”

“How do you know that?” Elrena waved her hand around as she shifted towards the back of the glider to not get stepped on, “There’s millions, probably billions of worlds out here now.”

“Follow their hearts,” Ven spoke like he recited another’s words, “and we’ll find the way.”

“Hearts again,” Elrena massaged her temples. A dark undertone crept into her voice.

“Why do you hate them so much?” Ven turned back to her, “I thought that was the original Organization’s whole goal?”

Elrena snorted and held up a finger, “First of all, that liar Xemnas never meant to do that. Second, I never really cared about getting my heart back—like I said, more trouble than it’s worth. All hearts do is hurt and tell you to make stupid decisions and keep memories better left forgotten.”

She turned to the world below them. Her face hardened, “I hate that place. I wish I’d ended up in any other world. I didn’t care when it fell to darkness. That’s about when Leaxeus popped up and offered me somewhere else to go. I wasn’t really big on the whole ‘reclaiming our hearts’ thing, but it was something to do with people who weren’t actively trying to kill me, so I figured I’d stick around for a bit.”

“Oh…” Ven replied. In that light, it probably wasn’t a huge surprise that she’d been involved in some sort of betrayal. Ven wasn’t too clear on what happened there, but Lea had mentioned something about it once. But then why did she come back? Before he could ask her, Elrena snapped her head up.

“Hey, shouldn’t we go or something? Not gonna be much use of escape if your friends don’t know about it.”

“Right,” Ven turned back to the front of his glider, “Hold on, it might get bumpy.”

Elrena placed a hand on his shoulder, and Ven shot forward. He focused on Terra and Aqua and on the world of Scala Ad Caelum, as much of it as he could remember. Somewhere far away, he felt a faint pulse. He steered his glider towards it and pressed forward. As he hurdled towards the mark, he began to feel strange, like there was something he forgot, some other familiar face…

“Chirithy!” he jerked his head up.

“What?” Elrena’s fist tightened on his shoulder.

“I think he’s with the others. Terra and Aqua must have taken him along.” Ven’s recently reawakened memories tickled the front of his mind. “Hey, if Lauriam came with you, do you think he’s there too?”

“If they didn’t kill him,” Elrena bit her lip, “then maybe.”

Ven cast a backwards glance at her, her face unevenly lit by the stars around them. Her eyes were downcast as he said, “Elrena? You mentioned that other people had Chirithies…did you?”

“I did.” Elrena’s tone would normally have ended any more questions, but Ven couldn’t bear that she should have suffered another loss if she’d already lost their home and her heart.

“Maybe you’ll find your Chirithy, too,” Ven forced every ounce of hope possible into his tone, “Mine took years to return to me. He actually had to have a bit of help to do it. But our hearts were connected, and he did come back.”

+=======+

Elrena said nothing. She removed her hand and sat down on the edge of the platform and stared back to where the Enchanted Dominion was already just another dot of light in the blackness. As the ache in her stupid, stupid heart pounded away, it reminded her of the deterioration of her Nobody after being beaten by that loser—twice! Both times, she’d clutched herself…or had she reached for something else, someone who would comfort her as she faded away?

As she sucked in her breath and swatted at her eyes—which were watery entirely from the wind rushing past and absolutely not for any other reason—Elrena shoved those thoughts down. Of course, she couldn’t shove them any further down than her heart, which happily took each and every spoken and unspoken thought and replayed it over and over like a broken record. It was almost funny how she had so little and yet always managed to lose more.

Loss…what Maleficent had said…Elrena closed her eyes and hung her head. She and Lauriam hadn’t known exactly why their world deteriorated, what had caused them to get trapped in a data world. But now she knew.

The Keyblade War. The one all of them had forgotten. It was better forgotten, better if the bells never rang. All those glitches, water flowing upwards and earth crumbling, reality tearing apart—

No. No more. Please no more.

So all that guilt burning in her heart, the conviction that she had somehow killed her world, it hadn’t been true. Or had it? Hadn’t they stolen light from everywhere? She didn’t know; no one had told her exactly what was going on, just to get in a pod she knew she didn’t have a right to. But Lauriam had said—

It didn’t matter. Elrena looked down at her black coat. She’d helped repeat it. That meant that no matter what else happened, she’d helped kill her world. She’d killed her Chirithy. She’d been weak and stupid and gotten herself killed, so she’d killed her Chirithy. Even if the Dream Eater could come back, she wouldn’t, and Elrena didn’t blame her. That stupid heart of hers trembled and cracked like cheap glass. If only the past would stay in its box. But of course Maleficent had other ideas.

“Your connection has to still exist,” Ven’s voice broke through her thoughts.

“That won’t be the case for me,” Elrena clutched the edge of the strange contraption, “nothing works like that for me.”

“But, Elrena, if you just keep hold of that bond—” Ven began.

“I’m sure it gave you and yours a nice little reunion. You don’t need to tell me about it.” Elrena slammed the lid down on the topic. They traveled the rest of the journey in silence. Elrena didn’t mention the most painful part to Ven.

She had tried. So hard, so many times, she had tried to summon the most precious creature she’d ever known. Lauriam could summon five Dream Eaters at once and command all of them and even use them to travel worlds. She couldn’t even summon the one she wanted more than anything.

Like Ven, Lauriam had tried in vain to comfort her. He told her it would take time. He said they may need to reclaim their Keyblades first. He spoke of all the things they’d survived; their Chirithies were just as strong.

At that point, as with so many other things, Elrena had nodded and put an indifferent look on her face. Now, she curled her knees up to her chin, wishing she could paint over the emotions her stupid heart coursed through her body. Her lips and tongue burned to say the name, to try just one more time. Elrena clenched her jaw shut and buried her face in her knees. With eyes closed tight, she placed Chirithy firmly back into her secret, in the tiniest box in the deepest part of her.

She couldn’t take it. Her heart couldn’t bear it. There was too much.

Maleficent, the war, her Chirithy, everything…Elrena just wanted to turn it all off, shut it out again. But Maleficent had undone it all, had dug down and ripped open the boxes she’d put all this in for years. Maleficent had known exactly what to say to make her want the pain. If only Elrena had never let her see there was anything to tear open. But of course, she hadn’t, even though she knew better. She’d let the witch in, and the fae ripped her apart. She’d unleashed the million-handed monster of memory that gripped and tore and rearranged every part of her. Now, the best Elrena could do was a shallow numbness, a bit of static over her consciousness. How long would she have strength to keep the numbness up? How long could their current peril suppress this madness? And what would happen if the static went away?

In the darkness behind her eyelids, Elrena imagined that she felt around in the wreckage, pushed boxes back together, and locked them up tight as best she could. Even as she did so, knowing it was pointless but unable to stop, she had a moment of pause. Just what had caused all this to open up? Maleficent, obviously, but…could there be something else? Elrena felt something solid beneath her, a box still locked and unbroken despite the cracks. Her heart skipped a beat.

Confusion and pain and darkness had broken free of these boxes, but surely the past wasn’t that desirable if that was all. There had to be something else, something—

The most precious creature she’d ever known.

No! Stop it. Shut it out.

There was nothing she wanted here. She wasn’t like Ven or Lauriam, with friends or pleasant memories to visit in the past. There was nothing—nothing! —for her here. Only the pain she deserved to feel and that Maleficent wanted her to feel. Even the good memories she did have, the enchanting books and the excitement of the hunt and the promise of tomorrow and the praise of her master, all had been destroyed by what happened next. The future tainted the past. The past stole her future. Nothing else. Nothing to lose.

Elrena shoved her forehead against her knees. The pain shocked her back to reality. Around her, lights sped by, flashing in and out of the darkness as Ven steered them away from that awful world. There was no light in her memory, not even flashes…was there? After all, Ven and Lauriam had something to draw on; that was how they put the paint back on so quickly, right? Maybe Elrena could too, if she had something like the light they had?

“No,” she whispered to herself as she put her head back on her knees again, “I can’t. It would be just like losing her again.”

But to lose something, you had to have it. She’d had her Chirithy once. She’d had light once. She used to hope.

Elrena’s heart contracted; the burning hands that had clutched her when she couldn’t find Ven gripped her again. She pulled deeper into herself. What was the point now? She didn’t have anything, so she must never have had it, right? If friendship was all everyone said it was, where was Daybreak Town? Where was Strelitzia? Why was she always so alone—

A hand on her back. A warmth crept from behind the smooth metal, through her coat, and into her skin. Elrena didn’t need to look up to see Ven. The glider sped on, and Elrena did not shake him off.

Maybe, just for now, she could have this. She could let him hold the memories at bay. Ven had been what snapped her back in the first place. He was the one that pulled her away from them, from the witch. He just wanted to get her away from them. He could hold them back a little longer.

And what will that matter later? her mind whispered. Elrena told it to shut up. She had a hand on her back, and with everything falling apart around and inside her, it was nice to have it. Almost as nice as warm grey fur against her cheek.

Chapter Text

“So she hurt him?!” Lauriam growled, his blood hot as Aqua and Terra filled him in on what happened while he was unconscious. They hurried down the streets back to the foot of the hill. Clouds rolled in above them, much thicker than the ones that dropped the sprinkle earlier. For Lauriam, they were far too similar to the ones that greeted him when he returned to face Baldr. “Did she mention Elrena?”

“No,” Terra’s face darkened, “Not sure if that’s a good thing or not.”

“Nor am I,” Lauriam slowed a little, which allowed the musty scent of wildflowers and misty rain to creep into his nostrils, “Ah, by the way, do either of you have a plan for dealing with Maleficent? Because as I just recalled, the one time I met her, she put me flat on my back.”

“You met her before?” Aqua shivered in the cold breeze.

“Yes, unfortunately,” Lauriam narrowed his eyes and turned his face away from the clouds above and flowers around him. That mix of color and grey was too much like his dream in the basement, “she helped kill our world. And I couldn’t stop her.”

“She killed your world?” Aqua drew up short, as did the rest of them, “How?”

“Long story,” Chirithy jumped in the middle of their circle before Lauriam could explain, “But to be brief, the Foretellers—their original masters—caused Daybreak Town to start dying. Their infighting bred so much darkness that the world couldn’t handle it. Lauriam, Ven, Elrena, and several others fled to a digital copy, but Maleficent somehow got in as well. When she exited, she started the destruction of the digital world, too. Caught between two copies of a dying world, they took pods that launched them into the future, where they woke up separated and without their memories.”

“Wait…what?” Terra’s eyes revealed the gears that screeched to a halt in his mind, “So your world…Xehanort wasn’t responsible…you time traveled…” He shook his head, “Did all that really happen?”

“That’s the summary of it, yes,” Lauriam nodded.

“So is that how your friend could have a statue here despite the world being abandoned for years?” Aqua put a fist against her chin.

“Yes,” Lauriam gazed at the hills of white blocks and windmills, “This is Ephemer’s city. He built it.”

“Then,” Aqua gazed into Lauriam’s eyes with a look so knowing it discomforted him a bit, “was he the ‘deeper spirit’ Chirithy said you connected with?”

“I believe so, yes,” Lauriam nodded. A tiny smile came to his lips, “I definitely found Ephemer again. He promised he’d be with me, that he’d help when the time came.” He shook his head and steadied himself on the slope of the street. “Which brings us back to the original question: how do we stop Maleficent?”

“I’m not sure,” Aqua let her hands fall, “I just hope she brings Ven with her. If not…”

No one finished that sentence. They moved again towards the foot of the hill. Lampposts and trees and buildings blurred as they continued, and for too long, only their exerted breaths and footsteps disturbed the air.

“We still don’t even know what Maleficent wants.” Terra broke the silence, “Frankly, I’m not even sure why we had to build that gate to begin with.”

“Oh, right,” Lauriam snapped his fingers, “Baldr mentioned something about that.”

“Baldr?” Terra, a flash of concern on his face, ran closer “Wait, is he still a problem?”

“No,” Lauriam shook his head, “At the end of my dream, he came to me and told me he could sense what was going on after he died, though only faintly. Apparently, when this world was abandoned, the Keyblade Masters sealed it up so nothing could get in. But accord to Baldr, something knocked that seal loose. Based on what he said, I think it was—the war.”

“That would make sense,” Aqua frowned deeply, “Sora did chase Xehanort here at one point, and from what I’m told, their fight tore the world apart. Seems like that would be enough to fracture whatever seal might have been placed.”

“He said a part of it still remained,” Lauriam glanced once more around the buildings that surrounded the richly-colored square, “But it looks like enough of it is broken that Maleficent thinks she can get in with some help.”

The hiss of waves greeted them as they came to the long pier at the foot of the hill. A gate stood near the beginning of the pier, an arch of stone and a door made of wood cut down the center. It looked impressive for how quickly it had been set up. It also glowed an angry green, and the glow increased each moment. Though they had received no other message since the Gummiphone call with the injured Ven, it was pretty clear Maleficent had finished her preparations.

“Lauriam, hide!” Aqua said. At his confused look, she added, “Maleficent doesn’t know you’re here.”

“Oh, good catch,” Lauriam quickly hid himself and Chirithy behind a stack of crates. Far enough to be hidden, but close enough to jump in should it come to that.

Terra and Aqua raised their Keyblades to the door. Lauriam’s blood cooled rapidly, though his heart still hammered. In a flash of light, a thin wave of green energy ripped through the air, leaving him with a chill as it rushed past. A cackle filled the air as the doors slid open.

Lauriam peeked through the slits in the crates, the scent of sawdust invasive with his rapid breath. Chirithy wriggled slightly in his arms. Terra and Aqua drew back from the door. Lines of green fire shot from the door in two directions. They wrapped around Terra and Aqua before they joined together at the oak tree, which the flames lit into cinders in a flash. The cinders drifted from the force of the blast back towards the door. With a deliberate slowness, darkness pouring off her as she glowed a dangerous purple and green, Maleficent stepped onto the stones of Scala Ad Caelum.

“What kept you so long?” She stroked the black bird with a golden beak on her shoulder.

“We didn’t know when you were coming!” Terra said.

“Really?” Maleficent raised her eyebrows. Her voice cut through the roar of the waves and the crackle of the fire, “Did I not tell you to be ready? Does Ventus’ life mean so little to you?”

“Where is he?” Aqua asked, a fist over her heart as she kept a firm look on her face. Maleficent turned full on her.

“That is not something you need know,” Maleficent waved her hand and strode past them as the glow around her increased, concentrated on her staff.

“What are you going to do here?” Terra took a step towards her.

“Well, if you insist on knowing,” Maleficent said with a dark chuckle as she threw her arms to the side, her cloak flared like bat wings, “this place, the nexus of all worlds, the first rebuilt after that fatal Keyblade War, holds many secrets in its grasp…secrets and spirits that one might draw out even by accident. Perhaps that is the reason the last inhabitants locked it away, to keep them here.”

“So is that what you’re after, the secrets?” Terra’s voice faltered slightly.

“Not precisely,” Maleficent laughed again, “For I already know more than this entire city can reveal!”

“I doubt that,” Lauriam kept his voice and the bile in his throat down.

“Lauriam, hush!” Chirithy wriggled in his arms and climbed onto his shoulder.

“Then why come?” Aqua looked around as the fire from Maleficent’s arrival subsided, “You don’t want the knowledge here.”

“Correct,” Maleficent stroked her staff. A manic grin spread over her face, “I wish to burn it and the dreams it harbors to the ground. Once the source has been corrupted, all that stem from it will soon follow! From here, my darkness will flow into all worlds!”

Terra and Aqua started in horror. Lauriam barely restrained himself from tossing a crate at her head. Chirithy shuddered on his shoulder.

“You’d dare?!” Terra tightened his grip on his Keyblade, “Surely you don’t think you can—”

Before he’d finished speaking, a faint bang and rattle grew louder from the other side of the door. The next moment, a pitch-black cauldron threw itself through the door and settled on the ground. The moment it touched down, shadows shot out from the cauldron and spread in fracture patterns like roots. Inside, something swirled around and clamored to get out. Terra and Aqua gasped, their Keyblades ready. Maleficent plunged her staff into the cauldron, and a green and black beam shot into the air. Heartless rose up from the cauldron and the shadows on the ground. They pressed on into the city with no indication of stopping.

“What is this?!” Aqua’s Keyblade nearly slipped from her grasp.

“Merely an artifact from old,” Maleficent smiled to herself, “A witch-king once used it for his own purposes, and I have discovered, with the proper adjustments, it will produce Heartless as easily as undead.”

“Stop this!” Terra whirled on her, only to be met with Maleficent’s cold gaze.

“The best you could do,” Maleficent smiled too sweetly, “is to leave at once. I doubt your former master would want you to watch his city crumble. Perhaps you may even see Ventus that way.”

No.

With more force than a trumpet blast, Lauriam felt the word rush through him and take hold of every muscle in his body. No, Maleficent was not going to burn down the city Ephemer had worked so hard to build. No, she was not going to get away with kidnapping and hurting Ven. No, he was not going to fail this time!

Lauriam closed his eyes. Unlike most worlds, the background currents of the Realm of Dreams were practically on top of the waking world in Scala. No wonder this place had caused him to awaken that ability. And dangerous as he now knew the Realm of Dreams to be, one could navigate it given the proper tools and purpose. Lauriam took a deep breath and focused on the one link he and Aqua had, the desire that had allowed her to connect the two of them and create a string back to the real world. Whatever else had happened or was happening, Lauriam would meet Ventus again. He would find his missing friends. He would find Namine and those he had hurt and give them a proper apology. He clenched and slowly loosened his fists. Instead of pushing a tiny Dream Eater into the stream, Lauriam stepped in himself.

A strange clarity and vividness came over him. As when the focus on a telescope shifted, he saw the previously unfocused background in knife-brilliant detail. It was overwhelming—every scent, sight, sound, taste, and sensation so clear that he forgot for a moment where he was and why he was there. He felt little paws tug on his coat, as well as the phantom impression of a fingerless glove in his hand, and that was enough for Lauriam to find an anchor.

That’s right, hold on to that purpose. That’s how you didn’t get overwhelmed. Like a blind man, Lauriam felt along the string he’d used to pull himself and Aqua out of his dream. He stepped deeper into the current, not entirely sure what he sought aside from help.

He went deeper and deeper, not afraid or wrecked by the current this time. He again ran his hand along the string as he sent out a message to who or whatever listened. He really would have to thank Aqua for this later. Never had he been able to slip this completely in a stream without the aid of both a waypoint to guide him and a Dream Eater to cling to. But still, there was something he had to find here, something to help. He called out, though the message was a mess of emotions.

As he continued to cling to the string, a chill came over him. The darkness from Maleficent and her Heartless had reached even here? Not good. Not only did the chill creep into him, it had a gravity of its own, a force that tugged him and even the current towards it. The darkness wanted the entire world and everything in it to collapse inwards.

He couldn’t let it fold in on itself and die alone. Alone…yes, if that was the problem…

Lauriam found his message grow clearer and clearer. Right, dreams did best with specific commands. That was one of the first things he learned about Dream Eaters. Now Lauriam called them again, as many as he could. He hoped every Dream Eater he and Brain ever made would come. They needed help to defend their home.

Lauriam frowned. He could feel the pulses of light from Dream Eaters, but aside from the one on his shoulder, they were faint and far away, out of reach of the sluggish current he stood in. A sluggish current? Oddly similar to what he felt when trapped in his own dream.

Lauriam kept hold of the string and ignored the chill as he tried to sort it all out. Perhaps the waking world of Scala wasn’t the only thing cut off by the seal. From so long without dreamers, was it possible these local currents simply couldn’t reach the wider Realm of Dreams? But he had been able to reach out and access the wider range of currents before. Probably because he sought specific dreamers and worlds. After all, most of what they’d found in Scala’s dream realm previously had been those who were trapped, those they had freed and were therefore no longer present. So…if those fallen Keybearers had been waypoints, objects to fixate on and pull himself across currents, perhaps he now needed a new waypoint to reach those Dream Eaters. But what could he use? What could connect so many different creatures in so many different places?

At that moment, Lauriam stopped. Like a familiar knot in a rope, a tiny presence halted his progress. The presence took his hand. Instantly, Lauriam felt those pulses of light surge together into a web. The common thread between him and the Dream Eaters thrummed like a secret, special, desperate mission—much like his connection with the other Dandelions. With the help of the web, Lauriam and the presence sent a wave of warning towards the countless pulses of light, a warning of the destruction of their home once again.

Through the currents of the entire Realm of Dreams, the pulses resonated and swelled in response. Along his string, Lauriam felt forces latch on, and he tugged them closer. Yes, this would help; they would help. The energy inside him, in his hands, and around him danced like a live wire, but it only excited him more. Compared to this, the rage he once wished for was like smoke to a fire.

Once again following his string, Lauriam brought himself back to reality, and the forces that had latched on came with him. Currents poured into the local background as hundreds of Dream Eaters rushed from their own streams into Scala. Owing to the closeness of the waking and sleeping worlds, there was virtually no barrier to stop them. Before he’d opened his eyes, Lauriam heard the whirl and poof of Dream Eaters as they gathered and took physical form. He relished Maleficent’s cry of distress, but he wasn’t done.

There was another current he could connect to Scala’s. Lauriam grasped at something deep and ancient that tied him to the Realm of Dreams itself. He too was a dreamer; he had helped create this realm, and it had helped him create a new purpose for himself. Raising his hands but making sure to keep them concealed behind the crates, Lauriam grabbed hold of the current of his own dreams. He let it overflow and spread into the real world.

Dream Eaters purely of his own creation slammed into the ground, joining with the others he’d called. Screeches and mews and barks filled the air, and when Lauriam finally glanced back through the crates, Maleficent was surrounded. His legs trembled like jelly, but there was a smile on his face that hadn’t been there since the Age of Fairytales.

But their work was far from over. Terra and Aqua glanced around at the horde of Heartless, Keyblades in hand and stunned looks on their faces. Maleficent’s dark aura surged and bubbled dangerously, something about it disturbingly familiar to Lauriam. And to his surprise, that wasn’t the only familiar thing. All this reaching into dreams was a power he was used to, but there was also a power deep within him, a power that rose with every pound of his heart.

Was…was this real? Had the time finally come? Did it really call to him?

He put a hand over his chest. Slowly, he drew it away and held it out in front of him. His fingers curled together as he called, harder than ever, for one last thing to awaken…

Chapter Text

Terra used every ounce of willpower to not burst into laughter at the bright, stuffed-animal-proportioned creatures that poofed into existence around Maleficent. The contrast between them and her, not to mention the Heartless they growled at, would’ve been hilarious if he were not in the middle of the situation.

“Remove these creatures at once!” Maleficent curled her lip at the Dream Eaters.

“But we didn’t summon them,” Terra decidedly did not look at the pile of crates.

While he hadn’t seen or heard anything, there was only one person here who had shown a proficiency with Dream Eaters. While this was on a much larger scale than making Chirithy appear and disappear, Terra wasn’t going to complain. However, it was far from a permanent solution. Even as he struggled to control his reaction, more Heartless crawled from the shadows and cauldron. The Heartless and Dream Eaters eyed each other warily and shifted, though neither attacked yet.

“Nor do you summon Heartless,” Maleficent slammed her staff at a frog-shaped creature that stepped close to her, “yet you have no trouble disposing of them.”

“We are not attacking innocent Dream Eaters!” Aqua glared at her.

Maleficent glared back, and it was only her next words that kept Terra from lunging at her then and there, “You will or you will never lay eyes on Ventus again!”

“He’s near!” Atop the stack of crates, Chirithy bounced up and down. He waved his stubby arms at the sky. Above them, a portal appeared, and a speck shot through and grew larger as it came towards them. Even that far away, Terra knew the shape of that glider!

“Ven!” Terra and Aqua called together.

“Stay back!” Maleficent’s dark aura flared up as she cast a crooked finger at the glider, “Diablo, my pet, take care of these distractions!”

The raven on her shoulder cawed maliciously and took to the sky as the darkness followed and festered around him. It warped and twisted his form. Before Ven could get within shouting distance, a giant bird of pure darkness intercepted him. Still, they were close enough that Terra could see another figure crouched on the glider—Elrena, Lauriam’s missing friend. So, she must have helped him escape after all!

A smile briefly flicked over Terra’s face before he readied himself. Maleficent and the Heartless were still a problem, one that needed to be dealt with immediately. But his goal was in sight. His feet were under him again.

“It’s over, Maleficent,” Aqua said as Ven and the black bird circled each other. “Ven’s back, and we won’t let you destroy this world.”

“Fool!” Maleficent slammed her staff into the ground, “It has only just begun.” Her eyes narrowed at the glider above them. “And savor this last glimpse of him—no Dandelion shall set foot on this world!”

The bird struck. His beak latched onto the glider, and his wings beat furiously while Ven and Elrena barely hung on. Terra’s heart lept into his throat. He raised his Keyblade, but he had to twist it to block Maleficent’s staff. As they clashed, Terra heard the battle break out around him. Aqua called out as she fought, and violent cries emitted from the Dream Eaters as they grappled with the Heartless, but Terra couldn’t take his focus off Maleficent and her leering face. The darkness poured off her like a palpable mist and chilled his skin. If something didn’t change—

A flash of light filled Terra’s vision. It distracted Maleficent and gave him the edge he needed to shove her away. Above, the shadowy bird recoiled as red petals drifted down. A bolt of lightning scared it farther back as Ven righted his glider.

“Well, that’s unfortunate,” a voice drew their attention to Lauriam, who lowered a purple blade wrapped in a thorny vine and topped with red roses, “Because two Dandelions already set foot here months ago.”

Of course the man had a Keyblade. With the kind of day they’d had, why wouldn’t he? And not a moment too soon.

“YOU!” Maleficent’s dark aura seethed around her.

“Yes, me,” Lauriam gave a little bow, his hands out to his sides and one foot popped out in front of him.

A few Dream Eaters eagerly ran up and bounced around him. Lauriam spared them a smile. He glanced around at the swarms of Heartless, a frown on his face. He raised a hand and pointed to a Demon Tide.

“This is quite the party you’ve brought with you,” Lauriam raised an eyebrow at his Dream Eaters, “Fortunate then that I brought my own.”

Before he’d finished speaking, the Dream Eaters lept on the Tower. They ripped it apart and cut into the stragglers.

Several more Dream Eaters came up to Lauriam and emitted excited calls. Lauriam gave them a curt nod, a grin on his face as he gestured to some of the larger Heartless. Eagerly, those Dream Eaters took off, and Terra stared in wonder as a seal, an elephant, and a living flower took down a Darkside. A few deer threw a horde of Soldiers off a building. Bats, owls, and other flying Dream Eaters slashed through the air to strike at flying Heartless. Terra stepped back as a six-legged cat rammed into two Neoshadows near him. If he’d had any remaining doubts of Lauriam’s intentions, they were cleared now.

Maleficent laughed, and the three humans turned back to her, “You really think you’ve won, don’t you?”

“Maybe not yet,” Terra adjusted his grip on his Keyblade. Finally, the building rage inside him had a target, “But I’d say we’re ready to end it. Isn’t that right?”

He glanced at Aqua, who swatted away a Heartless before she rushed up to flank him. Terra swiveled his gaze to Lauriam, who strolled over, crouched into a fighting stance, and nodded to him. Above them, Elrena and Ven released a tornado crackling with lighting, and the shadow bird reeled backwards.

“So be it, then,” Maleficent raised her arms above her head, “I call upon all the powers in the deepest darkness,” green and purple and black surged outward as she glared at them, “prepare to be erased from existence, just as the Keybearers of old.”

Terra dashed forward, Aqua shot a spell ahead of him, and Lauriam rushed behind to knock enemies aside, though the Dream Eaters did a great job of beating back the Heartless that might have overwhelmed them.

Terra slammed his Keyblade into Maleficent. The blow was charged with light and all the force he could muster. Yet, when it should have landed solidly, Terra’s arm caved backwards. The recoil shook his entire body. Maleficent appeared unruffled. The black smoke around her gathered together, and she grinned wickedly.

With a flick of her wrist, she sent Terra backwards and into the stack of crates. The shock paralyzed him for a few moments. When it subsided, he groaned and shoved splinters of wood off him.

“Terra!” Chirithy twitched his paws together, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Terra rubbed his head, “Don’t worry, we’ll get Ven, but you stay back, okay?”

He caught a flash of gold in his vision, and Terra quickly rose to face the Heartless. Fortunately, a bear-like Dream Eater thrust its disproportionately long arms and claws into the Heartless and took it out for Terra. He glanced around and saw that the heart from the defeated Heartless, rather than reduce to nothing or float off into the sky, zoomed back towards the cauldron and plunged itself into its depths.

Terra stared in growing unease. A few moments later, the same Heartless crawled out from the cauldron. Terra muttered every curse he knew.

A few Dream Eaters darted forward in an attempt to intercept Heartless as they crawled from the cauldron, but the creatures always pulled up short, hesitant to touch the cauldron itself. Every so often the Dream Eaters managed to catch a Heartless that crawled from it, but more Heartless got through, and plenty spawned from the dark veins around the cauldron. Terra wanted to check on Ven and Aqua, but that thing definitely needed to go. Protecting them would be a lot easier if the Heartless didn’t instantly come back.

He narrowed his eyes and brushed wood and dust from his clothes. Terra didn’t like the shadowy look surrounding the cauldron, and the Dream Eater’s clearly feared something about it. Touching the cauldron might not be an option. Even if he did move it, would it help?

The sounds of violence continued around him, and Terra dared not imagine how long the Dream Eaters, devoted and useful as they were, would last against an enemy that literally would not stop coming. Still, he closed his eyes and ran through everything he knew.

What had the witch been after? Why had she worked the way she had? Maleficent needed the cauldron here with her, otherwise the gate was pointless. Even if she could have gotten in with a Dark Corridor, she clearly needed the cauldron itself with her, rather than just have the Heartless pass through the barriers between worlds. So, it seemed possible that, if the cauldron were separated from her, the spell might break. And if the seal, however weak it was, had been enough to prevent her before, might it still be enough to block her if the cauldron were completely separated from her? Might the world order itself be enough of a barrier?

Terra opened his eyes. It was the best plan he had. He still didn’t think touching the cauldron was an option. But there were other ways to move it.

“You guys get back!” He called to the Dream Eaters, and surprisingly, they obeyed.

Terra slammed his Keyblade into the ground, and pillars of earth jutted up in a row. As he’d calculated, the edge of a pillar knocked the cauldron off balance, and it tilted, fell, and rolled back through the door with more clatters and bangs than when it arrived. The Dream Eaters swarmed the door and shoved it closed. As soon as the two halves slid together, Terra flicked his Keyblade at the door and sealed it shut again. He’d have to thank Lauriam for these helpers later.

He turned his head and caught sight of one of the little Shadows cut down by a unicorn, of all creatures. Terra narrowed his eyes and watched closely as the darkness fell and the heart gleamed. It floated up towards the sky, and in seconds, it disappeared. Terra felt no chill of darkness from it. He grinned.

“Alright!” Chirithy clapped his paws together, though he glanced anxiously around, “But, Terra, that power Maleficent has…”

“We can beat it,” Terra assured him, even though his body already ached, “together we can face any darkness.”

“But I’m starting to think this darkness isn’t like what you’re used to facing,” Chirithy’s voice faltered.

“What’s that mean?” Terra frowned, but just at that moment, he heard Aqua’s cry.

He whirled to face the square beyond where the oak tree had been. A tendril of purple and black energy withdrew from a strike. Aqua fell to the ground. Maleficent stood above her. A few Dream Eaters rushed to her, but Maleficent knocked them aside in a whirl of shadow. She raised her glowing staff above Aqua.

“NO!” Terra charged forward. He was too far back. He couldn’t get there in time. He should have checked on her earlier, not listened to Chirithy! Aqua was going to—

“Get back!” Lauriam struck at Maleficent, a flurry of flower petals in the wake of his strike. Maleficent spun on him. She tried to deal a blow with her staff, but Lauriam parried as he took another and another step back. Terra was now close enough to see Lauriam’s eyes flick to Aqua before refocusing on Maleficent. The retreat was intentional!

Relief and gratitude flooding his chest, Terra finally reached Aqua and dragged her several steps away from Maleficent. She staggered a little, slightly off-balance. Terra dug through his pockets and handed her a Hi-potion.

“Thanks,” Aqua said after she’d downed it. She stared at Maleficent and shivered, “But what was that power? It’s not like when I fought her before—something’s different.”

+=========+

As Lauriam struggled to keep pace with Maleficent’s blows and blast of magic, he desperately hoped the other two would recover quickly, because he hadn’t actually planned any further what to do after he got Maleficent away from Aqua. Maleficent charged forward, and Lauriam saw an opportunity. He rolled to the side and let Maleficent surge past him. She ended up several feet away, and Lauriam ended up with a moment to breathe.

“Did you truly assume destroying this place would be so easy?” Lauriam growled, his fingers tight around his Keyblade.

It still amazed him how he’d been able to awaken it again. As much as the reclaimed memories and summoning Dream Eaters had helped, the blade didn’t fully come forth until he saw that glider. It was all so simple then. He couldn’t let Ven and Elrena get hurt. Not without a fight. Just like that, he broke through the resistance and found Divine Rose again in his hands.

“My, Marluxia,” Maleficent gestured at him with a raised eyebrow, “have you begun to play the hero now?” A chuckle hid in her voice. “However did you convince any thinking person to trust you?”

Lauriam flinched at that name but grit his teeth, “Well, last I checked, you weren’t too interested in randomly destroying worlds. What changed there?”

“Oh, is that your impression of me?” Maleficent tapped the ball of her staff, “I believe the last time we met that was all I did—that, and put a measly fool like you in your place!”

She swept her staff and sent an arch of energy at him. Lauriam held up his blade and countered the strike that would have cut him in half. It worked, but he also fell back. That…that was stronger than he’d expected, much stronger. Lauriam should have taken that as a warning, should have been more cautious, should have immediately known he couldn’t win this fight.

Being himself, however, he pointed his Keyblade at Maleficent, “Then it looks like you’re ready for a rematch!”

“You wish to relive the past?” Maleficent raised a large eyebrow, “Very well then. Behold now the power of a darkness you know well!”

As she spoke, she threw her arms out to the side. The dark aura that had surged around her since her arrival began to bubble up and peel away from her. Lauriam felt a shiver of fear. He’d seen this once before, peeling away from one of his closest friends as he screamed and cried in fear and confusion.

“N…no,” Lauriam inhaled sharply, shuddering despite his efforts to control himself. This was some bad dream, a night terror.

Maleficent slowly raised her arms, and the black and purple mist rose off her and solidified. Faint hints of arms and legs peered from the mist, though any feature beyond that were impossible to distinguish. It couldn’t be…

“What is that?!” Aqua called from behind him. Lauriam couldn’t take his eyes off it.

“Is this…this thing what gives her power?” Terra asked.

That thing, as Terra so eloquently put it, drained light from the very air, casting the world several shades darker than it already was. It had done the same thing in the dimly lit Foreteller’s chamber right before it attacked. Right before it confessed. The same anger once again flooded Lauriam. It drowned out the sensation of a dream and woke every fiber in him to rage.

 “YOU!” his deep voice grated the air, “You killed my sister!”

Maleficent laughed maniacally, and the vaguely humanoid form within the darkness shook as if it laughed, too.

“No, poor Lauriam,” Maleficent shook her head, “This is not the darkness that killed her, but another like it.”

“Though we are different individuals, we share one mind, one purpose,” the Darkness’s voice boomed around and sank into their ears, “Even divided in form, we are one in all other aspects.”

“Then…” Lauriam’s hair fell over his shadowed eyes, “It’s still you—you would have killed her just like the one that did.” He glared at the Darkness with all the wrath his eyes could muster. “You’re still part of what killed my world, and you’re still just as guilty as the other for what happened to her!”

“Lauriam,” A firm hand landed on his shoulder. Terra held him. Lauriam opened his mouth, but Terra interrupted him, “Have you fought that thing before?”

“Yes,” Lauriam answered, “Or one just like it. And it nearly killed all of us.”

“Then it looks like you could use some help,” Aqua spoke from his other side, her Keyblade held at the ready. She looked up at him and nodded firmly.

Lauriam looked down, a smile on his lips. He’d been careless the last time he faced such a Darkness, and it had cost him all his friends. How lucky he was to now have new allies by his side and old friends so close. Well, perhaps not so lucky for them. He couldn’t be careless and lose them again.

Lauriam raised his head, “You don’t have to do this. I can distract her while you grab Ven and go.”

“Not going to happen,” Terra shook his head with a glare at Maleficent, “She’s interfered with the world order and our lives far too many times.”

“Alright,” Lauriam half-laughed, “I only wanted to give you a chance. We never got one.”

“I understand. And it’s a nice gesture” Aqua gave him a genuine smile as she set her face forward, “But we’ve already made out choice. Now let’s end this. Together.”

“Together,” Lauriam crouched and readied his Keyblade. How strange that word sounded.

In front of them, Maleficent still raised her arms. The sentient Darkness churned and surged above her, ready to kill. All around them, the Dream Eaters and Heartless raged on, the Dream Eaters desperately trying to give them space to fight. Lauriam could feel some of them fall, but he knew they did their best, and it was because of them that he, Terra, and Aqua could focus on the most dangerous issue.

Lauriam wanted to look up, to check on Ven and Elrena, but it wouldn’t do him any good. He would get them back as soon as they dealt with this issue. There was so much they all needed to talk about. Soon they’d be able to, just like before. As he willed himself to focus, he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face.

“What could you possibly be smiling about?” Maleficent growled at him.

“Oh, just enjoying tactical advantage,” Lauriam casually replied.

“Tactical advantage?” Maleficent shook her head, “Child, you really should not go about using words you do not know the meaning of. I’ll put it in a way even a fool like you could understand: you are surrounded.”

“Just as I said,” Lauriam smiled wider, “Regardless which way we attack, we cannot possibly miss.”

Terra and Aqua snorted. It made a bit of the tension in his chest loosen. Yes, that anxiety and fear—even that rage—had a place, but not at the front of his mind. That was reserved for those who stood beside him and what stood before him.

“Do you truly believe in this delusion, or have you gone completely mad?” Maleficent asked.

“Neither, just making a laugh,” Lauriam’s pulse quickened as the magic in his veins leapt to the ready. That rage was still there, but it was spiked by an excitement. He was so close to his goal, and now he got a bit of revenge on the side as well, “And now that I have, I believe it’s time we erase both of you.”

Chapter Text

Ven was still hundreds of feet in the air, but he had seen Terra and Aqua…and Maleficent. He wanted more than anything to jump down and make sure they were okay, but a giant bird monster had attacked him. Because of course it had. It was just that kind of day. Fortunately, it was also the kind of day that a strike from the ground knocked the bird away, a strike that left red-pink petals in its wake. As Elrena sent lightning to scare the bird back further, Ven righted the glider as his arms pinwheeled momentarily.

“You alright?” Elrena huffed as Ven finally stabilized it.

He wanted to kick himself. He'd been so focused on Terra and Aqua the moment he saw them, he forgot about his other friend on the glider. It looked like Elrena wasn't done with Maleficent, either. Ven still had no idea exactly what Maleficent had done to her, but Elrena had hardly said a word after she shut down their conversation. He could still see the red around her eyes, and though her gaze and posture were now alert and ready as they'd always been, Ven noticed shadows where they shouldn't be. If she wouldn't talk about it, and Maleficent and her monster were right with them, was there nothing he could do to help?

"Ven?" Elrena's question and obvious awareness of his scrutiny snapped Ven out of his head.

“Yeah, I'm okay,” Ven nodded, “Well, except for the giant shadow raven trying to kill us.”

“Well, it’s definitely no shriveled magpie,” Elrena shuddered at her own remark, as though her attempt at a joke backfired. Ven decided not to comment on it or what he’d heard Maleficent call her before. Dwelling on it wouldn't help them now, and Ven eyed the shadow raven uneasily as the two of them hovered at eye level. It wouldn't hesitate for long. How could he deal with both problems at once?

“It does kind of put a damper on your tearful reunion." Elrena frowned, though a spark appeared in her eyes. "How rude of it.”

The memory of their fight in the library bolted to the front of Ven's mind. Elrena's smile, her eagerness as she engaged in battle, the heavy moments of before so easily forgotten. What had always been a duty for him was half game to her.

“Care to teach it a lesson in manners?” Ven, despite everything he’d been through today, smiled behind his helmet. For a moment, it didn’t matter how tired he was. It didn’t matter that Maleficent once again put an obstacle in front of them. It didn’t even matter how close he was to Terra and Aqua. Two problems to solve at once became one problem solving another, at least for the moment.

“Way ahead of you, kid,” Elrena flashed her elfish grin. The tension that had pulled her into herself rushed outwards now in eagerness. Sparks flew from her fingers. They raised their arms, and wind and lighting swirled together and struck the demon bird.

Ven lowered himself and darted the glider out of the way of the giant wings that beat deadly currents of black air at them. Fortunately, they managed to dodge all of them. Still, he’d have to watch out. A fall from this height would definitely kill both of them. He was not about to escape Maleficent only to be killed by her pet.

Just as he gained this resolve, he shoved them forward to circle around the bird, who had recovered and shot his golden beak towards them. It snapped shut on empty air. Elrena chucked another round of lightning at the bird’s unprotected back. It shrieked and whirled, catching them with purple-tipped wings.

“I never liked Diablo before,” Elrena grumbled as she clung to the edge of the glider, “But I’m starting to straight-up hate him now.”

“I know,” Ven sighed, “But try to stay—woah!”

Ven barely got them out of the way of another fatal brush of the wings, followed by a vicious bite from the raven.

“How about you just focus on flying this thing?” Elrena took a deep breath and hardened her tone, “I’ll take care of our flying nuisance. I've been ready to for years now.”

“Got it,” Ven nodded. He glanced down, but he wasn’t able to discern exactly what was going on. Terra was there, and so was Aqua, and Maleficent threw darkness all over the place. Strange multi-colored creatures fought Heartless. And there was…someone in a black coat with bright pink hair. A stab passed through Ven’s head.

Lauriam. That boy—no, that man—was Lauriam. Ven's heart ached to be near him as much as Terra and Aqua. Yet at the same time, something in Ven drew back, as though he didn’t have a right to come near him.

“VEN!” Elrena’s voice cut through his thoughts, but Ven wasn’t fast enough to avoid the x-shaped blast the raven created by slashing his wings.

They whirled in the air for a moment, and Ven only just kept himself on the glider. In desperation, he shot away from the creature. After getting some distance away, he stopped and steadied himself. Several of those brightly colored animals darted at the raven and provided a moment to breathe.

“You alright?” Elrena raised an eyebrow, “How come you didn’t see that?”

“I…uh—the ground,” Ven pointed. Elrena glanced down, and her eyes widened and softened a little before her burning determination returned in full force.

“Look, kid,” Elrena put her hands on his shoulders, “I’ve told you several times today. I wanna get down there, too, but in case you haven’t noticed, there’s kind of a monster in our way!”

“Right,” Ven faced the demon-bird before them, “Everything else we can sort out later; one more monster to deal with first.”

“That’s the focus we need,” Elrena nodded happily as she drew herself up and dusted herself off. A smile came to her lips, one softer and more eager than any she’d had before. “And then we’ll actually be with him.”

Ven circled the raven again, giving Elrena as many chances as possible to rain down lightning, ice, wind, water—and whatever else she could throw—on the raven. Unfortunately, Diablo didn’t take kindly to this and struck at them furiously, claws barely missing them. Or, well, missing them most of the time. Every so often Ven felt a blow on his armor, and he was pretty sure there were tears in Elrena’s cloak that hadn’t been there before. He blasted the glider up and cast Cure over both of them.

The raven, however, rose higher and faster. He got above them and spread his wings out in a terrifying manner. He dove down like a thunderbolt. There was no chance for them to get out of the way before the full weight of the raven and a burst of darkness hit them. Bad as the raven was, the darkness was worse, a chill to rival even what Maleficent had thrown at him during their fight. Ven was surprised his glider didn’t crack in two. His head buzzed from the impact and cold so much that he didn’t even bother to look down.

“DODGE!” Elrena shoved him to the side, “NOW!”

Ven jerked to the side. He felt the current of air as Diablo rose up from below and nearly struck them again. Shivering, he looked at where cracks now snaked across his glider. If they’d been struck dead-on again, they would have fallen flat on the ground, assuming the raven didn’t tear them limb from limb before they landed.

“Keep going!” Elrena urged, “Back and forth now—he’s not nearly so agile anymore.”

Ven began to follow a zigzag pattern that, under any other circumstance, would have been exhilarating. The raven’s x-strikes, claws, and beak tried to follow them, but as Ven kept it up, he saw what Elrena meant. Diablo couldn’t track them or make sharp turns in his giant form. Grinning, Ven gave himself over to the sensation. He dove and swooped wildly, going up and down as much as back and forth. He couldn’t keep this up forever, but for a minute, he couldn’t help laughing. He may have imagined it, but he thought he heard Elrena whoop, too.

In the middle of their flight, Elrena gave his shoulder a squeeze, “Ven, how close can you get me to Diablo?”

“I’m not sure, why?” Ven just barely got them out of the way of the black currents of air.

“I have an idea,” Elrena spoke fast, “But I'll need to get on his back!”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Ven slowed. The glider had a theoretically infinite amount of energy, but this zig-zag pattern took a lot of concentration, and he was already tired.

As he again circled the raven, Ven was on the lookout for an opportunity. He knew this was risky, but it was also their best shot, seeing as how their other attacks weren’t doing much damage. He started as the raven suddenly rose above them and nearly blacked out the already dim sky. Ven had a terrible feeling. He tried to get out of the way, but Diablo wasn’t about to let that happen.

The raven dove down, but instead of directly hitting them as he had before, he knocked them about in a whirlwind of claws and wings. Ven screamed as his limbs flew everywhere. He felt Elrena’s hand on him, helping him stay on the glider. Ven couldn’t get his bearings, and so he shot away in a random direction. Whatever those brightly colored creatures had done before, it wasn’t able to help them now. The raven cawed and gave chase. Fortunately, Ven recovered his sense of direction and wove through the piles of buildings, though he cringed each time he heard glass shatter or stone crumble. Hopefully no one but the raven got hurt from that.

“Ven!” Elrena hissed in his ear, “Through there, we can lose him.”

Ven followed her pointing finger towards a huge keyhole-shaped hole in a wall. It would be a tight fit, but Ven nodded. He banked and descended. All the while his grip was firm on Elrena, as was hers on him. This ride was about to get wilder.

“Hang on!” He charged forward and twisted himself at the last moment so that they shot through the keyhole sideways. At the same time, Ven heard the crackle of lightning and the pained cry of the raven.

“Behind him, quick!” Elrena said, and Ven followed without hesitation. They came behind Diablo as he struggled to free his head from where he’d rammed it into the keyhole-shaped bridge. Elrena gave him a look, an eyebrow raised.

“You getting off?” Ven asked, his breath a little strained.

“Wanna strike him hard and quick before I jump off? Might slow him down before I even start working.” Elrena proposed, and Ven nodded. At that moment, the raven freed himself. He shook his head as he rose, but he couldn’t find them.

Ven planted his feet, and they charged forward. He called upon all the wind magic he could. As he did, he added a dash of light magic. They struck Diablo from behind, and the raven had no idea what hit him.

The bird screeched, reeled, and retreated after the attack, oblivious to the extra passenger that clung to his chest feathers. Elrena gave Ven a smile as he sped away. He now had to focus on dodging without a shotgun partner.

Fortunately, he had Diablo on the run, at least for a moment. The giant raven screeched in pain and flapped awkwardly. His head swiveled this way and that. Ven hovered above the raven. Elrena carefully made her way from beneath his wings to his back, clearly searching for something.

Ven didn’t know what it was, but he knew the retreat wouldn’t last. As soon as he thought this, Diablo slowly moved his head and gazed up. Ven grit his teeth, moved the tip of his glider down, and shot out a beam of light. He struck Diablo directly in the head. Did he imagine it, or was the raven’s reaction delayed?

“I think it’s getting weaker!” Ven called out as he avoided the raven’s beak.

“Good!” he faintly heard Elrena’s reply on the wind. As Ven began to weave back and forth to avoid gusts of wind and bites, he noticed that every once in a while, an attack faltered. Then they stopped entirely.

Ven twisted and gazed behind him. The raven screeched and flailed, trying to peck at his back, wings whirling but not carrying it forward or back. Ven caught a flash of gold among the black and purple. Elrena barely clung on, but several feathers of the raven’s wings were gone. Ven no longer had any idea what her plan was, but he wasn’t going to let her down.

“I’m coming!” Ven screamed, just as Elrena twisted out of the way of Diablo’s beak.

It was then Ven noticed that the dark clouds they’d been gliding among occasionally flashed with bursts of light. Ven felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as the bursts gathered directly above Diablo. Whatever Elrena had done to the wings, the raven was almost immobile. Ven's pulse raced as he restrained himself for the right moment.

This was going to be good.

Elrena’s lighting severed the sky in a blue crack, highlighting the shapes and depths of the dark clouds for a moment. The raven screeched in agony, wings stretched out and back caved, his chest wide open. Ven let himself go. He shot forward and charged himself with light.

His glider cut through the raven’s chest. With one final scream, the giant raven began to crack apart. Black and purple feathers ripped off in a sudden whirlwind. For a moment, Ven couldn’t see through the tempest and feathers. But he heard the scream.

Without the shadow raven to stand on, Elrena fell to the ground. Ven jumped on the tip of his glider and dove.

“ELRENA!” He held out his hand as he swooped closer and closer to her. She rushed closer and closer to the ground. Disintegrating black feathers fluttered around them and distorted his vision. C’mon, c’mon…

Ven was only a few feet from her. Her gloved fingers stretched towards him. He reached out, and she tried to swim through the air towards him. Flailing, he managed to catch her fingers. He pulled her close and brought the glider up out of the dive in one jerky motion. They clipped the edge of a large building near a square, and Ven screamed as he made them rise sharply up, falter, and then slowly swoop down and land in the center of the square with a lot of clattering and bumping. Finally, the world settled. For a moment, he and Elrena clung to one another, breathing heavily.

They exchanged a look. Elrena smiled in disbelief.

“You…you caught me,” her voice trembled.

“Well of course,” Ven snorted.

That was all they could say for several minutes. An explosion of manic laughter overtook them as they detached their trembling arms from each other. It was the laughter that only came from the sudden enlightenment of the fact that one is alive and how absolutely ridiculous that fact is. Just as they started to feel solid ground beneath them, clamor and flashes of light and darkness drew their attention to another street that led up the hill and deeper into the city.

Ven and Elrena shared a worried look before they hopped off the glider. Ven called it into his hand as his Keyblade. As they started towards the sounds and lights, Ven gasped at the person that ran towards them from the street, concern and anxiety in his face. Elation and relief filled his heart as Ven ripped off his helmet and threw himself forward, yelling.

“TERRA!”

Chapter Text

Terra had had a long day. First, they had strange visitors, then Ven got kidnapped, they’d gone to make a portal in Scala Ad Caelum, he’d struggled to figure out if he could trust Lauriam, Aqua dove into Lauriam’s dream to wake him up, and finally Maleficent arrived only to spring the fact that she had some kind of living Darkness following her around. And now they fought it up and down the slanted streets of Scala, winding up in a section they’d all been too busy to see if they remembered, even if they could hear each other screaming over the racket.

From the other side of their opponent, Aqua and Lauriam staggered to the ground. The strange black cloud recollected itself from the attack, though it still whirled and churned unnaturally. Terra wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and concentrated through the smell of sweat. Despite all their attacks, the thing didn’t even seem agitated, and certainly not hurt. In fact, all that rapid motion looked eager. Far too eager.

Terra readied a spell to draw its attention, but that proved unnecessary. A loud, piercing shriek crashed down over the fight and combatants. A blast of lightning lit up the clouds in distorted shades of white and grey. The bolt tore through the shadow raven and triggered its rapid and violent destruction. In the aftermath of scattered feathers, a figure plummeted to the ground, and Ven dove after it. In the silence after the crash of the bolt, Terra thought he heard their screams.

“They did it!” Terra’s voice sounded alarmingly loud in the sudden quiet. He winced and hoped Ven would reach Elrena in time, but there wasn’t anything he could do about that. He shifted his attention back to the mass of shadow, about to charge back in, but Lauriam called out from the other side of the street.

“Go help Ven and Elrena—make sure they’re okay!”

Before Terra could object, Maleficent’s voice crawled into their ears, the anger apparent even though she didn’t direct it at them.

“That little ingrate…if she wishes to come to me, I welcome it.”

Terra might not have been able to do anything about the fall, but that, unfortunately, was not the only issue. A certain dark faerie had completely turned her attention from them and fixed her sights on the diving glider. She disappeared in a rush of shadows. Terra felt his blood run cold as he understood Lauriam’s concern and request.

“I’ll find them! Both of them!” He rushed down the street towards Ven and Elrena’s predicted landing site.

Behind him, the cheerily colored Dream Eaters leap to Lauriam’s side. The Darkness turned full on them and sent a barrage at the Dream Eaters. Lauriam helped Aqua to her feet in the precious seconds the creatures bought.

“We’ll hold the line here!” Aqua called back as she echoed Lauriam, “Take care of them, Terra.”

More sounds of violence broke out behind him, but Terra let it fade into the background as his eyes scanned the dusky sky. His ears picked up another set of noises. Following as much by their screams as by his sight, Terra came upon Ven and Elrena as they unsteadily stood up. Ven dismissed his glider from the only-just-not-a-crash landing and turned. The moment Ven caught sight of him, he threw his helmet away as he darted forward.

“TERRA!”

“Ven!” Relief flooded Terra, despite the black eye and traces of dried blood on Ven’s face. He hurried forward, his arms outstretched and ready to squeeze the life out of Ven for scaring him so bad. But before Terra could reach him, a whirl of shadows surged behind them. Instinctively, he shoved Ven behind him. His heart skipped a beat.

“You peons!” Maleficent’s eyes sparked and narrowed in focus, “You would dare destroy my most loyal vassal?!”

“That’s what happens when you inject your ‘vassal’ with darkness and sic it on your enemies,” Elrena huffed and brushed something off her cloak, though in all honesty, it still looked incredibly ragged. Her hand also trembled with a movement that should have been casual. Just what had they been through to escape Maleficent?

Whatever it had been, it wasn’t over yet. Terra felt the wind of Maleficent’s movement before he saw the dark faerie blur out of existence. A whisp of sulfur snuck into his nose, and he threw himself back in time to avoid the blast of green fire. Elrena also leapt several yards away, her arms wrapped around Ven. Maleficent whirled on them, ignoring Terra completely. The fire and darkness she unleashed on Elrena and Ven awed Terra only slightly less than Elrena’s speed and agility in dodging it.

Terra charged Maleficent, but each time she blurred out of existence a second before he could hit her. He threw up temporary columns of earth to give Ven and Elrena some shelter, but Terra knew he contributed a slight boost, if that. Before he had time to think of another strategy to help, a commotion arrived from the street where he’d left Lauriam and Aqua. They hurried into the square moments later. Their arrival did not comfort Terra.

The Darkness still pounded away at the Dream Eaters, who had been reduced to only a few stragglers, but it looked like most if not all of the Heartless were gone, too. Even with the help of the Dream Eaters, Aqua and Lauriam busily dodged the Darkness’s attacks as best they could or threw up Reflect spells that shattered in one blow.

“Not you too!” Terra ran forward as a shockwave knocked Aqua and Lauriam to the ground.

He couldn’t even keep track of where Maleficent, Ven, and Elrena were, their combat a blur of motion across the square. Meanwhile, the mass of shadow threw Aqua and Lauriam halfway across the square as though they were only pebbles. It rose and formed another blast of darkness.

Lauriam slammed his Keyblade into the ground, and instead of a shield of magic, a barrier of stones and vines rose to intercept the blast. This time, it held. Lauriam’s wild eyes caught Terra’s gaze, and he tried to say something, but Terra had already rushed past the barrier and brought down his Keyblade as hard as he could into the Darkness. He wasn’t sure if he even made a dent with how little resistance he felt.

In response, the Darkness gathered a part of itself together, like fingers curled into a fist, and sent a tendril at him. It struck Terra directly in his chest with enough force to throw him over Lauriam’s barrier. He hit the ground with a thud, but it took him a moment to even realize it. A deep shock lingered through his body, much worse than when he’d slammed into the crates.

“Are you alright?” Lauriam gently clutched his shoulder. “I tried to warn you not to get too close. It’s better to get hit by projectiles than this thing itself.”

Terra wasn’t alright. His ribs screamed and a chill sank through his chest and into his spine. The voices and noises around him lost distinction and swirled into a senseless buzz and hum.

Why wasn’t this working? Weren’t they together again? Why couldn’t he win this fight? Would Ven and Aqua really be okay after all? How could he protect his friends when he was the biggest danger to all of them?

His vision dimmed and clouded over. The icy shiver in his spine crept into every inch of his body. He’d served as Xehanort’s vessel for longer than anyone. He could still sometimes hear the old man’s voice in his ears, feel the darkness knocking outside to be let in. Or maybe it was inside him trying to get out. He’d let it through countless times before—even now, in training sessions, he could feel the rush of power, could taste his own desire.

Somewhere, his Keyblade clattered to the floor.

Even if he won this fight, there would just be another and another and another and another until he fell and everyone lost and it was all his fault. Even if he did win, could he really protect his friends from the darkness? If he had truly overcome it, why was he still having to refuse and fight it every time? Why did it still appear in his friends? Why couldn’t he get it out of them?

“Terra?” a voice broke through, small and far away.

Whatever made that noise was nothing compared to what appeared from the void around him. Terra’s eyebrows shot up over wide eyes as he sucked in his breath.

A smirk. A dark chuckle. Golden eyes in his own face.

“Why such a stupid gaze? Did you think I was defeated so easily? That your heart—or any heart—was free of darkness?” Xehanort asked him, one white eyebrow raised.

“Wha—get out!” Terra’s voice cracked.

Xehanort chuckled. He took a step towards him. Terra wanted to step back, but he felt a wall against his back, smooth in some places and rough in others. This was real. No, this wasn’t real—they’d killed him!

“It matters not what form darkness takes,” Xehanort spoke as if reading his mind—could he? “It will always be darkness. You know this. It matters not if I take your form, that of your friends—”

In a whirl of shadow, Ven was before him, his eyes vacant as the same black-purple aura that had surrounded Maleficent now encircled him. In another whirl of shadow, Riku stood with armor that bent and stretched like exposed muscle. Yet another whirl, and now Aqua grimaced, her hair white and eyes a ravaged gold.

“Leave them be!” Anger rose in Terra’s voice. “None of them asked for this. None of them wanted to be your puppet!”

“You made the same claim about yourself,” Xehanort appeared in Terra’s form again, “and yet…”

“You’re dead,” Terra tried to say it like a fact.

“Darkness cannot be killed; it is more eternal than you could possibly conceive. With every person that draws breath, with every heart brought out of obscurity, darkness is born and thrives as it meets with others, taking shape again and again, never disappearing, only altering its form,” he smirked, golden eyes boring into his, “You know this; it is the one thing you can be certain of.”

“Maybe that’s true,” Terra put his hands against the invisible wall behind him and used it to find his footing, “but Light is just as eternal, and when it comes down to it, you’ll always find light within the darkness. That’s something Riku taught me.”

“And you’re quite certain that applies to your own heart?” Xehanort held out his hands, “How many times do you think you can reach for light before it caves? Or are you arrogant enough to believe that your heart harbors an unlimited source of light?”

“It doesn’t,” Terra didn’t need to reach for the star in his pocket to feel the solid hope it reminded him of, “That’s why I won’t let my friends down, why I need them. Just like the darkness, light gathers when our hearts meet. That’s what helps us fight back the darkness, even if it can also be the source.”

Terra pushed himself off the wall and took a step towards Xehanort. The man did not move, nor even look concerned. Terra glared at him.

Xehanort smiled, “And how are you so sure you’ll reach for such a small light when its creation causes such vast darkness? If such a technique were truly viable, how do you explain what resides in Aqua now? Why reach for her light, when you’ve caused her to have so much darkness she will never be able to remove it?”

The chill welled up inside of Terra, icy fingers that gripped deeper and deeper. At the same time an electric thrill raced through his veins and across his bones. Terra wanted to swat it like an annoying insect, but it would not be deterred. Hadn’t he invited it in so often before? How could he be free of what he’d willingly taken into himself? And even if he did, how long before another form of darkness wriggled into him or one of his friends?

But Terra wouldn’t give up. He’d held on, divided asunder for over a decade, and won out in the end. “I…have to set this right…hang on to it.”

“That rage that you feel,” Xehanort shook his head, “what better fuel for the darkness? How ironic that your friendship produces the very infection you wish to protect it from.”

He was right. Terra knew it, even as he tried again and again to recall Riku’s words, the boy’s confidence in what he had achieved, the wonder and hope Terra felt listening to him, the surety with which he gave them to Aqua. But Xehanort was still right. The very thing he wanted was his own destruction.

Something tickled the back of Terra’s mind amid the struggle, something he’d heard someone say recently. Something about anger and light—hatred. A flame and a moth.

“Lauriam said…something,” Terra muttered. At that moment, the flame of darkness lit up inside him. It chilled him to the bone and shoved an untamable adrenaline through his veins. He could feel Xehanort’s grip on him. He snapped his eyes open to see the grinning face above him. Hands plunged into his chest.

“NO!” Terra’s strangled gasp escaped his raw throat. He felt something wrap around and jerk at his heart. It was going to be consumed any moment. He had to fight!

With a roar, Terra gripped his Keyblade and swung at Xehanort. The man disappeared, but the hold over his heart didn’t. The shadow raced all around him and encased him. Growling, Terra swung again and again, unable to find his enemy. Rage boiled in his veins. He could hear the darkness laugh in his ears, in his mind.

“As I said before, the form is meaningless, our presence eternal!”

“Terra, please!” a far-off and familiar voice begged him. He could finally feel a pair of hands on his shoulder. They were smaller than his, calloused from years of fighting yet still gentle, “Come back! Terra, we need you. I’m right here, I promise! But I need you to be with me, too.”

How could he come back? How could he trust himself? He could already feel the darkness in him, could feel the smile he had to fight. How could he possibly trust someone who had fallen so deep into darkness, who wanted this flame more than anything else?

“I wanted the light and warmth the blaze created.”

Terra finally recalled the words spoken earlier. He truly believed he could trust Lauriam. He had taken a risk with that, and it had paid off. And how had Terra learned to trust Lauriam?

He’d heard what the man was really after. Such a desire had led him down dark paths, but refocusing on it had brought Lauriam out again. While that light might have created more darkness, it had also shaped and countered it.

And what of himself? What did he want? This power in his blood? The strength to crush mountains and tear worlds asunder? The ability to destroy anything and everything to get what he wanted…to get what he wanted.

“No,” Terra stared at the shadow that poured from his form, “No, this isn’t what I want.”

Lazy afternoons flashed in his mind. Aqua splashing him with water as Ven jumped off a rock into the pool they waded in. Piles of books as they struggled to anticipate what their master would put on their next exam. Aqua making them dinner and trying so, so hard to pass any culinary skills on to him. The many times they’d gotten into trouble, only to get off with lighter punishment than they’d expected. His master’s smile.

His heart trembling, Terra finally found a warmth to the flame. As he let it spread out, something shifted inside him. Now Terra knew, without a doubt, what he was really after. And he would remind himself of it as many times as it took. It was that valuable.

“I’ll fight,” Terra raised his Keyblade, alight with hope, “for my friends!”

The light cut through and compressed the darkness until it consolidated in a reflection of himself. Terra swung his Keyblade. A twisted grey Keyblade caught his blow.

“And when you forget them?” Xehanort grimaced, jaw clenched and eyebrows narrowed.

“They’ll guide me back,” Terra pressed down harder and harder. Every ounce of himself, every tired muscle, woke up in the clarity of his purpose, “Just like I’ll guide them back when they wander. I don’t need the darkness telling me what to think or if I can trust myself. I know what I want, and the darkness isn’t it.”

For the first time, the darkness took a step back. The furious hold on his heart loosened. With every strike, something inside Terra hemmed in the vague dread. A smile flashed across his face, but at the same moment, the ice-cold fingers shot through him again. Terra felt something outside of him that wanted in. He gritted his teeth and called to mind those memories again. He couldn’t forget, no matter how many times the darkness came. It wasn’t what he wanted. Yes, light could produce darkness, but his light, what he truly wanted, was not darkness. If he could remember that, maybe he could make it out of this.

Yet even still, he heard the furious whispers. Something tried to tell him that all that mattered was the hurt of losing them. That Terra needed his rage. That his rage was justified—and maybe it was. But the source of it all, the true center he valued so much, where those happy, busy, chaotic, routine, laughter-filled days. Sweat and tears in his eyes, Terra let out a cry, memories of Aqua, Ven, and Master Eraqus flashing before him. He would see them again, and he would get through this. His light would not become his darkness.

But he wouldn’t see all of them again. Terra froze. There was one person who would never rejoin them in the throne room, never show them another move, never remind him to not clench his jaw, never praise him for the best job he’d ever done. A sob worked in his throat. The sound tore through his chest and head as his knees hit the ground.

It wasn’t okay. It was never going to be okay that Master Eraqus was dead, that it was his fault, that so much of their traditions would never happen again. There was so much of his light that Terra would never see again.

Terra did not debate with these facts. He did not pretend that something could fill that void or kindle the ashes and smoke into a blaze again. He did not imagine he would ever be the same as his master, his father. He just let the cold that always rushes in after heat wash over him. His sore jaw twitched.

Even in the absence, the afterglow of heat lingered on his skin. It wasn’t enough to drive away the cold. Not now, at least. But it was enough to remind him why it felt so cold when the light was gone.

Terra opened his eyes and looked up one last time at Xehanort. The rarest expression for him gripped his features as the man struggled to understand. The darkness passed through Terra, touched him, likely even consumed him at one point. But it passed.

Terra, his voice still raw, replied to Xehanort’s unspoken question, “The best thing I learned from you is that I never want to be a master who can’t accept that both halves have to exist together, who doesn’t know my friends are more valuable than any pain or darkness.”

Gripping his Keyblade, Terra swung it in a circle and shoved himself to his feet. The light inside him that had formed and shaped the darkness now destroyed it. Terra clung to that light and let the darkness pass through him.

For a moment, there was only confusion. Exhaustion settled on him, and for a moment, the world went completely dark. Panicking, Terra tried to strike out again, but hands grabbed and shook him. His head pounded so much he feared his skull would shatter. At that moment, his eyes snapped open as he heard his name.

“Terra!” Lauriam startled him into consciousness, “What’s got hold of you?”

“Terra, can you hear me?” Aqua asked at the same time. “Are you back?”

“I—that thing, it…” Terra shook himself, which only made his head pound more. His muscles ached as they rested against a rough barrier of stone and vines. What had just happened? How much of that had been real?

“Hold still a minute. I think I know what this is.” Lauriam took a deep breath and laid his hands on Terra’s head. A green glow spread out from his hands, encircled Terra, and whirled up like a flowering vine. The ache in Terra’s body lessened, and the weight on his chest lifted as he met Aqua’s anxious, determined eyes.

“Terra?” Her voice carried a note of worry but so, so much hope.

“I’m alright,” Terra rubbed at his head and watched the sparks of hope in her eyes grow. Still, the memory of the chill made him shiver, “Just, when that thing touched me…”

“It felt like you’d never be happy again? That all you did was for nothing?” Lauriam’s face clouded over. Terra pursed his lips. The look on Lauriam’s face was too knowing. That’s right; Lauriam had faced this thing before.

“Terra, don’t listen to it!” Aqua grabbed his shoulders, her voice more certain than he’d heard in years, “The darkness is lying to you. It’s going to be fine. There’s always a way! I know—you showed me!”

“She’s right.” Lauriam shook off the shadows from his eyes. His tone lightened a little. “And you fought it off wonderfully. I know that’s not easy. Are you alright now?”

“Yes,” he must have been at least partly asleep, but Terra was nonetheless confident in what he’d discovered, “I figured some things out, in part thanks to you.”

He nodded at Lauriam, who started, “Me? I only shook you a bit. Aqua was the one who called out to you.”

“So it was your voice that I heard.” Terra smiled, and Aqua returned it as he gave her warm, gentle, calloused hand a squeeze. Terra turned back to Lauriam, “Let’s just say you helped me figure out how to beat the darkness, no matter what form it takes.”

“Oh,” Lauriam’s voice abruptly turned dour again, and his shoulders fell, “Right, now is definitely the time to mention…that might be the hardest part of facing this foe.”

“What do you mean?” Terra furrowed his brow.

Lauriam looked soberly at them, and a dread formed in all their stomachs. Still, Terra set his face. Whatever Lauriam had to say about their foe, it was still darkness in another form, and he now knew how to deal with it. Terra cradled Aqua’s hand in his and held tightly to the gentle, strong warmth as Lauriam tried to keep his composure.

Chapter Text

Aqua did not like the look on Lauriam’s face. Despite how much she tried to be hopeful for Terra’s sake, they weren’t exactly winning. Even with Ven and Elrena’s victory over Maleficent’s raven, there was still that…that Darkness with no name. Even now, it worked with Maleficent to harass Ven and Elrena as they darted about the square. Aqua hadn’t even heard of anything like this. And it looked like Lauriam, the only person who really understood what was going on, had more bad news.

“What exactly do you mean ‘the hardest part of facing it’?” Aqua tried to keep her voice steady as she clenched Terra’s hand.

“As I understand it,” Lauriam peered around the barrier and leveled his Keyblade, “This force is pure darkness itself. You said you knew how to face darkness regardless of its form, but,” Lauriam shot a pink laser that cut the Darkness from top to bottom. The shadow parted around the beam like smoke, “this thing has no physical form.”

Lauriam turned back to their shocked faces, “When we faced this type of enemy before, we eventually did strike it down—it reformed instantly.”

Aqua turned her gaze with Terra back towards their enemy. The mass of black and purple heaved a blast at Ven and Elrena. They staggered to the ground as Maleficent watched with a grin.

All three of them reacted at once. Lauriam slammed his Keyblade into the ground and raised another barrier of stone and vine in front of Ven and Elrena. Terra sent several meteor attacks at Maleficent and the Darkness. Aqua lurched around the barrier and sent a wave of ice at the Darkness. For all the good that—or any of their attacks, apparently—would do.

“How is such a thing even possible?!” Aqua whirled back to Lauriam.

“I’m not certain,” Lauriam’s eyes got a faraway look as his fingers stroked the hilt of his blade, “But Brain…he had a plan…he and Ven both knew something. They said Darkness needs a form to be completely defeated.”

“Light can give it a form,” Terra said in a tired but resolute voice. He placed a hand over his chest, “That’s how I beat it when it tried to get into me. I used my light to define the darkness. Because I knew what I wanted, what my purpose was, it was easier to see what it was not. I think that’s part of what gave it form, and once it had a form, I was able to fight it off.”

“Use light to give it form?” Aqua jumped on the possibility of a solution. But that had worked in Terra’s mind and heart. “With this being the real world, how do we do that? It’s not like everything is intangible here like it was in your mind.” She halted and put a fist against her chin. If the light in Terra’s mind formed the darkness into the opposite of his purpose, could their light in the real world form this Darkness into the opposite of their collective goal?

“Could we trap it somewhere tangible and use our light to keep it there long enough to destroy it?” Aqua raised her head.

“That might work!” Lauriam glanced around, “But what could it be tricked or forced into going into?”

They all froze as their gaze turned beyond the barrier. The Darkness sunk into Maleficent as she attempted to strike Elrena and Ven down with a sweep of her staff. The blow shattered the barrier. Elrena wrapped her arms around Ven and took the remaining brunt of the blow on her cheek. They rolled to the ground and struggled to get to their feet.

“No!” Lauriam threw a hand towards them. The last few Dream Eaters swarmed Maleficent, and one darted over to Elrena and showered her with healing magic. Under the pressure of the Dream Eaters, the Darkness peeled off Maleficent again to knock them aside in a whirlwind. Terra, Aqua, and Lauriam shared a look.

“Keyblades can lock things in people’s hearts, yes?” Lauriam asked, and Terra and Aqua nodded.

“If we use Terra’s light theory, use our light to give this Darkness form and keep it inside her,” Aqua spoke low, “do you think it’ll work?”

“We’ll need to get them to join long enough to seal them,” Terra clenched his fists, “preferably when they aren’t unleashing powerful attacks at us.”

“I think I have an idea for that,” Lauriam nodded towards Ven and Elrena, “But their strength is flagging, and I don’t think we’ll come up with a better plan by staying here any longer. Don’t try to seal it until I say so, alright?”

“Alright,” Aqua replied. She vaulted over the barrier and immediately unleashed a storm of ice at the Darkness, which was a little too close to Ven. She didn’t know what Lauriam’s plan was, but he seemed to know what he was doing. For now, it would have to be enough. In the meantime, she’d protect Ven. The Darkness wouldn’t get him this time, sentient or not.

It briefly flashed in her mind how ironic this situation was. Two former Organization members, ones who had repeatedly tried to help Xehanort usher complete darkness into the worlds, now risked their lives to stop Maleficent from doing the same. But Aqua wasn’t in a position to be picky about her allies just then. And hadn’t Lea been a part of the Organization before he became a wielder? People could change—for better and worse. Now if only she could figure out how to tell which direction a person moved in.

As Lauriam darted out from the barrier, Aqua saw again the young man ruffling Ventus’ hair. As Elrena pulled Ven out of the way of a blast, Aqua saw the young girl on the stairs with a deep, almost savage faithfulness about her. Both of them had light, and from what little she knew, they’d been a huge part of Ven’s life. For his sake, if nothing else (and there was much else), Aqua kept her mouth shut, readied her spells, and waited for Lauriam’s signal.

She’d need all her light possible to keep this thing in their intended form. While none of the three of them had a source of pure light, maybe—just maybe—together they had enough. Good thing that, like Terra, her purpose was right before her. And no matter the darkness, she’d cling to that light, hers and her friends’.

+=========+

Lauriam took a deep breath and jumped out from behind the barrier. Terra lunged out from the other side and charged at Maleficent while the Darkness momentarily shuffled confused attention between Ven, Elrena, and Aqua. Lauriam still wasn’t quite used to the way it moved, teleporting about, a mass of writhing shadow with a vaguely human outline somewhere in the middle.

But now wasn’t the time to focus on that. He needed to get that Darkness and Maleficent to merge again, and soon.

While he’d done his best to restrain any lingering manipulative instincts from his darker days, Lauriam nonetheless remembered what Xigbar had deliberately and by example taught. First thing was to understand the way Maleficent’s mind worked, which he was sorry to say he did. But how to convince her to take Darkness into herself?

He nearly smacked himself as a very simple solution occurred to him, a solution so simple there was no way it would work. But as the Darkness appeared behind him, Lauriam failed to come up with any better idea. Throwing himself to the side, he just barely dodged the attack. The Darkness vanished and reappeared directly over Maleficent. Alright, showtime.

“Don’t worry!” he called to the others, “It’s already started, just keep up the good work!”

“The good work?” Maleficent, exactly as he hoped, responded, “Have you truly lost your mind?”

Time to see if he had half the sliver tongue Brain and Skuld said he did.

“Oh, I think we’re doing alright,” Lauriam casually lowered his Keyblade, “no one’s died yet—at least on our side.”

Maleficent scowled at his allusion to her raven. Good, let her get riled up; her anger would mix well with her pride to blind her.

“This is a distraction at best, child.” Maleficent swept her staff and created a wave of shadow across the square.  “I have defeated far more powerful foes than you and your petty creations. In fact, I rather think these creatures have overstayed their welcome.”

She smacked away several of the Dream Eaters that clawed at her, and Lauriam fought a wince as he saw them disappear. It was only now he realized how few of them were left. He hoped they’d just gotten tired and slid back into the Realm of Dreams when they’d been defeated. Please let that be the case. He didn’t know if they had hearts, but he felt a connection to them and didn’t want them to die, especially from serving him.

Lauriam, with a bit of force, laughed at Maleficent’s confidence and gestured to the now-quite-ransacked world around them, “Defeat doesn’t matter—don’t you see we’ve already won?” He gestured to the looming Darkness, “As long as it’s out in the open, it’ll eventually fade from this place.”

“What are you speaking of?” the Darkness sounded mildly confused. This was the first time the entity had initiated conversation. Was that a good sign? Did it actually think what Lauriam said posed some kind of threat?

Lauriam waved his Keyblade at the city around him, “I’ve been doing some research into what happened during my absence. As my brilliant friend is wont to do, Ephemer found a way to protect his world. He put a spell on this place that corrodes darkness. It destroys its memory piece by piece, and since it is without a form, memory is the only thing holding the Darkness together.”

“You lie! This is not possible!” Maleficent and the Darkness screeched at once.

“Oh?” Lauriam raised an eyebrow, “Is it not like the magic of Castle Oblivion, save more targeted? And here I thought that was your purpose in trying to destroy this place. I suppose the measure of your intelligence was my error, though the fact of it is yours.” He brushed hair from his face as he half-laughed. “I truly should have known better. Through all these years, you have ever been a minor annoyance to the true powers of darkness.”

Maleficent’s eye twitched ever-so-slightly. Lauriam raised an eyebrow. In truth, he was pretty sure what happened in Castle Oblivion had more to do with Namine’s powers than with the castle itself, but Maleficent hadn’t actually been there, and few people remembered the events, so Lauriam hoped Maleficent would not know this. It seemed a reasonably safe bet.

“I am well aware of all the secrets this world possesses,” Maleficent stroked her staff, “that cannot be one of them…” Her fists tightened as she glared at him. “And if you believe my previous disposal of you to be an annoyance, it was because I had no need to expend my full power on an overgrown weed. But my object now is much more than shutting the mouth of a pontifical boy.” She raised her staff to the blackened sky as the Darkness swirled in excitement. “We have come here to eliminate the nexus that caused light to spring forth into the worlds once again. After it is gone, even the Princesses of Heart will not be enough to save them.”

Maleficent leveled her staff at him. “What you have proposed, child, is not possible. The workings of Castle Oblivion, whatever they may have been, are an isolated incident.”

“Castle Oblivion was crafted by our master from a spell he learned from his masters before him,” Aqua said from her subtle flanking position, “and here is where those masters originated. Do you really think they’d leave their own world so unprotected?”

“Such a thing cannot be—Darkness itself cannot be destroyed.” Maleficent frowned, but Lauriam picked up on the hesitance in her voice. He’d have to thank Aqua for her addition later. Perhaps this old witch didn’t know as much as she claimed. After all, she hadn’t even known he and Elrena were downstairs when she’d sent Pete to kidnap Ven.

“Maybe not in its entirety. I don’t pretend to have such knowledge,” Lauriam casually shrugged, but a smirk spread across his face, “But as for this specific Darkness,” he pointed his finger at it, “Without your memories, what are you? Not even shadows on the wind. Believe me, that I know without question.”

Alright…moment of truth. Lauriam did all he could to keep his face controlled in the casual indifference of one assured of victory from the start—even though they were about to win or lose everything and it entirely depended on Maleficent’s reaction.

“So by all means, continue to use your Darkness,” Lauriam laughed and waved a hand, “We’ll just drag this fight out until I get to watch it wither to less than nothingness.”

Maleficent fell silent for a minute. Her eyes searched his face deeply. Her lips parted. She began to laugh, her voice high and cold. Shaking her head, she raised a crooked finger at him, “Have you truly learned nothing, boy?”

Lauriam drew back in feign offense as he desperately tried to gauge her reaction, “Whatever could you be talking about?”

Maleficent barked a strangely mechanical laugh. Terra and Aqua crept closer to Maleficent and cast glances at Lauriam.

“I cannot believe that even a two-time puppet such as yourself would be foolish enough to throw away the one defense left to him!” Maleficent shook her head once more, “You have given me the key to my success and have removed the last defense your ‘friend’ left you.”

Lauriam pursed his lips tightly and furrowed his brow.

“Now we shall see who is a mere annoyance.” Maleficent raised her arms. “While this world might corrode darkness…it cannot do so if it has a vessel!” The darkness began to consolidate above her. “And what better vessel for it than the Mistress of All Evil?”

The Darkness’ humanoid center settled into Maleficent, and for a moment, her cackling changed to spluttering as she sunk down and struggled for a moment. But the next second, she rose, laughing wildly as the entire world grew even darker. Lauriam felt his lip twitch and tightened his grip on Divine Rose. It wasn’t in completely yet…

But as a wave of shadow made him stagger, Lauriam knew it was time. All the whisps of shadow pulled into Maleficent. He locked eyes with Terra and Aqua.

“You were right.” Lauriam smiled at Maleficent. “You really shouldn’t have believed I would do something so foolish.”

Lauriam aimed his Keyblade. While he wasn’t sure exactly how this worked, his heart and his Keyblade reacted to his wish. Divine Rose shot a beam of light at the same time as Terra and Aqua. The beams struck Maleficent, and golden chains appeared and began to bind the Darkness into her.

A screech and geyser of black energy surged out from Maleficent, darkness spilling everywhere so much that Lauriam was grateful for his coat. Even so, he felt the chilling tendrils splash against him like ice-cold water. Gritting his teeth, he willed his sealing magic to join with Terra and Aqua’s, and the three of them kept their golden beams shining into the blackness. Lauriam knew he didn’t have anywhere near the pure light Ventus had, but there was light in him, and he willed it to define the darkness, to lock it into the heart that so willingly craved it.

This was for everyone and everything he had left. He’d once longed for a single target to unleash his anger on. Now, he begged his light to hem such a target in, to give them a chance to beat it. His anger was just one more cog in the machine that drove him to finish this seal, to define this darkness. Please, give him a chance to protect that which he loved. Ven and Elrena were so close. He couldn’t lose another home, couldn’t lose more family.

He opened his eyes. His hands nearly fell. A golden gaze fixed him with more hatred than he’d ever imagined possible. For a moment, he was certain that gaze alone would end him. But a hand pressed against his back. A small spot of warmth and comfort swept through him and melted away any power Maleficent had over him. He managed to twist his head. Elrena looked up at him. Her look, a smile and smirk at the same time, made his blood flow again. That little spark of gold was once again right in the corner of his vision, and the hand within his reach.

“You made it,” He smiled at her.

“Obviously,” She smiled back, but it turned into a wince.

“Are you alright?” He frowned as she nodded her head, but her wide eyes and slightly open mouth spoke of some other pain…more so than the injuries of this fight.

“It’s them, isn’t it?” Elrena’s voice hardened and shook a little as she turned to Maleficent, “They killed our world.”

“At least one of them, yes,” Lauriam held his Keyblade steady. At the same time a part of his heart ached. How much they’d lost, all the people he’d loved—but not all of them. He took Elrena’s hand from his back with his free hand and gave it a squeeze. Something inside him grew brighter. She was alive, and she was by his side. Something was right in the world again. He could work with this.

“WHAT IS THIS MADDNESS?!” Maleficent and the Darkness hissed, their voices intertwined in a discordant sound.

“Then let’s make them pay,” Elrena growled, but Lauriam caught the hitch in her voice.

Their clenched hands warmed as power passed through Elrena and into Lauriam. It amplified all the confusing, contradicting feelings in his heart, but at the same time helped him focus on the center of them all. A young girl with bright orange pigtails and an endless smile. Lauriam’s eyes literally blazed as blue light poured from them.

“This is for Strelitzia and my world, you vile sister killer!”

At that moment, the light he, Terra, and Aqua conjured burst outwards. The crash of chains sounded. The darkness sank into the boundary of their seal.

Lauriam charged forward as Elrena’s lightning sped through him, making him faster, his deadly attacks more ravaging. Her rage mixed perfectly with his grace in a way he’d never known before. He hacked and slashed with Divine Rose, feeling the darkness scatter and splash with every strike. A grim grin spread over his face. When he finally jumped backwards, Terra dashed past him and brought down his Keyblade so hard against Maleficent that he broke her staff in two. The stone beneath her cracked and lit up like magma.

Lauriam couldn’t help the thrill that raced through him. It had actually worked! Aqua and Elrena unleashed bursts of yellow and blue, coating Maleficent in ice and water and sparking lightning and pure light, each attack making the other more devastating.

With a rush of wind, Ventus appeared. His whirlwind knocked Maleficent about and pushed her back a few feet. Smoke billowed in the wake of their attacks, and Lauriam shifted his grip on his Keyblade, the hold both comfortingly familiar and disturbingly alien at the same time. Even now, the warmth of the light lingered on his skin and in his heart.

The next minute, his blood ran cold. With piercing laughter, Maleficent rose from her half-crouch. As the smoke cleared, her eyes shone with unnatural power, a smoky black aura around her.

“You poor fools!” Maleficent cackled, “Did you really think to defeat me by forever tying me and the Darkness as one?”

“That was the hope,” Lauriam muttered under his breath. Of course, like all his other plans, this one failed. His breath started to hitch, but the comforting hand rested on his back again. His lungs instantly loosened at the same time his heart skipped a beat. How did she always know exactly when he needed her? Why was she always so willing to jump to his side?

The startling idea that had come to Lauriam in his dream jumped to the front of his mind. Literal years of evidence added to her present actions to nurture the hope that the startling idea might not be so foolish or unbiased as it first appeared. How ironic that it took him this long to notice how incredible she was. He chalked it up to the fact that she was so incredible, there was never any chance for incredible moments to stand out against average ones. More ironic still that it took her removal for him to really see her, to see just who had always been there.

But regardless of time wasted in the past, now more than ever was the time to cling to her. He would not let another beautiful, wonderful person be taken away before he treasured her. She was back with him now, and if Baldr hadn’t taken her away, then Lux help him if he was going to let the darkness take Elrena again.

Chapter Text

Elrena had the distinct impression she should be more scared of the sentient darkness the others had sealed than Maleficent, but she just couldn’t be. That didn’t mean Elrena cared about her or anything. The witch was nothing like Ven, even when both threw open boxes inside her. That was when the differences stood out strongest. And the fae was certainly nothing like Lauriam. Lauriam was…different, definitely. And it wasn’t just that he was much better to look at. But none of that was the point! For crying out loud, they were in the middle of a battle, and she needed to fight! Pity she had lost her knife when they fought Diablo.

Elrena snapped out her reverie in time to push Lauriam aside from the pillar of darkness that shot up from beneath their feet. She threw herself backwards and stumbled a few steps. Before she could get her bearings, Maleficent teleported behind her. For a moment, the cruel witch’s eyes met hers, and an involuntary shiver went down her spine. What was wrong with her?!

A hand shot out and grasped her neck and face before she realized what happened. Elrena clutched at the wrist and tried to step away, but those bony fingers had a surprisingly strong grip. Her breath came in short gasps, her stomach twisted, and Elrena keenly felt the ache in her body. She may have dodged most of the attacks, but that didn't take away all the fighting she'd already done, all the magic she'd already used.

“Still trying to get away, are we?” Maleficent’s long nail slowly slid across her skin. “And where did a creature like you expect to go?”

Elrena gritted her teeth and jerked back. Her hands tried to shove Maleficent’s arm away. But it did nothing other than give Maleficent the satisfaction of watching her squirm. Why hadn’t she gone in the same direction as Lauriam? She’d just gotten back to him and when he—there were more important things to think about! Like the fact that the toxic-waste green hand around her throat was too familiar and not at all the comfort Lauriam’s embrace was. Elrena tried to turn her head and eyes to find any of the others who’d been there a moment before.

Maleficent tightened her grip as she raised her voice. “And I assumed this fool’s plan of empowering me to defeat me was insanity! Did you think they would rely on traitors to help protect such precious light? Even I did not take them for such fools. They ought to know, likely do know, you’ll leave in the next moment.”

“She thought right. We do rely on them,” Terra smacked Maleficent with his Keyblade from behind. He appeared so suddenly and so silently, it even startled Elrena. However, she wasn’t too surprised to slip out of reach the moment the grip on her throat loosened.

“I could be wrong, but I think I know what these two are after.” Terra cast her a look and smiled. “And I’m pretty sure if she was going to run away, she wouldn’t have come back after we slammed the door in her face, not to mention the time you set darkness on her. If she’s got the courage to come back after that, I think she’s got more than enough courage to stay, and it seems more than a little stupid to me to let her fall on her own when she’s been such a help to us already in ensuring Ven's return.”

Terra stared at her in the eyes as Elrena searched his. He didn’t shy away from her scrutiny. He believed her. He didn’t hope or fake or trick it, he just believed her. When was the last time someone had done that? The only two times that came to mind were times a brother and a sister asked for her help, once to fight monsters and once to find a sister. And Terra stared at her with the same look in his eyes, no matter how much she searched. Whatever he found in her eyes made him nod to himself.

His gaze hardened as he turned back to Maleficent. “And I certainly know what you’re after, Maleficent. So this is your last warning: leave this place or we will put an end to your meddling.”

Elrena smiled back at him. She was beginning to like this guy.

“And just so it’s clear, we’re not leaving, neither me nor Lauriam.” Elrena wiped at her cheek and spoke before she thought. “Because unlike you, I happen to care about what happens to this world!”

“Please, do tell why,” Maleficent smirked as she cast a glance over Terra, “Do you imagine the Keybearers have some affection for you? Do you still refuse to see?”

Elrena sucked in a breath and convinced herself that the flinch was her exhaustion. But Maleficent wasn’t so easily fooled. She took a step forward. It was like the fight stopped around them in a wave of shadow that blacked everything else out. The shouts around them vaguely registered in Elrena’s mind, but Maleficent’s voice came through clearly.

“Elrena, my shriveled little magpie,” Maleficent raised a hand, “your masters all spurned you, your party members were indifferent, and you never even knew how to care for another. Do you imagine I’m not aware of this? Why do you think I took in a creature such as yourself?”

Elrena couldn’t meet her eyes. Suddenly she was a kid again, still as stone, waiting for it to be over. It would be so much easier if she stood still. Even that hunger in her heart would be quiet if she could only endure—

“It is no wonder, little magpie, that you could not even acknowledge the many merciful hands I extended to you." The tip of her claw brushed Elrena's chest. "You would not recognize light itself if it reached for your twisted heart. And all the better, too, for it would burn up what little still connects your being.”

But that wasn’t what Ven said when he held out his hand and begged her to come back. That wasn’t what it felt like when Lauriam took her hand. That wasn’t what was in Terra’s eyes when he trusted her moments before.

Elrena clenched her fist at the same time her stomach unclenched. Maleficent’s words tasted like bile in the face of those memories. And that made her angry in a way she couldn’t explain. She drew back her lips as she pulled away.

“No…you’re wrong!” Elrena stamped her foot like a whining toddler.

“And the evidence for your counter?” That old patronizing smile spread over Maleficent's face.

Elrena looked at her feet, her breath uneven. What did she know about love? What had anyone even shown her as an example? You didn’t love in Daybreak Town; Elrena just didn’t know how. An icy feeling prickled her skin. Clawed hands appeared in her clouded vision. They rose and inched towards her, dripping with darkness as they approached the familiar roost on her head.

Elrena meant to say that she didn’t want the hands to touch her. But all that came out of her mouth was a short, wordless cry. Her vision cleared as a blur of motion and a clash of contact knocked the hands away.

“I’ll counter that!” Ven stuck an arm out in front of her, his Keyblade before both of them, “Elrena does know how to care, no thanks to you! Why do you think I’m here at all?”

Elrena shook her head as her eyes went wide. Maleficent’s hands had been inches away from her hair. The shadow on her hands meant some very dark magic. That…that could have ended badly for her. But Ven hadn’t let it. Before she could fully consider why he did that, Elrena felt a hand across her shoulder blades.

“I too have been the beneficiary of her intense care.” Lauriam’s hand and voice steadied her. He glanced down with a soft look that Elrena’s stupid heart had to go and suck up even more eagerly than anything Maleficent and Gula had ever given her. “She’s been my light and my support even in my darkest times. She followed me through time and destruction. She rejoined the Organization just to find me. She taught me about caring even when I didn’t realize I was learning.”

“H-hey!” Heat crept up Elrena’s face. “Don’t tell her stuff like that, you idiot!”

“If you’re worried about her using it against you,” Terra cut through a wall of shadows and took a step towards their group, “I’m pretty sure she already knows.”

“I’m pretty sure we all know,” Aqua popped up in a whirl of ice and light that dispersed the last of the shadow that encased them. A smile formed on her lips, the look in her eyes just a little too knowing. Had she really guessed? Elrena wasn’t that transparent, was she?

She buried her face in her hands for a moment, but it let her gather her thoughts. Maybe caring was weak, maybe it did only hurt her, and maybe she was so bad at pretending that everyone but her knew. But right then, Elrena threw all that out the window. The warm hand on her back, the boy standing before her, and even a few words from Terra returned something she hadn’t had in so long, she forgot she ever possessed it. Her stubborn streak fully reared its head, and it made her bold in a stupid way that didn’t consider consequences.

Elrena glared directly into Maleficent’s eyes, “And there’s someone else—Chirithy. My Chirithy. She loved me.”

The words felt strange and awkward, like a lie. When was the last time she’d said the word ‘love’? The fact that she meant it this time might have knocked her over, except that her heart, for all the pain it caused, now stood like a pillar of concrete. It also rumbled in renewed hunger.

How long had she known this about Chirithy? It seemed she always had, and yet saying it now felt so strange. But at the same time, how could she not have known? Who had been the one to appear instantly at her call? Who was the one who complimented her when she did well, teased her when she acted foolish, and encouraged her when she faltered? Who was the one who had always, with just her presence and that soft grey fur, took away so much worry and pain and despair?

Her Chirithy loved her. It was the spark that set off a chain reaction. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of little moments came to her mind, a mixture of past and present. In every single one of them she saw someone else, someone that had left her at least once. But every single one of those memories, however tiny, shone like an unquenchable beacon.

Standing out sharply against those beacons was the harsh coldness of her days in the Enchanted Dominion, even most of her days in Daybreak Town. It was like watching orbs of bright light on a black canvas. But without a millisecond of hesitation, Elrena knew which one she wanted, which one she had always wanted.

“And just where is that Chirithy now?” Maleficent snapped her back to reality.

Elrena squirmed. Shame burned her face. She should back down. There was no way for her to win, and even if she did, there was nothing to gain.

“Surely, something didn’t happen to it, did it? Someone wasn’t careless with it, were they?” Maleficent raised an eyebrow, “Come now, I know what you—”

“Shut up!” Ven sliced the air between them. “I know where this goes! Don’t you dare try what you did before. You’ve hurt her long enough, so just shut up!”

Lauriam pressed his hand firmer into her back and drew a step closer. Elrena took a deep breath. Ven’s words sounded as angry as when he’d confronted her in that corridor, when he offered his hand. The kid’s rage was infectious. It reminded her of those memories and the way they made Maleficent’s words seem vile. And that made her realize just how sick she was of this routine.

Her fists tightened around the key in her pocket. Lauriam’s warm hand steadied her, and she had a feeling it’d stay there no matter what she chose.

Elrena might not be able to win, but darkness take her if she was about to let Maleficent prowl through and toss about her emotions like she owned them. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Elrena reached inside, deeper than ever. For a moment, she forgot everyone and everything around her.

There was a part of herself—her secret—that she kept safe in a little box. And within that box, there were other boxes. Some of them others knew about, some of them she would take to her grave. Deep, deep inside she went, into the tiniest box, the most well-hidden. She laid her hands on the lid a moment.

The world became clear again, and everything was finally still for a moment. Soft light rose from beneath her. The air hung heavy and thick, like a summer evening the moment before the sky burst open in thunderstorms. There were many locks on this box. Even with her hands resting on the top, Elrena could tell it was heavy. It had weighed on her heart for years.

Maleficent had torn this box open. Maleficent tore several bits of her open while she was with her. It hurt. It was meant to hurt her. Maleficent hurt her. That was all the witch wanted to do.

Wasn’t that enough of a lesson on what happened when you opened up to people? The past crawled around her, and the ground beneath her teetered. Elrena could lock it all back up again if she really tried. She could put the past back in boxes. She could go back to how she’d lived the entire rest of her life.

But what had that gotten her? Masters who discarded or used her as it pleased them. A lost home she’d never been able to reclaim. Years of lonely wandering, her tongue growing sharp, her heart growing hard, her head growing dark and twisted.

But if she stopped, if she opened these boxes, some of which had already been torn apart…there was pain, loss, the chance to be hurt. There were memories she still repressed that she’d have to deal with. There were actions she didn’t want to think about. There was a future she couldn’t imagine.

Well, no, that wasn’t entirely true. If she opened this box, then wouldn’t the future look a little bit like Daybreak Town? Like when she had her Chirithy? Like when she’d been so loved, if only by one, that she didn’t even realize it? Might this new future be better than Daybreak Town?

Should she even try to reach that future? Should she ask of her Chirithy, of anyone, to give her the one thing she knew she shouldn’t have?

Elrena’s fingers curled together. The air gathered around and pressed down on her. There was no more hiding.

Her mind went back to Ventus. She’d never met the kid before today, but she’d been willing to die for him. And he was willing to die for her. It was going to get them both killed. But the kid had been through just about everything she’d been through, and he still seemed much happier.

He’d told her he would bring her back. He meant it as much as she meant she would get him out of Maleficent’s hands. He meant it as much as Lauriam meant he would find his sister.

If she could have avoided finding this all out, if she could have gone back and not jumped into that Dark Corridor, not even come to the Land of Departure at all, would she?

“No.”

Ven would have died in Maleficent’s castle. Elrena had survived—however broken and altered, she had survived. Ven wouldn’t have. So she would have done it.

Elrena wanted to laugh at herself. Maybe she did. Maybe she screamed. The box before her grew heavier and heavier. Her fingers wrapped around the edge in terror and eagerness. The world crinkled beneath her hands and feet like kindling. Her heart pounded and caught in her throat.

It couldn’t be worse than what she’d already been through. And maybe there was something beyond it, something better.

The locks fell away. The chains snapped. Everything trembled.

She threw it wide open.

It stung. It burned as bad as, worse than, the flames that scarred her feet. It hurt to feel the absence, to want her Chirithy near, to know her home was gone, that it may never have been the home she remembered. Years and lifetimes passed through her in a single moment. It seemed her very bones were torn from her and knocked to pieces.

But that pain wasn’t the only thing Elrena unlocked. What she held on to, she didn’t know. It felt like she clung to bubbles that only just didn’t burst, or if they did, filled her with that feeling of things in their proper place. Even through the pain, the warm hand still pressed against her back. She weathered it, all the pain and the fear and the loss of the one who loved her, and as the pain ebbed, Elrena found something else in the box.

With a whoosh of air and thousands of tiny, brilliant lights, everything exploded and filled her heart with a warm glow and a piercing pain. Elrena gasped and clutched at her chest as she staggered to her knees.

All of this had happened. All of it was happening. And here she was, alive. Her heart had survived it. Here she was with loyalty—loyalty given to her. And not just by Lauriam and Ven. There was another.

As the storm died down, she saw a spark of light float into her hand. Tentatively, she called its name, and it responded. There was only one thing left: to take up the burden of a strong heart and summon her Keyblade. Maybe, just maybe, she could actually save something she cared about, someone who cared about her.

Elrena opened her eyes and enjoyed the strangled cry from Maleficent as she again met her eyes, now with ten times the confidence and assuredness. Her fingers curled around the hilt as a buzzing chime sounded. A tiny poof, and she felt a weight on her head.

“I’m right here beside her, just like always!” her Chirithy said.

“Chirithy…” Elrena yanked the ball of grey fur off her head and stared in wonderment. The blue yarn-like eyes stared warmly up. Elrena nearly squeed as she wrapped her arms around her, “You’re back!”

“You called me right up from the depths, pushed the darkness away and let me be light again,” Chirithy replied. Her voice suddenly became panicked, “Look out!”

“Dodge!” Ven tugged at her arm.

Lauriam pulled her to the side along with Ven. They clung to one another as the air and debris from the attack rushed by them. Elrena gave Chirithy a quick brush on her head before shouting.

“Get to safety! You better have an explanation for leaving me for so long!”

She couldn’t help the ache in her heart as Chirithy bounded from her hands, but better her Chirithy out of harm’s way. Elrena couldn’t lose her again.

She glanced at Ven, who nodded, his armor still coating his body, his helmet gone. His eyes were tired, but the boy wasn’t done. She felt a hand on her arm. Lauriam smiled at her with more pride than Gula ever had.

“Oh, what a pitiful display,” Maleficent glared at them, though Elrena noticed the twitch of her eye, “You might have delayed your fate, but you have not averted it, nor will you ever.”

“Oh yeah?” Elrena felt the bile rise in her throat and the venom drip from her voice, “Well I guess you would know. How many times did you get beat to a pulp by Keykids in the Unions before you got destroyed by Sora? You’re the exemplar of following your fate, failing in the same way over and over and over again.”

“SILENCE!” Maleficent roared at her. The fact that she had provoked such a reaction made Elrena smile.

“Oh, that’s right, I beat her, too.” Aqua said as if she suddenly remembered. “Even with a dragon form, she couldn’t stand in our way.”

“And I beat her before that!” Ven pipped up, then clutched at his head, “Wait…where there…others? Augh—what is—”

“We’ll sort through that later,” Elrena patted his metal shoulder as she tried to soothe over what was probably a very uncomfortable sensation. Ven couldn’t be distracted by memories in this fight. They were frankly lucky his lapse on the glider and now where the only times it had happened. Turning her attention back to the seething Maleficent, Elrena raised her voice.

“So, yeah, pretty sure the only person stuck in their fate is you, old hag. You do a very good job of being an annoyance of darkness.”

“You wish for me to continue following my fate? Very well.” Maleficent smiled in a way that was far too calm and unnerving. “Then let us see how you fare against the true Darkness as well as my own power!” She threw her arms out, her cloak flaring like wings…and it didn’t drop back down, “We shall see then who commands their fate.”

Elrena couldn’t help the shiver that shot down her spine. Every muscle in her body clenched. A ferocious roar shook the earth beneath them. Green flames engulfed everything as they all stumbled backwards. Everyone felt their hearts plummet as, with the dying of the green flame, Maleficent rose from the smoke, jaws open wide as a yellow tongue whipped at the air. Dark purple wings flared above them, standing out against jet-black scales.

Maleficent, in her dragon form, leered down on all of them. The same black-purple aura that had surrounded the Darkness now encircled her. It pulsed angrily, but it didn’t peel away. It seemed like whatever seal the others had made was working, but that also meant Maleficent had an ancient Darkness that had destroyed the world powering her. She began unleashing jets of green flame all around the area they’d already destroyed.

“Of course, more fire,” Elrena said, her voice more of a squeak. Though the heat crashed over her in waves, it felt cold compared to what tore through her when she opened the box. She didn’t realize she trembled until a warm hand settled on her shoulder. Another gently wrapped around her hand.

Despite everything, Lauriam gave her a soft smile, “Careful, you’ll drop your Keyblade with a grip like that.”

“I know,” Elrena hated how much it sounded like a breath. She tightened her grip as another roar shook them. Wait, how had her free hand ended up wrapped around Lauriam’s arm? His concerned eyes flashed over her.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

Elrena nodded, not wanting to hear her voice again. Lauriam did not look convinced as he glanced down at where her arm still entangled his. Elrena quickly dropped it and took a step back, “I’m…fine.”

“Well, I know I am,” Lauriam smiled warmly again, “because I’ve got you now.”

“D-don’t go—you sound like an idiot! We’re in the middle of a battle!” She chided him, but it only made him laugh the laugh that both irritated her to the core and made her want to snort along with him.

“You really don’t know how much you help me, do you? You always have, ever since we met.” He narrowed his eyes as his tone went dangerously intense. “And it seems as though I have more to repay Maleficent for than I thought. If I had known she’d—” He shook his head and smiled at her again, though Elrena could see the rage awakened in his eyes, “Well, don’t doubt for a minute I’m going to help you with this as you’ve helped me. About time I did my part.”

Of course, her heart went off in flutters at that as it greedily lapped up his words. But with a sigh, Elrena shook herself and pulled her body into a fighting stance as Maleficent finished torching the area. She’d completely cut them off from any sources of escape. Fire trapped Elrena in again. At least it came no closer. At least no one shouted at her. At least she wasn’t alone.

A twitch came to Elrena’s lip. She’d gotten what she wished for when this all started. She’d wanted Lauriam with her, and now he was. In its usual cruel way, the universe gave her exactly what she’d asked for. As she glanced to the side, she noticed her Chirithy crouching with Ven’s, both of them thankfully in a spot away from the fire. Her fist tightened around her Keyblade. That, too, was something worth celebrating, she guessed. It did help to have a proper weapon.

She would need it. As much as she hated to admit it, the witch terrified her even now. Apparently, one act of defiance did not instantly remove all fear. But whatever fear she felt faded before something more than stubbornness inside her. Maleficent was not destroying her home or Lauriam or Ven. They would all see to that.

Chapter Text

“Look out!” Lauriam wrapped his arms around Elrena and pulled her out of the way just in time to escape Maleficent’s tail, which had a tip sharp enough to rival one of Xaldin’s spears and the length and girth to knock all of them into the wall of fire she’d eagerly set up for them.

While he was delighted to see Elrena with her Keyblade gleaming brightly and her beloved Chirithy close at hand, it was nothing compared to just having her near him. It could only have been hours from his point of view, but it felt much longer. He’d always had Elrena near him, ever since they’d met. She always found him, always followed him.

As they rose to their feet, he noticed Ven and Terra a short ways away, not having been so lucky. Aqua, still on her feet and already sending bursts of ice towards where Maleficent hovered in the sky, seemed to have dodged without any trouble.

“Alright,” Elrena said, her voice now a bit more stable, “Let’s help her relive her fate again, shall we?”

“Sounds good to me,” Lauriam pushed hair out of his face.

Even as he said this, though, he couldn’t quite shove down the dread that welled up in him. This fight had been going on for so long, and they weren’t even making a dent. He remembered the cold strikes of Darkness, the ache in his body that was an echo of the pain he began to feel now. Could they really win this? Did they even have a chance?

“Let’s get started, then!” Elrena said, her confidence—or illusion thereof—restored. She jumped ahead of him, lightning crackling in her veins, her strikes wild and furious.

Lauriam smiled to himself. Right, he couldn’t give up. Elrena was counting on him. Whether her enthusiasm was feigned or honest, it didn’t matter, because whatever Elrena set her mind to, she was going to do it if it killed her. And it had, several times. For some odd reason, she always set her mind to the same thing as him. He wasn’t about to despair, not when Elrena was already ahead of him and three other allies stood beside him. Not to mention, there was one more friend nearby.

Lauriam thought one last time of the statue and Ephemer’s promise. He was right by him, even if Lauriam couldn’t see him. And if what Baldr had said was true, then Ephemer was closer to him now than ever.

“If there’s ever a time you felt like helping,” Lauriam whispered, “now is it.”

Squaring his shoulders, he stepped forward to continue the fight. He raised his blade and charged at Maleficent. Her attacks against Aqua left her wide open on the left flank. Lauriam pounded his feet against the cobblestone and shoved off, jumping and aiming directly at Maleficent’s chest. A blur of motion registered in his peripheral, and Lauriam twisted his Keyblade to block the claws and tail that shot out at him as Maleficent abruptly rose to the sky. The attack knocked him to the ground.

He rolled to somewhat soften his landing. He gritted his teeth as he leaned on Divine Rose to get up again. Lauriam heard the shouts and clashes of everyone else and shook himself. Again he clutched his Keyblade and stepped towards the fray. He wouldn’t give up, he wouldn’t.

If he gave up, there was no point in being recompleted. He raised his Keybalde to parry a ball of fire.

If he gave up, he’d never be able to make amends to those he hurt. He raised walls of vines to shelter the others from her spin attack and the shock of her landing.

If he gave up, he would never find his sister. He rushed forward, towards a claw with talons as long as his arm.

If he gave up, Ephemer’s sacrifice and blessing meant nothing. Lauriam threw himself forward and brought his Keyblade down on Maleficent’s hand as hard as he could. The strain on his body, his mind, and his heart crashed down. Lauriam felt something snap into place and wash over him.

“You look like you could use some help,” a familiar voice said.

Lauriam turned, and instead of the ransacked city and wall of fire, his vision filled with pure white light. Ephemer offered his hand, a soft smile on his lips. Lauriam’s face broke into a beam.

“You’re here!”

“Of course,” Ephemer half-laughed, “I told you I’d be with you.”

His smile was fortification enough, but Lauriam could tell by the gleam in his eyes that Ephemer had something bigger planned. A bond pulsed inside Lauriam, the same bond he felt when he called the Dream Eaters, when he re-summoned his Keyblade, and when he finally reunited with Elrena. Lauriam smiled as he took the brown-clad hand.

“Don’t know if you’re aware, but we’re fighting the intangible Darkness again, not just Maleficent.” Lauriam tried to be serious, but he couldn’t help his raised eyebrow. “You up for it?”

“Good thing we reconnected to the point I can answer your call,” Ephemer smiled wider, “Who better to fight something formless than someone as equally intangible and real?”

Lauriam raised an eyebrow in expectation. Ephemer had always had very decided opinions about fighting. Principally, if conflict could not be avoided, you fought beside your friends with all the light in your heart.

Ephemer nodded as though he could read his thoughts. “I know you’ve made some other friends, that you helped them rest. But, well, I feel I can call them just this once. I can do that, being on the other side and all.”

Lauriam had the distinct impression that something else stirred in the wild currents around them. He opened his heart to it, and several familiar voices joined in a chorus.

“Could we really face the beginning of our darkness? Do they need us as we once needed them? Then…I’m ready to get it right this time.”

“Have we been called up from the very heart of this world? My predictions made such a feat impossible!”

“Her again? In our world? No…I can’t let her sow darkness here again. I won’t give up on this world or the people in it so easily this time!”

"That’s just mean! Wasn’t the first time enough? Can they not see the power of darkness is nothing more than a chain?”

“I’m done with darkness taking everything here! It may be necessary, but it can’t be all. I say if she’s come here, we give her a taste of our light.”

“We know our debt, and we know our duty. We’ve been given our freedom, even when our lives were snuffed out first, even though now we can act so little. But what we have, we give freely.”

“…I can’t believe Baldr was right…”

“I won’t be too scared to strike back this time. Choosing to act was the strongest thing I ever did, even if it was too late…I won’t let it be too late now.”

“We’re with you, Lauriam, one last time…”

"Make sure it is the last time. You can’t go this deep again. You’re barely holding it with the Founder’s help.”

“But we’ll take it this once, and we’ll make it turn out this time!”

“I let her and those like her destroy me and my friends in life. Darkness formed from my connections to them. But I won’t make that mistake again in death! Darkness isn’t the only thing connections can form.”

So it was not just Ephemer lending his light. It seemed some old friends had literally crawled back from beyond the grave to deliver a final insult. Lauriam did not even try to feel guilty for the satisfaction that grew in his heart. The one loose end he'd not been able to tie up for them, Ephemer took care of.

“They’re very eager to help,” Ephemer drew his attention, “they came even when I was just beginning. I admit even I wasn’t expecting such a bonus.”

“So your original plan that you’ve waited this long for is…?” Lauriam waved his hand in expectation.

“I can only do this once. I had to make sure it was the right time. As Brain would sometimes say,” Ephemer raised his arm above his head and curled his fingers together, “watch this.”

Several blocks away from the fight, atop a fountain tucked into a square, light emanated from Ephemer’s statue. The light gathered to the tip of his Keyblade. Gold lines traced out circles above every island. The moment the circles closed, more gold lines shot out and connected the circles as the white concrete that made up the buildings began to glow. As the glow gathered in the circles, the golden lines all anchored on Ephemer’s Keyblade.

Slowly, oh-so-slowly, the cold stone moved and pointed towards the dragon towering among the white buildings. A single pulse traveled from Ephemer’s Keyblade to the infinite gold circles. They pulsed once in response.

Back at the battlefield, Maleficent roared as her tail lashed all the Keybearers away. At the same moment, several streaks of light shot from somewhere in the city and arched through the sky. They tore through the wall of fire and appeared in a burst of white light. Twelve silver and blue keys circled Maleficent as they batted and hemmed her into place.

Lauriam felt an urge form inside him. The power that had sent his message out to the Dream Eaters reversed direction. Now, a gathered message poured into him. Lauriam raised his Keyblade to the sky and shot out a single burst of gold that soared into the black clouds above them. The tiny light swirled and grew like vines. The light stretched into a gold circle divided into five unequal sections by thin, feather-like petals.

One section had a swirling scarf. Another a five-pointed star. The third a curved feather. Below that a knife sharp and straight as a compass needle. Finally, a heart with three spikes on the bottom. The circle glowed brightly as the gold lines surged towards it. The next moment, the whole gathering of light shot down, right on top of Maleficent.

All of this grandeur seemed to Lauriam to happen over a long, drawn-out minute, but it was probably only a matter of seconds. The dragon screamed as the white stream tinted with streaks of gold tore into her. Whichever way she tried to break out, the keys gathered and shoved her back.

“What’s going on?” Terra gazed around in wonderment.

“Scala Ad Caelum is the nexus of all worlds,” Lauriam spoke with confidence, despite the fact that he wasn’t entirely sure what he was saying, “After the Keyblade War, it provided light to all worlds so they could rebuild. Now, the lights of all those worlds have returned to Scala Ad Caelum, to aid it in its hour of need. Ephemer has called them, and they have answered.”

“I guess you could say this is the light of the past?” Elrena chuckled a little as she glanced at her Keyblade. “Took long enough.”

“Some light always comes from the past,” Aqua smiled softly, a hand over her heart, “It’s safe back in our minds. It can’t be touched by the now.”

“You may be right,” Elrena said even as her eyebrows drew together, “But it doesn’t look like she’s quite done yet…”

Indeed, Maleficent, despite the weight of the attack and the harassment of the keys, appeared to regain her footing. Her wings spasmed one last time before she opened her giant jaw and launched a jet of blackness tinged with green, cutting off the outpouring of light. Every limb thrashed and one by one knocked the silver and blue keys out of the sky. Slowly, she thudded all four of her legs beneath her and flared her wings out as she roared.

“She’s weak,” Ven said, his breath labored. The poor kid looked rough, one eye bruised, but he still held his blade steadily, “Now’s our chance!”

When Ven turned to look at them, his eyes fell on Lauriam, and he was silent for a moment as his fist curled over his heart. “I knew you, didn’t I?”

“Yes,” Lauriam breathed, his heart racing as he forced himself to focus, “but I’m afraid explanations are going to have to wait a minute.” Lauriam raised his Keyblade high to cast Curaga on all of them. Hopefully it would be enough. The others nodded in thanks, each of them taking up position to finish the battle.

As Lauriam stepped up beside Terra, it struck him how like the many parties of keykids from Daybreak Town they were. Terra stood in Vanguard, Lauriam and Aqua flanking him, Elrena taking up support, and Ven, the most injured, at the Rearward. Lauriam smiled as complete familiarity washed over him. Last time, he’d tried to beat Maleficent on his own, in the basement of a tower in which four other combat competent and loyal friends had lived. He really had been quite foolish as a fifteen-year-old.

“Ready yourselves!” Aqua raised her Keyblade and brough it to her side.

As Maleficent unleased a terrible roar, Terra charged forward, and Aqua and Elrena sent jets of lightning and water that gave Terra the flinch he needed to strike hard at Maleficent and retreat before she could get him in close quarters. Their party drew closer, meeting Terra in his retreat and giving Aqua a chance to cast a barrier over all of them as Maleficent sent jets of green fire at them. Unfortunately, though they were protected from the initial blast, the green fire caught on the stones, remaining even after Maleficent stopped the attack. Ven, however, sent a gust of wind that snuffed the flames out, giving them room to fight. Lauriam gazed around; it was his turn to help. He shared a glance with Terra.

“I’ll go high if you can give me an opening,” he said.

Terra smirked, “I’ll take low if you’ll do the same.”

Terra charged his Keyblade with a golden glow, and Lauriam, just slightly faster, rushed ahead of him and knocked aside one of Maleficent’s claws and her tail, clearing a path for Terra, whose blow allowed Lauriam time to swing up past the claw he’d knocked away and climb onto Maleficent. Steadying himself, he slashed and hacked at Maleficent’s unprotected back, attempting to get at her wings and trap her on the ground.

The skin and scales, however, proved stronger than he’d anticipated. Lauriam wasn’t sure Maleficent even felt his attacks with how little of a dent he made. Yet even still, Lauriam knew that Ephemer’s help had given them an advantage. Now if only he could figure out how to leverage it so they all made it out alive.

His eyes fell on a spot where it looked like her scales had cracked or shifted aside. He thrust his Keyblade into the fault. Maleficent let out a roar and swiveled her head back to glare at Lauriam. He threw her a wave and forced an annoyingly cheerful look onto his face as he jabbed his Keyblade deeper into her flesh. He charged his blade with magic and sent the burst into her, which made her entire body clench. But of course, it didn’t kill her.

Maleficent opened her mouth in a roar. Her teeth snapped at him as Lauriam jumped just in time. He landed hard atop her snout, which forced her sharp teeth into the weak spot and made her roar again.

She jerked her snout up, and it was most unfortunate for Lauriam that he was still atop it, as he couldn’t quite hold on. Instead, he slashed at her nose as he was thrown off, hitting the ground in a roll that again only slightly reduced the pain.

“Lauriam!”

He heard someone call his name and groggily forced his head up, blinking to clear his double vision. Maleficent turned her head to him. Her jowl smoked over a thin fracture that had appeared in her chest. Her claws shoved her towards him. Her tail whipped back and forth. A blur of blue snapped into focus right in the tail’s path. Lauriam screamed.

+========+

Aqua caught sight of the attack just a moment too late. She braced herself for impact. There was no way she could dodge far enough even with a cartwheel—in a rush of air and hands Aqua found herself on the ground and not impaled by Maleficent’s tail. Elrena loosened her grip and helped Aqua to stand upright.

“You good?” she asked quickly.

Aqua nodded, though one of her blue sashes had been chopped in half. Better the sash than her leg. As it turned out, a dragon on its last legs had a desperation and savagery that made it in some ways worse than a dragon fresh for a fight. Aqua grimaced as the grim reality stared her in the face. This was one of the worst parts of keeping the world order. Perhaps deliberately seeking a life wasn’t the most noble action, but given Maleficent’s history, and her and the Darkness’s current determination, it had become less a question of morals and more one of survival, for them and the worlds.

Aqua slammed her shoulder, and her armor materialized around her. It wasn’t that she didn’t remember all that she had learned today, but the weight of just being near the Darkness was too much. She just wanted a moment to breathe, to not feel the cold burden.

That was better. The fog in her mind cleared, and this time, her armor felt like a comfort rather than a shell, much like that little sprig and her wayfinder had. Aqua glared up at the dragon that had stopped her and Prince Philip from freeing Aurora—or had tried to, at least. A smile passed over her face, but it quickly faded as she realized this dragon was much tougher than the last one. Even with the clear exhaustion, Maleficent pushed them to the limit. Must be the living darkness that was in her.

If it came to an endurance contest, they weren’t going to win. Ven and Elrena had already been through who-knew-what to escape Maleficent. While she, Terra, and Lauriam hadn’t been fighting until Maleficent showed up, constructing that portal had taken a lot out of them. She didn’t know if summoning those Dream Eaters had taxed Lauriam at all, but she wouldn’t be surprised if it had.

Think! She chided herself. She was the Keyblade Master here. It was her duty to banish darkness, but right now, the best plan they had was to give the darkness a form they could defeat in Maleficent. Lauriam, bless his cunning, had done half of it, but there had to be a way to end this fight, and soon. Even the light from earlier hadn’t completely taken her out. But it had been super effective. Was it just the sheer overwhelming amount that had made that light more effective than the spells she used?

“Not on my watch!” Ven sped past on his Keyblade, carrying a torrent of wind that extinguished a wall of flame that was perilously close to where Elrena and Terra hacked away at one of Maleficent’s legs.

Think! Aqua forced herself to eye Maleficent as her lizard head rose and screeched down at Lauriam.

“That all the fire you’ve got?” Lauriam laughed, though Aqua noticed a catch and strain in his voice, “Vexen had more of a flame in him than that!”

In response, Maleficent sent a wave of lime green fire directly at Lauriam’s face. Aqua stared through the flames and caught sight of something wrapped around Lauriam. A barrier. Aqua breathed a sigh of relief, but gulped as she realized this particular barrier was not one of her magic shields, but a wall of thorny vines, which were, in fact, quite flammable. She sent a surge of water to douse the pile before it cooked Lauriam alive.

Think! Maleficent kicked the others aside like ragdolls in one of her spasms of speed. Aqua rushed forward as a singed Lauriam shoved the remains of his barrier from him, gritted his teeth, and glared up at Maleficent.

“HOW?!” Maleficent’s voice had a strange echo, as if the sound didn’t come from her mouth. Smoke crept up from her jaws as she strained her unnatural, detached voice, “WHY DO YOU STILL STAND?!”

“Because I’ve finally got something worth standing for!” Lauriam pointed his Keyblade directly at her, “Something you and the Darkness took from me back in the Age of Fairytales!”

“Yes, I remember,” Maleficent and the Darkness spoke as one, “That rage that filled your bones and shone through your eyes…but we knocked you down then, and you stayed down…”

“It’s not just that,” Lauriam huffed, a hand over his chest, “That anger, that fear, that’s what you wanted me to feel. She warned me about that. But that’s not what I was after, and I know that now. Hate isn’t what I sought and craved, though trust me, I have plenty of it!”

He aimed his Keyblade directly at Maleficent’s chest as a glow came from all over him, “Maybe rage is a consequence of love. Maybe holding onto that rage gives you strength. But at the end of the day, what I hold on to, what I feel for my sister, for my friends, for Elrena, for my home, is something you can never even hope for. What I feel is love and all that stems from it!”

Maleficent raised her head above them and reared on her hind legs, her wings stretched over the whole sky. “I will not be defeated by something so insignificant!”

But she had. She had been defeated by it even while screaming she wouldn’t, even while she met her fate.

“Insignificant?” Lauriam shot back, “Perhaps intangible, but so is your darkness! That doesn’t make either any less real, no matter what form each takes.”

“That’s it…” Aqua muttered. That was the answer! What else were connections for, after all? They’d helped her get herself and Lauriam out of one tricky situation, so why not another? Had she not just seen an example of it? But how on earth had it been done?

“I know such a sentiment was once foolish to me, but that was only because I couldn’t remember feeling it.” Lauriam spoke to Maleficent as he slowly backed up. “And now that I do, I feel sorry for you, Maleficent.”

“I do not need pity from a worm like you!” Fire and smoke spouted from Maleficent’s jaws, “You don’t mean anything you say you liar, you traitor, you failure of a Dandelion and Union Leader! You couldn’t even be a proper brother!”

Aqua wanted very much to smack Maleficent then and there. With everything she’d seen and felt today, the one thing she was certain of about Lauriam was that he loved his sister. Aqua forced herself to slow down, though, and approached the two from the side.

“You speak as though I ever sought for your approval or would have valued it if I had,” Lauriam barked a laugh and aimed his Keyblade again. He unleashed blasts of pink light that struck her snout, petals falling in their wake. “And yet I still pity you.”

Maleficent slammed her claws into him, but Lauriam ducked behind his stone and vine barrier. After which, he promptly climbed atop it to better shout at her. “Back when we were Nobodies, we had the excuse of not having a heart. We couldn’t feel, not at first. Even so, some of us managed to rebuild them, feeling love anyways. You have a heart, clear enough, but I don’t know if you’ve ever felt love. So, even though I will destroy you,” he smirked up at Maleficent, “I can’t help but pity you.”

Aqua had to admire his boldness, and she couldn’t help but agree with most of his sentiments. However, she began to sorely wish he would temper his theatrics with a bit of sensibility. Courage did not equal immortality, and that truth knotted her stomach in dread as the dragon’s screech shook even the wall of fire.

Maleficent raised her claws high, rage pouring off of her with pure darkness that couldn’t escape her form, “I WILL TEACH YOU PITY, BOY!”

“Lauriam, move!” Aqua grabbed him and tore him away as Maleficent’s darkness-tainted claws ripped through the pile of stones and vines. They weren’t going to make it; she was too fast—

CRACK! WHOOSH! BANG!

A huge whirl of wind and bolt of lightning struck Maleficent and caused her to jump back in confusion and pain. Some of the flying debris ignited and knocked into her eyes. Aqua and Lauriam drew back several more steps as Elrena and Ven huffed beside them from the effort of their joint spell, which Aqua could only rightly call a force of nature. Lightning and wind should have cancelled each other out, not boosted each other in this way. This was something more than she’d ever seen before. But it had clearly come at a cost. Ven bent halfway to the ground, and Elrena actually fell to her knees. They'd used up so much magic, and yet, together, they'd still had enough for that level of spell.

Terra added several spells of his own to prolong their brief reprieve. Those few seconds let everything snap into place in her head. Aqua raised a magic barrier as claws and flames and jaws barreled down on them. Her barrier held, but Aqua had to reinforce it with another. It wouldn’t give them much time, but it would have to be enough.

“Everyone okay?” Ven pushed himself off his knees.

Aqua pulled her helmet from her head, “Better than okay. I know how to defeat Maleficent!”

All of them stared with a mix of exhaustion and desperate eagerness.

Chapter Text

“Back in her original world, Maleficent was defeated when Prince Philip came to rescue Princess Aurora, and the Three Good Fairies empowered his sword.” Aqua explained to the group around her as some sat and some stood. She wasn’t sure how long the barrier would hold, especially with Maleficent’s attacks, but she had to make sure they all understood. “I didn’t know at first how that would help us, but then I remembered what you said, Elrena.”

“Me?” Elrena raised an eyebrow as she leaned back on her hands, “What did I say that you thought important enough to pay attention to?”

Aqua decided to ignore her tone. And words. And body language.

“You said Maleficent wouldn’t avert her fate—to be destroyed by love.” Aqua also ignored the callous look Elrena shot her. “And Lauriam, when you shouted at her, I knew how we could replicate that fate.”

“You mean about Strelitzia?” Lauriam brushed ash from his coat. His eyes slowly widened as he caught on, “Do you mean…to fight without hatred? Or rather, I guess it would be to fight for your love instead of for your hate?”

“Not really following you here,” Elrena glanced between Aqua and Lauriam.

“I’m not sure I am, either,” Terra frowned, “Aqua, what are you asking us to do?”

“The same thing we’ve always done,” Aqua smiled, “We’re going to use our light to destroy this darkness. And I know how to do that now. We’ve given the darkness form, and now we have to give our light form with our connections. Ephemer already modeled it for us, as did Elrena and Ven with their joint spell.”

“There’s some irony,” Elrena smirked, a finger on her cheek as her arm rested against her bent knee, “and from you, of all people.”

“What’s that mean?” Aqua felt her hackles rise. How could Elrena annoy her so much when they’d only spoken a few minutes? But she had been the one to give her part of the answer, and she was the one who helped Ven escape. Whatever else was true about her, she was definitely an advantage to their side. In combat, at least.

“A Keyblade Master asking us to use love as a weapon.” Elrena shook her head, a dark look deep in her eyes. Her voice lost the high lilt and took on a grating edge. “Though of course you guys would best understand its destructive power.”

“No, not to destroy,” Terra shook his head as he looked down at Ven, whose eyes had not left Lauriam since they circled up, “to protect.”

“To protect,” Ven echoed with a smile as he pushed himself back to his feet. Light above, he had such a bright face. Aqua found it a little easier to take a deep breath.

“So…how exactly do we plan on doing that?” Lauriam asked.

Aqua looked at each of them in turn, “I’ll be honest, I’m not entirely sure what’s going to happen, but we need to trust each other. We need to make a connection, all of us to each other. If we do that, I think we might be able to use our connection to give form to our collective light, as Ephemer did. We could make it more powerful than any of our individual light, as Elrena and Ven did with their spell. It’s scary, but that connection is what allowed me to wake you up, Lauriam, and it’s the only plan I’ve got left.”

All of them shared uneasy glances, but not as awkward as they might once have. Their hard looks softened as they took in each other’s injuries. Elrena sighed as she unwound her arms from her legs and rose, and a steadiness came over her that didn’t seem to have to do with her standing upright. She glanced upward and froze.

“I don’t know that she’s giving us much choice,” Elrena gestured to the giant dragon.

All of them flinched as Maleficent’s wings beat the air. She rose higher and higher. All of them could feel her palpable hatred boiling to take itself out on them, a hatred made worse by her injuries.

Elrena bit her lip and glanced at Terra and Aqua, “But even though I’ve known you two for about five minutes, I’m pretty sure you’d want to protect Ven.” She jerked back from a blast of fire that glanced off the barrier. Why were her eyes so wide? Didn’t she know it would take a bit more than that to get through the barrier? Even with Maleficent’s animal-like rage, Aqua’s shield wasn’t about to yield to mere flames.

Elrena caught Aqua’s stare, and her shoulders tensed. She clamped her jaw shut and forced her shoulders down. “Look, I don’t have much light to offer, especially not now, but it’s what I’ve got.” She extended her Keyblade. “So, if you think it’ll work…I’m in.”

Aqua stared at the blade for a moment, then at Elrena. Of everyone who could have raised their Keyblade first, it was her. Her eyes were slightly red around the edges and more than a little panicked. Her arm and blade trembled just a little, but she didn’t back down. Aqua hesitated. She had so many questions and not a second of time to even form them. But it was probably better that way, as it let her do what she’d done in the Realm of Dreams when she’d also had all questions and no time. She latched onto Elrena’s comment about her, Terra, and Ven.

“I think,” Aqua locked equally frightened eyes with her, “that’s the one comment you’ve made that I completely understand.”

She raised her Keyblade and brought the tip next to Elrena’s. The fear in both their eyes took shape in Aqua’s mind. Elrena was terrified of Maleficent, of the fire, of her own heart. Aqua was terrified of losing herself, of losing her friends and life, of it being all her fault again. Elrena knew that now.

Elrena could hurt her like this. Connections with Keyblades could be disastrous. But it was connection, and that’s what got Aqua through the fear before. She stared into Elrena’s eyes one more time. She tried to be less afraid, to nurture whatever purpose she needed to move through the fear anyways. Elrena had used such a purpose to reclaim her Keyblade.

A circle of light appeared between their Keyblades. A tiny bit of the current she’d been immersed in during Lauriam’s dream rushed over Aqua. It ran even through her armor. Both of their blades steadied.

Lauriam smiled, “I’m not sure how much light and darkness is mixed up in my love, especially with what I’ve done.” He raised his Keyblade to join theirs, and the light grew a fraction brighter as Lauriam gazed at Ven, “But I will make sure you’re all okay. My aim is for real freedom this time.”

“You’ve certainly proved yourselves so far,” Terra smiled at Ven, then Lauriam and Elrena. He raised his Keyblade towards the light. “So whatever happens, let’s stand with and for each other. That will be our purpose.”

“Alright!” Ven spun his Keyblade around, “Let’s show her what happens when she messes with us!”

They looked at one another. They raised their Keyblades higher. The light grew as it rose on the peaks of their blades. This was not a spell any of them knew, but all of them knew connection. They knew their enemy needed to be dealt with, even if it was for the last time.

Maleficent screeched outside their barrier, lashing at it with her claws and sending webs of cracks over it. Her golden eyes fixed on the orb like a shark to a lure. They all focused their magic, and the golden-white light of the orb mixed with traces of blue, green, orange, rose, and teal. Maleficent shattered the barrier with the full impact of her dragon form, but they miraculously held their ground.

“Now?” Elrena hissed through gritted teeth.

“Not yet,” Aqua replied. She didn’t know what they were waiting for, but the spell wasn’t right. They were missing something…C’mon, this had to work. They had to pool all their light together into one form, one focus.

Aqua glanced to where Terra and Ven were, and she could feel their hearts beating like her hand was on their chests. But that wasn’t enough. There were five people performing this spell, not three. Aqua closed her eyes and felt along the current. Her armor truly felt like it belonged to some other part of her now, but unlike in the Realm of Dreams, the heaviness of the armor was an anchor. It was something to connect back to when her mind wandered in the current she’d once again stepped into.

Connection. That was the power of Keybearers. Aqua looked around her at her new allies. How quickly Ven had jumped in front of Elrena to protect her from Maleficent. That degree of devotion and anger didn’t come from nowhere, not even with Ven. Aqua hadn’t had a choice about letting Elrena protect Ven in Maleficent’s castle, but they would not stand in each other’s way now.

The list was too long to even begin to detail what Lauriam had done to get Ven back, protect Ephemer’s city, and even to protect them. They needed connection—she needed connection—and for better or worse, if you wanted to connect, you had to reach back, to lower the walls around the connections you already had. After all, when Scala was cut off, wasn’t it just a dead, frozen world?

And really, why was she stalling? She’d already given them a chance, and they more than took it. She smiled as the light in them that she hadn’t seen at the start grew brighter. Slowly, gradually, she began to feel their magic, their hearts, pulse in time with hers. The connection that pulled Lauriam from his dream and the connection that gave her and Elrena a way past their fears wrapped together. The light grew, and the current swirled around Aqua with such wild crests and valleys that she had to glance at Terra and Lauriam to rest assured it was okay.

Maleficent rose again, leathery wings flapping. Instead of any one of the Keybearers, her entire focus centered on the orb. Teeth gnashed against primal roars as she glared at it. Her tail lashed out as their orb grew even brighter. It rose above their heads as it deflected her tail.

The heat from the ball pricked their skin. Acidic, mildewy sweat slid down their foreheads, but none of them broke concentration. Each of them called up as much light as they could. The currents of dreams and their connection swirled around them.

Memories from each of them made up this orb, the happiest and the saddest they could recall. Reunions and promises and the sweetest average days laced together by the people who had shared them. Each Keybearer felt a tug at their hearts as layers peeled away. Pure energy crackled over all of them. Though it was uncomfortable, they kept at it.

“Now?” Terra asked.

“No,” Lauriam grimaced. Something was still missing. He could feel his ties to Elrena, as well as the dormant ones to Ven slowly awakening. It was like he could feel their heartbeats. With a start, Lauriam also felt another tie. Two, actually.

As they all melted together, he felt the rush of energy and connection he’d only felt in the Realm of Dreams. They were here to protect this city and protect their friends. The current swirled around him, heightened by their bond, yet still without form. The scale and depth of this power worried him a little. How long could they keep building it if they didn’t channel it soon?

They had a shared goal, they had shared light, but they lacked one specific focus to snap this raw light into what it needed to be. And not even their nascent bond could hold this much power forever, particularly not as it generated more.

With the strength of connection and the Realm of Dreams, Ephemer had been able to call up and give form to the ones Lauriam and Elrena had laid to rest. They came to deliver one last insult, to strike back at what had undone them before. That purpose was good enough for them, but it wasn’t quite what Lauriam needed with these four.

Above, Maleficent screamed, a jet of darkness bearing down on them. They raised their blades higher still, the orb of light ascending, crashing against the darkness and pushing it back. Their spell struggled in the air, sometimes advancing and sometimes repelled. Slowly, though, their orb began to sink, and they all had to use both hands to keep their Keyblades up. The pressure of the darkness made the orb and light begin to falter, the cracks of the uncertain form widening as the five of them struggled to keep harmony.

“Cower before the unending powers of my darkness!” Maleficent did not let up on the dark blast.

“NO!” all of them shouted at once.

Lauriam reached out, feeling a strength shared between himself and Terra and Aqua. They cared about Ven as much as he did. And Elrena had already proven their connection well exceeded even that. He needed to make sure Maleficent would never touch this city or his friends again. He would not be weak and helpless again. Certainly not because of the darkness that had taken everything from him. That thing beneath hate, that would be his purpose, and he didn’t even care at this point what light or shadow came with it.

Aqua remembered the links she’d made in Lauriam’s mind, remembered his feelings, remembered how he’d helped them, all to keep Ven safe. She didn’t know Lauriam and Elrena that well, but she had seen what they were willing to do. They were Keybearers. Lauriam had been friends with Ventus, and he still wanted to be. Elrena had saved Ven, had faced someone who probably haunted her nightmares to do it. Aqua had also faced a dark fear, and all things considered, it hadn’t turned out that bad to have two more allies. Turns out Terra was right after all.

Terra stood his ground and tried not to break his own teeth as he gritted his jaw. There was a reason for his defiance, and he was sure of it. He was also sure of what a powerful thing Lauriam had taught him, and how grateful he was just to be near them all, to have Ven back, if only for a moment. He was even grateful to Elrena for her help in this, especially given what he’d seen between her and Maleficent. But she was still brave enough to face it for Ven and a hope of more bright days. This was their reason, their purpose. And he’d do this fight all over again just for one more day of it.

Elrena strained, the new blade—like the strange emotion pounding through her heart—familiar and yet alien at the same time. Maybe she’d finally be enough this time. Or maybe she still wouldn’t. Right then all she could think of was Ven reaching out a hand and Aqua raising her Keyblade to hers. At least she’d gotten Ven back to his friends. They seemed like good people. Better than some she’d known.

All of them thought the same thing. Without a doubt, they’d all known pretty terrible people. And pretty wonderful people. A person worth protecting.

Just at that moment, as the orb sunk down several more feet, it grew brighter. The waves of all their magic crashed and twisted together. The crests and valleys of their lives and hearts lined up. The light jumped in force and intensity. The resonance nearly shook them apart, probably would have if they had not all just found a reason to keep it together for a little longer.

Inside Ven’s mind, something clicked as the links between all five Keybearers shifted into alignment. He felt a bright, warm power center around him. Every single person here would give their lives for him. For a moment, the feeling he’d had ever since Maleficent spoke of his past disappeared.

This was where they’d killed Xehanort. The man was gone. Ven actually laughed, hands tight around his Keyblade as cracks spread across his armor. This was life without Xehanort! Ven didn’t need his past to cure that old pain.

Something about that assurance opened his mind. He kept his blade raised as his armor broke apart in the resonance of light. In an instant, the memories he’d repressed rushed back. His knees buckled, but he didn’t fall. While no one moved, he felt hands on his back that helped him to bear it.

He’d fought a Darkness before. He remembered the feeling of being closed in, the Darkness draining light from the already dim room. Ven remembered aching muscles and not-quite-dry tears on his cheeks. And the knowledge that he could fix this. That there was pure light in his heart.

Darkness feared the light. It feared it so much that it sought wildly to corrupt it however it could. Ven had light, and he didn’t even need to turn his eyes to feel the connection and care each person here chose to have for him.

The time had come to pay back what they’d given him. Ventus was their connection, and connections formed light. His gaze focused on the crack in Maleficent’s chest. The orb pressed down on him, and he felt his wrist snap into place. It didn’t hurt anymore.

“NOW!” Ven threw himself up with all his might.

His armor fell from his body as he smacked the orb upward. The orb shot through the stream of darkness and collided directly with Maleficent. She shrieked and roared at the same time. A bright shaft cut through the chest of the beast and out the other side. Beams of light emerged from the cut, slicing through Maleficent’s dragon form. More and more appeared as the creature gave a final roar. For a moment, no one could see.

+========+

Ven hovered in the air. He couldn’t see anything, only a void around him. But as the Darkness and Maleficent’s presence faded, the void turned from black to white. He felt the chill and rage as the body and the darkness around him disintegrated.

They’d done it. Aqua’s plan worked. It was finally over.

“Do you…think this is the end?”

That voice! It was familiar, the voice of Darkness, but not the one trapped in Maleficent…

“You wake the light…you wake the darkness.”

The thing in his heart stirred harder than ever, and this time, it didn’t stop until it broke through the ice. It shot all over his body in a barrage of waves Ven couldn’t even try to hold back. Hadn’t Maleficent said something about a darkness within him? Not Vanitas, but another?

“If you think the boy justified in his rage, imagine what I will do to you for striking down one of my kind…”

Ven reached out as weight and gravity began to take hold again. Dread filled his stomach. No one had actually seen the Darkness within him die. The Darkness in Maleficent and the fae’s own voice joined in even as they faded.

“What an ironic victory. You have accomplished nothing and saved no one. As you ended us, so too will your own ‘friends’ end you…one day soon.”

“No.” Ven gasped as he began to fall. Light and dark swirled around him, and if he hadn’t joined that giant orb of light before, he might have succumbed to the darkness then and there. But fragments of that light clung to him as he fell. “If you’re still here, we’ll be here, too.”

The other two voices faded, and the voice of the icy feeling ebbed away into the recesses of his mind and heart.

“My friends will be there for me…and I’ll be there for them.”

Other voices, other memories, rose up in Ven’s mind, to the point he couldn’t process any of them. Even light and dark ceased to have meaning. Ven could only let himself fall.

Chapter Text

When they could blink back perception again, all the Keybearers gasped. Twinkling stars of blue fell like snow. While the lux settled everywhere, Maleficent was nowhere to be seen, neither was the wretched Darkness. Not a spark of fire remained. Terra, Aqua, Elrena, and Lauriam looked at one another. For a few heartbeats, no one noticed anything.

“Ven?” Aqua noticed first.

“Ven?” Terra shoved hair from his face, “Ven!”

“Ventus, where’d you go?” Elrena rubbed her forehead, “What just happened?”

The two Chirithies jumped down from their perch and swept the area, calling out the boy’s name.

“VEN???” Lauriam’s breath hitched in his throat. Surely, Ven hadn’t…he’d been injured, why had they…but he’d be fine, surely…right?

“Look, that light up there—it makes a trail!” Elrena pointed upward.

Indeed, among the bits of lux that even now floated down, there was a faint paleness in the darkened sky, pieces of light twirling like dust motes in a ray of sun. The paleness arced down from a spot in the sky and curved towards the ground. They followed after it, down through the streets and to the main square at the foot of the hill. Back in the main plaza, they came upon an outdoor café with a now-tattered awning, a drowsy Keybearer nestled in it like a hammock.

“Ven!” Everyone spoke at the same time and in the exact same tone of relief.

With the help of chairs and tables, they reached the boy as he began to stir. His limbs twitched several times as his face pinched in pain. In the dim light, it took them a moment to notice the faint whisps of shadow that crept off him. They shared worried glances with one another.

“The Darkness in Maleficent,” Terra frowned, “Do you think…”

Lauriam didn’t know what to say, because a powerful memory stirred in the back of his mind. He flinched away from it, from the old emotions it brought up. Ven was in pain, and that wasn’t right, it wasn’t satisfying. All he could make himself do was help Terra untangle Ven from the awning. The two of them cradled him in their arms.

“Ven, hey, wake up!” Elrena shook him, a fierce edge to her voice, “After everything we’ve done, after we’ve finally, actually won, you are not going to be not okay now!”

“Come on, Ven,” Aqua squeezed his hand, “You’ve been through a lot, I know, but please, come back to us. We’ve got you. You’re okay.”

They all watched the boy anxiously as they climbed down from the furniture. But as Terra and Lauriam gently lowered Ven to the ground, the smoke dissipated, and a faint glow came over him. Yes, they hadn’t created such a large gathering of light for nothing.

“Wha—huh…where…” Ven moaned and rubbed his eyes as they set his feet on the ground.

“It’s alright, Ven, it’s okay,” Terra’s voice trembled, “We did it—we stopped Maleficent. You’re safe now.”

“R-really?” Ven groaned. His hands covered his face a moment, “B-but she said…some things, and my head…memories—!”

His voice broke as he looked up, his eyes wide in recognition of the pink-haired man before him.

“Lauriam…”

“You remember…”

Lauriam threw his arms around Ventus and held him close to his chest as Ven clutched at his cloak. Tears slid down Ven’s face as he sobbed, memories assaulting his mind uninhibited. Chirithy shoved himself in between them as he desperately attempted to stem the flow of recollection.

“Lauriam!” Ven shoved his face against Lauriam’s chest, “T-there were…there were others. The—the boy—Brain, hat? And the girl, the black-haired,” he gulped in a breath of air as he spluttered on, “S-Skuld? And Ephemer?”

“Yes, yes, those were their names, Ven.” The old flood of precious, protective emotions returning, Lauriam gently rubbed Ven on the back as his body convulsed in sobs. “Hold on. It gets better, I promise.”

“And the animal masks?” Ven gripped his sleeve tighter, “Our…those masks were…our masters?”

“Yes, that’s right, all five of them,” Lauriam replied.

“And…and…NO!” Ven couldn’t speak for a moment, and Lauriam leaned in close and whispered into his ear.

“Stay with me. I know it’s hard. I know.”

“They’re gone,” Ven whispered back, “They…the war. It happened. The Age of Fairytales…”

Taking a deep breath, Lauriam nodded a little, “Yes.”

As Ven stumbled through more memories and questions, Lauriam supplied information and confirmation to help Ven through the worst of it. Elrena knelt by his side, her warm hand on his shoulder.

Lauriam glanced over at her and the grey fuzzball on her head. Elrena smiled shyly and pulled her Chirithy into her arms. Lauriam breathed a sigh of relief and gave Ven a tight squeeze as the boy took in one last gasp, finally able to settle down.

Terra and Aqua drew close, and after the first shock, after Ven had begun to process all that Lauriam and Elrena had already remembered, they were quiet for a moment. Lauriam forced his aching muscles to draw himself up, gently pulling Ventus with him. The poor kid must hurt even more than he did. The last time he’d tried to use his light against the Darkness, Lauriam hadn’t seen him awaken. The last time…

Oh no. It was time to deal with that now. Perhaps that was what the old memory had truly warned of. The battle with Maleficent was over, but from the looks on Terra and Aqua’s faces, things still weren’t clear. They weren’t even clear to him. A shiver clawed up his spine.

“I think,” he took a deep breath, “you two are owed an explanation.”

“That would be appreciated,” Aqua’s tone was clipped, but he could see the relief on her face at Ventus’ safe return. She gently rubbed the top of his head, and Ven leaned into her touch. “And, forgive me if I’ve got this mixed up, but did you mention something about the Age of Fairytales? What do you know about that?”

Oh. Right. Lauriam had mentioned time travel, but not the era they came from.

“Better get comfortable,” Elrena waved them towards the café’s tables and chairs, “This is gonna be a long story.”

+========+

And indeed it was. It was a sad tale, one of Lost Masters, obsession with light, a gathering of hope, only for that last resort to fail. It was a story of friendships and betrayals, of secrets and terrible truths, of light and darkness, of the best and the worst in Keybearers, and how thin the line between them all really was. It was the story of the First Keyblade War, the story of the Dandelions.

It was Lauriam’s, Elrena’s, and Ventus’ story.

“And then we all met Brain on the hill,” as Ventus related his part of the tale, and his voice halted. Lauriam knew why, even if the others didn’t. He clenched his hands and stared a hole in the table.

“Brain told me my name,” Ven stopped cold, his eyes vacant, “My name wasn’t on the list. I…wasn’t chosen by Master Ava?”

Lauriam felt Ven’s eyes on him, and he could only nod. Ven gulped. Whimpers escaped his throat. He screamed, clutching his head as he fell from his chair. Terra and Aqua bolted up. Elrena stared in horror at Ven. Lauriam reached out a hand to steady him.

“I-I,” Ven’s chest heaved as his eyes widened in realization, “I killed your sister!”

“No.” Lauriam’s hand trembled in the air, “No, Ventus…it wasn’t you.”

“But it was my Darkness!” Ven clutched his hair and shook violently.

“It was sentient Darkness,” Lauriam wasn’t sure what his voice sounded like, it was all far away, “like the one we just killed.”

“But it killed her for me,” Ventus slammed his fist into the hard cobble, “Strelitzia is dead because of me! I killed her, Lauriam.”

What happened next was quick, too quick for thought. Lauriam stood up so fast his chair hit the floor. His dark cloak whirled as he turned on Ventus. All his reserves cracked, emotion flooded every feature as he fell—

And wrapped his arms around Ventus.

Tears slid down his cheeks. Anger burned in his heart at himself, at Darkness, at the Foretellers, and even at Ventus. But he clung to his friend. Clung to the boy just as lost as he was. Clung to the one who’d betrayed them without even knowing it. Clung to the child who had no way to fix the destruction he’d wrought.

“Those days in Daybreak Town, even though it was only data, are some of the happiest I have.” They had been friends; that much was true. They’d lost everything; that was also true.

“Ventus…I…ah—I…” Lauriam struggled to force words out his throat as his fingers dug into Ven’s hair and clothes. Somehow, through his spinning head, heavy chest, and closing throat, Lauriam drew in breath. His sister, his precious baby sister, was gone. Ven was partially to blame; someone had to pay for this.

But Strelitzia had never been one to inflict pain, not if there was any other way. And…Ephemer wouldn’t have wanted this, for him or Ventus.

Even after all the pain the Foretellers had caused, even after all the unfairness in his life, Ephemer always focused on rebuilding. And look at what he’d been able to build because of that: an entire world, and countless other worlds owed their existence to him.

Even if he wasn’t sure about Strelitzia, he knew what Ephemer would want. If not for Ventus and not for his own sake, did Lauriam not owe those two that much? Had he not known ever since he recovered his memories what he had to do? Hadn’t he known even back in the basement as he cradled Ven’s unconscious body?

“Ven,” Lauriam tried again, “Ventus, I—I know why you did it.”

“Parsimonious skimper! And you don’t even have the decency to make it look arduous!” Strelitzia’s voice berated him, demanded more of him with that stupidly long vocabulary even he couldn’t match. Could his kid sister not give him a break?! But she wasn’t wrong…was she? How could Lauriam be so sure this is what she would want from him when less than a year ago he didn’t even remember she existed? Would she really be okay with him comforting her murderer?

An icy feeling worked in his chest, just like Terra had described earlier. Lauriam raised his face and locked eyes with the man. Terra didn’t say anything, but his face was set the same as it had been when they stood before the portraits, when he asked about Lauriam’s purpose.

He knew. His heart knew it. She never wanted him to hurt…well, except maybe that one time he threatened to tell Player she had a crush.

 Lauriam snorted, but it sounded garbled and strained through his clogged throat. There was a flutter of joy against the sinking current of ache. Lux above, would this ever go away?

He knew what to do, and Lauriam carefully took in his breath a third time. His voice lowered, but he managed this time, “Ven…”

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry,” Ven’s body trembled, “Lauriam, I’m sorry what it did to her. I’m sorry it nearly killed all the Union Leaders. I’m sorry it’s still inside me!”

Lauriam froze. For a moment, that perfect clarity of what he had to do clouded over. Ventus was one thing, but the Darkness that was still inside him? Nestled right beneath him the whole time? Even at this very moment?

His fingers itched to perform their function. Emotions pounded in his brain, the old desire to put his hands around the throat of the one who was free. He found his hands on Ven’s shoulder…he pushed the boy away from his chest. The fury, the heartbreak, Lauriam just wanted it all to be over.

Elrena’s hand clutched Lauriam’s shoulder. Just like the phantom that had clutched his fist so long ago.

This was going to hurt. It was hurting now. And that hurt and fear and anger was exactly what the Darkness that had taken his sister wanted him to feel. Lauriam was not going to let it win. It was not going to hurt him or any of his friends again. This time, Lauriam could be the one to stop it.

Even now, with the ire burning in his chest, emotions and revelations too hot and new to handle, Lauriam felt a warm, safe spot in his heart soften. Lux above, he loved this kid. He loved Ephemer. He loved his little Bird of Paradise, too; she was his purpose for being. And he loved that Elrena reminded him of all of them and more.

“I forgive you,” Lauriam said, “whatever your part in this. It’s over now, Ven.”

Something tore inside his heart. It was both the most painful and most liberating thing he’d ever experienced, his recompletion included. Elrena again squeezed his shoulder. Things settled, something had been irrevocably decided, but Lauriam still wasn’t sure who or what had won. The burning anger that longed for a single, tangible target had receded, though it lingered like smoke and embers from a bonfire. And in place of the raging blaze, there was something calmer, something still sore and sorrowful, but not a numbness that felt like nothing would ever fit again to the point he lashed out at anything just to try and make it fit and make sense.

She’d asked him to let go of the anger in his heart. He’d worried that meant letting go of his love. Hate and love, undeniably, came from the same place, but maybe they didn’t have to come in equal amounts. His love for his sister hadn’t diminished one bit…the ache and grief were still there, threatening to resurface the moment he lowered his guard, but maybe that was love. Love meant being in pain when you lost someone. It meant you were hurt and still forgave them. It meant you got angry but didn’t let it overcome you. It meant you focused on your goal even when it hurt and changed what you thought was a core part of yourself.

Lauriam managed to take a deep breath and finally loosen his hold on Ventus’s shoulders. Lauriam hesitated, but forced himself to look down. Ven’s eyes were red-rimmed and filled with tears. Remorse as deep as anything Lauriam had felt painted his features, and Lauriam’s heart threatened to break yet again. But he’d said the words. He had forgiven him and let go of the anger in his heart; if not fully, then at least he’d begun to.

“And, Ventus…” he looked away, “I owe you an apology. I am so sorry for what I did, the way I lashed out at you and the others.” He took another deep breath and curled a hand over his heart. “I…I don’t want that thing in you. I’ll help get it out of you, whatever it takes. I promise.”

Ven rubbed at his eyes as he forced his tired lips to curve up, “Th-thank you. And I…I forgive you, too.”

Elrena leaned in closer to them, “We already beat one of those things. We’re not leaving you with another one.” She hesitated before she slowly reached out a hand to Ven. “I told you, I like getting rid of pain. Might as well try getting rid of it in someone else.”

Ven smiled at her, and her lip flicked upward. He took her hand and shook it. Lauriam was not entirely sure what just happened, but he had a feeling their time in Maleficent’s castle held much more than he supposed.

Terra nodded solemnly from where he and Aqua had risen from their chairs, “You know we’re more than ready to help defeat what remains of Vanitas.”

Ven shook his head vehemently, a fist over his chest. “No, it’s not Vanitas. What took Strelitzia away, what tried to get the Union Leaders… It’s like what we just faced, but instead of inside Maleficent…”

Aqua put a hand on his head. “It doesn’t matter what form the darkness takes. It doesn’t matter if it tries not to have a form at all.” Her voice rose with a power and confidence Lauriam had never heard from her. She smiled as a determined look rested in her eyes, the same determination he'd remembered in his own master's eyes once. “We know how to face it, and no matter the darkness, inside or outside, we’ll face it together.”

Lauriam, in that moment, without a doubt, knew things were going to get better. For all of them. This knowledge gave him the strength to force his lips upwards, though regret—for so many things—hung in his eyes.

Ven gazed at him, and Lauriam knew he understood. He turned to Elrena. She looked away, a hand gripped on the back of a chair. The road ahead of her would be a hard one. Though she would never admit it, she cared about what had happened. And as much as they’d tried, this place and time were still so, so far from home.

“Elrena,” Lauriam spoke her name, and in it was so much—a memory, a promise, a plea.

Her eyes met his, and everything else ceased to matter except the pain he saw there. He didn’t want to think about how long it had been there without his notice. He reached a hand towards her, and Elrena, too exhausted to even try to feign indifference, rushed to his side. She took his hand and let him pull her next to him. Her head fell against his shoulder. He faintly registered Ven’s withdraw and other low voices, but Lauriam didn’t pay them any attention. Every ounce of focus went into catching Elrena’s quiet words.

“I—she…” Elrena sucked in a gasp of air, “This kid…Lauriam, I won’t do anything, not if you tell me not to. But…he’s not a bad kid.” Her words tumbled out of her mouth. “I don’t know that she and I could be called friends…I don’t know what we were. I never knew what was going on. And now it’s all…it’s still…Please, tell me—make me,” she growled and pressed her face into his shoulder, “make it stop…”

Lauriam gently stroked her hair, her antennae lifting back into place as his hand passed over them. Lux, that simple brush felt better than he’d imagined. He felt her stiffen a little at his touch, but after a moment, she relaxed again, her eyes on the ground.

“I know you’re hurt. I know you've been through a lot.” Lauriam gently moved hair from her face. “But we’re together again. I promise, Elrena, it will get better.” She wouldn’t walk that long, hard road alone. Not when she’d stuck by him through his. “You taught me that.”

“Me?” her voice broke a little as she pulled her head back, “Taught you what? How?”

“Everything you’ve been through, you didn’t need to. You didn’t need to help me find her, you didn’t need to follow me, and you certainly didn’t need to go after Ventus. But you did.” He cracked a smile at his own foolishness, “I realized today I never bothered to question why. Is it because of my sister?”

Elrena’s face went very pale, then very red as she looked away, “Well, I mean, I promised I would…” She stared hard at the ground as her Chirithy claimed her lap and limp hands. The Dream Eater gently nudged her. Elrena added, “You asked me to.”

Huh, Baldr was right. Lauriam put his hand on her back and felt the tremors from her shallow breath. “Thank you, Elrena, for staying with me, for showing me what really caring meant. It saved me today, saved me back when I faced Baldr, even back in Daybreak Town. I’d like that to keep happening.”

She hugged her Chirithy and pressed closer to his side. Her voice was so quiet now he had to put his ear to her lips to hear it, “Lauriam, I—I don’t know if, well, that is…urgh!” She buried her face in Chirithy’s fur. “Don’t! Please…”

Lauriam tilted his head down at her, but she avoided his gaze. “What is it you fear about begin given the very thing you’ve given me endlessly?”

“Because it won’t last. It isn’t what I think. And I can’t handle it.”

“Not true!” her Chirithy said, “Elrena, don’t you remember really, really far back, what it felt like to know someone was there for you? Don’t you remember how you brought me back?”

“I remember how much it hurts to be left behind!” She clenched her fists against her arms.

Lauriam took another deep breath, “It does hurt. But I think it’s worth it. I know you showed me how to keep going even when it does hurt.” He snorted, “Honestly, with how obvious and often you stuck with me, you’d think I would have noticed sooner. I should have when Baldr took you. But I was so focused on getting you back, I didn’t realize how much you meant to me.”

“That’s your excuse? Aren’t you supposed to have some kind of silver tongue?” Elrena asked, but Lauriam didn’t fall for the distraction.

“The best I’ve got,” he gently pulled her fingers into his, “All I can say now is please, Elrena, stay with me a bit longer. Now that I’m not a complete fool, I can show you that love in return.”

“I don’t know anything about love.” She winced at her automatic response.

“Loyalty, then?” Lauriam ran his hand over her hair again, with just enough pressure to tilt her head and meet his eyes.

“I didn’t do this to buy something from you!” she pushed him away and rubbed at her eyes. Her entire body clenched and curled inward.

Her Chirithy gently patted her knee, where she now perched, “But it’s still something you know to be valuable, possibly the most valuable. Do you really think you can see such value so clearly and not want it, at least a little? And since when have you let the fact of obvious danger stop you?”

Lauriam smiled as she slowly lifted her face to his, “And I know you didn’t do this as some kind of obligation or trap, Elrena. That’s the point, I believe. I want to give something back to you. Will you let me do that? I know I couldn’t stop you from giving it to me, and so I’d like to have your cooperation when I try to return it to you.”

“I…I guess,” she pressed her face into her Chirithy’s grey fur, snorting a little, “But, I mean, what would it even look like?”

“I can’t say what it’ll become. But I’ll tell you what I told you when we woke up here,” Lauriam’s voice steadied as an elation not quite like anything he’d ever felt before welled inside him, “We’re going to find a home, Elrena. We’re going to find my sister.” He stared into those startled, earnest, tired, and recklessly hopeful eyes. “And I promise you now, I’m going to stay with you. I want you to stay with me, too.”

Elrena’s face broke out in such emotion that she looked away and briefly buried her face in Chirithy’s fur. A tiny noise that might have been a squeak or something else escaped the muffling fur. But when she met his eyes again, her tone lightened a little, that beautiful spark of light deep within her flickering across her unguarded face. “If it were anyone but you, I wouldn’t believe it.” Her voice went quieter still as she leaned in so their foreheads brushed each other. “And…I wouldn’t believe how much a relief it could be to have someone read me right.”

Lauriam smiled and relaxed with an arm across her back as Elrena again leaned against his shoulder. How automatically he felt that she had always belonged there. And for the first time since Strelitzia disappeared, he truly felt he belonged there, too. Once again, a desperately-searched-for answer right under his nose.

A cough made him turn to Aqua and Terra, who approached them with Ven clutched close. They must have gone a few steps away to have their own conversation, and they’d clearly not fully processed all they’d just heard. To be fair, it still hadn’t sunk in for Lauriam.

Master Aqua’s hand covered her mouth, and her eyes were not dry. Conflict showed on her face. Lauriam found himself ready to move past that disturbing truth of Ven’s as quickly as possible. Not because he didn’t want to think about it, but because there were far more important things to him, one of which being the peace of mind of everyone in their group.

“It’s…not quite over yet,” Lauriam pulled Elrena up with him. He tried to speak, but found most of his remaining energy devoted to staying upright. The exhaustion from the fight, the revelations—the entire day, really—crashed over him.

“That darkness that hid in Ven, like the one Ma—” Elrena licked her dry lips. Lauriam squeezed her hand, and she went on, “Maleficent had, it showed up shortly after that meeting on the hill and attacked the Union Leaders.”

“We won,” Ven said, his eyes still a little unfocused, “But I fell asleep.”

Lauriam nodded. He couldn’t group his words together, but he could hold on to Elrena’s hand. Which of them gained more from it, he didn’t know.

“Even then, the data world started collapsing, and when Brain showed us the real one…” Elrena blinked her eyes several times and hardened her voice, “Well, we had to leave, and we had these pods that could get us out of the data world. Brain figured that their copies in the real world would take us through time. He put the three of us in them and sent us off first, just in case he couldn’t get the others out of the data world.”

“And so I could find my sister,” Lauriam found his voice again. He shared glances with Elrena and Ven.

“I guess you pretty much know how well that plan went.” Elrena held out her hands. “So, here we are.”

For some time afterwards, no one spoke.

“I-I didn’t know,” Aqua’s fingers curled in front of her bangs, “I had no idea. About any of this.” She glanced worriedly at Ven.

“None of us knew,” Lauriam shook his head, “And the way I responded…”

“You thought your sister was murdered by your friend.” Terra said, his voice surprisingly stable, though Lauriam could see pain in his eyes, and perhaps even a bit of fear and anger. “I can imagine the basics of what happened.”

“I understand if this makes you trust me less,” Lauriam said, “I’m not sure how you could let me near him after that.”

“I don’t know how I did,” Aqua rubbed her arm, “I just…couldn’t move. I don’t remember thinking or knowing you’d respond one way or another.” She looked at him, an old but waning wariness in her eyes. Renegade light snuck into her voice, “I guess, I just hoped.”

Terra knelt beside Ven. Ven hid his face, but Terra gently took hold of his chin, forcing him to meet his eyes.

“Ven,” Terra put his hands on Ven’s shoulders, “If you could forgive me for everything I did, you can be forgiven for this. We have all made terrible mistakes.”

Terra raised his head, looking at each of them in turn, even Elrena. Some of his hair stuck to a cut on his cheek, matted onto his skin with blood. Neither that nor any of his bruises shook the steadiness of his gaze.

“It hurts, I know,” Terra put a hand over his chest, “and it might hurt forever. But it’s time to leave all that in the past. I’m pretty sure there’s a future and a present we all want to get to together. If we’ll have one another.”

For a few moments, no one spoke. A light wind blew across the city, carrying faint creaks of windmills and flaps of awnings and flags. Lamps turned on, casting a white glow against the oncoming night. After everything, at last things were still, for a moment.

“Are you really asking that?” Elrena’s Chirithy flapped her ears angrily, “Last I checked, you’d already chosen each other for that Union Cross that beat Maleficent! Do you guys always need a dragon breathing fire down your necks to make friends?” She turned an accusatory glance at Elrena, “And if so, why didn’t that work for you before?”

The outburst startled everyone, but laughter followed on the heels of it. Aqua’s tired sigh wrapped up the response.

“I think,” she said as she looked around the group, “that it’s time for us to go home.”

They once again all agreed. But as they prepared to leave, each of them spared a moment to look back at Scala Ad Caelum. By now the sun had completely disappeared, and stars sparkled in the velvet blue sky. Still, that and the lanterns gave enough light to see the clocktower looming above and the buildings descending from it in blocky, elegant patterns.

Ven rubbed his Chirithy’s head as he followed his friends. So, even without Xehanort, Darkness was a part of his heart. What did it mean to do now? Ven wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen. A door had been thrown open that none of them could shut. The past would never be free of darkness. But right here, right now, and all the days following didn’t have to be. It was time to start life without Xehanort, and as Ven looked at each of his friends, he had a pretty good idea what it was going to look like. That was a present he could enjoy and a future he could chase after. It was enough to go forward, even into more darkness. Whatever the Darkness’s plan, Ven would find some way to make sure it never overcame any of his friends again.

Lauriam thought once again of his lost friend and the friends he’d found again. While he wished Ephemer could be with him as they rebuilt their lives, he had earned a good long rest. Lauriam turned away, smiling as he remembered Ephemer’s promise. Lauriam would certainly keep Ephemer close from now on, as well as his other friends. Maybe even a little closer than he ever had before. Lauriam was not at all opposed to the idea as he noticed Elrena draw close to him, her head so near but not quite touching his chest. The ordeal was over, but the need for comfort, for everyone, had just begun. He wrapped his arm around her. They would be free of it, with a real freedom and power this time. They would find a way to fit into new proper places again.

Elrena felt a tiny pang in her heart and held her Chirithy close to her chest. Even in the dim light, she could identify every building she’d been in and see clearly in her mind every street they’d walked down and every quite hour they’d spent here. She had a strange feeling she wouldn’t see this place again for some time. Of course she’d known everything would change when they went to see Ventus, but still… Elrena buried her face in the familiar grey fur and stepped a little closer to Lauriam than she needed to. She let him put his hand on her shoulder and lead her away as Chirithy nestled against her chest. She was tired. They were all tired. And for the first time in years, Elrena felt rest and peace begin to creep into her weary bones as she laid her head against Lauriam’s chest. There would be no nightmares tonight.

Aqua pursed her lips, head still whirling with all that had happened. To nearly lose Ven and then find out all this about the first Keyblade War and Daybreak Town and the Dandelions…it was a lot. Almost more than the entire rest of the day and their fight with Maleficent. But Aqua’s gamble had paid off. They had reached back. They had gotten Ven back—and two more Keybearers—and they would deal with whatever came next together. They were connected now. Perhaps not friends yet, but only time would tell if it remained so. For now, their connection was enough for them to cling to each other’s desperate hearts as the past shook their world to the core. Though it couldn’t stop the shaking, their connection gave them each other to hold on to.

Terra stared up at the clock tower atop the hill. That was where they had faced Xehanort for the last time. Now this world had become the resting place of Maleficent. And it was already the resting place of the entire world, in a way. It’s rebirth, too. So much in one world, so much in the life of his friend. So much to unravel and deal with. At least Terra knew he had allies and friends at his back, and he would be at theirs. They would make it through this, and there would be more of those bright days to reach for beneath the heartache. That would be their purpose. He smiled.

Lauriam used his Keyblade to make a gate back to the Land of Departure. All of them slowly walked towards the luminous portal, summoning their armor and flipping up hoods as they did. The silver moon rose in the sky as all of them disappeared into the swirling light. Eventually, the portal too disappeared and left the natural and artificial lights of the city to shine on their own. Perched on the tip of Ephemer’s Keyblade, a seagull gazed one more time at where the group had been before he spread his wings and glided off into the sky.

A lone figure cloaked in shadow watched them all. He lingered after they left. Finally, with a sigh, he uncrossed his arms and turned away.

“Guess that’s it,” he nodded to himself, “Now we know, and I figured out what to do with the Darkness I’d been saving all this time.” He glanced up at the seagull that circled and cawed above him. A corner of his mouth twitched, “Provided they can pack the punch of an entire reality’s light, seven times at once, the plan’s gonna work after all.”

Hearts really were strange things. They could hold trepidation and certainty, hopelessness and relief, and pain and eagerness all at the same time. The cloaked man let the shadow rise up and wrap around him.

Chapter Text

“Thank you for taking me here, Master Yen Sid,” Kairi nodded to the elder wizard beside her. They stepped across the massive tile circle in the courtyard, the lanterns illuminating the way towards the castle in the Land of Departure.

It wasn’t as large as Disney Castle or the one at Radiant Garden, but it still managed to look regal and impressive, with a note of antiquity that the other castles simply didn’t have. It held its own among the mountains around it and stood as if it knew it. Kairi, despite all she had seen in her life, felt a stillness creep over her. Maybe that was because of what this building, and those inside it, meant to her. The weight of her duty never felt so heavy as it did now when she approached to ask for help fulfilling it, to ask that help from those who’d spent their entire lives working towards that goal.

“Of course, Kairi,” Yen Sid’s voice snapped her from her reverie, likely for the best, “I believe you will gain much from Master Aqua, provided she agrees. I am sure her dedication and high standards will greatly increase your skill and experience. You will learn ancient traditions of Keybearers you were unable to with Lea. And with no impending war, there will be fewer surprises to interrupt your training.”

“And when I get stronger, I can join Riku and find Sora,” Kairi said, more to herself.

Yen Sid’s eyes darkened a little, “We shall simply have to wait and see. Remember, Quadratam is a world still largely unknown, and there may yet be more you can do on this side to aid us. While coming into your duties as a Keybearer, it will not do to forget your role as a Princess of Heart. It is best to proceed with caution, as we have done tonight.”

Kairi turned away to hide the very un-apprentice-like look of rebellion on her face. But she quickly controlled it and turned back to Yen Sid. No matter about that right now; time to change the subject to a less dangerous one.

“Speaking of which, did you ever figure out what caused that tremor?” Kairi rubbed her arms, “It felt like waves of light rolled over me, called in one direction first and then bursting out from the opposite. You said the stars shook in a way you’d never seen before.”

“Indeed,” Yen Sid stroked his beard contemplatively, “I have sensed a movement in the stars for some time now, though I cannot say from what exactly. Tonight was a culmination. Something tremendous has occurred, though it may take some time to find the cause and meaning.”

At that moment, there was a whoosh and a flash of light. Both Kairi and Yen Sid turned in surprise to the portal of light behind them. Five people stepped from the portal, three familiar faces and two in black coats. As the light settled and they dismissed their armor, Kairi and Yen Sid caught the last of their conversation.

“The portals do still work! I thought for sure we’d have to deal with the Heartless,” a voice that they were pretty sure was Ven’s spoke up.

“Just like old times,” the man in the black coat said, “Though I admit it does not feel old to me, in some ways, at least.”

“I still can’t fathom how old it is for us,” Terra rubbed his head and let out a long breath. “Not that I don’t believe you, it’s just…a lot.”

“I lived through it all and it’s still a lot for me,” the woman in the black coat massaged her head as she lowered her hood, “and if you think hearing about all that was bad, try remembering it! As if we didn’t have enough problems…”

“It’s been a long day for all of us,” Aqua sighed, “We can sort out specific details later—”

All of them abruptly noticed the two visitors. Yen Sid was rendered momentarily speechless.

“Master Aqua?” Kairi managed. They were all covered in scratches and bruises, and one of Aqua’s long blue sashes had been cut in half. Kairi cautiously took a step forward, ready to start casting Cure like crazy. “Are you alright?”

“We’re fine, Kairi,” Aqua pushed her way to the front of the group, “Master Yen Sid, there have been some…that is…Today…” she sighed and started over, “We found more Keybearers, and they know Ven. They also…well, you need to hear their story.”

“I can see you have some explaining to do,” Yen Sid sounded both exhausted and nearly furious, his gaze on the thorn-wrapped Keyblade clutched in the man’s hand.

“You know Ven?” Kairi peered around Yen Sid to stare at the Organization members. Her face hardened in recognition. Neither of them looked at her.

“Yeah!” Ven nodded enthusiastically. He bounded over to Kairi and began a rapid-fire account of the day as he pointed at the pink-haired man, “Lauriam was a Union Leader with me, but I wasn’t actually a Union Leader, but—” he glanced at the man, and a reassuring smile passed between them, “but we’re sticking together. Like we used to but better.”

He pointed to the woman, “Elrena I didn’t know as well, at least back then, but she saved me from Maleficent and—”

“Maleficent?” Yen Sid’s eyebrows raised, “When did that dark faerie get involved?”

“Don’t worry about her,” Elrena waved his concern away, “she’s not an issue.”

“Excuse me?!”

“We destroyed her,” Terra said as though he genuinely thought this would be helpful and comforting information. He put a hand on Lauriam and Elrena’s shoulders, though Elrena tensed a little, “and if it weren’t for these two, we might have lost Ven and Scala Ad Caelum. I might have been lost myself without Lauriam’s help.”

“Maleficent sought to defile the ancient city of Keybearers?!” Yen Sid narrowed his eyes, more particularly at Lauriam and Elrena, “Why did you not inform me of this at once?”

“Well, she didn’t even get close with all of Lauriam’s Dream Eaters!” Ven beamed at Lauriam, who smiled to the side in a mix of bashfulness and pride that reminded Kairi a bit of Riku, especially in his younger days. Kairi puckered her brow and stared harder at them all.

Yen Sid looked more perturbed and subtly moved an arm in front of Kairi, “When did you fight in the Sleeping Worlds?”

“We didn’t,” Ven shook his head with a frown, “at least, Elrena and I didn’t.”

“Surely, you do not mean to imply Dream Eaters were summoned to the Waking World?” Yen Sid shook his head decidedly, “Such a thing is not possible.”

Lauriam, Ven, and Elrena shared similar looks of confusion as they drew closer to one another. Terra gave Aqua an ‘I-knew-it’ look, but Aqua gestured an expressive hand at Lauriam. Elrena held out her arms, and a chubby grey cat materialized. Ven followed suit with the same result. Lauriam, Ven, and Elrena nodded to each other in a self-satisfied way. Yen Sid frowned deeper. Kairi rubbed her head, more lost than ever.

Elrena spoke to Lauriam quietly, though not quite in a whisper, “Hey, did you tell them about Baldr?”

Yen Sid’s face went first blank and pale, then one degree away from furious, “Who told you that name? What on earth could you possibly know about him?!”

“He isn’t a problem anymore, I assure you,” Lauriam held up his hands.

“Unlike me,” Ven clutched Chirithy closer.

“Why would you assume you’re the problem?” Kairi didn’t try to hide the irritation in her voice as she looked pointedly at the two in black coats. Of course, right when they'd just about sorted everything, more nonsense would occur. Lauriam put a hand on Ven’s shoulder, and Elrena bit her lip.

“Well, it’s not him, exactly, more what hitched a ride on him.” Elrena rushed to add, “But he’s a good kid, I swear. It wasn’t his fault!”

“Why on earth should you need to tell me that?!” Kairi tightened her fists, ready to start her training immediately. Lea had warned her about this, that they were prone to twist the truth into the opposite. She was just about done with that type, to the point she had her own strategy to deal with them, a strategy picked up from a lawyer game Riku used to like. “What exactly isn’t his fault? Why are you walking around with a Keyblade and another Chirithy? What are you two even doing here?” She jabbed a finger at her friends, “And what on earth did you put them all through?”

Master Aqua stepped between the two groups, her hands raised for quiet. The look on her face was as stern as when she’d lead them in the Graveyard. It was a firmer look than anything Kairi had seen on Lea in all their training. Aqua’s expression was deeper and stronger than hope, something born of battering. Yet there was also a calmness in it, as though she already knew everything was okay. Had Aqua ever looked like this, so confident and calm, even in the middle of such a mess? And was it really as bad a mess as Kairi thought if Aqua was so strangely relaxed?

As quiet settled over the group, Kairi looked again. Lauriam still had a hand on Ven’s shoulder, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Ven lowered his arm that he’d stuck out in front of Lauriam and placed it over the hand on his shoulder. Elrena still hovered near both of them, wound up a bit, but backing up just slightly. She’d been slightly in front of Ven. It was impossible to know if she’d done that to jump in front of Ven, but… Terra didn’t move to separate Ven from either of them. He seemed remarkably unruffled, all things considered. Lauriam squeezed Ven’s shoulder, his eyes on Aqua. She nodded at them, something on her face that, had it been anyone else, Kairi would have thought was gratitude.

Aqua clearly knew something (probably many things) that Kairi didn’t.  Kairi straightened and decided if she wanted to make a good first impression as a student, it was best to let Aqua take the lead. That had worked well during the War. And the strategy of ‘wait and see what they’re like’ had worked pretty well with Axel and most other recompleted people she’d met…that was the right call this time, right?

Kairi forced herself to relax and wait. Aqua waved them all towards the steps of the castle. She looked at Yen Sid but spoke to everyone.

“There’s a lot to talk about, but I assure you, these two can be trusted. Why don’t we all come in and sit down, and we can start from the beginning?” Aqua brushed a strand of hair from her face. “With those books reshelved, there should be plenty of room in the library.”

Ven’s head tilted a minute before his entire body stiffened in horrific realization.

“Uh, why don’t we use the kitchen?” Ven asked, “The, um, library might be a bit messier than you think.”

Aqua stared at him with tired understanding. “Very well then. Let’s head into the kitchen. Master Yen Sid, Kairi, we’ll explain all of what happened today,” She glanced at Terra’s blood-soaked cheek, “if you’re alright with us tending wounds as we do so.” She moved towards the stairs and waved both groups forward. “Ven, Elrena, you can also elaborate; we never got an account of what happened in Maleficent’s castle. We’ll explain what happened with us as well.”

At a rumble from someone’s stomach, Aqua playfully raised an eyebrow, “I see the kitchen will be the perfect place to gather. Lauriam, can you make your potato-cheddar-broccoli soup?”

“Oh, yes, Ephemer made sure I memorized it. Though it’s been some time,” Lauriam paused, a hand on his head, “Wait, when did I tell you…”

“You didn’t.” Aqua smiled to herself. “Not directly, at least.”

“Wait, you guys put broccoli in the soup?!” Ven gasped in a mix of sincerity and melodrama, “I was lied to?!”

“To be fair,” Lauriam rubbed the back of his neck, “We never said there wasn’t broccoli. And after a long day of being Union Leaders, no one wished to fight with a twelve-year-old about eating vegetables.”

Laughter rippled through the group as they all followed Aqua up the stairs and into the castle. With the initial shock and confusion over, an accord settled over them all with surprising speed and potency. Kairi wasn’t immune to it, but her eyes were still wide at all the implications and the obvious comradery among the group.

“What did I miss in my year of sleeping?!” She muttered to herself.

Ven rubbed at his red, puffy eyes, flashed a blindingly honest smile, and merely replied, “It’s a long story.”

Kairi took his hand as the doors to the castle slid open. She smiled back at him. “I want to hear every word of it. For everyone’s sake.”