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?