A Land of Departure Christmas

by Cran Rightia

On a day like any other, Terra, Ventus, and Aqua discover a book in the study detailing the history and traditions of Christmas. They decide to set up a celebration but quickly discover even the best of days can be the worst of days.

Introduction: The first Christmas after I played Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, the idea for this story came to mind. A close friend and I discussed it over the nights of Christmas like the losers we were, and between the two of us, we came up with a tone of great moments. The only problem was, it was December 26 when the idea really came to mind, and I insisted on postponing the writing until it was relevant again. One year later, I picked BBS up to get back into the spirit of things, and over the course of a week, I managed to churn this out between rounds of Command Board. It's not often that I get in the mood to write something, so I hope you'll laugh and smile as you read this little project I had fun with.

Written for a special friend. Sure, we bicker sometimes, and it's my sole purpose to make your life more difficult, but I wake up every day proud to call you my friend. I don't know what I'd do without you. Merry Christmas, and you'd better read this or I'll throttle you.

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts and all concepts and characters associated with or contained therein are owned by Square-Enix and/or Disney. This is a work of tribute and fun. Please play and support the franchise.

A Land of Departure Christmas

It was early morning in the castle. Ventus ran his fingers along the beige walls as he walked through the hallways with a skip in his step. Early to training, early to eating, as he always said. He hummed a tune with no name in rhythm to his own footsteps when he found himself in the foyer, but no one else was there. Perhaps it was a little too early. With a shrug, he continued through to the staircase behind the wall on the other side of the room. It would take him to the study where he figured one of his fellow apprentices would be.

And one was. Aqua was thumbing through a thick volume when the younger Keyblade wielder entered. She looked up and around a stack of books on the corner of the table when she heard the young man's song and the closing of the door. She gave him a light smile. "Good morning."

"Hey, Aqua!" was his chipper reply. He pulled one of the chairs from under the desk and plopped down in it. It'd been getting cold lately, but Aqua was still wearing her usual garb. "Have you seen Terra or the Master yet?"

Aqua shook her head. "Terra's supposed to meet me here about the commands he owes me. Master must still be on his morning stroll."

Ven crossed his arms over the top of his chair and rested his chin. "I don't get why Terra keeps challenging us to Command Board. He's easy to beat."

"That's because he's easy to trick," Aqua replied.

"So what're you reading?"

"Oh. Um…" Aqua blinked and glanced at the cover. "Detonation spells."

Ven looked at the shelf behind Aqua, then at the stack of books between them. "What did you do, rip out the whole row?" Aqua shrugged. Ven sat up and leaned forward on the chair's legs, reaching for a green book in the stack. "This about wind or…"

"Who are you calling easy to trick?" a great voice more declared than asked as the door flew open.

"Gah!" Ven cried, tipping over in his chair and bringing the stack of books down with him. Aqua jumped from her chair.

"Ven! Are you okay?" she asked, picking a book up off his face.

The younger apprentice groaned, propping himself on his elbows and shaking his head. "What kind of a delayed reaction was that, Terra!"

Dressed for war as usual, Terra crossed his arms. "The door was locked. How am I supposed to make a grand entrance when the door is locked?" Ven and Aqua stared incredulously. He sneered and reached his hand down to help Ven up. Ven shook his head and took it.

"Now look at all this," Aqua muttered, picking a book up off the floor. "Don't punish the books because of what I said." She set it on the table and bent down to get the rest. "And what if Ven had been hurt?"

"What an embarrassing way to go that would have been," Ven said, glancing at the table as Aqua started re-stacking the books, laying his eyes on one particular tome.

"Right. Sorry, Aqua," Terra replied simply. Even if he weren't disciplined enough to man up to his mistakes, it was no use starting an argument with Aqua. Besides, it was shaping up to be a good day. "But hey, I'll have to get those commands to you later."

"I need them. What's keeping you?" the blue-haired apprentice asked, stopping her work to confront Terra.

"I sort of melded them already," Terra said. Aqua paused, and then sighed.

"Was it at least worth it?"

Terra pinched the bridge of his nose. "Not likely! I had the right formula, but it turned into one of those useless 'rare' commands." Aqua face-palmed. "Wasted a gem on it, too."

"We should get to the throne room before Master gets back," Aqua said, turning to put the last book on the table. She and Terra blinked to see Ven with his nose planted firmly in the green book.

"What's that?" Terra asked, approaching the table to see.

"I'm not sure," Ven replied, staring intently and smiling from ear to ear despite himself. "But look at these lights. How cool is that?"

Aqua tilted her head to get a better look. "Oh…Oh! The History of Christmas," she remembered, running her eyes over the pages. Terra crossed to the other side of the table.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about the holidays," he said, leaning on the table and looking suddenly nostalgic. "Those were the days, huh, Aqua?"

"Mm. Cold nights by the fire with some hot chocolate…"

"High on the ladder setting up the lights…"

"The things we fore go for our training, right?" Aqua rested her chin in her hands.

"That's the price to chase the dream, I guess," Terra said, grinning. "Come to think of it, it's about that time of year, I think."

Aqua looked aside where a somewhat thorny device resembling a clock hung on the wall. "You're right. Today's the Eve." She looked back down to the book. "Kind of makes me wonder what my family's up to."

"My folks probably have the Go table set up," Terra said. "Nice clean Christmas fun without the bonus of losing all your commands, right?"

Ven looked up.

"What's Christmas?"

Terra and Aqua blinked. "What's…" Aqua started. "What's Christmas?"

Terra scoffed. "That's funny. You remember Christmas, don't you?"

Ven stared at him.

"I'm sure he doesn't, Terra," Aqua murmured with a touch of venom, staring a dagger into Terra's face. His eyes widened. He glanced at youngest apprentice, who looked blankly back.

"I, uh…Sorry!" Terra cried, scratching nervously behind his ear. "I forgot you forgot. I mean, I forgot you don't remember anything. About Christmas, I mean. Not that you remember anything else, but that's okay, too, and…"

Aqua glowered. "Terra, stop talking."

"Stopping."

There was a brief but incredibly awkward silence for a time. "So…" Ven piped back up, slowly turning to look at Aqua, "…what's Christmas?"

"Well, let's see," Aqua hummed, leaning back down to examine the book. She thumbed through a few pages, catching sight of depictions of lights, snow, trees, and a suspicious large fellow in red. "You know what holidays are, right?"

"Yeah," Ven replied. "I made you a card for Valentine's Day last year."

"Right-" Aqua blinked. "That was you?"

"Why didn't I get one?" Terra asked indignantly.

"I ran out of paper, so I gave you a command."

"You took it back!"

"You lost it in Command Board!"

"Anyway," Aqua cut in, stopping the two. Terra huffed and Ven looked back at her in anticipation. "Christmas is that day when…It's a time when people get together and celebrate with lights and caroling and…such."

"What are they celebrating?" Ven asked.

"Well, a lot of things," Aqua replied, thinking and staring at the book. "Giving and receiving, the end of the year. Most people I knew called it the birthday of the true light, so they pay tribute to that."

"But the kids just look forward to getting something from Santa Claus," Terra said.

"Santa Claus?" Ven repeated. "Who's that?"

"Here," Terra reached and turned to one of the pages Aqua had looked at. "See that man in the red suit?" Ven read the captions and nodded. "They say he works all year making toys and effects, and then, on the night of Christmas Eve, he goes to all the houses in the World and leaves presents for the good little boys and girls."

"What about the bad ones?" Ven asked, turning to Terra. "It'd be awfully sad to be the only one without a present, wouldn't it?"

"The naughty kids get something, too," Aqua said, smirking softly at Terra. "A nice lump of coal." Ven glanced at Terra and withheld a chuckle at his expense.

"Yeah, well," Terra muttered, flustered and crossing his arms, "it's just a children's story, anyway." Under his breath, he added, "What kind of parents give coal to their kids?"

Ven stared back into the book, taking notice of a number of other queer things. "So, these lights," he said, pointing to a string of tiny colorful beacons strung along the edges of what he assumed to be a house, somewhat alien in architecture to him without crowns and thorns all over it, "and these plants hanging all over the place. Are they part of the celebration?"

"Kind of," Terra said. "It's tradition to hang lights, wreaths, and things like that to decorate. To put everything into a Christmas mood, you know?" He shrugs. "They're not really used for anything, though."

"Most people celebrate by getting together and giving each other gifts," Aqua said, thumbing through a few more pages. "Or they play games, talk about good times, eat specially prepared foods, hang mistletoe…"

"What's mistletoe?"

"Um," the lady Keyblader paused. "Never mind that."

"Oh, hey!" Terra lifted the book. Ven stood up from his chair on reflex to snatch it back, but Terra held it too high. "Look at that tree! The people in this picture really went all out."

"Hey!" Ven cried. "Give it back! Let me see!"

"Oh. Sorry." Terra handed it back and the three apprentices looked at the large photo covering the entire left page. A thick and full pine tree stood in a corner, wrapped and covered in a number of lights, fluffy garlands, tinsels which similarly coated the floor, and glass balls and other assorted objects, topped off with a star which shined with all the luster of those in the sky.

"You're right," Aqua said, smiling at the star. "It reminds me of something."

"Hey…" Ven hummed, thinking hard for a moment. Terra and Aqua exchanged a glance and looked back down at him.

"What is it?" Aqua asked.

"Let's do Christmas!" Ven declared, standing up and raising the book in triumph. Terra laughed, only once, drawing the young one's ire. "What's so funny about that?"

Aqua shook her head, still smiling. She gently reached for the book and lowered Ven's hand. "Well, we have a lot of training to get to, don't we? But there wouldn't be anything wrong with having a little Christmas game before lights out."

Terra thought, then shrugged. "Sounds fair to me."

"But I want to do the whole thing," Ven whimpered. "Like what it says in the book."

Terra shook his head. "There's not enough time in the day, Ven," he said with the faintest disappointment. "Even if there were, it's Christmas Eve."

"But I've never done it before," Ven murmured, looking down.

Aqua knelt and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Ventus. But we'll figure out something to do tonight. It's okay."

"Yeah," Terra said, ruffling his hair. "It'll be our little Keyblader Christmas."

"Now, now, there's no need to be too modest or secretive."

The three apprentices jolted to a stand, eyes wide and brows soaked in sweat. The book flew across the table and dropped to the floor again with a loud thump as they bowed their heads to Master Eraqus, standing with all the world's dignity in the doorway of the study.

"Master!" Terra, Ven, and Aqua exclaimed in unison, standing nervously as Eraqus approached them. He leered with purpose but with a face otherwise unreadable.

"I arrived in the throne room moments ago, and I was disturbed to find myself alone," Master Eraqus said with a tone both inquiring and stern. The apprentices shifted their gazes uncomfortably. "It's not everyday that all three of my students are late for training, now, is it?"

Aqua shut her eyes tight and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Master. I should have returned the books and gone as soon as we were together. I take full responsibility."

"Yeah, she takes full responsibility," Terra repeated. Ven elbowed him in the hip. "Ow!"

Eraqus raised an eyebrow. He stepped toward the table and bent slowly, retrieving the green tome from the floor where it lay. He glanced at either side of it, and then at his students. Aqua still had her head bowed and Terra had the slightest anxiety in his expression. Ven, on the other hand, kept his eyes trained on the book in Eraqus' hand.

"At ease," the Master said as he opened the book, looking through the pages in amusement. The apprentices let a collective sigh of relief.

"Master," Ven said, leaning forward on the table, "have you ever done Christmas before?"

"Hmm…Yes," the Master replied, looking out the window situated across from the door. "I remember a Christmas or two from my youth. I shared one with my friends and comrades some time ago." He closed the book and set it on the table, locking eyes with Ven. "Why, when I was in my training, my Master allowed my brother in arms, Xehanort, and I to set up a celebration of our own."

"Huh," Terra buzzed, trying to picture it. "How did that turn out?"

"We were picking up pieces of the castle the morning after," Eraqus said deadpan. Terra's face scrunched in puzzlement. "We never spoke of it again."

Ven reached for the book and opened it again, skimming a random page. He braced himself and looked to Eraqus. "Master, do you think…Can we do a Christmas of our own?"

Aqua thought to herself for a moment. She hesitated to say anything lest the Master disallow it, but the look on Ven's face was too innocent and excited "It does sound like it could be fun. Master?" Aqua and Ven looked to Terra, who said nothing but waited with clear anticipation for the answer.

Eraqus crossed his arms and considered it. Ven fidgeted where he stood as Terra and Aqua shifted their eyes to him and each other. He lowered his arms.

"As you wish."

Ven jumped three feet in the air.

"Training is postponed for today," the Master continued, somehow relaxing his stance in light of the day off. Aqua and Terra grinned as Ven turned page after page looking for ideas.

"Can we put up lights and wreaths?"

"Sure."

"Can we make cookies and play games and put in a tree?"

"Of course."

"Can we hang up stockings and have a party and…"

Eraqus nodded. "You may do whatever you wish, so long as you don't destroy my castle." Sternly, he added, "It will be up to you three to take care of the preparations, however."

"You'll let us do it?" Terra asked, trembling slightly with a wave of nostalgia. "Oh man, this might turn out to be a great day after all."

The idea of Terra trying to do anything that didn't involve hitting something until it stopped moving frightened Aqua a touch, but she couldn't deny her own excitement. "What will you do, Master?"

"It's not often I get a day off. I'm going to relax," he said simply, giving the three a wry smile. Aqua took a deep breath. "If you need some sagely wisdom from a man who's seen his share of supernatural holidays, however, I'll be about."

"Oh man, oh man!" Ven repeated to himself as he flipped through the book at lightning speed, smile growing with each colorful picture he saw. "This is going to be so awesome!" He abruptly shut the book and slid over the table to give Eraqus a brief hug. "Thank you, Master! Thank you!"

"Think nothing of it," Eraqus murmured, putting some distance between he and Ven. "In fact, if there's going to be a celebration, I might call an old friend to join us for the evening. Otherwise, the decorations would be wasted."

Aqua paused. "You mean Master Xehanort?" Eraqus nodded. She nodded back in acknowledgement, not bothering to mention how creepy she found the other Master to be the last time she saw him. She looked back up. "And Master Yen Sid?"

Eraqus frowned. "He never accepts my invitations, and I'm quite sure he traded his Christmas spirit for the private tower he now lives in."

"I'm going to go get some stuff!" Ven declared, ignoring the other three and running for the door. "We'll decorate the hallways, make a Christmas meal, give each other presents…Wow, maybe I'll get something from Santa Claus!" And with that, the youngest apprentice was gone.

"Geez," Terra muttered, smirking as he and Aqua looked out the door to watch their comrade disappear down the hall. "I haven't seen him this excited in a while."

"We've got a lot of work to do, huh?" Aqua mused. "No training, but it'll still be a long day."

"You think he might be setting himself up for disappointment a little?" Terra asked, looking aside. "Christmas doesn't always follow through with the hype." Aqua frowned.

"Maybe," she replied. "But Ven's never had a Christmas before. I'm going to try to make it the best I can for him." Terra tilted his head. Aqua chuckled. "And for you, too."

"Yeah," the strongest apprentice nodded. "I'll take care of whatever I can. It's not Christmas without a lot of color. He'll get what he wants." He sighed. "Should we tell him Santa's not real?"

Aqua thought. "Maybe."

"Actually," Master Eraqus walked up behind the two, putting a hand on either of their shoulders, "when I traveled the worlds defending the light, I met the Santa Claus they talk about in the stories."

A pause.

"You what!" Terra shouted in disbelief.

"He's…He's real?" Aqua asked, looking at the floor in wonder and anxiety.

"Indeed he is. Rather nice fellow and a diligent worker," Eraqus said. "His workshop is the source of much light in these worlds." He patted their shoulders and walked through the door.

"Wait…so why don't we ever get anything from Santa, then?" Terra asked, a hint of frustration in his voice. He looked around. "Did we lose present privileges when we got the power or something?" Eraqus stopped and turned to them.

"Now, it's not the Keyblade's fault you stopped believing in Santa Claus," the Master replied. He continued down the hallway, humming a familiar carol. Terra and Aqua just stood where they were, pale.

A rolling wind blew the clouds overhead where an old, decrepit man stood. He was surrounded by dry, brown rock, a stark contrast to his bright whites, reds, and blacks, truly as gloomy as a place called the Badlands should be. In the distance, Master Xehanort kept watch over the ruckus that had been going on for the last several hours, fire and dust flying from one particularly unfortunate part of the Badlands as his student trained hard as ever.

The Master raised his hand, fingers curled around a large pink crystal. It glowed with an audible shine, and he nodded to himself.

"Ah, yes," he said, voice gravelly as he looked to the clouds remembering the days of his training. "The Master was particularly displeased with what his chair had been transformed into. Quite an impressive spell that was, I must say."

The crystal seemed to glow in defiance.

"Yes, yes. Never speak of it again. My apologies, Master Eraqus," Xehanort replied with a sardonic expression Eraqus couldn't see. "Your apprentices could very well repeat our mistakes. Are you sure it's wise to let them have the day?"

The crystal might have shrugged had it possessed shoulders.

Xehanort laughed. "If that is how you feel, then I would be happy to clear my schedule. I'll find myself in that general area this evening. Farewell."

The crystal grew dim. Xehanort smiled as he approached the chaos in the distance, and before long, he stood on a cliff overlooking the wasteland and called out.

"Vanitas!"

The destruction abruptly stopped. A long figure in red and black stood, a key of gears in his hand. He looked up. "Yes, Master?" he replied in little emotion.

Master Xehanort grinned. "I've just been contacted by an old friend. It seems the holiday light has infected his students, and Eraqus has invited me to their…festivities," he said, a touch of irony in his voice. "Would you care to join me?"

"…Hmph," Vanitas grunted as he used his free hand to pull off his helmet. His voice seethed with venom as he mused to himself. "The holiday light? You've got to be kidding me." He locked his yellow eyes with Xehanort's own. "Doesn't Eraqus have better things to make them do than get wishy washy over plants and angels?"

"He always was a touch sentimental. He gets it from our late Master," Xehanort replied. He raised a hand and flexed his fingers inhumanly as though to emphasize his speech. "I'm interested in seeing how Terra conducts himself for the festive season. I thought you might be similarly interested in Ventus. Am I wrong?"

Vanitas looked away. "I guess it couldn't hurt to case the squirt." He turned and pointed his Keyblade at the Master and frowned. "But if I get bored, I'm going home."

Xehanort shook his head. "We leave tonight. I'll get you a red hat on our way." He chuckled and walked off, leaving Vanitas to his bemusement.

The apprentices met again in the foyer of the castle. Through nothing short of a miracle, Ven had already somehow found a strand of green garland and wrapped himself in it. He scanned line after line in the book as Aqua and Terra looked up at the various corners and archways of their home, discussing the intricacies of the task before them.

"We don't own any ladders. Think we can make our own?" Terra asked, holding his hands up to frame the rafters.

"I could probably whip something up," Aqua said. "We need something to put up there, first."

"Looks like we'll just need to make them, right?"

"Looks like who will need to make them?"

"Good point," Terra replied, walking off to one of the many other rooms. I'll get some rope and fray garland out of it and you can make the lights. We're counting on you, Aqua!"

"You're just…" Aqua watched Terra disappear around a corner. She sighed. "You're just leaving me here. You're putting it up, though." She looked back up at the corners and crannies. "Lights are supposed to go outside, anyway, right?"

"The book says it could go either way," Ven said, eyes all but pasted to the tome in his hands. "How are you going to make them?"

Aqua smiled, raising her hand and dancing a touch of magic around her fingers. "It'll be easy enough, I think. A little ice and thunder should do just fine." She dispelled the dance. "What are you going to do?"

"Me? Well, I've never done anything like this before," Ven said, turning a page. "I don't see anything here…I guess I'll just help you two out, huh?" Aqua knew that meant he would more or less be reading off a checklist, but that would be fine with her.

"I'm not sure how Terra's planning on making the garland. You should go find him," Aqua said. "I'll take care of everything here."

"You got it, Aqua." Ven turned and went on his way, turning another page.

Aqua smiled. "I'm glad we get to do this for him."

Eraqus' footsteps rang nearby as he approached from the throne room. She acknowledged him with a bow. "It's not often we have a reason to celebrate. That's why I'm letting you all cherish this project together."

"Thank you, Master," Aqua replied. "It'll be hard work, but I'll figure it out."

"Speaking of which, you're planning on taking care of the meal, right?" Eraqus asked.

"Well, we certainly won't let Terra near the kitchen again," Aqua replied. "Why?"

"Come, Aqua. Xehanort and I will want to enjoy some strong eggnog tonight," Eraqus said, heading off in the general direction of the mess hall. "I'll show you my methods and you can get an early start."

"But the lights…" Aqua trailed off as Eraqus disappeared behind a wall, leaving her alone in the foyer. She looked around at the vacant walls again. "…Coming, Master."

The kitchen was a rarely touched corner of the Land of Departure, due mostly to the tendency for accidents to happen. Eraqus chuckled to himself as he and Aqua entered and browsed around the empty counters and cabinets in search of mythological ingredients. Aqua puzzled over her Master, who never seemed like the type to drink. Such a vice seemed indicative of the darkness. Eraqus looked at her as he withdrew a kettle from a lower cabinet, and she hoped he wasn't going to make her use that.

"I've been looking for this," he said, turning the kettle to inspect it. "I need something a touch larger for my purposes, however. Find a few larger bowls, Aqua."

Aqua nodded but seemed unsure. "So what do you think I should make?" she asked, looking from the refrigerator to the pantry and back again. "There's a lot that people try to make for their holidays, and we don't have a lot of ingredients."

Eraqus knew. He and Aqua were the only ones capable of using the kitchen, anyway, since Ven was too young and Terra was a lesson learned. The four tended to simply subsist on light and magic like most Keyblade wielders, so kitchen inventory was more or less a low priority. That younger apprentices through history often went temporarily insane without something to please their taste buds was probably why the area hadn't been replaced by another training facility.

"I'm sure Ventus could tell you what we need," Eraqus replied, digging in a cabinet for various mysterious bags and effects that would make up the eggnog. "After all, he is the one carrying the book. Here."

Aqua stood up from a lower cabinet with an extra large heat-safe bowl in her arms, and Eraqus set his ingredients in it. She grunted briefly and turned to set the load on the counter. "Ven's with Terra right now. Maybe I'll start on some of the things my family used to make and surprise him with it." She bit her thumbnail in thought and then reached in a cabinet for a somewhat ancient can of cranberry sauce.

Eraqus grinned, touching a stove eye with magic-infused fingers to turn it on. "Just mix what I handed you in safe increments. Four blue and seven red, heat, then three white and three yellow." Aqua's head spun for a moment to remember Eraqus color-coded much of his ingredients. He started for the door. "I've not seen Ventus quite this excited for as long as he's been here. You're doing a great deed for us."

"Yeah," Aqua replied, cutting open the red bag. She smiled into the bowl as she considered the boy, basically her younger brother for close to four years. "This will be the best meal, and we're going to have the best lights." She and Eraqus exchanged a glance before her Master went on his way. She looked back to her work and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "After all, Christmas is all about making your loved ones happy."

On the other side of the castle, Terra strolled through a darker hallway with his eyes trained on the closet at the far end. He passed by a door and stopped, glancing at the small heart with thorns hanging from a nail denoting his bedroom. He considered something that hadn't quite come up yet: "What to put on the tree," he said aloud to himself. There wasn't much in his room that would be appropriate he knew, as most of his possessions were unwieldy and heavy, such as weights or things he had made from wood.

Terra looked down at his hands. "I'm good with his hands. Always have been." He was strong and knew quite a bit about woodworking and bringing down trees. "I remember. Some nights of my youth were spent alone with my tools, just creating something neat. At least, that was when I wasn't cutting it for the fire. I'm not bad with rope or metal, either." He crossed his arms and stared at the ceiling wistfully. "Craftsmanship was actually one of the things I thought about going into when I grew up. That was before Master Eraqus and the Keyblade came into my life. But I guess the passion never quite left"

He shook his head, remembering the wooden Keyblade he made a long time ago. He had given it to Ven as a gift back when his friend needed a little cheer, and from the looks of it, he might get the opportunity to do it again this year. "All I need to do," he said, "is think of what to make these things in a way that everyone'll like. But until then, I have something else to do."

Terra snagged the heart off his door and continued to the closet, throwing it open haphazardly and going wide-eyed at the incoming avalanche. With nary an inch to spare, the dodged the downpour rope, wooden boards, simple tools and scrap metal. "Well…That was close."

Footsteps approached Terra from behind. "Who is that?"

"It's Ven," the young apprentice replied, stopping behind Terra with book in hands and eyebrow raised. "You talk to yourself way too much." It was true.

"So do you." It was also true. Terra turned back to the closet. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to help Aqua with the lights."

"She told me to help you." Ven looked at the mess spilling from the closet. "Looks like you kind of need it."

"Just an incident, Ven. I've got it under control," Terra replied, bending to pull a rope from the pile. One hand after the other, he pulled it out.

"Well, hey, I can tell you what we need, right?" Ven chuckled, flipping through the book. "We should have at least three colors of garland, I think. How's red, blue, and green sound?"

"Usual suspects, from the sound of it," Terra said, grunting as the rope snagged on something. He tightened his grip and pulled harder.

"Then again, gold and silver are pretty popular, too. We could use some gold, right? What do you think?" Ven buried his face in the book at all the colors he saw. "Tinsel looks like it's made of the same thing, too. Can you make tinsel out of that?"

"I'm not making…tinsel!" Terra strained, putting a foot on the mess as he tugged at the rope. "It gets…everywh-What in the worlds is this thing snagged on?"

"But I want tinsel," Ven said, looking up. He tilted his head. "What are you doing?"

"Trying…to get-" Terra started when the rope suddenly gave, sending him falling backward. Ven jolted and hugged the wall, avoiding his older comrade's fall as a number of shards of wood and scrap metal flew by, littering the hallway. Terra groaned from where he lay on the floor, rope in hand. He opened an eye and looked at Ven. "What was it snagged on?"

"Uh…" Ven looked from Terra back to the mess, then into the closet. "I think that's a cane rack. Oh! That reminds me!" He flipped through the book. "Where is it…Yeah, here it is. Terra!"

Terra sat up and shook his head. "What, what?"

"You're good at making things, right? What about candy canes?"

Terra stood up and looked inside the closet. "You mean those?"

Ven blinked. "What? No. Candy canes, not canes of candy."

"Food's more Aqua's forte," Terra replied, failing to remind Ven of a recent fire. "Come to think of it, I know what I'm in the mood for this Christmas. Go ask Aqua if she can make some pumpkin bread, would you?"

"Right," Ven said, turning on his heel and running down the hall. He nearly rounded the corner when he bumped into Master Eraqus, stumbling and falling back. "Ow…Sorry, Master." From the end of the hall, Terra looked back.

"Quite all right, but be mindful of your surroundings, Ventus," Eraqus replied. He walked past the boy toward his oldest apprentice.

"Wait, Master!" Ven shouted, springing up and running to him. Eraqus turned to find him pointing at a passage in the green book. "It says here that traditional Christmas games are things like snowball fights, Secret Santa, and Grumpy Christmas…What's Grumpy Christmas?"

"Excellent question, Ventus," Eraqus said. "Why don't you ask Aqua?"

"Okay!" Ven turned and ran off. Eraqus continued to Terra.

"Master," Terra acknowledged, gathering the rope around his arm and looking for others.

"Terra," Eraqus nodded. "How are things coming along?"

"Could be worse," the apprentice replied, reaching down for another rope and tugging it. He blinked at the two-foot rope. "I'm going to see if I can't use some paint and a fire spell to make this fray and shine. It'd be a lot easier if I could go shopping, though."

"You don't have any munny," Eraqus said. He glanced at the mess from the closet. "I expect you will have this clean before the evening?'

"Yes, Master," Terra replied, slipping the ropes off his arm and hanging them on his shoulder. "Hey, do you know what might be appropriate to put on a tree?"

"Glass balls and clay figures are normal," Eraqus said, thinking. "You mean something special and unique?"

"Yes."

"Anything you like, so long as the branches can hold it." The Master stepped to the mess, bent down, and procured a small wooden box. He opened it, finding a small silver bell inside, and pinned it to his shirt collar. "My preparations are now complete. Good luck to you, Terra."

"Thank you, Master," Terra bowed, smiling. "The castle will look the most festive you've ever seen." Eraqus smiled and walked on. "After all, Christmas is all about the spirit of celebration."

Aqua dipped her finger in the boiling vat set on the stove and plucked it in her mouth. "Bitter," she hummed under her breath, and she reached for a canister of sugar behind the bowl. After spreading a handful of that in the eggshell liquid, she bent and lifted the oven door open to check the temperature. When it wasn't enough, she reached in carefully. "Fire," she called simply, releasing embers into the massive appliance and distorting the air in front of her with the heat, and reached back up.

On the counter to her other side, a high-rise oven pan sat with two cans of ham sliced up and lying inside, soaking in some mysterious citrus she cured of molding from the refrigerator. She hummed her favorite Christmas song to herself as she slipped it into the oven and closed the door. Behind her, another large bowl sat with a lumpy batter settling, wooden spoon caked with the sweet-smelling substance aside from it. She considered her options as she stirred vigorously, the mixture becoming thicker and peeling off the sides of the bowl as she did so. It would need a moment to settle, so she gathered a saucepan from a hook above and snatched a can of mixed vegetables to pour inside, placing it on the stove beside the eggnog mix.

Days like this are peaceful, Aqua thought, and very rewarding. It brought her back to days long past when each member of the household took on a particular chore, none to impress any others but simply to prepare for the evening together. When the burden was divided evenly, so was the payoff in the hours after. She looked out the window overlooking the double-sink and stared at the mountains in the distance. Though the days were cold, the only weather they had near the castle was sunlight while the mountains were eternally covered in snow. She wondered if Ven would want snow. How difficult would it be to make some? She snickered at her own modesty. She wanted snow.

"Aqua!" a familiar young voice echoed through the halls, snapping the lady Keyblader from her thoughts. She looked back at the materials scattered all over the counters and set back to work in time for him to arrive.

"Hey, Ven," she greeted, throwing a mystery spice in the mixed vegetables. "That didn't take long. Is Terra finished?"

"Not yet. We just got the rope out," Ven replied, looking around for a place to sit and spotting a short stool in one of the dusty corners. He grabbed it by the seat and swung it into the open, hopping on it. "Can you make candy canes?"

"Candy canes?" Aqua looked at Ven, who was still wrapped in green garland and had his eyes on the book as though bound by a curse. She turned away and searched the colorful sacks and plain cabinets for something and shrugged. "I don't think we have the ingredients for that."

Ven pried his eyes up to meet Aqua's. "Can't you spin a little magic or something?" he asked with an intoxicating plea in his tone. Aqua tried to avert her gaze and failed horribly. She exhaled, considering.

"Okay," she said. "Maybe I can transmute some sugar. It might take a while, though."

"That's fine," Ven replied. Aqua turned and slid a cookie sheet in front of her, throwing a dash of powder over it as she continued work on another project. The two were quiet for a few moments as Ven kept reading. "And, did you get the lights?"

Aqua stopped her work and internally face-palmed. "Sorry, I got caught up in here," she said, kneading the dough on the sheet and cutting away at it with a short knife. "Just let me get everything in here set up and we'll go do that, okay?" Ven nodded and returned to the book as she scurried from either side of the kitchen, placing pots on the stove and the cookie sheet in the oven, withdrawing the sliced ham. She picked up a piece and cut it open to check it, considering her options and ultimately deciding to put it back in with the cookies.

"Are those for Santa?" Ven asked suddenly. Aqua started to respond, but she found it was still rather difficult to process the idea that Santa Claus was real. In truth, she hadn't thought of the milk and cookies tradition. She just figured Ven and Terra would enjoy some cookies. She shifted her head in thought and eventually nodded.

"Yes, I guess they would be, wouldn't they?" she replied, closing the oven door and reaching for a dish rag on the counter. She wiped her hands and headed for the door. "Shall we?" Ven jumped down and followed her as the two went back toward the foyer, plain walls leading the way. Ven hummed in thought.

"This place sure will look different when we're done," he remarked, trying to imagine all the different colors glowing along these walls. Aqua bit her lip. Surely Ven wasn't expecting them to cover the entire interior with lights. "Well, I guess not this place. No one hangs out in the hallway. That'd be silly."

"So, Ven," Aqua said, looking aside as they walked past a set of windows. "Do you want snow?"

"Definitely!" he replied without delay. "It says here, 'I'm dreaming of a white Christmas'. That's snow, right? I've never seen snow up close."

"Well, I might need a little help, but I think I can make that work," she said, watching the mountains as they approached the foyer. "If you have any extra commands lying around that can help, I'm going to need a lot of ice."

"You got it, Aqua."

Before long, they were back in the castle's entrance room, staring at the same corners and crannies that they had not so long before. "Okay, so I'm thinking I'll line up some ice crystals and put a charge through them. That should do the trick, don't you think?" Aqua looked aside at Ven, who kept reading in his book. "Ven?"

"How are you going to make them different colors?" he asked, looking up. "They'll all be blue, won't they?"

Aqua bit her thumbnail. "Maybe I could use some paint."

"Oh, Terra was going to get some. Let's see if he found it," Ven said, looking back toward that hallway. He spotted Eraqus strolling along, climbing the stairs as he came to them. "Oh…"

"That's convenient. Come on," Aqua replied, turning and walking.

"Aqua," Ven called, turning back a few pages, "what's Grumpy Christmas?" Aqua's footsteps slowed to a halt and she stood in silence for a solid minute, processing the question. "Aqua?"

"It's…" Another pause. Fortunately, she was spared from her uncomfortable explanation by another voice cutting through the silence.

"Fire!"

Perhaps not as fortunate as it could have been. Aqua and Ven exchanged a glance and made a run for the hallway Terra's voice emanated from. They knew the best case scenario was that Terra was trying to use a fire spell, all the reason in the worlds they needed to hurry to the castle's rescue. As they bound through the dark hallways and rounded the corner, they spotted their fellow apprentice facing down a raging string of flames. What they did not expect was for it to appear sentient.

Keyblade in hand, Terra rushed away from the striking snake of fire, raising its front end and preparing for another strike. The strongest apprentice raised his sacred weapon to block, swinging with all his might and ramming the thing into the opposite wall, following up with a quick jump strike, beheading the rope.

"Whew," he breathed in relief. "That was bizarre." He turned to see Aqua and Ven staring at him in shock.

"What in the worlds did you do?" Aqua asked, eyes wide and voice trembling as she watched the flaming halves of the rope on the floor. Ven appeared little better.

"I don't know!" Terra cried, dismissing his Keyblade and picking up a conspicuous bottle resting on the floor. "I painted the thing, then I tried to fray it with fire when it just went up in flames! I was trying to give it a mild glow!"

Aqua scanned the hallway and spotted a set of cans near the closet, lids popped off. "You used flammable paint!"

"Of course I did!" Terra replied defiantly. "I wanted to make absolutely sure I'd be able to use fire without destroying everything!"

A pause.

"Oh. Flammable catches fire more easily," Terra realized. "Lesson learned."

"It was attacking you," Ven said in disbelief.

"Yeah, I tried to put out the fire with this water I found in there," Terra continued, holding up the bottle. "I'm thinking it's some kind of potion, now, though."

"It made a flaming rope stand up and try to kill you," Aqua said, taking the bottle out of Terra's hands. "I don't think you should experiment with these anymore."

"Clearly," Terra replied, turning back around. "Now I have to find more rope if I want to…make…"

The two halves of the flaming rope raised above Terra, practically hissing with their heat.

"It's not down yet!" Ven cried, hiding his book from the violent creature as Terra and Aqua summoned their Keyblades, preparing for battle. One of the flaming snakes struck out at Terra, who dodged and pinned it to the floor with his weapon.

"Ice it!" he commanded, and Aqua rushed to it and radiated with a cold energy before blasting the rope with a stream of ice, freezing it over and snuffing out the flames. The two apprentices turned to the other rope as it struck at them, missing by a hair. Aqua concentrated on a barrier to throw around herself and rushed the creature, trapping it against the wall with her Keyblade.

"Terra!"

"Hey, I can't use Blizzard!"

Aqua sighed heavily as the barrier wore down. She slung the rope aside with the Keyblade, and Terra snagged it with his as she prepared another spell. The flaming rope lashed and struggled until Aqua's power was replenished, frosting the second rope just as she had the first one and ending the conflict.

Aqua and Terra dismissed their Keyblades again and dusted themselves off. "Sorry, Aqua," Terra murmured, scratching his head. "I didn't think something like that was going to happen."

"It's okay. It's fine," Aqua said, checking herself for cinders.

"I'm usually pretty good at making things like this," Terra continued. "I can't believe I did that."

"Don't worry about it, we're okay."

"I hope you're not mad at me."

"Terra, it's okay," Aqua said a mite loud. "No one was hurt, we learned a lesson, and now we can move on." She cleared her throat and moved to get the paint cans in back.

"Hey," Ven hummed, walking over and picking up one of the frosted ropes. It was sleek and stiff but somehow very blue and bright. "They actually didn't turn out so bad."

Terra picked up the other frozen rope and examined it. It was red. He chuckled to himself. "You're right. That might have been for the best after all." He put a hand on his hip and drummed his fingers. "So what else needs to be done?"

"Aqua's about to put up the lights. We just came here for the paint," Ven replied. "Can you get these…uh…" he held up the book and pointed, "these wreaths? We need some to put on the walls."

"Sure," Terra said, in truth completely clueless as to where he would find any of those. He glanced at Aqua, asking for help with his eyes as she came back toward the other two.

"You can make those out of the right kinds of leaves. Just weave them a certain way and tie them with a bow," she explained to him, adjusting her grip on the three paint cans in her hands. Terra nodded.

"Thanks Aqua." She smiled at Terra and continued on. "Oh, did Ven ask about the pumpkin bread I wanted? It's kind of important."

Three paint cans crashed to the floor.

"The kitchen!" Aqua screamed, breaking into a sprint. Ven and Terra exchanged a glance.

"Uh-oh," Ven muttered, watching her leave. "I think…I think I'm going to go find some ornaments."

"Y, yeah," Terra replied. "I'm going to go…get those wreaths." The two boys nodded to each other uncomfortably and walked along until Ven reached his bedroom, heading inside as Terra continued to the foyer.

"By the way, Terra?" Ven called after him. Terra turned back to him. "What's Grumpy Christmas?"

The older Keyblader blinked a few times. "Whatever it is, I'm sure we don't want to know," he said at last. Ven shrugged at the unhelpful response and retreated into his bedroom. Terra shook his head and continued onto the foyer. "Still no lights," he noted. He looked toward the hallway that led to the kitchen. "I should stay away from there for a while…"

The outer landscape of the Land of Departure was as green and dignified as ever, even under the duress of cold weather. Terra looked off to the cliffs and valleys as he climbed down the stairs to the land below and headed along the path that would take him into the training mountains. "It's been a long time since I tried to do something like this," he said to himself, crossing his arms for warmth and trying to keep a lookout for what to use. In time, he came across a series of bright green bushes, certainly no Christmas fare, but anything woven would do.

Then it occurred to him that he had never actually woven anything at all.

"…Aqua?" he asked in a low voice. He turned back toward the castle. "Aqua!" He started back, but he stopped himself. He glanced back at the bushes. "I've already messed up one thing today," he whispered, turning back and going to them. "Heck, that turned out okay, didn't it?" He grabbed at a stalk of the bush. "I'm sure I can figure something out."

He sat cross-legged on the ground as he pulled pieces of the shrub off. Examining the pieces, it didn't take him long to think of a way to braid the stalks into a circle. With strong fingers, he wove stalk after stalk together, laughing to himself at his own apparent genius. When he finished, he held the wreath over his head and looked it over.

It was really more of a crown than a wreath.

"Oh well," he said, reaching to pull more stalks from the bush. "Just have to make it thicker." Terra decided to gather enough material to make a half-dozen wreaths before going back to the castle to put them all together.. He looked back at the castle. "This one's going above the…" Smoke bellowed from a window in the west wing. "…Oh man. Poor Aqua."

Aqua was feeling less sympathetic toward herself, Keyblade drawn and firing magic to and fro. A pot of seasoned potatoes had, through some divine prank, set itself ablaze, but that was easy enough for the mage to fix. The rest of the meal charred and smoked with the kind of energy that made Aqua somewhat wish they gone up in flames, too, to save her the trouble of disposing of them. She coughed, covering her mouth and squinting her eyes through the smoke-filled room and quickly conjured a wind spell to gather the offensive gasses and blow them out the window. She swung her Keyblade that way and cleared the room, a number of appliances and materials flying every which way.

She panted heavily and wiped the sweat from her brow. Really, Aqua considered herself to have a lot of patience, but it was starting to wear thin. As the only one of the apprentices who could cook, she thought, how was it that she had managed to burn the food beyond recognition?

She took a pause and stared into the open oven. At least the ham survived, even if it was now partially smoked. She looked up. And the eggnog, of course. She leaned against the back counter and considered her options. She could fix this with magic, but that would leave a distinct powdery taste in everything for reasons probably related to vengeful gods. But all Keyblade wielders were familiar with it, and Ven would understand, Aqua thought.

She sighed and set a few things aside, heaving the giant bowl of eggnog somewhere that it couldn't come to harm and humming her carol to get into the zone. Her fingers danced with streams of magic weaving between them and she imagined the table that would be set from her endeavors. This Christmas wasn't ruined yet.

Some time later, Ven barreled into the throne room with a box in his arms, the book stacked neatly on top of the mess of random objects. A smile was sprawled on his face as usual. Master Eraqus sat in his chair with a novel of his own in hand, dipping it below eyeshot to watch his youngest apprentice. Ven stopped to prop the box on the floor and get a better grip, adjusting the green garland wrapped around his shoulders before lifting it back up.

"Are you going to put anything on the tree, Master?" Ven asked, still moving his legs to get ready to scurry off.

Eraqus thought for a moment. He glanced at the bell pinned on his collar. "Perhaps I'll find some more of these lying around. And you, Ventus?" He indicated the box. "Is that what you're putting on it? I'm not so sure a tree can hold that much."

"Well, not all of it," Ven replied, shifting the box in his arms again. "There's some stuff in here I've been using to make presents for everyone. I already made something special for Terra and Aqua. Oh, but don't tell them that!"

Eraqus nodded with a small grin. "I look forward to seeing what you do with your resources. I'm sure Terra and Aqua will be pleased with anything you make."

"Yeah," Ven beamed. He blinked and hummed. "By the way, Master. The book had this song in it. A true love kept giving presents. The first present was a partridge in a pear tree." Ven let a silence hang over that statement for a moment. "Why a pear tree? Christmas trees are pine, right?"

"Excellent question, Ventus," Eraqus replied, raising his book again. "I'm sure Terra would know the answer if you asked him."

"Okay. Thanks, Master!" Ven heaved the box in his arms one more time and was off. Eraqus shook his head and returned to his novel.

Down the stairs and through a small hallway, Ven found himself in the foyer once again. The sky was red outside, late afternoon greeting the youngest Keyblader as he put down the box, looking around the corners and crannies. There were still no lights or wreaths, only a folding table set up out of the way. "Aqua?" he called out, setting the box on the floor. "Terra?"

A cough echoed through the east hallways, Aqua stumbling from the direction of the kitchen. She held a slew of plates in her arms, all covered by wrapping or lids, and looking every bit as though she had gone through a full and particularly rough day of training. She acknowledged Ven with a nod and carefully slipped the plates onto the table with a sigh of relief. Ven smiled as an enchanting aroma filled his nostrils, and he laughed and ran over to Aqua.

"It smells great, Aqua! What did you put in it?" he asked, reaching to lift a cover. Aqua lightly slapped his hand.

"It's a surprise," she muttered, a hint of what was probably a playful tone petering out halfway through the sentence. She took a deep breath and stretched. "Where's Terra?"

"I'm here," the oldest apprentice said, coming out from the hallway that led to his bedroom. On his shoulder rested a series of Christmas wreaths, all full and thick but not at all like the holly wreaths in the book. Ven and Aqua looked over to him.

"That doesn't look right," Ven said, holding up the book to show off the genuine article.

Terra shrugged, rubbing sweat from his eyes. "I did the best I could with what I had. It'll work, right?"

Aqua looked over the wreaths carefully. "Terra, those leaves are poisonous."

He blinked, and then looked down at his hand, which was slowly reddening. "…Oh. I thought the tools were doing that. Um, Aqua," he called, looking back up at her. "You can cast Esuna, right?"

"That's one of the commands you owe me, Terra," she replied with a hint of annoyance. Terra glanced at Ven.

"Don't look at me."

"Oh geeze," Terra muttered in irritation, setting the wreaths down and scratching his left hand. "It's starting to itch, now, too."

"Oh for…" Aqua trailed off, shaking her head. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then looked back at Terra. "Why didn't ask where you could find something else that would work?"

"Who would know?" Terra asked indignantly. "We've never done this here before."

"I would, Terra," Aqua replied in a low, stern voice, leering at him as she approached and took his hands. She examined them, sparing a glance to see Ven's nose once again planted firmly in the green book.

"Yeah, well, you had a situation to deal with in the kitchen," Terra countered in his own low voice, turning his hands over for her to see and looking to make sure Ven was occupied. "I didn't want to bother you while you were in there."

Aqua scoffed. "Did it ever occur to you that I might need some help, too?"

"Sure, but you didn't ask for it," Terra said. Aqua looked up at him, the two staring at each other for a moment. "And I have things to do, too, you know."

"That'd be fine if you could do them right," Aqua muttered. Terra looked down at her with an unreadable expression. She glanced up from his hands and paused. She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry…Terra, it's just…It's been a stressful day."

"I know," Terra said, withdrawing his hands to scratch. "I'm starting to wonder if this is maybe more trouble than it's worth."

Aqua shook her head. "Don't say things like that in front of Ven."

Terra looked back at Ven. The two apprentices stood a distance from him and spoke quietly. "Has he done anything yet?"

"There's not really much he can do," Aqua replied, taking Terra's hands again and conjuring a touch of ice to stop the rash. "You need to wash your face. Thoroughly."

"Right," Terra confirmed, flexing his now cold fingers. "When are you going to put up the lights?"

"When are you going to go find a tree?" Aqua responded, rubbing her temple. "I have my hands a little full right now."

"Oh, right. Terra!" Ven chimed, looking over to the oldest apprentice. "Why is it a pear tree?"

Aqua blinked and Terra thought for a moment. "I don't know. What, the Christmas tree?"

"In the twelve days thing, yeah," Ven replied. Terra shrugged. Suddenly, Ven blinked and looked up. "Oh, hey, Master!" He shouted. Aqua and Terra jumped slightly, looking up to the top of the foyer stairs where Master Eraqus stood, holding his novel closed in his left hand and staring past his apprentices to the windows. The older two bowed their heads briefly in greeting.

"Are your preparations finished?" Eraqus asked, scratching at his chin. "The sun is going down. Master Xehanort will be arriving very soon."

Terra looked aside and rubbed a cheek in exasperation while Aqua audibly groaned. She looked up at him. "We'll be ready, Master. Just…give us a few minutes."

"Very good, then," Eraqus replied. He looked over to Ven, who dug into his box for something.

"Hey, guys?" Ven chimed, searching through the assorted materials. "I know we're supposed to give gifts during the celebration, but I made something for you! I want you to go ahead and have it…if I can just find it…"

"Oh?" Aqua hummed, picking herself up and smiling softly through her exhaustion. "You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did. It's Christmas, after all," Ven replied cheerily, finally producing something from the box. He turned to Terra and Aqua, hiding his gifts behind his back.

"Wow, this is kind of exciting," Terra hummed, thinking there might be some call for Christmas spirit after all. He and Aqua walked over. "What is it?"

Ven looked with a suspicious smile at Terra, and then at Aqua. "I made you…" he trailed off, letting the dramatic tension build for a moment before finally throwing his hands up, "some stockings!"

Terra and Aqua were silent. In Ven's hands were three socks, all of them rather ordinary save the bright colors. He held a small green one, apparently his own, a larger and somewhat worn red one, and a peculiarly long and tight-looking blue one. Terra and Aqua exchanged a long look as Ven beamed, certainly proud of himself. Above them, it took more power than Eraqus was willing to admit to stifle a snicker.

"Ven, did you…" Aqua trailed off, reaching for the blue 'stocking' and examining it. "Did you make these out of our actual socks?"

"Sure did!" Ven declared, handing Terra his and putting his hands on his hips in triumph. "I didn't have any of those thick socks from the book, so it seemed like the best way to do it."

"That's basically your underwear, isn't it?" Terra whispered to Aqua, earning a sharp glare. He turned the red stocking over in his hand, unsure how to feel about it.

"Thank you, Ven," Aqua said, staring at her own stocking. "This is very…thoughtful."

"No problem, Aqua," Ven replied. "Hey, I'll go hang them up!"

"You don't have to…" Aqua started, but Ven plucked the socks from she and Terra's hands, running up the stairs. He bowed to Eraqus before passing by him. Aqua pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is wonderful," she muttered in distaste.

"Gah, and there's still so much to do," Terra grumbled, looking over at the table of food, and then at the poisonous wreaths lying on the floor. "Can we use those, anyway?"

Aqua glowered at Terra and the second head he had grown. She shook her head in defeat. "Just let me handle those, okay? I'll turn them into something we can use," she murmured, going over to them and conjuring a bit of ice magic in her hands. With a few twists of the wrists and firing in the right directions, she didn't quite turn them into holly wreaths, but the leaves frosted over and shined white under the illumination of the castle walls, an acceptable and common substitute for green, she thought. She then winced from the cold, realizing she had been overusing ice magic all day.

"Curses, we forgot the snow, too," Terra droned. Aqua twitched. "Can you take care of that?" Aqua dropped her arm to her side, the magic dissipating. She stood still, breathing deeply for a number of moments. "Aqua, did you hear me?"

The lady apprentice spun on her heel and walked briskly to Terra, irritation painted all over her facial features as she put herself right in front of him, pushing a command into his chest. He grunted, staring at her incredulously as her nostrils flared in her attempts to keep calm.

"We don't have a tree, yet, Terra," she all but growled. "You need to go get a tree. Right now."

Terra inhaled tensely, grabbing the command with his cold hands. "What about the snow, Aqua?"

"We didn't get holly wreaths," Aqua replied, never taking her eyes off of Terra's. "We'll just have to do without snow, too. I'm sorry."

Terra snorted. "Okay, then." He turned away from Aqua and headed for the castle doors. He looked to Eraqus. "Master, may I…"

Eraqus nodded. "The Lanes Between are open for Master Xehanort. You may use them to find your mythical tree," he declared.

"Thank you, Master." Terra looked back at Aqua, still standing where she was and trying to regain her composure. He cleared his throat. "Aqua." She slowly looked up at him, pursing her lips. Terra hesitated. "…We still don't have lights."

A pause. Then Aqua summoned her Keyblade with a flash of light and swung it across the air, a stream of generic magic flying from the tip and running along. With a heavy grunt, she pointed her weapon at the string where it attached itself to the corners and crannies and fired off a blast of fire, setting the string ablaze only at key points. They shined more with violence than serenity, but at least they were vibrant and festive, burning in different colors as the seconds passed.

Aqua lowered her Keyblade and looked back at Terra. "Lights."

"Right," Terra muttered, turning back toward the doors and reaching over to tap his armor's activation panel. He climbed down the steps, summoning his own Keyblade before disappearing from view. Alone in the foyer floor, Aqua sighed to herself, rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

Eraqus hummed, watching the lights from the stairs. "Shouldn't the decorations go in the throne room where the celebration is taking place?" Aqua's shoulder muscles suddenly tensed from what may have been her own skeleton attempting to escape.

At least there was going to be a party.

Stars dotted the sky above the Land of Departure, only a touch of cloud cover in the distance. The night air was cool, much to the probable chagrin of Aqua in the castle, and the land was dark, the usual lanterns lining the yards and paths of the world having been shut off to help make the stars and decorations stand out, not that there were any of the latter outside.

At the bottom of the stairs which led to the castle doors, a flicker of dark energy stirred from the ground, faintly at first, but then it rapidly into a swirling black portal of darkness. From the depths of the portal, Master Xehanort in all of his evil glory stepped out, hunched over and with his hands behind his back as usual. He took a moment to look around the castle grounds and snickered at the lack of festive material outside.

He soon dismissed his amusement and began his climb up the stairs. His presence was felt soon after his arrival, and Eraqus stepped out to greet his old friend at the top.

"Master Xehanort," Eraqus said, nodding to him. "I'm happy to see you could join us on such short notice."

"Think nothing of it, Master Eraqus," Xehanort replied, the two Masters exchanging a pat on the shoulder. "I wouldn't miss it for the worlds. I see you have dressed for the occasion," he noted, gesturing at the silver bell on Eraqus' collar. Eraqus chuckled.

"And you as well," he replied, looking at the golden bell on Xehanort's coat. They shared a laugh of nostalgia for a moment before Eraqus turned back to the doors. "Please, come inside." He led Xehanort into the familiar foyer, and the blazing lights instantly caught his eye. "We have the throne room set up," Eraqus said, heading for the foyer stairs. "It's not much of a party with only four people, but do try to enjoy yourself. My apprentices have been looking forward to this."

Xehanort nodded. "This place never did have a lot of visitors. But I would be the fifth guest, would I not?"

"Yes, well," the two Masters stopped while Eraqus cleared his throat, "Terra is still off trying to get a tree for everyone."

"Ah. Well, let us hope the festivities last long enough for his return," Xehanort replied. Eraqus shook his head and turned back to the staircase, leaving the other Master for the throne room. Xehanort looked again at the lights Aqua had set up and hummed. From behind a nearby pillar, there was a soft snicker.

"Well, so much for that plan," Vanitas muttered, arms crossed. He wore his mask in case of unexpected discovery, but his form blended seamlessly with the shadows.

"Now, now," Xehanort said, making his way up the stairs. "There is still Ventus to consider. And until Terra gets back, there would be no harm in enjoying a touch of Master Eraqus' infamous eggnog." Vanitas scoffed but said nothing.

Inside the throne room, the lanterns had been dimmed to help accentuate the colorful, fiery lights. Other than their flickering, either side of the room had three frosted white Christmas wreaths hanging, red ribbons draped delicately around them. Some more fiery lights were set up in patterns over the walls, one shaped like the heart with thorns that Keyblade wielders used as their emblem, and another shaped like a star within a star. Both were a touch sloppy. Another small fire was set toward the front window of the room, seeming to go with the three stockings hanging above it, a long blue stocking on the left, a thick red one on the right, and a plain green one between them.

Xehanort looked over to see another place marked by a tree skirt where the Christmas tree would inevitably go, two boxes of ornaments and what appeared to be frozen garland set nearby for when it arrived. Aqua and Ventus were there, going through one of the boxes and presumably discussing the arrangement they had in mind while Ven, covered in an unfrozen strand of garland, flipped through a thick green book. On the opposite side of the room was a large folding table with a number of goodies set on it, and another small table was set a few feet away with the one thing Xehanort missed about Christmas set on it: The eggnog.

"Aqua. Ventus," Eraqus announced, drawing the apprentices' attention. "Master Xehanort has arrived."

"Oh!" Aqua yelped, standing up and bowing her head. Ven glanced up and did the same. "Welcome, Master Xehanort." She paused, looking around the room. "Sorry for the mess. We prepared with such short notice, and…"

"Relax," Xehanort replied, smiling back at her. His smile unnerved her immensely. "You've all done a fine job with the preparations. I'm particularly fond of your lights. Quite innovative, I must say."

"She was going to make them with ice and thunder," Ven noted, looking up at them. "I like these, though."

"Oh, let me show you what we have," Aqua said, sounding a bit out of breath as she ran to the folding table. She pulled off the covers and lids to reveal the various foods to the room. "It doesn't really spell Christmas, but here's some sliced ham, and I have a vegetable mix boiled and dried with two different dipping sauces. There's punch and just a little seasoned potato. There would have been more, but…" Aqua shook her head to clear the memory of the accident. "And here's pumpkin bread. And over here, I made these cookies. They're a family recipe, so I hope you'll enjoy them. Cranberry sauce…" She looked aside to Xehanort. "Etcetera."

Master Xehanort nodded, looking over at the other table. "It all seems fine, fair Aqua. I'm sure it's quite delicious," he said, walking over to get some eggnog. Aqua watched him, and then she looked over the food again. She sighed.

Eraqus stood at the eggnog table and handed Xehanort a glass. "Help yourself." Xehanort accepted it and spooned a bit of the off-white substance, sipping the excess from the rim.

"Mm. You've outdone yourself, Master Eraqus," he said, nodding with approval. Behind him, Aqua couldn't help but rub her temple as she picked a slice of pumpkin bread to munch on. "It brings back even more memories from a time best left forgotten."

"And forgotten it would be if you would stop mentioning it," Eraqus replied sardonically, sipping from his own glass. Ven walked up to them with a curious look. Eraqus shook his head. "As I said before, we don't speak of it."

"Aw…"

Xehanort laughed, lowering his glass. "Now, now, Master Eraqus. This is a social moment, and there would be no harm in telling your pupils a little of our misadventures, would there? After all, it was so long ago, and they might actually learn something from it." He looked at Ven. "You see, it all began with a game of Grumpy Christmas…"

Eraqus cleared his throat. "This day has been rather educational to them already, I'm sure. I would be best to save such a story for later. Such as a written summary after our demise." Xehanort rolled his eyes.

"What's Grumpy Christmas?" Ven pled. The Masters ignored him. He blew through his lips in defeat and changed the subject. "So you trained together, right? How long did it take you to become Masters?"

Eraqus smiled. Xehanort smirked. "We were much older than you three," Eraqus said, sparing a glance to Aqua as she approached them, a cup of punch in hand. "When our Master deemed us worthy to take the Mark of Mastery Exam, Master Xehanort was already beginning to lose his hair."

Xehanort chuckled. "And Master Eraqus' face was covered in wrinkles. We'd believed he stopped sleeping when we saw the bags under his eyes." Eraqus sneered.

Ven tried to imagine Xehanort with hair. For some reason, he thought of Terra. When he did, however, he looked down at his book and hummed, wondering where the third apprentice was. Aqua downed her punch and asked, "How hard was it? What did you have to do?"

Xehanort laughed with a touch of sadism. "Master Yen Sid could tell you. We almost thought we may never walk again."

"Every Master has a different method for determining the Mark," Eraqus continued, scratching his chin and wondering. "Though he has abdicated the title, Yen Sid's methods are particularly infamous. Even he was troubled by our Master's test."

Ven squeezed his book nervously. "And…how extreme is yours going to be?"

Eraqus and Xehanort smirked.

"You will see. All of you will."

Aqua and Ven exchanged a worried look.

"So hey…" Aqua murmured, trying very hard not to think about the exam, "how long do you think it's going to take Terra to get back with the tree?"

"Come to think of it, how is he supposed to carry it back by himself?" Ven asked. "I'd use Zero Gravity, but he's not that good with magic."

"He probably doesn't have the command for it, either," Aqua said, tapping her fingers on her cup. She hadn't thought about how Terra would manage it, and after his performance today, the thought of it was disconcerting.

"I'm sure he will find a way," Eraqus said, Aqua's worry not lost on him. "He often does, even if there's collateral damage left over from his endeavors. The harder part of his journey will probably be his voyage in the Lanes Between."

And indeed it was. Through blue and purple space, the red and golden figure of Terra riding on his Keyblade Glider was the only thing one would have seen had they been there with him. He sailed along, looking over his shoulder in the direction of the Land of Departure, and said to himself, "I wonder if the party's started already."

His nostrils flared under his helmet at the thought of being left out of a gathering he'd helped prepare. He was still a little steamed from the tiff he and Aqua had gotten into before he left. "Sure, she made the food and the lights, but I made the garland and the wreaths…even though she was the one who fixed them…and now I'm getting the tree."

As he cruised through inner space, it occurred to him that he didn't really know where to find the tree he needed. He spotted the light of a world in the distance and headed toward it, thinking that if it didn't have what he needed, he could probably at least find a substitute. Before long, he made landfall, passing through a twilit portal and landing on the ground of the new world, his Keyblade Glider and armor disappearing in a flash of light.

The world was dark and somewhat contemporary. The colorful lights of Christmas decoration shined from a town in the distance, but the weather betrayed the season as a warm breeze caressed his face. Despite the noises coming from the town, Terra was more interested in a fenced area nearby, a number of trees towering inside. He walked through dry grass to get there, browsing through the orchid with curious eyes. Some of these trees he had seen before, but some were different, much more exotic. It was strange to him. He was tempted to pluck the fruit from one of the mysterious trees, but he passed them by in search of the one he needed.

"There we go," he said to himself, spotting a green fruit in the distance. He walked toward his prize and examined it. It was barely taller than he was, but that just meant it'd be easier to take back. With a swift motion with his Keyblade, it was downed, and he reequipped his armor to get set for the journey home. After quickly mounting the tree on his Keyblade Glider and securing it, he was off, sparing no second glance to the world.

The morning after, someone was going to be shocked to find one of their trees had up and migrated.

Again traveling through the Lanes Between, Terra mused further to himself. "I hope Aqua feels better when I get back. After all this, I'm not really in a celebrating mood anymore." He passed by a number of other lights, thinking back to his youth. "There sure were some good times back then. Some hard times, too." He laughed to himself. "It's all for Ven, though, I guess. He deserves at least one good Christmas."

Back in the castle, Ven stood across from Aqua at the folding table, biting off a small carrot. The Masters still stood at the eggnog table, reminiscing about old times and quipping on the apprentices' antics throughout the day. Aqua tried to ignore them for the moment.

"So what was Christmas like where you came from, Aqua?" Ven asked suddenly.

"Oh. Um, well…" Aqua paused, thinking as she looked out the window. She watched the clouds rolling in and smiled nostalgically. "Well, where I come from, around Christmas time, it snowed a lot," she replied.

"Wow," Ven hummed, trying to imagine a lot of snow up close. "It was always cold, then?"

"Oh, it was freezing," Aqua replied, laughing softly. "We all had to huddle inside and cover up for warmth. We made coffee and hot chocolate to keep ourselves nice and toasty, and it was nice. We liked to pretend we were bears in hibernation or caterpillars waiting to become butterflies." She scratched her upper lip in mild embarrassment. "Christmas was always my favorite time of year."

"Because of the snow?" Ven asked. Aqua nodded. He chuckled. "That must have been really nice."

"Not everyone likes snow," Aqua said. "It's cold and dense, and it gets everywhere. It's hard to go out when it's on the ground, and it stings your face when you walk in it." She sighed wistfully. "But I enjoyed it. I might have been the only one who did."

"I don't know about that," Ven replied, thumbing his nose and grinning. "It sounds like a bunch of fun to me. You know what?" He turned and looked out the front window above where the stockings hung. "We should go to the top of one of those mountains someday and see the snow. Just you, me, and Terra."

Aqua nodded slowly. "Yeah. That sounds like a great idea."

A gleam of light appeared in the sky at that moment. The four party-goers turned to the window and watched Terra descend in the distance, his Keyblade Glider dispelling with an audible thud as what they assumed was the tree hit the ground outside. "Finally!" Ven shouted, running to the window to watch. "Terra's back!" Aqua and Eraqus walked up behind him and watched the oldest Keyblader carry a green object on his back, climbing up the stairs out of their view.

Xehanort leaned on a pillar and smirked behind the others, waiting for Terra to come in. "Your pet's here. The real party starts now, right?" Vanitas quipped from the shadows.

"I'm only a spectator tonight, much like you," Xehanort replied, sipping from his glass. "I sense some entertainment is imminent."

Vanitas huffed in bored skepticism. "You better be right. I'm tired of watching these people talk."

Terra's grunts and footsteps echoed as he made his way up the stairs to the throne room. Aqua couldn't help but giggle. Despite her worries over his shortcomings, he still managed to get the tree. "I'll go get the ornaments ready. Help him bring it in," she said, strolling to the boxes and breathing a sigh of relief.

"Got it. Hey, Terra!" Ven called, running to the stairs and spotting him. "About time you…got back?"

Master Eraqus blinked as he watched his student reach the top step, carrying a tree at least his size on his back. He recalled a conversation from earlier in the day and couldn't decide whether this was funny or simply unfortunate. Aqua brought two glass balls out of one of the boxes and turned. "Good to see you back, Ter…"

Terra nodded, walking quickly to where the tree stand was and carefully sliding it in place, exhaling as the weight left his shoulders. "Yeah…Yeah, glad to be back."

Aqua stared blankly at the tree. Then she looked at Terra.

"That's a pear tree."

Terra nodded. "Yes it is."

"Why is it a pear tree, Terra?"

"I don't know."

Ven, Eraqus, and Xehanort all looked at the pear tree in varying degrees of confusion. Eraqus mumbled to himself for a moment. "Why did you get a pear tree, Terra?"

Terra shrugged and looked at the youngest apprentice. "Ven wanted one. I thought it was weird, too."

Ven blinked. "When did I say that?"

"You asked why it was supposed to be a pear tree earlier," Terra replied, turning back to the tree and moving a stalk aside with his hand. "Well, are we going to decorate it?"

"Terra…" Aqua murmured, looking down at her shoes to hide her expression, only showing off the vein in her forehead. "He was asking about the twelve days song. Not telling you to get a pear tree."

Terra opened his mouth to retort, but he looked at Ven from the corner of his eye. Ven nodded slowly. He closed his mouth and thought. "That makes a lot more sense."

Aqua wasn't sure what frustrated her more, the mistake itself or Terra's rather nonchalant demeanor. She looked up at him, glowering. "What are we supposed to do, now, Terra?"

Terra sighed, glancing at Ven again and hiding a bit of the guilt in his face behind a closed hand. "Well, I mean…" he trailed off, leaving uncomfortable silence in the room. "A tree's a tree, right? We can still decorate it."

"No we can't! It's a pear tree!" Aqua snapped, throwing her arms out. "Maybe the world you went to decorates pear trees, but the rest of us use pine!"

"Well, I'm sorry, alright?" Terra grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I thought I was doing everyone a favor by going out when the party was starting and a getting a tree, but I guess I was wrong."

"You were wrong," Aqua said, returning to her inside voice but still clearly annoyed. "Effort only goes so far, Terra. You eventually have to do things right, you know."

"Now that's unfair," Terra muttered.

"Is it?" Aqua said, lowering her voice to a quiet growl so the other three couldn't hear their quarreling. "You transformed a rope into a hostile flaming creature."

"That was a dumb moment, yeah, but…"

"You made wreaths from a poisonous bush."

"Do I look like a gardener? That was an honest mistake."

"You got a pear tree."

"At least it's exotic…!"

"And to top it all off," Aqua growled, covering her face, "I'm putting in a full day of training as it is with the work I'm doing, and I still have to clean up your messes. And I can do that without complaining. But what am I supposed to do with this?" She pointed at the tree. "I can't do anything with this, Terra."

"Just treat it like a pine tree with thicker branches," Terra replied, reaching into his pants pocket and withdrawing the keychain of the Master emblem. "It's not that hard!"

Ven sighed watching the two. He walked back over to the folding table, shaking his head. Things weren't quite turning out at all as he had imagined them. He reached for a cup and the ladle of the punch bowl, glancing to see Master Xehanort standing nearby. Xehanort grinned.

"Quite a modest but exciting party, wouldn't you say?" he mused, fingers curled under his own glass of eggnog. Ven always felt like Xehanort was growling when he spoke. He was uneasy around him.

"Y, yeah," Ven said, bringing the ladle over his cup and filling it. He laughed nervously. "Are you having fun, Master?"

"Why certainly, my boy," Xehanort replied, cackling at Ven calling him Master. Ven averted his eyes to Terra and Aqua as they quietly argued over the tree. Terra had some kind of keychain in his hand, but Aqua seemed just about ready to club the oldest apprentice with something.

"This isn't what Christmas is supposed to be about, is it?" Ven asked himself, looking down at the book under his free arm. Xehanort laughed heartily. Ven looked up at him. "What?"

"Little Ventus, the Christmas season and, indeed, any holiday you can think of is not something whose festivities can be defined," Xehanort explained with an unnerving chortle at every pause. "It's only the holiday, itself. Does it say in that book why Christmas came about?"

"Um…" Ven trailed off, setting his cup down and looking in the book. "It says all kinds of things. Aqua told me it's when the true light was born or something."

"Ah, yes. The true light," Xehanort nodded his head with a smirk. "Back when the worlds were covered in darkness, there was a light that broke through and shined over all the World. Some think that may be what Christmas is celebrating. Others attribute it to more…human figures. The meaning varies from person to person."

"Is that it?" Ven murmured to himself, thinking.

"The light came about and extinguished the darkness, and then, they say, it was hidden away," Xehanort continued, raising his free hand and wriggling his fingers like a set of five snakes. Ven bit his lip watching them. "But one day, there would come a time when the darkness envelopes the lands again. The worlds shall end and the light will return to lead the worthy into a paradise like no other."

"That sounds…kind of depressing," Ven replied, unsure what else to say.

"Oh, of course, child," Xehanort said, chuckling as he brought the glass of eggnog to his lips. He exhaled. "That light was handily snuffed out long ago, and from it was born more darkness. Only when it was allowed to die could the light really shine, like a candle in the moments before it flickers away." The Master looked meticulously into Ven's eyes, which widened and turned to stare with great interest at the wall.

"I'm sure people don't really think they're celebrating something that'll end the world," Ven said, unsure. He rather desperately wanted this conversation to end.

"You would be surprised what hopes people hold to which would lead them to disaster," Xehanort replied, smile ever widening. "But when the light returns and confronts the darkness at last, all will be well. The only questions are when and whom." He pointed a snaked finger to the ceiling. "The light could be anywhere. It could be anyone." He looked back down at Ventus. "Why, you were the one who brought together this celebration. With that penchant for high spirits, perhaps the light is you, Ventus! You could show us all to the end of days."

Ven stared at Xehanort, saying nothing.

"Wahahaha! Of course I speak of mere legend," the Master laughed, patting Ven on the head with his gnarled, bony hand, earning an uncomfortable wince. "The Christmas spirit to you probably embodies something else entirely. I'm sure you'll do just fine."

Ven waited for Xehanort to say more. When he didn't, he once again laughed nervously. "Yeah, I'm sure that's…Okay, then." He looked back over to where Terra and Aqua were. "Anyway, I'm going to go…see what's up over there. It was, uh, nice talking to you." He turned away and slowly walked off, failing to remember another point in his life that he had been so creeped out. Xehanort stifled a laugh as he went back toward Eraqus. His brother in arms seemed content to watch his students by the tree.

"What a lively pair. If I didn't know better, I would never guess they were training to be Masters," Xehanort remarked, placing his free hand behind his back again.

Eraqus closed his eyes. "On days like this, I begin to wonder," he said, calmly sipping his drink. "Still, you and I used to bicker just as they do."

"True," Xehanort replied, watching Terra carefully. "On that very Christmas, you couldn't stop raving that the chicken was toxic. The Master and I both tried to explain to you that it had been treated with magic, but you were convinced it was some unstoppable poison."

"It wasn't that the chicken was poisoned," Eraqus explained with a furrowed brow, "it was that the magic it was cooked with made it taste like medicated sand. It was all but inedible." He glanced at Xehanort. "Why won't you allow me to forget that day? I keep telling you not to speak of it."

"Master Eraqus, if I were not going to torment you somehow, I would not have come," Xehanort answered with a smirk.

Eraqus shook his head. "That attitude is why the Master had you cleaning the entire castle interior the next morning."

Xehanort closed his eyes and snickered. "Yen Sid owed me a favor from the night before. I made him clean it for me."

Eraqus took a long swig of his drink and stared at the pear tree. "I can see why Yen Sid dislikes you, Master Xehanort." Xehanort briefly burst into maniacal laughter.

Terra and Aqua glared into each others eyes as they continued to shout in whispers. "You take every word you hear too literally," Aqua growled. "A man with glasses would be inconvenienced to tell you he lost his eyes."

"Why is he wearing glasses if he lost his eyes?"

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Aqua spat almost inaudibly. "You don't pay attention to anything you're told, you just pick from a set of words on your mind."

"Well hey, it's not like everything you do is perfect," Terra retorted, clenching his fists as he stared her down. "What happened to the ice and thunder for the lights? Why don't we have any snow?"

"I've been using ice magic all day! My hands were numb," Aqua countered. "And need I remind you most of that icing was to fix your mistakes." She pointed to the window. "I wanted snow, Terra. Of all the preparations we made, I wanted snow most of all, but I let it go because we were behind on everything else!"

"Yeah, well…" Terra stammered, looking around the room. He spied the food from the corner of his eye. "I can smell the magic on that table. You couldn't get that completely right, could you?"

"It burned because I was busy helping you fight a sentient rope monster," Aqua murmured, throwing a hand over her face in defeat. "You know what? This is foolish. I can't talk to you anymore right now." Aqua stepped away. Terra reached out behind her.

"Aqua, wait," he called, trying to gather the words. Aqua stopped. When he couldn't think of anything nice to say, he threw his hand up and let it fall to his side. "Fine. I messed up. I ruined Christmas," he said. "Can we at least act like everything's okay, though? For Ven's sake?"

Aqua nodded slowly and walked away. Terra sighed. He caught movement in the corner of his eye and turned to see Ven walking over, watching Aqua pass as he did. He looked up at Terra. "Is everything okay?"

Terra slid a hand over his face and blinked. "…Yeah," he said.

Aqua opened her eyes and stopped at the eggnog table beside Master Eraqus, leaning on the table in exhaustion. Eraqus spooned more of the drink in his cup and hummed a chord. Aqua looked up at him with weary eyes. He moved his head in understanding.

"Rough day." he said neutrally.

"Uh-huh." Aqua took a deep breath.

"You know," Eraqus started, tilting his glass and staring into it, "long ago, men much wiser than we would have days such as this. Days that were supposed to be festive, or sometimes days they knew would be disastrous before they began."

"I don't think I'm wise enough to handle it," Aqua whispered, staring down at the table. Eraqus laughed.

"That's why those wise Masters invented a little solution just for this day, to ease the pressure a touch and to drive away the darkness of that is borne of our frustrations," he explained. He held his glass out. "They called it eggnog."

Aqua slowly looked up, staring at Eraqus in disbelief. But her gaze gradually drifted to the glass in his hand. She blinked, flicking her eyes back to Eraqus. He closed his eyes and tilted his head. She looked behind her where Terra and Ven talked to each other in front of the pear tree, then to a pillar behind the folding table where Xehanort appeared to be contemplating his place in the universe.

She took the glass and put it to her lips, knocking back the drink in one go. "Gah…"

Back by the pear tree, Terra and Ven stared at it and wondered. "I guess we can't use this," Terra, muttered.

Ven shrugged, not looking particularly excited but not looking too upset either. "It's…I mean…at least you tried, right? It's the thought that counts."

Terra chuckled softly. "Maybe?" He turned and looked at Ven. "Sorry about this. I've made a mess of things."

"No, hey, you don't have to apologize," Ven said, holding his hands up. "I'm just glad you made it back for the party." He gave a small smile. "It just doesn't feel right when one of us is gone."

Terra nodded slowly, paused, and then nodded again. "Yeah, it doesn't." He smiled. "Thanks, Ven."

"No problem."

"So, is there anything in the book about decorating pear trees?" Terra asked.

Ven shook his head. "Already checked. Unless you have a partridge, there's nothing we can do."

Terra sneered. "Figured." He looked down at the boxes of ornaments and his hostile garland. "What a waste."

"Hey, I'm going to get some of that food," Ven said, turning away and playfully twirling the garland on his shoulders. He smiled at Terra. "Let's just have some fun, okay?"

Terra nodded. "Yeah." Ven nodded back and turned away, his smile faltering just before it was out of sight. Terra's heart sank. He covered his face with his hands and rubbed fiercely. He considered asking Master Eraqus for advice, but he saw he was with Aqua at the moment, and that was an encounter he would rather avoid at the moment. He then spotted Master Xehanort leaning on a pillar through his fingers. He dropped his arms and walked over, the eerie Master greeting him with a smile.

"Good tidings, Terra," he said in a low, satisfied drone.

Terra bowed his head. "Master Xehanort, I…" he fumbled his words. "I made a real mess of everything, didn't I?"

Xehanort closed his eyes and waved Terra off with his free hand. "I don't see a mess anywhere. Only a series of unfortunate misunderstandings."

"Well, yeah, but…" Terra trailed off, looking back at the Ven, who stood at the food table staring vacantly into the green book. "I think Ven's really upset. And Aqua's mad at me, too," he murmured, pursing his lips. "I feel so bad."

Xehanort chuckled. "Do you always say how you feel out loud?" he asked. Terra looked up at him in mild bother. "Well, there's no need to feel so down, Terra. You did your best. You're fine as you are."

"Yeah, but…I feel like I have to fix this somehow," he replied, looking back at the tree. "But it's so late in the day, and I don't know what else to do. I mean, I worked hard and did the best I could all day, but just telling everyone that isn't going to help our situation here."

"Well, think about it like this," Xehanort said, lifting his hands and flexing his fingers, never losing his grip on his glass. "If the instructions you're following have led you to an unsatisfactory conclusion, would you follow further instructions to fix it? Or perhaps you would depart with what you have?"

"Of course not," Terra said, scratching his head. "But what are you trying to say?"

"What do you do when something isn't working the way you want it to?" Xehanort asked. "Call to mind your Keyblade training. How do you solve a problem if not intellectually?"

Deadpan, Terra answered, "I hit it until it stops being a problem."

"Precisely. There are some things in the worlds that you cannot do by following with the 'proper' solutions," Xehanort declared, making a fist with his free hand. "Sometimes, the issue has to be forced. From where I stand, perhaps this may be one of them."

Terra paused. "I'm not sure I understand, Master."

"All I'm trying to say is…" Xehanort paused to laugh to himself, "under whose decree can an ornament not be put on a pear tree?"

Terra blinked. "Huh…I think I get it," he said, looking up. A small smile spread across his face. "Yeah. Just because it's unheard of doesn't mean it's wrong or impossible." He raised a fist and nodded. "Thank you, Master. Now I know what I have to do." Terra turned and walked back toward the pear tree with purpose in his step. Xehanort's smile grew wider. From behind the pillar, he heard Vanitas drumming his fingers.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're having fun all of the sudden," he muttered in distaste, coolly leaning against the back of the pillar but otherwise drowning in the boredom. "If you're done entertaining me, I think I'm just going to go home."

"Wait another moment," Xehanort replied, bringing the eggnog to his lips and watching Terra carefully. "I think we're about to witness something…interesting."

Aqua and Ven both watched Terra as he crossed the room and stood in front of the pear tree, contemplating it. They looked at each other from their different tables, and Ven shrugged, looking back at Terra and calling to him. "What's up, Terra?"

Terra didn't respond, looking over the tree still. After a considerable moment of awkward silence in the throne room, he bent down and gathered one of the boxes in his arms, heaving it into a strong grasp in his right arm and picking out a red glass ball with his left hand. Carefully, he placed it on the tree.

Aqua facepalmed. "Terra," she said, sliding her hand down her face, "what in the worlds are you doing?"

"Decorating the tree," he replied simply, reaching for another ornament and finding another branch to place it on. Ven and Eraqus each raised an eyebrow. "I'll show you a little thing like getting the wrong tree can't defeat the spirit of celebration."

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Aqua demanded, walking up behind him.

"Maybe I have," Terra admitted, throwing another ornament on, this one shaped like a star. "So now I'm going to let my heart do the talking. Did you make those candy canes, Aqua?"

"Terra, far be it from me to criticize eccentric action," Eraqus cut in, lowering his glass, "but Aqua is right. That is a pear tree you're putting Christmas ornaments on."

Terra kept his eyes trained on the tree, ignoring them. "I know what I'm doing. I've been making decorations out of weird things all day," he said, setting down the box and reaching for the frosted garland he and Aqua had worked on together.

Aqua put her hands on her head in disbelief. "Why are you trying so hard to force this? Just let it go!"

"No!" Terra shot, throwing the garland over the top of the tree and twirling it over the front. "All you keep doing is telling me how I've messed up. Well, you had to fix some things with magic, right? Now I'm trying to fix something and make it special, too. Weird, but special!"

Eraqus coughed, covering his mouth with a fist and staring at a wall. "Terra, you've done enough. The evening is fine as it is." Under his breath, he added, "You're embarrassing yourself."

Terra's arms shook in frustration as he continued his work on the pear tree, throwing the last of the garland strand on and reaching for the other. He knew in his heart he had to do this. "All this tree needs is a little love," he said, concentrating as hard as he could on the decorations.

"It looks ridiculous, Terra. You're just like a child," Aqua pressed, crossing her arms and looking at another wall. Terra clenched his fists and stared at the blackness. "If those ornaments fall off and break, what are we going to do, then?"

Terra threw his arms up, tossing the second garland strand on haphazardly and swallowing his irritation. "Would you just let me do it, Aqua?" he barked, reaching back down for more ornaments as the air around him distorted with the power of his heart. "I'm decorating this pear tree, and I'm going to prove to you that it can be easy and look good!" He reached to put another ornament on. "And since no one's ever done it before, there's no possible way I can mess it up!"

Sparked by his aura, the tree suddenly burst into a great black fire.

It burned to nothing in only a few moments, garland and ornaments vaporizing under the dark energy. In his hand, Terra held hook attached to the charred remnant of an ornament, and he stared wide-eyed at the wall behind the tree. Aqua, Terra, and Ven stared with similar expressions at Terra.

Behind the pillar on which Xehanort leaned, Vanitas clawed frantically at his mask as he held his breath, trying hard to restrain his laughter.

Terra opened his hand, dropping the charred ornament to the floor, and put his arm to his side. "What."

Furious, Eraqus bolted to his student and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him violently and shouting, "What have you done, Terra! Are you trying to throw away all the work you've done!"

Aqua cried to the ceiling in her anger. "What in the three realms is going on here!"

Eraqus turned Terra around and glared at his empty expression, squeezing his shoulders with strong fingers. "Have you forgotten everything I've taught you! You succumbed to the darkness! Do you know what happens if you succumb to the darkness! I cannot help you anymore if you succumb to the darkness, Terra!"

Aqua covered her face and rocked herself back and forth. "I just wanted a Christmas. I just wanted a Christmas."

Over at the folding table, Ven stood utterly crestfallen. He slowly looked down at The History of Christmas. His body trembled and his stomach churned, and he scrunched his face as tears welled in his eyes. "This isn't right…"

"You brought evil into our home!" Eraqus shouted, shaking Terra some more. "You have shamed yourself in front of me! You have shamed yourself in front of your fellow apprentices! You have shamed yourself in front of Master Xehanort!"

Vanitas was forced to throw a spell over himself, unable to hold back his hysteria any longer. Even Master Xehanort had to cover his face with his wiggling fingers to gain control of himself.

"Terra," Aqua said, looking up from her breakdown. "I think you should go."

Terra snorted. He lightly pushed Eraqus' hands away and nodded. "You know what? You're right. Both of you are." He turned toward the stairs to storm off. "I tried my best. I really did. But everything I touch goes wrong somehow."

Ven looked inside the book, looking frantically and in futility for something he hadn't seen yet. His voice cracked as he repeated, "This isn't right…!"

"You tried. For all your work, I guess I just don't have that unique spirit for celebration, huh?" Aqua spat, faltering when she heard the venom in her own voice.

Terra bit his lip as hard as he could, wincing at the pain of it. He turned back to look at everyone. "And I guess I just don't have what it takes to make my loved ones happy." Aqua and Eraqus glared at him with their own brands of intensity. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Aqua. I'm sorry, Master." He looked over to Xehanort, still covering his face. "I'm sorry, Master Xehanort." He exhaled. "I'll just leave you all alone for the rest of the night."

"No! This isn't right!" Ven shouted fiercely, suddenly throwing the green book as hard as he could across the room. Everyone turned to look as it crashed to the floor with a dull thud, silencing them all. They stared at Ven with wide eyes as they young apprentice trembled and panted, wiping his eyes. There was a moment of pause, but Aqua was the first to shake herself from the silence, walking over to Ven. She knelt to face him and gently put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ven," she whispered, suddenly feeling very guilty. "I didn't mean to…"

Ven softly grabbed her hand and dropped it aside. "You guys just don't get it," he murmured, looking at the floor. "You're so busy arguing over what's right and wrong here…over what you should and shouldn't be doing."

Terra blinked. "Ven…?"

"It's like, we found this big set of instructions, but we're trying so hard to do something with it that we forgot why we wanted to do all this in the first place, you know?" Ven looked up, surveying the room with red eyes. "I mean, I like the idea of a perfect tree and decorations as much as anyone, but when I see everyone so…so angry over it all, I just…" he paused, closing his eyes, "…I just wonder what the point is."

"Ventus…" Aqua sighed, trying to look at him tenderly. "These things happen. We tried to give you a Christmas. We didn't mean for it to…"

"But you can't give me a Christmas," Ven retorted, looking back at her with sad eyes. "You can't give anyone a Christmas. It's not something that can be made or defined. It's just…something that's there." He stole a glance to Xehanort, finally free from his humor and watching intently. He turned back to his comrades. "The book says everyone celebrates Christmas differently, but it's like no one even knows exactly why they do it anymore." He looked past Aqua at the stockings hung by the front window. "Some people want to make someone happy or for someone to make them happy. Other people just want an excuse to throw a party."

The tension of the room seemed to melt with his words, so mild and innocent, yet somehow so profound.

"But is so easy to forget what we do every year. And not just on Christmas, but everyday of the year," the youngest apprentice continued, looking up at the sky. The stars were now covered by a sheet of clouds. "You just have to hold onto that feeling you get when you're near someone else. It's not a special feeling, or at least it shouldn't be, right? It's what we want…what we need to feel every time we're with our friends or alone. It's why we make each other happy and want to celebrate."

He smiled to himself.

"After all, Christmas is all about…just about being with the people you love."

The throne room was quiet once again. Terra and Aqua both looked to the floor in deep thought and guilt. Eraqus looked to either one of them and took a deep breath. On both of their faces, he also saw a faint sign of warmth. He smiled. Through all the teeming and clashing emotions in the room, one boy's pure heart was all it took to quell the disaster. Now, all they needed was for someone to cut the tension.

"Terra. Aqua," their Master called, standing up with the dignity of their teacher. They slowly raised their eyes to him. He nodded. "Today is a celebration of friendship and unity. Let go of what has happened. So too shall I. This is a time of merriment."

Terra and Aqua both smiled, the latter standing back up. They looked at each other and laughed uneasily.

"I'm sorry, Terra," Aqua said after a pause. "I shouldn't have been so abrasive."

"Yeah, well," Terra scratched his head, "I'm sorry, everyone. I'll do better next time. I swear it." He scratched the back of his ear bashfully, mulling over the lesson he'd just learned. "But even if I don't, I'll do the best that I can. You can count on me to try and get the things we need."

"Even the best of times can be filled with obstacles," Eraqus said, smiling contently. "The message of today's training is simply to never lose your hope and spirit for what you hope to accomplish." He gazed at Ven in satisfaction. "If you want it and if you all work toward it, every day can be as special as Christmas."

Ven laughed softly, raising a hand to wipe his damp eyes. He looked up and laughed again. "So who wants to play some Command Board?"

Terra smirked. "Yeah…Okay, I'm in. I'm going to earn all my commands back!"

Eraqus contemplated for a moment. "Maybe I'll have a go as well. Set up the board, Ventus."

Xehanort finally stood up from the pillar and approached the group. "Command Board, eh? I haven't played Command Board in decades," he mused, setting down his glass. "It wouldn't hurt to have a go of my own."

Ven beamed. "Okay! Hold on a sec!" He ran for the boxes where the ornaments were stacked and dug through, eventually producing his Keyblade Board and holding it high in triumph. He looked over. "What about you, Aqua?"

Aqua smiled but shook her head. "I'll sit this one out," she said. "I'm feeling a little tired."

Ven paused, but then he nodded. "That's fine." He turned to everyone else and set down the board. "First to fifteen-thousand?"

"I'm going to win this one," Terra declared. "Just watch me!"

Aqua stepped back toward a pillar on the east side of the room, watching the men set up their pieces and distribute commands. She slid under the arch of two pillars and heaved a heavy sigh, the events of the day catching up to her all at once. The party was saved, more or less. So far, the food had been barely touched, and she contemplated all the work she had put into setting everything up.

"Okay, it's my roll," Ven said, shaking the die in his hand and throwing it. "Nice! I'll set up Aero here. You're next, Terra."

Outside, a cold breeze blew, and Aqua could feel it in her hands. She looked out the window and breathed. It was Ven who set up and made this party. All her work just kind of went with it, she knew. She thought it might be wrong of her to feel a little cheated, but it was fine. This wasn't her Christmas. It was his. It was theirs. Somewhere inside, she knew that from the beginning.

She gasped. Her eyes followed closely as a lone snowflake fell by the window. She raised her head and watched closely as it was joined by several others, flurries of ice raining serenely from the sky as if cued by the precious moments of the party. Aqua smiled a little, watching the window and finally relaxing.

"Hey, Aqua," Ven said suddenly. She jolted her eyes down to the boy standing in front of her. She looked questioningly at the game set up, but he shrugged. "Not my turn."

"Ah." Aqua nodded and looked back at the window. "You know, you really saved Christmas, Ven," she said, finding the softness in her voice she had been missing for many hours. "Thanks. Without you, none of this would have been possible. Well, none of the good parts, anyway."

"What are you thanking me for?" Ven asked, laughing at her. "You're the one who made it all happen, Aqua."

She blinked and shook her head. "No, not at all. I…"

"Seriously," Ven cut, putting his hands on her arms. "All I did was open the book. This food, these lights, those wreaths…" he trailed off, admiring them all, "…you made this happen. Without you, it would have been a boring Christmas."

Aqua smiled modestly and averted her eyes. "Aw, Ven…You know that's not…"

Ven looked up. "Hey, look at that." Aqua turned back to him for a moment, puzzled, then looked up. Her eyes went wide to find a decoration she hadn't seen before then: A green, handmade mistletoe hanging in the archway of the pillars. She quickly looked down, turning red.

"Uh, no, Ven. You can't…We can't…"

Ven stood up on his toes and planted a soft kiss on Aqua's cheek.

"Thanks for everything, Aqua." He smiled and hugged her. "You're a wonderful friend."

Aqua stood still and watched the younger Keyblade wielder as he let go of her and rushed back to Eraqus and Xehanort. She slowly raised a hand to touch her cheek, the burning in her face cooling off as she realized just how genuine and innocent a gesture it really was. She placed her hand over her heart, now unable to stop smiling. His thanks, she realized, was the only thing she really wanted for Christmas.

"So," Terra hummed, standing in front of her. She jolted her gaze up again to meet his. He chuckled. "Do I get one, too?"

Aqua paused, and then frowned. "No," she said. "You know what it means."

Terra scoffed. "That's not fair at all."

"Who said life was fair?" Aqua asked, watching as Ven rolled the die at the board.

Terra shook his head. "Pfeh. You're just still mad at me," he quipped blithely.

Aqua nodded. "I am mad," she affirmed, still smiling. Terra blinked. "This just isn't the time or place to have it out with you. Besides, I already know what your punishment is going to be."

Terra gulped. "What?"

"I'm eating the pumpkin bread. All of it." She walked off to the table.

Terra laughed nervously. "Heheh...Yeah…Okay. Very funny, Aqua." He frowned as she picked up the loaf and took a bite. "Aqua? Oh, come on!"

For the rest of the night, the five Keyblade wielders were joined together in laughter and merriment. In all, the Masters both found themselves sluggish and amused while Terra wound up in even deeper debt after the game. Throughout the evening, the food on the table slowly disappeared until at last the plates were empty and stacked together. Ven and Terra came together to celebrate the holiday with a period of caroling, one which would be spoken of often in their far future, but never in the immediate one.

And as the snow fell in the Land of Departure, Aqua watched tenderly. Christmas was no longer nostalgic; it was their day of togetherness.

The crack of dawn. Ven averted his eyes from the sunlight for only a moment, hopping up a moment later and throwing his sheets all over the room. He stared outside, mouth open in wonder as the sun's rays shone off the snow in the land below. The corners of his mouth turned up and he knew.

"It's Christmas!"

Shouting as loud as he could and not bothering to swap his black and white pajamas for his usual wear, Ven ran through the hallways as fast as he could with a beat in every footstep to complete his human alarm clock. "It's Christmas morning! Wake up everybody! Christmas is here!"

Terra slapped a pillow over his face and grumbled, trying to drown out the sounds he couldn't quite interpret in his dreams. His hand slid off the pillow and fell off the edge of the bed as he took in a deep breath and fell back asleep.

Then his door flew open with a loud bang against the wall, knocking over a set of barbells. Terra flew up from where he lay, throwing his pillow as hard as he could in a panic at the small weights. "We're under attack! What hap…"

Ven beamed at him. "Terra! It's Christmas morning! Come on! Get up!"

"It's too early to be Christmornagh," Terra plopped back down in his bed, eyes flickering over the ceiling as his body tried to boot up.

"We gotta go, Terra! Hahah!" And Ven bolted from the doorway down the hall, leaving the stronger apprentice to rub the sleep from his eyes. He groaned for a moment in discomfort, and then he started awake, rubbing vigorously at his face.

"My eyes! Argh!"

Aqua slept in a blue silk gown and with a blindfold on, a hand resting over her heart as she breathed her dream's rhythm. She was also normally a light sleeper, but when Ven's stomping echoed in her hallway, she turned over only slightly and smiled for no one in particular.

"Aqua!" Ven cried, practically crashing through the door and jumping on the edge of her bed, surprising her to a sitting position.

"Ventus! What's wrong! Are you okay?" she stammered in a panic, clawing at her face to try and remove the blindfold but fumbling the straps in her adrenaline rush.

"It's Christmas morning!" Ven shouted, wrapping his arms around Aqua's shoulders and jumping up and down a time or two.

"Ven, stop! Ahh!"

Ven grabbed the blindfold from the front and pulled it off of his comrade's face. "Let's go, Aqua! Come on, come on!"

"I'm coming, Ven, I'm coming!" Aqua cried, wrapping herself in her own arms to try and calm her nerves. Somehow, she knew this was coming and still wasn't prepared for how it'd actually feel. Ven laughed and jumped off the bed, turning for the door and making a break for the foyer.

After a moment of recovery, Aqua stood from her bed and stretched, yawning heavily and taking a glance to the mountains outside. The snow was still set all over the land. She smiled. "We did good, didn't we?"

Ven screeched to a halt in the foyer and took a moment to admire the fiery lights set up in the ceiling's corners and crannies. The flames had become milder overnight, somehow becoming even more beautiful and serene to contrast Ven's excitement. "Wooow! This is so cool!" He looked to either side of the foyer and laughed. "Christmas is here, everyone!" he shouted as he ran up the stairs toward the throne room.

Terra growled and rubbed his swollen eyes heavily as he strolled through the hallway toward Aqua's room, pants loosely secured and shirt absent entirely for the moment. He noted Aqua coming out of her room with his impaired vision, running a brush through her hair and humming her favorite carol to herself as usual. Terra smirked despite himself. "Maybe we should have packed a sleep spell in his drink last night, huh?"

Aqua giggled, looking off. "He's just like a child, isn't he?" she mused, turning the brush over in her hands.

"That's what you said about me last night, isn't it?" Terra replied. Aqua closed her eyes and giggled.

"It's hard to believe all that work paid off as well as it did, right?"

"I can hear him from here," Terra said, crossing his arms. "I guess Master wasn't joking." He dropped his grin and started rubbing his eyes again. Aqua looked at him and winced at the gross swelling. She sighed.

"I told you to wash your face, dummy."

Of to the side in the throne room sat the table from last night, the party food plates and bowls stacked neatly as they had been at the end of the party, save a lone small plate and glass. Ven ran to the table to investigate, and sure enough, the plate was covered in tiny crumbs and the glass stained white and empty. "He came! He was here! Get up, everyone! He came!"

Master Eraqus rarely slept as heavily as he did that morning. Despite that, the sounds of shouting and footsteps reached his ears and stirred him from his slumber as easily as anything may have. He stood from his wooden resting place and turned his head, popping this stiffness from his neck and reaching for his coat on the rack near his chamber door. He suppressed a yawn and walked out, unbothered by all the commotion. His old friend surely did him well.

Ven shot his gaze to where the tree was supposed to have stood. He shook his head and frowned, not completely surprised that there wasn't a present there but a touched concerned when he could find nothing else out of the ordinary in the room. Then he remembered.

"The stockings!" he cried, jumping up and down and running back to the front of the throne room where the red, blue, and green stockings had been hung. Terra and Aqua's were no fatter than when Ven hung them up, but the green stocking between them bulged with the volume of something that definitely hadn't been there when they went to bed last night. "I got something! I got something!"

Terra and Aqua arrived in the foyer to hear all of Ven's excitement culminate into that one gleeful cry when he discovered his stocking. They looked at each other and smiled. "Let's go see," Aqua said, and Terra nodded, the two ascending the stairs as a hush came over the castle. They reached the top of the stairs and spotted Ven near the front window where the stockings hung, the red and blue ones Terra and Aqua had 'volunteered' still set up.

"Man, are you serious?" Terra muttered, still unable to believe it. "Imagine that…So, what is it, Ven?" Aqua walked to the youngest apprentice and put a hand on his shoulder, smiling as she looked over him.

Master Eraqus arrived from his chambers at about this time, hands crossed into his coat sleeves, and went toward the three apprentices where they stood at the far wall. "Pleasant morning to all of you," he greeted with a grin. "I can see there has already been much excitement." He walked up behind Terra and exchanged a glance with him. He frowned. "What happened to your face?" Terra said nothing, looking back at Ven. Eraqus blinked. "What is it?"

Eraqus swapped his gaze to Aqua, who didn't move, and then to Ventus. The young boy slowly turned around, his green stocking lying on the floor beside him. In both of his hands, he cupped a mysterious object, staring at it with an unreadable expression.

Terra, Aqua, and Eraqus all froze.

It was a fist-sized lump of coal.

In the Land of Departure that day, there befell a silence so tense and horrible that the currents of light and darkness swirled into a brief oblivion.

Ven trembled. He looked down and dropped the rock, arms falling lifelessly to his sides.

Terra raised his hand slightly. "Ven, I…" But it was no use. He was at a complete loss for words.

Ven's shoulders twitched and he hiccupped. At that moment, he suddenly threw himself into Aqua's arms, latching onto her waist and screaming as the tears stained his face and the floor. Aqua put her hands on his back and dropped to her knees, hugging him around his neck and giving him her shoulder to cry on.

Terra blinked his marred eyes a number of times, blinked again, and then blinked some more. "But that doesn't…That's so unfair. Ven's the best of us all," he tried to shout but was unable to gather the energy, staring at the coal where it lay. He covered his face with a hand.

Eraqus was none better for wear, staring with wide eyes at Ven. "How…could he be on the black list? This is impossible," he murmured to himself, his facial features twitching randomly. "He has a heart of pure light…"

Terra growled at the nearest wall and rammed it with his arms, unable to watch Ven cry anymore due both to frustration and his eyes swelling shut. "All that work…All of that Christmas spirit…!" he yelled, banging the wall. "What a sham! What an epic waste of time! Is this what Christmas is!"

Eraqus turned away from his apprentices and stared up into the rafters of the throne room. "There is no way this could happen!" He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, screeching to the heavens, "HAS THE DARKNESS TAKEN YOU, SANTA CLAUS!"

And Aqua simply sat, either hand on the head and back of the weeping boy who had believed so much, the one who had allowed the rest of them to believe again. Her expression was blank. It could be nothing more than blank. Ven moaned sorrowfully into her neck and squeezed tightly, and she could do nothing more than weakly allow him to. If all the worlds' darkness had pooled together into a single godlike entity simply to punch her in the face, it would never damage her as much as this.

Vanitas sat with his knees up, arms wrapped around them. The only sounds in the Badlands were the usual solemn winds and the high-pitched whirring of gears. He stared at the object in front of him with heavy eyelids, watching the single car go around the twilit little model city again and again. Endless days and nights watching dark clouds and dull rock were what defined his life, and yet, he had never been more bored than at this moment.

"Why did you take the gift, anyway?" Master Xehanort asked, not at all perplexed. His fingers writhed behind his back as he stood over his apprentice, watching the car with him. "We want his heart to grow stronger, but it would be for naught if you break his spirit."

"I was just having a little fun," Vanitas replied, trailing into a dull hum. "I'm just teaching him a little lesson about miracles and trusting strangers who come in your home while you're sleeping. Or something like that."

Xehanort snickered, and Vanitas frowned. "And even though you now reap the rewards of his Christmas spirit, you cannot comprehend the simple pleasure of a toy train," he mused, cackling. "And even without it, Ventus still has his precious friends, does he not?" He turned around, looking off to the distance. "This may be quite a blow you have dealt, but I wonder who will get the last laugh today."

Vanitas didn't look at his Master. Xehanort walked away, leaving his student to his own devices, and Vanitas kept staring at the train car as it circled the town. It looked rather fetching in the dim light, not that he appreciated that in the least. To him, it was just his lesser half's boring junk. He stared.

And stared.

…And stared…

And huffed. Vanitas suddenly raised an arm and pointed at the train set, a sheet of darkness appearing above it and dropping a massive blue and black Bruiser. The heavyset Unversed crashed and toppled over from the fall, wriggling for a moment before dissolving back into the ground and leaving nothing but a wrecked and shattered remnant of the toy before Vanitas.

A slow, sick smile spread across his face.

"Merry Christmas, Ventus."