Disclaimer: I do not own ANY part of Kingdom Hearts in any way, shape, or form. I own NOTHING!

A/N: This story is a what-if scenario of what could have happened if Aqua had actually taken Ven back to Master Eraqus after the trio's brief reunion in Radiant Garden instead of merely telling him to go home and proceeding to chase after Terra like she did in Birth by Sleep. It is set three years after Aqua returned to The Land of Departure with Ventus and is only SEMI-AU. I have only altered the events that occur AFTER the first visit to Radiant Garden and even with those alterations, there will be lots of similarities between the actual storyline and my what-if universe.

*UPDATE: I am currently revising this story (somewhat heavily) one chapter at a time. I hope to get everything back up soon so I can get this story back on track. Thanks in advance for your patience and support! Enjoy!

The Keychain

Chapter 1

"Listen to me, Ven… We need to get you home—"

"It's okay, Aqua! Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. He'll never badmouth Terra again," Ventus explained coolly and confidently.

"You saw the boy in the mask?" Terra took hold of Ven's shoulder, gripping it so tightly and with so much force that he reeled backwards.

Aqua noticed Terra's fierceness, his aggression, his savage obsession that lingered between his words and manifested through his actions. She wanted to confront it, she needed to confront it, but in that moment, she was at a loss for words.

"Y-Yes?" Ven answered with sweeping amounts of uncertainty and a touch of fear.

"Vanitas," Terra said under his breath.

"Ven. You let Aqua take you home," he continued.

"No way. I wanna go with you guys," Ventus countered feverishly.

"You can't. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you to get hurt," Terra responded.

"And what is this dangerous task, Terra?" Aqua's tone was cynical as her eyes reluctantly rose to meet his. "It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do."

"It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the darkness," he replied, attempting to reassure her.

"I'm not so sure. I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done." Her eyes fell to the blue material of the reactor beneath her feet. "You shouldn't put yourself so close to the darkness."

"Listen to yourself, Aqua. Terra would never—"

"You mean you've been spying on me?" Terra bit back and the fact that his tone changed was not lost on her. "Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?"

He was asking questions he already knew the answers to and there was so much pain and hurt in his dark eyes, but she stubbornly tried her best to ignore it.

"He was only—" Aqua looked away. She couldn't take him looking at her like that. She thought she could but she couldn't. It was like she felt his pain, the betrayal he felt… Could she actually feel what he felt? Was that possible? It certainly felt like it.

"Aqua." Ven looked over at her, a combination of disappointment and disbelief swimming in his eyes.

"I get it." Terra's voice was low, almost a whisper.

"Terra!" Ventus called when he saw the torment Aqua both saw and felt within their dear friend. The pain she had ruthlessly, mercilessly, and savagely caused.

"Just stay put!" he roared without looking back at them. Terra clearly didn't want their sympathy nor could he stand looking at them anymore…specifically her.

"I'm on my own now, all right?" he declared boldly and without hesitation, his words causing Aqua to recoil.

No, this wasn't what she wanted at all! She didn't mean to hurt him- at least she didn't think she did. She just wanted him to open his eyes and see what he was doing. She did it to help. She was just trying to be a good Master…to keep the balance…to protect him from himself…

"Terra, please listen!" she cried and fought the powerful and almost uncontrollable urge to run to him. "The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried."

But he was gone.

"You're awful, Aqua," Ven said matter-of-factly, and he was right. She concurred completely. She was awful.

"So now you know the truth." Aqua sighed. "But the Master loves Terra and you know that too."

"Were you also 'ordered' to take me home?"

She didn't answer.

"Aqua…now that you've become a Keyblade Master, you've let it go to your head. I'm gonna go find Terra."

Aqua woke with a jolt, covered in a cold sweat, her dream forcing her to relive that day over and over again. Tears she didn't recall giving permission to leave her eyes mercilessly cascaded their way down the contours of her cheeks.

Her chest burned, as did her eyes and even her bones, her insides coiling with guilt.

"You're awful, Aqua," she chided herself, parroting her friend's harsh, yet traumatically true words in the stale blackness of early morning.

Another restless night...

Aqua never slept anymore, not really. She would go to sleep but then she was plagued by either unpleasant memories or fierce nightmares. When she closed her eyes, she saw nothing but darkness, Unversed, tawny eyes, and χ-blades.

That man, gone, but forever present in her nightmares. His face, the words in his reports, and his student's faceless mask had been forever engraved into her mind.

Accepting that she would not be going back to sleep any time soon, she sat upright in her bed.

Holding her head in her hands, she began massaging her throbbing temples. As she shifted in bed, the dry rustling of Xehanort's reports caused her to cringe.

She'd fallen asleep reading them… Again.

Silently, she picked up the scattered pages of what had become the bane of her existence for the past three years. The damned pages mocked her, laughing at her when she was awake and haunting her in her sleep.

Aqua was convinced the clue to where Xehanort was hiding was in those pages but for the life of her, she couldn't find that clue no matter how many times she read the twisted, bone-chilling ravings of that old, sick, demented man.

Truth be told, sometimes she thought she was the one that was demented. Maybe she was trying to find logic in reports that lacked any and all logic. Perhaps she couldn't find the answers she sought because they were not to be found within those blighted pages. Maybe they were just the incoherent ravings of a mad man who had gone off the deep end years ago, but she couldn't stop reading them no matter how painful or hair-raising it got.

It didn't matter how many times she read them, when she read of what he wanted to do to Terra and Ven, she would get light headed and downright sick to the point where she felt she would surely lose everything in her stomach or pass out.

The more twisted and curious part of her couldn't help but wonder what he planned on doing with her. Kill her, she supposed. However, the thought of him killing her paled in comparison to the fear, anger, and sorrow she felt for what had almost happened to her dearest friends, her counterparts, her companions…those who meant the most to her.

Aqua hated Master Xehanort. She had never hated anyone in her life until she read those reports she had slowly obtained during her travels.

Hate was something the Master had taught her to disavow for it beckoned the darkness, but she just couldn't help it. She hated that man. She hated Xehanort and she wished him dead. He deserved it for all he had done and for all that he wanted to do. She hoped he had gone off to die. She hoped that was the reason why he'd seemingly vanished into thin air three years ago, but she knew that wasn't the case. That would be too easy. He was out there somewhere…waiting…plotting…probably writing more twisted reports just like the ones she gathered off the blue surface of her bed.

Shaking hands touched the page that spoke of Terra. Her bloodshot eyes shut tightly as she tried her best to not read it.

Although her eyes didn't rake over the paper, the memory of the words on the page sang to her within her head. It was a wicked lullaby whose lyrics and music notes had been forever hammered into her eardrums and formed deep, cavernous wrinkles in her brain…

'I had not visited this second home of mine for some time, and discovered Eraqus had already two pupils of his own. Within one of them, Terra, I sensed something. The boy, though well-intentioned, seeks power single-mindedly. And that kind of hunger is a seedbed for darkness. I had found my vessel.'

She wanted to rip the page to shreds as if it could somehow keep that fate from ever transpiring, as if it could keep Xehanort from ever laying a foul hand on Terra, but before she could, she was reading it again…

'The time has come. I have received word from Eraqus that his pupils are to become true Keyblade Masters. Terra and Aqua...They will be easy now to lure into the outside world. But Ventus! I will get nowhere without him.

Vanitas can feel some of what Ventus feels, and he says Terra is the key. Ventus has loved Terra like a real brother ever since he let him keep his old wooden Keyblade. It seems we have found a loose thread at which we can tug to unravel Ventus's heart.

The first step is to get Terra alone; then we need to plant the seeds of doubt in Ventus. Let him carry his faint light as he chases his brother into the darkness. Let the darkness make his light stronger, then let the light deepen the darkness. And where the two finally meet is where the stuff of legends will become real.'

With a heavy heart and a heavy sigh, Aqua put the worn pages in order and placed them in her bedside table before she succumbed to temptation and set them all on fire.

It was so scary to think about how close they came to oblivion. Xehanort had been so close…

Aqua shuddered at the thought and took her sleeping Wayfinder off the nightstand, trying to use it to distract herself because she couldn't think about that. She just couldn't think about how close they were to-

No, she just couldn't think about it. Her mind refused. It hurt too much. It didn't happen and it wasn't real so why couldn't she keep herself from thinking that it was? Probably the nightmares...

Aqua had dreams, dreams where these events transpired, where Terra and Xehanort merged, where Ventus and Vanitas formed the χ-blade, and where she was left alone and cold in a bitter, blackened world she had never laid eyes on before. Walking… Always walking…aimlessly and ceaselessly walking in darkness for eternity while her friends wasted away, forever out of her reach... Somewhere she would never be able to find or help them.

"It's not real… It's not real…" she desperately tried to convince herself, hoping that saying it aloud would offer her solace and reassurance, two sensations she hadn't felt in years. She was always unnerved, always worried, always on the threshold of completely and utterly miserable or insane. She wasn't sure which.

"It's not real... It's not real... It's not real" Aqua chanted those words like mantra and instinctively squeezed her Wayfinder so tightly that she almost drew blood.

Subconsciously, Aqua rubbed her throat and fought the haunting, metaphysical constriction that tightened around her neck. Although she hadn't dreamt of the silver-haired Terra with gleaming golden eyes strangling her to death, she still almost felt the memory.

That dream was the worst and the one that seemed to linger the longest and haunted her the most.

The Master almost had a heart attack when he heard her muted screams cutting through the night terror and penetrating their way into reality. The screams could be heard throughout The Land of Departure as if they emerged from the rasping throat of a banshee. Once the screeching stopped, the marks remained on her throat as if his hand had truly attempted to squeeze the breath and life right out of her.

Bruises that no Curaga spell could disperse marred the skin of her neck for hours.

Putting an end to her self-induced torment, Aqua got out of her bed and attempted to prepare for a new day. But it would be a new day full of the same redundancy she had endured for the past three years, a winding, dizzying rut of chasing ghosts or waiting for ghosts.

Putting her Wayfinder into her pocket, Aqua put on her clothes and unhurriedly exited her room, her childhood room, the room she still inhabited when she wasn't out on duty in other worlds.

As she quietly walked through the castle, she figured she would journey to the summit and practice a bit before the rest of the castle woke. Once everyone rose, she would go to ask Master Eraqus if he had any tasks for her and Ven, and if he didn't, she would probably decide to venture out on her own and chase ghosts…

If Aqua were honest with herself, she would admit that she didn't want to receive that look from her Master, that look of sympathy, sorrow, and confusion, a look that said so much without him uttering a single word but still said everything that he had said to her many times before.

'Why do you stay? You know you don't have to.'

'Did you have another night terror?'

'You know, you can obtain pupils of your own.'

'What's wrong, Aqua?'

'You shouldn't blame yourself. You need to let go of this guilt.'

'Why don't you go to some of the other worlds and try to enjoy yourself?'

Master Eraqus wanted her to attempt to take on some form of normalcy during their limited time of fragile peace, but she couldn't. She couldn't stop thinking that Ven needed her and she couldn't keep herself from waiting for Terra to come back home…

She had this absurd notion in her head that Terra would come home and when he did, she wanted to be there. He would come back to them. He had to… Her heart demanded it. They needed him. She needed him. Home wasn't home without him.

After spending a few hours of basic conditioning and magic practice on the summit, she returned to the fortress to see a very chipper Ventus waiting for her on the castle steps.

She forged a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She hadn't really smiled since…that night, the night before the Mark of Mastery Exam.

"Good morning, Ven. You're up early."

"Yeah... I, uh, had some stuff I needed to talk to the Master about." Ven nervously rubbed the back of his neck. "Did you sleep okay last night?"

"Not really. I had the dream about Radiant Garden again," she confessed as she continued her trek toward the massive, lavender stairwell that led visitors to the castle's entrance.

"The memory one?" Ventus asked as he stood to meet her. "It's been a while since you've had that one."

"Yeah, I managed to wake myself up before you told me that you found Terra but he was gone…"

Aqua was glad she had woken up before it got to that point in the recurring dream. To her, that was the worst part, hearing Ven tell her that Terra was gone…

"You really need to stop beating yourself up about that." Ven shook his head and looked at her solemnly.

"Maybe I should have gone after him. Maybe I should have sent you back home by yourself instead of coming back with you…"

He chuckled. "I wouldn't have gone unless you went with me."

"Still…I can't help but wonder what would have happened if I would have gone after him instead of taking you home. Maybe… Maybe he would be here with us now if I had…"

"Or maybe none of us would be here," Ventus mused darkly.

Aqua giggled in spite of herself. "True, but I suppose it doesn't matter now. I can't undo what's been done."

"Nope! You're stuck with me!" Ven smiled.

Ventus was now a handsome eighteen-year-old but he would always be like her little brother, he would always be that wide-eyed boy she needed to look after and protect even though his face had lost its childlike quality. His features had become more angular, but he still had his slender build. He had gained more height than girth. His height had surpassed her own, but she still had ways of making him feel three inches tall when the occasion called for it.

Aqua managed to smile at him but didn't stop her trek towards the entrance.

"Whoa! Hey!" He chased after her. "Where are you going?"

"Going to speak with the Master, I suppose… I'll find you after?"

"Sure thing!" Ventus beamed like a child.

She couldn't help but notice how he had maintained his childlike optimism and innocence in spite of everything. She loved that about him, even envied it a bit because she wasn't sure if she could handle the unfairness that had been forced onto him because of Master Xehanort's madness.

Because of the plan involving the χ-blade and the fact that both Xehanort and Vanitas were still out there somewhere, Ventus wasn't allowed to grow too strong or become a Master. Master Eraqus offered him as many freedoms as he could, but that wasn't much. He trained, sparred, and frequently visited other worlds with Aqua, but because Ven was growing and maturing and since Xehanort, Vanitas, and the χ-blade were still a frightening possibility, precautions had to be made and strict limits had to be set.

It wasn't fair but life wasn't really fair. No, it definitely wasn't fair but Aqua couldn't help feeling like this was better than the alternative. Surely this was better than Ven being lost or killed to create this χ-blade. She just hoped that Ven understood that they did what they did because they loved him and they wanted to protect him, not out of cruelty or to punish him for something that clearly wasn't his fault.

Damn Xehanort. Damn him. If it weren't for that vile man, they wouldn't have to live in fear. They wouldn't have to take such unfair precautions and they wouldn't have to live life constantly looking over their shoulders and perpetually walking on eggshells.

Aqua frequently wondered about what could have been. What if they were able to stop him? Would Terra be with them? Would he and Ven be the amazing Masters she always knew they could be? Would she be happy? Would she still feel as diseased as she did now? Would she be able to sleep in peace without wondering which dream would torment her next?

Shaking her head, she regained her Master's air. She put on her professional face and straightened her posture as she reentered the fortress they called home and prepared to face the Master.

She walked through the corridor of glimmering, vibrant stained glass. Her silver, armored shoes clinked loudly against the golden flooring she had waltzed upon thousands of times before.

"Good morning, Aqua." Eraqus smiled at her when she reached the steps leading to the dais of thrones, his silvery eyes shimmering with warmth and compassion.

"Good morning, Master." She bowed gracefully.

"As you probably know by now, I have already spoken with Ventus."

"May I ask why?"

Aqua was nothing if not protective of Ven and she did everything she possibly could to make sure he was included in everything since he was frequently held back by the bitter grip of fate and even her own unintentionally traitorous hands. So if Ven could do something without endangering himself and in turn endangering countless others, Aqua wanted him to do it. She wanted him to spread his wings as much as possible although she knew he would never be able to truly do so with Xehanort lingering in the shadows.

"We are concerned about your well being," he replied.

Aqua tried really hard not to react. This conversation happened a lot and frankly, she was tired of it.

"I'm fine," she countered more out of habit than anything. It was her knee jerk reaction to this conversation. She no longer knew if she really meant it.

Eraqus gave her his trademark concerned look. It was a look that said: 'I really want to believe you but given the circumstances, I can't.'

"Of course." He bobbed his head. "Regardless, I have an…assignment for you, one that we agree you should confront alone.

"And what assignment is that, Master?"

He took in a deep breath. "It involves Terra."

Aqua's eyes widened and her heart clenched at that name. Anytime his name was spoken aloud, it caused her physical pain.

"I want you to go to Traverse Town and speak with him. See if he would be willing to come home or at the very least work more closely with us to find Xehanort."

"I-I don't understand…" Her eyes fell as she slowly shook her head. "Why can't Ven come with me? Surely we would have better chance of convincing him to return if we spoke to him together. The three of us—"

"Aqua," he interrupted politely, "I wouldn't ask you to do this alone if I didn't feel it was necessary."

Aqua closed her burning eyes and took a deep, shaky breath.

This terrified her. She didn't want to go alone. She and Terra hadn't parted on good terms. She hadn't spoken to Terra since their fight in Radiant Garden three years ago, since he realized the Master had sent her to 'spy' on him right before she had returned home with Ven and right before Xehanort, Vanitas, and the Unversed mysteriously vanished.

"How are your dreams?" The Master added when she continued to stand there dumbfounded and numb.

She managed to blink. "About the same, I suppose…"

Master Eraqus sighed and sat in one of the three thrones at the front of the room.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I think your night terrors are linked to Terra and his absence?"

Aqua's brow furrowed and she couldn't control the confusion that contorted her features. "Excuse me…?"

He sighed and folded his fingers under his chin. "Allow me to elaborate. I think you and Terra might have a unique connection called a Keychain."

Her eyes fell to the floor yet again as she tried to remember the details of the lesson they had received about Keychains years ago. It had been so long ago in fact that she couldn't recall much.

"It's…" Aqua began, her eyes rising to meet Eraqus's, "It's a special bond between Keyblade wielders or Masters. Correct?"

"That's right. There are the Keychains we use with our Keyblades but there are also Keychains that bind Keyblades and the wielders themselves together, and they exist or come into being for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, they hold keys or wielders together for the purpose of bringing an end to conflict. Other times it is simply to bring each other peace of mind, to protect each other's hearts and spirits. And sometimes it is to protect each other from themselves, their own powers, the malevolent powers of others, or external forces."

"Destiny's way of holding keys together," Aqua rummaged through her memories aloud.

Keyblades that have a goal that must be reached together... Keyblades with a similar purpose… Those with a similar fate… Wielders and Masters with a deeper connection… Or something like that…

"Yes but I have no way of proving whether or not a Keychain exists between you and Terra, but I see the signs. I've even spoken with Master Yen Sid and he has been able to sense something as well. I believe your night terrors should go away if you are reunited with Terra. The dreams are likely the link's way of trying to tell you that you need to go to him. I'm sure Terra is experiencing some form of suffering as well. If this link exists, the two of you will continue to suffer if you continue to deny and strain the bond."

"I wasn't aware that Keychains could be so…aggressive…" she mused.

"Each one is different. However, most Keychains only last until the conflict or task that caused the Keychain to come into existence is completed," Master Eraqus continued. "Still, I know very little of Keychains because they have become so rare but if I had to guess, I would say your link is probably one that was birthed out of the need to put an end to this pending or postponed conflict with Xehanort."

"I see…" she whispered. "But Master, what exactly do you want me to do?"

Frankly, she was stunned. This was a lot to take in.

Had… Had she done this? Was this her magic? Had she willed this into existence?

"As I said earlier, I want you to try to talk to Terra. See if he would be willing to return here and speak with all of us. Perhaps together we can finally find Xehanort. Or at the very least, give you some closure and peace of mind."

"Ven has already tried to talk to Terra and his words have fallen on deaf ears," she countered.

"But you aren't Ventus, Aqua. You and Terra have a past and according to Ventus, you still have some issues to work out." He stood and descended the steps until he was a few feet from her. "I don't know what happened between the two of you but I can't watch you suffer anymore. Aqua, you look like you never sleep. I am watching you deteriorate before my eyes…"

"I'm fine," she insisted yet again, her tone unintentionally terse.

"Please." He placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Try to reason with him. If not for yourself, do it for him. Not only him but for Ventus and the fate of our World as well."

Aqua watched him with wide eyes. He was desperate and truly believed that in some roundabout way, this was the answer to their problems…or perhaps the first step in the right direction. He (and apparently Master Yen Sid and Ven as well) thought this Keychain was trying to tell them something, trying to warn them about something. She was tempted to agree. Things couldn't go on as they were. Something had to be done.

"Right. I understand." She straightened her posture again and tried to keep her spiraling emotions in check. She had to be professional, she had to be strong, and she had to be a Keyblade Master. "I would never question your decisions. I shall leave right away."

No. It was not her place to question her Master's decisions or reasoning. Master Eraqus and Master Yen Sid had strange yet uncanny senses. They just…knew things and if they thought she and Terra had some metaphysical bond that could potentially aid them in their fight against Xehanort, she should at the very least consider it. That was apparently what Ven wanted her to do and it was definitely not her place to go against Ven's wishes.

If this is truly what Ven wants me to do, then…I'll do it…

The instant she opened the fortress's doors, she saw Ven sitting at the foot of the towering stairwell, swinging his Keyblade at the air around him.

His ears perked as her footsteps pierced the silence around him. He stumbled to his feet, turned, and ran to the stairs to meet her.

"So...?" he drawled. "Are you going to do it?"

This was truly puzzling. Why did he want her going after Terra alone? She was sure he would want to come with her to retrieve their old friend when the time came. She expected him to be upset, not excited that she was going alone. Perhaps at this point, he was hoping her going alone would make a difference.

"I suppose but…I'm nervous…" she confessed as she resisted the urge to hold her Wayfinder. "Why don't you want to come with me?"

"Don't get me wrong, I want to see Terra more than anything, but after talking with the Master…and given the way you and Terra left things… I-I know how guilty you feel and I just thought that it would be best if you two talked it out without me first. You know, the way you two used to when you fought."

With a dejected sigh, Aqua nodded.

It was clear Ven wasn't a child anymore. This was a very selfless and mature decision and impressive evaluation on his part. He had always been more mature in regard to the whole Terra situation, but then again, it was easier for him to be. They had parted on better terms and Ven had visited him in Traverse Town from time to time over the past few years.

Now that she thought about it, she was the only one who hadn't seen or confronted him since Xehanort's second disappearance. Master Yen Sid spoke to him more than anyone while she and Master Eraqus maintained a strained relationship with him but she didn't expect anything less.

In Terra's eyes, they had betrayed him. The overwhelming sense of failure and the stubborn notion that he was unfit to face any of them after what he'd done and what he had almost done didn't help things either. The whole situation was…messy to say the least.

"You two can work it out and who knows! Maybe he'll finally come home for good. If anyone can convince him that he is worthy of returning home, it's you…and Master Eraqus," he quickly added the Master at the end of his sentence and Aqua raised a skeptical, blue brow at him. "Master Yen Sid and I have tried but…"

Aqua nodded again so Ven would know that he didn't have to say anything else and that she understood. Terra was nothing if not stubborn.

"I'll try my best!" She grinned and he embraced her.

"Be careful, okay? And hurry back! The three of us have some serious catching up to do."

She could tell he was thinking that things would go back to normal. Why he thought that was beyond her… Did he know about Master Eraqus's Keychain theory? And even if he did, did he honestly believe that it would bring Terra back to them? That it would magically fix everything?

Don't hold your breath, she thought but kept the pessimistic statement to herself.

Aqua wished that he wouldn't be so happy and optimistic. If he couldn't convince Terra that he was worthy of coming home, what made him think that she could? Why would Terra listen to her? Even if she could somehow convince him to speak with them, she seriously doubted Terra would stay. He would probably listen to the news, the assignment, whatever it was the Master wanted them to discuss, and bolt. Ven knew this as well as she did and yet he was optimistic which only fueled her suspicion that he knew about Master Eraqus's theory. Not only did he know about it…he believed it.

On some level, Aqua wanted to believe in it too but she couldn't. Not anymore. She'd been through so much that she no longer knew what to believe in.

Dismounting her Keyblade glider, Aqua released a belated yawn. The ride to Traverse Town took longer than expected and she was tired, but she was always tired considering she never really slept. Such was her life now. It was a life full of perpetual sleep deprivation, but it was only one of the many symptoms of her unknown ailment, the unidentified disease that slowly ate away at her aching soul.

Maybe the Master is right…. Maybe there is something else outside of Xehanort and the past that is driving me crazy…

Pushing the thought away, Aqua dispersed her armor, revealing the simple clothing underneath.

Before she left The Land of Departure, she had changed into civilian clothing, a white tank top and jeans to be precise. She'd learned during her recent travels that people were growing more suspicious and she had begun changing her attire to try to match the culture of the worlds she visited. She had to keep the order and the secrecy of other worlds but with advancing technology and curious individuals, that was becoming harder and harder to do.

Aqua laced her fingers, held her arms over her head, and stretched out her rigid muscles and the stiffness that had crept into her joints while she'd sat atop her glider. While stretching, she walked through the outskirts of glowing town of neon and approached the First District.

As she walked through the town of perpetual night, she saw why Terra had been drawn to it. It was quant but lively, busy but not too noisy or cumbersome, big but not too big. Should she live to retire, as Master Yen Sid had, she would want to relocate to an area like this one. Somewhere where she could spend the rest of her days in peace, however, she would prefer an area that experienced daylight.

Aqua's feet slowly began to turn to stone as she approached the spacious Second District where she knew Terra lived—at least that was what Yen Sid had told her. He lived here when he wasn't out protecting the balance and seeing other worlds. She hoped she would catch him between worlds so this trip wouldn't be in vain…or prolonged if she chose to wait here for him.

Her heart grew as heavy as did her feet as she climbed the steps and made her way through the small crowds of giggling children and gossiping adults.

Once she reached the Second District's hotel, she entered through its luminous, yellow dual doors.

She was so nervous she was shaking and felt like she might even get sick.

"Can I help you?"

The voice was kind but still caused Aqua to jump out of her skin. She fought the urge to summon Rainfell as she turned to address whoever was speaking to her.

It was merely the innkeeper, a kind looking man with blue-gray eyes, brown hair, dressed in a tidy, blue blouse.

Not a threat, just a civilian.

"Oh!" she cried and held a trembling hand over her hammering heart. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to be rude… I've just been a bit jumpy lately."

The innkeeper grinned. "No, it was my fault for not being more considerate of my guest."

Honestly, she hadn't even realized she had made her way down the hotel's long hallway to the counter so it surprised her to see and hear someone addressing her. Physically, she had walked to the counter but emotionally she was about a thousand worlds away.

"So, Miss, how can I help you?"

"I'm looking for a friend of mine. I was told he was staying here. He's tall, has brown hair, dark blue eyes, and…" she started to say dark but she was trying to stop using that word to describe him.

"Terra?" the man inquired as he drummed his fingers on the sleek wood of the front desk.

"Yes, sir." Aqua nodded.

She didn't want to say his name right away. There was a possibility that Terra was using an alias now and if he was, she didn't want to be throwing his real name around. However, Terra seemed to be taking a blunt approach as always. She hoped that hadn't come back to haunt him. It was dangerous for him to be throwing his real name around while Xehanort was still out there, probably searching for him, his vessel.

"When he's here, he stays in room 2 down the hall…but he isn't here much." The hotel owner shrugged.

"That's all I need to know. Thank you so much." Aqua beamed before turning on her heel and venturing down the hallway to the room he referred her to.

The fact that it had been so easy to figure out where Terra was staying did nothing to ease her frazzled nerves. Terra was a big boy and could easily take care of himself but Aqua couldn't help but worry about him. She worried about him every minute of every day but him being on his own worried her even more because that was what Xehanort wanted. According to his reports, that was the first thing he needed to do: get Terra alone.

Mark one up for Xehanort. Terra was alone.

'I'm on my own now, all right?' he had shamelessly declared and he had meant it. From that day on…he was and had been on his own.

Shaking her head as if it could erase the thought, she continued down the hallway to the door with a number two carved into its surface. When she reached his door, her hand timidly flattened against its wooden contours. She gingerly caressed its ridges as if she could touch him through it, as if she could affectionately touch him without spurring confusion and anger in him.

Her eyes closed and she traced the outlines of the door and she could almost see him by simply touching what he had touched.

It was cold. It had been a while since he'd been there. The trail was stale and hard to follow but she had picked up on it nonetheless. He was hard to see and he was smothered in shadows so she couldn't get a good impression of what he looked like now.

Realizing she was being strange and downright peculiar, she snatched her hand away from the door as if it had burned her.

What was that? She supposed it was some Keyblade hocus pocus that she didn't understand or know of or maybe it was the magic in her Wayfinder or her own magic for that matter. She was always doing weird mage things subconsciously…but she couldn't keep from thinking of the bond the Master mentioned…

Oh, well, it didn't matter. She just needed to knock on the door instead of touching it.

This was it. He was either on the other side of this door or he wasn't. A part of her preferred the latter. Correction: the coward in her preferred the latter.

No, I'm not a coward! she proclaimed privately.

She took her Wayfinder from her pocket for assurance, courage, and comfort before finally knocking on the door.

Why did I do that? she quickly contradicted herself and glared at the hand that had betrayed her.

Her heart was going to bludgeon its way right out of her chest. She just knew it. It was going to beat right through her sternum then it would plummet to the floor and rest at her feet. Then, when Terra opened the door, he would crush it beneath his armored boot.

After what seemed like hours, there was no answer. Swallowing her pride and her burbling fears again, she knocked a second time.

And waited.

And waited.

And waited, but he didn't answer.

Of course, he didn't. That would be too easy. Why would he answer her now? Why would he come to her now after refusing to do so all these years? Why did she expect him to answer her pained, desperate cries for him now?

Aqua folded her arms and tapped her chin as she contemplated what she should do now.

Should she stay and wait for him? How long would she have to wait? Her subconscious told her forever because it seemed like that was all she ever did anymore: she waited for Terra to return but he never did. Did she need to go home and inform the Master she couldn't locate him? Was failure an option with this task? How important was this task? Was this even a task? It seemed more like a request.

She assumed she had a few more hours to kill. She figured she could enjoy the sights of the city a while before visiting his room again. She would try once more, then she would return home with or without him.

Exhaling, Aqua turned on her heel, gently placed her Wayfinder back in her pocket, and journeyed back down the hotel's seemingly endless hallway. She exited through the double doors and violently crashed into something that felt like a lot like rock wall.

Grunts erupted from her throat and the throat of the boulder she collided with as she collapsed into its warm, yet sturdy chest.

Wait… Boulders can't grunt…

"I'm so sorry. I guess I wasn't watching where I was going," a deep, sincere voice apologized as painfully familiar arms loosely embraced her and chivalrously helped steady her.

Her voice failed her as she realized who held her and who was speaking to her. It was him. She had finally found him.

Instinctively, her hands gripped fistfuls of the black shirt he wore. Her scalding eyes closed and she pressed her cheek to his well-muscled chest, listening to his strong heartbeat.

For the first time in years, she was soothed. His touch offered relief. She actually felt comforted. It was like someone had finally cast Curaga upon a huge gaping wound that had been torturing her for years. Her nerves no longer felt scraped raw and her soul no longer ached. She wasn't worried about anything anymore and she felt like she could finally close her eyes and sleep, really sleep.

Her knuckles blanched as she gripped the fabric that covered his torso, holding onto it for dear life before he realized who she was, before he realized who clung to him. It wouldn't be long now before he noticed her blue head and he would know. He would pry her off of him and the dull ache that persistently tormented her would return. That disease would reestablish its hold and her bones would burn, her muscles would sting, and her nerves would curl in discomfort as her body seemed to reject itself.

Aqua needed to stop, she knew that, but it had just been so long since she had seen him or felt his presence, and even longer since she had actually touched him. The beautiful hum of his vocal chords against her cheek and his sweet earthy scent in her lungs was heavenly.

Oh, how much she had missed him! She missed him so much that even the mere thought of letting him go now that she had finally been reunited with him made her feel like she would die were she to be separated from him again.

All at once, she felt him stiffen against her. His chest rose and expanded as he took in a sharp breath.

He knew.

"Aqua?"

A/N: Thanks so much for reading!

I've been toying with this idea for a while and I was finally able to get all my thoughts together enough to make the first chapter. Again, this is a what if story and my bizarre depiction of what would have happened if Aqua would have taken Ven home after their reunion in Radiant Garden instead of going after Terra and just telling Ven to go home like she did in the game. It is my shameless way of making Terqua a thing while still attempting to stick to canon constraints and settings.

Thanks again for reading! I appreciate it and I hope you enjoyed it!