Terra was sitting up on the bed, elbows braced on one knee, looking out the window when Aqua returned. "Oh!" She tried to mask her surprise. It was a nice change from seeing him comatose like he'd been on and off for the past few days. "How long have you been awake?"
"Not very long." He sounded preoccupied, like there was something outside that window that he couldn't quite puzzle out. She wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. "Where are we?"
"Radiant Garden." She closed the door behind her and crossed the small bedroom, coming to a stop a few feet away, unsure just how close she should get. Whether she liked it or not, things were different. They were all still adjusting to the changes.
"Radiant Garden." He repeated the words slowly, brow furrowed, as if they had some hidden meaning and he was determined to find it. He glanced back out the window. "There was a wizard here," he continued in that same considering tone. "With a book." A brief bit of silence settled as she raised a hand to her mouth in an attempt to hide her smile. That bit of memory was more than she'd seen from him in a while. "It looks different," he added, eyes shifting to her, searching for an answer.
"Terra, it's been twelve years," she replied gently. "Things are going to be a little different than when we last saw them." Sora had told her that Xehanort, along with a few others, had plunged this world into darkness. Leon and Aerith – new friends kind enough to find a temporary home for the three of them – had filled in the gaps, explaining their determination to reclaim and repair this world, the place that had once been their home.
There were things Terra didn't need to know. Not now. Not yet.
"I guess so." His gaze returned to the window and the streets below. She'd known him long enough to be able see the frustration in his eyes. He wanted to know what he was missing, and there was only so much she could tell him. She raised a hand as if to lay it on his shoulder, hesitated, then let it drop. She could offer him knowledge, even if it wouldn't help. She couldn't offer him comfort. Not the way things were.
She saw two hands, one armored, one not, grasp Earthshaker's hilt; watched as the armor fell to pieces, only to vanish in a flash of light; heard Ven gasp next to her and fought the urge to take his hand, to offer the comfort that she didn't feel herself. Terra stood, Earthshaker disappearing in a swirl of light and gears, and she felt her breath hitch. Months after she'd escaped the realm of darkness, weeks after Ven had regained his heart, were they finally getting Terra back too? It seemed too good to be true.
He looked at them, eyes wide and searching, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. In all honesty, neither could Aqua.
Ven was the first to break the moment of silence that had overtaken them. "Terra?" he managed quietly, as though his voice wasn't quite working.
There was no answer; instead, Terra stumbled forward, closing the distance between them and laying his hands heavily on their shoulders, head hung low. She could feel him shaking. She raised her hands to cover Terra's, watching out of the corner of her eye as Ven mirrored her actions. They had to feel him there themselves. After so long, they had to know. "Terra," she murmured, gently closing her fingers over his.
"I don't know who you are. Either of you."
The whisper was choked with emotion. She stiffened, breath caught again in her throat. Next to her, Ven did the same. That couldn't be right. It couldn't be.
"I…I don't remember who I am, either."
The shaking in Terra's body was audible in his voice. It was all Aqua could do to keep still, keep her hands where they were, as if simply holding on to him would bring back all he'd lost – evidently more than any of them knew.
"But I know you're both important. To me."
Softly, almost scared to move, she took one of her hands off of Terra's, placing it instead on Ven's free shoulder. As he covered her hand with his, she could feel him trembling. No doubt she was as well.
"And I'm glad you're safe."
Terra looked up, meeting their eyes, and Aqua couldn't look away. Even through the fear and confusion clouding his gaze, she could see that warm bit of light, the knowledge that the Terra she knew was still in there, waiting to get out. His heart was free; his mind was still trapped in the cage he'd built to protect it from a decade of waiting alone.
She couldn't tell if that gave her hope or made it hurt all the worse.
"Even if I don't know why."
He fell, sagging heavily against their grip. Aqua and Ven moved almost as one, catching their friend and lowering him gently to his knees. Hopefully his collapse was from exhaustion and nothing else.
"What do we do now, Aqua?" She heard the fear in Ven's voice, saw it in his eyes, and for a moment her throat closed and she couldn't respond. She had to do something, but she had no answers. Not for this.
"We find someplace safe." She forced herself to stand, one hand still on Terra's shoulder, making sure he didn't fall completely and marveling that she had words at all. "And then we help Terra find his memory."
Aqua snapped back to reality in time to notice Terra staring out the window with an intensity she hadn't seen in him since he'd first collapsed. "What is it?" she asked, moving closer to the bed and following his gaze. Her eyes landed on the subject of his focus in the same moment that he answered.
"Monsters."
The black creatures slunk from shadow to shadow, yellow eyes darting from side to side. It was a disconcerting sight, especially coupled with the knowledge that this group was just the scouting party. "Heartless," she breathed, already heading for the door. Her first encounter with the creatures had been here; they'd proven every bit as vicious as the Unversed. "Terra, stay here!" She didn't know if he could fight in his condition, or if the Keyblade was connected to his memories too, or anything of the sort. Without that knowledge, his safety was too much to risk.
Ven met her at the bottom of the stairs. "There's Heartless outside," he informed her, Wayward Wind already in hand.
"I saw," she replied, summoning Rainfell in a flash of light and throwing open the door. "Let's go."
Her eyes widened as they dashed outside. Evidently the scout team worked much faster than she'd thought. The Neoshadows she'd seen clung to the walls and rose from the floor between throngs of Armored Knights, while the occasional Crimson Jazz flitted overhead. To say there were more than she'd been expecting would be an understatement. She and Ven paused, exchanging a wordless glance before plunging into the crowd of darkened creatures. Skills honed by years of training came to the forefront with the barest thought, and she dodged and wove between the creatures, casting spell after spell and hearing the occasional yell from Ven's direction. He was more than capable. She knew that. It somehow didn't ease the feeling that something was off – that they were unbalanced somehow.
A cry of pain jerked her attention back to the other half of the battle, just in time to see Ven hit the ground. "Ven!" He was already pushing himself to his feet, but the moment's diversion was enough – she felt the series of fireballs hit her back, courtesy of a Crimson Jazz she'd missed, and went down hard. Ven called her name – she opened her eyes in time to see the Armored Knight rising behind her distracted friend, blade poised to strike – "Look out!"
"Ven, duck!"
He dropped to the ground. Halfway to standing up, Aqua paused herself, watching as Earthshaker hurtled through the air where Ven's head had been not seconds before, slicing neatly through the Heartless behind him before returning to Terra's outstretched hand. He dropped into that familiar fighting stance as she and Ven stood and regrouped. When had he even gotten down here?
Aqua's head snapped up and she leapt to the side, barely clueing in to the incoming fireball before it crashed into the pavement where she'd been standing. Questions would come later. For now, the battle was back in full swing, odds tilted much better in their favor. This time, it felt much more balanced.
Only when the last Neoshadow fell did they pause, catching their breath, glancing around to see if they'd overlooked any foes, and dismissing Keyblades when that seemed not to be the case. Surprisingly, Terra was the first to speak. "Ven. Aqua." He turned to face them. "Are you two okay?"
"Yeah." Ven shook off the aftereffects of the battle easily, like he always did. "Those Heartless were no match for us," he grinned.
"Right," Aqua agreed, a sly smile tugging at her lips. "You didn't have any close calls or anything." This felt too casual. Something was off, but she couldn't remember what.
"Aqua!" Ven complained. He really could be a kid sometimes. "Yeah, well, it's okay," he switched tacks with a satisfied smile, "'cause Terra had my back."
"Of course." The smile had spread to Terra, and he reached over to tousle Ven's hair. "You didn't think I'd leave you hanging, did you, Ven?"
It was the names, she realized. Terra hadn't called them by name since they'd found him. But now- "Terra," she started, hesitant.
He met her gaze and she fell silent. The confusion, the frustration, the fear that had been clouding his eyes for so long had cleared. Somehow, this was indeed the Terra she knew. "You…" she tried again, trailing off.
"I remembered," he finished quietly, hand resting on Ven's shoulder. "Everything. Including some things I'd rather not." He paused, as if trying to shake the thought. "I saw you two out here fighting Heartless, and I just…" It was his turn to trail off, unable to find the end of that thought. "I guess…my heart never forgot. It just took my mind a while to catch up."
She met his uncertain gaze and smiled, feeling the weight lift off her shoulders. After so many years, her family was finally well and truly together again. "I'm glad," she managed. "I'm really glad it did."