Rapture Of Hearts: Remembrance
An image, a face, belonging to someone she knew yet could not remember, haunted her mind since Kefka's defeat. She had been rescued twice from Kefka's clutches, once by her friends of this world, but she was also rescued another time by another person, one she would have liked to call a friend.
The Onion Knight and Cloud often helped her, and they once or twice rescued her, yes, but she knew, deep within the boils of her mind there was a time she worked for Kefka, under one of his mind controlling powers, and like a knight in shining armor, he came to her aid.
It was after Kefka finally controlled the world, and Terra was left to take care of the orphaned children in a little village, when she began to remember this man. But no matter how hard she tried to envision his face, she kept losing it.
After defeating Kefka and freeing herself from her powers, Terra continued to think and ponder, having all the time in the world now. As the country worked to rebuild itself, Terra would find herself gazing up at the sky, chasing that hollow remembrance, hoping for a glance of what her rescuer of that time looked like.
Minutes turned to hours, and hours to days. Terra would ponder this man over and over in her mind, guilt swelling up inside for her carelessness for forgetting such a man. She had not forgotten her friends from Dissidia, and yet she could not recall anything about the man who freed her from Kefka.
Maybe I should have asked him before we did him in, she had thought once, but found herself giggling at the thought. No doubt he'd remember, because she recalled Kefka once rambling about 'some cheeky brat' taking her from him. But she doubted he'd share the name of this man. He probably didn't even know it, for all she knew.
Futile attempts lead to more direct approaches, but every time Terra tries to relive her life in Dissidia, it only lead to a blank dead end.
However, there was a moment, a brilliant moment in all the darkness, where she suddenly recalled his face.
It was when she was working with Locke. Her friend to come to the village of children (they had humorously dubbed it as such) to bring in some supplies for an incoming festival. It was while working on the decorations when Terra suddenly had a flashback.
His face. His strong, kind, handsome face.
"Vaan!" she suddenly shouted, taking poor Locke by surprise. The man slipped on the ladder he was standing on and landed promptly on his back with a grunt. Terra rushed to his side, flustered. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean—I didn't mean to startle you . . . I was just—I just remembered his—Oh, this isn't coming out right!"
Locke laughed painfully, pushing himself off the ground. "Think nothing of it, Terra. My footing was off, that's all. Nothing on your part."
Terra looked unsure. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked sadly.
Locke nodded. "Yup. That nasty cink in my spine is gone, thanks to that fall. And I'm suffering from no major damages, so it's alright."
"Oh, thank goodness." Suddenly, Terra began to bounce in place. "But it happened! It happened!"
"What happened?" Locke asked, confused. Terra clapped her hands gleefully. She normally wasn't this excited unless around Mog or the other moogles. "I remembered his name! It's Vaan! Can you believe it? I remembered his name!"
"Uh, that's great?" Locke said uncertainly. He hadn't quite followed what she was ranting about, going on and on about her struggles to just remember this man's name and face, but he could see she was having a good time of it, so he didn't bother asking.
Later in the day, once the excitement for tomorrow's festival settled down and the children were all tucked into bed, Terra wandered aimlessly through the village, thinking with a skip in her step of Vaan.
His name is Vaan, she thought with a sigh. Vaan. Such a handsome name. If only I could remember his face. She puzzled over how she remembered his name. Let's see. I wasn't thinking at all about Vaan, or even Cosmos, or Dissidia. So, if I were to just empty my mind and not think of those things . . . Her thoughts wondered to moogles, and fur-fluffing, and how soft to the touch they were when suddenly . . .
"Uh, hey? I think you're suffocating that moogle . . ."
Terra jerked her eyes open, shocked by the voice. It came from her head, from her past. Too excited to stop, she continued back to her moogle-mindedness.
Again, it happened.
The boy in this flashback, a pale haired youth of probably seventeen years of age, watched Terra cuddling a moogle they had come across. The poor thing was struggling to get out of her grip, but she was too lost in the ecstasy from this to stop. The boy then said hesitantly, "Uh, hey? I think you're suffocating the moogle . . ."
So that's him, Terra thought, excited. She took the image in her mind, replaying it over and over again. His face, reflecting the kindness he had shown her, burned itself into her mind.
When tomorrow came, all Terra could think about was Vaan's handsome face. She was on Cloud Nine, waltzing through the streets as the children paraded along, laughing and making up games. Once or twice she was invited, but once it was shown she was sidetracked by something, they mostly left her alone.
The day came and went. Terra was still, by many people's eyes, on Cloud Nine, lost in her fantasies with Vaan. Finally, Locke approached her, throwing a question in the air. "Terra? Is everything okay? I mean, you seem extremely happy, and the children are wondering . . ."
"Oh, it's nothing, Locke," Terra sighed. "I just remembered some . . . pleasant memories, is all."
"Oh, I see." Locke shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Well, if that's the case . . . I'll take my leave." He then turned and walked off, but not without looking over his shoulder several times curiously.
Terra stared up the sky, her mind beginning to flow with new memories. She remembered Vaan had looked up at the sky, not the same one, but a sky similar to this one, with a longing look. Terra had asked him what he was looking at, and then he told her his dream. "I want to fly in the air, to go where I want and do what I please," he had said, with stars glittering in his eyes. "I can't really say why I want to, but to fly . . . man, what an experience." Then Terra had done him a big favor. She had stepped over to him, saying, "Is that what you really want to do?"
"Oh, yeah," Vaan had said, nodding his head. "It be the best thing ever." Terra had then closed her eyes and replied, "Okay then." She had then slipped her hands under his arms, and together they flew high in the sky. This was one of the few times Terra had used her powers without hurting someone, and she was worried she'll do it again, but Vaan's hollering in joy made her think otherwise. The two had even began to laugh about it in the air, Vaan acting as captain and Terra as his faithful first mate. Vaan would call out a direction, and Terra would answer, "Aye, aye, captain!" and off they went.
This went on for a while, until Terra grew tired. Vaan had noticed this, and, feeling bad for her going out of her way to make his dream come true, told her to land. Once on ground, Vaan had praised and comforted her, telling her how she could use her powers, and how she could choose her own path. Feeling too tired to walk, Terra had sat down and said she'd like to rest a bit. Vaan had then answered with a smile, "Okay, captain," and sat down next to her.
Terra blinked, breaking out of her trance. Such fond memories, if only she could relive them all.
Then something caught her attention.
CS: Lovely one-shot for VaanxTerra fans.
Envy: What'd she see?
Nel: That's for the sequel, Knight In Shining Armor.
Gaomon: For IC folks, we're taking this from the prespective of an eighteen year old girl. Girls have fantasies.
CS: And sometimes blow things out of proporation. Lolz.
Dorumon: CS owns nothing, minus the idea.