~*What's In A Name*~
They couldn't really hear each other. But it felt nice to know someone was on the other end.
~***~
Terra was barely holding on.
He didn't know who he was, really, besides a name. Terra. His name.
My name is Terra.
That was all he knew.
Terra, Terra, Terra. The words repeated rapidly in his head. All around. Randomly. Forming halfway, stopping before they were completely finished, continuing where they left off. Terra. Terra. Terra. His one word chant. He kept saying it to himself so he wouldn't be lost forever in the darkness.
Terra. Terra. Te—
Thinking of you, wherever you are.
What was that? For a moment, he stopped repeating the name. He got frightened when he did, thinking he would lose what little identity he had left here in the shadows. He hastily went back to reiterating his name. The voice he had heard was a figment of his dying imagination. That was all. Or so he told himself.
Terra. Terra. My name is Terra.
I don't know where you are, but I hope you're doing okay.
He blinked --or he thought he did, it was hard to tell without a physical body --mentally shaking himself. Who was talking to him? Or was he going insane? That would be just his luck. He didn't know how he even ended up in limbo and now he was losing what little piece of his mind he had left. Freakin' wonderful.
And yet, he wanted the voice to keep going. He had a feeling he had heard it somewhere before…
I'm helpless right now. I'm waiting for…a miracle I guess. But Terra, I'm still praying for your safety. I'll find you. I promise.
Promise. Promise. There was a promise with him. Where, again? The word felt powerful to him. Yes. But where…?
The stars here are so far and between compared to those back home. Ven is back home, you know. He's safe for now.
Ven. Ven. Stars! Ven. That was right. Stars.
Not really aware of what he was doing, since his form was incorporeal, he reached into his pocket and felt his fingers close around an (un)familiar shape.
Terra, Terra, Terra. My name is Terra. I can't forget.
He pulled the object out and blearily opened his eyes. His own body gave off a strange tawny glow, and that was the only light in the darkness. A red, five pronged star rested on his palm.
Star. Star. Good luck charm. We're…we're going to meet each other again. That's what it means. Satisfaction surged through him as he smirked slightly, pleased with himself for remembering. Oh. Oops. Terra, Terra, Terra…Wait, who's 'we'?
But are you safe? I remember what happened to you…and Xehanort…and please, Terra, you can't give up.
Who did she think she was? Even implying that he would fade away? The nerve of--
She? SHE? The voice belongs to a girl!
What girl? Did he know any girls? His memories were completely shattered and scattered so far…Xehanort. Xehanort. That word rang a bell, against all odds. Xehanort.
Unbeknownst to him, his spectral form became just a little more solid.
I've lost track of time. I know it's been longer than a year. I think, anyway…the moon doesn't set here. Everything is eternally the same. I can only imagine what it must be like for you!
He snorted quietly. He'd rather be wherever she was—she had the moon for God's sake—than be trapped…wherever he currently resided. Wait, wait, he can't stop saying his name. He might lose it, and then he'd have nothing of himself left. The girl, she knew his name. Terra.
Look at me.
I wish I could, he thought. It might jog his memory.
I'm talking to myself.
No you're not. I'm here.
Maybe I better stop…I refuse to go crazy.
"Wait!" He said unexpectedly, surprised to hear his own voice break through his lips. It was rough from disuse.
W-What? Who's there?
How long had it been since he had even spoken? If the girl was there for a year…but wait…he knew her. Her voice was…and what had she said? Ven? He knew him, too. Look, he already knew Ven was a boy.
Haha, looked like he wasn't losing his mind after all. He was gaining it!
But now, he couldn't seem to get his voice to work again.
That's it. I've officially lost it. I must have had the shortest Keyblade Master career in history.
She was talking to herself now. Interesting. Or maybe he was eavesdropping on her thoughts. It made him guilty to intrude on her privacy, but his loneliness overpowered said guilt.
Wait. Keyblade Master. There were only a handful of Keyblade Masters he knew. M..Ma…Master Xehanort, Master Eraqus…wasn't the King a Master too? There was one other. The magician wasn't a Keyblade Master but Yen Sid was still…
He swore angrily, his mind feeling like someone had broken it apart and he was trying to connect the pieces again. Maybe if she told him her name…
I miss you both. Terra and Ven…I'm sorry I couldn't save you.
No, he thought. It's not your fault! He knew this, somehow.
I'm to blame. I know it; she went on, oblivious to his angry protests.
He clenched his teeth heatedly. She needed to stop talking like that. He didn't know why it bothered him so much, but it did.
But I'm not going to wallow here in guilt.
That's better. Oh. Terra. Terra. Terra…but he didn't need to repeat anymore. He knew his name now; it was cemented firmly in his mind. But by all the powers of Darkness, Light, and Kingdom Hearts, why didn't she say her name?
Why couldn't he speak, more importantly? He hated feeling so powerless.
Yeah, you'll see! We'll all be Keyblade Masters soon. Sounded like she was reassuring herself.
Well, it was a hollow promise but she wasn't being pessimistic, at the very least. He had always liked that about her.
Wait, what? When had he even known her?
Yeah…her voice sounded just a bit sad now. Masters Terra, Ventus, and Aqua.
Aqua. He lifted his head, realizing he was floating in a void of nothingness. Black. All around. His eyes snapped open in shock. Aqua! I'm right here, I'm okay! Aqua!
She was the centerpiece to all of his memories. They swirled like a whirlpool, reassembling themselves as they went, collecting around him. Xehanort had taken over his body. That was what had happened. He couldn't do anything. He was helpless. But that was okay. He'd…he'd…he'd find a way. Now that he wasn't halfway dead. Not being an amnesiac helped also.
But, dear God, why couldn't he answer her? The only time Aqua had heard him was when he had yelled. He didn't have the energy for that.
How did she get there? Where is "there" anyway?
But most importantly, she was okay.
He didn't hear anything from her for a long, long time. He spent that silent period trying to regain his composure, keeping his sense of self strong. He would not vanish into Xehanort's black heart. He had been deathly close, but Aqua had called him back.
It had been quite a while. He didn't really know how long.
He closed his eyes again, but only so he could see her clearly, envision her as perfectly as he possibly could. "Aqua."
She was asleep, he realized, which would probably explain how tired and distant her voice sounded. He smiled—and oh, the motion was so strange now—as she replied in that same tone she always did when he or Ven interrupted her at any point in the night, or when she was worn out from training.
Terra…
"Hang strong, alright?"
He didn't get a reply from her; he got instead a very peculiar feeling that reminded him of how the Light felt. Warm, strong, powerful. Over whatever bond he had inexplicably created with Aqua from his position, lost inside his own body, to her position, somewhere far away where the moon didn't set.
He didn't repeat his name anymore in his mind. He repeated that one word that connected all of his memories, and he chanted and chanted and didn't let go of it. It tied him to Ven, and the Land of Departure, and her.
Aqua, Aqua, her name is Aqua…
~***~
What you have here is the product of writer's block. I've got writer's block on several of my stories right now, it's really irritating, so I'm writing Terqua to make up for it.
Also. I've got a cold—the snow did it I bet—so this is me killing time.
Want to drop a review? Very strange, I know, my apologies. I just love the idea of their hearts calling to one another no matter where they may be.