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Chapter 2

Dinner was a miserable affair. Terra wasn't eating his food so much as he was viciously stabbing it and tearing it apart with his fork. Aqua was next to him, picking away at her meal, her presence likely the only thing keeping Terra from exploding. Meanwhile, Master Eraqus was just staring at his dinner, slouched as he bore the weight of Terra's hatred. Ven alone ate with his usual gusto, hoping to nudge things back to a more comfortable state. So far, however, it was only making his stomach hurt.

"So," Aqua said timidly, "where are we going for our next mission?"

Terra stopped ripping apart his food and gave her a hard look. "You're not coming," he said.

"Terra . . ."

"No!" His fist slammed on the tabletop. "Your first mission back and we were attacked . . . I refuse to believe it's a coincidence."

"But-"

"End of discussion."

No one said anything for a few minutes, just to let Terra blow off some steam. Master Eraqus then gave it his best attempt. "Terra, Aqua can't stay here forever."

Terra didn't even look at him. "I don't see why she can't."

Ven knew perfectly well that the Master would never convince Terra to change his mind, so he stepped in. "He's right, Terra. She's going to have to learn to fight again someday."

Terra growled, staring at him, betrayal shining in his eyes. That look softened somewhat when Aqua put her hand on his arm.

"Terra, you have to let me go sometime," she whispered.

Terra's nails dug into the tabletop, and his eyes flickered between yellow and blue. Clearly, he was caught between two warring desires: that of making Aqua happy and letting things go back to how they once were, and that of protecting her.

"Think about it," she said.

When Terra didn't argue and nodded instead, Ven sighed in relief. Crisis adverted.

Things were better after that. Terra didn't seem quite so angry, and Eraqus had regained enough courage to start eating. Aqua, however, she didn't seem any happier. Ven suspected that, like him, she agreed with Terra: this was no coincidence.

"I'm finished," Terra suddenly announced, standing. "I'm going to train for a bit."

They said their farewells, and then Terra walked off towards the training grounds. It seemed that things were going better than Ven had dared hoped.

He finished his meal, coaxed Aqua into eating hers, and then helped Eraqus clean up. After that, he went back to his room, settling down with a colourful book until exactly seven o'clock. Then he promptly sat up and went to Aqua's room.

As he usually was at this time, Terra was already there. He had Aqua in his arms, one hand supporting her head as she curled into him. She gripped his shirt weakly, eyes already closed as she kept up a half-hearted conversation with him. Her pale pyjamas blended into the pallor of the room, lending the faint illusion that she was fading away.

Ven blinked as he stepped inside, eyes momentarily shocked by the brightness. Aqua never turned off the lights in her room now, and their reflection off the white walls was harsh. Once, before Silent Hill, her walls had been a soft blue. Within a week of their return however, Aqua had broken into the castle's storage room and painted her entire room white. She'd even tried to paint her bed sheets in her frenzy. They tossed the paint-covered covers out, of course, and replaced them with the white blankets she so desperately craved, and done the same for virtually everything in her room. Now, everything was white, save some clothes in her closet. And the renovations didn't stop there. They had bought some thick curtains for the window, to make sure Aqua couldn't see outside at night, and she had taken it upon herself to tear off the door to her closet, just to make sure that nothing could hide inside.

Terra was speaking to her softly as he cradled her in his arms. "And then what happened?" he asked.

Aqua murmured something incoherent before speaking a little louder. "I gave you the Wayfinders, and then I said . . ."

Terra cut in, "Who was there?"

"We were," she said, "and Ven."

Both Terra and Ven had gone still when that question was asked (it was the story she was most likely to get wrong), but upon hearing her correct answer, they relaxed. As Terra urged Aqua into finishing her story, Ven sat down at her desk and opened her journal, turning to today's entry. He wasn't particularly fond of invading her privacy, but it had been Aqua's idea, suggested after her fake memories started to become too much to handle. Now, Aqua wrote down all her memories in here – at least the things she thought were memories – and left it up to him and Terra to validate them.

He turned his head, exchanged a look with Terra, and gave the eldest apprentice a nod.

"Okay," Terra said, ruffling Aqua's hair. "Time to sleep."

Aqua mumbled something, already half-asleep. She offered no resistance as Terra laid her down on her bed and pulled the covers over her.

"Shh . . ." Terra stroked her cheek with a finger, gazing down on her fondly. Ven had the impression that if he hadn't been there, Terra would have gone ahead and kissed her on the forehead.

They left the room quietly, Terra first scooping up a teacup that had been by the head of her bed. They dropped it off in the kitchen, and then wandered through the castle, feet eventually taking them outside. With the stars glittering above, they tread a path they knew well, made their way to the Summit.

Terra laid down first, Ven plopping down next to him. Side by side, heads resting on their hands, they watched the stars together, content with their silent company. Ven chanced a glance at Terra. The pale moonlight highlighted the older boy's strong, noble chin, and the slope of his face. His eyes were blue now, unguarded as he breathed easily.

"Hey Ven, look!" Terra pointed at the sky.

Ven looked up, eyes widening at what he saw. "Wow . . . a shooting star!"

Terra grinned and patted his shoulder. "Make a wish."

Just like Terra did, Ven closed his eyes, lips working silently. He had no problem thinking of what to wish for, because he wished for the same thing every time: peace, happiness, and that he and his friends would continue to heal.

He opened his eyes again, and he and Terra grinned giddily at each other. "What did you wish for?" Ven demanded.

Terra chuckled. "Sorry Ven, but I'm not allowed to tell." He stretched elaborately in a disguised attempt to ruffle Ven's hair.

"Knock it off, Terra!" he said, laughing. Terra smirked but did back off, staring up at the stars again instead.

Slowly, Ven's smile faded as his happiness fizzled away. This was great – don't get him wrong. It was just that this was so close to normal, to how it used to be, except for one key detail.

He sighed. "It's been forever since all three of us watched the stars together."

Terra said, "It's night, Ven. There's no way Aqua would come out here."

"I know." He pulled himself into a sitting position, plucking at some grass as he tried to sort out his feelings. "But still, we could have tried easing her into it, just like we had to wean her away from us so we could go on missions. But we can't even try now! She's always asleep at this time."

"People need to sleep, Ven," Terra said. "You can't fault her for that."

"I know, but it's weird because she used to do everything she could not to sleep. Now, she's out like a light every night, always at the same time. Seriously Terra, don't you find it a little odd?"

Something in Terra's face hardened. "Ven, stop. It's better this than her trying to keep awake for days at a time. Besides, it probably has to do with the nightmares stopping."

"Yeah . . ." Ven trailed off, staring into the distance. "It's weird how that stopped so suddenly, too."

Terra shrugged.

They discussed no more about the subject, choosing to sky-watch instead. Faintly, Ven wondered if Aqua's nightmares had stopped because of a wish he made on another star, or a snapped wishbone or whatever else offered the chance of a miracle. It was nice to think about, because he liked the idea that there might have been someone watching out for them, even if it was only to repair the damage done by Silent Hill.

"There are so many worlds . . ." Ven murmured, reflecting on how terrible their luck had to be to come across the one with Silent Hill. But then again, it wasn't really due to luck because of his connection to Vanitas and all, but what were the chances that he was the one who happened to be Vanitas' other half?

He shuddered, thinking back to that boy. In his opinion, Vanitas was nothing less than a brute, whose motives and mind remained a mystery, even though Ven had access to quite a few of his memories. Ven didn't understand a lot of things about Vanitas. What he did understand though, was that Vanitas wanted him dead, wanted to become 'one' or whatever he called. And that Vanitas was fixated on possessing Ven's friends as well.

He closed his eyes, swallowing down the instinctive hate that welled up inside him. It was a poisonous emotion, a heavy one that made him sick to his stomach; it wasn't natural. But it was there, powerful too, and Ven had a suspicion that it was exactly the same degree of hate that Vanitas felt for him.

Maybe this was also something he passed onto me . . .

He cut that chain of thought off there. Oh no. He wasn't going to do this to himself again. The first couple of months had been horrible enough and . . . it didn't matter. He wasn't going through this again.

"The three of us . . . we'll never be apart, right? Right?" Ven asked, suddenly desperate for comfort.

Terra gave it to him, rolling over and giving Ven a one-armed hug. "Always," Terra promised. "Nothing can tear us apart."

Ven smiled and just beneath the collar of Terra's shirt, he caught sight of the orange Wayfinder. Both of them carried their Wayfinder on a chain around their neck now, so that they could always feel the symbol of their friendship over their heart. Without thinking, Ven reached inside his shirt and took out his own. Green and orange flashed at each, warm against the flesh of their respective owners.

It was just a shame that one was missing.

Aqua's Wayfinder had been lost in Silent Hill. She had never told them anything more than Vanitas had destroyed it. It was still a pretty sore subject for her – as many things were – and she absolutely refused to accept any replacements. In fact, Ven would almost say that she was afraidto. But that couldn't be right; there was no reason for that.

Ven shifted out of Terra's hug and said, "It's getting pretty late; I think I'll go to bed now. Strap me in?"

Terra nodded, sitting up. "Yeah, sure."

They walked back to the castle, shoulders brushing against each other. Once they were inside, Ven separated from Terra and went about his nightly routine. He changed, brushed his teeth, checked that the leather straps on the bed were firmly in place, and then waited for Terra.

"You good?" Terra asked as he walked in.

"Yeah, I'm ready."

Ven lay back on the bed, wriggling around until he was perfectly comfortable. His arms were stretched out to the side; his legs spread about shoulder-width apart. He nodded at Terra, and then the eldest apprentice set to tying him down.

His legs were first. Terra reached underneath the bed, pulled out a thick black band, and tossed it over the bed. Then he pulled out another, and did the same with that. Terra walked around to the other side, and leaning over, fastened the bands securely. The first one passed over Ven's ankles, locking them in place. The second went over his thighs, just above his knees. They weren't tied particularly tight and with his thick pants, it felt to him like someone had just placed a heavy weight there. But that was okay; it wasn't really his legs he was worried about anyways.

Next were his wrists. Each one had a leather loop waiting, which could be loosened and tightened with the help of a buckle. They were padded thankfully, or else Ven would have rubbed off the skin on his arms long ago. Still, as they were every night, the tightness of the loops would be uncomfortable, but it was a fair trade since his wrists were the most important thing to keep secure. Ven kept his face blank as Terra lashed them down, the older boy being careful not to cut off his circulation. Afterwards, Ven tested the restraints, making sure they wouldn't give no matter how hard he tried.

It hadn't always been like this, even post-Silent Hill. The restraints had only been added a couple of months after their return. Before, he and Terra had simply slept in the same room, both of them too nervous to be alone. Aqua had joined them afterwards against her wishes (it had been best for her) when they realized she was preventing herself from sleeping. But then, after sleepwalking one too many times, Ven had decided enough was enough. He'd begged Terra to restrain him at night, and after one of his sleepwalking incidents ended with him holding a knife to Terra's throat, Terra had agreed.

Having finished his duty, Terra stood at the foot of the bed, staring down at him. The eldest apprentice's face was guarded, only his clenched jaw giving away how much he hated doing this. Yet Terra always did it anyways, if only because Ven asked.

Just like Ven, Terra was a sucker for his friends.

"Alright, sweet dreams, Ven."

Terra wandered over and ruffled Ven's hair, before pulling the covers over him. Before he left the room, Terra also drew the blinds and turned off the light. Then he was gone, and there was a creak as he slipped a beam of wood into place, barring Ven's room shut from the outside.

Ven smiled. Terra was such a good friend.

Because not every chapter has to only be about angst.

Some people keep refusing to log in so I can thank them, so I guess I'll just start responding to guest reviews in the ANs now...

X-blade05: Well, thank you very much. :D You know, I actually forgot about the whole father-children dynamic going on between them... now that I think about, it makes things that much worse, doesn't it? (Not saying anything about the silver lion :p)

MoonLitSparklesofTwilight: Well, that depends on your definition of 'going to Silent Hill again'. And thank you for the fav!