She remembered the last time she ever saw them. She was seventeen at the time –practically a woman, but still a girl. And they themselves were young men, but in a way, also still boys – boys with hopes and dreams for themselves that they were determined to pursue and realize – hopes and dreams that fate would not allow them to attain.
It had been a beautiful afternoon, and all three of them were excited – she for them, and they for the journey they were about to undertake.
"Terra, Ven, did you make sure to pack enough food provisions for your trip? I don't want you to starve during your journey."
"Don't worry, Aqua. We have, and we won't starve while we are traveling."
Terra, Ven, and Aqua. Inseparable best friends. Always together, never apart. Three peas in a pod. That was how everyone knew them. Even when one of them was by themselves, the other two were never too far away. That was how close they were.
Terra was a handsome young lad with dark brown hair and deep blue eyes. A youth of great prowess of about twenty years, he belied a strength as stalwart as earth itself and was indubitably the leader within his circle of friends. His dream in life was to become a Keyblade Master, and explore and protect the worlds with his friends by his side.
Ven was a boy of only fourteen, with hair as golden as honey and large eyes the color of the sky. Eager and excitable, he looked up to Terra and Aqua as role models and figures of inspiration. They were so cool, he thought, he wanted nothing more but to be like them, especially Terra, who, in his eyes, was his hero and like an older brother. His full name was Ventus, but it was by the shortened name Ven that everyone called hi,.
And then there was Aqua. She was a girl of seventeen years, with eyes that resembled sparkling blue diamonds and the glimmering ocean. Mature, caring, and responsible, she was a nurturer at heart whose love for her friends was boundless and deep. She also knew how to carry herself with a grace that was sometimes hidden behind her own toughness, and a toughness that was sometimes obscured by her own gentleness.
The three of them were the pupils and Keyblade masters-in-training of Eraqus, the venerable Keyblade Master and caretaker and head of the world of the Land of Departure, where they lived. It was a beautiful world, filled with rolling hills, grassy fields, tall trees, sparkling rivers, and majestic mountains. The land was made up of two major areas – the mountainous Highlands, where Terra, Ven, and Aqua resided with Eraqus in his castle, and the bustling Lowlands, where most of the world's residents lived. Between these two areas, it was high up in the mountains that the three friends spent most of their time, which they dedicated to an intensive instruction of the Keyblade and to learn how to become Keyblade masters.
As attached to their home they were, they knew of one thing that most people did not – the existence of many worlds in their universe. It was these worlds that intrigued and fascinated them since each one of them were young children, and as such, they desired to one day have the opportunity to leave their home and travel to them.
As Keyblade wielders, they knew that they would one day have that chance, for it was a duty of a Keyblade wielder to defend the worlds and keep them, their residents, and their light safe from the threat and forces of darkness that lurked from within. It was an opportunity that they each had to prove themselves worthy of earning. How they were to earn that though, they knew not. All they knew was that their chance to prove themselves worthy of travelling the worlds and acting as guardians of the Realm of Light would come in time.
And now, that time had come.
"Terra. Ventus," Master Eraqus came trotting down the stairs that led up to the entrance of his castle. "Are you two almost ready to depart?"
"Yes, Master," replied Terra.
"Very good. Now, I must remind you about what your tasks are for this mission?"
Terra chuckled lightly. "No need, Master. We know exactly what to do."
Eraqus had given the boys an important mission – one unlike any other they had been given. They were to track down and locate an old colleague of Eraqus' – a Keyblade master by the name of Xehanort. Xehanort was known for his tendencies to travel, but on one such instance of his travels, he vanished without any explanation. Now, it was up to both Terra and Ven to find him– dead or alive.
"Now boys," Eraqus began to tell them, "I want you both to know that if at any moment you feel like this mission is too much for you, I want the both of you to come straight home right away, understood? Certainly this mission is your priority, but it is also your priority that you take care of yourselves while you are away."
"Yes, Master, we understand!" said young Ven with a nod.
"Very good," said Eraqus. "Also remember that you may encounter dangerous enemies along your journey, like the Heartless. If you do, use your Keyblades to defend yourself and others against your foes."
"Don't forget your magic!" Aqua piped in. "It'll always help!"
"We will, Aqua!" said Ven, "And we'll be sure to use the tricks you taught us!"
The three students laughed merrily together.
Placing the side of his hand against his brow, Eraqus stared out in the distance. Ahead, he saw the morning sun beginning to rise over the mountain peaks. "Terra, Ven, the time has come." Then he gave Aqua a knowing look. "Aqua, it's time to say goodbye."
Aqua sighed soberly. "Yes, Master." Stepping forward, she opened her arms out wide and slowly walked towards her two friends, who did the same. She enveloped them both in a tight hug, resting her head against theirs. After a few seconds had passed, she and the boys pulled apart. Ven then stepped forward and threw his arms around Aqua.
"Goodbye Aqua," Ven said quietly.
Aqua tightened her embrace of Ven slightly. "Be careful, Ven. Ok?"
"Relax Aqua, I'll be fine!" said Ven without any trace of fear.
They let go, and that was when Aqua's eyes met with Terra's.
The brown haired young man smiled gently at her as their gazes locked. There had always been a particularly close relationship between Aqua and Terra. Both of them had known each other since they met as young children when they first began their lessons with Eraqus, and they had known one another for far longer than either of them had known Ven. They grew up together, played together, laughed together, fought together…she was the water to his earth, and he was the darkness to her light. She loved him, and he loved her.
"Oh Terra," Aqua said softly as she approached the young man and threw her arms around his neck. She stood on tiptoe as they embraced, for he was about a foot taller than she, which meant she had to make up for their height difference.
Terra sighed quietly as he leaned his face into Aqua's soft blue hair. He always felt safe and comforted when he was in Aqua's arms, and she felt the same way in his. In a way, their arms were each other's sanctuary and resting place. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" Terra murmured into her ear.
They pulled away slightly, but neither let the other go – not just yet – and they looked deeply into each other's eyes. "I'm needed here," Aqua said earnestly. "And the Master will need my help taking care of the Land of Departure while you are gone."
Terra looked at her wryly. "I thought the Master's council did that for him?"
Aqua grinned lightheartedly. "Yes, and I'm a special member of it."
"You're a poor liar, Aqua."
The two of them laughed together before drawing close for another hug.
"I'll miss you Terra."
"I'll be back soon," said Terra. "I promise."
"Then can we do it?"
"Do what?"
"Our other dream, of course. Travel the universe together. You, me, and Ven."
Terra did not immediately reply. But when he did, he smiled warmly at her. "It's a promise."
Aqua giggled as they pulled apart. As Ven came up to her and Terra, Aqua reached into her pocket. She pulled out something small and shiny – a trinket in the shape of a star made of blue shiny glass stone with a small chain attached to it. She looked at the trinket longingly for a moment before holding it out in her palm for Terra and Ven to see. When she did, the two of them also reached into their pockets and pulled out identical star shaped trinkets of the same material but in different colors – orange for Terra, and green for Ven.
They were wayfinders – good luck charms that Aqua had made for herself and her friends. She'd been inspired to craft them by hand from a legend that she grew up hearing and believing in– a legend of a tree that bore star-shaped fruit that represented a special, unbreakable connection. If one and one's loved ones were to carry charms in its semblance, nothing could ever separate them, and they would always find their way back to one another. Now, she prayed that her friends' wayfinders would lead them back to her when their journey and mission was done.
"Together," said Aqua. "Always!"
"Always," echoed Terra and Ven in unison.
It was a special moment that the three friends shared, and one Aqua would sear deep into her memory as Eraqus then gestured to the two boys that it was time for them to go.
Pressing their hands to the armor that they each wore on one of their arms, Terra and Ven were engulfed in clouds of light, reappearing clad from head to toe in shiny armor designed to protect them from harm and shield them from the negative effects of darkness. They then summoned their Keyblades, which appeared in their hands in a flash of light. Terra's Keyblade was a wide, brassy blade that he christened the Earthshaker. Ven's was a smaller, rather offset and misaligned blade that he called the Wayward Wind. With the Earthshaker, Terra summoned a magical portal of light that opened an entryway to the Lanes Between – special pathways between the worlds. The two boys then tossed their Keyblades into the air, causing them to transform into their Keyblade Glider forms, before hopping atop them in preparation to depart.
"One more thing, boys!" said Eraqus, "I expect the two of you to come back in exactly a month to give me any updates you have on Master Xehanort's whereabouts, do you understand?"
"We will, Master!" said Terra from behind his helmet, and together with Ven, the two of them ascended into the air on their Keyblade Gliders.
As he rose higher and higher into the air, Terra cast a final look downwards at where Aqua stood on the Forecourt of Eraqus' castle. The bluenette was gazing deeply at him with a small sad smile curled on her lips, her eyes beginning to moisten with tears. She was happy for Terra and Ven, of course, but this was to be their first time away from home, and their first time apart. So naturally, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the flood and mixture of emotions that were cascading through her chest.
Before he could rise any higher, Terra lowered himself back onto the ground, hopped off his Glider, and walked towards Aqua, whose eyes widened as Terra came forward. "Goodbye Aqua," said Terra softly as he wound his arms around Aqua's slender, smaller frame.
Wrapping her arms around the brown haired man, Aqua closed her eyes and allowed herself to nestle her cheek against the stiff metal armor that covered Terra's chest. "Goodbye, Terra," said Aqua. A minute later, she willed herself to let him go, and he remounted his Glider.
Terra ascended back into the air, rejoining Ven who stood atop his Keyblade glider like a snowboard, and together, the two of them rode into the portal to the Lanes Between. The magical energy that churned in the portal obscured the two boys the moment they entered it, and Aqua could see them no more. In a flash of light, the portal vanished just as quickly as Terra and Ven did.
"I hope they'll be ok," said Aqua quietly as she looked up high at the spot in the air where Terra and Ven had disappeared.
"Never you worry Aqua," said Eraqus reassuringly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "I have faith in Terra and Ven. They'll be fine."
Eraqus always knew the right thing to say in moments of uncertainly, and his words at this present moment were greatly appreciated as Aqua's worrisome nature overtook her.
"Thank you, Master," said Aqua gratefully.
Eraqus cast an affectionate, fatherly smile at the bluenette, who he began to lead back into the castle. "Come, let's go back inside. I hear Cook is making your favorite dish for dinner tonight."
One month seemed like a lifetime away, but Aqua knew that in one month, she would see Terra and Ven together. They would be together again.
But when that one month finally passed, Aqua ran out into the Forecourt, eager to see her friends again. But Terra and Ven were nowhere in sight.
That one month later turned into two, and then, three. There was still no sign of them. Even so, Aqua waited patiently for their return.
But they never came back.
A/N: Hello dear readers! So if you've made it this far, I bet you have many questions that you are burning to have answered. I will take this time now to answer some of them!
1) Where does this story fit in terms of the timeline/canon?
A) As of the Prologue (this chapter), everything up to Master Xehanort's initial disappearance that sends Terra and Aqua on their journeys has taken place (including the Mark of Mastery Exam that Terra failed.) Basically this story is a "What-if" story of what maybe could have been if Master Eraqus had responded differently to Xehanort's disappearance in KHBbS such that some of the game's event's never happened (specifically Eraqus dying, Aqua getting sent after Terra and Ven, the destruction of the Land of Departure, the Terra-Xehanort/Terranort vs Aqua battle in Radiant Garden, and the creation of Castle Oblivion). But Terra still becomes Terra-Xehanort/Terranort and Ven still becomes comatose after his battle with Vanitas, for obvious reasons.
2) About the 13 Darknesses and 7 Lights plotline…
A) Don't even get me started about that, I am still utterly confused as heck about that plotline. But, it kind of appears in this story (except that ultimately there will be no 13 Darknesses and 7 Lights clash in this story). You'll see what I mean.
3) Hey I'm a fan of your "An Affair That Never Was" Xemqua story! How does this story affect it?
A) I'll alternate between working on that story and this story during my free time, so don't worry about one getting ignored over the other ;)
4) Does Sora and co. appear in the story?
A. We'll see. I'm still fleshing out the story plot so if there's a real need for Sora and co., then he will appear.
5) Why is Aqua 17 yrs old in this story?
A) I honestly don't know how old Aqua really is in KHBbS, but she's got to be at least 17 yrs old. Therefore, I'm making her starting age in this story 17.
6) Will there be pop culture references in this story?
A) Of course (:
If there are any other questions I haven't addressed, please feel free to leave a comment or a review and I'll answer them in the next A/N of the next chapter! Thanks and until the next chapter!
-gt²