A/N: Here's a new chapter!

You know how weird it is to write Aurora's name and NOT mean my Aurora…?

Anyways, ONWARD!

Chapter Two: Ventus

Last time Corva flew through the Lanes In Between, she had been scared, and tired, and careless. She had actually been very lucky to land in The Land of Departure after she crashed into an asteroid (even if the landing had broken her wing). This time, however, she was much more careful with her flying.

She was also thrilled to see multiple worlds close by.

"Although… Ventus could be in any of these…" she muttered to herself as she looked between three of them. "As could Aqua and Terra… Hmm… Well, it's been a few weeks. Let's try the furthest," she muttered to herself, deciding on a world. From afar, it looked to be made up of two castles: one surrounded by lush lands, glowing with light, and another surrounded by thorns, exuding darkness.

"Man… if he is here… I hope he's in that light castle," Corva muttered to herself as she drew closer.

"It's so quiet…" Corva muttered to herself, walking slowly through the castle. After landing, she had decided to check inside first, thinking she could ask a guard or something if they'd seen a kid like Ventus… but there was no one there.

In fact… it seemed as though the whole castle was asleep. Corva shuddered, wrapping her wings around herself.

It was creepy.

"Still no sign of Terra…" a young voice suddenly echoed towards her. Corva froze.

Wait… someone looking for Terra? Could it be Aqua? Or Ventus!? She thought excitedly, before running forward.

"Hello?" she called.

"Huh?"

The voice was closer this time. She rounded a corner, and skidded to a stop, hardly able to believe her good luck.

Standing at the end of the hall was a young man, her age, dressed in black and white clothes. He had blond, spiky hair, and bright blue eyes.

But what really excited Corva was the emblem he wore on his chest.

"Who are you?" he asked, surprised.

"Are you Ventus?" she asked at the same time. The boy immediately went on guard, summoning his Keyblade.

"Who are you?" he asked again, this time a little more forcefully, as he dropped into a fighting stance.

"Wait, wait!" she called, turning slightly so he could see the emblem on her belt. "I'm a friend of Master Eraqus," she quickly explained. Ventus calmed down a little, standing straight once more. "I met him after you and the other two left. Please, I mean you no harm," Corva added.

"Well, alright. Um, yeah, I'm Ventus… but you can just call me Ven," he said, banishing his Keyblade. Corva smiled, walking over and holding her hand out to shake his.

"I'm Corva. It's nice to meet you," she said. He grinned at her with a nod.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you, too. But…" His face fell slightly.

"Why am I here?" she asked. He nodded, and Corva sighed. "Master Eraqus… he saved my life. And, to repay him… I came to find you, to take you home. Ven, he's worried about you," she explained. Ven frowned.

"I can't go back yet," he said, turning towards the door to his right. "I need to find Terra first. I need to talk to him," he insisted, walking in. The angel followed after him.

"Yeah, but Ven—Ah!" Corva immediately fell quiet, noticing a young woman asleep in the bedroom they had just barged into. Ven had turned to face the woman as well, before tip-toing over to her.

"Ven!" Corva hissed, trying and failing at catching his arm. He turned his head and put a finger to his lips, prompting the angel to frown.

"Oh…" he breathed, looking again at the woman.

"Stop!" a voice suddenly snapped from behind the two intruders, causing both to jump and spin around. "You get away from her!"

Three woman stood, glaring at the two of them. The one in the front wore a red dress, to her right wore a green dress, and to her left was in blue. All three had cloaks and pointed hats that matched their dresses, and all three pointed wands threateningly at the two of them.

"Wha—Oh, I'm sorry," Ven said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Heh, yeah, we were just leaving," Corva added, grabbing Ven's arm.

"Yeah…" He glanced back at the sleeping woman, before giving the three older ladies a placating smile. "It's just, I've never seen anyone so beautiful," he added sheepishly. The three older ladies seemed to relax at that.

Suddenly, the one in red rose into the air, and Corva noticed little wings on her back that moved much like bee wings.

Those are probably easier to deal with, but… her thought trailed off as she ran her fingers through the feathers of her right wing, not at all jealous of the fairy's wings.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, fluttering around the two.

"I'm Ventus, but you can call me Ven," Ven said.

"And I'm Corva. I don't have a nickname," Corva added, and both teenagers smiled at the older woman, turning their heads to watch her.

"We're Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather," the red one said, motioning first to herself, then the green one, then the blue.

"Oh. You two don't seem bad, dears," Fauna said, returning their smiles. "I'm certain your hearts are pure, just like our precious Aurora."

"Aurora? Is that her name?" Corva asked, looking over at the girl. Ven was right, she was beautiful. The three fairies nodded with smiles.

"Can you tell me why she's sleeping?" Ven asked.

"Long ago, Maleficent cursed her. Now, she's stolen her heart," Flora answered.

"Cursed, huh?" Corva muttered, glancing back at the woman again. Her own heart squeezed in sympathy.

"Yes, it was awful, dear," Fauna sighed. Ven crossed his arms thoughtfully.

"I don't know what we can do about a curse… but why don't we go get her heart back for her?" the boy offered, motioning to himself and Corva. The angel quickly turned to look at him, surprised.

"That's impossible, dear," Fauna said. "Maleficent's home is at the Forbidden Mountain. It's not safe."

So… that dark castle then. Fun. Corva thought sarcastically.

"I'm not afraid. Are you?" he asked, looking at Corva. She shook her head.

"No… and we can't just leave Aurora like this," Corva said. She knew she promised Eraqus she'd bring Ventus home, but… surely he'd understand if they helped this girl first, right?

"See! We can help. You gotta believe us," Ven added, starting to get fired up. It was contagious.

"C'mon, let's go get her heart!" she added, her feathers quivering slightly as she got fired up as well.

"You know, you two are absolutely right," Flora said. "The Forbidden Mountain is through the forest. Come along—follow us. After all, we wouldn't want you two to get lost."

The two teenagers exchanged grins, before nodding to the fairy and following them out of Aurora's room.

As they moved through the hall, the monsters that were spreading across the worlds appeared and attacked.

"Unversed!" Ven gasped, summoning his Keyblade and attacking.

"Is that what these are called?" Corva asked, summoning her own sword. It looked just like the swords held by the suits of armor that decorated the halls, but the hilt was gold, and the blade was bluish-white. The whole thing glowed faintly – it was Corva's Holy Sword. She dove forward, her wings flaring slightly, and slashed at the monsters attacking Ven's back.

"Yeah," Ven answered, throwing himself at the monsters. Corva spun, battering some of the smaller monsters with her spread wings and kicking up air. The downside to fighting inside was that she was unable to take flight, which was where she felt the most comfortable in a fight.

Finally, however, the two managed to finish off the last of the Unversed.

"That's it for now," Ventus said, before smiling at Corva. "You're a good fighter. Did the Master teach you all that?"

"Nah. I've been training since I was eight," Corva replied, banishing her Holy Sword and tucking her wings comfortably behind her backs, smoothing her hands along the flight primaries.

"Wow… that's a long time… how old are you?" Ven asked as the two of them walked.

"Don't you know you're not supposed to ask a lady that?" Corva replied in a huff.

"Uh…" Ven turned scarlet, rubbing the back of his neck. Corva glanced over at him, and laughed.

"Hey, hey! I was just teasing you. I'm sixteen, same as you," she said, still giggling.

"Oh," the boy huffed, his cheeks puffing out in a pout. That only caused the fairies to join in with Corva's laughter, and soon, Ven started laughing as well. He then grinned.

"Come on. Time's a wasting!" he said, hopping down the steps of the curved staircase that lead to the large throne room. They faced more of the Unversed (Corva was able to take to the air this time, with how large the room was), before going outside, crossing a large stone bridge, and entering the lush green forest.

"So… can I ask about the wings?" Ven asked after a few moments of silence.

"My wings? What about them?" Corva asked.

"Well, um… why… do you have them?" the boy suddenly seemed unsure of his question, causing Corva to laugh.

"Oh, that's simple. I'm not human," she said.

"Wha?"

"I'm an angel."

"Oh…" Ven was silent for a moment. He looked back at her again. "Like a Guardian Angel? Is that why you know how to fight so well?" he asked. Corva froze, and her wings seemed to shrink slightly.

"I used to be a Guardian, yes," she said softly.

"Oh, cool!" Ven didn't seem to hear the tone she used. Instead, he folded his arms behind his head, looking up at the sky. He suddenly stopped. "In that case…"

"Hm?" Corva looked up at the boy, curious.

"I… I think Terra might be in danger. I know you're a friend of the Master's, and you said you'd take me home, but…" He turned to Corva, dropping his arms, a pleading look in his eyes. "Could you… help Terra instead? Act as his Guardian Angel, and keep him safe, until I can talk to him?"

"I… Why do you think he's in danger?" Corva asked.

"I just… it's just this feeling I have. Please, Corva. Once we help Aurora… could you go find him and keep him safe?" His eyes widened as he stared at the angel, and Corva couldn't help the sigh that escaped her.

I'm… sorry, Master Eraqus… but maybe I can make it up to you this way? "Alright, Ven."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

"Good, now let's keep going!" Satisfied and happy once more, he struck off in a random direction into the trees.

"It's this way, dear!" Flora called.

"Right!" Ven, not to be daunted, said, quickly turning that way. Corva chuckled, shaking her head at him and following.

After a little while of walking and fighting Unversed, the group reached the end of the forest, which was blocked off by green flames.

"What's this?" Corva wondered.

"Looks like we're stuck," Ven said, crossing his arms.

"This must be Maleficent's doing," Flora declared.

"I know," Fauna said, before fluttering forward. She waved her wand, and green light shot from the tip, hitting the flames and clearing them away.

"Shall we?" she asked, turning back to the group, who all nodded in agreement.

It was like stepping into a new world, leaving the forest. Compared to the lush greenery behind them, ahead was dead and barren, with no signs of life. Even the air seemed dirtier, and the sky had grown to a dark, stormy gray.

"I… don't want to be here," Corva muttered, her feathers rustling from fear.

"We don't have a choice," Ven said in determination, running forward. Corva sighed, following after him.

Once they reached the castle courtyard, it wasn't Unversed that were attacking them, but weird warthog-men things. Some were armed with bows, while others with axes.

"Let's get 'em!" Corva said, Holy Sword appearing in her hands.

"Right!" Ven agreed, summoning Wayward Wind. The two went to town on the pig men, until finally, they managed to clear a path to the entrance of the castle.

"There's more of them guarding that door," Corva whispered, noticing two of the pig men.

"Right, which means there's must be something through there," Ven muttered back. Corva and the fairies nodded.

"Careful… they're Maleficent's henchmen," Flora warned.

One of them suddenly yawned, and Corva had to smother her laughter at that. She grinned at Ven.

"Let's give them a little wake up call, shall we?"

"Yeah!" he replied, running forward. Corva was right behind him. "Ten-shun!" Ven yelled. Both guards jumped. "No sleeping on the job!" Both teens summoned their weapons, dropping into fighting positions.

"Just for that, we'll have to take disciplinary action!" Corva added, lunging for the one on the left. Ven, in his usual style, made quick work of the one on the right. Just as they finished those two off, more came running from the other two doors, attacking the two teens. Corva took to the sky, weaving back and forth to avoid the arrows shot at her.

She held her hand out, palm facing the henchmen, and shot small balls of light at them. Meanwhile, Ven had his hands full with the axe wielding ones, until finally, they managed to take all of them out.

"That takes care of that," Corva said. Ven nodded.

"Yep. Let's keep going," he said, and the two moved deeper into the castle.

At first glance, the hall they entered was large and empty. As they moved forward, however, walls appeared, turning the place into a maze too small for Corva to spread her wings enough to take flight.

Even if she could, the walls went all the way up to the ceiling, so it would have been useless.

"I guess we just go through this the old fashioned way," Ven said. Corva sighed.

"The old fashioned way sucks," she replied, causing the boy to laugh. As they moved forward, more of Maleficent's goons appeared, forcing the two to take them out in order to advance. Overall, it was a long, and very annoying process.

"Finally," Corva breathed once they found the exit.

"We're not done yet," Ven warned her, just as more enemies rounded the corner of the small corridor they were in.

"Oh, give me a break!" Corva snapped, launching herself forward at them.

Unfortunately, this corridor lead right back into the maze room, and it took the five of them three more tries until they finally found the right exit, a red portal which lead to a different room.

In here was an alter. Green fire burned strongly in the center, and within the flames was a bright light.

"Do you think that's…?" Corva began.

"It's gotta be," Ven replied, racing forward. The others followed after him.

He stopped just a few feet from the alter, and glanced down at his Keyblade with a determined nod, before pointing it at the flames.

Light surrounded the blade, before suddenly shooting out, hitting the fire and causing it to fade. The heart shot over their heads, and out of the castle.

"That should do it!" Ven said brightly, watching after it.

"Where is it going?" Corva asked.

"Back to Aurora. Now we just need to break the curse," Merryweather said.

"And that'll wake her up?" Ven guessed.

"Yep!" the blue fairy said brightly.

"Well, let's—" Corva cut off as a bright light suddenly surrounded her and Ven.

"Don't you remember? We've met before," a man's voice said, and suddenly, they were back in the woods, facing a handsome young man with brown hair.

"We… we have?" Aurora, who's hand was held by the man, asked. She was dressed differently, wearing peasant clothes compared to the princess gown they had first seen her in.

"Why of course. You said so yourself—once upon a dream," the man said excitedly, letting go of her hand. Aurora seemed about to leave… until he said those last words. She turned back to the man with a smile, and this time willingly took his hand.

"I never thought I would meet you—outside of my dreams, that is," she said as the two settled under a tree, watching the river.

"Who are you? What's your name?" the man asked.

"Hmm? Oh, my name… Why it's… Oh, oh-no, I can't…" she suddenly seemed panicked, pulling away from him. "Goodbye!" she called, running away.

"I must see you!" the man pleaded, causing her to hesitate.

"I don't know, maybe someday!" she continued to run.

"When? Tomorrow?" the man tried again. The girl stopped once more.

"Oh, no. This evening! At the cottage, in the glen," Aurora said. Light surrounded them once more, and Corva was once again standing beside Ven in Maleficent's run down castle.

"What was that?" Ven asked, looking around.

"Aurora's memory," Flora said.

"So, if she met him in a dream, then in real life…" Corva trailed off.

"Then her dream came true!" Ven asked excitedly.

"Yes, not long ago," Flora said. "Dreams are very strong beliefs. Aurora's led her to her true love."

"I see you two hold strong beliefs too. Don't you, dears?" Fauna asked.

"Yup," Ven said with a grin. Corva hesitated, before looking down.

I don't think I do. I used to. My dream had to become a Guardian Angel, but…

"You also have a strong light. Both of you," Flora said, causing Corva to look up again.

"Really?" Corva asked, while Ven seemed thoughtful. The old fairy nodded with a smile.

"Alright, hurry! We can't stay here!" Marryweather said, reminding them of the situation they were in.

"Right." The five of them quickly made their way out, back to the room where they had given the guards their wake up call.

This time, however, a tall woman in a black robe stood in the center of the room.

"Someone has released Aurora's heart. Tell me, children, was it you?" she demanded, turning to face them with a glare.

"Maleficent!" Flora gasped softly.

"Only cause you stole it in the first place!" Ven snarled, rushing forward, his Keyblade at the ready.

"Ven, wait!" Corva cried, quickly following, her sword appearing in her hands.

His attack never hit, though, as the woman vanished into green flames, appearing once more in the raised platform at the top of the room, just in front of a throne.

"A Keyblade… You must be Ventus," she said, before casting her eyes to Corva. "Though I know not of you…" she added without interest, turning her attention back to the boy.

"Huh? How do you know about me… and the Keyblade?" he demanded.

"My powers ensure I'd know of the key to bringing me hearts," she replied. "Terra gave me a demonstration."

"Terra!?" the two teens gasped in surprise.

"He was here?" Ven asked, desperation creeping into his voice.

"Why yes. In fact, it was he who stole Princess Aurora's heart," Maleficent said with a smirk.

"Liar!" Corva yelled. "I might not have met him yet, but from everything I've heard of Terra, he'd never do something so dark!"

"I was asked to leave the boy unharmed… but I have no control over what happens if he helps his meddlesome friend!" she yelled, before suddenly launching an attack aimed at Corva.

Corva pumped her wings, launching into the air and dodging the attack.

"Ven, get out of here!" she yelled.

"Not a chance! I'm not leaving you alone to deal with her!" the boy replied.

"And neither are we!" Flora's voice said, coming from a floating red light that flew over to the two of them, joined by a green and blue one. Maleficent didn't give them time to develop a strategy, however, as she attacked again, shooting green flames at Ven, who rolled out of the way.

Just before Corva could dive bomb the dark fairy's position, she vanished appearing in the middle of the room. A sickly green shockwave erupted from her, forcing Ven to jump into the air to dodge it. Corva swooped down, landing a few strikes on Maleficent, before she vanished again.

"This is the end! Behold the mistress of all evil!" the dark fairy yelled, and a swirl of darkness appeared, slamming into Corva's chest. She gasped in pain and shock at the sudden cold, and her wings went limp, causing her to drop to the ground.

"Corva!" Ven yelled, but he was unable to rush over to help the Angel as the swirl suddenly shot towards him. He rolled out of the way, jumping to his feet just as the swirl faded, revealing Maleficent.

"Are you okay, dear?" Fauna asked, her green light hovering around Corva's face. Corva nodded, pushing herself up and stretching both wings, making sure she didn't reinjure her left one.

She then looked up to see the three fairies hovering around her. "I have an idea. Can you three protect us for a few minutes?" she asked.

"Yes, dear. What do you have in mind?" Flora asked.

"Well, I want to see if Ven's and my light are as strong as you say," Corva said, before jumping to her feet.

Just then, Ven, who'd been attacking the dark fairy, was thrown back, forcing Corva to catch him before he slammed into one of the pillars.

"Thanks," he gasped.

"Yeah. Listen—" she said, quickly telling him her plan. He grinned with a nod.

"I like it!"

"Then let's do it," Corva said.

"No matter the plan you two concoct, it will not be enough to defeat me!" Maleficent said.

"Now, Ven!" Corva cried.

"Got it!" Both held their sword in the air, charging up light attacks, while the good fairies flew around them, intercepting Maleficent's strikes.

"Go!" Corva yelled when she felt like she couldn't hold onto the attack any longer. Both teens shot forward, out of the protective circle the fairies created, and slammed their swords into Maleficent. As soon as the charged weapons made contact, they exploded with light, sending the dark fairy flying.

"Had enough?" Corva demanded as the woman picked herself up and limped up the steps, back to where her throne was.

"There's no way Terra would hurt somebody like that!" Ven yelled, not giving the woman a chance to answer Corva.

"You two don't believe me?" Maleficent asked, seeming to catch her breath. "That's unfortunate, for he agreed so easily."

"He did?" Ven asked, a crack of doubt showing.

"Ve—" Corva started, only to be cut off by another voice.

"Ven! Don't be fooled!"

Both teens looked over to see a woman with blue hair running over to them. Corva smiled when seeing the emblem on her chest that marked her as one of Eraqus's apprentices.

"Aqua!" Ven called, confirming Corva's thoughts. Aqua reached them, and smiled.

"Terra would never do that," Aqua said. "You know that as well as I do."

"Yeah!" Ven said with a grin.

"Heck, I haven't even met him yet, and I know he wouldn't do that," Corva added. Ven grinned at her, while Aqua glanced questioningly at the angel, wondering who she was.

"Ahh… the truth can be most cruel, even amongst the closest of friends," Maleficent said, gaining their attention once more. "After all, one never knows the secrets of another's heart. I'm sure you'll agree… Ventus… Aqua," she said, ignoring Corva's presence entirely.

Aqua scowled, then turned to Ven. "The Master sent me," she said to him.

That's right! He said he asked Aqua to find and take Ven home…

"Huh? You, too?" he asked.

Aqua nodded."Yes. Ven… let's go home."

"But… Terra," he said, turning and making eye contact with Corva. She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Terra's not ready to leave yet," Aqua said. Ven frowned for a moment, seeming to remember something that the two girls knew nothing of.

"Sorry, Aqua…" Ven said quietly. "But, I can't go with you."

"What?" Aqua muttered.

"It's just… I have to find him before it's too late!" Ven exclaimed. "Corva, don't you dare forget your promise!" he demanded, before rushing off, leaving the two girls behind.

"Ven!" they both called, but it was no use. He didn't turn back.

A/N: And I'm ending this one here! Let me tell you… it was hard not typing Aurora when I meant Corva because there IS and Aurora in this chapter (and there will be one next chapter, too), and and and… yeah. I went over this with a fine tooth comb, but I might have missed things so… sorry if I did?