AN: Please be aware that this story is NOT canon compliant. In particular, most of the stuff revealed in and after Dream Drop Distance is being ignored.
Splitting the Atom
When the dark corridor refuses to open into Radiant Garden, he knows something is horribly wrong. He portals to a world nearby instead, and flies through the Lanes Between to where Radiant Garden should be. Should be, because it isn't. There is debris, remnants of the world expressed in house-sized rocks that float aimlessly through space. And there's the acrid, overwhelming scent of pure darkness.
"Terra!" he shouts, although it is useless. Terra would not have stayed. Terra would have retreated to a safe world . . . Terra has yet to remember how to summon his keyblade. Ven hunts through the world's graveyard, blasting aside boulders when they are too heavy to move, and picks through the rubble.
"He's not dead," Ven tells himself. "He's not dead."
He inhales. He holds his breath. Exhales. Moves to a new place and inhales again.
He keeps doing that until he finally picks up Terra's scent.
"You remember everything now," his Heartless asks – no, tells him.
"I do."
The Heartless – Ansem as it has decided to call itself – sneers. "Then you know what we must do."
"You're not Terra."
"I am what remains of his heart."
"Heartless," Ven growls. The X-Blade begins to take shape.
The Heartless chuckles. "Calm yourself, Ven. I am not a mindless beast like the others."
"Then, you are Terra?" he asks. "Just different?"
He steps forward and reaches out. Terra (Heartless Terra?) glides out of his reach and suddenly, there's a dark barrier shimmering between them.
"That is unwise," Terra's Heartless says. "I may retain my mind, but I still have the instinct to hunt and consume. I would rather you keep your distance."
"O-okay, if you think I should. So, you're a Heartless. Alright, fine. But you're still. . .?"
"I am no longer the only me. Go to him," the Heartless orders. He raises his arm and a dark portal appears on Ven's side of the barrier. "My brother holds information that you will find very valuable."
It is like the first time Ven found him in Radiant Garden, only it is not. Terra smiles at him. There's no hesitation when he greets Ven, no . . . forgetting. For someone who apparently became a Heartless during their world's destruction, Terra is not only remarkably unharmed, but unbothered. Somehow, he and the research group he had stayed with have made their way to a new world on the fringe of the universe, a world that Ven's X-Blade-honed instincts tell him shouldn't exist. And, somehow, on this world that shouldn't exist, Terra managed to find a castle, too.
"So, you have found me again," Terra says. He stands before a window, his back to Ven as he stares into the night sky.
"Yeah," he says. He walks into Terra's super-white room. "Terra, what happened?"
Terra tells him. Ven listens in horror as he emotionlessly explains the end he brought upon his own world, as he further explains why he feels so little about it.
"So, you're . . ." Ven staggers back into the wall. His legs wobble as he slides down it. "Terra, you're . . ."
"Perhaps it was meant to be," Terra says.
"How can you say that?" Ven demands. "I should have been there. I could have helped!"
"Perhaps you could have saved that world and me, but then we wouldn't be where we are."
"What does that mean?" When Terra doesn't answer right away, Ven shakes his head and returns to the subject that's important. "It doesn't matter. How do I fix this?"
"Kingdom Hearts," Terra says, as if he has had decades, not a week to think about this without him.
Ven's mouth goes dry. He stammers out the name twice.
"Terra, that's . . . That's insane! It's Kingdom Hearts. We're not supposed to. . ."
"We are in a situation which the Master would have thought impossible," Terra reminds him. "Ven, where else would you find a heart if not at the source of all hearts itself?"
Kingdom Hearts. They aren't supposed to meddle with such godly things; they're supposed to protect it. Terra does make sense though and it's . . . it's Terra. Even though he messes up sometimes, his intentions are always good. If Ven had to trust anyone with Kingdom Hearts, Terra would be at the top of the list.
On his third attempt to muster his nerve, the X-Blade comes to him. He takes hold of its handle. That familiar, dizzyingly desire to beg Terra to end him returns.
"Put it away," Terra says to his great relief, and surprise. "There are safer ways."
"Safer?" Ven repeats. "This is what the X-Blade was created for. How can there be something safer?"
Terra doesn't address that. "There are other ways we can summon Kingdom Hearts. Your X-Blade is not required."
He watches Terra closely, half expecting him to turn around and declare that was a joke. Yet Terra does not twitch.
"Terra, I can do this," he says quietly. "I don't know what you're worried about, but . . ."
"Are you certain?" Terra asks. "Can you promise that?"
Terra looks over his shoulder and straight into his eyes. The amber colour of his irises seems to bleed out beyond his face, engulfing the world. As it does, Ven is once again consumed by the need to be destroyed.
"As I thought," Terra says, turning back to the window. "We will use a safer means."
"Why do you even care if it's safe for me?" Ven mutters, boring a hole into the ground with his glower. "You can't feel anything."
He looks up, and jumps. Terra has half-turned towards him, and stares straight at him.
"No, I don't," Terra concedes. "But I remember what it was like to feel. I remember the person I used to be, and who I would become again. I know that if I were to regain my heart in exchange for you, I would spend every waking moment of my completed existence in agonizing regret."
Ven laughs. Something like a tear pokes at his eye. "You're even sappier without a heart."
But of course, Terra doesn't laugh. He returns to the window and continues as if that touching moment never happened. "The emblem Heartless I created hold hostage the hearts of their prey. If enough are released, Kingdom Hearts shall appear to us."
"Master Eraqus never said anything like that," Ven says. "How do you know this?"
"Xehanort spent many years on these plans."
At the sound of his old Master's name (the name of the Master he fantasizes about splattering all over the ground), the X-Blade makes itself known once more. Dark flames ripple down Ven's arms as he prepares to raise his blade against the one that haunted him for so long -
"I remember Xehanort's life," Terra says suddenly, "as I remember all of mine. I know who I am. I know I am Terra."
Ven hesitates, unsure whether to believe him. But then he remembers another time in Radiant Garden, before things all went to hell, where all Terra wanted was trust from them and their Master, and they couldn't deliver.
"Okay," Ven says, forcing himself to dismiss his keyblade. "How did you remember?"
"We assumed incorrectly," Terra says. "My heart did not contain my memories. My heart was blocking them."
He doesn't understand, but he doesn't question it. "If that's true. . . Sorry. I. . . I'm going for a walk. I need to think."
He's halfway out the door when Terra calls his name.
"Were you not listening?" Terra asks.
Terra turns fully towards him for the first time and Ven freezes when he sees what Terra has been holding this entire conversation.
"I remember everything," Terra rumbles, as his long fingers curl over the side of Aqua's helmet.
"Can't you sniff her out? She's the only light here!"
From the shadows, Terra's Heartless chuckles. He can't see it – it's keeping a safe distance from him – but its voice echoes in the desolate realm. "I could. I could let my mind meld with the darkness and join the hordes hunting her. I could mindlessly pursue her until I tear the beating light of her heart free of its cage."
Ven cringes. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"
"I might," the Heartless admits. "Are you willing to take that risk?"
"No. Forget it. I'm . . ." He rubs his forehead. "Sorry. I'm frustrated. I had no idea the Realm of Darkness was so big. There's got to be some way to figure out where she is, or to signal her somehow!"
The Heartless is silent.
"She's not dead," Ven mutters to himself. "I can feel her. She's not dead."
"Can't I call you Terra?" he asks the weirdly renamed Xemnas.
"You can," Xemnas – no, Terra agrees.
Ven nods, content. He's content enough that he doesn't ask his other questions, like how Terra came up with such a weird name to begin with.
Now that the mercenary that attacked Aqua and him is gone, Ven feels safe to introduce himself to the others. They make up some vague story about Terra running across him when he was testing out his portal-making ability. The others are skeptical – they are scientists – but nobody sees it fit to challenge them. He supposes it's because they don't care, or because they don't want to chase him and his X-Blade off. Terra has already told them about his plan to restore their hearts.
Thankfully, none of them are aware of the X-Blade's original purpose. He can only imagine how awkward it would be if someone realized the shortcut to their salvation was stealing food from the fridge.
Terra, with all the fondness his heartless self is capable of, dubs him number two of the Organization. (Terra, he decides, isn't that great at inventing names.) That means Ven gets the second-highest throne next to him in the meeting room.
As for the others, he watches them with a mix of contempt and calm scrutiny. They're decent fighters for what they are, though still raw with their new magical powers. Most importantly though, although it was Terra who led them into this abyss, they are still loyal to him.
Although Ven supposes that they don't know exactly who it was that opened their world to the Heartless.
"If you can remember who you are, you should use your keyblade."
"I am a Nobody," Terra says. "I am not sure that it would come to me."
"Give it a try," Ven tells him.
Terra extends his hand. His fingers flex. There is nothing.
"Maybe you need some help. Like, something to kickstart it. Here, hold this."
Ven summons not his X-Blade, but his regular keyblade. He's a little surprised that it's Void Gear that appears, but he shrugs it off. Terra takes the keyblade from him and immediately, almost drops it.
Ven laughs. "Wow, I guess it has been a while for you."
"This keyblade. . ." Terra tests his grip on the weapon, as if unsure whether it will burn him. "I do not remember keyblades feeling this powerful."
"What?"
Ven summons it back. It doesn't feel that powerful to him. If anything, it kind of feels weak –
"Oh, maybe it's because of the X-Blade," Ven says happily. "That is the Ultimate keyblade, and it's made directly from my heart. I guess since keyblades reflect the heart. . ."
"That some of the X-Blade's power has been siphoned to this," Terra concludes. "It seemed to like me. It is . . . It is as if I was holding a piece of you in my hands."
"That's kind of creepy," Ven says casually. "I'm sure Void Gear wouldn't mind fighting with you, but you should really try to use your own keyblade. Maybe your new form is just too new to summon Ends of the Earth right now."
The powers of a Nobody are strange. It takes even Terra a while to master them. Ven tries to help, but this is something beyond light and darkness. So, he waits patiently until Terra is confident in himself, until Terra is ready to venture further and relearn the other powers he once had. Eventually, Terra does succeed in summoning his keyblade.
It's then they hit their first major snag.
"Ends of the Earth is not content to be wielded by me."
"The keyblade is supposed to reflect its wielder's heart," Ven says cautiously. "Maybe since you lost yours. . ."
"It still recognizes me," Terra says with a shake of his head. "Observe."
He opens his hand and Ends of the Earth takes shape. It materializes, even allows him to grab it. Then it vanishes with a flash after a few seconds.
"That's weird," Ven says. A thought strikes him. "Oh, maybe your armour is calling it back."
"My armour?" Terra repeats, confused.
Ven can't believe he forgot to tell Terra. "Back in the Keyblade Graveyard, your armour is walking around. It was using your keyblade last time I saw it."
"The Keyblade Graveyard. . .? Ah, it must be a Lingering Sentiment. The Master taught Aqua and I about them," Terra says in understanding.
"Should we go there and grab them?"
"No," Terra says quickly. "I don't believe that is a good idea."
Ven doesn't get it. It's Terra's keyblade and armour. But it's Terra's stuff and he knows it best, so he isn't going to argue.
"Do you want to take mine instead?" Ven asks. When Terra stares at him, he continues. "Not the X-Blade – it wouldn't answer to you. But my old one because, obviously, I don't need it anymore."
Ven summons his old keyblade – it's Void Gear again, it's always Void Gear – and starts to hand it to Terra.
"Wait, maybe not this one," he amends. Terra might have bad memories associated with it and his darker side. He reaches for his connection to Wayward Wind.
Wayward Wind hears him and ignores him. He gropes for the connection again, and tugs at the chain connecting them. The painful backlash is immediate; Wayward Wind is more snarling beast than loyal pet.
What is this? His keyblade recognizes him, he can tell. But not only is it refusing to be summoned, it is vehemently refusing to be summoned. They say the keyblade is a reflection of its master's heart, but Ven can't think of any reason he'd be so angry at himself that it would shun him.
The echoes of Wayward Wind's presence resonate through his head. They are angry and aggressive sensations, determined and possessive. They are defensive, like a dragon curled around its eggs, hissing at all that get too close. It is that last trait which guides him to the truth. Ven hasn't summoned Wayward Wind for years. He has left the keyblade to make its own choices as if it had no master, and yet it is still bound to him; it still reflects his heart and wishes. He thinks about the ironclad belief that has prevented his hope from ever faltering; he thinks about the fact that he's never doubted because he knew it was true.
This is why he knew. This is why he knows.
Aqua isn't dead, because Wayward Wind found her a long time ago.
They meet on the dark beach that evening.
Xemnas hands Void Gear over to Ansem.
He stalks through the night street, Void Gear at his side. This Princess was difficult to track down. Yet, he has found her and here of all places, in this fated world where years ago, his complete self had added another player onto the board of fate. Heartless are drawn to attack those with the power of the keyblade, so he knows when he's in the vicinity of a wielder. What surprise him is how strong that sensation is in this small town, as if there is more than the one he chose.
He phases through the house's walls and into the bedroom. He approaches silently. He raises Void Gear above his head.
He holds the keyblade there as his eyes gleam. That power, the power of the keyblade, he senses it again. Here, in this room. It is almost unheard of for a Princess of Light to be a keyblade wielder, yet it is there.
Who was it? he demands of Void Gear. It is usually useful to ask questions of a keyblade you do not own, but Ven's keyblade still recognizes him as Terra and never holds much back.
It answers eagerly, Rainfell.
He considers. He lowers Void Gear.
He needs to think about this.
Master Eraqus's keyblade still lies in the courtyard in which he fell. Terra and Ven take a minute of silence.
"If it was required, I would make the same choice again," Terra tells him.
"If our places were reversed, I would, too," Ven says.
If Terra had a heart, Ven bets he would be blushing. As it was, Terra swept ahead and into the castle. No matter how dark the world had become, they still knew its layout. Terra pushes open the doors to the library and Ven rushes ahead. In his youth, he had never been one for reading – had despised his academic studies, actually – but now he can't wait to get started. There are only so many books on keyblades, and one of them will have the answer.
It's going to be a hell of a lot easier tracking down a keyblade bounded to his heart than tracking Aqua herself.
He opens the Door. The children rush to save their raft. He watches from the shadows. The Princess passes before him.
He stays his blade and urges the Heartless to be gentle. Let her meet them first, let her fight. They say the barrier between the realms is naturally thin here, that across the open sea, there is another beach where the sun never rises. Perhaps, in this world where the walls are so thin, the traumatic awakening of her successor will reach the lost Master. Perhaps it will lure her to that dark beach, where his brother patrols.
For now, Ansem will wait. And when the dark tide overwhelms the Princess, he will swoop in and claim her heart.
(His plan was a mistake, it turns out. The same spell that brought the Princess to Destiny Islands activates again, and the three end up with the damn wizard.)
"You should shave," Terra tells him as he rubs a finger across Ven's stubble. "Your appearance will be a shock to her. There's no need to make it worse than necessary."
Yen Sid's apprentice is missing, having ventured into the Realm of Darkness a month ago to search for the key to close the Door to Darkness. The Realm of Light will have to be safe-guarded by the three children then, by the Princess he requires.
Then I will force Yen Sid to send them out, Ansem thinks as he observes the collapsing world around him. They are young, but there are only so many worlds Yen Sid can allow to fall before he will be compelled to act.
He wonders, as the Castle of Dreams descends into the abyss, if she will be drawn to such a familiar place.
He considers it and moves the worlds she's visited to the top of his list.
She walks through the disintegrating remains of the Heartless. Wayward Wind tries to sear itself into her soul again. It's a clingy, violent thing; has been ever since it appeared, where it cleaved through two Darksides on its way to her. She had feared the worst when she first saw it. But Ven is safe. Terra is safe. And she . . . she is. . .
Wayward Wind bites her.
She jumps. She wasn't aware she had fallen to her knees. The damn keyblade is more interested in keeping her alive than she is.
She walks.
She hunts down the next fight.