The Three Wayfinders
Chapter 3: Salvage the Situation
Terra, Aqua, and Ventus were all able to summon their armor to protect themselves from the darkness, but they were drifting apart from each other in the black abyss. The three friends were separated once again, but hopefully their reunion will draw nigh and they will become the saviors of light...
"Terra! Are you alright?!"
"...who...?" Terra had groggily awoken.
Terra found himself lying in the grass next to a tall tower, and a mouse was staring at him worriedly as he summoned his keyblade, Star Seeker, and performed a healing spell on him.
"Mickey?"
"Gosh, you must be real lucky to have landed here, but where are Aqua and Ven?" The mouse questioned.
Terra instinctively dismissed his armor to meet the King's gaze, eye to eye, as he got up on his own two feet, fully healed.
"They're not here?! I have to find them!" Terra said in distress.
"Wait a minute; you need to see Yen Sid first!" Mickey advised.
"There's isn't time!" Terra defied.
"But he could tell ya where they are!" Mickey reminded.
Terra realized his rashness and remembered about how Yen Sid was famed for his magic and how he could make his search much quicker.
"I'm sorry... I wasn't thinking... I'm just..." Terra apologized.
"It's okay Terra. They're my friends too, and I wanna help you find them." Mickey consoled.
"Alright, let's head up then." Terra agreed.
The two quickly made their way up the stairs to the top of the Mysterious Tower to see the powerful wizard. When they made it to his study, Yen Sid was intently waiting for them as he was ready to speak to the Keyblade Masters.
"Terra... I am glad that you ended up here safely. But nonetheless, I am saddened by these circumstances. What has happened?" Yen Sid inquired.
"The darkness... it came out of nowhere... and these monsters..." Terra tried to explain.
"The Heartless... Yes. They are darkness made real, and they seek out the hearts of others. Do you know of them?" Yen Sid responded.
"...I've heard stories from Master Eraqus." Terra replied.
"Eraqus's tales are very true. These creatures have great fear of keyblades so they will be drawn to you and attempt to consume your heart into darkness. You must be strong and outshine them with your light." Yen Sid explained.
"But I thought the Heartless were supposed to stay in the Realm of Darkness." Terra stated.
"Yes, but I can only surmise that someone has released them, and now their only instinct is to swallow worlds into the dark abyss." Yen Sid grimly said.
"But Yen Sid, you said someone was commanding the Heartless. So maybe if we find the culprit and put him in his place then everything will go back to normal." Mickey optimistically said.
"Alas Mickey, the Heartless have no true Masters, they only ally with the one who's the strongest." Yen Sid replied.
"Yen Sid, I need to find Aqua and Ven, can you tell me where they are?" Terra asked.
"I will try." Yen Sid agreed as he waved his arms to perform some sort of spell to locate them. "...Something dark is interfering with my magic. But I can see that they are in separate worlds... it is difficult decipher their precise location... Aqua is in Radiant Garden... but Ventus, I do not know... I am sorry."
"If Ven's missing then I'll find him! It won't be the first time that I'm looking for him." Mickey smiled. "Terra, find Aqua in Radiant Garden then we'll all get to the bottom of this."
"Okay. Thank you Mickey." Terra nodded.
"Stay vigilant, our opponent has not revealed himself yet so be on your guard from the darkness, we have a difficult task ahead of us." Yen Sid advised. "Eraqus is entrapped in his own Castle, but he is safe. So, we must accomplish this new endeavor."
"Yen Sid, the person commanding the Heartless... Could it be... Master Xehanort?" Terra nervously asked.
"I cannot sense his presence Terra... you and Ventus destroyed him a year ago. Are you not convinced?" Yen Sid replied.
"I don't know... He has been taunting me in my dreams." Terra admitted.
"You hosted his heart for quite some time; it is only natural that he left an imprint of himself in your psyche." Yen Sid comforted.
"But... what if it was my fault that the Heartless came to our home... attracted by my darkness... Xehanort's darkness..." Terra clutched his chest.
"Gosh, Terra you can't blame yourself for what happened. There's no way this was your fault." Mickey consoled again.
"I sense that there is absolutely no trace of Xehanort in your heart, Terra, he is nothing more than your nightmare, at worst. Put your fears to rest." Yen Sid stated.
"...We're going to fix this... I know we will." Terra promised himself as he pulled out his orange wayfinder. "We'll find both of you..."
"Then go, seek out your friends and conquer the Heartless threat together." Yen Sid encouraged.
"Yep, the plan is that I find Ven, and you find Aqua, and protect anyone from the Heartless on the way." Mickey assured.
"Then we'll take it from there." Terra agreed as they both left the study, both of them determined to accomplish their goal.
"Farewell and good luck." Yen Sid bid them goodbye as he himself teleported away in a flash of light.
"Oh dear, you're waking up!"
"What...?" Aqua sat up in this rather comfy bed.
"Why I was about to head off for a stroll when you just fell out of the sky. And being the gentleman that I am, I did my best to help you recover."
"Where am I...?" Aqua sleepily rubbed her eyes.
"You are in my home, young lady, and I am the great and powerful wizard, Merlin." Merlin introduced himself. "Now, don't be alarmed, but I used a spell to take off your armor and examine you for any injuries. Luckily there wasn't anything serious."
"Thanks... Wait, I remember you." Aqua recognized the old man.
"Have we met before, young lady?" Merlin asked.
"Yes, I came in here to read one of your books." Aqua remembered.
"Ah yes, now I remember that day, it was over a year ago, if I recall." Merlin stated.
"So that means, I must be in Radiant Garden." Aqua deduced.
"Right you are Miss..." Merlin trailed off.
"Aqua." She introduced herself.
"Aqua, a fine name that is," Merlin smiled through his beard. "But a lady such as yourself shouldn't be without protection with those dreadful Heartless still roaming about."
"You know about the Heartless?!" Aqua got out of the bed.
"Why yes, everyone here should realize the danger they possess by now." Merlin responded.
"Thank you for all of your help, but I must get going." Aqua thanked the wizard as she left his home.
"Think wisely, Aqua." Merlin waved off a little confused.
As Aqua made her way to the Town Square, she found herself surrounded by more Heartless, all intent in doing her harm.
"This is the city of light, you're not welcomed here!" She warned the creatures as she summoned her keyblade.
But before she could even make a move, all of the Heartless were destroyed in an instant by a young man, about Ven's age, wielding a... gunblade?
"Thank you, but I didn't need any help." Aqua thanked the young stranger.
"...That's a keyblade... isn't it?" The kid inquired.
"And what if it is?" Aqua wearily responded.
"The Leader of our town is looking for one... you should go see him."
"Alright, I'm Aqua by the way." Aqua introduced herself.
"Squall... Watch out for the Heartless..." Squall said stoic as he ran off towards the Fountain Court.
"Lone wolf, I guess... I know I should find Terra and Ven, but Ansem the Wise might have some answers..." She told herself as she made her way to Ansem's Castle.
Eventually, she made it to the Front Doors of the Castle, but to her surprise those huge guards weren't at the door.
"Do I... just let myself in?" Aqua asked herself out loud.
"That hasn't stopped you before."
The blue-haired keyblade wielder turned around to see none other than Lea giving a huge grin.
"Lea, good to see you again." Aqua happily greeted.
"Glad to see that you've still got my name memorized." Lea smirked. "What are you doing here?"
"I need to see Ansem again." Aqua replied. "Do you know where he is?"
"In there, trying to find a solution to our Heartless problem." Lea answered as he pointed to the Castle. "Hey, where are Terra and Ven at?"
"I don't know... the Heartless attacked our world and..." She trailed off.
"Say no more, I'm sure you'll find them." Lea comforted. "But I guess, if there are no guards, and you're not a Heartless, you could just walk right in."
"What are you going to do?" Aqua inquired.
"Me and some other guys made a small squad of Heartless Exterminators, and business is booming." Lea grinned. "I gotta get going!"
"Oh well, good luck with that." Aqua smiled.
"Yeah, same to you, see ya." Lea said as he ran off.
"Boys..." She sighed as she entered the Castle.
Terra had finally made it to Radiant Garden as he landed his Glider and dismissed it along with his armor next to the Item Shop where some guys were buying some potions. Feeling rushed, Terra made his way towards the Town Square until one of the guys recognized him.
"Terra! What are you doing here?!"
Terra gave a ghost of a smile as he remembered the guy that addressed him.
"I guess I could say the same thing..." Terra smirked.
A/N- Who is Terra's familiar acquaintance? Will he able to find Aqua before the Heartless interfere again? And where is Ven?! These questions will be answered and most likely our antagonist will be revealed in the next chapter! Comment and review:)
