WOW! Eleven reviews already? You guys rock! Okay, I'll shut up and get to the chapter then.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

Chapter 4 - Terra

"Is she okay?" Aqua heard a voice ask. It was clearly the boy, but his voice wasn't deep. He must be around her age.

"I don't know," a much older voice replied. "She's scratched badly and these injuries look like they came from Heartless. She must've been through something terrible." Aqua felt someone pick her up.

"How did she get here?" the younger voice asked.

"Terra, stop asking questions," the older man said. "Let's just get her inside."

Aqua heard footsteps as these two people carried her away. She tried to open her eyes, but she fell into darkness.

Aqua woke up in a soft bed. Moonlight was shining through the window just above the bed. She looked around and saw that she was alone. The nearby door was open and there was a small table next to her with a glass of water on it. She grabbed it and drank the water down in a rush, her throat had seriously been hurting.

"Where am I?" she asked herself. Wondering about that Keyblade, she tried to summon it again and it worked like a charm. She could still use it, but she didn't need it. Aqua put it away as she felt another wave of tiredness wash over her. Lying back against the pillows, the girl fell right asleep.

When Aqua woke up again, sunlight was shining through the window. She sat up and crawled over to look out the window. The outside was so beautiful. There were mountains, valleys, forests, and waterfalls. What was this place?

Then, Aqua noticed that her shirt had been changed. Her old shirt had been ripped and torn when those monsters attacked her. Now, she was wearing a new white shirt and was still wearing her shorts and socks.

"You're awake!" a voice said from behind her. She turned and saw a boy. By the sound of his voice, it was the same one who she'd heard asking so many questions. Terra, was it?

The boy was slightly taller than her and also tan. Though he didn't look older than fifteen, he was fairly muscular. He had spiky brown hair and deep blue eyes. He had a chunk of armor on his left shoulder that expanded into a kind of glove. His clothing consisted of tan pants and a black shirt. Aqua caught herself staring at him and turned away.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm Terra," he said. So, that was his name. "And you?"

"I'm Aqua," she responded as she turned back to the boy. She noticed that Terra was staring at her too. "What?!" she demanded.

"Sorry," Terra said as he snapped out of it. "It's just… I've never seen anyone with blue hair before. It's… pretty." Aqua blushed, but quickly snapped out of it.

"Uh… what is this place?" she asked. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Land of Departure," Terra said as he walked closer. Aqua cocked an eyebrow. "I guess that means you're not from around here. Where are you from?"

"Radiant Garden," Aqua replied. Then, she remembered… "Those monsters! My home!"

"Don't worry, Aqua," Terra said. He grabbed her shoulders as she tried to jump past him. "Master Eraqus is in Radiant Garden now."

"Who?"

"Gosh, this is going to take a while," Terra muttered. "How about we get you some food and I'll give you the whole story then?"

Aqua considered it and she agreed ten seconds later when her stomach fiercely growled. Terra snorted as Aqua pulled on her sneakers, which were lying on the floor next to the bed. The boy led her out of the room and to a dining hall.

As Aqua ate, Terra explained that Aqua had used her Keyblade to open a portal, which had sucked her through it and taken her to Master Eraqus's castle in the Land of Departure. She'd used a form of magic, powerful magic at that, to save her life from the creatures Terra called the Heartless. They had been appearing in many worlds, their purpose to attack people and steal their hearts. The monsters were born from the darkness of a person's heart. Terra explained that they attacked Aqua so relentlessly because Keyblade wielders had a tendency to be prime targets for Heartless. The Keyblade acted like a homing beacon and the Heartless would always find them. But the Land of Departure was safe.

Terra's teacher, Master Eraqus, was a Keyblade Master and ruler of the Land of Departure. He foresaw young Keyblade apprentices who he taught to control their powers, Terra being his only apprentice. He was in Radiant Garden now, trying to eliminate the Heartless remaining there. They'd attacked several worlds now, but Terra and Eraqus had cleared them out easily.

"What about my family?" Aqua asked. "I have to go back and tell them I'm okay."

"Master Eraqus will take you back to explain this whole thing to your family," Terra said. "But he will also want you to stay here to learn how to use your Keyblade."

"What about your family? Do they know you're here?"

"I'm from here in the Land of Departure and Eraqus has known my dad since childhood. He knows where I am."

"Where is your dad?"

"He's in a local town. I see him every now and then when Eraqus lets me take a day off."

"And your mom?"

"Dead," Terra bluntly stated. "She died giving birth to me. I never knew her."

"I'm sorry," Aqua said.

"It's okay, Aqua. Dad told me loads of stuff about her. So, I've kinda gotten to know her in a way."

"Well… that's good." Aqua thought it was strange, but she felt that she shouldn't question this boy's theories because it might offend him. "So, how big is the Land of Departure?"

"Huge!" Terra said. He expanded his arms to signify a massive size. "I'll show you if you want."

"Of course!" Aqua said excitedly.

Terra led Aqua to a massive throne room. Three thrones sat along one wall and there were two hallways that led to other parts of the castle, including the doors that led outside. Just outside the front doors was a small training ground. Terra said that the entrance is where Aqua had appeared two nights ago.

Aqua gasped at how beautiful the castle was. It had shining white walls and beautiful stained glass windows that reflected rainbows in the sun's glare. Strong golden chains linked the castle to other nearby mountains. They also kept the other floors of the castle, which jutted out into thin air, from collapsing to the ground far below. Terra led Aqua down the massive stone steps of the castle and smiled at her awestruck look.

He took Aqua all over the castle grounds. Terra was never allowed to leave without permission.

They went across a massive bridge and to a small area that reminded her of Radiant Garden. It was open, like a park, with a lot of grass all around the area and a bench in the middle. There were also a few lanterns around for when it got dark. (1)

"So, I was brought here to become a Keyblade Master?" Aqua asked.

"Basically," Terra said. "This is the safest place in the universe for Keyblade Masters in training. It's the only Heartless-free world. But Master Eraqus does sometimes summon Heartless for me to train with." He added in a whisper that Aqua didn't hear, "Not that he enjoys doing it."

"How long have you been training for?" the girl asked.

"About two years. I got my Keyblade when I was thirteen. I'm fifteen now."

"I'm thirteen. Funny how that worked out with our ages."

"Yeah," Terra laughed. "Kinda."

They sat down on the bench and looked out over the entire land. It was an amazing view. The sun was just dropping behind the mountains. Sunset. It cast a radiant glow over the world.

"So, can I see your Keyblade?" Terra asked.

"Sure," Aqua said. She called it to her hand and it instantly appeared, just like before.

"Nice one," Terra said. "But it looks pretty light. Not like it'll do much damage…"

"Are you kidding me?" Aqua asked. "I took down swarms of those Heartless with my Keyblade."

"Tell me what weapon you chose in your Awakening," Terra demanded.

"Say what?"

"Did you have a dream where you had to choose between a shield, a sword, and a wand?"

"Yeah…"

"That's a Keyblade wielder's Awakening," Terra explained. "The voice of your Keyblade will call out to you and ask to have your powers awakened. It always comes in the form of that dream. Now, as I asked before, which weapon did you take?"

"The wand," Aqua said flatly.

"I see," Terra said. "The mystic's weapon."

"That's what the voice told me," Aqua said.

"Well, considering that, your strength will be in magic when you learn how to fight," Terra said. "That Keyblade will do okay physically, but magic will do much better damage to enemies than normal when you use it. Just take a lot of Ethers around with you."

"Eth-whats?"

"Magic restoratives," Terra said. "I'll tell you everything once we get you started while learning how to be a Keyblade Master." Aqua's eyes widened at hearing that. This all sounded so fascinating and incredible. She was now excited to start training with this boy.

"Okay. Thanks, Terra," she said. "So… can I see your Keyblade?"

Terra just lifted his arm lazily and summoned it in a whirl of blue and gold cubes. The Keyblade was huge, possibly wider than Terra's arm, but he could still keep it held high. The Keyblade was bronze-colored and had an ancient look to it. The guard was blue and a keychain dangled off with a little rock fragment on the end.

"This is the Earth Shaker," Terra said.

"You named it?" Aqua asked as she cocked an eyebrow.

"All Keyblades have a name," Terra explained. "I named mine Earth Shaker due to my name meaning 'earth'. Maybe you should name yours something relating to water. Doesn't Aqua mean 'water'?"

Aqua nodded. A name that related to hers? After thinking for a minute, she decided, "Rain Fall."

"Why that?" Terra asked.

"Well, it's the color of water, the teeth are shaped like a snowflake, and the chain links are shaped like water drops," Aqua explained. "In other words, it has a bunch of shapes water can take on."

"Fitting," Terra said with an approving nod. "Well, Aqua, I can say I'm looking forward to training with you while we learn from Eraqus."

"Same to you, Terra," Aqua said. She smiled at him.

Suddenly, a bright light came from the entrance to the castle grounds. A giant vortex opened up and a man stepped out of it. Aqua couldn't see his face because his back was turned.

"Come on," Terra said as he got up. He offered Aqua his hand, but she just stared at it. "It's time for you to meet Master Eraqus."

(1)- If you've seen BBS, you'll know what area it is. Though, to be specific, it's the area where Aqua gives Ven and Terra their lucky charms.

Alright, Aqua and Terra have met. Be warned, no romance happens for a few chapters. So just hold on for that. I mean, they've only just met. Wait for Ven too. But don't worry, he'll come into the story later on. Just be patient.

Also, the Keyblade's names are spoilers. Earth Shaker and Rain Fall are really the names of Terra and Aqua's Keyblades.

By the way, you can picture Terra basically as he appears in the game, he's just younger. So, picture that for what he looks like.