Authors Note: Welcome back. Something I do love about college is the fact that I have a lot of random gaps to do stuff, and as I've finished my work in my lecture, I'm now writing this in the middle of my Computing class. So yay... maybe being in here will give me some inspiration. Anyway, I'm sure you all wanted to know that. :P So, this chapter is on Ven, Terra and Aqua and what they're up to since the last time we properly saw them. Not including their brief cameo in chapter 2. So I do hope you enjoy. :)

Chapter 4: When did we ever get to be kids?

Terra, Aqua, Ansem the Wise and the King stood the The World That Never Was' command room. As always, they were arguing about anything and everything. Everyone showed their frustration in some shape or form.

"So what exactly do you want to do?" Terra asked, rather angrily, not happy with what had been said so far.

"We need a stronger presence on more worlds, otherwise we're no threat to any of them." Ansem pointed out.

"I just wish it was that easy..." Mickey added.

Terra pointed at the map that lay in between them on a grand table. Thanks to Ansem's technology they could view any world, at any time. Something they had all been working on for the last few years. Terra had pointed at The Land of Departure, which had once again become Castle Oblivion.

"I'm heading home." He said, bringing up an image of a large group of Soldiers making their way through its halls.

"You can't just go off by yourself!" Ansem shouted, looking over to Aqua who had just remained silent.

"If Castle Oblivion stays the way it is, we could have a strong advantage there..." Aqua pointed out.

"Only Aqua, Ven and I know how to find our way around it..." Terra added.

"We still do not know how these creatures would be affected in such a place." Ansem said.

"So?" Terra asked. "They'll still be stuck to the main halls and nothing more. We can easily pick them off one by one..."

The King nodded.

"You're agreeing with this?" Ansem asked him.

"You said yourself we need to control more worlds. If we use worlds like Castle Oblivion to our advantage, then we're half way there." The King replied.

There was no time for anyone to add anything else to that, as Sora and Riku came through the door.

"So what are we doing exactly?" Sora asked aloud, alerting everyone of their presence.

Everyone turned their attention to him.

"Sorry... but I'm thinking just taking out a small group isn't really the greatest use of my... I mean our abilities..." He pointed out.

"But you still have to do your part..." Terra responded.

"I know... but even re-con is more exciting that ambushing some random knights that happen to be out by themselves..." Sora said, showing he was still a child at heart. A child that had learnt a couple more words, but still a child.

"We know Sora... But when there's too many of them, we don't stand a chance. When there's too little, we make a small difference at least." Mickey said.

Sora shook his head. "Then send someone else. Send Riku and me somewhere more important!"

Riku just stood there silently as this went on. He was perfectly happy to get out of the castle.

"Sora... Grow up will you, and just do your part!" Terra shouted.

Sora just shook his head, holding back some choice words.

"Fine..." He ended up saying, as he walked back out of the doorway, and back the way he had come.

Riku remained to get their mission properly.

"Where are we going?" Riku asked.

"There's a few Knights moving through Twilight Town as we speak. Take them out, and head back immediately." Ansem answered.

Riku nodded, and turned to leave.

"Oh and Riku!" Terra shouted. "Don't let him wander off again. Straight back!"

Riku nodded once again and headed after Sora, so that they could head out.

Ansem then turned to look back at Terra. "If you want to go then, go. But don't drag anyone else into this... If anything goes wrong, you head straight back!"

"You don't give me orders..." Terra pointed out.

Terra turned around and made his way out of the room.

Aqua looked at both the King and Ansem, only to run after Terra without a word.

xXx

Terra arrived at the door to Ven's room. He hit the door with three heavy knocks, before waiting a few seconds.

Ven came to the door, hardly dressed and rubbing his eyes.

"You were sleeping?" Terra asked.

"I'm sleeping when I can... Besides I'm not feeling too great." He answered.

"You haven't been feeling too great for months now... Are you okay?" Terra asked worriedly.

Ven just nodded, hiding something behind it.

"Where are we going then?" Ven asked.

"Home... We're going to teach these things not to trespass..."

Ven nodded, and ducked behind the door to close it.

When he came out minutes later, he was fully dressed and ready to go. Unlike most of the group, Ven, Terra and Aqua had not changed their clothing, believing that what they had was as good as it was going to get, and everyone having new clothes would have been a great drain on the little resources they had.

By the time Ven was ready, Aqua had caught up, and slowly walked to the two men outside of Ven's room.

"Terra..." She said disappointedly.

"What?" He asked.

Ven looked back and forth at them both, expecting a tennis match of firagas any minute.

"You can't just talk to Ansem and the King like that..." She began.

"I'm pretty sure I was talking to Ansem." He answered bitterly.

Aqua ignored that comment.

"I'm on your side Terra! You're right, we should go home and start there... But that was the wrong way to go about it."

"Whatever I say is the wrong way! Why was I even chosen to deal with tactics, when no one listens to what I have to say!"

Ven took a few steps back, feeling kind of intimidated, however, he ended up backing into someone.

He quickly turned around, looking straight at Ansem.

Ansem just ignored Ven, and stepped aside.

Before Aqua could even think of an answer for Terra, Ansem was already speaking.

"The King and I decided to have you join us, because of your time with Xehanort. We believed that we needed a tactical mastermind, and Xehanort was surely one. We hoped that you would have picked something up, and yes, you seem to have done. But..."

"But what?" Terra asked angrily.

"Your decisions only ever benefit yourself..."

Terra held his hands by his side, dying to raise his blade to the old man.

"Calm down! Both of you!" Aqua shouted.

Terra turned around and started to walk away.

"What about home!?" Ven shouted.

Terra looked back for a second, before continuing.

"Another time..." He said.

xXx

Terra wandered back to his own room, and after walking in, he slammed the door behind him, spilling darkness onto it as he did.

He clearly got angry a lot. The entire door was filled with marks where the darkness had been thrown into it out of rage.

Terra walked over to his bed, and fell onto it in exhaustion.

"He's a pain is he not?" A voice asked.

Terra looked around seeing no one.

"Where are you?" Terra asked, not really bothered.

In a burst of darkness, Graros appeared beside Terra's bed. "Right here." He answered.

"And what is it you want?"

"I want to help you. My brother clearly needs to be taken down a few notches. He doesn't respect you, and the best way to make him respect you, is to assert your strength!"

Terra paused for a moment, thinking about his options here. Ansem wouldn't care if he was dead or alive, wasn't it about time he returned the feelings?

"What do you suggest?" Terra asked.

xXx

Aqua and Ven sat on the edge of one of the many staircases that lead around The Castle That Never Was, with their feet hanging over the edge into the nothingness below.

"What are we going to do with him..." Aqua droned on, almost to herself.

Ven looked at her, shocked.

"He's still the same person. He's Terra, just he's not dealing with the stress of this war as well as everyone else is. I mean, he gets angry, while I get ill... and so on..."

Aqua's eyes showed concern as she looked at him.

"I don't think it's stress that's doing this to either you or Terra..." Aqua said.

"What do you..." Ven began before stopping.

Aqua waited a moment, waiting for him to continue, but he didn't. Not at all.

She stared at him for a moment, making sure he was okay, but he wasn't moving at all. Like he had been frozen to that exact spot, not only in space, but in time also.

Aqua could hear foot steps behind her, so spun around quickly, and jumped to her feet, summoning her key blade.

"Who are you?" She asked the newcomer.

Standing there, or more hovering feet only a few centimetres from the ground, was a woman, who emitted an aura of magic around her. Something Aqua only dreamt of being able to do.

"I can't say..." She said, her voice so sweet.

Aqua took a closer look at her. She had long brown hair, tied into a bun. She had a white dress that dropped to her knees, and a grey trench coat like coat on top. The dress also came with sleeves that dropped all the way to her wrists, while the trench coat may have once had sleeves, but they weren't there any more. She must have been in her late thirties.

"That's no answer here!" Aqua said angrily, lifting her key blade.

"There's also no need for that here..." She replied.

Then, a new pair of footsteps were heard. Slow and muffled.

Ray's grandfather decided to come and join.

"You're back?" Aqua asked him.

The old man cracked a smile. "Sorry, I'm not sure how long it's been for you?" He asked.

"Seven years..." She said, lowering her key blade slightly. "But what are you doing here? And who is she?" She asked, talking about the newcomer. "And what have you done to Ven?"

"I haven't done anything..." He said. "And as to who she is... Well, I guess there's no harm in telling you this... Well she's your daughter."

Aqua quickly looked at the woman, noticing a small resemblance.

"But she's at least ten years older than me... How many years in the future are you from?" She asked completely forgetting about Ven, and time stopping in general.

"Well... I'm from about... three thousand years in the future..." Ray's grandfather answered.

"And I'm from about forty years..." Aqua's supposed daughter answered.

"So... Why are you here?" Aqua asked the old man. "I mean, why go so far back, to two different periods?"

"Well..." He began. "I'm a historian in all honesty. And in the future, I mastered time travel. The ultimate tool for someone like me."

"And do you ever go home?" Aqua asked.

"There's nothing for me there... No family, no friends. That's why I raised Ray... He reminded me of myself. Completely alone... Until I realised who he really was."

"And why bring her to me?" Aqua asked.

"Can I answer that one?" She asked, Aqua wasn't sure who.

Ray's grandfather nodded.

"Terra... He's in trouble. We came to warn you."

"My point in why I'm meddling as it is." Ray's grandfather added. "Someone else is changing time. The old time line, which lead to my future, was changed when Ray died too early. So I've been trying to fix it. One of the changes, is that someone will try and make Terra lose himself to his anger. And in a war, a war that produces so much chaos, that anger could and will end in the deaths of many. If we don't change things here, then... well it's not a nice ending. Not only that, you daughter will cease to exist."

"Who's fault is this? And we have to hurry, don't we?!" She asked.

Her supposed daughter just laughed. "I made the same mistake when I was a child. You told me off for not understanding how stopping time works."

Aqua laughed along with her. "Yeah, I guess you're right... I mean, I guess I'm right." She said confused.

"So, Ven is just stopped in time?" Aqua asked. "I mean this entire world is?"

Ray's grandfather laughed now. "You don't give your daughter enough credit."

"Pardon?" Aqua asked.

"I've stopped this entire universe from moving in time... You taught me how to do it. In fact you can do it far longer than I can... Or you will be able to." She answered for him.

The conversation kind of stopped there, and the three of them just stared at each other, admiring the strangeness of the situation.

"So how do we stop this thing from happening?" Aqua asked.

"You just have to stop Terra from attacking Ansem the Wise... Someone is tricking him into attacking him as we speak... or was a second ago." Ray's grandfather answered.

The aura surrounding Aqua's so called daughter seemed to start to flicker.

"It's hurting her keeping this up..." The old man added. "We have to hurry and get to Terra..."

"Wait one question." Aqua said.

"For who?" Her daughter asked.

"Well two, both for you. Were you born outside of this war, did you get to be a kid, and play around? And... What is your name?"

"Well, I can't answer if I was born outside of the war... as that could change, and if I was to tell you you'd wait until then... and so on... either way it's dangerous. But.." She smiled. "I did get to be a kid. You and dad wanted to make sure I got something you didn't. I got to play, just as much as I trained. I mean, you used to play with me, all the games you played when you were young... as few as they were. For at least the first twelve years of my life, I didn't train at all... Maybe a few secret lessons with dad, but that was it.."

Aqua was happy with that answer.

"And your name?" She asked.

"She can't tell you." Ray's grandfather pointed out. "Think about it. If she tells you, you wouldn't have come up with the name, but got it from her... Really, it's a paradox, and we can't have those... It causes a mess, which I have to fix..."

"Fine..." Aqua said disappointedly. "I guess I'll find out in a few years." She said with a laugh.

The aura surrounding Aqua's daughter suddenly broke, and she touched down on the ground, completely exhausted. She fell to one knee, finding it hard to stand.

Aqua ran over to her, and tried to support her.

The old man walked over, and placed a hand on both Aqua and her daughter.

"Aqua, we have to help Terra... Or you do. I'll be there soon, I just need to help her keep up this..."

"Why? It's not like you're not allowed here..." Aqua asked.

"If you're even a second late, whoever is going to change Terra, will make something irreversible click inside of him."

"Okay." Aqua said, as stood up.

"Goodbye... mum." Aqua's supposed daughter said.

She smiled. "Goodbye for now."

xXx

Terra and Graros stood talking in Terra's room.

"You have so much power, if you use it, take control of them all, you'd be able to lead without question. Everyone will agree with you. All you have to do, is use the darkness Xehanort left behind. Combined with you, you will be at least ten times stronger than he ever was, and you'll be able to control it as he did."

"And what's in it for you?" Terra asked.

"What do you mean? I just believe that you should be in charge here, that 's all..."

"Don't lie to me!" Terra shouted angrily.

"Fine... Well I need someone of you ability. If I can put you on top, all I require is that you lend your power when I need you... Is that so much to ask?"

"And what if I don't agree with what you're trying to do?" Terra asked.

"Well... then you can repay me another way..."

Terra didn't like this one bit. Graros was slimy and manipulative. But, he offered something that would be so useful at such a time.

"Deal..." Terra answered.

Graros smiled.

"Then..." He began, reaching in his coat. "Drink this... It will run through your system, and unlock all the hidden abilities Xehanort left behind, or awoken..."

Graros offered him a small vial. It looked just like water. Was this some kind of placebo?

Either way, it looked safe, so Terra picked it up, and flicked the cap, ready to drink it.

Until, in less than a second after. The door was wide open, and Aqua stood there, slapping the vial out of Terra's hand.

"Terra!" She shouted as she did so.

To Terra and Graros, it would have seemed like she teleported. But, she didn't. Time just started once again, when she had walked in.

"Aqua?" Terra asked surprised.

"Don't listen to him!" She shouted, shooting a killer glance back at Graros, who just laughed.

"Still letting people control you?" Graros asked him.

"Shut up!" Ray's grandfather said, appearing behind Graros, key blade drawn. "How about you take a walk Graros..."

Graros just laughed, and disappeared into a thick black smoke.

"Thank you." Aqua said to the old man.

He just smiled, before walking over to Terra. "Now... give me your hand Terra. I have something to show you."

Terra did as he was told, completely confused.

He was suddenly hit with a future, that had been stopped. A future where he reigned supreme. But over no one. He reigned over The World That Never Was, but completely alone. His friends had long since left him, and the Soldiers and Knights were closing in. He was easily strong enough to stop them, but he was tired of fighting alone. Graros had already taken his payment, and in helping him, Terra had caused the death of many of his allies. Just for the sake of a failed machine, that only killed many innocent people, rather than finish the war as he was promised.

Ray's grandfather let go of Terra's hand, and the vision collapsed.

"That is the future... Or it would have been should Aqua have not stopped you. You must never! And I repeat never listen to him again!"

"Okay..." Terra said. "I understand."

Ray's grandfather smiled again. "Good. Everything is already as it should be."

And with that, he was gone. Leaving the two of them alone in his room.

They sat in silence for a brief amount of time, until Aqua turned to Terra.

"I met someone today... She said she played the same games we did when we were kids... Do you even remember what they were?" Aqua asked.

"Who was this person?" Terra asked instead.

"It's a long story." Aqua said with a smile, and a sweet laugh.

"Well... To answer you question." Terra began. "Did we ever get to be kids? I mean when did we ever get to be kids? It has been so long..."

Aqua just nodded, her smile disappearing.

Silence returned, until Ven came bursting through the door way seconds later.

"Aqua!" He shouted. "Where did you go? And since when could you teleport?"

"Well..." She tried to begin, before someone else appeared behind Ven.

"You three, hurry." Squall said.

"When did you get back?" Terra asked.

"Just now, but either way, we need your help!" He said.

"You missed another argument at the table..." Terra said.

"Great... Why am I always away when there's one..." Squall said with a laugh.

No one else really found that funny, but followed him into the halls of the Castle none the less.

Authors Note: Now... What can I say that isn't spoilers... or even hints... Well nothing... :L So I do hope you have enjoyed and I shall see you next time, as really, I have no idea what to say. :/ :D