Chapter Six: March Into Nightmares
'I think fearless is having fears but jumping anyways.'—Taylor Swift
It was finally the day. All the years of toil, all the years of effort were going to accumulate in one test that would elect the fate of two: Aqua and Terra. Every waking moment of trail and error, every day of painful flops and resounding successes would be put to test today in the Mark of Master Exam.
It was early in the morning. There had been no training for four days now and all the students were resting up, even young Ventus, for the test later in the day. Excitement was thick in the air, but also was nervousness. No one knew what the Masters had planned for the test at hand. In fact, other than the fact three Keyblade Masters would be present today and the time the test would begin—1200 sharp—neither students had the foggiest clue what to expect.
As the students slept, the Masters met.
The sun had not begun its travels across the sky when Master Eraqus greeted the arrival of his peers.
Both were familiar faces to Eraqus, but only one would be immediately familiar to Aqua, Terra, and Ventus: Master Xehanort. The other Master was only familiar to his peers: Master Arthur.
Master Arthur, back in his day, had been a scrawny, sometimes cowardly, blonde who had been socially awkward and bore dreams of being a knight. His adventures had been many even his youth, ranging from tutorage under the Merlin the Wizard and being turned into a fish, but the day that everything changed was the day of a tournament to name the rightful King of his world. Arthur had been the squire to his abusive adoptive brother, Sir Kay, and had forgotten his brother's sword back at the inn. Struggling to find a sword for Sir Kay, Arthur instead pulled out the legendary Excalibur Keyblade from the stone. This weapon had been deemed only able to be freed from its prison by the rightful King of England.
Arthur, in a single day, became a King only at the age of twelve. It had been exceptionally overwhelming at first, but young boy did his best to adapt and overcome.
Since that day, Arthur trained under Merlin in order to better wield the immensely powerful light-based Keyblade, which was said, along with Ultima Weapon, to be one of the few man-made Keyblades that could contest the X-blade. As time went by, Arthur went from being a scrawny boy to a powerfully build young man at the age of twenty-five to a wise and strong Keyblade Master after his own Exam. Now, at the age of forty-five, Master Arthur was a respected Keyblade Master who still had not taken on his own student.
Arthur looked the part of a warrior now. He was roughly six feet tall, sporting crisp, dirty blonde hair with dark black, well-groomed beard. He had rich brown eyes that sparkled with mirth when he told jokes or laughed. His frame easily arrived that of Terra's and he wore a standard steel and chain mesh armor suit, the steel plate polished to a sheen. On his back was a steel round shield, as the man believed in both the Keyblade and the shield as tools.
Most of all, he, while generally respectful to Xehanort, disdained how the elderly man used darkness so freely. However, he also knew without darkness, there would be no light. Without light, there would be no darkness. Each intertwined with one another, but fought one another. Such was the nature of each, but they were merely forces, not the faces of either good or evil.
Master Arthur arrived before Xehanort, appearing through a portal of shining light in the Main Hall of the castle at Land of Departure. Upon spotting Eraqus, a smile bloomed across the Keyblade bearer's face. Stepping forward to allow his portal to vanish, Arthur spread both arms merrily.
"Master Eraqus!" the man said with a cheery voice as he strolled up to hug the scarred man with a firm grip, laughing all the while. "It's so good to see you!"
Eraqus chuckled under the powerful hug Arthur gave him, returning it as well. If you had seen the blonde years ago, you would be extremely shocked at how he was now. Gone was the socially awkward boy, replaced with a friendly, kind, strong-willed leader who never shied away from tough choices.
Replying after a moment, Eraqus answered, "To you as well. I am most pleased you could make it to today's Mark of Mastery Exam." Pausing while breaking the exchange of hugs, Eraqus freely admitted, "For a moment, I feared only myself and Xehanort would be here to conduct today's examination."
Arthur feigned shocked as he clutched at his chest, replying, "Me, miss such an event as this? Hogwash! I'd be a fool to pass up seeing your students in action." Recovering from his playful actions, the man smiled as a more serious expression replaced the carefree one.
"I certainly look forward to seeing Terra and Aqua. No doubt you have produced fine Keyblade bearers," Master Arthur continued with a nod of his head, armor rattling as he gestured a bit with his left hand. Inspecting his fellow Master keenly, Arthur found something had changed with Eraqus. A frown washed away the smile that had been on Arthur's face.
"Might I ask…who gave you those scars?" Arthur asked pointedly, eyes narrow slightly as he had some suspicious on whom it might have been. "I know my mind can fail to keep a hold of memories, but I am certain that you did not have those the last time we met."
Master Eraqus knew now was not the time to answer that question, as Xehanort would be arriving shortly. Instead, he replied with a joking tone, "Oh, they came from raising my students!"
"That's a terrible lie. And a children's one at that."
This time, with a far more serious expression, Eraqus said to Arthur, "Arthur. These scars are an oath." Placing his right hand on the other man's shoulder and grasping it firmly, Eraqus continued with, "They are the physical representation that I will protect my students and those I love with everything I have, including my life."
Arthur seemed to understand the underlying message that Eraqus would explain at a later time, but Arthur also found the response from Eraqus to be sincere and honest. He knew one thing could be said from about the dark haired man: he was more than willing to give his life up for the sake of others. Arthur nodded knowingly and said, "That is an answer worthy of a good man."
Their conversation was cut short when a black and purple miasma swirled to life in the Main Hall. Eraqus stared at the Corridor of Darkness with a slight frown while Arthur sighed openly and remarked, "He really has a impeccable sense of timing."
Out stepped the one who had created this Corridor of Darkness, Master Xehanort. With his arms neatly folded behind his back, the rather expressionless bald man regarded Arthur with his golden eyes that Arthur did not flinch under.
Arthur and Xehanort had never seen eye to eye. The darkness wielding Master Xehanort did not seem to regard Arthur with the level of respect that he should while Arthur felt like Xehanort was always hiding something. Without any sort of leads that the yellow-eyed man had a hidden agenda, Master Arthur could not really act on his feelings.
"Xehanort. I see time has not been too kind to your image," Arthur jabbed with a chuckle after inspecting the leather-clothed man, turning to fully face the new arrival. He had no qualms about throwing thinly disguised insults into Xehanort's face, regardless of the fact that Xehanort was still quite strong should the Master take offense to the verbal volley.
Woe the day if Arthur and Xehanort ever came to blows.
"I can see that being a Master has not gifted you with a filter, Arthur. Must you be so unclothed?" Xehanort immediately shot back as he approached Master Eraqus and Arthur, seemingly unaffected by Arthur's verbal jabs.
"Gentlemen," came the stern tone originating from Eraqus as he moved preemptively to stop the arguing least it taint today's special day. He moved between the two Keyblade Masters as he continued to speak. "Today is not about petty squabbling, but about testing two of the Keyblade's Chosen. If you wish to fight, please do it on your own time, not here."
Xehanort could openly agree with this as he replied, "Indeed. I heartily look forward to seeing how Terra and Aqua perform. I am expecting great things from them both."
The talk of the students seemed to deflect the attention away from the tension between Xehanort and Arthur and onto the more appropriate topic of the Mark of Master Exam. Although the tension between Xehanort and Arthur would never go away easily, Arthur was more than willing to ignore his gut feeling in favor of today's examination.
"I can parrot Master Xehnaort's statement," Arthur replied with a grin as he patted Eraqus's back once again.
"Come then, we have to discuss what today's Mark shall hold for Aqua and Terra," Eraqus said as he motioned for Xehanort and Arthur to follow his lead to a more proper place for talks, his office. Turning to walk, Xehanort and Arthur followed the other Master, both of them giving one another fierce glares that reminded them both of one thing.
I don't trust you.
'It's a quarter till twelve…' Terra thought as he stood in the Main Hall, eyeballing a pocket watch he preferred to carry with him. Wristwatches were uncomfortable to him and would likely get shattered from a Keyblade strike during training. While training never stopped in either Aqua or Terra's opinion, Terra was under high hopes that both he and his friend could become Masters today.
Maybe he could also master the courage to tell Aqua he had other feelings swirling in his chest, all for her.
Terra was waiting with Aqua and Ventus as the clock in his hand tick time away to the moment. Glancing to Aqua, Terra could see the bluenette was sitting on a small mat, legs crossed and eyes closed, mediating to calm herself. He knew that she was worried, but she did her best to stay in a cheerful mood, in the hopes it would rub off onto Ventus and, more importantly, Terra. It had been fairly successful, but even Aqua couldn't remove the underlying worry she and Terra had.
Ventus was fidgeting slightly, but oddly quiet and calm. Terra could see the blonde was nervous; Ventus gave him a shaky grin upon realizing Terra was looking at him.
Moving to the seemingly emotionless Terra—an assessment that would be highly incorrect—Ventus paused before him, rubbing the back of his head. After a moment of collecting his thoughts, with Terra more that happy to allow this, Ventus spoke.
"So…are you nervous? I know you're both gonna kill the exam today, but…" Ventus looked away, not really sure how to complete his train of thought in order to get it to its destination.
"Ven, I'd be lyin' if I didn't say I was nervous. I know Aqua is too," Terra replied with a bit of a smile, reaching out to ruffle Ventus's hair. This action seemed to placate Ventus's nervousness, the resulting smile showing more joy than worry. "But that's the thing. We can't let nervousness stop us from reaching out and grabbing for our dreams. I'd rather fail doing something I love than succeed at something I hate."
"Those are words to live by, Terra," came the familiar female voice, causing Terra to glance over at Aqua. She had opened both eyes and was in the motion of standing back up. Her armored boots clicked against stone ground as she made her way over to the two young males, coming to a stop in front of Terra to the left of Ventus. "But I honestly think you won't fail. I really believe in you."
Terra's face didn't show it, but he felt his stomach flip at those words. There was a tone in that voice that Terra couldn't quite put his thumb on, like she had wanted to say something else, but didn't. Staying calm and carrying on the conversation effortlessly, Terra smirked and replied, "I believe in you too, Aqua. I know you can do this. You're the toughest person I know."
Ventus chuckled a bit and remarked, "You're just sayin' that cuz Aqua kicks your butt a lot!" This caused everyone to chuckle in amusement—Terra had learned that Ventus was trying to break ice and that his pride was never really under fire from Ventus.
"Ven, you know Terra is just as tough as me. I know he's definitely beat me plenty of times," Aqua reminded the blonde, who nodded in agreement. Looking to her brunette friend, Aqua looked him over. She was quick to pray a blush wasn't appearing on her face as she looked down at those six pack abs—she was sure one could grind meat on those—before looking back to Terra's face, smiling a bit in order to beat back less professional thoughts.
She had long been desensitized to Terra's muscular form until a few weeks ago. Something had shifted within her—or maybe it had been slowly shifting all along—and now she found she liked what she saw. A lot. In fact, she realized she might like Terra a lot. He treated her kindly and with respect; he came to her to confided in and he taught her a lot, sometimes without even realizing it. She had gotten so close to him and seen a lot and now she found herself daydreaming about Terra more often than she wanted to admit. She found herself wanting to take it farther than 'just friends.'
Of course, she didn't know Terra had similar feelings.
"Oh, the Master's are comin'!" Ventus alerted Terra and Aqua, making all three students move quickly to their assigned posts. Ventus darted like a bolt of lightning, in a chance to burn some energy, to a position on the far left of the thrones. Aqua and Terra stood at attention before the three thrones; waiting for the three Keyblade Masters file in.
'Master Eraqus was able to get more than Master Xehanort to attend,' Aqua thought as her face remained flat, ready to receive whatever instructions Master Eraqus, Master Xehanort, and the unknown Master had for her and Terra. Her focus was able to drive away, for now, thoughts of Terra.
'That Master is new…I wonder who he is?' Terra thought in an attempt to clear his mind of Aqua and his nervousness, which was thankfully quite successful. The three Masters each took seats, with Master Eraqus sitting in the center seat, while Xehanort was on far right; the new Master the left.
Ventus had a feeling of being quite uncomfortable when Xehanort noticed the blonde after taking his seat, yellow eyes settling on his form before a smirk came to his face, since Ventus had never heard of or seen the elderly Master fully smile in glee. However, he quickly went to attention when Master Eraqus stood up and walked off of the platform the thrones were on.
Eraqus's eyes moved from left to right, looking at Terra and then Aqua. Both seemed calmed and ready for whatever came at them, but the wise Master knew each of his students were nervous and had done everything they had could to ease these feelings of trepidation. Eventually, Master Eraqus spoke to the two candidates.
"Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery. Not one but two of the Keyblade's Chosen stand here as candidates…" Eraqus said before pausing to let this settle in to everyone as he went through the proper speech. "But this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy; not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail or neither."
Arthur listened into Eraqus's speech, something he had heard from Master Yen Sid when he still wielded a Keyblade. Xehanort, too, had heard a startling similar speech from Master Lukas when he and Eraqus had taken their own test. Both of them could agree in the validity of these words; they fit perfectly the manner of the Mark of Mastery.
Aqua felt a lump form in the back of her throat before she swallowed it away. She had a sudden chill pass over her body, like something sinister was oddly close by. Chalking it up as her detecting Xehanort or Terra's darkness, Aqua force herself to be at ease.
She didn't know a set of yellow eyes watched her and they didn't belong to Xehanort.
Terra noticed out of the corner of his eyes that Aqua had shuddered briefly. He hoped she wasn't letting her worry get to her, unaware that she was shivering because of something very different. He didn't move to comfort her, as much as he wished he could.
"But I am sure our guests, Master Xehanort and Master Arthur, did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the Mark," Eraqus said as he looked over his shoulder at Arthur, who smiled brightly, and then at Xehanort, who gave a simple nod in response. His vision then returned to Aqua and Terra, stating versus questioning, "I trust you are ready."
"Yes, Master," came the dual response.
"Then let us begin. Master Xehanort, Master Arthur, please step forward to your respective charges," Master Eraqus stated, causing the Masters in question to stand up and start heading to Aqua and Terra. As Master Arthur stopped in front of Aqua and Master Xehanort came to a smooth halt before the much taller Terra, Ventus felt his heart start to pound for some reason. He couldn't hid his surprise as he thought, 'I wonder what they're gonna do?'
"It's a pleasure to meet you at least, Aqua. Today, I will be handling the first part of this Exam for you," Arthur said in a jovial tone that seemed to confuse Aqua slightly. "No need to stand at attention, either! You're just gonna be too stiff after what's coming."
"Yes, Master Arthur…might I inquire about what is expected of me?" Aqua dared to ask of the heavily armored Master standing in front of her. He seemed to radiate light, much like her; but he was so relaxed compared to even Master Eraqus.
Arthur smiled and replied, "I'd call it a trip into a ring of fire."
Aqua glanced over at Terra as Master Xehanort spoke to him, saying, "Terra, my boy, today's Exam will not be easy. You must steel yourself for what comes. Do not falter, even though your mind wants you to give in to fear."
Terra could see that Master Xehanort was quite serious in what he was saying. Whatever he and Aqua was about to go through had to be quite stressful. He hoped that Aqua could handle it; he prayed he too could handle this. With a reassuring and cur nod, Terra answered, "I understand, Master Xehanort."
After this, Arthur and Xehanort both moved a few paces away from their charges, each summoning their Keyblades. Arthur's Keyblade was in every way, shape, and form the opposite of Xehanort's. Excalibur was a long and powerful looking weapon, easily as long as Terra's Ends of the Earth. The shaft was primarily a royal blue color, with three sets of evenly spaced, decorative golden circles mounted on the ridge of the shaft. The edge of the shaft was a shiny silver color. At the base of the shaft, before the guard, was an opening shaped like a heart, with gold ringing it.
The guard was partly royal blue, with two silver colored crowns flanking either side of the top. The handle sported a light blue color and a golden crest at the end, which started a keychain of silver that ended in a golden colored key. The teeth of the Keyblade was made up of three silver crowns, with a single golden crown fused with another heart shaped piece at the tip, in a circular style.
In a flash of power, two separate portals appeared. Each of them had a white center, with silver and hues of blue flaking off of the white. Each of the swirling portals were roughly seven feet high; the fluid nature of the gateways meant their height was always changing to taller or shorter every few moments.
As Aqua and Terra looked apprehensively at their respective gateways, Master Eraqus said, "Aqua, Terra. Once you walk through those gateways, you will find you will be tested. You will face the unexpected within."
Aqua and Terra nodded at their Master's statement. Aqua found herself expelling a breath before she felt a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. Looking back at Master Arthur, the man smile and said, "Only thing holding you back in your own self doubt."
"Yes, Master Arthur," Aqua said before moving over to the gateway, body shivering at the sheer pressure of magic it seemed to radiate. After her final pause, she walked in.
Terra watched as Aqua disappeared into the mass of pulsating energy before looking at his own portal. He heard Master Xehanort speak to him, saying, "Don't let your fear command you, my boy. Are you not willing to show the Mark?"
"I will show you the Mark, Master Xehanort," came the confident reply as Terra strode forth and into the gateway, disappearing from sight. After both students disappeared, the portals seemed to contort and twist before becoming more like screens, allowing all the Masters to stand and watch what was forthcoming to Aqua and Terra. It would prevent either of them from leaving, but would allow any of the Masters to come to the rescue should anything go wrong.
And in this test, the possible of something going wrong was real. Ventus was the evidence of it, after all.
Aqua had no clue were she was now.
When her vision had cleared up from the blinding white, she had found herself at what looked like to be a bedroom. There was a single twin bed, which she was sitting on, which had a grey comforter on it. There were two white painted doors of either side of her and the walls of the room were a grey coloration. There was a folding closet door on the opposite end of the room and there was a single four-drawer dresser drawer to the left of the closet.
The room was very poorly lit, too, making it harder for Aqua to see. And she couldn't shake the feeling that she was not completely alone—but at the same time, on her own—in this cold place. She shivered, attempting to summon Stormfall on a gut feeling, a need for comfort.
Nothing happened.
There was no familiar flash of white light and falling flower petals. Stormfall did not heed her call, making her blue eyes widen in shock. She was quick to scramble off of the bed, standing up, hoping she could call on her magic at least. She attempted cast a simple Fire spell, which, much to her relief, came to life in her palm instead, her control allowing her to make it like an adhoc torch. The flames reflected off of her silver badge as she looked around the room.
Aqua suddenly felt a shiver cascade down her spine, coupled with a cracking, moaning noise that made her pivot immediately to the source of the noise. Aqua felt her heart drop down into her belly at what she was seeing, reflexively back away from the thing before her.
A leering, white face, with pinpoint white eyes stared at her with an impossibly wide grin full of dagger-like teeth. The thing's face was seemingly frozen in a permanent grin. Black substance oozed from its eyes like tears, creating lines. Its body was tall, thin like a skeleton, and eight feet in height, skin pitch black and stretch over muscle and bone underneath. It was terrifying, as its head twitched wildly, a hissing, crackling noise escaping its mouth.
Aqua felt her breathing becoming erratic as she stared wide-eyed at the monster, which was emerging from the bed she had been on moments ago. Suddenly, it stopped twitching as waved at her, mockingly so, with its three-digit hand, each finger sporting a talon and easily being one foot long, asking in a dark, twisted voice, "Hello. You are not afraid, are you?"
Aqua didn't reply as the monster suddenly appeared in front of her, far too close for comfort, eye to eye with her as it hissed like a devil before saying, "Then maybe we should change that."
Aqua was quick to react now, her training swinging into action as she shoved her right hand into the monster's face, which didn't even recoil from the explosive blow. Aqua was quick to make some distance between her and her opponent, which regarded her with cold eyes as it began to twitch again, head spinning around and around on it shoulders.
"I'm not afraid of the dark or you!" Aqua yelled at the twitching figure, who seemed to stop moving upon hearing those words. Cocking its head slowly, the monster then replied, "Everyone is afraid of something. And we have all night to figure out what you fear. So let's dig…"
Aqua found she was pinned against the wall painfully, a three digit hand imbedding her face into the wall as the monster leaned in close to her left ear and hissed, sinisterly, "…a little deeper."
Aqua squirmed mightily to throw off the monster, successfully doing so with a burst of raw magic that made the creature withdraw its hand. Still, it had been only the force of the blast that had done anything because when Aqua turned, the monster was complete unharmed, looking at its right digits before disappearing. This thing was a like a ghost or a phantom!
Aqua looked around quickly for her opponent, who seemed to have simply vanished into nothing. She waited for an attack from any direction, especially with the fact her enemy's powers and abilities were largely unknown. Other than it was physically strong and quick, Aqua was clueless.
Suddenly, a hand snapped around Aqua's face and over her mouth, making her hands snap up and pry at the offending limb as it attempted to choke off her air supply. Aqua managed to escape once again, gasping for breath as the monster said, "Some people fear infections. A cut or scrap that becomes so much more."
Aqua turned to the monster, whose back was now at her, a reddish aura around it. However, the creature's face was still staring at her before its body rotating around, making Aqua's stomach churn as it continued talking. "A cut grows bigger and the pain correspondingly grows. It begins leaking fluid and blood and must be separated to prevent from spreading and causing death."
By now, Aqua saw flickers of images appearing behind the thin creature, of people's arms being cut off on a gory battlefield. Aqua stood strong before the creature as she hissed, "You're disgusting!"
"So people fear death, afraid of their life slowly slipping from them, regardless that death is the end of life, a natural thing," the creature continued, ignoring her insult as it she had never said it. The monster's eyes rolled up into the back of its head over and over again as it suddenly surged towards Aqua, making her snarl and unleash a Firaga at the thing.
Much to her shock, the thin beast rushed through the spell effortlessly. The ball of flames exploded violently on its body, but it continued forward through the embers and smoke, looking like it was going to tackle her. Aqua prepared to leap away from her aggressor before its image instead flicked and then disappeared completely. Aqua's stood perplexed at what in the world was happening here.
It was becoming increasingly clear this monster was toying with her, mocking her apparent lack of fear, and she hadn't damaged it once.
This time, Aqua heard the monster's voice above her, making her look up. Nothing was there, however.
"Some people fear small spaces, confined and left to beg for help, scratching or clawing at the walls that hold you. And then some people fear helplessness…some people fear being rejected, being left all alone."
This time, Aqua felt a pang of hurt strike her chest from the monster's words, making her recoil. Aqua frantically looked for the location of her attacker, where it was, but found nothing. Something constricted her chest as she replied, "I'll never be alone. My friends will always be there!"
"Your friends are not here; they will not come to save you. You are alone here. You are the mage that no one wants anymore."
Aqua felt tears in her eyes as she did her best to stand her ground, despite how weak her knees felt, replying, "That's not true at all!"
Then the environment around her changed, the room melting around her and leaving her standing in the Main Hall. How was she back at Land of Departure? Everything felt so real, like she had escaped the grasp of that terrible nightmare world. Blinking away her tears, Aqua calmed her breathing the best she could. Looking around at the sudden scenery change, Aqua spotted Terra and Ventus not too far from her, chatting lively about something.
Smiling warmly at her friends, Aqua moved over to them briskly, heart still racing from her encounter with the skeleton-like figure. Maybe they could tell her how much time had passed. Coming to a halt near them, Aqua opened her mouth as Ventus and Terra looked at her. Before the bluenette could speak, Terra preempted her speaking with something that caught her wholly off-guard.
"What the Hell are you doing here without your collar on, mage?"
Aqua felt like a knife had been shoved into her chest, the stinging question full of disdain reminding her of the things said to her on her homeworld whenever she dared to try and make friends. The pain was further multiplied by the fact Terra had said this to her. The look on Terra's face further added to how she felt.
"T…Terra? We're friends. Why would you even ask me something so horrible?" Aqua asked weakly as she tried not to break into tears. She wanted to reach out to him and slap him for how horrible he was being, but something stopped her.
Fear.
Terra snorted dismissively before shoving her away hard enough that she fell onto her backside roughly. No real physical damage was done to her. The only damage was mental; that Terra had actually just shoved her like that. She felt her lower lip quivering pitifully as Terra remarked, "We're not friends, so just go back to your little village. I don't want to catch any diseases you might have."
And then Ventus and him laughed at her while walking away, making cover her mouth with both hands as she bit back a sob. She felt like her world had been torn asunder from her, making her feel so completely alone. Terra had just rejected her like she was nothing; just trash.
Just like back at her homeworld.
"No matter what you do, you cannot escape."
Aqua blinked and found herself back in the room, shivering as she hunched over, hot tears flowing from her eyes and down over her hands. How could this be happening? This thing was tormenting her with all this pain and fear; she just wasn't prepared for something like this.
The horrible monster materialized before her, neck bent at an unbelievable angle to allow its head to hang upside down, white eyes looking at her with dark malice now. It was like this thing was feasting off her fears, twitching once again as it corrected its head to a more normal position. It towered over her as it got closer.
Suddenly, something clicked in Aqua's mind, within the small piece of her rational mind that was still functioning.
Maybe this thing was getting stronger because she was trying to act fearless. Maybe this monster was trying to make her admit she had fears to feed on them, but rather that hide from them, she needed admit she had them and then face them.
"You're right…I do fear," Aqua said as she cried, but the tears no longer were flowing so heavily now. The bluenette stared at the floor as she reminded herself she was terrified of being alone and friendless. She had always been afraid, but ever since Aqua had come to Land of Departure, that fear had seem to fade away.
In reality, it had only moved to her subconscious.
She shifted her attention to the now frozen monster whose hand was only inches from her face; Aqua stared calmly as she spoke. "I'm afraid of being alone and friendless. What that Terra said to me hurt because for a long time, it was true. But now…it's not."
Standing up, Aqua confidently called on Stormfall, which appeared in a brilliant burst of light that made the monster recoil suddenly, shielding its eyes from the blinding light that suddenly filled the room. "I am afraid, but I have my friends. They care about me and now I fear losing them and returning to that time of being alone. But no matter what, the three of us will always be one, even when we're miles apart, even if we argue with one another!"
Looking back to the now armed Aqua, the creature seemed to be amused more than afraid of Aqua, a glint in its eyes as it spoke.
"Very good. Then you know you are afraid; everyone fears something. Do not forget this; the moment you do, the shadows will consume you."
As soon as the creature spoke, there was a blinding light seemed to consume Aqua and the world around her.
Whatever Terra had been expecting during this test, this was definitely not it. He had been expecting maybe seeing monsters that he had to fight or being taken to an obstacle course of some sort; Hell, he had even been expecting to face a doppelganger. But this place was very far from any of those expectations.
The war-torn scene before him, seemingly frozen in time, was definitely something that made his stomach churn. Shell explosions that tossed dirt high into the sky, along with any shredded remains of any soldier unlucky enough to be caught in it, were frozen mid-blast. Plumes of smoke dotted the distance around Terra while fighter-bombers flew overhead. Tanks of Russian origin were both burning wrecks and rushing over an open field; German Panzers did their best to stymie the rush of their armored counterparts. German soldiers fought tooth and nail against Communist soldiers. Knives plunged into flesh on either side, while bullets cut down those in the distance.
Terra could see those bullets clearly hanging in the air or slicing into the soft flesh of soldiers, who were dropping their weapons as blood sprayed from their wounds. The dead and dying lied around the living that fought for their country, for ideals, for their lives and the lives of others.
Terra knew, without a doubt, just from the Iron Cross, he was on a battlefield somewhere on the Eastern Front. He was back in the time of the war that had killed everyone he knew.
World War II.
'Why? Why the fuck did that portal take me here?' Terra thought uneasily as he made his way in the silent area, around shell holes and trenches, eyes looking around at the motionless scene that threatened to engulf him. He was quickly wishing that he could get out of here, but with no obvious routes out, Terra had to stumble around the carnage in hopes of finding an answer.
Of course, when Terra rounded a thick tree being splintered by a string of 7.62x25 caliber rounds, he quickly regretted exploring this area. Standing next to a Panzer IV Ausf J, the 75 mm main gun barking out in anger at an enemy tank, was his father. The tall man was wearing his black Panzer wraps, which was unusual for combat, Terra imagined. Short, military style brown hair and light blue eyes inspected Terra as he dared to approach his father.
Terra's father was named Otto; he was known as being a man who pulled no punches, much like his son. He currently had a five o'clock shadow from being, most likely, in combat for a long period of time. The man cocked his head and spoke to him in German, saying, "Hello, son. It has been some time since I saw you last…you've matured into a fine young man, although you could use a haircut."
That was really the first thing his dad said to him after all these years? He needed a damn haircut!? Terra thought about all the time he and his mom spent alone after learning Otto had been killed in combat. Then came the day his mother had died during the air raid, all to allow her son to live. Everything had gone so horribly wrong after his dad had died…
It had been his father's fault the darkness had been created within his heart. If he hadn't of died, then maybe none of the things that had come after his death wouldn't have happened. Maybe Terra would have a dad still instead of nearly freezing to death in some bombed out husk.
Darkness flickered around Terra's right arm, making him looked down at it and quickly flailed his arm back and forth in order to get the darkness to fade away. Otto frowned at Terra's actions, but before he could speak, Terra snarled angrily in German, "You did this! You died and left mom and me on our own! It's cuz of you I have the darkness within me!"
As the world around them began to fade away into nothing more than a black void, leaving Terra and Otto in darkness that caused Terra to look around in worry and wear. Somehow, he could still see Otto clearly, the man shaking his head sadly. Speaking, he said harshly, "Son, I am sorry that I left you and your mother to fend for yourselves, but you are a coward for blaming me for your own inability to admit your darkness has always been there."
"I am not a damn coward! You…" Terra began before the man's form changed, revealing a gapping hole in his chest from what appeared to be a tank shell. Terra's eyes widened with horror as he stepped back, the void reaching out at Terra with purple and blue hands, like snakes that threatened to poison him with their touch.
"I am not a coward, son. I died for what I believed in. I died to save others. Look at you! You coward at the very mention of the darkness within you and you can't even admit you're afraid of yourself," Otto spat harshly at his son as he strode forward with anger-fueled steps. Upon reaching Terra, he grabbed the crisscrossed suspender like straps that Terra wore and didn't let go.
Staring right into Terra's wild eyes, Otto growled, "Are you afraid that your darkness will consume you or your friends? It isn't that you should fear; you should fear the fact you run from it. Your inaction of facing the darkness within will cause it to consume you."
"The darkness will consume them if I use it! I hurt Aqua with the darkness! I hurt her because…" Terra protested, causing Otto to shake his head once again. Terra was perplexed by his father's actions, as he seemed to regard him sadly now. The burning anger that had been in Otto's eyes faded into sorrow at this point.
"It only hurt her because you let it. You lashed out on her because you allowed petty feelings to fuel you. It wasn't the darkness that hurt her; it was you."
Terra's eyes went wide with horror as darkness began to surround his dad like an aura. Although Terra wanted to deny it with every fiber of his being, he knew what his dad was telling him was true. His mind flashed back to the day, nearly four eyes ago, seeing Aqua one the ground as darkness rolled off her battle-damaged form.
"And worse part, Terra, is you haven't learned as much as you should have from that day."
Terra watched as his dad's form turn into a mass of squirming darkness, which quickly tried to consume him into the void. He screamed in horror and shock as he struggled to escape the darkness that now surrounded him and tried to take everything from him.
As the sea of darkness began to swallow him up, Terra coughed and choked on the ice-cold inky fluid that was all-around him now. The brunette tried to summon up Ends of the Earth in order to use his Keyblade Glider in order to get out of the mess he found himself in, but he couldn't seem to summon the power needed to call forth Ends of the Earth.
Soon, the darkness had pulled him under. Terra found himself starting to slip into an unconscious state, his vision fading from murky to black to clear and then murky again in short order. It seemed he was going to die here in this damn darkness, alone, because he was so weak.
Suddenly, Aqua flashed in his mind. That face he cared about so much was smiling so brightly, like she couldn't be any happier than seeing him.
If he died here, then he'd not be able to see her and be with her.
Terra's eyes snapped opened. He might have hurt her, but he wasn't going to let the darkness take him! He might not be able to manage his powers of darkness, but he could certainly force the darkness away for Aqua! Terra suddenly snarled as Ends of the Earth came to him, thinking, 'I don't care if I am afraid of the darkness! I am afraid, but I won't let my fear stop me from seein' Aqua or my friends again!"
Terra's Keyblade, rather than turn into a glide, went over his shoulder and morphed rapidly into a massive cannon. The young man let out a scream of fury as he pointed his newfound weapon into the darkness around him. A ball of light charged at the end of the weapon, a crescendo of whining signaling it was ready to fire.
Terra let forth the massive sphere of light.
The resulting detonation was so mighty that the light blinded Terra as it chased away the darkness. Terra closed his eyes as the light surrounded him with its comforting embrace.
Back with the three Masters and Ventus, the portals both shimmered at the same time.
Xehanort and Arthur both moved away from the shimmering portals, Arthur smiling a bit as he knew, along with Eraqus and Xehanort, what the sudden shimmering meant.
Everyone watched with satisfaction—awe in Ventus's case—as the gateways swirled and then bloomed into light, which drifted up towards the roof as white particles lazily. As the light of the portals died down, they revealed Aqua and Terra, both in good shape. Both of them had successfully completed the task of facing their fears. Between the fear of being rejected and the fear of one's inner darkness, the two prospects had successfully forged their ways through.
Arthur was the first to speak, remarking, "Well, that was part one down. Both of you did quite well!" He did not allude to what either student had been through within the realm of fear; that was not part of the protocol.
Arthur and Xehanort made their way back to their respective seats. Waiting for them to take their seats, Eraqus began to speak, explaining, "One must keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. Facing one's fears, whatever they may be, is one such circumstance. It was an excellent test." He paused before looking to Aqua and then Terra. "This brings us to your next trail."
'Shoulda known this wasn't over yet,' Ventus thought as he watched Master Eraqus gesture for Aqua and Terra to take positions across from one another. He had a sudden bad feeling pass over him, but he quickly brushed it off. Nothing bad was going to happen, right?
Master Eraqus quickly regained Ventus's attention as he watched his friends continue on with their Mark of Mastery. Aqua and Terra took positions in the center of the Main Hall, ready, summoning their respective weapons as their Master said, "Now, Terra and Aqua, you will face one another in combat."
Aqua slipped into her combat stance had she had done so many times before this day, but today was different. She could see Terra was keenly focused, more so than he had ever been before. He seemed to be a tad ragged looking; whatever he had been through had to rattled him, just like it had rattled her.
"Remember, there are no winners—only truths. For when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed."
There was a second of silence that dragged on forever. Aqua's expression hardened as she slipped into her mentality of battle. Terra was no longer Terra within her mind. Terra was an opponent, one she had to face to her fullest. Already, she was planning several moves ahead, based on the various reactions and things she had learned about Terra during previous bouts.
Terra was also in a different mentality, but his was on how he could quickly defeat Aqua. He knew she planned for the long term, but more than once, Terra had bested her and her academic-like mindset to battle. It had served him well, so there was no reason to get a different horse now.
"Begin!" came the order.
Aqua quickly charged forward at Terra, with the much bulkier man rushing forward at her. Aqua, instead of firing an attack at Terra, flicked her left hand out and hit the stone ground with a Blizzara. Bluish ice coated the ground, causing Terra's eyes to widened before he came to a screaming halt, least he slide over the now ice covered ground like a fool.
During that moment, Aqua had teleported behind Terra, but the brunette was aware of her sudden appearance behind him, causing him to spin around hard. There was an echoing clang as Aqua's Stormfall crashed powerfully into Ends of the Earth. Terra pushed Aqua back, causing her to move back gracefully.
Soon, the sounds of Keyblades smashing into one another filled the air as Terra and Aqua worked to wear one another down. Aqua's attacks, while strong, were geared towards waiting for an opening in Terra's defenses between the attacks they unleashed upon one another.
Soon, a possible opening began to develop. Aqua flicked a billowing Firaga at Terra, the point blank range of the magic spell making the brunette grunt as his barely blocked it, throwing the crackling ball of flames into the air. In the following moment, Terra unleashed a powerful upward strike that Aqua flipped away from, landing some distance away from Terra before he rushed at her. Aqua darted away quickly, watching Terra's attacks with critical eyes.
Terra was off center and his attacks were a bit sloppy; difficult to perceive without a trained eye, but Aqua did have a trained eye. He was putting so much power behind his attacks in an attempt to beat her quickly; her arm could feel the strain of the blows from deflecting Terra's strikes, but Aqua had better endurance after training with Terra so much.
She took her chances and lashed out with a series of dizzying strikes that began to drive Terra back as a result, Keyblade cutting through the air where Terra's midsection had been, followed by a quick upward swing that Terra overestimate the danger of, leaping back too much as a result. Crouching low, Aqua burst forth at Terra with a far more lethal swing that could likely knock Terra out cold.
Realizing the error he had made, Terra's eyes widened as he quickly moved to try and get the Hell away from Aqua's incoming strike. The teeth of Stormfall came less than an inch from the brunette's face, wind washing over his face as he barely got away.
'If that blow had hit my chin, she would have knocked me out!' Terra thought before panic seized him as he realized Aqua had already created a Firaga in her left hand. He had been so focused on the incoming attack that he had failed to see the orange ball swirl to life in Aqua's hand. He had no time to defend himself, as he was in mid-leap and wholly unprepared to deal with the flaming orb that was now racing at him.
Terra cried out in pain as the Firaga pounded into his exposed chest and flung him some distance away. He landed on his feet, smoke rolling off of his frame thickly as he coughed painfully. The sheer power of the attack warned Terra his friend was not holding back. This wasn't training and Aqua was taking this so much more seriously than normal.
Soon, Terra found she was on him, not giving him any chance to recover as she lashed out with Keyblade strikes, teleporting around him in quick succession to his back, then his left, then his right, all in an attempt to wear him down. The brunette doggedly defended himself, but some attacks made their way through, striking his stomach, chest, his back, and his sides. Magic added onto the wear Terra was starting to feeling, with mostly Firaga's being Aqua's weapon of choice. A few burn marks marred Terra's body, while Aqua seemed to be mostly undamaged, aside from the blow to her stomach and a deep cut on her left check. He had managed to clip her thighs a few times as well, but nothing serious.
None of Aqua's blows she had sustained warranted a Cure spell even.
Terra could feel his anger and panic mounting as Aqua picked away at him; he was weakening quicker than he expected, making him sloppier by the moment. She seemed so emotionless and ruthless even.
Terra managed to head-butted Aqua when she appeared in front of him, unable to bring his Keyblade to bear on Aqua's materializing form. Aqua cried out from the ringing blow that crunched her nose, making her stagger back a bit. Blood was running from her nose, while Terra tried to gather his breath, aiming to cast a Cura spell in order to heal himself. Green colored energy pooled around his left hand; he was moments away from casting.
He had underestimated the range of a Thundaga spell, yellow bolts of energy frying Terra's frame with painful spasms, sparks of yellow arching off and over his body as he worked to stay on his feet. He felt his Cura spell die at the tips of his fingers, staggering back from Aqua as she roared and charged at him once again.
At this rate, her charge would crush him and he would be totally humiliated in a defeat that he didn't want to experience. Master Eraqus said there would be no winners or losers from this fight, but Terra's pride was aflame at the idea of losing to Aqua here, in front of three Keyblade Masters!
Terra felt something shift in his chest. He felt a surge of power, of confidence. He stood his ground and prepared to attack when he noticed black and purple out of the corner of his eyes. Glancing down, Terra felt horror fill his being as his darkness flared out all over his free hand.
Quickly, he beat it back with a wave of his left arm, but it was much too late. Aqua and all three Masters had seen the darkness ever so briefly manifest from within Terra.
As Aqua and Terra continued to battle, with Aqua holding a edge over Terra a good hunk of the fight despite the sudden boost in power the brunette had received, Master Xehanort smirked at what he had seen.
The battle between Terra and Aqua had lasted a good twenty minutes longer before Master Eraqus called for a stop to their fight. After this was achieved, Terra and Aqua had been told to go and clean up while the Masters deliberated. Ventus was told he was to stay outside of the Main Hall, along with Aqua and Terra once they returned within the hour.
Aqua and Terra would be receiving the results of their Marks one at a time. The Masters had called in Aqua first.
After bidding her farewells to her friends, the bluenette made her way to the thrones all the Masters sat at. They watched her with critical eyes until she came to a halt before them, at attention. For a moment, Aqua wondered how Terra was doing after their fight, but he did seem in good spirits despite the flare up he had had during the fight. Shaking that from her mind, Aqua spoke. "I am reporting as ordered, Masters."
She had done everything she could to prove she had shown the Mark. It was no longer in her hands at this point. Her fate was up to Master Eraqus, Master Xehanort, and Master Arthur.
"At ease, Aqua," her Master said with a slight wave of his hand, making her quickly go at ease as requested. She listened as her Master continued to speak. "We have deliberated your performance during the Mark of Mastery Exam. We will each reveal our choices, as well as any remarks we might have, starting with Master Xehanort."
Aqua bit the inside of her mouth as she waited for Master Xehanort to speak to her. As she waited, another chill rushed over her body, but she immediately ignored it, showing no visual cues that something was amiss.
Finally, the elderly man spoke, not rising from his seat. Looking to her with those unnerving yellow eyes, Master Xehanort said, "Aqua, your performance was commendable as expected. As such, you have shown the Mark, through a combination of your ability to face your fear and how well you commanded the battle with Terra."
Aqua felt her heart flutter some before Master Arthur stood, rising with a slight clank of armor and with a pleased grin on his face. Looking directly at her, Arthur said, "You have shown the Mark in my eyes, Aqua. It would greatly please me to induce you into the ranks of Keyblade Masters."
Aqua's heart was starting to race now, but she never lost her composure before the three wise men. It was now Master Eraqus's turn to speak as Arthur sat down, with the scarred Master coming to his feet now.
With his words, Aqua knew her dream had finally come true.
"It takes much strength of character and heart to carry the title of Master. You are held to a much higher standard than others. People will look to Masters to guide them in their weakest times," Master Eraqus explained with a smile before he concluded with, "Aqua, you have shown the Mark. You have all the traits, along with your training, needed to bare the mantle of Keyblade Master."
Aqua expelled a shaky breath. It was difficult to see now as she felt tears start to blur her vision, but these were tears of joy. She was so overjoyed at this point; she had finally done it. All the years of effort; all the years of self-doubt washed away in one shining moment. She nodded shakily as she responded, "Th-Thank you, Master Eraqus, Master Arthur, and Master Xehanort!"
"Ha, you don't need to stay so professional, Aqua! It's alright to cry in joy, but I'd say your friends are quite eager to hear the results from your mouth," Arthur remarked to the bluenette, who quickly followed his advice. She had to tell Ventus and Terra. Most of all, once Terra became a Master as well, she and Terra could say they finally accomplished their dreams! Not waiting for a dismissal from the Masters, Aqua rushed down the Main Hall, heading to the door that led into the hallway Terra and Ventus were waiting.
As Aqua rushed off, Master Eraqus felt a smile come to his face as he said to no one in particular, "I do hope she remembers to send in Terra fairly soon…"
Terra and Ventus nearly came out of their skins when Aqua uncharacteristically burst through the double doors that led into the hallway leading to everyone's rooms. The fact she was crying profusely caused Terra to asked right away, "Aqua, are you alright?"
Ventus was rather worried as well, even as Aqua flung herself into Terra, hugging him tightly. He moved to her side as he inquired of the sobbing bluenette, "Aqua, why are you crying? Is everything alright?"
"T-T-Terra! I'm n-not glass. D-do you r-remember? I…" Aqua managed to asked in a rushed tone, between her sobbing and burying her face into her friend's chest. He smelled so good after getting cleaned up, but right now she had her thoughts racing a million miles an hour. She began to work on collecting herself, hands grasping onto Terra tightly.
Meanwhile, Ventus was clearly a bit confused on what in the world Aqua was talking about. What had she meant by not being glass? Maybe this was in reference to a conversation she had had with Terra before his arrival. Looking to Terra, he began to inquire to the brunette about what she was saying, asking, "Terra, what is she talkin' about?"
Terra looked over at Ventus and shocked the blonde at the sight of Terra crying. The brunette looked back to Aqua as he rubbed her back gently and managed to blink away his tears. Smiling as he let Aqua nestle into him, Terra said to Ventus, "She meant she did it. She's a Master now!"
Ventus blinked before he felt a smile stretch across his face and he whooped for joy. Aqua had become a Keyblade Master! The blonde jumped up and down, chanting, "Hurrah for Aqua! She did it! Hurrah, hurrah!" He had never been so excited for his female friend in his entire life!
They celebrated Aqua's success for a bit before the bluenette slowly pulled away, coming to realize that she was holding onto Terra pretty tightly. Blushing slightly, a fact that was missed by both young men, Aqua pulled away and said, softly, "The Masters are waiting on you, Terra. I know you'll do this."
Terra noticed she seemed a bit shy around him after basically throwing herself into him with all her strength, nearly taking him off of his feet. It was fortunate he was so strong and able to handle great force with relative ease. Even though he wanted to question her shyness, Terra knew the Masters were waiting. With a confident grin, Terra said, "Don't worry, Aqua. I am sure I did great, just like you. I'll be back in no time!"
Nodding, Aqua said, "Yeah. I'll see you when you get back, okay?"
Ventus chimed in with, "You're gonna clean up in there, Terra!" He was quite confident his brother figure had succeeded just like Aqua. It was always that way, after all. He had never seen Terra or Aqua fail anything, despite claims they had failed before.
Confidently, Terra pushed the double doors open and walked into the Main Hall. On went his game face; he was ready to receive the judgment of the Masters who had watched his examination so keenly. He walked slowly, but with purpose, to the seated Masters. Coming to a crisp halt before the three gentlemen, Terra came to attention and said, "I am reporting as ordered, Masters."
"Terra, at ease," Master Eraqus said as he allowed Terra to stand at ease. Shifting his stance into a more relaxed position, Terra listened to Master Eraqus speak slowly and deliberately. Like with Aqua before him, Terra listened to the same words from his Master. "We have deliberated your performance during the Mark of Mastery Exam. We will each reveal our choices, as well as any remarks we might have, starting with Master Xehanort."
'Alright then, let's hear what they have to say to me,' Terra though, expecting good news from each of the Masters. Terra was anxious to hear the results of his Mark, but there was an irritable silence instead. As Master Xehanort seemed to remain quiet for a moment, he wondered what was taking the elderly man so long.
Master Xehanort eventually lifted his head, looking at Terra with a pained expression, something Terra wasn't expecting, nor was he liking. The yellow-eyed man sighed heavily before closing his eyes, like he was in some great mental turmoil. Finally, he spoke, saying words that seared painful into Terra's mind.
"My boy, as much as it pains me to say this, you have failed to show the Mark. You could not properly handle a superior foe in battle and failed to control your own powers. You did manage to face your fears, but you did not learn from that critical exercise."
Terra felt numb now. He felt something dreadful in his chest as he blinked a few times, a shocked expression clearly coming to his face. They had seen the darkness around his hand; that much Terra was sure of. However, hope remained in Master Arthur and Master Eraqus, that somehow he had done something somewhere along the lines to turn this around.
Terra was immediately disappointed when he heard Master Arthur speak next, rising to his feet.
"Terra, you definitely failed to show the Mark. While your efforts at staying your fear of darkness was impressive, you did not handle the power within very well," Master Arthur said with a stern tone and equally disappointed expression. "Not only did you come in with the wrong mindset against your opponent who was not pulling any punches, you tapped into a power that you had little experience with utilizing. You put yourself and your friend in danger by using power untamed."
Terra felt his teeth grit together as his shock was now being replaced with anger and hurt. Why was he always falling behind Aqua, the superior fighter, as Master Xehanort had said it. And the fact Master Arthur had called him out for not having the right mindset hurt as well. It was basically calling him underprepared.
Now Master Eraqus spoke as well and he was the only good news in this entire mess. Looking to Master Arthur with a disappointed look, feeling Master Arthur had gone a bit too far with his words, Master Eraqus looked back to the clearly angry form of Terra. While Master Eraqus could no longer change the outcome of this Mark, he knew he could give Terra some glimmering sliver of hope.
"Terra, I believed you showed the Mark because you did push back the darkness within you. You did this knowing that it was a power you couldn't manage properly. Sadly, the majority rules and my opinion of showing the Mark is outweighed by two who state otherwise," Master Eraqus said with a sad tone that he did not hide at all. He felt devastated internally that Terra had failed. He, like Aqua and Ventus, had been so certain Terra would pass today. To see him fail made Eraqus's insides twist painfully.
Terra was unable to vocalize what he was feeling as a cluster of many emotions clouded his mind. He felt completely devastated he had failed his Mark. All his years of training felt like a waste of effort. Pain of failure filled his heart as he said, "I see. I understand, Masters…but I need some time alone…"
And with that, he quickly departed to the outside, to get some fresh, clean air and to get away from all the source of his failure, the three Keyblade Masters. Master Eraqus watched as Terra departure, a stormy expression clouding his features. He knew Terra was extremely upset, but for now, it was best to leave Terra be.
Any euphoria either Aqua or Ventus was feeling was long gone now. The newly minted Master and her friend knew it couldn't have taken a half an hour to tell Terra if he had succeeded or not.
The bluenette could not shake this undeniable feeling of dread that had steadily building in her stomach. The flicker of familiar darkness she felt as well, growing larger with each passing moment even as it got farther and farther away warned her that the unimaginable might have happened. She had tried to deny it repeatedly, but now it was obvious denial was no longer avoiding the truth.
Looking to Ventus, she could tell he was feeling off as well. He had a very distant look to him, eyes downcast to the floor as had his shoulders slumped and arms hanging limply to his side.
After a few more tense moments of silence, Ventus finally said, sadly, "…Aqua? Terra didn't…make it, did he?"
Aqua didn't reply to Ventus, moving instead to simply hug Ventus. That was really all Ventus needed to happen to know that Aqua had reached the same sobering conclusion as he.
Outside, Terra was at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the castle entryways. Terra's body was tense as he stared at his empty hands, a dull expression on his face as he thought about what had just happened; what he had just endured. He had failed the Mark of Mastery Exam because of the darkness within him. All because of the fact his opponent had so relentlessly pressuring him in battle and he had panicked.
'Once again, Aqua has bested me. She's the reason while I ultimately failed; I should have passed!' Terra thought glumly as he thought back to her joyed expression at her success. She was a Master now; he wasn't. While he was happy she had passed, his joy was tainted by the fact he felt like she was once again the source of his pain.
Terra felt his hands ball up into fists as he said, presumably to himself, "There's darkness within me…so what does that matter? I know I am strong enough to hold it back…"
"Yes…" came the graveled voice Terra was familiar with, causing him to jump in surprise. Standing up and spinning around, Terra saw Master Xehanort standing at the top of the stairs, yellow eyes locked onto him. Terra blinked a few times as Master Xehanort said, "You are indeed strong, just like Aqua. The darkness is nothing to fear."
"Master Xehanort," Terra said, trying to formulate the words needed to express everything he was feeling right now. It was difficult for him to properly do so right away however. This allowed Xehanort to continue speaking to Terra.
"And yet…how frustrating that Arthur refutes its power. While I stand by my decision, my choice was not based on the fact you have darkness, but that you merely need a bit more education on how to properly bring your power to bear," Master Xehanort explained to the brunette below him. Walking down the stairs, he continued to explain his reasoning in better detail to Terra. "You could train forever with Eraqus and still, you've never managed the same level of power as Aqua. His teachings are much better suited to her, not you."
Terra seemed to be quite caught off-guard by the elderly Master's words, causing to him cry out, "But why? Help me understand, Master Xehanort! What is it that I have failed to learn from Master Eraqus?" He knew Master Eraqus was an excellent teacher, but maybe it wasn't Terra who was at fault, but his Master? Maybe it was that Eraqus could never fully bring out Terra's full potential.
Still, conflicting emotions told Terra that ultimately it was still his fault, not Master Eraqus, followed by Aqua for pushing him so hard.
Master Xehanort replied with an almost amused tone, "You are fine as you are." Walking past Terra, Master Xehanort began to gesture a bit as he walked away, explaining, "Darkness cannot be destroyed. It can only be channeled."
Terra began to digest those words; they carried an air of validity to them, thanks in part to Terra's own experience. After all, Terra had tried repeatedly to force back his darkness, with increasingly worse results. Maybe he just needed to allow himself to use darkness more so he could properly manage it? Terra went to attention now and bowed thankfully, replying, "Thank you, Master Xehanort."
Master Xehanort glanced over his shoulder at Terra and nodded, replying, "Should you require my assistance, I would be more than glad to help, my boy."
There it was; the carrot on the stick for the rabbit to chase. Master Xehanort turned away from Terra as his expression shifted to happiness, wanting to take up the elderly Master's offer. However, Master Xehanort then said, "However, I must depart for now. It will give you some time to really think over my offer."
Undaunted, Terra nodded and replied, "Yes, Master Xehanort. Thank you very much." Turning away from Master Xehanort, Terra paused and then looked back at Master Xehanort. He had realized he had no manner of contact the ancient Master, so he asking, "How will I be able to contact you, Master Xehanort, once I make my choice?"
"I will contact you when the time is right, Terra. Do not worry yourself over such details; we Master have our ways, after all," Xehanort replied with a chuckle. Knowing this had satisfied the young man, Xehanort listened as Terra thanked him once again and then swiftly depart up the stairs.
While Terra rushed back up the white stairs, Xehanort opened a Corridor of Darkness before him and stepped into the rolling clouds of darkness before his Corridor faded into nothingness.
Aqua had entered the Main Hall, seeing Master Arthur and Master Eraqus conversing with one another. She could see Master Xehanort was nowhere to be seen; it was likely he had already departed. What had actually brought her here was foolish: she wanted to talk to the Masters to see if Terra had actually failed. Her mind told her she was stupid, thinking otherwise, but her heart was combating her logical mind viciously, saying Terra couldn't have failed.
Both Masters noticed her approach, with Master Arthur looking over to her and saying, "And here's our newest Master!" He seemed rather cheerful, but his cheerful mood was quickly ended by the rather dourer look Aqua's face had. Already, he knew what she was here for. Glancing to Master Eraqus, Master Arthur said, "I think you need to inform our newest Master of her friend's results…"
Eraqus knew he had to tell her, but he was not very fond of the idea that he had to be the bearer of even more bad news. Turning to face Aqua, he reached out and grasped her shoulders gently before he spoke. "Aqua, what I am about to tell you is not something I enjoy in the slightest…"
Before he could finish, Aqua felt like her world was falling down all around her. His tone, the way Master Arthur had spoke to her as the only new Master, it all was settling into her heart painfully. She looked away as tears threatened to spill forth from her eyes, saying in a tiny voice, "Terra failed. How? How did he fail? He…he wasn't supposed to…"
"Aqua, you have to understand he failed because of reasons you cannot control. It hurts, this I understand, but sometimes fate is not very kind to people for reasons we can only understand later," Eraqus said in a comforting tone as he tried to comfort Aqua. He knew she wanted Terra to accomplish his dream, having devoted quite a bit of her own time to helping her friend. To know he hadn't passed must had hurt her greatly.
Aqua didn't reply to her Master—'former Master,' her mind dully noted with no fanfare—because she felt like if she did, she would start crying. She didn't want to cry like this, but at the same time, her heart was grieving painfully.
Sadly, she wasn't going to get the time to grieve properly, at least not yet.
Suddenly, bells that reminded Aqua of those you'd find at a church began to ring, causing the bluenette to jump slightly. Using her white bell sleeves to quickly whip away her tears before they could spill, Aqua looked to Master Eraqus and Arthur, who both glanced over to the thrones.
Seeing a pink light sparkling from behind the thrones, Master Arthur was quick to speak, remarking, "This might be a bad sign. Let us go see what Yen Sid has to say!"
Master Eraqus frowned slightly, a feeling of something terrible passing through his stomach before he began to walk over to the pink crystal seated behind the wooden thrones. He certainly hadn't expected a communication from Yen Sid so soon after the Mark; this was cause for concern in his mind. Master Arthur followed him shortly there after.
'Yen Sid…' Aqua thought for a moment before the sounds of running footsteps caused her to look over her shoulder. Seeing Terra running towards her made her heart twinge painfully, but now wasn't the time to talk to him about such a fresh wound.
Terra came to a half next to Aqua, regarding her with stony expression that Aqua didn't like to see on his face. Terra didn't tell Aqua with words, but with his expressions that he was upset with her. He wasn't going to tell her what he was feeling, so he instead asked, "What's going on? I heard the bells…"
Aqua looked back to where Master Eraqus and Arthur had went, seeing them both gathered close to something behind the center throne. Aqua and Terra had both seen the pink crystal behind the throne before, but neither had really been privy to what it was for. Aqua had a feeling it had some value, but had never asked. Now, she realized it was used for long distant communications.
"I don't know…why isn't Ven here?" Aqua asked, noticing the their blonde friend was rather strangely absent. A chilly feeling passed over her once again, but this time she knew it wasn't from Terra or Xehanort. She felt like something was in the castle with them, without anyone being aware.
Terra didn't respond to her, not feeling up to answering her question despite the fact that he too was curious as to where Ventus was. He figured Ventus would have come rushing to the Main Hall as well, but his absence was bothering him. Still, he focused his attention on Master Arthur and Eraqus as the two men came walking over with concerned expressions on their faces.
"Don't worry about my world, Master Eraqus. I can assure you I will protect my people from this new threat," Master Arthur said before swiftly departing, hurrying past Aqua and Terra. Obviously, something was wrong for him to depart so suddenly.
The new Master and Terra's attentions were drawn to Master Eraqus as he spoke to them, a grave tone that forewarned them that their worries were not unfounded.
"That was my dear old friend Yen Sid. As you both know, he is Master no more, but he still keeps a close eye on the tides of light and darkness," Master Eraqus said to both of the Keyblade bearers before him. "His counsel serves as signposts we Keyblade wielders must use on the roads we walk. As such, he has informed me that the Princesses of Heart are in danger. This threat is from a new threat, one that feeds off of negativity."
There was a pause that allowed Aqua and Terra to take in this information, some of which they were well aware of, but new things as well. Resuming his talking, Master Eraqus said, "Fledgling emotions that have taken monster form. Yen Sid calls them Unversed; I tried to pass on these warnings to Master Xehanort, but I could not reach him. He is not one for staying silent like this. There maybe no connection, but his sudden silence troubles me."
He looked to Terra now, clearly giving the young man orders now. "Terra, you orders are to go forth and cull the worlds of the Unversed…"
Now Eraqus's vision landed on Aqua's form now and what he said made Aqua cringed. "Master Aqua, while I cannot order you, I trust you are willing like Terra to help cull the threat of the Unversed."
Terra's hands clenched into fists when he heard Aqua get addressed as a Master. He knew he deserved the title as well, but right now he dared no to voice how he was feeling, despite the bubbling anger that threatened to burst forth from within.
"Both of you must search for Master Xehanort as well. You may use the Lanes Between to travel to the worlds, but remember the darkness looms close in these corridors. You cannot let anyone know other words exist," Master Eraqus stated, knowing his students both knew this, but firmly reminded them both of this fact.
As the missions ahead began to settle into each warrior's minds, Terra was jolted from his thoughts as Master Eraqus called out his name. The tone was no longer stern, but caring and worried. "Terra, this is also an opportunity. Consider it a second chance to change the minds of Master Arthur and Master Xehanort, once he is located."
Terra was silent as Master Eraqus approached him slowly, reaching him and placing his hands gently on the man's tense shoulders. "I care for you like my own son. If I could have, I would have named you a Master long ago. But how could I when you are so obsessed with power? Being the strongest isn't being the one with the most raw power…it is a lesson that you haven't grasped yet."
Terra looked away, knowing his Master's words were heartfelt and true. It was hard to immediate dispel the anger lingering within his mind, but Master Eraqus's words certainly helped out. "Your fear has created your obsession with power, further beckoning the darkness within. You must never forget the dangers of obsession."
Seeing his Master was only trying to help him once again, he smiled and said, "Thank you Master. I swear…I will not fail you again." And with that, Terra was quick to depart, a renewed feeling of confidence in his heart.
As he left, Aqua watched him go, knowing he wasn't going to speak to her for a time. That hurt her, but she did her best to let it go. She looked back to Master Eraqus and said, "Master Eraqus, I'd best be on my way."
And with that, Aqua departed, but stayed some distance behind Terra.
As Eraqus watched them both leave, he couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was about to transpire.
Thank for all of you who have followed, favorited, or have done both for this story! It's been incredibly fun to write this thus far and I am pleased that so many people have enjoyed it. Even if you haven't wrote a review, if you have read and enjoyed this story is more than enough for me!
This chapter was very difficult to write because it took me a moment of come up with more suitable challenges for Aqua and Terra in regards to their Marks. Honestly, little balls of light are a tad underwhelming for the story...