Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, it is the property of Square Enix and Disney.

So this chapter isn't written from the perspective of any character, it's simply an in between chapter that's meant to further elaborate, in a way, on the characters, what they're going through, and their relationship. The next chapter will have the trio finally getting to Disney Town and having some fun. I plan to have it be far more lighthearted than the rest of the story and it, too, will be written in 3rd person.

I appreciate everyone who has followed and reviewed the story, means a lot to me. Happy reading.


The days simply passed by, the mundane activities of the day-to-day blurred together until these brief days leading up to the festival felt as if they were nothing more than distant memories. Now, standing in their respective rooms, the three inhabitants of the Land of Departure are, in equal parts, anxious and excited.

All three, coincidentally, recall the conversation they had earlier in the evening.


Dinner had been an unusually quiet affair. Terra, his eyes flicking from Ventus to Aqua, clears his throat to elicit some reaction from the other two; he is unsuccessful. Ventus, who had his eyes fixed on his plate throughout the meal, hazard a glance at the cerulean haired warrior sitting across from him. What he sees is a young woman, haggard, upset and muttering something to herself.

Earlier in the day the trio had left for another world: The Enchanted Dominion. They had been informed by Master Yen Sid that there had been some sightings of Heartless in the region, not an all too uncommon occurrence, the defeat of the Organization did not entail that all Heartless and Nobody would cease to exist, so the occasional 'clean-up' job was needed. It had gone as routinely as possible, mechanically the trio rid the world of any lingering Heartless, techniques that had been ingrained into them through rote.

The residents of the world, grateful of their saviors, beseeched the trio that they stay and be rewarded properly. The trio declined the offer, but out of a sense of courtesy, yielded to the degree that they would have an audience of the King so that he may be able to thank them personally; the King was relentless in his expression of gratitude, wishing to shower them with gifts and much more. The humble trio respectfully declined. The trio then opted to spend some time in the aptly named Enchanted Dominion. However, their excursion was cut short as Aqua had suddenly started weeping, yelling at someone, demanding that they 'shut up'. Brandishing her Keyblade, Terra and Ventus looked at her with trepidation, worried for her well-being and for those around them. As Aqua continued to cry, her body stiffened and her arms shook, there was no telling what she might do next.

Terra wished to reach out to her and calm her down, however even the mere thought of touching her (or Ventus) upset him so greatly that he couldn't bring himself to do it. Ventus merely gawked at her, unsure of what to do, doubting and questioning every single action he could think of, wondering so intently on how Sora would handle the situation. Eventually, however, the situation diffused itself and Aqua suddenly regained her senses, quickly composing herself, unable, unfortunately, to mask the tears. Aqua, without missing a beat, calls forth her Glider and flies into a Corridor Between. The boys simply stared, unsure on how to handle the situation.

Sitting at the table, no one had made a move; Aqua is unwilling, Terra is afraid, and Ventus is unsure. Eventually, it seems the quiet had grown to be too much and one of them decides to break the ice.

"Aqua… what was that?" Seems Ventus is able to channel some of Sora's courage and asks her what both him and Terra have been wondering.

"Yeah, you were just – I don't understand what happened. Are you okay?" Terra wished to grab her hand, to offer her some comfort but…

Aqua didn't seem to respond, her body language indicated that she didn't even hear them. Terra and Ventus exchange looks, not sure whether they should continue questioning her.

"It's nothing." A voice so low, so devoid of any confidence or life that it startled them both to see that it came from Aqua. "It was just… I haven't been getting much sleep lately." She states so matter-of-factly that neither of the two boys knows how to respond to that. Lack of sleep wouldn't lead to something the likes of what they witnessed today; lethargy, crankiness, a cantankerous attitude, these are what they would expect from someone lacking proper rest, but her behavior was something else entirely.

"I seriously doubt that's it." Terra's the one to voice their disbelief. "You really expect us to believe you started yelling in the middle of the road, called your Keyblade and cried 'cause you were sleepy?"

"Aqua, what's wrong? You can tell us." Although Ventus says that, his voice quivers, this doesn't go unnoticed by the other two wielders.

"Look, guys, it's nothing. I swear, it's nothing. I know what I did today was freaky, to say the least, I know that, it's not something worth pursuing. Really." She pleads with them to drop the issue, finally facing the two, hoping that they'll give up the interrogation at the behest.

"We're not gonna drop it just like that! Right, Ven?"

Ventus seems to hesitate, doubt creeping in further as he's not sure whether to agree with Terra or do as Aqua requested. Terra seems to takes his silence as an affirmative response and continues to bombard Aqua with more questions.

Aqua, not wanting to reveal the true reason for her behavior, sighs in resignation as she's forced to use an excuse that she knew would shut Terra up.

"Aqua, seriously, the two of us have a righ-"She cuts him off.

"I've been stuck in the Realm of Darkness for so long, sometimes I just…" Her gaze turns downward, her breath hitches and both boys are left perturbed, worriedly glancing at each other and wondering how they to approach this.

Aqua, on the other hand, berates herself, she knows that they won't question her further, afraid to bring up any bad memories; her statement, so vague and devoid of detail, has effectively created a minefield that the two would have to carefully navigate through in order to reach her, she knows neither of them are willing to do so.

"We understand." Ventus speaks up. "If you're not feeling up to it, we can cancel tomorrow's trip." Referring to the festival, Ventus's dejection and disappointment is readily apparent; Aqua wonders if this is some form of emotional manipulation or if Ventus is genuinely worried. Terra agrees with the younger male, unwittingly adding to Aqua's guilt for potentially ruining something so obviously important for Ventus.

"No, no, it's nothing that serious. It was just a bad day, everyone has them. Don't worry, we're still going and we're gonna have a great time." For the first time in hours does the female Keyblade wielder smile, the tense air and sense of despondency dissipating in a matter of seconds. Terra and Ventus smile back, glad to see her spirits lifted.

"That's great!" Ventus is almost chirping in excitement, his giddiness eliciting a light giggle from Aqua. "Glad to see you doing better." Terra comments, Aqua turns to him, grinning back. "Thanks, although I can't say you played a big part in doing so." Aqua lightly teases, snickering at her childish comment, however Terra tenses, feeling a pang of guilt in his heart; he agrees with her, even in a moment of distress he was unable to rise above his phobia and comfort her, all he could do, at the end of the day, was question and prod her for answers. He thinks he may have only made her feel worse and he can't help but feel as if his presence alone would have distressed her further, had it not been for Ventus, he's not sure how this situation could have played out.

Ventus, consequently, is happy and surprised by Aqua's turn around. It seems that there was no need to really talk to her, it was enough to give her room and comfort her if needed. He had doubted his ability to do, recalling how effortlessly Sora was able to light up a room with his mere presence; he was reminded once more of Sora's light, its radiance and warmth. Before this incident Ventus had felt a light of such caliber from Aqua, however it was cold and distant today, therefore he had desired so greatly to return it to its original state. He hasn't felt much of the same light from Terra but he hopes that it will be burn and glow with the same intensity soon.

Having nothing else to discuss, the three bid each other good night and go to their respective rooms.


Now in his room, Ventus takes the opportunity to call Jiminy Cricket. After a few seconds, the call is picked up.

"Hey, Jiminy." Ventus, sitting atop his bed, beams at the bespoke insect.

"Hi there, Ventus. I see somebody's quite excited for the festival tomorrow." Jiminy muses, a fond smile etched on his face.

"You bet! I just got done packing some stuff, I'm sure Aqua and Terra are doing the same."

"That's quite good, I look forward to meeting you three as soon as possible." Jiminy takes off his hat and places it to the side.

Ventus hesitates, nervous about the question he was about to ask. "Hey, Jiminy?" The cricket in question raises his eyebrows in expectation. "So the King's gonna be there, does that mean that Donald and Goofy are gonna be there too?"

"Hmm, of course they will be. Before they got so busy, the two of them loved going to the festival. Why, Goofy was the reigning champion in Fruit Ball. And Donald always took Daisy to all the stalls, quite the romantic he is, that Donald." Jiminy laughs at the thought, Ventus cracks a smile at the image of someone as irritable and grouchy as Donald setting up a candlelit dinner and serenading his significant other.

"That's good to know, I hope to see all o' you tomorrow."

"It's a promise." Jiminy responds.

Ending the call, Ventus lays down on his bed, thinking of the two fragments of the heart he was once part of, thinking of the light he seeks, but what he wasn't thinking of were the two friends who were distressed.


Down the hall, Terra stares out of his window, looking at the grave of his late Master and father, lamenting over the fact that he was so useless today, how he was unable to help Aqua in the slightest; he remembered the promise he made to his Master, that he would look over the two of them and would protect them. He scoffs at the memory, realizing just how inept he is and how his Master, so wise and knowledgeable, made the errant decision to trust him of all people to look after the others; Aqua… Aqua is the trustworthy one, he was the one who lets everyone down.

"I'm sorry, Master, I just – I can't do anything right. Why can't I just stop screwing up?!"


Aqua paces back and forth in her room, recollecting the events of the day, specifically of what happened in the Enchanted Dominion. She used her circumstances as a way of fending off against any further questions, the action making her feel angry and upset.

She turns to her side, continuing to stare at the broken glass shards. She wonders why she hasn't tossed them out yet, why is she clinging on to something like them? Her brows furrow in concentration as she slowly marches towards the shards.

She bends down as she reaches the shards, tentatively she extends her arm. The tension in the air is palpable, her breathing halts and her heart races as her hand nears the broken pieces of glass and, much to her relief, that shards are tangible and real. She releases the breath she had been holding and slumps against the wall, chuckling to herself as she regains control of her feelings.

"I'm losing my mind." She utters, the grin on her face and the mirth in her voice would give off the impression that she is, in fact, not mentally well. She shakes her head, wanting to relieve herself of such thoughts; she gasps in horror and dismay, falling to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes: there were no shards.

On her knees, she once more reaches forward and only grasps air, the shards were not there. Had they never been there, had she imagined them all this time? She looks to the side and see that the mirror in the vanity was still broken, so she knows that she did break it, but that also means that she swept up the place and got rid of the shards.

"I'm losing my mind." With a frown on her face and sorrow laced in her words, she couldn't come up with an argument.