Chapter 7 - Fury


Destiny Islands, Ten years before Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep


Seeing Aqua's still form made something in Terra snap. Everything contained inside him was suddenly and instantly released, transformed from tension, fear, and sadness into rage. He was angrier than he'd even been before. For all it was worth, he was mostly angry with himself, but it was something he wouldn't consciously admit. Aqua was dead because he had failed to act. The rage was joined by agony, twisting up his insides until he couldn't contain it. With an infuriated snarl, he summoned his Keyblade.

"I don't care who you are!" he roared, "No one hurts Aqua and gets away with it!"

The Heartless regarded him with earnest confusion, but Terra didn't care. He charged at it, bringing his Keyblade up in a powerful strike that sent the Heartless flying. It tumbled through the air and landed clumsily on its feet. From there, they began their battle, each one dodging the others' attacks, using the openings to try to land their own. They moved in similar fashions; wild and frenzied strikes coupled with narrow dodges. The powerful draft created by Terra's strikes made the Heartless cringe, but it came closer with its attacks, leaving the Keyblade wielder with a collection of scratches.

Finally, it landed a blow, its claws raking up the side of Terra's face. He stumbled back, gasping for air, watching his enemy closely while assessing the damage. It wasn't a serious injury, but sweat pouring down his face made it a painful distraction. The Heartless lunged for him and he stuck back, sending it sprawling back into the surf and receiving a deep gash on his arm in return. The creature rose, growling in anger. Terra didn't even twitch, staring it down.

Suddenly he felt the fiery core of his powers flare, fueled by some unknown force. Magic bubbled up under his skin, sending a tingling sensation in his arms and legs. He glowed with magical power, but it wasn't any magic he had encountered before. It didn't even seem like magic. It felt like part of his soul was burning, its power trickling into his muscles. This was his power, something only he could use, and he relished in the thought, a crude, cruel smile forming on his face. Something in the back of his mind was panicking, but he ignored it.

The Heartless charged at him, swaying wildly, but Terra met it with one slow, careful strike. Without even having to worry about aim, it hit the Heartless squarely and there was a sickening crack as it was tossed into the air. Pushing off the sand, he skidded to where it would land and hit it again, another slow perfect strike that resounded with a crack. Every movement of his body was more powerful, more chaotic and yet more controlled. The knot of tension in his chest dissipated, replaced by a dark sense of enjoyment.

With one last hit, he batted the Heartless away, knocking it clear across the beach into an odd collection of rocks piled up against the mountainside. He staggered back with his realization, his newfound power fading back to normal. 'I was… enjoying... that? Who am I becoming? What have I become?' Placing a hand on his throbbing head, he went off to look for the Heartless.

The pile of rocks had closed off the entrance to a cave, and the stone fragments inside the opening told him his opponent was inside. He had to duck a bit to get inside, being a bit taller than those the cave had been intended for, which only added to his annoyance. 'I can't fight in here. It's too close.' Following the path along, he finally reached the end, where the cave opened into a cavern with a higher ceiling.

It was there in front of him. The Heartless was scrambling across the sandy floor of the cave, trying to pull itself towards the back. Terra stood there, following its intended path with his eyes. It was headed towards what looked like a door, dark brown wood with a strip of gold denoting the crack where it would open. There wasn't a doorknob, only a keyhole resembling a childish drawing, dark and empty.

"The Heart of this World," he muttered, dazed, "The Keyhole."

Hearing his voice, the Heartless shrieked and rolled onto its back, staring at him with its vacant yellow eyes. He stared back at it, looking it over. Its form was twisted and disfigured now, parts of its body sticking out at weird angles while other parts seemed to have caved in. It moaned and whined in pain and, for once, he felt sorry for it. Lericc's face stared out at him from the darkness, making it hurt even more. He kneeled before it, carefully reaching out to pat it on the head. The creature flinched under his touch, but it stayed where it was, crooning sadly as it cuddled against his palm.

His chest heaved in a silent sob of pain. "It hurts, doesn't it?"

The Heartless crooned a strangled reply.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, ruffling its blackened hair, "I really am. I've hurt you more than I can apologize for. There's nothing more I can do for you other than make it stop."

It stared up at him, its eyes almost expressing its sadness, and then nodded once, chirping out a long note of approval. His heart weighing ten times more in his chest, Terra hefted his Keyblade with his other hand and brought it down. Lericc's Heartless shattered to dust, filling the entire chamber before it vanished in an imaginary wind. With that done, he stood, forcing the action out of his burdened muscles, and pointed his Keyblade at the door. A beam of light shot from the end to the Keyhole, where it shone for a moment before a clicking was heard in the door and the Keyhole disappeared. Staring blankly at it, he finally turned and left, scraping his head on the rock when he forgot to duck.

When he descended the stairs from the upper tier, he found Demetra seated at the bottom, hugging her knees close to her chest. "It's over, isn't it?" she muttered, staring out at the water.

"Yes," he croaked, his throat dry. "It is."

She sobbed, her shoulders heaving. "That's good."

Sighing in exhaustion, he walked over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders in a half-hug, patting her lightly. She only sobbed more. After a while, she calmed down and he stood up again, stretching out his sore legs before he walked over to where Aqua lay. His heart wrenched when he saw her. Overcome with agony and rage, he dropped to his knees beside her, his entire body with unexpressed emotional pain. He sat down, staring out at the dark, unforgiving water, his hand resting lightly on hers.

To his surprise, her fingers twitched slightly. He jumped, staring at her for a moment before he leaned in closer. He could hear her breathing faintly, her breaths shallow and shaky, but she was breathing. Leaning back, he concentrated as much magic as he could into a healing spell and cast it, breathing a sigh of relief as her breathing regulated back to normal. The spell should have done more, but he was tired and healing magic had never been his strong point, even on good days.

Demetra walked over to them with slow, unsteady steps. "What's happening?"

"She's fine," he muttered, feeling exhaustion clawing at his mind, "Everything's gonna be fine. Found the Keyhole, too. All the Heartless are gone."

"You okay?"

He nodded. "Just… do us a favor. Stick around until we finish our nap." Slurring his words, he closed his eyes and passed out.


After a week of rest and recovery, the two Keyblade wielders decided it was time to leave. No more Heartless had shown up on the island and Demetra had proven that she could take care of herself, so they were assured that everything would be fine if they left.

"At least until the door opens again," Terra shrugged, rolling his stiff shoulders. "And even that would take some doing. Not just anyone can open a door like that."

Demetra laughed. "I don't think anyone like that'll come around this place for a while. Everything'll turn out fine." Her expression darkened and she fussed over her sweater. "It's not gonna be the same without you two around," she mumbled.

"We'll come back," Aqua reassured her, "Even if only to visit. You'll see."

"You don't need to do that. Even if you don't come back, I'll never forget you, so don't you go forgetting me either."

Terra gave her a firm nod. "You bet. We'll never be able to forget you," he smirked mischievously, "Whether we want to or not."

"Ignore him," Aqua snapped, elbowing her partner roughly. "You'll always be a friend of ours. That's a promise."

"I'll count on it," she said, and turned to leave. "Oh," she paused, looking back over her shoulder. "It is a girly name, but I guess you pull it off." With a wave, she ran off.

Terra chuckled, knowing her comment was for him, but Aqua just frowned. "You'll explain that to me later, right?"

"Right," he smiled, and then he let his mind drift. "Aqua?"

"Hmm?"

"Is…" He stared at his feet. "Is there something that lets you see into the future? Not like an item, but a skill?"

Her eyebrows scrunched together for a minute. "Yeah, I think so. I think it's called 'clairvoyance' or something like that. It lets you see glimpses of the future, but not a lot of people have it. Derived from some form of ESP, if I'm correct." She paused. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged, brushing the idea out of his head. "No reason, really. Just wondering." 'I couldn't have a crazy sounding skill like that, right?' He stretched his arms out. "Anyway, we better head back. Master Eraqus will be worried if we take any longer. Ready?"

She smiled. "Always."

Together, they punched their shoulder pads and their armor appeared in a flash of white light. Terra flexed his fingers inside his armor gauntlets and then looked over at Aqua. In her armor, she nodded. They both summoned their Keyblades and transformed them into their Keyblade Riders; Terra's brown and gold hovercraft-like vessel and Aqua's silver and cobalt hang glider style one. Mounting them, they gave the world they had come to appreciate one last glance before they kicked off the beach and were gone.