"Come on, Ven!" Terra teased as he smacked his fellow apprentice with the flat of his Keyblade. "You're so sluggish. Are you sick?"
"I'm fine," Ventus replied as the mark of Aqua's bite on his neck itched under the short-sleeved black turtleneck he'd started wearing to hide it. The last thing he needed was Terra and Eraqus finding out he'd been bitten in the first place, let alone that he was willingly helping one of their sworn enemies- so to speak.
It had been roughly another two months since he found Aqua, and he'd tried to adjust to the agreement as best he could. Of course, his body wasn't exactly happy about the blood loss basically as soon as he'd recovered from the last one. Needless to say, his training had suffered a bit and Eraqus was worried about him slowing down, and he pushed himself hard to prove he could still fight and was a worthy apprentice to the Master.
"Are you sure?" Eraqus inquired as he approached them, and Ventus turned around to face him as he dipped his head respectively.
"Yes, sir," he said in a strong voice. The Master observed his youngest apprentice a moment longer before nodding as well, and Terra came to stand at attention next to the blond-haired boy.
"Very well." Eraqus took a deep breath and sighed. "Losing Aqua was a heavy blow against us. I still very much mourn for her, just as I'm sure you two do as well." The apprentices nodded slowly. "That being said, we cannot delay any longer. You are to return to Radiant Garden tonight and hunt down Xehanort and Vanitas by any means necessary. These months of silence on our part may have drawn them into a false sense of security. With any luck, that will make it easier for you to find and ambush them."
"And what of you, Master?" Terra asked, and Eraqus shut his eyes for a moment.
"I didn't tell you two about this because I didn't want you to worry any more, but I caught wind of a possible demon in Traverse Town some time ago. I've put off an investigation long enough. Speaking strictly, I do not want you two to be separated- not after losing Aqua. That is why I will trust you with Radiant Garden. That way, you can watch out for each other." His gaze passed from Terra to Ventus. "Both of you, understand?"
"Yes, sir!" they both replied.
"Very good. I cannot stress this enough, Terra, Ventus. Do not stray out of each others' lines of sight. Xehanort is crafty and unpredictable: It is part of the reason I haven't been able to dispatch him. It would break my heart further to lose another of the finest apprentices I've ever had the privilege to train."
"Thank you, Master," both apprentices said within heartbeats of each other.
"All right, then. Prepare yourselves and leave immediately so you will have a bit of sunlight left to set your position. As soon as you either kill them or day breaks, you will come back here immediately: whichever comes first." He paused. "But if you feel overwhelmed and have to retreat, do so. I value your lives over their defeat."
"We'll be careful, Master," Terra promised. "We couldn't have had a better teacher and I know Ven has my back. Right, Ven?" He turned his head, and Ventus smiled and nodded.
"And you've got mine," he agreed, and Terra returned the smile.
"You have a strong bond of friendship and trust," Eraqus noted. "Never lose it. I hope it serves you well for years to come." He cleared his throat. "Now, then. Get to it!"
"Yes, sir!" They both hurried off, and Ventus felt a wave of conflict over keeping Aqua's secret. In the long run, he told himself, it was better they didn't know, but he could only guess how much not knowing her fate was eating away at Eraqus, both as a master and as a father figure. He shook his head and followed close behind Terra.
Once they had gathered their supplies, Eraqus saw them off as they summoned their armor and Terra opened a path to the Lanes Between. They departed quickly and sped for Radiant Garden, arriving just as the sun had touched the horizon. Once they had dismissed their armor, Ventus turned up the collar of his coat and Terra scanned the plaza before turning to him.
"You're sure you're feeling up to this?" he asked, and Ventus looked up to meet his gaze before he nodded.
"Someone's gotta be around to save you from trouble," he replied with a smile, and Terra ruffled his hair with a grin on his face. He laughed, protesting weakly. "But yeah. I'm okay."
"Then let's find a place where we can observe the area," Terra decided, and his fellow apprentice followed him. They climbed up onto a rooftop and both scanned around the area, each in a different direction as the sun began to sink behind the horizon.
"There are definitely plenty of places for them to hide," Ventus mused as he looked around. "Buildings, sewers, caves..."
"And all in a center of a large population," Terra agreed. "It's a demon's closest thing to heaven, huh?"
"Maybe, until we catch them." The blond boy smiled, and Terra threw a light punch at his arm. "Then they'll regret ever setting foot here."
They sat down, backs to each other, on the rooftop as they waited for nightfall, and the sounds of life in Radiant Garden began to die out into eerie silence. Stars began to peak out overhead along with a waning three-quarter moon, and once they were sure the daylight had left them, Terra motioned for his partner to stand up and follow him. He did so, and they strained their eyes and ears for any sign of their targets as they crept to the edge of the roof, but found nothing.
"I hope we didn't just miss them," Ventus mumbled.
"Even if they aren't hunting, I doubt they'd just stay holed up wherever their hideout is," Terra replied in an equally soft voice. "From what you've told me, Vanitas isn't one to hide himself for very long."
"He's always been kind of headstrong," Ventus agreed. "And stubborn. And doesn't listen to reason very much. Adding in the Darkness and being a demon," he almost felt bad for using such terminology, "probably just made it worse."
"And Xehanort wants to keep a low profile," Terra continued. "So even if he doesn't want to be out, Vanitas probably is and Xehanort will want to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
"Which he's good at," Ventus chuckled, and Terra briefly smirked in amusement.
"I don't think we're gonna find them up here," he said, bringing them back to the task at hand. "Time to do a little hunting of our own." With that, they climbed back down to the ground and started down a side road, Terra in the lead and Ventus keeping up not two paces behind him, glancing behind every now and again to assure they weren't being followed. They came to an open area of pipe works and slowed to a halt, and Terra took a deep breath.
"Where are they?" he wondered, scratching the back of his head as Ventus frowned. "I hope they're still here."
"You mean they might have left for another world?" Ventus asked, and Terra shrugged.
"I don't know. I'm just thinking of possibilities. And I-" He stopped short and dove forward, tackling Ventus to the ground with a huff, and the younger boy groaned in protest as he hit the ground. A blast of darkness hit the ground where they had been standing, missing them by hairs, and they both scrambled back to their feet and summoned their Keyblades.
"So, Eraqus's dogs finally show themselves," a throaty voice said, and they looked up to find both Xehanort and Vanitas jumping down from the top of a building on the side of the area. "I was almost certain he would have come himself instead of sending his apprentices to their deaths."
"Not today!" Terra spat.
"Tonight," Vanitas corrected with a smirk, and the older of Eraqus's apprentices glared at him.
"Whatever. It's time you stopped haunting the worlds once and for all!" Xehanort turned to exchange a glance with his own apprentice before looking back at Terra and Ventus.
"It is all a cycle, boy," he said darkly, spreading his arms. "A food chain. We are the predators of humans, just as humans feed on so many other species."
"Then I guess we're your predators," Ventus snapped, and Xehanort merely chuckled.
"Yes, this game of cat and mouse has gone on long enough." At his master's words, Vanitas summoned the Void Gear and set himself into his battle stance. "It's time we ended it!" Once he had finished speaking, he shot forth another cast of darkness, and Eraqus's apprentices scrambled to either side to avoid it. Vanitas sprinted forth and Ventus brought the Wayward Wind up quickly to block the black-haired boy's attack as Xehanort closed in on Terra.
"Two on two, eh?" Vanitas chided as Ventus got back to his feet and readied himself for a fight. "Where's your third? Aqua, was it?"
"None of your business!" Ventus hissed, and Vanitas smirked at him before hurrying forward and swinging his Keyblade down quickly. Ventus rolled to the side and sprung back up, lashing out his own weapon, but Vanitas stepped back, the Wayward Wind's teeth barely missing him.
"Mm... Listen to that desperate beating," he taunted. "Don't you feel that, Ventus? Your heart racing in your chest, hammering with fear. I can smell it on you." He rushed forward and knocked Ventus back, sending him skidding, before the golden-eyed boy slammed his arm into his target's chest, forcing him back against a wall, the wind knocked out of him, Ventus panicked as Vanitas grabbed hold of his throat.
"Ven!" Terra called out, but Xehanort kept him from rushing over to help his friend.
"T-Terra..." Ventus gasped, his heart indeed beating hard and fast in his chest as he struggled to breathe, his fingers desperately clawing to pull away the hand at his throat. Vanitas smiled coldly at him.
"No hard feelings," he said in a low voice as he pulled down one side of Ventus's turtleneck, his fingers like ice against his prey's neck. His eyebrows rose in curiosity, however, as he caught sight of the mark already there. "You've already been bitten," he noticed. "...You found her, didn't you?" Desperate for air, Ventus didn't reply, and Vanitas clucked his tongue and shook his head. "If you ever see her again, tell her I'm getting tired of waiting." With that, Ventus cried out as Vanitas's fangs pierced his neck right around the wound Aqua had left, and he continued to struggle as he tried to stay conscious.
"VEN!" Terra shouted, swinging his Keyblade hard at Xehanort, connecting to the old man's side and forcing him to the ground. He hurried over just as Ventus's blurring mind tried to think of an escape, and he forced himself to stop his thrashing for just a moment before he brought his knee up and hit Vanitas hard in the abdomen. He coughed, splattering a bit of blood on Ventus's coat and the wall, and his victim broke away from his grip and fell to the ground as he covered his bleeding wound with his hand.
"Tricky little..." Vanitas grumbled, and Ventus trembled as he saw his own blood dripping down his former friend's chin. He called out in anger as Terra's Keyblade hit him in the side, and the older apprentice hurried over and pulled Ventus's arm over his shoulders.
"You feeling okay?" he asked, looking into Ventus's eyes, and he nodded weakly. "You don't think you have anything in your system?"
"D-Don't think so..."
"Alright. Hang on." Terra backed up as their opponents closed in on them, and he threw his Keyblade up to summon his glider. Both Xehanort and Vanitas jumped to the side as it came flying back in, and Terra placed Ventus in front of him as he climbed on and activated his armor.
"Stay with me, Ven!" he all but ordered. "Get your armor and open us up a path back home!" Ventus did as he was told, pulling down his sleeve to reach his pauldron and activated his armor, then summoned his Keyblade and opened the Lanes Between. Terra glanced over his shoulder, but it seemed neither of the demons had any intention of following them. He adjusted his arms protectively around his friend as Ventus drifted in some state between consciousness and unconsciousness, his brain dizzy and his vision blurry. "Keep it together," Terra said firmly. "We're almost home and the Master will patch you up. Just stay awake..."
"Aqua..." Ventus mumbled, Terra's words like a far off voice, and he was only vaguely aware of Terra's glider touching down back in the Land of Departure.
