Chapter 8 - Wind


Land of Departure, Three years before Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep


Aqua heard the crack of Terra's head against the wall and she flinched. He dropped to the ground like a dead weight, his Keyblade kicking up dirt beside him. The back of his head and the wall he'd smashed into were red with blood, looking ghastly in contrast to the beautiful white building. 'Oh no. Oh no…' "Terra?" she gasped, unable to find her voice, "Terra?" He gave no indication that he heard, lying so silent and still that she thought he might be dead.

'This is my fault… I should have helped him. I should have helped him when he needed me but… I was so scared. I was so afraid. I thought… I thought that he'd… I can't think about that now! I have to go help him!'

Trying to push herself to her feet, her ankle bent and her wrist twisted, making her yelp in pain. She gritted her teeth and tried again, but it had the same result, except more painful. 'You've got to be kidding me! I can't be stuck like this now! Terra needs my help! Ven needs me to protect him! Master Eraqus needs me, too! I need to get up!'

"Aqua, look out!" Ven shouted, and Aqua looked up. The X stood over her, Keyblade ready for attack, looking like Death descending upon her, but when it heard Ven's voice it stopped. Standing perfectly still for what felt like hours, it turned and rounded on Terra.

"No!" Aqua screamed, hoping to attract the X's attention. "If you want a fight, fight me! Are you such a coward that you have to pick on someone who can't fight! Come on, I'll fight you!" 'Just get away from Terra! Please, please, please! Anyone but him, please. Terra… I'll protect you. I'll save you! Just please, please, don't die! Don't die on me!'

The X stopped momentarily, looking over its shoulder at her with its featureless face before it continued on its path towards her defeated friend.

"No!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, tears forming in her eyes, but the sound of metal on metal made her stop.

Looking up, Aqua saw Ven standing between the X and Terra, a determined look on his face as he blocked Eraqus' Keyblade with his own. It was an odd-looking Keyblade and the way he was wielding it was even odder. He held it backhanded, the teeth facing away from him. The Keyblade itself was grey, golden threads of metal trailing along through the teeth and the shaft. The guard was, strangely, not part of the shaft but attached to the side, melding grey and golden metal. The keychain was pure white feathers, each one wrapped in a spiral around a gust of wind. He held the weapon as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The X attacked Ven, and Aqua felt her stomach drop as she watched. However, the youngest apprentice proved his skill, fending off each blow without budging an inch. The X's strength seemed to be waning, its defense falling apart when Ven began his attack. It was an awe-inspiring sight, seeing the youngest apprentice standing up to such a fearsome opponent. With one strike, Ven knocked the X backwards, throwing off its balance.

"I was scared of you before," he said, looking angrily down at his enemy, "I was scared because you were fighting Terra and Aqua. I didn't want them to get hurt. That's why I had to watch. I had to make sure they were safe. But… they only ended up getting hurt! You hurt them, and that made me mad. It made me so mad! And then… you hurt Terra when he was trying to protect me. That made me even madder than before! And now you want to hurt him when he's down! That makes me maddest of all! I won't let you hurt either of them anymore!"

In the face of Ven's declarations, Aqua was left speechless. 'Ven, he… I was so worried about him before, but he really can look out for himself. He's not as much of a kid as we thought he was. He stands up for what he wants and what he believes in. Right now, he wants to do everything he can. He's tired of sitting on the sidelines watching us. …I believe in him. I have faith that Ven can fight, and that he can win!'

The X rose to its feet, wobbling side to side as it did, facing down the boy. Ven didn't waste a second, jumping in for an attack. He traded blows with the monster, who showed no signs of tiring or stopping, but from Aqua's place on the sidelines, she knew that the battle was one-sided. Ven's attacks hit with more ferocity, his blocks were cleaner, and his movements didn't waste any energy. His conservative style was neat, if not a little out of practice, but it worked. It was like trying to catch a bird with a paper bag; Ven was much too fast, the X much too clumsy.

"Wind!" Ven jumped back and a blast of air exploded from his Keyblade, slamming into the X with enough force to send it tumbling away. When it sprang to its feet, it charged straight at Aqua, but Ven was there, intercepting it as if he'd never moved an inch. The X persisted in its line of attack, trying to get past Ven, but he kept it at bay, his attacks pushing it back each time it tried to surge forward.

Finally, the X swung the Keyblade to attack, but Ven ducked under it and spun, nailing an attack across its knees before he sprung up and his Keyblade met its face. The X let out a wail of agony as it stumbled back, but Ven didn't look like he heard, moving in to continue his attack. He continued attacking, each blow connecting with some part of the X until he knocked the Keyblade from its hands.

Grabbing the second Keyblade in his other hand, he switched styles. The X transformed from animal to animal, trying to find something that would deter the apprentice, but to no avail. He used their master's Keyblade like a shield, holding it flat against his other arm while he struck with his own Keyblade.

Aqua watched, smiling. 'Smart move. He can attack and defend at the same time. It's as though it's second nature, like he's been trained before and all of these things are instinct. I can see why Master Eraqus insists on training him, even though he hasn't summoned his Keyblade before. He's a natural.'

Ven's onslaught of attacks continued and the X's screams of agony grew louder and louder. Aqua cringed, wishing she could cover her ears, but she didn't want to stop watching, even to move. The X transformed again, spreading itself out like a blanket, but Ven struck back, flipping Eraqus' Keyblade into an upward slash before he stabbed his own into the monster's form. It stopped mid-motion, shivering slightly, and then transformed back into its humanoid form. From there, it shifted again and again, transforming from strange animals into what looked like machines, into monstrosities that she couldn't even describe. Finally, it settled back into its humanoid form and, with one last wail of pain, exploded, bluish goo flying everywhere.

After staring at the spot where the monster had been, Ven turned around and jogged to her, wiping the goo off his face. "You okay, Aqua?"

She nodded, dumbstruck.

Ven continued, smiling. "Weird, huh? I wasn't expecting it to do something like that. I mean it just went out of nowhere and 'boom', you know?"

Unable to contain herself any longer, Aqua laughed, and Ven looked at her in confusion before he joined her, the two of them eventually descending back into giggles.

"Oh right! I forgot! Terra!" Ven jumped up and ran over to him, looking worried.

Using what little magic she had left, Aqua poured it into a healing spell and turned it on herself, feeling her broken bones and twisted joints popping back into place. Finally able to move again, she got up and hobbled her way over to them. "Don't try to move him, Ven. His neck may have been broken. If you try to move him, his spinal cord will snap and he'll die." 'If he isn't already…'

Kneeling down, she carefully assessed the damage. 'Good, his neck is fine and he's breathing, so that's one less thing to worry about. Seven broken ribs, one of them almost shattered, two fractured in addition to that. Internal bleeding in several places, mostly in his stomach area. Broken left arm and shoulder, as well as a sprained wrist. And last but not least, fractured skull, possible brain damage. It's impossible to assess how bad it could be right now. He could be brain dead for all I know. Come on, Terra, you can do this.' "Ven, I don't have enough magic power to heal him. I need you to do this. Can you handle it?"

Ven's face was determined. "Of course!" He held out his Keyblade, sparkling with magical energy, and concentrated until the sparkles became a glow. "Heal!" The magic came down as a green glow, coating Terra. Aqua heard his ribs popping back into place and a crinkling as his bones repaired themselves. His breathing evened out, but he didn't show any other signs.

Aqua nodded. "Good. Come on, let's go heal Master Eraqus and then we'll bring Terra inside."


Despite their healing, Master Eraqus' arm took a long time to heal and had to be put in a cast. The old master didn't complain, even though Aqua knew he would never share his complaints with his students. He expressed his approval of Aqua, Terra, and Ven's actions, and was pleased to hear that Ven could summon his Keyblade, swearing to put Ven to serious training once everyone had recovered.

Terra, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. He remained unconscious for a long time, not making a sound other than his breathing. Aqua spent most of her free time by his side, constantly checking on him and speaking to him. She told him all about her new training partner, who more often than not joined her at his side. Ven made a good training partner, in her opinion, as he didn't hit as hard, but he made himself too hard to hit. His fighting style was rough, too, but the training was helping to straighten it out. She told Terra how much work it took to fix the wall and that he'd have to make up for it, which made Ven fall off the foot of the bed with peals of laughter.

The two of them eventually ended up sleeping in his room, Aqua sleeping in her chair while Ven took the floor with a blanket and pillow. Despite her constant supervision, she still worried that Terra would never wake up. She berated herself day after day for not helping him when she'd had the chance, but Ven almost always managed to cheer her up.

Her fears, however, were for naught. Terra woke up three weeks later, and the first thing he did was express how hungry he was. Aqua and Ven couldn't control their laughter.