*cough* I realize I really really delayed this chapter. Whoops...? I'm sorry. I've been occupied recently...and the fact school just restarted. Sighhh...

but, WOOHOO, CHAPTER 10 BABY. I'm happy. :) (although I'm getting slow now.)

This chapter has A LOT of dialogue. And I cut out the battle with trinity armour. I thought it was gonna take up too much text, and I don't want the chapter too be too wordy, not that it isn't already. xD

So, enjoy this chapter, and yeah. :D

[Awry]

Things can never be the same, can it?

"Terra!" Aqua yelled as loud as she could.

"Ven! Rise! Now!" Terra followed suit and called the younger children's names.

"C'mon!" Ven managed to say, while Rise only managed a grunt. The four Keyblade wielders jumped into the air at the same time, in all four directions. Aqua had a good slash at the Unversed first, her Keyblade clanging against the metal. Next was Rise, she concentrated and gave the Unversed a good whack in its rear end, not on purpose of course. To land, she gave herself a good push from its body and twirled her way to the ground.

"Got 'im." Terra seemed to smirk a little, his grin wide.

"We make a good team." Aqua added, smiling and nodding her head.

Rise pitched in. "Of course. What else do you expect?"

Ven nodded his head. "Yeah." He gave a childish laugh that caused the rest of the gang to join him. Suddenly, he stopped laughing and grabbed something from his back pocket. "Oh yeah! I got you these tickets." They were the three passes to Disney Town.

Terra looked at it curiously, his eyes skeptical. "For what?" He asked.

"Lifetime passes to Disney Town." He smiled as he handed one to first Terra, then to Aqua. Aqua looked at the pass and then turned over to Rise.

"Where's yours?"

Rise in turn, rummaged through her stuff to find the pass. "I've already got one." She grinned at Aqua, who gave her a nod back. Rise put her ticket back where she got it.

Ven started again. "He said to- He said to take two grown-ups." He had a real disappointed expression on his face when he said the last sentence. His face sulked and looked down, childishly. Rise couldn't help but stifle a giggle.

"You mean us?" Aqua asked first. This only caused Rise to burst out laughing, Aqua and Terra soon joining in also. Ven still had a disappointed look. He turned over to Rise and pouted his lips, looking fairly upset, in a playful way, and folded his arms.

"You're a child too."

"Hey, I'm not the one he said that too." She retorted and gave a smile back in return. He pouted for a few more seconds before he began to smile too, in a sort of bashful way.

However, the cheerful attitude was soon broken by the only Keyblade Master in the room.

"Listen to me, both of you... We need to get you guys home—" Aqua had started, but was forced to be cut off by Ven's voice.

"It's okay, Aqua. Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. He'll never
bad-mouth Terra again."

Ven's statement caused Terra to gasp loudly and grab Ven by the shoulders roughly. "You saw the boy in the mask?"

"Uh Y-yes?" Terra seemed to squeeze Ven's shoulder harder, making Rise cringe a little. She could tell Ven was hurting.

Rise had to speak up. "Umm, actually, we both did." She put a hand on Terra's arms, hoping he would get the hint to take his hands off of Ven. If Terra wasn't careful; he could easily crush his shoulders. That was why Terra was the powerhouse of the four. Terra could only stare at her for a few moments before he finally allowed his hands to fall back down to his sides. He fisted them.

"Vanitas... Ven. Rise. Let Aqua take you both home." Terra said while looking off in a different direction. His eyes were casted away, but his tone seemed sincere.

"No way. I wanna go with you guys." Ven argued, shaking his head over and over in frustration. Rise did the same, balling her hands into a fist as she refused.

Terra gave a sharp look at Ven, throwing his voice higher. This caused Ven to flinch upon his first words. "You can't. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you to get hurt." Rise could feel the words sting, even though she wasn't the he was talking to at the moment. She couldn't help it…since she knew indirectly he was referring to her too.

Aqua however, was the only one who could find the voice to question him. "And what is this dangerous task, Terra? It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do."

"It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the darkness."

Aqua had a disbelieving look on her face. "I'm not so sure. I've been to the same worlds as you and I've seen what you've done. You shouldn't put yourself so close to the darkness."

Rise found herself whispering under her breath. "The same worlds…?" She spoke louder this time. "Aqua…what do you mean by he's been putting himself too close to the darkness?" She raised her tone of voice, furrowing her eyebrows. Aqua turned to face her, but turned away, frowning.

"You mean you've been spying on me? Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?" Terra's voice was clearly angry, in a way that said he wanted her to back off.

"He was only—" She began, but couldn't find the voice to continue. The silence was long, and no one could find the words to speak up. The looked at one another, but no words came. The mood was tense, and not so relaxing like earlier. They all paused before Rise and Ven both finding themselves calling out the name of the blunette female at the same time.

"Aqua..." Ven and Rise looked at each other, surprised they had the same thought in mind.

"I get it." Was all Terra said before he turned his back around to leave.

Ven was quick to act and called out his name. "Terra!"

He stopped in his tracks. "Just stay put! I'm on my own now, all right?" His tone of voice was incredibly harsh, and within seconds, he turned back around to walk again, closing his ears off the others.

"Terra, please! Listen! The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried." Aqua tried to stop him, but failed miserably.

"You're awful, Aqua." Came from Ven. His voice was silent, the words trailing behind slowly. He turned his face away from her, and found himself looking towards Rise instead. He looked at her, but couldn't find the words to say anything to her.

"So now you know the truth. But the Master loves Terra, and you know that too."

"Were you also "ordered" to take me home?"

There was a long silence.

"Ven..." Rise started, raising a hand to perhaps tap him on the shoulder or something, but stopped. She was afraid. She was afraid of how Ven would look once he turned his face around. Thankfully, he kept his face away.

Ven spoke again. "Aqua... Now that you're a Keyblade Master, you've let it go to your head. I'm gonna go find Terra." He only managed to shift his head around to give a quick glance before turning around to chase after Terra's retreating body. In a matter of moments, he was gone, only the two females remained.

"Aqua..." It was Rise's turn to talk to the older female. Although both Aqua and Rise were still in the place, it felt empty, desolate, and lifeless. Aqua frowned heavily, her eyes almost appearing as if she wanted to cry. It wasnot so surprising though. Both Ven and Terra had said some things to her that weren't exactly pleasant. "Aqua, are you...okay?" She asked, her words sincere.

Aqua gave her a sad smile. "It's okay Rise. I know I deserve it."

As if to cheer her up, Rise shaked her head vigorously, mentioning it was not so. "It's not your fault! I know you're just worried about Terra, and you want to keep us two safe, so that's why you did what you did."

"I guess, but, they're not taking the situation the right way."

Rise found herself laughing at her own comment. "Well, they're boys. What do you expect?" Aqua gave a laugh back, nodding her head. They took about a minute to straighten their faces out. Aqua was the first one to speak.

"Hey Rise," Rise turned her head to look at the older female. "Have you been travelling with Ven? Or on your own? How'd you even get here?" She looked naturally thoughtful, and curious.

"Ummm..." Rise began. "I came on my own." Aqua looked at her strangely, but then she nodded as if she understood something. "I think I wound up on the opposite side of where you guys were. The three of you...you guys were connected weren't you? Like, around the same time?"

Although Aqua hadn't quite understood what she meant at first, she eventually registered the meaning. "Oh-yeah. That explains why I couldn't find, or even hear about you in the worlds. I guess it makes sense." Rise's face fell now knowing that she had been apart from all three of them, if only, if only she was there, her search for Ven wouldve been easier. "Don't be sad. The important thing is, we're together now, right?"

Rise perked up. "Yeah!" She agreed. She laced her hands together shortly in thought "But, Terra's running off again isn't he?" Aqua's face fell this time. She took a hand and squeezed her right arm.

Her reply was quiet. "Yeah."

"Shouldn't we look for Terra then?" Rise asked, her voice going higher a pitch. Aqua's eyes darted away before turning back.

"Rise. I want you to stay out of this. I don't want you to get hurt. Go home to where it's safe."

Rise gasped her answer. "But Aqua! I don't want to. I know what you mean, but I don't want to be left here. Take me with you!"

Almost in an instant, Aqua's face changed. "If you know what I mean, then go home." It was serious and stern, her eyebrows furrowed together. Her tone of voice was also demanding, almost as if she was forcing Rise to go back to the Land of Departure. Rise could feel her body tense for a moment when she heard the icy tone in her voice. The ends of her hair was on edge, and she could feel goosebumps all over her body. She hated it when Aqua was like this. However, Rise wasn't about to follow these orders so easily.

"Wha...what are you saying? I'm not going home Aqua!" Rise stomped her feet against the ground, like a child who didn't get what she wanted. "I want to be of help! I'm not a child anymore, I know how to take care of myself. I want to bring home Terra just like you. Ven feels the same way. " She clenched her hand into a tight fist, allowing the whites of her knuckles to show. She began to slide the tip of her shoe against the ground, frowning.

Aqua's reply to Rise's call was hushed. "I know." Rise was a little held back. She knows...? Then why mention it in the first place then? Why would she want to bring her home? "But that's exactly why you need to go back. I'm not saying you're a child, but you're still young. You and Ven tend to do reckless things, and I don't want neither of you to be putting yourselves in danger. This is all I ask Rise. Go home, and bring Ven with you." She placed a hand on Rise's shoulder, bending her head near Rise's level. "I'm telling you this for your own good."

Rise shaked her head. "No."

"What?"

Rise felt her eyes go hard. "I said no. I'm not going back and that's that. I don't care if you think I'm stubborn, but this is my decision and you have to respect it Aqua." Rise shrugged Aqua's hand off her shoulder. She walked four steps back to give her some distance from the older female. "You know what? In the end, Ven really was right about you. You're letting it go to your head."

Although Rise wanted to glare, she didn't have the heart to. She gave a disappointed look in it's place, sending a clear signal to Aqua. Aqua gulped and looked as if she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come out.

All she could do was watch Rise run.

And within moments, Aqua herself ran off, going to who knows where.

Rise on the other hand, decided to get going. There'd be no point in going all over the place to find Ven and Terra, so she decided to go to the square. Besides, one of them was bound to show up there right? It was her best shot anyways. Maybe she should ask if anyone's seen them?

The path she ran seemed longer than before. Was this because she ran down this path by herself now?

She ran past Merlins house. "That's right, I should go command board someday with the others." She muttered to herself. She continued to run.

Finally, her steps reached the square. There were two people in the middle of the square: Ven and Aqua. Aqua had her Keyblade armour on, unable to let anyone see her face. Her glider had zipped into the air the moment Rise registered what was happening. It flew it's way next to Aqua and she managed to climb over it in a second.

"Aqua!" She tried to call out, but to no luck. The whirring of her glider was much to loud, and within seconds, she disappeared. Aqua had left, to find Terra most likely. She turned back to look at Ven. "Ven!"

The blond boy turned around to widen his eyes in surprise at the figure a few meters away from him. "Rise!" He called back, finding himself sighing in relief. As Rise skipped her way over to the boy, he asked, "Where were you?"

She scratched her head. "I had a long chat with Aqua earlier." Her voice was hushed, almost as if she didn't want him to hear.

"Oh." Was all he said. Ven wasn't exactly the happiest customer at the moment. He was still angry, if not mad at Aqua. He wanted to, but he couldn't. She was a precious friend of his after all. He turned his body around to face the other way, to avoid looking at Rise's eyes.

His head was down, as if he was thinking deeply. His body flinched as she neared him, although he didn't bother to say anything. He looked really down about something.

"Ven...?" Rise called out his name, as if to wake him from the trance he was in. His face was blank, eyes downcast. He seemed to have no response to her call. "Ven! Snap out of it!"

His face jolted up, as if he was suddenly awake. "I'm sorry. I must be kinda out of it."

She shook her head. "Are you worrying over Terra right now?" Ven instantly frowned. "So I'm right aren't I?" His answer was fairly delayed, but he eventually nodded his head.

"I just...I don't know anymore! Rise, Terra's all over the place, Aqua's changed, they both changed in fact. It makes me wonder 'what happened?'" His eyes were hazy, confused even. Rise clinched her hands into a tight fist.

"If you're about to blame it on the Mark of Mastery test, I don't think it's just that. You and I both know Terra wouldn't make this big of a deal out of it. Something must've happened, something that made Terra become so...cold? Aqua's just worried, so we can't blame her for her actions either." What came out of her mouth seemed like a long dialogue. She knew there was more to the story, but words wouldn't come out when she saw Ven's blue stare into her green.

Now that she could take a better look at him, his eyes were...sad. They had lost that spark of cheerfulness that his eyes always had. Rise could see why though. Terra to Ven was like Aqua to Rise. They were like siblings.

"Rise." Ven called out her name and snapped Rise back into reality. "I must really seem like a kid right now don't I? Making a huge fuss over this." His lip corners moved upwards, giving an awkward smile.

She shook her head. "You're perfect the way you are." She returned that awkward smile.

"You're not answering my question." Ven puffed his cheeks to pout slightly.

"Maybe I don't want to answer it." Her tone suddenly turned from sincere to playful. Ven shot her a look.

"Don't dodge my question, I want-" Rise cut him off.

"Can't hear you! La-la-la!" She put her index fingers into her ears as if to muffle Ven's shouts. She could still hear him as he became more and more frustrated the more he shouted, and the louder Rise began to sing to cut Ven off.

Ven heaved a heavy sigh of frustration. "You know what? Nevermind. If you're going to be difficult, what's the point?" He looked honestly annoyed.

It was Rise's turn to frown. "Ven, you know I'm kidding right?" Her voice was soft. "I'm just saying, I don't think that's a question I can answer for you. I like you for who you are, and I don't care if you seem like a kid."

Ven's face blushed a pink. "Ummm...I'm not sure how I'm supposed to answer to that either."

Rise gave a giggle in response. She took her right hand and put it onto his left. "So, don't worry so much okay? Put a little faith in both Terra and Aqua. Things'll get better. I know it."

Ven's head nodded once. "Alright then, if you say so."

His eyes glanced down onto his hand, the one Rise had hers on. His face suddenly dulled, sadness overshadowing it. He suddenly spoke up once again, hiw voice quiet. "If Terra and Aqua are like this now, d-do you think this'll happen to...us?"

Rise was confused. "What do you mean?"

He felt his cheeks warm up. "I mean that I don't want the two of us to be so-so apart. Aqua and Terra have this tension around each other, and I don't like it."

It was Rise's turn to blush. "I think I know what you mean." She took her hand off of his. She watched Ven with skeptical eyes. He placed his hand out in front of him and there was a flash.

It was Terra's keyblade. In his hand.

"What're you doing with that?" She asked. Ven only barely turned his head around to pass her a soft, yet sad smile. He turned his face back around to stare hard at the Keyblade, swinging it every so often.

Was he reminiscing?

Slowly, Rise found herself opening her mouth.

Take a look, all around.
Hold my hand, don't be scared.
There is nothing you should fear.
I'm with you, by your side.
Together, just you and I.
Close your eyes, fall asleep.
Dream the dreams you want to dream.
In the end,
Everything will be alright.

"The...lullaby?" Ven asked. His features were soft, even his body appeared relaxed. The Keyblade was on he ground as he closed his eyes. "Its been a while since I've heard it. Aqua, or you, rarely ever sing it now."

She gave a sheepish laugh. "When I looked at you staring at Terra's Keyblade, the song suddenly popped into my head." Actually, she wasn't quite sure why she was singing it. It just randomly popped into her head, out of the blue.

"Do you think, you can sing it again?"

Rise blinked her eyes. "Again? What for?"

"I want to hear it again. The last time I heard it, it was the time when Terra was crazy sick. That's all."

Rise couldn't help but think that that couldnt have been the only reason. There must've more. That answer was too vague. Nonetheless, she obliged to his request, finding herself sing the lullaby onc again. This time though, she made sure she had her eyes open to watch Ven. With every line, there came a stroke of the Terra's Keyblade in his hand. Rise reached the seventh verse of the line when her song was abruptly stopped by none other than Ven's voice.

"Whoa!" He said, his voice in surprise over something. Rise noticed after a few seconds that the Keyblade was gone, a good couple meters away from where he sat. It laid flat against the ground.

A few footsteps approached.

And the two gasped in unison.

Okay, so, that's it for now. Who's this person? GASP. (i'm pretty sure you know though anyways. xD)

SO, hope you enjoyed, although there wasn't much action in this chapter. We're gonna move onto part 3 of radiant garden next time...and yeah. ;D

R&R. :D