I don't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix/Disney.

Chapter 11

"Gah . . . what happened?"

Spitting sand out of his mouth, Ven lifted his head off the ground. Gone was the jail cell that Maleficent had stored him in. No, this was a wide-open space, a beach. It was a dark one, yes, but still one. Waves were gently beating against the shore, tickling his fingers and numbing the throbbing pain there. With a grimace, Ven muttered Curaga under his breath and sighed in relief as the bones healed.

He sat up, looking around. The water extended all the way to the distant horizon and in the opposite direction, back on land, he could barely see that far. It was so dark here . . .

No, not just dark. There was so much darkness here.

If possible, it might have even been purer than the darkness they had found in Silent Hill. Silent Hill, though undeniably ruled by darkness, had some glimmers of light. This place however, it felt like it had never tasted light before.

He had the sudden feeling of being watched, hunted. He summoned Wayward Wind, putting his back to the water. What was this place . . .?

Suddenly, the darkness got even thicker not far from him. A circle formed in midair, slowly expanding to reveal the full form of a portal. A person stepped out, slouched over, something slung over his shoulder. He dragged a familiar brown keyblade behind him, which created a splash of sand when it fell from his loose fingers.

"Terra?" Ven stood. "What's going on? What's that . . .?"

He caught a glimpse of blue hair, and his eyes widened. "Is that Aqua?"

Terra did not answer. Biting his lip, Ven ran up to them. Yep, that was definitely Aqua. But what was she doing here, especially in a place like this? Was Terra out of his mind?

It was then he noticed the bruises on her neck, hand-shaped, the same size as . . .

No. His mind shut that thought down. Terra wouldn't . . . he would never . . . It had to be someone else. It had to be.

"What happened to her?" he asked. He traced one of the bruises, mind creating tons of terrible scenarios. "Terra?"

He tapped Terra, and that's when it hit him: a bolt of precognition. Something was very wrong. Terra's light, he couldn't sense it. He stumbled back, blood running cold.

"Terra?"

When Terra again refused to speak, Ven zapped him with his light. It was just a prick, and yet Terra's reaction was violent. He howled, backhanding Ven across the face, sending him flying to the edge of the surf.

Rubbing his cheek, Ven recovered in time to see something rise from Terra's body. A heartless, with flat yellow eyes that matched Terra's own and a terrible smile. It looked like someone had ripped the skin from Terra's body and revealed the flesh underneath to be black, and then attached some antennae to his head. As he watched, the heartless took Aqua away from the male apprentice, then leaned down and spoke.

"Submit."

Terra charged.

Shocked, Ven barely managed to leap out of the way. He spun around on his heels, watching as Terra sprung past him. He wasn't scared or anything, just . . . blank. His mind couldn't process the fact that Terra, his overprotective best friend, would attack him.

"Terra, quit it! It's me, Ven."

Ven held out his hand, hoping that the invitation would prompt Terra to go back to normal. However, if the disturbingly empty gaze Terra set on him was anything to go by, it didn't work. To the side of them, the heartless leered, having placed Aqua onto the sand.

His vision narrowed down to that heartless. That was the reason for Terra's current state, it had to be.

He bolted towards the heartless, bringing his keyblade back. But it sunk into the ground, leaving him with nothing a thin wisp of darkness –

– And then Terra was upon him, cleaving the air in half with a blow that surely would have bloodied his nose if not knocked him out. Ven leaned to the side, Earthshaker passing so close to him that it touched his sleeve. The sand, soft and squishy, absorbed the keyblade's momentum, costing Terra a valuable second as he had to lift it again. Ven saw this and attacked, whipping his blade horizontally. The shaft crashed into Terra's chin, stunning him.

Terra was a heavy person, but Ven's magical speciality had always been wind spells. He blew Terra straight off his feet, then sent the wind under his own feet so that he whizzed away to the spot where the heartless had just emerged. He slid forwards, thrusting.

His aim was true, and the heartless hissed, reeling back. Following the flow of his body, he pivoted past the creature, swirling around and striking it in the back. One, twice – if the heartless had skin, there would have been a cross carved into its back.

The heartless spun around, but Ven was already gone. He had spotted Terra approaching, and had nimbly sought out a better position. Now, at a healthy distance from both opponents, he could choose what to do next.

But of course, they just had to mess up his brilliant plan. The heartless sunk back into the ground, and he couldn't look around to see where it had gone because Terra was on his way. He balanced himself on the balls of his feet, prepared to run.

But right before he did, a pillar of dark energy shot out from right in front of him. He cringed back, blinded –

– Just as Terra burst through the curtain of darkness. His shoulder slammed into Ven's midsection, winding him as they hit the ground. Even before his head made contact with sand, Terra was already seeking a better position. Thus, they landed with the older boy straddling the younger, and Terra's powerful hands creeping towards Ven's throat.

He tried to push Terra's hand away, but the older boy was too strong. He forced himself through Ven's guard, straight for his neck. By simple luck, Ven managed to work an arm in there, and Terra's hand closed around it, the pressure immediately whispering to Ven that
yes, those bruises on Aqua's neck were from Terra.

The heartless sneered above them, its bottom half fading into Terra's body as if the creature was some strange growth.

"Submit," the heartless whispered. Whether it was directed at him or Terra, he didn't know.

Terra nearly shoved Ven's arm aside, and Ven swallowed hard as he felt the older boy's nails brush against his skin. He had one hand covering his throat, the other on Terra's chest, pushing.

And by chance, the hand on Terra's chest slid down until it was resting over his heart.

The moment his hand was over Terra's heart, he felt the darkness within. It was like a black hole, swallowing any light that dared venture near. And yet beyond it, Ven could feel something . . .

He sent his own light in, and it crept along Terra's heart, acting as feelers. Not a second too soon either, as Terra finally got into a position to strangle him.

Fingers dug into his throat, nearly enough on their own to choke him. Gagging, trying to loosen Terra's grip with his free hand, he kept his other on Terra's chest, reaching deeper inside the boy's heart, sending more light in an attempt to lure out Terra's light. And just when his lungs were fit to burst and he couldn't endure anymore, he found something, buried underneath a layer of solid darkness.

But not for long. His light bore through it, found Terra's light, and pulled . . .

Freedom. He could breathe again, but only for a second as Terra immediately collapsed on top of him.

They remained there, the heartless gone, Terra blissfully unconscious, Ven trying to wiggle out from underneath his bulk. Perhaps a minute ticked by before Terra started to moan. He shifted his weight a bit, fingers digging in to the ground as if about to lift himself up, but then he collapsed again, making Ven squeak in protest.

"T-Terra!" He pushed, trying at least to get Terra's elbow away from his trachea.

Speaking had an effect. Terra groaned, rolling his head upwards. His blue eyes blinked once before widening, and he regarded Ven with confusion. "Ven, what . . .?"

"Get off, please!"

Terra scampered back, letting Ven take his first real breath ever since those hands had closed around his throat. He did so greedily, rolling over onto his stomach for no other reason than to prove that he now could.

"Ven, what's going on?" Terra asked. "Where are we . . . ? Maleficent! Where did she go?"

"Don't you know? You were the one that threw us . . ."

Oh no, Aqua! He jumped to his feet. If she were to wake up in a place like this, she might lose it completely.

"Terra, open up a portal!" he said. "We need to get her out of here."

"Get whom?" Terra followed the direction of Ven's gaze. "Aqua?"

That got Terra moving. He half-crawled, half-ran on all fours to where she was lying. His movements jerky yet soft, he rolled Aqua off her side and onto her back, cupping her cheek.

"Ven –"

"Terra, portal! Now."

Terra nodded and opened a dark portal, scooping up Aqua afterwards and carrying her bridal style towards it. Ven tagged alongside him, not speaking.

They emerged on a bright world, in the middle of a small bridge, where a wall of water to the right sent little droplets to dot their skin. That was only the first of the waterfalls too. It was hard to tell from his vantage point, but there may have been three levels of them, all stacked upon each other. The fine mist they created filled with air with rainbow beams, crisscrossing and bending in a pattern only nature understood.

"Whoa . . ." Ven said.

The place was light in colour, mostly in hues of white and blue. The streets leading off the bridge were cobblestone, pearly white, almost like marble. It was a great change from whatever place they had been in before; Aqua would love to stay in a world like this.

"Terra, where are we?" he asked.

"Radiant Garden," he said. "Come on, let's find somewhere to stay so we can figure out what the hell is going on."

They wandered the streets, coming across no one. A good thing, too, as the bruises on the two younger apprentices' necks would have raised some awkward question, to say nothing of the fact that Terra was still carrying Aqua. Frankly, it was a miracle Terra hadn't noticed the bruises yet. Or maybe he had, and was simply in denial.

They winded up at a hotel, where Terra left Ven with Aqua outside while he entered to arrange for a room. Afterwards, they sought out the room. Terra didn't even bother using his key, instead nodding at Ven to use his already-out keyblade. Then they entered, Terra setting down Aqua on one of the room's two couches.

"What the hell is she doing here?" he mumbled. "She should be at home."

Ven gave a start. "Terra, you were the one that brought her here."

"What are you talking about?" he snapped. "I told Eraqus to keep her there. Bastard couldn't even do that."

Ven stared helplessly. "Terra, you had her slung over your shoulder." He made a few gestures towards his own shoulder.

"What? How . . .?" Terra blinked, shaking his head. "That can't be. Last thing I remember, Maleficent was telling me to sleep. And that place . . . how did we get there anyways."

"You tossed me into a portal," Ven said bluntly, "that was before you tried to strangle me."

By no means did Ven want to say that, but Terra needed to hear the truth. And hear, he did. Terra's jaw fell open; his knuckles were white as he grabbed the couch's armrest.

Terra murmured, "No, no, I would never . . . I couldn't have . . ."

His eyes flickered to Aqua. He took his hand, placed it on top of the bruise on her neck, and the colour drained from his face when he saw it was a match.

"No!" He stumbled right into the wall. "I couldn't have done that. I would never hurt you guys!"

"Terra, calm down!" Ven ran between Terra and the door, scared that the older boy would bolt. "I don't think it was you. There was this weird thing around you, a heartless."

"A heartless," Terra said hoarsely.

Ven nodded. "It was talking and everything."

"Heartless can't talk," Terra muttered. "That thing . . . what was it? Where did it come from?"

Terra looked up, and Ven could feel his eyes boring a hole in his throat. Self-consciously, he rubbed the area, swiftly realizing that Aqua wasn't the only one who carried marks from Terra's lapse into insanity.

"D-did I do that?" Terra whispered.

No use in hiding it. Turning his face so that he couldn't see the older boy, Ven nodded.

Springs creaked as Terra plopped onto the second couch. His gaze was distant, focused on a spot on the wall. He didn't notice as Ven sat next to him, nor when the boy nudged him.

"Terra, it's fine. It wasn't your fault."

"I was weak," Terra said. "That thing was able to control me because I was weak."

"You're not weak!" Ven cried. He poked Terra in the arm. "How can you be weak with those?"

What Ven said didn't work. Terra turned away from him, head in his hands. On the other couch, Aqua's eyes fluttered.

"Aqua!" Ven ran over to her. Terra pitched forwards, but then seemed to think better of it and remained seated, his skin a ghastly pallor.

Aqua's eyes opened, but she still seemed to be half-asleep. Absently she rubbed her throat, a move that made Ven flinch and look back at Terra, who was steadily staring at his feet.

"Ven?" Aqua blinked furiously. "What are you doing here?"

"It's complicated," Ven said. "I'm not entirely sure myself."

"Where's Terra?" she asked sharply.

Hearing her ask for him, Terra stood up with clear reluctance. He slogged over to where Aqua was waiting. He took a deep breath, then said, "Hey, Aqua."

She grew tense. For a long second, she refused to look at him. Then, gradually, her head turned sideways, and she looked up his body and into his face . . .

Whatever she saw there must have been reassuring, because she relaxed. She said, "Guys, what's going on? Did you kill the heartless?"

Ven gave Terra a sideways look, saying, 'I told you so'. To Aqua, he said, "No, but it's been taken care of."

"That's good to hear." She touched her throat again, wincing slightly.

And Terra fell to his knees. "I'm so sorry!" he blubbered. "I didn't mean to hurt you . . . I mean I would never hurt you! I have no idea what happened. One second, I'm being attacked by this sorceress, the next I'm in the middle of nowhere with you two, and Ven telling me I attacked him. I didn't mean to drag you into this! You weren't supposed to get involved!"

He was on his knees in front of her, holding her hand in both of his in some weird mockery of a proposal. Aqua seemed at a complete loss. She gave Ven a silent plead, then patted Terra awkwardly on his head.

"It's okay," she said. "We forgive you."

Terra snorted. "You shouldn't," he said darkly. "This was my fault. That heartless, it took control of me because I was weak, I was . . ."

Managing to slip into the space between him and the couch, Aqua joined Terra on his knees, and cut him off. "Terra, enough. You're not weak."

"I am," he insisted. "If I wasn't, you guys wouldn't have been hurt. . ."

"No, you're not!" Both Terra and Ven jumped. Aqua had almost sounded angry. "You beat Vanitas, and rescued us from the church. You are not weak."

Seeing what she was doing, Ven added his own two cents. "Yeah, and you saved me from that giant darkside in Silent Hill, remember? And I would have been toast if you hadn't broke me out of Maleficent's castle!"

"I saved you?" Terra echoed.

"Yeah." Ven hopped off the couch, so that he could sit cross-legged on the floor with them. "Vanitas, he was . . . he was being a real jerk, but then you came out of nowhere and drove him off."

"You jumped in when Vanitas tried to go after me, too," Aqua said. "Terra, I'm not sure what happened, but you were in enough control to protect us when it really counted."

Ven had thought that their words would be enough to cheer Terra up, but he was staring at Aqua with nothing less but horror. "Vanitas attacked you?" he demanded. "In the Land of Departure?"

Ven frowned. That was a good question.

Aqua's mouth worked soundlessly. She glanced towards the door, as if deciding whether or not to run. "Not exactly."

"Then where . . .?"

"The Enchanted Domain."

Ven's prey hackles rose. The Enchanted Domain? But that meant Aqua had left home! Instantly, he inched away from Terra and closer to Aqua, protectively angling himself so that he was slightly in front of her. A good move too, as he could nearly feel the heat rising from Terra.

"What were you doing there?" Terra asked. It would have been less scary had he yelled.

"I came after you guys," Aqua said. She spoke quickly, anticipating Terra's eruption. "I had to! You guys were walking right into a trap."

"You were supposed to stay at home!" he bellowed. "I gave Eraqus specific instructions about that!"

"I know," she said, "he doesn't know I'm here."

Terra said, "So, you just decided to chase after us, go to a completely unknown world without telling anyone. Are you stupid?"

Ven edged a little more in front of her, mouth dry. "Terra, calm down."

"You could have been killed!" Terra hollered. "Maleficent could have caught you, or Vanitas! Do you have any idea how much he wants you?"

"Terra –"

"No! No excuses!" Ven wasn't sure how, but Terra had gotten to his feet so fast that they hadn't seen the transition. "That was a dumb decision. You shouldn't have come."

Aqua was the next to rise. "Terra, please!"

Ven shouted when Terra grabbed her, crinkling her collar while he towered above her. He had leaned over slightly, just enough so that his face was only an inch away from hers.

"You knew I didn't want you to come, I can tell," he rumbled. He brought her even closer up to his face, forcing her to stand on her tiptoes.

"Terra, stop it!" Ven wrapped his arms around the thick coil of Terra's triceps, but the larger boy would not be denied his prey.

Terra said, "Next time you disobey me, the consequences will be severe."

The smart thing to do would have been to back down. Let Terra walk all over them. But Aqua must have been braver, stronger than he thought, because her eyebrows suddenly knitted together in outrage.

"I'm not your slave," she spat. "You can't –"

"You will do as I tell you!"

The blaze of Terra's fury left nothing but ashes, shock in its wake. Ven held still for a second, then he pried his nails out of Terra's skin, a few ruby drops marking the places where they had been embedded. Wayward Wind made their connection known, thrumming anxiously, and he, speechless, could only listen to his keyblade. It appeared in a flash of light, highlighting the lines in Aqua's face as she stared up at Terra.

Terra was breathing heavily. He was cradling the back of Aqua's head, and it seemed that he was on the verge on removing what little space was still between them . . .

But then he pushed her away. "I'm going for a walk," he said. "Both of you, stay here."

He walked away and the front door opened and closed again, leaving Aqua and Ven with nothing but silence.

Review Responses:

MoonLitSparklesofTwilight: Fine, I'll update. Sheesh. (BTW that's cheating. Those characters are definitely not Disney XD)

Anonomnom: Haha, singing during that scene? Maybe this fic is driving YOU crazy O.O But anyways, as you can see, it'll take more than that to drive the trio apart. And yes, Aqua always gets the short stick. Always.