Disclaimer: I own nothing written about in this story.

Pursuit

Chapter Fourteen – of Change

Ven didn't think he so much as closed his eyes when he felt someone nudging his arm frantically. He could feel the haze of sleep waring off as his dulled hearing shattered in an instant to Eraq's distraught voice. "Uncle Ven, wake up!" Quickly realizing he had somehow fallen asleep sitting up, Ven's attention shot up at the sound of a monstrous roar.

As he had suspected, the next wave of Heartless had arrived and if he didn't know any better, there were a lot more of them this time, with three centaurs leading the charge. With a weary sigh, Ven moved to stand and felt his Keyblade thrust into his grasp. He looked down to see Eraq gazing up at him, frightened though somehow confident too. If the boy believed in him and his ability to fend off the onslaught coming at them, then he would just have to believe it too, and hopefully what little rest he got would prove to be enough.

"Stay low, Eraq, and stay close." As he focused on the charging horse monsters plowing through the snow, he could see the boy's dark head nodding in his peripheral. It was going to be really tricky trying to fight off this legion of shadow beasts while protecting Eraq at the same time, though he had done it before, and now at least he didn't have to worry about other people getting hurt.

The Assault Riders were close now, bearing down with frenzied battle cries and poised lances. Ven took a second to study their movements and to calculate how much time he had to deal with them before the rest of the horde arrived from some distance behind them.

Once the centaurs were upon him, he found that he was forced to rely heavily on instinct, allowing his body to react automatically to the ferocious attacks coming at him from three directions. As he blocked one blow, one strike after another, it quickly became apparent that he was going to need his Wingblades again in order to keep the huge monsters sufficiently in check.

Biding his time, he waited until all three beasts moved to strike at the same time, and with a wide and sweeping arc, his Keyblade drove them all back into a momentary stagger. By that time, the rest of the Heartless were closing in around him and he had only a small window to summon his celestial form. He did not hesitate to do so.

The numerous shadows were either blown back or recoiled and swerved away in response to the resulting radiance bouncing off of each blade of light. The brief respite didn't last long however, as the Heartless swiftly recovered and resumed their relentless assault.

Revolving and spinning all around, Ven kept each dangerous blade moving, effectively fending off the closest enemies and forming a kind of barrier. Only, it seemed like with each one he killed, two more would take its place. And although he wasn't sure how long he could keep this up, he was satisfied to see that his strategy was working. That is, until he somehow overlooked an airborne enemy, which cut through his defenses and struck him straight across the head.

Reeling from the blow for a fraction of a second he struggled to keep his protective whirlwind in motion, but his dancing blades faltered and left an opening. He grimaced in concentration but as hard as he tried he just couldn't keep up with the influx, and was unable to regain the shield-like effect he once had, leaving gaps and weak points all around.

Things were looking really bad and to top it off he could feel each and every scratch and blow that got through his imperfect blockade. He thought for sure Eraq must be getting hit too, but he didn't hear him crying in pain. Maybe they weren't after the boy and he had been wrong all along?

As if in response to his doubts, a part of the swarm suddenly broke away from the main group around him, as if they were being drawn by something. Risking an instant to look, Ven was horrified at seeing what they were after.

Eraq was some twenty feet away and crouching down beside what looked to be a small, furry black body, but he paid it no mind. What concerned him was why the boy had deliberately disobeyed the order to stay close, but more importantly, what worried him was the small group of Heartless that had split off and was currently converging on the boy.

His wings continued slashing and dispatching one monster after another, but before he could formulate a plan or even move to assist his charge a new wave of Heartless appeared and overwhelmed his view. By the time he had cut through the swath of dark matter blocking his way the other group had already reached the cowering boy. "Eraq, get down!" he shouted frantically, praying that the boy would listen this time.

Eraq did, covering his head with both arms and buried his face in the foot of snow that covered the ground. Without a second thought, Ven directed all six blades forward and was relieved to see that they successfully intercepted and dispatched the small group that had surrounded the boy.

As effective as the projectiles were, however, they could not return to him fast enough. If he survived this battle, he would later berate himself at how stupid a thing it was to not keep at least one feathered prism at his side.

A sudden, intense pain flared to life in his right shoulder and he was acutely aware of Eraq howling at him in horror. His vision phased in and out and there was a muffled thud sound. It took him longer than it should have to realize the sound was that of his knees hitting the snow, followed shortly by his hands.

His thoughts were coming slower and slower now, and he was sure they were no longer relevant to the situation but he could no longer control them. The snow was so white beneath him, and it didn't seem to make sense why it was steadily turning crimson. Eraq's cries were fading every second, as if he were being pulled away down a long tunnel.

Before everything went dark, Ven managed one last determined glance toward the boy, the landscape swimming as he did so. The Heartless had all abandoned him, his Wingblade threat neutralized, and were converging on a helpless Eraq.

He had only one last glimpse of the boy before the black shapes overtook him. Ven could feel his consciousness slipping away as a thick sense of failure lodged itself in his throat and he had to look away. Aqua, Terra, I'm sorry. I tried.

Just as he was about to submit to the darkness of sleep, a bright, blinding light caught his attention and he looked with surprise to see all the shadows were practically melting away, the light shooting out fierce golden beams into the sky.

The black borders compressing on his vision intensified, and the last thing he saw before finally dropping his head into the snow was Eraq standing there, a familiar black-grey Keyblade in his small hand.

The forest was dark and dense, with heavy moisture hanging overhead as though it had recently rained, leaving a crisp chill in the air. Looking up, Terra could barely make out a dusky sky through the thickly shrouded treetops. No clouds, no stars, only the moon emitted its weak glow through the haze, which meant it was either close to dawn or just after sunset in this world. He could also hear the sound of a river flowing some distance away, giving the silence of the night a muffled and calm drone.

He looked to Aqua, his eyes adjusting to the darkness and picking out her form. She, like Claire beside her, seemed to be examining their surroundings as well. After taking a deep breath for the argument he knew would ensue, Terra reached for his wife and touched her arm to get her attention. She in turn regarded him attentively, a weary gleam in her eyes told him all he needed to know.

"I think we should take this opportunity to rest for awhile." He fought off the urge to cringe when he seen her gaze narrow.

"Opportunity?" she nearly spat the word. "We can't rest now. They're out there somewhere. What if they need help?" She shook her head slightly in astonishment. "Aren't you worried?"

"Of course I'm worried," Terra nearly snapped back, though he softened his voice at the last second. "But what good will that do if we rush off too the next world if we end up missing them?" He felt his throat clench with a terrible heartache and he was unable to finish his thought aloud. What good will it do if I end up losing you, too?

"They're not here," she told him firmly, oblivious to his pain and a stubborn look about her as though she willed him to challenge the matter. "We would know."

Terra wasn't so sure. Maybe if they were in a close proximity to Eraq and Ven, but if they were some distance away he doubted his ability to sense their presence. He gave her a despairing look, hoping that she could see it through the thick darkness between them. "We haven't had a chance to rest since-" he cut himself off then, knowing he was digging himself a deeper hole. Since the world we lost them in.

"Look," he tried again after a pained silence. "It's too dark right now to even navigate a path. Let's just rest until we have some light to work with, yeah?" He stared down into her rigid features, hoping beyond hope that she would agree. How many days had they gone without sleep? He couldn't remember and he was exhausted, and worried. Worried about Eraq and Ven, but her too. In her condition he worried that she might collapse at any given moment.

He watched her closely for a moment. She still hadn't agreed to his terms, though her sharp eyes had softened with a reasonableness that he recognized. Just one more nudge and he knew she would cave in. He looked over to Claire, who stood some paces away and was doing her very best to act as though she couldn't hear her masters arguing. "Think of Claire," he said softly. "She isn't used to this pace."

Blinking, Aqua turned to examine the pink-haired girl with a wary concern. Apparently she hadn't thought about Claire's welfare on the matter, and she looked about ready to concede when the girl suddenly moved closer to interject. "What? But Master, I feel f-" she cut herself off when Terra shook his head fiercely and made a cutting gesture at his throat. "I-I mean a rest sounds good to me."

The light in the sky was getting steadily brighter with dawn approaching, and Terra could plainly see Aqua's knowing smirk as she turned back to him. "Alright, you win. A short rest and then we get back to it."

Terra couldn't help but be mildly amused as he watched his wife's nesting mode initiate. She moved to a the crook of a large tree covered in soft moss and produced a compact, thin and flimsy blanket from the utility pouch hanging from her waist. Though the sheet was light-weight, it was water-resistant and had thermal properties for extreme temperatures, but it would serve to fend off the moisture from the ground.

After spreading it out and making herself comfortable, Terra finally joined her on her right side and removed his oversized haori to drape it over her shoulders. He glanced up to see that Claire was hovering in her place, no doubt contemplating about finding her own spot to settle. Aqua must have noticed too, since she raised her left arm invitingly out to the girl.

Claire was hesitant to join in at first, shifting on her feet where she stood for all but half a minute, but the morning chill was getting to her and she finally moved to accept Aqua's silent invitation. The preteen was independent for the most part, but she was smart too, and knew better than to pass up a beneficial opportunity.

As the girls got settled beside him, Terra broke open a protein packet from his own supply pouch. They hadn't thought to take the small survival packs with them on their vacation, since they hadn't intended to go anywhere dangerous. Now though, the supplies were coming in handy and he hoped Ven and Eraq were doing ok without it.

Before he thought too deeply on the matter and possibly lose all semblance of an appetite, he glared down at the pellets in his hand before shoving them in his mouth and forcing himself to chew. They sure didn't taste that great but they got the job done and staved off the hunger for long periods.

He looked over to see that Aqua had encompassed the student with one arm, using his large cloak to wrap around her like an eagles wing. He noticed how Claire didn't seem to mind the closeness, but rather, had leaned into Aqua's warmth and was munching down a pack of the tasteless supplements herself. He also noticed how Aqua wasn't taking the opportunity to eat like she should.

After pulling another packet from the small pouch at his hip, he gave her a nudge and tried to hand it to her but she pushed it away with her free hand, murmuring softly to his unspoken concern. "It won't do any good."

"You won't do any good if you don't eat," he countered, ever patient. He just couldn't understand why she felt the need to resist every little matter. She should know by now that he wasn't about to back down. "As willing as I am to carry you, I'd still rather not see you collapse."

She glared daggers at the supplements as though they were her life's bane before snatching it out of his hand to emphasize her displeasure. Terra blinked at her as she crammed them down with a grimace. They didn't taste that bad did they? It astounded him at times how she could portray such child-like behavior, but he chalked it all up to her pregnancy in the end, and that was just one more reason why he had to keep close tabs on her.

"I can keep watch," she told him numbly, as though her mind had wandered off again, to that place he couldn't follow. "I won't be able to sleep anyway."

"You can at least try and sleep." He eased closer, shoulder to shoulder with her and twined his arm and hand with hers.

"Terra," Aqua warned, though there was a yielding element in her tone, her eyes and attention floating back to him in that instant.

"Humor me, please." He offered a weary smile and was glad to see that she was finally realizing how pointless it was to resist. His gaze caught on the dozing pink-haired girl huddled into Aqua's side. "Look, Claire's got the right idea." He thought it was somewhat impressive that she was somehow managing to tune out her masters' hushed argument.

Sighing in defeat, Aqua settled more into her nest and busied herself with stroking Claire's soft coral hair, causing the girl to relax even more in Aqua's embrace. Terra guessed that she was thinking of Eraq and how she used to do the same thing to get him to go to sleep. It seemed to be an especially effective universal technique.

It occurred to him then the real reason Riku had insisted they take an apprentice with them. Although having an extra set of eyes and ears was beneficial to be sure, even more important was Aqua's mental health. Or even his own for that matter.

Having a child for five years and almost constantly caring for him only to have him ripped away would naturally leave a void there. He felt suddenly frustrated with himself. He hadn't analyzed the situation to that extent, just thinking that Aqua was a mother and was suffering had been enough to make his chest ache unbearably.

Somehow, in his silent and calm reasoning, Riku had known that the void would need to be temporarily filled, or both he and Aqua would be too broken, too unbalanced to focus on their surroundings. Protecting and caring for Claire was like a homing beacon, leading them back to the sensible path and away from the one leading off into destruction.

Unwittingly, he realized, he had been looking out for Claire since their departure, and all it took for Aqua to do the same was a small nudge of a reminder. Even though she was older than Eraq, Claire was still a child and required a certain amount of guidance and protection. And although it was expected of them as the masters in charge of the mission, it went farther than that. Their tendencies to coddle and fuss over her were too automatic, too natural.

It was as though they needed to be needed by someone. A characteristic that had been permanently written down in their natures somewhere, probably ever since they had "adopted" Ven all those years ago.

There was a rustling nearby and Terra felt his senses snap to attention. A few seconds later and he found the source of the noise was scrambling up a tree some paces away. It was a small rodent of some kind and it chattered at the trio of humans curiously before disappearing on the far side of the trunk. The forest seemed to be coming alive with every passing minute actually. And yet, as he could sense no immediate danger, there was something... Out there, far away, elusive, a strange darkness that he had never known before. Almost, artificial feeling.

"I sense it too," Aqua murmured. "Unfocused, bloodthirsty darkness. Too far away to be concerned about though."

"It might not stay far away," Terra commented.

"We'll be long gone before it can reach us."

"I guess."

"You should take your turn to sleep," Aqua told him, sitting up slightly and careful not to jostle the sleeping child beside her too much.

"But you hardly-"

"I tried," she hissed at him impatiently, trying not to disturb Claire further. "Didn't work."

Terra sighed, seeing it as his turn to know defeat when it nipped at his face. "Alright."

After settling himself more comfortably against his wife, he closed his eyes, thinking the rhythmic sound of the distant river would lull him to sleep. But an hour must have lapsed and he never slept, unable to shake the feeling of that lurking darkness in the distance. The chittering and chirping of all the waking wildlife didn't help much either.

He opened his eyes to glare up at the trees full of critters, noting how much brighter the sky was and finally giving up on sleep altogether. He lurched forward and stretched, feeling completely un-rested for all the trouble it was to convince Aqua to take a break. "Well, that was a waste of time."

"Not totally." Terra could hear a warmth in her voice and turned to see her stroke a stray, pink lock out of Claire's peaceful features. "At least someone between the three of us can manage a few winks."

Terra was just thinking that he didn't have the heart to wake her when the girl suddenly stirred from the sound of their voices. Her pale azure eyes fluttering open drowsily and her syllables slurred groggily. "Already time to go?"

"Sorry Claire," Aqua replied with a frown and unwrapped Terra's cloak from around the girl. Claire said nothing more and yawned as she sat forward in an attempt to wake further.

Terra was the first to stand and gave the forest a cursory glance, only to pivot back to Aqua when he heard her gasp suddenly. She had apparently been making to stand as well, but the next instant he had barely managed to reach out and catch her from collapsing for no obvious reason that he could tell. "What the?-" He had watched her eat the protein packet earlier, so it wasn't lack of sustenance. "Aqua, what's wrong?"

She braced against him and shook her head, appearing to find her bearings and stand erect, though she didn't let go of him quite yet. "I don't know."

"Do you think you're just tired? Or is-" he paused abruptly to swallow nervously at the thought that suddenly crossed his mind. "Is it the baby?"

"No," Aqua answered firmly, giving him a hopeless glare that he could read plainly enough. Way to let the cat out of the bag. But none of that mattered to him at this point, only her answer mattered to him now and he wasn't about to let her go until he knew she was alright. Her pregnant state would be obvious in a few months anyway, what did it matter if people knew early? "No," she repeated, eyes averted in deep thought and adding in an undertone, "I don't know what that was."

Claire had watched the whole ordeal in silent puzzlement and concern up to that point, but she quickly sprung up in anxious excitement to Aqua's side. "You're having another baby?" Aqua turned to the girl and nodded with a tight smile, instigating an excited chirp from her. "That's great!" Upon seeing their lack of enthusiasm, she turned from one master to the other, confused. "Isn't it?"

"Well, yeah," Terra said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, though he still kept hold of Aqua with one hand. "Just, really bad timing is all."

"Oh," was all Claire could find to say, growing silent with a somber nod of understanding.

Terra looked back to Aqua to see that she had resumed staring at the ground, thinking deeply again. He frowned at her, wondering what in the world was going on and what the heck he was supposed to do in response to whatever it was that he didn't know was going on. Thoroughly frustrated, there was simply too much he didn't know.

He finally decided to fall back on a strategy he had used in the past, one that never seemed to fail: providing for his wife's basic needs. Silently, he ran through the checklist in his head. Firstly, he had already gotten her to eat. Secondly, well, sleeping had been an utter failure and there was nothing to be done for it now. That just left hydration on the list.

"Here, sit down and I'll go get you some water." Securing his white haori around her tighter, he placed both hands on her shoulders to steady her before moving.

"Terra, I'm fine," she insisted firmly. "Really."

"No, it's my job to take care of you." It was his turn to be firm, though he gently guided her to sit down on a moss covered boulder. "Let me do my job." He swiftly leaned down and gave her a peck on the cheek before heading off towards the river with his canteen, shooting over his shoulder to Claire. "Keep an eye on her for me."

"Yes Master." After hearing Claire's reply and not waiting for another word from Aqua, Terra marched away through the woods in the direction he thought he could hear the river. He figured if he was going the wrong direction then Aqua would have told him so, with her having an affinity for the element and all.

Moments later he could hear the splash and flow of the water much better and before long he could see the glistening surface through the wall of trees. Altogether it had only taken him about a fifteen minute trek to reach the pebbly shore.

The sight of the agitated waters gave him pause. It had an ethereal red and yellow glow from the morning sun. It wasn't unlike anything he had seen back home, where Radiant Garden's waterfall courtyard could display an endless array of colors all at once. What really left him frozen for a moment was the sight of a huge black bear lopping around playfully in the shallow parts of the stream, chasing and being chased by a young girl with long, curly red hair.

Terra continued to watch the strange dance in a stupor as the bear grunted and the girl laughed, they seemed to be both fishing and goofing around at the same time. Whereas the girl appeared harmless enough, he wasn't sure if he wanted to be noticed by that hulking bear. It was much larger than the ones from a few worlds ago, even bigger than the one he had been turned into, he was sure.

As quietly as possible, Terra knelt down by the shallows to fill his canteen, cringing when the bear's snout sniffed at the air, no doubt catching his scent before it turned on him with curious brown eyes. It gave a startled grunt and turned to the girl with a prolonged growl. When the girl turned to see him crouching there by the shore, she too stared at him in bewilderment and frozen in her place knee deep in the river.

Terra stood up carefully as the two crept closer cautiously, both of them scrutinizing his unusual attire. "Who are you?" the red haired girl finally asked him, the bear beside her emitting a low growl.

"I'm Terra," he provided simply, and after capping his canteen, held it up briefly before attaching it back to its place at his hip. "Just here for water, I don't mean any harm, so I'll just be on my way-" He was sure Aqua would already be growing impatient with how long his little chore was taking, he didn't need this sort of delay. But as he turned to leave, the redhead followed after him, and in turn so did the huge bear.

"Wait," she called. "Where are you from? Have you seen an old witch around lately?"

Terra only halted in his pace for the instant it took to give her an odd look, her and the bear that was currently attempting to gather up a pile of fish that was flopping around on the dry shore. "Er, no, sorry, haven't seen a witch." He decided not to answer the first question and hoped it would be forgotten as he continued on his way. He also tried to ignore how ridiculous the bear looked as it walked on its hind legs like a person, clutching with both its forearms at a bunch of wriggling fish.

"Argh, Mum, you can't bring them all," the girl groaned and proceeded to help the beast by picking up a fish every now and then and tossing it back into the bears unstable hold. For whatever reason, they both seemed determined to follow after him through the woods.

Terra halted abruptly, his curiosity finally overtaking his better judgment. "Hold up a second. Did you just say "Mum"?" The girl had an odd accent to be sure, one that he had never heard before, but could guess at her meaning easily enough. He turned his gaze to the waddling beast and its flopping cargo. "She's your mom?"

The girl nodded before turning a frown to the bear. "But its not my fault. The witch did it, and-" she was promptly interrupted by the bear's sudden flurry of growls and grunts, a jargon completely lost on Terra but seemed to be somewhat understood by the girl. "But he's not afraid of you, and he doesn't want to kill you either," the girl argued back to the huge beast. She turned back to Terra with a friendly smile. "I'm Merida, this here's my mum, Queen Elinor, but I sort of made a deal with this witch, and things didn't really go as planned." There was a flippant grumbling from Elinor after that.

Terra stared at the girl in befuddlement before shaking his head and turning back to his path determinedly. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you. I do know its not much fun being a bear though." He hadn't really intended to say that last part aloud but he felt he at least needed to sympathize with their crisis.

Unfortunately, Merida was sharp and caught his slip up instantly. "Oh? You mean that old hag turned you into a bear too?"

"Um, well, its complicated," Terra replied nervously. Hoping to side step the question, the thought that they might have seen Eraq or Ven finally dawned on him. "Look, I hate to disappoint you, but I need to get back to my wife." He paused his pace to make a few gestures as he proceeded to explain height and appearance. "We're searching for our son, he's got dark hair, about this short. My brother should be with him, he's blond and about this tall."

After seeing no recognition whatsoever on the girl's face, Terra sighed and carried on. To his dismay, the odd mother-daughter pair continued to follow after him. He wasn't sure how he was going to explain this to Aqua. She would probably assume he had gotten distracted, which he sort of did, but it wasn't his fault!

The time to explain himself was closer than he realized, as his blue haired counterpart nearly bumped right into him from behind a tree, followed closely by a worried looking Claire. "Aqua!" he yelped, though his surprise quickly faded in comparison to the irritation that rose upon seeing her deliberately disobeying his latest mandate. "What are you doing? I told you to stay put and rest."

"You were taking too long and I got worried," she told him defensively, eyes drawn automatically to his unusual following of a red haired local and a towering black bear. She returned a skeptical look back at her husband. "What now?"

"Hey, this isn't my fault," Terra replied, pulling at his canteen and holding it up for her to see. "I just went to get water and came straight back."

Introductions were once again exchanged and Claire moved closer to Elinor, gawking in wonder. "I've never seen a real bear before. Only in books and stories back home. Is she dangerous?" She got a little too close for Terra's liking, but before he could move to pull his charge back, Elinor grumbled loudly when she dropped her wriggling mass of fish, causing Claire to flinch backward, hand on the hilt of her holstered Gunblade.

"No," Merida assured with a smirk. "Mum's not really dangerous, just grumpy." The comment seemed to illicit a string of growling from Elinor, but she settled down by her pile of fish and started digging in to them ravenously and without much thought toward her audience.

"And hungry," Claire added through a nervous laugh. She retreated back to Aqua and Terra's side, despite her curiosity and Merida's assurance.

Terra felt Aqua nudge his arm and looked to see an insistent look on her face. "We should go."

He nodded in agreement and they both turned to give the odd pair a farewell but neither Merida nor Elinor were listening anymore. The redhead was chasing after the bear as she lumbered away on all fours. Terra's gaze narrowed with suspicion. There was something different about Elinor now, a wrongness, and it gave him the same artificial feeling from when he had sensed that faraway darkness earlier.

"Terra," Aqua's voice cut through his thoughts, though he did not turn away from the scene as the bear rounded slowly on the girl. "We shouldn't get involved."

"But something's not right here," he insisted, pulling out of her hold when she reached to stop him. "I can't just stand here and watch her get torn apart." The bear was giving off a menacing growling and Terra suddenly realized that he would not reach them in time to intercept the assault.

"Mum, is that you?" he heard Merida whimper, obviously frightened. The bear snarled viciously in response and raised a deadly paw full of daggers and Terra was still seconds away with a gleaming Earthshaker in hand, only to halt a few feet away when Elinor seemed to come to her senses, frozen. Blinking dumbly at her daughter, threatening paw still hanging in the air, she whined in confusion.

Relaxing, Terra lowered his Keyblade and took a step back. Aqua was right. His interference hadn't been required after all. There was an exchange between Merida and Elinor, but he paid it no mind. It was time to leave, he knew that now. Turning away and leaving the girl and the bear to their fate, he marched back over to Aqua and Claire, both of whom seemed to be awe struck by the scene that had unfolded.

"Let's go." He met his wife's startled gaze with his own cryptic one. On one hand he was frustrated with her initial lack of concern on the matter, but on the other he envied her foresight, if she had truly seen the outcome, that is. He sincerely hoped that she wasn't so focused on her mission that she failed to see those in need right in front of her.

Because that wasn't the Aqua he had fallen in love with.

Eraq huddled obediently in the deep snow by Ven's feet. He shivered from the cold and the fear, but his uncle Ven was strong, and he knew he would protect him. But without Angelo to cling to he had nothing to hold onto, not even his black moogle anymore. The monsters thundering across the white ground roared furiously and he tried to think of something else.

Like where or when he had lost his Kupo, or if Angelo was going to be ok, or if he would ever see Mom and Dad again. There was suddenly wild movement all around him and he looked up to see his uncle Ven fighting hard to keep the monsters back. The battle seemed to go on forever and the noise was unbearable. Between the metallic screeching of Ven's six swords of light and that horrible snarling of the monsters, Eraq reached up to cover his ears, only to get shoved head first into the snow.

He yelped and pushed himself up with his arms and noticed in a panic that he had been separated from Uncle Ven. The black shadows writhed and lunged right next to him, unaware of his helpless presence for the moment, but he was now sitting outside of his uncle's protective barrier.

He was afraid to yell for help, because then the monsters would notice him too. Looking around frantically, his eyes caught on a small black shape in the snow only a few steps away. It was lying very still and it had very familiar fluffy fur. He crawled over to it quietly, hoping it was the same fox that he had met before. If she had protected him before, then maybe she could do it again, at least until Uncle Ven killed all the monsters.

Upon reaching the creature he gave it a nudge, but it didn't move or respond in any way. Was she dead? Did the monsters get her too?

He cringed and ducked low when he heard his uncle's frenzied voice. "Eraq, get down!" There were multiple cries of defeat as he looked up to see the dark shapes that had been looming over him suddenly explode into a fine mist and all that remained were six shining blades hovering over him protectively.

But they disappeared suddenly and he turned to see a huge horse monster standing behind Uncle Ven, its weapon plunged through the man's shoulder in a most horrific way. He was only faintly aware of a desperate screaming, ignorant that it was his own throat emitting the sound. He watched his beloved uncle fall to his knees, and then his world went dark as the monsters approached and surrounded him.

Eraq opened his eyes after the event replayed in his mind. A dark realm greeted him and he had the strange sensation of falling, but slowly, as if he were sinking in water. He jerked, suddenly afraid of drowning, but he soon realized he could breath just fine. Was he dreaming? Twisting to look down, he blinked with surprise to see a brightly lit platform beneath him and soon touched down on it gently.

Examining the circular platform curiously, he noticed various, colorful images carved all around. It was hard to differentiate all of them but he was drawn to one in particular that looked a lot like his dad, only some things were very different about him. For one, the man depicted there had black hair, not brown like Dad's. And the Keyblade he had in his hand wasn't Dad's, but was one he had seen Mom use before.

Confused, he looked up when a flash of light caught his attention. There was an image playing out above him, blinding him briefly with its white outline against the pitch black darkness surrounding it. Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he could plainly see the image and who stood in the snow. He blinked in bewilderment at seeing himself standing there, where he had been crouched beside the fox before Uncle Ven collapsed.

Now though, there was no fox, no monsters, and he could see his other self standing in the snow, holding the same Keyblade as the one held by the man depicted on the platform.

He was scared and confused enough as it was, but he grew even more startled when he heard a strange, deep voice echo all around him. "So, the darkness yet lurks in the world?" He noticed his other self was looking up at the sky and his mouth was moving to match with the new voice. "How unfortunate."

"Wh-who are you?" Eraq whimpered, gaze turning this way and that in fear.

"Peace, young one," the voice told him gently. "You are safe now."

Before Eraq could think of a reply he looked up to see a ceiling of blinding white appear above him and it suddenly dropped on him to form the snowy landscape he remembered before everything had previously gone dark.

He was standing in the snow now and he glanced down to see a shimmering afterimage of that black Keyblade as it disappeared from his grasp. All at once, Eraq felt his strength leave him and collapsed fully into the cold powder.

He desperately wanted to look and see if Uncle Ven was ok, but it was too late, he couldn't keep his eyes open anymore. The last thing he seen was a huge, dark figure crunching through the snow toward him. More Monsters? It seemed like he should care more, but he was just too tired. Closing his eyes, he succumbed to the dark cocoon of sleep.