XX. Remainder

The eerie quiet of the Keyblade Graveyard meant nothing to Kairi, who had never even heard of the place before. But to Ten, it was only a reminder of her past, her daughter, and most of all, the things she regretted most.

"This is totally not what I was expecting," Kairi admitted. She tossed her head to fix her hair, which was blowing around her face gently. "Nobody's here."

"False," Ten responded, shaking her head. Her countless braids shook and swayed in the wind. "We'll find someone here. I'm sure of it."

The pair ended up repeating that conversation more than once as they walk through the silent rocky land. There didn't seem to be much around, save for dust, rocks, and fragments of things Kairi assumed to be keyblades and Ten assumed to be wielders.

"My, my, my," Ten said at one point, looking down at obvious leftovers from armor she had once crafted. "This wielder…I remember her."

"…This is disgusting," Kairi whispered, looking down at the empty pieces of armor.

"This is all that's left of her, that's what it is. She was just like you guys: young, brave, ready to defend those who she loved." Ten gave Kairi a sad smile. "I remember her well; she was engaged to a young man, but she was ready to fight. I designed this armor for her, but it…wasn't enough, apparently."

"Let's just move on," Kairi suggested, unnerved by Ten's story. Her level of discomfort was already high enough.

"You're right; we must hurry and find Terra."

"You really think he's here?"

"Well, yes, but not in the way you might expect."

"Another set of empty armor?"

"You…might say that." Kairi cringed, but Ten didn't notice, and so they continued on. The rest of the walk was spent in silence, up until Kairi finally noticed the first sign of life.

"Ten, look over there!" she hissed, stopping in her tracks. Ten stopped abruptly as well, looking to where Kairi pointed. In the distance, there was a figure standing there. It was too far to tell if the person was actually a person or just a tall rock, but Ten had a feeling they had finally found who they were looking for.

"Carefully, Kairi," Ten warned her, and the two began to walk toward the figure.

As they approached, Ten could clearly make out the outline of an armored figure, apparently male and kneeling. He had his back to them, which only made Ten's caution grow. Would it really be as bad as she feared?

"Terra!" Kairi shouted, unable to stop herself. She wanted to see if it was really him. If it was, their journey was over, and she could be reunited with Sora and Riku once again. She was willing to take the risk to be together again.

Ten shushed Kairi quickly, her dread growing. At first, nothing happened, but slowly, the armored figure stood.

"Kairi, you really should not have done that," Ten murmured quietly, sounding alarmed.

"What? Why not?" Kairi argued. "We're here to help him, after all."

"But you don't understand, do you? This isn't quite him."

"What?"

Ten paused, watching the man in armor closely; he was completely still, so she took the chance to explain.

"This is just Terra's spirit," she whispered, barely audible above the wind, which had greatly picked up. "It's a mistake to approach him alone like this."

"We're not alone!" Kairi exclaimed. "We have each other. We can handle it!"

"You really suppose Sora and Riku have completed their tasks by now!"

"Yes, I believe it. I believe in both of them." Kairi summoned her keyblade. "We'll just distract him until they get here!"

Ten looked at Kairi with a mix of admiration and disbelief on her face as the teen walked toward Terra's armor.

Either she is incredibly brave, or incredibly unintelligent, Ten thought, cautiously following Kairi as she marched over to Terra.

"Terra!" Kairi called out, sounding confident and cheerful. "Terra, we're here to help you! Sorry it's taken so long, but we're finally here!"

Slowly, Terra turned to the pair. His keyblade was in his hand, but he seemed docile. When he spoke, it was though his voice was one with the air around them. He was obviously no longer completely human.

"Who…are you?" he asked. "Ven… Aqua…?"

"No, I'm Kairi," Kairi said, smiling. "And this is Ten. We're here to save you and your friends."

"…If you're not one of them…there's no way you can save me."

Before Kairi or Ten could say anything, they were met with a huge blast of wind. It hit them so hard that Ten nearly fell over, and Kairi actually did.

"W-wait, Terra!" Kairi cried out, but it was too late. This part of Terra was no longer completely human, and there was nothing like reason left within him.

"It's no use, Kairi," Ten said quickly, helping Kairi up. "We can't fight him like this. We've got to run!"

"But if we leave, we'll lose him again!" Kairi argued.

"And if we stay, we're done for." Ten pulled Kairi's arm, but the red-head stood firm.

"No. I won't leave him." Ten stared at Kairi, and she continued. "I can't just leave Terra here! We're all connected. I would be betraying not just Sora, but another part of me if I left now!"

Wrenching her arm away, Kairi summoned her keyblade.

"Kairi, no!" Ten shouted, her voice nearly lost to the wind.

"I'm not afraid!" Kairi exclaimed. "I said I would fight, too, and here I am! C'mon, Terra-you think you can take me?"

"No!" Ten shrieked, closing her eyes. "Don't do this! Don't do this, Aurae!"