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

Forever and a Day

"We've spent forever and a day looking for you," Terra remarked casually as he checked if anyone was watching. "You're not usually this hard to find."

Aqua would have said something, but one of Terra's hands was clamped over her mouth. The other curled around her body, pinning her arms to her side, and instead of clobbering him over the head like she should have, she meekly tried to squirm free. That rebellious part of her mind still held her body hostage, leaving it frozen with hesitation; however, even if she could summon Rainfell, she knew it was too late. The second she allowed Terra to grab hold of her, it was over. He was as tough and sturdy as the element he was named after, and even his obvious muscles were a weak testament to how strong he truly was.

"And now that I finally found you, Ven goes missing," he sighed.

Her heartbeat quickened in panic, and her struggles increased. Phantom pains set her chest on fire as she recalled the aftermath of her last fight with Ventus. What would he do when Terra handed her over? It was not something she could anticipate, because Ventus was so confusing. The way he was supposed to act and did act scarcely matched, and she couldn't even sort out her own feelings towards him.

"Aqua, relax," Terra said, trying to soothe her.

It had the opposite effect.

"It will be over soon," Terra said, oblivious to the sinister way his words could be translated. "We'll take you home, fix your mind, and everything will be back to normal!"

It was useless to tell him that she didn't know what normal was. She shuddered; by the sounds of it, he and Ventus were planning to brainwash her.

Vanitas, where are you? He always showed up when she didn't want him there; where was he now?

As if hearing her plead, she heard a high-pitched whine, like the sound of a kettle boiling over. Terra only had time to look up before a dark spell exploded against his back. His grip weakened, enough for her to slip away, and the cold touch of the darkness finally brought Rainfell to the surface. She sunk down into a stance, her keyblade glowing as she mentally chanted spells; however, before either she or Terra could move, Vanitas dropped down between them.

He pointed his keyblade straight at Terra, and she could feel the rage rolling off him in waves. "You better have your will written up, because . . . Terra?"

He cursed, backpedalling. Terra, seeing the tides change, summoned a brown keyblade and charged. Quickly, Vanitas blocked him with a wall of purple fire and created a portal for them.

Once they were through and safe, he turned to her and asked, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, closing her eyes as she thought about the narrow escape.

He said nothing and they looked out at the horizon, both knowing this was far from over.