A/N: Fun fact: My computer crashed completely when I was writing this chapter. I did manage to get it fixed, buuuut I did have to factory reset the whole thing. On the bright side, this is not the first time this happens, soooo I have back ups. On the negative, this is the second time this happens, soooo I think I might eventually need a new one? Probably so. Meh.

Also, From the Heart is nearing its end. I estimate maybe three or four more chapters before I list it as finished(mind you, this is what I thought about ten chapters ago, so don't hold me to that) thennn begin the long process of editing the whole thing. After that's done, I'll post the sequel, which will likely have a very imaginative name such as From The Heart: Second Act.

Also, I've got a sort of prequel for this story now? Well, another one if you want to get technical. It's called Godfall, which summarizes just exactly how Ventus knows Tina.

It seems I've exited my mental KH/Final Fantasy phase. That… Lasted longer than usual. Annnnd I've gone into a Star Wars phase. Complete with marathoning Star Wars: Clone Wars and reading random Legend books in no particular order. (I'm currently switching back and forth between Jedi Apprentice, Young Jedi Knights, The Castilla Ming Trilogy, and the Crystal Star). Ohhh and playing old Star Wars games I have lying around. And I've got plenty. For anyone who hasn't played it, I recommend KOTOR. It literally got me into liking RPGs.

So, I now have a tumblr. Same username as on here. I've just started the thing, but I'll be posting random things there for all my stories

Published: 07/05/2018

Warnings: None


Chapter 29

Promise

Percy took a step forward towards the fallen girl, concern etched on his face. Why had she just passed out like that? What was wrong with her? Was she okay?

Wait, no. Dumb question. Okay people do not pass out randomly. Duh.

Just as he was about to break into a run, a hand latched onto his shoulder, pulling him back. Percy looked up. Sabin wasn't looking at him. No. Instead, the man was also looking straight at the unconscious girl.

"We can't pass. The second we cross the barrier, Zeus will know."

The barrier literally marked by Thalia's tree. Percy bristled. Who cared if Zeus saw them? Except for the part where Zeus would more than likely literally beside them with a slew of little hunting bolts because he was a paranoid bastard and Tina and Sabin were literally unknown forces on this planet.

Gods didn't take kindly to other gods on the same planet, let alone something foreign from another world, so it was a valid concern. Well, more like precaution. They weren't exactly sure how Zeus would react, but it was best not to test a being that had devoured his lover because it had been prophesied that her son would be his end.

Thalia looked confused at the words. Confusion that was quickly replaced by a stubborn look when she realized her siblings were actually listening to the blond stranger.

"You can't. I can!"

With that rather bold declaration, Thalia ripped her way forward towards the girl, kneeling down and cradling Annabeth's head in her lap. Percy blinked at the image.

Thalia, tender and kind? Well, okay, if one of them had scraped their knees she was nice, occasionally, but she mostly just snorted, told them to tough it up, then followed through with a zap because Thalia was just that kind of-

Thalia lifted her hand high in the air, bringing it down with a resounding smack that echoed. Loudly.

Ah. Okay. Universal order restored.

The unconscious girl, Anna Percy thought Thalia had said, spluttered, eyes snapping open.

"Chase! Wake up! No napping!"

Startled gray eyes locked onto Thalia.

"You- but- you were in the - but how- how are you-"

Thalia interrupted this mini freak out by pulling the younger girl into a hug.

Okay, Percy decided. Never mind. The universe was once more at risk. The question was how to save it, because Percy honestly had no idea. Hm.

Just then, Tina took a step forth. Percy turned. The woman's eyes were fixed on the tree, eyebrows furrowed. Percy wasn't the only one who noticed.

Sabin bumped her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I… I sense… You aren't going to believe this, but I think Ven is somehow in there too."

Thalia's head snapped up at that.

"You mean the freakshow with the multicolored eyes?" Thalia scowled. Tina looked startled at the words, turning towards Thalia in surprise. "He pushed me out of the tree. Literally. Said he was giving an 'old friend' a helping hand. I'm guessing that's you?"

Tina's eyes darted back and forth rapidly, between Thalia, the tree and, strangely, Sora. Then, the same resolute look that had taken Thalia only moments earlier overtook Tina as she moved forth, determination in her walk. Hand reaching out, it trailed along the bark of Thalia's tree before her head fell against it, eyes closing.

Percy blinked.

Er…

"She's gone inside. Or, well, her spirit has." Sabin said in way of explanation.

She could do that? Wait, of course she could do that. She'd pulled Thalia out, so there was no reason she couldn't go in herself.

"Just what," Annie's voice cut across, "in the name of the all that is holy, is going on?"


Tina opened her eyes, looking around.

This… This was the play island her son was so fond of. Ah. So this is what his mindscape looked like. Tina had wondered, but she'd never entered. It was never wise to enter the mind of a child, into something still developing.

But, this tree… This tree was different. This tree was special. For a moment, Tina wondered if this tree was where Hera had anchored her dream spell before dismissing it.

The children had shared dreams long before it's inception.

Besides, reminiscing on that wasn't why she was here.

"Tina… Terra… Tina… Terra… You… You're here. Here. You're here. You're here."

Tina spun.

There he was.

Ventus… Had not aged a day. Centuries had not marked him in the slightest. Even after all these years, he still looked exactly the same.

Well, that was a lie. Not the same. Not the same at all.

Tina choked back a gasp.

Freakshow.

That's what Thalia Grace had described Ventus as. Tina wanted to say it was wrong. She wanted to say it was an exaggeration. She wanted to believe that, with all her heart. She wanted to, but she could not.

Not with the truth, glaring her in the face.

Ventus took a single staggering step, his knee bending from the strain of that alone. Tina darted froth, hands reaching out, keeping the boy from falling over.

Ventus…

Two mismatched eyes gazed up at Tina. Blue and gold, one side pulsing with darkness, veins running along cracked flesh, the blood in them dirty and twisted. The other side shimmered, like the boy was glowing. Glowing, like a star.

Tina had never seen these herself, but she recognized it.

Someone had ripped Ventus in two. They had torn his soul into two separate pieces, light and dark. Torn them apart, then messily and without any hint of finesse, mashed them back together.

They hadn't done it right. At all.

Hands, desperate hands, clutched to her.

"Tina. Terra. Tina. Terra. Can't… Remember. Can't remember your real name." Ventus admitted. Tina winced at that. Whoever had done this, they'd had no mercy.

Tina wouldn't have any mercy with them either. None at all. None whatsoever.

"Celes. Celes. Is she here? Is she with you? Celes will make it better. Celes always makes it better. Where is Celes? Do you have Celes?" Ventus started to ramble before he pulled Tina closer, eyes gazing behind her suspiciously, as if suspected Tina of hiding Celes Chere in her back pocket.

Tina wasn't entirely sure how even Celes could help with something like this, but Ventus seemed completely and utterly convinced of it.

Which Tina supposed wouldn't have been a problem, except for one tiny major factor.

Celes was very, very dead.

Ventus looked at her in desperation. For a moment, Tina was reminded of the children she'd taken into her care over the years, ever since that fateful day when Kefka rained fire and destruction open the world. Children that she had cared for, holding close and protecting.

Lost, searching desperately for something to make it right, to make it better.

There was no cure for such things. Scars may heal, but they never fade. They etch themselves into the flesh, into the heart, into the soul. They mark you, become a part of you, forever.

"Celes will make it better. She always does. Where is she? Do you know where she is?" Ventus pleaded.

Tina smiled sadly at him. Hand lifting up, she parted Ventus hair. His flesh stung. The darkness that clung to him ached, stinging at her in endless stabs of icy energy that left her feeling drained. She couldn't imagine what it must be doing to Ventus himself.

"I don't. But, we'll find her. I promise." Tina lied.

Ventus frowned.

"She was gone. She was gone, but she'd back. Back with the world, because she fell with the world, but the heart came back." Ventus giggled. Tina froze. "The heart of the world was restored, so the world back. She should have come back. Did she come back?"

Heart… Of the world.

At times, Tina struggled to remember. Endless centuries will do that to you. Things that seemed second nature fade from the mind, fade as you start to age more and more. The mind can only hold so much, hold so much information before some of it is lost, faded away into nothing.

The heart… What was the heart? Tina knew it was important. Important beyond belief, but for the life of her, she just couldn't remember.

Regardless, that was not why she was here.

Tina cupped Ventus chin in hand, turning his face up towards her. The boy blinked at her, titling his head in curiosity.

"Ventus… I will find a way to fix you. I promise."

Ventus took a moment to consider the words before a frown overtook his features. Then, batting her hand aside, he stepped back. A look of utter blind rage overtook him, rage so strong that Tina had to resist the urge to back away from him herself.

"Promises, promises, promises! They always promise! Celes promised! Terra promised! Aqua promised! Ava promised! Promises mean nothing! They've always meant nothing! Now, you're promising too! You'll break it! They always break it!"

Ventus turned away, hands reaching up, clutching at his head as he swayed back and forth, angry tears streaming down his face.

Tina did the only thing she knew how to do. She stepped forth, wrapped her arms around him, and pulled him close, and held him as he sobbed. He struggled at first, trying to break away, but Tina's grip was firm. Finally, the boy relented, a choked sound escaping his lips as he clutched to her desperately.

She'd fix this. She would. Tina wasn't sure of the how, or the when, but she would. She'd fix it, and that was a promise.


Annabeth looked back and forth.

This… This was a little much to take in. Scratch that. This was a lot much to take in.

"So… Let me get this straight." Annabeth began. Lifting her hand, she pointed at Thalia, Percy, Sora, Jason, and Nico in succession. "You five have been sharing dreams for years, except every time you woke up, you'd forget what you knew in the dream world."

Nods.

"From what you've gathered, Hera was behind it, but none of you know why."

More nods.

With this, Annabeth turned to Jason.

"And you. You… You're Thalia's brother. Not figuratively, not mentally, literally. Her little brother."

Jason and Thalia shared a look, a soft smile forming on each of their lips. They didn't look much alike, Annabeth realized. Jason's blond hair contrasting against the dark bangs covering Thalia's face. While they both had blue eyes, Thalia's were electric, bright and deep. Jason's were like the sky, light in color.

Annabeth turned, looking towards Sora.

"And you… You aren't from this world. Or, if you are, you left years ago. You're literally an alien."

To this, Sora nodded, grinning wildly, arms crossed behind his back. His two friends, Riku and Kairi, stood behind him. Annabeth turned towards Sabin. "You are also an alien, complete with a flying spaceship that you used to get here."

Sabin smirked.

"I don't want to brag, but… My flying skills are on point." Sabin said with all the humility of Apollo.

Jason's head snapped up, glaring.

"You nearly killed us, you psychotic braindead moron!"

"You nearly did what?" Thalia joined her brother in glaring.

"It was awesome!" Leo interrupted, throwing his arms up in cheer.

Annabeth watched as Sally Jackson not so discreetly pulled some of the children closer to her. And, more importantly, away from Sabin.

Deciding that it was in the best interest of everyone if she just continued on, Annabeth did just that.

Annabeth turned towards Leo and Bianca.

"The two of you just basically got dragged into this by no action of your own and you," Annabeth pointed at Bianca, "despite also being a kid of the big three, were not, in fact, dragged into the dream world."

A tick mark seemed to hover above Bianca's head at the words.

Okkkkay. Best not mention that. Ever again, Annabeth decided.

Annabeth saved the best for last. Turning to Thalia, she smiled. Well. Tried to smile. It was kind of hard when she wanted to break down in tears from the whiplash o emotions, but she wasn't about to do that in front of a bunch of random strangers.

"And you… You're back."

Annabeth couldn't help the break in her voice. Luckily, no one called her on it. Well, lucky for them. If anyone did, they'd feel the wrath of the daughter of Athena. Thalia grinned back at her, because it was true. Thalia was here. She was here, she was alive, she was breathing, she wasn't in that tree anymore, she was-

"For a bit."

A sound much like a record screeching ripped into Annabeth's brain, eyes darting towards Jason. The boy looked sad, forlorn, staring at his sister in longing.

"What?"

Jason looked at her.

"Tina can't pull Thalia out of the tree. At least, not permanently. She explained that, on the way here. She said one day, she might be able to, but…"

Jason shrugged.

Just shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal.

Annabeth wanted to beat the boy senseless. How… How dare he! How dare he say that so casually, how dare he say it so tonelessly! How. Dare. HE!

"But she'll be able to come out now, from time to time and we can share dreams again!" Sora shouted, fist pumping into the air.

Ah.

Riku smacked Sora upside the head, causing the brunette to glare.

The brunette was not alone.

Riku was subjected to the death glares of four very overprotective siblings. The silver haired boy took no notice of this, his eyes never leaving Sora. Either he was very brave, very stupid, or he had absolutely no sense of fear whatsoever. For all Annabeth knew, it was a mixture of all three.

"We don't know if the dreams will come back. Remember who was triggering them. She isn't exactly friendly." Riku pointed out.

Sora pouted. Then, crossing his arms, he sneered, which looked so bizzare on his face that Annabeth wasn't alone in doing a doubletake to make sure she wasn't seeing some form of illusion.

"Well, then we'll just have to come visit then!" Sora declared.

"That we will."

Annabeth turned.

Tina Branford had finally lifted her head from Thalia's tree. Turning to them, the woman smiled.

Annabeth knew, instantly, that it was forced. She wasn't sure if anyone else noticed it, however. There were no obvious tells, nothing at all to indicate that there was any strain behind it. Just an easy going smile, a soft look in her eyes, a gentle air.

Too perfect.

Tina stepped towards them, turning away from the tree. Then, she spoke.

"It's almost time. We'll depart soon." Tina nodded towards the group before turning to Thalia. "Young Thalia, you will be able to exit the tree from time to time, but you are still bound to it. I've managed to circumvent some of the magic that binds you to it, but breaking it… You were on your deathbed when your father bound you here. If I shatter it entirely, you will die."

Thalia winced at that. Regardless, she shot the woman a grateful look.

"That's fine. It's better than I expected. Better than I could have hoped for. Thank you."

"... Did… Did you turn my sister into a tree nymph?" Jason spoke.

Tina, notably, did not answer.

"Wait, we can come back later, right?" Sora turned to his mom, an almost desperate plea in his voice.

Tina froze entirely. Less than a second later, she shook out of it, so quick that, in a blink, you'd have missed it.

"Of course. We'll probably have to see if we can build some sort of doorway to tie this world to ours, but yes." Tina turned, looking off towards Camp Halfblood. "I don't like this place, Sora. I won't lie to you. This… Camp. It builds soldiers. That is its purpose. But, this is also your blood. Your legacy." Tina twisted again, green eyes locking onto blue. "It's a promise."