Master Eraqus wasn't joking about these unversed.
There were tons of them. Literally, thousands of them crawling around this world. Terra had landed in the middle of a forest that was infested with them. The young man swung his keyblade, eliminating the smaller, roach-like ones in a single stroke. There were larger, rounded ones too. They kept blocking his attacks. The flying jars were annoying, because they kept hovering just slightly out of his reach.
There were some that looked like deranged clowns. They cackled with laughter as Terra defeated them. A few took the form of snakes. It was difficult to see those ones ahead of time. Typically, they lunged out of nowhere. Some were in the shape of black cats, and Terra couldn't tell if it was an unversed or not until he was within its striking distance.
The ones that looked like the silhouette of a mad woman actually frightened Terra. Their wild, black hair covered half of their face, so that they only had one shiny red eye. They moved fast, and were armed with knives. They would repeatedly mumble the phrase, "Mommy loves you," and upon defeat, emitted a blood curdling shriek of agony.
"These things are fucking crazy," Terra complained.
He fought several that looked like black bunnies. They seemed cute, but their kicking attacks were nothing to smile about. Some unversed took the shape of giant scissors. Terra's mother had told him never to run with scissors. He could only imagine her reaction if he told her that he was running from scissors.
There were many more unversed, which assumed the shape of a lot of interesting things. Books, tigers, crows, oak trees… The more of these weird creatures that Terra fought, the more he realized that they looked like monsters from a child's nightmares. He came to this epiphany when he fought one that looked like a bunny on a unicycle banging on a bass drum that was strapped to its chest.
"Okay, this is insane," he complained after he had struck it down. "They are endless. I could be here all day." He had been there all day, for the late afternoon sun had set into evening. But the silver lining was that the unversed dropped a lot of munny after they were defeated. If Terra kept fighting them at this rate, he'd probably be able to buy several pairs of Nike Keys shoes.
By now, he had made his way to a stone bridge crossing over a river, leading up to a magnificent, skyscraping castle. A gentle breeze whipped his hair around his face. His phone rang. His phone had been ringing off and on for a while, but because he was fighting unversed, he hadn't had the time to check it. He had several missed calls from Aqua. One missed call from Ven. Also a text from Aqua. Where are you?
Terra silenced his phone and returned it to his pocket. He didn't want to deal with them right now. He needed to release his angst on these unversed. So he ran across the bridge, looking for more to fight. He saw a tall, horned one, walking along the stone pathway. Launching himself into the air, he slammed his keyblade so hard that it made a crater in the bridge. But he missed his target, because it had vanished into thin air.
Keeping his guard up, he looked to his left and too his right. "Fool," said a voice from behind. Terra rolled forward. Turning around, he saw that what he had attacked wasn't an unversed. It was a weird looking lady, dressed in black, flowing robes. Her cheek bones were high, her eyebrows were the fleekest, and the "whites" of her eyes were dried-hay yellow. Her skin was deep grey, and she carried a golden staff. Honestly, she looked like she would be an unversed.
"Oops," he said.
"Oops is correct, you monkey. What should I have done if I didn't teleport out of the way of your brutish attack?"
"I didn't mean to attack you. I guess I'm just moving too fast and not looking closely."
"Humans are foolish," she declared, raising her staff high into the air. "I shall make you suffer—" Then she noticed the keyblade in Terra's hand. "Why, what an interesting weapon you possess! A blade in the shape of a key. I wonder if what he told me was true. Can it truly unlock the hearts of men?"
"What man?"
"And why must I answer you?"
"Do you remember his name? Was it Xehanort?"
"Such a rude child. You attack me, then demand answers. Do you know who I am? How dare you insult me?"
Terra realized that he was wasting his time. "Whatever. Bye."
He turned around to leave. The woman pointed the staff at him. The orb on the tip glowed yellow. "Foolish man, a brutish knave, obey my words, become my slave."
A cold chill ran down Terra's spine. He shuddered. Dark essence radiated off of him. With dull eyes, and a blank mind, he faced the witch. "At your command, Ma'am."
"I am Maleficent, you pig," she told him. "Address me as such."
"Madame Maleficent." Terra knelt down before her, his head lowered.
"Good. And your name, child?"
"Terra Smith, of Traverse Town."
"Your purpose?"
"Eliminate the unversed. Find Xehanort."
Maleficent tapped her blood-red fingernails against her pointed chin. "Unversed you say?"
"They are monsters made of negative emotions."
"Interesting. Well, Terra Smith of Traverse Town, I have a quest for you. You shall enter that castle. Upon the uppermost floor is a girl whose beauty is unparalleled in all the land. Hair as gold as sunshine. Skin as fair as sandstone. Eyes bluer than the sky above. She sits, sobbing, for she is to one day marry a prince that she has never once laid eyes upon." With a wave of her hand, Maleficent conjured a wooden stake. "A single prick of her finger on this, the spindle of spinning wheel, shall end her misery. And then you shall collect her heart for me. Are your instructions understood?"
Terra nodded. "Yes, Madame Maleficent."
"See to it then." She cackled in laughter. Spreading out her arms, her figure collapsed into a thin black strip, before fading into thin air.
Under Maleficent's spell, and armed with his keyblade and the spindle, Terra marched forward. "Who goes there!?" shouted the guards when he reached the Castle Gates. With a flick of his keyblade, he knocked them out. Then he busted down the door. Of course this attracted the attention of more guards.
"Intruder!" they shouted. Armed with poles and swords and spears, they charged toward Terra. He lifted his blade, and gathered them all with magnera magic. And he kept walking. He fought his way through guards and walked past frightened maids and servants. Up the stairs, he progressed unopposed. That is, until three old fairy women fluttered in front of him.
"You villain!" said the shortest woman, dressed in a blue gown. "You must be sent by Maleficent to hurt our dear Rose!"
"Our Princess Aurora," corrected the woman in green. "And we won't let you!"
Terra shoved them aside, and kept walking. The old woman in pink blasted Terra in the back with magic. Stumbling, Terra seemed to snap out of it for a moment.
"Huh?" he mumbled.
"Finish the job," demanded a voice in his head. So he raised his keyblade and shouted, "Stop!" The fairies were frozen in place.
Possessed Terra barged into the room where Princess Aurora was. She was weeping, her head laid down on a vanity, paying no attention to her surroundings. Terra stopped moving. He began to snap out of it. "A-are you okay?" he asked.
Startled, the girl nearly fell out of her seat. "Oh dear! Where did you come from?"
He winced. "Actually, where did I come from? How did I get here?"
She wiped her face and giggled. "Are you trying to cheer me up?" She met his eyes. "Are you my prince?" She stood up. Placing her hands behind her back, she inspected Terra. "Well I guess you're handsome. But you're nothing like the boy I met in the glen."
"Boy in the glen?"
She clasped her hands together and spun around. "He's a brunette too, with wide eyes, and a chiseled smile. He sang to me. His voice was deep and majestic. It was magical." With a sigh, she stopped twirling. She sat down. "The man of my dreams. He was supposed to meet me at my home in the glen tonight to celebrate my 16th birthday. Suddenly, my aunts told me that they are actually my guardian fairies, and that I'm not some random girl. I am a princess. And today I am to meet my parents for the first time, and then meet the prince that I am to marry in a few years. And that from now on I must give up my simple life to be royalty! Did they expect me to not be upset? I have been lied to my entire life! My name isn't even Rose! I'm Aurora!" She rested her head against the vanity. "And worst of all, they won't even tell me why they lied. So I'm really upset. I'm devastated. I really am."
Terra did not know what else to say, so he said, "Oh... Well if it helps, I'll say happy birthday."
Rose/Aurora smiled. "Thank you." Then she pointed to the wooden stake in Terra's hand. "What's that?"
Once again, Maleficent's voice sprung up in his head. "Do it!"
Terra's eyes went dull as he seized the girl's hand, and forced her to touch the tip of the spindle. Immediately, her eyes rolled back in her head. She collapsed onto the floor, motionless.
Terra snapped out of the spell again. "Wh-wh-what?" he asked himself. Upon seeing Princess Aurora fainted on the floor, he knelt down and shook her. "Hey? Are you okay? Hey! Hey!"
"YOU INSOLENT FOOL!" barked that evil voice inside his head. With a darkening of the air, the witch woman appeared in front of Terra again. "Finish the job!"
Terra grabbed at his head. "No! What, what are you doing to me?"
"Steal her heart!"
He didn't want to do it. But he couldn't stop himself. Grasping his keyblade in both hands, he held it over the girl's body. Her light gathered in front of his blade, collecting into a glittering, heart-shaped mass. "Good," Maleficent said, as she snapped her fingers. The light zoomed out of the window, far off into the distant horizon.
Terra dropped to his knees. "What did I just do?"
"You've paid back your debt to me," answered Maleficent. "Because you have helped me, I shall spare your life."
Terra tried in vain to rouse Aurora. "Are you okay? Wake up. Please. Wake up." The princess felt cold. "No… I couldn't have…" He gaped at his own hands. "I didn't…" He stood up and assumed a battle stance. "You! You did this!"
Maleficent cackled with laughter. "You fool! Was it my legs that carried you up those stairs?"
"You did something to me! You took control of me!"
"And why were you so easy to control? Hmm? Compared to all the men who already were in this castle, you were the most willing to do my building."
Terra's arms went limp. "I was?"
"Yes." Maleficent swirled her spiny fingers around the orb that rested atop her staff. "Your heart is tainted with darkness. It was quite easy to manipulate."
"Tainted with darkness?"
"Fury, regret, desire, lust. Those are but a few of the things I sense. A heart as dark and strong as yours can be put to good use, no? Join me, Terra Smith of Traverse Town. Become my second-in-command. You will be rewarded with all your heart desires. Women! Respect! Power! Together, we shall rule all the worlds!"
Terra swung his keyblade at the witch. "No way in hell!"
Maleficent teleported away. "Ah, but you considered it, did you not?"
"No! I would never consider it!"
Maleficent appeared behind him, her lips dangerously close to his ears. She whispered, "What a shame. A heart like yours has no home but in the darkness."
Terra smashed his blade on the ground where she had been standing. But it was too late. Although she was nowhere to be seen, her laughter echoed throughout the room for what seemed like eons.
When all fell silent, Terra once again tried in vain to wake the teenage girl. Panicking, he pleaded, "Wake up! Wake up! Rose or Aurora or whatever you name was! Wake up!"
No response. Terra placed his two forefingers against her neck, hoping to take a pulse. He couldn't find one, so he laid his head against her chest, hoping to hear a heartbeat.
"Get away from her!" shouted the fairies as they rushed into the room. Terra's stop spell had finally worn off. They grabbed Aurora and tugged her away from Terra.
"I didn't mean to hurt her," Terra explained. "I can fix this! How can I fix this?"
The blue fairy blasted him in the gut with magic. "You've done enough! Go away!"
Terra wanted to argue, to beg them to allow him to help. But he could see that they were terrified of him. The last thing they needed was his help. "Fine." He stood up.
As the moon bared it face in the sky, he made his way down the steps, past the corridors, out of the castle, and off of that world. "Maybe Maleficent was right," Terra said as he drifted aimlessly in the space between worlds. "Maybe I do belong in the darkness…"
Meanwhile, the fairies cuddled their darling Aurora. "She was pricked," the pink one said. "And what's worse, her heart was stolen."
"Oh Flora, what shall we do?" asked Fauna, the green one.
"I bet it's Maleficent's doing!" cried Merryweather, the blue one. "Oh our dear Princess! All those years, hiding her in the glen, lying to her, separating her from her parents! All those years trying to prevent her from this doomed destiny! All for naught! Now she's lost!"
"No she's not lost. She's in a deep, deep sleep," Flora said. "And until someone can come to save her, we'll put the entire castle to sleep."
Fauna seemed puzzled. "How should that help the situation?"
"Do you have a better idea, Fauna?"
Nope. So together, the fairies cast a sleeping spell over the entire castle. They tucked Aurora into bed in the highest tower. And they waited.
