Kairi stared at the tall, armored man with a long cape, aboard a burning, ruined ship in the middle of the...ocean...
A man named Terra.
A man she had just flown over here and come down on with her Keyblade!
Oh my gosh.
Terra turned away from her, raising his hand in Riku's direction; green light shrouded Riku - a healing spell. Riku gave a gasp of relief, touching his face as he rose to his feet again.
"Thanks..." Riku said.
"No problem," Terra replied. He turned back to Kairi. "Now: hello - Kairi, isn't it?" the man said lightly. "Yes, my name is Terra. I expect Aqua's told you all about me by now..."
Kairi let her weapon fall to her side, and let it vanish. She stared at him some more, rocking on her heels. "Hi...again," she said faintly.
"Again?" A frown in that voice.
"You don't remember...?" Kairi said. "It was about a week ago now. Your Heart connected with mine - and we talked. You told me all about Xehanort, how he took your body, and how he became Ansem, and...other stuff."
"I see..." Terra said quietly, bowing his head slightly. "Sorry, but that wasn't- ah, I'm not- I'm not my Heart," he said finally.
"What do you mean?" Kairi asked.
"When...Xehanort...took over my body, the remnants of my thoughts and feelings, along with important memories, took refuge in my armor," Terra explained. "All of that together became...me. A mind, persisting. But I'm far from a full person - and I'm definitely not my Heart. I'm...a 'part' of Terra. Or...an off-shoot." He shrugged, casually, and it looked weird in that impressive golden armor of his. "The point I'm trying to get across here is that my - that Terra, the full person, the Heart - and who I am right here are separate existences."
"So you don't remember anything he's said or done," Kairi nodded.
"Not after the point of...uh, my 'creation,' no," Terra replied cautiously. "Which would be...anything that's happened to him in the past ten years."
"Okay," Kairi said. "Got it." She paused. "For a moment there, I thought we'd get to say that was totally the easiest rescue mission of all time. But if your Heart is still out there, still trapped somewhere...then the mission is still on. And we'll find him, and save him!"
"No," Terra shook his head. "Listen, wherever my Heart is, it's too dangerous to go looking for it. To try and get it back. Xehanort needs to be destroyed - at all costs. Even if it means destroying my own Heart right along with him."
"Okay, look, that's really - noble or whatever - but we have a plan and we're sticking to it! And we'll fight until we succeed!" Kairi said fiercely.
Terra looked away. "What will you do when you succeed, then? Where will my Heart go?"
"Back to your body, of course! That would be Xemnas, if we have this whole mess straight," Kairi responded.
"Xemnas?" Terra said.
"That's your- Xehanort's Nobody. Your body after he became a...Heartless...Oh. I never even really realized that that must mean Ansem is a Heartless..." Kairi shook her head, brushing her hair. "Ansem turned into a Heartless, and your empty body left behind became Xemnas. Walking and talking - and fulfilling Xehanort's evil plans, too. Ansem tried to make his own Kingdom Hearts, and so is Xemnas. Though, we don't exactly know why."
"That's just even more reason to end this...Xemnas's existence, whether he's using my body or not," Terra said.
"Or we can put a stop to his plans by putting you back into your body!" Kairi refuted. "We can multitask."
Terra sighed. "All right, I don't want to stand here arguing." He turned, gesturing around them. "Anyways, since you ruined our ship, I think we should move over to yours before it sinks."
Kairi sighed too. She blushed. "Sorry!"
"It was a misunderstanding," Terra said smoothly. "Now, since you flew your way over here, I'm going to assume you can fly back there to your own ship?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Riku - come on." Terra moved to Riku's side, holding out an arm; Riku took it.
Kairi turned and leaped off the ship, soaring out across the water.
She glanced back to see Terra flying after her, shrouded in a golden light. Riku in his arms.
She shook her head and faced forward, speeding up to rocket on away from them.
Kairi landed on the main deck of her own ship, gentle and easy. She looked to Aqua and Ven, set her hands on her hips, and gave them her best grin. "So, funny story: I found someone over there who you might like - it's not Riku."
Both of them looked over her shoulder, past her.
Furrowing brows, and then shocked expressions. And a whole host of other emotions, too.
Terra landed next to Kairi (letting Riku out of his grip).
"TERRA?!" Aqua and Ven cried together, racing forward.
"Aqua...Ven? You're here too? You-" Terra reeled, wobbling as his two friends hugged him tight. Then he hugged them back.
"Riku!" Sora exclaimed, running up to his friend, beaming. "What're you doing here? How did you...Wait a sec - Riku, what happened to your...!" Sora gasped.
"What happened to his what?" Kairi muttered, turning back to Riku. She froze as she...really took him in. Up close now. Clearly. Not through a filter of rage and other deep-seated feelings; really, she had hardly even been aware of throwing that punch - or the pain still throbbing in her hand this very moment. "What's wrong with your face?" she gasped.
"Kairi!" Sora said, horrified. "But she's right - Riku, what happened?!"
Riku's face - it was all scarred, furrowed and dark, like he'd been burned straight to the face. Badly. And he had a black blindfold on, concealing his eyes completely. His hair was a bit longer than she last remembered, too. A lot more wild.
Riku's lips parted. He bowed his head. "Uh...I took a magical blast to the face recently - trying to help save some people who needed it. I wouldn't have even survived it if not for Terra. And other people, skilled doctors."
"It's been a difficult time for him," Terra spoke. "Having to adjust to not having his sight any longer."
"Wait, what?" Kairi interrupted. "You mean he can't...SEE? Anything at all?"
"That's right," Riku said quietly. "Well...uh, I can actually see...people. Sort of. Their Hearts, and...I can see Keyblades, too. Magical weapons. But they're just these vague shapes in the darkness. Oh, and I can sense magic. Terra's been training me the past-"
"Great..." Kairi uttered, cutting him off.
"Kairi-" Sora started.
"No," Kairi refuted. She stepped closer to Riku, her fists balling. She scoffed at him. "This is great, isn't it? Now you're all going to guilt me about him - 'oh, poor, helpless, blind boy Riku!' 'We should all be extra nice and sweet to him because he's disabled!' He can just join the group like nothing ever happened, and everybody can just say to give him a mile's worth of slack!"
A frown came to Riku's face. He shook his head. "Nah. It's not like that, Kairi. I-" He stopped. Started again, in a quiet voice. "I'm...telling you myself - don't feel the need to hold back with me. You feel how you feel, and you have every right to. To always feel that way. I won't ever...ask you to pretend otherwise. I'll never ask you to treat me any differently than usual, not out of...sympathy or pity, or whatever."
"Really?"
Riku nodded. "Yeah. Really."
Kairi strode closer still, pushing her face into his.
"You already punched me," Riku said hesitantly, shrinking from her.
"I know - I'm considering doing it again."
"No, you won't," Aqua's voice rang out clearly. "I understand how you feel about him-"
"Do you?" Kairi snapped.
"-I understand how you feel about him, and you have every right to - the things I've been told he's done are atrocious - but expressing those feelings by being violent toward him isn't going to help you feel any better," Aqua went on firmly. "It won't change things. But we know what will," she added. "A Keyblade of Darkness. Your Keyblade's dark counterpart."
Kairi whipped her head back to Riku, almost headbutting him in the process. "Fine," she hissed out. "If you have anything to contribute to actually helping the worlds that you helped ruin, I'll tolerate you hanging around - but that is it for me!" She spun on her heel and stalked off across the deck. She shoved her way through the door into the Captain's cabin, slammed it behind her and shoved her back against it, crossing her arms. Then she let out a long-held hiss, cradling her aching hand and stamping a foot.
"Hehe, hey, at least she said you could actually stay..." Sora's nervous laughter drifted over to Kairi from out on the deck. "That's...a good start. Right?"
"Better than I thought it'd go, yeah," Riku's voice came, muttering. "I thought she'd go for the Keyblade."
Rage. Fury. Kairi whirled around, yanking open the door to slam it against the wall. "Don't just walk in and start joking around like it's the good old days!" she yelled out at him, shaking all over. "You're not the boy I grew up with - and you're not the Riku I went out on a raft with, either! My dream boytoy Riku was a better guy than you'll ever be!"
"Kairi, look, you can feel however you want to about him - but you can't stop us from fixing our friendship the way we want to," Sora called back to her, disapproving.
Kairi balled her fists, glaring at him. "I don't have a friendship with him anymore - it died with the islands! He killed it when he killed my dad! Don't you ever expect me to be buddy-buddy with him again!"
"That's what I just said," Sora retorted, glaring back and crossing his arms. "You feel how you feel about it, and I'll feel how I feel, okay?"
"And how do you feel about him, Sora? How can you stand there and make stupid jokes with the guy who destroyed your home?! Who killed your mom!" Kairi hurled out.
Anger filled Sora's face as he let his arms drop. He glanced at Riku, then shook his head. "Look, I think what matters...is that he came back. He stuck with us through that whole End of The World place, all the way to the Door To Darkness. And from the sounds of things, he's been doing his best to make up for everything he did, still. He lost his sight because of how hard he's trying to make up for it! To be better now! He's saved people, protected them!"
"So you'd forgive him, just like that - just because he's trying now? Because he saved a few people's lives after killing millions of them with our home? After Geppetto?" Kairi snarled. "Give me a fucking break, Sora!"
"No, how about you give me a break!" Sora shouted, stepping forward. "Way back before Radiant Garden, you agreed to try and save Riku's Heart again - and we did, and we succeeded! He changed! He realized all the mistakes he made, how horribly he messed it all up! And if you're just going to keep beating him down, even after he's changed, after he's started to try and make things right-"
"I'M NOT BEATING HIM DOWN, I'M JUST NOT BEING HIS BEST FRIEND AGAIN LIKE NONE OF IT EVER HAPPENED!" Kairi screamed out. "YOU ARE, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU EVEN CAN BE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, SORA?!"
"What's wrong with YOU?!" Sora yelled back. "Maybe I just don't want to live with that kind of hate and rage in my Heart, burning me up inside all the time! Unlike YOU! How can that be GOOD, is it FUN for you, Kairi? Do you LIKE IT? HUH?!"
"You think I like feeling this way? You think I like feeling like I can't breathe, like I want to tear myself apart with my own hands? Like I want to bash my head into the wall a million times over and scream until my lungs bleed?! I HATE IT, I HATE THIS - BUT I FUCKING HATE HIM MORE! I WANT TO KILL HIM FOR EVERYTHING HE DID, AND YOU SHOULD TOO!"
"WELL, SORRY, BUT SOME OF US DON'T HAVE THE LUXURY OF JUST BEING ABLE TO BE AS HORRIBLE TO PEOPLE AS WE WANT WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT MAKING DARKNESS GROW IN OUR HEARTS! WE HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE THINGS WE DO AND SAY TO THOSE AROUND US - I GUESS BEING A PRINCESS OF HEART HAS ITS BENEFITS! YOU DON'T HAVE TO FACE ANY CONSEQUENCES FOR WHAT YOU DO!"
Kairi opened her mouth to argue more, to scream at him some more - but then she found herself just snapping her mouth shut again. Her lips quivered, her eyes stung. "Fuck you, Sora - and not in the good way!" she choked out, whirling away to barricade herself in the Captain's cabin again.
"...What did she just say...?" she heard someone say - it might've been Terra, or Ven. Maybe even Riku.
Who knew?
Who cared?
Not Kairi.
She didn't care one bit.
More voices speaking out on the deck, all hushed and whatnot...
"...We really should have stopped them..." Aqua was saying.
"No," came Terra's voice. "Better that they had it out now rather than later...not let it just keep building up any more..."
"I deserved it...nothing she said about me was wrong," came Riku's voice. "I had that punch coming, too..."
"Wait, she actually punched you already?" Aqua's voice rose.
"Better she got it out now," Terra repeated simply.
"You're really not...fully Terra?"
Under a twinkling night sky, three figures sat out on the Pestilence's main deck together.
Watching the stars - huddled close to one another.
Terra glanced at Aqua. He shook his head. "Sorry. But, no. It's just the truth of the situation. Of...what happened."
They'd spent a surprisingly long time getting each other caught up on their recent adventures - and recent events in general. The last ten years of events. With the worlds, with Xehanort - Ansem, and Xemnas, this Organization XIII he'd formed under a ruse, people with no Hearts tricked into following him...
People like Roxas. Sora's "Nobody." His body left behind, after turning into a Heartless at Ansem's hand. A Keyblade of Heart. A third category of the weapon that Terra had only read about once, briefly...
But he digressed.
Then there was Xikira, Kairi's Nobody - and even more of an enigma, because Kairi, as a Princess of Heart, should never have been capable of making a Nobody without a corresponding Heartless.
But Terra supposed he himself was proof that there was far more to the world than anyone could ever know. Even Xehanort. The man who was obsessed with the past, with knowing everything. Probably why he'd gone on to become a researcher in Radiant Garden, using Terra's body as a new identity. The identity of "Ansem."
But it seemed that man still hadn't learned a thing.
Because here he was, trying for Kingdom Hearts once again.
Twice over.
Double the odds of success, as Xehanort probably imagined.
Either his Heartless half would succeed, or his Nobody would.
Ansem had been dealt with, so that left Xemnas.
Except Xemnas had backup. His underlings. Those people he was using. Just like he'd used Terra...tricked him, too...till the very end.
The spectacularly strange events of Castle Oblivion - the place that Aqua had turned Land of Departure into, to protect Ven's empty body for all this time. A body Ven had recently gotten back, after spending years inside this Sora kid's Heart.
Ven had also gotten other important things back recently, too - memories of his past, the life before Xehanort had brought him to Eraqus, Terra and Aqua.
Terra was happy for him - even if, clearly, it wasn't all sunshine and rainbows.
But Ven had found old friends, reunited with them. Old Keyblade wielders, even. A man named Lauriam, and a woman called Elrena.
And for that, Terra could be happy for him for.
"Terra?"
"Hm?" Terra returned to the present, looking at Aqua.
"Were you listening?" Aqua said.
"I..." Terra began.
"No matter what, you're still Terra, right?" Ven said quickly, interrupting. "I mean, you think of yourself as him, don't you? You have his memories, you've got his personality, his skills, all of it. So how can you not be Terra?"
"It doesn't seem to be the same as what Roxas or Xikira are," Aqua added softly, peering at Terra. "They see themselves as separate people, they've grown and experienced life far differently. And from what Roxas has said, the key there seems to be that neither of them had any memories of 'being' Sora or Kairi before. If they'd had those memories fully...they might well be more like you."
Terra shrugged, spreading his hands at them and chuckling a little. "This is a heavy conversation to have, isn't it? Really philosophical."
"Your very existence is a philosophical conundrum, apparently," Aqua said, half joking, a small smile on her lips. "It can't be helped, Terra. So please, tell us your thoughts."
"Well..." he said slowly. "It's true that I don't...exactly see myself as a separate person from 'Terra,' from my Heart, rather. But, at the same time, I do exist independently, and I have had ten years of experiences that are undoubtedly different from anything my Heart has been going through in the last decade now. Still...I'm not sure if that qualifies me to be a 'separate person' like Roxas or Xikira. Maybe it all depends on how you see yourself. If you believe you're a separate person, your own unique being, and you think you should have the right to...continue existing independently..." He shrugged again.
"So you don't think that about yourself? You don't think you deserve to keep existing like this?" Aqua pressed.
"I...no. I don't. Not really. I'm not like Roxas and Xikira. I'm hardly even a mind. I'm not fully formed. And I'm so...disconnected from normal human experiences that I...don't think it's helping any." Terra sighed. "I'm...more like Lauriam, or Elrena, or the rest of these Organization members. I'm more akin to a...continuation of Terra. But even then, it's not exactly the same. My case is just...unique, even among unique cases, I suppose. But I know...I'm not different enough to warrant...What would we even do? Say we did reunite my Heart and my body somehow, say we got 'me' back from Xehanort? What happens then?"
"What do you mean?" Ven said.
"My heart, the full, true me, with all of my memories and emotions, and values...will that me, and this me here, become roommates? Or - brothers? What? How would any of that even work?" He laughed, falling back to lay out on the deck.
"Maybe Kairi could do something about your current form," Aqua suggested, moving to lay down beside him on his right side. "She made Sora, and so many others human again, somehow. With Princess of Heart powers, impossible powers beyond our imagining. I'm certain she could change you, too. Your existence would be...improved. Not 'disconnected' anymore, like you said before."
"Just because there's another you out there doesn't mean we wanna lose this you," Ven told Terra, laying down to his left. He put his hands under his head as he looked at the stars.
"It doesn't have to be one or the other," Aqua agreed. "Kairi, Roxas, Xikira, and even Xion - they've all found some way to make the situation work. You could as well."
Terra spent a long moment gazing up into the sky, silent. "Maybe," he allowed. "I suppose we'll see what happens. How it all...turns out."
Ven glanced at him, smiling.
"What?" Terra said.
"Nothin'..." Ven dug into his pocket, pulling out his Wayfinder. He held it up to the stars, his smile growing. Aqua did the same, smiling too.
Terra hesitated, then reached into his own pockets to retrieve his. He held it up too, alongside them.
"Whether you're Terra or not Terra, or however you want to think of yourself..." Aqua began, with a small snort of exasperation. "Ven and I are just glad to have our best friend back."
"Yeah," Ven said firmly. "And now that we're together again, there's no way we're splitting up. We're going to be a team again - except, heck, better than we were before! We're sticking together, no matter what. And we're going to stick it to Xehanort, for everything he's done."
Terra nodded. If he were human...he would have smiled too. "You're right, Ven. We are together again - and I promise not to let us be driven apart again. We'll be a team to the end."
"Now that you're back with us, Terra - don't argue - I'd like you to help me in formally instructing these children. Our new Keyblade wielders."
Terra glanced at Aqua. He leaned out over the ship's railing, watching the waves a moment. "Master Eraqus never formally made me a Master, remember?" he said, nonchalant.
"That hasn't stopped you from training Riku, it seems," Aqua said, with a small smile of amusement. "And that's good! We should be taking these duties more seriously than ever. We're the last people left...who can pass on the Master's teachings. Who can make sure that Keyblade wielders live on at all!"
"So, we're going to make them all apprentices? How are we going to split them up? Riku and Kairi can't be under the same Master," Terra half joked.
Aqua laughed, joining him in leaning over the side of the ship. Letting the breeze flutter at her hair. She folded her hands together, humming to herself. "Mmm...you're right on that count, of course. Since you've already been looking after and teaching Riku, I think it's obvious you should keep training him. I'll take Kairi - we already have a prior connection, too."
"Right...when you visited Radiant Garden before - you saved her life from the Unversed," Terra nodded. Ven's suggestion last night that they all just "sit down and talk together" had been an excellent one, in more ways than one. More than just catching up on the last ten years. Being able to share all their adventures from before, their mistakes, where they'd gone wrong, and...well, it turned out that they had all three kept a surprising amount from each other. Not just Terra. Though, yes, he'd been the one keeping the most information from the other two... "That's sensible."
"I think I should also keep Sora," Aqua went on casually. "He and Kairi are - well, usually they're inseparable. And they work very well as a team. They've been adventuring together for months now, and they've been through quite a lot together. He also acts as a nice influence on her - and her wisdom in turn really helps Sora at times. He's a bit...well, let's say absent-minded, in the nicest of terms." She cringed, glancing up and down the ship's deck, as if fearing being overheard.
Terra just nodded. "Makes sense. So, I'd have Riku...and Xion, was it? And Roxas?"
"Mhm. Just seeing how you are with Riku, Terra...the Master would be proud. And I think you undervalue yourself a little too much in that regard. You seem to be doing wonderfully as a teacher. And I think that a girl like Xion could benefit from your style of teaching, rather than mine. She needs...confidence building, a- gentler hand. I'm not sure I can provide her that," Aqua admitted freely.
"All right. And Roxas?"
"Roxas is...lost. Confused, most of the time. He's hardly been alive for a month. And clearly, Xehanort - Xemnas - and his lackeys didn't pay any mind to proper child-rearing. He was a tool, a weapon to be used. The only person in his life who remotely seemed to care about him beyond that was that Axel person. But, even then..." Aqua shook her head, her lips pressed angrily. She let a breath go, and she turned to him with another smile. Her eyes glistened. "At any rate, I think we really need to separate Roxas from Kairi - she takes the fact that he was 'born' from herself far too seriously. I think it confuses more than actually makes Roxas uncomfortable, but...even so. She definitely has the motherly act down, because she seems to just smother him."
"So he needs room to breathe?" Terra said, amused, himself. "Alright. I can give him that."
"Though, I think we do need a little discipline here," Aqua continued. "We need authority, we need a bit of a stricter hand in general. The way these children run around doing all that they do..." She put a hand to her head, laughing. "It's honestly a wonder they didn't kill themselves ages ago. They've literally just been allowed to run amok in the worlds, stumbling and finding their way into success. Somehow they managed it, and they've struggled and learned through trial and serious error, yes, and I don't mean to devalue that - they've done quite a lot, and they've fought and won and done some seriously impressive, impossible things - but...It's lord of the flies, Terra! They're children without parents. They're chaos and bundles of runaway energy, no rules or laws but for what they set for themselves! And that must end! It must end with us! For god's sake, Kairi actually believes she's the Captain - that she's the one in charge here!"
"Alright..." Terra said slowly, seriously. "I see where you're coming from. And I agree." He paused. "And what about Ven?"
Aqua shrugged. "Ven might still have a lot to learn, but he's leagues ahead of these children already. I think he could benefit from keeping up with his own training, of course, but I also think he could do well under either of us."
"Maybe we should go for joint custody with him?" Terra said, only half joking. "Both of us instructing him, separately or together, alongside the others. That way, Ven will still get to spend time learning from the both of us."
"That...sounds smart, yes," Aqua agreed. She cleared her throat, pushing off from the railing and drawing herself up before him. "Now then: by the power vested in me as Master, appointed by Master Eraqus himself, I now name you a Master," she said formally, gazing at him with sharp eyes. Challenge in her eyes. "You've more than earned it, and you're already acting like one anyways. Don't argue. Besides, you need that authority to wrangle with these children. They need to see you as a real instructor, a real Master to them."
"So, are we going to give them the Mark, then?" Terra asked. He wished he'd had an eyebrow to raise at her in that moment. It would have been perfect. "Bring them into our line, officially, binding?"
Aqua squared her shoulders. "I think we should, yes. To truly...seal the deal. And to allow us to instruct them to our fullest potential - Master Terra."
Terra straightened up as well, facing her fully now. "Okay. Agreed," he said. "Though, you should know that Riku hasn't called his Keyblade yet."
"Not even after all this time?" Aqua said, frowning.
"Apparently not," Terra said neutrally. "But I'm confident he will, soon enough."
"Well, that will be something to work at with him - in addition to whatever you're already doing with him," Aqua replied.
"Asuna," Terra said simply.
Aqua's eyes widened. She smiled. "Oh...Wonderful."
"Something else you need to be aware of...is that he's been using darkness," Terra said evenly, bracing himself.
"WHAT?"
There it was. It was time for this, then. Well, as he himself had said to her before, concerning Riku and Kairi - best to get it out of the way now. Out in the open, sooner rather than later.
Terra gazed at her. "I know. I never thought it could be anything good, either. But I've had ten years to think about everything that went wrong. Everything I did. And I've heard everything Riku did, from his own mouth. His Heart. And the problem wasn't the darkness. It was us."
"Terra-"
"And these past days with him, I've seen him use the darkness in ways I never thought possible. He's called on it without succumbing, he's controlled it, faced it without fear or anger, and let it go again. Just like that. He's protected people, saved lives with it. And what I sense of his Heart, it's no different from- no, it's better than it was when I first met him, Aqua. He's lighter inside than he was at first. And yet still..."
"And yet still, he uses it," Aqua hissed. "He risks that light, he risks-"
"I've seen him. And I believe in him. And I believe we were wrong, Aqua. And so was the Master."
"WHAT?"
"Xehanort had only one thing right: that darkness was nothing to fear. That it was as natural as light. And that it can be controlled, and channeled. And let go again, without risk to the Heart. Because every Heart, save for the Princesses of Heart, has darkness in it naturally. Light and dark."
"I cannot believe you can even say that - you agree with Xehanort over the Master?!"
"On one, single truth about the universe - yes. Or do you think the Master knew everything? Was he always right, unfailing?" Terra challenged, hard. He stepped forward. A single, strong step. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you believe that, Aqua. After what the Master tried to do to Ven, and to me for protecting him. He tried to kill us both, because he was so blinded by the light! And if you aren't careful, you could end up the same way. Blind fear and panic over darkness is just as dangerous as letting darkness rule your emotions, feed off your Heart's weaknesses. But a strong heart has nothing to fear - from either. The Heart that sees clearly. The Heart that isn't arrogant, the Heart that can admit to mistakes and take another stance. Another view. A Heart that can change."
Aqua stepped away, shaking her head. "No, Terra, that is just- NO."
"The Master couldn't change, and that's why he failed. He refused to change. To see things differently, to consider another way. He convinced himself he had to murder his own students to uphold his light." Terra raised a hand, clenching an armored fist. And he let it go again. "I don't want to see you end up like him, Aqua. Have an open mind, give this...just a chance. Look at it in a way different from what you were taught by the Master. What he...drilled into us, over and over again. Because if he hadn't, if I'd had this revelation years ago, Xehanort wouldn't have been able to prey on the weaknesses in my Heart."
"That isn't true. That can't be."
"I failed to stop Xehanort from possessing me - but Riku didn't," Terra stated quietly. "You know how he did it? He told me. He used darkness. His darkness against Xehanort's - and his won. He broke free, and broke through; he saw some of Xehanort's memories. Before Xehanort fled his Heart. Our Heart's darkness is ours, just like our light. And we shouldn't be afraid of it. That's how it gets out of control, like a campfire that turns into a wildfire. But if you're careful, if you're attentive, if you're calm and true, it's not dangerous. And it's nothing to be afraid of. You can start that fire, and then put it out again just as easily."
"Why are you telling me all of this?" Aqua said, biting. "Do not tell me you're planning to let that boy continue to use darkness! That you're - what - going to train him in it, deliberately?"
"I'm not training him to use it - I'm helping him to help himself to control it in his own Heart," Terra said calmly. "You'd think that would be a good thing."
"You shouldn't be letting him reach for it at all."
"I disagree."
"This is not just some difference of opinion!" Aqua erupted. "You can't look at the Heartless, at Xehanort, at all of this and tell me with a straight face that darkness is anything good or natural!"
"Darkness is natural - it does what it does. The Heartless are instinctual creatures. They do what they do. It's the people like Maleficent, and Xehanort, who control and direct them that have caused the most damage."
"FINE, maybe it is natural, but you still can't say it's good! That anyone can use it for good!"
"I can and I will. I've seen Riku do it, Aqua, with my own...well, I don't have eyes, but you know what I mean."
Aqua didn't crack a smile. At all. "No."
"As long as he's here, he's going to do it, whether you like it or not. And he's going to prove it to you. He'll save people, he'll help them - with darkness. I wasn't asking for your permission, or even approval - though that would be nice to have. I was informing you of the situation...and asking you to have an open mind."
Aqua glared death at him, her hands shaking at her sides. "I will never change my mind about this. But, for the sake of team cohesion, I suppose if I can't stop either of you from this dangerous, foolhardy, insane...bullshit you've cooked up together...then I'm at least going to be on hand to step in when it all blows up in your faces in the worst possible way."
"Thank you."
"Don't."
"I spent my ten years examining my Heart, rethinking my life - my failures and weaknesses. What did you spend your ten years doing, Aqua?" Terra said quietly. "Blindly adhering to the tenants of a dogmatic Master?"
"You will not dishonor his memory like this!" Aqua shouted, her Keyblade flashing into her hand. "How dare you say things like this about him! I have had enough of you slandering him-"
"I don't think it's dishonor to question things, Aqua. Or to admit to failings. He was only human. And I saw his failings firsthand. You didn't. Me and Ven suffered them, in the end!" Terra shouted at her. "Xehanort might have set it up, but the things the Master did that day were his own choices! And what he chose to do, was to try to kill Ven, and to try to kill me just for getting in his way! He could have done anything else, Aqua - hidden Ven away somewhere safe, then gone with us to confront Xehanort together - but he chose to try to erase our existences! He never considered an alternative, he never stopped to think, to reconsider, and reflect, and change!"
Aqua's weapon vanished, and her head fell. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, her lips twisting. Trembling.
"And isn't that part of creating a new generation?" Terra continued softly to her. "These children we're going to train and teach? That they get to become better than us? To learn from our mistakes and trials? To improve upon our teachings - and maybe, just maybe, teach us some new things as well in return? All these things I've heard from you, from them, the things these kids have accomplished..." Terra went on, eyeing her closely. "Miracles. Impossible things. Turning Heartless back into humans, taking Hearts into their own, so much that they've done that we never imagined was possible in this World - why is it that you can believe in all of those things, but not the possibility that someone out there could have a handle on darkness?"
Aqua didn't respond, for a long time. Then, she raised her head, blinking at him with blotchy eyes. "Even if that were possible...how can you be so certain that person is Riku?"
"Because I've seen it. I know he's done it. And he can do it again. And no, I'm not saying he won't fail, or slip up, or make mistakes - no one is perfect, no one gets it right every time - but I have still seen him succeed. And that...gives me faith, Aqua. Belief in the impossible. In what can be possible."
"Fine..." she whispered, closing her eyes. "Believe all you want, Terra. But I'm going to keep my head about this."
"Good."
Aqua turned away. "I'll go and gather up the children."
"We're going to start training them now?"
"I assumed you and Riku have a schedule to keep to?" Aqua replied flatly.
"Yes, we have a routine," Terra answered.
"Then we'll stick to it. With him, and with the others now too."
"All right. Smart idea."
Aqua strode off to disappear into the ship's interior.
Terra might have let a breath go, if he was human.
That didn't go half as badly as I thought it would.
He stood there on the deck, centering himself. Preparing himself.
It was official, then: he was now a Master - to several students.
Said students emerged from the bowels of the vast ship, this Purple Pestilence, as Kairi had named it.
Terra tried to look his best. Which...probably wasn't very hard while you were a magical suit of very impressively crafted armor - with cape, billowing in the winds.
"So you're a big-shot now?" Riku joked, carefully walking over to him - with Xion and Roxas lagging behind him, Terra noted. "Aqua said you were promoted."
"Guess so," Terra quipped back. "But, in all seriousness - ah, you should probably start calling her Master Aqua. And also, you know, myself-"
"Hey, I'll be all respectful and whatnot - I've been in swordsmanship lessons since I was four," Riku said seriously. "Me and Sora learned from a great instructor back home - Sensei Kaito - for most of our lives growing up. I know the routine."
"Then I don't want to ever have to discipline you," Terra responded lightly.
"I never said we were always respectful...sometimes she had to get on our case," Riku grinned.
"Still. If this apprenticeship is going to become official, it needs to be treated with a bit more-"
"I know," Riku said, sincere and quiet. "I will. I mean, I won't...I mean, I'll try not to...be a pain? Uh - Master...Terra, now?"
Terra nodded, laughing. "Thank you. That's very encouraging to hear." He set his gaze on Xion - and the girl immediately recoiled, withdrawing into herself, folding her hands together. Well...Aqua hadn't been kidding about confidence issues there, then. He looked to Roxas; the boy gazed back at him with uncertainty, but nothing like fear or anxiety. Which was good. The boy wasn't prone to...flightiness, at least. Even if he was still dealing with a whole new world of experiences - that of life itself, outside his "Organization." A place that was...absolutely no place to raise children. A place that didn't concern itself with the raising of children.
"Hello - Xion, Roxas," he greeted the pair casually, as lightly as he could. He relaxed his stance a little again. "I know we met yesterday, but this is a little more...proper. Has Aqua filled you in on what we'll be doing here today?"
"Um, yes," Xion said quietly, averting her gaze completely.
"Yeah, she told us," Roxas confirmed.
"Good. So then, first things first, we need to-"
"I've already been through training," Roxas spoke up again, suddenly. "I did the basics, you know. With the Organization. With...Axel. I've learned all about magic, and my Keyblade - err, Ven's Keyblade, I guess - and I've been fighting Heartless for a while now. Big ones, dangerous ones, too. All over the worlds."
Ah... "Well then, that's even better to know," Terra said easily. "I assume everyone here is more than familiar with the basics? Magic spells - ice, fire, wind, lightning, healing - and basic swordsmanship?"
"Yes..." Xion confirmed quickly.
"Why're you asking me? I've been with you for days now. We fought an army, we stormed a capital city and-" Riku began, a big smile growing on his face.
Terra waved a hand, chuckling. "Just making sure we're all on the same page before we start. We're all going to be learning together here."
"What are we going to learn? What can you teach us?" Roxas asked.
"Well..." Terra said, pondering. "What would you say to a little demonstration, then?"
Roxas tilted his head. "What?"
"I'll show you the things you can learn from me," Terra said lightly. He turned, waving down the deck, beckoning Aqua. She gave him an incredibly intense stink-eye, but complied nonetheless, striding toward him.
"What is it?" she said, in a careful, calm and neutral tone.
"I was just thinking - that these kids here have no idea what we're going to actually be teaching them to do," Terra said casually. "I thought it might be useful to give them a practical demonstration. Give them something real to look forward to. What we can offer them as teachers."
Aqua looked surprised. She nodded. "I...hadn't thought of that, myself," she admitted. "They don't exactly have a frame of reference - or any sort of basis to...yes, that would be a sensible thing, I suppose. Did you have something specific in mind?"
"I had thought we could just...run them through a few of the more impressive abilities," Terra answered. "Gliders, Form Changes, Shotlocks..."
"Alright," Aqua agreed, giving a small smile. "I suppose...our lessons could also be a little more jointly than previously discussed. In some regards."
"Excellent."
Aqua quickly strode back to her two students, bringing them back over with her to Terra and his.
Ven sat on the ship's railing, casually kicking his feet, a grin on his face as he watched them all. "You guys are in for a real treat here!" he called out, excited, himself.
Aqua rolled her eyes when no one could see her, raising a hand to wave to Ven.
"Okay, then," she spoke to the children. "The powers and abilities of the Keyblade are many and varied - all of them created, invented, throughout history, and spread out across many different lineages. Different schools, that is. But Terra and I's have a particularly useful one - called Form Changes. Or, Keyblade transformations, in basic terms. It's the ability to change your Keyblade into something else. Be it another type of weapon, or...a glider."
"We've already experienced that one," Kairi told Roxas, leaning over with a grin.
"I have too," Riku said, raising a hand. "It's just cool."
"Yes - it's very 'cool,'" Aqua said, smiling at them. "And, as I said, it's also very useful. Now, I suppose, for the ones who haven't seen it yet, we could give a demonstration of the glider form. Terra, would you-?"
"You can handle that one," Terra told her simply.
"Alright..." Aqua nodded to herself, then strode out away from the group. She summoned her Keyblade, cocked back her arm, and hurled it out over the ocean. It spun like a boomerang, and then a pink light flashed, and it turned into her glider, swooping back around to come to a halt in front of her. Hovering there above the Pestilence's deck. Aqua turned back to the kids, stroking her glider affectionately, almost. "So - you see? In this form, you can fly around as you please. Even travel between worlds on them - like this vessel, or those Gummiships in Traverse Town. Of course, you have to be wearing armor to protect yourself on your journeys."
"Want to show them the armor, too?" Terra said.
Aqua blinked at him. "Terra...you are the armor. Literally. Right now. Remember?"
Terra stood there a moment, considering her. Then he burst into laughter. "Right...right!" He spread his arms at the kids, gave his cape a dramatic little swish. "So, Keyblade wielders of our line, once they get to a certain stage of their training, will be instructed to forge an enchanted suit of armor from their own Heart - much like the Keyblade called from a Heart. It reflects the wielder, or, the wearer, in this case, just as much as a Keyblade does. Though, you do get assistance from your Master, of course - someone to guide you through the whole process."
"You mean we get a cool suit of armor too?" Kairi exclaimed, her eyes wide and sparkling at him. "With a cape and everything?!"
"What do you want a cape for? You already kind of have one," Sora pointed out, gesturing to her long, flowing coat. "And you look awesome in it!"
Kairi fluttered her eyes at him, her cheeks turning pink. But she smiled. "Thanks...but I still want this!" She threw her arms out at Terra extravagantly, indicating. "How do we get these?!"
Terra laughed politely. "All in good time, okay? You can't run before you walk, can you?"
Kairi's arms dropped, and her whole being sagged. "I guess not," she said, a pouty look on her face.
Oh, no, she actually is, Terra realized. He looked to Aqua, who looked nothing but amused. And the other kids were laughing too.
This was good.
"So...circling back to Form Changes for the Keyblade," Terra spoke again, a bit more serious and, well, "authoritative" and "instructor-like." Like an actual Master and teacher. He gave Aqua a nod, and her glider reverted, her Keyblade flashing back into her hand - and then away again. "I suppose I can show you all the more offensive side of the technique - transforming your Keyblade into other weapons. Being able to turn your sword into potentially any other kind of weapon, mid-battle, and even mid-combo - mid-attack, that is - can be an invaluable tool. It can catch your enemies by surprise, and even turn the tide of a fight."
"So you can turn a Keyblade into anything?" Kairi said suddenly.
"Yes," Terra said.
"Anything anything...? Like - a chair, or-" Kairi said slyly, a grin coming over her face.
"If you really wanted to fight with a chair...yes," Terra said, amused. "And it would be the most powerful chair in the universe."
Kairi's eyes sparkled. Then, she grew a little more serious. "So - what about whips? Or...fans? You know, hand fans? Folding fans?" She mimed swinging around and folding...well, little hand fans.
"Whips have been done before - fans, too," Terra nodded. "Those are perfectly viable transformations - weapons."
Terra saw Riku turn his head in Kairi's direction. Saw a look of contemplation cross his face. Then it was gone.
"How about yo-yo's?" Sora said, grinning.
"I suppose so - if you could find a way to fight with one," Terra told the boy.
"Haha, yes!" Sora said under his breath, triumphant.
Terra met Aqua's gaze again, briefly.
This was going to be...an interesting new generation of wielders, to be sure.
Interesting, fresh, new. Varied and diverse. Innovative and creative.
Good. That was just what the worlds needed right about now.
"All right," Terra said loudly. "Now, who wants to see a few examples?"
"You have a few examples?" Aqua spoke, raising her eyebrow at him. "I know you worked hard to perfect a transformation - your Ultima Cannon - but what else do you have?"
"I have ten years-"
"Nooo!" Riku groaned, smacking hand to face.
"-ten years in the desert," Terra went on, smothering his laughter. "All I had was thinking and training to keep my mind occupied. I developed a handful of new Keyblade transformations over all that time there."
Aqua's eyebrows went higher still. But she smiled. "Let's see it, then," she said playfully.
Terra felt relief in his Heart, and he stepped out from the others, summoning his Keyblade to hand. "Okay, you'll want to watch closely now..."