A/N: Hi! It's been a long, long time, I know. I'm sorry for not updating this more often. My other WIPs take up so so much of my time, and I don't have enough to spare this collection. I'm nervous about continuing this, I mean: it's no longer relevant because of KH3, and sometimes I think the Terqua fandom has died? I'll have to see what people think of it. I know there's readers for this piece and I HEARD YOU. I HEARD YOU. I have the next two chapters lined up already, so we'll see!

Riku shows her to her room: a small thing held together by enormous stones, with a bed at the center, a wobbly nightstand, and a door leading to the bathroom. A thin window sits high on the wall, through which Aqua can see this tiny, dark world that Yen Sid calls home.

In the corner of the bedroom is a dusty outline on the floor where something once stood. A mirror, most likely. She peeks into the bathroom to find that the mirror screwed to the wall above the sink has been removed as well, leaving a rectangle of slime-free tile.

What she appreciates the most is how Riku doesn't make a big show of what he does for her.

"I'll come get you when Yen Sid's ready to see you," Riku says, reaching for the door knob. "Hope it's comfy enough."

Nothing about this trip is comfortable.

The Mysterious Tower is just as she left it: a speck far in the distance, too far for darkness to do any real damage. Protected by a sky of stars and magic that bubbles deep into its earth, this place breathes light. Aqua braces her fingers against the stone wall - instead of something cold built by man, she feels sparks of magic scatter across the surface, from memories of mischief and self-discovery.

She lets go and prepares herself to wash up, maybe find some food in one of the tower's quirky rooms, when Riku knocks on her door.

"That was fast."

Riku looks at her questioning face and shrugs. "I figured… considering how Terra's visit went, we should probably get this over with."

Yen Sid lounges in his office at the top of the tower. Everything is the same - maybe the notes on his board are different, but the pile of books, most with dust that gathered over years, still sit where they live. The candles burn as though they will never run out of wax. Yen Sid himself doesn't seem to age.

Riku and Sora flank Aqua, and she stares at the tremendous wooden desk in front of her. Twelve years ago, she slammed her hands against it, adamant that Terra would never do anything to hurt the Master. Something in her gut questions whether Yen Sid has even left his damn chair since.

"I am delighted to see you safe, Master Aqua," Yen Sid starts, his voice polite, which is the basic minimum for anything professional: solemn, well-mannered, detached.

Initially, she says nothing in return. Eraqus would not have approved of such rudeness, so she swallows her pride. "Thank you, it is good to see you again, too."

"I assure you will get a decent amount of rest in time." He folds his hand neatly over each other. "For now, we must eagerly discuss the state of affairs."

Eagerly, he says, but he talks too slow to understand the meaning of the word.

"Well," Riku starts.

Aqua feels him taking side glances at her but she keeps her mouth in a firm, straight line.

"We lost Terra," he says when she doesn't volunteer, "to the Realm of Darkness."

Yen Sid grumbles, "With the King."

"Yeah." Riku sighs. "I like to think they're taking care of each other."

Yen Sid doesn't seem pleased or agreeable to this. A sick thought crosses Aqua's mind: He doesn't think Mickey is safe with Terra. Which isn't fair.

"We must hurry to the King," Yen Sid says, and Aqua's stomach churns that Terra is an afterthought. "Now that we are aware intent to enter the Realm of Darkness is certainly true to statement, we must act swiftly to find another Door to Darkness, as long as we do not sacrifice a world to it.

"Sora," he commands, "have you made arrangements with the sky pirates to do this?"

Sora fiddles with two of his fingers, staring hard at them. They won't give him the courage to speak, so there's no reason to find it there.

"Balthier won't take my munny." He frowns. "He demands more from me if I'm going to waste his time searching for something without any direction."

"What does he call direction?"

"If Fran can track something, then he'll only do it if the plunder's good enough for the job." He shrugs his shoulders and throws his hands in the air.

"Pirates," Riku mutters.

"Balthier saves people, too!"

"When a world is falling. He takes their riches along with their medicine, food, and weapons… but Traverse Town doesn't need that anymore."

Aqua scoffs. Her impatience bubbles, and it takes all her effort to swallow it down.

Sora steps away from her. He's shocked to see her terrible mood.

"We shan't wait too long for a world to deteriorate to that state," Yen Sid says. "Sora, I will pay the pirate more if that is necessary to find an entryway sooner."

Such quick and decisive action for Mickey.

"Now that we have discussed one path forward, let us continue on to other matters." If he hasn't noticed her attitude, he will soon. "Master Aqua, I understand there is trouble getting to Ventus. Anything I can do to aid your efforts?"

Aid, he says.

She creases her lips.

"How long have you known?" she asks quietly.

"Pardon?"

"How long has it been since Mickey found me?" She raises her voice.

Sora shifts with a whimper. Riku crosses his arms, not surprised and not even totally into the conversation. Best to get it over with.

Yen Sid takes his time to study her first before he answers: "Two years."

Aqua grips her hands into fists, hiding them neatly in her sashes so that the old man doesn't notice. "Why-"

"Mickey was not yet a Master," Yen Sid says, his brittle voice finding strength. "Sora and Riku were brand new to the Keyblade, and needed friends, guidance, and training. We did not have the power yet to pursue such a dangerous task."

What he said should have insulted her, but strangely, she feels serene, empowered by something knowing, something cynical, something that gloats in how tense he's becoming under her scrutinizing gaze. Yen Sid doesn't deserve anything she has to offer.

"And what did you do all this time?" she asks with bitter sweetness. "Twiddle your thumbs and eat out of your chair?"

Riku rubs his chin. She's impressed with how quiet he could stay in a scene like this. Sora stammers like he's been kissed by a frog.

"Master Aqua…" Yen Sid tries softer this time. "I understand the disappointment. Please, let me offer what I can to help-"

"I don't need your help to find Ven." With that, Aqua gives a mock curtsy before turning on her heels and briskly leaving the room.

Behind her, she hears Riku tell Sora to Let her go, each word fading as she runs down the long steps to the bottom.

The audacity of that old, stuffy man.

Aqua is fuming, replaying sentences in her mind again and again: things she could have said to make him really sorry, what he might be saying now to those two young boys. She's descending so fast that her ankle twists, and she grabs the railing to stop herself from toppling all the way down.

It snaps her out of her stupor.

Riku is so well-mannered for his age, not blinking at the signs of her episode; he's someone a good Master ought to behave like. Sora doesn't judge, completely motivated with the need to make everyone comfortable and easy-feeling.

And Aqua embarrassed herself in front of them.

Leaning on the wall behind her, she breathes deeply. The stone is freezing against her skin, too much for her to be at a normal temperature. She palms her forehead to check for a fever; she has none. But her mind is in a hot fury, willing to climb back up and roast Yen Sid with all the insults she still has blurring in her brain - starting with how crusty that beard is.

"You can't just say whatever you want, Aqua," she says out loud, hugging herself. "This isn't like you."

It's unbecoming of a Keyblade Master, is what Eraqus would have said.

Aqua decides to descend the rest of the way slowly. Getting mad won't do anything for Ven, and while she doesn't have a good lead in creating a pathway back home, she'll find a way to do it without giving Yen Sid the honor of listening to his advice. She has to.

The last time she was here, she never got a good chance to explore this world. While the front entrance only leads to an outcrop overlooking deep space, the back entrance leads to a garden, awnings making way over the shrubbery until it circles a pool.

Aqua stiffens. It's not long enough to swim in, so it couldn't be deep enough to get up to her thighs.

But it's big enough to drown in, and that's the worst part.

The water is as still as glass, but it doesn't mean it's peaceful or safe. If she's careful enough, Aqua would be able to see her reflection if she stood over it.

She doesn't dare try. Instead, she sits on a stone bench far enough away that the pool couldn't get to her. There isn't a good reason to sit here, really, except for the fact that she misses the idea of enjoying water: of being at the beach, of swimming against Ven in a race, of splashing it on Terra's face when he isn't looking. Showering in a bathtub doesn't compare… a dark voice in her mind tells her that she'll never experience water the same way anymore.

"Are you Aqua?"

That voice belongs to a girl in a short pink dress, who helps herself to the stone bench even when Aqua doesn't immediately reply.

"I am."

The girl stares up in awe. "You were the one Terra was looking for? Wow, I didn't think you'd be the same person…"

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, I'm Kairi." She holds her hand to her chest.

Aqua gasps. "Kairi?" It's true. There's the same necklace she charmed years ago, draped around her neck. Aqua almost brushes it with her fingers, but thought better of it. At least it kept Kairi safe. At least this is one success she could account for.

Kairi is so unrecognizable now, but it makes sense: the cropped auburn hair, the round violet eyes, a curious smile. And a heart that is unmistakably brighter than anyone's here.

"You were so little," Aqua says quietly. "I can't believe you remember me."

"Um, not really." Kairi sheepishly rubs the back of her head, then waves her hand in the air as if imagining something. "All I remember is something really tall… and blue."

Aqua has to laugh. Kairi is quite small. Still.

"But when I heard that Aqua was here, I had to see - never in my life would I have made the connection that Blue and Aqua were one in the same." Kairi smirks, leaning forward to study Aqua in the face. "No wonder Terra was so obsessed with finding you. You're really pretty."

"Uh-" Nothing useful comes out of her mouth. That can't be the reason. Aqua hides the heat in her cheeks with one dignified hand as though she isn't affected by it.

"Terra acted the same when he talked about you," Kairi grins, patting Aqua on the knee.

But her excitement deteriorates soon after, her hands finding each other at her stomach as though she's swallowing something rotten. "I heard about what happened to him…" To Aqua's surprise, tears develop in Kairi's eyes, trailing down without much effort on her part to produce them.

They even surprise Kairi. "I'm sorry." She wipes them off her face, sniffling. "I don't know where that came from. I didn't know him long."

Aqua more than understands, she's just much more practiced at roping it in.

"He makes a strong impression on anyone he meets," Aqua says, brushing her hand lightly over Kairi's head.

A small smile curls at Kairi's lips despite the onslaught out of her eyes. Kairi hangs all of her expressions at the edge of her nose. Her sincerity is something to be admired.

"He's a lot kinder than what he gives himself credit for."

"Yes."

"He was really helpful and sweet when he trained me." Reality strikes her, and the tears dry up. "Would you mind teaching me a bit?" Then shame makes its way, as though she asked for too much. "I- I promise I won't take up too much of your time."

A Princess of Heart fighting? A brilliant idea. "Of course, it's not a bother at all."

Kairi takes her inside to a large ballroom equipped with destroyed furniture: hollow sofas, the shells of cupboards, the foundations of bookshelves, dilapidated bedposts. Pots and pans. Chipped plastic. From what Aqua can tell, they were used for target practice.

"Terra was really particular about my posture," Kairi says, summoning her Keyblade - frilly, like the heart of someone who carries the joy of life with her. She sinks low into her knees. "But we focused mostly on my ability to block attacks. The rest is basic stuff."

By the looks of her stance, he's done good work.

"Then let's talk about what you really want out of your fighting ability." Aqua summons the Master's Defender.

Kairi flashes an embarrassed frown. "To catch up with Sora and Riku."

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes." Forgetting about her posture, Kairi throws her passion out in a flurry. "It's not about being as good as them - I want to make them see that when they need me, I can be there. They don't have to worry or doubt me for a second."

"That sounds a lot like comparing yourself."

Kairi ponders for a moment. "Sora and Riku are patient with my training, but for years they've left me behind."

Aqua has to think about it before responding… listen to the words Kairi is finding difficulty in expressing. So much of it stems from an insecurity and a drive to level with her more experienced friends, and a needle pricks right into Aqua's ribs when she thinks of how Ven has been treated in the past.

If they never held themselves back when training with Ven, or treated him like a puppy needing to stay home, then he wouldn't be unconscious now.

Sora and Riku work full steam ahead, and Kairi needs to match their speeds without the burden of mastering technique before she's ready. What she wants is to feel useful to them. What she needs is to be equipped with something that could get her out of trouble in a pinch.

Aqua thinks of Noctis, and how he uses his weapons as points of destination.

"I have a unique idea."

Instructing Kairi to stand by the farthest wall, Aqua does the opposite to create the most distance between them.

"From there," Aqua says, "I want you to take a hit on me before I'm able to block - without doing a far-range attack."

Kairi gapes. "H- How am I supposed to do that?"

"You'll adapt to the circumstances." At Kairi's agony, Aqua shrugs. "I'm more strict than Terra. We won't stop until your heart makes the connection."

Kairi shivers and settles herself. "I'll try."

She does a dash - which is the expected choice and Aqua easily blocks it.

"Again," Aqua says. "Use your magic."

Another dash - this time propelled. Blocked.

"Again."

Three more times, all blocked, and by now, Kairi is panting for breath.

"You're exerting too much on your physical body. Remember your magic. Your Keyblade is your heart in physical form: all its desires, life goals, and insecurities are embedded into your weapon. If you want to come at me faster than I can block, then will it."

"Magic," Kairi rasps. "Right."

Now she's getting it. Instead of dashing across the room this time, she blends with the air, teleporting to Aqua's position. But it's still not fast enough.

"On the right track. Try again."

"But Aqua-"

"Your Keyblade needs to get here before you do." Aqua winks.

"Isn't that kind of like a Strike Raid?" An attack that utilizes the Keyblade like a boomerang.

"Not quite."

Kairi is exhausted and probably doesn't have the energy to think too much, but it's necessary to let her heart define it for itself. That's the only way to communicate with your own Keyblade.

But she's the type of student that is eager to please, and as her eyes drift away with her imagination, it dawns on her. "That's genius," she whispers.

With new resolve, Kairi properly stands.

"Let's start for real," Aqua says.

Kairi throws her Keyblade. Aqua feels in the air Kairi's energy not to aim, but to be where the Keyblade goes, and she blurs through the room, letting her heart guide her to where.

She doubts herself, though, and drops her Keyblade halfway across.

"I'll try again!" Scrambling back to her spot across the room, Kairi throws, warping as though both wielder and weapon are chasing each other, knocking past unsuspecting pieces of couch legs.

Aqua cannot block the strike but manages to move - not the most grateful dodge she's ever done, but it does the job even if it lands her flat on her stomach.

"We did it," Kairi says shakily the moment she realizes all she's done without using her feet.

Aqua snorts and picks herself up. "You did it."

"I did it!" With squeals and claps, Kairi jumps in place, throwing an embrace over Aqua's way, triumphantly parading with her Keyblade.

It's worth the effort to see. Aqua has needed something pleasant today, and maybe giving someone else hope will satiate some kind of karmic hunger out there and return the favor.

"No one invited me to the celebration," Sora's voice strides into the room, his giant toothy grin followed by a very solemn Riku.

"You guys will never guess what I can do now," Kairi says. Realizing she sounds like she's preparing a show for them, she backtracks. "I- I'll polish it first, then show you."

"Kairi has a lot of promise," Aqua says, drawing the hilt of her Keyblade in and resting its tip on the floor, standing straighter. Riku's presence, though totally lost in his own head, makes her nervous. She wills the image of her episode away.

"You're not going to show us?" Sora asks, casually standing with them like he's inviting himself over to their inside joke. Aqua wonders if he's ever been rejected before, but Kairi's more than happy to keep a small success to herself.

Riku takes a more respectful distance and sits on a chair with a missing armrest. "Of course she won't. Destiny Islanders have spunk."

"Except Riku," Kairi retorts. "He only knows grouchy."

"Says who?"

"Your face. You look like you spent an hour reading obituaries."

A muscle twitches in Sora's jaw, and he takes himself to Riku's side.

It reminds Aqua all too much of herself and Ven: how she and Terra would share a rare distaste with training when it doesn't go their way, or worries about the future, cutting Ven out of certain bits. Aqua wouldn't count that Ven never noticed.

She hopes that Kairi doesn't take it personally. It never is.

"Sorry," Riku says, willing a more natural smile to come. "I am happy for you. Maybe you'll get to join us on missions next time."

"She already should be," Aqua says.

Kairi sighs in relief. "I'm ready to share the work. What's the plan now? I can handle it."

This is where Riku and Sora stare at Aqua.

"Must have been an interesting meeting," Kairi says, cutting the silence.

"It was the same level of cringe as Terra's," Sora says, snickering. It doesn't improve the atmosphere, so he switches gears. "You can come with us wherever you'd like, Kairi," he offers, like it's supposed to be a consolation but Aqua suspects there are limitations to such a contract. "Except the Realm of Darkness."

"You're going to the Realm of Darkness?"

Again, they glance over at Aqua. Are they expecting her to lead an expedition? To have a differing opinion?

"Is there something you want from me?" Aqua asks when they won't budge.

Sora hangs his head but Riku is the one to speak: "I don't want to bet on a world falling for us to enter. There's no way to predict when it would happen or how long it would take. Estimated guesses are just that, and if we waited a day too long, we could have lost Traverse Town."

"Or not. It could have stood for another week," Sora quips in.

"Exactly. It's a very unstable plan and it could take forever."

When Sora's eyes meet Aqua's, he warms up. Aqua has to wonder how his parents raised him to be this open and loving to everyone he meets.

"How did you do it?" he asks.

Next to her, Kairi tenses. Riku seems unfazed - it was probably his question, but Sora is the better mediator.

It's the worst memory in Aqua's disposal, but the most important. Aqua has to be professional, cast away the way her heart rages at the thought.

"A world didn't fall, if that's what you're really asking," she starts. "I was fighting… Xehanort, and he…struck himself with his Keyblade. To the heart."

Sora steps back, a giggle worming its way out. "That's an intense experience."

Riku scoffs, amused. "It makes sense now."

"And out came a horned monster," Aqua continues. "You could say it resembles a Heartless, large and angry. Its teeth were bound by bindings… or bandages. It had an empty hole in its chest-"

She stops. The looks she's getting - they recognize it.

Sora turns to Riku, his eyes wide. "Is she talking about-?"

Riku faces him. "Ansem's Guardian?"

At Aqua's stunned expression, Sora waves her confusion away. "No, no, not the Ansem you know. That's the real Ansem. There's a fake Ansem, and he's the one who controls the Guardian."

That doesn't clear anything up.

Riku holds his hand up. "What matters is what happened when the Guardian appeared."

"Well, he commanded it to come after me," Aqua says.

"As he does." Riku shrugs.

"But when I defeated him, it fell into a black pit. It was the force that created the Door to Darkness, and…"

Terra fell.

"I went after him."

The room buckles under the weight of her words, a little too quiet for her liking but it's better than anyone apologizing to her. Kairi holds a hand to Aqua's shoulder, but it doesn't help much.

"Maybe that's the answer," Sora says slowly. "It probably created a force of darkness so strong, it just warped reality."

Kairi glares at him as though he's said the wrong thing.

But Riku nods like he's reading the same mind. "We could sacrifice it. Not a bad idea."

"It sounds like you're talking about hunting him down," Kairi says. "Isn't that a little risky, trying to draw out his attention?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing I can't handle." The way Riku says it leaves everyone else out of the equation.

"If you can find him."

Aqua has to ask: "Is that difficult?"

Riku strains a smile; he's remembering something unpleasant, something he still hasn't made peace with. "Not really. But admittedly he is more trouble than he's worth."

Aqua bites her cheek. Everyone makes it sound like rescuing Terra is the biggest hassle.

"Then I'll do it."

Sora grimaces, and Riku waves his hands in surrender. "That's not what I meant. Not at all. But I do think that getting to Ventus may be an easier goal to reach right now. Once we have greater numbers, and we don't have our attention scattered as much, provoking Ansem shouldn't be an issue. We can do it together."

Aqua stops herself from drawing a long scoff, holding her hand to her hip to prevent herself from flailing it around in frustration. Professional is the key word here.

"Except I don't really know where to begin," Aqua says quietly. "I know where Ven is, but I don't have a way of getting to him without my Keyblade."

"Oh that's easy!" Sora says. "Terra had it with him."

"What?"

"He carried it around at Destiny Islands, when he was with us," Kairi says.

"But I don't recall seeing him with it in Traverse Town," Riku says. "It's possible he put it away somewhere."

The question hangs over their heads.

Riku inhales as he thinks about a place to start. "He spent the majority of his time in Radiant Garden."

Right where she broke her tether to it. It's a possibility that Terra took it back there. Not likely, but plausible.

"We should go tomorrow, first thing," Sora says, slamming a fist into his palm. "There's got to be a trail of clues we could follow. Maybe Terra left a sign saying Here's her Keyblade." He motions with his hand, bracketing invisible words in the air.

"If there's nowhere else…" Aqua hushes.

"If not there," Riku says, "then we'll go back to Traverse Town and search his room. If it's not there either, we'll think of something. I can't imagine that he'd leave you hanging."

He'd never; Terra has always been the worst at hiding anyway. As children, he'd giggle too loudly that playing hide and seek with him was always futile. As teens, he never withstood the feeling of being lonely for too long, so if he needed time to himself, he'd leave notes with suggestions of when he's ready for company.

Hiding a Keyblade to protect it is something he wouldn't commit recklessly, but just like she was able to track him down a long journey through multiple worlds when he disappeared, he'd leave the smallest crumbs.

"Then it's a solid plan," Kairi says, stepping her foot down. "I'm coming with."

They're much more optimistic about it than Aqua is (honestly, it sounds like they're leading themselves blind).

Either way, she bids them sweet dreams, a knife forged of the worst anticipation gutting at her. Maybe her mood will improve in the morning.

When she leaves the ballroom, the knife twisting at her side digs deeper the moment she overhears Riku saying over the other side of the door: "That was something."

Aqua peeks through the crack. Riku has lost his composure he had in her presence, slouching over and smothering his face in his palm. Sora looks tired, his usual joy giving way to reflection.

Kairi shifts uncomfortably. "She's been through a lot."

"She's like a boiling teapot about to explode."

"Except teapots don't explode."

"But you'd rather have your hand cut off than have it melt from the steam."

"Come on," Sora says, "this won't be the same situation as it was with Terra… At least, I hope not."

Riku throws Sora a hard glance. "I'm only saying that something's not entirely right. I can't tell how she's going to react to things. Sometimes, I get the impression that I'm not talking to the same person."

Silence.

"Honestly, I've felt the same," Sora murmurs, "but I can't blame her."

"No one is."

Kairi starts sniffling, bringing her wrist to wipe her face.

Sora asks, "Why are you crying?"

"I don't know. Isn't that weird?"

Next, Sora's the one to shed a tear. "I guess I don't know either."

Riku looks at his friends not with concern, but with horror. He sighs into his hand, rubs his face, and thinks better than to let them cry alone. Joining them, he pulls them both into an embrace, roughing their hair enough to leave frizz.

"Knock it off, you two."

He ignores their protests, squeezing them in his elbows. Sora can't wrestle his way out, so he says to Kairi, "He's still ticklish in the same spots."

The last sight Aqua sees is a heap of three best friends on the floor, the tallest one begging the others to stop.

Aqua treks back to her room with ferocity. They think she's crazy. Maybe she is. Maybe she's lost a part of herself to the Realm of Darkness forever, chewed up and spit out in a lumpy blob that she can't bring herself to swallow.

That thought should terrify her, but it doesn't. Aqua's more concerned with how hopeless she let them feel. What's the point of being a Keyblade Master if she can't inspire those around her? Or make them feel protected and listened to? She doesn't know how to make it up to them.

She should apologize - and yet, there's a small voice inside that loathes to do so. It's not her fault for acting up; she's earned the right. They'll be patient with her and see she's not all bad.

Or maybe she's just as bad as they say. The moment she sees Yen Sid standing in her way will test that.

"Master Aqua," he calls, his pointy hat looking all the longer because of the way the torches that line the stone walls illuminate it.

She wants to ignore him. She doesn't - wouldn't Eraqus be proud? She waits for him to continue, hands laced in front of her, posture straight, expression neutral. Professional.

"I had hoped," he starts, then stops himself. Ah, so he knows there's nothing he could say that would be a proper apology to what happened. "I completely understand where you are coming from."

Aqua doesn't respond.

"I mean to ask forgiveness."

Silence.

"Cast away this unpleasant business between us. I have no expectation that you'd lend a hand of friendship towards me, but we can still benefit from an alliance." He extends his hand out, not as a gesture to hold hers, but as a symbol.

She could forgive him, and she would have before falling to darkness, before Eraqus had ever sent them on an insane journey without giving them any of the crucial details, before hearing anything insulting about Terra. She could have.

"I'll consider it when I have the time," she says, her voice flat but strong.

Yen Sid draws his hand back. There's a slight offense to his eyes before he wavers it away.

"This road you have chosen to follow may be dangerous."

"Excuse me?"

"Following Terra."

"I'm so tired of defending Terra," she spits.

"You have mistaken me," Yen Sid says. The quality of his voice dips deep, like a growl. "Just as I have warned Terra about his limitations when it came to you, I sense the same desperate recklessness within you."

"His life is worthy enough to save."

"So is yours." He stares at her, a hand teasing the length of his beard. "Will you not trust him to fend for himself in the darkness?"

Her lips quiver and she zips them up. Professional. "Won't you?"

Yen Sid sighs, disappointed. "I hope our next meeting is more amicable. Please look out for yourself, Master Aqua."

"Likewise."

She storms into her room and slams the door. She's burning up, the heat from her body creating perspiration that denses through her hair, but not enough to let the sweat fall. No, she doesn't have a fever.

There's nothing here for her to throw around, so she paces back and forth. Back and forth, again and again, until one last huff expires out of her.

"Terra," she calls out softly as though he is right by her side. Who knows, maybe he can hear her from somewhere deep in the darkness if she focuses enough.

Pulling out his orange Wayfinder, Aqua massages her fingers over the borders. Maybe her magic on it would have worked better if she had his essence embedded into the glass, instead of her intention to keep him close by.

When she made it, she never once thought that the sight of it would bring regret.

"I'm so angry," she says to it, shaking her leg. She's exhausted, but nowhere near the fits of depletion from earlier nights that easily pulled her under. She'd be an idiot to expect sleep to come any time soon. "None of them understand."

Except they do; they have been separated before, forgotten, then weaved back together.

Yet they don't; they never had to pay such an expensive price such as twelve years.

"Please come back," she whispers. She could cry, but she's all dried up. Begging only makes her feel worse.

"I'll bring you back," she demands of the quiet when nothing responds to her.

She could scream, but she doesn't. She's a knot of weeded thorns, something that yearns to slice to numb the pain and grow out to breathe, choking at the same time.

The bed creaks and moans under her weight, but it's not comfortable. The sheets are cold. The stone walls are apathetic to her mood, gray and bored.

Aqua holds the Wayfinder close, but it does nothing to soothe her. She opts to stare at the ceiling in a contest she can't win.

Her hair reached her ribcage in tousled waves that coiled at the tips. Ven called it a flag of water that rippled whenever she moved, but it rippled too much; she certainly resented it when it whipped her in the face during training.

Her mother would have called it stunning, just like hers.

A sepia-toned portrait sat on Aqua's vanity table of a woman with the same hair and a man with a thick handle-bar moustache, wearing a bowler's hat.

"I'm sorry, mama," sixteen-year-old Aqua said, scissors in hand, mirror smudge-free, hair ready to be tamed.

The first snip came at the point right above her ear, and Aqua winced from watching it all fall to the ground. A panic shot through her, and she wondered if there was magic to reverse the damage just in case. But Aqua was brave and Aqua was relentless.

Cutting the rest of her hair came easier, a waterfall having its last hurrah. She went shorter, and then much more. She might have done too much, but keeping it layered should justify the work. Now it was a pixie cut: clean, prissy, and above all, out of her face.

Aqua presented herself during breakfast. Ven still wasn't up and the Master was busy in his office, so Terra, who sat at the table with a mug of coffee, was the first to see.

The mug stopped before it reached his lips while he gaped. She sat in front of him. He didn't say a word.

Suddenly, she regretted it.

"It was always getting in the way," she said, surprised by how assured she sounded.

He blinked. "It's cute."

"It's what?" Warriors were supposed to be practical. Not cute. Never cute, damn it all.

"Nothing. I didn't actually say anything." He sipped his coffee, avoiding her gaze. If he caught it, she'd have words to throw at him.

She still did. "I'll dump that coffee on you the next time I hear you say that."

Terra stole glances at her, mainly toward the top of her head, and his eyes almost sparkled. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. "It is pretty, though."

… What was she supposed to say to that? All she had was vacant stammering.

"Well, you know," he set back, "I don't want you to feel bad about it."

Part of her wanted to kill him. Part of her wanted to find the spell to make it grow.

He blundered for more words, set his coffee mug down, and pressed his index finger onto the surface of the table to make a poignant argument. "I didn't mean it like that."

She grimaced. "I'm not going to play nice with you during training today."

"I probably deserve it," he chuckled.

"You definitely deserve it."

He smiled, and stared more at her hair. Not with disgust, not with shock, but with admiration.

It hit her then - he meant what he said. Which left one question to nag at her for the rest of breakfast:

She was pretty to him?