Right, next is possibly the worst case of poor communication in the entirety of the Kingdom Hearts series. Which is saying something (I'm looking at you, Axel). Sorry for such a long wait; with work very nearly consuming my life, it was hard to find time to write. Not to mention that this one did not want to cooperate at all. The whole scene just goes so wrong in so many places. Everyone brought issues to the table, and it was hard to find a single point to split off from to address the biggest ones – so after trying that about ten different ways, I ended up just having everyone handle this better (only took five tries that way). Terra, it turns out, was the real problem child. So remember, folks: It is always better to come clean and admit your mistakes so you can start moving past them. And sharing is caring, especially when vitally important information that could save your friends' lives is concerned.

A huge thank you to HeartofFyrwinde for suggesting this and giving me a reason to keep at it! I'll admit I'm not completely satisfied with the ending, but at least it actually ended this way.

Tearing Down the Walls

"Listen to me, Ven," Aqua said, laughter fading as she slid the Disney Town pass into a pocket. "We need to get you home."

Ven shook his head. "It's okay, Aqua." He grinned as he turned towards his other friend. "Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. He'll never badmouth Terra again."

Terra's reaction was... not what he was expecting. His eyes went wide and he took a step forward, hand grabbing Ven's shoulder. "You saw the boy in the mask?" he asked.

"Y-yes?" Ven didn't get it. Why was Terra freaking out? "I beat him already."

"You fought Vanitas?" Terra asked, a hint of panic coming into his voice.

"...Yes?" Ven said again, still confused. Terra's hand tightened its grip, making the younger boy wince before Terra realized what he was doing and let go. That panicked look didn't go away, though, so Ven elaborated. "He said something stupid, so I ran after you to prove him wrong. Then he picked a fight with me when I ran into him again, before I came here."

"Wait." Aqua was giving him a worried look. "You mean you saw him before? Back home?"

"Yeah," Ven said, brows furrowed as he glanced between his friends. "That's what I was trying to tell Terra before he left. He said..." Ven looked down. "He said Terra was going to become a different person. And I couldn't believe that, so..."

Aqua grew more concerned, while Terra looked stricken. "What does that mean?" Aqua asked. "'Become another person'?"

Ven scowled, remembering the brief conversation before the fight. "Just that, apparently. He wouldn't explain when I caught up."

"Ven, I..." Terra put a hand on Ven's shoulder again, much more gently this time. "I'm sorry. I should have listened."

Ven smiled up at his friend, wanting to dispel the worry still clear in the older boy's eyes. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." Terra raked his hand back through his messy hair, blowing out a frustrated breath. "If I'd known, I could have – I would have protected you."

Ven tilted his head to the side, confused again. "Me? But you were the one he was talking about, Terra."

"I'll be fine," Terra dismissed. "You need to stay away from Vanitas, alright?"

Ven shook his head. "I'm not going to run away from that jerk."

"Ven, you can't run into him again," Terra said firmly. "Let Aqua take you home."

"No way!" Ven protested. "I wanna go with you guys!"

"Ven –"

"Terra, I can handle this!"

"That's not the point!" Terra shouted. Taken aback by the sudden harshness in his friend's voice, Ven froze, words dying in his throat.

The older boy winced, a guilty look flashing on his face. "Sorry," he said, voice back to his normal volume. "But I don't want you getting hurt."

"Terra," Aqua, who had been watching silently, cut in before Ven could think of what to say. Her face was troubled as she held a hand over her chest. "Do you know a girl named Aurora?"

Terra didn't answer for a moment. "Does it matter?"

"I think it does," she said. "I've been to the same worlds as you." She looked down, arms dropping to her sides. "You're my friend, and I don't want to doubt you, but I'm worried, Terra." Her voice went very soft then. "Tell me what happened. Don't... become someone I can't trust."

Terra was quiet for what felt like forever. "I –" He grit his teeth, looking away from both of them. "I didn't have a choice."

"Terra," Ven said, unable to keep the hurt and betrayal from his voice. Terra really did steal Aurora's heart? Then... then had he really been the one that scared Snow White, too? Was this what that guy had meant...?

"So you did do it," Aqua said, voice still soft but now with an unmistakable regret.

"No!" Ven shouted. There was no way. Not Terra. This was – it had to be some kind of trick! "No, Terra would never –!"

"Ven. Enough." Ven looked over to Terra, who was hanging his head. "There's darkness in my heart," he said, straining to keep his voice level. "And Maleficent took advantage of that. I was the one who stole Aurora's heart. I don't even remember doing it, but..."

"Well –" Ven said quickly, grasping at the slim chance. "Well, maybe you didn't! If you can't remember –"

"No," Terra said, still not looking up. "Unlocking someone's heart is something only a Keyblade could do, and Maleficent didn't have one. So if Aurora's heart was stolen, it had to have been by me."

"But..." Ven's chest felt tight, like he couldn't breathe. This couldn't be real. "But you wouldn't do that."

"I didn't want to," Terra snapped, hands balling into fists at his sides. He glared hard at the ground, making Ven realize his friend was more angry and frustrated at himself than he was at anything else. "I tried to fight it, but the darkness... I wasn't strong enough."

"Then let me help you!" Ven's sudden volume caught Terra off-guard this time, the older boy's eyes wide as he looked up. "I freed Aurora's heart! And I know she wasn't angry!" He swiped a hand to the side, the other clenching into a fist. "If you make a mistake, I'll help fix it! And if you can't fight the darkness on your own, I'll be there! You don't have to do everything alone!" Because there was no way Ven would ever give up on his friends. Not ever.

"Ven," Aqua said, giving the younger boy a small smile. Ven glanced towards her, returning the smile before facing Terra again, trying to look as determined as possible.

Terra studied him for a long moment, not saying anything. Finally, he sighed. "Ven, I appreciate that. More than you'll ever know. But I can't let you come with us."

"Why not!?"

"Because Vanitas is –!" Terra bit off the words. "Look, you just have to trust me." His voice softened. "Go home, okay?"

Ven shook his head, scowling. "Terra, I'm fine. I've been to a bunch of worlds already! And I just helped you beat that Unversed!" he said, waving a hand to indicate the empty area around them. "You saw I'm getting stronger! I'm not some helpless kid that freaks out over nothing anymore, alright!? So stop treating me like one!" Seeing the pain flash in Terra's eyes and the sadness in Aqua's, Ven felt a stab of guilt. "You don't..." Self-conscious, he ducked his head before going on in a mumble. "You don't have to protect me all the time. I'm not that weak."

He flinched slightly when a weight settled on his shoulder, looking up to see Terra had once more placed his hand there. Beside him, Aqua drew closer, cupping a hand against his face and giving him a weak smile.

"It's not that we think you're not strong enough, Ven," Aqua said, stroking a thumb against his cheek. "We want to protect you because we can't bear the thought of something happening to you." Her eyes were shimmering more than usual, and with another flush of guilt, Ven realized she had the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "You understand?"

Ven put his own hand over hers, eyes downcast. "I get it, but... You guys always take care of me. Well, I want to take care of you, too. That's what friends do." He looked up, first at Aqua, then Terra, eyes pleading. "I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you, either. Don't you understand that?"

Terra sighed, squeezing Ven's shoulder before letting go and walking a few steps away. Aqua turned to watch him, and Ven was terrified for a moment that Terra would just keep walking, that nothing they could do would stop him.

But he stayed only that short distance away, back to them. "If I did change, would that really be so bad?" He paused, as though waiting for them to respond, but Aqua stayed silent and Ven had no idea what to say. "If I became someone who could control the darkness, so it couldn't be used against me like that again... Is that wrong?"

"Of course not, Terra," Aqua said, taking a step towards him and reaching out. "But I'm not sure you're doing it the right way. Every heart has darkness, but there's a difference between keeping the darkness controlled... and controlling it so you can use it."

Terra looked over his shoulder at her. "And that's what you think I'm doing? Trying to tap into the powers of darkness?"

Aqua stopped, hand dropping. "I don't know, Terra. I'm scared that you might be. But I know how strong you are. That's why I don't want to believe it." She took another step closer, just beyond arms' reach. "So I'm asking you, as a friend. What are you doing?"

Terra looked forward again, away from Aqua. "I'm not sure, either, anymore," he said quietly. "But I want to protect the worlds. From the darkness, the Unversed... and Vanitas."

"What does he have to do with any of this?" Ven asked, frowning. Because it was easier to think about that than about Terra possibly losing himself to the darkness. He couldn't even imagine that. "He's just some jerk who thinks he's tough because he's got a Keyblade."

Terra shook his head. "He's more than that, Ven," he said, cutting off the question clear on Aqua's face as he turned back to face them. "Vanitas is controlling the Unversed."

"To do that," Aqua said, looking troubled as she thought something over, "he'd have to have an incredibly deep darkness..."

"Yeah," Terra agreed. "He's nothing but." He looked over to Ven, concern plain. "That's why I don't want you to come, Ven. He'd want to destroy you, because you – someone like you, with so much light in their heart..."

Ven looked down, feeling guilty. "He came close," he admitted. "If Mickey hadn't shown up..." And he'd just made such a big deal about not being weak... He forced a grin on his face instead, putting confidence back into his voice as he straightened. "But that's all the more reason to stick together!" He pounded a fist against the palm of his other hand. "The three of us can beat him, no problem. And that'll take care of the Unversed, too!"

"I think Ven's right," Aqua said, arms crossed as she thought. "Home might not be the safest place, if the boy in the mask already snuck in once. And if he's the reason behind the Unversed causing problems, then it makes more sense for us to work together, now that we have a clear goal." She bit her lip, glancing over at Terra. "Plus... we can help you keep from coming too close to the darkness."

Terra looked like he wanted to argue. But after a moment of silence, Aqua watching him with nervous expectation and Ven with out-and-out pleading, the angry denial faded and he sighed, shoulders slumping as his eyes closed. "I still don't want Ven anywhere near Vanitas."

"It doesn't seem like Vanitas shares the sentiment," Aqua said. "Ven's seen him twice now. At least this way we'll both be there to help if he tries something again." She gave the younger boy a smile. "Right?"

"Right!" Ven agreed. "And you guys can show him how real Keyblade masters fight!"

Terra was quiet for several long moments. The silence was broken when he made a muffled noise. Confused and concerned, Aqua and Ven both took a step closer. Then the noise grew, and they realized he was laughing. "Alright, fine," he said through the helpless chuckles. A small, almost careless smile crossed his face as he shook his head, for the first time since the Exam seeming to honestly relax. He reached out, tousling Ven's hair. "I give up. Put the puppy eyes away."

"Then I can come?" Ven asked hopefully. Terra nodded. "Yes!" he said, pumping both fists in the air.

Terra rolled his eyes, but he was grinning, too. His expression became serious again when he turned to Aqua, however. "I can't promise I'll be able to stay in the light all the time," he said quietly. "And if something happens... if we get separated, or I..."

Aqua took his hand in both of hers, squeezing it. "If your light's not enough, you can have mine. We're with you," she said simply. The cord of Aqua's Wayfinder dangled from between their fingers, the charm itself pressed between their hands. "Always."