Just because Aero had anticipated the awkwardness and shock amongst the group didn't make it any less uncomfortable. No one spoke so much as a single word as they made the pilgrimage through the dusty plains back to the thrown room. Their was nothing left for Aero to do but wait for the shit to hit the fan. She couldn't find Blaze, although she was unable to be obvious about her intentions. All she could do was attempt to gauge the reactions of her friends.

Ven was quietly watching everyone else. He was so used to his life being flipped upside down that he found it easiest to keep his head. It was a sad fact, but one Aero was grateful for none the less.

Terra kept staring at the back of his sister's head, trying to come terms with the time warp. Too many things were different, he knew this, but besides the woman who was suppose to be his baby sister, he saw nothing yet. And that made it more then a little difficult for him. For Terra at least, it would have been easier to wake up to a world that was almost unrecognizable rather then have to try and force himself to believe the truth.

Aero unfortunately found her sister faring far worse. Aqua was deathly quite, a state that was more then unnatural for the fighter, and she was shaking ever so slightly. Aero wanted to comfort the girl but didn't. Aqua's anger was directed at her sister, that was obvious enough, and trying to help would just expedite the inevitable.

Aero knew she could not handle Aqua's temper on shot nerves. She needed to calm down before facing her sister's wrath. And to do so she had a very simple solution. Tuning out almost every bit of sound in the room, she focused solely on the constant meter of Terra's breathing.

The ritual had a calming effect yet by the time Aqua's shock wore off, it wasn't enough. As the party was finally leaving the hall of the cornerstone, Ven turned to his friend. The question was reasonable enough, but it only served as a catalyst to a much greater issue.

"You mind explaining what goin' on 'cus I'm confused?" Aero took a deep breath before beginning.

"I-" She began but was swiftly cut off by her sister.

"You… You …. You! You knew. You knew this was going to happen yet you said nothing. You let me think they were dead…"

"Yeah. I did." She was careful to keep her voice as even and calm as possible, though Aero knew the decorum would not last. Inside she was shrinking with ever word; trying to curl up into a little ball yet not wanting her sister to see weakness, to see another fault line she could pick and pry at.

"How could you? After all I've done for you?" The look of absolute disgust on Aqua's face was not something Terra thought he would ever see directed at Aero. It was too primitive…too full of hatred for it to ever truly reflect Aqua's feelings towards her sister, but that didn't make Terra any less weary of the situation.

Terra had known both sisters long enough to know how this was going to end. Aqua had a violent temper and would lash out bitterly as Aero took it and retreated with in herself.

"I can't believe I even tried to help you." She spat as Aero just looked at the floor in shame. Unlike most people who would "You're not my sister. You never were. My sister was never such an inconsiderate little bitch."

With those words, Aero's head snapped up and her eyes set in such a manor that Terra had never before seen in the sweet little girl he knew.

"Inconsiderate?" She asked in a fierce whisper, taking a single step toward Aqua. Aero was several inches shorter and was visible weaker, but in that moment she looked scary. Terra knew that something had changed within her during those years he was missing and he couldn't tell just what it was or if it was a welcomed change.

"I'm not inconsiderate. Far from it. It's your fault I said nothing, and your's alone. I told Ansem everything, including the fact that their was a very good chance that all this wouldn't work." Terra couldn't help but feel relieved. His father wouldn't have to live through the complete shock he had.

"The only reason I told you nothing was the simple fact that Blaze did most of the work. I couldn't have you sneering and questioning his motives when there was no time for doubt. Blaze was able to do most of the magic himself, and God only knows what this cost him." Her voice trailed off as she ignored the incredulous look in her sister's eyes at the dark soccer's name.

"This wasn't the plain. Both of them at once was too much. It could have killed him." Their was no need to question just who 'he' was. Terra really wasn't sure how he felt owing a debt of that magnitude to him, especially after what he did.

"Good. That would be one less villain for later." Terra and Ven shared a loaded look at those words. Words that were supremely cruel even for Aqua's sharp tong. The comment had even the ever unjudging Terra taking a step back. Aqua was known for being overly cold, judgmental, and unforgiving but this was a new height even for her.

Everyone was so caught up in Aqua's behavior that they failed to notice that she was not the only one acting far out of character. No one noticed Aero draw her fist back until it landed its target; the reverberating crack of broken cartilage was all that could be heard in the seconds of deafening silence until it was broken by Aero's reply.

"Just which villain are we speaking about? The one who risked his life to save his friends or the one who insists on blaming him for things out of his control. If you remember correctly, he wasn't the only one who believed Thanroe. Why aren't you bashing them? Is it because they're dead? Well guess what? Blaze might just be and for what? So that you don't spend eternity stuck between life and death." Aero's voice was rising with almost every other word and somehow she seemed to grow inches in seconds, until she was almost looking down at her sister.

"I'm sorry that I couldn't help you guys fight; that I couldn't do the kind of magic that could help you or wield a keyblade. I'm sorry that I was always the weakest link and could never help. But the one time I was able to help you guys, I did it no questions asked; no hesitation. I did what I had to do to save you no matter who I had to ask for help. You can judge me for that all you want to but I won't apologize for it. Actually, I kind of thought you would have done the same, but I guess I was wrong." The last sentence was whispered so low that it was hard to tell if it was truly said aloud or not.

The second Aero saw her friend's shocked faces, she knew that the words had indeed been said out loud. All of them, and with a little gasp she turned and her violet curls disappeared around one of the many hallways of Disney Castle.

For several moments all anyone heard was Aero's footsteps reverberating in the halls, even though it had been long enough that they should have long dissipated into nothingness. Once her sister's words settled Aqua knew that she had to go after the girl. She needed her, but as Aqua began to step forward Terra held out his hand to keep her back. He shook his head just the slightest fraction.

"I'll go." He said and before following the tiny girl out the giant doors.

Aero was not one to usually run from her problems, Terra knew this well. The girl was as much of a fighter as her sister was, but she just knew how to choose her battles better. That trait sometimes made it hard to believe the relation between the two.

The few times Aero had ran she had always ran to the same place, or same type of place. Any time she was upset, she could usually be found someplace high up with a view and few ways to follow her. The first place that fit the description was the first place Terra looked. But she wasn't there; the north tower was completely deserted.

Terra looked out the window and over the garden, trying to guess where in the world the girl could be. He couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight below. Aero had indeed gone to the top of the north tower, it was just the wrong north tower.

The violet haired girl sat atop the courtyard's shrubbery rendition of the castle. It was clear by the way her shoulders were trembling that she was crying and crying hard. Terra's heart went out to the girl. He knew how much Aqua's opinion meant to her; those cruel words would not have had the same impact had they came from anyone else's mouth. Even his.

It didn't take him long to find his way down to her. As he sat down beside her, he wrapped his arm around her shaking shoulders and waited for her to speak first. It took several minuets for the young girl to control her sobs enough to actually be able to articulate anything, but when she did she seemed so small; so fragile; so weak; so…vulnerable.

"Wh…w…why does…she…h…hate me?" She could barely get the words out through the hiccupping sobs that made her pain so tangible. It killed Terra inside that, for all his strength, he could not protect the girl from the one thing that hurts her the most: her sister's unthinking temper.

"She doesn't hate you. She could never hate you." Terra said, gathering the girl up in his arms and held her close to his chest. Her tears soaked his shirt but he didn't mind; in fact he didn't even notice. What he did notice was the fact as he did this, the girl's sobs immediately subsided. Perhaps that what comes from having a literal shoulder to cry on?

"I know that." Aero whispered, "but it doesn't stop it from feeling that way." Silently the girl was thanking whatever higher power their was for him. All it took was Terra's sent and she felt better, but in conjunction with his smiling blue eyes and caring face Aero knew that she would soon have the strength to face her sister again.

"She's just stressed." Terra didn't like making excuses for people but that's what Aero needed to hear; it would not help for him to belittle Aqua (not that he was in the habit of belittling anyone).

Aero looked up from the nook on his shoulder that she had buried her face in. the words she spoke next forced Terra to take back his earlier musings on how he wished the world had been unrecognizable. In those three little words he heard every bit of change he would ever need, yet they were in a form he would never have wanted.

"And I'm not?" Her words were sharp and bitter and her eyes showed a dark maturity that he would have never equated with the girl.

"I suppose you are." He replied, drawing the girl back into his chest while he began rocking back and fourth on the shrubbery and rubbing her hair. Now that he thought about, she would have had to be with all that's going on but Aero had always been good with stress. Actually, she had never really shown it in situations where she must have been under piles of it.

After what seemed like hours, Aero pushed herself off of her ever so comfortable perch and jumped down from the bucolic castle. She waited until she was sure that Terra was following her before turning to him.

"Thanks Terra." Their was no need for her to specify what exactly for. He knew. It was simply for being there.

"No problem," Terra said "I'd do anything for you. I love you Aero." Aero smiled the widest smile he had ever seen on her. It was clear that what he said meant a lot to her.

"You're like a sister to me. Speaking of which, why don't we go face yours before she beats her self up too much."

The navy eyed seer was careful not to let her smile slip at the prince's last words. Was it wrong of her to get her hopes up in the second she had thought he returned her feelings? Of course now that that single second was over she saw that it was. Terra thought of her as a sister and perhaps that's all he ever would. All she could do now was grit her teeth and lock the muscles in her cheeks. It wouldn't do for her to ruin what little she did have with the boy she would do anything for.

Three figures floated unconscious in the vast sea of twilight that rested between the light and the darkness. All three were exhausted but alive. Thankfully.

One figure would not have been able to be discerned from the darkness that surrounded him under normal circumstances. But the circumstances were not what anyone would call normal.

As said figure opened his ice blue eyes, he immediately looked around for his companions. When he found the twins to both be very much alive, he breathed a sigh of relief. It would not have sat well within the confines of his consciousness to have them die as they were helping him clean up his mess.

Using what little strength he had left he called fourth the darkness and brought the boys home. He didn't waste the strength to send them to their own homes. Instead he just dumped them both in Kouichi's bed. They would have to worry about how Koji got there on their own.

As Blaze passed the boy's beat up old dresser he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror that rested on top of it. For the first time in ten years he could see his reflection. His sharp bone structure, blue eyes and sandy blond hair greeted him and he almost cried.

"I don't know how you guys did it but what ever you did, thanks." He whispered to the sleeping boys as he used the last of his conscience strength to send himself between the sheets of his own bed in his room on Kostose.

I loved writing this chapter. It was just too fun. You get to see the dynamics of my team! Don't worry next chapter is the big explanation. Poor Aero. Terra had to drop the 'sister' line didn't he?

For those of you who care, I was listing to what I consider to be Aero's theme song almost the entire time. Missing by Evanescence.

Also I'm getting disappointed with the lack of reviews, as I have said before, but oh well.

Listen I got this idea when I read that you could only get the hidden endings in the Japanese versions of the games: I'm going to write a special secret ending that leads up to the sequel (yes I said sequel, as you can probably tell I am unable to tell a short story). If you leave a signed review or leave your e-mail in a review for every chapter, when this one is done I'll e-mail or PM it to you. Sound fair?