Hey, guys!

Merry Christmas all!

So this has admittedly, been sitting on my computer for a stupid amount of time and I figured, Christmas update! So here you go.

~Healing What Was Broken~

When Ventus opened his eyes, he was a little disappointed that the haziness was still there. But the pain and the fear and the panic were gone, so he supposed the haziness was alright. He still felt sluggish, though. It took him a while to sit up. Not that he really remembered how long it took normally. It felt slow anyway.

"You're awake! Ventus, oh, it's a miracle!"

He blinked and looked up to see a retreating back and blue. A lot of blue. Blue…oh. Aqua, right. Her name was Aqua. That's good, he remembered.

"You're up! You had us really worried!"

Ventus turned and there was a boy standing next to a beaming Aqua, out of breath like he had just sprinted here. He might have, Ventus mused, but why would he? Wait. He wasn't boy though. He was…

"Terra," he said and the older boy grinned at him.

"You remembered!" he exclaimed, smile never faltering.

Ventus nodded slowly. "Mm. Terra and Aqua," he said slowly, turning towards the girl as he spoke. She was smiling as well.

Was it all because he remembered their names? That was easy. And he decided he like seeing them smile. So he would definitely remember their names now.

"Yeah," Aqua said, smiling like Terra, though hers was smaller, softer than his was, "That's us."

Terra's smile suddenly faltered some and he rubbed that back of his neck sheepishly. "Hey, listen, Ventus. About before. I'm sorry."

Before? What happened before? Did he mean the questions? But why…oh. The questions made him upset and he went to sleep to get away. But that…it wasn't Terra's fault that he was broken.

"No," he said simply, because Terra didn't have anything to be sorry for.

The boy looked startled and Aqua looked surprised. "No?" Terra asked, head cocked to the side.

Oh. Maybe he didn't understand? Talking was harder here though. It was easy when he was in his heart talking to Vanitas. But here, he couldn't always remember the words and when he did, his mouth wouldn't always form them. It was frustrating. But Terra was frowning now and he liked the smile better.

"Not…you," he said carefully, making sure each word sounded right.

Terra still looked confused though. Aqua put a hand on his arm, drawing his attention to her. "I think he means that it wasn't your fault," she said.

Ventus gave a single, shallow nod when Terra turned back to him. The smile came back and Ventus was happy.

"I'm still sorry," Terra insisted.

Ventus just hummed. That was okay. Terra could still be sorry if he kept smiling. Smiling was better. It was nicer. He wanted something nicer right now. He'd had enough bad.

"Ah, it is good to see you up, Ventus."

He looked up and saw someone new entering the room. He had dark hair and eyes and there were scars on his face that made his expression look a little harsh, but his voice was kind. He was older then Terra and Aqua and they seemed relaxed around him, so he couldn't be all that bad.

"My name is Master Eraqus and this – "

Anything else he might have said was cut off when Ventus suddenly inhaled sharply. Master. Eraqus was a Master. Had he simply traded in one for another? Or had he gained two? Was Xehanort even gone?

"Whoa! Hey, easy Ventus!"

A hand landed on his shoulder and – oh. He was on the ground. When did he get on the ground? And that was Terra's hand. It was warm. Terra was helping him up. Why was he doing that? Oh, right. He had been on the floor. Why was he on the floor again?

"Ventus, are you alright?" Aqua asked, peering into his blank eyes with worry.

He didn't say anything. He didn't know; was he alright? He might not be. No, he definitely wasn't. But he didn't know if it was bad yet. Though it probably was. Because –

"No one here will hurt you, Ventus."

He blinked slowly and looked up at the voice. He was…he was Master Eraqus. That's right. He was a Master. And that was bad. Maybe? He didn't know. But – oh. He said no one would hurt him. But Master Xehanort lied. Did that mean that Master Eraqus lied too?

"Lying?" he asked.

Master Eraqus shook his head. "We will not hurt you, Ventus," he said, his voice steady and firm, "We want to help you. You are safe here."

He stared at the man for a long moment before letting his eyes drag over to Terra and Aqua. They both gave him reassuring smiles and Terra kept a firm grip on him to keep him upright.

"Safe…" he murmured, sagging in Terra's hold, falling against him. The taller boy easily adjusted his grip and let Ventus lean against his side.

"That's right, Ventus," Aqua said, reaching out to ruffle his hair. Her hand was warm too.

"Okay," he said softly, turning back to Master Eraqus, "Stay here."

The Master nodded. "Master Xehanort has left you in our care. You will stay here to recover and once you have…well, we'll see," he said with a slight smile.

Left…? Master Xehanort left him here? Did that mean he was…?

"Gone?" he asked.

Master Eraqus blinked, brow furrowing.

Ah. He was confused, like Terra was earlier. Hmmm…words were still hard. But he needed to know, so…

"Xeh – xea…Xeha…"

Urgh. Why did this guy have to have such hard name?

"Master Xehanort?" Aqua asked.

He hummed and gave a shallow nod. He liked Aqua. Aqua understood even if he couldn't talk right yet.

"Yes, Master Xehanort has left. He had some matters to attend to and he wished for you to have a more stable environment to recover in," Master Eraqus explained.

He didn't care about the reasons. They were probably just more lies. But he was gone. He was gone and he left Ventus alone. If he could smile, he probably would have. But expressions were harder than talking.

"Good," he said instead, "Stay here."

The other three smiled.

Hope you guys liked it!

Until next time,

~Elri