The light began to shine in Terra's room, which made Ven's eyes squint open, as the light hit him directly in the face. The blonde stretched and looked around the room. There was no Terra to be seen.
"I wonder where he went," Ven whispered to himself. He looked around again before he got off the bed. His feet touched the wood floors and he quietly went to the door.
It creaked open and the boy peered through the opening. Once he thought it was okay to go, he stared through the hallway.
The halls were dark and depressing as Ven walked though them. There were a few paintings of some older men and women on the walls. The boy looked at them curiously for a second before moving on in the hallway. He wondered aimlessly for awhile until he smelled something through the hall.
He followed the scent as it became stronger. Ven turned the corner and saw a brightly lit room where three people were standing around. The blonde looked closer and saw that it was Terra, Aqua, and Emika in the room.
The young girl, Emika, spotted Ven first and waved. "Well good morning, Ventus," she said, taking a seat on the couch.
"We were all wondering when you were going to wake up," Aqua smiled as she sat next to Emika on the couch. Ven just stood there and looked at the ground. Aqua smiled at the boy. "Won't you join us, Ventus?" she asked.
"Oh, um, sure," Ven said nervously. He walked over and looked at Terra, who was leaning against one of the chairs. He sat down in a seat across from Emika and Aqua as the two looked at him.
Emika was the first to speak. "So you're probably wondering what's going on, huh?"
"Emika, you don't need to make him worry so early in the morning," Aqua said.
"Well, I would want to know why I was brought to this place if I was him, wouldn't you?" she asked Aqua.
The woman sighed, "You have a point."
"No please," Ven said, "you don't need to worry about me. I'm okay, but I would like to know later maybe."
"This would have been so much easier if Terra would have just told you last night," Emika glared at Terra, who glared right back.
"He was worn out and fell asleep quickly," Terra said. "I didn't want to explain things and make him more tired than what he was."
Emika smirked, "Well, well, it sounds like you actually care about something for once, Terra. I'm so proud of you!"
Before Terra could react, Emika jumped on him and hugged his waist, which was all she could reach since she was pretty short. Terra struggled to get the girl off of him but she laughed and jumped on his shoulders.
"Gah!" Terra exclaimed. "Get off of me, Emika!"
"What are you gonna do, tell the old man on me?" Emika yelled back.
The two of them were at it and Ven just watched as the Terra and Emika argued back and forth.
Aqua walked over and stood next to Ven and smiled at him apologetically. "I'm sorry," she said. "They get like this a lot. Those two just never stop."
Ven smiled and laughed a little, "They kinda remind me of siblings."
Aqua laughed too, "I've think the same thing sometimes. Hey, you two knock it off, will ya?"
"You heard her, Terra," Emika said, jumping off Terra, punching him in the side.
"Shut up, Emika," Terra said as he punched the girl back.
"Yep," Ven smiled, "just like siblings."
"Did you hear that, Terra?" Emika asked. "We're siblings!"
"You're sarcasm can be seen a mile away, you know that?" Terra asked.
"Kill joy," the girl mumbled.
"Come on you guys," Aqua said. "Let's get something to eat. I bet Ventus here is starved."
Ven hadn't noticed until he heard his stomach grumble that he was hungry. He got up and followed the other three into the kitchen where there were five plates with their breakfast on them. They all sat down and began to eat.
It was silent for a long time until Terra spoke first. "So, you wanna know why you're here, Ventus?"
Ven looked up shyly, "You don't have to say anything if you don't want to."
Emika laughed, "Spoken like a true pure light."
"Pure light?" Ven asked confused.
Terra nodded, "That's the reason we brought you here. Ventus, you are one of the last remaining pure lights left in the worlds. I'm sure you know what a pure light is, right?"
"Yeah, we studied them in school," Ven nodded. "But how am I a pure light? I mean, I'm just some ordinary kid from Radiant Garden."
"Technically, you were never normal," Emika said, taking a bite of an apple. "You've always contained a pure light; it just never showed itself, so nobody could actually find you."
"Then how did you find me?" Ven asked.
"Emika can detect the pure lights wherever they are," Aqua said. "She's been sensing the lost of all the other lights, and soon discovered you after we lost Cinderella. I was put in charge of her and I failed," Aqua said, looking at the ground.
"No one could have seen it coming," Emika said.
"You could have strengthened your force on that side at least," Terra said.
Aqua looked hurt, "I, I know."
Emika glared at the brunette, "Just shut it, Terra. The same thing would have happened to you, so don't go correcting something that's inevitable," she said, standing up from her seat.
"Emika, please, calm down," Aqua said to the girl.
The girl continued to glare at Terra before she sat down again. Emika sighed and looked at Ven again, "So now that the other side knows about you, we have to keep you in the castle for safety."
"The other side?" Ventus asked confused.
"The side of darkness," Aqua said. "You met a few of their recruits back in Radiant Garden."
Ven shivered when he remembered Braig and the boy who was with him. "But why does it matter that I'm a pure light. Yes, I know that the pure lights keep the balance but why are they coming after me all of a sudden."
"Because they have the upper hand right now, and they wish to strike us when we're down," Terra said. "You're the last light and destroying you would mean that they win the war. If you die, everyone else will fall into darkness."
"Everyone will fall?" Ven asked.
"They will either become one with darkness, following it in the end. Or, they'll fall and disappear forever," Eraqus said, walking into the room.
"Good morning Master Eraqus," Aqua smiled.
Eraqus nodded to Aqua and looked at Ven. "It's nice to see you doing better, Ventus."
"Oh please," Ventus said, "call me Ven."
"Right, well, Ven, I hope that you've made yourself right at home."
"I have, thank you."
"Emika, Aqua, I have a few missions for you two. Come see me once you're all done in here," Eraqus said.
"And here I thought we would get a break for once," Emika said, leaning back a bit in her seat.
"Come on, Emika," Aqua said, standing up from her chair. "We can talk now, Master Eraqus."
"Alright, come this way," he said, leading the two girls out of the room.
Ven and Terra were left alone in the room and the boy looked down to the ground again as Terra got up to put the dishes away. Ven stood but kept his eyes on the ground.
Terra stared at the blonde curiously and sighed. "Are you going to stare at the floor forever, or are you actually going to make eye contact with me?"
Ventus looked up surprised, "Sorry, it's just that I," he paused.
"You? Come on and spit out whatever you want to say to me."
"I'm sorry about hitting you and saying all those things to you!" Ven blurted out.
"You don't need to worry about that," Terra said.
"But, I had no right to do that to you. I barely know you and I don't want to start out a friendship like this."
"A friendship?" Terra said confused.
"Yeah, you're friends with Emika and Aqua, right?"
"I suppose so."
Ven shook his head, "That isn't a friendship if you think so. You need to be sure that they're your friends, and I want to be one too."
Terra stared at the blonde. "I think of them more as teammates or comrades more than friends."
"I don't think that's how they feel," Ven mumbled.
"What was that?" Terra asked.
"Oh nothing, hmm," Ven paused, "I know, I can show you what a friendship is since you don't really understand too much; not that that's a bad thing," the blonde said as Terra glared at him slightly.
Terra sighed, "I probably have a mission to carry out today, so I can't do it."
"I highly doubt that," Emika said, entering the room. She looked at Terra and smiled, "The old man wants to talk to you."
"Fine, I'll be back later," he said to Ventus.
Ven slumped and looked at the floor as Terra left him alone.
Emika walked over to Ven and waved in his face, which he didn't respond to. The girl huffed, "You must really hate socializing, huh?"
Ven stayed silent.
Emika shrugged and crouched down so Ven was looking at her and not the floor. She smiled as Ven jumped at the sight of her. "Are you going to talk to me or what?" Emika asked.
Ven finally looked up and blushed, "Sorry," he mumbled.
Emika laughed and jumped back up so she was looking at the boy. "There's no need for apologies. Actually, I think I should be thanking you, Ven."
"Thanking me? What for?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Emika smiled. "So the old man has me going to another world to help the forces out there. Aqua has to go too so we'll both be gone, you know what that means?"
"I don't know," Ven said.
"Terra's gonna have to stay here with you today. I heard your conversation before I walked in. Good luck with showing the guy what friendship is," Emika laughed.
"You think of Terra as a friend, don't you?"
"Yeah, he and Aqua are my best friends. I watch out for my friends and do whatever I can to help them. A little lame to say I know, but that's just how I am."
Ven smiled, "I think that's great."
"Thanks, and I hope we can become best friends soon too, Ven. We are friends though right now, right?"
"Of course."
Emika nodded, "Great, oh look, here comes mister grumpy."
Ven looked to see where Emika was looking and spotted Terra coming down the hall, and the girl was right, Terra didn't look to happy.
"Eraqus is having me stay behind today because you and Aqua are going to do your missions," Terra said.
"I think it's more of a reason than that," Emika teased. "Well, I should get going before you ruin my good mood today, Terra."
The brunette glared at the girl who kept smiling at him.
"I'm just kidding!" Emika said, holding up her hands. "Anyways, I'll see you guys later."
Once Emika was gone, the room fell silent between the two. Terra looked at Ven and quickly took his hand, leading him out of the room.
Ven blushed as Terra continued to pull him through the halls. "Terra," Ven said, "where are we going?"
"We're going back to my room," Terra said.
Ven stayed silent as the brunette led him into the room and let go of his hand. Terra went over to the closet and pulled out the clothes that Ven had been wearing yesterday.
"Here," Terra said, throwing the clothes to the blonde, "get dressed and I'll show you around a bit."
Ven took the clothes and stared at Terra for a few seconds.
"What?" Terra asked.
"Could you um," Ven blushed again.
"Oh," Terra said surprised, "sorry, I'll leave. Tell me when you're done." The brunette got up and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door's frame as he looked up at the ceiling. Suddenly, Ven's blushing face came into his mind, and Terra felt warmth come to his cheeks.
He shook his head to try to get the image out, but he began to remember last night; Ven's small innocent body lying next to him while the brunette watched him sleep. Terra felt himself grow red again and he grumbled. What the hell am I doing? He thought. Why am I remembering that?
There was a knock on the door behind him and Terra jumped slightly as he turned to see Ventus in his clothes. The boy was still slightly blushing as he looked up at Terra. "Sorry if I took too long," the blonde said.
"Its fine," Terra said as he took Ven's hand again and led him in the hallway. "I'll show you around the place so that way you won't get lost so easily."
"Okay," Ven mumbled.
After some moments of exploring, Terra opened the door to the outside and pulled Ven through. "Come on, I show you around outside. There's more than what there is out here."
Ven smiled slightly and let go of Terra's hand as he let his skin take in the full sunlight. The boy sighed and turned back to Terra with a giant smile on his face. "It's beautiful out today, Terra."
The brunette felt a smile play on his lips, but he just walked past Ventus to the giant entrance gait. The boy looked confused but ended up following Terra into a large area where a few pieces of equipment were placed.
"This is the training area," Terra said.
Ven was about to say something until some shouted, "LOOK OUT!"
Terra whipped around and knocked Ven to the ground as a large item breezed by his head. Ven gasped as Terra loomed over the boy.
"Sorry, Sorry," someone said, walking up to the two.
Terra looked up and glared at the person. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" the brunette asked.
Ventus looked over and say another teen, about the age of Terra, standing next to them. The teen spoke, "Hey, I said I was sorry. I thought nobody would be here at this time, and I thought all of you guys had missions today."
Terra stood up and pulled Ven with him. The blonde stumbled a bit but was kept up by Terra's arm. "I would think you'd be a little more careful," Terra said.
The teen scratched the back of his head, "I know I know." He looked over and met Ven's eyes. He smiled, "Hey, are you a new guy here? I bet you're here to train with the rest of us, huh?"
"Well, I-" Ven began.
"He won't be," Terra interrupted. "This boy is a very special guest of ours."
"Oh, I see," the teen smirked. "And you were put in charge of him, Terra?"
Terra glared at the teen. "I thought you were trained to not call me by my name, cadet."
"And I have a name too, Terra," the teen said. He turned back to Ven. "I guess I should introduce myself. My name is Zack, what's your name?"
"Ventus, but you can just call me Ven," the blonde smiled.
"Nice to meet you, Ven," Zack smiled.
Terra sighed, "So how's the new recruit doing?"
"Hmm? Oh, he's doing pretty well," Zack said. "Actually, he's over there. Hey, come on over!" Zack waved for another person to come to where all three of them stood.
The person made his way over and stood next to Zack shyly. He was blonde as well with very spiky hair and a small body. If it wasn't for Zack and Terra, Ven would have thought the guy was his own age.
"This here is Spike," Zack smiled.
"I told you to stop calling me that," the blonde said. "My name is Cloud, sir," Cloud said to Terra.
Terra nodded, "You see, Zack, you could learn a thing or two from Cadet Cloud here."
"Thank you very much, sir," Cloud said as he bowed his head.
Zack grinned, "He'll be good once I'm done with him." He said, putting an arm around Cloud's shoulder.
Cloud blushed and stood up. As he did, he made eye contact with Ven. Ven smiled, "Hi, my name is Ventus, but you can call me Ven."
"Oh, um hello, Ven," Cloud said.
"We should get going," Terra said. "Continue with your training, cadets."
Zack shrugged his shoulders, "Fine, see you later, Terra. Oh, and see you too, Ven."
Terra grumbled something before pulling Ven with him away from the two cadets. The blonde looked back at the two and then turned to Terra, who stopped in front of a small area.
He let go of Ven again and walked over to sit down on the edge of the castle. Terra sighed and looked back at Ventus. "You can sit if you want," he said.
Ven nodded and took a seat next to Terra.
"So explain it to me," Terra said.
"Explain what?" Ven asked confused.
"This whole friendship thing, what did you want to tell me?"
"Oh, I almost forgot. Well, what do you want to know?"
"Nothing really," Terra sighed.
Ven huffed and turned away from the brunette. It was a few moments until he turned back to Terra. "I'm not sure if I can teach you anything to be honest."
"But I thought you said you would teach me what a friendship is."
"It's more of you have to feel or experience it to know what it means," Ven said.
"I see."
They were both silent as Ventus fiddled with the tips of his fingers. Occasionally, the boy would sneak in side glances of Terra to see what the brunette was doing, and every time he looked, Terra was starring off into the distance with nothing on his mind.
After a few more moments, Ven sighed and looked at Terra directly in the face. "I need to ask you something," Ven said.
Terra looked down at the boy curiously, "What is it?"
Ventus bit his lip, "I, I just wanted to ask you-um well," he paused.
"You're wondering about your friends, right?" Terra asked.
Ventus looked up surprised, "How did you-"
"It's written all over your face. I can tell by the way you brought up the whole friendship thing. You want to know if you can go home, am I correct?"
The blonde nodded his head slowly.
Terra sighed heavily, "Well, I'm sorry to say this, but," he paused, "you can never go home, Ventus."
…...
"Emika, are you doing okay on your side?" Aqua asked into the communicator.
I'm doing fine, Aqua, quit worrying, Emika sighed on the other end.
Aqua smiled, "I'm heading your way as soon as I'm done here."
Emika mumbled something before she said goodbye and hung up.
Aqua hung up and looked over and her team. "I'm going. Contact me if something happens as soon as possible. Am I clear?"
The soldiers nodded and saluted Aqua before she departed. She walked a little ways before she came up to a smaller area where Emika was standing, keeping watch over everything that was going on.
Aqua smiled and laughed a little at the sight on Emika standing in a fierce pose that could scare anyone. Her shoulders were pulled back and she stiffened slightly to make herself look stricter. Emika held her hands on her hips to show that she wasn't there to play around at a time like this.
Emika turned when she heard Aqua behind her. She smiled only slightly, "Nice of you to join me," Emika said.
Aqua smiled back, "How's everything going on out here?"
Emika starred out into the field, "Things are running swiftly and smoothly just as we intended before we left."
Frowning, Aqua nodded, "That's good to hear," she said. Aqua always hated how different Emika, Terra, and herself acted when they were out in the battlefield. They all acted like different people completely.
Emika became serious and coldhearted towards her enemies. Aqua herself was more business and cruel to people who didn't follow orders correctly, and then there was Terra. Terra wasn't even himself and he seemed so distant when he was fighting the Unversed. And even when he wasn't, it seemed like Aqua knew Terra less and less each day.
"We have a few more recruits now," Emika said, dragging Aqua out of her deep thoughts.
"Oh, really?" Aqua said.
"They were shocked to see someone like me leading everyone," Emika smiled slightly.
"Let me guess, he said that women don't belong in the battlefield and that they belong in the kitchen taking care of the children."
"Well, he said youngins' and not children. But other than that, yeah he said that exactly," Emika said.
"And I bet you-"
"I punched him square in the mouth. Shocked him quite a bit I'll tell you. He had no idea that someone like me could punch that hard. I told him he better shape up or I'll personally see him out of here."
"At least you taught him a lesson," Aqua smiled.
"You could say that," Emika shrugged.
All of a sudden, there was an exposition in the distance and screaming could be heard as well. Many of the soldiers charge after whatever was causing the commotion. The two girls looked ahead and saw that an army of Unversed was coming.
"Shit," Emika growled as she summoned her two Keyblades in her hands and charged towards the fight with Aqua right behind her.
They both got there in seconds, and the fight began as soon as they both slashed the first Unversed with their Keyblades. All the soldiers were fighting while breathing heavily, trying their best to stay alive.
Emika cleared off a group before something in the distance caught her eye. She turned but there was a sudden impact that landed onto her shoulders. Emika turned and jumped back so she could have a clearer view of who attacked her.
"Emika, behind you!" Aqua yelled.
The girl turned and met her Keyblades with the Keyblade of Vanitas. The boy leaned in, but Emika kicked him away.
"You're losing you touch," Vanitas said calmly.
"Shut up," Emika glared.
"What are you doing here?" Aqua asked as she came up beside Emika.
"I came here to see how you were all doing," Vanitas paused as some soldiers screamed in the background. "I can see that it isn't going very well either."
"Why don't you cut the crap and tell us the real reason why you're here?" Emika said.
Vanitas smiled behind his mask. "I'm looking for a boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and he is the vessel to the last pure light. Could you tell me where I could find him?"
…...
"What, what do you mean, Terra?" Ven asked confused. "I think I heard you wrong. For a second it sounded like you said I couldn't go home."
"That's because I did," Terra said coldly.
"But I don't understand," Ventus said. "Why can't I go home? Why can't I go see my friends, what if something bad happened to them after we left? I need to make sure that they're all safe."
"I can't let you leave this place. As your Guardian, I'm forbidden to do so," Terra said.
"My Guardian, what are you talking about?"
"I was appointed your Guardian when you were first discovered. When that happened, I had to abide to certain codes that I must now live by. You probably think that isn't right."
"I didn't-" Ven began.
"You'll say this is cold hearted and I also am coldhearted to follow those rules. You also think that I won't let you go see your friends, and you'll try to find a way out, but-"
"Will you just shut up?" Ventus said as he stood up, shouting at Terra.
Terra looked up and frowned at the boy.
"Stop, stop doing that," Ven breathed.
"Stop doing what?"
"Stop reading me like I'm some book you picked up from some shelf. I hate that, I hate that you think you can treat people as if they're nothing to you when in fact, they mean the world to you," Ven gasped as he felt something warm run down his cheek. He put his hand to his face and pulled it back to see that he was crying.
Terra's eyes widened as he stood up and put a hand to reach out to the boy. "Ven, I'm-"
"Don't," Ven said as he swatted Terra's hand away.
Suddenly, Terra pulled Ven into an embrace, tightening his grip on the boy, as he buried his face into Ventus's blonde spiky hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," Terra said. He gasped softly at what he said. What am I saying? Terra thought. I usually don't care what I say to people. I just tell them it's the truth and they have to deal with it, but then why am I so soft towards this boy?
Ven stayed very still until he finally pushed himself back away from Terra. He was blushing lightly when he looked up at the brunette. "Terra," he began.
But Terra started to lean down slowly until he was inches away from Ven's face. This boy, he thought, I want to know why he makes me act so different. Why does he cause me to lose control like I am right now?
"Terra," Ven mumbled. "What are you-"
"Just stay still for a second. I want to see something," Terra said, leaning closer towards the blonde.
The brunette was only centimeters away before someone began to chuckle in the background. Terra looked up, while he still held Ven, and glared. "What are you doing here, Vanitas," he said, shoving Ventus behind him.
Vanitas stood motionless as Ven peered around Terra to see the other boy, but he was holding someone. In his arm was a limp Emika and Aqua laid not too far from Vanitas's feet.
"Emika, Aqua," Ven called to the two girls.
Aqua groaned and moved about on the ground, but Emika made no sign of movement. The blue haired woman lifted her face up to see Terra and Ven. "Terra," Aqua said. "Get out of here. Run and take Ventus with you before it's too late."
Vanitas snorted and kicked Aqua aside as he turned back to Terra. "Let's make a deal, shall we? I'll give you back your friends unharmed if you give me that blonde boy behind you."
Terra snarled and backed up a bit. "Like hell I'm going to do that."
"So you want to watch your two friends here die right before your eyes?" Vanitas asked.
"We don't die that easily," Emika coughed under Vanitas's arm. She peered up at the boy and punched him in the stomach.
Vanitas kneeled over as he loosened his grip enough for Emika to slip out. She stood and blocked Terra and Ven. "Go on, Terra," she said.
Terra just nodded before he turned and dragged Ventus away with him. The two of them ran as Ven tried to look back. He was about to say something until Terra spoke.
"Emika and Aqua can take care of themselves," Terra said. "We just need to get you to Master Eraqus before he shows up."
"Who's he?" Ven asked, but it was too late.
A dark portal appeared before the two of them and Terra reacted quickly. He pushed Ventus away as he summoned his Keyblade. From the dark portal emerged a man who looked like the age of Eraqus but slightly older. He had no hair except for the small beard around his chin.
His tan skin glowed from the sun and his golden eyes flickered with dark purpose. He grinned when he saw Ventus behind Terra.
The man began to walk towards Ven, but Terra blocked him off. "Don't even think about it," Terra said. "You aren't going to lay a hand on him, Xahanort."
Xahanort grinned. "Terra, my boy," he said, "what a pleasure to see you again, and I see that you have my pure light ready for me as well."
To Be Continued...
A/N: Yes, I'm back and I'm very sick right now! D8 Sorry it took so long to get this one up but I hope you guys still enjoy it. Oh, a Terra and Ven kiss scene? Almost (so close but yet so far) XD
And now Xahanort makes his big break along with Aqua and a little of Emika (she didn't get much time in the last chapter). Oh, and so does Zack and Cloud! I'm excited to see where everyone goes after this little shin dig we have goin' on here in Resistences Trust. But you probably have been wondering, and if not then you are now, WHERE THE HELL IS ERAQUS? I mean, he should know what the hell is going on in his own place, am I right? Or maybe he's just too old to hear anything...
Eraqus: What did you just say?
Emika: She's right, you are old.
Ventus: Are you going to update soon?
Me: O_o
Terra: Hey, answer him, will ya?
Me: *Dies*
Aqua: Oh my...
Emika: Great job, Terra, you killed our writter!
Terra: Whatever, she was too lazy anyways
Zack: HEY, we have stories too, you know?
Axel: Yeah, and the AkuRoku story is the best one
Roxas: Uh, Axel...
Zack: I think mine and Cloud's is better!
Cloud: Just shut up, Zack.
Me: CLOUD! *hugs*
Zack: She's alive, great job, Cloud
Vantias: I don't even want to know *takes a nap* ^w^