A/N: I was in a creative mood and decided to update early.

Since it'll probably be a little confusing, I'll give you the main character's ages now and the ages of those mentioned already.

Aqua: 22
Namine: 16
Terra: 24
Ven: 17
Kairi: 17
Xion: 18
Sora: 18
Vanitas: 19
Ansem: 36
Zack: 25

I also thought I should fill you in a little on Terra and Ven's relationship.

So Terra was adopted by someone I-won't-give-you-the-name-of-but-you-can-probably- guess-anyway when he was around 8. Five years later, Ven was adopted at 6. The two were inseparable. Then someone I-won't-give-you-the-name-of-but-you-can-probably- guess-anyway was attacked when Terra was 18 and Ven was 11. Terra went into Law Enforcement with hopes to find the attacker, and Ven is still in high school. Someone I-won't-give-you-the-name-of-but-you-can-probably- guess-anyway is still alive, only injured.

Cold. It was cold, and dark, but light at the same time and it was different. It was unfamiliar. This place was nothing like the world Namine had known her entire life.

This world was not her world.

Aqua didn't need to tell her for Namine to conclude that they were not in Radiant Gardens, or any part of their kingdom for that matter. This place was too different. Too... cold.

The familiar warmth of the magic Namine so loved didn't flow through the earth and skies as it did in her home. The only things flowing through the air and ground here was pollution.

Aqua held Namine close to herself protectively.

"Stay close to me," She whispered, eyeing the strangers around them warily. Namine nodded.

"Aqua, where are we going to go?" Namine whimpered. Silence was the only response she received. Namine choked out a quiet sob. If Aqua had no idea what they were going to do, what hope did they have? They had no way to return home, and were trapped in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, and no familiar embrace of the magics they usually indulged in. Namine buried her head into Aqua's back and clung to the fabric of her uniform for dear life.

Aqua was the most reliable person Namine knew. If Aqua didn't what what to do, then for all intents and purposes, they were doomed. They had no where to go, and no knowledge of this strange world.

Aqua bit her lip as Namine silently cried into her back. She wished she could tell Namine that everything would be fine, that they would be back home really soon, and there was nothing to worry about. But she couldn't lie. Aqua had no idea where they were, or if they would ever make it back to Radiant Gardens. All she could do now was hope some hero would appear out of nowhere and help them.

"What kind of freaks are you?" A sneering voice called out. Aqua whipped her head in the direction of the voice and glared. It seemed she got a villain instead of a hero.

A man, no, a boy, only slightly older than Namine was standing a few feet to their left. He had a blue knit cap on, with a symbol Aqua didn't recognize on the front and a blue sleeveless hoodie. His baggy pants rode low on his hips, blue boxers shorts peeking out of the top. His two friends stood on either side of him, a boy and a girl, wearing similar clothing, only their pants were pulled up to a more appropriate level. Aqua didn't like the arrogant vibe they(more specifically the boy in the center) gave off, but they didn't feel like a threat. She kept her guard up however, just in case. This world was unfamiliar to her and she didn't know what to expect from the people in it.

"Look Rai, Fuu, the circus must be in town!" He laughed. His two friends laughed too, but the boy looked more confused than anything, and the girl appeared indifferent.

"Fuu, take a picture! I want to show everyone these chicken wusses, I don't think they'd believe us otherwise!"

The girl reached into the messenger bag strapped to her shoulder, pulling out a black box, roughly the size of Namine's favorite tarts, and held it up to her face. Aqua and Namine were almost immediately blinded by a flash of light emitted by the small black box, and Aqua had her sword drawn in an instant.

In one swift movement, the black box was sliced int two, and the sword was held up to the girl's, Fuu's, neck. The silver haired girl's red eyes widened. She dropped the two pieces of the black box, and everyone around stared at Aqua as the pieces clattered to the ground.

People who had previously been walking past without a second glance had stopped to stand and watch, mouths agape. Namine held tighter to Aqua, as if to hide from the bystander's stares. The two boys with Fuu froze completely.

Murmurs of "Oh my god," and "Someone call the cops!" rushed through the crowds. Aqua looked around nervously, but didn't let it show on her face. She stood from her fighting stance, slowly pulling her sword from Fuu's neck and sheathed it. The silver haired girl let out a breathe she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Move! Police!" A loud, powerful voice called. The crowd parted in a wave at the voices command, and two large men in blue uniforms pushed through the crowd. One man, blue cap covering black hair, grabbed Namine and yanked her away from Aqua.

"Aqua!" she cried, struggling to no avail to escape the unfamiliar man's grasp. Aqua's eyes widened in a mixture of fear and anger, crying out "Namine!"

Before she could charge at the man who grabbed Namine, the other man grabbed her by her right wrist with one hand, hooking his other around her elbow and pulled. Hard. In a split second, Aqua's back was pressed against his muscular chest, her arm bent behind her back and wrist between her shoulders.

"You are under arrest! You have the right to re- AGH!" The man cried out in pain as Aqua headbutted him, but he didn't let go. Rather he gripped her arm tighter, and Aqua winced.

"Why you-" He began, tightening his already vice like grip. Aqua clenched her teeth to prevent herself from crying out. She glared at her assailant over her shoulder and elbowed him in the gut with her free arm. The man doubled over, momentarily releasing his grip.

That was all Aqua needed to reverse the grip he had on her wrist and send him flying over her shoulder.

With one man down, Aqua turned to the other, who was struggling to hold on to Namine.

"Hold still kid! I'm not trying to hurt you!" He muttered, "Quit struggling!" Namine did, and the man gave a small sigh of relief.

"See, that wasn't so har-"

"Aqua!"

The man looked up to see a blur of blue hair and pale flesh before a fist collided with his cheekbone. He let go of Namine as he stumbled away, pressing his hand to his cheek.

"Oh fuck!" He shouted clutching his cheek. Aqua grabbed Namine and pressed her against her side with one arm, drawing her sword with the other. She glared at the black haired man, who was slowly getting off of the ground, holding both arms out.

"Okay, let's all just... calm down for a second," He said as he stood to his full height. His eyes flicked behind Aqua for a moment and shouted, "Terra! Taze her!"

Before Aqua could full react, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. Aqua shoved Namine away from herself and both of the men and spun around. The last thing she saw before an agonizingly painful shock swept through her body were a pair of stern, clear blue eyes, and Namine screaming out her name.

Terra was not having a good day. His alarm didn't go off that morning, so he was rushing out of the door of his apartment without his usual coffee and bagel combo, on top of which, Ventus had left his skateboard out and Terra had tripped over it, getting a nasty bruise in the process. He had then gotten into his police issued cruiser, which had been egged, realizing only when he had already arrived at the station, that he'd forgotten his phone and partner Zack. He'd hastily punched himself and Zack in before racing back to his cruiser to get his friend. Zack had proceeded to laugh at his friend's misfortune for the entire ride, and making jabs at him saying, "If you had a smoking hot girlfriend like me, you wouldn't have this problem!"

When they had finally gotten back to the station, Chief Eraqus had assigned him and Zack patrol duty for the rest of the week as punishment for their tardiness.

All day, the two of them had been running around, taking care of stupid misdemeanors and small pointless calls.

"I hate patrol duty," Terra grumbled. Zack laughed.

"Then you shouldn't have been late!" Terra sat further back into his seat, gripping the wheel of his police car so hard, it might've left imprints. They had been stuck in heavy traffic for over an hour, just trying to get back to the station.

"Hey, what's that up there?" Zack asked, leaning forward in his seat. He pointed at it for Terra to see and sure enough, a large crowd had gathered to watch something. The crowd was so large, people had begun to spill out into the street. Terra sighed and pulled the car to the curb, turning his lights on.

The two officers climbed out of the car, ready to break the crowd up, but the silver glint of a blade immediately alerted them to danger.

"Move! Police!" Terra shouted out, forcing people out of his way. He was shocked to say the least when he'd made it to the center of the disturbance. A tall woman with blue hair was holding a smaller blond to her side, sword now sheathed at her side. She wore what appeared to be a formal uniform, like the ones princes wore in Disney movies, decorated with various pins and medals, none of which Terra was familiar with. The other girl wore what appeared to be a medieval white gown, with long billowy sleeves and skirts, but at the same time utterly simple. They looked like they had been plucked out of some old fairy tale.

They can't be from around here, he thought.

Zack had quickly rushed forward to grab the smaller blond girl and yank her away from the blue haired one. The girl flailed around and cried in protest, calling out, "Aqua!" Terra presumed this was he other woman's name.

'Aqua' looked about ready to rip out Zack's esophagus as she cried out "Namine!"

Terra quickly grabbed the woman while her back was turned, pinning her in a standard police hold he learned while he was still a trainee.

"You're under arrest! You have the right to re-AGH!" He was cut short as Aqua rammed the back of her head into his face. He felt anger bubble in the pit of his stomach as he tightened his hold on her and he growled, "Why you-" He was cut off once again as the unfamiliar girl dug her elbow deep into his ribcage, knocking the wind right out of his lungs. Terra bent forward, trying to regain his bearings. He felt his grip on her hand slip, and then he was lifted into the air.

Terra looked into the sky, completely stunned. His back ached and the wind was knocked out of his chest all over again. She had just judo flipped him. That strange blue haired girl had just judo flipped him, a man twice her size, like she was merely flipping a coin. From where he lay on the sidewalk, he could hear Zack trying to get the blond girl, Namine as Aqua had called her, to calm down. He could hear Zack cry in pain and the connection of flesh to bone. As Terra stood, he could hear Zack trying to calm the woman.

Aqua had completely forgotten about him. Back turned, believing him down for the count, she was completely oblivious to Terra's approaching figure. Terra silently reached down to his side, pulling his Tazer out from it's place in his belt, and snuck up on Aqua.

"Terra! Taze her!"

That was all the signal Terra needed to grab the woman by her shoulder. She had shoved the blond girl away, and spun around. Terra met her shocked and fearful eyes with a stern glare as he raised the small device and pressed the activated end to the side of her neck. Within seconds, she was unconscious in Terra's arms. Terra hoisted her over his shoulder as Zack dispersed the crowd. Terra then walked calmly over to the blonde, who was whimpering pitifully on the ground. When she saw him approach, her eyes widened, and she'd prepared to flee, but hesitated, seeing Aqua draped over his shoulder. That moments hesitation allowed Zack to rush over and trap Namine in his strong arms. Namine struggled and fought, but she was nowhere near strong enough to escape. She must have realized that too, becasue she soon stopped struggling and stood still.

Then, she started to cry.

Terra could handle gun toting lunatics, knife brandishing psychopaths, murderers, even killer fucking clowns. But a crying teenage girl was not one of those things. He had seen many criminals turn into sobbing messes at the realization that they were going to prison, but this girl was a far cry from a criminal.

Zack and Terra looked at each other, panicked and confused. Zack had ended up awkwardly patting the girl's head with one hand while Terra stood there like an idiot. She looked up at him in confusion, tears still flowing freely down her cheeks. He stopped stroking her head and stared back down equally confused. A choked cry escaped her lips, and Namine was sobbing again, only this time, she pressed her face into the front of Zack's uniform, flustering and panicking the cop even more.

Now that Terra and Zack had gotten a better look at the strange pair, he'd noticed how worn down and pathetic they looked. Namine's hair was tangled and dirty, and her white dress had turned an ugly shade of brown all around the torn edge of her skirt and long sleeves. She had holes in her now brown stockings, which Terra presumed were previously white, and the short heel on one of her shoes were missing. Her eyes were puffy and rimmed with red, so she must have been crying a lot. Aqua was in no better shape, her uniform torn in various places, caked with mud and grime, and missing several buttons.

Terra and Zack exchanged one last confused glance before they going back to the car. Zack, unable to coax Namine into releasing him, was forced to sit in the back of the squad car. Aqua rested in the passenger seat, handcuffed to the door handle in case she woke up and tried to attack Terra again.

Terra could still hear Namine's sobs in the back seat, though they had quieted considerably from before. He could hear as she cried into Zack's chest about wanting to go home(a place she called Radiant Gardens), to see her father, someone called Marluxia, and someone else named Sora. His name came up a lot.

Terra gave Zack a concerned glance, to which he responded with a shrug. Glancing at the passenger seat, Terra studied Aqua in more detail.

She was beautiful, without a doubt. Her long dark lashes and high arched eyebrows, soft blue hair and pale flawless skin. It only served to confuse him more as to why such a beautiful, delicate looking woman could be so strong, and why she carried around a sword and a girl that looked like a freaking medieval princess. Sighing, Terra focused his attention back onto the congested road as the group made their way slowly, very, very slowly, to the police station.

Aqua groaned as she woke up, feeling incredibly stiff. She straightened her back in an effort to stretch out the stiff muscles when she heard a soft chink. Looking down at her hands, she panicked. They were connected to the table by two metal bracelets around her wrist and a chain that connected those bracelets to the table. Aqua yanked her arms away from the table in a pointless effort to free herself.

"Are you done?"

Aqua's head snapped up. In front of her was the man from before, the one who had knocked her out. Namine and the other man were no where in sight.

She bristled and jumped out of her chair. Well, tried to anyways. The bracelets attached to the table held her in a bowing position. Instead of jumping backwards like she had intended, Aqua merely knocked the metal chair she was sitting in on it's side, and fell forward onto the table from the rebound of the bracelets. The man chuckled, getting out of his own chair to correct hers, before returning to his own seat. Aqua sat down and flushed a dark shade of red, muttering a quick thanks without looking the man in the eyes. She sat down and studied the odd metal bracelets. She gave them a testing tug, finding them to be quite strong. she lifted her arms up and studied them from several different angles before resting her hands on the table again.

She could easily break through the light metal of the chain and bracelets with magic, but, seeing as she had sensed no magic present in this place, decided against it. Best not to startle anyone and draw unnecessary attention.

Terra studies Aqua with complete fascination. The way she studied her handcuffs was like she'd never seen a pair before in her entire life. When she finally finished observing the restraints, she looked Terra dead in the eye with an unwavering stare of her own. Terra raised a curious eyebrow. It almost felt like she was challenging him to speak. As Terra opened his mouth to begin his interrogation, Aqua spoke.

"Where's Namine." Terra frowned. She did that on purpose.

"Where's Namine." She repeated. Terra lowered his brow.

"I'm the one who's asking the questions."

"I refuse to answer any questions until I know Namine is safe." Terra sighed, exasperated. Why did women have to be so difficult? Even strange women dressed like a prince, brandishing swords, and judo flipping cops twice their size with ease were difficult.

"If I tell you where she is, will you cooperate?" Terra asked, folding his arms across his chest. Aqua nodded.

"She's outside waiting with Officer Fair. Happy?" Aqua replied with a smug nod. Terra glared.

"First question, why are you dressed like some guy about to swoop in on a white horse to save the damsel?"

"Tradition," was her only response. Terra gave her an annoyed stare. She wasn't going to make this easy.

"What tradition?" Much to his surprise, Aqua gave him an incredulous stare, as if the 'tradition' was supposed to be common knowledge.

"All knights are to wear their formal uniform in the presence of visiting Royals."

Now it was Terra's turn to give Aqua an incredulous stare. He wanted to call her out on bullshit, but the way she said it was so serious. It seemed like she truly thought she was some sort of fairy tale knight in some fairy tale castle having some stupid tea party with some fairy tale royalty. Next thing she would be telling him was that the blonde girl was some type of princess. Terra paused.

"Is that blonde girl a princess?"

"Yes of course. She's the princess of Radiant Gardens. Didn't you know that?"

"Enough with the lying, tell me the truth. Who are you, where are you from, and why were you waving around a sword, unlicensed, and disturbing the peace!" Terra exclaimed getting irritated. Aqua jumped back a bit in shock.

"I-I am telling the truth!" she exclaimed indignantly, "My name is Aqua, I am a knight of Radiant Gardens, and the only ones disturbing the peace were those three with that black box of light-"

"A camera," Terra corrected. Aqua stared at him blankly

"What's a cam-rah?" Terra facepalmed. He stood abruptly out of his chair and stalked out of the room, muttering, "I'll be right back." He slammed the door behind him, causing Aqua to wince at the excess force he used.

Aqua sat in her chair eyes wide and dazed. How could he not have known that Namine was the princess? How could he not know any tradition or customs, and how could he not take her word for anything she said? She was a knight! She was honor bound to tell the truth! What would she have gained in any case by lying about it?

Then again, this place was so strange. Maybe her suspicions that this world really wasn't a part of their own were true? Could it really be possible? It would explain so many things, like why this world had so many strange people, buildings, and objects in it, and why there seemed to be no magic.

Aqua paled.

What if she had no magic in this world? She felt the sweat forming on her brow as her muscles tensed and her nerves went wild with worry. Looking down at her hands, she placed them, palms down, on the cold metal table and quietly said, "Blizzara."

Ice crystals formed on the the surface of the table, spiraling outward in an intricate and beautiful dance of magic. By the time it had reached the ends of the table, it had formed a beautiful, icy picture of the castle in Radiant Gardens. Aqua traced the outline of the towers and walls with a happy sigh.

She still had her magic.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Terra rushed inside, Zack at his heels. The two cops looked from the table, to Aqua, and to each other.

"How did you do that?" Zack asked, astonished. Aqua looked down at the ice picture she had made, then back up to the two officers.

"I think you two should sit down. This is going to be a long story."

Zack watched Terra as he emerged from the interrogation room, slamming the door hard behind him. Namine, who had stopped crying at this point, burrowed deeper into his chest.

"Rough night?" Zack asked. Terra grumbled in response. He glanced over at Namine. Pulling one of the plastic waiting chairs from the wall to face them, he sat down next to the pair.

"Namine, are you a princess?" Terra asked in a s gentle a voice he could muster. Zack looked at Terra like he had grown a second head. Sure this Namine girl dressed like some fairy tale dandy, but really? This was a police interrogation! Not a daycare center!

"Yes," Namine said, confused. Zack sighed. Out of all times Terra had to be ridiculous and gullible beyond reason he had to choose now to do it.

"Terra, you can't be serious. What on earth do you think your're-" Zack cut himself short when he saw a faint blue light illuminate the room Aqua was in. He gently lifted Namine off of himself and peered through the one-way glass. Terra and Namine, out of curiosity, joined him.

Zack and Terra couldn't believe their eyes.

There, at the table, a sheet of ice was forming. Forming in a beautiful way that neither of them had seen before. And it was coming from Aqua's hands. Without any warning, Terra tore himself away from the window and towards the door to the interrogation room, Zack quickly following behind him.

Namine watched as Terra threw the door to the room open and charged inside, Aqua staring at him, surprised.

Footsteps echoed down the hall, and Namine turned towards their source.

Much to her surprise, there in the hall stood a boy, not much older than herself, with spiky blond hair and bright blue eyes, lacking the uniform she had seen on most every person in the building. Instead, he wore a grey shirt under a green hooded jacket, tan cargo shorts, and a pair of worn grey running shoes. Hey grinned at Namine, and walked in her direction.

"Hey, have you seen a tall, scary-looking guy named Terra around anywhere?" he asked.

Namine gasped slightly, bringing a fist to her mouth.

This boy looked just like Sora.