Chapter 6 Traverse Town
"C'mon, how old do you guys think I am?" Ven scoffs at his two friends at breakfast the next morning.
"Ven," Terra says with difficulty due to half an omelet stuffed in his mouth. "Its true. Santa Claus exists." Aqua nods her head in agreement with a smile.
"Yeah right," Ven says sarcastically rolling his eyes. "C'mon guys I'm fourteen. I'm not falling for that crap."
"But Ven its true," Aqua says, "We've met him before. Santa Claus is very real, believe me."
Ven shakes his head stubbornly. "No, you guys are just trying to pull my leg. Well it's not gonna work. Santa Claus isn't real!"
Terra and Aqua exchange a grin. "Would you like to put money on that?" Terra asks Ven shrewdly.
"A bet?"
"Sure," Terra says leaning forward, "50 munny says you'll regret saying that one day."
"You're on!"
They shake hands sealing the bet. Terra squeezes Ven's hand a little harder then he has to and Ven returns the gesture. The two stay locked together not wanting to be the first to give in and let go. Ven does his best not to show the pain Terra's crushing grip is giving him and keeps his face blank. Aqua just sighs and continues to eat her breakfast trying to ignore the 'manly' contest going on in front of her. The two continue to try and crush each other's hand for half a minute before Master Eraqus makes his entrance by clearing his throat.
Ven and Terra both at once release their handshake and return to their breakfast. Master Eraqus makes himself a plate of eggs and bacon and sits down at the table where the new discussion of if Terra could fit an entire omelet in his mouth dies down. After carefully adding a little salt to his eggs, Master Eraqus begins to eat in small bites. The conversation turns to his departure last night.
"You two remember Merlin the powerful wizard right?" Eraqus asks his older students.
They both nod remembering the old man and the world of knights and chivalry that they had visited with Master Eraqus years ago. King Arthur's Kingdom was one of Terra's favorite worlds because he still to this day idolized Arthur and his knights. Aqua on the other hand hated going to that world with its old fashioned rules about how women can't fight. She especially hated the skirt she had been forced to wear when they visited. Her heart sinks a little wondering if Master Eraqus is going to make them go back there.
Master Eraqus continues. "Well, as you might recall Merlin was a close advisor to King Arthur. However, Merlin has decided that he has learned all he can about magic in that world and is leaving to find a new world to continue his studies. He has been consulting with me on where he should go and I gave him the advice of going to the world of Traverse Town first. It is always a good place to start when you aren't sure what you are looking for. In packing, he came across an odd book he is sure he does not own yet it was in his collection. He called me over last night to let me take a look at it. He let me bring it back here so I could examine it further, but my efforts have left me with no concrete conclusions. Terra, Aqua, your mission today is to go to Traverse Town and return this book to Merlin." Saying this, Master Eraqus pulls out from inside his robe a thick book with the title Winnie the Pooh and a picture of strange animals on the cover. He places it in front of Aqua who reaches out to undo the clasp that holds it closed but pauses to look for Master Eraqus' approval.
"Go ahead," Master Eraqus nods and she opens the book. "As you can see it is blank. There is nothing in there." Terra and Ven look over Aqua's shoulders at the blank pages as she flips through the empty book. Halfway through the book there are ripped edges where pages have been torn out. "My only inference," Master Eraqus says and the three of them look up, "is that whatever has been taken from the book took it's magic. For now it is nothing but an empty book, but if Merlin could find the other pages he may be able to restore what has been lost."
Master Eraqus stands and gestures for the others to do the same. Aqua gently closes the book and hurries after the others. They walk outside and stand at the bottom of the steps.
"I am not sure what time today Merlin will make it to Traverse Town. The two of you can feel free to explore the town before he gets there. It is a very interesting place. People from all different worlds come there in search of different things. Most people there will be accepting of keyblade wielders so you don't need to keep that hidden, but of course do not flaunt your abilities either. Be back by dinner time even if Merlin is not there yet. If he is late, you can always return tomorrow to return his book."
With a nod, both Aqua and Terra smack their armor sleeves and their armor appears in a flash of light. They both turn to summon their keyblade gliders when a voice stops them.
"Wait! I don't get to go?"
Ven frowns and crosses his arms. Master Eraqus smiles kindly at Ven and replies, "No Ventus, today we are training. There is much you need to learn before I can send you out on missions with Terra and Aqua."
Ven groans, "Not more training."
Master Eraqus does his best to hide his smile behind a serious face. "Yes Ventus, more training. But don't worry, there will be no gold rings today. Those were just so I could observe your fighting style. Today will be learning to hone your skills and practice awareness during battle."
Still upset at being left behind while his two friends get to go explore worlds, Ven grumbles, "Fine."
Terra walks over and ruffles his hair with his metal covered hand. "Yeah, me and Aqua don't want to be babysitting you the entire mission."
Ven pushes Terra away fixing his roughed up hair. "What's that supposed to mean?" He says glaring at Terra.
Terra replies, "It means hurry up and train so during battles we don't have to worry about protecting you."
Surprised, Ven uncrosses his arms and the glare leaves his face. He watches silently as Terra and Aqua summon their keyblades and fly off into space.
They worry about protecting him. They worry about him getting hurt. As Ven follows Master Eraqus back inside he can't help but smile.
...
Together, Terra and Aqua push the huge double doors open and walk into the first district of Traverse Town. They stand for a moment looking around at the new world until a sweet voice says them,
"Oh! Hello."
The young woman speaking had been kneeling next to one of the light posts in the middle of the square, but seeing the new arrivals she stands and brushes off her pink dress. She clasps her hands together and walks towards them with a friendly smile. "Welcome to Traverse Town! It has been a long time since we have had new visitors. My name is Aerith."
"Its nice to meet you Aerith," Aqua says. "I'm Aqua and this is Terra."
"Its nice to meet both of you," Aerith replies. "What brings you to Traverse Town?"
Terra and Aqua exchange a look. "Well..." Terra says rubbing the back of his head. "We're looking for someone new to this town as well. His name is Merlin. Have you seen him?"
"I'm afraid I haven't," Aerith says. "We haven't had anyone new to town in months before you."
Terra turns to Aqua. "I guess he's not here yet."
"If I see him I'll happily let him know you are looking for him," Aerith adds helpfully.
"That would be great. Thank you," Aqua says to her. "If you see him let him know that Master Eraqus sent us with his book."
"I will. Well I have to get back to my flowers," Aerith says gesturing to the half planted flowers around the base of the light post. "If you are looking for somewhere to wait for your friend, the 7th Heaven is open over there." She points and Terra and Aqua look to the left seeing an empty looking bar. "Tell Tifa you're new around here and she'll fill you in."
"Thanks again," Aqua says with a wave to the girl in pink. She and Terra head over to the bar door and go in. There are only two people inside. A brunette woman dressed in black is behind the counter, and on the other side is a girl who looked to be around Terra and Aqua's age with short black hair. Both turn and look with surprise at the newcomers.
"Oh!" The younger girl jumps down from her stool and hurries over looking curiously at them. "Haven't seen you guys around before. Are you new? I'm Yuffie and that's Tifa. Where are you from? Why are you-"
"Yuffie! Give them a little space why don't you," the woman named Tifa calls from the bar with a smile.
Yuffie blushes slightly and takes a step back so she is no longer right in Aqua and Terra's face. "Sorry. Its just not everyday we see new people."
"No reason to be sorry," Aqua says kindly. "I'm Aqua and this is Terra. We're just visiting for the day."
"Well come right over and take a seat," Tifa says. "Would you like anything to eat or drink?"
"I'll have a lemonade," Aqua replies.
"Just water thanks," Terra says.
Tifa nods and smiles disappearing into the kitchen. Terra and Aqua sit down on stools at the bar with Yuffie who is still eyeing them curiously. Tifa returns shortly with two glasses in hand which she puts down in front of them. "Enjoy!"
With a nod of thanks, Terra and Aqua begin to sip their drinks. Yuffie unable to wait any longer asks desperately, "So why are you here?"
Terra explains, "We're looking for someone. His name is Merlin. He is supposed to be coming here sometime today. We have something to return to him."
"Well we will be sure to keep an eye out for him," Tifa says. "In the meantime you can hang around here if you-"
The doors to the bar slam open and an older man walks in with his hands on his hips, goggles on his head, and a toothpick in his mouth. "Yuffie! Ya damn girl!" He shouts "Why ain't you doin' your job! This whole town is about to be overrun with heartless and yer just sittin' on your ass!"
Terra and Aqua jump to their feet at the mention of heartless, but before they can rush out Yuffie yells back at the man, "Rude! I'm on break! Cloud and Leon are on duty. Go find one of them."
"But the town is about to be overrun!"
"How many heartless did you really see Cid?" Yuffie asks angrily.
Cid growls back, "I'll have ya know I saw two. Two! Right in front of my house!"
Yuffie rolls her eyes and sighs. Under her breath she mutters sarcastically, "Run for your lives! Two little heartless on the loose."
"Hey! I ain't askin'. Go get rid of those bastards!" Cid shouts at her, waving his arms.
"We'll do it," Aqua pipes up catching the others' attention.
"Oh no, you don't want to mess with those things," Yuffie says quickly. "They're pretty nasty pieces of work. I'll go do it. It is my job after all."
"How you stay employed is a mystery to me," Cid wonders out loud. "I guess getting cozy with the boss makes you-"
"Shut it old man," Yuffie yells blushing a little. "Or I might just stay here and let the heartless getcha."
"Ok hold on," Terra says jumping in between the two. "You can go at each other later. Right now we need to deal with the heartless problem. Sir," he says turning to Cid," where did you see the heartless?"
"Finally! A little respect from you children," Cid says and Yuffie scowls. "They're over in the second district. I'll show ya."
He walks out the door and Aqua and Terra follow quickly. Cid leads them up the steps out of the square and around a shop called The Highwind Market. Soon they reach two large double doors labeled in peeling paint. District 2
"Wait up!" Yuffie comes running from behind and they turn to face her. "Cid may be a pain in my ass," she says with a glare in his direction, "but I can't let you two fight the heartless alone. You don't know what you are up against."
"Actually we fight the heartless all the time," Aqua tells her with a smile.
"You do?" Yuffie asks confused.
"Yeah its kind of our job as well."
"Oh well in that case-"
"Goddammit!" Cid shouts at them. "Great you can all fight heartless. So let's stop chattering like idiots and go whip some heartless ass."
Terra and Aqua join Yuffie in rolling their eyes, but follow Cid as he pushes open the double doors.
"Over there," Cid says as they file through and the doors shut behind them. "At the base of the bell tower. The little bastards were poking around right outside my door."
"Alright let's go," Terra says taking the lead and hurrying down the steps. Standing by the fountain he pauses and surveys the area. No heartless are in sight, but that doesn't mean they aren't lurking nearby. Aqua stands poised at his side also looking around warily.
With the other two behind them, they walk slowly across the empty square. They reach the far side with no heartless jumping out. "They were right here!" Cid exclaims pointing down the short alley to the right.
"You must have been seeing things," Yuffie says annoyed. "Crazy old man."
"Don't test me little girl!"
"They must have gone into hiding," Aqua says quietly to Terra ignoring the bickering behind them.
"Let's give 'em a little incentive to come back out then," Terra replies with a grin. Together they reach out with their right hands and in a short flash of light their keyblades appear.
"Holy shit!" Cid exclaims in surprise.
"Wow..." is all Yuffie can say.
Suddenly, attracted to the two keyblades, a dozen Soldier heartless appear in a circle around the four of them. Without hesitating, Terra and Aqua strike out at the nearest heartless.
Aqua hits the Soldier closest to her in the chest and it falls on its butt with a clatter of armor. Before it can get up, she stabs down at it and it fades away except for the heart it was carrying which rises up into the sky. A whistling sound causes her to turn and she jumps out of the way of another Soldier that had leaped at her with a spinning attack. As it flew past her, she swung at it hard and watched as it too faded away. She spins around to see Yuffie toss a giant shuriken and take the heads off two unsuspecting heartless. Terra slashes with his keyblade at two Soldiers that had jumped at him at the same time and sent them flying up high in the air. Aqua jumps, flipping over Terra, and easily dispatches the tumbling heartless. She lands lightly on her feet in front of another Soldier that his hopping from foot to foot in fear. She feels something brush her back, and she knows its Terra not some heartless. Without words, they swing their keyblades in identical arcs and two pink hearts float up into the sky.
Aqua spins around to see the final surviving heartless trying to sneak out of the alley in a not so stealthy way. "Oh no you don't!" Yuffie cries running after it with her shuriken raised behind her head.
But she never gets the chance to throw it. A sword suddenly appears from around the corner that kills the heartless in one hit. Yuffie skids to a stop and lowers her weapon. "Squall!" She shouts as a tall brunette man with a serious face walks around the corner into the alley. She hurries over stashing her weapon as she does so. Squall's eyes never leave Terra and Aqua's even as Yuffie pulls him into a hug.
"They're a strange couple the pair of them," Cid says in Terra's ear. "But ya know what they say, opposites attract." He shouts louder down the alley. "Get your girl in line Leon! She's got no respect for her elders."
"Go inside Cid," the man says in an even voice.
With more mutterings about insolent children, Cid storms over to the stained glass doors next to Aqua and throws them open. Aqua can just get a glimpse inside before he shuts the door behind him, but the space inside is clean and elegant two thing she would not have guessed Cid's home would be.
"Squall, these are my friends Aqua and Terra," Yuffie explains and they walk over still being watched carefully by the man. "They came to town today."
"Sorry your first impression of our town had to be these heartless," the man says. "I'm Leon, chief of the town's defense militia. May I take a look at those unique swords you carry."
Aqua and Terra still haven't dismissed their keyblades so they hold them out for Leon to see. "They're called keyblades," Terra says.
Leon nods deep in thought. "Yes, I've heard of them. According to legend, keyblade wielders brought havoc and destruction the worlds a long time ago but have since then faded out of existence."
"Um..." Aqua says not quite sure how to respond.
"I never put stock in such things," Leon adds. "Thank you for eliminating the heartless for us."
"Hey! What about me?" Yuffie says pouting.
Leon smiles slightly and says to her, "C'mon. We should report this sighting to Cloud." He looks back at Terra and Aqua. "It was nice meeting you." Leon takes Yuffie's hand and they hurry off down another alley that leads off the square.
"Well Cid was right, those two are a strange couple," Aqua says to Terra as they walk towards the fountain.
"Ha! Cid's one to talk," Terra says and they both laugh.
Reaching the fountain Terra looks curiously at the door to the right. "Let's explore a little Aqua," Terra says and walks over to the door. Aqua follows him through and they find themselves in a back alley. They make their way slowly along the sides of the pools of water.
"So when do you think Merlin is going to get here?" Terra asks.
"I don't know," Aqua says. "Hopefully before we have to leave. I'll feel bad if we abandon Ven again tomorrow."
Terra nods in agreement and then something catches his eye. "What's that?" He points at something red at the bottom of second pool. He walks over and looks at it through the water. "It looks like a switch," he says and before Aqua can stop him he steps into the water and stomps down on the red mark. With a sound of whirling gears, the gate next to him slides up into a recess opening up the dark space beyond for exploration.
"Terra, I don't know if we should-"
"C'mon," he says taking her hand. "Where's your sense of adventure?" With that he pulls her into the water and down the dark tunnel. It bends almost right away cutting off the light from the alley and forcing them to feel their way along.
"Gross!" Aqua squeals. "Terra! The walls are covered in slime."
"Ah don't be such a girl," Terra's voice comes out of the dark and his hand in her's tugs her along. "I think there is something up ahead."
"Terra the water is getting deeper," Aqua says a little worried feeling the cold water reaching up to her hips.
"A little farther," Terra replies only half listening to her. "There's a light up ahead."
They feel their way around another bend and emerge into an underground cave. The rock is tinged green and reflects the dim light that illuminates the space. The dripping of water is the only sound besides the splashing of the two of them climbing out of the water onto the island of rocks.
"This place is so- oh!" Aqua suddenly slips on the slimy rocks, but Terra grabs her arm and pulls her back upright and right next to him. Aqua swallows hard and tilts her head up to look at Terra. She really hates that he is a couple inches taller than her. The flash of worry that had been in his eyes fades as she stares up at him. "Uh.." Aqua is at a loss for a moment, but she pushes Terra away a little more forcefully than necessary. "Sorry, wasn't watching where I stepped.
"That's alright," Terra still staring at her making her squirm slightly. "I'm always here to catch you when you fall."
"Tha-thanks," Aqua stammers. "Maybe we should head back. See if Merlin is here yet."
"In a minute," Terra says turning away. "This place is cool."
Aqua doesn't reply. She watches Terra's back as he examines the rocks and the water that fill the cave. He turns around and she quickly looks away. He walks back over to her, but she pretends to be interested in the small pebble she had dug out of the slime with the tip of her boot. She doesn't look up until he puts his hand on her shoulder. As she tilts her head up, he brings his down, and before she can move, his lips brush hers and her body freezes up. Terra now has both hands on her back and he pulls her closer deepening their kiss.
"Terra," Aqua says pulling away, but his arms keep her close. Close enough that their noses were touching.
She watches as his eyes droop slightly in sadness. He let's his arms drop, but she doesn't step back. Staring into his disappointed blue eyes, she gives into her heart and stands on her tiptoes to kiss him back. She wraps her arms around his neck pulling him down to her. Terra is surprised at first, but quickly puts his hands back on her back and pulls her close to his chest.
Terra is the one to break the kiss this time and he sighs. Aqua lays her head against his chest and he puts his chin on top of her hair. He had done it. He had finally gathered the courage to kiss her. And she had kissed him back! Grinning his kisses the top of her head gently.
"Terra-"
"Aqua, you don't know how long I have waited to do that," Terra says as she pulls away to look him in the face. "I was scared you would-"
"Terra, the water."
"What?" Confused Terra looks down noticing for the first time that his boots were getting soaked with cold water. The water in the cave had risen when they were distracted overflowing the rock island they stood on. He turns back to see the the tunnel that had taken them here is nearly submerged, and the water continues to rise although he can't see the source of the sudden change.
"We have to get out of here," Aqua says grabbing his hand and pulling him behind her as she jumps into the deeper water. They can still reach the bottom but the water is now halfway up their chests. They move as fast as they can, hindered by the water, and enter the tunnel once more. Back in the dark, Terra can only feel Aqua's hand leading him along and the cold water slowly rising higher.
They are no longer wading through the water, they're swimming. The water is up to Terra's neck. His hair is brushing the roof of the tunnel. He takes one more deep breath as the water rises over his head and he kicks forward propelling himself around the last corner.
Coughing, he stands swaying slightly, back in the small pool in the back alley. Here the water level has risen to the point where it has started to overflow the edges of the pool. Aqua pulls herself to the edge and sits with her feet still in the pool trying to catch her breath. The sound of a drain opening makes them both look down to see the water slowly swirling around the opening that suddenly appeared at the bottom of the pool. Terra staggers over to Aqua who is squeezing the water out of her hair with a miserable expression.
"Well, that's enough adventure for one day," Terra says sitting beside her and wrapping one arm around her.
"Terra, we can't," Aqua says shrugging off his arm and standing up.
"We can't?" Terra asks standing as well.
"Master Eraqus would never allow it," Aqua says refusing to look at him.
"He can't stop us," Terra says taking her hand. "If we love each other nothing can-"
Aqua jerks her hand away. Terra stands there shocked then lowers his head. "This doesn't have anything to do with the master does it?"
"Terra, there are rules. We are going to be keyblade masters. You know that we can't have any distractions from protecting the worlds. What if we became...whatever, how would we be able to work together without things getting uncomfortable. And if we broke up!"
"You're over thinking," Terra says with a sad smile. "As always."
"No Terra," Aqua says frowning. "This is exactly what we should be thinking about. Whether we like it or not every aspect of our lives is going to revolve around what is best for the worlds. Our wants will sometimes have to be ignored. We kissed. It was nice. But it can't happen again. Ok?"
Terra is silent for a moment. "Alright. But when you realize that when it comes to love there are no rules and nothing that can get in the way, I'll be waiting."
Aqua walks away a couple steps and then turns back. Slowly she walks up to him. She smiles sadly, "Maybe one day. It would be nice, but..."
"I know. Duty comes first."
Aqua stands on tiptoe and kisses him gently on the cheek. "For what its worth," she whispers in his ear. "I've wanted to kiss you since we were twelve." She takes a step back as he grins at her. "So are we ok?"
"Yeah," Terra says, "We're ok."
I was planning on putting the entire visit to Traverse Town in one chapter but then this one got so much longer than I thought it would be. (Like seriously I've never written a chapter over 3000 words and this one is over 4500!) So next chapter will be still in Traverse Town, but that's ok cause I didn't get to explain everything I wanted to about the characters who live there in this chapter.
I LOVED writing Cid an Yuffie's dialogue! I'm just going to let you all know that I've never played FF so all my knowledge of the relationships between the characters comes mostly from KH. I have seen Advent Children and read a little background online, but I'm going to draw mostly from KH and my own awesome imagination. Sooo any FF fans out there don't get mad if I mess up things, just go with it ok?
And then there is Terra and Aqua.
Whose right? Terra thinks that they should follow their hearts no matter what. But Aqua looks at things practically and thinks that to be good keyblade masters they can't have that kind of relationship.
Review with any questions or comments and look out for the next chapter!