"How long will this last" Aqua asked looking at their Master, clearly worried about Senna.

Master Eraqus just shakes his head "I do not know; it is hard to tell. I would imagine that only the summoners can choose when they leave. If she hasn't left yet, I can only hope the cut on her cheek was from a fall"

Terra, who was still looking at Senna, said "It seemed too deep of a cut just from a simple fall."

"Maybe it was on rough land" Ven added hoping that was the case.

Suddenly, Senna started to choke causing Terra to look in horror when he saw her throat starting to tighten and what appeared to be hand marks starting to appear.

"Master"

Master Eraqus immediately sprang into action "Let's sit her up."

As Terra and Eraqus tried to sit her up, Senna suddenly went limp which caused immediate alarm to everyone in the room. After what felt like an eternity, her breathing started to pick up again much to everyone's relief, and not long after slowly but surely her eyes started to open.

"Senna can you hear me" Master Eraqus asked, hoping for some sort of sign that she was at least back to awareness.

Her red eyes looked at each of them for a brief moment, before it became painfully obvious by the look on her face, she was about to become sick. Luckily, he and Terra realized what was about to happen, and quickly caught her as she fell off the side of her bed.

They helped her over to the can near her bed and held on to her as she got sick. After a few minutes, Senna was done and they quickly helped her to a sitting position on her bed. Terra couldn't help but notice, she was clutching something in her hand very tightly.

Master Eraqus then turned to Terra and Ven "Terra, Ven I want you two to go and make some Chamomile tea, while Aqua and I asses Senna."

"But Mast- "Terra started to protest before Master Eraqus gave him a look that said do not argue.

"Terra, I understand you want to help, here but Aqua must help clean Senna up and more importantly look for any other injuries we may be unaware of."

Terra looked back to Senna, who was breathing heavily and saw the purple marks on her throat from whatever strangulation happened to her. He turned to Ven who had a frightened expression, not knowing what he should do.

"Come on Ven let's go," Terra said as grabbed Ven's arm and started taking him out of the room.

Thankfully Ven didn't protest, instead, he quietly followed Terra into the kitchen area. Ven just stood there as Terra began to boil some water for the tea.

"Do you think, that whoever attacked Senna's village, is coming after her" Ven asked breaking the silence.

Terra looked up from the kettle, and he couldn't help but match Ven's worried look with his own but he knew they needed to be strong, especially him as he needed to be ready to protect Senna from whatever threat was targeting her.

"It seems like that is probably the case, but don't worry between the three of us and Master we'll be able to protect her."

Ven still looked a bit unsure "But how since she was attacked while she was in that state, I don't think any of us can even enter that place."

Terra just looked back down at the kettle, not exactly sure how to answer that one. It wasn't going to be easy, but he was sure they could come up with something. If one thing that Master always drilled into their early lessons, is that there was always a way.

"Don't forget Ven, even if things seem uncertain now, there will always be a way." He said as he poured the water into the cup, trying not to let his own doubts and worries show because whatever might be about to happen, he needed to be strong and ready at any moment.

By the time they returned with Terra carrying the tray, they saw Master Eraqus standing outside Senna's door.

"How is she doing" Terra asked, hoping she was more aware and would be able to tell them what happened.

"The shock she was in, was starting to ease back a little, allowing Senna to be able to recognize where she was, but she is still processing. Aqua is still with her now helping her Clean up and assessing her for any further injuries."

Ven then noticed that Master Eraqus was holding something in his right hand, he wasn't sure what it was as he could only see a chain dangling.

"Master, what's that in your hand."

It took Master Eraqus a moment to realize what Ven was talking about, he then looked down to his right hand and quickly opened it to reveal a pocket watch.

"Aqua found Senna clutching this, I presume she must have brought this from the land of familiars, how I do not know, but this a family heirloom based on the portrait inside."

He then opened the watch to show a portrait of a young woman, no older than 25 at least that's the impression Terra got from it, she had shoulder-length black hair with caramel highlights, she had a heart-shaped face, and her small eyes were a deep brown color. From what little was seen, she had a simple white dress on.

What stood out the most was her smile, it was a small gentle smile, and while she seemed happy in the portrait there was a lot of sadness as well in the way that she smiled.

Ven smiled as he admired the picture "Wow she sure is pretty."

"That was Senna's mother Rena."

Terra looked surprised as he did a double-take of the picture, he could see the shapes of their faces were very similar, and even their smiles but other than that the similarities stopped. Maybe it was Senna's Purple hair and red eyes that made any similarities hard to tell.

"I'm going to guess she takes more after her father than her mother."

Master Eraqus just nods "Yes, she's quite the spitting image of her father Vincent. I only met Vincent in person a couple of times, but the moment I laid eyes on Senna when she arrived it was like looking into a mirror, with the obvious exception of her eyes and hair color."

It was at that moment the door opened and Aqua walked out with a relaxed demeanor.

"I checked her over, it seemed the only injuries were the ones on her neck and cheek which I was able to heal. The shock was wearing off, and she was able to tell me about some attack against her and her familiars."

Master Eraqus looked like he was in deep thought for a moment.

Suddenly, he went passed Aqua and headed straight back into Senna's room. Aqua, Terra, and Ven all gave each other a look before they followed right after him.

Terra let out a sigh of relief to see that Senna was sitting up on her bed and having some color back on her face and there were no visible marks on her neck.

Senna looked up and gave them all a weak smile as if it took all of her energy just to even do that.

"Terra and I made you some Chamomile tea, I hope it helps your stomach."

Terra placed the tray next to her bed "Remember to just take your time with each sip."

"Thank you" was all she said but made no move to grab the cup.

Master Eraqus then moved forward as he extended his right hand, showing the pocket watch to Senna.

"Aqua found this in your hand, you were clutching it tight."

Senna's eyes widened as she took the watch from his hand, almost looking surprised to see it. She opened the watch up and let out a sob as she clutched it to her chest.

"That boy destroyed everything," she said as her breathing started to get heavier, as she tried to get her emotions under control.

Master Eraqus raised one of his eyebrows "What boy."

"I don't know, he was wearing a mask. He told me his name, but it's escaping me right now. He confirmed that he was the one responsible for destroying my home, and him throwing this at me was proof enough, my father never went anywhere without it."

Senna took a deep breath before continuing "I don't know, and then he attacked us all of a sudden,"

A look of terror washed over her face "Oh no, I got to go back, Red was seriously injured."

Terra saw her attempting to stand up but noticed her legs were still wobbly, so he caught her as she was about to fall, and helped her back down on the bed.

"It's not a good idea, Senna. He might still be there waiting for you to come back" Terra suggested.

Senna shakes her head "That's the thing, I don't know how he got there in the first place, only Summoners are able to get there."

"See that's why you shouldn't go back, at least until we can figure out a way how to be able to help. You're not strong enough"

Terra was shocked when Senna pushed him away and looked at him with fierce determination in her eyes "I don't care what happens to me, it's not like anyone would miss me."

Terra didn't realize at first how her words stung, but then he realized why because he took it as her saying she didn't care about her life and that no one would miss her if something should happen to her. He could feel some of that anger rising because everyone in this room would certainly miss her if anything should happen to her

I would miss her

"What do you mean nobody would miss you? What about us, do you not think we wouldn't miss you"

Senna was shocked by his sudden change in tone, but Terra just went on as some of the anger took over.

"Do you think we would've gone out of our way to make you feel welcome if we didn't care about you at all, or how worried we all were when you slipped off into whatever world and didn't know when you would wake up? Get it through your head that we care about you, I care about you."

Master Eraqus turned towards Terra ready to scold him for his impulsive behavior, but Aqua had already beaten him to it.

"Terra"

Terra looked at both of them for a moment, before deciding to just leave and cool down for a while.

(Senna's Room)

Senna was shocked, she had never seen Terra look so hurt and angry in all of the time that she'd known him. Sure, there was his stubbornness and irritability at times, but this was another side she hadn't seen thus far.

"Don't worry Master I'll go and talk to him" Aqua said, as she quickly left the room.

Master Eraqus sighed before turning to Senna with an apologetic expression "Please forgive Terra, his heart is in the right place but his impulsivity is still very much a work in progress."

"Terra" Ven said with a hint of disappointment in his friend.

Before Senna could respond, Master Eraqus continued with whatever else he needed to say.

"I understand you need to go and check on your friends, but I must plead with you to reconsider that option. This masked boy, I fear may be more powerful than we realize if he was able to infiltrate that world and you are certainly not equipped to deal with such a threat. Would not summoning your familiars here not be a better option."

Senna just looked down, not sure how to respond. So far, she hasn't been able to summon properly since everything has happened, but maybe now it will since she was able to return to the Land of Familiars. She knew she was acting irrationally right now, but with the way things had just ended she had to find out if they were ok.

"All right, I'll try that first" Senna relented, at least hoping that the danger has passed for now, remembering that he said he had his orders to keep her alive.

Master Eraqus looked reassured at her answer and then turned to Ven "Come on Ven, let Senna have some privacy."

Ven was about to protest, but Senna was quick to interject "No it's all right, I really could use the company."

Senna with how overwhelmed she is at the moment, didn't trust herself to be alone with her thoughts.

Master Eraqus simply nodded in agreement "I will be on my way to place extra precautions within and outside the castle. The throne room is yours to use when you perform your summoning."

With that, he was gone, and she let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding as she grabbed the tea and took a sip. She barely noticed Ven sitting down next to her on the bed.

"Do you really believe that no one will miss you if something ever happens to you?" Ven asked breaking the silence, and Senna started feeling guilty for even saying it in the first place because of Terra's reaction and now the heartbreak in Ven's voice when he asked the question.

If someone had asked her that question a few months ago, she would not have hesitated to say yes to it. But now everything was different, and her answer was definitely not the same as it might have been. It was just, that those old fears and doubts kept creeping back in without her realizing it because she hadn't felt so alone since she's been here.

Senna couldn't help but chuckle softly as she stared into her tea "If you were to ask me that a few months ago, I would've said yes. Being here has shown me that, there are people who care about me without judging me because of my appearance but I think subconsciously I'm having a harder time reconciling that fact than I realized."

"It's their loss, they missed out on such a wonderful friend like you. Besides being nice, you find a way to put everything into an amazing story and it isn't hard to tell how passionate you've become at it. Plus, Aqua and Terra have benefitted from having you around since you and Aqua can talk about girl stuff and we saw how much Terra's improved with magic since you've been here. As far as we're concerned keyblade or not, you're one of us."

She could feel her heart swelling when he told her that and wiped away a falling tear she didn't realize was building up. Senna didn't realize how much she'd waited for someone to say those words to her, making her feel like she did belong somewhere.

Ven started to look alarmed when he saw her wiping away a tear "Are you ok, did Terra upset you? I know how Terra can be, but it's only because he cares."

"Oh, I know, Terra has shown he cares a lot, and I understand that's why he got so angry at my words. Anger can also be a part of caring for someone, and he wouldn't have gotten mad if he didn't otherwise. In the moment it startled me, but we've all been there at one point or another where our anger sometimes gets the best of us."

Senna smiled softly as she took another sip of her Tea, thinking she should go and talk to Terra and talk things out. Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised once he cooled down by talking with Aqua, he would seek her out to apologize but she wasn't that mad, there were too many things going on to be mad at, but this was easily fixable.

Ven tilted his head in confusion seeing Senna's expression "Your face is getting all red."

"Oh, um it's nothing, just feeling a little hot is all," Senna said embarrassed.

Suddenly Paine's words from earlier came into her mind.

You so got a crush

She quickly shook her head, realizing she still needed to go and try summoning at least one of them into this world.

"Ven, do you want to join when I try summoning another one of my familiars."

Ven's eyes lit up immediately "Yeah, I can't wait to meet some more of your friends. Are they similar to Nugget?"

"No, each one is fairly unique maybe except the fairies, but you'll just have to see for yourself."

The two made their way to the throne room, and Senna couldn't help but stare down at her staff looking a little doubtful.

"You got this Senna, you just got to believe in yourself" Ven encouraged.

Senna took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to keep her mind clear as she started the dance. She could feel some of the windows open as the wind swirled around them, and then she finally tapped the staff on the floor causing the yellow light to appear.

When the light was dispensed, Senna was thrilled to see from it Yuna, Rikku, and Paine.

The three looked a bit confused at their new surroundings, but once Rikku and Yuna saw Senna they were overcome with joy.

"SENNA" The two flew over and hugged Senna's face, while Paine just shook her head but with a smile on her face as well.

Ven looked enthralled as he took in the three fairies.

Paine looked around the room as she made her way over "Got to say I love the new place, seems like an upgrade."

"Oh wow, they look so cool,".

Each one looked over to a grinning Ven.

"Oh, this Is Ven- "Senna said starting to introduce Ven, but he quickly interrupted to do it himself.

"The name's Ventus call me Ven," he said as he held out his hand to them.

"The name is Rikku," she said as went over and grabbed one of his fingers.

Yuna bowed her head a bit "Yuna."

She also went over and grabbed one of his fingers, while Paine just eyed him up and down for a moment before doing the same.

"Paine."

After their handshake, Paine couldn't help but study Ven a bit more.

"Well, he is cute looking, but he's way too innocent for stuff like that. Defiantly a little brother type.

Ven just stood there looking confused "What's that supposed to mean."

"This is not the time Paine, we got bigger things to worry about. Like what happened with that boy in the mask."

Judging from their expressions, she felt confident nothing worse had happened after she was forced out, but Red was still her primary concern.

(Training grounds)

Terra just sat on one of the benches, looking down at the ground and feeling guilty for his outburst towards Senna earlier.

Why did I react that way?

While he felt justified at first because it had hurt him when she said that no one would miss her if something happened to her, but all he succeeded in doing was hurting her.

"Got room for one more

Terra didn't look up, already knowing she would show up sooner or later.

"Can we just skip the part about me being an idiot?"

Aqua sat down next to him with a small smile "What kind of friend would I be if I did."

"Look, I know I was wrong, I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me. It just hurt a lot when said no one would miss her like, almost like she doesn't believe that we genuinely care for her."

"I understand, it wasn't like Ven and I were not hurt by that statement either, but you have always had trouble acting on your emotions before thinking things through."

Terra didn't say anything since there was nothing he could say because Aqua was right.

Aqua just continued "Besides, Senna was under a lot of stress, and rightfully so after seeing those marks on her neck. I don't think she meant what she said, more like she was just desperate to get back to her familiars."

Terra this time leaned back against the bench and looked up at the sky.

"I can't argue with that I suppose, but she'll be unprotected when she goes to that land, and you can't tell me that with her gentle nature that her facing against such an adversary that wiped out her entire village, wouldn't be a suicide mission."

Aqua's somewhat playful expression then turned to a more somber tone.

Terra sighed as she continued "That's why I got so mad so quickly, I don't want anything to happen to her, I want to be able to protect her. I know this sounds weird but it's different than when it comes to you and Ven, maybe it's because I know you two can handle yourselves in battle, but this feeling of protection for Senna is just a constant thing even before all this happened."

"You have feelings for her Terra, that's why you got as angry as you did. I know you would have reacted similarly if either Ven or myself said something like that, but this is completely different from how you feel about us. I've seen the way you look at her when you think no one is looking and after a night of star gazing you purposely stay behind to wait for her."

Terra wasn't sure if this was something he had deep down always known, or if he was just so dense that he didn't realize it until someone else had to point it out for him.

He can't even pinpoint where his feelings might have started to change for her, it was like numerous things all at once. She had such a gentle and caring nature, that it wasn't hard to take an immediate liking to her, and he appreciated how she approached her training with him in magic. He wouldn't have progressed as far as he had without her showing him that magic and physical power can go hand in hand, and never made him feel bad when there were spells, he just wasn't naturally inclined to.

Terra swallowed a big lump that was forming in his throat "It's just all new, I never really felt this way before."

"The first step is admitting it, tell me, are you going to act on it" Aqua asked not even attempting to hide her eagerness to find out more.

Terra looked down and just shook his head "I don't know, like I said this is all very new to me and I need to figure it all out first. I don't want to ruin our friendship either because what if she doesn't feel the same."

"This is a first, you all of people being afraid of taking a risk. I'm almost concerned you might have been replaced with a dummy."

Terra playfully scoffs "Oh be quiet, look I just need some time to get my thoughts in order, especially with the Mark of Mastery coming up in the next month."

"You might just be surprised how it will turn out"

Aqua then gently slapped his shoulder, and Terra turned around about to complain until he saw why she did it. He saw Senna, making her way toward the training grounds. She looked so much better than when he left and more relaxed.

Aqua quickly got up, as if to give them some privacy "I'm going to go say hi, and then I think a late lunch is definitely in order."

Terra didn't watch as she left, he was nervous wondering if Senna would accept his apology.

He wasn't sure how long before a shadow was looming over him. He looked up and saw Senna smiling down at him.

"You mind if sit down?" she asks pointing to the space next to him.

"Of course, you don't even need to ask. Are you feeling any better?"

Senna nods "Yes much better thank you. A while after you left, I ended up summoning my three fairy familiars, and they informed me that Red who was caught in the attack is going to be okay, his right eye will be scarred though."

"That's great, I'm so happy to hear that. Any sign of the attacker."

"None, they said he left as soon as I was gone. So, the danger has passed, at least for now anyway. I was so happy to hear that, and now it seems whatever mental blocker was preventing me from summoning the other familiars besides Nugget, is gone."

"I remember you saying Nugget can remain in this world for a long time, what about all your other familiars" Terra asked curiously.

Senna raised her eyebrows a bit "It depends, the more powerful they are the less time they can be in this world. If it was Red or Bahamut, they wouldn't last even an hour, but Yuna, Rikku, and Paine were still here harassing Ven a bit, so I give them another hour or so."

Soon they fell into an uncomfortable silence, though it didn't seem Senna was too bothered by it unlike him.

Why isn't she mad at me? She is acting like what I did had never happened.

"Listen I am sorry about earlier; I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me."

The last reaction he expected was her laughing at his apology, which made him very confused.

Seeing his expression, she explained "You don't have to apologize, Terra. I know you guys care; you wouldn't have gotten mad at what I said if you didn't care. If anyone should be apologizing, it should be for implying anything other than that."

"You were so distressed by what had happened, I should have taken that into consideration, but I tend to not always think things through."

Senna raised one of her eyebrows "Oh, you could have fooled me."

Terra just shakes his head in amusement "I had that coming."

"I think we both handled the situation pretty poorly; our emotions were running high at the moment. Let's just not dwell on it, it's not going to do either one of us good. It's done and over with, we just got to move on and just try our best not to repeat it."

All the anxiety Terra was feeling, thankfully disappeared and he felt his spirits lifting.

"Terra, I wanted to ask a favor from you if I may"

Terra looked and saw Senna's whole demeanor changed, she had a much more serious and determined expression.

"Of course, I'll do whatever I can to help."

"I want you to train me how to fight."

Terra blinked a couple of times not sure if he heard her right or not.

Senna just continued when Terra didn't respond right away.

"I was powerless when my village was attacked and again when he showed up again and started attacking me and my familiars. Everyone is right about me I'm not strong enough to face what is coming, but I want to be. More like need to be, I can't expect you guys to always be there to protect me."

Tera could sympathize with her plight and that guilt came for even saying she wasn't strong "You are strong Senna; besides your magic, you have such a strong heart."

"A strong heart alone won't be enough in a battle, and yes while my magic is my strongest skill, I've never had to utilize it in battle. I remember you telling me before that you want to utilize your power to protect your friends, and after what happened with the masked boy, I realized I want to be able to do the same. My familiars are more than just friends, they've become part of my family, just like everyone here has also become part of it. I don't want to lose anyone else."

Terra felt his heart swell by her declaration that she thought of them all as family, he knew he probably looked dumb with his big smile on his face, but he didn't care.

"It won't be easy, just to warn you".

Senna just smiled as she lifted a fist up "I don't expect it to, I'm ready for this challenge."

While he knew he still needed to sort some things out before the Mark Mastery Exam, he already decided on one thing.

I'll tell Senna how I feel once I become a Keyblade Master.

Author's Note

Here is our next chapter and this one was a lot of fun writing as much as it gave me trouble at the same time nothing in my head would come out right when I typed it out. Soon we'll be getting into the meat of the story, which is going to be so much fun and sad to write at the same time.