The threat without

Terra and Aqua had just exited her room when Ven came running around the corner. When he laid eyes on them he stopped in his tracks, then his face broke into a wide smile. He ran the rest of the way to them, and between the three of them they had the second embrace of the day.

"Terra! Aqua! You're awake! You're alright…" Ventus said to them.

"Yes. We're okay now. We're safe." Aqua said.

"I was so worried. You were so badly hurt and took so long to wake up. And they said… that something might be wrong with your heart, Aqua." He said.

There was a momentary look of displeasure that passed across her face. So their visitors had already figured that part out. Not what she had wanted. "…There are things we need to tell you about that. Soon." She told Ventus. "But first..."

She broke off their embrace, placing her hands on Ventus's shoulders, looking directly into his eyes. "Ven, have you been alright as well? These… guests of ours. Have they been treating you ok?"

Ventus nodded. "Yeah. Yes. They've been friendly. And they've behaved themselves. They know this is our home, and they're only visiting."

"I know they're former Organization. And I know we fought them in the war. They admitted that right off. But I don't think we need to worry about them. One of them… Lauriam… I think were friends." He continued.

"You think he is your friend?" Terra asked.

"I don't really remember him. It's more that I just feel it to be true. I think I knew him once but forgot." Ven explained.

Aqua looked at Terra, who shrugged. "I told you that was an impression I got."

"There is something that keeps me from remembering him. We've been trying to figure out how to change that. For now they did ask to see you as soon as possible, so they can explain things. And there is something important they wanted to tell you too. A warning of some kind." Ventus said.

"…Alright. We'll go see them then. Come along." She said.

Ventus shook his head. "I can't go with you. I'll have to wait here."

"What? Why?" Aqua asked, confused.

"The things they want to talk to you about… they can't be discussed while I'm within earshot. Not yet. For my own good. They'll explain." He said.

"O-okay. If that's necessary." She said.

"Yeah. It is. But we can talk more later. They're waiting for you in the main hall." He said. "And uh… if you can help them figure out how to help me remember them fully, I'd be glad." He added.

Aqua and Terra nodded, then proceeded in the direction of the main hall.

"This is all getting stranger and stranger by the minute." Aqua said as they were walking. "We get rescued by former Organization members. Now they're in our home, and somehow know Ven personally. Except Ven can't remember that for some reason. And why is it that there are things we can't talk about when he is around?"

"Elrena said something similar. That there are limits to how well Lauriam and he can get to know each other again. It's all very odd, I agree. And I wonder what this warning they want to bring us is?" Terra said.

"I guess we will find out soon. And hopefully then all this will start making some kind of sense." She said.

"Another threat? So soon?" She thought to herself. With Xehanort's defeat this was supposed to be over for them. They were meant to get Sora back and then get back to living their lives. Maybe there would be the occasional Heartless incursion to deal with, but nothing more significant than that. She rather hoped the threat their visitors wanted to tell them about was nothing serious enough to threaten the peace they had worked so hard to earn.

They did not deserve another crisis dropped on their laps. Especially not with Sora still missing.

The two of them entered the main hall. Their guests were already waiting for them, turning to face them as they entered. Before them Terra and Aqua halted. An uneasy silence lingered, the two pairs eyeing each other warily. It was a little unsettling, having these complete strangers in their home, wearing the uniform they had learned to associate with their enemy. Though the circumstances were very different, Aqua was reminded of the standoff between the Guardians and the Thirteen Seekers at the heart of the Keyblade Graveyard.

It was Aqua who finally decided to break the silence. "I understand you rescued us in the Realm of Darkness. If that's the case, then I guess we owe you our thanks for that."

Elrena chuckled at that. "Well, at least one of you two has the manners to actually thank us for doing it."

Aqua glanced at Terra, who looked sour.

"I'm glad we were able to do that. I appreciate there is a great deal we need to make up for. And very few reasons for anyone to trust us yet. We wish to change that." Lauriam said.

"You did say there were things you wished to explain to us. And a warning you came to bring us. What was it you called it? A post-Xehanort problem?" Terra said.

"Yeah. Or… pre-Xehanort thing? Kinda both I guess." Elrena replied.

"Please, do sit down. This may take some time. I hope you like long stories." Lauriam said, motioning at the thrones in the hall.

And so they told Terra and Aqua all of it. Where and when they were from, who they had been originally. The many twists and turns of fate that had brought them to this age. The people they had shared the journey with, or who otherwise had played important roles during those events. Along the way Ventus's connection to them was revealed. And they spoke of what they had seen just after their recompletion. Terra and aqua sat silently in their seats, becoming increasingly perplexed as the telling went on.

A few small details were omitted, namely Ventus's initial confession of Strelitzia's death and Lauriam's reaction to those news. Lauriam was not in the mood to cast any blame on Ven before his close friends, or in making himself look any more antagonistic than Terra or Aqua might already view him as.

When they had finally finished telling their story, a silence lingered as neither Aqua nor Terra said anything for a time.

"You… you are actually trying to tell us you both are a thousand years old?" Terra finally said.

"Not a thousand years old. From a thousand years ago. And not just us. Ven is the same as we are." Elrena said.

Under his breath Terra laughed. "You really ought to practice making a convincing story."

"You don't believe us?" Elrena asked, slightly offended.

"That would be hard to do. Do you even hear what you sound like when you make claims like that? I mean, that just can't be right. It can't be." Terra replied.

"Okay, yes. It does sound more than a little crazy spoken out loud like that. And yeah, if someone told me something that awful happened in the past I might be in denial too. But really, you've already encountered people who were able to travel through time. Is it really that unbelievable that we have also done so? And do you know enough of Ven's background to tell us we are lying?" She countered.

"Besides, you're absolutely right. If we wanted to trick you, we would try to make up a story that sounds more believable. We don't think you dumb enough to believe just anything. And you should not think us dumb enough to try it." She added.

"Chirithy can confirm what we have told you. As Ven can if we find a way to get his memory back." Lauriam added.

"And we will be sure to ask Chirithy about all of this. But for now let's assume you're telling the truth." Aqua said. "These Foretellers… you said there are five of them?"

"Yes. Ira, Aced, Gula, Invi and Ava. And Luxu and the Master of Masters make six and seven. As to how many are here in this age… we saw Aced and Ira with our own eyes. And they mentioned Luxu by name. And they did speak as if there were more of them around, but that the Master of Masters was not yet here. So that would make… six at the most?" Lauriam said.

"This Master of Masters… I've never even heard of a title like that. What can you tell us of him? Who is he?" Aqua asked.

"I'm afraid we don't know a whole lot either. We can't tell you what his name is. Or what he is like. We only ever knew of the Foretellers. And even then, with so many wielders there was only small number of us that had spoken with them face to face. As for their master, the Foretellers were said to be the only ones who ever spoke with him. Half of the wielders in the Unions did not even know the man had existed in the first place. The rest of us had only heard stories about him. Rumors and myths." Lauriam said.

"I've heard that he was the first keyblade wielder ever. That he passed his skills on to his apprentices, just like they passed it on to us. The keyblades I, Lauriam and Ven wield? His legacy. And there was always a bit of mysticism about him. Whenever people spoke of him… he was this almost a king, almost a god that founded our town and made up the rules we lived by. He is supposedly really powerful. And I do know the Foretellers are extremely tough. He is supposed to have trained them, so there likely is at least some truth to those rumors.

"…Probably bad news for us, come to think of it, if we are on the wrong side of him now." She added with some worry in her voice.

"Do we know for certain they're here as our enemy? I mean you just ran into them, and it does not sound you learned a whole lot about what they were up to." Terra said.

"It's true, we don't know their motives. But what is obvious is that they're planning something. I would think it very important to find out what it is, and whether or not it poses a threat to the worlds." Lauriam said.

"And there is an entire battlefield full of massacred kids that tells me you don't want them in charge, no matter what side they claim to be on." Elrena said.

"Yeah. What you said happened then… I could barely believe my ears." Aqua said. "Our own master told us stories of that place, of the war. But I always assumed that the fighters involved were adults. But if you really are telling the truth, then…"

"Children… So many children…" She continued, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Yes. A hard knowledge to live with." Lauriam said quietly. "I can't say I blame either of you for not wanting to believe it."

"You mentioned there were other friends who were planning to come with you. Do you know what happened to them? Or the wielders in this Dandelions group you belonged to?" She asked.

Lauriam shook his head. "Sadly no. Brain sent us ahead. He wanted to make sure at least some of us got out. He was planning to bring our other friends back too, and to wake up as many of the Dandelions as possible. But I don't know if he managed to do it. We haven't heard of our friends or any other dandelions since waking up here. But I'm hoping he was at least partially successful. It could explain why there are keyblade wielders around in this age also. It could be that the others simply did not arrive at the same point in time as we did."

"I'm rather concerned of the thing that forced you to flee in the first place. This dark entity… what can you tell us of it?" Terra asked.

Lauriam's expression darkened somewhat. "We only encountered it once. And there is only so much we managed to learn in that time. But I can tell you it was no mere heartless. It was something else. Something much more sinister. And it was a very difficult opponent to face. Five of us engaged it when it showed, and I don't think we even managed to hurt it by the end. The only reason we were able to defeat it at all was thanks to Ven."

"And you're absolutely certain that creature is now gone? And that there are no others like it?" Terra inquired.

Lauriam looked rather startled by the possibility Terra had raised. "I- yes. Ventus took care of it." He nevertheless said.

"Unless of course… no. Even in that case it's gone. It will trouble us no more." He added.

Elrena tilted her head, narrowing her eyes at him slightly. That unvoiced possibility he had contemplated just now… something about it had really unsettled him. It was not anything he had said, but the way he had said it, a momentary expression that he masked almost immediately. She chose not to enquire for the moment, letting her face fall back to its normal expression.

"As to whether there are more like it… I can't say for sure. I wasn't conscious through the whole encounter, and much of what the darkness did say was cryptic nonsense. It did speak in plural at times, but I'm not sure if it was speaking of other darknesses like itself. It could have just been talking about the Heartless, or the darkness in general. In any case I understand the datascape we found ourselves in was built as a trap to seal that darkness away. So I imagine any other darknesses would have been trapped there when we left, unless someone went and let them out. And I don't know who would do that." Lauriam continued.

"Good to know. Still, we should probably keep an eye out for those things too. Though it doesn't sound like that will be easy to do, given what you said of their ability to hide inside people." Terra said.

Aqua nodded her agreement. "Speaking of keeping an eye out, how would we know these Foretellers if we run into them? What do they look like?" She then asked.

"We have never seen their faces. But they wear elaborate robes and use these animal masks. Based on what we saw of Aced and Ira they still dress in that manner." Lauriam said.

"Masks?" Aqua repeated.

"Yes. I don't really know why they did so, but they always used those in public. For Ira it was a unicorn mask. For Aced, a bear. For Invi, a snake. For Gula, a leopard. And for Ava, a fox mask. As for Luxu and the Master… Like I said I have never seen them in person. But I have heard rumors that they use black coats like ours." Lauriam said.

"Wait… coats like yours? The design of them is that old?" Terra asked.

"So I gather. I expect Xehanort did not invent the coats, but rather stumbled across them at some point and copied the design. Where and how he did that I cannot say." Lauriam replied.

"So… the reason you came here is because you wanted to reunite with Ven. Because he is an old friend of yours?" Aqua asked.

"Yes, though there is more to it." Lauriam confirmed. "We were hoping that he would remember us, and that he would then be able to speak to the rest of you on our behalf. We have a mission of our own that we hoped to get the Guardians to help us with."

"Our help? And what mission would this be?" She asked.

"Well, I did mention my sister, Strelitzia? And how Elrena's Chirithy saw her being led somewhere? We believe there is a good chance she can be found somewhere in this age. The presence of the Foretellers is only more proof of this. But we have no idea where exactly she might be, and we realized it would be extremely difficult for us to do this ourselves. We need help to have a chance to succeed. Yours was the first group that came to mind." He explained.

"Of course, we understand our history with the Organization makes this a difficult thing to ask for, to say the least. So we decided to approach an old friend first, in the hopes he could help smooth things over with the rest of you." He continued.

"But Ven said that there are things that can't discuss in his presence. And that he doesn't quite remember you. I take it your efforts were not entirely successful?" She asked.

"Ah, no. When he didn't remember us immediately, we tried to tell him everything that we just told you. But the attempt of doing so… it ended up causing him physical pain." He said.

"Wait… it did what!?" Terra exclaimed.

"I promise you, we had no idea that was something that could happen. And as soon as we realized it could we stopped. We've done our best to keep to safe topics ever since." Lauriam said hurriedly.

"Safe topics?" Aqua asked.

"I've… been telling him what I can of my and Elrena's time in the Organization. The bad and the not so bad. Admittedly that is not the best foundation for rebuilding our friendship, but I thought it best he learn those things from us rather than have him stumble across it on his own. And he in turn has been telling us stories about his time here, with you two." Lauriam said.

"It sounds like you are willing to accept responsibility for what you have done?" Terra asked, sounding surprised.

"To a point. We obviously made a lot of bad choices. A lot of mistakes. Though we also weren't quite ourselves when all this happened. Honestly we would rather leave all that behind us and start with a clean slate with you lot. Don't know how possible that will be at the end of the day, but that is what we want." Elrena said.

"And if it means we get the help we need, then I think we are willing to put in some effort into making that happen." She added.

"So, what now?" Terra queried.

"I still think that it would be important for Ven to remember his past. Not only because of our friendship, but also because the past is clearly becoming relevant again. But let me be very clear: We're not here to force you to do anything. If you tell us to go away then we will leave in peace, do what we can on our own. But if we are allowed, then we would like to try to find some way to do this. And I think Ven wants the same." Lauriam said.

Aqua became thoughtful. Ven had asked that, had he not? He had asked them to help these two find some solution. But Ven could not simply be told…

"Have you perhaps considered asking Naminé for help with this?" She asked.

"Naminé?" Lauriam repeated. "She is still around? I was told she had disappeared."

"She returned to Kairi, and remained within her heart for some time. But after the war she was successfully transferred into a replica body. So she is back. And I understand she has some powers related to this. After all, she tampered with Sora's memory, then managed to restore it." She said.

"Yes, I am fully aware of the kind of things the Organization got up to here. Not everyone who visited lost their memories, and a record was made for those of us who weren't there." She said to the startled expressions of Elrena and Lauriam.

"I can't say I approve at all of what was done back then. So it's a good thing you've expressed some regret over the past now. But for the moment the more important thing is she might have just the kind of powers to sort this out." She continued.

Lauriam considered, grasping his chin. "You know, that just might work. Does that mean you agree to help us then?"

"That depends. We are going to speak with Ventus. And his Chirithy. About this and other things. If Ventus thinks this is something he would like to do, then we might just ask her to come here. But for now that's all I'm going to say." She said.

"Alright. I guess that is a start. Just bear in mind, the past can't be discussed directly in his presence. It could do him harm." He said.

"Yes. We did get that part." Terra said.

"You can wait here until we come back." Aqua said.

"It might take a bit. Since we've been out for two days I think we might want to have something to eat while we're at it as well." Terra said.

"Yeah…" Aqua echoed. With all the developments today she had managed to actually forget how hungry she was feeling. But now that Terra had brought it up she realized she was ravenous. Two days? She had not realized it had been that long.

"Oh, sure thing. Take what time you need to recover. We'll be right here." Elrena said.

Terra and Aqua left back the way they had come.

"Do you think they will do it?" Elrena asked after they had gone.

"Well… they did not seem to outright object to the idea of helping us. It's all up to Ven now. But I think he will approve, given our discussions." Lauriam replied.

"Most likely, yeah." She said.

"So… Naminé then. That's going to be… a little awkward." She added rubbing the back of her head.

"Just a little, huh?" He said.

"Heh. Yeah. Understatement." She said with a slight grimace.

"Still, if she cooperates and is actually able to sort this out for us, then we might finally get things moving forward again. About time I say. There is much that still needs doing and we haven't exactly made progress these last few years." She added.

"Agreed." Lauriam said with a nod.

"Say, you rather surprised me by saying that we would be willing to work to start a fresh leaf with them. Not that I don't agree. In fact I think I said something to that effect myself. I just didn't expect you to volunteer for something like that." He added.

"Well, I figure we want them cooperative. And the best way to get that is showing willingness to work with them. For instance they are willing to listen to us now because we saved them. More favors like that will likely help us in the long run. Plus I think this time around we are actually on the same side. Finding Strelitzia isn't going to be enough. We also need to make sure there is a world for us to live in. That's not going to happen if the Foretellers go and blow it all up. So to me it makes sense to join forces, if we are allowed to do so. Enemy of my enemy and all that." She explained.

"That's very true. I just hope Ven's friends see it that way too." He said.

She nodded, and there was a brief pause.

"So… back when you were discussing that Darkness critter, you came up with a thought that looked to really bother you. If you don't mind talking about it... what was it?" She asked then.

Lauriam looked momentarily startled. "You caught that?"

He shook his head. "You've gotten frighteningly good at reading my expressions, did you know that?"

Elrena shrugged. "We've been lurking around in the same circles for several years now. Best get used to it."

"I just realized something about what Ventus said. If you remember in my story I mentioned that Ventus took the Darkness into himself to mold it? To change it into something defeatable. Or something like that. And well… you remember Ven telling us about Xehanort forcibly extracting the darkness from him? A darkness that became Vanitas." He explained.

Elrena understood, her eyes widening. "No way… so you figure those two were one and the same thing!?"

"At first I thought Ven might have been talking about his innate darkness. But then I remembered it didn't work like that in our times. Back then no heart had naturally occurring darkness in them. It was always an infection that could slip in if you weren't able to control your emotions. And for Vent to have had darkness in him, it could only have been…" He said, letting the final implication hang in the air.

Elrena covered her mouth with her hand. "Holy… I think you might be onto something. And… Vanitas was with us during the war. That rotten old geezer! He actually made us… made you… fight with the thing that killed… Do you think he knew!?"

"Not sure. But I think there was a reason Xehanort sought to use Ven in particular. Not just any person's darkness would do for his purposes." He said.

"But… if that really was the case, then in a way it was a good thing right? Not the whole *us fighting alongside him* bit of course. But seeing as the Organization lost, then Vanitas must have been destroyed. In that case that particular Darkness won't trouble us no more." She then reasoned.

"It's what I figured too. It's why I felt there was not need to say anything more to Terra and Aqua. No reason to worry them over nothing." He agreed.

"Still, to end up on the same side with…" She said, shaking her head.

"Lauriam… I'm sorry. I can't imagine what it's like finding out like this." She said, taking a step closer and placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I… don't want to think of that anymore." He said quietly.

Elrena nodded. "You're right. Enough of such nasty memories. The future is still what matters most now. And fortunately it looks like we're finally starting to make some real progress on that front. If things go as we've planned from here then Ven will get his memory back, the Guardians will help us find Strelitzia and then we can kick the Foretellers back to whatever hole they crawled out of. Then it will be just a, matter of finding a nice home where you and you sister can plant a lovely garden."

"Uh, if that's something that you would actually do." She added hastily. "I just kinda assumed it might be because…"

"Because of the whole roses thing I've got going?" Lauriam completed the sentence.

"Y-yeah…"

He smiled at her warmly. "You're actually not wrong. That is something that Strelitzia and I did together as a hobby. There was always greenery in our home. So many different varieties of flowers we looked after."

Suddenly there was a playful smile on his face. "Hmm… I wonder what kind of a flower you would be…" He contemplated under his breath.

"…P-pardon!?" She sputtered, feeling her breath involuntarily catch in her throat.

A short laugh from him. "That was a game of sorts she I and I played when we were bored. We'd pick a person and asked ourselves: If this person was a flower, what kind would they be based on their appearance and characteristics. Sometimes it was people we knew, like other wielders we went on missions. Sometimes just the people we saw from the windows."

"And so now you decided it was my turn?" She said a smile appearing on her mouth as well. "Hmmm… If I was supposed to be a plant I imagine I'd be something prickly and hard to eradicate."

"I suppose." Lauriam said in agreement. "But those traits merely mark the flower as something tough. A survivor. And if you can look past those features, there are actually many likeable qualities as well. It just takes a bit of time and effort to learn to appreciate them. An acquired taste some would say."

She grinned at him. "So I'm an acquired taste now?"

Lauriam's eyes widened as he realized he might have made a mistake. "I wasn't trying to imply…" He stammered.

"No, no. Don't worry. I actually rather like that notion. An acquired taste… yup. That's exactly what I am." She said, continuing to smile mischievously.

Some time more passed waiting. Then the door to the hall opened, and Terra and Aqua returned, this time with Ventus in tow. Lauriam noted a newfound look of concern and sympathy on Ventus, and how his eyes lingered on Aqua much of the time. He wondered just what had passed between them. Perhaps something related to what Elrena had noticed about her. Whatever had been discussed, he got the impression it might be a private matter, so he decided he would not enquire.

"You're in luck it seems. Ventus approves of the idea of asking Naminé for help." Aqua told them.

"Arranging for her to come here might take a few days." She added. "Do you two have a place to stay in the meantime?"

"Uh, Ven was kind enough to loan us some spare rooms around here." Lauriam explained.

"I hope you don't mind. We don't really have anywhere else to go at the moment." Elrena added.

Aqua considered. "Well I suppose this is a big enough castle. And I think it would be better for you to remain… close by for the time being. Just mind yourselves if you're staying. And if there are chores to be done around here I expect you to do your part."

"Of course. Only fair. And I promise we won't be a bother to you." Lauriam said.

"Good. Before I send for Naminé I will of course have to send a report to Master Yen Sid about these events. He will want to know we have returned, and that you two are now here."

"That assuming you haven't already spoken with him, Ven?" She added.

"Um… no. I haven't." Ven admitted.

"There is something you ought to know about that. We asked Ven not to speak of this yet. Not that we intend to keep ourselves secret forever, but we wanted to break this situation to the Guardians slowly to avoid freaking anyone out. We would ask for this to continue for the time being." Lauriam said.

There was a lengthy, uneasy pause.

"…And what of Naminé? You expect us to ask her here without telling her about you?" Terra finally asked.

"We can explain matters to her once she gets here. But if she knows of us beforehand she might not even agree to meet. Not after our past mistakes with her. This way we might get her to at least hear us out. And she will be perfectly safe. You will all be here to ensure she won't come to harm." Lauriam said.

Aqua glanced at Ventus, who nodded to her. "…I can't say I like the sound of this one bit. But alright. I'll tell Yen Sid we've returned from the Realm of Darkness, and that we did not find any clues to Sora's whereabouts. The rest can wait." She said.

"Thank you." Lauriam said.

"One thing though. Once this is done, no matter how things turn out, I expect you to report to him in person. You will tell him everything that you have told us, and then he will decide what is to be done with you. And you will do what he says." She continued.

Lauriam paused, then nodded. "Deal."