There was a monsoon raging in her heart. The station was getting beaten by dark, cold rain, gales battering the glass sides, rocking the entire platform. Aqua was drenched, her breath came out in puffs of white, but she didn't shiver at the cold.

Her focus was entirely dedicated to the cracks running across the surface of the station. The bright stained-glass depiction of herself, Terra, and Ventus was lined with splits that seeped darkness throughout the whole of the station, like a miasma. A distant peal of thunder rocked the world. She struggled to maintain her footing as the cracks of the station widened.

Before her stood the Door. The Door that she'd stood before that day, so many years ago, when she first used the Keyblade. After talking to Eraqus, she understood that it represented the road deeper into her heart, but the state of it didn't bode well. The frame was cracked, the handle was rusted, and the wood seemed splintered.

She didn't want to walk through. She had no idea what going through that Door would bode, but she felt like it would be a deep, deep mistake to try it. With her heart in so much obvious turmoil, going even deeper could do damage that she'd never fully understand.

There was no voice, she realised suddenly. Every time she'd Dived before, and every time Ven or Terra had dived, they all experienced a disembodied voice speaking to them. Now, there was only the wailing of the wind, and the patter of the rain. She suddenly felt very lonely, and very afraid.

"You're a fool."

The voice behind her startled her and she span around, reflexively calling her Keyblade only to find that Rainfall didn't come. Her hand felt naked without its comforting weight, and her dismay at her disarming almost caused her to miss the figure before her.

In front of Aqua stood Aqua. The rain made it difficult to see at first, but she'd seen the shape of that body and look of those clothes enough in the mirror to recognize what was before her. A twisted reflection of herself.

Her mirror image didn't make eye contact. She was crouched, running unnaturally pale fingers along the cracks in the station. They came away black.

"We had the opportunity we needed to finally take what was ours, and you backed away from it all." The duplicate's golden eyes locked with her own, framed under hair that had been bleached white. "You utter fool," she spat.

Aqua couldn't understand. What was happening here? Why did the depths of her heart feel so putrid? So oppressive? "This isn't, isn't right," she muttered, eyes flitting between the damaged floor beneath her and her intimidating doppelganger, hands raising as she took a step back.

"No, you stupid girl, this is right. This has been right all along." Her reflection's voice dripped with contempt and, if Aqua wasn't hearing things, sadness. "This was your, our, opportunity to take everything we'd ever wanted. We had everything right in our grasp!" She launched to her feet, invading Aqua's personal space and sneering into her face. "Right there! And you tossed it all away! You finally found who you truly are, finally found me, and you abandoned it all at the last damn second!" she screamed into her face, spitting rainwater.

The thick, cloying, numbing smell of darkness invaded Aqua's nose.

She understood now.

This was a test. One she'd thus far entirely failed. She was stood at the core of her heart, and in her training with her Master she'd allowed the darkness to slowly seep through. She'd almost entirely succumbed.

"No," Aqua rejected. "No, I've given up nothing." She pushed her dark reflection away in disgust. "You're everything I despise! Everything I fight against! You're my weakness!"

Her reflection took a step back, face revealing shock, disbelief and resentment. "Oh, oh, really?" she started to cruelly chuckle, and then laugh, and then hysterically roar. She fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face, eyes scrunched up in a mixture of pain and humour. "Is that so? And who taught you that? Your beloved Master?"

"Don't you dare sneer at him! He's done more for me than you have ever done!"

"Oh, of course!" The reflection rose to her feet, still laughing from the dying throes of her hysteria. "So much, like almost killing you and your friends."

Aqua grit her teeth. She was trying to stop the words from getting under her skin but she found that they struck a chord within her. She tried to tell herself that her anger at him was darkness poisoning her mind, that her fury at his treatment of Ven and Terra was unjustified, but even now, in full possession of her faculties, she felt that he'd gone too far.

But now wasn't the time to be judging his teaching methods – she was fighting for her very heart. It was just the darkness trying to get to her, she told herself. She'd talk to him about it later, when she wasn't actively engaged in verbal combat with her darker self for the sake of her being.

Aqua grounded herself in Eraqus' teachings, as she so often done, dredging the light from her heart to shield her from the relentless, soaking rain. The station brightened and the cracks seemed to soften, but the rain beat down just as heavily, if not more so.

Her reflection shielded her eyes from the brightened iconography below her. "You stupid idiot! You take his lessons deep into your soul, into your very heart, and fail to recognize the truth of them!" Aqua was suddenly hoisted by the front of her vest by the reflection, forced to look straight into pained, hating gold. "Everything he gives you would ruin you! Everything he teaches chips away at a piece of who you are! You trust him so much that you can't see that he's using you! You love your Terra and Ventus so damned much, thinking that his lessons will help you keep them close, but you can't see that he'd rip them from you in a second! He doesn't want you, Aqua! He doesn't care! He wants a Templar, a mindless, soulless, emotionless husk filled to the brim with light, to fight the Darkness at whatever cost! Go through that door," she gestured towards the door deeper to her heart, "and see the damn truth! You go through that door, and you'll understand! He would take everything from you, if it meant you would join his crusade! He gives you nothing disguised as everything!"

"And what the hell would you give me?" Aqua demanded as she squirmed, trying to free herself from the iron grip of her duplicate.

"Everything!"

There was no sound but the wind and rain.

"Wh-what?"

"I'd give you everything! The power to keep Ventus and Terra safe, the power to protect your home, the power to stand above, and say, 'Nothing will threaten me or mine again!'" her eyes had gone desperate, and she no longer had Aqua lifted off the ground, though her hands were still wrenched in her vest. "I am you! He'd have you deny me! I'd have you accept me, and in return, I'd give you everything!" she screamed before drawing in on herself. Her head had dropped onto her chest, the sheer image of defeat.

"But at what cost?" Aqua quietly asked. The doppelganger's head shot up, and she released her. Aqua took a few steps back, watching the other constantly. "Terra and Ven fight for the Light, the same as me. I fall to darkness to keep them safe, and what happens? They fear me. I become the very thing we've devoted our lives against! They'd never understand-"

"So you make them understand! You take my power, you take me, and you make them see things our way! You make them trust you again! You make them see that they belong by your side, no matter the cost! That this," she gestured around them, "is right!"

"They'd run away from me, or even try to kill me! I'd become a threat to everything they'd ever held dear! I'd become a mockery of my own memory, of my own beliefs!"

"It's better than them being dead! It's better than being alone!"

Aqua had no idea what to say after that, and her mirror image seemed to have exhausted herself as well.

"Just…go through the Door." Aqua didn't move. Her doppelganger simply scowled and looked away. "Of course you won't. You refuse to take what's right in front of you." She looked back, face twisted. "It will destroy you, and everything you love."

The two lapsed back into silence warily watching each other. The rain beat down heavier and heavier, until the dark water drowned out the light of the station, and everything eventually dimmed into black, unease filling her heart.

She awoke suddenly, ready to fight.

Foggy-minded and misty eyed, she analysed her surroundings, hand twitching to summon Rainfall.

Her bedroom. She was safe. Her back dropped back against the bed, as she calmed her heart.

Suddenly, she remembered what had happened the day before. The events of the fight played around and around in her head – her Master's brutality towards Ven, Terra's exhausted and physically ruined state when he returned, Eraqus' quiet little insults to her ability in their battle, and…

Her heart stopped in her chest. No. She couldn't have.

No.

She hadn't fallen.

She simply hadn't. She couldn't have. It simply couldn't be – her whole life was centred around the Light!

She felt bile burn the back of her throat, felt her heart start pounding, felt dizzy.

No matter how much she wished otherwise, the facts remained. She remembered being stood at the mountaintop, filled with the most bitter, vile anger she'd ever felt, and the malice that came from the pits of her heart to meet it. She remembered beating Eraqus down with the active intent to kill him. She remembered the look of terror in his eyes on the floor, and wrestling control of her mind back to what she knew was herself, and not the putrid Darkness in her heart.

She dashed to her feet and ran to her toilet. Vomit scorched the insides of her throat and mouth. Her breath came in pants and gasps.

For half an hour, she took solace in feeling ill, and avoiding the thoughts that had made her so sick in the first place. She emerged feeling drained.

She dropped back onto her bed and covered her eyes. She couldn't believe it. Shame flushed up her neck and tears pricked at her eyes. She'd failed. Not just Eraqus, but also Terra and Ven. They were meant to be together, united in the Light, and she'd almost gone and fallen completely and totally to the Dark!

So you make them understand!

Unlike her nightmare the night before, the memories of the Dive to her Heart came to her readily, the exchange between her and her darker self in the wounds of her heart all too clear. She'd come so close to fully succumbing. So close, and the fact was that she hadn't even realised it at first. She'd been so caught up, so driven to beat Eraqus, that she hadn't realised that her anger had slowly been poisoning her heart.

But that anger wasn't wrong! That was the worst part. She felt, even now, that it was entirely justified. Eraqus had hurt Terra and Ven. Not only that, but he'd then had the audacity, the damned temerity to consider her weak! And-

She felt something bubbling in her heart and stopped her thoughts instantly.

Maybe her Master had a point. Maybe she was weak. She couldn't even feel her own emotions without spurring on the Darkness in her heart. Once again, another piece of her own domain had been surrendered. Originally, it had been her mind to the nightmare. Now it was her emotions to the Darkness. She was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to feel fully in control of herself ever again.

The floodgates were open now. Their Master had always lectured that one never gave Darkness solace – one searched for it, and destroyed it. If one allowed it to fester, one allowed it to grow. If one fed it, one would be consumed. She hadn't just fed it – she'd practically given it a three-course meal, and now was baying for seconds. She could feel it deep within herself, like leaden poison – it tasted bitter on the back of her tongue.

Heaving a sigh, she hoisted herself up from her bed and went to rub her eyes, only to almost poke them with her gauntlets.

Today's shaping up nicely, she thought bitterly.

She deactivated her armour, cleared the sleep from her eyes, and moved to her closed window, hoping to get some fresh air. Pulling back the curtains revealed the first rays of morning light. It would be hours before Terra and Ventus awoke, more than usual thanks to their ordeal the day before. The light of the rising sun and cool breeze helped calm her down more. She closed her eyes and let the warmth of the morning wash over her.

It was times like this that she'd usually meditate. She hoisted herself up onto the ledge, as she'd done the night before, and relaxed. Preparing herself to slip back into the calming trace-like state, she drew upon the words and mantras Eraqus had taught them, so many years ago, to help them find their Light.

And she boiled.

Her heart rebelled, the Darkness rising like a tide. She could feel her mind cloud over with fury and rage and hate, and-

She stopped herself.

Panting, she drew cooling breaths to sate her burning lungs.

Her fury with Eraqus hadn't yet cooled, it seemed. She had issues, that was sure enough. Now, she couldn't even meditate, since the method she'd always used to enrapture herself into the Light only further helped the Darkness.

She lifted herself from the ledge, disappointed and anxious. How could she combat her Darkness if she couldn't reach her Light? She'd have to face Eraqus, and soon. She needed to clear the air with him, and find some way to get her heart back under her control. Else, she thought, she'd never get her Mark of Mastery.

As she shut the window and walked back into the room, she noticed with a small degree of surprise that she felt absolutely no stiffness from her ordeal the day before. Using the Darkness must have had some positive effect after all, she thought sardonically.

That train of thought got stopped at the station. No, the Darkness had no positives. It was corrosive, it was corruptive, it was a force of terror and evil that had to be destroyed.

And she'd almost succumbed to it.

Gritting her teeth, she fled the room to escape her thoughts and went to make some coffee in the kitchen for the others when they woke up. The halls were quiet, the only sound the tapping of her feet on the hard wooden floors.

It was rare that the Land of Departure seemed ominous, and yet Aqua felt unnerved walking down halls she'd travelled through for almost two decades all the same.

Approaching the kitchen, she expected to make coffee, wait for the others, talk to them, and then go seek out Eraqus to confront him about yesterday.

What she wasn't expecting was to see Eraqus stood in the kitchen, back towards her, facing the window. It caught her up short.

"Good morning Aqua."

She didn't respond. She had no idea how to, after all that had happened the day before. The fury she'd felt still hung about her, drawing sharp lines across her face, but her eyes burned with the shame that she'd been feeling ever since she'd awoken.

He sighed, turned and gestured towards a seat at the table. "Please. We need to talk, and I wanted to speak to you away from the others." His voice was reluctant, and was that a degree of sadness? But she had no idea what was coming. He refused to meet her stare. Was that shame? She certainly hoped so. It would be nice to be on the same page.

She sat down slowly, not taking her eyes off him. He took the seat across from her, silhouetted by the rising sun.

They didn't speak for almost ten minutes. Eraqus seemed to be collecting his thoughts, and Aqua had no intention of starting this particular conversation. They spent the entire time in awkward silence.

It seemed that he'd finally gotten his thoughts in order, as he cleared his throat. "Aqua. We must talk about happened yesterday." She simply watched him. "I know that you like-," he cut himself off and sighed, "no, love, Terra and Ventus as brothers, and they love you as a sister. Ventus looks up to you as a beloved mentor, and Terra admires your abilities as no one else does. You three share a bond that I can only feel envy over." He leaned in towards her, shifting his weight onto the table. "But you must understand, your protectiveness over them must have its limits. I am not only your Master, but theirs too."

"So, that gives you the right to beat them senseless, for no good reason then?" Aqua cut in hotly. This was cutting right to the heart of her anger.

"No. It does not. But it does allow me to do what I feel is necessary to progress them, the same as you. Do you share the same feelings towards my fighting them as to my fighting you?"

"Of course not," Aqua scoffed, "I know what I signed up for years ago. Don't ever think that I'm too weak, or incapable. If I can't handle anything, I will train until I can."

"So, you think Ventus and Terra are weak then?" She looked at him uncomprehendingly. "You are all my apprentices, and I issued you all the same task. You have no problems that I fought you, but every problem that I fought Terra and Ventus?"

"No, that's not what I meant!" She was getting hot under the collar. She didn't think they were weak, just that she had to protect them, that she had to be strong to protect them. She couldn't imagine losing them. "But you beat Ventus until he couldn't walk and did Light knows what to Terra, then forced him to make his way back down the mountain alone!"

"I had every faith in their abilities, Aqua – the training was meant to be demanding. I've trained you all for years, come to respect and appreciate all your capabilities and limitations. I didn't exceed what I thought you were all capable of." That made her bristle, as her mind went back to the casual single-handed grip he had used in his fight with her. Did he truly think she was only as capable as his one hand? "You must remember, when you go out into the worlds to combat the darkness, you will not be fighting in friendly sparring matches. You will be fighting the very essence of evil. Ventus and Terra have to be just as prepared for that as you," he stated in an effort to be reasonable.

"Ventus is just a kid!" she hissed, "a kid whose hands were bleeding so badly at the end of your 'training' that his Keyblade was practically red with it! Terra couldn't even watch, it was that bad!" She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her natural response was to fall back on the Light mantras he'd taught them, but that just made her angrier at the moment. She pushed it down. "I understand, Master, that we have to be ready for what's out there. That's why I want to be pushed, why I need to become stronger! But Terra and Ven, they…," she trailed off, unable to conjure a reasonable excuse for why they shouldn't have been pushed as hard as she was. "You just can't hurt them like that!"

"So you believe yourself to be the only one worthy of the title of Keyblade Master?"

That caught her up short, so she deflected. "I have to be strong enough to become worthy of the title. Terra and Ventus deserve Mastery, but I have to become a Master, have to become strong enough, no matter what happens."

"You'd go so far as to fall to the darkness for it?"

She drew back, startled at the frank and flat way he'd said that. "I-I, I didn't-," she defended reflexively.

"I felt and saw it, Aqua. You were so absorbed in defeating me, so enraged with me, that you abandoned the teachings of the Light. You sought any road to prove yourself, and let the darkness take control."

Her mouth moved soundlessly as she tried to construct some excuse, some reason, for it.

She couldn't. Her mind was blank, save for the brutal, inescapable fact that he was right.

The shame she'd felt when she'd awoken came back in full force.

Years of training, all faith in the Light, everything she'd worked for, all abandoned in an instant.

She was startled as she felt his calloused hand close over hers on the table and looked up in surprise at his compassionate expression. "I understand Aqua, I truly do. In my Apprenticeship, there were many times that I almost succumbed to the darkness; either through my envy of my peers; or feelings of weakness; or like you, a desire to prove myself strong." He sighed, eyes gazing off into far away memories. "It was only when I understood that the Light was what made me strong that I truly became ready to become a Master.

"And maybe I did go too far with Ventus and Terra, you may be right. And for that, I apologise. But that means I went too far with you too, pushed you to the point that you felt you had to best me to prove yourself, when the only thing you felt you could rely on was your darkness. And for that, I am deeply sorry. I am proud of you all, immensely proud. Every time I see you teaching Ventus the technique to a spell, or see you sharing ice-cream with Terra, or see Terra and Ventus laughing at a terrible joke, or see the three of you together, I am filled with such pride. But with that pride comes fear." He pinned her with a piercing gaze. "Fear that you three aren't ready, that I haven't taught you enough, that the darkness will consume you all whole.

"And I see that you share that fear for Terra and Ventus, that you want to protect them so much that you'd do anything for their sakes, even go so far as to embrace the darkness. But I fear for you too. You must remember, Aqua, that they aren't as weak as you think. I think we can both agree that you didn't exactly pass the test yesterday, hmm?" he asked with a light smile. It didn't stop the shot of shame that ran through her. He was right, she had failed. Out of the three of them, she was the only one not to last the whole three hours. "They did, even if they came back battered and bruised where you didn't. You must learn to let them protect themselves. You can't always be there for them, the same as I can't always be there for you. Such obsessive protection will only hurt them in the end, and I fear it will lead you down a dark, dark path."

The two were silent, Eraqus pleading for understanding in his gaze. Aqua closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I'll…," she started hesitantly. "I'll try."

He nodded. "That's all I can ask for. In return, we'll train harder than before. You are strong, Aqua. You've exceeded all expectations I had. Who could've known that the small blue-haired girl I took as an apprentice would grow up to become such a formidable woman? Certainly not I. If I must train you more so that you understand that, and no longer feel the need to pull on your darkness, then that's what we shall do."

Nothing, disguised as everything, her heart whispered treacherously at her. In that instant, it only confirmed what Eraqus said. She needed more training. She needed to find some way to re-immerse herself in the Light and banish the shades that had taken hold of her heart. She thought back to the black miasma that was leaking through the surface of her heart, how profane and wrong it seemed.

Ventus and Terra chose that moment to burst into the kitchen.

"Aqua!" they cried in unison.

She turned around in surprise. They both looked overjoyed to see her.

She was shocked to see them both awake so early. They both stood there with identical expressions of joy on their faces, but Aqua noticed the hesitation in Ventus' eyes, and how Terra seemed to analyse her face, then body, then arms and legs, as if looking for something wrong.

They must have seen her unconscious as Eraqus brought her back from the mountain, she realised. Her cheeks reddened with shame. They'd seen that she'd failed. Not only that, she'd failed where they'd succeeded, all because she wanted to succeed beyond them. She could only hope that Eraqus hadn't told them what had truly happened up on the mountain.

Eraqus cleared his throat. "I'll leave the three of you to talk. No training today, you're all to recuperate after yesterday's trials."

He caught Terra and Ventus' eyes, giving a meaningful look. They both nodded quickly.

"Have a good day, Apprentices. If you need me, for any reason," he said as he locked eyes with Aqua, "I'll be in my study." He gave a small bow and headed out.

Terra and Ventus sat at the table either side of her. No one spoke for a few moments. Aqua found herself unable to break the silence. She couldn't bring herself to ask what that look was all about, or pretend that everything was normal. She just waited, like the condemned before the executioner.

"The Master told us what happened. About your fight with him," Terra slowly said. He was silent for a second, then added, "I mean, all I gotta say is it was pretty badass that you went all 'Mama Bear' on him for us." He gave her a smile, but it wasn't the soft assured smiles he so often gave. It was hesitant, as though he was desperately trying to avoid poking the proverbial tiger.

"Yeah," Ventus jumped in, speaking rapidly, "I mean, you didn't need to after all, we knew what we were signing up for and all, and, you know, that whole 'using the Darkness' wasn't really-"

"Ven!" Terra hissed.

Aqua groaned and dropped her head onto the table. They did know. Not only did they know she'd failed where they'd succeeded, but they knew she'd used the darkness in the midst of it all.

No-one spoke for a long time, and Aqua took quiet solace in the table. Staring at that, she didn't have to face the disappointment of her friends, or the fact that of the three, she'd been the only one to actually fail.

Very nice grain, actually. Lovely finish, if a bit worn from age. Was it mahogany? It was rich, dark wood, that was for sure. Goodness, the Keyblade Order of old must have been quite wealthy, to afford tables such as these.

"Aqua?"

She refused to look up. She didn't want to see that look of pity. She could hear it in Terra's voice, but to see it would shatter her.

It could do with a gloss, she supposed, but what could she expect? The table had been used to host meals for years. It must have hosted Eraqus many-a-time, having discussions with his own Master. Lovely smoky smell, the wood. She was surprised that it managed to hold it's scent for so-

"Aqua, please, talk to us."

Ventus was breaking out the dirty tactics again – she could just picture the puppy dog eyes that went with that voice.

She raised her head with a groan, but refused to open her eyes.

"Aqua, it's okay. We get it. I was pissed off with Eraqus too."

"Even though you didn't need to be – I was honestly fine-"

"Hang on for a minute, Ven. Aqua, really, if I'd stayed and seen what he'd done I'd have tried to tear him a new one too. He just went way too far, way too quickly, and vastly overestimated Ven's ability."

"Wait a second, I beat the trial th-"

"Ven, seriously, shut up for a second. Aqua, listen. I might have even, er, done what you did too."

"Yeah, I mean, I don't really get why you used the darkness for us, but-"

"Ventus! Dude, shut it." Ven fell silent. "But, just, I don't know." She heard the scratching that accompanied him rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, we're all okay. It's better here than out there, among the worlds, hey? You've got us. Don't lock us out, let us help."

"But what if it does happen out there?" she asked, eyes opening. "What if one of you are out there, alone, injured, and I'm too weak to help you? Both of you passed yesterday, and I didn't! Like Ven said, he passed the trial, the same as you Terra, but not me! My weakness has let me, Master, and most of all, you down!"

"You're not weak, Aqua!" Surprisingly, it was Ven that yelled. She looked over at his trusting, pleading expression and felt her heart sink again. "You're not! You did something stupid, sure, but if you hadn't have done that, you'd have passed just the same as us. What did the Master say, Ter?"

"That you'd been consistently beating his expectations, until, you know."

She didn't know whether to feel insulted, again, or pleased. Sure, she'd exceeded expectations, but where exactly had he set them?

"Exactly! You made a mistake, that's all, and not even for a bad reason, really."

"C'mon, Aqua! Don't be so hard on yourself! I still need someone to teach me Fire!" He looked at her with a small smile and wide eyes, as if to invite a laugh, or at least a chuckle.

It brought a smile to her lips. "What, and dust away the ashes of your eyebrows as well?" His resulting grin was blinding.

She sighed. She wanted to move past this, but it felt like a floodgate had been opened, and in poured a deluge of Darkness, doubt, and fear. She was only one person, with one set of hands – how could she hold back the ocean?

She was surprised to find that she'd spoken that aloud. Terra and Ventus' faces almost made her cry. "You're not just one person – you're not alone. You've always got us. Never forget that. We're here for you the same way you're here for us," Terra whispered. "Just, never fall back on the darkness, Aqua. I dunno what I'd do if we lost you to it." His voice broke at the last word.

That firmed her resolve. She wouldn't tread down profane paths for knowledge, not as long as the Light still held the answers and the strength she needed. In her mind's eye her heart finally stilled, the rain no longer poured. While the cracks that ran along the surface still oozed the inky black, she'd not give in.

"And you really don't need to worry about us so much. You can trust us, trust in us, Aq." Ventus smiled proudly. "I mean, Terra's almost a Master too, you know." That gentle reminder hit far harder than Eraqus' ever could. It was true, it was irrational to be so protective of someone who was, in reality, her equal. "And me? Well, you know. I could take both of you, two on one," he finished with a cocky smirk. The little shit, she thought wryly.

Terra scoffed, eyes wide and disbelieving. "You wish, you little squirt! I'd knock you down any day!"

"Oh yeah?" Ventus got out of his chair and slinked down into his usual posture. "Wanna try-" he cut himself off wincing as he gripped his arm. "Ouch. Alright, maybe not today."

Part of her wanted to boil at that. Eraqus had done that, had hurt her brothers. However, she was learning that that part, while not necessarily dark, wasn't exactly letting her think clearly, and her not thinking clearly was dragging her down roads she shouldn't take.

Terra began to lightly chuckle at Ventus' display. "That serves you right."

Ventus grumbled half-heartedly and sat back down.

Her friends needed her in the Light, with them.

So there she would be.

Terra saw the brightening of her eyes and resolve in the lines of her mouth and finally relaxed. Ven Was still mumbling about how, in a pure Keyblade fight, he could beat Terra, but he leaned back in his chair and then began to softly recite the incantation for Fire. His concentration was obviously off as the very ends of the spikes of his hair began to smoke. He remained entirely oblivious until Terra cast a weak Water spell and dumped it on his head.

This was the embodiment of what she wanted. Terra and Ven, safe and happy (even if the latter was damp and yelling at the former).

She was slightly confused as to why Terra seemed so pleased with himself, saying that he was "so right last night, and now you know it," and then busting a gut at Ventus' returning face, but she was content in ignorance for now.

As she laughed along with Terra, she ignored the small part of her that whispered Everything.

Goooooood Morning Vietnam! Or rather, the United States, who make up the vast majority of my readers. At time of writing, it isn't even morning in the States, so. Bleh.

Regardless, it's good to be back. Word of warning, we've come to the end of all the material that I've pre-written, so the next update may be some time - I try to write the vast majority of my stories in blocks of a few chapters and refine them over time - this is the last of my the first block, so please don't anticipate another update soon.

Random Bystander, I'm glad to have piqued your interest, and I hope that I can continue to maintain it - many thanks for the Review. Keeper of Worlds, thank you as well - I feel that Aqua's interest in protecting Ven is what makes their relationship so interesting - Terra wants to protect Ven, but Aqua is in many ways the stifling maternal figure, trying to do good but ultimately not.

Right, I'm not going to ramble on in an AN. Just wanted to say thank you all, and please leave a review - it's the only way I can get any real feedback on my writing, and getting a notification that I've received a review always makes me giddy.

Cheers to you all.