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Chapter Text

'We have deliberated and reached a decision.'


Aqua stands straight next to Terra as they listen to their master. This is moment the two of them have been training so hard for all these years.

Master Eraqus regards them formally, 'Terra, Aqua, you both performed commendably.'

Aqua is glad, hearing the Master praise them. She and Terra both gave it their all.

'However,' he continues, 'Only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery.'


The two of them stiffen.


Aqua gasps in surprise and tries her best not to turn and look at her friend’s face.

Instead of feeling relief or happiness that she made it, the first thing she feels is sadness.


Terra should have passed too.

This was their dream.


'Terra, you failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check,' the look in Master Eraqus' eyes as he looks at Terra shows Aqua that he is truly sorry he has to fail Terra, 'But there is always next time. That is all.'

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Terra's head drop slightly.


Master Xehanort, who came all the way to the Land of Departure to watch the exam, does not say anything.

His golden eyes were trained on Terra most of the time and now that Master Eraqus has told them the results, he doesn't say anything as he leaves the room with his hands clasped behind his back. 


'Aqua,' Master Eraqus continues, 'As our newest Keyblade master, you are entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instructions.'

Aqua nods in response and Master Eraqus leaves the room in silence.

He briefly looks back at Terra, hesitantly, as though he wants to comfort him.

But instead, he shakes his head lightly and continues his way, leaving the new Keyblade Master alone with her two friends. 


 
As soon as they're alone, Ventus hurries over towards them from the other side of the room where he had been waiting for the ceremony to end.

Aqua turns to Terra. His head hangs low and his dark blue eyes are glued to the floor in front of him.

'Hey…' she reaches out but hesitantly draws her hand back. Terra doesn't respond. 

'Terra, I’m sorry,' Ventus says, his bright blue eyes shining with concern. He had been so certain that the two of them would make it.

'The darkness…' Terra mumbles, still not looking at his friends, 'Where did it come from?'

He finally raises his head, but avoids their gazes, 'Sorry,' he says, walking on ahead, 'I just need some time alone.'


Ventus looks torn between stubbornly going after him to comfort him and leaving him alone.

Master Eraqus had told Aqua to wait here until further instructions, so the choice was easy for her.

She places a hand on Ven's shoulder, 'Let him be alone for a little while,' she tells him, 'We will cheer him up after I'm done here, okay?'


Ventus looks satisfied at that and grins at her, 'Okay. I'll wait in my room then.'

He is about to leave the room when he seems to remember something and turns back to Aqua.

'Oh, and Aqua,' a bright smile appears on his face as he gives her a thumbs-up, 'Congratulations! You did great!'

Aqua smiles, feeling her heart warm as she looks at the bright blond boy, 'Thank you, Ven.'


As he rounds the corner, Aqua is left alone and waits for Master Eraqus to return.
 

Even though she won the exam, she doesn’t feel victorious at all. She and Terra have been training under the Master for so long.

They should have both passed.


But if the Master doesn’t think Terra is ready, he isn’t. She doesn’t doubt Master Eraqus’ judgment.

Still, she wants to help her friend. She reaches for her good luck charm in her pocket.

She made one for each of them.

For her, Terra and Ventus.


They originally had to be made with Thalassa shells, but she made them with what she had and even added a touch of magic.


Their friendship is strong.


She needs to have faith that no matter what happens, nothing will come between them.

~~~

A bell rings loudly from outside, the sound can be heard through the building. Aqua had received the instructions from Master Eraqus and was on her way to Terra and Ven, but that has to wait. 

The bell only sounds in case of an emergency, which means she must go back to the main room.


As she enters, she sees Master Eraqus standing in the room.



'What happened?'


Aqua looks to her side to see Terra rush into the room soon after hearing the alarm. 

'I don’t know,' Aqua answers, relieved to see Terra looking less somber than before. Her tall friend looks around, 'Why isn’t Ven here? He must have heard the alarm too.'


Master Eraqus turns towards them, 'Terra, Aqua, I have spoken to my dear old friend Yen Sid. He tells me the Princesses of Heart are in danger due to a new threat. One that feeds on negativity. Fledgling emotions that have taken monster form. Yen Sid calls them the Unversed. As wielders of the Keyblade, you are tasked with striking down any who would upset the balance of light and darkness. I tried to reach Master Xehanort, but all my attempts have failed.'

'Master Xehanort is gone?' Terra asks softly.

'So here we are. I need you two to get this situation under control. Eliminate the Unversed and find Master Xehanort,' the Master tells them,

'I have unlocked the Lanes Between. You may use these forbidden pathways to travel between this world and countless others. Your armor will protect you there. Lastly, remember that the order must be kept. You cannot tell anyone there are other worlds. Now go, and fulfill your duty.'

'Yes, Master,' Terra and Aqua answer in unison.


Terra is the first to turn and leave, but he is halted by Master Eraqus.

The man looks at him with kind eyes, 'Terra, consider this an opportunity. A second chance for you to change my mind.'

Terra looks surprised up at Master Eraqus, 'What?'

The look on the Master’s face softens as he walks towards Terra, 'You must know, I care for you like my own son. If I could have my way, I would name you Master in a second. But how can I, when you are so obsessed with power?'

He sighs softly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, 'Terra, you mustn’t be afraid of losing. Fear leads to obsession with power and obsession beckons the darkness. You must never forget.'


'Thank you, Master,' Terra bows in return, 'I swear I will not fail you again.' There's a smile on his face when he rises. 


For the first time since the ceremony, Terra meets Aqua's gaze and he smiles at her with a nod. Aqua is relieved to see Terra smile and is glad he got another chance to prove himself.

When Terra leaves the room to head out on his mission, Aqua wants to follow him.


'Wait, Aqua, before you depart…'

Aqua spins back to face Eraqus.

'I have one other request of the utmost priority,' he tells her.

Aqua waits curiously, 'Yes?'

'I told Terra this could be a second chance to show the Mark of Mastery, and I meant it,' Master Eraqus pauses briefly,

'However, that flicker of darkness he displayed during the examination, I can sense it runs very deep. If he were to- If those power were to prove too much for him to handle, I want you to bring him back to me at once.'


Aqua looks down at that.

So if Terra fails, she has to bring him back? She doesn’t want to.

He is her friend. She has fate in him.


'It’s for his own good,' Master Eraqus adds upon seeing the hesitant look in her eyes, 'I could not bear to lose any of you to the darkness.'

Aqua couldn’t bear that either. She nods, 'Of course. I would never let that happen. I promise you, I will bring Terra back before that can happen.'

It’s to protect Terra. Aqua looks at him determined, 'And this time, you’ll see that he has what it takes to be a Master. He’s not as weak as you think.'

Master Eraqus smiles at her resolve, 'Thank you, Aqua. Take care.'


When Aqua leaves the room, she sees Ventus running down the hallway. She follows him outside and sees him running up to Terra.

Terra has already activated his armor and leaves on his glider through a portal in the sky.

Ventus is left behind on the ground, a lost look on his face. Then he looks determined and also transforms into his armor-


Oh no-!


Aqua hurries down the stairs to try and stop him, but Ventus is already in the air.


'Wait, Ven!' she calls after him, but Ventus flies off through another portal.

'No! He mustn’t!' Eraqus calls from behind her, looking at Ventus, almost scared.


'You have to bring him back!' Master Eraqus orders Aqua.


He didn’t need to tell her, she was about to go after him anyway. It would be far too dangerous for Ventus to travel worlds on his own.

'Don’t worry Master,' Aqua says as she transforms in her armor.


She hops on her glider and opens a portal to hurry after them.

~~~

It’s hot.

Aqua looks at the barren land in front of her and the sun shines high in the bright blue sky.

What world is this? She looks around for any sign of Terra or Ventus, but she doesn’t see them.

She sees a path leading through the rocky land and decides to follow it, not sure where she will end up.


A shot startles her and Aqua turns in the direction of the sound.

A fight?

She summons her Keyblade and hurries over.


'Noct, watch out!'

'I know! ' 

'W-What the hell are these things!?'

'Stop bitching, start killing!'


Aqua arrives at the scene to see four boys dressed in black surrounded by small, swift dark blue and black creatures.

Aqua can easily sense the darkness radiating from them. These must be the Unversed!

She doesn’t hesitate and moves to stand protectively between the strangers and the Unversed.

‘What, who are you?’ the raven-haired boy asks her.


‘My name is Aqua, let me help.’


The stranger wearing glasses turns to her with a nod, ‘We appreciate your assistance, Aqua.’

To Aqua’s surprise, he summons a lance. Interesting. So they can summon weapons? Does it work the same as summoning Keyblades?

‘Not like we need it though,’ the biggest one of them says, swinging a broadsword over his shoulder as if it weighs nothing, ‘We can handle ourselves.’


He says it with so much confidence that Aqua doesn’t doubt that.

They don’t look like they don’t have any experience with fighting.

On the contrary, they wield their unique weapons with so much ease it looks like they’ve been trained to fight.


She doesn’t have time to talk when the Unversed rush towards them.

Aqua swings her Keyblade at the small creatures. The others fight with all their might, but their weapons simply don’t seem to harm the creatures while Aqua has no trouble striking them down.

So only the Keyblade can beat them?

‘I don’t get it,’ the blond boy pants, using his gun to shoot at the Unversed. His aim is accurate, but the Unversed are not affected by it, ‘Why can’t we beat them!?’

‘Out of the way,’ the raven-haired boy warns them before he throws something at the Unversed.

Immediately, the three boys move out of the way.

The big one quickly pulls Aqua to the side and shields her before the explosion could hit any of them.

When the flames douse, the Unversed are still standing.


The raven’s brows furrow, ‘What? That should have worked.’

This is bad. If their weapons can’t harm the Unversed, then these boys are defenseless against them.

She has to finish this quickly. 

She raises her Keyblade and casts Spellweaver, spinning around between the Unversed and effectively taking them all out.

When they’re all gone, she reverts her Keyblade.


‘You’re using magic… Are you a Glaive? the boy with glasses asks her suspicious, looking her over.

The raven-haired boy groans, 'Leave it to dad to send one after us. Can’t he have a little fate in me?'

‘Well, you are pretty reckless,’ the blond boy grins as he leans his arm on the raven’s shoulder.

‘I am no Glaive,’ Aqua says with a shake of her head, the name unfamiliar to her, ‘As for these creatures, they are called Unversed. I wield a special weapon that can defeat them.'

‘A special weapon? Great, so we’re powerless against those things?' the biggest one of their group asks.

‘Unversed,’ the stranger wearing glasses wonders softly, ‘Could they be a new type of Deamons? Normally, Deamons only appear at night after all.’


‘Anyway, thanks for your help!’ the blond one boy says moving over to Aqua pointing a thumb at himself, ‘My name’s Prompto! These guys are Gladio, Ignis and Pri-’

‘Noctis,’ the raven interrupts him.

‘…Right!’ Prompto smiles sheepishly. Aqua tilts her head a little, with that blond hair and that sheepy grin he reminds her of Ven.

‘What are you doing all the way out here on your own?’ Gladio asks her, crossing his arms, ‘There’s nothing but beasts and those monsters out here.’

‘Are you a hunter per chance?’ Ignis asks.

‘No, I am looking for my friends. Have you perhaps come across two boys here?’ Aqua asks them hopefully.


The group exchanges a look.


‘Nope, sorry. We just completed our bounty and are heading back to the garage,’ Gladio answers.

‘Maybe your friends are there,’ Prompto says, ‘There is a bigger chance they are in Hammerhead than they are all the way out here.’

Aqua smiles, ‘I will look for them there then.’

‘Well, you could come with us,’ Gladio offers, ‘See it as a... repayment for helping us out here. Usually, we don’t make a lady do all the work.’

'Thank you, that would be appreciated,' Aqua smiles at him.


‘He’s at it again,’ Prompto groans as Gladio leads Aqua to Hammerhead.

Ignis lets out a sigh but refrains from commenting any further.

Noctis rolls his eyes at Gladio’s antics, ‘Let’s just go.’

~~~

‘I’m sorry your friends aren’t here Aqua,’ Prompto says, looking around one more time.


Hammerhead isn't that big. If either Terra or Ventus were here, they would have definitely seen them by now.


Aqua shakes her head, ‘Even if they’re not here, I’m sure I will find them.’

She takes her Wayfinder out of her pocket and looks at the star-shaped good luck charm, ‘We all have one, so we can find each other.’

‘I hope you will find them,’ Noctis says.

Ignis nods looking at the sky in the distance, ‘It is getting rather late. We will have to hurry if we want to reach Galdin Quay before sunset.’

Aqua faces him, ‘Golden Key? What is that?

'You have not heard of it?' Ignis asks surprised, 'It is a famous resort at the coast of Leide.'

'Hm,' Aqua thinks, 'Maybe I can find my friends there.’


It sounds like a place they would visit. The chance could be very small, but-


‘Galdin Quay is pretty far from here. You won’t get there by foo-,’ Prompto starts, but turns to the others, ‘Hey! Can’t she come with us to Galdin Quay?’

‘You can’t just invite strangers to join us, Prompto,’ Ignis tells him.

‘But Gladio did so before!’ he says, ‘Besides, we’ll be in trouble if these Unversed things show up, right?’

‘He has a point,’ Gladio says and winks to Aqua, ‘And it’s not like I mind the extra company.’


Prompto makes a strangled noise and glares at Gladio.


Ignis examines Aqua, ‘It is true that she is the only one here who can fight these creatures.’ He then turns to Noctis, ‘It is your call, Noct.’

‘What? Why me?’ Noctis asks and faces Aqua again. She's still smiling and Noctis rubs the back of his head while he averts his gaze, ‘Yeah sure, you can come.’

‘Thank you,' she says gratefully.

‘There’s enough room in the back,’ Gladio says as they head to the now fixed car.

Noctis side-glances Gladio, ‘That’s not what you said when it was just the two of us there. Besides, you take up most space.’

‘Not my fault you’re so scrawny,’ Gladio bumps the raven boys’ shoulder playfully.

‘I have muscle! …You just don’t see it,’ Noctis mutters.


Aqua politely tries to hide her smile behind her hand while Prompto laughs out loud.

~~~

Prompto bounces in the front seat of the car, ‘Yeah! I see the sea!’

Noctis grins, ‘I sea it too.’

‘That is Galdin Quay,’ Ignis tells them from behind the steering wheel.


The view is amazing. They drive down a hill and look right at an ocean underneath a sunset with a luxurious resort lighting up the area.

'It looks beautiful,' Aqua says from her seat between Noctis and Gladio in the back of the car.


The car itself, the Regalia as they call it, is in itself very luxurious. This is her first time ever seeing and driving in one.


But now, her eyes are glued to the view. It looks so calm and peaceful.

The next thing she knows, Ignis has parked the car in the parking spot and they exit in front of the resort.

The cool breeze, the sun low in the sky, the soft seagull’s call in the background, the shimmering water and soft music coming from Galdin Quay... Aqua has never visited a place this beautiful before.

‘It is,' Ignis agrees, 'Yet it pales in comparison to Altissia.'


Altissia sounds lovely then. If Terra and Ventus aren’t here, she would love to go there with them another time.


They walk along a long wooden bridge toward Galdin Quay.

'I’m afraid you’re out of luck.'

An unfamiliar man with red-violet hair takes slow, graceful steps toward them with a smile on his face as his amber eyes land on them.

Even though the sun is shining bright and the weather is great, the man is dressed in many layers.


Despite his seemingly innocent outward appearance, something about this man rubs Aqua the wrong way.

And apparently, it’s not just her. 


‘Are we?’ Noctis asks narrowing his eyes slightly at the man, crossing his arms.

The man points behind him, ‘The boats bring you here?' 

‘What about ‘em?’ Prompto asks curiously.

‘Well, they’ll not take you forth.'

‘What’s your story?’ Gladio asks him, obviously not trusting him.

The man doesn’t look at them as he walks past them, ‘I’m an impatient traveler, ready to turn ship. The ceasefire’s getting us nowhere.’


Ceasefire? So this world is at war? The thought chills Aqua. Is that why these boys are so familiar with fighting?

From what she has seen of this beautiful land so far during their trip here, apart from the Unversed, everything seemed peaceful.

She prays it will stay that way.

Speaking of Unversed, there did not appear many of them. Maybe this world is still relatively safe from the threat. 

The man flips something through the air to Noctis.

In a reflex, Gladio’s arm reaches up and catches it with ease. He examines the strange coin, ‘What’s this?  Some sort of souvenir?’

Prompto looks over his shoulder, his eyes widening, ‘They make those?’

Noctis frowns, ‘What? No.’

The stranger raises his hand in a friendly gesture to Noctis, 'Consider it your allowance.'

Gladio takes a step protectively in front of Noctis and raises his chin to the suspicious stranger, ‘Yeah, and who’s allowing us?’

The man spreads his arms as he takes a step back in a don’t-mind-me-manner, ‘A man of no consequence,’ he says, sounding amused before he turns and leaves them.

Aqua barely catches a glimpse of a sly smile on his face but the others don’t seem to have noticed.

‘Yeah, right,’ Noct scoffs unimpressed.

‘So, you were planning on heading out by boat?’ Aqua asks them.

Gladio nods, ‘We’re heading to Altissia for a wedding.’


A wedding in a place that, according to Ignis, is even more beautiful than Galdin Quay? That is so romantic.


Aqua smiles, ‘Congratulations.’

‘Wha- No, not my wedding.’ Gladio raises his hands quickly, ‘It’s Noct’s wedding.’

Aqua turns to Noctis with a smile, ‘Then, congratulations to you Noctis.’

Noctis looks a little shy as he rubs the back of his neck, ‘Yeah, thanks.’

‘Ahw, look at him blush! He’s so excited to see Lunafreya again!' Prompto teases him, swinging his arm around Noctis’ neck, ‘Well, it’s been a long while since you’ve last seen each other.’

‘I hope she hasn’t got her hopes up,’ Gladio snorts.

Noctis straightens offended and turns to Gladio, ‘Huh? Why not!?’

Prompto starts laughing and Noctis turns his offended gaze to his blond friend.

‘Try and keep it together when you meet her,’ Gladio tells the raven, ruffling his hair.

Noctis looks away, embarrassed by the teasing. Aqua’s soft giggles join the laughter of the others.

~~~

The sunset was beautiful. Aqua was glad she got to see it, watching the sun sink into the ocean. Her new friends left her for a while, something about looking for a gem for "nosy" reporter, but they were back in Galdin Quay before nightfall.

They stand together, leaning on a railing. Prompto taking pictures of both them and the view. Aqua looks up at the sky that turned black, watching the bright stars. 

It was only yesterday that her, Terra and Ven looked up at the stars like this too... She has to continue and look for them.


‘I have to go,’ Aqua tells the others, ‘My friends are not here, so I have to look for them someplace else.’

Noctis frowns worried, ‘Go, now? Are you sure? It’s dangerous out on your own. Especially at night.’

‘I agree,’ Ignis says, ‘Even though you prove to be capable of fighting these monsters, it is dangerous to go out on your own.’

‘Yeah, Daemons,’ Prompto shivers, ‘Don’t like ‘em.’

‘No one does,’ Gladio agrees.


Aqua smiles at all of them, ‘Thank you, but I promise you I will be fine. Good luck on your journey to Altissia. It was nice to meet all of you.’

She turns to Noctis, ‘I hope you have a wonderful wedding.’

‘Thank you, Aqua,’ Noctis thanks her sincerely.

‘Don’t be afraid to visit us again. I could give you my numb-’

‘It was nice meeting you too!’ Prompto waves at her, interrupting Gladio.

‘Take care, and may you find your friends soon,’ Ignis adds.


And with that, Aqua left in the middle of the night.


Traveling to another world in search of her two best friends.

Chapter Text

Ventus lies on his bed. His right arm stretched in the air, swinging his wooden training sword. He pauses to gaze at the carved name in the sword. Terra.

He can’t believe Terra didn't pass the exam. Ventus is happy that Aqua passed, but Terra deserved it too. He wants to comfort his friend, but Terra had told him and Aqua that he needed to be alone for a little while.

Aqua is receiving instructions from Master Eraqus right now, so Ventus decided to stay in his room and wait. He will give Terra some space and he will be there when his friend needs him.


‘Better hurry, Ventus-’


The unfamiliar voice spooks him.

Ventus sits upright in his bed and looks at the source of the voice. A stranger, wearing a silver helmet dressed in a red and black bodysuit, stands on the other side of his room.

He casually leans against Ventus’ desk and his masked face seems to be staring straight at Ventus. It sends chills down Ventus’ spine as he can feel the eyes beneath the mask examine him.

‘Huh? Who are you?’ Ventus asks him, both surprised and suspicious.

He’s never seen someone other than Terra, Aqua, Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort in the Land of Departure. And now this stranger is standing here, in his room.

And when did he get in here? He hasn’t even heard him.



‘Or you’ll never see Terra again,’ the guy finishes as if he hadn’t heard Ventus’ question.

‘What?’ Ventus frowns. Why wouldn’t he see Terra again? They’re friends!

‘Get real. I can see Terra anytime I want!’

‘Like right now?’ the masked boy asks him, ‘He’s leaving you behind and by the time you catch up...’

The boy pauses and Ventus knows he is smirking beneath his mask, even though he can’t see it.

‘He’ll be a different person.’


Ventus stands up and takes a step toward him, looking offended, ‘Look – whoever you are – you don’t know the first thing about Terra.’

He tightens his hold on the wooden training sword, ‘Me and him will always be a team. You trying to pick a fight or what?’

‘Oh grow up,’ the boy mocks, walking past him, brushing his shoulder.


Ventus flinches.


He feels cold. His heart clenches and he feels uneasy. An unfamiliar sensation wraps around him and it gets hard to breathe. He gasps for air and he can’t move.

It hurts. His heart throbs. His body feels so cold, it’s so dark-


With every step the masked boy takes away from him, the feeling gets fainter until it releases Ventus.

As soon as it does, Ventus spins around to face him once more. What was that feeling? 


Before he can say anything, the masked boy looks at him over his shoulder, 

‘You’ll never learn the truth if you don’t go out and look for it yourself.’


The truth? What does he mean? What is it that Ventus doesn’t know?


‘Come on. What could you possibly now when you’re stuck here, looking at nothing but what’s in your tiny world?’

He doesn’t wait for Ventus to respond. A dark corridor appears in front of him and the masked boy leaves through it, leaving Ventus alone again in his room.


What was that all about? And who was that guy?


Ventus rubs his arm, relieved that strange feeling is gone. He had felt so cold and hurt…

All that negativity… is that what darkness is?

He is training to be a Keyblade Master, like Aqua and Terra. So he knows about light and darkness. He knows about it, but he didn’t know what darkness was like.

Yet that negative feeling he got from the boy… it reminds him of days long ago.

Days where he couldn’t wake up. Where he was asleep in the dark for so long.

Days he had forgotten.


Ventus’ head stings and he immediately shakes the thoughts away.

None of that matters now. The only thing that’s important now is Terra.

The strange things that boy said, make it sound like Terra’s in danger. He has to find Terra and warn him.


The sound of bells tolling outside fills the room and rouses Ventus from his thoughts.

Is something wrong!? Are Terra and Aqua okay!?

~~~

‘Terra!’

Ventus hurries down the steps into the Courtyard.


Terra halts and turns around as he hears Ventus call his name.

Ventus pants, looking up at Terra, ‘I…I-!’


‘It’s okay.’


Ventus feels Terra’s big hand ruffle his hair. The blond boy sees Terra’s determined smile and believes that, maybe, it really is okay.

But then, where is he going? What does the alarm mean?

And what was the masked boy going on about?

Would he really not see Terra again?


It confuses him when he realizes that the stranger had gotten such a strong hold on him with his words.

Ventus doesn't know anything about him, yet he has to admit that the masked boy does seem to know about them. 

The moment Terra turns around, Ventus knows.

He knows that he doesn’t want to take the risk of not being able to see Terra again.

He doesn’t want to be left behind as the masked boy had told him.


Terra slaps the piece of armor on his left shoulder and is enveloped in armor. His Keyblade transforms into a glider and he takes off in the sky.

Ventus gasps in awe. He also knows about the armor. It serves to protect Keyblade wielders while crossing worlds.


So does that mean he can that too?

He has to, if he wants to follow Terra.

Ventus doesn’t hesitate and slaps the piece of armor on his left shoulder like Terra did.

He takes a few seconds to examine the armor he’s now wearing before his Keyblade transforms in a glider and he jumps onto it, taking off in the sky after Terra.

~~~

‘Wow!’


Ventus looks around in the big city.

It is nothing like the Dwarf Woodlands and the Castle of Dreams he visited before on his search for Terra. Here, the sun shines bright and many people roam the streets.

He walks through a market place. There are so many people here, it is going to be hard to find Terra.


His thoughts drift off to him. He is worried about his friend.

Before in another world, an old woman had told him that Terra had used his Keyblade and threatened her.

Then in the world after that, there was no sign of him. But he learned the meaning of having a dream so he doesn't regret the trip.

He is glad he met the kind gentle girl that reminded him of Aqua. He hopes she will fulfill her dream.


And now he is here. Ventus stretches. At least he is back to his normal height.

He leaves the busy market and continues walking through an alley until he ends up on a square. He looks around. Which way should he go?

This city looks big and he doesn’t know where he is.

Ventus rubs his forehead. And it’s hot too.


He sees a fountain in the square and halts for a moment. He watches the fountain.

He sees houses and buildings in the distance.

A bright blue sky as if the sun just rose in the morning.

A tall clock tower standing in the-


He blinks.


There's no building like that in the distance. Did he imagine it? 

It must be the heat.

He walks over to the fountain and sits down on the edge, swinging his legs as he looks around.


Where is he supposed to look? He could ask someone if they’ve seen Terra, but that didn’t go so well with the Dwarfs.

And there are so many people here that he doubts anyone will know whether they’ve seen Terra or not.


Then suddenly the ground beneath him starts shaking.


‘Wh-What!?’ he gasps surprised.


Was that an earthquake!?


He jumps up and backs away from the fountain. The shaking beneath his feet calms down and he turns around-

‘Ngh!’

‘Oh, sorry!’ Ventus quickly apologizes.

He was so spooked, he didn’t see the group of guys approach and accidentally ran straight into one of them.


He looks worried at the raven-haired boy who’s holding his head with both hands. He looks like he’s in a lot of pain.


Oh no, did he hit him that hard?


‘What did I… Where was that?’ the boy groans.

‘Noct!?’ a blond boy hurries over to his side with a worried expression.

‘What happened Noctis?’ a boy in glasses asks him.

‘A hole in the ground… something burning… The Meteor?’ the boy called Noctis speaks softly.

‘You saw the Disc of Cauthess?’ the boy with the glasses asks him.


‘Hey, are you alright?’ Ventus asks the hurt boy worried, taking a step closer.


A big guy with a tattoo on his arm places himself in between them as if to shield the raven boy, steadying Noctis by placing his hand on his shoulder.

He briefly looks at Ventus and, apparently deciding the little blond kid standing in front of him isn’t a threat, his sharp gaze softens, ‘He’ll be fine, don’t worry.’


Ventus takes a step back, ‘I’m sorry for causing any trouble.’


‘What?’ the blonde boy, with In Ventus' opinion a funny hairstyle, raises an eyebrow at him and bends down a little,

‘Oh no- this didn’t happen because of you. It’s ‘cause of the earthquakes. We don’t know why, but Noct’s head hurts every time.’

‘I think he must have had a vision,’ the boy with an accent says in a soft voice, but Ventus still managed to hear it.

‘Anyway, we oughta take a closer look at this so-called Disc,’ the big guy says.

‘Then look no further than the outlook,’ the blond one chimes in with a grin, ‘We can use the viewer things!’

‘It would be a start. Let’s see what we could glean from Noct’s condition.’

Ventus tries to test his luck.

'Hey,' he speaks up and they turn to him, 'Uhm, have you maybe seen-'

A shout from the direction of the market interrupts him. The five of them turn to the sound. 


‘What’s going on over there?’ the big guy asks.

Noctis looks in the direction of the market, ‘Let’s check it out.’

The boy with the glasses grabs his shoulder, ‘Noct, are you sure you are-’

‘I’m fine,’ the raven says, ‘Come on.’


The four boys guys hurry in the direction of the market and Ventus follows them, curious as well.

When they arrive there, the market is deserted. All the people that were there before have left.

But why? What happened?


Noctis' eyes widen, ‘Watch out, Prompto!’

In front of the blond boy, small black monsters appear. 

‘Unversed!?’ the boy called Prompto shrieks as he backs away, ‘What do we do now!?’


Unversed?


Ventus loos at the small creatures. Those are the creatures he has seen before in the Dwarf Woodlands and the Caste of Dreams.

So that’s what they’re called. Ventus doesn’t like them. Being near them affects Ventus in a strange way he can’t explain.

It’s like being near that masked boy, but a little less intense.


The ground shakes again, causing Noctis to sink into himself. He groans and grabs his head again. 

Ventus looks over at him curiously. His blond friend is by his side in a flash to check on him.


‘Cover Noct,’ the big guy orders the other two, summoning a broad sword stepping towards the Unversed.

Ventus moves in front of them, ‘Get to safety,’ he tells them as he summons his Keyblade, ‘I will take them.’

‘That blade…’ one of them says.

‘Iggy, come on! Help Noct!’


The four of them run while Ventus starts to swing his Keyblade at the ‘Unversed’.

~~~

That takes care of that. Ventus rubs sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

It wasn't that exhausting, it's just so hot.

Ventus turns around, looking in the direction they guys headed. He hoped this was all of them but he couldn't be too sure.


‘I’d better go check if they’re okay.’

He moves through the alleys and streets, walking in the shadow whenever he could until he heard familiar voices in the distance.

‘Get back here, Noct!’

‘No way! We just left that boy to fight on his own! I’m gonna help him!’

‘But our weapons can’t-’

‘Don’t worry,' Ventus says as he catches up to the group, standing at an outlook of the city, 'They're gone.'


Only when he speaks they notice him approaching.


‘You’re okay,’ the raven-haired boy says, sounding relieved.

‘I thought as much,' the taller boy adjusts his glasses as he examines the Keyblade in Ventus' hands, 'You too wield a special blade that can fight these monsters.'


Huh?


‘Me too…?' Ventus asks hopeful, 'What do you mean?’ Was Terra here?

‘Oh!’ Prompto grins, ‘Iggy must be talking about that girl that helped us before. She said her name’s Aqua.’

‘Aqua’s here!?’ Ventus says surprised, excitedly looking around to see if he could spot her.

‘Not exactly,’ the big guy says, ‘We met her a while back in a different place. She didn't come here with us.’

‘Oh,’ Ventus sighs disappointed, ‘Then she must have gone to another worl- emh place.’


Noctis watches him silently. 

‘Say,' Prompto moves in front of Ventus, 'You don’t happen to be either Ventus or Terra, do you?” the guy asks him with a smile, ‘If so, we’ve been looking for you all over Hammerhead and Galdin Quay!’

Then it’s true! Aqua was here!

Ventus smiles and nods enthusiastically, ‘Yeah! I’m Ventus. Call me Ven.’


So Aqua’s looking for him? He hasn’t seen her since she passed the Mark of Mastery Exam.

Why would she be looking for him? Is it because she thinks Ventus can’t handle himself?

The thought offends Ventus a little. Sure, he is not as strong as Terra and Aqua, but he can fight too!

He thought they both had faith in him.

He had hoped they had…


‘Nice to meet you, Ven! I’m Prompto!’

‘A pleasure to meet you. My name’s Ignis.’

‘Gladio.’

‘And I’m Noctis,' the raven-haired boy's gaze still trained on him, 'Are you sure you’re okay after fighting so many of them?’

‘Ahw Noct!' Prompto teasingly pokes his cheek, 'I didn’t know you not only have a soft spot for cats, but for kids too!’

‘Quit it,’ Noctis rolls his eyes at Prompto.

Ventus smiles. They all seem like good friends.


Oh right!

He was going to ask them if they'd seen-


‘What a coincidence.’


Ventus turns around, together with the group, to face an unfamiliar man. By the looks of it, the group has already met him before.

‘You again?’ Gladio crosses his muscled arms and huffs, ‘I’m not so sure it is.’


Ventus examines the man curiously, he speaks in riddles and has this mysterious air around him… It reminds him a bit of the strange masked boy he met before.

He briefly wonders why this man is dressed in so many layers of clothing. It's nowhere near cold, the sun shines bright too.


The man smirks as he takes a few steps toward them. His amber eyes glide over all of them, halting on Ventus.

‘Oh?' he muses, 'Have you traded your female companion?’

His eyes look further down and land on Ventus’ Keyblade.

A look of realization appears on the man's face as he slowly walks up to Ventus, ‘Ah, interesting. You wield a rare power, young one.’


Ventus gazes curiously up at the man. Does he know about the Keyblade…?


‘But be careful,’ he says, his voice low, ‘Using your power to save others… it will consume you in the end.'

He bends his head a little to meet Ventus' gaze properly, 'There is always a price to pay for saving others,' he says with a smile that doesn’t match the forlorn look in his eyes, ‘I would know.’


A price to pay… for saving others? Something about that man bothers Ventus in the way that the boy in the mask and the Unversed bother him.

There's something unsettling about his gaze and there's something hidden in his smile that Ventus cant recognize.

The man's presence alone unnerves Ventus but he tries his best not to show it.  


‘What was that about?’ Prompto whispers confused as he tries to make sense of the man's words.

‘Beats me,’ Noctis mutters back.


The man breaks out of his thoughts and turns to all of them, an amused smile playing on his lips, ‘Aren’t nursery rhymes curious things?’

Noctis looks up at him with a calm face and doesn’t answer.

'Like this one, ' the stranger continues, ‘From the deep the Archeon calls-’ his gaze falls on a large meteor in the distance as he speaks.

Ventus follows his gaze. The view is beautiful.

The sky is bright blue and the meteor, that looks like a giant crystal, seems to pierce the sky. 

‘Yet on deaf ears the god’s tongue falls. The King made to kneel, in pain he crawls,’ the man walks past them, taking the time to examine all of them from the corner of his eye.

Ventus looks confused. He doesn’t understand a word of what he just said.


What is it with people talking to him in riddles lately?


‘So, how do we keep him on his feet?’ Prompto asks him, catching on really quickly.

‘You only need to heed the call,' the man answers with his back turned to them, 'Visit the Archeon and hear his plea.' 

‘Archeon?’ Ventus repeats softly, unfamiliar with the name. 

Then the man turns around and locks eyes with them with that smile again, ‘I can take you.’

Oh, so he offers to take them to the so-called Archeon? 

That’s very kind!


‘I dunno,’ Noctis whispers softly to his friends.

‘What? Why not?” Ventus asks him confused.

Gladio raises an eyebrow at Ventus, ‘You know this guy?’

‘...No,’ Ventus admits.

‘Neither do we. So why the hell should we trust him?’ Gladio says, keeping a careful eye on the strange man, ‘This is the second time we’ve met him. It’s as if he always knows where we are and where we want to go.’

The man chuckles, apparently noticing their hesitance, ‘You could  head there without me, but I doubt you’re going to get anywhere with that blockade.’

Ignis’ eyes narrow, ‘Blockade?’

The man moves toward them again, ‘Why yes, the empire has blocked off the road. I assure you, you won’t be able to go there without my help,' the man spreads his arms and tilts his head to the side, 'Now, what’s your decision?’

‘Well, it sounds like we don’t really have a choice,’ Noctis mutters softly.

Prompto speaks up softly so only the five of them can hear it, ‘We take a ride…’

‘-But watch our backs…’ Gladio finishes.

‘Fair enough,’ Ignis agrees.

They look back at the man.

‘Fine,’ Noctis answers.

In return for his answer, the man smiles content, ‘I’m not one to stand on ceremony, but such an occasion calls for an introduction. Please, call me Ardyn,’ he introduces himself as he walks off to his car.

The group turns to Ventus.

‘Well, it was nice meeting you Ven,’ Prompto waves.

Ventus smiles and waves back at them, ‘Same here! Take care guys!’

If Aqua isn’t here, then she probably hasn’t found Terra either. So then he should go and-


‘Just a moment.’


Ardyn stops their goodbye by suddenly walking up to them, ‘Why not let the young fighter join us? I don’t know if you heard, but strange monsters suddenly appear everywhere. They’re like little Daemons that can exist in daylight.’

‘Right,’ Gladio says, remembering something and examining Ventus, ‘He is the only one here who can fight them since he has that weapon.’
 
‘The Keyblade?’ Ventus asks. He can fight the Unversed, but he didn’t know only Keyblade wielders could fight them.

‘Oh!' Ventus says in realization, 'So that’s why you all ran away! I saw you summon a sword earlier, but when the Unversed appeared, you didn’t fight and ran instead.’

‘What!? You thought we were cowards!?’ Prompto asks offended.

Gladio snorts, ‘Says you.’

Prompto ignores the teasing and instead focuses on answering Ventus, ‘We fight a lot against Daemons, but our weapons are useless against those Unversed things.’

‘We could use your help,’ Noctis says thinking it over, ‘If you’re fine with it, you’re welcome to join us,’ Noctis invites Ventus.

‘What? Noctis, he is but a boy,’ Ignis protests, ‘Special weapon or not, we can’t just ask him to fight for our sake.’


Ventus’s brows furrow at that.

Is that what they think?

…Do Aqua and Terra think that too?

Despite all his training and practice?


‘I’m not a child anymore!’ Ventus shakes his head and looks up at them, now even more determined to help them, ‘I can take care of myself, I’ll prove it! Please, let me help!’

The boys watch him hesitantly but no one objects. That's good enough. They won't regret it.

‘Perfect,’ Ardyn chuckles, ‘Looks like he will be joining us then.’ The man turns around, ‘So we take two vehicles. A convoy of sorts. Though my automobile may pale next to your Regalia, she’s never let me down.'

He walks towards the parking spot and the others follow him, 'If it would prove too much to seat the five of you in the Regalia, there’s more than enough room in my-’

‘No thanks,’ Gladio declines before the man even finishes, ‘We’re staying together.’

He doesn’t even seem to care to hide his distrust.

Ardyn doesn’t look surprised or offended and simply shrugs, ‘Well then. With that decided, let us be off.’ 

~~~

‘So… where exactly are we going?’ Ventus asks the other boys from where he's seated in the back of the car between Noctis and Gladio.


He still didn’t understand anything about the riddle. They only thing he understands is that he is coming along, to wherever they’re going, to fight Unversed in case they show up.

He can’t wait to tell Aqua and terra about his adventures when he gets back!


‘We’re heading to the Disc of Cauthess, the meteor over there,’ Ignis explains, keeping his gaze on the road while he drives, ‘It’s where the Archeon resides.’

Archeon, Ardyn had mentioned that name earlier.

‘What exactly is an Archeon?’ 

‘What?’ Noctis asks, looking at him confused, ‘You don’t know?’

Ventus looks away from their suspicious gazes, especially Gladio’s is intimidating, ‘No- I uhm… I don’t.’

‘He’s one of the Astrals,’ Ignis explains from the driver's seat, briefly glancing at Ventus through his rearview mirror as he explains, 'They are colossal beings that protect Eos.’


Eos? Is that the name of this World?


‘There are six of them. Titan the Archeon. Ramuh the Fulgurian, Leviathan the Hydraen, Shiva the Glacian, Ifrit, the Infernian and Bahamut the Draconian.’

‘I see,’ Ventus says, ‘And why are we going to visit the Archeon?’

‘Because he wants to speak to me,’ Noctis answers, looking outside of the window towards the meteor, ‘He has been calling to me in my vision.’

‘Really!?’ Ventus asks amazed, ‘Then… it must be really important.’

'It is,' Gladio snorts, 'Can you keep a secret, kid?'

Ventus nods immediately, 'Of course!'

'Ahw, he reminds me of Talcott,' Prompto smiles at him from the passenger seat.


Talcott? 


'Well you see,' Gladio tells Ventus, 'Noct here’s actually the Crown Prince.’

‘A Prince!?’ Ventus gasps in awe as he looks at Noctis who turns his head away at Ventus' wide-eyed stare.

Ventus looks the raven-haired boy over and tilts his head,  'But… but he doesn’t look like a prince at all!'

He quickly closes his mouth, hoping he didn’t offend the Prince.

Gladio laughs at that, ‘I like this little guy.’


Noctis, on the other hand, rests his head on the palm of his hand and gazes outside once more.

‘Sorry Noctis,’ Ventus apologizes for upsetting Noctis, ‘Oh, uhm, sorry Your Highness,’ he quickly corrects himself.

‘Don’t call me that,’ Noctis tells him, finally meeting Ventus' gaze, ‘It’s just Noctis.’

‘Okay,’ Ventus says unsure. He's never met royalty before. Is it really okay to treat him so.. normal?

‘Noctis is the Chosen King,' Ignis explains, 'That means he holds a strong connection to the Astrals. He will even be able to summon them when he forms a pact with them.'

‘Wow! That’s so cool!’ Ventus bounces lightly in his seat.

‘If we can get there, though,’ Gladio sighs, ‘The Empire’s probably expecting us. We’ll have to be careful.’

‘The Empire’s our enemy,’ Noctis explains when he sees Ventus opening his mouth to ask another question.

‘They attacked us and destroyed our home...' His gaze darkens briefly, 'So now, we’re going to take it back.’

‘Hell yeah!’ Prompto grins in agreement with his royal friend, ‘The first stop is Titan!’

~~~

The Regalia pulls up next to Ardyn’s car in front of a big closed gate.


‘We’re here,’ Ardyn tells them.

Noctis sighs, eyeing the gate in front of them wearily, ‘Better not be a set-up.’

‘Have I given you any reason to doubt me?’ Ardyn asks us from his car.

‘You don’t really inspire confidence,’ Prompto bluntly tells him.

Gladio nods, ‘Yeah, you’re not very straightforward.’

‘So, is he on your side?’ Ventus asks them, confused by their reactions. They don’t seem to trust him, yet this man has helped them now, hasn’t he?

‘That’s what we wanna know,’ Gladio answers, watching Ardyn carefully.

Ardyn just chuckles amused and calls out to the gate, ‘Hello! It’s me! Be so kind as to open up!’


The gate slowly opens in response.


‘Wow, that worked?’ Prompto asks surprised.

‘I may not look like much, but I do have some influence,' Ardyn smiles at them, 'Aren’t you glad we came together?’

No one answers.

He chuckles once again, turning to Noct and making a mock bow before him, ‘Your audience with divinity lies ahead.’

‘You’re leaving?’ Prompto asks him confused.

Ventus looks surprised. He offered to bring them all the way here and he didn’t even have any business here?

That is really nice of him. He didn’t even want anything in return. The others look suspicious of him though. 

Ardyn looks at all of them, ‘I drop you at the Archeon’s open door, and with that, bid you farewell.’

Noctis starts the engine again and we drive through the gate.

‘I’ve met some weirdos,’ Gladio says as they’re out of hearing range of Ardyn.

Ignis nods, ‘I hope we never meet that one again.’

~~~

They weren’t kidding when they said the Archeon is colossal.

Titan is gigantic. It is the most impressive being Ventus has ever seen.

He doesn’t have much time to take the being in though as he is dealing with the last Unversed. He is glad he decided to go with them.

Wave after wave of Unversed showed up. He’s sure he has already defeated more than one hundred of them. It is so hot here, it makes it even harder to fight and to focus.

He uses a Blizzaga spell to freeze the remaining Unversed.


The five of them had split up. Noctis and Gladio went one way, Prompto and Ignis went a different way and Ventus went towards the big group of Unversed that had gathered in front of the Archeon.

The Empire, their enemy as Noctis had told him before, had shown up unexpectedly.

His four new friends had decided to take them out and Ventus would get rid of the Unversed.

The fact that the five of them met up again in front of the Archeon, is proof that they succeeded.


‘Everyone still here?’ Noctis asks them, after pulling his sword out of an enemy fighter that looks closer to be a robot.

‘Yeah,’ Ventus calls as he watches the last Unversed disappear before walking over to them.

‘Yep, still here,’ Gladio assures him.

‘If a little battered,’ Ignis fills in.

Prompto sighs relieved, ‘So it’s over now?’


As if on cue the ground starts shaking. Titan begins to speak in his loud incomprehensible voice. The voice is loud like thunder and Ventus can’t make out a single word.

‘What – what is it now?’ Noctis asks the Archeon annoyed. The giant being stares back at them with an intent gaze.

'What is he doing?' Ignis askes confused.


Then out of nowhere a soothing yellow light surrounds Titan, then the same light surrounds Noctis.

Noctis lets out a startled yelp as he looks up at the Archeon with a gaze of understanding, 'That was… Luna. You spoke with her? That’s why- Argh!'

Titan starts glowing himself and the light blinds all of them. Ventus can shield his eyes just in time. When he turns around, he sees enemy airships drop from the sky.

It’s as if Titan’s light damages them…

When Ventus notices that the light fades, he turns back to Titan.

But the Astral is no longer there.

Ventus eyes widen as he looks around for any sight of the gigantic being, but the Archeon is gone.


‘What just happened?’ Ventus asks confused.

‘I have no idea,’ Prompto says sounding just as surprised.

‘Luna was here…' Noctis says, 'Titan helped us by getting rid of the enemy reinforcements.'

‘At least that’s good news,’ Gladio says.

‘Let’s get out of here before the enemy will return,’ Ignis says as a rock starts to crumble.

Prompto nods, ‘Right. It’s over now so we let’s go.’


Okay then, it's over. Ventus fulfilled his task to protect from the Unversed.

Now, he has to continue looking for Terra.


Ventus looks hesitant, ‘Are you guys fine on your own? I still need to look for my friend.’

Gladio turns to him and smiles, ‘Yeah, we’re good. Thanks to you.’

‘We are grateful for your help, Ventus,’ Ignis smiles.

'You can call me Ven,' Ventus reminds them with a smile, 'We're friends now, right?'

'Yeah we are, Ven,' Prompto walks towards Ventus and raises his hand in a high five, ‘It was nice to meet you, buddy!’

Ventus high fives him with a grin, ‘No sweat! It was fun hanging out with you guys.’


Noctis moves over to stand in front of Ventus and claps his hand on his shoulder.

‘Thanks for your help,’ he smiles at Ventus, ‘You shouldn’t keep your friends waiting.’

Gladio scoffs, ‘You’re one to talk. You make us wait plenty before you decide to wake up in the morning.’

‘Or when you’re fishing,’ Prompto chimes in.

Noctis rolls his eyes but there’s a smile on his lips. He doesn't deny their claims either. 

Ventus laughs. The four of them must be really close friends. He can see that they all really care about each other.

'Oh! And since we're friends-' Prompto pulls out his camera, 'You mind taking a picture with us?'

Ventus blinks surprised but nods, 'Sure!'


Prompto quickly places the camera on a tripod before pulling the five of them together and striking a pose.

There was a flash and the picture was taken. 

Prompto grabs his camera again and grins, 'Sweet! A shame we don't have one with Aqua though.'

'No worries,' Ventus assures him, 'When I find them, we will come back here again and we can take another picture together!'

'And I will introduce you to Terra too,' Ventus smiles with his hands behind his head, 'I'm sure you'll like him. He's really cool!'

'That would be great,' Prompto smiles.


He hopes he finds them soon. Ventus had promised Terra that he would be there for him when he needs him. So he has to find him quickly.


‘I’m glad I got to meet all of you,’ Ventus tells them as he turns around with a wave and leaves.

He moves behind a large rock so he’s sure no one can see him before he changes in the armor. One of the basic lessons he learned is to keep the world order.

He can’t just travel to another world in front of others. They’re not supposed to know that there are other worlds. It has to stay secret.

He hops onto his glider and takes off, wondering what world he’ll end up in next and hoping that Terra will be there.

Chapter Text

Terra watches Cinderella leave the castle in a hurry when the clock sounds twelve times.

When he does, he unexpectedly sees Aqua standing in the hall.

‘Aqua!’ Terra calls out surprised.

Hearing her name, Aqua turns to him and smiles as she sees him, ‘Terra!’

Terra hasn’t seen her since they received their mission from Master Eraqus. He walks down the stairs towards the new Keyblade Master.

He is not the least bit surprised that Aqua passed the exam. He is proud of her for fulfilling her dream to become a Master and one day, Terra will too.


But first, he needs to find Master Xehanort.

Before Terra left on his mission, the man had told him that Terra should learn to channel the darkness instead of controlling it.

He had failed the exam because he couldn’t control it, according to Master Eraqus. Master Xehanort’s words are the opposite.

He had wanted to ask the old master more, but the Keyblade Master left right before the bells sounded in the Land of Departure.

So while fulfilling his mission to protect the worlds from the Unversed, he is also searching for Master Xehanort.

He hasn’t found the man yet, but he knows he has been here.

Terra has seen what Master Xehanort has done in the worlds he visited. It is like he has been stirring up darkness.

That goes against Master Eraqus’ teachings. It makes Terra wonder if what Master Xehanort had told him before is true.

He needs to talk to him and ask him. He also wonders if Master Xehanort knows about this ‘masked boy’ he heard about.

He is about to ask Aqua if she has seen Master Xehanort when he notices the worried look on her face.


Concern wells up in Terra as he places a hand on his friends’ shoulder.

‘What’s wrong, Aqua?’

She relaxes a little at the comforting hand and looks up at him, ‘Terra… Ven ran away from home.’

Terra stares at her in shock, ‘What?’

Ven ran away? But why?!

‘I think he left to go find you,’ Aqua answers his unspoken question, ‘Do you have any idea why?’

‘No…’ Terra thinks back. After he failed the Mark of Mystery Exam and was given this mission, he briefly saw Ventus in the Courtyard.

The boy seemed worried about him-

‘Actually… Just before I left, he tried to tell me something,’ Terra frowns.

Whatever Ventus wanted to tell him was apparently so important that Ventus left the Land of Departure to go after him.

Terra sighs, ‘I should have listened to what he had to say.’


He had assumed Ven merely wanted to cheer him up. So he had Ventus that he was okay and left. But apparently Ventus had wanted to tell him something else.

‘I see,’ Aqua says, ‘If you do find him, be sure to send him back home.’

Terra nods, ‘Of course.’

It’s dangerous out here after all. Ven does not have enough fighting experience.

He is talented in fighting with a Keyblade, that’s for sure. He wields the weapon with so much ease, it feels like he has been wielding it for a very long time.

When he woke up from his coma, his Keyblade had been the only thing that felt familiar to the boy. They couldn’t ask Ventus about it though, because he doesn’t remember his past.

Terra does not want to see Ventus like that again. The boy looked so broken back then, like an empty shell. His eyes were dull and he almost never spoke.

The complete opposite of the bright, sweet boy they’ve come to love.

Terra will keep both Ventus and Aqua safe but he knows that Aqua can take care of herself. After all, she earned the Mark of Mastery. She has proven that she is stronger than him.

But Ven, the young boy is like his little brother. He doesn't even want to think about Ven encountering these Unversed on his own.

He is not saying Ventus is weak, he would just prefer it if he stayed home, safe and sound, and Terra would handle those monsters himself.


Of course, he will bring Ventus home.

So now he has to find Master Xehanort and look for Ven. Then he will get some answers.

~~~

After traveling to more worlds, he finally got his answers at the Keyblade Graveyard.

Apparently, Xehanort had been trying to keep the light in the worlds safe from the masked boy called Vanitas.

According to Master Xehanort, Vanitas is the darkness that was once in Ventus’ heart. In the past, Xehanort had stripped that part away to save Ventus and so Vanitas was born.

But because of that, Ventus fell into a coma and lost his memories. Vanitas had escaped and is now spreading the Unversed in the different worlds.

When Xehanort told Terra that Vanitas was most likely in Radiant Garden, Terra hurried to get there.


When he encountered a giant Unversed in Radiant Garden, he hadn’t expected Aqua to be there.

And he also hadn’t expected that Ventus would be there too. Maye it was a coincidence.

Or maybe their Wayfinders really helped them find their way back to each other.


He wanted to hear their stories, but the giant Unversed kept all their attention on him for now. Only after they defeated the monster, they could talk freely.

‘Terra!’

‘Ven! Now!’

‘C’mon!’

They dealt the finishing blow at the same time and watched the Unversed fade away.

‘Got ‘im,’ Terra says as the Unversed vanishes.

‘We make a good team,’ Aqua smiles, relaxing a little now that they’re all together.

‘Sure do,’ Ventus grins walking up to them, ‘Oh yeah! I got you these tickets!’

Terra looks curiously at him, ‘For what?’

Ventus pulls two tickets from his pocket and shows them to the other two, ‘Lifetime passes to Disney Town.’

He hands them out to them, ‘He said to…’ his gaze falters, ‘He said to take two grown-ups.’

Aqua laughs, ‘You mean us?’

Terra smiles, seeing Ventus’ pouty face and Aqua smiling.

‘Listen Ven,’ Aqua’s tone sounding serious, ‘We need to get you home.’

‘It’s okay, Aqua!’ Ven tells her, ‘I can take care of myself!’

The boy gestures excitedly with hands, ‘You have no idea what I’ve seen! I’ve made some new friends and fought this giant stone man!’

‘A giant stone man? That sounds dangerous,’ Aqua says softly with a hint of worry while she and Terra smile fondly at the boy.

‘It was, but I’ve become a lot stronger! And trust me,’ Ven continues with a grin, ‘That guy in the mask his history. He’ll never bad-mouth Terra again.’

What!?


Terra’s eyes widen. He grabs Ventus by his shoulder, looking at him intently, ‘You saw that boy in the mask?’

Ventus seems surprised by his reaction, ‘Y-Yes?’

‘Vanitas,’ Terra’s mutters, remembering what Master Xehanort had told him.


If Vanitas really is the darkness that was inside Ventus, then Ventus must stay away from him.

‘Ven,’ Terra decides, ‘You let Aqua take you home.’

Ventus looks like a kicked puppy and Terra feels guilty but is still convinced that is the best way to keep Ven safe.

‘No way,’ Ventus pleads with a shake of his head, ‘I wanna go with you guys.’

‘You can’t. We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don’t want you to get hurt.’

‘And what is this dangerous task, Terra?’ Aqua asks him.

Terra turns to her surprised at the disapproving tone in her voice.

‘It doesn’t sound like what the Master told you to do.’

Terra frowns in thought, ‘It might be a different route, but I’m fighting the darkness.’

‘I’m not so sure,’ Aqua says, casting her gaze down, ‘I’ve been to the same worlds as you and I’ve seen what you’ve done. You shouldn’t put yourself so close to the darkness.’

Terra looks shocked at Aqua.

He thought she trusted him… Is it because his darkness took over during the Mark of Mastery exam? Does she not believe in him anymore now?

And what she has seen in the other worlds…

Doesn’t she trust him?

Or is it-

‘Listen to yourself Aqua!’ Ventus tells her, ‘Terra would never-’

‘You mean you’ve been spying on me?’ Terra asks her, ‘Is that what he said to do? The Master’s orders.’

The guilty look in Aqua’s eyes says enough, ‘He was only…’

‘Aqua…,’ Ventus sounds disappointed and Terra can’t deny feeling betrayed.

So this ‘chance’ Master Eraqus has given him most likely does not mean anything. The Master sent Aqua after him to keep him in check.

He had truly believed they’d trust him. Both his father figure and his oldest friend.

But he was wrong.

‘I get it,’ Terra says and turns around.

‘Terra!’ he hears Ventus run after him.

‘Just stay put!’ he says, ‘I’m on my own now, all right?’

‘Terra, please. Listen!’ Aqua says, ‘The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried.’

But Terra doesn’t listen to them anymore as he walks away.

He will prove that they can trust him.

He will set this right.

~~~

Terra looks around in the new world he ended up in.

It is one big chaos. What appeared to have been a beautiful city once, now comes crashing down all around him.

The ground shakes, giant vehicles fly over in the sky. Smoke and fire rise from buildings and far off in the distance, he can make out a giant creature that looks like a sea serpent.

What is going on here?

Before he has time to try and make sense of the situation, Unversed appear in front of him. With ease, Terra summons his Keyblade and takes them out.

‘Oh my, another wielder of the key.’

Another wielder..?

Terra looks up at that. A man walks up to him, wine red hair, wearing a long layered coat with a scarf and a hat. Golden eyes stare at him and vaguely remind Terra of Master Xehanort.

‘You have seen someone else wielding it?’ Terra asks him. Maybe Master Xehanort was here.

The man smiles, ‘Perhaps I have.’

The man steps closer towards Terra, taking in their surroundings, ‘What could bring someone like you here in this time of war?’

‘War…,’ Terra repeats. He figured as much. ‘Why are you fighting?’

‘Why?’ the man looks amused at the question, ‘I suppose I could tell you, but it is quite the long tale.’

Terra eyes him. The man doesn’t look like a fighter. He doesn’t even wear armor and he does not appear to carry a weapon either.

‘I have time,’ Terra says. He wants to know what’s going before he acts, especially since it is war.

‘Let me spare you the horrific details,’ the man looks off into the distance in the direction of the sea serpent as he speaks, a forlorn look in his eyes,

‘I was supposed to be King. But before I could, both the love of my life and my kingdom were taken from me by the one I called my brother.’

Terra stares at the man. He’s not lying. That must have been horrible.

To have someone you trust as much as your own brother steal everything from you…

The only one that is like a brother to him is Ventus and Terra would never hurt him. Just like Ventus would never hurt him either.

The man turns back to Terra, ‘Now, I will step forward and sit that throne again.’

His gaze shifts back into a smile as he regards Terra, ‘But enough about me, what brings you here?’

‘I am looking for a man named Xehanort. He also wields a Keyblade. Do you know him?’

The stranger tilts his head in thought, ‘I can’t say I do. However, I saw someone else wield a key like that a while ago.’

He looks at Terra as he’s recalling the memory, ‘A young boy, spirited but innocent. He helped get rid of those “Unversed”.’

Terra’s gaze sharpens. He knows only one person who fits that description.


‘Ventus was here?’

The man looks like he remembered something, ‘Ah yes, Ven, I believe they called him.’

Terra takes a look around the war zone. This place is anything but safe for Ven.

The man shakes his head, ‘It was somewhere else, the little fighter didn’t get involved in this war. But he was a big help fighting these accursed creatures.' 

'Say, since you wield a blade like his, could you perhaps provide assistance while you’re here? There’s already plenty of fighting going on without these black pests in the way.’

‘Of course,’ Terra says.


Ven has helped him before, so why shouldn’t he?

The man smiles pleased, ‘Excellent.’

He points in a directions towards the ruined streets, ‘Over there past a few streets, the commander will soon show up. I would like you to guard him from the Unversed.’

‘Will do,’ Terra says and heads in the direction.

‘Oh, and should they suspect you of being an enemy, just tell them you were sent by “Ardyn”.’

‘Ardyn,’ Terra repeats, ‘Got it.’

Ardyn smiles and waves as Terra heads in the direction to the commander. When Terra looks over his shoulder, the man is no longer there.

~~~

Terra enters a square and sees two men dressed in armor walking.

‘Have you located the Ring yet, Commander? And what of Lunafreya?’ A man with silver hair dressed in a long white and silver coat asks a shorter man walking behind him.

‘Both, High Commander,’ the small man answers, ‘But our forces are unable to extract either at present. We’ve no way of approaching the altar so long as the Archeon stands in our way.’

Archeon? What is that?

‘Even the gods are on his side…’ the High Commander frowns.

So this Archeon is some kind of god?

Bit by bit he learns a little more about this new world.

There does not appear to be a sight of Master Xehanort. But Master Eraqus had tasked him and Aqua with guarding the lights of the worlds from darkness.

The Unversed are here and that still means they could be in danger. He should fight the creatures and prove to Aqua and Master Eraqus that he can be trusted.

Terra decides to walk up to the strangers and announce his presence.


The two men turn to him with suspicion in their eyes. Not unexpected.

‘Halt, stranger,’ the silver-haired man approaches him as he examines him, ‘State your business.’

‘My name is Terra,’ he tells them, ‘I am sent by a man called Ardyn to offer you help against the Unversed.’

‘Did he?’ The small man doesn’t look happy as he mentions Ardyn, ‘I never know what that man is planning.'

He looks back at the taller man, ‘What will you do, Sir?’

The High Commander, a silver-haired man, looks straight at Terra and Terra can see his eyes are heterochromatic. One blue and the other purple.


‘If the Chancellor sent you, I suppose it must be in our best interest. The “Unversed” are the new type of Daemons that appeared during the day. We have not yet discovered how to get rid of them.’

‘I wield a special weapon that can defeat them,’ Terra explains, summoning his Keyblade as proof.

The High Commander’s eyes narrow as he steps closer, his eyes shifting from the Keyblade to Terra, ‘Is that magic? Lucian magic?’

Terra has no idea what that means, ‘No. It’s a rare, special kind of magic that is bestowed upon only a few individuals.’

As far as he knows, only him, Aqua, Ven, Master Eraqus, Master Xehanort and Vanitas are the only ones who can wield a Keyblade.

The High Commander is about to ask him something else when the Sea serpent in the distance shrieks.

The sounds rings through their ears and shakes the buildings.

When Terra looks up again, he can no longer see the giant creature in the distance.

Only a bright beam of light shines into the sky.

‘What should we do now, High Commander? If they completed the rite-’

The High Commander looks at the bright light, ‘Neither the King or the Oracle will escape with their lives if the fighting continues.’

He closes his eyes in thoughts before he opens them again, ‘Order a full retreat. I’m going in alone.’

‘B-But Sir-!’

‘I assume you’re already familiar with how I got this arm?’ The High Commander holds his left arm out to the small man and only now Terra sees it is a prosthetic.

‘Yes Sir.’

‘Then you must also know the Ring is worthless without one who can wield it.’

So there is a Ring that has special powers that cannot be wielded by just anyone?

‘Terra,’ the High Commander addresses him, ‘You are to accompany me and get rid of the Unversed on our way to the Altar.’

Terra nods. This Altar is supposedly the place where the light shines from. Could that be this world’s light? If so, he has to protect it.

The two of them make their way through the ruined city. What’s left of the buildings standing and the bridges that cross over canals show that it must have been a beautiful city once.

As they get closer, they can clearly see a giant stone man in the distance that smashes flying ships from the sky.

No way, he wonders briefly. Ventus has been here before and he mentioned a giant stone man.

There’s no way Ven fought that one, right?

He had thought that Ven had been exaggerating. But he doubts that now.

Maybe he does underestimate him a little.

The High Commander calling out his name snaps him out of his thoughts and they continue.

On their way, Terra does his job and shields the High Commander from the Unversed, easily taking them out.

During his fights, he notices the High Commander watching him curiously.

‘How did you obtain power like that?’ the man asks interested.

Terra turns to him, not sure how he should answer that.

The order between the world’s must be kept so he cannot tell him too much.


‘It is magic that comes from one’s heart.’

‘From one’s heart?’ the man asks him, watching as Terra’s Keyblade disappears in a flicker of light. ‘It is light,’ he says, ‘Like Lunafreya’s.’

‘Lunafreya?’ Terra repeats.

‘My sister,’ the says spinning around and quickly moving on, ‘She is at the altar. We must hurry.’

Lunafreya. Could she be this world’s light?

The High Commander halts when sounds of a fight close by catch his attention. Terra follows his gaze.

A big robot seems to be fighting someone a few streets away.

‘Calligo,’ the High Commander grits his teeth as he recognizes the robot, ‘What is he doing!? I ordered a full retreat!’

He is about to rush towards the fight when they’re surrounded by Unversed.

‘I’ll take care of them,’ Terra tells him, falling in his fighting stance, ‘Go!’

The High Commander heads towards the side street, ‘When you’re done, head to the altar and protect Lunafreya.' 

‘I will.’

The man nods at him, ‘You have my thanks.’ Then he leaves in the direction of the giant robot and Terra is left fighting the Unversed.


A while later when the waves of Unversed are gone, there is no sign of the High Commander anymore.

He walks off in the direction they saw the robot. When he enters the square, it is clear that a fight had taken place there.

The High Commander wasn’t there, the only thing he found were bodies of robots lying around.

And the body of the small man that had been there with the High Commander.

Did the enemy get him?

Terra knelt down next to him and placed his fingers on the man’s neck. No pulse.

Terra frowns. Maybe if he had gotten there sooner, he could have avoided this. He closes his eyes in a small prayer and gets up.

He was worried about the High Commander.

If he made it out of the fight safely, he must be headed to the Altar by himself to protect Lunafreya.

Hopefully, both the High Commander and his sister will be safe.

~~~

Terra took a long time making his way to the ruined city, fighting Unversed.

Some ways were inaccessible because of crumbled buildings or channels so he had to find another way around which cause him to run into more Unversed.

But now he could tell he was close. The bright light in the distance is very close. He is almost there. When he looks back up at the bright light, he sees that it’s slowly fading.

He hurries but not much later, the light is completely gone. That bodes ill. It starts to rain and Terra gets more worried by the second.

He is about to rush through the last street towards the altar when he hears footsteps run up behind him.

He turns around to face the newcomers. They both look tired and worn from fighting.

‘Out of the way!’ the big one snarls hurried, holding a broadsword over his shoulder.
Terra narrows his eyes.

The smaller blond stranger doesn’t look like much of a threat, but the bigger one with the scar over his eyes does.


They could be enemies.

‘Whose side are you on?’ Terra asks them.

If they have ill meanings towards the High Commander and his sister, he must stop them.

Terra examines them but their clothing does not match up with the armor the High commander, that smaller man or the robots wear.

These strangers are dressed in black.

‘Whose side?’ the blond repeats confused before taking a step forward, ‘We’re here to save Noct and Iggy!’

Terra doesn’t know those names.

The big guy moves in front of the blond, placing himself between Terra and the blond with a scowl on his face, ‘We’re definitely not with the Empire if that’s what you’re asking.’

Terra narrows his eyes. So they’re enemies after all.

He summons his Keyblade, ‘Then, I can’t let you trough.’ He takes on a fighting stance.

‘Wait-!’ The blonde’s eyes widen as he looks at his Keyblade, ‘Isn’t that-’

‘Well done!’

Terra looks up and sees the man from before, Ardyn, walk up to them, slowly clapping his hands.

He turns to Terra and nods, ‘Great work getting rid of these Unversed for us. Your task is done.’

Terra straightens and lowers his Keyblade a little, ‘It is?’

‘So he’s with you!?’ the big man growls at Ardyn.

‘Where are Noct and Ignis!?’ the blond one asks Ardyn desperate and angry, ‘What have you done with them!?’

Ardyn ignores them and continues talking to Terra, ‘The High Commander is at the altar, as is the Oracle. You’re done here. I will go and greet them.’

He walks past Terra towards the altar.

‘No!’ the blond boy rushes forward and readies his gun, aiming at Ardyn. Terra moves in front of him and blocks him with his Keyblade, making the boy hesitate.

He doesn’t seem to want to fight Terra.

‘I take it back,’ Ardyn says, not looking back at them, ‘You’re not yet done here. Please stop these two from interfering. They pose a threat to the High Commander.’

‘Yeah, right!’ The big guy glares angrily, ‘Like you don’t!’

‘Oh, no need to worry,’ this time Ardyn does look at them over his shoulder and smiles, ‘I will take good care of them.’

As Terra turns back to face the two enemy fighters, he misses the sinister look in Ardyn’s eyes.

He misses the way the man's form changes to look exactly like the big fighter with the broadsword standing there, as the Chancellor walks towards the altar.

‘We don’t have time for this!’ the big one growls. He rushes at Terra, swinging his sword at him.

Terra blocks it and pushes back.

‘I don’t want to fight you!’ the blond boy says, aiming his gun with trembling hands at Terra.

'We don't have a choice Prompto,' the big guy says, but that doesn't stop the blond boy from trying.

‘Please, just let us go save our friend!’ Prompto pleads.

Terra hesitates at that.

He wants to protect his friend?

He was sent here to protect this world’s light and get rid of the Unversed. Not to meddle in a war.

But if they’re an enemy, they pose a threat to this world’s light, Lunafreya… The High Commander’s sister.

He promised him he would protect her. If the High Commander already reached her at the altar, he should keep these two away from them.

‘I can’t,’ Terra tells them determined, ‘I made a promise to protect someone.’

‘Then, there’s no other choice,’ the big guy says, ‘Then we’re enemies.’

He launches blow after blow at Terra and Terra manages to counter most of them despite the brute force behind them.

The big guy pulls back to look at his comrade, ‘Prompto! Focus!’ he tells him.

Prompto swallows, ‘I-I can’t!’ He takes a shaky breath looking at his ally, ‘He’s not an MT! He’s human! I can’t fight him, Gladio.’

‘An enemy is still an enemy!’ Gladio barks at him. ‘You wanna protect Noct and Iggy too, right? Then we need to hurry and beat him! It’s not like we wanna fight either!’

‘I know that!’ Prompto yelps, ‘But still-’

‘…You don’t want to fight?’ Terra asks them and relaxes his stance slightly.

Prompto looks up hopeful, ‘No! We really don’t! But our friends could be in danger there!’

‘So what?’ Gladio scoffs, ‘You’d actually let us pass?’


Terra looks at them. They really don’t seem to have bad intentions…

‘You’re not planning on harming the light?’ he asks them.

‘The light?’ Prompto repeats confused.

‘You mean the Oracle?’ Gladio asks.

‘Lunafreya and the High Commander,’ Terra clarifies.

Gladio looks at him and lowers his sword, ‘No we’re not. Unless the High Commander threatens Noct. But no, we’re not planning on fighting him.’

Terra looks at them. They seem sincere. He just hopes he won’t regret this.

‘Alright then,’ he reverts his Keyblade, ‘I’ll let you pass. I trust that you’ll hold that promise.’

‘We will!’ Prompto says eagerly, ‘Thank you.’

He rushes past Terra followed by Gladio.

‘Iggy! Where are you!?’ he hears Gladio call out.

‘Noct! Iggy!’ Prompto shouts.

‘Noct!’

‘Iggy!’

Terra is left alone in the rain, wondering whether he should go to the altar.

He doesn’t want to interrupt whatever is going on. He feels that he already meddled too much in this world.

But he also wants to make sure the High Commander and his sister are safe.

The fact that it suddenly started raining after the light beam died down, make him fear the worst.

Once again he hears someone approach him. This time, from the direction of the altar.

Terra looks over his shoulder and sees a familiar face.


‘High Commander,’ Terra says, his eyes shining a little relieved, seeing that the other man is safe.

The silver-haired man looks up at him and seems somewhat surprised, ‘You made it here.’

He walks up to him and briefly clasps Terra's shoulder, ‘Thank you, for your loyalty.’

His voice is a little hoarse and his eyes a little red.

Dread fills Terra as he carefully asks, ‘High Commander, how is your sister?’

His gaze lowers, ‘She didn’t make it.’

Terra feels cold upon hearing those words.

As much as Ventus is like a little brother to him, Aqua is like his sister.

The thought of losing her chills him to his bone. He would do anything to keep them safe.

If he were to lose one of them-

‘She was taken away from me far too early,’ the High Commander says, looking up at the rainy sky.

‘I knew that was her destiny, yet I couldn’t help but want to protect her. If only I could have kept her safe even a little longer…’

‘I’m sorry,’ Terra apologizes.

He failed.

He failed to protect the light of this world.

He failed to prove to Aqua and Master Eraqus that he could.

He clenches his fist, ‘Don’t blame yourself, High Commander.’

If anything, he himself is to blame.

The man looks up at him and for the first time, Terra can see a faint smile on his face, ‘Call me Ravus,’ he tells him.

‘Your kindness and your loyalty are admirable. Even though you are not fighting for the Empire, you have tried your best to help my sister and me while our own commanders betrayed us.’

Ravus looks grateful at him, ‘It’s been a long time since I have met people who are worth admiring. My sister was one of the few.’

‘And today, I have met two new ones,’ He looks back in the direction of the altar as he sighs softly, ‘Noctis is lucky to have someone so loyal on his side.’

Then Ravus turns back to him, ‘Thank you, friend,’ he tells Terra sincerely and walks past him, ‘May we meet again on a brighter day. For now, I need to be alone.’

Terra nods at him, ‘Take care, Ravus.’

He briefly looks back in the direction of the altar. The sky is dark and it is still raining.

He lowers his head. He has to go.

He had promised he would fight the darkness.

He would prove himself to Ventus, Aqua and Master Eraqus.

He would show them they could trust him.

Yet, he had failed.

But he won’t give up.

Next time, he will keep his promise.

Chapter Text

After her brief reunion with her friends in Radiant Garden, Aqua felt more worried than before.



She met the masked boy Ventus and Terra were talking about, Vanitas, who challenged her to a fight. That boy is strong and he is out looking for Ventus.

Ventus ran off after Terra and now she once again has no idea where the boy is. She has to find him before Vanitas does.



But that’s not all, she also worries about Terra and feels guilty. Her best friend thinks she betrayed him. She has to tell him that they were only worried but that they trust him.

She believes in her friend. They’ve been together for so long and both trained so hard.

Terra is strong. She knows he would never give in to the darkness.


He would never hurt them.

So she has to find him and explain that to him.

While traveling on her Keyblade through the Lanes Between, she thought she caught a familiar glimpse in the distance.

She couldn’t see it from so far, but she could feel it. Her fingers briefly clench around her Wayfinder as she follows it.


That’s how she found herself standing in a world that should be familiar to her, but is anything but.


The ground shakes. Aqua braces herself against a wall of the city. An earthquake? She looks around. Oh no.

She sees the ruined state of the city she’s in. It looks like a war zone. She knows which world this is, but last time she was here, there was no sign of war yet.


‘Noct, do you read me?’


Aqua looks around. She knows that voice. She’s never heard that accent before so she cannot be mistaken.

She realizes it comes from the building she’s standing next to and makes her way up the stairs when she hears more familiar voices.


‘Do you know if he’s okay?’ a worried high-pitched voice calls.

‘The trial should be over by now, right?’ a deep voice asks.

‘I can’t tell a bloody thing from here. Let’s make for the altar.’


A loud crash shakes the building when Aqua finally reaches the top of the stairs. She sees a long hallway in front of her that functions as a bridge over a canal.

In the center, she sees Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto. Relieved to see their familiar faces, yet worried about their distressed expressions, she runs up to them.


At the same time, Gladio sees something outside through a window.

He looks shocked, ‘Look out!’ In a reflex, he reaches for Prompto who’s closest to him and pushes him to the side, down with him.

A brief moment later, a giant vehicle crashes through the wall close to them.

As the smoke clears up from the fallen rubble, they all notice a gigantic gap that cuts the hallway right through, making it impossible to cross.

That spot is also where they saw Ignis standing just before.


Now, he is nowhere to be seen.


Gladio and Prompto stand on the edge of the gap and look to the other side and down into the canal, but they don’t see him.

‘Iggy! Where are you!?’ Gladio shouts.

‘Iggy!’ Prompto joins worried.

Aqua hurries up to them, ‘Is he okay?’


The two turn to her, apparently only now noticing her.


‘Aqua!?’ Prompto gapes surprised.

‘What’re you doing here!?’ Gladio asks just as surprised.

‘Long story,’ she says, not planning on explaining it, ‘More importantly, is Ignis okay?’

‘We can’t see him!’ Prompto shakes his head, worry written all over his face.

Aqua nods, ‘Alright, I’ll go and look for him.’

‘No! It’s far too dangerous!’ Gladio tells her, reaching out to grab her arm, ‘The Empire is attacking us!’

‘I will be careful,’ she tells him with a smile, touched that they’re concerned about her, ‘I can take care of myself.’

Prompto manages to smile at that, ‘That’s what Ven said too.’

Aqua looks surprised, ‘Ven?’ He’s here?

‘Yeah, a while back. Ven was a great help before,’ Gladio says, ‘If you want to help, I won’t stop you. Just be careful.’


A while back? Could it be Ventus she followed here?

Okay, while looking for Ignis, she will have to keep an eye out for Ven as well.


Aqua nods determined, ‘I will. Thank you. You should stay safe too.’

‘I’ll make sure to keep us safe,’ Gladio summons his broadsword, ‘We’re going to the altar, to Noct. Ignis will most likely do the same.’

‘If he’s okay’ goes unsaid but no one mentions it.


‘Right,’ Aqua says, ‘Good luck.’


With that, she turns around and jumps down the gap into the canal.

~~~

Aqua still hasn’t found a trace of Ignis.


That is good because that means he wasn’t that heavily injured and could have managed to get away.

Well, either that or-

She looks back at the canal.

No.


She refuses to believe that. His bonds with his friends are strong. She believes that the bonds you share with others keep you connected, tied to each other.

So Ignis must be okay.


She makes her way further into the city.


The sight saddens her. The city seems to be deserted so that means that, thankfully, most people must have been evacuated beforehand.

Last time she was here and went to Galdin Quay with them, there was still a ceasefire. But, despite her hopes, it appears that the truce has come to an end now.


Why do people fight when all it brings is ruin?



‘Have you located the Ring yet, Commander? And what of Lunafreya?’



Curiously, Aqua walks towards the direction of the voice.


‘Both, High Commander. But our forces are unable to extract either at present. We’ve no way of approaching the altar so long as the Archeon stands in our way.’


Not sure if the voices are allies or enemies, she quickly hides behind a building and quietly moves closer, listening to the voices.

She looks up and in front of her with his back pressed to the same building she sees-


‘Ignis!’ she says relieved.


Ignis’ head spins towards her immediately as he hears his name. Relief fills his eyes as he gestures for her to lower her voice while he regards her surprised.

‘Aqua? What brings you here?’

‘I came looking for you. Gladio and Prompto are worried,’ she tells him.

A soft smile forms on his lips, ‘Of course they are,’ Ignis sighs, ‘I wanted to contact them, but I needed to hear what this is about first.’


He casts one quick glance around the corner to the people conversing on the square. Aqua moves closer and looks too.

From her position, she can see two men conversing. Both dressed in armor. One of them is tall with silver hair while the other is small with dark hair.

Both strangers turn their heads and walk towards someone who approaches them, but Aqua can’t see them from their position.

They’re now out of earshot, so they won’t be able to follow the conversation further.


She turns back to Ignis, ‘What happened?’


She’s not sure if now’s the right time to ask questions, but she really wants to know, ‘Where are we? And I haven’t seen Noctis yet. Is he okay?’

‘You don’t know?’ Ignis examines her, ‘You possess special magical abilities and whenever you show up, you help us. The same with Ventus.’

He rubs his chin in thought, ‘I can’t help but wonder. Are you messengers?’

Aqua raises an eyebrow, ‘Messengers?’

‘There’s no way you could’ve reached Altissia,’ Ignis explains.

‘The boats didn’t sail. The only way to come here was either by sailing with us, traveling by airship with the Empire or by teleporting, which isn’t unusual for messengers. Umbra does it all the time.’

Aqua has absolutely no idea what he means by that. ‘No, I am not a messenger. And I can’t explain it either.’

She says, ‘But I am here to help. Wait-’ his words catch up to her, ‘Did you say Altissia?’


The beautiful city they spoke of before? That they compared to Galdin Quay?


‘Indeed,’ Ignis looks somber at that, ‘This is what’s left of Altissia.' 

'Noctis and Lunafreya were supposed to wed here. Today, Lunafreya summoned Leviathan, one of the Astrals, at the altar so Noctis could get its blessing to become King,' Ignis explains.

'And now, the Empire attacked, trying to stop him. So I need to hurry. Noctis and Lunafreya are probably still at the altar. We don’t know if they’re safe.’

‘I will help you,’ Aqua says without hesitation.

Ignis smiles grateful at her, ‘Well then, I appreciate your help.’


They look back around the corner. The silver-haired man just left, leaving the smaller man behind who walks closer.


‘How dare he address me with such impudence?’ they hear the man growl, ‘Has he forgotten his place entirely? Or is he too concerned about his sister to care?’


With that, the man turns around and steps into an airship that landed behind him and sets off as soon as he enters.

Aqua and Ignis watch him fly off before coming out of hiding.


‘Which way is the altar?’ Aqua asks Ignis.

Before Ignis can answer, he is interrupted.


‘Attention all units. Assembles at the docks and prepare for withdrawal immediately. We depart in three minutes.’


Ignis reaches for his ear and Aqua realizes that’s where the voice came from.

‘Wait!’ Ignis says pressing a button on his earpiece as he speaks, ‘I’m headed to the altar. I need a boat!’

‘Have you lost your marbles?’

‘No,’ Ignis snaps, ‘But we’ll lose the King if we don’t act.’

A woman’s voice takes over, ‘Give him what he wants.’

‘Understood,’ the deep voice says.

Ignis sighs relieved, ‘You have my thanks.’

‘Keep them,’ the woman says, ‘I’ll take gill instead.’

The voices stop and Ignis looks around, ‘Which way to the docks?’ he asks out loud but doesn’t expect Aqua to know.

They spot a canal and run to follow it.


‘Do you copy?’


Aqua pauses, ‘That voice… Is that Prompto?’

Ignis doesn’t seem to have heard anything, too lost in thought as he keeps running until they reach open water and see docks in the distance.

He smiles relieved at the sight and is about to head towards it when-


‘Ain’t a hard question, Iggy! Do you copy!? Yes or no?’


Aqua smiles. The way Gladio asked that just warms her heart. Even if Ignis would’ve answered no, Ignis would’ve still let them know he was okay by answering.

Gladio wouldn’t settle for anything else. And neither would Prompto.

That makes Ignis snap out of his thoughts and quickly reaching up to press the button of the earpiece as he realizes his friends are contacting him.

‘Yes,’ he answers hastily, ‘I copy.’

A sigh, ‘Then speak up next time!’ Gladio barks but Aqua can hear the relief in his voice.

‘Look, I’m just as worried as you are but we can’t go losing our heads. If we want to save Noct, we’ve gotta keep it together.’

‘Yes, I suppose you’re right,’ Ignis says, ‘I am here with Aqua, we’ll secure a boat and then we’re heading to the altar.’

‘Good.’

‘We’ll keep moving too,’ Prompto’s voice takes over, ‘Hang in there Iggy and Aqua!’

‘We will,’ Ignis says, ‘Thanks.’

~~~

‘There you are!’ A man at the docks had been waiting for them, ‘Ready to ship out?’

‘Ready as I’ll ever be,’ Ignis takes the wheel, ‘You’d best get the civilians out of here while there’s still time.’

Aqua sits down next to him in the front.

‘Hang on Noct… I’m on my way,’ she can hear Ignis whisper as he starts the boat and they speed off.

Aqua is impressed by Ignis’ steering skills, he is as calm as when driving the Regalia.

They speed through the canals between city streets and past destroyed buildings and rubble until they reach open water.



A giant stone man stands in the water and punches airships from the sky. Aqua can only stare at the scene.

Briefly, she remembers Ven mentioning having fought a big stone man and she hopes that was not this one. This one seems to be able to crush Ven with one finger.


‘Is he protecting the altar?’ Ignis wonders. Far off in the distance, shines a light beam up to the sky and that seems to be their destination because Ignis is steering in that direction.

So the altar must be there then. They were getting closer and closer to the altar.

They pass the giant man who plucks an airship out of the sky and smashes it against others to bring more enemies down from the sky.

‘That is the Archeon, Titan,’ Ignis explains, suspecting Aqua doesn’t know that judging from her look, ‘He is one of the Astrals. A god.’

‘The power of a god,’ Aqua says softly, staring amazed at the colossal being, ‘It’s amazing.’

When they’re finally close to reaching the altar, Aqua sees something approach them from the side.


It’s an airship.


Aqua raises her Keyblade and casts Reflect, drastically decreasing the impact of the collision, but not enough to keep them from falling out of the boat.

The airship opens up and shows a big robot. In the robot, Aqua and Ignis can see the small armored man from before control it.


‘Well, well. Look who it is!’ the man says, grinning widely at them, ‘What could one of his Majesty’s royal retainers be doing her of all places?’

‘Calligo. Bloody hell,’ Ignis curses as he swims back to the boat.

To make things worse, the Archeon lets out a groan and suddenly vanishes in bright light. Ignis’ gaze intensifies and hurries back to the boat, ‘This bodes ill.’


The big armor Calligo is in starts firing bullets at them. Not wanting to risk getting Ignis or herself hit, Aqua raises her arm in the air, summoning her Keyblade.

Her armor appears around her and her Keyblade transforms in her glider and she glides over to Ignis.

‘Get on,’ she says as she reaches out to him.

He looks surprised at the transformation but doesn’t voice his questions. He just accepts the help and holds on to her.

Aqua flies them over into the direction of the altar, but Calligo’s big armor rushes after them.

Once they almost reach it, Aqua can faintly make out someone lying on the altar.

But before she could get a good look, they’re blasted out of the sky.


The blast throws them further away from the altar towards the buildings of the city.

As they’re about to crash they jump off the Keyblade, softening the blow by rolling to the side.


‘Surrender now and I’ll make your end as painless as possible!’ the man in the giant armor says, ‘Once you’re out of the way, the Ring of the Lucii will be mine!’

‘I’m afraid not,’ Ignis glares at him as he stands up, ‘It will never be yours. I’ll make sure of it!’

The big armor points a laser at Ignis. Aqua quickly summons her Keyblade to her hand and uses Reflect to block the attack.

Ignis nods his thanks and summons his daggers. Then the armor starts swinging at them and the two rush in to fight him.


‘Go on and beg for your lives!’ the Calligo says, ‘Just like that pathetic old servant did back in Lestallum.’

Aqua doesn’t know what the man was talking about, but it seemed to set Ignis off. His gaze sharpens and his blows become more powerful, ‘Enough!’

The fight continues and as Aqua deals a few more hits, switching between thunder and blizzard magic as easily as Ignis switches his elemental daggers.

Aqua notices the armor’s movements slow down.

It is almost over.


The man realizes it too and becomes desperate, ‘I must get my hands on the Ring before that impudent outsider Ravus beats me to it.’

Ravus? Aqua wonders who that is as she finishes her combo.

Ignis jumps high up in the air and brings a spear down, sinking it through the armor from the top.

That was the final blow as the machine loses its balance and falls.

Exhausted, Ignis and Aqua catch their breath but keep up a defensive pose as the man stumbles out of the armor.


The man doesn’t get far however, as a sword suddenly pierces through his chest from behind.


As the small man drops down, unmoving, a familiar figure steps into view towards them.

He is dressed in a long white coat and has silver hair and sharp eyes that look at them.

Aqua recognizes the man as the High Commander they eavesdropped on before. They were allies before. So, this Calligo was a traitor?

‘Ravus,’ Ignis says, lowering his daggers a little as if he’s not sure whether the other man will harm him or not.

Aqua glances at Ignis from the side. These two seem to know each other. But how? Isn’t this the enemy commander?


He notices Ignis hesitance and steps closer, ‘I have no quarrel with you, boy.’

It does little to ease Ignis’ hesitance, so Ravus continues, ‘I can secure us a way to the King and the Oracle.’

Ignis straightens his stance and reverts his weapons. Trusting his judgement, Aqua follows his example.


‘Why turn against the empire?’ Ignis asks him, ‘Why now?’

‘My sister’s life is at stake,’ Ravus snaps, ‘Is that not reason enough? I must protect her.’

‘Your sister?’ Aqua asks, ‘Where is she?’

‘Who are you?’ Ravus asks her instead of answering.

‘My name is Aqua. Is there a way to help your sister?’

‘His sister is Lunafreya,’ Ignis explains to her, ‘She is at the altar with Noct.’


Aqua’s eyes widen in realization.


So the girl Noctis is to marry is the sister of the enemy commander?

She can’t help but wonder if it is an arranged marriage and perhaps they are forced too.

But Noctis seemed so happy when he talked about ‘Luna’ back on their way to Galdin Key. He looked so excited to see her again…


‘Then let’s hurry to the altar and help her,’ Aqua tells them.

Ignis looks at Ravus, ‘Is it safe to assume that you will also lend Noct a hand?’

‘Don’t be asinine,’ Ravus frowns, ‘Our interests may have aligned at this moment but I have not allied myself with him.’ He turns away from them.

Ignis sighs disappointed but he doesn’t seem surprised, ‘Very well. Let’s hurry.’


The three of them hurry to the altar. They strike down the MTs and Unversed that try to stop them on their way.


‘What happened to your arm?’ Ignis asks Ravus during a fight.

Still continuing fighting the Unversed, Aqua listens to their conversation, trying to learn and understand as much from this situation as possible.

‘I once believed it was I who was destined to dispel the darkness,’ Ravus explains, ‘This is proof I was wrong.’

‘You tried to wear the Ring,’  Ignis realizes softly.

Ravus clenches his fists, ‘If Noctis is the True King, he still has much to prove. The darkness will not wait for his ascent,’ Ravus says, ‘It will consume our star and all upon it.’

‘I know,’ Ignis admits, ‘He may not yet grasp the gravity of his calling but once he does, he will rise to the occasion and fulfill his destiny.’

Ravus looks him over and his gaze softens slightly, ‘One can only hope you’re right.’


What destiny are they talking about? What does it mean to be a True King?

It sounds like Noctis is supposed to be a chosen one who is destined to dispel the darkness in this world.

Maybe, to end this war?

Or could he be this world’s light? Every world has a light. The light must be protected.

Once the last MT’s and Unversed disappear, Ravus walks over to Aqua, ‘That weapon. I’ve seen it before, but what exactly is it?’

Aqua holds out he Keyblade, ‘It is called a Keyblade. It is a special weapon that can only be wielded by those who are chosen to.’

Ignis also seems curious as he looks it over, ‘Almost like the Ring.’

Aqua turns back to Ravus, ‘Where have you seen it before?’

‘A young man named Terra wielded one,’ Ravus explains, ‘He was fighting the Unversed right before I run into you so we split up.’

‘Terra is here? Now?’ Aqua asks surprised, looking around, but of course, he isn’t there.

She would love to go back into the city and look for him, but Noctis and Lunafreya are in danger. They need their help more right now.

Whispering a soft prayer, praying that Terra will stay safe in this war, she turns back to the two.


‘Let’s go to the altar.’

~~~

When they finally reach the altar, the bright light that shone from there as a beacon has now become very faint.

The altar is empty, only in the center lie two figures. Aqua immediately recognizes Noctis.

He appears to be unconscious, lying on his back with his head tilted to the girl lying beside him and his eye closed.


‘Lunafreya!’ Ravus ran past them towards his sister.


A soft whine from the side attracts the attention of Aqua and Ignis. A white small dog, limps towards them, before falling on its side. It whimpers as if it’s in pain.


‘Pryna,’ Ignis gasps surprised and reaches for the small dog.


A bright light shines from the dog, momentarily blinding Ignis and Aqua.

A loud voice rings through Aqua’s head.

She opens her eyes but it’s dark around her.


‘A power greater than even that of the Six, purifying all by the Light of the Crystal and the glaives of rulers past.’


She sees a throne in front of her. A man sits on it.


What is going on? 

On the man’s finger emits a ring a bright glow. The man sits up straight and summons a sword in his hand.

He thrusts the sword in the ground in front of him and blue light appears in the room as, suddenly, more weapons glowing weapons appear in the dark.

Each of the glowing blue weapons surges straight to the man, piercing him and vanishing in his chest.


Even though the weapons don’t seem “real” but only appear to be silhouettes made out of light of weapons, the man reacts to every single blow as if they are real weapons.


Each blow seems to hurt him, having the man groan and whimper in pain, gritting his teeth.

The hand wearing the ring around the armrest of the throne and the other hand clenching around the sword to keep himself steady.

Aqua watches in horror. She wants to reach out and help him, but she is frozen in place. The loud voice speaks again.


‘Only at the throne can the Chosen receive it and only at the cost of a life: his own.’

Those words hit Aqua hard.

She had no idea what was going on, but now the pieces fall into place.

Ignis and Ravus had talked about Noctis being a Chosen One, the True King, someone to free the world from the darkness.

Knowing this, she takes a closer look at the man on the throne.

Dressed in black clothes, raven hair that’s longer, a beard, overall a hardened appearance and a slightly bigger posture-

but the same night blue eyes.

She sharply intakes a breath and feels tears prick in her eyes as she realizes that that man is indeed Noctis.


This is a vision of what is going to happen in the future.


Noctis is going to die to save this ruined world. That is his destiny.

A ghostly figure in armor appears in front of Noctis on the throne. He seems to be hesitating before slowly raising his sword and plunging it into Noctis’ chest.

Tears trickle down her cheeks as she watches Noctis sink forward and his hand slips from the sword he had desperately been clinging onto this whole time.

Then, he disappeared in broken fragments of light.


And the throne was empty. The big room, completely dark and silent.

Then, slowly through the high windows, lonely strays of sunlight trickle inside the room, like a sunrise.

Like dawn, casting the empty room in a soft glow, as if mourning the disappearance of the King.


‘Many sacrificed all for the King and so must the King sacrifice himself for all.’


Aqua can move again and clasps her hands around her mouth, closing her eyes tight.

When she opens them, she’s back at the altar standing next to Ignis before Pryna as the bright light fades.

Ignis sinks to his knees and shakes his head.

‘No…’ he mutters softly, panting. He is just as shocked as she was, most likely even worse.

She doesn’t even know the boy that well. Ignis is a close friend of him. This must be horrible for him. There are no words to describe it.


‘Are you okay?’ Aqua asks softly, placing her hand on his shoulder hoping it will comfort him even just a little.

That seems to snap him out of it.

Ignis stands up on trembling legs, ‘Noct!’ he shouts as he hurries to his friend’s side on the altar.


Aqua follows them and can now see them more clearly.

Noctis’ chest is rising and falling softly, a sign that he is still breathing.

In contrast to Noctis, dressed in black clothes and his black hair, lies a pale, blond-haired girl next to him, dressed in a white dress.

Her eyes are closed and she wears a peaceful expression on her face.

She, however, is completely still.

The center of her white dress is stained in dark red. Her hand rests Noctis’ chest and a faint warm light fades slowly from her fingertips until it is gone.

That must have been the beacon of light the saw.


When the light completely fades out, it starts to rain. As if the sky is weeping the loss of Lunafreya.


Ravus is frozen for a while as he stares at Lunafreya.

Then, his hand trembles slightly as he reaches for his sword, ‘First the Lucians stole from me my mother.’

His gaze darkens and he grits his teeth, ‘And now they make a sacrifice of my sister!’ He raises his sword and steps over to Noctis.

‘No!’ Ignis steps in front of him and blocks the blow with his dagger and pushes Ravus away.

‘I understand the pain you feel, but Noct isn’t the one who did this to her! Lunafreya aided the King, she fulfilled her calling,’ Ignis says, blocking another blow Ravus sent him.

‘Noct didn’t choose to become King! His ascension was ordained by the Crystal!’

‘It was a mistake,’ Ravus growls, ‘One that must be corrected! My sister didn’t have to die!’

‘Stop it!’ Aqua tells them, rushing in between them. ‘Fighting now won’t solve anything!’

Ravus angrily turns to her and strikes at her, ‘Stand in my way and you too will meet the same fate!’

Aqua doesn’t want to hurt him. Ravus is just angry and sad that he lost his sister. He doesn’t truly want to kill them.

So instead of attacking, Aqua focuses on blocking the attacks.

In a flash, Ignis attacked Ravus from behind and used his dagger to pierce Ravus’ prosthetic arm to the ground.

Silence washes over them, only the sound of the falling rain can be heard.


Accepting his loss, Ravus sheets his weapon and Ignis lets him go. Ravus doesn’t look at them and instead moves back to Lunafreya.

His anger fades, his expression is now taken over by the feeling of loss.


‘I always knew…’ he starts as he slowly walks up to her with his back turned to them. ‘That you would face your faith without fear, fulfill your duty without regret.’

He kneels next to her, his voice soft and broken, ‘But part of me always hoped… that I might see you happy one day,’ he gently turns her by her shoulder to hold her.

‘Your burdens lifted free to live and love as you please.’


He gently brushes her wet bangs out of her face. There are tears in his eyes when he looks at her peaceful face.

‘You would have made a beautiful bride.’ He holds her close to him.


‘Even in death, the Oracle does not rest. Only once the darkness is dispelled is her calling truly fulfilled. And I know she will confront that challenge with a smile on her face.’

Once he speaks these words, Lunafreya glows brightly. A light appears, floating above the water at the edge of the altar.

The light dims and takes the form of Lunafreya.

She doesn’t say anything.

She just smiles at her brother as she slowly floats away.

The moment Ravus sees her, he gently places lies her body back down before rushing to the edge of the altar to look at the silhouette above the water.

No longer able to compose himself, tears fall from his face, ‘Oh, sister… Please don’t go,’ he begs the light that is his sister and reaches for her.

But before he can reach her, the light fades and she vanishes.  

Ravus sinks to his knees in defeat, grieving the loss of his dearly beloved sister, ‘Please,’ he pleads, ‘Don’t leave me.’

Folding her fingers together in front of her chest, Aqua prays for the girl and pays her respects.

She then wipes the tears from her own cheeks and her gaze falls on Noctis.

She failed to save Lunafreya.

And now knowing his destiny, she won’t able to save Noctis either.


How do you save someone who is not supposed to be saved?


She sees the way Ignis looks at Noctis.

She can’t imagine how he must feel, knowing that your friend is supposed to die. Supposed to be sacrificed.

She watches as Ignis tries to wake Noctis, but Noctis doesn't stir.

It reminds her of Ventus, when he was in a coma.

That feeling of hopelessness, not being able to do anything for her friend.

Only hoping and praying that he will ever open his eyes again...

Never again does she want that to happen to Ventus.


‘Iggy!’

Aqua and Ignis turn around.

‘Gladio!’ Ignis exclaims relieved, seeing their friend approach them.

Aqua smiles at him, ‘I’m glad you’re okay.’

Gladio looks over at Noctis and Lunafreya and steps towards them.

Ignis looks in the direction he came from, ‘Gladio, where is Prompto?’
 

Gladio ignores him as he sees Ravus sitting defeated at the edge of the altar, ‘Well well. What have we here?’

He raises his broadsword and swings it at Ravus before Ignis or Aqua can stop him.

Before Ignis can step in to most likely tell Gladio that Ravus is no longer their enemy, Ravus stands up.


Swinging his sword, Ravus deflects Gladio’s blow, glaring daggers at him.

‘You…’  he seethes, ‘Ardyn!’


Ardyn?


‘Oh dear,’ Gladio says, a smirk appearing on his face, as he reverts his sword, ‘Was I that transparent?’

In a flash, Gladio is gone and instead of him stands the strange man they encountered before at Galdin Quay. So he is an enemy?

MTs rush towards them and before they can react, they’re surrounded.

Ignis is pushed to the ground, Ravus is surrounded and Aqua is captured and pushed down in an upright sitting position.

Ardyn saunters over to Ignis, towering over him. A smirk on his face, ‘The game’s up my boy.’

The man then takes out a dagger and kneels next to Noctis.


‘No! Stop it!’ Aqua calls out.


Ardyn takes Noctis’ head in one hand, tilting the boy’s face to Ignis as Ardyn smirks and raises the blade of the dagger above the Prince’s neck.

‘No… you can’t!’ Ignis chokes out scared, ‘Nooooct!’

Ravus throws a dagger at Ardyn, turning the man’s attention to him instead.

Ardyn looks amused, ‘My, you two have certainly become fast friends.’

He lets go of Noctis, dropping him back to the ground. In the process, Noctis’ hand falls open and a ring slips out of his grip.

A black and purple energy forms around Ardyn’s hand and he launches it at Ravus, sending him back flat on his back.

Overtaken by anger and the urge to protect his friend, Ignis stands up, pushing the MTs away.


Ardyn sighs dramatically as he turns around and forms the same dark energy in his hand again, only for it to be directed at Ignis this time.

Ignis glares at him, ‘I swore an oath to stand with Noct and keep him safe. Whatever it takes, I will protect him!’


In his hand he holds the ring, he must have taken from Noctis, and he puts it on.


The expression on Ardyn’s face is unreadable as the man watches Ignis.

Bright blue light envelops him and Ignis groans in pain.


‘Ignis!’ Aqua shouts worried, trying harder to free herself from the MTs but she can’t summon her Keyblade with her hands caught and her limbs restrained.

‘Ah-ah-ahh! I wouldn’t do that if I were you,’ Ardyn chuckles at Ignis, now apparently amused.

Ignis reaches for his own face and screams in pain, ‘I may not be of royal blood but if a Glaive can harness its power, then so can I! Kings of Lucis, lend me your strength!’

Purple light glows from Ignis’ eyes and hands and there is a bright blue aura around him. He doesn’t seem to be in pain anymore. Instead, he seems to be in control of the power.

‘Well,’ Ardyn muses, taking a step towards him. In a flash he appears in front of Ignis, ‘They’ve shown you their favor after all.’

The two of them start fighting so fast and with such powerful attacks that Aqua knows she wouldn’t be able to help Ignis.

She’d probably only hold him back. Whatever power he got from the Ring, it made him a lot more powerful. The fight leads the two away from the altar.


Aqua might not be able to help Ignis right now, but she could still try her best to at least get Noctis to safety.

Distracted by the fight, the MTs pay less attention to her and Aqua finally manages to free her hand.


She summons her Keyblade and easily wipes them most of them out with a Blizzaga spell.

The ones that are left, she beats down before she moves over to Ravus.


‘Ravus, are you okay?’ Aqua asks as she shakes him softly.

Ravus’ expression twist and his eyes slowly open.

Good, he is awake. ‘Take it easy,’ she tells him, ‘I will check on Noctis now.’


Aqua kneels next to Noctis and pulls him upright, slinging one of his arms over her shoulder. She reaches out her Keyblade and-


‘Not so fast.’


Ardyn, who suddenly appeared behind her, grabs her by her arm and slings her away from Noctis. He examines the Keyblade, ‘Another one.’

He sighs and tilts his head as he looks at Aqua, ‘For such a long time, I haven’t seen any of you and now you are everywhere.’


What does that mean?  He has seen more Keyblade Wielders?

‘I don’t know why you’ve come here, but I can’t have you foil my plans,’ Ardyn tells her with an expression between bored and nonchalance as that dark energy forms around his hands again.

‘Enjoy the darkness,’ he smiles, ‘Oh, and don’t worry. I’ll make sure your two friends will join you should they stand in my way too.’


Her eyes widen. This man, he knows about Ven and Terra?

She uses Reflect to block the attack, but the attack is stronger and it shatters the barrier, sending her over the edge of the Altar, into the water.

It hurts.

She gasps and fells herself slowly sinking deeper in the dark and heavy water. It’s suffocating.

The attack leaves her feeling immobilized as she keeps sinking deeper and deeper, staring at the surface, the only source of light.

She can’t give up so easily. She ignores the pain as she forces her arm to summon her Keyblade and uses an Aero spell to surge upward and launch herself out of the water.

She breaches the surface with a high jump and lands gracefully back on the altar.


Once she does, Ardyn is nowhere to be seen.


Ignis lies next to Noctis on the Altar and Ravus is crouched beside him, a worried expression on his face.

‘Where’s Noct?’ Ignis asks, his voice hoarse, ‘Is he.. a-alright?’

Ravus briefly glances at Noctis lying next to Ignis before turning back to Ignis, ‘More or less. All thanks to you.’

Ignis sounds relieved, ‘T-Thank goodness.’

Aqua kneels next to Ravus to examine Ignis, ‘What happened to him?’


He is wounded. There are burn marks on his arms and face. Blue and purple magic fades from them, leaving only scars.

‘The power of the Ring comes at a Price. Only the blood Royal are meant to wield it,’ Ravus explains, ‘In exchange for wielding its power, Ignis had to pay a price.’

Aqua wanted to ask what price he meant, but closely examining Ignis again already answers that question.


Ignis is blind.


His eyes look badly damaged. He can’t even seem to open them and they are covered in scars. It looks almost like his eyes have been burned-

‘Noct! Iggy!’ Prompto’s voice echoes through the area.

‘Noct!’

‘Iggy!’


Gladio is there too. They’re together again.

Aqua bites her lip, watching the four friends being reunited at last. She feels guilty.

SHe couldn't keep her promise. She failed to protect Ignis.

~~~

Aqua doesn’t know exactly when Ravus left. Now it’s just the five of them.


She watches from a distance as Gladio and Prompto check on Noctis and Ignis. She doesn’t want to intrude on this personal moment. She isn’t able to help much now away.

She looks at Ignis who sounds so calm when he explains to his friends what happened.

He leaves a lot out of his story. He doesn’t tell them about his sacrifice. He mostly tells them about Noctis and Lunafreya.


Ignis Scientia is the most loyal and admirable person she has ever met.


He made a big sacrifice in order to save his friend.

He merely called it a ‘small sacrifice for the greater good’. The only thing that seems to matter is that Noctis is okay.


Even when they brought Noctis and Ignis to a hotel room to rest, Ignis did not complain about his injuries. He was only worried about Noctis.


Aqua couldn’t stay for much longer after that, she had to go and look for Terra and Ventus.


Gliding on her Keyblade, traveling through the Lanes Between, her thoughts keep drifting off to Ignis.


He cares so much about him. It is nothing short of unfair and horrible that Ignis has been shown that vision.

That he now knows that, whatever he does, he can’t save his friend.

Yet that doesn’t stop him from doing whatever it takes to help him.


It made Aqua think.


What would she do if she was in a similar situation?

If Terra or Ven was in danger?

Would she make a sacrifice like this too?


Yes.

Yes, she would.

With no doubt in her heart.

No matter what, she would save them.

Chapter Text

It is as if his eyes are opened. This whole journey, he made many mistakes.



Claiming the darkness wouldn’t get to him, yet trusting the people consumed by it.


In the last world he visited, the one where the pirate captain had tricked him, he did what his heart told him to and he had freed the little pixie.

At that moment he knew that Ventus and Aqua would’ve done the same thing.


The right thing.



So he promised himself he wouldn’t let himself be tricked anymore and trust his heart to guide him in the right direction.

And that is probably why, after roaming the Lanes in Between for a while, he now sees a familiar light up ahead.

He can feel it. It is Ventus.



Whether it was his heart that led him to the boy or whether it was the Wayfinder Aqua had given them or both, he didn’t know. But he didn’t hesitate to follow him.


He will bring Ven back home, whatever it takes.

~~~

The landscape rushes by behind the windows on both sides of the small room he’s standing in.

It’s moving. He can tell from the rhythmic sound and the soft shaking motions that he is in some kind of vehicle.


He doesn’t know where he is, but this is where Ventus was headed so Ven should be here.

He makes his way to the end of the room and opens the door to another narrow compartment.


He hasn’t seen anyone yet, but he can now hear voices.



‘You need to grow up and get over it.’

‘I am over it. I’m here, aren’t I?’

‘Maybe when you’re not too busy moping, you can look around and give a hit about someone worse off than you.’

‘Let go of me.’

‘How’s that ring fit you? You’d rather carry it around than wear it? She gave her life so you could do your duty, not so you could sit around feeling sorry for yourself.’


Terra is sure he has heard that deep gruff voice before, but he can’t place it. Whoever these men are, it sounds like they’re arguing.


‘You don’t think I know that!?’

‘You don’t! Ignis took one for you too, and for what!?’

‘Enough Gladio!’


Gladio? Terra racks his brains. He remembers that name.



‘You think you’re a king, but you’re a coward.’

‘Shut up!’

‘Don’t do this-!’  Another familiar voice, but this one is higher-pitched compared to the others.

‘I get it alright! I get it!’

‘Then get over it!’

‘Noct…’


A door opens and closes further away.


‘Leave him, Prompto.’

´I will talk to him.´

´Iggy…´

´Gladio, Noctis doesn’t feel sorry for himself as much as he blames himself for what happened to me and Lady Lunafreya.’

‘What!? But it’s not Noct’s fault!’

‘Indeed Prompto. But I’ve known him for so long, I know he acts distant out of guilt.’

‘Damn, I thought that… And I just made it worse, didn’t I?’

‘It’s okay Gladio, we’re all on edge because of what happened in Altissia. I’ll talk to Noct and we’ll be back in a while.’



While listening to their conversation, Terra tried to figure out what’s going on.


Gladio and Prompto, he remembers them. They were the two fighters in Altissia that wanted to save their friends.

He had fought the two as Ardyn had told him to but he had let them pass in the end.

At the altar Lunafreya, Ravus’ sister, had passed. But it seems that the ones called Noct and Iggy are, from the sounds of it, safe now.

Except that something happened to Iggy and Noct blames himself.

So he’s back in that world? The war must still be going on then.

That means it isn’t safe here for Ven.

He has to hurry and find him.



Terra opens the door in front of him and enters the new room.

On the left, Prompto and Gladio are seated near the window. Their heads turn to him at the same time.


Prompto’s eyes widen and Gladio is up in a flash, ‘You!? What are you doing here?’ he demands.

The blond moves next to his big friend and watches him carefully, ‘Did you follow us?’

‘No,’ Terra says immediately, ‘I am looking for a friend.’


Their guard seems to drop slightly.


‘I knew it!’ Prompto says walking up to him, ‘When you fought us, you also wielded a Keyblade. So, are you friends with Ven and Aqua then?’

Surprised that Prompto knows their names, Terra nods, ‘Who told you about them?’

Prompto drops his guard completely at the confirmation and smiles, ‘Uhm, they did. We’re friends too. They helped us out a lot.’



Terra looks at the two boys and can see light within them. He wonders why he hadn’t noticed that before.

Maybe because he hadn’t been looking for it.

But they’re light so that means that he can trust them.

His eyes linger on Prompto.

He senses something different in him, but he doesn’t know what it is.



‘Wait,’ Gladio seems confused, ‘Wait- This is the friend of Aqua and Ven? Then why did he fight us!?’

‘I apologize for that. I was tricked by the darkness. At the time I merely wanted to help the High Commander save his sister but I failed,’ Terra answers.

Gladio’s gaze softens at that, ‘The Astral damned Chancellor can’t be trusted. But he fooled us into trusting him too when we first met him and he helped us out, so I can’t exactly blame you.’

Terra nods gratefully, ‘Thank you.' He turns to Prompto, 'You said you know Ven, right? I think he is around here. Have you seen him?’

‘Ven is here!?’ Prompto asks surprised, ‘I haven’t seen him since the fight against Titan… I know he got away but there’s no way he would be able to be here. That’s impossible.’

‘Just as impossible as Aqua reaching Altissia by herself,’ Gladio realizes, ‘Ignis also never figured out how she did that.’

‘It has something to do with the power of our Keyblades,’ Terra answers, ‘Sorry, I can’t tell you much more than that. It is possible for Ven to be here, but you haven’t seen him then?’

Prompto shakes his head, ‘I haven’t seen him at this part of the train. Maybe he’s in the front? Gladio and I can check in the back.’

Terra smiles gratefully at Prompto. He kind off reminds him of Ventus. ‘Thank you, I will look there then.’



Terra opens the door at the other end of the room and looks around as he makes his way towards the front of the train.


‘So… how did it happen? Uhm, your eyes- I mean, if you don’t want to talk about it-’

‘The last thing I remember seeing was his ship, heading for the altar. I fell unconscious… and was powerless to stop him.’


There’s a brief silence.


‘…I’m just glad you’re alive. If you or any of the guys... I- I just don’t want to lose you.’

‘We’re not going anywhere Noct.’


Terra enters the room carefully, afraid he intruded on a personal conversation but it seems the conversation just ended.

He looks at the two boys sitting across from each other, both dressed in black, like Gladio and Prompto.

One of them wearing glasses covering closed, scarred eyes and a cane next to his seat.

The other boy has raven hair and night blue eyes turn to look at him.


‘Who’s there?’ the one wearing glasses asks.


That’s when it hits Terra.

He is blind.


‘My name is Terra,’ Terra answers politely, ‘I -’

‘Terra?’ the blind man asks, his head turning towards Terra’s voice, ‘Ravus and Aqua mentioned you before. You’re a friend of theirs?’

Terra nods but realizes that he won’t be able to see that. ‘I am,’ he confirms.

‘I am Ignis and this is Noctis. A pleasure to meet another ally.’

‘Did you come here to help us too?’ Noctis asks him as he stands up curiously.

‘Actually, I’m looking for my other friend.’

Noctis seems to think, ‘You mean Ven?’

‘Yes, have you seen him?’

‘No,' the boy frowns confused, 'Why would he be here?’

‘I wonder that myself,’ Terra answers, ‘I will continue looking for him. Please let me know if you see him.’

‘We can help,’ Noctis offers, ‘We’ve all seen Ventus so-’

Noctis stops talking as he looks at Ignis and his gaze falters, ‘…Uhm, right.’ He turns back to Terra, ‘I will help you look for him.’

Appreciating the help, Terra smiles at him. ‘Thank you.’

Before Noctis heads out after Terra he turns to his friend, ‘Stay there, I’ll be back soon Iggy.’

The older boy nods in response before being left alone.

~~~

The train is long. Really long.

Terra moves through door after door and room after room, followed by the raven-haired boy while they both look around for Ven.


‘How much further is it?’ Terra asks Noctis.

‘Not sure. I think we’re close to the front. Are you sure Ventus is here?’ Noctis asks him.

Is he sure? Maybe he is wrong? Maybe Ventus isn’t here after all.

But what else could that light have been? It felt so familiar.


‘Noct! There you are!’


Terra turns around to see someone enter the room behind them.

Noctis stares in shock at the man that walked in Terra is just as surprised to see him.


The man hurries towards Noctis in an attempt to grab his arm, ‘I’ve come to get you, hurry! There are-’

‘What the hell are you doing here!?’ Noctis barks furious, stepping backward and pulling his arm away from the man.


Ardyn stops his steps and tilts his head, ‘Uhm, Noct? Are you oka- Whoa!’

He barely dodges a punch Noctis sends his way, ‘Wait, what-!? Easy there, buddy!’ he holds up his hands as he looks at Noctis, ‘You alright?’

‘Shut up!’ Noctis shouts with a fierce glare, summoning his sword and swinging it at the Imperial chancellor.

‘Wait- is this for real?’ Ardyn asks stepping back towards the door he came from, ‘C´mon, Noct. You´re scaring me! Seriously man, cut it out!’

´You think this is funny!?’ Noctis rushes forward as Ardyn turns tail and runs out of the room.

‘ Dude, are you seriously trying to kill me!?’

‘Why wouldn’t I!?'


Terra hurries after them. But the door closes right in front of him and he can’t get it open.

He watches through the window and sees Noctis cornering Ardyn.


‘What are you after, following me around this whole time? It’s all YOUR fault!’

‘What are you talking about…? Do you really mean that Noct?’


That is Ardyn? The chancellor?

There’s something wrong. He can feel it.


Terra has encountered the man a few times now. But never has he seen the man so… confused and scared.


‘Of course I do! You can’t talk your way out of this!’ Noct seethes angrily at the man who he has pinned against the wall. The hurt is evident in his voice.

‘Noct.., please… Can’t we talk for a sec?’

‘Never!’


And now the man is begging?

Why does he sound so desperate?


Terra once again tries to open the door but it won’t budge.

He summons his Keyblade, aiming it to the door to unlock it but a familiar sound behind him makes him turn around.

Flashes of darkness appear and for Unversed in front of him.


There’s darkness here? That confirms his suspicions that something really is wrong. He grits his teeth and summons his Keyblade to get rid of them.

If Ventus is here, he needs to find him quickly.

He looks over his shoulder at the closed door but he also has to help Noctis.

~~~

When he got rid of all the Unversed at last, he trained his Keyblade on the door and heard it click open.

When he enters the room, Ardyn is gone.

Noctis lies on the floor with Prompto crouched next to him, helping him up.


‘Noct! Are you okay?’ Prompto asks worried, indicating he must have also arrived just now.

‘No,’ Noctis says as he gains his bearings, ‘Where’s Ardyn?’

‘He’s not here,’ Terra says.

‘Wait- he’s here?’ Prompto looks around surprised, ‘Then he must be behind this. C’mon Noct. Ignis and Gladio are in danger at the front. They can’t fight the Unversed!’


The front? Terra wonders. He thought the others were at the back. He hasn’t come across them.


He doesn’t have time to voice his question as Noctis rushes past him with a fierce look in his eyes,

‘We have to help them. If Ardyn’s there then they’re in even more danger.’

‘Right,’ Prompto agrees following Noctis to the front. Upon reaching the next room, they’re faced with another bunch of Heartless.

‘Damn, there’s so many!’ Noctis says, ‘They’re everywhere!’

‘Where do they keep coming from?’ Terra wonders readying his Keyblade again to fight them. ‘I can take them,’ he says, summoning his Keyblade again, ‘You two need to get to safety.’

‘Noct!’ Prompto point towards the ceiling, ‘Up the roof! We can get to the front of the train via the roof.’

Noctis nods shooting Prompto a smile, ‘Okay, let’s go!’


Terra covers their backs as the two boys open a door of the train to get to the roof and he lunges himself at the Unversed.

He continues his way to the front of the train, fighting waves of Unversed after another.


Why are there so many of them? Is Vanitas here? Or is there someone else here that attracts so much darkness?

Could this darkness really be coming from Ardyn alone?

Terra’s roused from his thought when he heard sounds of a fight above him.

Worried about Prompto and Noctis he quickly deals with the last Unversed before he also rushes to the roof.



He arrives at the roof to see Ardyn holding a gun aimed straight at Prompto and Noctis raising his blade at Ardyn.


‘Prompto!’ Noctis yells worried as he slashes the gun from Ardyn’s hand and slashes at the man again, making him lose his balance and fall backward.

Terra watches him fall off the train and hears the man scream in shock.

Only for the voice to turn to another familiar high-pitched voice mid-fall.


He hurriedly takes a step closer and spots a flash of blond hair over the edge of the train.

Watching Noctis in front of him, staring wide-eyed down at the falling figure, Noctis must have come to the same realization.


The one he pushed off the train was not Ardyn.



Noctis' shocked gaze is trained on the body, now lying on the ground that moves further away as the train moves.

Soft footsteps approach them and Terra spins to face him. Instead of Prompto, it is Ardyn standing there with them.


‘How long were you in the dark?’ Ardyn asks Noctis almost pitifully.


Noctis doesn’t even seem to have heard him, unable to fully grasp that it was his friend Prompto who fell off the train and is now all alone left behind in the landscape covered with snow. 

Noctis takes a few steps closer to the edge, ‘Prompto!’ he shouts out, his voice broken, raising his blade.


A flash of blue light appears around him, but before he can completely vanish in the air, Ardyn is behind him and knocks him down with a gun.

Prompto’s gun to be precise, Terra recognizes it from their fight in Altissia.



This man had tricked them once again.

He had somehow swapped his appearance with Prompto’s.


‘You son of a bitch!’ Noctis yells at him, ‘You’ll pay for that!’

‘Oh? I would be scared now,’ Ardyn steps towards him amused, ‘If I weren’t immortal that is. Such is my blessing, and curse.’

He is immortal? Is that why he attracts so many Unversed? Because the darkness in him is so old and has only grown as time passed by?


Either not willing to listen to Ardyn, or simply not caring about anything else, Noctis does not seem to process the information.

He keeps looking over the edge of the rain but they’re already so far, there is no sight of Prompto.


‘It’s adorable to see how worried you are about your friend,’ Arydn tells him, his signature smirk on his face, ‘But do not worry, my men are already out there, no doubt escorting him safely back home.’

‘What!?’ Noctis growls, finally turning to face the man with his eyes full of anger, ‘Where are they taking him!?’

‘Where else but Gralea, the seat of the empire? The little gunman would be delighted to see you and you might even find your Crystal there.’


Crystal?



‘Off you go then,’ Ardyn chuckles as he brushes past Noctis glancing at him from the corner of his eye, ‘I wouldn’t want to keep you from your friend.’


Terra hears a soft click and Ardyn is gone when he blinks.

Noctis looks frustrated and Terra is once again left feeling helpless.


Not knowing how to comfort the other boy and worried about Prompto who has apparently been kidnapped, they make their way back inside the train. 

There are still many Unversed.


‘Go,’ Terra tells Noctis, ‘I’ll deal with them. Go, find your friends.’

He doesn’t need to tell Noctis twice.


‘Right,’ Noctis says before he turns to head to the rear of the train, ‘Good luck.’

~~~

When the train abruptly halts shaking and the lights flashing out, Terra gets off and looks around.

It’s already dark outside. He looks around and walks, hoping the others made it safely out of the train.


When he sees the sign says Gralea, he recognizes the name.

Ardyn mentioned it before so they must be in the Imperial capital now where Prompto is held captive.

He follows the train tracks, not sure where he is supposed to go.


After looking around for a while, he comes across a car standing alone on a train track.


Ruined and abandoned. 

It is a sad sight.

A loud crash makes him turn around. He doesn’t think twice before rushing towards it.

~~~

‘No, Noct!’ Gladio shouts to the other side of a train.

‘Bloody hell,’ Ignis curses, ‘Is there a way forward?’

Gladio looks around, ‘There’s a way, but I don’t see us going forwards without facing off with the Daemons. And more of those Unversed showed up too.’

‘But now Noct and Ven are facing these monsters alone and we cannot help them without our weapons.’



Gladio looks up as he hears Terra approach.

Terra was about to ask them if they were okay, but the mention of his friend made him forget everything else.


He turns to Ignis,‘You found Ven?’

‘Terra?’ Ignis asks him, turning towards his voice with a relieved smile on his face, ‘I’m happy to hear you made it out.’

‘Did he though?’ Gladio moves in front of Ignis protectively, his eyes are narrowed at Terra, ‘We can’t trust him Iggy. Ardyn can change appearances, remember?’


Right. Terra understands his distrust. He witnessed it for himself when he saw Noctis and Prompto on the roof of the train.


‘Ah,’ Ignis nods in agreement, yet regretful, ‘I suppose you’re right.’

‘I am the real me,’ Terra says, summoning his Keyblade, ‘Even if Ardyn can change appearances I don’t think he should be able to wield a Keyblade.’

‘Only those who are chosen can wield it, Aqua did mention that,’ Ignis agrees.

‘We have no proof that Ardyn cannot do this, though,’ Gladio says, ‘We can’t risk it.’

‘What do you propose we do then?' Ignis asks his friend, 'Our weapons are blocked, we cannot fight either those Daemons or the Unversed without them.’

‘What if this is a trap of Ardyn? We won’t able to help Noct then,’ Gladio counters.

‘Oh dear, let me ease some of your worries.’



The three boys turn to face the man approaching them.

Amber eyes shine amused in the dark from beneath wine-red hair and a fedora, ‘Perhaps I could be of service.’


Gladio glares at him, stretching out an arm protectively in front of Ignis, ‘And why the hell  would you help us now!?’

‘Why… I come bearing gifts,’ Ardyn tells them innocently, clicking his fingers.


At the same time, daggers appear in Ignis’ hands and a broadsword in Gladio’s.


‘The hell?’ Gladio mutters confused.

‘See? Gifts! Now, I believe a “thank you” is in order.’

‘There’s no way I’ll ever thank you for what you’ve done,’ Gladio growls back.

Ardyn merely shrugs with a deep sigh, ‘Here I am, helping for a chance, but I can see I’m not wanted.’


He bids them farewell with a tip of his hat before he turns around and strolls away out of sight.


‘I’m loath to trust him,’ Ignis says.

‘Same… but at this point, we need all the help we can get,’ Gladio says and turns back to Terra, ‘That includes you, if you’re willing to help that is.'

Gladio looks in the direction Ardyn left, 'That bastard was definitely Ardyn so we can trust you.’

‘I’ll help you,’ Terra tells them, ‘You said Ven was here. Is he safe?’

‘I hope so,’ Ignis explains, ‘We got separated. I believe Ventus is with Noct.’

‘Yeah,’ Gladio swings his broadsword over his shoulder, ‘Let’s not waste any time and find them.’

‘Right,’ Terra agrees as the three of them make their way to Zegnautus Keep.

~~~

Zegnautus Keep appears to be an abandoned research facility, roaming with Daemons and Unversed.


It seems impossible they would ever find Ventus or Noctis in a place like this.

But Terra trusts his Wayfinder to guide him.

They follow up and downstairs, corridors and laboratories until a familiar voice sounds from a speaker.



‘Right this way, gentlemen.’


Terra can hear Gladio’s frustration and Ignis merely sighs at the Chancellor’s antics.

‘Proceed with caution,’ Ignis warns them as they open another door and enter a different room.


Gladio opens the door first, scouting the area for the others. When he deems it safe enough, he motions for them to come in.

It is a big, spacious room with computers, monitors and panels along the walls.


‘This looks like a control room,’ Gladio says, looking at the screens on the wall, ‘There are lotsa monitors and stuff.’

Ignis nods, seemingly grateful at the information, ‘Does anything look operable? Maybe it can help us to find Noct and Ven.’

‘I’m more of a low-tech kinda guy, but I’ll see what I can do,’ Gladio says, looking over the control panel, ‘Huh? Looks like they wiped everything… Except for this one.’

‘Maybe Ardyn wanted us to find it then,’ Terra realizes.

‘Let’s take a look. Whatever it is, it might help us,’ Ignis tells them.


Gladio nods and presses some buttons.



A monitor in front of them flashes and shows an old man sitting in a throne and Ravus standing in front of him.

‘What of the Hydrean’s power? What of my precious ring?’

‘By the hand of the Oracle, they are with the King now – their rightful owner. And someday soon, he shall use them to purge our star of its scourge.’


‘Is that… Ravus?’ Ignis asks surprised hearing his voice.

Gladio stares surprised, ‘Well look at that – the High Commander defying the Emperor. I wonder what changed Ravus’ mind like that. Never thought he’d ever accept Noctis as a king.’

Ignis stays silent, but there's a soft smile on his face.


‘But the Crystal is mine… I am the one True King!’

‘Nay, it is Noctis and none other.’


A fight broke out between the Emperor and High Commander, ending with Ravus being blown away, falling over a ledge.


Tumbling down from it into the depths. And the screen flickers.



‘Noctis is a King?’ Terra asks surprised.

‘The 114th King of Lucis,’ Ignis confirms, ‘We are his Crownsguard.’


That must mean they are like his guardians then.

He hadn't expected Noctis to be royalty. He looks and acts different, compared to other royals he came across while visiting other worlds.

Before Terra can ask more, the screen flashes back to life.



Ravus is exhausted and hurt but he is getting up. Terra feels relieved seeing that the man is still alive.

The High Commander is keeping himself upright with a sword and it is hard for Terra to see him in so much pain.


‘King Regis’ sword…’ Gladio says.


Footsteps approach Ravus.


‘Is Ravus okay?’ Ignis asks worried, unsure about the situation since he cannot watch the video.

‘He got up,’ Gladio tells him, ‘But someone’s coming.’


Ravus turns to the figure approaching him, looking relieved, ‘At last you have arrived, Noctis.’

His gaze falls on the ring on Noctis’ finger, ‘The gods have shown you their favor.’


‘Noct is there?’ Ignis asks.

‘Yeah,’ Gladio confirms, seeing their dark-haired friend walk into view.

Terra frowns, ‘But where’s Ven?’


If Noctis is there, does that mean Ven is out here on his own!?


Ravus looks up at Noctis, barely keeping himself standing, ‘As blood of the Oracle, I present you, your father’s glaive.'

He steadies himself on a railing while handing over the sword to Noctis, ‘Now, go forth, my King. Shine your light unto the world.’


Noctis wordlessly reaches for the sword and grabs it before he slashes Ravus’ prosthetic arm off of him.

Ravus collapses and lies on the floor unmoving.



‘What!?’ Terra gasps surprised.

‘No, damn it!’ Gladio angrily smashes his fist down.

‘What happened?’ Ignis demands.

Noctis looks down at Ravus, piercing the sword in the ground next to him, the prosthetic arm still holding onto the hilt.

‘Spare me your sycophancy. I’ve indulged your false heroism for far too long.’


Noctis’ voice coming from the speakers answers Ignis' question.


That is not  Noctis.



His voice changes to Ardyn’s, keeping Noctis’ appearance.


‘You tried to save the world in my stead but it wasn’t enough. The Crystal chose me – not you.’

And there stood Ardyn in place of Noctis. Taking a few letters from his coat and throwing them around Ravus’ body.

The Chancellor turns around, strolling away with a smirk, ‘Rejection hurts, doesn’t it?’

The screen flickers off.

No, did Ravus...

‘Shit. Let’s go,’ Gladio grits his teeth before he bursts out of the room, ‘If that’s what he did to Ravus, there’s no telling what he’ll do to Noct.’


But before they can leave the room, the door opens.

A figure staggers into the room and the door falling shut behind him.

It is painful to see the man. Looking at the man's right side, Terra is still able to recognize Ravus. 

But his left side is covered in darkness that seems to have taken him over. 

Gladio summons his sword and moves in front of Ignis. The familiar sound of a weapon being summoned alarming Ignis.

Ravus staggers towards them, his hand reaching out to them, pleading, ‘Kill me… End it…’

‘Ravus…’ Terra gasps, carefully taking a step towards him. 

‘Is that Ravus!?’ Ignis asks shocked.

‘More like what’s left of him merged with the scourge,’ Gladio says, summoning his sword.


That darkness is what they call the scourge?



Reluctantly Terra summons his Keyblade, knowing the light magic should be able to get rid of the darkness consuming Ravus. 

His hold on the Keyblade tightens as he slowly aims it at Ravus.


He knew Ravus, not that well but he knew him. They fought together in Altissia.

He was a good man who just wanted to protect his sister and who in the end rejected his emperor to support these guys instead.


Never before has Terra aimed his Keyblade at someone he cares about.


This is not like training with Aqua and Ven.

This is not like the Mark of Mastery exam.

This is a real fight. He doesn’t want to fight, but he must.



He takes on a fighting stance and takes a deep breath and joins Gladio in the fight.

To Terra, it feels like every hit he lands hurts him more than it hurts Ravus.

‘I’m sorry,’ Terra apologizes.

He failed.

He failed to protect the light of this world.

He failed to prove to Aqua and Master Eraqus that he could.

He clenches his fist, ‘Don’t blame yourself, High Commander.’

If anything, he himself is to blame.

The man looks up at him and for the first time, Terra can see a faint smile on his face, ‘Call me Ravus,’ he tells him.

‘Your kindness and your loyalty are admirable. Even though you are not fighting for the Empire, you have tried your best to help my sister and me while our own commanders betrayed us.’

Ravus looks grateful at him, ‘It’s been a long time since I have met people who are worth admiring. My sister was one of the few.’

‘And today, I have met two new ones,’ He looks back in the direction of the altar as he sighs softly, ‘Noctis is lucky to have someone so loyal on his side.’

Then Ravus turns back to him, ‘Thank you, friend,’ he tells Terra sincerely and walks past him, ‘May we meet again on a brighter day. For now, I need to be alone.’

Terra nods at him, ‘Take care, Ravus.’

Terra watches as Ravus falls flat on his back. The darkness slowly fading from him.

‘A sorry end for the High Commander,’ Gladio says, ‘For anyone. He was a man with hopes and dreams.’

‘What kind of fiend makes Daemons of men?’ Ignis clenches his fists.

Terra looks at Ravus, lying peacefully on the ground rid of the scourge.


He was controlled by the darkness. Forced to become a mere puppet. 

Just like Zack was when Terra fought him at the Colosseum. The young boy had been controlled by Hades.



What would happen if it was Terra who would be consumed by darkness?

What if he would be turned into a puppet to fight his friends?

What if his friends would be forced to fight him?



Terra has already been controlled by the darkness once, when Maleficent made him steal princess Aurora's heart.

He had lost control and lost faith in his own strength.

Seeing what became of Ravus now, his resolve only strengthens.


Never again will he let himself be consumed by it.


He doesn't ever want to fight against those he cares about again. 

Not Ven, not Aqua, not Master Eraqus, not Master Xehanort, no one. 



He will never hurt them.



Terra kneels with his Keyblade and closes his eyes as he holds on to hilt.

‘May you be at peace and reunited with your sister,’ He speaks softly before gets back up and looks at Ravus.

He offers him a soft smile.

‘Farewell, friend.’



After paying their respects to Ravus, the three left the control room and entered the hallway.

Terra leads the way as they walk in silence. 

‘Wait-!’ Ignis suddenly halts, leaning closer, ‘Can’t you hear that?’

‘Hear what?’ Gladio asks, not having heard anything. Terra also hadn't. 

‘Noct’s voice. I heard it clear as day,’ Ignis says, rushing forward down the corridor, ‘This way- follow me!’

‘Hey!’ Gladio quickly catches up to him, ‘Wait up!’


Terra reaches for the Wayfinder in his pocket, before he hurries after them, hoping Ven will be there as well.

Hang on Ven, I’m coming for you.