Y looked around the lanes between in wonder. She was still in awe of how beautiful they were. Colors all swirling together. It was like a sunset, with a few extra colors, all around them. There were dots of light as well, marking where the worlds were. Aqua was a little bit ahead of Y, keeping focused on the area. Aqua felt less at ease in this place where the darkness hung close.
Aqua looked over her shoulder, unsurprised to see Y so at ease. It was almost like Y couldn't even feel the darkness that dampened the air. She instead leaned against the fin on the back of her glider calmly, like it was nothing. As Aqua turned to look forward again, the sight of another glider caught the pair's attention.
"Terra?" Y asked, looking to Aqua for confirmation. Aqua nodded slowly, clearly thinking.
"Where's he going?" Aqua asked. Y almost answered, but quickly realized it was a rhetorical question. Or Aqua was talking to herself.
The two followed Terra landing in a bright square of a town. It was surprising to Y, this almost looked like her world. But it wasn't she decided after a quick look. The colors weren't quite right. More blues and whites in the brick than what she knew was in her home. There it was more warm yellows and shadowed greys.
The other give away was a duck that was way too humanoid for Y to ignore. He was shorter than Y quite significantly. He wore a blue coat and a darker blue hat with glasses resting on the edge of his beak. Aqua seemed to notice the duck and crossed the square over to him. Y followed though she wasn't sure of Aqua's intentions.
"Excuse us. We're terribly sorry to bother you sir." Aqua said, catching the duck's attention. He turned to face them.
"Ach, what a well-mannered lass ye are. I'd be pleased as punch to help ye if I can." The duck said, sounding rather happy.
"We're looking for a boy who's not from around here. Have you seen him?" Aqua asked. Y frowned. That was actually a pretty vague question. That could translate not only to Terra but to Ven as well. And X too, if he was around. The duck seemed to think on this for a moment before nodding.
"Hm, I think I know just how you're talking about. He scampered off toward yon castle in a right hurry." The duck said, pointing off towards a castle.
"Thank you so much." Aqua said. The duck nodded and walked away. Aqua looked towards the castle. "I hope Terra's still there." She said. Y nodded looking at her friend. Something was wrong with Aqua. She looked too worried. Something else was going on. Y didn't ask as they made their way to the castle. Aqua really didn't give her the chance to.
At the castle, they heard a scream that made them draw their keyblades. There was a little girl with red hair running from Unversed. Y couldn't figure out what they would want with such a small child.
"No! Run!' Aqua yelled. The girl tried to follow Aqua's direction but got trapped by a wall. The Unversed tried to attack her but luckily missed. The little girl ran away from the wall to Aqua and Y. She hid behind Y, grabbing onto the handle of her keyblade. Y knelt down and rested a hand on the girl's shoulder. She glanced around quickly looking for an escape route. Fighting with a child present wasn't advised.
"There's no way we can fight like this." Y objected. Aqua looked down at her and nodded. Just then an Unversed jumped forward to attack. Before it could however a humanoid mouse, much like the duck from earlier, jumped in and knocked it aside with a keyblade.
"Hurry! You got to get that girl someplace that's safe." The mouse said. Y wasn't going to argue and stood to take the girl away. Aqua wasn't as convinced.
"Who are you? Why do you have a keyblade?" Aqua asked.
"I'll tell ya later. Right now, we gotta stop these things!" The mouse said. Aqua nodded in agreement preparing to fight. Y took hold of the girl's hand and pulled her away. As she did such she heard the obvious sounds of Aqua and the mouse fighting. Y stopped at a small garden filled with flowers.
"Stay here okay?" Y asked, looking at the little girl's bright blue eyes. Y could almost feel light radiate from this girl. It was odd. The girl nodded. Y smiled quickly before returning to Aqua and the mouse. There were only a few Unversed left and it didn't take long to be rid of them.
After the fight, the three stood together. The little girl joined them as well, seeming to know the danger had passed as she took hold of Y's hand. Y looked down at her with a soft smile as Aqua knelt down to speak to the mouse.
"Thank you. My name is Aqua, I train under Master Eraqus." Aqua said.
"I'm Y. I train under Master Eraqus too." Y said, turning her attention to the mouse.
"And I'm Mickey. I used to be Master Yen Sid's apprentice. I came back to him for more training." The mouse said cheerfully. Y was surprised to hear that. She didn't think Yen Sid was teaching anymore.
"I sense light in this girl. Do you think that's why they attacked her?" Aqua said, looking at the little girl, who smiled brightly at Aqua.
"Yep, I think you might be absolutely right. If you ask me she must be someone pretty extraordinary." Mickey agreed. Aqua nodded.
"Yes, I'm quite certain she's someone we're supposed to protect." She said. Y glanced down at the little girl who really didn't seem to be listening too much. She was still smiling.
"Let's join forces! Oh no, not now!" Mickey said, as his pocket began glowing. Y looked at it in question. "I'll be okay!" Mickey said just before he shot up into the sky as a flash of light. "See ya real soon!" He called as he vanished into the sky. Y held back the urge to laugh. That was surprising to her.
The little girl suddenly tugged on Y's hand. Y and Aqua both turned their attention to the little girl. She beamed up at them and held out two handfuls of flowers.
"Here!" She said happily.
"Are these for us?" Aqua asked. The little girl nodded.
"I picked you some flowers. Thank you for saving me!" She said happily. Y smiled as she crouched down to take the flowers. Aqua made the same movement.
"Aw, you're so sweet." Y said.
"These are lovely," Aqua said, looking at the brightly colored flowers.
"My name's Kairi. Nice to meet you!" The little girl said, standing up on her toes for a second. It was cute to Y. It reminded her of other children she knew and hadn't seen in a long time.
"It's nice to meet you too. I'm Aqua." Aqua said, with a soft smile.
"I'm Y." Y greeted.
"Kairi, about that light," Aqua began.
"Kairi!" An old woman's voice called out before Aqua could finish her question. Kairi turned towards the voice quickly.
"Oh! Grandma!" She said, gaining a smile quickly. Kairi took a step towards her grandmother but was stopped by Aqua.
"Wait Kairi, just a minute," Aqua said. Kairi did as asked, stopping and looking back to Aqua. Aqua gently touched the necklace the little girl wore. It glowed faintly, letting Y know some magic had been cast on the necklace. "I just cast a magic spell on you. One day when you're in trouble, the light within you will lead you to the light of another. Someone to keep you safe." Aqua explained, confirming Y's thought.
"Thanks!" Kairi said happily before running towards her grandmother. Y assumed she really didn't understand what Aqua had meant, but it didn't matter. Y hoped she would never have to know.
"There you are. It's time to go." Y heard Kairi's grandmother say.
"Kay! Oh, bye!" She turned and waved to Aqua and Y. Aqua and Y waved in return."Hey grandma?" Kairi asked, turning to her Grandmother as they walked.
"Hm, what is it?" Her grandmother asked.
"Could you tell me that story?" Kairi requested. Y wondered what story she meant. Her grandmother laughed.
"Again dear?" She asked.
"Please?" Kairi asked, looking up at her grandmother with a pleading look.
"Very well then." Her grandmother decided. Kairi laughed happily. "Long ago people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived, in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps, deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open, and the true light will return. So, listen child. Even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away." Kairi's grandmother explained. Kairi nodded as the story finished.
Y frowned. She had heard that before somewhere. But she couldn't remember where. Or who had told her. But something else was off. That wasn't how Y had heard the story. When Y heard the story it was more, balanced. She wasn't sure why, but that seemed like the right word. Balanced.
"That story, I think I've heard it before. But it was, different." Y said to Aqua. Aqua looked at Y with interest before looking back towards Kairi.
"Something tells me we didn't run into her by accident," Aqua said in wonder. Y nodded in agreement. Aqua stood again and looked towards the town. She gasped as she saw a giant flying Unversed. "Unversed!"
"It never ends." Y complained before taking off after the Unversed, Aqua following close behind her. They ran through the entire town before finding the place the Unversed stopped. It was a square area, that luckily was away from the rest of town. Unfortunately, the Unversed joined up with two others making an even larger threat.
But they weren't going to be alone in this fight.
As they arrived into the area Terra and Ven ran in as well. They all slid to a stop side by side.
"Ven, Y!" Terra said in absolute shock. Y smiled at him nervously, though Ven didn't seem to care. He also seemed surprised like Terra was.
"Terra, Aqua, Y!" Ven said, looking between the three.
"Ven!" Aqua said. Y rolled her eyes, watching the Unversed. Now was really not the time for a catch-up session. Y cleared her throat catching the attention of the other three. She made a gesture towards the Unversed that for some reason hadn't attacked them.
The others seem to realize that the Unversed they had all chased here individually was a little more of a problem than catching up. All four of Eraqus' apprentices drew their keyblades and prepared to face the Unversed.
The fight was just like old days while training. Except of course they were against an Unversed instead of the attempted team ups against Master Eraqus. They all knew how to fight together. Terra and Ven handled up close combat well, Terra always using his strength while Ven relied on his speed. They played well off of each other, easily keeping the Unversed away from Aqua and Y.
Aqua and Y were more magic based. Aqua focusing on the elemental magic and Y using healing and light magic along with spells that boosted abilities on her friends. They were by no means defenseless if they had to get into close range combat, but it was easier for them to use magic.
It wasn't long until the Unversed was clearly on its last leg. Terra and Ven jumped back and joined Aqua and Y. The Unversed turned on them and prepared to attack, shooting some sort of beam at them. They all jumped out of the way and scattered across the area.
"Terra!" Aqua called. Terra nodded in understanding, looking to where Ven was.
"Ven, now!" Terra ordered. Ven nodded.
"Let's go Y!" Ven said. Y nodded, preparing herself to attack. Aqua launched herself into the air with Terra seconds behind her. Y and Ven jumped at the same time. Aqua landed a blow across the Unversed followed by Terra. Y and Ven hit together, the maneuver working just as they had practiced. The Unversed died in a harsh shriek.
"Got 'im." Terra said proudly, looking at his friends with a grin.
"We make a good team." Aqua said with a smile. Ven laughed putting his hands behind his head.
"Sure do." He agreed. Y grinned looking at them all. It had been too long since they had all been together. But it was odd, Terra was on his own. Wasn't X supposed to be with him?
"Of course." Y said simply. They stood silently together, just smiling for a second. Ven jumped seeming to remember something.
"Oh yeah! I got you these tickets." He said, taking said tickets out of his pocket.
"For what?" Terra asked.
"Lifetime passes to Disney Town." Ven explained handing each of his friends. Y took hers and looked at it with interest. She had never heard of this Disney Town place. But she supposed they really hadn't heard of any worlds they hadn't been to. "He said to give one to a friend and to-- to take two grown-ups." Ven said looking very serious. Y grinned a little.
"You mean those two?" Y asked in disbelief, pointing at Terra and Aqua. Both looked at Y and laughed. Ven smiled a little and shrugged. Y turned to Terra. "Hey Terra, where's my brother?" She asked.
"He's catching up. Had something he needed to do in the last world we were in." Terra answered. Y nodded. She glanced over to Ven, who looked like something was bothering him. Y frowned in confusion. Aqua seemed to notice it as well.
"Listen to me, Ven. We need to get you and Y home." Aqua said. Y frowned at Aqua. Ven looked at Aqua and smiled a little.
"It's ok Aqua. Trust me, that guy in the mask is history. Him and X aren't ever going to bad mouth Terra or Y again." Ven said insistently. Terra and Y both gasped, though probably due to different parts of what Ven had said.
"You saw the boy in the mask?" Terra asked, taking hold of Ven's shoulder. Y remembered the masked boy, and she really didn't care about him. He was just an annoyance who spoke nonsense. Her concern rested with the other part of what Ven had said.
"What about my brother?" Y demanded. Ven looked shocked by both of their reactions.
"I saw them together. X helped him, said something about darkness calling to darkness. And then he said he didn't care about Y." Ven explained looking between the other two nervously. Y bit her lip. Terra stepped back, looking troubled.
"Vanitas, and X?" He muttered under his breath. Y frowned, looking at Terra. How did he know the masked boy's name? "Ven, Y, you let Aqua take you home," Terra said. Y looked at him in disbelief. Terra was usually the one on their side, what was going on?
"No way. I wanna go with you guys." Ven objected.
"Yeah, we can help." Y said.
"You can't." Terra said harshly. Y jumped back in surprise. Terra had never spoken to them like that. Like they were just children. "We have a dangerous task ahead of us. I don't want you two to get hurt." He said, trying to explain his behavior. He must have realized he sounded much harsher than he would any other time.
"And what is this dangerous task, Terra? It doesn't sound like what the Master told you to do." Aqua asked, in an almost condescending tone.
"It might be a different route, but I'm fighting the darkness." Terra said simply.
"I'm not so sure. 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." Aqua said. Y turned on her in complete disbelief. Was Aqua really believing the word of people they hardly knew? Over Terra?
"Terra hadn't done anything wrong!" Y objected.
"Listen to yourself, Aqua. Terra would never." Ven said, supporting Y.
"You mean you've been spying on me? Is that what he said to do? The Master's orders?" Terra asked in challenge.
"He was only--" Aqua began, but she trailed off. There was a pause where Y, Ven, and Terra waited for Aqua to continue. But she didn't, only looked at the ground quietly.
"Aqua..." Ven said in disbelief.
"I get it." Terra said. He turned to leave and began walking away. Ven stepped forward to follow him.
"Terra!" Ven said.
"Just stay put!" Terra snapped. Ven stopped in shock. "I'm on my own now, all right?"He asked. Hearing no reply he walked away. Y glanced around, hoping she could find a way to stop him. She froze when she saw X, watching from above. He wasn't looking at her, he was instead focused on Terra with a cold gaze. It made Y worry. X had never held such a gaze before. He moved back and followed Terra into the town. Y had a suspicion he had watched the whole fight and not lifted a finger to help.
"Terra, please! Listen! The Master has no reason to distrust you, really! He was just worried." Aqua called after Terra. Y looked at her disbelief, turning away from X.
"I can't believe you." Y said softly.
"You're awful, Aqua." Ven said bitterly.
"So now you know the truth. But the Master loves Terra, and you know that too." Aqua insisted.
"Were you also ordered to take us home?" Ven asked. Aqua didn't reply. She looked away from Ven and Y, almost seeming guilty.
"Of course she was." Y said in a whisper. Ven frowned and shook his head.
"Aqua, now that you're a keyblade master, you've let it go to your head," Ven said. He turned away from Aqua. "I'm gonna go find Terra." He said.
"Me too." Y agreed. She and Ven took off without a further word.