Up, Up, and Away

[Rikugurl]

Riku frowned as he slowly stood. Data? They had been watching them? He never took note of anyone odd or new or suspicious on Destiny... how long had these people been spying on them... and how much did they know? Who exactly were they?
A sigh. This lifestyle was never ending.


Ven listened closely as he heard Aqua in his own device. He too picked up the crackling. If she was at base, there would be no static... plus he would of heard the computers, even if she was in her room. He frowned more as he could hear the slight noise of water in the background.

It was obvious... Aqua was a bad lier. Ven eyed Terra's orders and nodded, quickly computerizing away.

Back at Dragoon, there was a ripple.
"They look quite fine to me."
A familiar voice came from far off behind Aqua.

The second Ven appeared in the bowl, all the keyblades appeared in the four hands (two being in Roxas's of course). Riku growled. Who the hell was this? He looked exactly like Roxas. Another trick.

The large keyblade formed in Ven's hand too, seeing the other's.
His eyes glared at the back of Aqua's head.
"What fucking exactly do you think you're doing?"

[Reno]

Sora jumped to his feet, the voice famailar to him - in many ways and that was really odd to say. he spun, glaring towards Ven.

Roxas was on his feet as well, but he was in a bit of a state of shock. How does one react when looking at... one's self? Why did this guy have his face and his voice?!

No... this couldn't be right...

Aqua stood slowly, then turned to face Ven, her eyes narrowed. "i'm doing whatever the hell i think is right! Got a problem with that?!"

"Yes, actually we do." A new voice intoned - the one Sora recognized from over the intercom. He tensed, glancing behind him. Was that a... hammer in his hands? "Aqua what happened to you? Don;t you remember our ideals?"

Roxas spun on his heels at Terra's voice, scowling. he walked around Axel so he could stand in front of his lvoer protectively. He'd already almost lost him once - he wasn;t letting it happen again.

"you're ideals are killing people... i thought thats whta we were trying to prevent!"

Terra scoffed. "what load a bull did they feed you this time? Love stories and romance and all that shit? Did this one-" At this he pointed to Axel, "go on and on about how wonderful it is to fuck his little lover every hour of the goddamned night and it was peaches and cream? You're such a sap Aqua you're jeopordizing everything we're worked for!"

Roxas started to growl, his whole form tensing in fury. Trembles shook his frame and he looked ready to kill the other. how dare he just... disgrace his and Axel's relationship like that!

Aqua turned, scowling at Terra. "Stop being so heartless!"

"heartless?! I'm heartless?! these monsters," He waved towards the keybladers, "will be destroying worlds, taking away lives mercilessly if we don;t do something and you call ME heartless?! What is the death of a few, in sight of so many?"

"We;re still people!" Sora jumped in suddenly. "And you have no right to think you can decide what our fates will or will not be!!" He scowled, turning towards Terra, rage in his eyes. "And every life matters... no matter how small! If you were a true keyblader like your friend says you would NEVER forget that!!"

[Rikugurl]

Xio looked around in confusion. Who were all these people? He didn't care though, the minute he saw Roxas become defensive of Axel, he did too. He stood by Roxas's side and growled. He'd protect his master and lover even if he was already worn out.


Ven stood his groud, glaring at Sora. What a heart. He remembered when his was like that. The keyword there is was. He slowly sidestepped to Terra, standing at his side. Terra still had his loyalty.
"Shut up you little shit! You've been fortunate enough that your heart stories have won over Darkness... but even in the dozen of connected planets you know... there are millions upon millions of other worlds out there AND LET ME TELL YOU... the Darkness there would fucking gut you in a second. You're not a keyblade master... you're a goddamn keyblade preschooler!"

Ven's eyes became darker as he got into stance. "You're no better Aqua! You're stronger than this! Don't fucking listen to these losers. They want normal lives, well of course they're not going to fucking get it. Once a keyblade chooses you, your life is fucking over! It's a curse, not a blessing! You know it Aqua!" His feet started to move when he suddenly stopped, seeing Riku step in front of the blue haired woman.


Riku peered through his wet hair at the other, a face that did not look amused. That was suppose to be a very important day for him and Sora... and these dickweeds had to come around and ruin it. He was getting quite tired of it. He swung his keyblade loosely but protectively in front of Aqua.
"Come on big boy... you're all talk. We're all here now... all four keyblades that you want are in your sight... so shut up and come get them... I'd like to see you try."


Ven growled more as he listened and watched Riku. Damnit... He frowned and looked back at Terra slightly. "We won't have a chance Terra... we have to retreat..."

[Reno]

Sora bristled in anger as he was criticized once again. His hand tightened around ultima, looking ready to just charge forward and attack. But Ven wasn;t done yet. He started to verbally attack poor Aqua as well.

Aqua flinched at Ven's words bowing her head, trying to make her mind wrap around the right words to return to him - but for once in her life she was speechless. She was shocked when the silver-haired male stepped in front of her. Her eyes went wide with both confusion and gratitude. From the data they had collected... Riku had seemed the most heartless of all but here he was protecting her. He wasn;t the only one to shcok her today - Axel and Sora and even Roxas had as well. The words they spoke, the emotions they showed, the forgiveness they gave...

Maybe... they had been relying on false information for too long. they didn;t understand the power of the heart.

Maybe... they were wrong completely.

Sora couldn;t help but grin as his lover taunted the two chasers without mercy or worry. He was right about one thing - four keyblades were a formidable team - Ven and Terra if they did decide to fight them would have one hell of a time winning.

And it seemed they had nothing to worry about - because they were running scared.


Terra took in Ven;s words, his eyes narrowing down at the team. He had knwon this would not be easy from the beginning - Riku alone had caused him a lot of damger, and Roxas was a little firecracker with a lot of relentlessness to his attacks. Add in Sora with hs own magical and physical prowess and Aqua would no doubt at this point use her own magic resereves...

It was two on five. They were screwed - down one Chaser and already had dmage. "Right. We will retreat for now." And with that, he stepped through a portal, leaving the keyblader team behind.

[Rikugurl]

No... Riku wasn't heartless. He probably had the same amount of heart as Roxas did.. or maybe even less. That was probably why they didn't got along all too well... but for knowing Sora for this long... how could anyone become heartless? Especially now that they had been living together for three years. Sora was right... once he understood his powers and role as a keyblader... you must protect everyone... even if you like them or not.

Destroying worlds wasn't on his 'To Do' list anymore ever since Sora took care of Ansem. Riku did believe that keyblades were naturally made for evil... but with the right heart... it could be used for good.


Ven growled as he heard the portal behind them open. They only had to back down a few times... but he hated doing it every time.
Gritting his teeth, he slowly started to follow Terra's lead. Before he stepped into the portal though, he looked back at Auqa, pointing at her. "Aqua! Don't you dare think about coming back to base. If you do, you'll be killed on sight as a traitor! And for the rest of you.." He peered around at everyone. "This isn't the last you'll see of the Chasers."

He quickly jumped into the portal, it sealing quickly behind him.
His feet landed on the cold steel of the base, the sound of computers in the back. He looked down at the floor, his fist clenched. How could she betray them like that? After all they went through. For god sakes, she saved his life!
"AUGH!" The runt kicked his computer chair violently, it went flying across the room and slammed into a data base.


The Way to Dawn disappeared as the Chasers disappeared into an odd computer-like portal. He sighed and slowly looked down at Aqua, reaching his hand down to offer her up.

[Reno]

Aqua scoffed at Ven;s word, giving him a glare. "Like i;d ever want to!" she snapped as he left. she looked down, glaring at the water.


Terra watched his with bored eyes. The chair made a loud, annoying bang. "that won't help you know." he said sarcastically, his voice full of withheld fury. "I always suspected she;d back out on us." He scoffed. Even after all theyl;d been through though - how could she? truly?! She was fighting the stupid PYRO for god's sake. Now if she had been fighting sora then he could imagine her getting swayed by all his nonsensical 'talks' about the heart and crap but the stupid pyro who had to steal back his heart?!

What. The. Hell?!


With the Chasers gone, the others breathed easier, their weapons disappearing in a shimmer of light. Now safe, Roxas turned back to Axel, looking him over, frowning. that wound on his shoulder looked absolutely nasty. "Ax..."

Aqua glanced up at Riku's proffered hand. she smiled faintly, reaching up to clasp hers in his, and with his help, she got to her feet. "Thanks..." she murmured - but what she was thanking him four even she didn;t know.

Sora glanced between riku and Aqua curiously, then grinned faintly. Riku was being nice! maybe his socialable nature was rubbing off on his lover.

He turned suddenly, hurrying over towards Axel, Roxas and Xio, seeing the blood staining up against Axel's neck and down his arm. the wound was still fresh and trickling - it seemed to of missed the artery thankfully. "Jeez Ax- stop getting yourself killed." The brunette joked. "Curaga." he murmured, the green light flittering from his fingers tips before it encased Axel's battered form, healing the bruises and the wounds to the best of the magic;s abilty.

[Rikugurl]

"Just shut the fuck up, huh!? SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Ven growled as he clenched his fist more. "I know it won't fucking help but it makes me feel a pinch fucking better! Is that fucking OK with you!?" His blue eyes glared at the other, tears somewhat forming around the bottom.
His keyblade formed in his hands and he just chucked it across the room, making it slide against the steel floor.

Of course, it quickly disappeared as it stopped and reappeared back into Ven's hands. "Fuck..." He bowed his head in defeat. "Aqua should of just let him kill me." He took a sigh, some streams of tears running down his face. How could she? They were... friends.

The keyblade vanished as he walked towards their room, going in and sitting on the bed.


Axel blinked and he randomly got all this attention. He wasn't going to lie, he liked it. His green eyes grew bright as he looked up at Roxas, still so glad that he was alive. He blinked as he suddenly felt the numbness dumb down and looked at his shoulder. The wound had healed somewhat... but he still wouldn't be able to use it for awhile.

"Thanks... but could you guys not call me Ax?" He laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "It sounds... really gay."


Riku smiled as he saw the other help out the pyro, but he turned his attention to Aqua. She seemed lost... but of course she would. He was guessing that she had nowhere to go... and with no one she knew. "Aqua... if you have no place to go... you're welcome to come back with us to Destiny... and if an island isn't your type of thing, I'm sure Roxas and Axel would be delighted to have you live in Delshad.

[Reno]

Terra watched the other as he continued his damn temper tantrum, then rolled his eyes, looking away. He wasn;t too happy either but jeez throwing random objects at walls was not going to help.

He caught sight of the tears as well. Maybe he should have expected that - Ven was way too emotional to be healthy. pff him and Sora would get along a lot more well then they let on he bet.

Terra followed the blonde, sitting next to him, carelessly slinging an arm Around his shoulders, bringing him clsoe as if it was as natural as could be, Well hell, they slept like this too, so he didn;t see the big deal in it.


"You ARE gay Axel." The brothers intoned in unison, sharing a small grin with one another. "Or should we say Axey!" The two laughed.

It was a way to release tension after nearly getting killed by some crazy people probably. Sora had always defaulted to the machanism of cheering himself up with either laughter or just a bright smile and Roxas seemed t of adapted that quality from him.

Sora's head turned though, hearing Riku's offer.

Aqua chuckled. "I'm not helpless you know I do know how to take care of myself."

The brunette walked over, wrapped an arm around riku;s waist, ebfore smiling at her. "Yeah you probably do but still spending time with some new friends is exciting - doncha think?"

Aqua blinked confused. "New... friends?"

"'Course! what;d you think you were gonna be to us after all that?!" The keyblader said brightly.

[Rikugurl]

Ven felt the arm around him, his blue, watery eyes looking down at the floor. Their reflection looked back at him. How pathetic. Crying... Hell! There was nothing wrong with crying. He just lost a friend. Sure she pissed him off and vise versa... but Aqua was his friend. She protected him and he'd protect her in a heartbeat.

He was going to miss her. How could she just randomly... do this to them?
He bit his lip and slowly leaned into Terra, his face buried into the rock-hard body. It wasn't very comfortable... but the warmth made his temper simmer. More tears ran down his face and onto the other's shirt as he sniffed.

Maybe... Aqua had the right idea. What if they were wrong? Were they any better than Xehanort?
No... they were doing the right thing. They had already collected 289 keyblades... if Xehanort didn't steal them all, they would of had over 1,000 by now. The worlds that they went to... they were no longer disrupted by Darkness ever since they took the keyblades out of their world.
He wouldn't let those losers words get to him...

Slowly his arm wrapped around the other's waist for some kind of comfort. Ven had lost his family when he was young... and Terra was the first person to really be there for him afterwards. Ven never really became emotionally attached to things... but Aqua... and especially Terra... the only little bit of heart that he had left was for them.


"Just cause I'm gay doesn't mean I need a gay name!" The pyro whined as he was going to smack Roxas's leg... but only winced loudly as he forgot his arm was injured. He pouted and looked at Xio was kinda liked the name Axey!
"I wanna go hooooome~~~"


Riku smiled as he felt the loving arm around his waist.
"Yea Aqua... looks like you're stuck with us." That wasn't necessarily a bad thing though. He looked back at Axel and frowned. "But whatever your destination is... we really would like to get back to our home worlds... if you wouldn't mind..."

[Reno]

Terra sighed looking towards the floor at their reflection as well. He was saddened too - but he had a completely different history from Ven and his ehart was completely closed off to such pain. He had lost his mother when he had been young, he never knew his father. He didn;t have any siblings and his life became more of a hop-to-hop life from home to home of whoeever would take in the local stray untuil they couldn;t stand him anymore. He had grown to be a troubled teen with anger issues - and the minute he saw his chance had escaped.

People left him constantly. Ven and Aqua they were the first to be able to stand him for a longer period of time but still, even he knew it had been a matter of time before they would leave as well.

Even if Aqua had still been here... ocne the job had been done and finished there would have no point to stick around. they would return to their lives - or in Ven;s case - ultimately destroying themseleves.

In the end he would be alone again.

So he closed his heart, laying dwn across the bed and taking Ven with him, holding him more securely. Aqua was gone and that amde their job a lot harder - she had been the snarkiest of them and the sneakiest - she could gather information the best. Now they would have a tougher time and possible not even be able to fight alone any longer. Keybladers - both the ones already steepled in darkness and those who merely wielded them were fierce fighters as it was.

Their job was looking almost impossible now.


"Yes you need a gay name." Roxas said jokingly, smiling, but at the mention of home, a frown appeared and he nodded. "Yeah... i do too."

Aqua laughed at Riku's words. Stuck with them eh? That... didn't sound so bad. "Of course." she said, nodding to his request. she glanced at Roxas and Axel, walking voer to them. "Delshad right?" she waved a hand, cutting the space behind them - the computerized portal appearing. "That will bring you guy's home."

[Rikugurl]

Terra had told his brief history to Ven when they had first met... who knows now long ago. He could understand why the man closed his heart. If it was up to Ven... he's stay by his friend's side... but even Terra knew that if their quest was ever to be over... he would indeed have to take his own life to free his keyblade.

He fell back into the bed with the other, still thankful for the comfort. He knew he was a little prick and that Terra could of found a lot better things to do right about now... but... right about now... time seemed to stop without Aqua there. Their success rate on getting keyblades with her on the team doubled thanks to her abilities.

Ven felt like it was his fault that they lost her... he felt that he pushed her too hard. And those last words to her... they were harsh. What kind of friend was he? Especially after what she did for him in the past. He shook his head and buried it deeper into the other's body.

After awhile he pulled his wet face away and looked up at Terra's blue eyes with his own. "Terra... if I loose my keyblade before we're done with this journey... I'll still be your friend." Talking like Roxas for half a day made his swearing get cut down... for now.


Axel frowned at the 'gay' name thing. Maybe it would suit him. He looked up though as he saw Aqua make the portal. It looked exactly like the one that the fake Roxas got him into. That reminded him... he hoped no one would tell Roxas that he had made out with the intruder! He smiled faintly. "Thanks again."

Slowly he pushed himself up with Roxas's help and pulled Aqua's cape around him. "I'll return this to you next time we meet. I'll make sure I'll wash it." It had blood and sweat on it... so it was due for a washing. Xio yipped as he gave Aqua one last lick on the cheek before helping his master into the portal.

Axel was a bit scared going in, but once he stepped in, he saw very familiar streets. They were made of brick and the street lights made them glow. It was night at the Gardens... which made Axel very happy. He could sleep in his warm bed with Roxas and cuddle. What a great way to rest up. Xio too was happy that they were actually home this time.

The fire lion raced up to the small but cozy house and opened the door. There was no need to lock doors in this peaceful world. Then again, no one would think twice about stealing anything from their leaders.


Riku watched as the three left, his own eyes starting to beat down a bit. Today was another ridiculously eventful day... luckily he was able to sleep the night before. He looked down at Sora and smiled, wrapping his own arm around the other's shoulder. "How about tomorrow we make up our anniversary?"

[Reno]

Terra shut his eyes. they were almost... cuddling. It was warm and comforting in a way...

His eyes snapped open at Ven;s words, and he looked at the other. Ven;s blue eyes were watery and sad, emotions that tweisted at his heart. He sighed, reaching up, rubbing away the tears. "Don;t take it the wrong way if i don;t believe it." He murmured. It's not that he didn;t trust Ven or somethingthing like that - he knew Ven was protecting his back like he did his...

But he still couldn;t believe anyopne would ever find him worth staying with.


"Please don;t bother." Aqua said, shuddering at the though of getting it back. She oprobably would never wear it again anyways not after she kenw where it had been. "keep it."

Roxas looked at Aqua critically, before smiling faintly,, nodding in her direction. He helped his lvoer through the portal, the darkness washing over them in cold and biting ways. In moments the transaction was over and they were home, the gardens spread out before them.

It was a good thing it was night - he didn;t think he wanted anyone seeing Axel like this. Naked that is. That was for his - and unfortunetly poor xio's - eyes only.

He smiled at the fire lion gratefully, helping his lover past the threshold and up the stairs. Bed sounded... wonderful.


Sora looked up at Riku, grinning. "alright. thats sounds good." he nuzzled the other under his neck.

Aqua glanced at them chuckling. "alright you saps time to see the sun again." she cut a second portal that led to Destiny.

Sora laughed, grabbing Riku's hand and walked towards it. "Yeah Yeah havenlt heard that one befo-" he stopped, eharing a loud roar. He turned his ehad. "What was that?" Don't tell him the fighting wasn;t over yet!

"Oh that was Regole." Aqua said off-handedly, "don;t worry she;s harmless."

Sora turned his head, watching a great blue dragon leap out of the sea. It was like some giant snake, blue scales gleaming. It twisted before landing in the sea again.

"This used to be my home planet. It;s called Dragoon. It's a world that is split into nine different realms or kingdoms each hearalding to a different dragon. As you can imagine my town was near Regole's home. She's very gentle even if she makes the ocean look like a storm." Aqua smiled faintly. "If your really so amazed by her, you'd love the dragon of light."

Sora grinned excitedly. "You've got to show me this world later!"

"I suppose that would be equal payment for your kindness." Aqua said.

"Yay!" Sora said, pumping his fist in the air, before he started to lead Riku through the portal, mind already warping with the ideas of world-traveling again. Aqua was only two steps behind him.

The next thing he knew, the warm sun was beating down his back, the soft sounds of the coean meeting his ears. Destiny.

[Rikugurl]

Ven blinked a bit at the hand wiping away his tears. It had been a long time since he had felt affection like that. He had to admit... he was grateful that he had someone in this... unfortunate life. A faint smile appeared on his face. Seeing that he had practiced Roxas's smile for awhile, he naturally just smiled like that now. Blue eyes looked away as he slowly laid back down next to his friend and buried his face in the other's body again. He expected Terra to say that...

They sort of dozed off. You could say it was their little defeat. They would have to deal with their lose and move on. With Aqua actually aiding the three with the four keyblades, they would have to find other keybladers for now and come back for Sora, Roxas and Riku later when the three least expected an attack.
Even if Aqua was now gone, they still had cameras all over the universe. They'd just have to continue like they did before they found her.

In the middle of the night, Ven slowly detached himself away from Terra. He pulled off his shoes and slowly got dressed into his pajama pants and a loose hoodie. Pulling the hood over his head, he left the room and closed the door behind him. Blue eyes moved to the room to the right of the main room. Aqua's room. It was empty and dark. Looks like he could get his own room now... but he wasn't sure if he wanted too... just yet.

Slowly he shuffled across the steel floor. The computers were all on their screen saver mode, which was just a picture of Kingdom Hearts glowing. He quietly picked up his chair and wheeled it back to his desk where five keyboards were set up. He sat down on the chair and pulled his feet up, lounging a bit. Large headphones were taken from the desk and pushed under the hood, placed around the blonde's ears. A button was pressed and one of the many computers flipped on. Ven did a little bit of typing before death metal started to blare into his ears.

Oddly enough, it calmed him some, getting lost in the screaming and hard guitar playing. His eyes became watered again as he slowly reached for a pouch that he had worn as Roxas. He slowly unbuttoned it and reached in, taking out an item. He let the bag fall on the floor as his glossed eyes looked the item over. He softly moved his fingers over the rough skin of the Paopu fruit as he studied its shape and the single leaf on the top. He wondered... if the data they got on this fruit... was at least real.


In Delshad, the night was a quiet one. No one really took notice that their leaders were back... they were still suppose to be gone for 26 days. The Garden seemed to be the same as always, which was more than good. How much trouble could a joint world get into within three days anyway. Neither Axel nor Roxas wanted to know. They had lost their homes before, they didn't even want to think about losing this one. Sometimes Axel really did miss Nobodia... it was originally the home world of the Nobodies, even if it 'never was'.

When they got settled back at home, Roxas fixed up Axel's shoulder the best he could. The shoulder was indeed damaged pretty badly... but they both hoped that it could recover fully. That wasn't the only problem though. Axel had a fever... probably from being in the freezing water for too long. He was covered in warm blankets on the bed and a warm cloth on his forehead. He quickly fell asleep and so did the blonde, not taking notice to the stack of papers on their desk already. Xio happily got dried and found his way to the bottom of their bed.

Home sweet home.


It was nice to see the sun again. Not too hot and not too cold. Just the perfect tropical air. Riku looked back at the portal, seeing that Aqua had joined them. He was guessing that she didn't want to stay in her home world for certain reasons. That was ok... they would find a place for her here.
"Dragons you say?" The silver hair man seemed a bit interested in it himself. The only dragon he really ever saw was Malicifent.

After a day of searching for a house that Aqua could live in, they decided a hotel would do the trick for now. Destiny really didn't have any outsiders to visit, but a hotel was made for people to kick back and relax away from their home. They got Aqua a nice room to stay in until they could make commendations for her elsewhere.

This took the whole day and by nightfall, the two keybladers were wiped out. Again, it took nothing for the two to fall asleep, only having leftovers of the fish from the night before.

The next day, the older man was sleeping on his stomach, a bit sprawled out in bed. He snored softly as the sun tried to get through every little nook and cranny of the wood to wake the ones inside. Today him and Sora would celebrate their 5th year anniversary seeing that their original date didn't work out all to well. He knew Sora had something up his sleeve... but so didn't Riku.

His ocean eyes opened slightly... but he didn't really want to wake up. Today was going to be a very big day indeed and for once, he didn't want to face it. He felt a bit bad for their new friend Aqua... they couldn't really help her much today for showing her around... but with her type of nature, she could do it herself and be happy about it.

[Reno]

Terra stirred when he felt the warmth leave his side. He came back to the world slowly. He'd never really liked getting out of bed - usually Ven was the one to get up first and after a few horus of that damn rock music blaring He would scuttle from bed. Aqua typically was dead to the world when she slept - though Ven made a habit of spilling ice cold water over her head if she didn't get up before noontime.

Guess that wasn't happening anymore.

He was dimly aware of Ven padding about, a door opening and closing - Aqua's room. Was he trying to depress himself again so soon? Oh, it looked like they didn;t have to share a bed anymore...

Terra couldn;t explain why that made his heart drop. He had grown used to Ven;s drooling presence on his stomach or chest - the warm body comforting him on the long torturous nights.

The sounds of computer;s whirring met his ears next. It looked like Ven would be listening to his msuic. for some reason it calmed the other.

"You know..." he spoke to himself - a trait that he had had with him ever since he was little after he had lost his mother. After she was gone he couldn;t talk freely to anyone else... so he spoke to the only one who would udnerstand. Hismelf. "It doesn;t feel like she;s really gone. I can still see her... slamming out of her bedroom and screaming at Ven for awakening her from her beauty sleep..." He frowned. "We;d been through so much..."

He turned his head- remembering.

"NO!" Terra barked, rushing at Xehanort when a mass of land shot up to meet his chest and he went flying. The last thing he saw was Ven;s form beign encased in ice and eharing Aqua's scream.
"VEN!" Aqua screamed, tears in her eyes.

~~~

"Let me go!" Aqua cried fiercely, her keyblade snapping into her hands. Her eyes were dark Terra noticed. Had been ever since they had lost... lost him.

His own keyblade apepared but they were outmatched and outstrengthened.

"Ienzo." that damn voice verbrated through his mind. Ven;s killer... "Begin the experiment. Aleus? Hold him down."

"No. Stop! leave Terra alone!"

There was only pain after that.

~~~

Aqua was shivered. Cold, it was too cold. Terra had her wrapped in his arms, but he offered no warmth. He was just as cold.
She breathed, air visible even though the theormoter on the wall said it was in the 70s. This cold was on the inside.

"Why... is it so cold...?" She murmured.

"They;ve been tampering with our hearts." Terra whispered back. "Darkness..."

~~~

The keyblades - there only mean of escape - was gone. They could no longer summon them. The experiments... they had taken away their ability to call them.

Or maybe he could just say they had taken away his abilty. Terra sent a saddened glance towards the motionless blue-haired figure of his friend. They were too much for her - he rheart was fragile. One more and she would die.

"Heh, the fuck is with that look?"

Terra's eyes widened, and he looked towards the bars of his cage. "Ven!" He was alive?!

"Yeah it;s me. And i;m fucking getting your asses out of here."

That was... the first time he ever rememebered openly crying in front of his friends - even if Aqua was too far gone to realize it.

Terra sighed, shutting his eyes. For him the effects were minimal - the ability to call the keyblade was gone, but his heart seemed, if not a little apathetic at times, just fine.

But Aqua's heart had been a wavering force. One moment her eyes cold as ice the next warm as the sun. It was as if her light and dark failed to balance out correctly. She lsot sight of purpose often and her ability to take the keyblade by 'any' means necessary was gone. But they had been friends for so long they had thought nothing of it - they could compensate for where she now lacked ability. But now... he sighed, turning away and curling onto the bed, wishing more then ever for Ven to return to ebd.

Sometimes he needed comfort too.


Rxas was keeping a close eye on Axel. Ever soft groan of pain, and grumble of complaint was met by a cool hand on the forehead, a warm smile, a kiss on the cheek and a simple question 'how can I help?' The mornings to come were going to be nothing but chicken noodle soup, warm fires in the fire place, and cuddlign under the blankets in an attempt to sweat out the fever.

But they were home. and Roxas... was happy as could be.


Aqua had made home into the hoptel easily. Her reasons for refusing to stay at her own homeworld were her own - she had no one to go home too so it wasn;t really home anymore now was it? She had lost her father in a local war that had been going on in Regole;s kingdom.

She had been born a peasant - not rich but not too poor either. Just... average who knew the meaning of a day of hard work. But their king had started to increase taxes - making living almost impossible. Food got scarce, water was being guarded, and it was just ultimately shitty. She rememebred she had been about tweleve at the time when her father spoke of the revolt the peasants were planning and how he would be joing. His parents fought - and didn;t speak again until it was too late for them to share another word.

The peasants had won - easily outnumbering the guards in the army. Many were lost including her father - run through by a spear she heard. She remembered crying with her little brother, but her mom... her mom had been silent and unmoving as if she didn;t care at all. she grew to hate her mother after that day, later realizing she blamed her mother for her father;s death.

They had gotten into a fight of some sort when she was a few years older. She didn;t really remember what was said but she did remember running from the house to Regole's home. But as she had been crossing the stretch of thin land to the inlet she had fallen into the turbulent waters. she had been sure she would drown. But when she awoke next she was miles away from home in Ferybrand's, the wind dragon's, country with a keyblade in her hands. She didn;t know how or wy,but the blade had saved her and she had been grateful - and soon realized why she had it. Darkness loomed everywhere on Dragoon. So she went throughout her world, doing her best to keep the darkness at bay. She was gone for monthes and monthes before she ever reached her hometown again.

She had discovered, in her absence, that her brother had died at a heartless' hands. And again that emotionless look was on her mother's face. This time... she didn;t even speak to her mother. She just left. And ran as fast and far as she could. Until eventusally she met Ven and Terra... and found a new purpose and a knew life. She would rid the universe of the same darkness that had taken her brother from her.


The warm rays of the sun caught the crown necklace to glint, the light catching into Sora's eyes. He pouted, curling up against riku,s arms securely wrapped around the other. "'ive more minut..." He slurred, burying his face into Riku's back, snuggling inbetween his shoulderblades. How they ended up in this poisition he would never know.

He was excited about their anniversary very much so - but that didn;t mean they had to get up at 6 in the morning to celebrate! If it even was 6 in the morning...

[Rikugurl]

Of course Ven couldn't hear the other due to the blaring metal in his head. Why it didn't give him a pounding headache, he didn't know. His blue eyes continued to look down at the star shaped fruit. Destinies would be intertwined with the person you share this fruit with. How was that so? He use to believe in fairytale like this... long, long ago.

Welcome to Akbar: The world of Quiet Winds

That was the sign that read at the entrance of the world's city. Obviously it was known for its winds. It was a windy place, but the whole planet worked off of it. Their electricity came from wind power, their mills the same way. Everything they did was based off the wind power. Not many people lived there, so things were good and peaceful.

Two very, young twins sat on the wall that was around the city, watching the huge windmills turn.
"Ventus! Soran! Come on in! Dinner is ready!"
The boy laughed and one, the blonde, quickly bounced up and pushed down on his twin's hair, which was brown and beat him at getting home.

The night continued like any other... until the wind stopped being so quiet. The sounds of shutters banging on the houses was nothing new... but it became violent and eventually woke up the world. The twins awoke and ran to their mother scared. The people ran out to see what was all this wind about and their attention was quickly drawn. Small black things with yellow eyes started to appear, making everyone panic. As they ran, they could hear an evil laugh from above.

Ventus, the blonde twin looked up. A bald man with a white beard was riding one a weird object. He was the laugher. Evil ran through his own golden eyes. When the people couldn't run anymore... something horrible happened. The ground beneath them started to break underneath their feet. The world was being ripped apart by the strong winds. The little boy suddenly lost his balance and fell into the darkness below.
"VENTUS!!!!!"

He screamed as he fell, reaching up to his family but they disappeared as he fell deeper into the abyss. He suddenly fell on his feet and birds started to flutter up and away. His blue eyes grew big as he looked all over. Everything was dark except for the light that came below him. He looked down, seeing stained glass in the shape of circles. Women in gowns could be seen. Who were they...? Before his question was answered, he felt something in his hand. A key? It was heavy and he could hardly hold it, but more of those odd black things started to appear... and he had to fight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Cinderella! Hurry up or you'll be late for the ball!" A blonde laughed as a woman ran around franticly.
"Yes yes, my dear! You only have till midnight!" A round woman called too.
A fancy couch was waiting outside with six white horses. The blonde woman in a breath taking dress smiled as she kissed both the woman and the boy on the cheek. "I can't thank you enough Ventus for stopping my step-mother from ruining this night."

Ventus blushed but nodded, his blue eyes bright. "No problem! Have a good time." She rushed off into the couch and it quickly went down the road towards a pretty castle.
The keyblader and the fairy godmother waved happily as they watched her leave.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How could you give that apple to her!? You really do deserve the title 'witch'! How could you be so heartless!?"
Poor Snow White!
The keyblader growled as he started to fight the evil witch.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where are you Xehanort?" He looked around the large hallway. "Xehanort!?" A sudden blast sent the keyblader flying. He hit the wall hard but winced as he got up. He was already beaten up pretty badly, blood coming from a cut on his lip.
"Xehan--"
Another blast sent him flying, making him blow through the wall.

"AHHH!!" Ventus flew through the brick and into the air. He wasn't on the first floor either. Three floors up, the boy quickly fell down to the courtyard below. Of course, he had to hit some of the castle on the way. He fell on his face hard and laid their motionless, the keyblade in his hand trembling in his own blood.

This was it. He couldn't move. Tears started to fall down his face as his body went numb. Suddenly his body was pulled up though. He blinked as he looked up to see a black haired man with bright blue eyes... a keyblade in his hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a cold room with a few men about. Many odd medical instruments were on tables with odd liquid in them. A boy, laid on the table in the middle. His body was purple and didn't react to anything. He was obviously dead. One of the men took an syringe and pushed the needle into the boy's neck.

Slowly the boy's eyes started to flutter, the tips of his fingers twitched. Instead of bright blue eyes, the boy opened golden eyes. He took a deep breath, his head spinning. The place where his heart was... his heart full of feeling and emotions... was as cold as ice.

Suddenly his keyblade appeared in his hands and he quickly jumped up in all his glory. The men panicked but it was too late, the keyblade quickly went into each of their chest, unlocking their hearts and quickly turning them into Heartless. Of course.. every keyblader had to destroy the Heartless. He quickly swung his keyblade, killing all the Heartless in the room and released the crystals to float away.

He found his clothes in a bin nearby and started to dress himself. His golden eyes slowly starting to fade back into the blue. He quickly rushed out of the room, not knowing where the hell he was. Quickly he ran down the hallway but stopped as he reached a barred in prison. He blinked as he noticed Terra and Aqua sitting down. He noticed Terra's look towards the blue haired girl.
"Heh, the fuck is with that look?"

Terra turned around, his eyes in shock. They too were golden. "Ven!"
"Yeah it's me. And I'm fucking getting your asses out of here." He quickly swung his keyblade at the lock, breaking it with ease.

The blonde sighed. They had been through a lifetime together. He slowly pressed a button to stop the music and laid the headphones down to rest on the many keyboards. Slowly he stood and shuffled back to the room where Terra was, his bare pads on his feet sticking to the steel. He walked into the dark room, his eyes starting to adjust to it.

He could see Terra's body curled and looking away. He knew he was awake.
"Terra...?" His blue eyes looked down under the hood of his hoodie. He walked around the bed to the side that Terra was facing. He slowly sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. Looking back at the other, he took the Paopu fruit and placed it in front of Terra's face.


A tongue licked a large paw then swiped a red ear. Xio was content next to the fire, the sound of it crackling was soothing to him. This was quite a treat! The fireplace was only lit at night but it was running nice and early in the morning. Of course there was a reason for that.

On the couch nearby, a redhead and blonde were cuddled up under a thick blanket. A cup of already eaten soup was placed on the stand next to the couch along with crumbs of toast. Axel's head laid on Roxas's shoulder. Some sweat rolled down his forehead as his close eyes quivered. This damn fever wasn't going to quit. He hated being sick.


Riku smiled at the warmth he got. Mornings like these, he was very lucky to have a partner like Sora. He was always so warm! He shifted a bit and moaned, the bed feeling too nice to get up. His eyes slowly opened again and he peered at the clock. 10am. Another moan. A hand came to the clock and pushed it onto the floor... as if it would really change the time. The number of replaced clocks was countless.

Slowly Riku pulled away from the brunette, stretched his arms up and rubbed his eyes. He looked back at Sora and smiled. Yea... today was going to be a big day. He stood and yawned, grabbing a pair of jeans that were laying on the floor. He walked to the bathroom and closed the door, doing his business, brushing his hair and teeth. He came out and headed to the kitchen, a place that he found to be his second favorite place in the house.

He opened the fridge and yawned again, pulling out the milk, butter and pancake mix. A nice treat for the day. He started the oven and got some bowls and plates, getting ready for breakfast.
Twenty minutes later, a small stack of pancakes steamed on a plate. They were heart-shaped. Yes, it was gay but today was going to be full of gayness, he knew for sure. The plate was placed on Sora's spot along with a glass of chocolate milk. Fresh strawberries were placed on the table along with the syrup.