eachdraidh | first key; Seelie locked (forward dated a little)

[It's been a...strange few weeks. Even with being used to other worlds by the time of his arrival, he's never stayed for this long. By now, Terra has a fair idea of how things work around here, and if not an idea, then he can guess at least. Or at least he thinks he's got this. In front of him, there's a chess set, set up in a rather peculiar way compared to most. For instance, there are a few raised platforms, and the pieces, while obviously still intended for their original uses, look different.

A little faerie chirps on the other side of the chess board, trying to lift one of the pieces near her and obviously failing if the way her body gets pulled down with the piece is any indication.]

Hey, hey. Careful or you'll hurt yourself.

[He reaches to help her and the faerie puffs her cheeks and pouts at him, wings beating as fast as a hummingbird's as she lowers the piece and crosses her arms, making him chuckle and shake his head before returning his attention to the network.]

I didn't think they were actually able to do it. Bring us things from home I mean.

[Terra holds a piece up, then places it down.]

I'm set up in the library if anyone is up for a game. Strong minds are equally as important as strong bodies.

[He then inclines his head.]

Unless you're looking for getting your butt kicked in the more physical sense, I'll be down in the training grounds later.

[And the feed ends.]

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[Riku can barely hear what it is that Terra murmurs, but he can catch enough. That, in combination with the older man's shiver and expression, has Riku second-guessing what he's just said. He doesn't want to tell Terra that Xehanort's taken over his body. He doesn't want to have that conversation.

But he shakes his head, choosing not to remark on it for right now.]

He didn't split his heart. Sorry. I meant that when he released his heart from his body, his heart became a Heartless and his body became a Nobody. That's what allowed him to control them.

[He doesn't say anything more on the matter, instead reeling himself in from asking. He doesn't want to put that kind of pressure on Riku, not to mention they shouldn't be talking about this over the locket anyway. No, he'll think about it on his own. The explanation has his attention though, frown deepening.]

Two Xehanorts. I could barely handle one.

[It's meant as a half joke, the small quirk of his lips enough to tell Riku that. Though it's nothing he should be joking about, especially with the implication that he, in fact, didn't handle one.]

So Nobodies are the bodies left over by people who become Heartless, is that right?

[Riku returns the small half-smile. That makes two of them. Because he hadn't handled Ansem; he'd managed to hold back Xehanort's heart for a few seconds, but in the end it had been Sora that had put an end to his Heartless. He'd done better against Xemnas, but even then--he'd taken a direct hit to the side, an injury more than Curaga could heal. Riku's under no delusions here; if it hadn't been for Sora, he probably wouldn't have been able to finish Xemnas off.

And he'd only fought one half of Xehanort at a time, or a younger version of himself. What must it have been like to fight against the real thing, with all his experience?]

That's right. They're two parts of a whole.

It turns out if you destroy both somebody's Heartless and their Nobody, they can rejoin to become a whole person again.

[That half-smile on his face fades.]

So we haven't handled him yet, either.

[Maybe if he had waited, if he had let Ven and Aqua fight with him instead of pushing Ven behind him and running off to face the old Master on his own, maybe Riku wouldn't be dealing with him ten years later. But that had required being of sound mind in the first place, and his rage had been uncontrollable. Xehanort had egged him on, he was sure of that now.]

We'll do it together.

[Even if it meant holding Xehanort back from within. Terra knew he was strong enough to keep the Darkness back, so if what happened to him is what he's assuming, that's likely the only way he'd be able to help.]

He's counting on dividing us from our friends no doubt, but we're stronger than that.

Yeah.

[How often has it been thanks to their friends that they've made it through? Sora, when he'd taken the Keyblade away from him. Kairi, when he'd vowed that Ansem would not use his body to harm her. Everything they'd had to do to restore Sora's memories, or defeating Xemnas, or how Axel of all people had shown up in the nick of time when all else had seemed lost.

If not for the friendships they shared, not one of them would have made it through everything unscathed. Terra's right--together's when each of them is strongest. Together, they can defeat Xehanort.

A smile comes to Riku's face as he considers Terra's words, and he nods.]

We'll do it together. All of us.

[He returns the smile, nodding in return. That was right. Riku had said that there were seven of them who would bring down Xehanort, and while he mightn't be one of them he could at the very least help from the inside, if his fate was what he thought it would be. Everything that had happened had been because of his inability to keep his Darkness in check. Well, he'd make sure that he was strong enough to hold Xehanort back when the time came.]

Someone once made me realize how powerful it is just to believe. No matter how impossible things seem...a powerful enough dream will always be enough to light the darkness.

[That seemed to be a dream everyone shared, defeating Xehanort. Past and present, Terra was sure that they'd be able to make sure he wouldn't hurt anyone else.]

first key; Seelie locked (forward dated a little)

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