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“He’s been asleep for an awfully long time. . .”
Terra sighed sadly as he sat down on the wooden chair beside the bed. His soft brown eyes were full of worry, and he started to bite the inside of his cheek. “I know.”
Aqua was leaning her back against the desk, staring down at the young boy’s face.“When do you think he’ll wake up?”
Terra shrugged listlessly. “I dunno. Hopefully soon.”
Aqua frowned and crossed her arms over her stomach. Her anxiety started to swirl within her stomach, making her hands clammy as her mind started to race. “I wonder what must have happened to him before he came here. . .” She paused as she studied his small blond curls framing his cheeks full of baby fat, and small body, “He’s so young.”
Terra was silent, but she could see from the way his shoulders tensed up that he was just as upset at the prospect as she was. She placed a hand on his shoulder and gently squeezed. He seemed to relax under her touch and patted her hand.
“It must’ve been really bad, for him to pass out from just being asked about it.” Terra grabbed fistfuls of his pants and shook his head. “It’s not fair.”
Aqua hummed. “I know, but- he’s gonna be with us now. So, at least we can make his life here better.”
Terra looked at her and gave her a warm smile. “Yeah. You’re right.” When he turned towards Ven, he reached out and lightly tousled his hair. “We’ll take care of him.”
Aqua huffed lightly as a grin formed on her face. “Right.”
When Aqua opened her eyes, the flash of light that accompanied the glowing gear receded as it made its way towards the clock tower. She sighed as she took in her surroundings, the eerie silence, the neverending feeling that something was watching her, waiting to take her down the second she let her guard down. As she made her way down the roof of the house she had climbed, she took her time walking through what was left of the town. This place was getting to her, she could feel its influence wrapping around her tired heart, trying to squeeze whatever light and hope that was left in her dry. She placed a hand over her heart and softly patted it.
“That’s enough. We need to make it back. We don’t want to keep Ven waiting too long.”
How long had she been here anyway? It seemed like ages, but there was no way to tell with the way time passed in this realm. Surely, it must not have been too long since she fell. Ven is still safe and sound in the Castle, sleeping peacefully.
Are you so sure about that?
Aqua stopped in her tracks.
“He’s alive, he was still breathing when I left him,” she said, trying to convince herself.
When you left. Who's to say he’s still breathing now?
Aqua’s heart rate began to accelerate as her palms began to sweat. “No- he, he’s just asleep. He’s not-”
There’s no need to lie to yourself. We know that he’s as good as-
“NO!” Aqua gripped her head and shook it vehemently. “He’s fine. He’s just asleep. He’ll wake up, this is not the time to worry about this.” She exhaled shakily as she started to walk towards the now completed bridge. I can’t let this place win, Ven is waiting for me.
Aqua took out her Wayfinder and rubbed her fingers against the cool glass. She brought the charm close to her lips and whispered as if it were able to send her message to Ven. “Don’t worry Ven, I’m not done taking care of you,” she paused for a moment before continuing, “and neither is Terra.”
“Well look who’s gotten attached to you.”
“I know,” Terra beamed, his brown hand buried in the mess of Ven’s blond curls, “it’s awesome.”
Ven’s head was resting on Terra’s lap, his mouth wide open as he snored softly. For all the energy this boy had, he was surprisingly able to fall asleep pretty much anywhere at any given time. It made her a little nervous at first, whenever she saw him asleep outside. She was afraid he had another episode and went back into a comatose state. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
He was just a hopeless sleepyhead.
Aqua hummed as she swung her legs gingerly from the edge of the plateau, “And it looks like you’re not scared of being around him now..”
“Hey, I wasn’t scared of him. I was just- you know- scared I’d say or do something wrong again.”
Aqua gave Terra a sympathetic look. He was still beating himself up over that? “Terra, you know that wasn’t your fault. I was asking questions too.”
Terra wouldn’t look at her in the eyes, his eyebrows scrunched together. “It’s not just that. Don’t you remember the last time we practice sparred? You saw what happened.”
Aqua frowned. Terra had a habit of avoiding eye contact whenever he was feeling ashamed of something he did, no matter if it was intentional or simply an accident. She hated seeing him like this. Terra wouldn’t even hurt a fly if he could avoid it (which he did, much to her chagrin) he would rather set it free than zap it with a small spark like she did. She remembered how excited he was when Ven first came to the Land of Departure, no doubt eager to have the little brother he always fantasized about teaching everything that he knew.
She could understand where Terra was coming from. For some time, it was like walking on a minefield when it came to how to be around Ven. They had all decided to cease any questions regarding his past, and if he would begin to question anything, to simply lie and tell him he had always lived with them. She knew Terra hated to lie and keep secrets, it was against his nature, but the truth of Ven’s past was too much for Ven to handle. They couldn’t risk it. So they thought they were safe as long as they kept quiet. They weren’t prepared for Ventus to be deathly afraid of the Keyblade.
Terra trained every day in order to increase his strength and his proficiency with a Keyblade. He had a hunger for power, but instead of it coming from a place of greed like the many leaders she learned about in the various history books they had to read in the castle library, she knew Terra would never willingly use his power to hurt others. Terra was a protector, and to see someone as young and small as Ven faint from fear over something he did? She could still remember the horror in Terra’s face as he dropped his Keyblade as if it were on fire.
Terra had always held his Keyblade with pride, he looked at it as not a weapon to hurt others, but as a means of protection. It was proof that he was worthy to play a larger role in keeping the peace. It was the only time she could remember seeing him regard it as something dangerous.
“You didn’t know, Terra. None of us did. And Ven doesn’t hold it against you, that much is obvious. He follows you around like a little chocobo.”
That got a small huff of laughter out of him. “He kinda looks like one,” Terra murmured. When she looked over at him, she saw that his warm smile returned.
Aqua playfully rolled her eyes. “You say that about anyone with blond hair.”
“I dare you to look at his hair and not tell me it looks like a chocobo butt. You know I’m right.”
Aqua slapped Terra upside the head, but couldn’t help herself from giggling. “You’re such a dork Terra.” Terra was shaking with silent laughter and rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. With a soft exhale, his eyebrows relaxed as a smile as warm as the sun graced his features. Almost as if he were touching the petals of a flower, he gently rubbed his fingers between a golden curl.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without you.”
Aqua slightly arched her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“You were always there to push me to spend time with him, reassuring me that I wouldn’t ruin everything again.I think I would have kept avoiding him if it weren’t for you.”
“Terra-”
“I genuinely don’t know what I’d do without you,” his eyes were soft when he glanced at her, his smile and body relaxed as if he was talking about the weather.
Aqua could feel her cheeks start to burn at the comment. Frankly, it’s not as though Terra is the type of guy to never say nice things to her. Far from it, it’s that she doesn’t know how can be so heartachingly sincere without being as flustered as she is about it. She turned her face away from him, but still leaned her head against his shoulder. “If it wasn’t for Ven I would have blasted you off the mountain for saying that.”
He busted out laughing as he reached over and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He smelled of pine needles and the earth after a rainfall, and she felt herself relaxing and letting a shy smile tug at her mouth. “Thank you, Terra.”
Aqua couldn’t move. As much as she commanded her legs to take another step, to get closer to what lay just a few feet beyond her, her legs simply wobbled in place. She couldn’t control the tears rapidly gathering in her eyes, the choking feeling in her throat, the sob that shook her from her core, escaping her mouth. She shook her head in disbelief, her hand hovering over mouth as she shakily made her way over to the glass coffin.
He wasn’t breathing.
She lost feeling in her legs as she fell to her knees.
Ven wasn’t breathing.
“No,” she whispered weakly, her tears freely cascading her cheeks like waterfalls, “it can’t be.” Her quivering hands hovered over the glass before softly pushing it aside. “Ventus, please wake up. Please-” she reached out to cradle his cheek, and a bigger sob wracked through her body as she felt how ice-cold he felt.
The apparition faded and her hands landed on the dead grass. She gripped the land, trying to ground herself and stop the tears from coming. Even though she knew it was fake, it was just the Realm of Darkness trying to trick her into submission, she couldn’t stop the squeezing feeling in her heart. She was growing tired of constantly fighting in this place, she wanted a moment to rest, even though she knew she couldn’t afford to. A small, growing part of her started to feel apathetic about it all. She tried to push it down as best she could, but bringing out that part of her was what the Realm of Darkness did best.
She reluctantly rose to her feet and dragged her feet towards the large mirror and scrutinized her reflection. To say she looked like a mess was an understatement. Her sleeves were singed from the Firaga spells she’d use at close range, something she wasn’t supposed to do, but it had saved her from many close calls. There were scars on her shoulders and legs, her socks were ripped, and she had patches of dirt stuck on her knees and arms. Her face looked different, which didn’t necessarily surprise her. Her eyes were bloodshot and there were bags that looked more like luggage that sagged underneath, no doubt from that lack of any sort of rest she’s had here. Her eyes looked duller, more fatigued and heavy than it ever looked in the Realm of Light, even when her anxiety kept her from sleeping at night before big exams. Her hair had gotten longer, much to her chagrin, so she had to use the pink ribbon strapped around her chest as a makeshift hair tie. Her hair still looked like a hot mess, but at least it wouldn’t get in her face in the middle of battle.
Aqua scoffed at her reflection. “Some Keyblade Master I turned out to be.” Look where I ended up, after everything.
Left here to rot.
Aqua shook her head wearily and deeply sighed. She placed her palm over the cool glass and tried to focus in on the sensation. For a moment, she felt herself relax before the mirror’s surface seemed to ripple like water in a pond. In a flash, a gloved hand that mirrored her own wrapped around her hand and pulled her towards the mirror. Before she had a chance to brace herself and resist the pull, she was taken inside.
She should have known better than to let her guard down for even a second, she knew the Realm would take advantage of any sign of weakness from her. But she was growing tired of fighting, tired of dragging herself to through the darkness in some vague attempt of finding a way back to the Realm of Light. She could feel that her eyes were already closed, sleep dragging her deeper into the dark depths. She should open her eyes, try to wrestle her way out of the tendrils of darkness wrapping around her, trying to convince her to stay asleep, to finally rest. She should be doing that, but all she could feel was a numbing sense of hopelessness spreading throughout her body.
Maybe… this has been all for nothing.
Suddenly, warmth began to blossom in her chest, as if the little seed of light that still remained was being given the water it needed to bloom in fruition. It felt as though someone was with her, casting a healing spell over her wounded heart, it’s healing touch as gentle as the ocean’s waves lapping at one’s bare feet. For a moment, she thought she could hear a faint voice. It was a girl’s, but no one she had ever spoken to before. And yet the essence that was being emitted felt so familiar... .?
“. . . q . . .a. . . W. . . u. . .”
“Aqua!”
With a sharp inhale, she bolted upright with wide eyes and scanned her surroundings. It took her mind a moment to process what she was seeing, but once it did, her jaw dropped.
She found herself in a room full of blooming plants hanging from the ceiling. The floor was littered with wood shavings and soil, and the air smelled strongly of petrichor. Upon the wall above the desk, there was a collage of small wooden framed photos, ivy draping itself over the wooden frames. One of them was dislodged from its spot on the wall and landed on the desk. Aqua shakily got herself to her feet and made her way to the photo. The flickering orb of light that hovered nearby was enough to distinguish three stick figures, one with brown hair, the other with blue hair, and the shortest one in the middle with blond hair that resembled the sun. Her eyes stung as tears rapidly welled up in her eyes.
There was no mistake about it, this was Terra’s room.
Nostalgia overwhelmed her as she picked up the photo with shaking hands. Ven had made this drawing sometime during his rehabilitation after he woke up from the training incident. He had given it to Terra, and she remembered his head tilting upward at Terra, his mouth twitching in an effort to smile. Her own mouth morphed into a wobbly smile as she remembered the way Terra’s eyes turned red at the sight, the way he reached out to pull Ven into his gentle bear hugs, the way Ven melted against Terra’s chest, a small smile blooming on his face.
What happened to us?
Aqua wiped at her eyes with her ruined bell sleeves, something bitter brewing within her chest. She thought of all the deeds that she had performed in all the worlds she visited, from helping princesses to leading a group of children on expeditions. She thought of the way she had treated Terra back in Radiant Garden, his reaction to the Master’s orders to spy on him. She grimaced at Ven’s dejected look on his face when she refused to have him tag along with her. At the time, she thought she was doing what was right. As a Keyblade Master, there were new responsibilities that she had to heed, it was simply for the greater good.
And look where that got me.
She wondered how different it would’ve been if she had simply spoken to Terra like old times. She shook her head disdainfully. “Why did I even say those things? Why did I let Maleficent's words get to me like that?” She even convinced Ven not to listen to the old sorceress, telling him to believe in the Terra that they knew, and yet she couldn’t even listen to her own advice. Now that she knew how Master Xehanort orchestrated everything, it was plain to see how easily he was able to drive them further away from each other. He planted the seeds of distrust and watched as the three of them isolated themselves, and they all failed to see how they’ve always been stronger together. Except for Ven perhaps, he always wanted to travel with them. Maybe, listening to what they had to say was what she should have done. It’s what she would have done before, it could have played a part in preventing all this from happening.
A small spark of anger began to burn in her heart as she recalled the scattered reports of Xehanort she had found in her travels. The most recent one she obtained in the Keyblade Graveyard spoke of the nature of the X-blade, and how it was created by a union of a heart of pure light, and a heart of pure darkness. Ven had mentioned Master Xehanort wanting to create one by having him fight with Vanitas, and the Master tried to destroy Ven to prevent it from happening. She could still hear his last request as if it was yesterday.
I’m asking you, as a friend. Just, put an end to me.
Aqua slammed her hands against the desk as she glared at the photo of Master Eraqus. “Why?” she said quietly. “Out of all the things you could’ve done, you tried to destroy him?”
“Aqua.”
She didn’t even flinch at the sound of Master Eraqus’ voice. Without turning her head, she looked at Master Eraqus sideways, letting all her resentment burn brightly in her eyes. Whether it was an apparition from the Realm of Darkness, or a small part of him trying to reach her in this Light forsaken place, she didn’t care. “Why would you let that man near Ventus again if you knew? Why would you let him in our own home? ” Her hands began to burn with smoke, if she didn’t calm down soon, a fire would start to burn in her palms. But she couldn’t, and she didn’t want to.
“You would put your trust in a man who hurt Ven, who tried to turn him into a weapon for his own use, and yet you couldn’t find it in yourself to trust Terra ? The most gentle one out of the three of us, and you thought he was more of a threat than the man who tried to bring back a catastrophic war? ” Angry tears streamed down her cheeks as she stared at the vision of her Master. He didn’t move from his spot, he didn’t make any motion to speak, but his eyes were heavy with sorrow. “You tried to kill Ven when- when he didn’t even want to have anything to do with creating the X-blade. He would rather die than hurt us. So why?!” Her voice croaked as the temperature dropped in her hands, going from searing hot to cold as ice shot out of her fingertips, striking the floorboards.
“If it wasn’t for your foolish actions, all of this could have been avoided. But Xehanort knew he could exploit you to get what he wanted, and that’s exactly what he did.” Aqua shook her head as sparks of lightning crackled between her fingertips, she raised her hand and pointed at the Master. “You were a foolish master, and I was an even bigger fool to have listened to you rather than to my own heart. If I did, Terra wouldn’t have been alone when he needed his friends the most. Ventus-” her voice cracked, “Ven could’ve been alive right now.”
The air was charged with electricity, no doubt influenced by the sparks of lightning Aqua was barely holding back at this point. She wanted to lash out at the Master and demolish everything around her. She was absolutely sick and tired of holding it together in this place, telling herself that if she kept walking, there would be a light at the end of this dark tunnel, that there had to be some way out. She was just as trapped here as a bird was in a cage.
With a strange sense of calm that washed over her, she summoned the Master’s Defender and with a silent teleport, she appeared in front of him.. She had used the ability a number of times before, it gave her an indescribable rush and boost in power. Her body became lighter as it allowed her to teleport with ease, almost as if her body became a shadow rather than a physical being. More than anything though, she recognized the nature of this ability, and only used it sparingly due to how it conflicted against her teachings. That was how she felt about it before everything with Xehanort transpired.
With a swift strike, she cut down the apparition of what used to be her Master into oblivion.
Aqua’s vision was blurry as she squinted at the golden chains that were surrounding Xehanort and the fading image of Terra- her Terra. More than anything she wanted to stay awake, to keep talking to him and find out what was going on.
He had ties to the dark now? What was that supposed to mean?
As her vision darkened, she felt something- not quite solid as it was going through her fingers, but light enough that she could feel it envelop her hands.
“Aqua.”
Her eyes were closed, but for whatever reason that allowed her to see him clearly. His body was see-through like a ghost, but he was surrounded by a golden glow. His voice was thin and as hollow as an echo, but it was Terra. He was using the last of his power to hold on to her.
“I need- I need to warn you about someone. He’s somewhere in this realm, I can feel it. Aqua, he’s not as he seems. He-he used children. Hurt them for science.”
Aqua felt nauseated at the thought. “Who-”
Terra’s face seemed to scrunch as if struggling to remember, but his image began to fade. “There’s no time. Aqua, please,” his fingers phased through her hands and he grunted in frustration, “don’t give up. You must keep fighting.”
Aqua’s eyes started to well up with tears, “I don’t know how much more I can do this alone, Terra. I’m so tired.”
Terra’s brown eyes reflected their own heaviness, yet still grounded her, just like they always did. “I know, I- I’m tired too. But we promised Ven we’d take care of him. We have to keep him safe.” His mouth tugged into a soft smile. “Besides, you’ve always been the strongest between the both of us.”
Aqua shook her head, knowing it would be foolish to argue with him with the limited amount of time they had left. “I’ll try-I’ll try to keep fighting.”
“I’m with you, right here.” Terra pointed to where his heart would be, his voice sounded like an echo, “always.”
Aqua sniffed and before she could say anything else, he faded away without a trace.
In the distance, she saw a figure running towards the grand doors. At the flash of silver hair, she felt her stomach sink as she realized who this boy was.
No. It can’t be.
She knew ten years had passed since the last time she set foot in the Realm of Light, but it didn’t start to sink in until now. It barely felt as if a month had passed, and the boy in front of her was still a child, he could barely reach her hips before. Now, his hair had grown spikier, his arms were sculpted with lean muscle, and no doubt he had grown to nearly her height.
Aqua remembered the familiar light she had sensed around the boy when she had first met him, she could recognize it as Terra’s. He had inherited the power, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to see him here, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong . Why was he here? More importantly, how did he end up here?
Before she could voice any of those questions, a loud crash resounded from the abyss as another horde of heartless sprouted from its depths. With a start she summoned her Keyblade and raised it in a guard position, bracing for impact. Instead of going after her, however, the tide of heartless completely ignored her and the King, and instead was on its way towards the boy.
No.
That boy was too young to die in a place like this, he was not going to meet his end here. Not when she could stop it.
She clenched her teeth and as she made a sprint towards Riku. She felt her eyes began to sting as she got closer to him. She knew that by doing what she planned to do, she was abandoning her only chance at escaping this damned place, but she simply couldn’t let these monsters touch a hair on his head. She knew he was too inexperienced to go up against them, they would absolutely destroy him. Not only that, but she could still feel a sort of residue from Terra’s gift in him, and that in it of itself only strengthened her resolve.
With a great leap, she turned and aimed at the heartless, her Keyblade glowing as her determination to keep them at bay solidified. “Back off!” she yelled as gold chains wrapped around the mass. When she made it to the ground, she struggled to keep the monster contained, straining to keep the chains intact.
“Hey lady!” the voice came from behind her, and although she didn’t recognize it, it couldn’t have been anyone else besides Riku. She started to hear footsteps hurrying in her direction.
“GO!” she snapped, “Close the door now !”
“But-”
“You are Terra’s legacy!” her voice cracked as she said this, she felt a knot in her throat threatening to choke her, “I will not let it end here, now go! For me and Terra’s sake!”
Everything was a blur from there. She remembered the golden chains break under the strain of the horde of monsters. She had screamed as it turned and slammed into her, pulling her away as if she were in a torrent. She kept her eyes closed the entire time, too afraid to open them and see what it was like inside the beast. Suddenly, she was dropped into a familiar area full of sand.
Aqua landed swiftly on her feet, and she looked up at horde of monsters swirling in the sky. The knot in her throat was too unbearable to ignore as she realized she was torn away from the only chance she had to make it to the Realm of Light. She closed her eyes tightly, tears leaking and traveling their way down her cheeks. Ultimately, she knew she had done the right thing, she protected Riku in order for him to close the door and save the Realm of Light. She protected Terra’s successor, and as far as she knew, that may have been the last piece of him that remained in the Realm of Light. But her heart has grown weary, her spirit has become tired, and she wasn’t sure how much longer she could make it here before she succumbed to the darkness around her.
Suddenly, it felt as though there was a cool, protective barrier around her heart. It was that sensation of gentle waves lapping at the shore, all over her heart. Healing the cracks, protecting them from further damage. Her heart began to emit a soft blue glow, and she gasped as she heard that familiar voice of a young girl.
You mustn’t give up. He is fighting for you too.
Her eyes widened as she saw a brief flash of Terra’s image beside her, ready in battle stance. He looked over her way and gave her a smirk, almost as if asking, “Ready?”
Aqua’s mouth twitched into a small smile. She rose to her feet and stared straight at the monsters gathering, no doubt making their way to charge at her. Tears continued to cascade down her cheeks, but she didn’t bother brushing them away. She gripped the hilt of the Keyblade and directed the flow of her raging emotions towards it, and it began to glow in a golden light.
“Let’s end this.”