A/N: Originally written for LJ's kh drabble community, challenge [259] Say Goodbye. Enjoy.
Thanks: M. L. Ayala, my beta reader.
With the lifeless-looking Ven on her back, Aqua left the mysterious tower. She still had so much work to do.
But first things first.
"Ven needs a safe place," she said, thoughtfully.
Where could that be?
Almost as if Ven had heard her, he lifted his right hand, answering Aqua by materializing his Keyblade and making a connection to another world with it.
When she had overcome her initial shock (he could actually hear her?), she nodded understandingly.
"All right… If that's where you want to go."
She started walking towards the warm light…
Reaching the other end of it, it finally dawned upon Aqua what destination Ven had (un)consciously chosen as a shelter.
A horrified, heart-breaking gasp escaped her mouth. They were in the Land of Departure, but everything was wrong, as though she had landed in her worst nightmare.
The place was hauntingly deserted. Every source of light was gone, absorbed by the night that had given birth to the darkness.
Where were the beautiful stars that used to twinkle far, far away, but always seemed to greet them at night, showing them that everything was the way it should be?
What about the crickets?
…What about their home?
The only thing left, was this emptiness and cold, to the extent that tears started forming in her eyes.
She had grown up here. She had made friends here, and a second father. Now it was all dead and gone.
This wasn't fair…
Perhaps it was a good thing that Ven wasn't awake. It spared him a lot of sorrow and pain...
It was then that she noticed something lying on the floor, not too far from her; Master Eraqus's Keyblade.
As she grabbed it, she remembered what she had said before…before all this.
"Of course. I would never let that happen. I promise you I will bring Terra back… Only this time, you'll see he has what it takes to be a Master."
Another thing she had failed to do…
With a determined look on her face, Aqua adjusted her grip on Ven and started climbing the stairs.
As she entered the castle, she couldn't help but think of what her Master had told her.
"Now that you are a Master, there is one secret in particular you must know. Should anything happen to me, and you find the legion of darkness at our doorstep… I ask that you take my Keyblade and use it to lock this land away."
"…Our predecessors devised a certain… trick."
Aqua pointed the Keyblade at the hidden Keyhole. As she thrust it forward, a bright beam of the purest light appeared, connecting the Keyblade with the Keyhole.
"Just use the key, and this land will be transformed. From that day forward, all who visit this land will be lost to oblivion, none ever able to solve the mystery. None, Aqua, except you."
When Aqua looked up again (secretly afraid of what she would see now), she saw that the room had changed. It wasn't engulfed in darkness anymore. The walls were so white that it hurt her eyes, and Ven was sitting on a white throne, resembling a lifeless puppet.
Seeing him this way, something twisted painfully inside of her. Aqua bent forward.
She ruffled his hair affectionately, as she assured him, "I know it's a lonely place, but you'll be safe. Terra and I will be back to wake you up before you know it."
…I hope…
As expected, there was no response from Ven.
If she didn't know any better…
Goodbye, Ven…
They would see each other again, right?
A/N: Hope you liked it. A review makes the day of the writer who's on semi-hiatus. :)