Ventus awoke in the dream. A beautiful dream. He stood before the Radiant Garden water fountains. Beautiful, artificial waterfalls several stories high. It was peaceful, not a sound but the roaring water.
The giggle of a beautiful voice traveled over the water. That voice! It was her! Ven spun around. Aqua was nowhere to be seen. He turned again and there she was. She stood beside him, gazing in wonder at the fountain.
Aqua turned to smile at Ven. Like she did that night, long ago, as he lay on his back looking at a meteor shower. Her eyes and hair shined like sapphires in the sunlight. She was so beautiful! All Ven could do was smile back.
Aqua smiled wider and giggled. There also seemed to be mischief in her smile. Not malice, but mischief. She kicked off her boots and hunched over to remove her thigh-high-stockings. She removed her decorative sleeves strapped to her forearms, then spun as she unstrapped her skirt and let it slide to her feet.
Ven jerked back in surprise. He had been so dazed at seeing her again after so long he hadn't even noticed what she was doing. Aqua giggled again and stepped into the water. It looked cold, but she entered with ease and walked further out toward the falls.
The water and sunlight shimmering off it only magnified her beauty. Ventus began to notice, as if for the first time, how well Aqua's skin-tight-suit complimented her figure. He jerked back again as Aqua returned his gaze with a devious smile. Could she read his mind!?"
She struck the water, sending a heavy splash toward him. Ven had no time to dodge. Her strength always surprised him. She looked at him with a challenging grin and ran for the other side of the fountain. Ven smirked. It was on!
He pulled off his own shoes and socks, tore off his shirt, and splashed in after her. The water was pleasantly warm. He sent a mighty wave toward her. She splashed back. This went on for several minutes between them. They laughed and giggled like children in a park. She was a little older than him, but neither one of them could be called children anymore.
Aqua froze in mid-swing. Ven braced himself for the splash, but it never came. He almost called out to her when he noticed she was staring down a tunnel in the middle of the falls. It hadn't been there before. Where did it come from? Where did it go?
After a moment of silence, Aqua looked at Ven with another menacing smile. In the blink of an eye she darted into the darkness of the tunnel. Ven gasped and ran in after her. What was she thinking? They had no idea where it led?
Darkness enveloped Ven. The only sound was the splashing of his feet. Soon the light of the tunnel entrance disappeared behind him. Ven began to pant for breath. He thought he heard Aqua giggling in the dark. He was starting to worry his mind was playing tricks on him. A light appeared ahead of him. He called out to her.
"I'm right here, Ven," Aqua's voice answered, as if right beside him. He reached the light, it was a lightbulb. It revealed pipes along the wall and something floating on the water. It was Aqua's bodice!
Ven's eyes widened. His heart skipped several beats. Was she in danger? He called out to her at the top of his lungs.
"I'm here!" she replied. "Come on! It's beautiful!"
"What is?" he shouted back. "Where are you?"
"I'm right here!" she answered.
Ven was confused. But there was nothing he could do but keep running after her. Soon he came to another lightbulb. Something else was in the water beneath it. His heart drummed rapidly as he realized it was Aqua's shorts!
Ventus was frozen in place, but he breathed rapidly. He felt cold but was sweating profusely. Aqua… She was… Why? What was going on!? Aqua's voice giggled in the darkness, snapping him out of it.
"Why are you so distant, Ven?" she asked. He searched for an answer, but couldn't find one. "Don't you like this?" her voice asked, sounding almost sad. Ven couldn't say. This was new to him. "Don't you want me?" she asked pleadingly. "I want you, Ven."
A warmth spread through Ventus. It spread like fire. A gentle but forceful fire. The answer to her last question was yes. He did want her! He started running again, splashing loudly as he went. The fire built up inside him. The water began to feel cold. The darkness grew blacker than ever. He couldn't stop. He had to find her! He wanted her! He needed her!
The tunnel dropped down into a larger chamber. It was candle lit and had cushions and pillows spread on the floor, all red. A large pool steamed in the middle of the chamber. Ven figured this was a lounge for someone wealthy. Maybe the city mayor. But where was Aqua?
She emerged in the middle of the pool with a splash. Ven almost fell over in surprise. There was Aqua, dripping wet without a stich on her body! She moaned and smiled with pure ecstasy. The pool looked even more inviting to Ven.
Aqua smiled at him as he knelt at the edge of the pool. His eyes were locked on her. The sight of her mesmerized him. The pool was deep and the candle light gave a warm golden tinge to the water. It was a treasure chamber, and Aqua was the treasure.
"Come on in, Ven," she said. "It's wonderful!"
Ven stood tall. His shyness melting. He had been with Aqua for years. She had become as precious to him as Terra. And yet, somehow, it was different. In a way, she had become more precious to him. The thought of it almost felt like a betrayal. Terra was the only brother he'd ever known. But right then, all he could think about was her.
He removed his trousers and shorts and jumped into the pool. The water was hot, but pleasantly so. It soothed and warmed every inch of his body. All memory of the day Xenanort froze him and left him helpless to save Aqua from his darker half vanished. He felt more alive and more relaxed than ever.
His head emerged from the pool for a breath of air. His breath was cut off by a playful splash from Aqua. He happily splashed back. She dodged his strike and shot him a challenging grin before diving deep. Ven dove after her. The glow of the candles shone through the water and glittered off her skin as he chased her to the bottom of the pool then from one side to the other. Her she was beautiful beyond his imagination! His eyes explored her body in wonder. He saw her smile back and gaze over him the same way. He was too entranced to be embarrassed. He also forgot he'd been holding his breath.
Ven shot back up to the surface for some much needed air. He gasped for breathe. Another moment and he might have passed out! Aqua emerged in front of him. She took in a breath without gasping. She always was a good swimmer. Ven envied her.
Aqua came closer and gently placed her hand on Ven's cheek. His breathing calmed immediately. His heart, however, pounded harder than ever. He smiled awkwardly, Aqua returned it with a warm smile. She leaned a few inches forward and kissed Ven softly on the lips. Her eyes slid shut as their lips met. Ven's shot wide open!
This kiss went on a long time. He felt her lips intertwine with his. He felt her breath, her hand still on his cheek. It felt to him like their hearts were fusing. An eternal bond that nothing could ever break. He couldn't hide or deny his feelings anymore. He was in love with Aqua! His heart skipped a beat as he came to this realization. It skipped several more as he realized this meant she loved him back!
Ven's heart calmed and his eyes slid shut. He returned the kiss with passion. He softly laid his own hand on Aqua's cheek and wrapped his free arm around her. He held her close. Her warm soft body pressed against his.
Aqua broke away from the kiss but returned his embrace. She let go of his cheek only to take his hand into hers. Their hands embraced. She looked deep into his eyes. Her smile was gone, replaced by wonder and longing.
"I've missed you Ven!" Aqua sniffled. Tears began to stream down her eyes. "I want this! I want you so much!"
"What? What's wrong?" Ven asked, dumbfounded. "You have me! I'm right here!" he insisted.
"No!" she sobbed. "This is only a dream. But it's a dream we share, Ven!" she went on. "A dream she'll never let us finish and never let come true!"
"She? Who's she? What are you talking about?" Ven asked. A dark, wicked laugh echoed through the room. The pool rumbled with her voice. The voice sounded oddly familiar to Ven.
"The Queen!" Aqua gasped in terror. "She won't let us be together! I'm sorry Ven! Goodbye," darkness began to envelope her as she finished. It molded to her like tar and abruptly snatched her from Ven's grasp. It dragged her under water.
"NO!" Ven shouted. He dove after her. He saw the darkness dragging her deeper and deeper, the bottom of the pool had disappeared! It was like an ocean! He stroked as hard as he could but couldn't catch up. Aqua vanished in the darkness.
"AQUA!" Ven shouted, his voice gargled in the water.
"Ven!" Aqua's voice echoed. It seemed to be coming from all around him. Where was she? "Ven!" she called again. "VEN!"…
"VEN!" a sharp kick to the side pulled Ventus from the dark and into the tropical morning sun. "Wake the hell up!" Sergeant Walker snapped. His frown was barely visible in the shadow of his hat. "We're on the move in thirty seconds. Get up or you can have my old nick-name, Slacker!"
"Yes, Sarge. I'm up!" Ven grumbled as he rolled to his feet. The thick, damp, jungle air of Vietnam singed in lungs. The officers had lied that they get use to the heat. The monsoons had ended a few days ago. Ven had hoped the rain would cool things down. No such luck. No luck at all.
"Welcome back to the world of the living, Corporal Key," said Capt. Monty, the squad's commander and ARVIN attache to the U.S. Army. "Nice of you to join us, perhaps you'd like Sgt. Walker to bring you breakfast in bed?" he asked with a grin.
"Bacon and eggs, please sir," Ven replied. "And orange juice on the rocks," he finished with a smirk. The rest of the squad erupted into laughter.
"Very funny, Key," said Monty. "Maybe your nick-name should be Corporal Joker. In fact you seem rested and ready for fun, you have point."
"Yes sir," Ven nodded. He put on his helmet, grabbed his M-16 and made his way to the head of the formation. Being on point never bothered Ven. In fact he usually volunteered for it! He figured it might as well be him. It's not like he had to worry about trip cords or snipers. He was pretty good at spotting both threats, but several times he'd "miraculously" survived blasts and sniper shots that would have killed anyone else. No head shots or anything that couldn't be written off as a grazing wound that looked worse than it was.
Bravo squad advanced deeper into the bush. Ven was grateful not to find any traps or trip cords. This bunch only had a few weeks left until being cycled out for R&R. Some of them were almost done with their tour, short timers they were called. Sgt. Walker was one of them. Sarge and Monty had been together since before Tet.
Ven had arrived just before the Tet Offensive, and was in Danang for the worst of it, which was pretty bad. Not nearly the overwhelming defeat for America and the South the media made it out to be though. It never did make sense to Ven, the media turning on their own soldiers and printing stories to make them look like villains. Ven had seen REAL villains before.
Soon they reached the clearing, and there stood the village. The brick church stood out like a sore thumb in the village. All stilted huts, like most nam villages, but this one just happened to have a stone, gothic looking, church at the highest point of the village.
Not too many catholic churches this far out in the bush, which put them at extra risk. Ven was surprised the Cong hadn't torched the place during Tet. He figured they were letting the little fish go to snag the big ones. Of course it didn't work out like the papers seemed to think.
Ven led bravo squad up the path and into the village. Some villagers waved smiling from the rice paddies. Others simply stared in silence. Even though most of the villagers were catholic and had a vested interest in keeping the commies out, they rarely treated the GIs like anything other than unwanted strangers. The news stories about the few massacres by U.S. troops didn't help much. Ven had shrugged at the stories, he'd seen much bigger slaughters by the Cong and NVA. Sometimes Vens growing pessimism surprised even him.
Father Duggal was sitting at the foot of the church, posing for a picture. Judy, the pretty photojournalist was lining him and the children up for the shot. She snapped a few pictures gave a thumbs up. The little ones mimicked the motion and ran away laughing.
"Surprised you took the picture, Ms. Judy," the padre said with his thick French accent. "Don't you generally print for the other side?" The reporter scoffed.
"Well don't blame me for your religious stubbornness," she chuckled. "It's pretty clear the people of this fine land want you and yours out."
"Oh yes, my dear," Duggal laughed. "They flocked to my side and smiled so happily for the picture! And after a morning mass that left them all with smiling faces! They must really want me gone!"
"Maybe around here, but you know what they say about the majority getting their way."
"I thought you were American, my dear? In your country the majority rules, but the minorities have rights. More so over the past decade," Duggal grinned at Judy's sulking sigh of defeat. Ven smiled. Like most Americans he'd been very proud of the civil rights act, and of the great speeches by Martin Luther King Jr. And devastated at his assassination.
The blonde camera woman spun around in surprise when she noticed Ven standing just a few feet away. No one in the squad had wanted to interrupt the debate. "Key!" she gasped. "You scared me!"
Ven giggled. "Right, hope you don't put me down in your next report as some kind of monster,"
She smiled back. "Not without photographic evidence. Lucky for you you've got those baby blues," she winked at him. Ven tried not to blush as the squad laughed behind him.
Judy was rarely outwardly hostile with the troops, but Ven she managed to befriend, despite their clear difference of opinion. Maybe because he looked so young. He actually had aged slightly over his two centuries in this world. Barely a few years. At least people had stopped doubting his age.
"Alright, people cut the chatter!" Walker sounded off. He asked the padre how the reporter's stay had been. It had been cordial. She and he hadn't gotten into too many arguments and the people had been as welcoming to her as they were to him. Judy had gotten so many photos of the village and its people she seemed confident she could make a huge culture piece. Ven didn't comment on how he thought she'd spin it. Which was that Vietnamese culture is just fine the way it's been for centuries and how evil Americans and westerners were to bring their religion and industry there.
"Well, I still say I don't NEED an escort back to the city. But I know you'll insist," Judy grumbled at Walker.
"Plenty of reporters of your exact same opinions said that same thing ma'am," Walker replied. "They all ended up with their heads mounted on stakes. Including the women, though of course the Cong took certain…liberties with them first." Judy cringed, but feigned a scoff. She really wanted to deny Sarge's word, but knew better.
The padre got on with his fond farewell. Even gave a prayer and a blessing over the squad for safe travels on our journey. Sarge thanked him and gave the order to move out. This time Ven came up the rear of the line.
"Does anyone else but me feeling like yall are just trying to tell these people you're the good guys while waving the guns around?" Judy broke the silence.
"That's what good guys do, ma'am," Sarge answered. "Ever heard of Wyatt Earp? Doc Holiday? Bass Reaves?" the squad cheered at the famous names.
Monty grunted and finally spoke up. "They look like good guys to me," he said.
"No offense, Monty, but you're in the minority," she said.
Monty took offense. "I certainly am now, since your commie friends started slaughtering my family."
"Enough!" Sarge growled. "This is the army, not a political forum! Keep your opinions to yourselves!"
Gunfire rang out behind them. They all turned in shock. Ven knew those shots anywhere, he'd heard them when the first rang out in the mountains of North Korea, AKs! Viet Cong was attacking the village. There'd been no sign of Charlie all through the patrol. They must have been waiting for them to leave the village.
"Oh God!" Judy gasped.
"Orders, Captain?" Walker turned to Monty. The ARVIN officer frowned.
"We have our orders, escort the reporter back to the firebase and avoid contact with the enemy!" he growled.
"But sir."
"We don't even have the full platoon out here!" Monty snapped. "We have no idea how many are attacking!"
Ven didn't care to listen to the rest of the conversation. He ran for the village as the rest of the squad got to arguing. He heard Sarge and Monty shout everyone down, then they called his name. Now they'd have no choice but to go back for him. This little stunt would probably get him chewed out something fierce, but it would be worth it. Ven couldn't bear to hear about another massacre. Not this village, they were good people. And that priest… the strength and faith in his eyes… faith he hadn't seen since master Eraqus. The man who was like a father to him.
More shots rattled as he reached the clearing and sprinted up the path. He passed bullet riddled bodies in the paddy. More along the path. The huts were burning, most pocked with bullet holes.
Ven froze as he reached the top. VC troops held Father Duggal and the children at gunpoint. Most of the children were already dead. The Cong commander stood over a child with the padre on his knees. He handed the child a pistol and demanded he kill Duggal. The child wept and shook his head. Duggal begged and pleaded for the boy to do as they say and shoot him, but he wouldn't.
The Cong officer took back his pistol and shot the boy in the head. Then he turned and shot the last of the children. Father Duggal fell on his belly sobbing. The officers hot him in the head.
Ven's world turned red. He'd seen such cruelty many times in many different wars. He never got use to it. He'd grown numb to hearing about such things but could never stomach watching it. He froze for several seconds, trembling with rage.
A shocked cry let him know the commies finally noticed him, the novelty of mocking the corpses of helpless children and an old man had worn off. Ven barely felt the first bullet, or the next several to follow. The force of the impacts knocked him back, but he refused to fall over. Soon his uniform was in shreds, but there he stood.
The VC began to stare and gasp in horror at the foreign barbarian. Ven grinned at the shock in their eyes. They just didn't understand. How could they? So caught up in their own little world and their self-importance they didn't care how many innocent people they hurt, all in the name of making themselves puppet regimes of the Soviets and Reds.
Some of them started to reload, other trembled with their smoking AKs in their hands. Ven dropped his rifle and drew his machete. He twirled in his has palm to grip it back-handed. They were no longer facing an American GI, but a centuries old swordsman. A keyblade bearer.
He charged them with a roar of fury. He slashed and stabbed without hesitation. He remembered his training and sprang upon them with all the speed and grace his master had taught him. He ripped the blade from another throat and held the corpse as a shield against a spray of bullets. He threw the riddled body at the soldier charged in to finish him.
He saved the officer for last. The bastard had just finished reloading and emptied his clip into Ven at point blank range. He kept pulling the trigger long after it was emptied and stared wide-eyed as Ven's wounds healed before his eyes. "What are you?"
Ven approached and thrust the blade deep into his belly. "I'm what darkness fears!" Ven growled in the native tongue before the murderer's eyes went dead.
"Key!" Sarge's voice came from behind him. Walker and the rest of the squad all stared in shock.
"Oh God!" Judy gasped as she started taking pictures. They all looked at him in horror. His uniform was shredded and covered with blood. A dozen dead VC littered the ground. And he was armed only with a machete. He must have looked like something out of a nightmare to them.
…
Ven stood from his bunk as the cell door opened. It was time. The two MPs stood ready to take him on his "last walk." He let the crumpled letter fall the floor. It had read…
"Dear Ven.
I tried to tell my superiors the truth. That it was the VC who killed those children and Father Duggal. But they wouldn't listen. They either ignored me or acted like I was crazy. I took it all the way up to the chief editor, he cut me off in mid-sentence and told me if I kept making noise about this or leaked it to another news source, not only would they fire me, but make certain I'd never work in journalism again. I know it's selfish, but I can't go back to being miss nothing from nowhere again. If it helps, try to consider your death might mean the end of this war, an end to suffering like what we saw back at the village. I'm sorry…
She didn't sign it. Didn't need to. Sgt. Walker managed to get through security and give me the squad's regards. They were all pissed. Some of them even mumbled about arranging a jailbreak. Sarge had wished he could make that happen. But he couldn't do it without help, and part of his job was to keep the men out of trouble. He said his goodbye and was gone.
Ven was silent as he got up and let the night-stick wielding soldiers usher him down the cell block and out into the field. There were more reporters there, and officers of the U.S. and South Vietnamese armies. They read off the charges against him and the verdict of the shame of a court martial against him.
Judy's media bosses had painted Ven as the insane GI who snapped and slaughtered an entire village, including a priest. The army, desperate for a scape-goat, was eager to quench the public's call for blood. They figured if they made an example of this "crazed GI," the media would be appeased and lay off the smear campaign. Ven hoped they were right.
He wasn't looking forward to explaining what was to come to the guards, or the presiding officers. But Ven knew he wouldn't be able to keep this a secret forever. He kept his mouth shut as they announced the sentence and asked God to have mercy on his soul. A priest even came to say a prayer for him, Ven nodded politely but said nothing. The firing squad came up in formation, like a parade. Ven rolled his eyes as they leveled their rifles at him. He couldn't help but smirk as the leader sounded off.
"Ready. Aim. Fire!"
