A/N: I wasn't going to publish this chapter so early but I couldn't help it!
I don't own Kingdom Hearts
The White Wayfinder
Chapter IV
Revealed Truths
It's been a week since Roxas relieved Aqua of the dark burden she's been carrying for ten years. That is, if time actually flowed in this world. Since then she's been in Twilight Town, reveling in the warmth of the sun. Of course, not all of it has been pleasant. She encountered multiple people with black coats the first few 'days' of her visit; One with a deep voice that gave her nothing but sadness and anger, and another who revealed himself to be named Xigbar. Other than those encounters, she hasn't seen any of them since, besides Roxas and Axel of course.
Her routine usually never changed, most of it was walking around the city and sitting on top of Twilight Town's clock tower and eating sea salt ice cream with Axel and Roxas. She slept too, but only when she couldn't keep her eyes open for much longer. She didn't want to have another visit from a hooded figure. From all of her wandering about, she made a mental map of most of the town in her head, except for the tunnels, Xigbar definitely kept her out of them.
Today was a little different. Aqua was on the side of town where she didn't usually visit. This side of town was a lot quieter than the rest of the town, and there was a clear view of the sunset from here without being on top of the clock tower. There was a small train station up a large flight of stairs which helped connect the town, but Aqua just came to this area on foot. There was a small tram that drove through the area like it did at the marketplace. There was a large path up a hill where it was flat at the top and a small version of the clock tower resided, and this is where Aqua was at.
She was leaning against the wooden fence that lines the top of the hill watching trains come and go from the small station. The strange thing was that occasionally a purple train would come and go, and she was sure no one was driving it. It was serene here, like the rest of the city. She wanted to keep admiring the beauty of her view, but her body said otherwise; she was unbelievably tired.
She trudged over to one of the benches that was across the hill, and slumped onto one. She kept herself in a sitting position and tilted her head forwards. With no hesitation, she quickly fell asleep. She was undisturbed… for the most part anyways.
Aqua slowly began to wake up, but her immediate surroundings felt different. She felt as cold as the surface she was sleeping on, which didn't feel anything like the wooden surface she was originally on. Aqua opened her eyes to see nothing but darkness. The only thing she could see was the white floor underneath her. She got to her feet and scanned her surroundings. There's nothing but… Darkness she thought to herself. "You awaken at last. Good." A deep, familiar voice said.
Aqua summoned her Keyblade in a slight fear of knowing whose voice it was. A figure stepped out from the darkness in front of her, and soon after that multiple red laser-like beams formed a dome shape around them. Aqua felt a familiar vibe from him… Sadness… and rage. Instead of simply attacking the man, Aqua dropped her Keyblade to her side. She wanted answers.
"I want to know your name." Aqua said. The man nodded upon hearing this "In due time, my friend." He said. Aqua scowled at the fact he called her a 'friend'. "I'm not your friend, that's for sure." She said reassuringly. The figure took a few steps towards Aqua, but she stood her ground. "I'm hurt, Aqua. Well, I would be in such a state, if only I possessed a heart." He said persuasively. Aqua raised an eyebrow at his statement. "No… heart? Then what exactly are you then?" She asked confused. The man chuckled at her question "My, my. It really has been that long hasn't it. I, along with many other accidental beings don't belong to light, nor darkness. Instead we teeter on edge of nothingness. We do not belong in this unforgiving world; instead we live off of it, like a parasite. The place where our hearts belong is hollow and empty, because of this, we long for a true purpose. I am what is dubbed as a Nobody, for I am truly nothing… without a heart." He explained in length.
"I am the latter of a Heartless, as they possess the heart, I possess the body. It is true we don't have hearts, the source of emotion and pain, but we remember what it feels like to own one, so we imitate their actions, hoping to deceive people to prove that we exist. Which leads me to your first question: Who am I? As per the technicalities of a Nobody, I should have no such label. So, instead of telling you, how about I just show you?" The man quickly walked up to Aqua and gripped her wrist once more. Aqua held herself back from attacking him on the spot. Voices began to surge through her head like a wave. She could only pick out two different voices: One is young and strong, while the other is old and gravely.
"Sorry… but I need some time alone."
"You seem mixed up; I'm a peacekeeper, not a tyrant!"
"Yes, you are indeed strong. The darkness has nothing to fear."
"You saw the boy in the mask?"
"Use the Keyblade!"
"You've taken yet another step forward."
"What I do, I do for friendship."
"Come to the place where all Keyblade wielders make their mark on fate- The Keyblade Graveyard!"
"Aqua… put an end to me…"
The figure finally let go of Aqua and he took several steps back. Aqua's head hurt. It was like someone has been squeezing it. She finally opened her eyes in realization of who this man is in front of her "T-Terra? Is that really you?" She asked on the verge of tears. Did she finally find one of her long lost friends? "I have long since abandoned that label, as well as the other. My true name is…" The man said as he removed his hood "Xemnas."
It definitely wasn't Terra's face, though it did have a lot of similarities. The enigmatic man in front of Aqua had amber-orange eyes and dark skin. His hair was a brilliant silver color and stretched down past his shoulders.
Xemnas teleported outside of the large dome of red beams "I give you my name, but this is where we say farewell." He said as he snapped his fingers. Instantly, the red beams focused on Aqua, as they sped towards her all at once, resulting in a massive explosion. The smoke cleared to reveal Aqua out of breath and inside a translucent dome that quickly shattered. "It seems like we must do this the hard way." Xemnas said. He made his hands into fists as long red beams emerged from his wrists.
Xemnas flew towards Aqua and connected one of the beams with her Keyblade. Xemnas repeated this action over and over as Aqua was slowly back stepping. Xemnas changed his actions as one of his beams collided with Aqua's side. Aqua flinched at the pain while she thrusted her Keyblade towards his stomach. He dodges her attack by leaping and hovering in the air. "Pathetic…" Xemnas taunted. Multiple red lasers appeared behind him organized into rows. One by one, they descended onto Aqua. She dodged most of them and absorbed the blow from some of them by her Keyblade. Xemnas frowned at how agile she was. He sent the last row of beams at once. Aqua knew she couldn't dodge them, so instead she put another translucent dome around her. It's successfully protected her from them, with no chance for the dome to break. Unlike the last time, the dome collected the energy from the beams, and fired it towards Xemnas.
Xemnas took the full force of the beam and he landed with a loud thud onto the floor. Aqua charge towards him and attempted to strike him with an overhead swing. Xemnas barely blocked her attack. "T-Terra…" Aqua whispered. "I am no longer addressed by that label." He said as he disrupted her poised stance leaving her open to an attack. Xemnas kicked Aqua square in the stomach as she staggered backwards. That hurt. Aqua didn't give up as she charged towards him again. Instead of blocking, Xemnas put up a translucent barrier between him and Aqua. It was too late; Aqua's attack was already in motion. Her Keyblade connected with the barrier, and it sent her flying across the room.
Aqua's Keyblade was only feet away from Xemnas. He picked up the Keyblade and thoroughly studied it. "You really did find his Keyblade. All the more reason to go to Castle Oblivion." Xemnas said. Aqua was still winded as she stood up. "I know what lies in the depths of that ancient castle, unable to awaken. I wonder why?" Xemnas said, obviously taunting Aqua. The Keyblade returned to Aqua with a brief flash of light leaving Xemnas empty handed. He smirked as he suddenly disappeared. Aqua turned around and swiped the ground, making Xemnas fall to the ground. Aqua finally caught her breath "Terra… how did you become… this?" She asked. Xemnas quickly got to his feet and held Aqua above him by her neck. "That is not my name, nor is the name Xehanort. I am Xemnas." He said while he was tightening his grip on Aqua's neck "Be gone." He said. He threw Aqua to the center of the room. She tried to get back up, but to no avail; consciousness was slipping from her.
Aqua began to wake up again, but instead on a cold floor, or a wooden bench, she woke up on the dirt coated ground, which was conveniently next to the bench she dozed off on. On the other side of the familiar hill was Axel pacing back and forth. Aqua's groaning in pain alerted him. "Aqua!" He said relieved. Axel approached her and helped her up from the ground. "I came here to say that my boss is looking for you. But…" he said as he looked over Aqua "…He's already been here hasn't he?" Aqua nodded. "Yeah…" She whispered.
"Aqua!" both of them turned to see Roxas running towards them. He grinded to a halt, kicking up dirt. "I..." Roxas started out of breath. "…I heard that you were in trouble. So I came looking for you." Aqua smiled towards Roxas "I'm okay. There's nothing to worry about." She said. Roxas gave a sigh of relief "Good…" Aqua noticed that he had a leather strap around his neck. She followed the strap to see the Wayfinder she made for him sitting motionless on his chest. Roxas's smile grew "Let's go get some ice cream!" He said as he raced down the hill. "I've never seen him like that." Axel commented. He nodded towards Aqua "C'mon. He'll be waiting for us."
Aqua was brushing the dirt off of her while Axel was walking towards the hill's slope. She finally decided: That encounter with Terra was real. Her side still burned from when Xemnas struck her there. "Man," She heard Axel say. She looked over to him to see that he was rubbing the back of his head. "First all this drama with Xion, and now you. When did everything get so messed up?" He shrugged it off and proceeded down the hill. Aqua silently agreed with him. Terra… What happened to you while I was gone?
Hours after Axel, Roxas and Aqua had their ice cream, another gathering was happening in the same place as before. In the circle of chairs, only Axel, Xigbar, Xemnas, and the unknown figure were present. "I am pleased to say that we are nearing our goal, regarding the girl." Xemnas said. "Good. Maybe we can actually focus on things that pose a threat to the Organization." Axel commented. "Indeed. We are posed with many problems, but in due time we will be presented with the solution." Xemnas said. Xigbar chuckled "Yeah, we should get on with finding the little Poppet. I'm feeling a little empty inside without her, y'know?" He said sarcastically. Axel scowled at Xigbar, but no one seemed to notice. Xemnas nodded towards the only hooded figure in the room. "Axel has performed admirably, but I need you to keep watch on the girl." The figure nodded "Yes, Lord Xemnas." He said in his monotone voice. Xemnas sat back in his chair. "All that is left is for Roxas to uphold his part in this small… dilemma. As per now, we wait." He said as he began to dissipate into a dark column. Xigbar and the hooded figure followed suit. Axel crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. "At least I didn't get the icky job. But… I'm not sure if that's good or bad…"
A/N: The next chapter might be the last chapter, but I'm not sure yet. This is turning to be a pretty good story, if I do say so myself.