Welcome back if you read the previous chapters, or if you're new then welcome to the story! Well, it's certainly been a while. How you guys doing, school/work going well? It's taken a long time, and it's certainly not as long as I wanted it to be. But I think it will suffice for now. Also, I've started publishing this on Wattpad as well, same name there as here. Now then, without further ado, let's start the chapter!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Maximum Ride, they belong to Disney/Square Enix and James Patterson respectively.
The Gummi Ship Infirmary
Aqua's POV
As I sat in the infirmary, I couldn't help but wonder how the battle was proceeding. I knew that Terra would be cutting the enemy down in great swathes, left and right, desperate to get the kids back. Mickey would most likely be taking down equal amounts of the enemy, and Riku would be working his way towards the cages to unlock them. I desperately wished that Riku wasn't the one to unlock the cages, however, without Ven here, he was the fastest at opening locks with his Keyblade. However, I was torn from my thoughts by the feeling of the ship accelerating and the infirmary door opening. And standing there in the doorway, was Sora, Roxas, Ventus, Kairi and six other kids.
As soon as Kairi saw me she ran up to me, tears streaming from her eyes and hugged me tight, saying "I'm so sorry mom! We thought we were strong enough to bring him back on our own, but we weren't!" As her tears soaked my bodice, I looked at the other kids, they were all so thin, and dirty, and tired looking. But worst of all, the six other kids looked so scared, almost as if they were ready to scamper at the drop of a pin. Sora and Roxas looked about ready to collapse, so I gently unhooked Kairi's arms from around my chest and went over to Sora and Roxas. Taking them each by the hand, I led them to their own individual beds. As I was tucking them in, Ventus came up to me and said, "Before you start distributing Potions, you should introduce yourself to the others." I nodded my affirmative, however my mind was in other places. I couldn't help but feel what I guess would be called 'maternal instincts' kicking in as I tucked Sora and Roxas into bed. They both looked so peaceful under the covers, almost babyish. The way Roxas' bottom lip formed itself into a little pout, how Sora was splayed out on his back.
I stood up, turning to look at the other kids. Ventus was already helping himself to a few Potions and Elixirs, so I didn't need to worry about him just yet. And Kairi had cried herself to sleep on the bed I'd been sitting on, so I'd have to readjust her position so she wouldn't be stiff when she woke up. Suddenly, one of the girls stepped forward and said, "Who are you? Where are we going? And why'd Kairi call you mom, you look nothing like her." I sighed and said, "My name is Aqua. We're going to somewhere safe, where you can all heal and recover from whatever trauma you were all put through. As for why Kairi called me 'mom' and I don't look like her, well that's because I adopted her about two years ago. Her parents were very abusive, and she was hardly allowed to go anywhere besides the local grocery store." I looked down, a bit saddened by these painful memories, but I immediately perked up again, and said, "Now then, seeing as you all know my name, would you like to introduce yourselves?"
They exchanged wary glances with each other, and one boy looked about ready to tell me to stuff it. When Ventus said, "It's alright, you can trust her. She's not a Whitecoat, no one on this ship is." This struck me as more than a little odd, but I decided not to press on it. One of the boys, he had beautiful long black hair, stepped forward and said, "I'm Fang." This apparently shocked the others, because almost immediately they started clamoring to tell me their names. However, out of not wanting to wake up Sora, Roxas and Kairi, I raised my finger to my lips. Signaling them to be quiet. "Now then, I'm sure that you all want to get some sleep, and quite possibly a shower. But before you do, would you all be willing to let me look at your injuries?" They nodded quietly, and one by one, they let me look at their injuries. However, I could tell that their injuries didn't just run skin-deep. Some of them were mentally and emotionally hurting as well.
Max's POV
Infirmary
Me and the rest of the Flock have always been somewhat afraid of enclosed spaces, however, this ship was nothing like what we expected! I know that it looks massive on the outside, but I thought that most of it's interior would be taken up by machines and other equipment, I had no idea that it would be so capacious! And Kairi's mother was so sweet and understanding, it's no idea why Kairi accepted her offer to adopt her. "Max... Max? Hello, earth to Max?" Ventus' voice shook me out of my thoughts. I raised an eyebrow in question, and he said, "You know, we can't keep these secret for very long. Especially if we go to Atlantica." I sighed, knowing that he meant our wings. "I know, I'm just not ready to tell anyone just yet." "Tell anyone what?" I jumped, instincts kicking in, I spun and tried to deliver a kick to the unknown speakers head.
Keyword being 'tried.' However, he simply grabbed my foot, and strangely, put it gently on the ground. He then said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you, any of you." He held his hand out to shake, saying, "I'm Terra, Kairi's dad." I took it cautiously, saying, "Maximum Ride." He nodded, looking somewhat deep in thought, before turning around saying, "You know, we're not going to do anything to you kids, we're not like what those miserable excuses for human beings back there." I nodded, I believed him. But I wasn't quite ready to trust him yet. As he walked away he said, "Cool wings by the way."
Okay then, as I said before at the beginning of this chapter, I'm terribly sorry for taking so long in writing this. And, while I'm not completely in love with this chapter, I'll try and do better with the next one. Also, I'd like to thank TwilightSky15 for her kind words. You're completely right. Also, I've made a poll on my profile as to what gender Terra and Aqua's baby/babies should be, as well as how many children they should have, so be sure to check that out. If you enjoyed this, (admittedly short,) chapter, then leave a review, and maybe share it with your friends! See you guys next time, Silverheart out!