I HOLD NO CLAIM TO ANY OF THE ORIGINAL KINGDOOM HEARTS CHARACTERS! NOTHING! :(
Chapter Two
Aqua
Castle of Dreams
"We were separated; imagine that," Lucient was sitting on a set of stairs of a large castle, the light of the moon shining down on the courtyard before him. He had landed there about ten minutes ago and had sat on the steps, thinking about what he could do next. Should he just wait here for Bailey or Selia to show up? Or should he move around and try to find a way to stop these Unversed creatures?
"Are you all right?"
Lucient hadn't noticed someone walking up behind him and lifted his head. "I'm fine, just…lost."
"Separated from your friends?"
Lucient turned his head and took in the one behind him.
She looked young with short blue hair and matching eyes. Dressed in a black and blue, high-collared halter-top with two pink belts forming an 'x' across her chest, she was wearing an odd silver badge. She wore white bell-sleeves on her arms and tan, fingerless gloves with strange parts of armor on her arms that reminded Lucient of what Bailey had worn. With black stockings and a skirt there were two blue strips that hung on either side of her hips with a smaller, white one around her waist.
And in her hand…
"You wield a Keyblade," Lucient commented, staring at the object in the woman's hands.
"You know what this is?" She asked him in shock.
"Yes, though I've only seen one recently. Tell me; are you one of Eraqus' students?"
She looked even more shocked. "You know my master?"
"No, and I don't plan to," Lucient stood up. "So you're here to take care of the Unversed, right? And you're alone?"
"Well, I'm searching for my friend, Ventus. Have you seen him?"
"To be honest, you're the first person I've met since landing here."
"Then you came from another world? But ho-" She stopped talking and gave a frown as she looked over the courtyard. "Unversed!"
Lucient turned and took in the small creatures that now triumphed the courtyard. "Sneaky little bastards." He growled, pulling out his lance.
"Stay back," She told him, moving forward. "I'll take care of them. You get somewhere safe."
Lucient looked at her in surprise for a moment before zipping past her. "What kind of man would I be if I were to just let a woman fight a bunch of creatures off on her own, a warrior or not?" He gave a grin as he readied his lance again. "It's not my style."
Lucient's lance was a huge help in this battle. Not knowing what these Unversed creatures were capable of, the length kept them at bay. It kept their attention on him as well, trying to find a way to attack; it left them open to Aqua's attacks.
"Not bad," He began, placing his lance across his shoulders. "I'm Lucient."
"Aqua." She replied with a nod.
"Well, Aqua, for now I say we stick together. How about you?"
She stared at him for a moment. "How did you get here?"
"My friend makes gummy ships and we used a pair of them. Unfortunately we got separated."
"Why travel to another world?"
He was silent for a moment, thinking about his answer before giving a shrug. "Why not? Aren't you a little curious to see what else is out there?"
"Not really," She sighed under her breath before shaking her head. "It would be safer for you to stay here at the palace but since you can handle yourself I cannot choose what you want to do. You're old enough to make your own decisions."
"Then where do you want to go?" He asked, turning from her.
Aqua gave a sigh and glanced at the path that led them from the courtyard. There was a carriage that could be seen leaving. She knew who it was. "Let's follow that."
"Why?" Lucient asked, beginning to lead the way. "Is there something special going down with it?"
"Sort of," Aqua answered him.
Lucient left her answer at that and just followed the path that the carriage was on. They really didn't have to go very far until they reached the house that the carriage had stopped at; they could hear voices coming from inside. It was something about a class slipper and women in the kingdom, but Lucient didn't particularly care too much.
"As I feared," Aqua sighed as they continued to talk in the house. "There is darkness here." She summoned her Keyblade and took a few steps towards the house but a voice stopped her.
"Wait." Lucient watched as an elder lady in a blue cloak appeared on the steps before them. "It's dangerous to fight the darkness with light, my dear."
"Who are you?" Aqua asked.
"Cinderella's Fairy Godmother. I appear to those who believe that dreams come true." Lucient had to retrain himself from laughing and asking a question that would make him seem like an ass in front of the two women before him.
"Then I am honored." Aqua gave Lucient a sharp look. "But why would you advise me not to fight darkness with light?"
"Strong rays of sun create dark shadows," The woman replied. "Sadly, Lady Tremaine and both her daughters are jealous of Cinderella's charm and beauty; qualities that appear to you as 'light'. Jealousy is darkness. Light and dark go hand in hand. You can't have one without the other."
At her words, a memory came to Aqua's mind, Bailey's words repeating in her head.
"Light and darkness cannot be one without the other! You just can't see that and in the end, that will be why you fall!"
"Then what should I do?" Aqua asked, glancing down at her Keyblade.
"It's quite simple, dear. One of Cinderella's friends is trying very hard to keep her light from fading. I want you to join little Jaq and help him."
Aqua gave a nod. "I can do that."
"WE can do that," Lucient stepped in again, giving Aqua a sharp look.
"You'll need a bit of my magic to help Jaq. Are you sure you're ready?"
"Hit me." Lucient replied, spreading his arms out.
"All right." She pulled out her little wand. "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!"
Lucient closed his eyes as the bright light encased the duo and when he opened them he gave a jump. They were up in the house, watching as a mouse in red tried to carry a key across the floor in front of them.
"She turned us into MICE?!" Lucient cried, comparing his size to the boxes that stood next to him.
Aqua gave a chuckle before moving after the mouse in red. "Are you okay?" This had to be Jaq.
"Cinderella's stepmother locked her in her room. I've gotta let her out. I've gotta save Cinderella."
Aqua gave a smile and summoned her Keyblade. "Let me help you."
"Oh, thank you," Jaq turned to face her. "Ooh! That's like Ven's! Did you ever meet Ven?"
"I'm Aqua," the teen replied. "But tell me how you know about Ven?"
"We're friends-good friends. Ven and Selia helped me fix Cinderella's dress."
"Selia?" Lucient repeated him, joining the conversation. "Blonde girl with purple eyes?"
"Yep; that's her."
"At least she's safe," Lucient sighed in relief. "Do you know where they are now?"
"They're both looking for a friend…another friend." Jaq replied.
"I see," Aqua glanced away for a moment. "Ven, you must have just missed Terra…and Bailey."
"And Bailey?" Lucient repeated her. "So you and Bailey are connected somehow. I knew it the moment I saw your Keyblade."
"And how do you know Bailey?" Aqua asked him.
"We'll talk more about this later. We need to help the woman, right?"
"We gotta hurry!" Jaq ran forward but a group off Unversed popped out again. "Oh no! We gotta hurry!"
"It's all right," Aqua ran forward, Lucient right behind her. "Leave this to us."
They cleared a path for Jaq to run to the mouse hole with the key and then turned to the main room of the home to watch as the man from the Castle turned to leave with the glass slipper in his hands.
Aqua, with a worried look, went to jump off to stop him, even in her small form, but gave a cry when she returned to her normal size, losing her balance on the railing of the stairs. Lucient, normal size himself once again, grabbed her hand before she could fall though, and pulled her back up to him.
"Glad I came with you now?" HE asked.
Aqua gave a nervous chuckle before pushing away from him and hurrying down the stairs. "Oh…would it…would it be alright…if I tried on the glass slipper?" Aqua asked.
"Hmm, I met you at the palace," The man commented. "Unfortunately, you are not the young lady the Prince is looking for."
"But she is a lady, right?" Lucient remarked, walking down the steps himself. "Weren't your orders to try it on every damsel? Let her fantasize a little, will ya?"
Tremaine moved forward. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my house?"
"They're probably here to rob us." One of her daughters said.
"Mother, do something!"
"No, we're not robbers," Lucient grinned. "We're friends of Cinderella."
Tremaine's face went red with anger before she glanced at the man behind them. "That girl does not live here. I only have two daughters. I believe we're finished here, Your Grace."
"Regardless," The man returned with a smile. "She means no harm." He held the slipper out to Aqua. "Here you are, my dear."
"Wow," Lucient took a closer look at it as Aqua glanced at the stairs again. "That has to be hard to wear. Glass? It would hurt like hell if it broke on your feet."
"Yes," the man from the castle nodded. "I suppose it would."
"Your Grace, please wait!" They all turned to see a young blond woman hurrying down the stairs. "May I try it on?"
~That must be Cinderella.~ Lucient crossed his arms.
Tremaine moved forward. "Pay no attention to her. She's just an imaginative child."
"Madam," The man puffed at her. "My orders were every maiden."
Aqua escorted Cinderella to a chair. "I actually want to thank you, for teaching Terra he needs to keep believing." Cinderella gave a surprised look at the girl. As the man moved forward with the slipper, Tremaine went to move but Lucient slipped in between the two of them, a smirk on his face as he stopped her from tripping the man.
"Not today, old bat." She glared at him but at this moment there was nothing that she could truly do; especially as Cinderella revealed the other.
"A perfect fit. I must inform the Prince immediately!" The man cried, placing the other slipper on Cinderella's other foot. "You will come with me, of course."
Cinderella smiled. "I'd be happy to."
"Well isn't that sweet?" Lucient smirked, crossing his arms as he watched the two moved from the home. "It's destiny."
"You don't sound very happy." Aqua commented.
"Should I be?" He snorted. "No one's happiness matters to me but my own."
Aqua went to reply but Cinderella's cry reached the two of them and they turned to the gate in time to see the man from the castle running away in fear.
"What happened?" Aqua demanded. "Where is Cinderella?"
"Sh-she was attacked by a creature…a monster in the forest…"
"And you just left her there?!" Lucient roared, taking off through the gates. It was, literally, right there on the other side of the gate. Tremaine an her daughters were there, laughing at the other woman on the ground as the carriage, now in the form of a demonic-like pumpkin, reached out to hit here with one of its vines. He moved forward and blocked her from the attack.
"Stay back there, sweetheart," Lucient told the woman, giving her a slight push back towards the gates as Aqua joined them. "I'll handle this."
Tremaine gave a laugh. "This is what happens when you go against my wishes!" A bomb then fell on them instead and their cries faded out with their bodies.
"The darkness in their hearts overtook them," Aqua sighed.
"Shut it with the stupid light and dark shit and just help me beat the hell out of this thing!"
The cursed coach was fast and it liked to leap around the area. It also had a strange, air ability that sucked the duo closer to it. Lucient had gotten caught in it once but Aqua had saved him before he was able sucked up inside the pumpkin. Good thing, too, because he had gotten a glimpse at all the sharp teeth inside it. Using his lance, Lucient was able to flip the monster over and from then both of them rained down attacks and took care of the creature.
"Shazam!" Lucient twirled his lance before stabbing it into the ground at his feet. The two of them stood there as Cinderella and the man left. "I am awesome." He glanced at Aqua. "You weren't too bad, either."
"I'm sure," She moved after the carriage again. Shaking his head, Lucient followed her, making the way back to the palace. Watching from across the courtyard, Lucient let a smile spread on his face as Cinderella and the Prince were reunited on the steps.
"I thought no one else's happiness mattered to you," The woman beside him commented.
"It doesn't," He answered truthfully. He gave a glance at the side as the Fairy Godmother appeared beside them in her sparkles. "But that doesn't mean I won't wish them good luck."
She was silent for a moment. "A pure heart filled with light…" Aqua glanced from the Fairy Godmother. "It's strange; the Master taught me darkness needs to be destroyed. But how, if not with light?"
"Oh, my dear, you're too young to know." The old woman shook her head with a smile. "Experience more things, and you'll find the answer. Just trust in your dreams."
"Darkness? Light? You morons put way too much thought into this." Lucient shook his head as the old woman disappeared in her sparkles again.
"You don't like many things, do you?"
"It doesn't matter to me what you use. Some people are good, some people are bad. Years ago in my kingdom, there was a king that felt only rich people should live, and the poor should die."
"That's dark," Aqua commented.
"He felt he was doing it for the good of the kingdom. To make them strong and to keep everyone the same, no ill will from the others you lived around for being poor. Tried to make everyone the same; light, as some would call it."
"That's nowhere near pure enough to be even considered light!" Aqua cried.
"To you, perhaps, but to others it can be. It all considers on who you are. Good and evil can come from both sides of the line, Aqua; you just have to be good enough to see it." Things fell silent between the two of them for a moment before Lucient cracked his neck. "If Bailey is with Terra and Selia is with Ventus, then that means I'm sticking with you," He told her. "I'll find the two of them quickly if I do so."
"You can't come with me," Aqua told him. "As a Keyblade Master, I have to complete my mission."
"It doesn't matter to me what you say or what you're supposed to be doing. I will follow you until I am reunited with Bailey and Selia. The only way I am sure that I will achieve that, is by staying with you. Argue all you want, I will still do just that." He turned to summon up his transporter. "So, where too next?"
Aqua stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. ~This guy is gonna be worse that Terra and Ventus together, isn't he?~
One of the main things that I dislike about Birth By Sleep and Dream Drop Distance, is that they're just retelling the stories of the Disney movies, shoving Terra and the others into it. I liked the first Kingdom Hearts game the best because they actually made a story about it. Under the Sea and Halloween Town and Neverland were the best because they made a story around it to fit the games instead of just shoving Sora and Riku into the movies.
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