Chapter Eleven: Keeping Faith
'You have to stand up for some things in this world.'—Marjory Stoneman Douglas
Aqua knew she should be out hunting down Unversed on this world she had just arrived in—Enchanted Dominion, if her memory served correctly—that she should be defending the innocent people of this world from the savage beasts that seemed to be everywhere she went. Their numbers seemed to be nearly limitless and Aqua was positive that between her, Terra, and other defenders of innocent people, they had destroyed many thousands of the Unversed.
People needed her help; she was obligated to help them as much as she could.
But right now, as Aqua sat on a boulder near a fast running river, one knee drawn close to her body while she rested her chin on it, she couldn't quite focus on combat. Her mind was so restless.
Neither the lush green grass, the fertile dirt, the mighty, silent oak trees so full and proud, nor the gentle breeze in the air could seem to shake Aqua out of her trance as her mind ran laps at a feverous pace. Her encounters with Terra on the bizarre world before this one—specifically the last few moments—were at the forefront of all thoughts. Now, she was questioning Terra's actions in the past. The moments of yesteryear and now had dug their talons deep into her mind, having no intentions of leaving. Those moments…they had whisked up the feelings that Aqua had elected to ignore and bottle up.
Brushing her right hand through her hair slowly as she nibbled at her lower lip, Aqua was grappling with so many feelings. She had been so sure of what she wanted in her life. It had been so easy before! The goal to be become a Keyblade Master with her friends, the desire to be the best mage she could be, to protect the innocent, to be seen as more than just a 'pretty girl,' and to make her mother proud of her had been Aqua's driving goals her entire life.
But now, she struggled to wrap her mind around the fact that Terra might have—no, he did have—feelings for her. They were feelings of more than friendship. Terra had fallen for his blue haired companion and fellow Keyblade bearer; he desired more. Had that been one of the reasons for why he wanted so much power?
'Terra…are your feelings…are they real? Are they what helps to drive you, why you want to be so strong?' Aqua thought as she saw flashes of memories of days past in the backs of her eyelids as she closed her eyes. She groaned a bit as she hopefully thought, 'I don't think I'm that attractive, but are his feelings from lust or really more than that? Does he really…'
There was a pause as her throat went dry and she found herself unable to say those few words to conclude that thought. She quickly shook her head back and forth to get her mind back on track.
Furthermore, Aqua also found she had begun to develop much stronger feelings for Terra. They had always had a close bond, like warriors in arms should, but now her heart was reaching for much more than that. Her heart fluttered when thinking about his smile and the way he treated her like an equal. She had begun to yearn for Terra. And she would be lying to herself if she didn't find Terra physically quite attractive.
But she saw him as more than those six pack abs she wanted to trace over with her fingers. Surely, he saw her as more than a pretty face after all of these years. Right?
She and Terra had cried together, bled together, fought together, and forgiven one another together. She had wanted to be a Keyblade Master with him long before Ventus had arrived into their family. They had done so much as a family, as friends. And now…
But what if she was being a fool? She and Terra were fighters. Would loving him and him loving her make them do more irrational things? Would it interfere with their duty against those who'd wish the worse on others? And while Master Eraqus had been an excellent teacher, he hadn't exactly touched on the subject of love in this context!
"So many conflicting emotions…stupid heart…!" Aqua muttered as she smacked her left fist against the boulder she was perched on with some force, but not enough to crack the boulder. She didn't know what feeling to settle on as logic and fiery passion clashed within the fabric of her mind. And right now, logic was slowly losing.
With a rather loud and frustrated grunt, Aqua hoped off of her perch, landing on both feet with that deft smoothness that anyone who knew her well had become extremely familiar with. She knew she was going to have to take time to clear her mind and really think things over, but that time was not now. This world needed her help.
After all, ever since she arrived, she had run into…well…nothing.
That was beyond unnerving. Normally, she would have run into panicking civilians, people defending themselves from Unversed, or the evil people populating the world—maybe even that mysterious and creepy as hell masked boy. But here, she hadn't even seen a single Unversed! And usually, by now, they were mobbing on her like fat kids to the candy store.
Aqua snirked a bit at her below-the-belt humor, covering her pursed lips with gloved hand—although truthfully, there was no one to hide her half-formed smile from. Maybe the Unversed weren't quite that bad, but it was enough for it to matter to her.
As the Keyblade Master began to walk away from the pristine, sparkling lake, down the dirt road that seemed to lead to a grand castle, she had noted that the air of this world was sickeningly thick with magic. But not just any sort of magic. It was the magic of an extremely powerful magic wielder with equally dark intent. She could feel an involuntary shudder; feeling the darkness this person had was bad enough, but it wasn't often one could feel the evil intent of the magic being used by said person as well.
It was a wholly new and unwanted feeling. It made this place of beauty feel dirty.
'What in the world is going on here?' Aqua thought as she moved at quick walking pace, scanning the forested pathway around her for any signs of active, whether it might be enemy activity, friendly activity, or animal life. Surely, there had to be ample animal life in such a lush forest. There had to life in general here!
Much to her chagrin and worry, there was nothing. Not even insects pestered her. It was almost like the world's life was missing or hiding. Whatever the reason, it had to be linked to that tremendous negative energy Aqua was detecting.
And with how heightened this vile energy was, Aqua didn't find it hard to track it down. She would get some answers about what was going on around this place!
Little did Aqua know, she was going to get much more than she bargained for.
Smoke rose from the long stone bridge that lead to the King and Queen's castle, signs of a fierce struggle between good and evil. But while the struggle had been fierce, the outcome was not good for the valiant prince that Philip was.
His muscles burned from exertion, his arms feeling like they had lead weights attached to them. Breath that had once been controlled was now ragged, his chest heaving up and down as his lungs sought to desperately reinvigorate themselves with air. His was covered sweat, cuts of both fresh crimson and dried red, and bruises forming under his clothing from repeated blows. His black eyes still held determination to keep fighting, brown hair being blown by unnatural wind.
Prince Philip was finished; only a blow or two at best from collapsing or being killed—most likely the former in this desperate situation.
Prince Philip was far from being weak, but right now, the gap between himself and his opponent was just too tremendous. He had known he was fighting for the right, because this woman was pure evil. And he was also aware that she was powerful and he might not win. But the gap between them was unbelievable! Even with the fairies Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather helping, Maleficent had brutally overpowered him.
Now, after swiftly rendering the three helper fairies unconscious around Philip with a blast of raw magic, the evil fairy was simply toying with Prince Philip.
Fair and green-skinned, Maleficent's shining, yellow eyes bored into Philip's black ones. Her head is topped with a black-horned headdress only served to make her all the more imposing. Her long, tattered black robe, which sported a purple trim and maroon edges, flared out, but that didn't impede in her combat it seemed. She carries a staff with a glowing green orb at the tip, through which she casts her spells.
Chuckling at her impending victory over Philip and the three fairies who had managed to resist her sleeping sleep, the dark fairy casually ran her right hand over the orb of the staff she was carrying, smirking deviously at Philip as she inquired mockingly, "Pray tell, did you truthfully believe you had the power to defeat me? You might have allowed the Princcess's heart to return to her, but it shall all be for naught."
Philip snarled angrily as his gripped his sword, preparing himself for a charge as he roared, "I will never stop trying, even if you break all my bones!" And with that, Philip charged with all his remaining strength, rushing at Maleficent in a foolhardy attempt to try and close the distance.
Maleficent, for her part, sighed dramatically, green and black flames surrounding her left hand while leveling it at the feeble boy before her. "If such is the case, then I will merely erase you in entirety." And with that, the evil fairy discharged a monstrous blast of green flames that consumed Philip's vision as it raced at him. Sliding to a halt, Philip prepared to defend himself, fully aware this blast was going to kill him.
Maleficent was forced to shield herself from her own attack as it exploded with a massive amount of force, sending a shockwave over the evil fairy and shattering the windows of the castle that were too weak to withstand the explosion. The light of explosion nearly blinded Maleficent, but soon the light faded and the heat lowered as angry flames licked at ruined stone. Much to the delight of the dark magic user, there was a large, fifty foot hole dividing the bridge into two pieces, separating the castle from any further intrusions.
Maleficent began to laugh heartily at the fact she had not only eliminated Prince Philip, but the three foolish fairies as well! There would be no more threats to her plans; her power was growing, thanks to the 'advice' from that old Keyblade Master Xehanort. While he thought he could play her for a fool, she was fully aware he was trying to use her as a back-up plan in case his own plans failed. She would crush him.
As Maleficent turned away from the dying flames, coughing caused her to freeze in place as her eyes widened. There was no way that Philip had survived her attack, even if the three fairies had somehow awakened to assist him! Spinning around swiftly, the evil fairy's eyes landed on someone she had been expecting to see soon after Terra had left the world so recklessly. It was the other Keyblade bearer Xehanort had informed her about.
'Well, well, if it isn't Aqua. She practically overflows with magic and light…' Maleficent noted as she impassively watched Aqua stand between her and her recent opponents, a shining, translucent Barrier spell in a dome around herself, Philip, and the still unconscious fairies. As the Barrier spell dropped, Aqua swiftly made her way to Prince Philip, all while keep her guard up in case the evil woman across from her attacked again. Judging from that last attack, Aqua had all the reason to be on guard.
Aqua, after all, was face-to-face with easily the strongest opponent she had seen thus far. She was going to need all her skills she had honed and learned thus far to best this woman.
As Aqua reached Prince Philip, the still stunned Prince murmured, "W-Who…are you?" He was further stunted when a green energy washed over him Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather, fully healing him of any damage he had taken from the fight with Maleficent. This healing magic was not lost on evil fairy as Aqua helped the Prince up to his feet with a smile as she replied, "I'm here to help. I don't have much time to explain, but my name is Aqua."
Prince Philip had seen plenty of people looking to deceive him, but the sheer honesty behind her words surprised him that he simply nodded. Aqua, seeing that Prince Philip believed her, smiled and stated, "Stay here; you've done enough. I promise, I will defeat this monster before us."
Before Prince Philip could answer, Aqua lowered her body a bit before leaping over the still smoldering chasm Maleficent's last attack had made upon detonating against Aqua's Barrier spell. Landing a metallic click, Aqua immediately summoned Stormfall in a flash of light, immediately noticing the smug smile appear on the evil being before. It was like she knew something and it amused her.
Before Aqua could speak, Maleficent said, "My, my, if it isn't the valiant Aqua. It appears that Xehanort was right about you."
Aqua felt a chill rush up her spine. It wasn't that this woman knew Aqua's name, but how she had known it. Xehanort...now, Aqua felt like that Xehanort was involved in this whole mess a lot more than merely his sudden disappearance.
For now, Aqua shook off the chill and replied, "It's starting to get a bit creepy how many people know my name before I run into them." She shifted into a defensive stance, just in case combat might erupt quickly. It seemed most evil people tended to posture, but one couldn't let their guard down regardless.
"Oh, I know more than just your name, Aqua. I know your friend Terra as well! He had such potent darkness within him," Maleficent replied, seeing with dark satisfaction the shock suddenly appearing on the blue haired mage's face. She then concluded sinisterly, "A darkness he fully embraced."
'Darkness he fully embraced…?' Aqua thought as Terra was brought up in this conversation. Quickly, Aqua put two and two together, making her hand clench tightly on Stormfall as anger started to surge within her. It wasn't anger at Terra; it was growing fury at this cold hearted fiend before her. 'This…this must be the woman who manipulated Terra! This is monster he was talking about!"
"You…you dare claim Terra embraced his darkness? Terra might be accepting it, but you used his weakness as tool! I heard it from him," Aqua suddenly snarled back as she leveled her now glowing Keyblade at the surprised Maleficent. "You will not talk about my friend like you know a damn thing about him!"
Well, it was plain as day to Maleficent that there would be no pulling strings on this girl, much like Xehanort had predicted. She was most stubborn. "Oh my, I can consider that nerve touched. A pity you don't have Terra's gift for obedience; nor can you see how easy it was for him!" Maleficent retorted as she called on her dark power, green and black magic flaring around her before erupting skyward, darkening the sky. Aqua growled as Maleficent continued. "Feel all the powers of Hell, girl!"
As Maleficent's voice became distorted and deeper, Aqua braced herself, already too late to stop the transformation of her opponent into something else.
As the foul darkness of Maleficent was released, creating an unnatural wind that whipped around Aqua's short hair and her sashes, both Prince Philip and Aqua watched in horror as the woman's form stretched and grew, shifting into a much more deadly form. Deadly claws replaced hands, and a jaw full of teeth replaced the smug face. Wings grew, along with a long, thick muscular tail. Finally, rearing back with a scream that echoed through the land, the transformation of the fairy into a massive black dragon with smoldering eyes and a purple belly was complete. As the dragon form of the fairy came crashing down onto its forelegs, Maleficent chuckled in a much deeper voice.
'Huh. Mistakes have been made,' Aqua thought before the dragon's head snapped forward, jaw wide open for a devastating bite. Aqua was quick to react, teleporting before the jaws closed on her body with a resounding snap. She appeared to the left of the dragon's face, a chilly Blizzaga forming at her left fingertips. But before she could fire her counterattack, Aqua's peripheral vision caught the dragon's claw digits rushing up to grab her. Pivoting quickly, Aqua used the Blizzaga to throw off the aim of the offending claws, the blast of ice causing no real damage, but likely saving Aqua from a world of hurt.
Cartwheeling away, Aqua watched the dragon rear back up onto her hind legs, energy gathering at around the front leg's claws. Coming back down hard and fast, there was a magically empowered shockwave the caught Aqua just as she was recovering from her evasive maneuvers. The impact of the wave caused Aqua to cry out in pain as she was throw off her feet and impacted spine first into boulder. A raspy breath of agony rushed passed Aqua's lips as Maleficent launched forth with another bite.
But this time, Aqua unloaded with a new spell, something she hadn't fully perfected, but realized she didn't have time to test it out anymore. "Fire!" Aqua screamed as three Firaga's exploded from her shaking left hand, putting more power into each large reddish ball of flame than she originally planned. All three impacted the dragon's face, consecutive explosions earning Aqua a deep howl of pain as the black dragon staggered back, smoke rolling off her face. Not wanting to let the dragon to recover, Aqua scrambled to her feet, rushing at the dragon with a Barrier Surge.
However, Maleficent saw the incoming rush, flapping her wings and launched herself backwards while also belching a huge Dark Firaga from her mouth. Sliding to a halt, Aqua's Barrier spell once again saved her life. The Dark Firaga exploded powerfully against the Barrier spell, making Aqua grit her teeth painfully. The raw power of Maleficent was something to marvel at, without a doubt.
Quickly, the black dragon drove down at Aqua the moment she dropped her Barrier spell, moving at an incredible spell that befitting of such a large creature. Before Aqua could dart back from the incoming behemoth, Maleficent grabbed Aqua with her left hand, viciously throwing her away towards the castle. Aqua flew through a window with a shattering castle into the main hall of the castle, before bouncing a few times off the ground. She slid several more feet on the hard stone ground before finally coming to a stop.
Aqua didn't move for several seconds, eventually motivated by the howl of Maleficent as she charged down the bridge at full speed. The throw had hurt immensely, leaving Aqua stunned and injured badly. Groaning in pain, Aqua slowly got to her feet, back covered in skid marks that freely bled. Slivers of glass had impaled in hers arms and when Aqua tried to move her left arm, she hissed in pain.
'Broken…!' Aqua thought as tears blurred her vision, knowing she had to fix her arm immediately. A Curaga was immediately used to heal Aqua of the most severe damage, but she was just going to have to deal with the glass embedded in her back, arms, and even her neck.
Moments after Aqua had healed her arm, the black dragon that was Maleficent exploded through the thick oak doors, snarling like a rabid animal—only to receive a furious barrage of rainbow colored orbs that struck her repeatedly in the face. Maleficent howled in pain as she thrashed around wildly, knocking over a couple of stone pillars as she was pummeled with six waves of attacks. Stone flew everywhere as a result, but Aqua was more than safe thanks to the temporary immunity her Shotlock had given her.
But temporary was the right word, so the moment Aqua landed, she was once again on the defensive as Maleficent roared, summoning two dozen beachball sized balls of green fire. Another roar prompted them to all take off at Aqua, homing on her angrily as she did her best to teleport and cartwheel around to avoid them. Explosions danced around Aqua as put her dodging talents to good use. Maleficent didn't make it easy, also belching forth a wave of green flames in addition to the homing balls of fire, igniting the floor in flames.
Bouncing off of the far wall, Aqua surrounded herself in flames as she launched herself forward, crashing to Maleficent's vulnerable face. Flames licked the beasts face, making her toss her head back and forth in an attempt to get Aqua away from her. Aqua wisely withdrew before Maleficent could hurt her again, darting away from a claw swing as well.
"Foolish girl…you have such a marvelous weapon, but know not how to truly use it," Maleficent mocked to the blue haired magic before performing a massive spin that nearly got Aqua, being close enough that Aqua could feel the wind from the tip of that extremely muscular tail. "Unlike Terra, who surely realizes power is the only absolute truth."
For a moment, Aqua lost her composure as she screamed back, voice breaking. "Shut up! Stop talking about Terra like you have a clue!" Immediately thereafter, Aqua unleashed another Triple Firaga on her opponent, who flapped her wings powerfully enough to blow the Firagas into the ceiling with a crescendo of crashes. But Aqua followed that attack up with a Graviga that caused Maleficent's head to be plowed into the ground with a crunch. The dragon shook off the pain she was feeling, snapping her head up and lunging forward. Her head-butt meet a defending Keyblade instead as Aqua blocked with Stormfall, but the huge bulk of Maleficent pushed Aqua back, the mage's heels digging into the stone as she gritted her teeth.
By now, Aqua was shaking from both anger and mounting exhaustion. Aqua was fighting at full steam alright, not holding back unlike she had before. After all, uncontrolled power was dangerous, but in this situation, she had to go all out. Sweat had drenched her body and bruises could be seen of the exposed patches of skin. Maleficent was extremely tough; Aqua was doing her best to win, however.
With a cry, Spellweaver activated, boosting Aqua's power for the time being. Aqua leapt up over the dragon's head, spinning and landing a series of spinning Keyblade that made the black dragon snarl. A particular vicious Keyblade strike caused Maleficent's head to snap to the left, but the dragon still had enough of her wits to slap Aqua down into the stone floor with a claw swing. Aqua landed roughly on her side, making her vision blur for a moment before she rolled away from snapping jaws.
"Then I shall show you why Terra is always going to lust for power! And never shall he be satisfied until he achieves absolute power!" Maleficent declared before she opened her mouth wide, a blue orb forming within her mouth. Aqua's eyes widened in horror as she immediately recognized the spell Maleficent was casting. Her mother had used it on a Behemoth once that had attacked their home to finish of the beast.
'Ultima!' Aqua thought before she desperately raised her Barrier spell to defend herself, but the spell never formed completely. Moments later, there was a brilliant blue light that filled Aqua's vision. Her partly formed defensive means shattered under the monstrous attack, delivered at pointblank range. And then Aqua was in mind numbing torment as the raw magical power of the Ultima washed over her. Her body was burnt badly and her uniform mangled totally, sashes completely gone while her bell sleeves were also missing. Only one pink strap held on at this point, while Aqua's stomach was completely exposed.
Aqua found she was now embedded into the stone wall, head rolling as she barely managed to keep ahold of her Keyblade. She could hear Maleficent laughing at the pain she had inflicted on her opponent, who had been far stronger than the fairy had expected. Xehanort was definitely wrong about how weak this girl might be.
As Maleficent stalked forward, also showing signs of exhaustion as she took in deep gasps of air, Aqua pulled herself free of the wall, some stone crumbling off of the wall and scattering around Aqua as she landed on both feet. However, pain caused Aqua to crumple onto one knee, panting heavily.
"I commend you for your efforts, but much like Terra, your fate is the same: failure! He was nothing but a pawn who desired power. I merely whispered to the darkness within him. So, am I to blame for his inability to control himself…or is he?" Maleficent said as she lumbered forward to Aqua's prone form. Her words seemed to have no immediate effect on the seemingly defeated woman. But if one was to inspect Aqua closely, they could see her grip on Stormfall had increased massively, while her free hand was bleeding due to her fingernails digging into her palms.
Maleficent slowed down when she noticed a white aura surrounding Aqua as her temper flared considerably. She came to a complete halt when Aqua rose to her feet, shaking with contained rage. Sparks of white light began to arch off of Aqua, creating a deadly dazzling show of light. Aqua's head snapped up as her cold blue eyes stared into Maleficent's hateful yellow ones.
"I told you to stop taking about Terra like you know anything! Your right, he does want power, but not because he's power hungry…" Aqua trailed off as she felt something new coming to the surface. It was a new strength and determination to silence the black dragon for good. Continuing as a massive purple blade swirled into existence over Stormfall, Aqua hissed, "He wants to use his power to protect people! To protect his friends from monsters like you!"
"Protect his friends? Foolish girl; only power matters! Either you dominate others or you're a slave to someone stronger!" Maleficent roared before she charged, mouth smoking as she opened her mouth wide to bite down on Aqua for the final time.
"SHUT UP!" Aqua shrieked before she also lunged forward with renewed speed at the huge dragon, leaving a trail of energy behind her as she sought to defeat the black dragon once and for all. They met at the same time, jaws versus blade.
There was a flash and the sound of flesh parting.
And in one massive blow, Maleficent was defeat, head spinning off of the long neck of her dragon form, spraying crimson everywhere as her body convulsed. Aqua was drenched in the foul blood of the dragon she had defeated. Bladecharge disappeared as the body of the dragon crashed onto its belly, while Aqua let out a groan. Her world was spinning.
As Aqua felt her knees give out on her, exhaustion catching up to her, she could only think both a smug and joyous tone, 'That'll teach you for talking about my Terra that way…'
Finally, a new chapter! I wanted this chapter to contain much more in it than last chapter, including a difficult fight against Dragon Maleficent! Also, Aqua did her best to keep faith in Terra, no matter what. She truly believes in her friend...or maybe...more than that? Poor girl is very confused still! Thank you all for being so very patient. Life loves to make things hard on you, but you can also get so much stronger from mistakes. You might be bruised, you might be hurt, but you can't let it defeat you. The clock never stops ticking. Remember the past seconds as you look forward to the coming ones.
I do appreciate all of my readers! Thank you so much for reading this story!