White Knight: Twenty One :The Sound of a Breaking Heart
Aqua took a small step back, and felt the weight of all that she had remembered on her shoulders. Why did her little sister look so much like Naminé? Were they related in some way? Her and Xion, who's pasts were just as mysterious as their personalities, could be some how in relation to herself and her younger sister?
What was this girl's name?
She stared at the red-head, who's brow furrowed in confusion, as she stared at Aqua's partially shadowed face, trying to make the connection. The fight around them had been drowned out, as they both stared at each other in thought.
Remember me? Her mind asked pleadingly, staring into the girl's wide blue eyes, that mirrored her own almost perfectly. Please. Remember me.
The girl gave her one last long stare, her eyes betraying the confusion her face had tried to veil. She set her jaw, and scowled at the Water Maiden, and disappeared into her room. Aqua half expected her to come back out with a flame thrower, but no, the girl had gone somewhere else.
A door slammed, and it wasn't her sister's. Aqua looked up, and saw another Keyblade entering the fight. This one was dark, glinting in the sliver of light that came from the open door. It was two against one now.
Vanitas would retreat.
She stepped back into the shadows, and stared at her old Master, hoping that he would acknowledge her presence.
No. She felt her stomach drop. He couldn't see her. Not as a Red Man. Not like this. He'd be heartbroken. He'd wish he'd of buried her when she disappeared. He'd never accept her again.
She felt her lower lip tremble, and she felt the urge to just run, and run, and run, and not care where her feet took her, because anywhere was better than there.
Don't cry, the Aqua she always knew whispered in the back of her mind. You just have to get out of here. Go find Terra, and maybe you can fix this mess.
How was she going to do that? She took another step back as the new comer took a swipe at her. She watched the dark key swoop down catching her sleeve. It ripped on contact, and her arm stung from a thin cut the blade had given her.
She took another step back, too dazed to raise her blade, which was in her hand. Another swipe. And another. Each time she took another step back, until her attacker finally stepped into the light that emitted from the open door.
Aqua felt herself take another step back, and nearly trip over her feet. This time, she had stepped back in shock.
Her gasp was heard by her Master, and Vanitas, as they both turned their heads to squint in her direction. Vanitas took one look at the Ventus double, and swore.
Aqua's breathing had quickened, and she knew her Master, the Ventus double, and Vanitas probably heard it. Maybe even her sister as well. She was so confused, and this was adding onto her anguish. She leaned against the wall for support, as Vanitas zipped to her side, so quickly that her head spun.
He took her arm, and pulled her back, reaching to cover her mouth. But it was too late.
"Ven!" She shouted, before Vanitas's hand clamped over her lips. She made a muffled objection, and struggled against him.
She looked up, and saw that the Ventus double had stopped to stare at her dark silhouette. She stared at him, unable to place why her friend was holding a Keyblade, and why he was in the Light Region, and why he had attacked her. She screamed into Vanitas's hand, but it turned into a muffled sound of desperation.
Her Master was at Ventus's side, squinting at her. He looked troubled, but not enough as he should've been if he had seen her, which meant she was still safe.
Would he even recognize her? A lone tear slipped from her eye lashes, and she made a small sound, one that could be compared with a dying animal, and submitted to Vanitas, who did not release her in fear that she would shout again.
Ventus finally moved, stepping forward to bring his Keyblade to his side.
"Who are you?" He asked into the darkness. She could still see his face, and her heart leapt in sympathy for him, recognizing the desperation in his features. "How do you know that name?"
She blinked, and shouted into Vanitas's palm. She pulled at his hand, tugging down, so she could speak.
"What do you mea-" She shouted back, before Vanitas covered her mouth again. She elbowed him, gritting her teeth.
Ventus's eyes darted around the darkness, and he stepped forward, eyes locked on their silhouettes. Her Master roughly grabbed him by the shoulder, and pulled him back.
"Roxas, go back to your room." He commanded, in a stubborn voice that almost made her smile. She knew this voice well.
Aqua felt her stomach twist. Roxas? She stared at him, and reached out, unable to bear the confusion anymore.
The Ventus double, now dubbed Roxas, turned to look at his Master, eyebrows furrowed. "Master, you'll be outnumbered." He said, though his voice told Aqua something else.
Master, please.
Her breathing was returning to normal, and when Vanitas felt she was calm, he smacked her over the head. It didn't hurt as much as it warned.
Don't talk again, or else I'll kill you right here.
She shivered at the message, and didn't move for a few seconds. Vanitas stepped back, and so did she.
Roxas looked at his Master, and slunk back, entering Aqua's sister's room, and shutting the door. They were now in almost total darkness.
Vanitas let go of her, and Aqua yelped when she felt a Keyblade against her arm. The same arm that had been cut earlier. She felt back into the wall, her head smacking against it, making her loose focus as her vision spun.
She felt her Master's Key slam onto the side of her head, sending blood trickling down her temple. She blinked, trying to see past the pain, and darkness, and vertigo.
She awaited another smack to her head, but none came. She sat in the darkness, blinded, and confused, until she heard the clang of Keyblades, and the angry shout of her 'partner'.
She brought herself to her feet, Keyblade in hand, and she found herself thinking about counting the stars.
One, two, three, four, five.
She had never really gotten past thirty, or forty. But it had been fun all the same. Fun with Terra. With her childhood. Her real childhood, with Terra at her side, smiling all the way.
That was it. That was all she needed.
This all may be true. Every last little bit of it might've actually happened, and her Master was probably her Master, and her little sister was probably really her half-sister, but it didn't matter.
She didn't belong there anymore.
She closed her eyes, and healed herself, feeling a small amount of energy come back to her, and rush through her veins. She looked up, and watched as sparks began to fly when Keyblades clashed.
Aqua gripped her Keyblade with a little more determination. She needed to get back to Ven and Terra. And Naminé, of course.
She would love more than anything to escape the torture of the Dark Region. The pain, and the awful gatherings, and the things that went bump in the night, and just the thing as a whole. But she belonged where Terra and Ven were. And they weren't here.
So, no matter what. Her home was with Ven and Terra. She had no place in the Light Region anymore.
Her Master could keep thinking she was dead. It would hurt him less.
She stepped forward, the only light in the hall besides the light that came from her room at the far end, were the sparks that came off her Master's and her accomplice's Keyblades as they slammed against each other. This only happened every so often, because Vanitas's main strategy was to evade, rather than attack.
Aqua let them fight, the darkness completely shading her view of them, except for the occasional spark, and the shuffle of silhouettes. She watched, unsure on whether she should fight along Vanitas, or if she should join her Master and strike the boy down.
Though that would mess up the entire thing, about him not being allowed to see her.
What if he just doesn't recognize you? Her inner voice asked. Really, then it would be fine.
Of course he'd recognize her. She didn't look all that different, albeit she had grown up.
This was frustrating for her. She had never been so hopelessly confused in all her life.
Not even the day…
Aqua wasn't supposed to be out by herself. It was Kairi's second birthday, and she really shouldn't be out by herself.
Kairi, Aqua thought distantly as she saw the streets of the Light Region flash by her memory. That's her name.
She wanted to explore. It couldn't do much harm. She always did it with…
No. She couldn't think about him. She continued her walk with a frown.
When she reached the wall, she sat, and leaned up against it, opening the small book she had brought with her. She was only just learning how to read, but she could understand this fine.
"Once… upon… a time…" Aqua whispered to herself, scanning the page, before flipping to the next.
She managed to get half-way through the book before her back began to burn. Her fingers tingled, as she sensed the approaching danger, and she quickly jumped to her feet, spinning around to look at the wall.
She stared at it, her blue eyes wide with wonder, as the stones she had been leaning against glowed. She gasped, and turned to run, as the pieces blew in her direction, one smacking her temple, and fire erupted nearly a second later.
Her face seared with pain, as she fell forward, almost unconscious already from the stone. The flames licked her cheek, but they were soon gone. She had no time to scream, as she was pulled up, and hauled away.
She was unconscious before she even reached the wall, which was only a few feat away.
Aqua winced, and rubbed her cheek. She could feel the sting of the flames there, along with the sharp pang of the whip from the day before. She looked into the darkness, and felt compelled to ignore her plan, and rush up to her Master, and beg for him to take her in again. Not just for her, but for him as well. What could that have been like for him? Losing your son, and then finding the girl he had convinced you to take in missing not long later, with an explosion as the only evidence as to where she might be.
It was awful.
But she remembered Terra, and his determination as he was whipped, and Ven, as he hugged her when he found that she was alive, and quite well.
These were the reasons why she was standing still.
Vanitas and her Master continued to fight, and she took a step back as they strayed a little too close to her. She used her ears to pick out any shuffling her way, and she hid in the shadows, hoping, just hoping, that they would get out of here alive, and unknown.
She heard her Master groan, as Vanitas smacked him in the chest, and Aqua wondered if she should heal him. She tilted her head, as the hall suddenly became brighter, and a ball of pure darkness appeared in Vanitas's hand. Aqua stared at it for a few seconds, realizing this was why the room had become brighter.
She saw her Master, though it was still dark enough to shield her face where she was, and he was on the ground, nursing a wound on his side. He looked up at the darkness in the boy's hand, fear evident in his dark eyes.
"Aqua," her Master's voice rang in her head still, and she saw a small frown on his aging face. "What happened with Cordis … it was not your fault, alright? It was my own fault, for not seeing this coming. You… you have no reason to be upset."
"B-but…" Aqua's own voice was tiny, and wavering. It was obvious she had been crying. "But… big brother… is…"
"Shh…" Her Master whispered, pulling the weeping girl to his chest. His voice wasn't much better off, but he held his tears. "I know. I know… I… I couldn't get to him…"
She shook, the image of Cordis's papery white skin, and dark, unseeing eyes etching into the bowels of her mind, like something was taking it's long, narrow claws, and carving it into the inside of her brain.
She sobbed into her Master's chest, and listened to the distant pitter-patter of rain against her windows.
Cordis's dark, unseeing eyes. Gazing forevermore at the deepening blue sky, with rippling white clouds like ocean foam. If that was the last thing he would ever see, maybe his death wasn't as awful as it seemed.
And now, her Master was gazing at that dark sphere of darkness with the same eyes as Aqua's early friend, and she saw the resemblance between father and son. The Master was too surprised to move. And even if he did, Vanitas would just strike him back down.
Get up. Get up. Get up.
The only difference between her Master and her friend, was that her Master would not get to have the luxury of seeing the sky one last time. All he would see with his dying breath, was the hallow darkness of the corridor, and maybe Vanitas's shining black helmet, as his laugh sang him to sleep.
Aqua stepped forward.
Get up. Getupgetupgetupgetupgetup, GET UP!
Aqua reached out, and grabbed Vanitas's arm, and pulling it back. He looked over his shoulder at her and Aqua knew her face was probably being illuminated by the eerie sphere. She tugged on his arm, so it concealed her face, and she pulled, trying to signal that they needed to leave.
He glared at her, ready to yank his arm back.
"Let go," He growled, pushing her back. She gasped as the dark tendrils licked her cheek. They did not, however, hurt. What did he do? The darkness felt… cold.
She fell back, blinking. Her Master looked at her, fear vanished from his eyes. He was squinting through the darkness, as if trying to figure out what he had just seen.
He apparently shrugged it off, as he was now looking at Vanitas again.
Aqua stood, and summoned her Keyblade- which she hadn't realized she had banished- and frowned. She watched Vanitas pull his arm back, and she focused her energy, closing her eyes.
She opened them, and tackled Vanitas, just as the dark sphere slipped from his fingers.
There was a clang of the darkness against the barrier she had created, and the sphere bounced back, hitting the opposite wall.
The barrier disappeared, and darkness fell upon them once more. She could hear her own breathing, and Vanitas's under her, as he tried to figure out what just happened, and she heard the slight shuffle of clothing move. She sat up, and let go of Vanitas, though he had grabbed her wrist not long after. Her eyes darted around the darkness, and she wondered where her Master had gone.
There was a light crackle. Aqua tilted her head, and squinted. A sphere of pure light bounded toward them, about to make contact. Aqua's eyes widened and Vanitas held up his hand, summoning his Keyblade. But it would be too late to deflect it. Aqua had a fleeting thought about trying to take the light, and throw it back, but she didn't want to hurt her Master. She squeezed her eyes shut, as Vanitas pulled her to her feet, and the whoosh of pure light zooming toward them made her stifle a shout.
She awaited the impact, wondering why it was taking so long. She felt the heat of the sphere of light in front of her. She waited a few seconds longer, before cautiously opening an eye. She shut it immediately, the sphere dazzling her eyes that had become accustomed to darkness.
She opened them again, this time noticing that the ball was hovering. She blinked, and looked at Vanitas, who was staring at the ball, most likely in confusion. Aqua felt herself grow confused as well.
She looked back at the ball, and noticed that there was something behind it.
Not something, she corrected herself, staring at the sphere with wonder. Someone.
She locked eyes with her old Master, and felt compelled, as she had earlier, to fall to her knees, and beg for him to pat her head, and hug her, and tell her that she could stay and live in the Light Region, but she stayed still, not even bothering to bat an eyelash as she gazed into the onyx eyes of her old guardian.
He had grown slightly older. Scars on his cheek and forehead from that horrible day years earlier, still completely prominent, his face looked gaunt in the light of the sphere, lips parted in an unmistakable gape. His eyes were narrowed in confusion, as he gazed at his pupil, who had grown so, so much since he had last seen her.
Aqua finally gained the courage to step back. Vanitas's hand was still around her wrist, so he looked at her when she moved. She swallowed, feeling a mass of emotions begin to tangle around each other in her stomach, forming a knot.
Her Master didn't bother to move as she spun around, breaking free of Vanitas's grasp, and ran.
I feel as if this chapter is late. XD Huh.
Yes, I need to finish this before November. Guuuuh.
*Shrug*
Next Chapter: Running Stitch
Bet you can't guess how I came up with that name... And no. It doesn't feature a little blue alien. XD
Edit: XD I was too tired last night to mention, but Cordis is one of the names my VERY BEST IDOL DIVINE WOLFIEEEE SUGGESTED! *Glomp* No. She probably won't review this chapter. Tis fine, tis fine. She'll read eventually. *Walks off to write 23*