Darkness surrounded him, and there was a faint, sizzling pain below that he couldn't quite place or understand.
He had been wandering for what seemed like hours, but he had seen nothing and no one, and the world around him remained silent. There wasn't even any wind to help orient him.
Where was the air?
Confused and frightened, Roxas called out into the blackness, unsure if he wanted someone to come out of the void. Who would it be? The name Luxord was stuck in his mind, but as with everything else, the boy couldn't remember why.
All he knew was that that name brought anger and the barest hints of fear and dread.
"Hello?" he called again. "I need help! Is anyone out there?"
"Here, my sweet one. Open your eyes."
Roxas did as he was told, though he didn't know when or why he had first closed them.
He was in his home, standing by the hearth that once towered over him as a young child. It was whole and there, blazing brightly beside him. Everything looked as it had before the fire, and the boy's shock was calmed by the scent of spices, burning wood, sap, and animals.
A harsh creaking sound reached his ears then, and in a blink, he remembered everything.
"Is this...is this all real?" he asked quietly, gasping as his eyes fell upon a familiar woman in a rocking chair in the corner of the room. "Granny!"
She smiled sadly at him, then shook her head.
"As sweet as it would be, I'm afraid not. This is only a passing dream."
"So you're not real?" He felt heartbroken to ask, but even if it were, it was wonderful. Nothing like the nightmare he had had the last time.
"I am real, my dear. I just wish that this world you have dreamt could be a reality...I have missed it so very much, but not nearly as much as I have missed you."
"I've missed you too, Granny!" He ran to her and slid to his knees beside her lap, hugging her tightly.
They held one another for a long time. Roxas couldn't be sure, but he thought that his grandmother was trembling just as much as he was. A twig snapped in half in the fireplace, and the gentle crackling continued, drowning out his quiet sobs.
And somewhere in the distance, Roxas swore he heard an owl calling.
When he finally calmed, the boy looked around the room. The fire had burned all the way down to embers now.
"So what is this? Something I've made?"
Aqua smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt and continued rocking slightly.
"It is a reflection of your heart, child. Tell me, does it not look bigger than our room was in life?"
Roxas nodded, looking back at her. To his slight surprise, in the light of the fire, she looked younger than he remembered. Her hair was more blue than white, and she still had lines on her face - deep smile lines - but there were fewer wrinkles.
He had always thought she was beautiful, even as she aged before his eyes, but now...
"Yes, it definitely is bigger." Not that he much cared about that; how it looked or even how his grandmother specifically looked. It was just so nice to feel this happy again.
"Your heart is warm and large, Roxas. So warm and large and aching for home. But does it not also feel...lonely?"
He shook his head quickly. "Never! I could never feel lonely with you here!"
"But if I were not here?" she asked insistently.
Roxas drew back slightly, then looked down at where his hands rested on his lap. He thought for a moment, not fond of where this discussion seemed to be going.
"I suppose."
"This heart dream is judged by the old ones while the bearer slumbers on. Every child who was robbed of life before he or she could grow to maturity is guided from the life they long for most, the dreams of their deepest heart, to the peace and endless joy of the life beyond life that they cannot comprehend.
Only bad children are punished, but that is seldom necessary. Older spirits such as myself are their guides."
The blonde looked up at her forlornly.
"So...I died?"
Aqua reached out and cupped his cheek. Even in death, her hands were strong and calloused.
"Not quite, but you were much too close for my liking." As Roxas pondered that, she shook her head and muttered, "What has that good-for-nothing grandson of mine been up to all this time?"
"What do you mean?...by all of this, I mean?"
"I wish I had time to tell you everything, Roxas. If circumstances had been better, I would have taught you our entire history, our ancient language, anything I could. But I feared for your safety, and instead chose to keep you vastly ignorant of our heritage, your own especially.
In your travels, you learned the meaning of your true name, and protected Laputa admirably. I am more proud of you than simple words can describe...Now that you have grown and seen what you have seen, I think it's time that I told you the truth.
Roxas, my sweet one...," she said with slight hesitation. "Terra and I are not your true family."
The blonde blinked but remained silent, pausing before nodding for her to continue.
"Some have served the royal families for generations, but my family was not one of them. We were lowborn farmers, content to live a life of hard work and social seclusion.
It was for this reason that your birth father and mother, Cloud and Aerith, entrusted you to my care as soon as you were weaned. They believed that you would be safe with me and my grandson, hidden in our home in the mountains of Gondola. And when I could not carry on the task, it fell to Terra to look after you." The old woman sighed then. "He did his best, I suppose, and Drulo was no easy soul to trifle with, but still...I expected much more responsibility from a man nearly grown."
Roxas met her gaze with determined blue eyes.
"None of that changes the way I feel about you or Terra. You raised me; you will always be my family."
Aqua smiled wider then, still caressing his cheek. "Thank you, my dear. We have never wavered in our love for you, nor shall we ever."
He smiled back for a moment, laying his own hand over hers and cherishing the warmth. But his face quickly fell.
"Are my mother and father really dead, or was that a lie to protect me?"
His grandmother's expression fell a little as well. "I did not know it when I was alive, but yes. They truly are dead. They died only two years after they pressed you into my arms."
"So why aren't they here now?"
"You did not wish for them in the depths of your heart, as you did me."
Roxas felt confused at that. He didn't bear any ill will towards his parents; he barely even remembered them!
He hoped in his heart that they were still watching over him, and that they weren't hurt that he hadn't thought to wish for them in this strange place.
"But what if I wished for them now?"
Aqua shook her head. "There is not much time. They and I would tell you so much more, if we could, but you must be gone before your passage back into the sun is closed forever."
Roxas sat back off of his knees. "But you said I was dead!"
"I said 'not quite,'" she replied calmly. "It is not your time to pass yet, Roxas. You must go back and live your life, free of fear and unburdened by our past mistakes."
The blonde bit his lip. He'd be lying if he said he really wanted to die, but...
"I'll miss you so much, Granny..."
'I know, my dear, as I will miss you." She pulled him back into her embrace. "You and Terra will join me soon enough. For now, look after each other. Keep what little Laputa has left to offer you, if you like, but embrace the future with open arms."
Suddenly, the world around them began to disappear, like an image on the water disrupted by ripples.
Roxas felt his grandmother sigh heavily, and her arms loosened around him.
"Good...Terra and that boy of yours are almost finished."
The blonde blushed as he whispered, "Axel?!"
"Don't think I won't be keeping an eye on him too. If you let him abuse you in any way, I'll spank the life out of both of you when you get here."
Roxas looked up at her with wide eyes and a still deep crimson flush to his cheeks, but then he smiled sadly.
"I promise..."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
With a groan, Roxas blinked open his eyes. He groaned again as bright sunlight stabbed harshly into them, then closed them.
"You're awake!" Suddenly, a body slammed into him, forcing a yelp from him as its arms winding tightly around his waist and squeezed desperately. "Oh Roxas, thank goodness!"
"Axel?" The blonde gasped as his lips were stolen in a searing kiss, and his face began to burn brightly in embarrassment. He moved to sit up slightly, then cried out when his leg was jostled.
"Careful!" Terra's voice snapped like a bear trap, and the youngest boy felt his friend get dragged off of him. "The wound is still healing!"
"Terra?" As his hazy eyes began to clear, Roxas saw his brother's face for the first time in forever. He had been scowling at Axel, but turned and smiled at his younger brother fondly, reaching down to mildly tousle his hair.
"Sorry I'm late, kid. Are you alright?" He sounded jokey, but his tone betrayed a pained, bone-deep sincerity as well.
Roxas shook his head, feeling tears in his eyes.
"Fine...I'm just so happy you're okay."
After a brief moment, he turned to Axel. Truth be told, Terra looked the worst of the two, but his friend was still cut and bruised and dirty all over. That was probably how he himself looked as well, but just as he thought that, he felt a familiar tingle.
Roxas looked down to see his brother waving his hand over his leg wound, and a soft blue-green light radiated down on and into his skin.
"We held on to the crystal?"
Axel nodded. "Somehow...Good thing, too. You had us pretty worried there for a moment, Rox."
"You hit your head pretty hard," Terra supplied helpfully. "Lover boy over there was panicking up a storm until I started healing your wounds."
Roxas blushed even darker at that, but smiled even more warmly.
"Hey, you were scared too! You were crying and cursing until you spotted the damn stone in my hand!"
"I was not crying!"
Roxas looked between the two, snorted, and began to laugh. They both looked to him and frowned.
"What's so funny?" Terra asked.
The blonde shook his head, covering his mouth and letting the fresh tears run down his hand.
Axel scooted closer. "Are you sure you're okay, Roxas? No lasting brain damage or nothing?"
Roxas slapped his bicep playfully and continued to chuckle.
"N-No!" he exclaimed breathily, as he finally calmed down again. "I'm just so happy."
Axel blinked at him, then looked like he was about to say something.
"Hey, kids!"
Roxas jolted slightly at the sudden voice, and then again when his red-headed friend launched himself at him and nearly knocked him to the ground.
"Axel!" Roxas and Terra shrieked in unison.
A hearty chuckle rang in the air, just barely loud enough to be heard over the howl of winds and buzzing of mechanical wings. After the moment of surprise, the group looked up to find Larxene and her crew on their tiny ships. The boys were all waving gold, jewels, and other treasures in the air in victory, and their captain's smirk held distinctly less of its usual bite.
"Need a lift?"