The World That Never Will Be chapter 30
by the infamous and notorious tocasia
4/16/2021
CHAPTER 30
Aqua had to change the angle of her embrace to avoid the wayfinder's sharp points; she leaned her cheek on Sephiroth's leather instead of skin. Awkward. She hadn't quite thought this through.
A gift without surrender! Presented as an equal! A mark of belonging, the thing he yearned for.
He had won.
In his arms, the cause, so warm. Pretty Master Aqua, his precious ally. Were he to choose someone to be his Light, right now it would be her.
Sephiroth reached to discern the essence of her offering, what enchantments the wayfinder held, sensing with utmost tenderness...
...your anger is the protective kind.
Her faith in her friends could save them from the brink of death. On the verge or over the edge...
...she'd potentially saved him a lot of time. For that alone, his gratitude was overbounding. He rested his chin lightly on her soft hair, inhaling, poetically, faint scent of sun and sky, effort and hope.
Also imbued within the charm was a continuous resistance to hostile spells. Combined with his own defenses, he could endure anything she'd throw his way. She'd be freed from concern for friendly fire and its attendant hesitation; he could aid her in melee unobstructed.
And, as if a fine glaze, subtle atop the rest, shimmering closest to the surface...
Knowledge of mid-level healing magic, ready to be tapped into, regardless of the wielder's prowess.
How strong she was, to be capable of this!
For him.
Sephiroth wondered deeper, at the structure of the spell, how it was done, because that too was his gift to unravel.
How swiftly that changed everything.
Between one breath and the next, a betrayal he'd thought impossible.
...a reciprocal bond. She drew strength from friendship, in a more tangible sense.
What of his power did she have lease to? What had she seen? What had she stolen?
Cultivated affection soured to sneer. How brave she was!
He was the enslaver, never the enslaved! How dare she take from him!
...without his permission.
...permission he likely would have granted, if the time was right.
He could reject this trap, name it an unacceptable bargain. Reflect his hurt back at her a thousand-fold. Death, for such a slight.
His reflex to retaliate would have overwhelmed the lesser, leaving him to wallow in the satisfaction of pleasant ruin, supremacy unquestioned.
But that was not what he needed to prove. Not without breaking what he'd rather see whole.
Delusions of persecution... had not gone well, before.
...could Master Aqua really be so clueless?
Which would he prefer, misunderstanding or calculated malice?
Either motive he could deal with, but...
...he had wanted to exempt her from such fine examination.
"Master Aqua. What is this? What have you done?"
She removed the weight of her cheek from his coat and looked up at him, ocean eyes clear of guilty comprehension.
"You said... you wanted to learn some of my spells, so..."
Sephiroth clutched the black wayfinder as a substitute for a more physical interrogation. "The reason you made this... you gain power from your friends."
"That's not the only reason!" Aqua objected, indignant. She exited their embrace first, before he could.
It was difficult, so incredibly difficult, not to terrify, to remember his mercy was not a game.
"What have you taken from me, Master Aqua?"
"I haven't taken anything! It can't. The friendship has to go both ways or it won't work."
"Heh." Oh, how his laugh would shake his shoulders!
"I promise! I never thought about it like that! It's supposed to be sharing, not stealing from each other...! Not a weapon!"
Was she trembling? Dawning horror enshrouded her features. "I didn't know. I never knew. I thought they were giving back to me of their own choice. I never would have...! I'm sorry. Please, Sephiroth, believe me! I never would have...!"
So that's what her begging would look like. As honest as any he had seen.
"You acted in full innocence?"
"Yes!" Master Aqua insisted.
"Then... if your friendship is sincere, show me what you have gained from mine."
It was hard to focus with Sephiroth watching her so intently. Aqua activated the link.
She might be faster, maybe?
She felt like she was never, ever going to run out of mana. Names of unfamiliar spells flashed behind her eyes, tantalizing. And greater mysteries, nameless, writing unreadable in dream.
...so many. And the darkness... almost-hidden, cowering ineffectually, an unkept secret price.
I wouldn't be a tyrant, she'd said.
...she had the tools at her fingertips.
The sheer destructive power! Terrifying, thrilling, intoxicating! No wonder Sephiroth laughed all the time!
She wanted to rage at him.
...Why did you need my help against your enemy?!
Cast time, Aqua realized. Cloud would've interrupted all but the quickest of casts. That's why they'd fought with mostly swords.
Here was Shadow Flare, and an altered Firaga, and something called Ultima...
...his repertoire did not completely overlap hers. He hadn't been lying about wanting to learn from her.
She really hoped he'd accept her apology.
"So?" Sephiroth asked. Conflict played in his eyes.
"I can't tap into it for long. The darkness..."
"No more excuses, Master Aqua."
She summarized her discoveries for him. Because... he deserved to know.
He stared at her, through her, his heavy judgment weighing her heart in the balance. Anxiety spiked as it hadn't since waiting for her Mark of Mastery Exam results.
"Do not cast the spells without names," Sephiroth cautioned, finally.
Aqua didn't think she'd be able to. They were beyond her capacity, even boosted by the link. She couldn't imagine how casting them was even possible.
"Don't worry, I won't. But... what about Ultima?" Curiosity burned her shame to the ground.
Sephiroth barked a laugh, "Aim carefully, Master Aqua." He pointed at the 'X' on the torn red and black banner fluttering above Villain's Vale.
Time held its breath, a terminal omen.
Everything went green. A layered green of untold translucent depths, and she was drowning in it.
Magic screamed in her ears, in her mind, roaring higher, brightening to bloodthirsty pressure.
Eternity condensed, joined with the dread more terrible than any heartless...
...and she was loved.
The tallest spire of Villain's Vale exploded.
It was gone. Obliterated, absent collapse and memorial dust. No rubble prolonged the noise, no smoke escaped.
It was awesome!
"Beautiful," Sephiroth said. She'd call his a gaze of wonderment, of famished hope. Unguarded pride, and desire for more.
More?!
What target would ever require more?!
"This is great! We'll beat Xehanort for sure!"
Sephiroth was too quiet.
...her level of enthusiasm might be inappropriate. "But... it's not what you wanted. And I never meant to..."
He was angry, yes.
Sephiroth resented the intrusion... and its innocence. In Master Aqua's horror was neither deceit nor cruelty. A mistake without enmity, a white lie of omission.
He had wanted to share, hadn't he? He'd told her to take what she wanted.
...and she was beautiful, in action, in destruction, in untamed exultation.
He could choose to forgive. It was to his advantage to do so. He could give her the benefit of the doubt.
...There is no tragedy here, unless I create one.
He wanted just to hold her, even if she was in the wrong.
"You should have asked."
"You're right. I'm sorry. Do you want to trade back? If you want to break the link... you can..."
Sephiroth responded firmly, "No. I will keep your gift. You are still my precious ally. If my power can protect you..."
His conviction didn't convince.
"Wait! Maybe I can fix it!" Aqua beamed with excitement, and held up her charm for his close inspection. "Here. Why don't you look at this, and anything you don't want me to have, you can take back. You've already figured out sort of how the spell works. I can show you. I think you'll be able to choose what to share. It shouldn't hurt anything. I won't be mad."
She'd put thought into hers, it was only fair he got to do the same.
"I wish I'd thought of it sooner. I'm so sorry. To you, and all the others I met... and tricked without thinking, without understanding. Why didn't anyone tell me?"
She vowed to find them and apologize.
Sephiroth began his tinkering.
Aqua observed his rapt concentration, and his slight smile, a working happiness. The black glass glinted darker at his touch, blue-green sparks alive, ephemeral, within.
"Finished."
The link hummed kinder, softer.
There might be fewer nameless, probably apocalyptic, spells, but it was hard to count the inscrutable infinitude.
Ultima hadn't been rescinded.
Meteor was gone. But that had been one of Terra's attacks, one Xehanort had used against her, and Aqua did not miss the reminder.
Instead, there was a healing spell new to her: Regen. Incredibly action-efficient. Emerald energy would envelop to heal over time, and she could cast it on others besides herself.
The ambient darkness was much reduced. She hid the shudder of her relief.
"I did not wish to give you darkness," Sephiroth said. "Do you want to change yours, too?"
"No. I meant for you to have those."
"I am grateful."
She placed her hand in his, "Is it okay now?"
"Yes."
"I'm really sorry. For assuming, and for upsetting you."
"Thank you," Sephiroth murmured, "For offering to fix it." He turned away, as if he'd divulged some critical vulnerability.
"Sure," Aqua tried to banish the cloying awkwardness, frankly amazed at her success so far, "I'm glad you said something."
"Hey," she comforted, prodding a return to normalcy, "Do you want a hug? I could use a hug."
They cuddled until she absolutely felt forgiven.