A/N: Before anything else, I want to thank all of you who have reviewed so far. I have really enjoyed reading your responses to this story and I'm really happy you enjoy my writing for Aqua's character and her interactions with Terra, Ventus, and even Chirithy. I'm especially glad you guys enjoyed sassy Chirithy. To quote one of my reviewers, "Sassy Chirithy is good Chirithy", so we're going with it. Haha! Thank you all very much for the compliments and interest in the story. I'm really grateful to you all for the input. It's extremely helpful, and encouraging as well. I hope you guys will continue to enjoy this story. Thank you bunches! Love you all! God bless you guys!

Warning: This chapter contains spoilers from the ending scene of Kingdom Hearts 3. So if you've been reading this story without having played through the game, this is the final spoiler warning I'm going to give since it won't be necessary to give spoiler warnings once this chapter is over. That is all. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts is owned by Disney, Square Enix, and Tetsuya Nomura, the notorious game director who has left our hearts shattered and our minds in confusion yet again.

Song title note: The song I chose to title this chapter after is an OST from NieR: Automata. It's a beautiful acoustic piece with haunting vocal work from Emi Evans. Definitely look it up and take a listen if you feel so inclined.

Voice of No Return

Destiny Islands was a warm place, and not just in the obvious sense. There was a certain atmosphere that made it unlike any other world Aqua had been to. Something in the way the seagulls hummed through the air and in the refreshing smell of saltwater made it something special. Even the sand was strangely unique. The individual grains were soft rather than coarse, making it easy for the particles to slip through her fingers without the worry of getting grains stuck beneath her fingernails. Sand often left a unpleasant residue that felt like the driest dirt you could find, but such wasn't the case on these islands.

Everything was simple. Beautiful. Effortless.

Aqua recalled when this world was lost to darkness. Though essentially a dead world at the time, it had been the only one where bright colors existed. The sky remained a brilliant blue and the sands were white, almost like snow. Something akin to sunlight made the world shine, even in a place where light shouldn't have been able to exist at all.

Ironically enough, it was the one world Aqua was sad to see return to the realm of light back then.

She shook her head, forcing herself to return to the present day.

On the play island, everyone was playing games and laughing. Despite all of them coming from different worlds, they were here together, celebrating the defeat of Xehanort. Aqua watched serenely from her place by the sidelines with her fingers aimlessly drawing patterns in the sand.

She observed Ventus and Roxas as they played yet another round of Ultimate Frisbee with Axel and Isa. Terra was acting as a referee this time around, making sure the four of them actually followed the rules this time. It was a comical sight, especially because Roxas and Axel both kept trying to tackle each other down to prevent catches. Isa sighed endlessly when this happened while Ventus laughed, and Terra barked out orders for the two of them to play fair. At one point Terra ended up tripping over Roxas when he tried to stop the boy from cheating yet again.

Chuckling softly, she diverted her attention from the antics of the game to the edge of the ocean where Namine and Xion were collecting seashells. They chatted quietly, only raising their voices when they found a particularly pretty or large shell. Namine screamed once upon finding a few tiny white crabs, cooing about how cute they were while Xion tilted her head in confusion at the blonde girl's excitement.

A little ways off from them, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were helping Donald, Goofy, and Mickey build sandcastles. Music played from speakers in the distance, though a lot of it was drowned out by continuous laughter and the roar of the ocean's waves crashing against the shore.

It was a serene environment, but it was missing a vital piece.

Aqua had always wondered what gave this world its light when it had been lost to the darkness. She was beginning to see...rather feel the answer.

Peaceful as it was here, it didn't feel whole without him.

"Hey! Aqua!" Ventus roared from his spot on the beach, waving enthusiastically. Roxas smacked the back of his head, playfully demanding for his look-alike to get back into the game.

Terra, momentarily distracted from his duties as referee, glanced behind him to smile at her. "You want to play?"

Aqua shook her head. "I'm enjoying the view from here."

And she meant it. Watching everyone interact and have fun was far more gratifying to her than being part of it herself.

Part of the reason she was able to survive the realm of darkness without getting corrupted for as long as she had was because she didn't get lonely easily. Though not necessarily shy, she liked to keep to herself rather than interact when she wasn't 100% comfortable. As a Keyblade wielder, her job was to keep balance and not meddle in the affairs of other worlds.

In many ways, the role suited her personality perfectly.

"If you're sure..."

"I'm sure."

Terra chuckled, then turned his attention back to the game.

Left alone to watch the scenes unfold and think, Aqua couldn't help the smile spreading over her face. However, despite the general happiness she felt, there was no shaking the lingering sensation of emptiness...as if she were a ghost watching over those she left behind.

"You don't like participating much either do you?"

Aqua blinked in surprise as Riku sat down next to her. Though the party had been his idea, the white-haired warrior hadn't been present much throughout the celebrations aside from introducing Namine to those who didn't already know her and playing one game of Ultimate Frisbee with the others. After that he'd disappeared from Aqua's sight entirely.

At her lack of response, he looked down at the sand, his eyes widening when he noticed something.

"Hey, that looks like Sora."

Aqua's attention followed the path Riku's line of vision made for her. There in the sand, beneath her dirtied fingertips was a rough image of Sora's face, spiky hair and all. She hadn't been paying attention to the movement of her fingers. She'd merely been doodling in the sand, a habit she picked up when she reached the realm in between and was relegated to waiting thanks to the loss of her weapon.

"Oh..." She paused, studying the image she unconsciously created. "I guess it is..."

"He's missing an eyebrow though," Riku chided playfully, moving his hand to her drawing. With a careful movement of his index finger, he quickly rectified the issue after glancing at the eyebrow she had drawn. "I got to say though, you nailed the goofy grin. No pun intended."

As he said this, Donald started grumbling loudly from beneath a pile of sand Goofy accidentally dumped on him. Riku noticed this and started laughing. Aqua was quick to join him, especially once Donald started chasing Goofy around the beach, waving his magic wand like a club.

"I tell you, those two never change." he proclaimed, still chuckling a little.

Aqua nodded in agreement, grinning easily at Donald's loud squalling as he continued to waddle angrily about the beach. "They really don't."

"Maybe that's why they got along with Sora so well," Riku commented, resting his arm over a raised knee. "The three of them really did make a great team."

"They did..." Aqua's voice trailed off, her cerulean gaze drifting to his image in the sand. It instantly called the memory of Sora reaching for her, and soon she found herself longing for the feel of his hand in hers.

Though it only happened once, she remembered the tingle of warmth the contact with him provided.

It felt so simple. Beautiful. Effortless.

A pang shot through her heart.

"He should be here."

"Aqua? What's wrong?"

"What?" she asked, her voice sounding a bit strained to her. It felt as if she were trying to talk past something constricting her throat.

"You're crying, Aqua."

Only then did she feel the tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Oh?" She brought a hand to her cheek, confusion clear in her expression.

Riku seemed to read into the unspoken reason for her tears, but waited to speak until Aqua was through wiping them away.

"He'll be back," he whispered reassuringly, gazing upon all their friends. "When Sora makes a promise, he keeps it. So..." For a moment he couldn't speak, suddenly distracted by a welcome sight at the smallest play island. For a couple seconds he was sure he hallucinating, but everyone on the beach had stopped moving, like they had noticed it too.

Aqua waited for Riku to keep going, but when he abruptly stood, an almost smug smile lifting the corners of his mouth, she finally noticed how the vast array of sounds around her had come to a halt. All of their friends were looking in the same direction with smiles or looks of awe on their faces.

She followed suit, training her eyes on the smallest of the play islands.

Two figures were sitting on the bent over trunk of a palm tree, staring out at the sunset. The first figure was a girl and the other was a boy with familiar spiky hair.

"Is that..." Aqua didn't finish the question, instead getting to her feet. "Is it really them? Did they make it back?"

Riku's sudden laughter was a welcome sound. "Well, that was fast. We didn't even get to really miss him yet."

Everyone around them stood in stunned silence at the sight of Kairi and Sora sitting in their favorite spot, now gazing into each other's eyes. It was a gorgeous scene that stirred Aqua's heart with joy she couldn't express. Everything had truly worked out for the best now. Everyone was back where they belonged.

"They really are a perfect fit for each other," she mused happily as new tears leaked from her eyes. She was truly happy to see both of them. She knew Kairi was Sora's light in the darkness. It was why he disappeared in the first place, to reclaim what he lost.

But now he could finally live happily, peacefully...

Ultimately, that's what Aqua wanted for Sora. He deserved to be happy after everything he'd done to protect the worlds and all of them from Xehanort's vindictive plans.

"Welcome back..."

The thoughts tapered off as Sora's shadow leaned closer to Kairi's. She could tell from the way he was moving that they were about to kiss.

And then...in the next second...

He began to disappear.

"No..."

Aqua started running before her mind could catch up.

"Wait! Aqua!"

Riku's voice was right behind her, but she barely heard him. All she could focus on was Sora vanishing away.

"This isn't happening. He can't be fading. He just can't!"

Aqua ran as fast as she could across the bridge leading to the final play island, the setting sun baring down on her skin. More and more, Sora's image faded out from sight.

"Don't go. Please don't go."

She managed to say his name despite the horrible feeling of breathlessness overtaking her senses. The sound was far too low. No one should have been able to hear her.

But Sora's body shifted in her direction ever so slightly, as if he'd somehow heard her voice calling.

Their gazes locked for a single instant...

And then he was gone.

Aqua stopped running, her breaths ragged as she stood over Kairi, who slumped over toward the ground the instant Sora's image dissipated. She watched the red-headed girl wrap her arms around herself, and then, without warning, a blood curdling wail tore through the peaceful air.

Riku rushed by in a blur Aqua barely caught sight of. In the next instant he had Kairi in his arms. She continued to scream against his chest, shouting out words Aqua couldn't begin to process even though she'd seen the whole situation unfold with her own eyes.

"He's gone," the girl sobbed. "Sora's gone and...he's not...he's not..."

"He's not what?" Aqua questioned, her voice eerily calm despite the intensely emotional scene in front of her. Riku had gone silent, his eyes wide with a type of horror she'd never seen in a person's gaze before.

Eventually, though it clearly took a lot of effort to talk past the sobs, Kairi managed to answer Aqua's question.

"He isn't coming back. He's...S-Sora's...dead. He's dead."

Dead.

The word repeated in Aqua's mind.

She felt herself stop breathing and the lack of oxygen made her sway a bit as the news settled over her like a heavy blanket on a corpse.

"Breathe," she thought to herself, her eyes on Riku as his grip tightened on the girl in his arms. His emotions were slowly spiraling downward and Aqua knew he and Kairi were going to need a few hours alone. Sora was their best friend, not hers. She hadn't known him a fraction of the time Riku and Kairi had.

The connection she felt with him was shallow at best. She knew that. Even so...

Her heart was sick with grief. She wanted to wrap Kairi and Riku in her arms and cry with them because Sora meant something to her too.

She loved him too. She loved him the same way she loved Terra and Ven.

Dead.

Losing Sora felt like losing the two of them all over again and that type of sorrow was almost too overwhelming to stomach.

But now wasn't the time to let herself succumb to grief. Already she could hear shouts from behind her.

Dead.

Terra's voice was approaching the fastest.

She pivoted on her heel, deciding to relay the information to him before the others could bombard a clearly distraught young girl with questions she wouldn't have the emotional capacity to answer.

Aqua herself barely had the means to function emotionally. Something mechanical was taking over for the moment. It was a monster born from a stern upbringing, rigorous battle training, and a decade enduring psychological torment. Yes, this part of her was the ugliest part, yet she needed the monster to survive through moments like this...through pain like this.

Dead?

The word repeated on and on in her head.

"Terra," she called once he was close enough. "We need to keep everyone else away from Kairi and Riku right now. They're...mourning."

The frown on his face deepened at the news. "I see. So...he really did fade..."

"Yes," Aqua cut in, not in the mood for him to state the obvious. "Sora is gone. His heart has disappeared from this world along with his body. He's..."

She couldn't bring herself to say the word. To her, it was a lie.

He faded out of view and he wasn't in the realm of light anymore, that much was certain.

But dead?

No.

Those eyes were not the eyes of someone dying. The eyes Aqua saw were her own.

Sora chose destruction to save the girl he loved, but in no way did it mean he was gone forever. He couldn't be gone forever. Not him. Not Sora.

"I'll...tell the others," Terra muttered, glancing briefly behind his shoulder as Donald, Goofy, and Mickey raced toward them. Ventus was close behind, an expression of grief etched on his face as he fixed his stare on her.

Aqua couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

The rest of the gang remained on the island. Aqua gazed at the multitude of faces, seeing the mixed looks of confusion and concern in each expression.

Roxas was the only exception. His gaze remained fixed on the ground with his hands balled up into tight fists.

He looked identical to Ven, but his personality couldn't have been more different. He had a somber aura, even in moments of happiness...similar to how she was.

But this similarity isn't what grabbed her attention. There was something off in his eyes, almost as if he knew what happened to Sora. He didn't need the news relayed to him. He knew. He could feel it.

However, rather than sadness, there was exasperation in his expression, a look that said, "That idiot's gotten himself into trouble again."

Eventually, the blonde dual wielder, having felt her watchful gaze on him, stared directly in to her eyes. She didn't look away. Even as Terra began to tell Donald, Goofy, Mickey, and Ventus the dreaded news, she kept her eyes on Roxas. Through sounds of sniffling from Donald and Goofy and the echo of Kairi's sobs a short distance away, Aqua kept her focus on Roxas. He was searching for something in her eyes.

She had no idea what he was looking for, but she let him look because of his direct connection to Sora.

"He would know the truth better than anyone...wouldn't he? He used to be part of his heart too."

Everyone here had been touched by Sora's light in one way or another. He was the one who brought them together, and the one who mended the hurt so many of them harbored for so long.

"This isn't the ending he deserves."

Aqua.

The memory of his voice brought her to her knees without warning. A tiny, almost inaudible sob retched itself from her mouth in the same instant, and if not for the abrupt fall to her knees, no one would have noticed her pain at all. She stared at her knees, struggling against emotions straining to break free.

Aqua tried to focus on breathing so the tears wouldn't come.

Even now, despite everyone seeing her sudden collapse, Aqua was desperately fighting to keep a small shred of her pride.

The person who made her feel like it was okay to cry was gone.

"Aqua." Terra's hands pressed against her shoulders. They were there to soothe but created the opposite effect because of how disarming his presence became whenever he touched her like this. She always felt breathless around him. She was afraid if she became too vulnerable around him, Xehanort would find a way to possess him again and strangle her to death.

She'd hallucinated such things in the past.

"It's...not fair." Her shoulders began to shake beneath Terra's hands as the tears finally came. They dripped from her face and onto her knees. "Why do things always end up this way?"

"Aqua, please don't...

"Sora should be here...with his friends." she interrupted, her voice sharp, bitter.

"He should be here...with me."

A/N: That's the end of this chapter. Be sure to let me know what you think in that review box! This one was a little difficult at points, mainly because I didn't want this to be too dramatic or angst driven, especially on Aqua's part since she's really only starting to notice that she has these strong feelings for Sora. And at the moment, those feelings are definitely more friendship based in her mind, so the lines where it says she loves Sora the same way she loves Terra and Ventus were written in to sell that point. The final line definitely hints to something potentially romantic, which I wasn't sure I wanted to include yet. Ultimately I decided to keep it in because it's something Aqua can reflect on later. But again, if you guys felt that anything was off, let me know and I'll do what I can to make these scenes better. On a whole, I like how this one turned out a lot. I hope you did too.

Additional note: Another song I listened to a lot while writing this is another NieR Automata OST entitled The Tower. That piece is...well you'll have to listen to it for yourself. It sells the despair. That's all I can say. Thanks again for reading! See you guys in the next one!