Chapter 8: The Unbreakable Connection
(A/N: Sorry! Late! Sorry! College! Enjoy!)
Shortly after the Prince rode off with Snow White in tow, the seven Dwarves approached James and Aqua, "Oh thank you both ever so much!" Said Happy.
Doc nodded and looked to James, "Yeah it's ice to blow-uh-I mean nice to know that we have friends like you to help us out!"
Aqua let out a small laugh, "Of course! It was our pleasure, right Jim?" She says as she turns to him. But he gave no answer and stared off into the distance, his thoughts plagued by the entity that attacked him. Aqua shook his shoulder slightly, "Jim?" She asks.
James blinks before looking at everyone, "Huh? Oh uh, yes. Absolutely. Now um… excuse me." He says before walking off.
Doc tilted his head, "Gosh. Jim sure does seem awful triald-uh riled lately."
Aqua nods, "Yeah. He's been through some terrible hardships. He won't ever talk about it, but it must have been horrifying." She says, thinking back to his panic attack earlier. She then looks to Doc, "May I ask, what was Jim like before? Back when you all first met him."
Happy smiled, "Well, Jim was about as chipper as can be!"
Grumpy scowled, "He was kinda dependable, I suppose." He says stubbornly.
Doc nodded, "It's true. He'd disappear for days sometimes weeks at a time, but he always seemed to be proud of his key."
Sneezy sniffled, "Though… he did seem different after a while."
Sleepy yawned, "Yeah…. He wasn't as confident as he used to be."
Doc hums while stroking his chin, "Now that you mention it, you're right. Gosh, I wonder what happened?" Aqua could only frown as she went to catch up to James.
She found him standing in the woods, the same spot where they handled the entity. Aqua placed a hand on his shoulder, "What's bothering you? We won! The Princess is safe, and the Queen was defeated before we even arrived."
James nods, "Maybe, but that thing that attacked us got away." He told her, "It fought exactly like someone…familiar…but I can't quite place who it was…"
Aqua looked away for a moment before looking back to him, "Do you think it's one of your old friends turned into a Heartless?"
James shook his head, "That shouldn't be possible… It just shouldn't be…"
Aqua thought silently for a moment, "Why…" She hesitated slightly, "Why did you freak out like that when we first learned about Snow White?"
James let out a sigh, "Remember the scenario I gave you all those years ago when I first arrived?" Aqua nodded, "Well… I watched… a lot of people fall to darkness that were completely innocent. I guess seeing Snow like that brought it all back at once." He turned to her and smiled, "Thanks, by the way, for helping me snap out of that."
Aqua smiled back, "It wasn't just me. It was Terra and Ven too. I told you Jim, the four of us share an unbreakable connection." She then holds out her Wayfinder, "As long as we keep our memories of each other in our hearts, we'll never truly be apart. Whenever you're scared and lose your way, a friend will appear to make your day." She recites. James looks at her curiously, she giggles, "It's a little rhyme that came with the story of the Wayfinders. I felt it was appropriate."
James hugged Aqua, "Thanks. Really, I mean it."
Aqua smiles warmly and returns the embrace, "Anytime."
James and Aqua said goodbye to the dwarves before walking away to find a discreet place to leave the World. On their way, James informed Aqua about what happened with the entity. She hummed, "What did they mean by 'home'?" She wondered aloud.
James shook his head, "I have no idea. But considering how it moved, I'd say they're a Heartless." An uncomfortable silence befell the two of them. James looked up to the sky, "Well whatever. We'll figure that out later. Let's get back to finding Ven!" He says. Aqua smiles and nods as they embark to the next world.
(A/N: That's it for this chapter! I was asked once in a review if I was going to do ships. This actually got me thinking, because I hadn't considered it before. And to be honest, that's one of the reasons this is late, because I wanted to see what I wanted to do with it. I will say this, James is not getting a romantic interest. His relationship with Aqua is more like an older sister-little brother kind of thing. I will be shipping Sora and Kairi in future stories, as well as Riku and Namine. Roxas and Xion I might focus on most, simply because it's my favorite Kingdom Hearts ship, and if I do that, I apologize. Aqua and Terra… honestly, I don't really care either way. I can see how it would work but… I don't know, it just never mattered that much to me. If you wanna see Aqua and Terra be a ship, lemme know. In any case, thanks so much for being patient, I am sorry I keep updating late. Review to share your thoughts, Like, if you like the story, Follow it if you don't wanna miss a moment. See ya later!)
