Destroyed
Chapter Five: Unlocked
~ But...those days are gone... ~
She laid herself down, admiring the sky. It was lit with vivid flashes of red and orange, sinking down into romantic purples and then the darker black. Down where the sky met the ground she could see stars, twinkling points of light that shone down on the earth under her body. Her hands were spread fingered in the fragrant grass and the sweet smell brought her lip quirking upwards.
She loved the scent of the earth and the sweet slumber it gave her when she rested out under the pregnant moon. The songs of nature and the sounds like dripping honey in her heart.
She wanted nothing else in the world.
Sighing she let her head tilt back and eyes slide shut against the vision of night's beauty. She was in heaven, in the promised land of her dreams. They had stopped here, on the way to Nibelheim, Tifa was making dinner tonight so she expected something robust and packed with carbohydrates. Potato stew and slices of tender beef, with apples or some fruit for dessert. Then everyone would gather round the campfire and tell stories, plan the day ahead and even try to find some companionship with each other as their days grew increasingly bleaker.
She had seen it.
He was frustrated by his need to speak out, to speak up, but the words kept sticking in his throat or in his soul. Whichever it was, she knew the Cloud they saw now wasn't the real him. She knew the real him, the Planet gave her discreet pointers to the nature of the man she called Strife.
Strife by name, Strife by nature.
Once they got out of Nibelheim, perhaps she would be able to talk to him and Tifa. Infact, since that day in Kalm where Tifa had watched him with such pain in her luminous eyes, Aeris had been more and more convinced that Cloud wasn't exactly lying to them, but more to himself.
Lies, once out of hand, did more damage than any conjured spell could, than any fateful summoning or words spoken in harsh haste. She didn't want to see her friend destroyed.
She wouldn't fail him.
"Thinking, again?"
Smiling in brilliance, she opened her green eyes a crack and looked up at the bright blue ones that were suspended over her. Cloud grinned at her, leant over her with his quiffy hair blocking out the view of the moon.
"Oh, Cloud," she said, mimicking being cross, and rolled aside onto her stomach, then patted the fragrant grass next to her.
Wordlessly the warrior sunk down onto the grass, and let his gauntlets rest beside him, the bracelets chiming against the metal rings as they fell. He smiled at her, and she was sure her heart would stop, then he shifted his focus and looked out over the rise of the hill to where the sea sparkled in the distance. Behind them, the sounds of campfire merry making seemed to fade, and the world existed for only them.
"So," she said softly.
"So," he agreed, and plucked at the grass. It came away easily and with idle fingers he began to plait them into a strange weave.
She watched him for a moment, then rested her chin in her hands and studied the sparkle of the far off sea, and smiled. "I love this place, Cloud."
"So do I. I grew up here after all, running in the grass and dancing in the waves down by the shore. It was a lonely childhood, but.. I don't remember being too unhappy." He half smiled and the blue eyes slid aside to look at her, "what about you?"
~ What about me? ~
"I..."
~ Needles and drugs, tests and scratches.. scathing insults, being treated as a sub-human... escape. ~
"It wasn't so bad I guess. I had mom, and that was all I really needed. And my flowers." She brushed her fingertips over the surface of the grass, the very verdant weed seeming to thrive under the touch and grow greener. Magic.
A magic all of her own.
"Yeah," he murmured, "well, now you have me."
She blushed and looked away. Did he understand what he was saying? What it meant to someone as broken as she was? A life she could never call her own, a promise to fulfill and a duty that would outshine anything she could ever do on her own.. Alone.
"I...I guess I do."
"Why do you say it like that?"
Aeris bit her lip and looked down, with a half smile, then shook her head. It was so beautiful, this place, this moment, this man and this feeling burning inside her. Passionate feelings swayed inside her.. and she tried to keep her failing grip on reality.
"...I don't want to die," she whispered softly, "I just want this to last."
Cloud said nothing, but the warm and very real fingers that interlaced with hers spoke enough comfort for the both of them, and softly she let her heart be unlocked...
~*~
She had done what was for the best.
The marble was too cold under her soft skinned knees, the material of her dress providing no comfort. If she could just do this one task then they would all be saved and she and Cloud would have forever.. and then everything would be alright.
Her hands trembled, clasped infront of her, mind locked into praying and wishing. It drained her strength and stole her magic, killed her voice and numbed her spirit but no matter what happened she clung to that single grain of hope and truth. That somehow she could save him, save Tifa.. save everyone.
~ Because. I.. I thought it would make everything right. ~
Slowly it answered with a small wail, and she smiled, looking up.
He was there, with his sword hanging slack at his side and an expression she had never thought to see on his handsome face, just.. scrawled there. It made him ugly and altogether too mortal, and for a moment her expression froze in fear.
She tried opening her lips to whisper softly..
~ I've done it. We're safe. You're saved. I've...done it.. ~
The stab was unexpected and a whoosh of air came from her lungs as she pitched forwards, hands catching herself on the floor with a cold sting and slap. The pain seemed to spread and ooze down her back, warm and thick. With lips numbed by shock, she tried lifting her head, as a soft sigh came from her lips in shock.
The blade was drawn from her, and the world whirled about her, Clouds face becoming the sky, a whisk of blade overhead and the distinct impression of darkness.
"Cloud.." she gasped, as from her hair fell the childhood gift and remembrance of her mother, clattering down the steps and chiming on it's way down towards the water, and it's grave. It shone though, shone like a star from the corner of her eye, landing in the sea and for a moment she forgot where she was.
The sea and the stars and the night so beautiful..
Eyes dimmed by tears, she managed a final smile for her hero, for the man she had given her heart away to.. and slowly, slowly.. she drowned in darkness.
* * * * * * * * * *
The scream jolted him from his sleep, and without a second thought he had fingers curled about the gunblades handle, drawing it closer to him. Shifting about on his single bed, (he believed sleeping in a double bed on your own only caused sleeping problems later on in life) he let the chill metal of the blade whisk past his thigh, then frowned, switching on the light with a quick murmur of a spell.
His room was empty, but for him and his rumpled bed, clothes neatly folded on the chair by the desk. The screaming had stopped, but the sheer terror in it had been enough to set hairs on his arms to standing.
Neglecting to pull on slippers or more decent clothes than his boxers and white shirt, he pulled open the door and glanced into the corridor. No one was about tonight, Yuffie most likely snoring and sound asleep. As much as the young girl tried to insist she was able to keep up with him, she was more often than not tired out from the daily training.
Frowning, he let the door shut softly behind him, the catch in the lock snicking softly closed and then putting the gunblade on his shoulder, he began moving down the corridor and towards the staff room.
A sniffing stopped him, and his smoky eyes glanced aside at the red painted door to Aeris' room.
"Aeris?" he said in a low voice.
"..w-who... I-I'm alright.."
"Did you scream?"
"I..did I? I'm sorry, it was just..a bad dream."
Looking down at the handle of the door, he found it slightly ajar and burnt about the the lock, but concern for Aeris' well being was his ulterior motive than finding out why the lock was burnt and jammed open. His hand closed on the jamb and he pushed it open.
Aeris was half curled up in bed, eyes red rimmed from crying in the half dark and her soft hair a disarrayed tumble about her oval face. Beautiful even in mournful crying, he mused.
Propping the gunblade up against the bed, Leon moved closer to Aeris, by sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn't want to frighten her, even if the memory of their shared kiss still lingered like sweet moisture on his lips, sweetness he doubted he could live without.
The ancient kept her face turned from him, fingers wiping at her eyes desperately and her whole frame shaking with the tears she could not allow to flow from distressed eyes. The stress of her nightmare still lingered, hollow and bitter, raging against the light she had only managed to half conjure despite her usual talent with magic spells.
"I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry.."
"What did you dream?" he asked softly.
She shook her head, "Old memories, bad memories."
~ Idiot. She had died once, remember? ~
"About dying?" Leon attempted to keep his tone light, and when the left hand tried sneaking up again to wipe tears he caught it, and held it down, thumb rubbing over the back of her hand and feeling the tendons that were lined up there casually. So soft.
"Y-yes.. other things too."
"Tell me about it, you can talk to me."
"I.." she turned and stared at him, and he smiled, aching for the pent up pain she would never truly be able to express out of concern for everyone else's feelings. Then she ducked her head, hair falling in a soft shower with the movement, strands picking up the light and burning with the soft cadence. "It was a while go, I was stabbed. I.. I didn't want to die. I wanted to save everyone, so no one would have to fight anymore."
He stayed silent as she shook again with fresh tears. "I...I told him everything would be okay, that we'd all be together and it would be over soon and I lied... and then paid for it."
"Aeris.."
Quietly she whispered in a broken voice, "I failed them.. Twice."
With a very slight movement, Leon drew the girl into his arms and buried his face in her hair, just holding her close as she cried and in his despair over her still somehow clinging to Cloud.. felt elation at having her in his arms.
~ Some Bodyguard.. I'll protect her now. Because.. ~
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey Sora, catch.."
The young boy blinked, turning as a log was thrown at his midsection, and he went down with it in a heap of feet he had yet to grow into and gangly limbs. The sand showered into his hair and past his eyes, and he smiled.
The sun was shining.
The sea was softly calling and splashing on the beach.
And Kairi and Riku, his best friends, were with him.
Riku stretched out on the sand next to him. He was taller than Sora by a good few inches, and built much more powerfully, the kind of build that would see him being bulkier in later life. His hair was prematurely white, and his eyes that were crinkled in sharp humour a bright turquoise.
"I'm tired out," he murmured to Sora, who nodded in return.
"Come on lazy bum, I'll race you to the beach house.." chirped Kairi, a girl tall for her age with a sleek bob of reddish brown, and bright blue eyes. She was possibly the prettiest thing Sora had ever seen, and he was more than half in love with her, though he kept such thoughts to himself.
"No way," groaned the older boy, digging his hands into the sand, and Sora turned aside to stifle a grin at this. Every single day was the same, she always knew exactly how to get their competetive streaks flaring. However, this time he was determined not to lose, and slowly bent his knees.
"One, two, Three... Go!"
He glanced at Riku with polished sapphire eyes.. and Riku at him.
Then in a shower of sand that like falling diamonds caught the sun, both boys got up, and began to race down the length of the beach, towards the house, with a laughing Kairi breathlessly following them..
Life was..perfect.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Later that day, Aeris happened to be doing the shopping for a change, but her own tastes for shopping ran slightly different to Yuffie's and inevitably she spent a lot of time just talking to the people as they were settling in, asking if they needed help with anything and giving up her time to help them if required. The words, "sweet girl" seemed forever imprinted upon her, and as that nature implied she did everything with a smile to ease the burdens they suffered.
Finally, after getting a few moments to herself in a town that never seemed to sleep she found herself walking through the third district and past some power cables that had been ruptured. Tilting her head, for even on her own world she had seen very little of electricity, made by mako. It sparked when she outstretched her fingers, and with a muffled cry she drew her hand back sharpish.
"Alright, won't be doing that again, Aeris," she murmured to herself with a wry smile.
Brushing the hand down the side of her pink skirts, she turned about and let her green gaze wander up past the slight smoky mist covering the stairs towards the empty doors, and then back to the plaza and the fountain that bubbled there. It was very quiet today.
Her other arm brought up the book it was holding and she cradled it to her chest. It was a small purple bounde book, with crinkled fabric cover. In it she had recorded her observations and a few thoughts and even poems. In the book she found she could make sense of the strange things she kept unearthing about the great man and scientist Ansem.. and it also brought her closer to the shadows.
She kept walking towards the steps up to the second district, head bent in furious thoughts. They just kept crowding in there, no matter how hard she tried to push them out, thoughts of home and future and the strange sensation that she should be doing something, but *what* eluded her as of yet.
Her footsteps were heavy, the boots striking the floor with a bit more force than she intended. They rang out across the empty plaza, and apart from the tinkling of the fountain and the faint whisper of maybe a brush over the floor she heard nothing else..
A brush?
Blinking, she slowed down, moving her arms from being wrapped about the book tightly, to having her fingers pressed to the books sides, white knuckled. There had been no sweeper when she had last scanned the vicinity, and with a quick lick of her suddenly dry lips, Aeris glanced over her shoulder.
It was empty.
~ Okay.. now I'm just trying to scare myself. ~
"H-Hello...?"
Her hair tickled the nape of her neck, but she jumped and clapped her left hand to the back of her neck, the bracelets jangling in fury. It stung, and she laughed, the kind of relieved hysterical laughter people do when they realise they are only chasing daydreams.
"Oh I'm so silly.." she laughed, shaking her head in rueful amusement, more at herself than anything.
"I wouldn't say so."
Her scream echoed over the buildings at the voice just by her ear, and with instinct taking over, she turned and swung the book full tilt at whatever had spoken. Her only driving thought was, what if it were Sephiroth? The book connected with something, and there was a solid thud and a disgruntled hmph.
Trying not to cower, she kept the book up close to her face and peeked round it, ignoring the shaking in her legs.
On the floor, almost flat on his back, was an elderly man in blue robes and a bent hat also of the same blue. His hair was long and white, his beard too, longer than any she had seen before. A battered leather bag sat on the floor next to him, with a shotish stick poking from the side of it, with hairs protruding from the end of it.
~ Now I'm beating up old men.. some kind, gentle person I am! ~
Mortified, and redder than she would have ever thought possible over her cheeks, the very heat searing her skin, she dropped the book and moved immediately over to the old man who was, by now, chuckling softly and slapping his knee like it was the greatest joke in the world.
"I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?!"
His old hand closed over hers and she blinked, looking down.
Magic.
It burnt her skin, but didn't. It was as if she was suddenly thrown into ice cold water, the shock of it made her gasp and then she looked up at him. Kindly blue eyes twinkled at her from under very bushy white brows.
"Magic," she whispered helplessly.
"Of course, what else do you expect of a magician? Give me a hand up then, be a good girl," He tapped the back of her hand and she blinked again, like a trance was shattered from her as he removed contact.
Still stammering apologies, she hooked hands carefully under the old mans elbows and helped him to his feet then watched in besmusment as he fussily sorted out his robes, then messed with his hat. Finally satisfied, he looked back at her.
"What's your name, young one?"
"Aeris Gainsborough."
"Ah," he nodded, "I'm Merlin. Practitioner of magic, and peddler of secrets. Owner of Mysteries and Scourge of the dark.. oh my, where's my wand?"
It was all the Ancient could do not to let her jaw drop. She had heard rumours and legends concerning Merlin, and then with a soft smile, she bent down and picked up his wand, marvelling at the feel of the soft, smooth wood. It too, brimmed with magic both strong and soft. Then as she stood back up, she handed it back to him.
His old hand closed over it, "Thank you, Aeris."
The jolt made her draw her hand back, biting down a small yelp.
His eyes only twinkled, but his voice belied the dark humour in those eyes, "You too practice magic."
It wasn't a question, no matter how she tried to twist it over in her mind, so she nodded in affirmation. He already knew... what else he knew was better left off in idle musings.
"So.." His eyes studied her, drawing conclusions, "What do you do?"
"I.. I came here when my world fell to the darkness. I am studying Ansem and the Heartless in a hope to save other worlds." She glanced down at the book, and so did the magician.
"Ah I see. Well, my world too was destroyed. They came in through the Keyhole and changed it, destroying it eventually." The eyes were engulfed by bushy brows as he frowned. Aeris watched him, clasping hands behind her back as she had a habit of doing. "Careful, mind you, standing too close to the shadows can make you forget yourself."
"I know."
Something in her tone made him look up with worry in his blue eyes, then he smiled, and the beard moved with it. She smiled back, trying to shut emotions from her face, something she wasn't the greatest at. The dream of Sephiroth still lingered too much for her liking.
"Well, I am always more than willing to help, just say the word.. I have occasional living quarters over there," he pointed the wand at the strange door with a fire sign on it, "and I wonder, could I prevail upon you for some help?"
"Of course," she said immediately, and the old man bent down, opening the small leather bag and digging about in it.. then moments later he straightened up and tugged what looked to be a large and very tattered book from his bag. She frowned. It seemed impossible for a book so large to come from a bag so small. He gave her no time to dwell on it though, pushing the book into her hands.
"Can you find someone in town to repair this for me? It fell into my possession and is so ruined it's a wonder the poor thing still exists."
"Oh, I'm sure Cid can do it."
"Well, I have a few things to do, but it was nice meeting you. Don't be afraid to find me for advice," he tapped his hat with his wand, and then picking up his bag walked off down the stairs and round towards the strange door.
Left halfway on the stairs, Aeris watched him go, then looked down to her feet where her book still lay. Sighing she put the heavy old book under one arm, and then picked up her purple notebook, and flipped through it to make sure none of her work was spoiled. Then gasped.
Written on the next clean page in her book, in neat red ink and cursive script were the words, "I saw the Key in you. You're getting closer.. heed your dreams."
Trembling, she put the book against her chest, and then covered it with the old book. With one last scan, noting the old magician had vanished beyond his door, Aeris turned and began walking at a faster than normal pace, towards the first district doors..
* * * * * * * * * *
The laugh echoed and they cringed.
He came here more often now, to look at them and through them. His face held no fear and his soul only hate, hate and madness.
Even they cringed from it.
But soon Kingdom Hearts would come, eternal shadows such as Ansem had promised them.
He spoke often of wanting to meet Ansem.
He sometimes spoke of witches, pirates and gods.. or places they didn't know. They had lost memory along with hearts.. Heartless.
"Pitiful," he said scathingly and often, his face drawn and brooding over the over-sized sword.
Darker and darker, they grew stronger and bolder.
And he only taunted them with his blazing, green eyes.
With the turning of a single key.. they were Unlocked into yet another world.
And he laughed..
Chapter Five: Unlocked
~ But...those days are gone... ~
She laid herself down, admiring the sky. It was lit with vivid flashes of red and orange, sinking down into romantic purples and then the darker black. Down where the sky met the ground she could see stars, twinkling points of light that shone down on the earth under her body. Her hands were spread fingered in the fragrant grass and the sweet smell brought her lip quirking upwards.
She loved the scent of the earth and the sweet slumber it gave her when she rested out under the pregnant moon. The songs of nature and the sounds like dripping honey in her heart.
She wanted nothing else in the world.
Sighing she let her head tilt back and eyes slide shut against the vision of night's beauty. She was in heaven, in the promised land of her dreams. They had stopped here, on the way to Nibelheim, Tifa was making dinner tonight so she expected something robust and packed with carbohydrates. Potato stew and slices of tender beef, with apples or some fruit for dessert. Then everyone would gather round the campfire and tell stories, plan the day ahead and even try to find some companionship with each other as their days grew increasingly bleaker.
She had seen it.
He was frustrated by his need to speak out, to speak up, but the words kept sticking in his throat or in his soul. Whichever it was, she knew the Cloud they saw now wasn't the real him. She knew the real him, the Planet gave her discreet pointers to the nature of the man she called Strife.
Strife by name, Strife by nature.
Once they got out of Nibelheim, perhaps she would be able to talk to him and Tifa. Infact, since that day in Kalm where Tifa had watched him with such pain in her luminous eyes, Aeris had been more and more convinced that Cloud wasn't exactly lying to them, but more to himself.
Lies, once out of hand, did more damage than any conjured spell could, than any fateful summoning or words spoken in harsh haste. She didn't want to see her friend destroyed.
She wouldn't fail him.
"Thinking, again?"
Smiling in brilliance, she opened her green eyes a crack and looked up at the bright blue ones that were suspended over her. Cloud grinned at her, leant over her with his quiffy hair blocking out the view of the moon.
"Oh, Cloud," she said, mimicking being cross, and rolled aside onto her stomach, then patted the fragrant grass next to her.
Wordlessly the warrior sunk down onto the grass, and let his gauntlets rest beside him, the bracelets chiming against the metal rings as they fell. He smiled at her, and she was sure her heart would stop, then he shifted his focus and looked out over the rise of the hill to where the sea sparkled in the distance. Behind them, the sounds of campfire merry making seemed to fade, and the world existed for only them.
"So," she said softly.
"So," he agreed, and plucked at the grass. It came away easily and with idle fingers he began to plait them into a strange weave.
She watched him for a moment, then rested her chin in her hands and studied the sparkle of the far off sea, and smiled. "I love this place, Cloud."
"So do I. I grew up here after all, running in the grass and dancing in the waves down by the shore. It was a lonely childhood, but.. I don't remember being too unhappy." He half smiled and the blue eyes slid aside to look at her, "what about you?"
~ What about me? ~
"I..."
~ Needles and drugs, tests and scratches.. scathing insults, being treated as a sub-human... escape. ~
"It wasn't so bad I guess. I had mom, and that was all I really needed. And my flowers." She brushed her fingertips over the surface of the grass, the very verdant weed seeming to thrive under the touch and grow greener. Magic.
A magic all of her own.
"Yeah," he murmured, "well, now you have me."
She blushed and looked away. Did he understand what he was saying? What it meant to someone as broken as she was? A life she could never call her own, a promise to fulfill and a duty that would outshine anything she could ever do on her own.. Alone.
"I...I guess I do."
"Why do you say it like that?"
Aeris bit her lip and looked down, with a half smile, then shook her head. It was so beautiful, this place, this moment, this man and this feeling burning inside her. Passionate feelings swayed inside her.. and she tried to keep her failing grip on reality.
"...I don't want to die," she whispered softly, "I just want this to last."
Cloud said nothing, but the warm and very real fingers that interlaced with hers spoke enough comfort for the both of them, and softly she let her heart be unlocked...
~*~
She had done what was for the best.
The marble was too cold under her soft skinned knees, the material of her dress providing no comfort. If she could just do this one task then they would all be saved and she and Cloud would have forever.. and then everything would be alright.
Her hands trembled, clasped infront of her, mind locked into praying and wishing. It drained her strength and stole her magic, killed her voice and numbed her spirit but no matter what happened she clung to that single grain of hope and truth. That somehow she could save him, save Tifa.. save everyone.
~ Because. I.. I thought it would make everything right. ~
Slowly it answered with a small wail, and she smiled, looking up.
He was there, with his sword hanging slack at his side and an expression she had never thought to see on his handsome face, just.. scrawled there. It made him ugly and altogether too mortal, and for a moment her expression froze in fear.
She tried opening her lips to whisper softly..
~ I've done it. We're safe. You're saved. I've...done it.. ~
The stab was unexpected and a whoosh of air came from her lungs as she pitched forwards, hands catching herself on the floor with a cold sting and slap. The pain seemed to spread and ooze down her back, warm and thick. With lips numbed by shock, she tried lifting her head, as a soft sigh came from her lips in shock.
The blade was drawn from her, and the world whirled about her, Clouds face becoming the sky, a whisk of blade overhead and the distinct impression of darkness.
"Cloud.." she gasped, as from her hair fell the childhood gift and remembrance of her mother, clattering down the steps and chiming on it's way down towards the water, and it's grave. It shone though, shone like a star from the corner of her eye, landing in the sea and for a moment she forgot where she was.
The sea and the stars and the night so beautiful..
Eyes dimmed by tears, she managed a final smile for her hero, for the man she had given her heart away to.. and slowly, slowly.. she drowned in darkness.
* * * * * * * * * *
The scream jolted him from his sleep, and without a second thought he had fingers curled about the gunblades handle, drawing it closer to him. Shifting about on his single bed, (he believed sleeping in a double bed on your own only caused sleeping problems later on in life) he let the chill metal of the blade whisk past his thigh, then frowned, switching on the light with a quick murmur of a spell.
His room was empty, but for him and his rumpled bed, clothes neatly folded on the chair by the desk. The screaming had stopped, but the sheer terror in it had been enough to set hairs on his arms to standing.
Neglecting to pull on slippers or more decent clothes than his boxers and white shirt, he pulled open the door and glanced into the corridor. No one was about tonight, Yuffie most likely snoring and sound asleep. As much as the young girl tried to insist she was able to keep up with him, she was more often than not tired out from the daily training.
Frowning, he let the door shut softly behind him, the catch in the lock snicking softly closed and then putting the gunblade on his shoulder, he began moving down the corridor and towards the staff room.
A sniffing stopped him, and his smoky eyes glanced aside at the red painted door to Aeris' room.
"Aeris?" he said in a low voice.
"..w-who... I-I'm alright.."
"Did you scream?"
"I..did I? I'm sorry, it was just..a bad dream."
Looking down at the handle of the door, he found it slightly ajar and burnt about the the lock, but concern for Aeris' well being was his ulterior motive than finding out why the lock was burnt and jammed open. His hand closed on the jamb and he pushed it open.
Aeris was half curled up in bed, eyes red rimmed from crying in the half dark and her soft hair a disarrayed tumble about her oval face. Beautiful even in mournful crying, he mused.
Propping the gunblade up against the bed, Leon moved closer to Aeris, by sitting on the edge of the bed. He didn't want to frighten her, even if the memory of their shared kiss still lingered like sweet moisture on his lips, sweetness he doubted he could live without.
The ancient kept her face turned from him, fingers wiping at her eyes desperately and her whole frame shaking with the tears she could not allow to flow from distressed eyes. The stress of her nightmare still lingered, hollow and bitter, raging against the light she had only managed to half conjure despite her usual talent with magic spells.
"I didn't mean to wake you, I'm sorry.."
"What did you dream?" he asked softly.
She shook her head, "Old memories, bad memories."
~ Idiot. She had died once, remember? ~
"About dying?" Leon attempted to keep his tone light, and when the left hand tried sneaking up again to wipe tears he caught it, and held it down, thumb rubbing over the back of her hand and feeling the tendons that were lined up there casually. So soft.
"Y-yes.. other things too."
"Tell me about it, you can talk to me."
"I.." she turned and stared at him, and he smiled, aching for the pent up pain she would never truly be able to express out of concern for everyone else's feelings. Then she ducked her head, hair falling in a soft shower with the movement, strands picking up the light and burning with the soft cadence. "It was a while go, I was stabbed. I.. I didn't want to die. I wanted to save everyone, so no one would have to fight anymore."
He stayed silent as she shook again with fresh tears. "I...I told him everything would be okay, that we'd all be together and it would be over soon and I lied... and then paid for it."
"Aeris.."
Quietly she whispered in a broken voice, "I failed them.. Twice."
With a very slight movement, Leon drew the girl into his arms and buried his face in her hair, just holding her close as she cried and in his despair over her still somehow clinging to Cloud.. felt elation at having her in his arms.
~ Some Bodyguard.. I'll protect her now. Because.. ~
* * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey Sora, catch.."
The young boy blinked, turning as a log was thrown at his midsection, and he went down with it in a heap of feet he had yet to grow into and gangly limbs. The sand showered into his hair and past his eyes, and he smiled.
The sun was shining.
The sea was softly calling and splashing on the beach.
And Kairi and Riku, his best friends, were with him.
Riku stretched out on the sand next to him. He was taller than Sora by a good few inches, and built much more powerfully, the kind of build that would see him being bulkier in later life. His hair was prematurely white, and his eyes that were crinkled in sharp humour a bright turquoise.
"I'm tired out," he murmured to Sora, who nodded in return.
"Come on lazy bum, I'll race you to the beach house.." chirped Kairi, a girl tall for her age with a sleek bob of reddish brown, and bright blue eyes. She was possibly the prettiest thing Sora had ever seen, and he was more than half in love with her, though he kept such thoughts to himself.
"No way," groaned the older boy, digging his hands into the sand, and Sora turned aside to stifle a grin at this. Every single day was the same, she always knew exactly how to get their competetive streaks flaring. However, this time he was determined not to lose, and slowly bent his knees.
"One, two, Three... Go!"
He glanced at Riku with polished sapphire eyes.. and Riku at him.
Then in a shower of sand that like falling diamonds caught the sun, both boys got up, and began to race down the length of the beach, towards the house, with a laughing Kairi breathlessly following them..
Life was..perfect.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Later that day, Aeris happened to be doing the shopping for a change, but her own tastes for shopping ran slightly different to Yuffie's and inevitably she spent a lot of time just talking to the people as they were settling in, asking if they needed help with anything and giving up her time to help them if required. The words, "sweet girl" seemed forever imprinted upon her, and as that nature implied she did everything with a smile to ease the burdens they suffered.
Finally, after getting a few moments to herself in a town that never seemed to sleep she found herself walking through the third district and past some power cables that had been ruptured. Tilting her head, for even on her own world she had seen very little of electricity, made by mako. It sparked when she outstretched her fingers, and with a muffled cry she drew her hand back sharpish.
"Alright, won't be doing that again, Aeris," she murmured to herself with a wry smile.
Brushing the hand down the side of her pink skirts, she turned about and let her green gaze wander up past the slight smoky mist covering the stairs towards the empty doors, and then back to the plaza and the fountain that bubbled there. It was very quiet today.
Her other arm brought up the book it was holding and she cradled it to her chest. It was a small purple bounde book, with crinkled fabric cover. In it she had recorded her observations and a few thoughts and even poems. In the book she found she could make sense of the strange things she kept unearthing about the great man and scientist Ansem.. and it also brought her closer to the shadows.
She kept walking towards the steps up to the second district, head bent in furious thoughts. They just kept crowding in there, no matter how hard she tried to push them out, thoughts of home and future and the strange sensation that she should be doing something, but *what* eluded her as of yet.
Her footsteps were heavy, the boots striking the floor with a bit more force than she intended. They rang out across the empty plaza, and apart from the tinkling of the fountain and the faint whisper of maybe a brush over the floor she heard nothing else..
A brush?
Blinking, she slowed down, moving her arms from being wrapped about the book tightly, to having her fingers pressed to the books sides, white knuckled. There had been no sweeper when she had last scanned the vicinity, and with a quick lick of her suddenly dry lips, Aeris glanced over her shoulder.
It was empty.
~ Okay.. now I'm just trying to scare myself. ~
"H-Hello...?"
Her hair tickled the nape of her neck, but she jumped and clapped her left hand to the back of her neck, the bracelets jangling in fury. It stung, and she laughed, the kind of relieved hysterical laughter people do when they realise they are only chasing daydreams.
"Oh I'm so silly.." she laughed, shaking her head in rueful amusement, more at herself than anything.
"I wouldn't say so."
Her scream echoed over the buildings at the voice just by her ear, and with instinct taking over, she turned and swung the book full tilt at whatever had spoken. Her only driving thought was, what if it were Sephiroth? The book connected with something, and there was a solid thud and a disgruntled hmph.
Trying not to cower, she kept the book up close to her face and peeked round it, ignoring the shaking in her legs.
On the floor, almost flat on his back, was an elderly man in blue robes and a bent hat also of the same blue. His hair was long and white, his beard too, longer than any she had seen before. A battered leather bag sat on the floor next to him, with a shotish stick poking from the side of it, with hairs protruding from the end of it.
~ Now I'm beating up old men.. some kind, gentle person I am! ~
Mortified, and redder than she would have ever thought possible over her cheeks, the very heat searing her skin, she dropped the book and moved immediately over to the old man who was, by now, chuckling softly and slapping his knee like it was the greatest joke in the world.
"I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?!"
His old hand closed over hers and she blinked, looking down.
Magic.
It burnt her skin, but didn't. It was as if she was suddenly thrown into ice cold water, the shock of it made her gasp and then she looked up at him. Kindly blue eyes twinkled at her from under very bushy white brows.
"Magic," she whispered helplessly.
"Of course, what else do you expect of a magician? Give me a hand up then, be a good girl," He tapped the back of her hand and she blinked again, like a trance was shattered from her as he removed contact.
Still stammering apologies, she hooked hands carefully under the old mans elbows and helped him to his feet then watched in besmusment as he fussily sorted out his robes, then messed with his hat. Finally satisfied, he looked back at her.
"What's your name, young one?"
"Aeris Gainsborough."
"Ah," he nodded, "I'm Merlin. Practitioner of magic, and peddler of secrets. Owner of Mysteries and Scourge of the dark.. oh my, where's my wand?"
It was all the Ancient could do not to let her jaw drop. She had heard rumours and legends concerning Merlin, and then with a soft smile, she bent down and picked up his wand, marvelling at the feel of the soft, smooth wood. It too, brimmed with magic both strong and soft. Then as she stood back up, she handed it back to him.
His old hand closed over it, "Thank you, Aeris."
The jolt made her draw her hand back, biting down a small yelp.
His eyes only twinkled, but his voice belied the dark humour in those eyes, "You too practice magic."
It wasn't a question, no matter how she tried to twist it over in her mind, so she nodded in affirmation. He already knew... what else he knew was better left off in idle musings.
"So.." His eyes studied her, drawing conclusions, "What do you do?"
"I.. I came here when my world fell to the darkness. I am studying Ansem and the Heartless in a hope to save other worlds." She glanced down at the book, and so did the magician.
"Ah I see. Well, my world too was destroyed. They came in through the Keyhole and changed it, destroying it eventually." The eyes were engulfed by bushy brows as he frowned. Aeris watched him, clasping hands behind her back as she had a habit of doing. "Careful, mind you, standing too close to the shadows can make you forget yourself."
"I know."
Something in her tone made him look up with worry in his blue eyes, then he smiled, and the beard moved with it. She smiled back, trying to shut emotions from her face, something she wasn't the greatest at. The dream of Sephiroth still lingered too much for her liking.
"Well, I am always more than willing to help, just say the word.. I have occasional living quarters over there," he pointed the wand at the strange door with a fire sign on it, "and I wonder, could I prevail upon you for some help?"
"Of course," she said immediately, and the old man bent down, opening the small leather bag and digging about in it.. then moments later he straightened up and tugged what looked to be a large and very tattered book from his bag. She frowned. It seemed impossible for a book so large to come from a bag so small. He gave her no time to dwell on it though, pushing the book into her hands.
"Can you find someone in town to repair this for me? It fell into my possession and is so ruined it's a wonder the poor thing still exists."
"Oh, I'm sure Cid can do it."
"Well, I have a few things to do, but it was nice meeting you. Don't be afraid to find me for advice," he tapped his hat with his wand, and then picking up his bag walked off down the stairs and round towards the strange door.
Left halfway on the stairs, Aeris watched him go, then looked down to her feet where her book still lay. Sighing she put the heavy old book under one arm, and then picked up her purple notebook, and flipped through it to make sure none of her work was spoiled. Then gasped.
Written on the next clean page in her book, in neat red ink and cursive script were the words, "I saw the Key in you. You're getting closer.. heed your dreams."
Trembling, she put the book against her chest, and then covered it with the old book. With one last scan, noting the old magician had vanished beyond his door, Aeris turned and began walking at a faster than normal pace, towards the first district doors..
* * * * * * * * * *
The laugh echoed and they cringed.
He came here more often now, to look at them and through them. His face held no fear and his soul only hate, hate and madness.
Even they cringed from it.
But soon Kingdom Hearts would come, eternal shadows such as Ansem had promised them.
He spoke often of wanting to meet Ansem.
He sometimes spoke of witches, pirates and gods.. or places they didn't know. They had lost memory along with hearts.. Heartless.
"Pitiful," he said scathingly and often, his face drawn and brooding over the over-sized sword.
Darker and darker, they grew stronger and bolder.
And he only taunted them with his blazing, green eyes.
With the turning of a single key.. they were Unlocked into yet another world.
And he laughed..