It is finally time I share this story. I wrote out this idea a while ago but I was waiting till I got some other thing updated first before I got to this. Now I bring you an idea for the sheer randomness and fun!
Also thanks to Luna Lillyth and tmart.x13 again for helping out with planning and stuff with the story.
The path before her was twisted in darkness and vines. Everywhere she looked Aqua saw more vines twisting to the skies. Aqua didn't stop though, slashing and striking at each vine that sprouted up in front of her. Though the phantoms of Terra and Ventus and vanished, she still persisted on her path. She was going to find them, no matter what.
"I need to find them… I can't be alone like this. I'm going to find them…" Aqua thought to herself.
After what she had encountered with the phantoms of herself, she had never felt so shaken. She had come to the realization that the darkness had been seeping into her. She could feel it closing in, crawling through the cracks that had formed in her heart.
In order to move on, more and more vines and thorns had to be cleared, but once they were out of the way, it lead down into a large ravine. Once Aqua was down there, in the corner of her eye she saw them again. But just like before they faded into golden light. But that was all she needed to keep herself on track.
She ran as dark creatures appeared on all sides of her, blocking her path. She halted herself before summoning back her keyblade and charged at them. She didn't want to waste too much time, fearing the visions of Terra and Ventus would stop. She had to keep looking for them and she wanted to hold on to some hope at least.
Running forward once the creatures were cleared out, vines sprouted up from the ground again. After they were clear, she was ready to move forward again when she noticed something else. She thought it was another monster of darkness and prepared to fight, but the closer it got, she saw that it looked to be humanistic.
Aqua staggered backwards, still holding up her keyblade defensively. "A person? Or just another phantom illusion?"
Whatever or whomever it was started to come closer, but a vine sprouted up from the ground in front of them. With no time to react, the person fell forward, letting out a pained grunt and yell. The voice sure did sound real enough to Aqua, but with everything she had encountered so far there was still no way of knowing. The sound could sound as real as she wanted it to, but in the end it could all be another trick.
Carefully she approached the fallen person, and the closer she got, she noticed something recognizable about them. It wasn't Terra or Ventus, but it was in fact someone she knew. It raised a lot of questions in her mind though. So far she had only seen phantoms of Terra and Ventus, as well as darkened versions of herself. But who she was seeing now she had not expected.
Crouching down, she looked carefully to get a good look at the face of the person in question. And it was exactly who she had thought it to be. There was no mistaking that black spiky hair. "Z-Zack?"
Zack groaned, his eyes shut with his entire face grimacing in pain. There were cuts and gashes covering his face as well as the rest of his body from what Aqua could tell. She could see the tears in his clothing and dents in his armor from many battles that must have happened to him prior.
"No… No more voices or illusions. I don't want to hear them anymore…"
Zack mumbled his words while staying crumpled up on the ground. Before Aqua could even have a moment to question her new thoughts she saw the vines begin to wrap around Zack's leg. Even though she still couldn't fully trust herself to believe this was real, she was not about to stand around and find out the hard way. She slashed away at the vines until they disappeared back into the ground, having them release Zack before any real damage could have been done.
He breathed out slowly before his eyes opened up, revealing his vibrant blue eyes. He searched around himself before his eyes fell onto Aqua. Both of them now had the same look of confusion when their eyes locked. Zack sat himself up into a kneeling position while Aqua keeled down to meet his eye level. She unsummoned her keyblade and tried to process what was happening now.
It was clear they were having the exact same thoughts, but neither of them had the right words to speak. They only were able to stare at one another and kept on wondering the most burning question of them all… was the other real?
Without words still they both reached up a hand and slowly extend it towards one another. Aqua flinched upon feeling the solid and tangible hand push up against hers. Unlike the other phantoms she had encountered, she could actually touch and feel Zack here. Her hand didn't go through him and his image didn't fade.
"Aqua? Is… is that really you?" Zack asked before he reached out his other hand.
Aqua held out hers too and once again their hands touched. They laced their fingers together and held tightly. Now that she saw that Zack was clearly real and her eyes were not playing tricks, she started to feel the tears swell up in them. Releasing her hands from Zack, she reached forward and wrapped her arms around him, once again finding so much relief in the fact he was truly tangible.
"Zack! I can't believe… someone else… I'm not alone…" Aqua's words became broken upon speaking, but she didn't care. All that mattered to her was that she had found someone. It wasn't who she was expecting, but it was someone at least.
Zack then placed his arms around her. "I agree… I thought I was all alone here. I've been wandering for who knows how long now… I thought this was it for me. But you're here too. You know…"
Zack paused as the two of them pulled back from their sudden hug. A familiar smile crossed his face. The smile of a young boy Aqua had nearly forgotten about since her journey turned south. So much had happened since she had her first meeting with Zack, but there was no way she could ever forget that smile he had.
"This is a pretty weird place for a date."
Aqua blinked at him, almost appalled he would make such a comment. But then she remembered. She thought back to when they had met at the Coliseum in Olympus and the events that had transpired there for them.
'Hmm... Hey, how about one date?'
Even trapped in a darkened world, this kind and optimistic boy she had met still had the ability to be cheerful and flirtatious. It was something she had to give him credit for. She never would have expected to hear anything like this after everything she had been through. Slowly she started to laugh, and almost found it strange.
"When was the last time I actually laughed? I can't remember now… but it feels good," Aqua thought. She then recalled the other half of the conversation that had happened with Zack back then.
"How can you find a way to make a joke in a place like this?" Aqua asked softly once her laughter had died down.
"Hey, I gotta keep up my charisma and charm somehow," Zack replied.
Aqua laughed again. She was more than happy to have someone to talk to. Someone who really was there and would reply back to her. It was something she had missed in all of her time here. Though that still left her with one major question.
"Zack… how did you get here?"
Zack opened his mouth to answer when the dark creatures surrounded them. Thankfully it was only a few of the flying ones and shadowy ones that crawled on the ground. But Aqua jumped back to her feet and readied her keyblade. She saw Zack stand up next to her and hold out what she thought was his sword… but there was something that looked different about it. It only took a second to process before Aqua went into fighting off them. When she saw him fighting with it, it finally made sense.
Half of the sword was broken! He was fighting with only half of his sword, and was struggling to keep the creatures from damaging him. Aqua gripped her keyblade tighter and she performed a series of quick lock on attacks to clear out the remaining ones. Once they were gone she grabbed Zack's wrist and pulled him back the way she had come from.
"This way."
She let him back to where the ravine had started. Not only were there no dark creatures there at the time, but there was also far less vines and thorns to pop up on them. She let go of Zack she held up her keyblade over his head and cast a Curaga over him. Green healing light fell onto his skin and started to heal up all of the wounds that he had.
"Wow! Thanks Aqua! That feels great," Zack smiled with relief. "It's been a while since I was at my fullest. I only had a couple a potions when I ended up here and I lost those so long ago."
"But Zack, how did you get here?" Aqua asked, hoping this time there would be no more dark creatures to interrupt.
Zack's smile faltered slightly. "I… I don't really remember what happened. It was a few days after you had left and I was outside of the coliseum. I was watching Phil and Herc and then… everything's a bit of a blur." Zack rubbed his forehead, trying to put as much thought as he could into it. "I think I was fighting someone, but I can't remember too much…"
Aqua reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Its okay if you cannot remember. Don't stress yourself over that fact."
Zack nodded. "How about you though? Do you remember? Maybe there is some connection in that?"
Aqua shifted as she withdrew her hand. Images danced in her mind, replaying the events that had led her to come to the dark world. It was all on her choice to protect Terra. She wasn't even sure if what she had done had worked, but she could only hope. Though after seeing all of these phantoms, she was no longer too sure.
"H-Hey sorry!" Zack replied as he saw the expression on Aqua's face. "If it's too much to talk about you don't have to."
Aqua nodded before glancing back to the broken sword in Zack's hand. "Thank you. But if I can ask you one more thing, what happened to your sword?"
"Ah yeah, it's a bit silly to see me running around with half a sword. I guess it's not really meant to be fighting these creatures. They wore down my sword pretty fast and it snapped before I knew it. But I've been managing! It's something different but I am doing my best to handle it!"
Aqua found herself smiling, again a rarity for her now but a welcomed feeling. She wished she could hold as much positive energy as Zack did. Things would be so much easier if that were the case. But Zack hadn't gone through the things she has been through. She knew Zack had seen phantoms, most likely of people he knew, but other than that she was sure that he hadn't had to face phantoms of himself. At least she hoped the young boy hadn't experienced anything like that.
Though now she was faced with a dilemma. She knew for a fact that she couldn't leave Zack on his own. After both of them had been journeying by themselves, she knew there was no way they would separate. It would be cruel of her to let him go back to wandering alone. Plus Zack was the first and only real person she had encountered here, and she wasn't about to let that go. But… there was no way Zack would be able to keep up with her if he had a broken weapon. And it would only be a crutch to the both of them in the long run of it all.
There was only one option she knew of that could make things a bit easier. But it still came with a lot of thought and consideration. After all, Aqua still did not feel too confident with herself as a keyblade master anymore. That was part of it that played to her fear in even doing this.
Was she really good enough to be doing this? Was she still worthy enough to pass on such an important power to another? She worried deeply about this, but she knew that it was an important choice. It was a choice that would help make the situation easier. She wasn't going to stand there and leave Zack to be helpless. Thankfully she also trusted Zack and knew that he was a good guy.
She summoned her keyblade and breathed in deeply. "Zack, I am going to ask you to do something. You are going to need a weapon to fight these creatures, and it has to be something that can do proper damage and give you protection as well as defense."
"Sure, but where am I going to get one like how you have?"
She held out the handle towards Zack. "I am going to give you the ability to use the keyblade."
"Wait really? But what about you though? We both can't use the same weapon."
Aqua shook her head. "No it's not like that. What I mean is that I am going to bestow the power to use the keyblade to you. So you will be able to have your own. All it takes is passing on the power to someone of my choice and for that person to have a heart strong enough to wield one. And I know that your heart is strong enough to do so."
Zack smiled. "Aw well thanks Aqua, that means a lot. So that means I would have my own keyblade? Like how you, Terra, and Ven all had different ones from each other?"
"Yes, that's correct. Your keyblade will be your own based on your heart, but it will take some time to get used to using it. I will help of course. Now all you need to do is place your hand on the handle."
Zack reached out his hand slowly and placed his hand on the handle. Aqua closed her eyes as she thought about the power that the keyblade had and possessed. There was a glow of light that surrounded the handle and their hands. And then a moment later it faded and it was gone.
The raven haired boy pulled his hand back and examined it now, looking it over as if there had been some major change with it. "That's it? It's that simple?"
Aqua nodded. "Usually there is a special mantra said along with it, but I feel we don't really have the time for that. All you need to do now is to call upon the power you now have and summon your keyblade to you from your heart. Hold out your hand and think about the power you feel and call it to you. It may take some time to get use to it though or even summon it."
"Okay, I'll try," Zack nodded. He closed his eyes before holding out his hand.
While he concentrated, Aqua kept an eye on their surroundings, but there were still no dark creatures that had come close to them. Though, Aqua could tell they were still there, hiding and waiting. Aqua gripped her keyblade, ready for when that moment would come. What the main focus was though was on Zack and seeing if he could really summon a keyblade.
She believed in him though. They may have only met once before, but she still knew that his heart would be strong enough. He had met not only her, but also Terra and Ven and had become friends with all of them. If his strength to make friends easily wasn't proof enough, then it would have to be his strong determination to become a hero.
Suddenly a light flashed, which caught her attention, and she saw there was a keyblade in Zack's hand. It was a simple blade, with the blade having its side jagged as though small pieces were worn off from a hard struggle. The base part of the blade had tanned fabric wrapped around it like a bandage. Short steal rods stuck out from the top section of the handle guard and the overall color of it was a dark grey metal color, though the handle itself was a dark red. What hung from the keychain was a detailed, embedded design of a wolf.
Zack blinked, total shock and surprise covering every inch of his face. He held up the blade high above him to inspect it. "Wow… I didn't expect to do it on my first try! This is amazing!"
Laughter came from Aqua again when she saw Zack's enthusiasm. But it wasn't able to last long as the dark creatures decided to finally make their move. Several different kinds surrounded them on all sides and started to close in.
"Okay Zack, it's time for some hands-on training. The keyblade may be different to use than a regular sword, but you've seen it in use. Figure out what works for you and let's go!"
Aqua began attacking the creatures around her before taking a glance to Zack. Much to her surprise he was already moving quickly around the darkness dwelling monsters, performing a series of quick slashes and attacks as his enemies. Even with his new large keyblade, he was quickly getting into a rhythm of striking down an enemy, then quickly jumping over to the next.
It wasn't long before all of the monsters had been cleared out from the area again. Aqua put away her keyblade before turning to Zack, who was practicing some swings more casually now that he was free to do so.
"You picked up using the keyblade fairly well, but there is still a long way to go," Aqua instructed, wanting to make sure that Zack knew it wouldn't all be easy.
"Oh I know, but at least I have you for my teacher. I should be caught up in no time flat!" Zack said before grinning kindly.
"A-Ah… oh I don't think… I'm not really that… Though I am a master of the keyblade I don't consider myself much of a teacher," Aqua mumbled before dropping her gaze.
"You're a master of the keyblade?! But that sounds so cool! I'm sure that you will do a great job at it, and I'll be the best student I can be! You can trust me Aqua! And you don't have to worry, I'm pretty low-maintenance, I promise!"
The corners of her lips curled up. Another smile had come to her and she welcomed it again and it was soon followed by bubbly laughter. Zack's cheerfulness was something that could probably rival Ventus's. It made sense why they must have become friends and the same would go for him and Terra.
"Thanks Zack," Aqua said after she stopped laughing.
Zack smiled. "You're welcome! So what's the plan? Where are we going to head next?"
"I'm not sure…" Aqua trailed off. She was not about to tell Zack about the phantoms she had seen even though she had heard him mumbling about seeing his own. She didn't want to seem foolish for chasing after something that was clearly not real. "I was heading in the direction that you ran from… but why did you run from there?"
"There these massive monsters! Like they had be ten stories high! I knew I wouldn't be able to fight them so I ran as fast as I could."
"Ah, it's those dark creatures," Aqua commented, remembering that she had seen them before back when she first entered this place. "Just stick by me and we can handle it together. Along the way I am going to have to teach you some magic. I can't have you running into battle without at least knowing a healing spell."
The two of them began to walk down the path, side by side. Aqua started to give her explanation on magic and how to channel through the keyblade for the best result. Though it was usually expected to start off with more basic spells such as fire or blizzard, Aqua decided to jump right to cure. It was going to be the most useful in battle anyways over the others.
Though soon the discussion moved from magic to something else. "So my keyblade, why does it look this way compared to the others I've seen?"
"The keyblade takes its shape after its owner or something like that. It is to reflect them in some ways, I suppose. I haven't really given too much thought to it," Aqua replied.
Zack summoned his keyblade again and examined it as they walked. "So it's like representing that I've been through a lot of tough situations and are more used to using a sword over a keyblade? Cause this looks more sword-like than keyblade."
"That sounds like it could make sense, but it is different for everyone. After all you saw what my keyblade looked like and then Terra and Ven's."
"Yeah, oh speaking of your keyblade. After what you just said, why do you have a different one now?"
Aqua stopped walking. Her entire body tensed up as the memories came crawling back. "It was… it belongs to my master."
It only took those simple words and a lonely expression on Aqua's face for Zack to understand. He put an arm around her and pulled her closer into a hug. "Hey, sorry again I asked. Looks like you've been through a lot more than I have. Just take it easy."
Aqua nodded as she started to take in deep breaths. "Thank you again… it really helps to have someone to talk to. I've been wandering for so long, I've forgotten how the company of others can really lighten the mood."
"Same, but we're here together now. And now we can work to find a way out, right?" Zack asked.
"I hope so… I need to get back to the realm of light. I have to find Terra and Ven."
It looked for a moment that Zack was going to ask, but he closed his mouth shortly after. He continued to hold Aqua as he nodded. "We'll find a way. I'll help you find Terra and Ven, they are my friends too after all. I bet with the two of us working together we can do it!"
"Are you always this optimistic?" Aqua asked.
"I try my best to be."
Aqua sighed. "I really wish I could have that optimism. It would be nice… maybe it would help keep the darkness away from my heart."
"Don't say things like that," Zack said, turning to face Aqua directly. "I know you are strong Aqua. I could tell that about you from when I first met you. You are a hero, and heroes have strong hearts and can't be defeated easily."
Aqua's eyes swelled up slightly. She didn't know how to explain it, but Zack's words were truly helpful. Sure they were words she had heart all before about the heart being strong, but with Zack she found it to be different. There was a kindness and wonder to his eyes when he spoke. He meant every word he said dearly and it really showed once he said it. She went to wipe away the sudden tears before she looked to Zack again. "I keep having to thank you so much. You always seem to know what to say."
"Like I said, I try my best. It's what I have to do and what I believe a good hero would do. You ready to move on?" Zack asked.
"Yeah, let's go," Aqua said, finding a new resolve filling inside of her. "We are going to find a way out of here and no monsters will stand in our way."
"That's the spirit!" Zack chimed happily.
The two moved forward until they reached a clearing, leaving all the twisted vines and thorns behind them. But once they were out, the large creature that Zack had mentioned stood in front of them. It loomed there, with the pieces of what could be called hair flowing around its head. It was as if it had been waiting for them, and now that they were here it was ready to strike.
Aqua took a few steps forward and summoned her keyblade again. The resolve and determination was still growing in her and she was ready to use that to her advantage. "You're not going to stand in our way, and you aren't going to keep us from finding our friends!"
Without another word she charged at the towering monster, as it was reaching its hand down to the ground to start one of its attacks. Aqua tried to strike the hand as much as she could, but it wasn't enough to disrupt it from pulling an orb of darkness from the ground.
Jumping back a little she focused herself and created a series of shotlock blasting attacks, hitting the dark creature all over its body. As it was raising its hand to cast the dark orb into the sky, Aqua jumped as high as she could, using his magic and momentum to get herself higher to go at it again.
As it released the dark orb into the sky Aqua landed back down to the ground and looked for Zack. He had been trying to attack the other hand as much as he could. He was jumping as high as he could and giving plenty of hard handed hits.
The creature dropped down to its knees and prepared once again for another attack. Both Aqua and Zack charged in and continued their onslaught of attacks. Within many regular attacks Aqua used several magic spells, not only as a way to do more damage but also as a way to demonstrate magic to Zack. Though they were in the heat of a battle she could only hope that he could catch a glimpse of it and start to learn. If he was as fast a learner as she thought he was, they on his own pace, he would be able to get it within time.
The next time the dark creature lowered itself down to the ground Aqua went to attack its head. She cast another series of magic attacks and backed off when it pulled up yet another dark orb. She could tell that the creature was wearing down, its attacks were becoming slower and less powerful. It didn't take they much longer before it was defeated.
When it collapsed and disappeared into the darkness, Aqua sighed with relief. "Zack, do you need anything healed up?" she asked as she walked over towards him.
Zack stretched before shaking his head. "I think I'm good for right now. But I really gotta learn how to use magic. That was amazing what you did there. I know we battled in the coliseum before, but seeing you fight these creatures is something else. You fight so gracefully, it's beautiful."
Aqua could feel her cheeks growing warm. Zack was flirting with her again and giving her his honesty flatly. She knew it was that, and it still made her feel nervous inside. There was a faint fluttering feeling in her stomach and she wasn't sure how to understand it.
"It's only a compliment… I shouldn't be so nervous about it," Aqua thought to herself before regaining her composure.
"Your fighting style is also something to talk about, even when you had your old sword you were able to move so quickly. Jumping around like an acrobat, it's quite impressive."
Zack smiled happily as he placed a hand behind his head. "Aw thanks Aqua."
"Now for conveniences, you can dismiss your keyblade," Aqua said before demonstrating. "To bring it back takes the same concentration to call it forth like before."
"Okay, I got it," Zack said before his keyblade vanished before him.
After that they started to walk again, making their way through the darkened cavern-like areas. When they turned around a corner Aqua saw them again… the phantoms of Terra and Ven. She let out a barely audible gasp, but did not slow her walking. Thankfully it seemed that Zack had not noticed.
"Am I the only one who can see them? Or maybe Zack is trying to be like me and not draw attention to it. Perhaps I should ask…"
"Oh, Aqua, one more question for now. Speaking of these creatures… what even are they?" Zack asked, thankfully distracting her from the thoughts of the phantoms.
"I do not know what they are called, all I know is that they are dwellers of darkness," Aqua replied.
"That's a bit to say, maybe we should think of something easier to call them?" Zack suggested.
"Maybe so, but what would we even call them?" Aqua asked.
"Don't know, maybe… maybe just go simple and call them Shadows? Most of the ones I have seen have blended in with the shadows regardless of their height."
"I suppose that could work," Aqua nodded. "Something simple it is."
As they exited out of the next section, another towering Shadow stood several feet before them. It plunged its hand into the ground, causes a pool of darkness to form. From it many smaller ones with little antennas emerged and started to crawl towards Zack and Aqua.
"If you can Zack, this would be a good time to try and practice magic, if you cannot get a healing spell to work, try another," Aqua instructed before running out to fight them.
Aqua had started to fight them, taking them out after several consistent blows. She turned to Zack to see how he was doing, but saw that he did not have his keyblade out. He jumped back out of each attack trying to steer clear of them.
Aqua charged to Zack and cast a reflective barrier spell over him. She then took out the remaining creatures within seconds. When she was done she turned to Zack, looking for any injuries but he looked just fine.
"Aqua, what happened? I couldn't get the keyblade to summon…" Zack pouted slightly as he tried to figure out what the reason could be.
"It's okay, you just acquired the power of the keyblade. It will take you a bit until you can get use to it."
"Ahh… I think I get it. But darn, I was so excited to get to using it again and try some magic. I guess I just gotta keep trying though," Zack said, still retaining his cheery optimism.
"That's good to hear. Keep at it and you will get it. I know you will. Ready to move on then?"
"Yeah, let's keep going forward, and don't worry, next time I will be ready," Zack replied smirking with confidence. He began to look around, a little curious look crossing his face. "Though which way do we go now?"
Aqua searched around the area, and then in the corner of her eye she spotted something… two somethings. Another set of phantom images of Terra and Ventus stood in the far area opposite them. Aqua breathed in while she continued to stare. They were just standing there faded but still glowing.
"How many more times will I have to have their phantoms haunt me… when will I be able to actually find them…"
Suddenly she felt something grabbed her shoulder. She jumped back and was about to summon her keyblade when she saw it was only Zack. He looked at her, worry etched into his face. "Aqua? You okay there?"
"Yes," Aqua answered softly. "I'm fine. I was… only thinking which was to go. I think we should head onward that way," She pointed in the direction where the phantoms still stood.
"Okay, let's head that way then. But seriously, are you sure you are okay? You look a bit pale."
Aqua shook her head. Clearly she was the only one able to see those phantoms. Though she did recall when she first came across Zack that he mentioned seeing illusions as well. At this point seemed that his illusions were different than hers.
It was something only in mind that was wanting to mess around with her. As much as she didn't want to burden Zack with her own burdens and distress, there was something about his concerned look that made her feel more at ease.
She breathed in slowly before looking to him. "I thought I saw faint images of something… or someone." She thought about telling the entire truth, but she didn't want Zack to worry too much for her. It didn't matter the details, only the basic subject matter anyways.
"You did?" Zack said. "Like an illusion of some kind?"
Aqua turned away, almost feeling ashamed that something like that had happened to her. "Yeah… like that."
"Aqua," Zack said reaching for her hand. He held it gently in hers and she finally looked back at him. "You don't have to feel bad about seeing illusions of people. I saw illusions too before I ran into you. They may not be real, but maybe it could be a sign of some kind. But what we can't forget is that we are real, and we are here for each other."
Aqua stared at Zack before her eyes drifted to his hand that held hers. She could feel the warmth from it… a sure sign that he was real. There was no illusion that could ever give that warm feelings. Once again she was glad she had found Zack, though she knew it wasn't fortunate that he was trapped with her in the darkened realm. It was unfortunate for both of them, but Zack had a point. They were here for each other. Without the other they would have probably been lost for longer.
Breathing in again she started to nod in agreement. She adjusted her hand so she also held onto his. She then gave it a gentle squeeze and smiled. "Yes, your right Zack. Thank you. Let's continue moving now."
I seriously wrote out this chapter and could not find a good enough place to break it. So I hope you all enjoyed this nice long chapter! Thanks for reading!