Ch.12
"So, you've been with Aqua this entire time?" Terra asked.
After the group hug, the four of them took a moment to sit and regain their strength. No other Heartless or members of Organization XIII seemed to be near, which led them to finally relax a little.
"For the most part yeah," Zack nodded.
"We found each other when in the Realm of Darkness," Aqua answered. "We encountered you there, do you recall?"
Terra placed a hand to his chin, giving it some thought. "I think… I recall something. A lot of my time with being locked away for so long has made my memories hazy."
Aqua shook her head. "Don't stress yourself for now. What matters is that you're back."
"But now what are we going to do?" Ventus asked. "Sora still went on head. He still could use our help!"
"We'll go soon enough Ven," Aqua said. "Rest more though, your body is still tired."
"Yeah! We'll meet up to join the action after you've better. And that also includes you too, Aqua. Not letting you push yourself anymore," Zack said as he pulled Aqua into a side hug. "You need plenty of rest too."
Aqua hummed softly, touched by Zack's care and consideration. She felt her body relax within his hold, and for that moment she could feel that peace she so desperately needed again. "Thank you, Zack."
"Sure thing," Zack said with his usual warm smile.
Ventus started to laugh. "Well it looks like you two have a lot to tell us."
"Wh-What? Ven!" Aqua scolded. She pulled away from Zack quickly as she felt her cheeks renden. "No it's nothing like that!"
Aqua could see that Zack's face was also just as nervous and red as hers probably was. She didn't understand why they kept having these rather close moments with Zack. It felt like it was happening a lot more frequently yet still only had happened a couple of times.
Ventus still smiled at her. "If you say so! But you still can tell us later."
"Oh knock it off Ven, let them be," Terra replied as he lightly shoved him. "They'll tell us when they're ready."
"Terra!" Aqua shouted.
"What?" Terra laughed. "Can't I have a little fun? We haven't had a chance to sit and chat for fun in a while… even if it feels like barely any time has passed."
"Yeah… around a decade or so has passed for all of us, right?" Zack asked. "But we all look the same since we last saw each other. Kind of weird. If I go home… everyone I know will be older."
Aqua hummed in agreement. "I know how you feel. Seeing Riku, Sora, and Kairi as teenagers is a strange thing. I saw them when they were so young."
"I remember that as well," Terra added. "When I met Riku he was only 5-years-old, now he is only a few years younger than me."
"So very weird," Zack sighed. "Wait! Does that mean like everyone everywhere is older? Like even Hercules? We all remember him, right?"
"Oh yeah! Herc! I wonder if he ever got to be a hero," Ventus smiled.
"Maybe once this is all said and done we could go and visit," Aqua replied.
Terra nodded in agreement. "I think that does sound nice."
"Hey!" someone called out. "Is this where everyone is deciding to hangout or what?"
The four tuned to see Axel headed their way with two others in Organization right by his side. One was a girl with black hair and the other had blond hair… looking strikingly similar to Ventus.
"Whoa wait a minute!" Zack exclaimed. "Is there something I'm missing or am I the only one that didn't know Ventus had a twin? Or was that what Axel was talking about before?"
"I don't even know… but let's find out," Ventus muttered, looking completely shocked by the other boy.
He jumped up to his feet and started running towards him. The Ventus look alike did the same as the two of them came to stop just a few feet in front of each other, staring confused at one another.
"I guess it's time that I explain this, I said I would after all. About Ventus and Roxas," Axel said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "But man… where to begin?"
Everyone was looking at Axel now, waiting for his response. Even Ventus and the other boy were waiting just as patiently. Axel had to take in another sigh before he started to talk about the subject.
"So a while back Sora lost his heart. Most cases that makes a Nobody like us if you have a strong heart, which Sora does, but the thing is… Kairi somehow was able to bring him back. But his Nobody still was already in existence. Now here's where it gets a bit weirder…" Axel groaned as he shook his head. "Ven's heart had been resting in Sora's heart for who knows how long, so when Sora lost his heart, Ven's went along with it."
"Oh…" Ventus said. "So did my heart stay with Roxas?"
"Don't know about that," Axel shrugged. "But that's why you two are look-alikes. That's the best that I can explain it."
Ventus smiled warmly towards Roxas. "Well I've always wanted a twin brother! I think it'll be really cool."
"Likewise," Roxas nodded.
"And who are you?" Zack asked as he saw the girl who stayed close to Axel's side.
"This is Xion," Roxas said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Our friend. We forgot about her at first, but we have our memories back now."
Everyone smiled at Xion, offering a warm hello to her. Shyly she smiled and waved back. "Thank you, everyone. It's an honor to meet all of you. It really is nice to be back with my friends."
"Yeah, we got what we needed, but Xemnas still got away in the end. Sora went on ahead though after helping," Axel explained.
"We really should hurry along, Sora's going to need our help sooner than later," Terra said as he stood up. "I think we've sat around long enough."
"Then let's get rolling!" Zack exclaimed.
With a smile from the rest of the group they all nodded. It took a bit of navigating to get through the maze that Xehanort had created, but eventually they found their way out. Up head they could see where Sora, Donald, and Goofy were, standing up on one of the higher stone mountains.
The large shape of Kingdom Hearts floating in the skies above them, coming off as foreboding and omnibus in color. Zack couldn't help but gawk at the size of the thing. He already could feel the unease just from staring at it, and he could see that the rest of the group looked just the same.
After a bit of conversation over what Xehanort had done, Riku and Mickey also joined the group. They figured out quickly what to do, though Zack was mostly just nodding along with it all. They all set up to point their keyblades at Xehanort, who hovered before the massive heart in the sky.
With Sora at the front, all of them shot rays of light out and the beams grew in size. They all hit different areas of the heart while Sora's ray of light struck Xehanort directly. In a bright flash of light Sora, Donald, Goofy, as well as Xehanort were all gone from sight.
Everyone kept on holding their positions, with their keyblades still glowing with light. While they waited and all hoped for the best, Xion noticed that the spots of light that had penetrated the heart were beginning to be consumed by darkness. Armored figures soon shot out from within the dark heart and hovered over the group, looking like they were ready to strike at any moment.
"Looks like we got company," Zack shouted to the group.
"Get ready!" Riku said as he was ready to summon back his keyblade.
The wind picked up, sweeping the group away before they could truly fight. But now they were floating further up in the sky, all with the thirteen armored enemies surrounding them. It wasn't long before the group was nearly back to back and ready to fight once more.
With a deep breath Zack fought right alongside everyone else, watching their own moves and attacks carefully. He had only fought along Aqua for the most part, but now he was really smack up right against other great keyblade wielders.
Still part of him doubted how strong he really was compared to the others, but he knew he wasn't alone. Axel was also newer to using the keyblade as well and yet he fought so well. Maybe it was due to his past of already knowing how to fight, but by that reasoning, Zack knew he would be able to. He just had to keep trying.
When everything was finally all said and done, and Xehanort had been properly defeated, the group watched Sora leave. Zack didn't understand what was happening, or why Sora had to head off, but Aqua assured him that it would be okay.
Now all that was left was to finally have that time to rest and relax. There were no more Heartless or Nobodies to fight. Everyone checked and confirmed Xehanort and the rest of the Organization were all gone for good.
While the group piled into the gummi ship to be taken home, Zack couldn't help but look out at the window. Eventually Aqua came up beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, just a lot of battling. Tired me out," Zack laughed softly. "Guess it feels weird to finally get to relax."
"Do you want to go home? Like your own world?" Aqua offered. "You're from Radiant Garden like Axel is, right?"
"Yeah I am, I think I may have even met him once now that I think about it. But it was so long ago… I've been missing for 10 years. Kind of weird to be going back, you know what I mean? So I was thinking… couldn't I go to your home? In the meantime at least?"
Even though Zack's question was simple enough, he still could still see the shock on Aqua'a face, followed by the slight redness in her cheeks. "O-Oh, well I supposed it wouldn't be too bad. There are plenty of rooms. I'm sure Ven and Terra wouldn't mind either."
"Sweet! Sounds like a plan. And maybe… we could still have that one date?"
Aqua laughed softly. "You're still thinking about that?"
"Well yeah! We saved the whole universe! I think rewarding ourselves with a date sounds pretty good."
"I'll take you up on that," Aqua hummed.
It was really hard to believe. The worlds were finally safe and Xehanort was no more. For once, Aqua really could rest and relax.
So really, a date really didn't sound so bad after all.
Finally after all that work, I can get to the soon end of this story. Just a few more chapters most likely but I got the plans don't worry.