Final Fantasy XV - Kingdom Hearts

Part 27

Summary: Two warriors of Light, the Chosen King and Keyblade Master, face an unseen Darkness

*Nightfall*

Laying down on the bedroll staring up into the stars above through the wing curved pillars, Aqua silently watched them twinkle and glow in silence. The silence of the cave brought not apprehension or worry to her, unlike in the realm of darkness where silence was a sign for heartless to prowl around her.

Here in the realm of light, silence was welcoming like a visitor whose company is always pleasant. Hands resting on her stomach as she remained still on her bedroll, her heart feeling lighter like a heavy burden was finally taken off her shoulders, a sense of peace she hadn't felt in so long had returned to her.

The silence was broken when her partner spoke up.

'How does Anti-Aqua work exactly? I mean, Terra I get but if you're here, then who's that?', Gladiolus asked his bedroll next to hers. Aqua herself had been pondering that possibility herself since she started talking about the whole thing. 'I'm not entirely sure…when I was in the realm of darkness, I fought several illusionary versions of myself, trying to drag me further down into the darkness', she explained, restraining that shiver. 'But none of them looked like her, just mirror versions of me'.

Gladiolus hummed in thought, one hand behind his head as the river of information pooled in his mind. The master had told him everything that had occurred from the day she became a master, to falling into the darkness and finally being rescued by Sora. Her trials she faced both in the realms of light and darkness, the adversaries she fought and triumphed, and the losses she had to endure.

The shield's respect for this woman, if possible, had grown further from these tales. Enduring such solitude from everyone she cared for, fighting every day just to preserve herself a little longer in the desperate hope that her friends will find her and bring her home. Hearing her pour out everything that had happened to her, it also fuelled a new hate for the man who did this to her, and while he may still carry that grudge with Terra from before, a new sympathy was planted in his heart for the poor man.

It also made him question more about her master's decisions, not in regards to choosing her as a master, but more on the line of attempting to eliminate Ventus and Terra. His heart twisted for the woman, uncertain how he'd react if his father ever attempted to lay a hand on Noctis and Prompto.

'You said that, when that Ansem guy hit you with the darkness, he managed to plant some of Xehanort's corruption into control your heart right?', he asked, seeking clarity. 'Somewhat, given where I was, sinking into the ocean's dark depths, I had little chance to protect my heart from him', she explained. 'Unlike what happened to Terra, I didn't lose my body or heart to it. The darkness just possessed my negative emotions and without the keyblade to protect myself, I submitted to it'.

'Do you think Xehanort created a clone of that Aqua to screw with you?', he offered. 'If he did…she took her time to show up', Aqua said with a sigh. 'I don't think she's a clone or replica, it is more possible she's my doubts and darkness coming to life. Likely a more powerful heartless'. It was the closest thing that made any semblance of sense to her, and why she was able to summon her keyblade, broken as it may be.

Looking at the woman, at last, Gladiolus asked: 'So what are you going to do about her?'.

Aqua's eyes dimmed as she kept looking at the stars. 'I…I don't know…', she confessed, sitting up and clasping the badge on her straps. 'Not only is my magic still too low to use, but I have no other means of fighting her'. 'But if you don't do something about her, taking your keyblade isn't the last thing she'll do', Gladiolus warned, his tone stern but sympathetic. Aqua nodded as the man started to sit up himself, one knee arched and rested an arm on it.

'I'd offer to help fight her if I knew I stood even a smidge of a chance', Gladiolus huffed. After his battle with Terra, even Gladiolus knows up against a magic user like Aqua it would be a very one-sided battle until he got stronger. 'I know…but what can I do, Gladio? I'm virtually powerless against her at this moment', she lamented. 'And…w-what if she gets into my head again? If I fall to the darkness again…'.

Her eyes darkened with fear and doubt again, a common shade the shield hated to see on a more regular bases with the woman. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she rested her chin on them in doubt. '…I'm scared…scared I'll lose myself to darkness…what if I hurt you? Sora? Or anyone I care about?', she listed, her voice sounded close to breaking down. Gladiolus frowned in disagreement before he spoke.

'Why didn't you give up?'.

She looked at him as the shield gave her the strongest look, she's ever seen from him. 'You said time and time again in that place, you ever gave in to it. You pressed on, fought on, and persevered', he stated, 'What was that driving force? What was it that you held on to, that no matter what comes, you wouldn't lie down and die?'.

Aqua said nothing, but then slowly reached into her pocket and plucked out from pocket her greatest and most valued treasure, her Wayfinder. Gently brushing against the smooth crystal surfaces of the star-shaped charm, she felt a wave of memories flying through her mind, not dark days or times in the darkness, but days of her light and innocence. A gentle hum resonates from her throat as she felt her heart grow lighter and brighter when she looked at it.

'Terra…and Ven…', she whispered, 'I…I wanted to see them again…I knew I hoped, one day, we would come together again and…go home'.

Gently, the man placed a hand on her shoulder and gestured to the charm. 'That charm is a reminder why you can't run from this. Why you can't slink into defeat and let that thing stop you', he said encouragingly. Looking at him, she could see no doubt, no falsehoods of faith, nothing but utter confidence in his amber eyes directed towards her. 'But…I...Eraqus…', she said softly. 'He made you a master for a reason, and maybe that was because you wanted to protect Ven, right?'.

Aqua looked at him, encouraging him to elaborate. 'You said, Xehanort was going to use him somehow to start the keyblade war, and he thought killing him was the answer…yet you and Terra protected him, you hide him away all these years', he said, 'Maybe he made you a master because you would do the right thing, see beyond what Xehanort's goals and think of your friends first?'.

A sense of clarity washed over Aqua, thoughts she never conjured up before began to wash and drown the doubts that were swimming in her mind. Did the master truly see Aqua as a successor like Gladiolus believes? Was it a matter of age and tradition that helped him decide she was worthy? 'How, can you be so sure?', she asked. 'You said in the exam, you needed to keep your darkness under control, right? You did so, and he trusted you enough to make you a master'.

Looking at her charm, then back to the man who spoke with confidence, she let a tear run down her cheeks before she giggled. Quickly wiping that tear away, she faced him with something he hadn't seen from this woman from the moment she lost her master's key to Terra.

She smiled.

*Next Day*

Continuing their journey into the trial, fighting off more wildlife and fallen soldiers with less struggle than yesterday, thanks to Gladiolus growing stronger from the previous trial. The blue master kept using weaker spells to harm the wildlife and left the killing blows to him, maintaining a better pool of mana for herself for the likely upcoming battle ahead of her.

Soon enough they came to another entrance to the trial, were before them was another planted blade with several ropes and ribbons tied to it. This time though when Gladiolus yanked the blade out almost repeating the scene before them, there was no other path for Aqua to take. Looking at one another before they agreed to press on together, figuring the trial itself was further in.

Ahead of them was a long and wide bridge that showed the ground looked to have been raked by giant claws, the earth splitting in several rows while the curved pillars shadowed the ground before them like hawks.

They strode onwards to it, but they stopped when they were halfway across the bridge. A black portal appeared before them and coming out of the blackened swirls was Anti-Aqua, her body cloaked in darkness. Standing in front of them at a good distance, she folded her arms and smirked at Aqua, not even acknowledging the shield. The keyblade master clenched her fists and stared down her shadow as Gladiolus summoned his sword. 'That her?', he asked.

'Yes…', Aqua confirmed. The shield grunted in response, eyeing her curiously and looking to be contemplating a plan of attack. Not that Aqua was blaming his hesitance, she was just as if not more powerful than Terra, even she felt reluctance in combating her. Yet the fear that was wrapped around her heart wasn't as strong as it was the day before, rather it felt like it was desperately yet weakly clutching her heart. The doubt lingered but she didn't feel weakness…

'Heh…what is it with the white hair you guys are so obsessed with…?', Gladiolus joked, smirking at the master. Aqua blinked at him, before registering what he was trying to do. A strange time to be the joker certainly, yet she felt assurance and confidence from it, and truth be told she nearly giggled at it. 'Says the man, along with his brothers, who wear black most of the time', she teased back with a small smile.

Gladiolus gave the woman a mock look of insult, before gesturing his black shirt. 'Because black is the best color!', he argued, 'Are you telling me this doesn't look good?'. Aqua rolled her eyes in response to his jab, 'Coming from the man who's not wearing anything underneath it', she reminded, pointing at his abs. 'And deny the world these pecs and inkwork? What kind of monster do you take me for?'. Aqua snickered at him, before turning to her dark side, now sporting an impatient and irritated look on her face.

'Gladio…', she spoke.

'Yeah, I know. Don't get in your way, right?', he said, knowing her.

'Yes. This is my fight', she admitted. 'You sure you wanna do this?', he asked one more time, giving her a look. Closing her eyes, gently reaching in and gripping her Wayfinder, she opened her eyes to face him. 'Let me face my fears', she pleaded.

With a solemn nod, he turned around to see his trial had arrived. A large bird/wyvern like monster with fire surrounding its body, squawking loudly at the shield. 'Least I've got something to do…', he huffed, walking towards his battle, leaving Aqua to do as she wished. Aqua approached her darkness, eyes steeled and resolute with determination to win this challenge.

'Aww, here I was thinking you'd go hide under a rock after the last time we spoke', taunted her shadow, smugly. Her words though barely registered to the warrior of light, like a minor bug trying to aggravate a lion. The darkness around her foe was strong, yet the fear she had for it was manageable despite her weakened condition. 'What? Did you have a good cry with that muscle-head? Did he hug you and told you "No Aqua, you're strong! You're a great keyblade master", or did he just pet you?', she further taunted.

Standing a few feet from her darkness, Aqua kept her face neutral and stance ready for battle. Slowly the two of them were surrounded by darkness, a large circle around them that created walls and eventually a dome of darkness containing them. Anti-Aqua summoned her own warped and dark keyblade, a mockery of Aqua's original key Stormfall. It was black and grey with dripping violet ooze from the tip, the chain a heartless emblem.

'A perfect key, for the dark master, don't you agree?', she mocked, lifting it to show her counterpart. 'Must infuriate you, that a being of darkness is more worthy of a keyblade than a "master", chosen by Eraqus himself'.

Seeing her old keyblade being tainted like this stoked the fires of her anger indeed, but the woman of light kept her head cool and focused. The last she needed was to give this creature any more chances to corrupt her with the darkness again. When she wasn't getting anything from Aqua though, Anti-Aqua's smug looks shifted to annoyance, like she was insulted. 'What? Nothing to say, huh? Not going to try to convince me or yourself that I'm wrong? My words aren't ringing truth?', she growled.

'There is nothing to say…somethings that your saying have truth in them', Aqua said, not angry nor afraid. Placing a hand on her head, she looked to her shadow. 'I have failed in the past, I couldn't save Terra from Xehanort's grip, I lost my keyblade and armor, and paid for it by spending that long in the realm of darkness'.

'As a master, I should've been better, but what happened in the past, is exactly that. In the past…'. She took out her Wayfinder and held it near her, looking at it longingly. 'Yet despite all that time in there, the loneliness, the emptiness, and fighting…I still held on to that one piece of hope. Hope that one day, I'll reunite with my brothers and friends', she spoke. 'Eraqus has made his mistakes, but he choose me to protect them because he knew no matter what happens, my heart is stronger than you or I say'.

Facing down her darkness, taking secret delight of the look of fury on her face and even that smidgen of fear in her yellow eyes, Aqua held her Wayfinder up high. 'I will see Terra and Ventus again, I'll find a way to free him, and then we came to be together again!', she stated with resolution that she hadn't possessed for so long. Light began to glow around her hand clasped around the Wayfinder, a light so beautiful it made the dark look-alike finch and even lift her hand to protect her eyes.

'I will never fall to the darkness again, I won't let my doubts hold me back from what my heart desires!', she listed. As the light shined brighter, even turning the darkness around them into light itself, Aqua lowered her hand to her side, taking up her stance. 'I am Master Aqua, chosen wielder of the keyblade! And I won't give in to you, Xehanort or anyone from the darkness!'. The light enveloped her hand entirely as it blinded Anti-Aqua, making her cry out.

When it disappeared, the shadow's eyes widened with shock and disbelief as Aqua lifted her new yet familiar keyblade in her hand, Brightcrest. The design of the keyblade was reminiscent of cresting waves, both along the shaft and at the teeth. Aqua's Wayfinder appears at the top of the shaft within a black circle, surrounded by a cresting wave. The hilt has two heart-shaped openings, and the keychain is also Aqua's Wayfinder. The handle and chain are both an ivory color.

Aqua swung her keyblade and readied herself to combat her darkness for the final time as her shadow gritted her teeth in fury, eyes glowed yellow with the darkness cloaking her body with black and violet flames. 'You…you…you can't be! Your light is tainted! You're not a master!', she cursed with pure venom. 'Yet here I stand, a master, while you're nothing more than what I became', Aqua retorted, 'Shadow of my darkness taken shape and form'.

'But here, I'll put my fears and doubts to rest'.

With the final words said and done, Aqua dashed towards her darkness, speed greater than she had ever displayed before and reached her shadow quick enough to land the first strike on her darkness. With a thrust of her keyblade, she struck home into the dark look-alike's stomach and sent her flying backward as a burst of light erupted from the attack.

Anti-Aqua dug her feet into the ground to stop her momentum, breaking the stone beneath her feet as she came to a halt. Gritting her teeth, both in fury and pain she stared down at the master as she held her keyblade high and narrowed her gaze. No more fear or doubt in those crystal blue eyes, there was a fire within them that couldn't be put out.

Anti-Aqua snarled in fury as she swung her keyblade at the denizen of light, a wave of darkness shaped like a blade's edge charged towards Aqua. Only for the master to cartwheel away from the strike and during her flip she fired a pearl at the bleached haired monster. Anti-Aqua swung at the pearl and split it in half, then she ran to the woman once she got to her feet. Their keyblades clashed in the darkness, the light from their sparks shinned brilliantly with each clash.

Both striking at each other with speed and precision yet neither could land any hits save for their steel meeting, despite Anti-Aqua having more strength put into her strikes that would shake even the steadiest of hands. Aqua was resilient however, not losing any ground and she matched Anti-Aqua's strikes blow for blow. When their keyblades were deadlocked, they glared at each other, hate and contempt clashing at one another.

Until Aqua quickly dislodged her keyblade from her enemy in time to backflip over a sweeping keyblade that was aiming for her back. In the air, she flipped again, and air dashed away from there, landing a few feet from the dark version of herself. Unsurprisingly she sees Anti-Aqua had created duplicates of herself, three in total. Outnumbered certainly the master concluded, but far from outmatched.

As the duplicates ran to her, Aqua spun Brightcrest in her hand before she said: 'Give me power!'.

A flash of light shined as her keyblade shifted into a new weapon, the guard shaping into a scythe-shaped blade while the blade of her keyblade turned into chains with her chain becoming a spiky ball-chain with a single spike on it. Aqua's clothes changed into jade-colored with teal ocean waves around her high-collared halter top and her bell sleeves.

Her Blitz-Form.

With the sickle in her left hand she spun the chain quickly in her right hand, she threw the chain at one false Aqua which wrapped around her waist. She pulled her to the woman, leaping onto her with her legs wrapped around her head. Aqua plunged the scythe into her back and flipped herself over the woman with her hands landing on the ground first. She threw the duplicate forward onto her back, the blade piercing her entirely until the blade reaches outside her stomach, killing the false clone and making her vanish into nothing.

A duplicate reached the woman in time to bring down her keyblade on her, but Aqua spun and tossed the chain right into her face, smacking into her forehead and knocking her backward. Aqua performed a few flips while spinning her chain around her, covering enough space that even the clones were forced to back up or evade her chain ball. With one more front flip Aqua, threw her chain straight at the other clone with speed to fast for even them to track.

The spike plunged into the fake's chest and struck the killing blow making them disappear into a cloud of black smoke. The last clone turned to Aqua and fired several barrages of dark firagas at her, only for Aqua to swing the chain around her acting like a whirlwind was shielding her, destroying every fireball that came close to her, she was untouchable. When the last fire was destroyed by the chain, Aqua jumped into the air spinning the sickle around and then threw it at the clone. The blade wrapped around her and stuck into her back, piercing the dark flesh.

Aqua lifted her right leg and wrapped it around the chain, pulling the clone to her with a combined tug of her arms and leg. The clone flew towards the master, and when it got close Aqua performed a devastating hi-spin kick that smacked the clone straight into the jaw, destroying it and allowing the darkness to join its fallen sisters of the dark.

Aqua turned onto Anti-Aqua, now seemingly radiating with darkness as the remaining peach color to herself had finally darkened entirely. Her eyes were glowing violet and she looked closer and closer to become more of a heartless. Even her keyblade looked more corrupted and twisted, it almost more daemon looking.

Aqua remained resolute, still using the chain-sickle and eyed the darkening woman. With a snarl that didn't resemble a human at all, Anti-Aqua dashed to the light version of herself, reaching her in seconds and began a barrage of wild strikes on the woman. Aqua's chain-sickle helped to keep the move devastating strikes off her but she still took on a few hits that certainly hurt. She took hits on her shoulders, hips and even her left leg yet she bore through it, waiting for an opportunity to present itself to her.

Anti-Aqua's keyblade was brought down onto Aqua but the warrior of light managed to throw the chain-ball around the weapon's blade. Quickly she leaped over Anti-Aqua with her chain still wrapped around the mock keyblade, and once she landed on her feet, she quickly wrapped the remaining chain's around Anti-Aqua's neck and tightly tugged on her. Anti-Aqua snarled more ferociously like a wild animal, thrashing around and even trying to bite Aqua's fingers.

She managed to slam her head back into Aqua's forehead, staggering her and making her accidentally make her weapon disappear. Anti-Aqua turned on her as she re-summoned her keyblade. She teleported away from Aqua and re-appeared in the air, aiming her keyblade at Aqua and fired a huge, truck-sized more like, shard of ice at her.

Seeing this coming, Aqua reverted her sickle to her keyblade and aimed hers at the chunk. A ring of fire circled the tip of the key as the whole weapon was bathed in flames. 'Flare!', Aqua yelled. A stream of whitish red blasted forth from the tip of her keyblade, rocketing towards the chunk and colliding with it head-on. The chunk quickly evaporated into water in less than ten seconds as the beam charged towards Anti-Aqua. The beam blasted her, and her cry of pain rang through the dark world around them.

Before she would be consumed by the beam, Anti-Aqua teleported back to the ground, staggering. She faced down Aqua again, eyes baring nothing but complete hate and rage. Aqua, despite her wounds, stood tall and faced down her counterpart, gripping her keyblade with both hands. Their bodies glowed, Anti-Aqua bathed in black embers while Aqua glowed with brilliant light, and then together they dashed forward.

Speed so great they appeared invisible to the naked eye, all that was seen in this dark place were flashes of light, sparks from steel making contact with steel, sounds of blades whistling in the air and the tremors of their strikes could have shaken the very world itself for all they knew.

When they reappeared again, both had taken much more damage than either had predicted. Aqua fell on to her knee in pain, gritting her teeth as she shook from the pain. Her bell sleeves were torn apart, the pink straps were reduced to one barely holding together, the armor on her upper arms was destroyed and reduced to scrap, though the one on her left arm barely held together, even her corset straps were torn and ruined, exposing her sides, finally her cloth around her waist were reduced to rags from the attacks.

She could feel the air sting her opened cuts on her arms, legs and even her cheeks, yet she struggled to get back up. Quickly though, she turned around in time to see Anti-Aqua appear behind her, keyblade swinging down to quick for her to form any plan of counterattack or even to guard it. The keyblade fell upon her face, cutting her.

Aqua let out a cry of pain, the force of the attack caused her to turn her head from the mockery, the horrible pain rushed through her nerves as she felt the blood pour forth from her wound. Yet despite the pain, thoughts of her friends, her brothers, and everyone pushed the pain aside, adrenaline quickly taking over her and numbing the pain. With one final cry, Aqua grabbed her keyblade with both hands, reared her head to Anti-Aqua and with one final thrust, pierced her chest with her keyblade.

They both remained still as silence hung over them both, the winner had been decided.

Anti-Aqua's keyblade dropped from her hands as it faded into nothingness, violet liquid leaked from her mouth as the darkness slowly drained from her skin. Aqua yanked her keyblade from her, leaving a gaping hole that seeped out black smoke from it, like snakes slithering into the air as Anti-Aqua staggered backward, clutching her chest. Not screaming in pain or making much of a sound as weak breathing.

Panting, Aqua slowly got to her feet as her other side collapsed onto her back, darkness slithering from her body as it began to evaporate into nothing. Aqua flinched when she tasted the coppery taste of her blood, placing a hand on her cheek. She winced when she felt the pain, the tender making of a scar. Her left side of her face was now coated in a sheen of red as she stared down her darkness.

'Its…over', she said, looking at her. 'Go back into the darkness…'.

Anti-Aqua laughed ruefully though, smirking at her. 'You…think, this will be the end of me? I am a part of your heart, Aqua', she warned, 'For as long as there is darkness within you, you shall never be rid of me'. '…that's fine', Aqua said. 'Even if you do come back, somehow. I won't face you alone, I never had…and I never will have to'.

Before Anti-Aqua returned to that place where all dark beings go, she could see beside Aqua were her brothers in a beautiful golden light, looking at Anti-Aqua with the same determination and motivation Aqua had. She ruefully smirked as she collapsed completely, disappearing into the darkness. All that was left behind was Master's Defender, still broken.

With her darkness finally evaporated, the dome that surrounded her disappeared into nothing and she found herself back in the Tempering Grounds. Aqua allowed herself to finally relax her posture and allowed her body to finally let the exhaustion take over her along with the pain. Before she collapsed onto the ground, she was caught by Gladiolus in time before her legs finally gave away.

Helping her onto her knees to rest, Gladiolus helped her sit up to check her wounds. She didn't like the grimace on his face. 'Do I…look that bad?', she said with a weak giggle. 'Outside of looking like you just walked through a corridor of knives going by your clothes?', Gladiolus grunted, 'Your face took one for the team'. Worried about the severity of the wound and to show her, Gladiolus took his phone out and used the selfie photo option to show her. Indeed, to her dismay, there was a large cut on her face, a long scar that went from two inches from her eyebrow down to two inches below her cheekbone.

Even after cleaning off the blood from her face, the scar is still very fresh. 'First time I've ever gotten a scar like this…', Aqua said with lament in her tone yet she felt a sense of pride in it. At least it'll be a reminder of her greatest victory yet. 'Welcome to the club', Gladiolus joked, gesturing his scar. Aqua giggled in response to his jest, she stood up with him and raised her keyblade, casting "Curaga" on herself, healing her wounds once more.

As her wounds healed, Aqua placed a hand on her scar and flinched at the sensitivity. It'll likely take more time for this one to heal. Least it wouldn't be agonizing for the rest of the trial, but she sees Gladiolus smirking her new keyblade. Grinning in agreement, Aqua lifted it to show him her newest weapon, practically glowing with joy. 'I got it back!', she said. Gladiolus looked at it with admiration, then paused when he saw the Wayfinder keychain. 'Guess your brothers are your power, huh?', he said.

Aqua smiled and laid the weapon on her hand, fondly looking at it. 'Yes, but more than that. My strength came from wanting to protect them, and be someone worthy of being a master', she mused. Dismissing her weapon, she looked at the shield who nodded. One trial remains for them to fulfill, they turned down to the path leading into the final part of the trials.

Looking at Gladiolus, she asked: 'Are you ready?'. 'Yeah…no turning back now', he said. With a nod, the two weary warriors continued onwards to the final trial.

*Grandmaster's Trial*

The final door after everything they had been through, the smaller trials Gladiolus had conquered without Aqua's help at his insistence. Together they came to the last one, the final door that leads to the Blademaster himself. No weapon to open it this time, however, Aqua stepped forward and summoned Brightcrest. Gripping the weapon with both hands, she aimed her keyblade at the wall and fired a beam of light at it.

No lock for sure but the walls all moved apart and disappeared before them. Once their path was cleared, Aqua and Gladiolus walked in. 'I'm guessing you won't want my help?', she asked, despite knowing his answer already.

'Yeah, this is something I got win alone', he confessed. Looking at his hand, already feeling his newfound strength. However as much as he's improved, the warrior was sadly very aware compared to Aqua now he was still very, VERY much behind her. 'Call me presumptuous or arrogant, but I've got a bad feeling he's not anything like Terra', he grunted. Aqua gave him a surprised look, worried that his statement may not have been too far off from the truth. Even seeing Blademaster in combat, there was a certain difference in power between them.

Gladiolus stopped walking and turned to Aqua as they reached closer to the end. 'What if this won't work? What if winning this fight won't give me that power?', he asked, doubt laced in his tone. Gently taking his hand with hers, Aqua faced him. 'You're going to win, you know that. Strength doesn't come from defeating somebody, it comes', she says, placing one hand on his chest, 'From here'.

Gladiolus looked at her as she gave him an encouraging smile. 'If I can regain my strength after everything that's happened, then that power you're looking for will come in time', she assured. Gladiolus nodded, smirking in response. Together, they climbed down the hill to stand on the bridge where the Blademaster lied in wait. Surrounding the bridge was a grave of swords planted on the sides, ahead of them was what looked to be a monolith of pillars and crystal, a pillar made entirely out of an aura stood before it. In the aura awaits the master.

'I'm here', Gladiolus announced, standing before the master. The master slightly turned his head to address Gladiolus. 'Brandishing your brute force?', he questioned, amusement in his tone. Gladiolus turned to Aqua, who nodded and stepped back enough to be out of range of the battle. She stood on the edge of the graves of swords, crossing her arms and keeping a watchful eye on the battle about to take place.

He could see neither doubt or worries in her eyes, they glowed with faith in him. A surge of will rouse up within the shield, a sensation of confidence unlike anything he's ever felt made him feel more powerful than ever. 'Yeah', he said, turning to the Blademaster, 'Let's see if you can take it!'.

No more words were spoken between the two warriors of the sword as the Blademaster turned to him with his claymore just as Gladiolus summoned his greatsword. Their swords clashed immediately, dust flew from the Blademaster's striking impact when it hits Gladiolus' sword, yet the shield neither bent knew or faltered in his defense.

Gladiolus managed to push him off his sword and swept at him, and then he thrusts his sword after the master stepped back from the sweeping attack. Parrying his attacks, the Blademaster struck at him. Gladiolus rolled to the left, missing the blade in time and when he rolled onto his feet, he struck again with a downward slash on him. The master lifted his sword in that moment to block his attack, but Gladiolus quickly retracted his sword and swung upwards, sending the sword up and out of the way of the master.

Gladiolus finally landed the first strike by bringing his sword downwards in a vertical strike, cutting the master. The Blademaster didn't so much as grunt from the pain, still Aqua could see that strike was not superficial or even minimal. Gladiolus can hurt him; the feat alone was a massive leap compared to their first bout where the shield couldn't even land a blow.

The Blademaster swung his sword upwards repeatedly though, his strikes breaking through Gladiolus' attacks and even when he tried to parry the attacks his sword would be knocked aside, or his guard would be broken entirely. 'You are only delaying the inevitable, O unworthy one', the Blademaster said, taunting him.

Suddenly the Blademaster glowed with red energies surging around him and without warning, he performed a single thrust of his blade that broke Gladiolus' guard and knocked him back, nearly tripping over himself. 'Look how you tremble in fear', he mocked as Gladiolus grunted. Waving his free hand angrily, the warrior stared down the Blademaster with even more determination. 'I ain't afraid of you!', Gladiolus growled, but his voice showed confliction within it.

'Is that so? With each passing moment, the fear in your heart grows!', the Blademaster said, striking at the shield. As his sword clashed with Gladiolus', unrelenting and unforgiving as the shield of the king struggled to even have space to counter or even back up. As they were locked into a deadlock, Gladiolus stared down at the master. 'And what the hell am I supposed to do!? Lay down and die!?', he challenged.

The master chuckled mirthlessly as he pushed the warrior of his sword. 'Yes. Why else have you come to this place other than to join the other lost souls?', the master said as if it was a matter of fact. The master performed the same striking attack from before, but Gladiolus didn't attempt to evade it. He instead stabbed his sword into the ground, three inches of the blade digging into the stone beneath their feet. The Blademaster's sword struck but neither the blade or Gladiolus moved from that spot. With a growl and quick thinking, Gladiolus swung his fist and delivered a straight punch into the Blademaster's face, staggering him and even knocking him backward.

Quickly he yanked his sword out of the ground as he spun around and swung his sword at the master. The enemy leaped backward in time to evade the sword splitting him in half but not entirely escaping the steel cutting into his flesh. The master stepped backward a few feet as Gladiolus held his sword with both hands, panting but gritting his teeth. 'Because unlike those that fell to you in the past, *I' ve* got what it takes to beat you!', he declared.

Gripping the sword with both hands, the sword started to glow in that bluish light that reminded Aqua of Noctis' own Armiger. Gladiolus spun around with his sword, creating a vacuum of air that sucked in the Blademaster's body into it. Even as he blocked and guarded against Gladiolus' attacks, the shield's power still managed to cut into the Blademaster, both steel and the vacuum of the attack carved into him.

'Block this!', Gladiolus shouted as he front-flipped and slammed his sword down on the master. His blade carved through his shoulder to his hip in a vertical way, but still, the Blademaster made almost no sound from it. Back on his feet regardless, Gladiolus struck again only to be parried by the master and fell forward. He manages to catch his footing in time before he falls, turning around to face the master.

'Your blind reliance on your strength alone, reveals the weakness of your will', the Blademaster stated, aiming his sword at him. Looking around his graveyard, he waved his sword around to address them to the two visitors of his trial. 'Countless disappointments have all met their ends here in this place', he warned as Gladiolus looked around him.

'And soon, you shall join them'.

Gladiolus weakly grunted at this, the fear he was speaking about was starting to wear on his confidence and will, the coldness of the dead tugged at him. Looking at the Blademaster and his marks where the blade struck him, he was starting to wonder if he was indeed hurting him or just mildly irritating him. The waver of his will shook him as he felt his sword getting heavier…

One look to Aqua however, he sees her eyes desperately eyeing him. No…he couldn't die here. Remembering that defeat, why he was risking it all to ensure he'd be stronger. Noctis, Ignis, and Prompto immediately filled his mind, along with his new friends. Gripping his sword even tighter until his knuckles went white, he stared down the Blademaster. 'No…I didn't come here to die!', he growled, raising his sword and laying it on his shoulders, he punched his chest with a grunt. 'I came to prove to you I am worthy!'.

Gladiolus rushed into the range of the master, completely catching him off guard with this sudden burst of courage as Gladiolus spun and jumped into the air and brought his sword down on the master. What happened next caught both him and the master off guard, for Gladiolus' attack was not block.

It was caught…by the Blademaster's second arm that he lost.

Catching the empowered sword with a golden-ish fiery arm, the Blademaster released his grip on the sword as Gladiolus himself stepped back from this sudden reappearance of the lost limb. The master looked amused by this, looking at his ethereal arm. 'You are strong…but, so long as fear is binding your heart…', he said.

Then he dismissed his claymore and brought out the masamune again. 'The power you possess within is wasted on you', he finished, grabbing the weapon with both hands and shifting into a proper stance. His body glowed with red and the ground shook with his power raising as the dust flew around him. He lifted his masamune with his ethereal hand tracing down the blunt side of it. Then as the red energies went into him, he swung the sword downwards.

The attack knock only slammed into the ground sending rocks flying but it also created a wave of energy shaped like a blade at Gladiolus. The shield quickly rolled away from the attack as it zoomed past him and Aqua until it collided with a wall, even then, destroying it behind them. Gladiolus turned to see the Blademaster was in the air and diving down towards the shield with his sword coming down upon him.

Gladiolus blocked this attack by raising his sword with both hands, protecting himself as the master came back down to earth and brought the sword down with both hands still gripping the handle. The attack nearly buckled Gladiolus' knees, heck he was sure if he didn't go through the trials before this, he would decimate his legs altogether from the sheer power of the strike. Gladiolus pushed him off and when he tried to strike at him, another blade appeared in his ghostly limb and parried his attack.

Now wielding two of the same swords in his right hand, the Blademaster struck at Gladiolus with speed that the shield struggled against immensely, barley being able to parry one sword long enough to deal with the other. As the Blademaster flipped in the air and brought both swords repeated down on Gladiolus, the shield had to go for broke and went for a desperate attack. In the split second the Blademaster was preparing for another strike Gladiolus swung his sword with all his might the body could provide and struck at him.

His sword cleaved through the ghostly weapon and struck aside the physical one. Then as he tried to hit him with a thrust, the Blademaster parried this desperate strike and broke his guard. Gladiolus looked up in time to see the Blademaster swipe his sword across his face, cutting Gladiolus' forehead and made him spin around, dizzily walking away from him. Quick shaking of that disorientating attack, Gladiolus stared down the master again, a fresh deep cut marked on his forehead, crisscrossing his old one.

Gladiolus was then struck again on the chest, the masamune piercing him with the tip and two inches of the sword into him, almost reaching his heart. With an agonized yell booming from his voice, Gladiolus' eyes went red with fury. 'You're almost reaching the end of your strength…is this all you could muster?', the Blademaster asked, standing a decent foot from the warrior.

'Not…in a chance in hell!', Gladiolus growled, grabbing the sword with one hand and with sweat running down his face with exertion and pain combined, he pushed himself off the sword. Despite the new scar that'll likely mark him, and even with the blood pouring out of him, he refused to let this desolate place become his final resting place.

Gladiolus grabbed his sword again, all the power he managed to save up from the fight imbued the blade with a beautiful light that almost out-shined Noctis' own. The Blademaster looked amused and even readied up his strike, holding the blade with both hands as red energy surged around him and coated his sword.

They both ran at each other, and at once they swung their swords and clashed. The collision of this strike not only blew dust all over them, but it cracked the ground beneath them, demolished the stone pillars around them also. As sparks of blue and red light shined between the two swords, both warriors pushing forward to try and break the other. Gladiolus' body started to glow in a faint light that Aqua swore she had seen before…

With a small flash of light, both warriors suddenly found themselves on the other side where they once stood, blades outward and in the air. Not a sound was made, neither moved and even Aqua herself held her breath, waiting for the outcome.

The result ended with Gladiolus, shaking and staggering to keep himself up, and the Blademaster finally falling to his knee, subdued.

'I KNEEL BEFORE NO MAN!', Gladiolus decreed, refusing to even relent in his stance. When he turned to the Blademaster, panting and shaking with exertion, he finally placed a hand on his newly acquired scar. He flinched and looked at his reddened palm, he let out a chuckle. 'Looks like…our souvenirs are coming in the form of scars', he said, thinking of Aqua's.

Looking at his hand still, his mind wandered back to their first confrontation, to Aqua's doubts, his own, and then back to his fights with Terra and Ravus. All those moments, his losses, his weakness, and his …fear.

'I guess it was better late than never…to figure out what it was', he said. 'You're right…I am afraid'. Dismissing his sword, still looking at his blood with thought. 'I'm not afraid to die…that was never my issue. But the fact I might have had to accept, that I'm not cut out for this job'. Those fears of his doubts, his competence being insufficient. That possibly his king may die because of his shortcomings.

Not only Noctis but Ignis and Prompto, not being strong enough to shield them from the dangers. Clutching his hand, he looked at the Blademaster. 'But even still…even if I'm not the right guy for it, I'm going to keep going', he affirmed. 'I told myself if I can't beat you, then I was never good enough to be their shield'.

He nodded to the master. 'Well…guess I'd better get a move on...', he said, 'I may be just be all muscle with no mettle, but I'm gonna keep protecting them the way I always do'. He turned to Aqua, no longer cross-armed but baring a smile that shined with pride. 'At the very least, I don't have to keep them safe alone', he said.

Without another word, Gladiolus turned to Aqua walking up to him, likely to check on his wounds as he walked.

'Spoken like a true Shield of the King'.

Both turned to the Blademaster as he stood up, as they expected not defeated or likely even severely wounded. 'Fear and doubt beget death alone', he said, looking at them both. 'Those who avert their faults cannot call themselves a shield or a keyblade master. Yet you two, having made peace within yourselves, have proved you are worthy of the mantles you carry'.

He faced Gladiolus. 'The Chosen King should be so fortunate to have a man such as yourself, serving at his side', he said, proud. Gladiolus nodded with gratitude. Then, he turned to Aqua. '…Eraqus would be proud of the master standing before me'. Aqua's eyes widened as Gladiolus stared at him dumbfounded. 'Y-You knew master!?', Aqua asked, stepping forward. 'How!?'.

The Blademaster chuckled lightly before he lifted his hand up and then Master's Defender materialized, levitating in his hand. 'He came here, many years ago to test his mettle against me', he revealed, looking at the keyblade, his voice was softer and nostalgic. 'His strength was impressive, but he didn't fight me to his fullest. As he said before he left, he had far more important things to watch over than his pride'.

Looking at Aqua, he nodded. 'He told me of three apprentices, young and naïve with bright hearts and dreams of becoming masters when we last met. He claimed on the day he would acknowledge them as masters, it would be the proudest moment of his life', he said. Looking at the broken keyblade, slowly the red energy from him swirled and danced around the weapon, in a light that blinded them.

When it diminished, the keyblade was remade before them. He lowered his hand to Aqua. 'Know this, Master Aqua, your master would be proud, infinitely proud, to see what a strong and gentle woman you have become', he promised. Aqua gave the master a grateful bow, smiling at him with unshed tears as she reclaimed her keyblade. Turning to Gladiolus, he lifted his masamune to him. 'With this glaive, I entrust my power to you, Gladiolus Amicitia', he said.

With a nod, Gladiolus stepped forward and claimed the masamune, giving the master a bow of respect and gratitude. 'Go forth, hearts unhinged by fear and doubt. Save guard the future of this world with the King and Chosen one of light', he encouraged.

One final bow to the master, both newly powered warriors finally left the Tempering Grounds. More powerful, than ever.

*Outside*

Reaching outside of the grounds, the two finally took a deep breath as they stared into the rising sun, a new day for them.

Looking at their weapons, reclaimed and obtained, the two glanced at one another. 'So, you gonna go back to that?', Gladiolus asked, gesturing Master's Defender. Aqua looked at it in thought before she shook her head, dismissing it. 'No. I used to depend on it because I lost my keyblade. Now, I must rely on my strength, not master's', she said, firm. 'Besides, I think he'd be happy knowing I don't have to hold on to stand on my own feet'.

Nodding with understanding, Gladiolus dismissed the masamune. 'I get you, gonna need to train with it first', he said. 'Well then, let's go! We've got a king and apprentices to go back to!', Aqua said with newly found cheer.

'Right, let me just call the chocobos and we'll…', he said, reaching into his pocket. However, when he did so, he paused and blinked. Then he checked his other pocket…then his other pocket and final pocket as he started to pat around himself, growing more desperate as Aqua's smile slowly turned to despair. 'Gladio…', she said slowly.

'J-Just give me a second…', he said, quickening his pats.

'Gladio…!', Aqua said again, panic slowly rising.

'I pretty sure I didn't-

'You lost the whistle, didn't you?', she asked.

'…yup', he sighed.

Aqua slapped her forehead loudly as Gladiolus let out a loud groan. 'Of all the things I lost…', he growled. Aqua dragged her hand down her face, allowing herself to groan with him. 'Just great… we're in the middle of nowhere without any signals, my clothes are falling apart, we're wounded, tried and hungry, and now we have no transport!', she listed, sounding more and more deflated with each listing of their problems.

Gladiolus scratched his neck, not even attempting to argue back with the woman. 'Do you think there's a Haven nearby?', she asked, trying to recall one during their searches. 'Yeah, yeah, I think there's one just at least five to ten minutes away', he offered.

'Right…might as well recuperate before we make the journey back to the others, wherever they are', she sighed. As they walked down the pathway, Gladiolus suddenly stopped walking when he looked to the left, his abrupt stop caused Aqua to bump into him. She let out a small yelp of surprise and looked at him annoyed, before following his gaze.

'What in the…?', she asked, approaching what caught their eyes.

A small green carriage rested on top of a tree stump…

A/N:

Longest chapter yet…f*** me…

So Aqua and Gladiolus have completed their training and gained new power and strength and reclaimed some! Meeting the others next time with some angst and fun times!

First off, massive thanks to VashTheSampede0409 for the idea of Aqua using a chain-sickle! They've been supportive and helpful with this story so thanks for this!

Here are the Qs for the story!

Q1: What did you think of Aqua's weapon? I'm trying to stick with a certain theme of weapons for the team!

Q2: The fights, were they ok?

Q3: Did you enjoy how Blademaster was written?

Q4: Wanna take a wild guess how they're gonna get home?

Q5: Can you guess what's gonna happen to Aqua later?

Q6: Was Gladiolus done justice? I always felt like he gets the smallest amount of development compared to the other three.

Out of curiosity, for fun, but if you were a keyblade wielder, what your element be and what would you call it?

As always, thanks for reading! Stay awesome but more importantly stay safe!