A/N:
Ahhhh, I've never meant to ignore this particular fic for so long. ^^;; In all honesty, aside from so many other things going on in my life (I went on hiatus and am due for another, I was dedicated to other projects and I just got accepted into another zine ;-; and there was my stupid, broken computer which is now replaced! :D), I really dreaded writing this one. When I announced that I was splitting this story in two fics, I knew I dug a grave for myself. There is no way to fix this chapter without rewriting the first one entirely, but I figured it was much more important to get started Aqua on her journey and I need this loose end tied as soon as possible. If you're new to this story, I'm sorry this chapter is so bad - I'm totally aware, I promise. I've tried my hardest to make this side-quest as sensible as possible.
His heart beats hard, fast, irregular, and it's about to collapse.
He doesn't hear how ragged his breath is, running as desperately as he is, and he ignores how much his muscles are screaming for rest.
Then there's the headache. That's the one thing Terra is mindful of.
He trips.
The Realm of Darkness doesn't make it easy, not with how rough it shapes its terrain, like it tripped him on purpose. Cobblestones not fitting well together. Pits in the dirt. Rocks hidden in tall grass where he won't notice.
Flashes of light burst somewhere far behind. It's too foggy to see what's going on. Terra spits sweat out of his lips.
There are eyes - a pair wedged right next to a pebble, near enough to grab his fingers. Another in the hollow trunk of a tree. And one more in the distance, in the direction he was heading, and now he has to choose another way and pray he doesn't fall off a cliff.
Behind him, he hears bubbling, the same sickly sound that always announces the arrival of Heartless.
It simmers across his back and he grabs whatever landed on him and throws it as hard as he can and he summons Ends of the Earth -
But can't. He hasn't been able to, not since he left the beach.
Not since he saw a flash of light and Aqua was gone, sent home to her freedom like she deserves. Not since some tall men in dark, hooded cloaks appeared out of nowhere in the sandy shores. Organization members. They wanted to kidnap him.
Terra had to choose between waiting for his friends to come back in dangerous waters, or running away.
When he can turn back into Xehanort at any moment.
He chose to run.
And now he's surrounded without a Keyblade. He thinks about Xemnas, and even though he's tired, and even though his stomach hurts, he takes that brief memory of what it feels like to be numb, to be detached and disheartened, and waves his hands in a sweep against the earth and flies them upward.
A barrier shoots erect - but not just any protective shield, an offensive one. The type that electrifies the Heartless that ram into it, and sends them flying backwards. The kind only a Nobody can summon.
He conjures more - two by his side, another behind him - to force these damn things to back off, and he escapes when he's had enough -
Tripping again when the Realm tricks a hill to look like a straight path and oops, there he goes, falling in air, rolling against dry dirt and tumbling until he finally halts.
It's dark down here. The headache will split his scalp open.
"No," he grumbles, running fingers through his hair and he wants to rip the strands off. "I can't control-"
His limbs go rigid. "No," he says again. He wants to make sure Xehanort hears him loud and clear.
Terra cannot summon his armor anymore for that matter, since Xehanort has clouded both in darkness. They should be in arms' reach, waiting peacefully in his heart, ready to come at his will… but it's like his Keyblade can't see or hear him either.
He manages a small sob when he loses control of his arms - which are quite literally, moving on their own to grip at his legs.
The taste of loss is bitter, as prickly as the tree roots ripping out of the earth and tangling around him. It's like the Realm sees what he's going through, and wants to point and laugh. They squeeze, tightening so his bones can't reply, and he's left to allow them to drag him.
But light is warm and always there - because without it, there wouldn't be any shadows. It shines like a halo, making the roots writhe and wrinkle away, letting him go, letting him breathe. It eases his headache, which he knows won't last forever, but finally… relief.
"Mickey?"
Two large, yellow shoes - big enough to belong to a clown - step in front of him, a pair of comically round ears leering over him with a huge smile. Mickey is the physical embodiment of a hearth, of everything that makes children happy in the outside world, a complete mismatched reflection of the twisted underground of the Realm.
"Slipped, did ya?" he squeaked.
"Maybe," Terra scoffs, just able to move a finger to trace the dirt. It feels so real.
As real as Aqua's skin when he held her - he held her. That was real. And she escaped. Terra considers this a success, a wish fulfilled, to stay behind so she could taste food again.
… Terra didn't even get a chance to tell her about his feelings. He chickened out in the last minute.
She's smart. She'll free Ven, too. And Terra will drag Xehanort to drown in the darkness together.
If he can manage to keep control of his body that is.
Mickey's Keyblade now dons some new chinks and chips.
If they continue this way, neither of them will last much longer. Terra has already woken up a couple of times, right in the middle of a duel with Mickey, a silver Keyblade high in the air and ready to strike, only for Terra to realize what he's holding and drops it. It's flashes of moments that in reality may have lasted only minutes but seem much longer. If Xehanort keeps hacking away, Mickey's Keyblade will break.
And then Terra won't have anyone left to help him.
But it hurts, that headache.
"Chin up, Terra," Mickey says, surveying where they should head to next.
The fog dissipates and gives them two paths: one paved with a line of lanterns illuminating the way, the other a rocky uphill hike into a forest.
"I… need to rest," Terra breathes, wanting to take back the words. If he rests, he'll lose control again.
"Aww, Terra, don't worry."
"I'll hurt you again." He chokes on a whimper, the headache roaring this time. "I don't know how Aqua survived years of this…"
Hands take hold of his shoulders, and this small mouse, barely as tall as his knees, takes Terra's entire weight onto his shoulders to sit him up. "Remember, I got ya."
"What are we going to do? I can't summon my Keyblade anymore and I just don't-"
Terra doesn't know what to say. I just don't know if I can keep waiting for anyone to come back?
"Well," Mickey muses, "we'll have to keep moving."
Thanks, Captain Obvious.
"I don't know how you do it, either."
"I don't have Xehanort weighing me down, and I think that makes you pretty strong. Don't be so hard on yourself."
"This place doesn't make you sad?"
"If I think about it…" A frown on Mickey's face is ill-fitting. "But we don't have time for that."
Funny, since the Realm will be sure to give them all the time it has to offer. The Realm will be sure to give them reasons to stay.
Maybe it's darkness creeping in, or maybe Terra had enough of reality to taste - it's sour.
"I don't see how anyone is going to find us," he says.
Mickey is silent for a moment.
"I had an old friend," he starts, "who used to have a motto he lived his life by."
He holds a fist up, and releases each of his four fingers with every rule: "'First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare.' To honor him, I have to believe that every step we take will get us closer to freedom."
As if to prove a point, he faces Terra, and finishes with, "I think that's what helped Aqua last this long down here."
Condensed simply, those all sound like tenants of a Keyblade wielder.
"Was your friend a gentle man?" Terra asks.
Mickey smiles with a shrug to his shoulder. "Ohoho, he also said something to the effect of, 'You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.'"
"... It makes you stronger." How often has his own Master said the same thing? The Realm will kick him when he's already down, and he's supposed to stand on his own two feet and carry on like it doesn't hurt.
"Something like that." Mickey points to the rocky uphill hike. "My heart tells me this will be the safer way to go. C'mon Terra. How's about we keep going? Our friends think about us all the time, and they will light our way."
Terra grunts like his legs hate him, and he rolls his neck. It helps soothe the headache.
"Okay."
It starts with the suggestion by a simple-minded mouse, and Terra gets on his feet, fighting off dizziness, to face more odd nights.
The clock still hasn't struck ten and if the way her legs are shaking are any indication of how… is annoyed is the right word? Anxious?
Impatient. Aqua keeps crossing her legs and checks the time, and for a second she thinks she's back in the Realm of Darkness when she swears the minute hand went backwards.
The lights in the lobby are dim, the carpet as red as a deep wound. The chair she's lounging in is comfortable at least, but it nags at her back and she's desperate to move. She's still in the hotel, her heart torn by her duty to the people she swore to protect, nowhere near Ventus, nowhere near Terra, nowhere near anywhere she truthfully wants to be. If it continues to tear in opposite directions, will her heart break in two?
Rydia is also slouched in a lounge chair of her own, and has a radio playing, the static clearing to the lullaby of an accordion and violin. Their story is a long trek through a city filled with the lights of a harp, guided by the sad, gentle canals of a tuba. The violin abandons the accordion, and the tuba reassures the accordion, and it's lonely until they all reunite powerfully at the end of a long night.
Rydia is dressed stunning as always, her empire sleeves in gold trimming piling on top of the floor as she braids and unbraids her long green hair, a gentle smile on her face as she eases into her chair, losing herself to the song.
Everyone around Aqua is either doing two things: hustling to wherever they need to be - the infirmary, the battlefield, to their families - or, they linger, living out the seconds until Kefka comes.
Until Kefka comes: that is what is on everyone's mind, and Aqua can't bear to pass more than a second of thought to it.
But she'll stand corrected when the clock finally hits ten, and after ten strikes from the clock tower, here come the sirens.
They wail at first, getting louder which every passing vibration until she can't hear anything else, and she feels Rydia getting stiff right next to her. The sirens keep blaring.
They quiet, only to come back around and Aqua realizes the town is desperate because there won't be a place that could possibly escape the sound. They need her help. Terra and Ven need her help. Too many people need her help.
Focus, Aqua.
Silence, and her heart still drums in her ear.
"I swear that clock tower is haunted," Rydia says, slowly letting out breath as if letting it go all at once would make too much noise. The music sounds softer, as if the sirens had intimidated it, and Rydia leans over to bring her ears closer. "It always knows when to interrupt the best parts."
When Aqua stares at her with uneasy eyes, Rydia continues, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."
Aqua never wants to hear them again.
The bustling energy in the hotel took pause during the sirens, and is now at full speed again - maybe even faster, knowing the minutes are ticking. Kefka arrives at eleven. One hour.
Cid barges through, keeping the double doors to the lobby open with a lit cigarette pursed in his lips, and a scowl worse than his usual attitude. "Incomin'."
In comes a tall, blond man with ridiculously spiky hair, and a giant blade strapped to his back (giant is an understatement), dragging carts of wooden boxes, throwing them open to reveal potions - as much as a store inventory.
Aqua recognizes him faintly from the night she came through the Door to Light... and suddenly she feels that twist in her gut, a sweaty coldness that only comes with what she must be most familiar with at this point.
Darkness. This man has the trace of it… and Cid is helping him like no one is in danger and Rydia is welcoming him like he's a friend.
The man pauses his hyper-focus when he sees Aqua, the severe look on his face softening with… pity.
"You're Aqua, right?" he asks her.
"That's right." She hates the way he's looking at her. "And you're…?"
"Cloud." Here it comes. "I'm sorry about Terra."
She has to remind herself that people mean well (and once she frees Terra, everyone will stop trying to apologize to her).
"Thank you," she says and she's relieved she doesn't sound ungrateful.
Cloud looks away at first, minorly distracted by Cid's grumbling about how they only have one ram left for the fight. Then he stands up, approaching Aqua.
"I was really torn up when I heard," Cloud says, uneasy like it's weird for him to be so open-hearted, "but I respect his decision. He has a good head on his shoulders."
Then he extends his hand to her. "Welcome to the team, Aqua."
Cloud has a gentle half-smile on his face, and darkness extends its hand, expecting her to shake it.
She's expected to be polite and she tries - she really wants to try - but her hand limps in his firm shake. Cloud gets the message, dropping his own and turning over his shoulder. "I'll be at the site," he tells Cid. "Hurry it up."
Cid groans, and saying out of ear shot, "Kid swears he's a hot shot."
Aqua rolls her lips inward.
"You alright?" Rydia asks, leaning forward.
"He has darkness." It's impolite to say, but Aqua has little patience to play with the dark.
Rydia cocks an eyebrow, her gray eyes searching for a proper explanation. "Your point? We all harbor darkness within ourselves."
"That is true, but… it's not normal to be able to sense it."
Rydia sits back, nodding to what she's understanding. "I suppose Cloud has been through so much, considering… what I don't understand is why it has to be such a black and white issue."
"What do you mean?"
"Where I come from, darkness isn't considered to be evil, at least among mages. We have white and black magic, but it has more to do with how you wield them. Darkness alone says nothing of your character."
Then Rydia smiles, to prove her point. "I trust Cloud with my life."
Aqua supposes she's being unfair - after all, her reflection has proven to her countless times that there are cracks within her very own heart, and it's unrealistic to believe they have all been sealed and darkness-proof.
There's been a lot of nights when Aqua had wondered if she should end it, pierce her chest with her Master's Keyblade and let the ocean take her. What darker sadness could there be besides that?
And then there's Terra… he has darkness, and maybe it's strong but it's always outshined by his spirit. He will always be a good person.
"Cloud, the sad hero," Cid gruffs, pulling potions out onto tables so everyone who passes by can easily pack them. "Basque in his greatness when he feels sorry for you."
Rydia takes a sleeve her mouth to cover her chuckles. "Where is this coming from?"
"He's more depressin' than an opera." He takes a puff of smoke. "But eh, I can respect 'im. He gets shit done."
Cid glances over to the hallway, suddenly switching gears and gives the two girls a fair warning: "Look sharp."
It's for Garnet's arrival, who is followed closely by Lulu, the organizer of the orphanage... So she hasn't followed the children to safety after all.
Garnet walks like she's on air, the most feminine Aqua has ever seen, her head held high like she's not as small as she really is, her hair and her bubble sleeves floating like there's a breeze that only graces her presence. Her heart is determined and open, embracing what's to come.
Lulu has her arms crossed, her face contorted in annoyance and a touch of impeccable, heavy makeup, her fur and leather-trimmed gown trailing long behind her. She walks with responsibility, but her heart doesn't want to accept what's going on around her.
"You're going to find me hard to submit, Your Highness," Lulu says, her voice as serious as her disposition.
Garnet whips around. "What you propose is preposterous."
"Your point?" Lulu scoffs. "I didn't stay behind to let you do what you please. I'm speaking for what is best for everyone else."
Garnet huffs. As if to end the conversation, she pretends to organize through potions even though they are all the same color, handing over some to Lulu, taking more for the battle ahead.
Lulu apprehensively accepts, and proposes something: "When the children want to win an argument, they play a game called Snap. Winner gets the final word."
"Is that so?"
"It's a game of magical prowess. Hold a coin flat in between both palms, and you fight to keep it."
Garnet straightens up, understanding exactly the kind of filibustering Lulu is trying to do, and extends her hand, gesturing to be given something. "Let's have it, then."
Out of Lulu's bra comes a large silver coin. She holds the coin together with Garnet's palm, like they are slapping it in place. Visually, nothing seems to be happening as their faces lose themselves to concentration, but Aqua recognizes the energy in the air: there is magic bustling in between their fingertips, and whoever exercises more willpower gets to keep the coin.
"Now," Lulu says and they pull hands apart like they're avoiding harm.
It takes a moment to process, and Garnet flips her fingers to reveal that the coin has stayed with her. Whether it's beginner's luck or she's that more skillful, Aqua doesn't know enough to figure.
"I've won," Garnet announces.
"Except you've lost," Lulu says with dejection, with concern, with stern ambition. She hovers over to Rydia's side.
Rydia has cast her eyes downward, avoiding the game altogether, a profound look of guilt betraying her need to keep a straight face.
Three women standing on one side of the room with Garnet opposing them.
It's enough for Cid, who's sitting on his own away from the drama, to throw his hands in the air, as if saying this isn't worth the trouble. "Women."
"What is going on?" Aqua asks.
Her interruption makes Garnet jump, but the princess ignores the question.
So Lulu answers, her tone as exasperated as her eye roll. "Garnet thinks she can get away with sacrificing herself."
"You haven't left me with much choice," Garnet says, sending a glance over to Rydia. "I have been blessed with more time to be there for those in need of me. And yet, I have to do what is best for my people, and I cannot sit idly by to watch you play the sacrifice on my behalf."
Aqua stands up. "I don't understand what you're implying." Except she does understand. She just refuses that there's any justification to it.
Garnet breathes, ignoring Lulu's scoff. "Kefka demands female mages… Turn them into Heartless or else it will continue to haunt us every single night, and I cannot have this when we are in the middle of evacuations. I must ensure the safety of my peers."
Garnet then holds a hand to her heart. "Speak of nothing to Noctis. He'd never leave me out of his sight if he knew."
Hands gripped into themselves, shaking her head, Aqua groans and doesn't know what to say. "Riku never…" Said anything to me.
Just to stay behind and protect the hotel, out of real harm's way without giving her a choice.
So Aqua sets her sights. "Kefka is supposed to come every other night, right?"
"That is correct."
"So you'll buy one night with your life?"
"...Yes. We are the last ones." She gestures to herself, Lulu, and Rydia.
The entire room is quiet, weighed down by the severity of what was said.
They are the last ones, and does it matter really which order they get taken out, one by one?
It's not fair. It's ridiculous, and Aqua, Keyblade Master, is not going to tolerate it.
"Your Highness," she says, "I don't mean to show disrespect, but I think you should listen more to your peers."
Rydia leans forward, like she's looking for a speck of hope. Lulu thanks some force out there that someone around here is speaking reason.
"What would have me do, Master Aqua?" Garnet asks gently. "Shall I be content in my path to survival while those who've paved it for me waste away?"
Aqua swallows hard. The job of a Keybearer will sometimes have easy missions, and sometimes impossible ones, but they are all equal in the importance of saving lives. This decision is a no-brainer.
Even if they buy just one more night of peace, Terra is rotting and Aqua has to get going. Ventus is waiting and she promised…
"If Kefka wants a female mage, I'll give it one," she says, starting to head to the exit.
Garnet drops her jaw. "Are you mad? In your condition?"
"I don't have a condition." Aqua stops at the ornately carved wooden doors, and turns to face everyone in the room. "Cid, can you take my place in protecting the hotel?"
It's not just Aqua and the other mages squaring themselves against Garnet's judgment - Cid proudly dusts off his shoulders, nodding. "Better than facing that crazy clown."
Crazy clown doesn't seem to cut it as an appropriate nickname for the terror everyone around Aqua is feeling.
Aqua glances over to Rydia, who is still healing from a wound. "You need to always be by her side. Rydia, are you okay with this?"
Rydia has fire in her eyes, grabbing her longstaff and using it to keep herself standing. "I don't need to move much to destroy Heartless. I'm strong, and I'll stay."
"You're either really naive, or really powerful," Lulu says to Aqua. "I'll take my chances. I'll follow." She picks her potions like she's heard good news, taking her place across the room.
Garnet stands silent, defeated, with an expression that makes Aqua feel horrible, as though the Keyblade Master is really asking the princess to commit to something that is extraordinarily difficult and painful.
This morning, she had such a bright light within her that her healing touch shone white. Now it's dim, her eyes an empty black.
"It's my job to protect you," Aqua says, attempting to comfort her.
And Garnet only stares, like she doesn't believe it. Like she's faced this too many times, and knows from experience that they will all lose.
By the way she breaknecks towards the third district, Aqua can feel the clock ticking, even though the tower is quiet.
She takes long strides, stepping on the occasional puddle, leaving a poor Garnet to jog with her short legs in order to keep up. Traverse Town is decorated in lights, but it's otherwise a vacation town for ghosts. No one to dream about fancy jewelry, to admire the latest fashion, to salivate at the aroma of tonight's dinner.
The third district would have been a sight if it wasn't already halfway-destroyed - debris piling on colorful electrical wiring, lanterns that have been bent in half, a water fountain that has been blown open, and apartment homes with all the lights off, wind blowing through curtains. No one lives here anymore.
In the place of a bustling modern district are a bunch of wooden crates, tossed around between people to gather potions and weapons. ...It's a lot of fighters for one Heartless. Aqua would make the fourth Keyblade wielder up against this thing.
A part of her has this sudden apprehension to take another step forward - these people follow her now, swayed by her confidence that all of their worries will end tonight.
What if she has given them false hope?
Could she cope with it?
It's cold. Someone is watching her.
Aqua recognizes this feeling, since she's been faced with it for the better part of twelve years. There's already Heartless here, and she looks every which way to see if she could spot them hiding among the shadows.
Whatever is there is already studying the people gathering here, honing on the way Garnet and Lulu stride towards the middle of the square, pleased by how frantic people are rushing to finish preparations.
She whips around to find the clock tower in the distance, a great vantage point for anyone to stalk from. It's twenty past ten, but…
It's very cold.
Kefka is already here. It's just waiting for the time to start.
It's a sick situation, Kefka twirling these terrorized people in its fingers.
Aqua's expecting to find a certain pair of yellow eyes that would normally come from feral demons, but a different pair perks up when he sees her arriving to the third district.
And they belong to none other than Lea. She is surprised that he even cares that much.
Or maybe he's just really dramatic, but something about the twitch of his lips tells her that he isn't exactly pleased with her presence there.
"I didn't expect to see you here," he says with a smirk, feigning surprise and she doesn't know why he tries so hard to plant certain impressions on other people.
Aqua has no other answer for him except the obvious: "I have to help."
The facade in his eyes flicker out like a lighter turning off. He places his hands on his waist, letting himself be more honest, yet still keeping a hot air of distance between them. "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to fight something this malicious?"
The nerve of him. "I've faced more nightmares than anyone has ever slept with. I can take care of myself."
"Even after what Terra went through to get you back? Do you think that's fair to him?"
Aqua stammers. It isn't fair to drag Terra into this… "I don't need your permission to fight."
She leaves him with his mouth wide-open, searching for words and failing to find them.
Which only leaves her hearing the words, "She's just as dense as him!" fading behind her. It makes her smirk. Terra hasn't changed - when he has his mind set, he can become the worst kind of stubborn, as immovable as a boulder.
On her way to the middle of the square, past some men mapping out the upper levels where long-range fighters should situate, Aqua finds two particular individuals in one of the highest balconies who take way too much interest in watching her.
A well-dressed man, impeccably so, his silk sleeves a clean white like he's never been to battle, bracelets like he appreciates the finer things in life, and an exquisite embroidered vest like he can afford it, and a rifle sitting casually on his shoulder. He's not the one who initially took an interest in her - he only does so when his partner whispers to him about her arrival.
Said partner is a dark-skinned woman, with long, stark white hair that reaches her thighs, and jackrabbit ears stretching high into the sky out of her helmet. It only makes her look taller, taller than the well-dressed man, taller than Terra. Something about this woman makes Aqua wonder if she's seen her before, but this is no time to sit and think about it - that can wait until later. This rabbit-woman immediately takes notice of Aqua, tightening her grip on her bow.
Now there are two more pairs of eyes watching Aqua's back as she continues onward, out of ear-shot of whatever their opinions are.
Aqua comes across Cloud and Noctis, the latter with a clipboard filled with a checklist to make sure everything is in order. Occasionally he asks Cloud about the setup. Garnet and Lulu are already making laps around the square to check in on their sole wooden ram - Aqua gets the sense that Garnet is avoiding her, and Lulu is only following to make sure she doesn't do anything drastic.
Without really looking at Cloud in the eye, Aqua reaches over to hold Noctis' elbow firmly. "Make sure to keep an eye on Garnet," she says softly.
Noctis stammers before getting grim, and he's disappointed. He looks over his shoulder, where he sees Garnet cheerfully speak to a man like nothing is wrong and no foul plans are being made.
"Make that four eyes," Cloud says, smirking, and Aqua can't bring herself to smile back.
"Thanks for the warning," Noctis says. "She never learns."
… That's the weird thing about the people here. There's so much sadness, in Noctis' eyes, in Cloud's, in Garnet's… and they try smiling anyway like they're tricking themselves. Aqua doesn't remember if she's ever really smiled the entire time she's been in the Realm of Darkness.
Maybe once, when she saw apparitions of Terra and Ventus, but when they disappeared, she reasoned that she was being too hopeful. That it was never really truly a smile, because she can only give one around the people she loves. Not ghosts.
How grateful she is that a super-friendly face comes running up to her, bright (huge) yellow shoes splish-splashing through puddles to greet her, Donald and Goofy closeby.
"What are you doing here?" Sora asks, skidding to a stop.
Aqua really wishes people would stop questioning her drive. "Where is Riku?"
Sora takes a pause, his eyes darting for a moment towards the ground. "He's not here yet."
So it's not four Keybearers against Kefka, but three.
A faint thought nags at the back of her mind again. "He never told me about the female mages."
Sora's eyes widen, like he forgot that detail. But he lets it melt away into a small smile. "Riku hides stuff from me, too, sometimes."
"You've fought it before? Kefka?" Aqua searches his eyes for the truth, and she realizes that she actually sounds apprehensive.
She could fail this mission. It wouldn't be the first.
"Ah, phooey!" Donald scoffs, waving his arms like he's shooing a gnat. He's in a really bad mood, and how can he not when he's stuck here for duty's sake just like everyone else? "It's just a clown."
Sora brightens up, a triumphant fist in his palm. "We have a good team here."
His smile is ill-fitting because it's genuine. Nothing like the others who try to hide their fear, but he makes his out of immense faith. Sora's light is powerful, and… rare, Aqua thinks.
"We do," she says, remembering Ven's smile. Something about Sora reminds Aqua that there are reasons to look forward to happier times.
But everything pleasant is short-lived, and maybe that's a sad fact of life.
Someone screams. Points to the clock tower.
The minute hand speeds up, gaining velocity towards the top of the eleventh hour.
It takes three strikes of the bells for everyone to decide whether this is a joke or it's actually happening early.
Two more strikes for Noctis to yell, "Get aggressive! Stay alive!"
Three more for Garnet to whisper a spell that shines a light upon every single person in the area, and another two for Aqua to witness a faint crystal wrap and spin around her before fading away.
A protection spell, something completely unique and rare. Garnet's light is pure and blinding.
One more and it strikes eleven. Ten minutes to do the job or Kefka walks for another night.
The bubbling that signals the arrival of Heartless gargles, a dark mass growing and growing and growing to the size of a building, before an enormous clown steps down, shaking the ground underneath its mismatched shoes and socks.
It laughs, piercing like a speaker is about to blow her ears. Aqua clutches her heart, protecting it from ripping out of her chest - everyone else is gripping their heads like they're containing a massive migraine.
Kefka leans forward just to take a peek at Aqua, its stupid-looking collar a vomit-inducing mix of yellow and red, three swords carried on each shoulder, its white mask welded onto its dark face, bright yellow eyes in circles wide and without lids, a smile painted and screwed together -
And two huge gashes diagonally across its shield of a face, exposing the skin of a shadow underneath.
They all have been saying this thing is impenetrable. Sure.
Aqua summons her Master's Defender.
The clown's hands shiver, and its jaw widens just like a machine - it lets out a screech that sounds like gears out of control, getting louder and louder like Kefka is offended by her weapon.
And it cuts off.
A cleaver flies into its face, knocking it out of place. There's no way someone has that kind of strength but there is Noctis appearing out of nowhere in its tail, like the weapon is a destination. He strikes and Kefka barely blocks it with its forearm. Noctis throws his cleaver elsewhere, and wherever it appears he warps to. He sends a spear to strike Kefka's shoulder. Disappears. A sword, and then Noctis again, attempting to jab the clown in the eye.
Either way, Noctis stays up high, distracting the clown from doing anything else, like a fly determined to be annoying.
"Light!" Sora yells.
He beams, a force bursting out before racing back to his body, and suddenly he illuminates white and takes two Keyblades (Two? Aqua can't think about it right now), sending himself flying high, his weapons a passion to be reckoned with.
They are both heavy hitters, Noctis and Sora, black and white, one sneaky, the other forward, both brave.
Aqua has much to catch up to.
If it's aggressiveness they want, she has plenty of it. Her magic swirls around her as she charges forward, drawing her thoughts inward to her belly, letting her body twirl faster and faster to hurl the energy out in whips and circles.
Donald and Lulu tag team, throwing lightning strikes, icicles, fireballs on the top of the clown's head. It really, really hates having its face touched, and between those spells and Sora and Noctis zipping around like insects, there's already enough distractions.
Cloud thrusts at its metal calves with his giant sword, an impressive power from below to add to the frenzy.
The well-dressed man and the rabbit-woman take calculated shots from afar, aiming for the eyes and only when the clown has an opening.
Lea also takes that cue and throws firey pot shots from afar even though he's a Keyblade wielder (maybe it's smarter to keep a distance).
Goofy is a little all over the place, but his attack, inspired by a tornado, hits the spot when it does, joining Aqua in the mess she's created.
That's… ten fighters at least against one Heartless and it doesn't do much.
Kefka instead takes a moment to just… stand there and take the heat like it isn't bothered. It can't be this easy.
It's not. Like it suddenly woke up, Kefka stomps the ground, and with it comes a roundabout of explosions that start at the rooftops right behind it and circle the entire third district, tossing debris into the ground and causing several people to succumb to coughing fits.
Garnet immediately checks person to person, her light shining to heal. Noctis is already at her side, and she pretends not to notice.
Cloud starts yelling commands to get the ram ready. He's trying to maneuver it and several men crowd together with him to make it move faster. "Aim it toward our bombs. Let's send it back to darkness!"
As though Kefka heard him, it sprints directly towards Cloud and his group of fighters, as if ready to run them flat. They all scream.
Sora scrambles for the feet with his double-weaponry and misses - just because Kefka likes to hop and skip around.
The clown freezes before it takes the last step, one knee high in the ground like it's deciding to squish them, and a hand outstretched - and balls into a fist.
Aqua expects another explosion, and the fighters scream again in fear.
The fist makes a honk - like a toy car.
Kefka laughs and everyone hurts, hands gripping heads to ease the headache, Aqua holding her heart still.
Now Kefka ignores the men it has targeted.
It instead whips around and with that same balled fist, it throws a blast of dark energy at the group of fighters on the opposite side - throwing bodies, slamming doors, disheveling potions and ripping weapons from their holders.
Aqua stumbles from the quakes, and she sees freed hearts, softly glowing, floating gently as the bodies disappear - three of them at least, heading towards the sky.
"No…"
Three lives lost already. She's failing.
Lulu is on the ground, clutching a Moogle doll closely to her chest as Lea holds her by the shoulders. Garnet is frantically throwing light to various people. The only healer in the group.
Both female mages are okay for now.
Kefka loses interest in Cloud's group - who are still preparing the only ram - to strut across the square like no one is watching, right toward a vulnerable Lulu.
Not like she's the type to get intimidated. She raises a fist close to her face, a succession of explosions slapping Kefka in the face and keeping it at bay. She's shaking it like she's grabbing hold onto something stronger than her and the explosions keep going until she has no choice but to let go.
Here is where Lea follows her patterns, but he's not as skilled at the Keyblade. Blessed with deception, definitely, his movements just as unpredictable as Kefka's, throwing fireballs to distract the clown like tossing bees, only to look like he'll dodge in one direction but he really dodges another.
All to keep the clown's attention away from Lulu.
"Cloud!" Lea yells. "Now!"
Cloud and two men push the ram with all their mind, Cloud yelling about making sure to hit it from the southeast direction or they'll miss the planted bomb.
Then the ram loses a wheel. Dilapidates onto the ground.
Kefka takes notice. It always smiles at the expense of others.
A loud whistle, and the sound of water. A wave. A tsunami, really. The well-dressed man blew the whistle, summoning a massive wave to overflow the district and head straight for Kefka.
A new ram, built by exquisitely rare water magic.
This is no time to admire, but an opportunity and Aqua takes it, throwing a trail of ice onto the water as it passes by her and she skates it up, up, and up. When she gets to the crest, she spreads the ice all over the thrash of ripples, turning them into steely icicles, straight into Kefka's torso, right onto the building behind it.
She missed the planted bomb but she's got it pinned. Standing on an icy wave, face to face with the smiling beast. It struggles against the ice, and she readies her Keyblade.
"Time to take care of you," she says.
Kefka stops, leaning its head forward with whatever movement it has left to stare right into her eyes, and even though it's programmed to make only one expression, it almost looks like it's smiling wider.
Aqua lowers her Keyblade. Kefka isn't in front of her anymore but there are flashing pictures of a man. A funny-dressed man, a river, throwing poison into the water, so much that it turns dark. There are many people dead and there's a laugh, and a trial, and a battle, and powerful magical transformations.
The worst kind of people become the worst kind of Heartless.
There's a voice.
"Crazy is just a word they use to describe us."
Aqua has never known a Heartless to be able to talk. It can't talk, it's all in her head.
"What?"
"What are you doing?" Donald yells from the ground below.
Kefka has its large hands around the brim of her icy prison and breaks it piece by piece, thrashing against the building, and she slips and slides off the back of the wave, away from its inevitable freedom.
"Let's go!" Sora and Lea zoom past her, aiming for the clown before it sets loose, but Lea is smarter and backs out when he realizes it's too late, and Sora keeps going until he's exhausted.
One of his Keyblades fade away and he falls, Goofty barely catching him while skating on his shield.
"Keep it up, come on!" Noctis yells to a huge disheartened crowd, followed by Cloud for another barrage of assaults.
Not that Kefka is particularly interested. It hops and dances, skipping along the block and every step it takes strikes a random explosion in a random location, some hitting nothing, others being blocked by Lulu's powerful barriers. One hits near the balcony where the well-dressed man and the rabbit woman were standing, leaving rubble and two long-range fighters onto the ground where they have less of an advantage.
It's dusty and Donald's fireworks sprinkle the air in bright colors that combat the sound of bombs to the point that Aqua has a hard time following Kefka.
She tries but a lot of her attacks end up missing because of Kefka's erratic movements. She has to rely on widespread attacks, which drain her and she takes deep breaths in between to keep herself going.
Sometimes when Kefka runs, it attacks where it aims for, and sometimes it decides not to. It's hard to keep up.
Garnet slips by in all directions, her main concern is healing other people - with such sharp determination that she doesn't care whether Noctis is trying to protect her.
Just when Aqua thinks that Kefka doesn't see her, it attacks, and Garnet is flung straight into a wall, her protection crystal shattering.
"NO!" Noctis yells.
She slumps and doesn't bother to get up. She folds her arms around herself, waiting for the next hit, and Aqua summons another trail of ice to get there faster (faster, faster). She can't let this happen on her watch.
At this point, Aqua is shielding a stupefied princess with her body, and Kefka will attack the both of them, already ready with a dark mass bubbling in its palm.
But it gets hit from behind by a massive… missile? It's forceful enough to actually make the clown stumble.
The droning sound of machinery draws near, a flying gummi ship coming close. Kefka laughs and everyone hurts, Aqua gripping Garnet tighter to quiet the squirming princess.
Kefka telepathically takes all six swords and glides them in a sweep, up right through the middle of the ship, cutting in half, and Riku vaults out of the captain's seat, rolling off a roof and landing with a huge thud right next to Aqua and Garnet.
"Just in time," Riku says, summoning his new Keyblade. It's heavy and massive for his size.
Garnet snaps out of her stupor, heaving because she's just escaped death. Her eyes flash anger, and she takes her shortstaff and holds it in the air. A column of light bursts through the cobblestone with a loud punch, shooting right into the sky with such a trembling force that Kefka is knocked away from them.
"Thank you, Aqua," Garnet gently says as she picks herself up. She casts another spell, encasing herself and Riku in crystal.
Even though he has his Keyblade ready, Riku gladly waits for her to finish like they've done this routine one too many times and it's the best they can do to keep an eye on each other.
But Riku doesn't wait for a command though, chasing as soon as his crystal stabilizes itself. It's Cloud that sprints by his side and gestures an order without saying anything. In sync, they hit both of Kefka's ankles with their massive weapons, tripping it to its knees.
Garnet is also on her knees, exhausted. Whatever attack she conjured, it drained her of power and Aqua slumps her over her back - Garnet may be short but she's heavy.
Some force of wind takes Aqua off her feet, and Noctis suddenly has his arm around the both of them, and they glide over the ground until he reaches his next waypoint and drops them right behind Lulu, who is frustrated, worried, and determined to keep Garnet behind her.
The look on Noctis' face is awful as he takes a glance at the chaos: Kefka easily standing up after being tripped, Cloud and Riku desperately attacking its shins, the ram since abandoned. Goofy and Sora attacking its ankles from behind, Lea acting like bait, the well-dressed man shooting his gun upwards and missing, the rabbit-woman shooting an arrow and hitting the clown straight in the eye, but it all does so little.
Noctis is tired - not just exhausted, but the kind of tired Aqua dealt with for years.
Not the kind when he's had enough and he's angry - the kind when he's had enough and it's time to give up.
And Aqua's had enough.
She charges forward with a yell, jabbing her Keyblade straight into the air. She summons a giant snowflake, spinning and flashing until it stabs Kefka right at the hip.
In reaction, Kefka commands its swords again, and throws them all at her with a huge swipe, and Aqua doesn't dodge. She blocks, each slash of a sword against a properly placed Keyblade. Kefka is strong, and Kefka is big, and these swords are twice her size - but none of them matter. She's been training with two large men her whole life, and Kefka doesn't compare to her Master's skill or Terra's ferocity.
"You're pissing me off!" she cries when she blocks the sixth sword.
It takes a lot out of her but they are not called special techniques without a good reason.
Her Master's unique chains, first encircling her in a glow of golden light, then lurching until they wrap around Kefka. At the touch, these chains burn Heartless - they've certainly burned her when the Master first taught them how to use it.
Success. Kefka's arms are twisted tightly against its torso, and one of the links wraps under its thigh and actually keeps the stupid thing on its knees, a perfect target for everyone else.
The air chills, fog rolling in and Aqua at first considers a new threat but it's actually a dragon shaped out of mist, bobbing in the air before landing on the roof. It blows steam onto the clown, carefully skipping allies like they are precious, leaving a clown squealing like an unoiled engine.
"That's my girl," says a breathy Lulu, who barely has the energy to stand up.
It has to be Rydia's summon. Such powerful magic, Aqua has so much to learn still.
But a dragon twice the size of Kefka still doesn't make a dent (what the stars is its skin made of?), and it soon dissipates, leaving a dumbfounded Aqua - but no one else seems surprised. They keep throwing attacks, and Aqua is getting drowsy. She can't hold onto the chains much longer.
Ah, Kefka's floating swords, she forgot about them. They strike against her chains. They'll break. The damn thing.
At this point, Aqua has nothing left to give and so much to lose.
"Noctis," she says, whipping around and holding him by the shoulder. "Can you fly me up?"
He has dirt on his face and defeat in his eyes, but why not? He grabs her by the waist and throws his dagger up in the sky. She flies, then he grabs her again, throws his dagger even higher, making her soar to heights she couldn't possibly jump to on her own.
Aqua lets herself float, aiming for the sword nearest her. She grabs the grip of the hilt. Her feet stomp the guard and she stands straight.
She ignores Noctis when he freaks and screams, "Don't touch those!"
The sword spins to knock her off but she has a direction she wants to go and this thing will obey.
Down she goes, the point of the sword cutting straight through the air with one very particular destination: in between Kefka's shoulder and clavicle.
She rips into it, metal creaking and gears popping apart until she hits a thud that she's sure is the ground. Like a needle, Kefka is pinned in place by its very own. Aqua's chains flickjer but still - it can't move.
Kefka can't turn its face well to get a full look at the Keyblade Master triumphantly standing on its shoulder, right in between its lost limb.
"Get off of there!"
"Don't touch that!"
"Are you nuts?"
Voices by some she recognizes and some she doesn't, she ignores them. Instead, she watches Kefka's eyes, hard on her. The smile on its face doesn't waver even though she can tell - she can feel - rage building.
Several gears choke right under its chin, still turning but only barely. It's so weak under the frame - most of its inner skeleton is just metal beams and a cloud of purple smoke for organs with a black balloon for a head, all wrapped in a tacky costume. For a Heartless, it cannot create a hard shadow body like all the others, so it made itself a hard shell instead.
Like that of a man with a soft ego, too short-sighted to see his his arrest and execution coming, the ghost of a crazy clown who never wanted to be weak again and has only proven himself so.
"It's not as fun like this."
Aqua studies the two gashes on its mask, burnt at the tips and curving outwards.
"Terra did that to you, didn't he?" She scoffs. Her hands are melting into the swords hilt - this isn't fully solid either, and she can feel Garnet's soft puffs of white light healing her fingers the longer she's touching it. "I've faced worse than you in the Realm of Darkness."
She summons her Master's Defender. In darkness, only light slices the way. Even though the Keyblade is blunt and rounded, the point is to reach the heart - and every darkened heart has a weakness to exploit, the very same insecurity that haunted its former human.
Aqua has felt it all with every Heartless she's defeated in the Realm: the grieving, the enraged, the depressed, the vengeful, the feral, the crazy.
She yells, the light off her Keyblade aiming straight for the neck - she promised to be a Wayfinder, and for darkness that simply means releasing them.
Her Keyblade sparks against the gears and she has to look away, and this force burns like steam but she keeps at it. She's not letting this thing dance away tonight.
Kefka screeches.
There are yells about abandoning her with the clown.
Sora yells back that they have to help her.
Riku agrees.
Lea (apprehensively) follows along.
And Aqua keeps doing what she's doing.
Kefka's shoulder budges the moment the purple smoke of its insides release like gas, into her face and up her nostrils. It's putrid and it burns behind her eyes. She coughs but she stands strong until her Keyblade gives way and suddenly there's another collapse and she's falling backwards with the arm.
Something large topples on itself as there's a shimmer in the air.
Cries of amazement. Hollers. Yells to get back as far as possible. Aqua can't tell, it's cloudy in dark purple and she can't see in the gas.
Two pairs of hands grab her by the shoulders and drag her, and there's so much coughing - her throat burns and she hears Riku telling Sora to hurry up and he coughs as well.
It's clear now, the gas slowly fading away and whatever is left of the clown slowly - slowly - topples away like it still wants to resist. First the entire right arm where she chopped it off, then the left, until the knees buckle and its head rolls forward and it all turns black and gets blown open by sparkles of light.
A large heart floats upward, the crowds watching in silence like it's a stunning show they respect too much to interrupt. They don't shift until it floats higher, somewhere high in the sky where Kingdom Hearts will eventually accept its arrival.
The crowd doesn't believe it at first even though it's as clear as day. Claps start, then sobs, then whoops, then hugs and kisses, and a melting of relief rolled into a platter of overused desperation that still needs a place to be served.
The fight is over, and the night is as bright as the dawn.
There's so much happiness but all Aqua feels is shivering - it's so cold all of a sudden and her teeth chatter.
Riku is on his hands and knees, hacking.
Sora is on his side, his hand rubbing a massive headache and he moans.
Donald and Goofy run to his side, the former giving him a lecture instead of congratulating all the accomplishments of the night, and Goofy swings Sora over his shoulder to carry him away.
Lea throws Riku's arm around his shoulders. "Come on, buddy," he says, patting Riku's back.
Cloud gently carries Aqua in his arms, whispering, "I wasn't expecting that. It's impressive."
But it hurts to swallow and she doesn't say anything back. He lowers her onto a stretcher, in between Riku and Sora, who each have their own.
Riku rolls his head. "I can't quite believe it. Stupid clown."
Sora makes a trembling thumbs-up. "We did it." It plops down.
Gasps and sobs make way near them, and Garnet wanders into view, unable to keep up with her smiling tears, her gloved fingers intertwining with Aqua's.
"It is done. It is over," she says.
"What is happening to me?" Aqua asks hoarsely.
"Oh, you've been poisoned, dear," Garnet says with a sweet smile, leaning over her. "Not to worry. Terra has made sure we've plenty of elixirs."
"Terra…"
It's just like him to always be there.
Even during treasure hunts, where he left clues through the forest to make it easier for her to find him. Like stepping stones on an ocean so she could walk across, and she follows.
Garnet melts into tears again, the cheers silencing her quiet sobs and Lulu is asking for her, gathering everyone except the poor souls on stretchers into a huge embrace.
Celebrations are just as chaotic, nothing like the stars.
The stars. Aqua gasps when she sees them, and it sends her into such a coughing fit that Cloud has to put an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.
But there they are, dim due to the light pollution. They're her first since she's been freed, and she's forgotten how special she always thought of them - a light to pierce the darkness. Guides to give people directions. Reminders of hope. Wayfinders for all the dreams she's had.
They're beautiful.
A/N: Yes, I made Mickey quote Walt Disney because I wanted to make myself feel clever.
And if you thought I was going to allow Terra defeat Kefka instead of a female swordsman... how dreadful.
I also didn't exactly mean to, but I do notice how much I made Garnet out to be like a Princess of Light. Out of all the Final Fantasy heroines, she's definitely the one closest to a Disney princess honestly.