For Day 4 of the Kingdom Hearts 3 Countdown Challenge - Wayfinder Trio (Terra, Aqua, and Ven)
Sorry. One word Terra wished he could tell them. It was his fault this whole mess had happened in the first place. If only he hadn't pushed away the very people who could have helped him from succumbing to the darkness. If only he hadn't listened to Xehanort, fallen for his slick lies and empty half-truths.
He took out his Wayfinder and stared at it. It was a true sign of Aqua's skill and magic that after all this time it was still in one piece.
His grip around it tightened. Would they still want him anymore, even if he did return to them? If Aqua's magic worked and brought them all together again? He was the one who had driven them all apart with the way he'd mistrusted Aqua and pushed Ven away.
Well, whether they wanted him or not, at the very least he owed them an apology.
"Aqua, Ven, I'm sorry."
Sorry. Sorry my sacrifice did nothing to help you, Terra. Sorry I didn't keep my promise to return to you, Ven. Sorry I've been stuck in this miserable place with no way out, this hellish existence with no real hope of freedom.
Aqua's life was a series of one regret after another, but the worst regrets of all were her broken promises to Terra and Ven. They'd been counting on her to save them, and now she needed saving herself.
She took her Wayfinder out and stared at it. It was still in one piece somehow after all this time, even though the person who had made it was anything but.
How far she had fallen. Once the future had seemed a thing of hope, but now… now… the prospect of any more time spent in this prison was too much to bear.
A tear slid down her cheek. "Terra, Ven, I'm sorry. I can't… I can't hold out much longer."
Sorry. Sorry I've been sitting here completely useless as the two of you suffer. Sorry all I can do is sleep as I wait for Sora to finish repairing my heart. Sorry I couldn't protect you from the man who split my heart in two.
Ven had a lot of regrets, but his biggest one was that the people who had opened their home and their hearts to him had gotten involved with the same twisted man who had ruined his life.
If only he hadn't lost his memory. If only he could've warned them of the true danger Xehanort posed. If only he could have spared them such terrible fates, could have spared himself his fate.
And now Sora and his friends were barreling towards that same danger. Sora, heart so kind it had accepted a stranger's broken heart soon after birth. Sora, heart so caring it had healed and protected Ven's for years. Sora, heart so selfless he was convinced Ven's rescue and Terra and Aqua's salvation rested on his shoulders.
The worlds were very cruel to people like him.
Ven pulled out his Wayfinder and stared at it, stared at his reflection in the green glass.
"Saving all these people… saving me… what's it gonna cost him?"
His hand shook and his vision blurred. "I'm sorry, Terra and Aqua, but I can't… I can't let him—"
He wiped his eyes. "If you knew him, you'd feel the same. Watching him grow up, seeing the worlds through his eyes, knowing the kind of person he's become— how could I not care about him?"
He slipped his Wayfinder back into his pocket and thought of his friends, knowing they would understand. And then his thoughts turned to Sora, the person he wanted to apologize to most of all.
"Sora, the road ahead won't be easy. In fact, it might be more like hell. But just remember… don't lose heart, because we're all rooting for you, every step of the way."