It was with perverse pleasure that Aqua bit into her so-called hot dog. The soft bread was slightly soaked with the warm juice that the meat sticks were resting in, and after an eternity of nothing, the acidic tang of 'ketchup' was almost too much for her. "I still think you shouldn't have done that," she whispered, dabbing at her chin with one of the strange, not-cloth napkins.
"Aqua, the average person doesn't deal with unmarked gold. Plus," Robin flicked one of the smaller globs of munny they'd collected during their time together into the air, "they don't seem to work with that metal here."
"I know, but…"
"Until we find a way to secure some currency, this is what we'll have to do in order to survive."
Aqua held back a sigh with another bite. She found no pride in knowing that Robin had stolen a few wallets in order to buy them their food, but as usual, he was right. Once the shock of being back in the Realm of Light passed, hunger had hit hard. Hot dogs, corn dogs, popcorn, tacos, even pretzels (of which she was glad was one familiarity) were all picked up from the vendors around the park. "What do you think we should do?"
"I don't know." He smirked, the cadence tickling a memory that failed to surface. When she gave him an apologetic shrug he simply laughed and continued on. "Once it gets big enough, every place has its underside. Come nightfall, we'll take a look and see where that might be. I know that might be uncomfortable for you, so if you need to—"
"No!" Aqua shrunk in on herself when she realized she had said that perhaps a bit too loud. "No, I'd— I'd rather be with you. At least together we can overcome anything."
Robin smiled, acceptingly, pityingly. "Until then, let's just enjoy the day."
And so they did. Simply basking in sunlight (to which Robin made the off hand remark that Aqua seemed to be lazing about very much like a cat) or strolling around the park. More than once a few people— namely youths around their age, asked to take pictures of them. Robin went by himself at first, always eager to experience new things, though after the fourth time Aqua joined in as well. As sunset approached, they once again ordered food from a cart a few streets away, alongside a bottle of soda that Robin very much enjoyed (and Aqua rather disliked). As most things did though, their peace came to an end when people started running by, all from a single direction.
"Excuse me?" Robin reached out and grabbed somebody by the shoulder. "What's going on?"
The man, initially upset at being stopped, looked the two of them over, a look of realization appearing. "Those monsters are back again. You should get out of here now, they're not too far away."
Robin let him go, a raised brow his only question to Aqua.
Chugging the rest of her water down, she neatly screwed the cap onto the empty bottle. A new world was no reason to forget her manners. "Did you think I would say no?"
He smirked slightly. "We did just come back, so the thought crossed my mind." A short run away, towards where people and vehicles were fleeing from, they arrived at another spacious park, shambling forms of darkness walking about almost protectively around a giant sphere of crackling Darkness. "Go check for anybody that needs help," Robin commanded, blue rings of magic gathering around his right hand. His left hand pulled his hood up, an open handed swipe upward along his face activating the concealment spell that prompted her to do the same. "I'll take care of that portal." Robin's Blizzara flew out first, the man jumping atop the line it left behind and sliding along it with a precise application of magic at his feet.
Her own projectile took her through a small grove, repeated castings letting her glide around the area and gather the attention of the nearby Heartless. No one's nearby. Every Heartless down the streets are following me now. Another recast let her slide past Robin's fight, measured arcs of Thunder from the man clearing his grouping of Shadows and armored bipedal enemies.
"Aqua, take over clean up!" Robin jabbed a hand into the gaping sphere of darkness near him, redirecting his other towards the mass of Shadows following her. Twin balls of ice fired with the gesture, crashing into the Heartless and decimating them with the subsequent explosion of jagged shards.
Aqua swung her hand in front of herself, canceling her ice line and gathering energy for an Aerora. Were there really this many? She let out a stream of Thundara's from her other hand, the streaks of lightning obliterating everything it touched. A dozen and a half Heartless, more coming from that portal. Aqua reared back, a blade of ice reminiscent of Stormfall appearing in her hand, only to tear through the air as she launched it in a one way Strike Raid. Much like Robin's usage of the spell, the blade exploded into shards, a giant, spiked boulder of ice forming at the epicenter and locking all but three Heartless within. Two quick Firas took care of them, and an Aeroga centered around Robin cleared his surroundings of Heartless, as well as forming a sealing barrier.
"How much longer?" She shouted over the winds.
"Two minutes, maybe!"
Another handful of Shadows leapt through the portal, decimated by a chaining bolt of Thundara before they could land. Two more times denizens of the Dark leapt out uselessly, until a loud crashing sound echoed from up the streets.
"Go check it out!" Robin ordered, hands still plunged into the barely diminished portal. She hesitated only a moment, enough time for Robin to give her a reassuring nod.
Four crossroads down, the damage was immense. Vehicles were laying on their roofs, windows shattered and sides crumpled in. Here and there, trees were snapped in half, victims of the cars knocked through them, and further down the street, a torrent of water was gushing into the air.
"C'mere, ugly!" Spiraling streaks of yellow shot over the front of the smoothly armored beast, the Heartless looking up for only a moment before turning around and refocusing its gaze. The woman covered in segmented, scratched yellow armor whirled around on the disks attached to her feet, sliding to a stop behind her before skating up to her pace. "Civilians are supposed to evacuate! No playing hero!"
Aqua simply jumped off the ice line in response. A pulse of magic let her jump once more, and a quick casting of Aero at her feet sent her soaring over the hulking Heartless. She righted herself in mid-air as she fell, sending out a violent spray of ice chunks with a hand. The five chunks of Blizzaza embedded themselves deep into the Heartless' armor, the monster seemingly grunting before turning around to face her.
"Hey! Leave these to the professionals!" The woman slipped past the almost toy-looking Heartless, kneeling down and spinning as she rode past, carving into the creature's leg twice before repositioning in front of her.
"I could say the same to you," she retorted, gathering magic in her hand.
The woman scoffed. "You know what, fine. Just don't slow me down."
Aqua thrust her hand into the air and snapped her fingers, a heavy bolt of lightning crashing down and sending sparks all over the beast's body. More than halfway to the beast, her ally flipped onto her hand disks, pirouetting onto the one mounted on her left wrist and letting her other three slice at the beast. Aqua sent out a salvo of ice spears at the beast's chest, the trio piercing the armor with a shrill thunk. Yellow shot up once more, the fighter mimicking Aqua's falling spin from earlier and delivering a spinning slash with her legs.
"I had it handled, civvie," she spoke, spinning around to face her as she approached.
A muted voice from the woman's helmet suddenly spoke out. "Gogo, I could use some help over here!"
She reached up and pressed a button on the left side of her helmet. "Be there in a second, Fred." She scoffed and shook her head. "You were pretty good for a newbie." The woman skated around her a few times, her gaze uncomfortably familiar. "If you think you're up to it, Mage Knight, you should try and keep up. Night's still young, and there's plenty of stuff to do." With a two fingered salute, 'Gogo' sped off, taking a sharp turn two streets down.
Aqua took a hesitant step forward. With a single gesture, two fireballs shot high into the air, exploding harmlessly. It was only then that she took off after the woman, a spiraling cone of ice leading the way.
/ - /
"But man, that was really, really awesome!" Gogo's companion, no longer in his blue-themed monstrous armor, went into another enthusiastic retelling of their actions, complete with surprisingly accurate sound effects from his mouth. "And then when you guys did that thing with the ice and the exploding lightning, and how the chunks from that ice pillar crushed the rest of those monsters? Just, gaaah!" The man went slack, an enraptured look on his face.
"Fred, you're scaring them," Gogo said dryly. On the cushions beside her, her helmet laid neatly on her attachable disks.
"He does have a knack for storytelling," Robin admitted. Even after the four of them had been picked up by Fred's butler and entered the long vehicle Fred called a limo, Robin had yet to take down his hood or concealment spell, an act Aqua mirrored.
"Don't let him hear you say that." Gogo gave Fred a slightly disgruntled glance. "If he knows he's got another fan he'll talk your ear off." As the car slowed to a stop, adhering to a probable rule of colored lights, Gogo crossed her legs and stared them down. "So. Any chance of you two letting us see your faces? It's only natural that—"
"Ah, Gogo, lighten up. If these two wanna keep their real identities a secret who are we to stop them?" Fred sat back up, slouching over and resting his hands on his knees. "Two heroes show up out of the blue, not even a warning or heads up for us? I'm sure they've got their reasons."
"Yeah, but—"
Aqua turned to look at Robin, the man giving the slightest of nods. As one they moved their hands down their faces, Robin pulling his hood down once the concealment faded.
"Huh." Gogo smirked. "Nice dye job."
"Thank you?" Aqua answered questioningly, a small part of her marveling at the now-noticeable breeze coming from a nearby vent.
Fred leaned forward, the action making Gogo's eye twitch. "So where are you guys from? And who designed your outfits?"
"That would be me." Robin raised a gloved hand. "Aqua's previous uniform wasn't adequate enough for the job, so I made her a new suit."
"Oh, we're using codenames, huh? Well, I'm Fred, she's Go Go. Two words, not one, very important." Fred's hands moved widely as he spoke, each action accompanied by highly expressive movements of his face. "Is hers some kind of nano-tech? Disappearing like that into that arm guard of hers… And I'm guessing yours is some kind of polymer fiber?"
Robin smirked. "Of the sort." Considering the kind of world he used to live in, she doubted that Robin actually knew what any of those terms meant.
"Mmm, yeah." Fred fell back into his seat, seemingly content. To Go Go, though making no attempt to be subtle, "Visitors from Europe. They've got a whole medieval fantasy theme going on." The man sat back up with a broad smile. "Well amigos, let me be among the first to officially welcome you to San Fransokyo! The shadow monsters are a new development, though it's kind of exciting having something bother us besides the usual science-y villains." He cupped his chin, giving them both a more studious look. "I don't suppose you two would be experts on them?"
"Fred, I think you're getting ahead of yourself." Go Go paused and looked at Aqua. "No offense."
"None taken," she responded with a small smile. "Expert might be a bit of a stretch, but we've definitely had experience with them."
"How long ago did they start appearing?" Robin asked.
"Just recently," Go Go said. "The small ones popped up in the middle of the day over in Muihara Woods, just outside the city. Scared the crap out of the hikers. They've slowly been working their way towards here and it's only two days ago that they started showing up all over the place." She grunted in annoyance and looked to the side. "We've been having to take shifts to deal with the threat. Luckily classes are over for the summer, but aside from Fred we've still got jobs and lives to maintain."
"Hey, somebody's got to hold down the fort." If Fred took any offense, he didn't show it.
"We could help out with that," Robin offered. "We'll need some help settling down though. Some things happened and we lost all our supplies."
Fred nodded, almost sagely were it on anyone else. "If it means I have time to do my laundry, I have no problems putting you guys up. I haven't felt safe enough to do them in over two weeks now."
Go Go flinched back viscerally, an action Aqua was almost tempted to replicate. "Ew, Fred!"
"Hey! I said I haven't had time. Heathcliff's been doing it for me, I just." Fred looked away. "It's different when I do it, y'know?"
"So when will we be able to meet the rest of your team?" Robin asked, mirth in his eyes.
Fred's expression brightened at the change in subject. "They might swing by to visit tomorrow or so. We only do group patrols on weekends."
"If anything happens during the rest of the week, it's usually Fred or Hiro that takes care of it." Go Go gestured towards her suit laying at the other end of the limo, giving Fred another disgusted look. "Or if any of us are free and have our equipment on hand."
"Which usually means hanging at my place!" Fred interjected with a grin.
"Which usually means hanging at his place," she repeated, a tiny note of annoyance in her voice.
"And speaking of my place," Fred's grin grew wider as the car slowed down. "Welcome to mi casa!" The man stepped out and threw his hands into the air, shaking them as he gestured at the large mansion before them. "Which I have been told repeatedly means 'my house' and not front door."
Aqua thanked the man that opened the door for them, the servant(?) acknowledging her with a nod so small she thought she imagined it.
"Heathcliff can help you figure things out once we get settled in. Hiro probably swung by once the news broke about what happened so—" The large door Fred was guiding them to swung up suddenly, a small boy the size of Ven running out with a worried look on his face.
"Fred! Leiko! Are you two-"
"Ah, ah, ah! Slow it down, Little Man. Codenames only. We've got visitors." Fred stepped to the side with a small bow, his hands gesturing grandly to the two of them.
Robin stepped up, offering a gentle hand in greeting, as opposed to the almost violent, abrupt one Fred had given them when they first met. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Robin, this is Aqua."
Aqua gave a small wave and shake in return. Leaning against the other door to the mansion, Go Go gave her a small smirk when their eyes met, one that had her quickly turning her attention back to the conversation at hand.
The boy she assumed was Hiro ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, man, the team's going to be so thankful for your help. We've been running ourselves ragged trying to deal with these things. The police have been doing what they can, but we haven't been able to isolate what's been letting only us deal with those monsters, and we can't exactly run tests out in the field, not when so much collateral damage is at risk."
"Heartless," Aqua said, wishing she could reform her helmet when three pairs of eyes suddenly focused on her. She cleared her throat, "They're called Heartless."
"Is that because of how they act or is there a deeper meaning to that?" Fred asked. "Because a name like that doesn't get given without a reason."
Robin chuckled. "I said the same thing."
"Oi, Fred!" Go Go peeked around the door, her 'phone' held to the side of her head. "I'm ordering dinner. You cool if we eat in the family room?"
"No bueno, Go Go. Heathcliff got annoyed after we spilled all those drinks last time."
Aqua heard a soft "It's true, madam," from the butler standing at attention by the still open door.
"Ah, we should probably take this inside. I'm sure you two would love a chance to sit down." Hiro chuckled nervously. "Are you guys injured in any way? I can have Baymax check you out if you are."
"Baymax?" Aqua parroted.
"Oh you'll love Baymax. He's like a giant, walking marshmallow, and when it gets too hot or cold he can change the temperature of his skin so when you hug him you'll be so much more comfortable." Fred spun around on a foot, looking for all the world as if he was love struck.
Robin gave her a small smile before heading inside, subtly holding an open hand out for her to see. It was an action he'd done repeatedly whenever there was incoming trouble, and though she doubted there was any to be had, she appreciated it all the same.
Aqua had visited a few mansions during her time under Master Eraqus. Never one as technologically advanced as this one, but stepping inside she could tell it was a mansion all the same. Brightly colored walls, opulent staircases; everything showed a vast amount of thought and care into its assembly, the amount of effort equaled by the value of the materials and craftsmanship.
"It's not too different from the mansions and villas of my world," Robin whispered, slowing down half a step. Ahead of them, Hiro and Fred conversed about the movements of the Heartless that evening; the suspected collateral damage, whether or not anybody had to be sent to the hospital. A quiet pang of guilt shot through her heart as she realized the sorts of issues those who lived in the worlds infected by the Heartless went through. At least with the Unversed, they were limited to a single area, but the Heartless? If they had a whole realm all to themselves, how far might they spread when unchecked?
"Aqua? Are you alright?"
Aqua's head shot up. "Hum?"
"Everything okay?"
She stared at Robin. Ever since the fight had ended, his distinct aura of not-quite-Darkness had completely disappeared. It was still there of course, wrapped around his coat like the scent of a favorite accessory, as well as occasionally wafting off her left pauldron, but that's all it was. Whispers. "I'm still getting used to it all," she said quietly, looking away. Earlier in the day she had the warmth of the sun to distract her. Honest to goodness voices surrounding her that weren't her own ragged mumblings or Robin's retellings.
But now? In the beginnings of night and in this place that felt so much like the castle from the Enchanted Dominion? One thought kept repeating itself in her mind, nothing more than a tiny murmur that refused to go away.
This was not the Realm of Light.
She was still stuck in the Realm of Darkness.
At any point, this cursed nightmare disguised as a wonderful dream would end and when she opened her eyes, she would once again be surrounded by an endless abyss of hungering shadows.
"Aqua, we're not there anymore. We're safe."
The warmth of Robin's hand jerked her out of her thoughts, only to give birth to new ones. The being before her, the one who seemed to be the source of the not-Darkness that the body could wield, was known as Grima. He said that he was not Robin, but that Robin was him. So the one who was giving her a soft smile, humming a quiet tune that she had drifted in and out of sleep to so many times; who was it, really? Was Robin just some mask? Or, in the way that Vanitas had once been a part of Ven, were the two beings part of the same body? Could she even trust Robin?
"Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in."
Slowly her vision returned, the narrow pinprick of color giving way to the soft blue and creams of the hallway.
"You back with me?"
"I— yes." Had she always been on the floor? Aqua looked up, realizing that Robin had moved to his knees to help her. "Thank you, Robin."
Robin gave a quiet hum and rose, holding a hand out for her to grab onto. "There are better places to sleep than on the ground you know," he said with a chuckle.
"Hey, everything okay?" Hiro peeked around the door, an unspoken question forming on his face at their position.
"We've had a bit of a long day," Robin answered with a smile.
Hiro returned the gesture, "I bet some food might help with that. It'll take a couple minutes before it gets here, but we can break out some snacks if you guys need something."
This was the Realm of Light. She was not dreaming. She was safe. "That would be appreciated." Aqua offered a grateful smile. While the snacks from earlier helped sate her hunger, there was still that indescribable weariness in her bones. It reminded her of the times she'd read through the night studying some book, only to realize she had practice in the morning, but several orders worse. In fact—
"Eat something first before you pass out." A pair of arms caught her before she could collapse, Robin grunting in effort. "I know you're feeling the exhaustion, especially now that we've had a chance to rest a little, but stay strong a bit longer, okay? Going to bed without dinner will do us no favors."
Aqua let out a sigh. He was right of course. Ten years in the Realm of Darkness, plus however long truly passed since she met Mickey; all that time hunger and exhaustion never went past a dull ache that lingered in her mind. It only made sense that now, back in the Realm of Light, it caught up to her. One foot forward. Then the next. Though Robin kept his shoulder under hers as he guided her to the table, she could still claim she was moving under her own power.
Go Go frowned when she looked up from her phone. "Just noticed an injury?"
"We've had some trying times earlier," Robin explained. "It's catching up to us."
"Nothing some food and rest won't fix," Aqua added.
"Hey, brought out some snacks. Not the most filling, but didn't think you'd want to—" Fred stopped mid-step, frowning in thought as Robin slowly helped her sit down at the table. Setting the box down with a surprising bout of agility, he clapped his hands twice. "Heathcliff."
"Yes, Master Frederick?"
"Prepare a room for these two." He glanced at her with a critical eye. "Hrm, and some painkillers. You're not allergic to anything, right?"
Aqua shook her head.
"And injuries?"
"Just a bit of exhaustion," Robin answered for her. "We haven't exactly had the most peaceful of sleeps the past few weeks."
"A nice, warm bed will probably—" She braced her head on her hands, elbows on the table. Just the mere thought of such a thing sent another wave of exhaustion through her body.
"I guess sleep's actually a better idea for you," Robin murmured, draping his coat over her. The act created a small burst of concern, but somehow the sheer closeness of Grima's Darkness made her more relaxed. As if by being surrounded by the monster's aura, her body and mind knew she wouldn't be bothered by anything. Before she knew it, the distinct voices surrounding her began blurring together, before those too faded into silence.
So this piece got far more attention than I was expecting. Thanks for that. Every follow, favorite, and review always brings a small burst of surprise and happiness when I see the notification.
To that end, I'll be working on continuing this piece for the next period of time, sticking to the bi-weekly release date. I'll admit, building up a backlog and being able to upload without any worries of having to sit down and write is nice, but there's something a lot more special about sticking to a deadline.
Next chapter will be out on November 1st.