What's this? A surprise update?
Duck underneath a barrage of projectiles; cartwheel away from a dive bombing unit of metal armored Heartless; raise a Barrier for the attacking dual blade aggressor and— Aqua let out a battle cry as her Barrier exploded outwards, immediately following up with a Fira to its face.
The Heartless staggered backwards, a trio of yellow glowing arrows piercing its chest. An instant later, the energy crackled all over its body, a low powered Thoron striking it right through the head and destroying it.
Aqua spared only a moment to appreciate Robin's masterful use of magic and timing. From the rapid firing of arrows to knowing exactly what kind of response the discharge of said arrows would elicit; if there was nothing else Aqua could say about him, it was that he was a master of his craft.
The Heartless had arrived in the middle of a shopping trip between her, Robin, and Ethel. Whether by happenstance or something more, their entrance occurred not four blocks away.
With new weapons forged by Mogrii tucked away in a magically linked pocket space and their 'hero outfits' a simple act of gathering them from Ethel's trunk and throwing them on (unlike the woman herself who had to fully suit up), responding to the threat took less than four minutes.
That had been half an hour ago. For a moment, more jokingly than accusatory, Aqua had almost wanted to ask if Robin had opened up a portal for more materials and forgot to tell her.
"On your right!"
Aqua batted aside the oncoming rush of flying Heartless, her yet-to-be-named sabre sending them veering harmlessly around her with pinpoint strikes to their energy wings. Whether wheeled or in the air, the blue and pink monsters were good for nothing more than hit and run tactics; survive their initial charge and they'd be open to whatever counter you fancied. For Aqua, having acquired a proper focus to act as a replacement for that specific part of her keyblade, this usually meant a bliss filled -ga spell.
The strange whap of Robin's stringless mana bow sounded out beside her, "Go Go's having trouble on her end." One of the Heartless whose bodies were half water quivered as an electric arrow slid through its protective shell, the magic within detonating and destroying it in a crackle of magical lightning. "Going to enact standard Pest Control procedures. You going to be okay on your own while I help her out?"
Not to be outdone, Aqua raised her left hand into the air and snapped her fingers, staring straight at a gathering of clawed knights. The moment light started filling her sight, Aqua reflexively ducked her chin towards her chest, not daring to look back up until the roar of Thundaga disappeared. "I have a blade and a focus." Underneath her helmet, Aqua smirked. "I'm basically back in the Realm of Darkness with my pockets full of ethers."
Robin laughed. "Alright then, Master Aqua. I'll leave you to your training."
Aqua reentered her usual stance as Robin departed on a whirl of levitating air, his robes billowing behind him. There she was, all by her lonesome and surrounded by Heartless. A weapon in hand and magic sparking at her fingertips. This time, she would not run. She would not curl up and wait for the inevitable.
This time, she was the inevitable.
Aqua felt the grin spread across her face as she launched towards a humanoid shadow, time magic at the tip of her blade. Upon contact, the spell exploded outwards, freezing her surroundings in place. Function and grace; precision and swiftness; all her life she had trained to wield a keyblade, and even with a bladed weapon instead of a magical edge, those skills still worked. The Heartless flinched with every phantom strike once Stopra ended, exploding into plumes of hazy ichor.
Mana Converter. That was what Robin had granted her. Upon taking damage from a Heartless or defeating one, her suit would siphon a portion of the lingering energy and turn it into something usable; something that, on a fundamental level she couldn't explain, matched up with her mana signature and granted her more energy. For their go-to plan of Pest Control, it was the perfect gift.
"Mage Knight, we brought some friends!" Ethel skidded around a corner, briefly lowering a wheeled hand to the ground to better control her turn.
"Just in time!" she answered back. "We're about to set off the fireworks!"
Robin came around the corner next, orbs of harrying Elwind continuing to draw the attention of whatever horde they had gathered.
Aqua let out a startled bark of laughter as the grouping made themselves known. It was a writhing mass of ant shadows, smaller than what she was used to, but still acting in unison. Since she last saw Mickey, that specific form had never shown back up, even throughout all her travels with Robin. But that was okay. She was stronger now.
Ethel skated past her, her magnetic wheels screeching against the ground as she slid to a stop.
She had two whole years with a master of magic as her companion.
Robin grew closer and closer, every bounding step against the ground allowing him time to fire off another irritating splash of the elements.
Two whole years without focus.
"Mage Knight, they're getting closer!"
And now that she had one?
Robin stopped just short of her, hopping back the last few steps so he'd be out of her firing line.
"Imagine if I had a keyblade," she whispered to herself. "Stopza!" The magic pulsed through the air, the mass of Heartless momentarily entering a moment of stillness. Aqua could feel her magic bubbling forth, eagerly awaiting her call. It answered readily, elements flying out with every thrust and gesture. Blizzaza, Firaza, Waterza, Aeroza; each cast pulled the expected amount of mana from her core, but with the aid of her focus, the drain on her stamina was almost negligible. As the first three projectiles neared the Heartless, Aqua pulled forth once more, mana sparking between her fingertips.
Some of the Heartless began twitching.
The spells were nearly upon them.
"Farewell!" The cry tore from her lips, gloved hand jabbing into the air. Blinding white light, stronger than the cast from before, filled her sight. The air ran rank with the scent of superheated air, the screech of magic'd lightning roaring out their vengeance against the Heartless. When at last the magics began to fade, Aqua was upon the remnants of the tide of shadows, another Stopga at her fingertips and a faux keyblade in place of her sabre. Was this what having a focus was like? To feel unstoppable? To have every cast barely be a drain on your energy stores? Eight infused blades later, Aqua plunged her sabre into the horde, sending a pulse of Aeroga into its core.
How could she have ever done without?
Once more, the Heartless were sent flying by the staccato of spells. Once again, the casting of Aero pulled them all back, a damaging variant of Magnet. Dismissing her blade, Aqua began walking back to Robin and Ethel, uncaring of the magic arrows flying past her. Situations like this was where she thrived. Spell fire flying past her on all sides; there was no need to worry about strategy; all she had to worry about was the enemy directly in front of her. Any problems not within blade distance was something for Robin to handle.
That was how she liked it.
Ethel crossed her arms and nodded her head up. Words for later, Aqua assumed. When Robin dismissed his bow after firing one final arrow, both Aqua and Ethel made to run towards an alley where they could return to their civilian guises, but an outstretched arm stopped her before she could take a single step. Gloved clapping methodically sounded out, footfalls accompanying the sound.
"I was wondering who was dealing with all of our scouting parties." A young man— no, teen?— stepped towards them. Cloaked in a black coat that covered their entire body and left only a vague outline of their form, not a thing could be gleaned about them. "Turns out, it's a couple of stowaways." Whether by coincidence or planning, the teen stopped just short of her effective range. "An archer and a magic swordsman." He scoffed. "If you know what's good for you, you'll stop getting in my way."
"If you use the Heartless to cause trouble, we can't stand back and do nothing," Robin answered, uncharacteristically stern.
"You can," the teen countered. "Because if you don't, then I'll make sure to keep you swarmed with Heartless."
"Go ahead," Aqua snarled, righteous fury filling her at the thought of someone who would dare utilize the Heartless. "See how well that works out for you." One Heartless or forty, a lifetime meant either wasn't a problem.
The teen laughed. "We'll see." An ovoid mass of darkness opened behind him with an eerie sound, black on the edges and sickeningly purple in the middle. "We'll see." Taking only three steps backwards, the teen disappeared behind the veil, the portal collapsing on itself and showing no sign of its appearance.
"Talk later," Robin murmured, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We need to leave before emergency services arrive."
"I'll get the car started," Ethel responded, skating ahead.
/ - /
"I hereby call this meeting, to order!" Fred thrust a hand into the air, falling back down into his bean bag. "Aqua, Robin, you have the floor."
Aqua chuckled at Fred's antics. Maybe their hosts might find issue with Fred's behavior from time to time, but having seen him be serious once, she saw it for what it really was. A desire for normalcy and a coping mechanism to deal with whatever came his way. Better to ride the waves than to constantly fight against them.
Robin cleared his throat, doing his best to look professional despite having also claimed a bean bag as a chair. "This meeting was called in regards to information we learned during the Heartless attack this afternoon." A clamor of praises immediately sprung up, Hiro surprisingly the most excited of them all. Robin raised a calming hand. "Please, please. We can go over everything later, but I'd like to get this information out of the way first." Once everybody calmed down, Robin's expression hardened. "There's somebody controlling the Heartless."
The ensuing silence felt all the more powerful when she took in everybody's expressions. Ethel looked grim, having been there with them, but everybody else? Disbelief and awe were the shared traits.
"He called the earlier incursions a scouting party. Whether that means they're looking for something specific or were just testing our defenses, we're not sure. What we are sure about, is that he plans on continuing to send Heartless." Robin sighed. "And considering that there seemed to be new forms this time around, things might get a lot more difficult going forward. We're going to have to raise everybody's standards to make sure they can meet the upcoming challenges."
"Oh! I can help with that!" Hiro raised his hand, much like a child excitedly wanting to be called upon. "Everybody's headsets have recording technology on them that's active whenever you go out in the field. I can comb through all the footage and set up some virtual obstacle courses."
Aiko nodded emphatically. "And then with Baymax's medical knowledge, we can set up training programs for everyone! He can make sure we're staying safe and healthy!"
"Yes! Shugyō!"
Ethel cringed. "Don't call it that."
Fred struck a few martial poses, admirably well considering she'd never seen him do much physical activity. "But what else shall we call the honing of our minds and bodies but shugyō?!"
"How about 'training'?" She dryly offered.
Aqua turned out Fred's response as she thought about the topic. Training... Lost in the rush of finally being able to cast magic as freely as she once used to as she was, she hadn't missed the fact that on more than one occasion, some less-than-desirable emotions had been fueling her spells. At one point, towards the middle of it all when Robin had left her with the first grouping of Heartless, she had impulsively cast a Fira while focusing on nothing but her irritations against the Heartless. That specific casting flew far faster than she was expecting, and the explosion far larger than it should have been for a second tier spell.
She hadn't missed the fact that both the projectile and the explosion were tinged with streaks of dark purple.
"Now that we're all capable of fighting off the Heartless, I might take a weekend to myself to do some private training," Aqua interjected, once the commotion had died down a little. "I lost my foci before our arrival here, and now that I have one again, I need to familiarize myself with them again."
"I'll join you with that," Robin said, giving her a (knowing?) nod. "I'm in the same boat with my bow, especially one that's capable of using my magic as ammunition. There's some spells I need to figure out how to fit into the delivery system, aside from just delayed detonations."
"Do you guys need to use the training room?" Hiro asked. "Now that the recording systems are tuned to your guys' frequencies, it should be a cinch—"
"Sorry, Hiro," Aqua gave him an apologetic smile, "but this is something we'll have to do in private. We'll be testing out some destruction spells that the training room won't be able to handle, plus, there's a world of difference that training in an unfamiliar environment can do for your mindset that a more familiar place can't."
"Alright. Just make sure you guys don't break your weapons." Hiro made a pained face. "Mogrii seemed overprotective of them when he put the finishing touches. I wouldn't want to be there if/when he finds out something happened to them." He slumped over. "Unfortunately, I probably would be," he muttered.
/ - /
The night sky truly was a beautiful thing, Aqua thought. All the stars twinkling in the sky, clouds illuminated by the city lights slowly passing by. She'd much rather the canvass of a less technologically developed world, but for having been in the Realm of Darkness for so long, San Fransokyo's sky was nonetheless a blessing.
"Figured I'd find you here. Looking for something?" A heavy weight settled around her shoulders, the hood of Robin's coat falling over her head and obscuring her sight.
"No, just stargazing," she answered, tossing the hood back to look at him. "Even after all this time, it's still nice seeing other worlds, however far they might be."
"I see." Robin sat down next to her, the two of them falling into a comfortable silence.
"There's something I want to talk to you about," they simultaneously said.
Aqua giggled. Moments like these, they didn't really have them in the Realm of Darkness. It was nice. "You go first."
"Mogrii gave me some info on how we're supposed to get to other worlds."
She sat up, eyes wide. "Really?!"
Robin nodded. "It basically amounted to little more than what I'm supposed to look for, without where I'm supposed to be looking, but it's a start. What about you? What's on your mind?"
Aqua fidgeted. Compared to his revelation, hers felt almost trivial in comparison. But it was important that Robin be aware of her budding abilities; having an extra option could mean the difference between an uninjured skirmish or having to spend the better part of multiple waking periods recovering. "I think I'm starting to be able to use Darkness," she admitted. A part of her mind felt like there should be a weight lifted off her shoulders at the admission, but with Robin, whose personal flavored brand of Darkness was so comforting these days, it felt more like offhandedly sharing something she accomplished rather than a major secret.
Robin hummed ambivalently. "Is this a cause for celebration?" he prodded.
It was a good question. Was this a cause for celebration? As a protector of the Light, was the ability to use something that was the antithesis of all she stood for something to be proud of? "I just thought you should know. And as someone who can use something similar to Darkness, maybe you could teach me some things?"
Robin leaned back, propping himself up on his arms. "Teach you how to use your Darkness?" he chuckled. "Lucky for you, Dark magic from my World operates off of emotions. Usually more extreme ones like anger, rage, and frustration, but I'm sure you'll figure out a way to use something more sane. I'm assuming this was specifically what you wanted to work on during the trip?"
"Mhm. If I can use Darkness, I'd rather not—" she pursed her lip. "You saw how Ethel reacted to discovering you can use something similar to the Heartless," she whispered. "How do you think she'd respond if she discovered I could do the same?"
"I think she'd be understanding, and probably praise you. She knows you're a master of your craft, much more than me—" Robin raised a hand to cut off her response— "so finding out that you can utilize Darkness in your spells would definitely be a cause for celebration from her end. It's that fact that I was the one that opened up a portal that allowed Heartless to enter that scared her, I think."
Aqua mulled it over. Ignoring the fact that Robin's Fell magic had its own particular side effects, everything else was true. Being around Darkness by itself was just unsettling but easily ignorable; add on the scents of decay and ash, and it became almost nauseating.
"I have to ask though, what brought this on?"
Aqua smiled softly. "Terra," she answered. "Terra was able to use Darkness for most of his life. Our father tried to teach him to not use it at all, but Master Xehanort ended up— I don't know, convincing him to use it more, or something. It got to the point that Terra lost control of Darkness and made a—" her breath hitched. Some things, she hadn't told Robin, much like she knew that some things he hadn't told her. The fate of Master Eraqus was one such thing. It was a part of her life that she always glossed over.
"Aqua...?"
"Terra made a mistake. A bad one. But I know he can get better!" ...who was it that she was pleading to as she looked Robin in the eye, Aqua wondered. Was it herself? Was it the thoughts she'd thought long forgotten, left behind in the Realm of Darkness when they escaped? Or was she trying to believe that Robin somehow knew what happened and was silently passing judgment on her brother? "If I can— I can use Darkness," she repeated. "If I can learn how to control it, then Terra can learn how to control it. I can help him figure out any guilt he has over what happened and—" Aqua squawked as Robin pulled the hood of his coat back over her head. "Ack, Robin!"
"You're overthinking things," he said, smiling. "Take a step back. You want to help Terra out, that's all that matters."
She stared at him.
He stared back.
After several silent moments, she let out a sigh. "Why do you always have to be right about these things?"
Robin chuckled. "In case you forgot, I was in charge of thirty to forty people. Sometimes that meant having to check up on people's mental states and making sure they were in the right headspace for battle. After a couple years, you get good at doing so."
"Oh what, so you can read me like a book now?" She joked.
He smiled. It felt... fake, in a way. As if it was a practiced one meant to hide something. "Only sometimes. On occasion. Right now I'm just Robin the lost traveller, not Robin the Tactician. Those around me... they're friends, not assets." He chuckled. "I could analyze every aspect about you in your day to day life, but that risks me becoming clinical about the actions I have you take. I'd—" he looked away. "I'd rather not do that. Become too detached, that is. You're too important to me to do that to you."
Aqua felt her cheeks heat up. Was he...?
Robin stood up suddenly, dusting off his clothes. "Good night, Aqua."
"Good night," she whispered back.
I'm riding a hype train right now. Next chapter will be released on December 27th.