A surprising amount of this chapter was conceptualized as I was leaving the shower. Never underestimate what zoning out and just letting your thoughts run wild ala stream of consciousness can do for creativity.
She would never vocalize it, but she was avoiding Sora. Avoiding the boy who looked at her with wonder and excitement, as if being around her was anything near a pleasant experience.
Her, who had lost her keyblades and whose hobbies had been atrophied by time.
Being around Sora made Aqua feel disgusting in a way she couldn't describe, and she hated it.
Aqua stared out at the sparkling ocean, the morning sun glittering across its surface. She had zoned out completely in the middle of her run, and once conscious thought returned to her, she realized she had somehow ended up on that trail Ethel brought her to so many days ago, a trail at the edge of the city that overlooked the meeting point of land and sea.
It was bittersweet, in a way. Sitting here so early in the middle of the workweek, there were very few others who walked past her section of the trail. With the only sounds being the rustling of the foliage around her, her own breaths, and the distant waves of water, it was so very easy to convince herself that she had found some oasis nestled at the borders between Light and Dark.
Perhaps the worst part about Sora's arrival was that it had thrown her comforting routine into utter disarray. The moment Sora awoke the past two days, he followed her like a baby duckling, shadowing her every step from magic training, to stretching, and even the size of her meals. Sure, he may have been utterly silent about it, not so much as asking a question to what or why she was doing something, but she still keenly felt his presence. She felt like she was that hero from one of Fred's comics, an unwanted apprentice who was better than her in all the ways that mattered, somehow treating her every move and word as a master's teachings. It was why, even after what had to be twenty minutes of just staring at the ocean, she had yet to stand back up and begin the trek back to the manse.
Her mood improved only the tiniest bit when she returned, majority of the trip handled by public transportation. For some reason, since last night the Heartless had been constantly hounding Sora's presence within the heart of the city. Be it on the streets or atop one of the numerous skyscrapers, every step was dogged by their presence.
On a whim she had made the trek into the same general area herself, but when the only thing she had to deal with were the scattering of wanderers Sora and his group had missed, Aqua privately concluded that it was because of his keyblade that the Heartless only paid attention to him.
The others had drawn a more concerned conclusion about the safety of the city, and Sora had been all too ready to volunteer as protector for the next few days, which meant as she walked through the halls of the mansion, all that greeted her were her own echoing footsteps and the faint old timey music Robin had taken a liking to playing from the reading room he preferred, a selection of music she found easy to fall asleep to.
When she had next awoken, splayed out on her favored couch, it was to the occasional quiet crinkle of pages being turned, and a heavy warmth wrapped over her torso. "Robin?" she asked blearily. The scent of Darkness lingering in the air was more like a musk of a long workout at this point, and the specific tang of Fell magic she knew was somewhere there was almost completely buried underneath it.
"As far as napping places go, I think a couch is a pretty good one," he quietly responded.
Aqua nodded, nestling back into the couch. "Welcome back," she mumbled, falling back asleep. Robin was back. They were in the Realm of Light. As far as she was concerned, all was right in the worlds.
/ - /
Once more the acrid tang of Darkness greeted her as she woke. Once more the turning of a page stole her attention away from the terror and concern. "Robin?"
"Long night?" he asked.
Aqua sat up, noting how his coat felt the slightest bit heavier than she remembered as she adjusted the impromptu blanket to a more comfortable position. "Something like that," she lied, not wanting to trouble him with the baseless worries she had while he was gone. After a moment of rifling through one of the inner pockets, Aqua threaded out an ether through one of the sleeves, squinting her eyes at the dim glow the bottle gave in the sole, soft lighting provided from the lamp between their couches. "How old is this one?"
"Don't ask questions whose answers you aren't prepared for," Robin answered without hesitation.
With a small mental shrug, Aqua pushed her hand out the other sleeve and uncorked the bottle, downing it in one go before making a face. "Ugh, I forgot how awful those can taste."
Robin chuckled. "One week without an ether and here you are downing one at the first opportunity. Should I be worried?"
"That depends." She cleared her throat, realizing it had gone raspy during her slumber. "How adverse are you to spending the night in the city on patrol?"
"Aqua, I had the equivalent of four days in the Realm of Darkness able to recharge my energy stores." Amber eyes flicked up from the page they were reading, staring at her in amusement. "Frankly, anything else sounds like a wonderful dream compared to that."
She laughed. "I'll go let Heathcliff know, then."
"Actually he's already out," he said, marking his place and putting the book to the side. "That Sora kid said the Heartless were unusually active tonight, so everybody already went out to assist."
She paused. A part of her wanted to feel offended over the fact that everybody left her to sleep, but she knew for a fact that if Terra or Ven were expected alongside her to be ready to head out for something and she found them napping after a stressful day or three, she would have left them to continue sleeping. "Walking, then?" she asked hesitantly.
"Walking then."
For the second time that day, Aqua found herself realizing that she was indeed in the Realm of Light. Listening to the occasional vehicle drive past them as they made their way towards one of the bus routes that would lead them into the heart of the city, Aqua felt so very comfortable walking beside Robin. Starry black stretched out above them, broken only by the occasional cloud reflecting the city's lights or the blinking red and greens of an airplane. Around them, homes and buildings sheltered their occupants from the chill of night and the numbing wind that necessitated the need of a jacket. It was just like their time in the Realm of Darkness, only safer. "What were you even doing for four days?" she asked as they stopped at the edge of the sidewalk.
"Fighting that boy, mostly." Robin glanced at her, a ghost of a smile on his face. "Quite the talkative child, that one, even if he didn't reveal anything too useful. If I had to put my skills watching people to use, I'd say there was a chance he could be a potential ally, though I have doubts either of us would be the one whose branch he would accept."
She tilted her head. "What makes you say that?"
"That boy clung to his dark abilities like a lifeline, as if it was all he had ever known. It gave me the impression that his gifts were forced upon him, and that whatever goals he was seeking after, it was by the whims of another and not his own."
"Reminds me of Terra." Aqua nudged Robin as the bus approached, pulling out her bus pass slightly for him to see. "Still have yours?"
Robin patted his coat several times, staring ahead thoughtfully before reaching for an inner pocket. "Put it in my wallet. Speaking of which, figured you'd be pleased to know I stocked back up on those gold chunks the Heartless dropped from time to time alongside all those potions and ethers."
"Yeah?" She smiled, taking an empty seat just behind the rear exit. Though they were covered financially in this world, having a stockpile of raw munny was never a bad thing, especially with the knowledge that they would soon be traversing the worlds once again. It was with that thought that her smile became slightly strained. Being here was nice, and as much as she loved the fact she had fallen into a rhythm, it didn't change the fact that this wasn't home.
Home was a castle transformed into an ever changing abyss that would befuddle all who entered its doors without the right key. It was a place that overlooked mountains and valleys. Home was a world that was bathed in Light. "Robin?" Aqua stared out the window, watching cars and pedestrians pass by. "How did you get back here?"
"I followed you," he answered. Aqua felt her face flush slightly and turned her head further away, hoping he couldn't see her reflection. "The border between wherever he brought us and this world were awfully thin. Everywhere I went there were hazy clouds that reminded me of parts of the city, and sometimes if I squinted off into the distance, I could see parts of this world." His reflection in the window turned to look at her. "Every time I thought about leaving, I thought about your mana signature. It smelled of fresh rain on a grassy field. A scent like that," Robin smiled slightly and tapped the side of his nose, "not exactly hard to follow."
Aqua tilted her head slightly towards Robin, discreetly sniffing. "Yours smells of ash and books." The whisper came out reflexively, and Aqua hoped Robin hadn't heard her. The combination shouldn't have worked, but somehow, for Robin, it did. Desperate for something to distract her thoughts on how nice it was to have Robin by her side again, Aqua reached up and pulled on the stop request, uncaring that their general destination was still a small walk away.
"Was the city always this quiet?" he asked as the bus rumbled off.
Aqua shook her head. "There's been a lot of talk lately about a curfew being put into place because of Heartless activity. Some places don't care about it but a lot of people are being careful." It had been strange that second night, standing atop a building and seeing just how sparse traffic was. Normally the streets would have been packed with vehicles at that hour, but on that evening it was less than half.
"That might be good for us," he muttered, nudging her towards an alley. Robin's nose twitched, a frown marring his face. "Maybe I'm still sensitive right now, but do you smell that?"
Aqua wrinkled her nose before summoning her armor. "You mean the smell of garbage? Thanks for that."
He frowned. "The city... it reeks of Darkness." Robin pulled his hood up. "Traces of it are everywhere. How much fighting has that boy been doing?"
She hummed in thought. "He usually leaves shortly after dinner, and then I don't think he comes back until some time after midnight." Aqua ticked off her fingers. "Six, eight hours, maybe?"
"Do you think you could fight that long?" he asked after a moment.
She glanced down at her left hand, the focus peeking through the protective mesh layer Robin had adjusted the gauntlet to. "Maybe if I had my proper weapons. A focus like those did wonders for my stamina."
Robin— no, the scent of Fell magic was in the air now. Grima?— chuckled. "I think I'd like to see you at your prime some day." They turned their head towards the street, posture stiffening. "The borders between Light and Dark are incredibly weakened right now. Wherever Sora and the others are right now, they're nowhere near us."
No, though the scent was there, the familiar rumble was missing. Aqua stepped up to Robin's side, Prelude to Fate flashing into existence. "I'll follow your lead," she said solemnly. Though she'd never stopped to think on it, once Robin had pointed it out, the knowledge of exactly how many potential openings there were in the world for the Heartless to break though was terrifying. Just the smallest bit of Light magic from her, barely more than what would count as a control exercise, was enough to lure the Heartless through. On the rooftops, in the alleys, there was even one appearance in the middle of a thankfully empty intersection.
For the first time, Aqua wondered what exactly it was that drew the Heartless beyond the domination the boy in the black coat held over them. According to Mickey, it was those who still had a Heart that was their immediate goal, but if that was the case, then why had their assault only intensified after Sora, a proper keybearer, had appeared? Was it actually a keyblade that held greater attention? And if it was, was letting go of Master Keeper an act that had saved her in the long run? Aqua shook her head, casting off the thoughts. "You didn't do anything extreme while you were in the Realm of Darkness, did you?" she asked, longing for a distraction.
Robin looked up at her. Underneath the magick'd shadows of his hood, she imagined he was raising a brow. "I may or may not have let loose and indulged in some mass destruction of terrain, but other than that, no."
A single, choked laugh escaped her lips. The thought of what Grima could actually do when he wasn't holding back was a horrific thought, but knowing he had done it somewhere were no one would have been effected reduced it to something amusing. "Did you throw a temper tantrum?" she partially teased.
"Some people make art, other people exercise, and some people safely partake in violence," he countered before standing, jovial expression turning serious. "Do you see that?" Robin pointed towards a street, slowly moving his finger as if tracking something.
Aqua frowned as she narrowed her eyes. She barely caught sight of what looked to be a floating, greenish-blue tendril of some kind slipping behind a building. "A new type of Heartless?"
"No..." Robin kicked off the roof, wind magic whipping around his feet and carrying him across the street and to the next rooftop.
"A warning would be appreciated next time," she said as she caught up to him, a low powered Aerora giving her enough lift to chase after each leap across the streets.
"Before that boy in the black coat ran away from me, he called forth this undulating mass of glowing cubes to attack me. I could blow them away with my magic, but they always came back. It took using a high tier ice spell from my home world to freeze them in place, but it seems they found a way to break through." Robin stopped at the edge of another building, crouching down and staring down the street. "Hm, looks like Sora and his friends managed to find it." A moment later, an entire block was completely sealed off by writhing, glowing shadows. He clicked his tongue. "They did the same to me back then. Seems they don't like moving targets."
"Will they be safe?" she questioned. Part of her wanted to charge in and try to do anything to break through, but if Robin wasn't acting even after facing them himself, there must have been a reason.
"Provided they can deal with the barrage of attacks." His head turned towards her for confirmation on the matter, to which she gave a hesitant nod. Sora was good, and she had reason to believe so were Donald and Goofy, but were they good enough? "In the meantime, we should take out the rest of those intrusions." Robin turned his gaze to the other street, this one notably empty of pedestrians or vehicles. "Hiro, we just arrived in the area—" Slowly, Robin removed his hand from his head. "It appears my headset wasn't able to survive the trip to the Realm of Darkness." He glanced at her.
"I... forgot mine. Again." Once more, Aqua was grateful that her helmet hid her face. She knew that otherwise her blush would have been on full display.
"No matter. We'll link up with them eventually."
Though they had been in the Realm of Light for near a month now, until Sora's appearance, Aqua had never stopped to consider the development of her fighting style. Where once she would have raised her sword arm to the sky, mana carrying her across the ground, now it was mainly with one foot pushing off the ground as she moved, left hand sending forth tendrils of magic. In some ways it was less fluid than how she used to fight, but two years of casting without a proper focus had lent a grace to it all the same.
She weaved underneath a blade strike, stepping forward underneath the thrust and planting her hand firmly against the Heartless' metal chest. Darkness tinged lightning lanced out, the dual bladed soldier flying back and spasming as the viscous glob of mana continued arcing across its body.
In exchange for flashy grace, she had had to resort to pure efficiency. What would garner the best results without costing her too much energy or wounds? Loathe as she was to do so, what kind of strikes could she take if it meant being able to land something stronger in return?
A trio of thin lightning bolts slammed down into the shadow ants leaping towards her. In the corner of her eye, Aqua took note of a grouping of Heartless flying on wings of purple energy streaking towards her. She only needed a flash of a gold trimmed coat to figure out her next plan. Aqua dismissed her blade, grabbing onto her left hand as she gathered mana. A large and brittle Blizzara formed in front of her, held in place by sheer will. A moment later, a thin cyclone of air whirled past her, crumbling the magick'd crystal into shards.
She didn't bother looking to see what the outcome of their combined strike would be, knowing that between the both of their spells the Heartless Robin was targeting would be destroyed. "Is it just me," Aqua thrust her hand out, a Dark Fira billowing out and exploding against a trio of those three-wheeled Heartless speeding towards them, "or are there more of them than usual?"
Robin snapped out a salvo of arrows, each elemental payload exploding a moment after implanting themselves in their targets. "You mean compared to the last time we got mired by these, or in general?"
"In general." Aqua narrowed her eyes as a humanoid shadow lunged towards Robin, right hand rearing back in a clawed slash.
He ducked underneath her countering strike, the twang of his bow firing out rapidly. "Aside from when that boy in the black coat's around and sends a bunch our way, definitely feels like there's an abnormal amount." Robin fired out one last arrow, the entire projectile shining with mana rather than just the tip. "This many Heartless even after all that effort they've been putting in?" he grumbled. The next moment, Robin placed a hand on her shoulder, the tiniest bit of force he used to push her suddenly retracting. A black and red figure wreathed in blue trails of mana shot by them as Robin pulled away, the figure throwing out their weapon and swirling around a lamp post before once again shooting off.
"Was that Sora?" she asked incredulously. Though it was hard to see through all the mana trails, Aqua thought she caught the distinct sight of a keyblade in his hand.
"Feels like him." Robin's hands shot back up, turning around towards where Sora came from and quickly firing off another arrow. "Aqua, one wave, higher end!"
Down the three other streets, scatterings of Heartless were chasing after various figures. Ethel was the first she recognized, with a swarm of those tri-wheeled Heartless that were capable of being on land or air chasing after her. The other two she recognized as Fred and Leiko taking giant leaps and dropping slowing chem bombs respectively to outspeed their pursuers. Without a word, Aqua thrust her hand into the air, adjusting the Aeroza to be longer lasting mid-cast. Another flick of her hand and a Magneza formed in the center of the maelstrom.
The roaring winds and piercing hum of pulling energy almost made it hard to think. She couldn't hear or see anything beyond the howling gale. Sealed off from the rest of the world by the storm focused entirely on her location, Aqua retreated entirely to her immediate memories, mana for smaller but no less effective Magnera's gathering in her hand. She cast the spell three more times, relying on her intuition, each the same distance from the Magneza above her. At the angles the spells would create, any Heartless pulled in form the ones beyond the storm wall would be pulled into the Aeroza and then the Magneza.
The first wave of magic not her own made her take a reassuring breath. Truthfully, a series of elemental -za spells would have been enough. It was a tried and true method they used back in the Realm of Darkness, and wouldn't possibly result in any kind of failure. But unlike then, she had a focus now, and already she had tried (and succeeded) recreating so many spells lost to her without the use of a keyblade.
Ice was a deceptively easy element to work with. Push mana in, release the spell, watch the imbued magic pass on to the enemy and cover them in frost. But to get any other effect? To have your ice form into a spiked ball or materialize as an expanding spray of crystals? It required effort. It required an understanding of yourself and the element itself, and how they tied together. So as she whirled around on a single foot, frozen water spiraling around her but never gathering on her armor, all Aqua could focus on was the rapidly growing orb of magic forming above her head, each branch of ice repeating in a infinitely extending pattern she had carved into her mind through months of studying and years of repetition.
Winter's silent morning. The solitude of a quiet hike. The transient beauty of a falling snowflake.
"Blossom!" The orb of magic collapsed in on itself, exploding upward in a flower of the same pattern she had been crafting. A wave of cold barely lashed at her through her body, all the heartless that had been collected by her magic and assaulted by Robin's frozen in place by the surge of energy.
Wordlessly, Robin thrust his hand down toward the construct, white tinged yellow shooting down into the crystal. She only had a split second to look away, what had to be a Thoron-class spell shattering her magic and dispelling what Heartless still remained. She frowned as Robin landed near her, undoubtedly a pleased expression hidden beneath his hood. "That's a new one," he commented.
Aqua let out a breathy laugh. "Changed it on the fly. Don't think I could control the backlash in my direction if I didn't direct it upwards."
"Mage Knight!" Ethel slid to a stop in front of her, an amazed expression on her face. "That was incredible! How come you never pulled that out before?"
She was glad her armor was there. Though she knew Ethel's punch to her shoulder wouldn't have hurt much if it wasn't, it definitely would have stung. "Didn't exactly have the control for it before," she said, drawing attention to her focus.
"A whirling snowstorm of ice, culminating in a frozen flower, alight from a crack of thunder like the flash of a lighthouse in a howling storm! No enemy could dare survive it!" Fred cheered, arms moving in crisp motions to accentuate his words.
"Guys!" Hiro's voice came faintly from Ethel's helmet, the woman cupping her ear by her chin to direct some of the audio towards them. "Converge on Sora's position!"
"You heard the man," she said, spinning to face Aiko and Fred. Ethel pointed towards the top of one of the skyscrapers, giving her a curt nod before speeding off.
Scaling the building was a surprising test of stamina and endurance. There were no easy landing points, which meant she and Aiko were trading off on creating platforms. Blue and pink platforms zig zagged up the glass, Fred following after them. Robin, of course, was keeping a short distance behind them, his coat billowing with every leap. Privately, Aqua figured that he could have made the entire trip in one go, but she had the slightest inkling he was waiting for them as a safety precaution.
"You guys got here just on time." Ethel skated over as they summited the building, arms crossed. "That thing's been growing in size ever since they got here."
"Why haven't you tried to stop it?" Fred asked, moving up to join the rest of his team.
"That thing will just keep reforming," Robin answered immediately, staring at the undulating orb of cubes. "Whatever you need to hit to truly stop it, it's hidden somewhere."
Hiro's voice faintly played out from several locations around them. "Funny you mention that, Tactician. I was analyzing the data of those Darkubes, and I think I've located the weak point. I'm sending a software update to your headsets so you can see it."
Ethel nudged her once again, the clear glass of her helmet allowing her to see her unimpressed expression in full force. Aqua looked away, intently not responding.
"We'll just run interference, then," Robin responded.
"Hey, Hiro," Sora started after a moment, "who's that on the display?"
The moment Aqua looked down from the mass of cubes, she immediately tensed. Walking towards them, as if their previous meeting hadn't gone poorly for him, was the boy in the black coat.
"That's not your display," Goofy said, bringing his shield up into a ready position. "He's really here."
Ethel stepped up defensively in front of her, lowering into a defensive stance. Aqua was partially touched by the gesture, but also offended by the insinuation. A lapse in stability didn't mean she would crumble at so much as a glance.
"Are you done messing around?" the boy asked, stopping a safe distance away from any of their immediate attacks.
"Wait, that voice..." Sora's stance lowered just the slightest, his hands tightening around his keyblade.
"Know this kid?" Robin asked, carefully restrained lightning sparking across his palms.
The boy clicked his tongue. "As if this stupid experiment wasn't already a hassle," he grumbled.
"Yeah, that's..."
The boy reached up and pulled down his hood. In the same motion, a flurry of shadows flared in his left hand, a red card that absolutely reeked of Darkness appearing from the motes. "No, not quite ready..."
A memory flickered in her mind. White, pointy hair, a youthful look, and the scent of Darkness smothered Light? "Riku?" Aqua breathed. Beside her, she barely noticed Robin's surprised look.
"What? Where'd he get that?"
"Hiro, do you recognize that?" Sora asked.
"That's the first chip I made for Baymax," he answered through Sora's headset. "It's full of combat programs!"
"Crap." Ethel adjusted her stance into something more aggressive.
"Programs?" Sora continued.
"They tell Baymax how to react," Aiko said, fingers splaying out to more readily access the buttons on her purse. "What situations he can recognize and what the appropriate response is."
"Does that mean they're like his Heart?" Goofy questioned.
She wasn't sure why, but she could hear the emphasis on that last word.
"More than!" Riku threw the card into the glob of cubes, instantly disappearing in a whirl of Darkness. At once the flashing aquamarine lights of the cubes intensified, the entire mass moving into a vague cage-like structure before opening into a multitude of tentacles.
"Incoming!" she shouted. As a Barrier flashed into existence, Aqua noted Robin ducking behind her, a bracing hand on her back. A wave of cubes crashed into her shield, pushing her back slightly. But where she and Robin were protected by magic, the majority of Big Hero 6 weren't. "Go Go!" Aqua glanced behind her, trusting Robin to protect her if something came their way. But there was no one there. Just as a wall of cubes had encased Sora back on the streets, so too had it surrounded them atop this skyscraper, hiding what lay beyond.
"Sora, Mage Knight, Tactician, I'm on my way. I'll take care of my team. You guys target the Darkubes. Remember to target the core."
"Got it!" Sora responded, dropping into that awkward stance of his.
Aqua whirled back around, moving to Sora's side and bringing Prelude to Fate into a ready position. "Sora, we'll take care of the heavy lifting. You target that core once it's exposed," she told him.
"Keep your Barriers on hand," Robin told her, drawing hand hovering near the string of his bow. "That thing likes to throw its entire mass against its target."
"Sorry, this stage has two to many actors."
She only had the briefest warning from Robin before he tackled her, something with far greater momentum than him carrying the both of them backwards and through the shortest Dark Portal she'd ever been through. A yank on her arm pulled her to her feet, and Aqua rushed back into a defensive position slightly in front of Robin, mana surging into her hand.
"You know, when he asked for backup, I thought he was just being a useless kid, but turns out he was just being useless." Pure disdain dripping from every word, a hooded woman stared at them, clearly glowering despite the hood hiding her face from view.
Another black coat? Aqua frowned. But was commanding the Heartless a trait they all shared, or did this one have something unique?
"I mean really, asking for help for two travellers that don't even have a keyblade?" She scoffed. "But then there you two are, blocking against that thing's strike with some hefty magic and then even noticing mine." Aqua could hear the sadistic grin on her face. "It's such a shame though." She began walking slowly around them, acting as if she hadn't just teleported them from the top of a building down to the middle of an empty street. "At any other time, I might have just let you two live."
Aqua tensed, drawing upon more magic. Beside her, she could feel Robin doing the same.
"But I'm not here for my own mission. No, I'm here to help some runt out with his. Ugh," the woman tossed her head to the side, sounding as if she bore the most disgusted scowl in existence, "why do I always get babysitting duty?"
The altered stench of Darkness mixed with something else permeated the air as the woman began gathering her own mana. Mixed among the scents was the odor of burnt air that came during a thunderstorm and the breath stealing cold of winter. Aqua narrowed her eyes. Based on the woman's figure, what little she could garner from how well the coat hid her form, and that initial tackle, it was likely she was an extreme speedster of some kind.
"Whatever. Do me a favor and entertain me a little before you're gone, alright?"
Next chapter will be released on February 28th.