Apologies for the late post. Holdovers from the previous week were still bugging me and I wasn't satisfied with what I had until fairly recently.

Edit: Kind of been a time, to be honest. For the time being, I'm going to be changing my posting schedule to every three weeks. My apologies. Next chapter will be out June 27th.

Deflect to create an opening, counter with weak magic, deflect left, side step follow up attack into a magic enhanced slash. Dodge, deflect down, avoid the striking limb, deflect the follow up.

...how long had they spent in this dance?

Fire a duo of Firaga's, follow up with a Blizzaza regardless of whether or not the spells managed to break through Chrom's anti-magic barrier. Defend against his countering onslaught until Grima manages to create an opening.

Aqua wasn't sure when she had fallen to the instincts of a warrior's mindset. The strikes all bled together. The repeated clash of keyblade against sword had long rendered her arm numb, but the fear of losing her keyblade, well and truly hers now that she had altered its attached memory, kept her from losing her grip.

Stopza to slow his strikes down once more, teleportation magic to allow her to land blows from every direction.

Trying to utilize Barrier as a defense was useless. The blue glow that Chrom's blade sometimes gained immediately after a golden strike had the ability to ignore her defenses, magical or otherwise, treating them as if they were created by a novice. Getting struck by his weapon whenever it shimmered gold meant that all the damage she had dealt to him— very real damage that she could see based on how short the Heartless symbol on his shoulder or yellow eyes lingered— would be healed up.

Defend against the next onslaught. Rush to regain control after a feint resulted in dual glowing blows.

It was always the same. If Chrom didn't manage to heal himself up, she would do so herself once Grima bought her some time. If she didn't land a heavy blow thanks to magic and a stunned condition, it was Chrom slipping a punch or kick through her guard and winding her before landing a heavy two handed blow. An endless dance across waters she was slowly becoming more and more aware held an endless abyss of watchers within.

Something had to change.

Aqua leapt back from a pommel thrust, raising Fell Legacy and knocking Chrom's following strike skyward. Thundaga shot out from her left hand, the web of lightning breaking through Chrom's barrier but significantly weakened as a result.

She had to take a risk.

She stepped to the side as Chrom thrust forward, a quick spurt of teleportation magic sending her further away.

Grima wouldn't like it.

The two met once more, the strange power she had come to learn came with Fell Legacy burning through her mana and allowing her the ability to keep Chrom in a stalemate.

Mickey wouldn't like it.

The slightest change in pressure from him sent her leaping back, a sustained torrent of Rexcalibur shooting out from Fell Legacy's tip and preventing Chrom from pressing the advantage.

Light, she didn't like it. But it was the only thing that was coming to mind. Her armor disappeared into its pauldron as she steeled herself, her body growing heavier as Fell Legacy stole away her physical strength for what she had planned. Whorls of visible wind turned into spiraling chains, the constructs of Light magic wrapping around Chrom and keeping him locked in place.

Every step forward felt like the days before she had met Robin. Defenseless and hopeless; a corpse that didn't know it was dead. But she couldn't stop here. Not yet. Not when a plan she had no clue whether or not could succeed wasn't even attempted. Light magic continued to well up within her. What colors she could make out within the Realm of Darkness slowly began fading. All she cared about was Chrom and how she was preventing him from moving. How the magic within her was still building up and how it felt almost painful to keep it within her.

Light magic was never truly her forte. It was the elementals that heeded her call the most, and yet... within Fell Legacy, some part of it that was buried beneath the overbearing essence of Grima resonated with her. Some tiny fragment full of slumbering hope barely opened its eyes and took her in.

Aqua stopped just shy of striking distance from Chrom. Though he had visibly ceased his struggling, she could still feel resistance in the sealing chains. "Chrom..." Her voice came out as a raspy whisper, the energy to speak properly all used to fuel her next spell. "I'm going to save you, just like I'm going to save Terra."

Her vision fully blacked out. The sensations of the keyblade in her hand, of the water beneath her feet, of the cold air around them that never felt any winds; all of it disappeared. All that mattered, was the magic screaming to be unleashed.

Light!

Magic fueled by her very essence blossomed out around her. She couldn't see it, but Aqua knew that pillars of magic shot out into the sky, the strongest of which consumed Chrom's form, still restrained by her chains. She kept the magic going until she felt something tugging at her arm. Only then did she release the magics and send away Fell Legacy, taking in great gasps of air. Aqua paid no attention to the voice beside her, focusing her all on not slipping beneath the waters. Masters be damned, what was the keyblade Grima had given her?

"For the sake of me, damn you, Light Bearer!" Weak healing magic washed over her, turning the struggle for air into discomfort. "You gain a power you do not understand, and what do you immediately do? You use it to its extreme!" Once again Cure washed over her, though this time the arms supporting her moved to underneath her shoulders, Grima hauling her across the waters to some other location. "All you Light Spawn are truly the same. No sense of your own mortality, only the end result!"

Despite the harshness of his words, Aqua was so very aware of how gently she was set down on the water's surface, Grima's aura washing over her and keeping the monsters below them at bay.

He sighed, the rumble of his voice lowered to something more conversational. "But I suppose that same sense of self-destruction is what allows you to manage such miraculous deeds."

For a while Aqua simply focused on breathing. Slowly, sensation and sight returned to her, and she was fully aware of the starless sky above them. She did nothing to rise, though. Even laying down she could feel the lingering stress from whatever Fell Legacy did to her.

"Ngh..."

Instinct demanded she sit up and try to help out whoever was groaning. Fatigue promptly told that desire to shove it.

"Hey, there." Grima's voice, his rumbling almost non-existent, held an amused lilt to it. "There are better places to nap than on the ground, you know."

"R—Robin?"

Chrom's voice, echoing in a way that felt like a facsimile of what he truly sounded like as opposed to coming from his own voice, was still regal in a way she didn't expect. What must have the man she had fought for such a length of time been like in his prime?

"No, my friend. It is currently I."

"Grima?" Chrom chuckled, breaking out into a fit of coughs. "What stupid thing did I do this time?"

"Wandered into the abyss, chasing after me," he chastised. "You didn't even have the wherewithal to inform me that you were doing such." Something Grima did made Chrom chuckle once more. "Chrom. Do you know where we are?"

"The end of days, I assume."

Aqua grit her teeth and rolled onto her front, pushing herself up into a sitting position. Grima spared her only a searching glance and a nod before returning his attention back to the man whose head was resting in his lap.

Chrom's gaze, a slowly dimming ruby red, turned from Grima's face and towards the endless night sky above them. "Grima... we failed, didn't we?"

"I am afraid so, old friend," he answered after a moment.

Aqua pressed her lips together. Through the exhaustion of it all, a burst of sorrow filled her body. On one hand, she had saved Chrom. But on the other...

"Were you able to save anyone else?"

Grima stayed silent, his thumb stroking Chrom's cheek steadily.

"I see..."

"I personally was not able to save anyone else." In the ensuing silence between Chrom's response and Grima's, Aqua became so very aware of Grima's voice, like the purring of a cat that resonated around her with every word. "But that does not mean there are no other survivors. I found you here. Who is to say that others have not escaped?"

Chrom said nothing as he continued to stare at the sky. With every handful of breaths Aqua took, his eyes continued to dim. "But where is here?"

"The Realm of Darkness," Grima said measuredly. "The place that the dregs of consumed Worlds arrive at. The place that the foes that destroyed our home originate from."

"Is that so..." Ribbons of Fell magic began trailing from Grima's gloved fingers and into Chrom's nose and mouth, pulsing like a heartbeat. "Grima."

Heedless of his words, Grima continued to pour his magic into Chrom, the man's eyes gaining vibracy with every passing second.

"Grima. Please."

Grima's jaw clenched.

"I've... I've lived long enough, my friend." Chrom closed his eyes, chuckling a moment later. "How amusing. Long ago you once joked that it was my destiny to die in your arms. And here I am."

Aqua's breath hitched. How could someone be so blasé about their death?

"And here you are," Grima repeated, just as mockingly.

"Tell me. Who was still alive, last you knew?"

Grima closed his eyes, the motions of his thumb never ceasing for more than a second. "Sully and Stahl. Lissa and Lon'qu. Frederick and Cordelia. I lost track of them when those giant creatures rose from the burning wreckage of the surrounding walls. That they raised their arms towards the sky and as a whole brought forth a violent red sphere as big as my body was rather distracting, I'm afraid."

Chrom cracked a grin. "Yes, I can imagine such a thing would bring you pause."

"Say'ri and Sumia were still alive as well." Grima's words were so quiet, she thought she'd imagined it were it not for that rumble. "Such tiny things you humans are, I cannot say what their condition was, but if I was able to recognize their life signatures..."

Chrom's eyes opened. Where once they were ruby red, now they appeared as unlit aquamarine. "Then Lucina might still live."

"...Chrom."

Hearing Grima croak so painfully was something she never expected. The sheer fact of it made her breathing hitch once again.

"You've said it yourself, haven't you? That descendants of Naga's chosen have the uncanny ability to make it out of tough situations?" Chrom grunted as he rolled onto his front, Grima immediately moving to help him into a sitting position. "You know your duty, tactician."

"Chrom, listen to yourself—"

"Grima. Robin." Royalty. That's what Chrom was as he spoke. Firm and unyielding. Trusting to a degree that only someone who truly held love for their subjects could be. "As the Exalt of Ylisse and your superior, I order you to find my daughter and take care of her." He fought to keep a grin on his face as he reached up to place a hand on Grima's shoulder. "Take care of your Goddaughter, Grima. Give her the life that I was unable to." His grin turned solemn. "She deserves more from me than a single sword and a world full of sorrows."

Grima said nothing, slowly reaching to grab Chrom's sword by his side. Without the usual fanfare she'd come to expect, the blade disappeared into his pocket space. "You know if you pass here, it is unlikely you'll find your family in the future. This is the Realm of Darkness, Exalt. It is a place filled with creatures that want nothing more than to consume those who have Light."

Chrom laughed, an act that quickly turned into pained coughs. He fell forward, fully supported by Grima's arms. "But it is a place where wanderers might be," he murmured. "And if there are those who have become separated from their flock, don't you suppose they might need a Shepherd?" His voice turned quiet towards the end. Labored. Aqua found herself tearing up.

"Aye, I supposed they might."

"Grima... I'm finding myself rather tired," he murmured. "I think I'll turn in for the night."

"Rest... rest well then, Chrom. We can continue in the morn."

Both Chrom and Grima took a deep breath. "I'm... truly blessed... to have had a friend such as you..."

Aqua brought a hand to her mouth as Chrom's body faded into particles of light, stifling the sob. It wasn't right. This didn't deserve to happen. And yet she was completely helpless. Chrom had died, and it was only Grima's magic that sustained him. She— The tears flowed as Grima pulled her into his chest. She knew that her cries of sorrow echoed endlessly over the waters, but she couldn't stop herself. Everything, the battle, Grima's world; it was all too much. Holding tight to Grima's coat, she let blessed unconsciousness take over, hoping that when she woke, they would be back in the Realm of Light.

Of course, without her there to summon her keyblade and return it to Master Keeper's form, there was no way for them to leave. But the extra time they spent resting on the sands of the Realm of Darkness meant Riku and Mickey were fully recovered.

Aqua shielded her eyes as she stepped through the doorway. Destiny Island looked exactly as she remembered it, though for an island that looked as deserted as it, perhaps that wasn't saying much.

Riku stretched his arms above his head as he stepped into the sun, a peaceful expression spreading across his face. "It's nice that the trek out of the Dark Realm was so short this time." He looked down at Mickey, cracking a grin. "Normally it takes us a day or two before we can find a place we can teleport out of."

Mickey laughed, a short, infectious thing that made her bear a smile of her own. "We have Aqua to thank." The two of them turned around, smiling at her.

She waved a hand dismissively, putting more of her weight against Grima— Robin's?— shoulder as her next step faltered. "It was nothing. I was just lucky enough to find Master Keeper here."

Mickey frowned. "I don't understand, Aqua. How did you get separated from your keyblade?"

"A story for another time." Definitely Robin. "This one," he jostled her slightly, giving her a rueful smile, "overdid it with the innate power her newest keyblade form gave her."

She nodded in agreement. Frankly, she felt like she'd gone twelve sessions with Terra and Master Eraqus back to back, and then got roped into entertaining Ven from lunch until dinner for good measure. "Honestly, I want nothing more than to rest right now."

"Well, once we get back to Yen Sid's, I'm sure you'll get an amazing—"

"Heeeeey!"

Aqua winced as Sora's cry reached them.

"Ah, that boy's still as loud as ever." Robin adjusted his grip on her, giving a quick apology when she winced. "On the bright side, he doesn't seem to have changed that much, so I doubt we were gone for longer than a day."

"Riku! Mickey!"

Riku let out a cry of surprise as Sora barrelled into him, the elder boy stumbling back a step. "Sora, we weren't gone for that long."

"Yeah, but Chip and Dale told us that they'd lost contact with you and that they were trying to reach me but I accidentally turned off my notifications so I didn't notice until I called them back and I—"

"Sora! Breathe! We're back now, that's all that matters."

Aqua let out a sigh. "Robin, can you cast a sleeping hex on me?" she murmured. "I don't want to deal with this."

Should could hear the raised brow in his voice. "This being?"

"Sora," she grumbled. "I know he means well, but he's just too..." She sagged slightly. "I'm still not used to other people," she admitted.

"At least you're trying." This close to him, she could feel the flicker of magic wash over his fingertips and spread throughout her body. "I'll wake you when we're at this 'Yen Sid's' place."

"Master Yen Sid," she stressed, unable to fight off the sudden yawn. "He was once a Keyblade Master himself, before... something."

He chuckled. "Okay. I'll wake you when we're at Master Yen Sid's place."

"You better," she grumbled. "I haven't seen him— huuwah!— in ages." She grasped at his coat, tiredly trying to pull herself onto his back until he helped her. "Hey, Robin?"

"Yes, Aqua?"

"Good night..."

/ - /

The air positively stank of magic. Not necessarily in a bad way. It was simply that every breath she took felt like inhaling a cloud of distilled ether. Aqua stared up at the ceiling, tinted a faded orange by the magical crystals embedded into the wooden trim at the top of the walls. Undoubtedly there were several enchantments within them; there was no way she would have felt so safe and secure otherwise. She let out a tired sigh. While it was nice to have had a refreshing rest, it galled her that she'd done so because of magical means. Worse, Master Yen Sid's tower was stuck in a perpetual state of night, so she couldn't even be sure how long she'd slept for. Not that it really mattered, having moved one world to another. With another sigh, Aqua pulled herself out of bed, combing her fingers through her hair to try and rid herself of any knots.

Gradually, the weight of the tasks before her started to build up. It started simply: return to the locked Land of Departure and restore it to its former glory and wake up Ven; find Terra's body and dispel the Darkness within it the way she'd done for Chrom; finally, stop Master Xehanort from calling Kingdom Hearts. Again.

She took in a deep breath. One step at a time. Right now, if she wanted to better her odds, then she needed to focus on herself. Specifically, her keyblades. Master Knepper appeared in her hands, far more worn than she remembered it had last been. Scratches and scuff marks marred its surface, and even its colour had faded. "You poor thing." The one saving grace was that the damages were starting to reverse. A single night spent bathed in her light was nowhere near enough, but a source of Light was all the keyblade needed in order to start healing.

Aqua dismissed the keyblade and began focusing on her bonds with Grima. A moment later, Fell Legacy appeared, the minute glow she recalled seeing emanate from the cracks of the jagged blade no longer there, nor was the weighty drain on her body or mana pool. Now that she had the time (and light), Aqua scanned the blade with a critical eye. The blade as a whole looked as if someone had seamlessly combined parts of a horned, feathered beast with a sword, a fact that utterly confused her. There was no part of it that even suggested anything towards the appearance of pink flower petals, and yet it was that very thing that appeared in the wake of her physical strikes against Chrom. She dismissed the weapon with a sigh. If nothing else, she could always ask Grima about it.

After a minute or so of just breathing, Aqua reached into her pocket, her fingers brushing up against but otherwise ignoring her Wayfinder charm. Ethel's keychain was a simple thing. A miniature version of one of her disks with a short of similar color attached to it. Just off the impressions alone, she could tell the form it would give was one that emphasized speed and physical strikes.

Aqua closed her eyes and held her hand out. It truly was stunning how Sora was able to do this so quickly, but perhaps he had learned how to do so out of necessity. When she next opened her eyes, it was to a new form. Two disks made of a yellow material formed the handle and head, with a black bar with two red lines running parallel down the middle connecting the two. At its tip, a quartet of yellow-orange streaks of light she had seen Ethel leave behind formed the 'key' portion of the weapon, the innermost lines extending down the furthest.

For a brief moment, she felt lighter than before. Every breath made her feel all the more aware of her surroundings. The way dust fell and danced in the spell light; the tiny flickers of the magic torches along the ceiling. As quickly as it came, the heightened senses disappeared, and all she was left with was a warm sense of content and yearning. She let out a slow, pleased breath and dismissed her keyblade. Though its true form was still that of Master Keeper, she was content with letting it stay as Magnetic Velocity.

Aqua brought her hand to her stomach as it growled, pursing her lips in thought. The last time she had been to Master Yen Sid's tower, Mickey had been the one to guide her through the twists and turns, tugging her along through the myriad of disorienting and distracted defenses until they eventually stopped. Here up in the living quarters of the tower though, would she be able to move from place to place unhindered?

After a period of walking aimlessly, the halls seemingly unending, she found herself by a slightly opened door, the light pouring from within a more lively shade than the soft orange-yellow glow from the arcane sconces of the hallway. "Riku?"

Said boy jumped slightly at her call, eyes widening in surprise. In his hands, a freshly made sandwich, yet another in a line of sandwiches if the crumbs on his plate were anything to go by, bore the first of many bites. He swallowed heavily, bringing a hand to his mouth before clearing his throat. "Aqua? What are you doing up so late?"

She pressed her lips together in amusement. "I could ask the same of you." She leaned against the counter island across from him, taking in the assortment of supplies he'd been using. A still moist head of lettuce; various sliced meats in some kind of container she was unfamiliar with; two different glass jars of jam with their lids still opened and butter knives resting within; and resting atop a cutting board with another knife beside it, a tomato the perfect size for the bread slices he was using lay already cut.

"I, uh." Riku set his sandwich down on his plate, wiping his fingers on his pants. "We were in there a while," he began, "the Realm of Darkness, I mean. Not as long as you, but I—"

"Riku." Aqua smiled and moved to make a sandwich of her own. "Don't worry. I get it. I felt famished for days once I came back to the Realm of Light." Hm, was that ham? It looked more seasoned than she was used to. "All the energy you'd normally have to restore just piles up and leaves you feeling fatigued until you eventually get better." She glanced over at his plate. Based on the crumbs, it might have well been his fourth one. "I found overdoing it on the condiments helps, especially things made of milk or butter." Aqua hesitated briefly upon realizing she didn't have a plate of her own, an issue Riku quickly rectified. The two of them stood there in silence for several moments, Riku finishing his sandwich long before hers and silently making himself another.

Halfway into his likely fifth sandwich, Riku set it down on his plate. "I don't think I ever thanked you."

Aqua canted her head in confusion. "For what?"

"For saving me all those years ago, back in the Realm of Darkness."

She frowned. "Didn't you just escape from Darkness at that time? And Sora was there too, wasn't he?" She shook her head. "There's nothing to apologize for, Riku. You couldn't have known I was there."

"But you were in the Realm of Darkness for so long and—"

"And now I'm here in the Realm of Darkness." Aqua interjected, giving him a soft smile. "Don't dwell on the past too much, Riku. Reflect on it, sure, but don't let it claim hold of you."

He fell silent and stared down at the floor between his feet, thumbs hooked into his pockets. "Aqua... what gives you strength?"

"The wish to protect all those close to me," she immediately answered. She folded her arms, discreetly pinching the skin of her forearm sharply, nodding just as subtly at the affirming flare of pain. "Why do you ask?"

Riku chuckled quietly. "It's honestly the same for me. Sora and Kairi, they have a strength all their own, but it's not born from the same struggles that I had. The Light they carry casts a shadow all its own, and somebody has to walk in the Darkness it makes."

Her lip quirked. "Is that so?"

He nodded, quickly scarfing down the rest of his sandwich. "I better go to bed before I eat any more." Riku gave the ingredients one final, longing look before turning away. "Good night, Aqua."

"Oh, before you go," Aqua waited for him to pause before she continued to speak, "do you know if there's anywhere to practice in here? I kind of wandered in here by accident."

He let out an amused breath. "'Oh tower of mysteries, let my heart be my guiding key'," he recited. "Follow the lights and they'll bring you where you want to go." With one final nod, Riku slipped out the room, the door silently swinging back to that same slightly ajar position she had found it in.

"'Let my heart be my guiding key'," she repeated, closing her eyes.

Next chapter will now be out June 27th.