Thanks for the support everyone, and here's to the chapters to come!
Be warned if you have not played Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, there will be spoilers in this chapter, so forewarning you all.
Onwards!
"….I once made a promise to an old friend when I was younger, a promise to always watch out for and protect my friends no matter the circumstances. Although it took me longer than I wished to help you, I'm glad to have gotten you out when I did." ~Sora
Kingdom Hearts: Rewind
Chapter 3: Recovery and Reunion
'W-where am I?' was the thought of a young woman with long ocean blue hair and ocean blue eyes. She found herself to be in a place of complete darkness, not unlike the true Realm of Darkness she had damned herself in. Yet this place felt more familiar to her, it wasn't exactly a comfortable place, but it was one she knew.
But than her pools of blue widened in realization, coming to realize where she was now. 'Wait...no...not this place.'
It was too late for her to react before the darkness came alive and began too surround her, threatening to swallow her. To snuff out her existence entirely, resistance against the darkness was futile on her part as the darkness brought up memories long forsaken to life, once more.
Tear's began to pool in her blue orbs as she felt the feeling of these memories begin to return, and her resistance began to lessen.
'No, please, no...no...no!'
It was happening again...
She could feel it at the back of her skull, one by one the fragmented nightmares she'd kept locked away into the deepest depths of her mind were returning as she slept for the first time in what felt like years. Nightmares that fed upon her own misery, anguish, sorrow and anger. Taunting her with her past failures, reminding her of the mistakes she made and the consequences brought about by those very mistakes.
She feared these nightmares, for they always brought back the old pain of knowing what she had failed to do. Failing to convince Terra to stay off the path concocted by Xehanort's influence. Failing to stop Ventus from leaving the Land of Departure, against Master Eraqus own orders, in search for Terra. For her own failure of letting the title of Keyblade Master blind her to what was more important at that moment in time.
And her greatest failure, not being able to stop Terra from being taken over by Xehanort and Ventus from losing his heart in his battle against Vanitas.
She felt the sting of having the nightmares returning, the dark memories of all her past mistakes coming to the forefront of her mind. She had pushed such memories and nightmares down and away when she lost herself in the Realm of Darkness, after sacrificing herself to save Terra from falling into the realm himself. But they were back and threatening to push her beyond the edge and into the abyss of madness.
That is until she felt something...
Through the darkness that threatened to swallow her whole, through her eyes she saw something amidst the sea of memories she'd forsaken. One such memory was of when she arrived on Destiny Islands as tried to track down Terra and Ventus. Only to come upon a boy and a girl, one of which she sensed the mark of inheritance in the silver haired girl.
Then the memory went to the boy, his wild spiky brown hair was unkempt and his large blue orbs were looking up at her with a wide range of emotions that had confused her then and even now. But she watched as she asked him to watch over his friend and help her should she ever fall to darkness.
And his promise had been one that resounded through the darkness that threatened to take her.
"I promise to protect her, like all my friends, if she needs help than I will help her. I won't rest until every friend I make is safe and sound.'' was his reply to her advisement. It boggled her mind at the time when she heard his words, those were not the words a child his age would have spoken. She expected a simple "Yes" if anything, but something like that was not what she expected from the mouth of a boy that couldn't have been 5 or 6 year's old.
"My names Sora, what's yours?'' she saw the memory extend to the boy asking for her name as he introduced himself, and the memory showed her giving her name to the boy. And his smile at that moment had been as bright as the very sun that floated overhead. His small hand had taken hers and words in that memory had left her feeling foreign warmth that she had nearly forgotten.
Until now...
"You're my friend now too, so if you ever need help, I promise I'll come running, Aqua!''
Warmth, like the light of the sun itself was basking her in it's sheer radiance at those words. It was a strange, and foreign concept to consider that this single boy on some random world had brought this level of warmth to her in such dire times. Yet they had and his words had left her tempting, so very tempted, to see how Sora would grow, what kind of man would he have become. But her responsibilities and her bonds too Ventus and Terra kept her from truly witnessing his growth.
'Sora...why am I thinking of him now?' she thought of that boy, the more time she thought of the boy the longer she contemplated the strangeness that surrounded him upon their first meeting. He wasn't a normal boy by any means, just by looking into his eyes she saw emotions, experience no child should ever have, impossible, implausible even. Yet it was there, and those blue orbs had been incredibly intense the moment they stared into her own pools of blue.
And just as his promise to her echoed one last time within the depths of her mind...
The memory faded to another one, a most recent one from the clarity she saw it in. It was during her last stand in the Realm of Darkness, which nearly left her near death deaths door. Countless of heartless surrounded her, impossible to number, it was as if an entire ocean of heartless was swarming around her. Slowly it was coming back to her, it had been her last stand indeed, one she expected to not walk away from. For she didn't have the strength to get up, her will was gone, she lost the resolve to continue fighting. And yet, just as the heartless was about to consume her.
Something happened...
A Miracle occurred...
In the Realm of Darkness, just as the Heartless was about to consume her, a bright light pierced through the veil of ebony. Such was it's intensity that it lit up the entire realm it's in raw unbridled rays. It was as if the Sun itself had come to shed light upon the realm that never knew the Sun's radiance. She could only watch the memory play out even as unfocused as it was, and it was there, in the bright firestorm, she saw a figure in the eye of said storm coming down towards her. And in a bright flash of light, everything disappeared. She merely found herself waking to find herself in the arms of a black clothed figure. His entire appearance was cloaked in shadow, even as the light around him was almost divine in it's origin. The only part of her savior she truly was his piercing blue eyes staring down at her.
And then he spoke just as the memory faded...
"...close your eyes and focus on the thrum of my heart. Block out the darkness around you and focus on me, I promise. I. Will. Save. You.''
'What...what is this...this light.' Aqua uttered out to herself in awe as the figures words brought forth a magnificent bright light within the depths of her own darkness. It melted away everything that haunted, and like a long lost friend. It welcomed her in it's warm radiant embrace. And just as she let the light take her, she heard his last faint words before she lost herself in the warm light.
"Sweet dreams, Aqua."
OwO
The first sign she felt upon returning to the world of the living was the smell of a crackling campfire. The wonderful cool breeze of the night winds blowing pass her body, and the smell of nature in the air. The sound of crickets and owls was akin to a melody to her sensitive hearing. It was like a small paradise for her, since her last accommodations were less than satisfactory for any human being.
But than, Aqua made the mistake of trying to move...
''Gah!'' she couldn't stop the yelp of pain that ripped out from her mouth. Such pain! The moment she tried to even move a little bit sent a nasty shock all over her body. It was like she'd been set on fire and left to burn, so painful it was that it nearly brought tears to her eyes. A single twitch made her whimper, had her pain receptors been so severely damaged to such a point.
She noticed her body was wrapped up in multiple bandages and wrappings, from her arms, legs and her abdomen.
'Who..?'
''Oi, don't try to move so much or you're gonna open up your wounds.''
….Eh?
Unable to blink, because even that brought her pain, Aqua tried to find the origin of the familiar voice, but moving her head just a little bit was a monumental effort alone. Yet her action granted her the sight of the one who spoke and her eyes truly widened when she saw a familiar black cloaked figure sitting just a few feet from her. His appearance surprised her, but more so when he noticed her move, and without a word he stood up and moved toward her.
She tried to say something, anything to the person, but found that she couldn't either because she was in too much pain to do so or was having a hard time trying to come to terms with the fact she was actually saved.
It hadn't been a figment of her imagination. Not a horrible dream to entice her.
It was real...
His boots strode her way before he crouched down to her, and she heard him sigh. Was that relief she sensed?
''Stubborn, no surprise there though. Here let me help ease the pain.'' he said and feeling no ill intent from him Aqua didn't struggle, not like she could anyway as he brought up his hand over to her head. For a moment she saw his hand glow a greenish hue before she felt a magical surge of power course throughout her body. The effect was quick as her pain receptors quickly began to return to normal and her wounds began to heal to a more stable state.
Feeling her strength return, if for only a small amount Aqua turned to look at the figure-a man- she suspected due to the physique he had underneath that cloak. ''T-thank you...'' her voice was rough and hoarse, her throat was dry and in desperate need of water. Apparently he expected this and pulled out a bottle of water from his coat.
''No need for thanks now here, drink this.''he said and seeing her trepidation he spoke to ease her worries. ''Don't worry, it's not poisoned or anything, it's only purified water from the nearby river.'' he said and plus the young woman figured if he really did want to hurt her why hadn't he done so earlier?
Gently he put his under her head and helped lift her up so she could drink. And once Aqua felt the cold water rush past her lips and down her parched throat she greedily chugged what she could with a gusto. But that was still limited to what the cloaked man would allow her.
''Now now don't drink too fast or you're gonna...''
Too late, as the blue haired woman started to cough, sputtering up water as it went down the wrong pipe. Instantly she was pulled up a bit more by the stranger who, she noted, began to pat and rub her back.
''….choke...'' he finished lamely and Aqua felt heat rush to her cheeks in embarrassment. Still, after she regained herself she continued to drink what she could until she stopped. Putting the bottle away he let her lay back down which she did thankfully although with a bit of pain.
''U-um, thank you for that.'' she hesitated, but thankfully got out her appreciation out without much further stuttering on her part. She usually wasn't like this, but without any contact with anyone from the outside worlds for gods know how long she was still getting used to the contact. Although it wasn't unwelcome, she still felt this stranger's actions and attitude made it seem like he'd known her before hand.
'Wait a second...'
''It's no trouble-'' however he was silenced when Aqua grabbed his sleeve and forced to look her way and he was momentarily frozen from the rather icy glaze she was giving him. Ah there it was, that frigid gaze Aqua was known for, the suspicion was back again, along with a inkling of something else that he couldn't discern.
''Who are you? Why are you helping me? How did you even know where I was? What do you get out of this?'' she questioned the silent black clad man infront of her with loads of questions that demanded to be answered. Aqua expected something from this man because she would not drop the matter in anyway. She needed to know why this person had and was going so far for her. As far as she knew, she didn't know this person and the young woman couldn't think of a reason as to why he would even help her in the first place.
The only people that knew she was stuck in here was either gone, dead or incapable of helping her from the Realm of Darkness. So the question had to be asked.
Why did this person save her? Why risk himself to save her, a stranger? But the one question that mostly plagued her mind was...
Who is this guy?
For a moment silence ensued as Aqua kept her stare dead even with stranger even from her laid out position. The tension was thick in the air, but just as she was about to speak again he beat her to the punch.
''I figured this would come up, but I didn't want it to happen so soon. Still your suspicion is understandable so I guess I should tell you, it'll help us both out in the long run.'' he...grumbled? Yes, indeed, it sounded like a grumble. Aqua blinked once as the man grabbed the rims of his hood and in a quick motion pulled it down.
''I guess I should start by introducing myself. Since we're safe here, it'll be best to get this out of the way.'' with the hood no longer obscuring his face, his voice returned to normal. Still Aqua's widening blue eyes met an equally intense gems of sapphire. Familiar unkempt brown hair spiked out in a mess, but there was a ting of blonde that she could see in those brown locks of his. But still, for a moment Aqua could only stare dumbfounded as she looked into the face of one who seemed too familiar, yet it...
'No...it can't be!'
Still the young man before her showed the smallest of smiles, ''….I once made a promise to an old friend when I was younger, a promise to always watch out for and protect my friends no matter the circumstances. Although it took me longer than I wished to help you, I'm glad to have gotten you out when I did.'' he said scratching the back of his head as he did so. He hadn't planned for it to be like this, but the end result was all the mattered to him.
'Although I would have liked to keep my identity a secret from her, I doubt it would have helped anyway, she was always the most intelligent amongst our group.' Sora thought, Aqua had been that way in his timeline, always being the level headed one that usually kept him grounded. Advising him and teaching him how to keep a level head during battle, she was a shrewd woman he came to respect and admire in the war.
Now that he thought about it he couldn't really hide anything from her...
'Yet this isn't my Aqua...' he reminded himself, this wasn't his Aqua, this was an Aqua that still suffered from her past failures and mistakes. One who still tormented herself with thoughts on what she could have done, what she should have done. And he intended to make sure she didn't suffer anymore from those thoughts, and it was with that intent and much more that Sora gave Aqua one of his rarest smiles. A true blown smile that made his eyes light up as well.
''S-sora...?'' Aqua could only utter out that response as she stared into the face of the young boy who had made her that promise long ago. But time seemed to have gone by much faster than she expected because now that boy was now a young man. He looked to be maybe 15 or 16, so much different from the young boy she first saw on Destiny Islands. But as she looked into his blue eyes she saw that range of emotions swirling behind those pools of sapphire.
For the time traveler he merely chuckled at her dumbfounded expression before taking her hand in his own. ''It's been a long time hasn't, Aqua?''
''I...think that's a bit of an understatement, don't you think?'' she spoke her mind and the flush that followed after showed her embarrassment. Still he didn't mind, she was safe and sound and that was all that mattered right now.
Grinning, Sora pat her hand before putting it to her side. ''Perhaps, but we can catch up later, right now I need to get you somewhere safe. So you can fully recover from your wounds.'' he said making Aqua blink up at him. Pulling up his hood again to cover his face, only his eyes were visible to her. Still she wasn't entirely sure what he meant, at least until he kneeled down and began to put one arm under her neck and the other under her legs. And missing the fact his arms glowed green, the very same when he healed her moments before. Sora gently and carefully picked her up into a bridal carry.
If Sora could have seen Aqua's face he would have been out right laughing at the expression she was making, realization had finally, truly, sunk in as she finally came to terms with her situation. She had been saved from the Realm of Darkness, but by the most unlikely person she would have expected. Not only that though, but Sora had taken care of her, treating her wounds and...
'He..he dressed my wounds that means he saw my...b-body.' like any other girl caught in that kind of situation Aqua felt her cheeks flush as she realized this fact. She was still the 17 year old young woman she was when she first entered the Realm of Darkness, thus she was a bit conflicted with having a boy looking at her body, let alone touching it. Then again it was to patch up her injuries, but still it was a rather sensitive subject to her.
'Sure, Terra and Ventus were like brothers to me, but I always dressed up my own wounds.' she thought until she felt her body close in, flush up against Sora's arms. Brought back from her own musings she blinked and saw that Sora had situated her in a position that didn't aggravate her wounds. Holding up her in his arms with her head against his chest, she was left baffled that the young man didn't seem the least bit embarrassed by the situation. If anything he seemed like was used to this sort of thing.
But that's not possible, right?
''S-so where are we going anyway?'' she asked, internally grumbling at herself for stuttering yet again, that was getting embarrassing. But she blinked when Sora merely glanced down at her before he let loose a smile. A cold demented smile that sent a certain chill down her spine.
''Why, we're going to see Master Yen Sid, of course!''
…..
'Oh no...' that was not a meeting Aqua was anticipating, she knew the old Master. He was a retired Keyblade Master that had been an old friend of her own master, Eraqus. He had been a sort of Guide during her mission to track down Ventus and Terra, and the impression she had on the elderly man was of a rather stern man. Much more than her own master had ever been.
Personally, Yen Sid frightened her a bit, maybe it was the aura of pure power he radiated or the intimidating presence of his sheer authority that demanded respect. She wasn't sure which, but one thing in her mind did beg to question as she glanced up to Sora's shadowed visage.
How did Sora know Yen Sid, a former Keyblade Master?
'...No, now that I take a second look something's very different about Sora. Not only does he penetrate the Realm of Darkness and escape with me in tow. He even wields magical power, I can feel it coursing through him. Just...what happened to Sora while I was gone.'
One thing was for certain, whatever happened in her absence, something changed that bright little boy she saw on the Destiny Islands into this young man. Something truly massive, enough to break apart his own reality and shake the foundations of his own life.
If only Aqua knew how right she had was.
And without another word Aqua saw Sora stop before a bright light encompassed them both before she saw only darkness.
OwO
''HYAAH!'' in a loud battle cry, Kairi flipped into the air and came down upon a giant Heartless and in a silver gleam of light she landed behind said Heartless. And as the giant Guard Armor heartless burst into a black mist, a giant heart floated out of the black mass and into the sky until it ultimately disappeared in a flash of light.
''Wow good job Kairi!'' the young redhead heard and turning around Kairi simply giggled as she looked at her exuberant friend, Yuffie Kisaragi. Her first of the few friends she made since waking up in Traverse Town. The girl was a few years older than her, but not by much yet she acted just like Sora did, only much more excitable.
And more prone to throw sharp and pointy things at any given chance.
''Hehe thanks, but I think I just caught it off guard or something.'' ever the first one to be humble about her own skills, the Ninja girl wasn't going to take that as she slapped the young girl on the back causing her to let out a small 'eep' as she lost nearly lost her footing.
''Oh c'mon on now Kairi, you did good. Besides, I don't think you were given that just for the sake of having it. You got some serious skill with a blade.'' Yuffie said, glancing down at the weapon held in Kairi's hand. The redhead followed her gaze and her ocean blue eyes softened once her eyes landed upon her weapon.
It was a key-shaped weapon that one of her friends, Leon, said was a Keyblade that was said to be the only weapon that could truly kill Heartless. It seemed pretty harmless in appearance, looking more like decorative item than anything. One side of the hilt was formed in the shape of a breaking tidal wave, while the other is formed into a beige vine of sand that wrapped around the shaft which was colored the same as a sunset. The vine connected to a bouquet of flowers at the end which were the blade's "teeth" and it entwined in the shape of a heart. And finally at the end of the keyblade's hilt a red silken keychain bobbled back and forth while at the end of the chain looked to be a star shaped token.
Which was in fact the very same shape as her home's very own paopu fruit.
Kairi still remembered how she awoke to having this thing, she woke up in a town she didn't know. Sora nor Riku were nowhere in sight and attempts at finding them, against the behest of those that found her and took care of her as she slept. She'd been cornered by the heartless that were chasing her down, out of desperation she crossed her arms with only one thought in mind just as the Heartless pounced.
Sora!
And, from what Yuffie described when she and Aerith arrived was a bright flash of light erupted from her hand, which the light alone blew the heartless back. And in her hand was the very keyblade, basking in a golden light. Shards of pure light fell apart from the blade and once she realized the weapon could hurt the heartless. She went on the offensive, instinctively utilizing the skill's she learned from her spar's with a certain brunette.
Before she knew the Heartless were gone and Yuffie and Aerith were left staring at her in surprise or in Yuffie's case, agape.
''So, what do you call that thing anyway?'' Yuffie said as Aerith, bless her soul, was healing them with a Cure and a Regen spell.
Kairi blinked before she looked down at the keyblade in her lap and for a moment she contemplated. Giving a name to any weapon sounded petty ridiculous at first, but she supposed it was different when the weapon actually had a mind of it's own or in her case was a bit sentient. Not that it talked to her or anything, but as she wielded it she could the blade hum a song of battle as she danced around her enemies, bringing them down before they even realized.
''Hm...'' for a moment she also thought of her long lost home, her friends, Riku and...
Sora, the thought of him that helped bring about her keyblade's birth in the first place.
''I think I'll call it, Destiny's Embrace.'' the redhead spoke with a grin and an even happier gleam in her eyes.
This chapter was shorter, but I need time to relax and plan the next chapter out. Might be the biggest I've ever made in terms of word count, but it's gonna be complex as hell to write. That said, I think everyone may enjoy the change from the canon I'm towards.
As you can all see Kairi will not be traveling with Donald and Goofy, it just didn't seem right and it felt more fitting for her to be traveling with people that are native's to her own homeworld, Radiant Garden. As for progress on Riku that will be closely examined next chapter, right now I feel like my brains about too explode.
Anyway, leave me lots of reviews on what you all thought. I'm heading out, so see ya!
NS666 (NocturnalSin666)
