Chapter Three – Encounter with the Past
The next day was uneventful, as the new recruits of Devil May Cry were out having a field day. The members under twenty; Patty, Aqua, Roxas, and Zell were to go to the park, and do whatever they pleased for today was Dante's payday.
"You guys do realize that we shouldn't go anywhere that we'll have to charge Dante's tab, right?" Patty asked from a swing that she was sitting on.
"Seriously? I'm getting hungry. We've been out here for a bit and I'll have to admit that I didn't eat at the office, because I didn't know what was edible." Roxas joked and got a laugh from Aqua and Patty.
"Well, I have some cash. It's not much, but we should be able to get a few good bites wherever we go. I'm kinda hungry as well." Zell stated and checked his wallet and flashed a fat wallet packed with bills, then he stuffed the item back in his pocket, everyone gasped at the wallet, then Aqua turned to Roxas, a thought haunting her.
"So, Ven, have you seen Terra?" Aqua asked with a small smile of hope on her face as she went back and forth on the swing next to her friend.
Roxas looked down and closed his eyes and began to recall his last adventure. "...Sorry Aqua... I haven't seen Terra, but I did see someone who shares his light... and darkness..." Roxas replied with a sigh, knowing Aqua was disappointed to a certain extent with this news.
"Well, who was it? Was it a little boy with white hair?" Aqua recognized who Roxas was describing.
"He had white hair, but he wasn't a little kid. Not anymore." Roxas remarked and smirked, he remembered when he had crossed blades with the white haired boy at Memories' Skyscraper.
"...So he grew up. Was he good with the key blade?" Aqua asked, snapping Roxas out of his memory.
"Yeah, in fact we took out a large sum of heartless together." Roxas recalled once more.
"I don't mean to interrupt you guys, but Patty and I are gonna grab a bite. You guys coming?" Zell called from the entrance of the park.
Aqua was surprised at how the two moved so quickly, and when she looked at Roxas and noticed that he was halfway with them. "Uh! Hey, wait up, Ven!" Aqua called after Roxas and jumped off the swing and ran after him.
The group of four laughed and started out of the park and headed toward the nearest restaurant they could find. Aqua was on Zell's right arm, almost draped on him, and Patty was on the opposite side looking at the spectacle, slightly agitated at what she saw.
"What's the matter Patty? Jealous?" Roxas asked and smirked when Patty's face went red.
"N-no! I-I'm not jealous… much..." Patty stammered and mumbled the last word.
"Well, I don't mean to steal anyone's boyfriend, but I didn't know Zell was dating you, Patty." Aqua looked at Patty, trying not to sound mean, but it didn't work.
"We-well... we aren't but..." Patty started to say, but stopped when she saw Aqua drop onto the ground.
"Aqua, are you all right?" Zell and Roxas asked as they helped the blue haired master up onto her feet.
"... I just started feeling really sick just now... Can we go back to the office?" Aqua sighed and held her head as Zell took her in his arms, bridal style.
"I'll take Aqua back to DMC; you two go ahead and get a bite. Here's a few, it should help you." Zell stated as he fished out a couple hundred dollar bills and handed them to Patty, while holding Aqua in his other hand.
"Okay, thanks Zell." Roxas waved as Zell turned and started toward Devil May Cry.
Dante sat at his desk with his legs kicked across the top, like he always did, but unlike any other time, he wore a smug smirk across his face as Zell and Aqua entered the office. Dante's eyes snapped up as the two recruits entered and Aqua hid her face in Zell's shoulder to hide her blush.
"Well, well... Looks like the Bluebird got to the Wolf before Blondie did. What a surprise." Dante stated with a nod as his eyes met Aqua's figure in Zell's arms.
"Dante, it's not like that, you know..." Zell stated dully as he sat Aqua down on the couch and she placed a hand on her head, and her cheeks were red.
Zell paid no attention to Aqua's face, as he gently placed a hand on her neck and noticed she had a light fever. "Looks like you might need to call it quits on the next mission." Zell stated and turned and headed for the bathroom to fetch a cloth for her fever.
Dante smirked and watched Zell go into the back, and then he turned to Aqua. "Well, well, looks like he's into you." Aqua's face gave Dante enough to confirm that she had something for him.
Her face deepened it's already red color and she locked her gaze at the ceiling fan. "I-I... uhm, it isn't what you think it is..." Aqua sighed and rolled so that her back was now facing the lead devil hunter of the team.
"Well, it has to be something between you two. I've seen it in your eyes, bluebird. I'll figure out what it is eventually, you know." Dante smirked again and leaned back a bit further in his chair. At that moment, Zell returned with two small wet towels and approached Aqua.
"Sorry I took so long. The water takes forever to warm." Zell let a small smile appear on his face as he placed a towel on her head, and the other on her neck.
"Thank you, so much, Zell. I appreciate this." Aqua smiled a little bit as well and slowly closed her eyes and drifted off into a deep sleep.
There was nothing but darkness in this space... There were two figures hovering in the distance. One was a boy with spiked white hair and he seemed to be unconscious, it was apparent by the way he was draped on the other figure's shoulder. The other figure was a slender armor covered person who seemed to have a feminine build. The armor that covered the person was a moonlight blue and silver with black parts covering certain areas. The two were flying in a mysterious air ride type vehicle. They were headed toward a small opening that was at the top of the darkness.
"There's only enough time for one of us to escape... Looks like it'll have to be you, Terra..." Aqua's voice came from the armor as it burst into overdrive as it continued to race to the portal of light.
Aqua gave a heavy sigh and realized that the end was nearing. She had only one other choice... Aqua sighed and relinquished her armor and handed her Rainfell Keyblade to the unconscious Terra and waved her armor off as it zoomed through the light portal.
"I'll have to do it this way... I'm sorry Ven, looks like I'll be a little late to wake you... but I promise that I'll be there to wake you... One day..." Aqua sighed again and smiled faintly as she descended further into the dark realm.
"Aqua! Aqua! Hey, wake up!" Three voices called to the blue haired Keyblade Master, waking her up from her sleep.
Aqua rose drowsily and wiped her eyes and yawned, "What happened guys? How long was I sleep?"
"You were out for three hours." Zell stated with folded arms as he turned to head out of the office.
Aqua opened her eyes and stood, "You have something to do? Can I come along?" she stretched then approached Zell at the entrance.
"What are you going to do Zell?" Roxas asked as he took a seat on the couch.
"Yeah, is it important?" Patty chimed in as well and joined Roxas on the couch.
Zell shrugged and looked at Roxas, "It's nothing serious... and Aqua, you can come if you want. It doesn't make a difference to me." Then he resumed his path out the door. Aqua followed and was easily keeping step with Zell.
"So, Aqua…" Zell started casually and held the red Wayfinder in his hand.
"Yeah? What is it, Zell?" Aqua asked before she noticed the Wayfinder charm in his palm.
"Can I see yours?" Zell asked, he looked uneasy about something, but Aqua was unsure of what it was.
"Sure, here you go." Aqua replied softly and with a smile on her face.
Zell took her Wayfinder and looked at his. They two charms were identical, the only difference was that his was red and hers was blue. The boy looked confused, but kept it hidden from the blue haired Keybalde Master with little difficulty.
"When did you make these?" Zell asked as he studied the two Charms intently as they walked down the darkened road.
"I made them before my Mark of Mastery Exam… They were supposed to bring us, me, Terra, and Ven, good luck and to never drive us apart, but…" Aqua replied slowly and inhaled deeply the let out a heavy sigh. She was disappointed in how her first mission as master turned out, it was sadder than she had anticipated.
"You don't have to go on any further, unless you want to. I don't want to force and bad memories up…" Zell stated and noticed how close the Keyblade Master was to crying. It was apparent that she missed her older brother figure, Terra, who she had lost to the darkness.
"Thanks…" Aqua sighed and wiped her eyes and kept walking with Zell, and she unconsciously grabbed his hand and leaned her head on his shoulder.
Zell's eyes widened a bit as she grabbed his hand, and then he smiled to himself as the blue haired girl sighed and held his hand gently. "Her hands are really soft… I never thought they would feel like this, after all, she is a Master…"
The two walked for a while, until they were in front of a huge building. The building was a tall as the Memories' Skyscraper from where Roxas was from, but it seemed haunted. The windows were dimly lit with a strange light that appeared to move, as if there were eyes in each of them. Zell eyed the building darkly, then lightning flashed and thunder crashed. Aqua looked up to see the skyscraper blink. She let out a soft gasp, trying to hide her surprise.
"Well, looks like we're here." Zell released Aqua's hand and folded his arms as he stared up at the building.
"What is that thing?" Aqua asked, now even wearier of what she may have gotten herself in to.
"I assume it's a possessed building, judging by its looks, I assume it may have been an artificial something or other…" Zell deduced and spotted a small Unversed symbol near the tip of the building.
"It's an Unversed! But I thought we got rid of those!" Aqua exclaimed and summoned the Master Keeper Keyblade.
"Well, this IS a city filled with dark desires…" Zell stated calmly and summoned his X-blade and hoisted above his shoulder, and placed his other hand in his pocket.
"So you mean that all of the negative emotions here… created this thing?" Aqua cocked an eyebrow at the theory, but felt it was possible.
"If that's how the Unversed are created, then yes." Zell stated and eyed the building again, obviously trying to form a plan.
Aqua looked a bit uneasy, but did her best to keep it hidden. The sky became darker, and the lights in the street dimmed. Just as the lights dimmed, there was a whistling noise and several Neo Shadows appeared, along with some navy blue versions of them, which Aqua quickly identified as Neo Floods. The two key bearers stood back to back, ready to cover each other's back should they need it.
"Zell, be careful. They have similar attack patterns to each other, and it looks like there are a lot of them around."
"Yeah, looks like we're surrounded, and that building is the one keeping the tides against us."
"So what do you suggest?"
"I say, we tear through and seal the building. Well, you would have to do that, because I'll be the one covering you as you do your thing."
"Alright. Let's go."
The two key bearers dove into the hoards of Neo Shadows and Neo Floods. Aqua was closer to the Unversed Skyscraper, and cut through the monsters as if they were tissue, and Zell was attracting more and clearing the surrounding area of the monsters, and kept them at bay. Aqua carefully aimed her Keyblade at the roof of the building, and fired a beam of light from it. Zell dashed to her side as three Neo Shadows attempted to maul the female and extinguish the light. Zell appeared and cut them to ribbons and looked to Aqua and she nodded. He placed his hand over hers and the light beam grew stronger, until a small bubbling noise was the only thing left in the air.
The building had lost its dark demeanor and regained it's somewhat brighter luster. The dark coating had oozed away and evaporated into the air. The building had turned a cement grey color and the windows returned to being the dark, as if the lights were shut off inside. The two turned around to see a boy with white hair that covered his eyes in intense combat with a Darkside, and a Twilight Thorn.
"Zell, let's help him." Aqua stated, Zell looked at her and nodded.
The Twilight Thorn had swatted the boy back and he skidded past Aqua and Zell. The boy stood slowly, his injury proving to be more than it seemed, and he staggered a bit and used his weapon, which was the Way to the Dawn Keyblade, as a crutch to stand up on.
"Another one?" Zell raised an eyebrow as he looked at the gasping kid with curiosity.
Aqua rushed and went to the boy's side and cast Cura on his person, effectively healing all of his wounds.
The boy looked at Aqua and a gasp was heard from him. "Thanks; wait a sec… You… You're the girl from the Islands ten years ago!" The white haired boy exclaimed and jumped backward to avoid a sharpened arm for the Twilight Thorn.
Aqua cart wheeled to avoid the same attack, but looked a bit confused. "What are you talking about?" She apparently hadn't expected the boy to turn into what he was now.
"You don't remember? You told Sora to help me, should the darkness ever get out of hand." The boy replied and held his Keyblade up once more, preparing for an attack.
Aqua's eyes widened in realization, "You were with the kid that looked like Ven!" She smiled a bit and quickly cast Reflect to protect herself from the hook of the Twilight Thorn.
"Yeah, His name's Sora. Have you seen him?" The boy asked and jumped over her shoulder and released several pale purple fire balls at the Twilight Thorn.
Aqua ignored the move she recognized as Terra's Dark Firaga, and shot a ball of electricity at the Twilight Thorn, effectively disorienting it with several jolts of electricity. "Sorry, but I haven't seen anyone by that name around here…"
The boy sighed and dropped his head for a second, "Aw man. It looks like I lost Kairi as well…" He jumped at the incoming attack from the Twilight Thorn, and ran up the arm that was stuck in the ground.
"Wait, that little red haired girl's with you too!" Aqua looked shocked at what happened in her time in the Dark Realm, but she quickly followed the boy up the arm and provided some support Fire spells as she ran behind him.
Zell was locked in combat with the giant heartless, Darkside. Darkside gave a fierce punch toward the X-blade wielder, and he dodged it with no difficulty. Darkside's arm began to seep into the ground and produce Neo Shadows. The Neo shadows dove at Zell, and he easily wiped them from existence, then started up the arm and jumped from the shoulder and sliced the Darkside in half, and a giant heart escaped from it. When he looked back to find Aqua, she was talking to the boy with white hair, they both seemed surrounded by some type of liquid that looked like soap.
"Well, she came to our Islands a few years after you left… She, Sora and I have become best friends since then." The boy explained and put his head down and sighed, he was looking for a logical reason his two friends would have disappeared.
"Well, I'm Aqua. Do you remember Terra? He was the one who gave you the Keyblade." Aqua stated, now remembering the two boys from the Islands.
"My name's Riku, and I remember him. He wanted me to protect my friends with this weapon." Riku stated and summoned the Way to the Dawn and looked at it intently.
"Well, I think you're off to a good start, especially since you care for your friends." Aqua smiled kindly at the boy. The smile reminded him of Kairi.
"Well I don't think I am. I gave in to the darkness…" Riku sighed and mentally kicked himself for being a fool.
"Well, you are doing better now. You are looking for your friends, and I think you'll find them. Just be patient as you search. Come with us, we are looking for our friends as well." Aqua smiled to Riku and motioned for him to follow her.
Zell approached Aqua and Riku, he didn't speak, but he simply nodded. Another member was added to the ranks of the Devil May Cry hunters, and another Keyblade wielder was discovered and save from the clutches of darkness.