I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the characters.
Friends
Ventus heard the hammer whipping through the air, then, there was an explosion. He felt a gust of unbearably hot wind, then nothing. He forced his eyes open, realizing for the first time that his armor had been completely destroyed by the hammer. The Unversed was standing roughly twenty feet away, hammer held away from Ventus by a thin black keyblade.
But...how? Ventus thought.
The Unversed swung its hammer, nearly hitting Ventus again. Aqua screamed in fear when he nearly died, drawing several unimpressed looks but she couldn't care less, even if she had noticed the looks. Then, Ventus was hurled by an explosion. Aqua summoned her keyblade, leaping off of the stands and slashing at the barrier, only to be thrown back ward.
"You're not getting through like that," Terra spoke from his spot behind her.
"Terra!" Aqua gasped, standing and throwing her arms around him. "i thought you left!"
"Yeah," Terra snorted. "To get something we'd need to save that idiot."
He stepped aside as Eraqus stepped forward, holding a massive keyblade with a jagged blade and a black handle. Just as he raised it, the Unversed's hammer slammed into Ventus, the explosion blasting his armor off and wounding him, badly, hurling him into the barrier before he fell to the ground, not moving.
"Ven!" Aqua shrieked.
Terra grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her out of the way as Eraqus hurled the strange-looking keyblade like a javelin. The blade broke through the barrier instantly and a moment later, the keyblade exploded, blasting a hole in the barrier. The three of them leapt through and sprinted to help Ventus. As they neared him, the Unversed charged. Aqua darted between them, crossing her arms instinctively in front of herself but Eraqus blocked it, the gust of wind, making Ventus stir.
"Aqua," Ventus rasped.
"Ven!" Aqua gasped, turning around and beginning to heal him. "It's alright, we're here."
"I thought...you left," Ventus breathed, barely conscious.
"Of course not," Aqua smiled. "We'd never abandon you. Terra and Master Eraqus just had to go get the key to the barrier."
Her healing spell faded and she tried to get it going again but she didn't have the strength, having given it all to Ventus the last time she healed him. She tried again but still nothing happened.
"Sorry Aqua," Ventus breathed. "Looks like I lost after all."
"Not yet," a familiar voice squeaked. "Heal!"
Ventus's body glowed green for a moment, his wounds healing and his armor repairing itself. He sat up and looked around, spotting Mickey going to help fight the Unversed.
"I'll have to remember to thank him later," Ventus smirked. "Thank you for saving me Aqua."
Aqua smiled and held her hand out.
"Come on," Aqua smiled as he took her hand, allowing her to help him stand. "You can't sit around all day. You have a tournament to win."
As he stared at her in surprise, she turned his hand over, setting his Wayfinder in it and smiled. After a moment, he smiled as well. Then, he reformed his helmet and shoved her backward, causing her to trip before hurling himself backward, the Unversed's hammer crashing down where they had been. Aqua flipped to her feet and activated her armor then looked over to the others. Terra had his armor active as well but was currently trying to break out of a flaming cage. Eraqus was wounded and Mickey was healing him.
"Aqua!" Ven called out. "Hit it with the strongest spell you have when you see an opening."
Aqua nodded and Ventus charged. The Unversed spun toward him, swiping at him with its hammer but he leapt over the hammer and slashed at its face. It stepped back and suddenly spheres of water began to explode against its back. It staggered forward and Ventus leapt at it, splitting it up the front. It staggered back then spun, swiping at Aqua. Ventus began to move toward her, praying he could make it in time, but before he was halfway there, he knew he'd be too late. Then, a flash of black, blue, and gold shot past and Aqua was gone. Ventus leapt into the air, flipping over the hammer then landing on his feet and leaping away from the Unversed, looking around. Zack was off to one side, setting Aqua on her feet, the glowing gold aura around him fading.
"Hey Ventus," Zack smiled. "Glad to see you made it to the finals after all. Sorry about earlier."
Ventus smirked but before he could respond, the remains of the damaged barrier all but exploded and leon and Hercules landed beside Zack. Leon had his left arm in a sling but aside from that they both looked just fine.
"Hey Ventus," Hercules smiled. "Kinda wish you had just let Leon win. Oh well. Too late to complain. Shall we?"
Ventus grinned and nodded and they all turned back to the Unversed as Mickey, Terra, and Eraqus all raised their keyblades as well.
"You know," Ventus spoke up, looking over at Aqua for a moment before looking back at the Unversed. "I'm starting to think it was a bad idea to enter this tournament."
Aqua laughed for a moment before they charged, the others all following suit. A moment later, The hammer swung around at Ventus. Hercules caught the shaft, gritting his teeth as his hand burned. He managed to hold the hammer back just long enough for the others to all attack the Unversed, however, then let go and leapt back. The Unversed roared in rage and vanished. Then, the massive panels that had been the barrier's power source began to break free and fly across the arena at them.
"Cheater!" Ventus spat, rolling out of the way of a massive triangle.
The pieces crashed down then rose and flew around before attempting to hit them again. After a few minutes of not killing anything, the pieces all returned to their original positions and the barrier reappeared, trapping them all.
"Guess we're not leaving then," Ventus growled.
The ground below them all suddenly began to crack and glow red. For a moment, everything shook. Then, it stopped and the light faded.
"What was..." Leon trailed off as a low growl reached their ears.
They all looked around just as the ground below Aqua began to glow again. Ventus spun, sprinting to her and shoving her out of the way just as the ground exploded skyward, the Unversed's right foot impacting with his abdomen, impaling him. Ventus coughed, blood splattering across the inside of the helmet before he let it disappear. He growled in frustration and slashed the leg, wounding it and making the Unversed flip, hurling him away. He bounced and rolled along the ground for a ways as the Unversed landed, leg healing. As he began to push himself up, Eraqus and Mickey both slashed at the Unversed, their keyblades missing it due to it vanishing again. This time, however, Ventus had a good guess where it went. He hurled himself forward just as the Unversed crashed down where he had been, the impact hurling him into Aqua and both into the barrier. As they landed, the Unversed appeared over them, slashing downward. Ventus growled in rage, keyblade glowing light blue and stood, blocking the hammer head with his keyblade. The ground below him cratered but after a moment, he shoved the hammer skyward and lunged, slashing the Unversed several times before the energy around his keyblade exploded, launching it.
Ventus fell to his hands and knees and Mickey sprinted over, healing him. Ventus stood and glared at the unversed.
"I've had it with this thing," Ventus snarled, seeing that its wounds were already sealed. "What's it take to kill this guy?"
"It was rumored to be unkillable," Mickey stated. "Now I understand why."
Ventus stood, unclipping the chain from his keyblade.
"Fine then," Ventus growled. "If my power alone isn't enough, I'll use the power my friends give me."
"What do you mean?" Aqua asked.
Ventus clipped his Wayfinder onto the keyblade and it began to shine blindingly bright, to the point that the Unversed stopped mid-attack, shielding its eyes and staggering away. Ventus raised the keyblade over his head then slashed it in the Unversed's direction, holding it in standard grip. An arch of light shot off the blade, shooting out and blasting the Unversed, launching it into the barrier. It shrieked in pain, the barrier throwing it back. The Unversed's body where the blast had hit him bubbled and burned before finally subsiding, leaving a deep gash that failed to heal.
"Much better," Ventus smirked, flipping his keyblade around to reverse grip again as the light began to fade, leaving a keyblade that was entirely white with a blade formed out of two strips of metal for edges that then crossed then curved back around, forming a heart at the end of the blade with the keyblade's teeth being a large six needle-armed star.
The guard was a pair of angel wings and his Wayfinder was glowing white, even though the keyblade itself was not.
"What is...that?" Aqua breathed.
"This, is what happens when my wayfinder is my keyblade's charm," Ventus stated. "It's only the second time I've used this form of my Keyblade. This shouldn't take too long."
He slashed again and again an arc of light shot out, blasting the Unversed into the barrier. Then, Ventus sprinted forward. The Unversed stood, swiping at him and Ventus leapt over the hammer, slashing at the Unversed. It avoided his slash and spun, swiping at him. He blocked the hammer but it launched him through the air into the barrier. As he landed, the Unversed charged at him. Then, at the last second, two blasts of light crashed into it's side, smashing it completely through the barrier and the panels generating the barrier, all of which exploded. Ventus looked up just as Aqua and Terra stepped in front of him, their keyblades glowing blindingly white but the light fading, except for their Wayfinders. When the light faded, Terra's keyblade had what looked like a normal sword blade inside a wire mesh going from white at the guard to blue at the tip with a wayfinder as the keyblade's teeth, a wire guard shaped like angel wings, and Terra's glowing wayfinder as a charm. Aqua's keyblade now had a blade made of zig-zagged metal around a beam of golden light with a crown for the keyblade's teeth, a golden guard with five light blue crystals set into it, and her Wayfinder as a charm.
"Thanks," Ventus said pushing himself up as the Unversed stood.
"Of course," Terra smirked. "Can't exactly leave a man to die now can we?"
Ventus blinked in surprise before smiling and nodding. The three of them charged forward and then scattered at the Unversed swung its hammer down at them. Terra reached it first, smashing his keyblade into it and launching it across the arena at Hercules, thick black blood splattering along the ground after it. Hercules punched the Unversed, launching it at Aqua. She slashed her keyblade, sending an arch of light surrounded by compressed wind at the thing. The blast exploded, launching the Unversed at Leon and Zack who both slashed it as it passed. It sailed at Mickey and Eraqus who both smashed their keyblades into the Unversed, launching it away from them and at Ventus. The Unversed flipped over, raising its hammer as it sped toward Ventus. Ventus saw Aqua moving to shield him and grinned.
"Relax Aqua," Ventus said making her stumble and fall.
Then, as the Unversed swung at him, Ventus's keyblade began to shine blindingly bright again as pure white energy cloaked the entirety of the keyblade. Ventus darted forward, slashing downward at the Unversed. His keyblade blasted through the Unversed's hammer and then tore through the Unversed itself before Ventus skidded to a stop, the light fading as the Unversed crashed down.
"Stubborn freak," Ventus growled turning to the Unversed as it pushed itself up, wounds healing and its hammer repairing itself. "You just don't know when to quit do you?"
Aqua stood and stepped up beside Ventus as Terra stepped up on his other side. All three held their keyblades out and the Unversed roared, sprinting at them.
"Just die!" Ventus shouted as their keyblades each fired a beam of light.
The beams hit the Unversed in the chest and exploded, blasting the Unversed's torso into oblivion and the rest of the Unversed disappeared in a column of black flames.
"Finally," Ventus sighed, swapping his Wayfinder for his keyblade's usual charm and letting his keyblade disappear again.
Then, Aqua's arms wrapped around him and she began to sob into his shoulder. Ventus let his armor disappear, the other two having done the same, and wrapped his arms around Aqua as well.
"Don't you ever do that again!" Aqua sobbed. "Do you know how scared I was?"
Ventus sighed and gently ran his hand over her hair. He looked to the others who all looked somewhere between relieved and sympathetic toward Aqua.
"We all were," Terra sighed. "We're sorry for treating you like a child. It wasn't fair. We just didn't want to know what would happen if you were hurt."
"I know," Ventus sighed. "I'm sorry I ran off and joined a deadly tournament. I was acting pretty childish."
"We all were," Terra snorted. "Part of being an adult is knowing when to let others make their own decisions. Guess we kinda forgot that."
"it's alright," Ventus smiled. "But, I guess this is goodbye, since I chose to fight rather than go home."
"What are you talking about?" Eraqus snapped, ventus realizing for the first time that he looked to have aged a hundred years. "It's getting late. We should all be getting home."
Ventus blinked then smiled and nodded. He then looked to Aqua who showed no sign of intending to move. He sighed and pushed her off his shoulder then smiled at her.
"You're going to get my shirt wet if you keep that up," Ventus smiled, Aqua missing that it was a joke, given that his shirt was in tatters already from the numerous times he had been wounded during the tournament. "Let's go home. I need to sleep."
Aqua smiled and nodded and they left, Eraqus telling the desk-worker to mail Ventus's winnings to the Land of Departure. Then, they all left, heading for home. Once they had arrived, Eraqus immediately headed to bed, and Terra left a few minutes later, after taking the time to apologize to Ventus one last time. Aqua, on the other hand, kept her arms securely around Ventus's shoulders from the moment they stepped into the castle. He managed to get free long enough for them to leave the castle to their unofficial stargazing spot then lay down with Aqua laying her head on his chest. She slipped her right hand into his left, lacing their fingers together and he smiled, gently stroking her hair again, feeling her calm down slowly as he did.
"I'm sorry Aqua," Ventus apologized after a while. "I never meant to scare you. I just wanted you guys to understand I don't need to be protected."
"It's alright," Aqua replied quietly, tears sliding down her face again. "I'm sorry that we drove you to that."
"That was my own stupidity," Ventus said gently wiping her tears away and making her look up at him. "It wasn't your fault. None of it was."
Aqua smiled then reached up, kissing him gently. He kissed her back without hesitation and smiled when she sighed happily. After a bit, she broke the kiss, laying her head down on his shoulder and smiling.
"I love you Ven," Aqua smiled.
"I love you too Aqua," Ventus replied, wrapping his free arm around her and holding her against him. After a few minutes, they both drifted off to sleep.
THE END
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