[Hope Restored]
[Aqua talking to Ansem, no pairings]
She carefully sits down on the charcoal sand. Bringing her legs up to her chest, and speaks with the stranger in the black cloak. He seems like a respectable man, judging by his word choice and tone.
The man remembers not his name, but the blue-haired girl remembers her own. She tells it to him. "I'm Aqua," she informs, glancing over at the man perched on the rock. They watch the forever sunset-sunrise, a ball of white in a sky of dark blues and greys, an everlasting moon, a dying sun. The unknown.
"Aqua," the man addresses, testing the name on his tongue. "That's a beautiful name."
"Thank you," the young woman murmurs. She hasn't aged a bit in ten years because of this strange world. A world caught between the Light and the Dark, but mostly residing in the Darkness. Sighing, she wonders aloud, "I wish I could remember who gave me the name, though. For some reason, I can't remember what my mother looked like. I've been here for so long… I don't even know how long. Days and nights don't exist here, so time blurs together. All I know is that I miss my friends, and wish that I could escape this place and find them again. I wonder how they are, and what they're doing; if one of them broke free and made good choices, and if the other is still safe."
The man nods his head. "I understand. But in Outside World today… the worlds themselves are changed. They keep getting attacked, teetering on the brink of being swallowed up in Darkness. It's up to a boy I know to save them."
"Wait, a boy?" Aqua bursts, a renewed hope igniting in her chest. "Is his name Terra, or Ven?"
The man shakes his head, and her hope begins to wither again. But it doesn't die just yet; the man takes on a smile to his tone. "His name is Sora. And he is getting stronger every day, fighting for his friends and for the good of others. He is a kind-hearted young man, and he has much potential."
Aqua's heart nearly skips a beat. Her breathing stills. "Sora…" she repeats breathlessly, and the name rings a clear bell: the little brunet boy she met on the beach of Destiny Islands, the world where the star-shaped paopu fruit grows. Her hope burns brighter, restored now. "Sora," she says again, firmer this time. "Yes, you're right. He does have potential."
"You know him?" the man questions, curious.
"I met him, once," Aqua remarks softly. "When he was maybe four or five years old. He had a friend with him: Riku. Terra passed the power to wield the Keyblade to Riku, and I could sense more Darkness in Riku's heart than in Sora's. They reminded me a lot of my friends, Terra and Ven. But I have a feeling that things will be different with them. I have a feeling that history won't repeat itself, not entirely. There's hope, if Sora is involved." She smiles to herself. "I knew from the moment I touched him that he was special. He was pure." She laughs sadly, weakly. There isn't much laughter left in her, and she's surprised at herself for a moment. The Keyblade master continues, "Purer than a normal child. He felt like the sort whom others reached out to, instinctively." A slight frown decorates her features for a moment. "I wonder… if he's the sort of person that Ven decided to house his heart in."
"It's quite possible," the man replies. "It's odd; while I scarcely remember my own life and the events in it, I remember him. I remember Sora and his friends quite clearly, and I remember for a fact that Sora has housed a heart within him before. His friend, Kairi, had no Darkness in her heart, so when her heart was stolen, her body fell into a deep sleep and her heart went into Sora's."
"Kairi?" Aqua says, leaping to her feet. Her hand clenches over her heart. She sighs with relief. "So my spell worked after all."
"It was you who gave her heart that ability?" The man chuckles. "Hmm, I always wondered, and now I know."
Aqua smiles. "Yes, now you know. It was a thank-you; I saved her from some Unversed, and she gave me flowers. She didn't have to give me anything, but she wanted to. And I wanted to protect her for future times when I'm not there to save her again. She also seemed pure, in retrospect…"
The stranger nods his head beneath the hood of the cloak. "Yes, she is. She's a Princess of Heart, in fact. Pure Light, through and through. She's a good soul."
Aqua sits down again, her legs stretched out before her. "I'm glad. I'm so very glad. Even if I'm trapped here, I know that there is good in the worlds still. In people like Kairi and Sora. But what of Riku? Is he still friends with Sora?"
"Very much so, and with Kairi as well," the man informs her. "Riku was tempted by the Darkness and succumbed to it for a while, but he fought back. And he won. And now, he is a strong young fellow who sticks with his friends no matter what."
Tears trail down Aqua's cheeks. She smiles gently and looks out at the never-ending sea. "Thank goodness. He didn't wind up like Terra for long." She sighs. "I wish I knew what happened to Terra."
"And believe me, I wish I could tell you," the man says, "But I can't. I don't think I knew a Terra."
The Keyblade Master nods in understanding. "That's alright. I didn't expect you to." She sighs and touches the toe of her armored shoe to the water. "I hope he's well."
"I'm sure where ever he might be, he is thinking of you," the man assures to the best of his ability. "And as for your other friend – Ven, did you say? – I'm sure he's safe. Sora is doing a very good job at keeping the worlds safe."
"I feel better, now," Aqua remarks distantly, her eyes locked on the small orb of light in the sky. "Without having to do much, you quelled some of my worries and fears. Thank you, stranger," she says and briefly offers the cloaked man a smile.
Through the shadow of his hood, a blond goatee-framed mouth smiles softly. "You're quite welcome, my girl. I'm glad that, even with amnesia and in an empty place, I can still be of some use to someone."