Janus, the Spirit of Choice
The last place in this world Aqua had not been to was the temple off in the distance that was likely to be the dwelling of the Spirit of Choice. Given what Nimue and Ambrosius had told her, it wasn't likely that this Janus would have the answers she was looking for.
Still she had to try.
Her new destination was a small temple, not large enough to hold a lot of people but that mattered little in this world. The temple was made entirely of bronze and was erected in the form of a square. The entrance to the temple was a pair of two large doors, resembling a gate of some form.
"Guess I should knock." Aqua said, walking up to the doors and knocked on them.
The doors slowly opened, revealing a bright light that blinded Aqua for a mere second. When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in a white void, standing before a statue…
A statue that was engulfed in a blue mist, taking a familiar form.
"My, my, so you have finally come." A female voice spoke.
"About time." Then spoke a male voice.
The mist faded, revealing the Spirit of Choice, Janus.
What stood about him…her…them from the other spirits was that they had two faces.
The face of bearded man was at the front and the face of a white haired woman was on the back, depending on a person's point of view possibly. The man was elderly looking with manacles and chains like Ambrosius with a beard and the woman was young, light blue hair and chains wrapped around her like Jinn.
It was like a man and woman had been merged together their fronts fused to the back of the other.
It was…strange.
"So you are the Keyblade woman who has entered our realm with the help of Drasil." The elderly man said.
"And we see you have already visited the others, Jinn, Ambrosius and Nimue." The woman continued.
"I…My name is Aqua." Aqua introduced herself. "You know of me and the Keyblade? How?"
"We are Janus, the Spirit of Choice. We have the power to show visions of the choices one will make and the repercussions of each choice." The woman face answered. "We show the beginning and the end, the choice and the consequence."
"One of us looks to future of one choice…" The elderly man said.
"And the other looks to the future of the opposite." The woman finished. "Thus, we know you Aqua. We know you fell to our world through actions outside of your control, we know you came to the world that is Drasil that was created as part of the experiment of the Gods, and we know you were sent to meet Jinn, Ambrosius and Nimue."
"And now you come to us." The elderly man began. "You seek help to find a way home."
"But the road before you may not be so simple." The woman continued. "You have gained knowledge, wielded creation and tamed destruction but now you are left with choice. And choice is rarely ever a one way path."
To prove their point, a series of doors, resembling the gates to the temple appeared around them in the white void they resided in.
"What is this?" Aqua asked, glancing at the doors.
"These are the paths we see that have been laid out for you." The elderly half of Janus answered. "With the relic we are bound to, we can only show a mortal one vision, completely at random in the mortal world."
"But here, we can show you any and all visions of any choice you might make." The woman-half finished again.
Aqua looked between the doors. "How is this to help me return?"
"These doors are gateways into the possible futures you will take based on the choices you will make." The elderly man answered. "They are all paths laid out for you."
"And they are all something I am destined to take?" Aqua questioned.
"No. All of them possible routes into your future." The woman half of Janus answered. "You can choose to accept, bringing about the future of that choice and you can turn away from it."
"You can easily turn from them all but of course, that may prevent you from truly returning to your realm." The elderly man face continued.
"Unlike Jinn who knows everything past and present, Ambrosius who knows everything that has and can be created and Nimue who can destroy anything aside from that which is created by the Gods and the Gods themselves, we look to the beginning of and see the end of any choice that will ever be made." The woman face explained. "Look into these doors and see what might await you."
Aqua looked to the doors and sighed. 'I just wish I could have an easy out.'
"May your heart be your guiding key." The faces of Janus spoke as one, surprising Aqua as she looked at them. "That is what you will say when you make your choice."
Aqua stared at Janus before pressing a hand over her heard. "My heart is my guiding key…It's led me here….I guess I can only see where it will take me."
She chose one door and opened it, peering inside as the light within blinded her and she fell through what appeared to be an endless space.
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'I've been having these really strange dreams lately…Like is any of this for real or not?' A little girl's voice spoke.
Aqua opened her eyes and found herself standing before a little girl with black hair and yellow eyes but then changed into a girl with orange hair and blue eyes and held her out her Keyblade to them. "In your hand, take this key. So long as you have the makings, then though this simple act of taking….its wielder you shall one day be."
The girl then morphed again but she couldn't see their face but she saw black hair and silver eyes reaching out and touching her Keyblade.
She then saw flashes of these children, growing but never seeing the exact outline of their faces as they wield these keys in one part of the vision before becoming just ordinary weapons, fighting monsters followed by a slash of red blade, arrows burning and a bright light that ended the vision.
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Aqua blinked as the vision ended and the gate she had entered vanished. "That…I bequeathed the Keyblade?"
She had considered preforming the Bequeathing Ceremony back on Destiny Islands but decided against it, not wanting two boys to fight each other like she and Terra would.
But why those three girls?
She knew she had the option of how many apprentices she might have but still three felt like pushing it. She couldn't even make out where she was but she had to be somewhere if she was able to meet those kids.
Perhaps she found a way out but she still had no clue.
Unfortunately that means she would open another door and sighed as she walked up to the next door, closing her eyes to the inevitable light and felt herself falling again.
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"We need your help, Aqua. This world may seem at peace but there is a great danger, especially if it were to learn of your existence and the weapon you carry." A man spoke but rather one voice she could hear the voice of thousands of men speaking to her.
Who was this man?
Why would he ask her for help?
She then saw herself refusing, walking away and journeying across a strange world only to stop when several pairs of eyes appeared and looked at her.
Silver
Lilac
Red
Green
And blue.
She was then shown accepting, fighting against more monsters and then she heard a demented laugh as someone with a tail lunged at her, followed by a muscular man surging with electricity and fire, followed by the outline of a woman with blazing eyes.
They were then all burned away as another woman appeared, staring at her with malevolent glowing red eyes.
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Aqua sighed as she stepped back out of that door, rubbing her head softly. She glanced at Janus who just gestured to the next door which she entered.
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She was standing before Mickey and to her surprise; she was in the Realm of Darkness. "Good. Then let's locate the key and go home together."
"You're leaving?"
She looked behind and saw someone saddened by the idea of her leaving. She promised to return…only when she did the world was ruined, completely destroyed.
"NOOO-"
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"-OOOO!" Aqua fell onto the ground, panting slightly. "That was…That was…"
"The outcome of a choice to leave." The woman face of Janus spoke from behind. "We told you, we show visions of the choices you will make and the repercussions of each one."
Aqua held her chest as she tried to calm herself from the vision she had seen. "I leave and a world is destroyed…How can that be? Did I cause it by doing something I shouldn't have done?"
As a Keyblade Wielder she was not mean to involve herself in the affairs of the worlds, only stopping the Darkness from spreading across the worlds while keeping her identity and powers secrets. She had visions of herself passing the Keyblade onto others, being asked to help in some sort of war, and now being given the choice to leave.
What was this all about?
She just wanted to get back to her friends.
She looked at the doors that were in a way, mapping out her entire life for her but is that what she wanted. If this was all about choice wasn't she allowed the choice to leave here and now?
But where would she go?
Back to one of the other spirits?
To Drasil?
Sighing, Aqua looked to the next door and entered it.
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A pair of red eyes, not like the ones from before, stared at her from behind a white monster like mask and locks of black hair falling over her shoulder, dressed in colors of darkness and blood, smiling darkly. "I've seen the power of your weapon and I hate to see it wasted. So you can join us or…."
In the first half of the choice, she agreed and she was told something but she couldn't hear all of it. She was surprised and then decided to leave as she apparently changed her mind, only to be attacked by the woman. The other choice had her refusing and the woman attacked her again, wielding a long sword that changed colors from red, blue, green and yellow.
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Well, that was slightly more informative but she still had no idea what was going on. Aqua wondered if she was becoming too dependent on Janus' power to see if she might return but so far she knew she would see Mickey again so all was not lost.
"How many of these doors are there?" She looked at Janus.
"Choice is endless." The elderly face answered. "Who is to say there is an end?"
"You are content to open these doors and see each and every choice you might ever make. Are you not satisfied in mapping out your life?" The female face asked.
"You may be powerful but I truly doubt you can simply map out a person's life by the choices they might make." Aqua replied, placing a hand over her chest. "Life is more than just choice, creation, destruction and knowledge. It is about what is in our hearts, the bonds we make with it. Knowing any possible choice I might make does not mean you know my future."
"Doesn't it?" The elderly face of Janus asked. "Does not knowing every choice you make practically all knowing of one's life?"
"For one choice you make, you become the most important person in the worlds." The woman face spoke.
"For the other, you are the one who dooms it." The elderly face continued. "Becoming that which you fear."
"You have the choices to become a warrior, a teacher, an ordinary woman, a mother, a sister, a wife and so much more." The woman face then said. "We see this choice-"
"And so many more." Both faces finished.
"Maybe so but you cannot read my heart and my heart is what guides me in every choice." Aqua retorted, turning to the next door. "Even if you try and map my life out, that belief will always be with me."
She stepped through the door…
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She opened her eyes and to her surprise she was sitting under a white gazebo with a white table in front of her and white chairs. She looked down at herself and to her surprise she was wearing what appeared to be a white wedding dress with a veil falling down her hair and shoulders.
"Are we going to dance?"
She looked up, seeing someone but their faces were blurred and she couldn't speak as they took her hand, helping her stand. She couldn't say or do anything to react in this vision as she danced with someone wearing a black tuxedo, grasping one hand while wrapping her arm around their shoulder and they wrapped their free arm around her waist. She wondered what the point of this vision was but her confusion slowly withered away as she danced and music started playing. She was now swaying to the music as the man danced with her, being very good.
She never imagined herself being married as she grew up training to become a Keyblade Master.
And yet she found herself feeling…joy?
She felt warm, peaceful, trying see who it was she was dancing with but their face remained a blur, their eyes shifting colors.
Was this one man or perhaps she caught the attention of one or several men?
Was this representing a choice she made and chose to actually marry?
Could she even imagine herself being married?
Then they leaned in and kissed her right on the lips and she felt like her entire breath had been taken away. Then she kissed back and her mind was left too blissful beyond the capacity for rational thought…
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And then everything changed.
She was suddenly in a bed screaming and panting as someone held her hand.
"You're almost there!"
"I can see the head. Just one more push."
Aqua let out another scream and then a cry filled the room. She tried to open her eyes but it was too blurry for her to properly see.
"Mrs…someone would like to meet you."
She managed to open her eyes enough and held up her arms as something soft and…warm was placed in them.
She looked down and saw a little one, a child crying but then calmed down as she rocked it and blue eyes stared back up at her…
She never felt as happy ever before in her life as she did now.
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Aqua gasped as the vision ended and she fell out of the gate that closed and vanished like the ones she had entered.
That vision…
It felt more powerful than all the other ones.
She sat up and touched her lips…
"My, my, it seems the young master has been rendered speechless for once." The amused voice of Janus' female face broke her out of their thoughts.
Aqua jumped a bit but took a deep breath to calm herself. "I…I was actually getting married…Why couldn't I see their face though?"
"We told you, we only show visions of the choices you will likely make and what comes from them." The elderly face answered.
"Knowing the choice does not mean we see and know who the choice will affect. It is up to you to know." The female face finished clarifying.
So she can't know the people who she might meet but could see Mickey just clearly because she already knew him.
Still though…
Her, Aqua, actually getting married?
And what happened after that…
She felt so warm, holding the bundle and realized what it had been.
A child…
Her child.
She brought a hand to her stomach, almost mesmerized by the feeling of warmth she had experienced in that one instant.
"We see you have trouble considering this. And yet, we told you that we show visions of the future based on the choices you might make." The elderly face observed. "Is it so hard to believe you would be the same as you are now?"
"With choice comes the ability to make great change." The female face reminded.
"All I want to know is will I find a way back to my friends? Will I be able to save Terra and reawaken Ven when his heart is ready?" Aqua looked at the spirit. "Why show me these visions if you claim you can map my life out?"
"We do know what your life will be. We only know what it could be." The elderly face replied. "It all based on the choices you make here from what you see…."
"And your choice to visit the others." The female face finished.
"The others? I thought I already did." Aqua raised an eyebrow.
"You visited the spirits that are the four gifts to humanity but we are not the only ones. You have met Drasil who opened the path to us and the others." The elderly face clarified.
"Did she not tell you of the other paths?"
Aqua then remembered the other doors there. "Yes, she did."
"Drasil is more than just a spirit. She is the system put in place by the Gods as part of their experiment. The Gods created this world together as their first. The God of Light created life and the God of Darkness destroyed but they came together and found they could create many new things. Drasil was created as part of the experiment, the system to give the mortals their magic and also act as the lynchpin of this world." The elderly face of Janus explained.
"Through her, energy is channeled into the realms that were created. Realms of Gods, demigods and mortals." The female voice continued. "You came here through Drasil because Drasil was the both the beginning and the end for the path through the world that came to be."
Aqua looked at Janus, trying to keep herself focused but all these visions she had experienced. "…I need to go back and see Drasil, don't I?"
"It is your choice." Both faces of Janus answered.
Aqua sighed, looking at the doors she had yet to enter, considering for a second to enter them and continue looking for her answers…
And then turned away.
"I think I have seen all I can see here. If I try to see any more I may just go mad looking for answers that might be impossible to see." Aqua said, walking past Janus. "You've shown me many things, including the hope that I will see at least one of my friends again and if that is possible it means I will see the others again."
"You are satisfied?" The elderly face asked.
Was she?
"Take heed of what you have learned." The female face advised. "Your journey with knowledge, creation, destruction and choice may end but even if it has not granted what you seek, do not forget the lessons here."
"I won't." Aqua said, heading back through the entrance. "I hope I understand why I was shown what I was…someday."
"Farewell, Master Aqua." Both faces said.
Aqua summoned her glider and took off into the air, returning to where she started in the realm of Fantasias.
"An interesting one, that is." The elderly face of Janus commented once Aqua had left. "Gained knowledge, wielded creation, tamed destruction-"
"And now has seen choice." The female face finished. "She has faced the temptation but will it make or break her."
"And yet she claims choice cannot read the future because it cannot determine the actions of her heart." The elderly face mused.
"We might not be able to read the heart." The female face admitted.
"But we are certain her heart will be tested a great deal." Both faces admitted before Janus returned to the bronze statue state they were in when Aqua arrived.
The Choice has been made for now.