Senna didn't know how long she slept, but the first thing she realized when she came back into consciousness was that she was no longer on the soft cushion of her bed, but was lying on hard ground. As she slowly opened her eyes, she once again found herself back in the land of familiars near the waterfall. She slowly sat up rubbing her eyes not sure if this was another dream or not. Unlike the last time though, she felt her spirit leaving her body, but if so, how did she do it without performing the ritual?
The ritual usually takes an hour of preparation of relaxation to soothe one's spirit, and Senna knew she was nowhere near that from how she was last night with that terrible migraine and those visions if that was what they were, completely draining her. Determined to find out what was happening, Senna quickly got herself up from the ground and started walking into the forest. While a majority of the familiars didn't like to intermingle with one another except for those who were bonded to the same summoner, there was another oasis where from time to time they would gather together. She knew that would be the best place to start.
She didn't make it very far when she heard a very familiar upbeat voice.
"Senna is that you?"
She turned around and immediately smiled when she saw Rikku, one of three of the female fairy group that also included Yuna and Paine. Upon their eyes meeting, Rikku immediately had tears in her eyes and immediately flew over to Senna and hugged her cheek.
"Where have you been, we've missed you so much," she said not even trying to hold back her tears.
This is real Senna thought happily as she put her hand carefully on Rikku's back, so as to not crush her, and hugged her back.
Eventually, Rikku floated back a bit, allowing Senna to get a better look at her. She seemed okay, except her outfit was a bit different than the last time she saw her over a month ago. Her blonde hair was still tied high, but this time she had a blue headband that covered a lot of her head. Her outfit wasn't much different it was still the same yellow crop top with an orange skirt but this time with ribbons on it.
She smiled softly as Rikku just stared at her with wide-open eyes and even pouted a bit.
"Do you know how worried we were about you, even Red was worried sick about what was going on"
Rikku went into one of her usual ramblings, and after a while, you couldn't understand her, but Senna was just relieved to see she was all right and it seemed the others were too.
"Why didn't you visit us after everyone else disappeared."
Senna's eyes widened in shock when she heard that.
"Rikku, what do you mean by everyone else disappeared."
Rikku looked at Senna in disbelief "What you don't know besides, myself, Yuna, Paine, Red, Bahamut, Nugget, and Seraph, there's no one left."
"No when did this happen," Senna asked horrified.
"Over a month ago.'
Senna realized that was just around the time when the village was under attack, did that mean that when a summoner dies then their familiar perishes with them? Never in her wildest imagination did she think that was a possibility, it was never once brought up in any of her teachings. She naively thought that when Summoner perishes then that familiar is free from that bond and will form a new one with a new Summoner.
Seeing the expression on Senna's face, Rikku flew over and started tugging on Senna's hair.
"Come on let's go see the others, we have a lot to catch up on."
Senna just nodded and started following Rikku into the forest, she was eager to see all her friends again and maybe try to get some answers.
Soon enough they came upon the Oasis, and Senna's heart swelled when she saw the familiar faces of her friends and most of them looked happy to see her as well. Though Red and Bahamut weren't ones to outwardly show their emotions, it was the way their eyes looked that she could tell what they were feeling.
The first two to run, or fly to her, were the other two fairies Yuna and Paine. Unlike Rikku, these two didn't seem to change their appearances at all. Yuna still had her hair cropped short, with it spiking at the end, and still wearing her beaded earring. Her outfit also remained the same the white and pink top, with the shorts and half a skirt partially covering it.
"Senna's back, Senna's back" both Rikku and Yuna chanted as they spun each other around in excitement. Paine who was always easily irritated, quickly kicked the two fairies sending them flying as they shrieked from not so unexpected attack, like it was a daily occurrence.
"Will you two stop playing around" Paine said rubbing her temples.
Senna couldn't help but chuckle, at the familiar sight of those three constantly riling each other up.
Unlike Yuna and Rikku, Paine was much quieter and moodier, which expressed itself well with her black ensemble and silver hair. Despite that, she knew Paine greatly valued her friendships with not only the other two but with her fellow familiars as well.
Paine crossed her arms together looking at Senna "We were wondering when you were going to show up again."
"I'm so sorry, there's a lot that's happened and I've tried to summon you guys but-"She could feel her emotions cracking in her voice, trying not to break down but knowing this was real was catching up to her.
Suddenly the familiar harp of Seraph's started to play, immediately making her more relaxed.
"It's ok Senna, the most important is that you are unharmed and that we are together again"
Senna just wiped at her eyes as she smiled over at Seraph, she always knew how to calm her and make her feel better. Besides Nugget, Seraph was the first unique familiar she had formed a bond with. She was there when she formed her bonds with all the others, so she fell into the mom role of the group with such ease. Due to her unique physiology, many of the male summoners and even a few of the females were quite intrigued by her when she was first summoned.
While Seraph was mostly humanoid, she had bird animalistic features that were well known to anyone who saw he. Though one might be confused that she had long golden hair with green streaks at the top, in reality, it was her wings when they were not drawn for flying. Though that wasn't the most intriguing part, the first thing anyone would notice would be her attire. In tune with her animalistic features, feathers are all that cover the most important areas of her body.
Senna couldn't help but chuckle remembering her father's face when she first summoned her to their world, she was only 9 at the time when they first bonded.
Suddenly she was taken out of her thoughts by Red doing circles around her as he sniffed her.
"Something is different about you; your whole demeanor seems much more relaxed."
Senna kneeled down and immediately began to scratch the red wolf's ears, to which he immediately reciprocated by leaning his head into her hand as he enjoyed the scratches. She softly smiled, both Red and Bahamut were two summons she never expected to bond with, just because of their difference in personalities and powers, but she could see underneath their gruff exterior were hearts of gold. Red was vicious-looking, with his red and orange fur along with a thin brown mane and numerous tattoos. His tail though burns at the tip, which seems to grow brighter depending on his emotions.
"Is Bahamut in the cave" She wondered aloud; out of all the familiars he was the one that was the most mysterious to her. She knew he cared from his actions, even if he didn't show it, but he also gave her the most difficult time when trying to summon him and see what his abilities were. For a dragon, she assumed they were the typical fire-breathing abilities, but then again there was always that off chance she could be wrong.
Red just ignored her when he said "I think we need to discuss what has been happening, we're out of the loop on a lot of things it seems."
"Yeah, it's been life-changing that is for sure, and that's putting it mildly," Senna said raising her eyebrows
"Just start from the beginning, there's no better place than that" Seraph encouraged.
Soon enough Senna was sitting on the ground next to the log that Seraph was sitting on, as Rikku, Yuna, and Paine were either sitting on her head or her shoulder, while Red just had his head on her legs as she continued to scratch his hears. Nugget meanwhile was just lying down beside them looking, like she was ready for a nap.
She quickly took a glance in the direction where the caves, she knew Bahamut was listening in, his hearing was exceptional maybe even more so than Red's.
"The whole day that set off the chain of events came unexpectedly at least for me anyway."
(Flashback- Month and a half ago)
Senna was sitting under an autumn tree whose leaves were already turning vibrant red, orange, and yellow, at the very top of the hill that overlooked the entirety of the village. She was currently focused on her current reading until a strong wind blew causing some leaves to fall onto her book. She quickly pulled her grey shawl up completely over her shoulders to help fight off the oncoming chill. She looked down back at her book and saw a few red leaves on the pages. She smiled a little, but it was a bit disingenuous because she had such ambivalent feelings over the color. On the one hand, a lot of beauty in nature that she admires comes from the color such as the leaves themselves or the sunrise and sunset, but the color has also caused great grief since the moment she was born. Senna quietly crushed the leaves and watched as the wind carried away the scattered pieces.
Deciding that was it time to head home and get supper started, Senna closed her book and started to make the trek back to her house, but before she did, she took one last look at the view. While the population was starting to rise back into the thousands after nearly more than half was wiped away a century ago, the village was still condensed into a singular area, with many buildings made out of stone. The only exceptions were the temples, where she, her father, and many of her distant paternal relatives resided due to their bloodline. From where she was, she could see the center of the village where a statue was built to commemorate her grandfather. Senna has only heard of him from the stories she was told but she can't help but wonder what he might have thought about her considering many of the village's teachings were based on his philosophy. Shaking her head, Senna closed her book got up, and immediately set trek for home.
She quickly made her way through all the shortcuts that had fewer people, she knew the more people the more likely someone was to try and bombard her. It made running errands a nightmare for her when her father couldn't go with her. At least this way, she could pretend that she couldn't see the stares around her. Soon enough without incident, she made her up the familiar temple steps and started making her way toward the section dedicated to her living quarters with her father.
"Papa, I'm home" Senna announced as she closed the door, but when she turned around, she was surprised by the somber look on his face. While she knew there was some tension going on the past few days between him and the elders, he still tried to maintain his usual jovial self. Something was amiss
"What's wrong"
Suddenly her father got up from his sitting position "Senna, there's something of the utmost importance we need to discuss, come follow me."
He immediately got up from his seat and brushed past her to open the door again and started to walk down the hall. Senna immediately followed right behind him, having a sense of dread wash over her.
In each Temple, there was one section open to the other summoners to practice and travel to the land of familiars, while the other section was closed off to the immediate family of Braska, to which she was being led. Senna just looked at her father, who said nothing, the entire way, both worried and curious about what was going on,
Soon enough, they came upon the giant door, which he opened with just a flick of his hand. As they entered the doors closed behind them. Senna couldn't help but look around the room, as much of it was filled with her grandfather's personal items which included scriptures, clothing, and paintings he did. Her father led her to the sanctuary, where the only surviving portrait of him was hanging. Though it wasn't only him, it included his wife Velda and their three sons, Cid, Kaine, and her father Vincent. Her father was a late child for the couple that much she knew, despite their youthful appearances in the portrait their two older boys were already in their late teens when her father was born. They had to have been in their 40s by that point.
Her father smiled fondly as he reminisced quietly, and Senna did a quick bow to the portrait to show her respects.
"You know it's been 50 years since that fateful day, I was only a boy of 5 at the time when my father and brothers went off to battle Sin."
Senna just stayed quiet, letting her father say what he needed to say.
"I don't have many clear memories of him, but the few I do have I remember him as a playful father, but the most distinctive one was that he had me and my brothers make a promise that the firstborn girl in his bloodline should be named Senna."
Senna's eyes widened "Really, why?"
"He said he always wanted a girl and Senna was a name he and my mother picked out because it meant brightness. I'm convinced I must have been a disappointment to him at first because I was their last chance for that girl he so desperately wanted" he said almost chucklingly to himself at that last sentence.
Senna never really put much thought into her name, but knowing the origins of why she was named Senna made her almost feel proud. If the name meant something different, she might have felt differently about it because the name couldn't suit someone like her who everyone thought was dark. Her grandfather would've been disappointed by her.
"Why are you telling me this now," she asked, wondering why he would bring this up all of a sudden.
He turned from the portrait back to Senna, with his face having both a loving and regretful expression "Have I been a disappointing father to you Senna?"
The question took Senna by surprise and one she wasn't prepared to answer. While she knew her father loved her and tried his best to protect her, there were times when some of the elders would slander in front of her when they thought she wasn't listening, and he would do nothing to defend her either and would turn a blind eye. She knew he was in a delicate situation as the only surviving son of Braska of having to model his teachings, but also as a father of a girl whom many believe to be filled with darkness and bring nothing but destruction.
It would be a lie if she said, she was never mad at him or thought at one point that he might have regretted having her. She can't deny the good either, he was the only one who encouraged her to go even further with her magic even when others discouraged it for fear of what could happen, and made sure her birthday was always special. They even shared a love of reading, and always recommended each other books to read.
She felt the tightness in her throat as she said "You did the best you could, all things considered"
"I still should've done better by you, especially after your mother passed away. I'm so sorry for being a disappointment to you and making you feel like I never loved you enough" he said pulling Senna into a hug.
Senna felt her body shaking in fear, wondering why he acted like this was the last time they would see each other.
"Papa, you're scaring me, what is going on."
He broke the hug between them but kept his hands on her shoulders as he stared at her eye to eye.
"A few days ago, I sensed a great danger approaching, and I fear we may not have much time left."
Senna couldn't control how her body was reacting to all of this "What, could it be Sin was the seal broken?"
He just shakes his head "No, I'm afraid this is a force that is not known to us, but don't worry I have made preparations to get you away to safety. An old acquaintance of your grandfathers has agreed to take you in under his care, but first, you will stay with Master Yen Sid until his preparations on his end are done."
"What, but why I can stay here and help? I'm not the best fighter I know that, but you know my healing is top-notch notch" Senna said feeling like she was going to have a panic attack with how quickly this was all turning out. Yes, she didn't have particularly fond memories of the village, but the thought of leaving left a sour taste in her mouth.
Her father just shakes his head "This isn't up for discussion; the decision has been made."
"Why, is it because you believe like everyone else, I'm going to cause destruction? Do you not believe in me?" Senna asked allowing some of that anger to pour out which in turn caused tears to start forming.
Her father looked almost shocked by the accusation but he didn't exactly deny it either.
"I don't know what the future holds for you, but I do know that this isn't meant to be your fate."
Senna ran her hands through her hair trying to grasp at anything "What about the children are you evacuating them as well or are you leaving them here to face this unknown force."
He just sighed "Unfortunately, it is just not possible. I know how it sounds and I feel terrible for the crossfire they might be brought into, but this is the last fatherly duty I can do for you. I don't care if our bloodline continues, I just want you to have a future where you can live a full happy life."
She hated the way he was talking like he was certain that this was the last time they were going to be together. Was he convinced that this was a battle the summoners would lose, if this was not Sin then who was this unknown force?
(End of Flashback)
"It wasn't too long after that, I was sent to Master Yen Sid. Then not even a week went by before he relayed to me that the entire villagers were wiped out."
Senna finished her story, and all of her familiars had a variety of reactions. Rikku and Yuna had tears in their eyes, while Paine had a hand over the left side of her face with her eyes closed. Seraph shut her eyes as she wrapped her arms around Senna, and Red let out a growl as she ended her story. She heard a rumbling in the distance, she knew Bahamut was also not reacting well and Nugget got up and licked her face.
Seraph who still had her arms around her said "It's no wonder you have had trouble with summoning us, your high emotions are affecting your powers."
"I figured as much, I still wonder if I was able to stay if I could've made a difference," Senna said resting her chin on her hand."
Red raised his head "I would've loved a good fight, I'm so jealous that the others got to see action."
"I know familiars are born when their summoners are born, and we have to go work hard on forming that bond when we find one another, but I naively thought that once a summoner dies then that bond would be just broken. I didn't think they would die with their summoners."
Red then looked at her with a harsh glare in his eyes as he sighed "That naivety will be your downfall, Senna. You need to toughen up because whatever massacred the village will surely be coming after you. We have to embrace that possibility"
"Red, now is not the time" Seraph warned him as she gave him a look.
Senna raised her eyebrows "No Red is right I know where my weaknesses lie and I want to be stronger and I do think I can get there eventually especially where I am right now."
"Yeah, you never told us, where are you living now" Paine asked curiously.
Senna went on to explain her arrival at the Land of Departure, and all the events she has learned since that time.
"I'm so relieved to hear you finally found true friends," Seraph said as he put a hand over her chest looking joyful.
Since Seraph first bonded with Senna, she's had to watch all the trials and tribulations Senna was forced to endure because of her unique features. She didn't necessarily disagree with Red about Senna needing more confidence, but she definitely wasn't going to get any of that from her village. It seemed these three keyblade wielders were slowly helping her get that confidence she desperately needed.
"Ven and Terra sound so cute" Yuna squealed.
Rikku flew right into Senna's face "So spill, who do you like more Ven or Terra."
"It's not like that, Ven is like a little brother to me, granted just a year younger, but still. And Terra- "Senna stopped herself because she found she couldn't exactly place what her relationship was with Terra. She didn't see him as an older brother, it seemed to go much more than deeper than that.
Paine noticed her hesitation "You so got a crush."
"Wait, what"
Both Yuna and Rikku looked ecstatic, as Paine did a double take of Senna's face.
"It was easy for you to label Ven as a little brother, but you stopped when you mentioned Terra's name like you weren't sure what to label him as. Not only that, but your heart seems to be going faster at the mention of his name."
Senna just shakes "S-So it doesn't mean anything."
"Do you feel sad when he's not around?" Yuna asks.
Rikku then flies around Senna's head "And when he is around, you can't stop smiling right."
Senna just lowered her eyes to the ground, because she knew what the answer to those questions was. It was all so new to her, it felt almost foreign to her, there were guys back at the village she thought were cute, but they never gave her the time of day so she never really developed any real crushes before.
"I'm glad to see you're making progress, but I have a few questions of my own regarding what this Xehanort told you."
Senna never thought she would more for Red's interference than she was now.
"How can you be so sure that what he spoke of was the truth, regarding the Lunar Eclipse?"
"Well, I mean I still have more questions than answers, but there is a record of another girl named Nevrexa born during the Lunar Eclipse, 300 years ago as well as a first-hand account of her during the Keyblade war. My parents even went to Master Eraqus after my birth to ask them about her."
Red just sighed "If you ask me this all sounds like one big fairytale, you said so yourself there are more questions than answers. I understand you want answers regarding your appearance, but I don't want you to hold on to this idea that has little merit, and then this coming back to bite you later on."
Senna was about to reply when an unfamiliar voice spoke.
"I got to admit, I thought this dump would've been more interesting."
Senna immediately got up, turned around, and saw a person she had never seen before. What stood out to her was that he was wearing a full black and red organic bodysuit, and his face was covered with a silver helmet with a dark glass.
"Who are you" Red growled already in a pouncing position.
How is this possible, only Summoners can enter this world Senna thought terrified of how this stranger was here at all.
"So, you must be Lady Senna I've heard so much about," he said in a condescending tone as he took a step forward, causing Senna to take a step back.
Senna gulped before she answered, "H-How do you know about me."
"Oh, you know, a little birdie mentioned you before he met his demise," he said as he threw something in her direction.
She looked down at the ground and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar pocket watch. She quickly picked it up and opened it to reveal a portrait of her mother.
This was Papa's.
Senna looked back up at him clutching the pocket watch, staring back at him with anger.
"So, you are the one that destroyed my home."
This caused the mysterious stranger to just laugh "You're not as stupid as you look, my name is Vanitas."
Red just growled as the fire on his tail grew brighter in his anger "We don't care who you are, LEAVE NOW."
Realizing what was about to happen Senna called "Red don't"
It was too late, Red pounced right after the man who called himself Vanitas, but all Vanitas did was hit Red as soon as he got close, which let out a huge gust of wind as Red was sent flying back and hitting the side of some sharp rocks.
Senna opened her eyes when she realized the wind had stopped, but suddenly felt something drip from her cheek. She touched her cheek and was shocked to find blood dripping from it.
"Red" she heard the worried voice from Seraph.
She turned around and saw Red twitching on the ground with blood covering his right eye as Seraph was trying to heal him with her harp. The fear she was feeling was slowly turning to anger. She grabbed her staff from her back, already feeling the magic building up in it. She turned back around to the assailant, and let out a burst of crimson energy that made contact straight with the helmet. The energy was much larger than expected, so Senna didn't see what it did until the light started to fade away.
Once it did, she saw he was lying on his back completely unmoving. She knew it couldn't have been that easy but she still slowly made her way over to him to see if she ever did any damage. One look and she saw a majority of the mask was cracked.
Suddenly, he started maniacally laughing and got up much quicker before Senna could react. Soon he had her by her throat and lifted her off the ground.
"I got to admit that was impressive, but you aren't strong enough to protect anyone certainly not your little animal friend over nor your friends back in the real world. The Summoners in your village put up more of a fight than this."
Senna struggled to breathe as he tightened his grip around her throat, however, some of the mask was beginning to crack and she could only make out a few noticeable things. He was young and his eyes were yellow.
"I wouldn't hesitate to get rid of you as I did the others in your pathetic village, but I have my orders."
She could feel herself slowly losing consciousness, but the last thing she heard was the mighty roar of Bahamut before she finally passed out.
She wasn't sure how long she was out for, but when she slowly opened her eyes she realized she was back in her room in the Land of Departure.
Author's Note
Alight here's the next chapter and I had a lot of fun writing despite it giving me some issues to get through. So, we got to meet the rest of Senna's familiars in this one and some background before her Village's destruction. What are your thoughts on Senna's father and his relationship with his daughter? I want to end this by thanking those who read and commented on this story, really appreciated especially pointing out obvious mistakes, which I do plan on going back and fixing. You all make me a better writer, and I try to keep all recommendations in mind when writing. Just wanted you guys to know how appreciated it all is.