Aqua looked at her bloody hands as they touched her punching bag. She knew the Mark of Mastery was in the morning, she couldn't believe that she was going through with this. She looked at her keyblade, Stormfall, Mom had left it to her and was meant to face Mother Miranda and save Donna and their family from her rule. But instead, she was having to go beyond her horizon and become a master, it was the only way to support Sora and get strong enough to defeat that bitch, and save her beloved Dollmaker. But wasn't sure about this journey, it had been a few months since Aqua, and Sora had run away from the village of shadows, months since the death of Ethan Winters, and yet no news on if Donna was ok, the Duke hadn't told her if Donna was ok, if Rose was alive or Miranda's new child. She was lost in a new life of possibilities, and yet she only wanted her old life, the sounds of Sora waking her up to Donna's cooking, the daily job of gardening, and cleaning, the slaughter of Lycans, oh how she just wanted better.
Aqua kept swinging her keyblade in the air, unsummoning the magical blade, mixing her training up with punching a punching bag every few minutes and re-summoning her blade. She had to make sure she was strong enough to fight Miranda, to save Donna, Avenge Ethan. She felt like the weight of the world was on her back, and she still gave the people in the land of departure a smile, it may have been fake, but she tried to be as human as possible. She knew mentally it was a battle she was losing, she had died running from Miranda, and her heart was in agony when Sora had told her. Miranda stabbed her heart with the mold, and yet she still ran, Sora was in her arms and they had run, flew, anything to get away from the village.
The few months they spent in the Land of Departure were a struggle at first, Aqua had never told anyone that she was a walking piece of mold, or that Sora was the creation of lesbians using powerful magic. It made her feel like shit to hide her true feelings about Donna, Sora, and the village. But it was the right move for now, she had become a better fighter with the keyblade, Master Vor had taught her more advanced magic, and tomorrow was the big day. The Mark of Mastery was the next step in her path to saving Donna. She would take her training and willingness to protect her son and see the rest of the worlds, if she could protect one world from evil, she could do another until she protected Donna, and the village from the most evil thing she knew.
"Mom, it's midnight, you gotta get some sleep. What would Donna think if she saw you up so late in the night?" Sora murmured, rubbing his eyes, the blue-haired child had returned from the long walk back from the lookout point with Terra, and Master Vor, and instantly went to sleep the moment he landed on their bed.
Aqua smiled for a second, it was funny how much of Donna was still in Sora. How she made the blue-haired woman sleep, even though Donna was the one to stay up endlessly to play with Sora, and Angie, or make new dolls late into the night.
"I'll go to sleep in a few minutes ok, sweetie!" Aqua declared, proceeding to walk over to her son, kissing his forehead, and placing the blanket back on him. Aqua looked at herself in the mirror, she still looked human, felt human, and all of her emotions were human, so she smiled for a second, maybe this was still possible, Donna was ok with being made of mold, and their ritual would have turned her this way no matter what. But it was still hard to accept the fact that she had been dead for a month, while Sora was still alive.
Aqua began to wonder if she was weak without Donna and Orizont, was she that dependent on them for happiness? No that wasn't the case, she was strong, capable of fighting Miranda and gaining the right to be a keyblade master, she was strong, and her death was only a setback in getting her a happy ending with her family. Father Orizont made sure she could kill a Lycan at age six, she learned how to cook thanks to Donna, Angie helped her find life funny again, and Sora her beloved child helped her feel human even after her death, he made her feel more alive than she had any right to me.
Suddenly Aqua heard a knock on her door, Aqua summoned her keyblade. She may have been in a safe place, but nowhere was safe for her outside of House Benevenito. She looked down to see a crop of spikey blond hair, and her stern stance dropped as a small smile rose, upon seeing Ventus at her door.
"Hello, Ven! Can I help you with something?" Aqua whispered, not knowing if the master was nearby, or if Ven was being sent to talk to her. Nevertheless, she opened her door, welcoming the teen in like she was normal like she could hold a conversation without feeling emotional. Aqua tried to calm her nerves as she looked at Ven's blue eyes looking softly at her. Aqua was never the best at conversations, and after her death part of her was worried. She wanted to hold a conversation with people, but no one in the village talked to her. Orizont was working or serious about everything. Donna was the best ground she made, even if the Dollmaker didn't talk often, Sora and Angie helped even if it overwhelmed her at times in responding to them. Her death had made any chance at seeing the world through a normal view a lot harder. Each time she spoke to people, Sora had to help, like how Angie did with Donna when they first met.
—--
Ven looked at Aqua, her hand was bleeding, as blood ran down her keyblade, and black tears rolled down her face. Ven silently rubbed his eyelids, causing Aqua to realize she had been crying, and didn't even notice it.
"May I come in? Aqua it's time to tell me what's going on, and how I can help. I've noticed how quiet you've been lately and I know something is off. Please may come in, and chat?" Ventus said, poking his head inside the door, noticing that Sora was asleep, and Aqua had her record player going at a volume louder than normal. It woke him up, and from what Ven knew of Aqua, she only kept music loud when she was emotional and needed to calm herself down.
Ven took the next few moments to think about all of this, Aqua needed help, whatever was hurting her mentally was the result of whatever she and Sora were running from. She was running from her past, Ven had heard her mention someone by the name of Donna in the past and thought she was the cause of everything. Ven had to know what the issue was, maybe Aqua had a fight with this Donna person, or she was nervous about something and Donna was a form of comfort to the woman.
Aqua took a deep breath as she let her friend inside, she had still been wearing her village outfit, feeling like she needed to feel at home for a few minutes. She could tell Ven was eying her look, her wool brown work gloves, her blue hair in a black beanie that had a sun and moon symbol on it, and her black baggy pants that looked like she was about to freeze to death rather than get any form of warmth. The fancy shoes that she normally had were replaced with rough work boots that had mud still caked onto them from the first day she had arrived at the castle.
Ven noticed more details about Aqua as he checked out her combat outfit. Mentally thanking Cinderella for the advice.
"You can tell a lot about a person based on their clothes, Aqua! I see your corset had cuts and that you aren't good at sewing, I mean the mice I know could do a better job at this! Whatever village you lived in must have sucked, it looks like this Donna person is needed quickly to save this outfit." Ven said, trying to push the blue-haired woman's buttons,
Aqua must have grown up in a village, living in a low-class one, and this Donna person must have kept her together, Sora was still a mystery, but it looked like Aqua kept his clothes in better shape than hers. Ven could see the veins on Aqua's face grow, as her fists tightened, he had pushed the right button, so the plan was working, as he silently whispered a sleep spell at Aqua, now he waited for her to wake up, so they could chat freely.
—--
"Ven!" Aqua said, opening her eyes, she felt weird like she had had a good night's sleep. Aqua knew it was a sleep spell, but to think that Ventus of all people would knock her out. Aqua looked at the teen, he had finished cleaning up her room and was sitting in her chair.
"I guess it's time to get some things off my chest!" Aqua muttered as she stood up, Ven just nodded as the blue-haired woman sat on her bed, she wished she had Angie with her, she always made painful conversation feel more bearable to handle. But Aqua took a breath as she waited for Ven to rip into her, and for her to spill her guts out, telling him of her horrible life.
"Aqua, who is Donna, and why does she affect you so dearly?" Ven said, knowing it was best to start with the source of her troubles, Donna was probably the best place to start given how Aqua and Sora mentioned the mysterious woman's name a handful of times in the few short months that Ven had known them.
"Donna was my wife, Sora's mother, and the reason for my life having meaning. Ven, Sora, and I lived in a cruel village before moving here! Mother Miranda was the reason for my pain, my agony. She was the ruler of our village, commanding four lords who served under her, Donna was one of the lords, and the one who I love with all of my heart. She is the sole reason for us leaving the village, and the cause of my death!" Aqua let out, as her tone got quiet, she could see Ven was speechless, until his eyes widened, and then he came at her with a burst of energy.
"Wait if you died, how are you here, how come Sora isn't dead, and how did two women make a child?" Ven shouted, Aqua quickly placed a hand over his mouth, as the teen kept trying to speak, his mind was being blown, and Aqua knew it was about to be blown more like a Lycan getting shot with her shotgun.
"Look, I was infected with a special type of mold, it gave me the ability to regenerate, mine was the lord's where death could be avoided for a time or unless something stronger killed me. I died saving Sora from Miranda, the mold had rebuilt my body, fixed my heart, and is the only reason we're having this conversation at the moment." Aqua whispered, breaking her hand, cursing for a second, as Ven saw in a matter of seconds, Aqua's hand had fixed itself well as new.
"I'm guessing this mold was also the reason for Sora being born!" Ven stated, rubbing his neck, Aqua nodded, the mold saw the cause of everything, and yet was the blessing her family needed.
"Sora was born using magic, and the mold, Ven! Donna, and I prayed to gods using blood and magic from the keyblade, creating Sora, a child made of flesh, blood, and mold. The amount of mold in his system is small but has been growing over the years until he will be nothing but mold. Currently, his brain and heart have mold inside of them, the rest of him is human." Aqua said, feeling her voice cracking under the weight of her words, Ven was the first person she had ever told about her death, about Sora. She didn't know how to feel, she could feel proud, but for some reason, she felt a little comfort in getting things off her chest.
"I know this is hard, Aqua. But tell you what, tomorrow once you become a keyblade master, and once Master Vor and Xehanort give you the power to leave. Let me come with you, help me save my friend Cinderella, and I'll help you try and stop Miranda." Ven said, grabbing the molded woman's hands, and offering her the biggest smile that he could.
Aqua looked at Ven's smile, it reminded her of the same smile that she had given Donna, right before she kissed her, the same smile that Sora would give them, right before he and Angie ran into the garden to play. She could feel her heart melting at the sight of the teen's radiance, maybe it was possible? If she had Ven, then she could get Terra, the Masters, anybody able to help her save her village, and Donna.
"Why not, I'll give you a hand, Ven! Let's see if we can get our happy endings!" Aqua whispered, raising her fist into the air, doing her best to not wake up Sora.
"OK then, I'll see you tomorrow Aqua! Get some rest tomorrow is a big day for both of us." Ven said, leaving the room, as Aqua chuckled for a second looking at her mage outfit, the outfit her beloved dollmaker had made for her before they departed.
"Yes, it'll be a big day!" Aqua said, looking at Sora sleeping peacefully, as her eyes got hazy, her body started falling into their bed, and a few seconds later, she was asleep.
—--
"Well, that went well! Wouldn't you agree Ven! Vor said as watching the teen, she could tell judging by the smile on his face that things went ok with the castle's newest member.
"Looks like it, Master! So what happens tomorrow?" Ven said, looking over to the brown-haired woman in front of him.
"Tomorrow, we see if she can defeat Terra, and prove herself worthy of master. If she passes then you may go with her, if not then we'll talk more after. Knowing Terra, he'd probably lose hard, but then again the darkness in his heart would be his downfall unless Xehanort could help him afterward. The test tomorrow is to see if Aqua can fight on the level of a keyblade user, but her real test is to see if she can save someone much like herself, Donna. If she saves Cinderella with you, then tell her that I decree her a master and that your princess is free to travel with you." Vor declared, looking at Ven, he nodded as tears began rolling down his face, he would make sure that Aqua did well.
"Once you have saved Cinderella, protect the lands from any heartless, or evils in your path, if Aqua is strong enough by the end of your journey. Find me, and Master Xehanort, then we shall help in freeing Aqua's village." Vor let out, walking away, as Ven took off, Vor smiled for a second as her amber eyes shone in the dark, soon Kingdom hearts would be upon them, and light and dark would be in unison. She knew Aqua was the perfect balance, Terra was filled with darkness, Sora and Ven brimmed with light, so the result was looking to feel enjoyable.