AN: Ooookay, sorry it's been a few days since last chapter, lol. It is actually NOT cause I was lazy or anything like that. xD It's just that this is a HUUUGE Aqua chapter and I decided screw it, I'm letting it BE A BIG AQUA CHAPTER! xD It's a heavy 10K-er lol. Sooo enjoy it! :D Finally revealing and doing some big Aqua stuff here, seriously...huge strides. 3 Eeeeee!
Also some other stuff happens too.
End of AN!
Skuld walked through the dark cave tunnel, holding her Keyblade out in front of her.
Elrena walked behind her, glancing back every now and again.
They had been walking for a few minutes now, following the only path there was, when something changed.
The cave shook - and there was an echoing, distant boom of a sound that came rushing down the tunnel from somewhere ahead. Somewhere far and deep inside the mountain?
"Okay, I think we should take that as a clear sign not to keep going deeper into the spooky cave!" Elrena exclaimed, stepping forward and seizing Skuld's arm.
Skuld turned, looking at her with a frown. "It's okay to be afraid - I am too - but we can't stop now. We have a job to do."
"I never said I was-!" Elrena started, fury etching itself onto her face.
Another boom and a tremor rocked the tunnel, and then a cacophony of high, tiny voices came whispering up the tunnel - along with dozens of small, glistening spiders on the walls and ceiling.
"Run away!" "Run away!" "Run away faster!" the voices sang out, fearful and panicked.
Elrena shrieked, blasting out a hand of wild electricity-
Skuld seized her arm and yanked it down, causing the woman's attack to scorch the ground at their feet and light up the cave in a great flickering. She held the woman's arm, glaring at her as they stood there - as the spiders all passed them right by.
Elrena stared back at her, her lower lip trembling. She tore her arm free and shoved Skuld in the chest, stalking off down the tunnel quickly.
Skuld held a hand to her chest - a memory flashing in her mind of another girl hitting her in a similar way. In that memory, Skuld had gotten up again, and confronted that girl...her best friend, who she'd thought was lost. Who she'd thought there had to be a way to save - to free - if she could just...her and Ephemer both, working together...
Skuld shook her head, brushing at her long dark hair, and strode after Elrena. She grabbed the woman's arm again tightly, yanking her back around.
"What the hell-" Elrena yelped.
"Are you scared of insects too?" Skuld said.
"W-what? No...what's there to be scared of? Tiny little nothings?! Don't insult me!"
"They're not just insects here - they're people like us," Skuld stated firmly. "You would have killed them."
Elrena's jaw dropped as she stared at her. "Whatever - let's just-" she started, making to pull free again.
Skuld held on tighter and yanked the woman in closer, her face twisting and shaking. "No. You're not just going to blow this off and run away like a coward! Stand and fight for once in your life!" she said furiously, her voice rising.
Elrena's expression turned sharp and deadly, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, you want me to FIGHT?" she hissed out. "Be careful what you wish for, babe!"
"Enough with this!" Skuld shouted, whirling with the woman and slamming her back against the cave wall with a thud. "This isn't Daybreak Town anymore! We're not doing missions, we're not preparing for some war! Do a little self-reflecting and get over yourself! Just admit you were wrong and apologize for nearly erasing innocent lives! It was clearly an accident - so what is even the problem? What's wrong with you, Elrena?!"
Elrena stood rigidly against the wall, her eyes blinking wide at Skuld in pure, complete shock. Her face went pale, and her lips shook as they parted. A sharp breath was drawn in, and then let go, quivering.
"ELRENA-!" Skuld yelled, pushing her face closer to the woman's.
"I don't KNOW what's wrong with me, okay, mom!"
Elrena's high voice choked itself into deathly silence. Her green eyes fluttered, jittering in their sockets as they gazed out at Skuld...
Skuld stared back, shocked. Confused. And... She slowly released the woman, stepping away from her. She let her Keyblade disappear, raising her hands. "I'm sorry, Elrena. I didn't know- I didn't- mean to- I-" Why were her words failing her again now of all times?
Elrena whirled away from her with a high scream, raised her weapon high, and just started slashing at the tunnel wall with uncontrolled emotion. Each strike tore deep, burning gashes into the stone; lightning flashed in the dark, bolts flying off in all directions, scorching holes in the ceiling, floor, and the wall behind Skuld.
Skuld stood there, silent, trying to find the words - but she just couldn't again. Her weapon hung at her side, the end pointed at the ground.
Eventually, Elrena stopped. She'd tired herself out, and then she just fell forward against the ravaged stone, bracing on an arm. Her every breath was a deep, desperate gasp. Her back was shaking. Her hair was a mess of tangles and sweat now.
"Being human again fucking sucks..." Elrena's voice echoed, with a choked laugh.
"Well...you're not...alone in it," Skuld got out, halting, struggling. Hating herself for it more than ever before. She'd never been a girl who struggled to give voice to her own thoughts or feelings (except for in one area, of course). "You have friends now, Elrena; we're all- here for you!"
The cave rocked - dust and dirt fell down onto their heads. A distant noise roared down the tunnel...or was that a voice?
Elrena shoved off from the wall, turning to face her. "Just be here to help me kick some ass," she said, with false, strained vigor.
"Alright," Skuld said, trying to give a grin she didn't feel, either, in that moment. "Let's go kick some ass together."
They hurried further down the tunnel together, until it opened up into a large chamber of uneven ground and pools of water that looked like they could get really deep. There were great, thick stalagmites of smooth, carved stone rising up toward the high cavern's ceiling.
"WHERE'S THE BLADE?!"
A familiar, high voice of a girl echoed around the chamber.
Tendrils of pulsing, red darkness suddenly shot out from behind a stalagmite in all directions, impacting the walls and ceiling and exploding on impact.
The cavern trembled; pieces of burning rock fell down onto the ground, littering it, and hissing as they sank into the pools of water.
Skuld held out her weapon and rushed forward around the large stalagmite - and stared at the familiar visage of Kairi? The face was the only thing familiar about her, though.
The girl was wearing some dark purple and silver-trimmed bodysuit, with fingerless gloves and a long, tattered waist-cape that dragged along the ground. Her eyes were a deep purple, and the scars on her face were now burning lines of purple energy, like a darkness itself was seeping out of her...
Darkness.
That was all Skuld felt from the girl.
A girl who should have been all light, a warm and blinding presence - was all darkness now.
The girl herself turned and looked at them. Then she looked down and gave a loud, echoing sigh in the silence. "Ugh...I miss being invisible."
Memories flashed again in Skuld's mind, unbidden.
"Fools."
The voice of her best friend came from behind her.
"What?" Skuld said, turning in confusion more than anything else in that moment.
"This is why people cannot defeat darkness." Amaya's voice spoke, flat and quiet.
Then the girl lunged past Skuld, straight for Ephemer! Ephemer only barely turned around in time to block her strike!
"Amaya! What's wrong with you?" Ephemer gaped at her.
Skuld stared at her friend in horror, in disbelief. In PANIC. She let her Keyblade vanish and raced forward. "Stop!" she cried, putting a hand on Amaya's shoulder.
Amaya raised her weapon arm up-
And brought the steely hilt of her blade slamming back into Skuld's gut. Skuld was knocked around on the spot completely, and sent falling several feet off to the side, hitting the hard, cold floor on her face...
"Amaya's Heart has been lost to darkness," her friend's voice came again, in the wooziness and bursting pain in her stomach.
"No..." Skuld gasped in horror, lifting her head and staring at Amaya...
"-okay, clearly you're not actually Kairi - so who are you?" Elrena's voice broke through Skuld's memories, dragging her back to the now.
Skuld stepped forward, raising her shaking weapon in hands. She breathed in, letting it go...calming. Steadying. Focusing.
The girl looked back at them - then, right at Skuld. Into her eyes... "One of the Union Leaders. It has been...a while, has it not?"
"No..." Skuld whispered. "This shouldn't even be possible-"
"It isn't," the girl herself cut across flatly. "The Princess's Heart isn't here; I am only using her vacant body. Now that we have that out of the way, I am going to destroy you both and continue what I was doing before I was interrupted."
"No, I think we're going to destroy you," Elrena said, spinning her weapon and raising her free hand of electric-coated knives.
"No!" Skuld shouted. "If that's still- Kairi's body- then we have to get it back! We can get it back for her!"
The girl- the Darkness tilted her head, her lips pursing into a small frown. "What is it that is so special about that Pure Light that every single one of you wants to 'get her back' so badly?" She paused, then shook her head. "Well, it doesn't matter to us. You will not get in our way here."
She raised a hand, and snapped the fingers of her fingerless gloves.
Darkness sparked around her in an aura; Heartless appeared out of swirling dark vortexes, instantly. Flying, muscular ones of jet black skin, with holes in their chests, wielding large swords - Invisibles, Skuld recognized them as!
Then, a final, thick tendril of energy flowed out from the Darkness, to a point right in front of Skuld and Elrena...and formed into a new, but similar creature. This one was bigger and more muscular, and wielded twin blades of gold handles. It had a tail with a thick, triple-pointed blade on the end of it. It had a mess of glowing, red and orange horns on its head, and its neck...was wrapped in twisted red tendrils that looked like a scarf.
The Darkness looked at Skuld and Elrena, then raised an arm and pointed her finger at the large, red-scarfed Heartless. "Have fun with my Dark Inferno X," she said flatly, vanishing in a billowing cloud of dark purple smoke.
"Can you handle Invisibles?" Skuld asked Elrena quickly.
"What am I, some fresh-faced noobie of Daybreak Town? I fought worse with my parties before - bigger, too," Elrena retorted.
"What about the big one?" Skuld said, looking to the scarf-wearing Heartless. A "Dark Inferno"? It didn't really matter that the name came from a Darkness itself - identifying the enemy was a basic part of any battle. Identify the enemy, find its weaknesses, and defeat it!
"Still fought bigger," Elrena scoffed. "Oooh, it's sooo scary! Yeah right. We're making mincemeat out of this thing!"
"Yeah!" Skuld set her jaw, gave her weapon a slash, and channeled her power into it, glowing it with a white aura and blue crackling electricity...
She flew past the Dark Inferno, slashing a wide, white crackling beam sword through an Invisible - obliterating it in one strike! She turned and slashed her Keyblade furiously in front of her, sending out a half dozen, crescent-moon blade beams for another Invisible. The Heartless took the barrage on the chest, flying backwards through the air, smoke trailing off of it...then it twisted and righted itself, and vanished into thin air. It reappeared to her left, slashing down for her with its own sword. Skuld jumped to the right and gave a quick swing of her weapon at the Heartless, hitting it with another two blade beams. She jumped up high into the air, spinning her weapon and thrusting it down at the battlefield as she charged up her energy quickly.
A swirling beam of gold and blue was unleashed, with a spiral of energy around the beam like a serpent around a tree branch.
Her attack destroyed an Invisible, hit the ground, and exploded into a blue and white dome of expanding energy. The dome caught another Invisible from behind, burning into it and destroying it. Elrena did a swift, forward flip and suddenly made a copy of herself; the two versions of her did a spinning kick, sending the Dark Inferno flying back through the air with a burst of yellow lightning.
The Dark Inferno slammed into Skuld's energy dome, going rigid as it was burned and eaten away at-
Then it suddenly disappeared.
Skuld's attack dissipated as she dropped to the ground with a heavy breath.
Dark Inferno reappeared, hovering in the air, its feet glowing white. It surged forward with shocking speed, leaving a trail of white flames behind it! It slashed at Skuld furiously, leaving trails of black and white energy in its swords' wake!
Skuld blocked one strike, blocked the next, then blocked a powerful double-bladed uppercut. She skidded back on the uneven ground with a gasp-
The Heartless floated up and into a speedy arc, coming back down on her right, and began attacking her again instantly!
Skuld threw herself backwards, then jumped away to the left!
The Heartless went into a spinning forward dive through the air, a swirling magenta energy surrounding it like a comet.
Skuld cast a powerful barrier spell and jumped straight up with a burst of magic. The Heartless hit her barrier and rebounded off of it in a wild backflip. Skuld swathed her blade in energy, and flew straight down at the Heartless, stabbing her blade into its chest and slamming it into the ground. Golden light burst around them, pillars of energy forming. Skuld tore her weapon free and went into a high backflip, as the energy pillars all flew inward to envelop the Heartless.
Elrena darted up to the pillar of light in a blur of motion and duplicated herself four times over. Her copies all leapt up into the air and hurled down lightning daggers - causing explosive lightning strikes to come down on the Heartless from four different directions at once.
Skuld landed on a knee, wobbling before righting herself again with a quickly placed hand on the ground.
Their attacks dissipated, and Dark Inferno was revealed.
The Heartless vibrated and jerked on its backside, darkness flowing off of it. Then suddenly red energy swirled around it, rising up like a cyclone before being sucked into its body. The Heartless rose up into the air again, its eyes flashing. Then it slashed its weapons and went into a rapid twirl, casting out a shockwave of red energy!
Skuld was blown backwards off her feet, despite throwing up a quick barrier of orange - despite bracing herself in the moment. She flew back across the chamber...only for Elrena to appear in a blur of motion and sparks and catch her. Well, it was more like the woman allowed Skuld to bump into her bodily and grabbed her shoulders like she thought Skuld was toxic to the touch...but even so...
At the same time, two of Elrena's clones materialized and raced forward at Dark Inferno, leaping and teleporting about the Heartless, blasting and striking with lightning and daggers. The Heartless roared and whirled about to throw them off and slash at them - but they leapt and teleported out the way.
"Thanks, Elrena," Skuld said, turning to look at the real woman, herself.
"Let's just blow this joint, okay?" Elrena said swiftly. "That old Keyblade probably isn't here either, that Darkness bitch gives me the creeps, and that Heartless actually might be too tough to beat...so, yeah. I'm over it."
"Yeah - me too," Skuld agreed, nodding. "Let's go, then."
Elrena gave her a look of relief, and they both turned to run from the cavern - back into the dark, narrow tunnel for the exit.
They raced through the long tunnel, and to Skuld's surprise, that Dark Inferno monster didn't pursue them. They made it to the entrance without trouble, emerging out into the light of the world again. The rocky, ruined open area at the base of the broken mountain.
The two women came to a panting stop together. Skuld pushed at her hair, over a shoulder and behind her ears, and she turned to give Elrena a small grin.
To her surprise, Elrena gave a small, light smile back - before looking away quickly with flushed cheeks.
"Well," Skuld started lightly. "there's only one world left on our list. After that, we can go back to our friends and-"
"Have a really well-deserved break and some killer sex?"
Skuld stared at the other woman, her jaw dropping, as her face burned. "I- I- appreciate the offer? But I didn't think we were that close. I'm also not- you're pretty, but other girls don't do anything for me like that...like they do for you...I just like guys, okay! So - I guess - yeah...Thanks, but no thank you!"
Elrena stared back at her. For a long time - then, she burst into high peals of laughter. She turned away, staggering off and clutching at her stomach, her voice echoing across the mountainside. Her face flushed intensely, her eyes shimmering! "Oh- my- god! You- you actually thought- y-you thought I meant YOU?! I was- obviously- talking about my current and only boyfriend! Hunky, sexy, long pink hair - goes by the name of Lauriam?"
"O-oh! Oh my- of course you were! I'm- so sorry! I-" Skuld exclaimed, mortified with herself.
"WOW, girl, where was your mind even at?" Elrena demanded, through uncontrolled chortling, her hand going to her mouth. "Do I even want to know?! No, let's face it, I have to know! Are you really that vain, or is that 'I just like guys' statement of yours a little bit more flexible than you want to acknowledge to yourself?"
"I'm- I'm not- I'm sorry!" Skuld said hopelessly, covering her face in her hands and turning away.
"No, no, no - don't be sorry! You've always been one of the baddest baddies around, you know that, right? Even with your whole plain jane look these days, you're just- effortlessly beautiful! And that whole goth thing you had going on back in the day - whew!" Elrena said swiftly. "You should go back to that - seriously. You rocked it, and it's not even my style! All that leather, studs and chains-"
"Alright - thanks for the fashion support, I'll consider it, but I really-" Skuld began, trying to get things back under control.
"People are so confusing..." a familiar voice cut across Skuld's words.
Skuld immediately clenched her teeth and spun around, drawing her weapon again; Elrena did the same, recovering astonishingly fast from her laughing fit - and transitioning into a state of panic and fear, standing upright and rigid.
The Darkness was standing a few dozen feet away, next to one of the dark, twisted spires. Watching them. Still...using the girl's body - Kairi's.
"Oh, great, you," Elrena spat, making an ugly face. "Way to interrupt an actually nice moment for me! Do you have any idea how rare those are for me? They don't come around very often!"
The Darkness gazed back at her blankly, with glowing purple eyes. An aura of energy suddenly shrouded her, and a huge blast of darkness shot up into the air above her. The darkness swirled and grew...and became a huge, unknown Heartless to Skuld. It was like nothing she'd seen in her years of fighting in the- Old World!
The Heartless was a huge wolf of some kind, with four long, slender limbs and a sleek body. It was black as night, with burning yellow eyes. It was over twenty feet long! It was adorned with solid, black armor, that had spots of glowing red energy on it. Its powerful tail of thick, twisting strands of darkness held a bush of purple flames on the end of it. Its claws were dark purple, as well. Within a mouth of sharp, large teeth, there were purple flames waiting to be unleashed...
The Darkness turned into a dark mist and flew up into the air, passing through the Heartless's body before reforming atop it - sitting on its back. A red aura flared around the creature, becoming a permanent, burning outline.
"You humans are actually becoming somewhat annoying to me now," the girl's voice spoke out. "So Hyrrokkin here is going to destroy you for me."
Skuld looked at Elrena. Elrena looked at her - pale-faced, lips shaking and open.
"Open a portal!" Skuld told her, as she ran and leapt for the giant Heartless, holding her weapon high - channeling all the power she still had into the weapon.
The giant Heartless, Hyrrokkin, opened its huge jaws and sent out a wide swathe of burning purple fires for Skuld.
Skuld created a barrier around herself - but the force and power of the flames sent her flying backwards at high speeds! Her barrier dome slammed into the ground and sank half-way down into it, leaving a new crater in the earth. Skuld pushed her power into the barrier, diverting it all away from her blade - and then the flames died.
Skuld let her barrier fall with a gasp, jumping up out of the crater - just in time to avoid a giant clawed limb bearing down on her! The Heartless's attack caused a shockwave of purple and orange energy to fly out across the ground.
"Hey - portal's open, come on!" Elrena's voice called out from afar.
Skuld looked to her, then gripped her weapon and raced across the dirt.
The giant Heartless leapt in front of her with its entire body, those large yellow eyes staring straight at her.
Skuld kicked off the ground and went into a high, twisting flip - taking her over a swiping blow and up over its backside. She turned her body in mid-air as she passed the Darkness, and she threw out a hand to seize the girl's collar.
Darkness blinked, in that moment of slowed time, pure confusion seeping onto her face. "Wha-"
Skuld tore the girl's body off the Heartless, sailing down to the ground on the other side. She slammed the girl face-down into the ground (silently praying for forgiveness for the move) and then shoved the point of her Keyblade into the center of her back. She drew up her magic and cast the strongest Time spell she knew, in a blinding flash of blue light and an expanding bubble of distorted air and colors.
The girl beneath her disappeared in a sudden flicker of air, vanishing from her grasp!
Skuld whipped around in time to see Hyrrokkin's flaming claws slam into her, sweeping her aside. She flew through the air - and stopped as she slammed up against one of the broken, burning vehicles.
The Heartless immediately chased after her, its claws pounding deep into the ground, creating burning grooves in it. It roared, lunging the last few feet, its claws swinging down for her!
Skuld had barely even pushed herself up again.
"HEY!" Elrena's voice yelled - as a powerful, thick lightning bolt flew down from the sky, striking the top of the Heartless's head precisely. Blue and yellow electricity exploded at the point of impact.
Hyrrokkin came to a skidding stop, shaking its head. Then it turned and went for Elrena, who was standing a good distance away - with no light portal in sight.
Elrena stood there watching it, waiting for it. Then she leapt up high into the air, doing a frontflip. She duplicated herself in the air, and two clones both darted down as streaks of lightning, slamming into the Heartless's backside. They slashed copied Keyblades at it as they ran along its body.
The real Elrena raised both her arms, shrouded in lightning, then she put them together and thrust her palms out at the Heartless. Twin, powerful blasts of lightning flew at the Heartless, separated by blue and yellow spheres of electricity. She let out a cry of exertion, and the powerful spheres moved down the lightning lines and hit the Heartless directly in the face.
The Heartless reared back, turning its head away, taking the hit on its armored side. Then it opened its mouth and sent a powerful torrent of flames at Elrena, washing away her lightning attack like it didn't matter at all!
"Shit!" Elrena exclaimed, pure shock on her face, as the fires rushed at her.
A shimmering, huge curved wall of a barrier, made up of four rows of blue crystal appeared in front of Elrena; the dark fires struck it, and parted around it on either side harmlessly.
Hyrrokkin ceased its attack and turned its head to Skuld's left.
She looked, too, and stared in shock.
The unrobed, unmasked young woman who Skuld knew as Master Invi was standing there, her weapon held out in front of her. Purple eyes narrowed, her lilac hair of curls flowing in the wind.
Hyrrokkin raised its head, then started for her-
Only for a streak of white energy to slam into the side of its head. Then, next moment, dozens more streaks of energy began to slash all over its body, as if by an invisible blade. The giant Heartless staggered to the side, smoke drifting from its body as it thrashed and roared.
And then Ira came leaping at it from behind one of the broken vehicles, swinging his Keyblade down at the monster. His weapon slammed down on its backside, a rush of green light flew down through its body to spread across the ground...and then it all exploded upward in a furious blast of energy and winds, hurling the giant Heartless a hundred feet high into the air!
"Invi!" the man called out, turning to the woman quickly, his long blue hair fluttering in his face.
Master Invi gave a simple, brief nod, then aimed her weapon up at the Heartless, tracking its arc. Her Keyblade glowed with an icy mist, and then she slashed it across herself.
Several dozen, huge chunks of ice formed in the air around the Heartless, and then flew inward to slam into it as one. The Heartless was encased in a huge mass of ice in a flash of blue light above - which immediately began to plummet to the ground.
Ira gazed up at it, adjusting his stance and holding his weapon before him. As the giant Heartless fell down toward him, he thrust his weapon upward, unleashing a stream of great, glowing white swords into it. They pierced the ice and Heartless both, carrying it back up into the air. Miniature explosions went off around and inside the Heartless as the blades dissipated...and then a great white light flared, and it exploded into smoke and particles of blue magic.
The two Masters lowered their Keyblades, looking to Elrena and Skuld.
Invi came walking over to Skuld, and she extended a hand down to her - palm up.
Skuld took it, frowning. She let go and stepped away as soon as she was up again.
"Okay, what are you slimeballs doing here?!" Elrena exclaimed, stalking up to Ira and jabbing a finger at the man. "This is our scoop! Get lost!"
"We didn't actually find anything here," Skuld reminded, in a reluctant murmur.
"Don't tell them that!" Elrena hissed, glaring at her.
"This isn't a competition," Invi said, frowning at Elrena.
"You think you can just swoop in and steal the credit after we did all the work?" Elrena said to Ira, ignoring Invi. "I'm guessing all of your locations were busts!"
"They were, yes," Ira said calmly, gazing back at her. "So we thought it would be best if we helped with investigating some of the other locations - that's all."
"That's all, huh? Yeah right. Glory-stealing bastards..." Elrena muttered, whirling away from him now and coming to Skuld's side.
Ira's fingers curled at his side...then he sighed and his hand relaxed. "This isn't about glory or credit: it's about protecting these worlds, and doing what we were asked. Helping with what we were asked to help with. That's all we want to do."
"Well, great job!" Elrena snarked. "How many worlds have you been to, and not a single sign of that stupid Keyblade?"
"How many worlds have you two been to so far?" Invi spoke up.
"Us? Pfft - waaaay more than you guys, that's for sure!" Elrena said quickly, waving a hand. "And let me tell you, this last one on our list...I'm really feeling like it's going to be the one. So why don't you two skedaddle, 'kay? You're not taking this from us!"
"Fighting against each other instead of talking to one another, and working together, is what led things to ruin before," Invi replied, quieter now. "We were all sent on the same mission here: we should do it together."
"Fuck that - Skuld, let's go," Elrena said instantly, turning away with Keyblade in hand. She thrust it out viciously, conjuring a portal with a more dramatic than usual explosion of light, energy, and electricity.
Skuld remained where she was. She gazed around her. She looked to where Hyrrokkin had once been. She looked at the scars of battle. She looked to the tunnel entrance. She gazed down at her own hand...
She sighed heavily, raising her head and pushing back her hair. "Go if you want to, Elrena, but I agree that we'd be better off doing this together."
Elrena did a genuine double take. Her mouth twisted. "Are you kidding me? After everything, after the Graveyard, now you're going to go all sappy, hippy, 'let's all hold hands and be pals' on me? I saw you that day, you were a fucking lunatic and I loved it! You can't seriously be thinking about just-"
"I'm not going to let myself end up like my sister!" Skuld said, loud and fierce. "She- hated me, so much, for so long! She mocked me, and insulted me, and hit me, and then she acted like I didn't exist anymore when we got to Daybreak Town. And then, apparently, at some point she even joined the Dandelions, and still couldn't find it in her to come and talk to me? To apologize, to- to-" She stopped, choking on her words, struggling again. She breathed in, then out again harshly. "She was the only family I had left, and she didn't want to be anymore. She ruined us, she ruined- everything! All for what? Anger? Spite? Pettiness? She could have come to me and we could have made up, we could have been together at the end...I would have accepted it if she'd tried. But she never did. She was just that lost in her own awful feelings, I guess. But I won't do that. I don't want to become that kind of person. Someone-"
"What? Like me, too?" Elrena hissed.
Skuld stared at the woman, fully, unflinching. "You said it, not me."
Elrena let out a scream, throwing herself forward - and then her fist slammed into Skuld's face.
Pain exploded in Skuld's nose as she cupped her hands over it, stumbling backwards in shock. Blood dripped between her fingers.
"Fuck all of you, then!" Elrena shouted. "I don't have to do that crap, I don't have to see them again for the rest of my life! I don't have to-"
"Of course you don't," Skuld said thickly, through pain and blood. "That's- your choice. But this is just...mine."
"Yeah - a really fucking offensive choice!" Elrena snarled. "Way to just spit on the graves of all the kids that these assholes led to their deaths - and probably murdered personally, in the actual war!"
"Go, if you're going to go," Skuld hissed out in pain. "Just go..."
Elrena stared at her, her lower lip trembling. She looked at Invi, then Ira. "Fine! I'm on my own, then! Like always. I'll find this stupid blade all by myself, and then you'll all look like losers!" She spun on her heel and strode into the portal alone.
The portal closed, and silence reigned.
A green light flashed; Skuld felt the pain in her face fade. She lowered her hands and wiped her nose furiously on her shirt sleeve. She looked to Invi, and her hand of swirling green particles.
"Thanks..." she murmured reluctantly, glancing away.
Aqua stood before the door of the train car, resting her forehead flat against the glass.
She gazed out the window, watching as the forests and grass fields and lakes all melted away...replaced by an intricate, sprawling cityscape.
The capital city of Zitol: Ancewell.
Stone and metal. Arches, signs and lights.
It was already so late in the evening, it was hard to make much out, honestly. Anything that might have been familiar, or...
And it had been so long; time itself had probably done its work to change a lot of what Aqua once knew of this place.
Not that she had seen much of it before, anyways, had she?
But what she did recognize was the towering, intricate royal palace of lights and towers in the center of it all - that which the city surrounded on all sides.
The elevated train tracks ran throughout the city, passing above and between all sorts of buildings. Until it took a wide, long curve, and began to slow to a crawl. The train inched its way into the station. It was a wide open place of various tracks and platforms, with a high glass dome of a rooftop stretching out above it all.
Despite being such a big place, it didn't seem to have many people around it.
Well...no one who looked like an ordinary citizen.
The train stopped, the door slid open, and Aqua was faced with dozens upon dozens of soldiers. Ordinary ones, with bladed and technomagic weapons, in lines and in groups on patrol. Then there were the towering suits of metal armors, glowing with blue lights on them, eight or ten feet tall, with reflective black visors. Despite their size, they were sleek, and armed with various weapons, close range and long, attached to various points on the armors. And of course, there was the legion of figures in robes - the Serene Roses, at the forefront of it all.
A dozen more of them suddenly appeared in a half-circle in front of Aqua, in flashing blue lights.
Oh...
Aqua stared at them all. She looked around the platform. She drew a breath and stepped off of the train, drawing herself up (without her red cloak, which honestly made her feel more vulnerable). Vivian stepped off in her wake, stepping up beside her. Natsumi lingered behind them, her hand on her hip, just above the hilt of her sword (despite all her talk of excitement and adventure - and her own combat capabilities - the look on her face was tense).
"Let's not all beat around the bush - not for a matter as potentially momentous as this," came a female voice, as one particular member of the Roses came forward from the rest. A woman - tall, slim. Her hood was up, like the rest, but Aqua could see her face. She was a woman in her forties, with brown eyes, pale skin, and what looked like a shaved head. Her robes had some extra silver trim on them, and the insignia on her chest was more ornate, surrounded by a decorative border that made it into a crest. "Operative Vars - you've confirmed this woman's identity?" she spoke directly to Vivian.
Vivian gave a firm nod, straightening up some more, herself now. "Yes, ma'am! Ms...Overseer Ravamar! Like, a dozen times at this point...and the spells all came back saying the same thing: Princess Aqua is who I bring!"
That was very true, Aqua thought wryly; since revealing her true self to Vivian, the woman had to have cast the identity revealing spell a dozen more times in just the past four hours of their journey alone! Every time Aqua turned back to the woman, she'd see that symbol floating in the air (before it was hastily wiped away again).
The woman in charge, it seemed - Overseer Ravamar - stepped even closer to Aqua, until she stood in front of her directly. She slowly brought up a hand, of long fingers and nails, and drew the pink, magic sigil in the air. After a moment, it started to pulse, as predicted. The woman's face changed under the hood. Her fingers curled back toward her palm as her hand fell to her side now. The sigil faded from the air. The woman's gaze found Aqua's face, wide and blinking.
"You are the lost Princess...Aqua?" her voice came again, quiet, with the slightest tremor to it.
"Yes," Aqua said, loud and clear. "I am Aqua Anfilia Tel-Rho Hurnestra - daughter of Queen Jade - and Crown Princess of Zitol."
"We can't be hasty about allowing someone to just waltz in and claim the ultimate authority and power in our kingdom," Ravamar said slowly, recovering herself. "We'll need further confirmation."
"Of course - I understand," Aqua said simply.
"But, in the event that you are who you say...and as preliminary evidence seems to suggest..." The woman bowed her head in respect. "You'll be treated with utmost care and dignity, princess."
"I'm glad to hear that," Aqua stated, her mind flashing back to Scarlet's face...and story. Even without her Keyblade, if it came to it, she knew she could fight her way out of a situation like that...unlike Scarlet.
"Multiple mages will cast the identity spell on you - as well as others," Ravamar spoke. "We'll also be doing a blood ritual - your sample will be compared with those of the departed Queen, as well as your...the princess's from her childhood."
Aqua gave a nod and a smile. "Understood."
All of those irritating-at-the-time medical tests and health check-ups as a little girl were going to pay off, then. Fantastic. They'd always been so concerned with her being healthy and alert...not so much happy...
Then the thought came to her, suddenly: did those sorts of tests and rituals reveal someone's non-human nature, even if altered by body transmogrification magicks? If they did, then how many people had really known her true nature as a child - even when she herself hadn't...? Was it not just the Queen? Had others known, too? Or had the Queen done some personal selecting of staff, and swearings to secrecy? There were far too many questions in her head now. Things she had never even considered as a girl.
Surely the Serene Roses would have been in the know, being her constant guards and whatnot? They would have to be, in case the spell failed or an accident happened, or...something like that. Wouldn't they?
But it had been such a shock to everyone that night, twenty years ago...so maybe not.
Maybe only the Queen had ever truly known...
Aqua blinked, shaking her head and focusing again. "Right - let's go, then. The sooner we get this all over with, the better. I've been away for so long..."
Ravamar was watching her with curiosity now. Then she nodded, and the look cleared. "Yes, you have, princess. Come with us, then."
"I'd like to have Operative Vars by my side," Aqua spoke, in firm tones. "She's proven to be a wonderful person, and an excellent bodyguard. And she was the first one to find me again - and she saved my life. I think she could go far in the Roses." She paused, turning to meet Natsumi's gaze. "My friend here, Ms. Natsumi, will also be accompanying us. I couldn't have gotten this far without her, on this long journey home. She's been a guide and a companion, and she deserves commendation for it."
Ravamar's gaze flickered to Vivian. Then, to Natsumi. Her expression was unreadable. "As you wish, Your Highness. For their roles in bringing you back safely to us after all these years...we'll see what we can do. If your identity is fully confirmed, they'll have my personal gratitude, I can assure you."
"Wonderful," Aqua said lightly, flashing a smile. "Let's go, then. Not to the castle, I presume?"
"No, not the castle," Ravamar said simply. "SR Headquarters."
Aqua was relieved to have gotten such nice rest after Scarlet's attack, such that her magical reserves were fully charged and ready.
Natsumi wasn't the only one capable of slaying her way through a whole battalion, after all.
All she needed was to get her hands on a sword again.
Because, while she may not have had her Keyblade anymore...Aqua still had her armor.
It was always with her - right there on her left arm's sleeve.
After being put through what must have been a dozen different tests and spells - including three separate blood tests - everyone finally seemed satisfied that Aqua was who she said she was.
Or at least, they were forced to finally concede to it.
Either way...sitting there still in the medical ward, Aqua knew there was one more thing she had to do.
She looked to Vivian - and then Natsumi. She breathed in and nodded to them; the two women nodded back.
"Overseer Ravamar," Aqua began, getting to her feet, her hands at her sides. She gazed at the woman in question. She glanced around at the other Serene Rose Operatives in the room - to the Healer at the table on her right.
"Yes, Your Highness?" came the woman's considerably warmer reply than before, with a bow of a head.
Aqua could have just let it be...let things stay that way. Not let anything change. Let people keep assuming. But, being fair, she didn't know how this would go - it wouldn't do to keep thinking in worst case scenarios, really! And she had talked it all over with both Vivian and Natsumi on the train ride here. She was doing this; she could do this. It was...probably best to. So...
"Did any of these tests tell you I wasn't a human?" Aqua blurted.
Ravamar's face shifted. She frowned, looking more puzzled than anything else. "Sorry, Princess?"
"Did any of your tests tell you that I'm not part of the human species?" Aqua repeated, slower, clearer.
Ravamar's eyebrows raised. Her mouth opened. Then closed. She looked over at Vivian. "Operative Vars...what is Her Highness talking about?"
"Okay, it's crazy, but it's true! It took me a bit to believe it too!" Vivian said swiftly, stepping forward. "After she showed me, and explained a little about it, I ran and re-ran the tests - it's not in jest!"
Ravamar looked directly at Aqua now, drawing breath. "You're not human?"
Aqua straightened her back, lifting her chin. "That's right."
"But you'd still claim to be Princess Aqua Anfilia-"
"I don't claim; I know I am. So do you, with all your tests."
Ravamar was silent. Then- "Explain, as you did to Vars."
Aqua breathed out, nodding. "I'm not sure I can. I only learned about it when I was...seven years old - a few months shy of eight."
"Around the time prior to your disappearance?"
Aqua shook her head. "On the night I disappeared."
"So you claim you're not human, and you also claim you didn't even know until you were seven?"
"The Queen knew," Aqua stated firmly. "I don't know if she was the only one - I was hoping to judge whether or not any of you Roses also knew...or my personal physicians from my childhood. Whatever her reasons, she didn't tell me - and I'm not sure whether she did or didn't tell anyone else, either."
Ravamar gazed at her a moment, then she gave a small laugh. Disbelief and humor both. "I was as fresh into my training as Operative Vars there, back then; I didn't become Overseer overnight. If anyone knew back then, I wouldn't have been privy to the information either. And believe me, this is a great shock to me."
"A bad shock?" Aqua said, narrowing her eyes. She let her fingers spread at her side, sparking with blue electricity.
Ravamar's eyes darted down to her hand - then back up to her face. She slowly shook her head, taking a step backwards. Her hands came up, palms out. "No. I have no personal objection to non-humans."
"What about a non-human Queen?"
"If that Queen could do a good job of things, it wouldn't matter to me," Ravamar said firmly, looking Aqua in the eye. "Operative Vars should have told you I could be a good ally to you...Your Highness."
"She did," Aqua said flatly. "I wasn't going to believe her without seeing it for myself." Especially after Scarlet...
"Fair enough," Ravamar agreed. "You have my word that you're perfectly safe here. Word of this won't go beyond-"
"Oh, it's going to," Aqua interjected.
"What?"
"I want it to," Aqua elaborated. "Things for non-humans within our borders, and in other nations, I've heard, aren't at their best. They're quite terrible, really. And I'm going to change that. But even I can't do it all alone. I need friends, support."
Ravamar eyed her, then looked down. "You plan to - come out, then?"
"Yes."
"A lot of people aren't going to like that - to put it lightly," Ravamar said quietly. "Your safety might even become...very questionable."
"Are we talking about harassment, or assassination?" Aqua said bluntly. She grew a Megaflare in her right hand, raising it up before her, palm up. The orb swirled with a core of blue and white, growing to the size of a beachball. "I think I can handle it."
Ravamar's eyes widened at the sight of her spell. "I think I speak for everyone in this kingdom when I say we're all very interested in where you've been all this time..."
Aqua closed her fist, extinguishing the flames between her fingers. She let the lightning of her left hand fade, flexing her fingers at her side. She shifted her stance and set her hand on her hip. "Maybe I'll tell that story someday. But you didn't answer my question, Ms. Ravamar."
"Both - from inside and outside parties and individuals," Ravamar stated, regathering herself. "If you really do plan on doing this, it's not going to be easy. For you - or others." She looked to Natsumi, pointed. "Are you willing to risk their lives, too? Or the lives of those who might be hurt across the kingdom?"
"Acts of cruelty, violence, and incivility are not the fault of the victims - or the ones who simply want to exist," Aqua said sternly.
"Of course not," Ravamar said quickly, shaking her head. "Forgive me, My Princess - I only wanted to be sure you were aware of the...possible consequences. I wasn't trying to blame you for them."
"You're willing to be an ally, then?"
"Yes. I am. And there are more among the Roses than you'd think who feel the same way - or even more strongly. Some have non-human family, children or spouses, and some are even non-humans themselves...though you'd be hard-pressed to notice. An organization like ours has never been able to discriminate when it comes to hiring...and I've been firm in not allowing us to."
Aqua nodded. "Okay. If I can trust you on that...then, okay."
Ravamar hesitated, looking around her. At the other Roses. At the Healer. "Your tests did not reveal your non-human nature, and nor did your samples from childhood...whatever it may be. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything when faced with full-body, high tier transmogrification - the magic alters your body at the cellular level. And if it was the Queen who ordered it done for you, it would have been done by the best in the world." She paused. "Forgive the impoliteness, but- could I see what that nature is, Your Highness? I'm curious if we could run another test in your...true form...and what the results would be then."
Aqua gazed at her, silent, thinking hard. She looked to Vivian, who gave a nod and a small smile. She looked to Natsumi, who was simply...looking at her. Telling her that it was her judgement, her call to make.
Well, it was one she was going to make anyways, to the entire world...so why not start now? She was going to have to- get used to it all...after all...
If she was really going to be doing this. If she was really going to- come out like this, and doing it full time. In public, openly, in front of everyone and anyone!
Aqua raised her hand to her chest, and focused her mind and magicks inward...
She felt the shifts in her body come again. Inside and outside. She closed her eyes and inhaled - exhaled. She opened them again...and turned to face the full-length mirror next to the hospital bed.
It was funny, or maybe just odd, to think that she had been in this...form...more than a few times by this point, now (and all of them very recent) - and yet she'd never actually seen herself in it. She hadn't even known what she herself looked like!
She knew now.
Aqua saw herself, for the first time in her life.
She saw...what her mother had seen - what those soldiers had seen that night - and what...what Eraqus had seen. What he'd seen, and still assured her, over and over...that she wasn't some monster. A creature. A beast. A...
Aqua still looked mostly like herself, she supposed - except for the parts that weren't familiar at all. The parts of her that were...all new. Literally. The first things to stand out to her were what had stood out to her even without a mirror: the- long, curved, thin horns coming out of the top...front of her head. They were smooth, sleek, and a dark blue coloration. Aqua strode closer to the mirror, gasping at herself softly. She noticed next, from this, that all of the teeth in her mouth had changed; they were all sharp, and jagged triangles. She shook her head, stepping away, holding her hands to her chest.
Her fingernails had definitely grown, she thought, looking down at them personally. They were strong, long, sharp claws now that more smoothly transitioned out of her fingers than her- human nails. They were several inches long, and dark blue, like the- horns were.
Aqua let her hands fall, twisting and looking at herself in the mirror again. She moved her shoulders, her arms - the muscles of her back. The new ones...
Large, wide, powerful dark blue wings flared out on either side of her - behind her, blocking light and sight! They seemed to be...as wide or wider than her own torso - from neck to waist - and as long as her own body itself, completely? She breathed, she twisted again, trying to keep the mirror in sight, straining her feet on her heels and- A long, thin cord of dark blue flesh and muscle came whipping up from below, and something hard smacked her in the nose!
She startled, gasping and raising a hand to her face-
Until she realized!
Oh...Oh!
That had been her.
Just her.
She breathed out, trying to relax, trying to focus as she gazed into the mirror...
The long, thin, powerful tail of blue came twisting back down in front of herself. The sharp, heart-shaped bone on the end dangled in front of her.
Aqua slowly turned, looking down at her own- well...rear end, trying to find where the thing had come from! Flushing furiously, she looked to Natsumi. "Would you tell me if I had a...hole in my unitard...?" she stammered out.
Natsumi gazed at her seriously. Then she craned her neck, her eyes lowering. "It's nothing noticeable. Those sashes and ribbons of yours are excellent coverage."
"Thank you..." Aqua murmured, sighing in immense relief.
"You really didn't know," Ravamar spoke quietly, gazing at her strangely now. Or, not so strangely. It was a look of sympathy. At least, Aqua hoped it was that and not pity.
"N-no...I didn't..." Aqua muttered, turning back to the mirror again. She tried to breathe, to flex her back muscles - her wing muscles, the long length of a foot of bone and tendons that connected wings to upper, middle back... The wings snapped shut, startling her a second time! She cursed herself, literally, as she tried to calm down! She was glad no one else could see her burning face too well. And that no one was laughing at her.
"If you plan to go to the castle now, My Princess, would you mind if I escorted you there?" Ravamar spoke, in a- a kind tone. "We're going to need to do some explaining over there, and I can make sure things go more smoothly."
Aqua eyed the woman, turning to her. She had to turn fully - because she could barely look over her own shoulder anymore! That was going to be annoying...How did her- people even live like this?
"I wouldn't mind at all," Aqua stated. "In fact, I think I'd appreciate it."
Stepping out of that medical ward, with everything that she really was just- bared to the world...was probably one of the most nerve-wracking things she had ever done, or could ever remember.
Was it supposed to be freeing? A happy moment of- of liberation and joy?
She didn't feel any of that.
All Aqua felt was the anxiety, and fears, and worries, and doubts.
Not just for herself, either - but for Natsumi, who walked beside her so closely (so unashamedly by contrast, with her canine ears sticking up out of her head now, too, and a bushy tail coming out of the back of her kimono, of white fur streaked with blood red).
Aqua had also asked Vivian to accompany them, rather selfishly.
Overseer Ravamar had accepted it without question, telling Aqua: "Any Rose is yours to command as you see fit."
Aqua held her tongue from sarcastically responding with, "Funny that I never had that impression of them as a girl."
Ravamar led them to another room, where a raised platform of glowing blue lines, letters, and numbers inside of a circle sat in the center. A magic circle of some kind. No, not just a magic circle: a circle carved into the stone itself to make a rune platform. An enchanted platform.
Ravamar explained it was a teleportation pad - one which could be keyed to take the Serene Roses anywhere across the kingdom where another pad existed. And, of course, there were several of them spread throughout the royal palace - some obvious, and some more...concealed.
Aqua laughed aloud at that. She regretted it when the others looked at her, causing a rush of embarrassment. "Sorry - it's just - that certainly explains a lot about my childhood..." she elaborated, in a quick little murmur.
Was this how they had always been able to find her so fast, practically no matter where she was in the castle - or the capital city?
Ravamar had raised a hand with a swirling magic circle around her wrist. Letters, symbols, and digits glowed in a sequence - she closed her fist - and then a light flashed, and Aqua felt herself floating.
The sensation was brief, however, before she was suddenly finding herself stumbling forward on an identical magical platform...in an unfamiliar room.
Well, unfamiliar in the sense that obviously she had just been teleported into the castle - but it was still familiar to her as being somewhere inside the castle.
Ravamar strode forward, toward a wooden door. "This way, Your Highness."
Aqua hurried to follow-
She heard a thwap of a noise, and turned in horror to see Vivian stumbling to the side, a hand on her cheek - a heart-shaped red mark burning there!
"O-oh my- I'm so sorry! I- I didn't-" Aqua stammered hurriedly.
Vivian looked at her, flashing a wide smile, and twisting her hand into a thumbs-up as she righted herself with a snap-hop. "No worries, Princess Aqua! Just thank the gods there was no around with a camera!"
"Y-yes..." Aqua agreed, her voice going high for an instant, uncontrolled. She threw out her hand with healing magic, watching the mark on the woman's face fade.
"I suppose you'll need to practice with that thing, won't you," Natsumi said quietly, sidling up to her and taking her hand - patting at it. "It isn't your fault you never learned before - were never taught, growing up."
"S-still..." Aqua breathed, shaking her head. She carefully extracted herself from Natsumi's grasp, and moved toward the open door where Ravamar waited (now so, so awfully and keenly aware of her own- additions).
She didn't even have enough mental concentration to look around herself - at the walls, the familiar halls again. Not that she would have wanted to... No, that, the rush of memories, she wanted to delay as much as possible...
They ascended many stairs and strode through more empty hallways - until they came to a pair of large, double wooden doors in the middle of a spacious hallway decorated with statues and potted plants.
Oh.
Try as she might, this place, she remembered.
It was...
The meeting room.
The last place she had ever wanted to be, but that everyone else had kept dragging her off to...to watch and learn.
She really hoped that conversations in this room still did not go on for hours and hours and hours. Yes: she could hope that things were a little faster these days. Surely, in twenty years, they had found ways to expedite discussions.
Well, the Queen had always known how to do that - she would just speak up and say "Do this" or "Do that", and that would be the end of the meetings. Though, whenever Aqua had been there, she got the feeling that her mother had deliberately let things run on...for the sake of the learning experience.
Aqua strode forward and shoved the doors wide open, revealing the dark, long room - with that meeting table in it. Ornate, polished wood. The several dozen odd chairs ringing it, high-backed and cushioned.
At the far end of the table was the Queen's chair - throne, more accurately. A comfortable, absurdly fancy throne. Identical to the one in the actual throne room.
Ravamar flicked on the lights, causing Aqua to blink the suddenness of it away. She looked across the room, bowing her head and nodding to the throne. "Your Highness," she spoke simply.
Aqua looked at her. She looked to Vivian - who had strode away and taken up a position to the left of the double doors. She looked to Natsumi...
Natsumi gave her a small, glistening-lipped smile, her eyes warm and encouraging.
Aqua stepped over to her, gently taking her hand. She turned and started around the long table - pulling the woman along with her. Across the soft, pristine carpet floor, her shoes barely made a sound.
When she reached the throne, she sat down in it gingerly. She turned her head. She smiled at Natsumi, in a way that was more a little smirk she couldn't help. "Make yourself comfortable, please. I insist."
Natsumi blinked at her. Then she giggled, and promptly sat herself down on the floor beside the throne, getting into a cross-legged position. She lay her sword across her lap, resting her hands on its length. She shrugged her shoulders, shaking her long strands from her face.
Ravamar gazed at Aqua across the room, nodding to her. "If you're ready, I'll call the High Council - and this meeting to order."
Aqua took a breath, sitting straight in her chair. She paused, frowning and shifting. She glanced back, realizing that - of course - this chair was not designed for a...demon princess. Her wings were being folded and squished uncomfortably, and that wasn't even getting into her bent and coiled tail!
Aqua shifted around some more awkwardly, blushing, before giving up on it. She set her hands in her lap - then lay them on the chair's cushioned arms.
She looked out to Ravamar, giving a short, uncomfortable nod.
"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she said honestly.