Aqua took some time to soak in the sun's rays. It had over ten years since the sun blessed her with its presence.
The Light was so… beautiful.
She had missed this.
Aqua took a deep breathe and addressed the group. "Thank you, all of you. You all risked so much, I can't thank you enough. But I'm afraid there is somewhere else I must be. There's someone waiting for me."
The rest of the group exchanged worried glanced. Goofy was the first to speak up.
"Garwsh, Miss Aqua, we don't doubt you probably have something super important to do. But uh- are you sure you wanna be running around? Shouldn't you rest?"
"Yeah! We need to talk you to Master Yen Sid for an evaluation! You've been gone too long, and need to rest." Donald pressed on.
Admittedly, Aqua was feeling rather weak, more than anything she just needed Ventus back. She needed him back, to see him be okay. Even if it was just seeing him sleep.
"I- I appreciated the concern. But this isn't something I am asking permission for. They're still waiting for me. And I promised Master Eraqus, that I'd bring them back, no matter what." She was determined, she was going to get Ven back no matter what.
Axel shook his head, he understood her all too well. But if his previous "death" was anything to go off of, rushing into action wasn't going to solve anything. "Sorry, no can do."
Everyone's eyes whipped over to him.
"Trust me, I know. You want to back to what's familiar. But you're in no shape to go out fighting. Not to mention you haven't been here in the past ten years now."
Riku looked at Axel before realizing what the older man was trying to do. "He's right, there's new dangers now. You know of the Heartless, but there's other monsters too. Please, come back with us. We'll make sure you're caught up to date with everything."
Aqua looked at him with sad eyes. In her heart, she knew they were telling the truth. But her heart just wanted to find Ven, hold him closer. She loved that boy so much, the last one remaining of the people she once called family. She wasn't about to fail him again.
Sora moved towards her and held her hand, he reminded her so much of Ventus. "Please?"
Finally Aqua relented.
After much deliberation, it was decided everyone was to return via the gummy ship. Mickey, Riku and Axel were too weak after the fight with Aqua. Additionally, no one was to strain Aqua with more Darkness until she was able to get evaluated by Yen Sid.
Goofy, Donald and Mickey piloted the ship so everyone else could rest. The trip back the Mysterious Tower felt like a long. Most for Axel as the others unceremoniously volunteered him to be a human heater.
Riku was propped next him to his left, the newly minted Keyblade Master slepted soundly. Sora was more… casual. The boy was sprawled out, using Axel's legs as a pillow and the rest of Riku as a makeshift bed. His snoring echoed throughout the ship. Still, Axel didn't mind. Roxas would end up falling asleep on him more times than he can count. It was nice to be able to remember those times. Then there was Aqua. She was curled up next to him, she practically passed out as soon as the ship took off. It also helped Axel naturally ran warmer than the average person.
To think the mysterious blue haired savior from his youth is also the former missing master from a decade ago.
'She been within reach this whole time.' Axel's eyebrows scrunched together as he tried to stitch the timeline together in his head. To try to connect the events that somehow started with Aqua and her friends, and ended with the downfall of not just his world. But many others as well.
'What a mess,' He thought to himself, 'And yet I still don't feel any closer to getting Roxas back… at least Aqua is safe. Speaking of Aqua'
He looked her over, miraculously she still looked the same age as she did over ten years ago. But what bothered him wasn't how she looked. But how she managed to evade the Organization the past ten years. Granted, he doubted anyone other than maybe Xemnas even knew of her existence. He knew certain members of the Organization who traveled to the Realm of Darkness, himself included. How did no one notice her? And worse, what would have had happened to her if she was? No doubt Xemnas would forced her to become a Nobody and be forced to live the same miserable life as he had. And then what? Axel knew now the extreme lengths Xehanort and his members would go to destroy the Light.
If any one of them have found Aqua at any point before now…Xehanort would have already won by now.
A chill went through his spine.
If Xemnas had found Aqua there would have been no need for Sora. There would have been no Roxas, no Kairi, no?.If Xemnas had found her, he would still be on the wrong side. And mere thought of that scared him to no end.
Axel wrapped his arm around Aqua. He could feel her relax. Regardless of the 'what ifs,' they were the ones to find her. Not Xehanort. They had an advantage now, and if the next guardian is who he thinks it remembered the days before Raident Garden fell, how mysterious warriors appeared even though he only ever saw two of them. Aqua and Ven
Ventus, the boy who bore a remarkable resemblance to Roxas. Which by all means made no sense, considering Roxas wasn't even created till significantly later. Still…
'If Aqua ended up being one of our lost lights, that means we're one step closer to finding Ventus.' Axel thought to himself, 'And if Ventus had been missing all these years…' A theory came to mind.
The Chamber of Repose, how long had Xemnas had him looking for it. 'What are the chances, we've been looking for Ventus this whole time?'
Was it possible the Xemnas knew Aqua was the one who had hidden Ventus away? If so, what was the link between Roxas and Ventus? Axel could feel himself getting a headache. Deep in his heart he knew the answers he seeked laid somewhere in Castle Oblivion.
His eyes began to feel heavy.
Axel didn't want to return to that damned castle. He already lost so much.
Still, he knew that's where they would have to go. Not just for his sakes, but for Aqua as well. But for now, he'll wait until they got back to the tower. If his hunch is correct, he'll let them know. But if he's wrong, he didn't want to give Aqua any false hope.
'Ven… Roxas… just wait a bit longer, we're on our way.'
A/N: Heyyyy, hiiii. I'm not dead I promise, I'm just a really tired adult who's tired of living through back to back historical events. Also I work in anime conventions in XX State now. That's fun, I enjoy that. Great place to find good fan merch during this KH drought. I promise, I'm still working on the other stories. But man… times be tough when your government is free falling into a dictatorship.
