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thehermitcraftqueen · 3 years

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Angst, Tango x Vampire!Etho - Vampiric Glitches

There's been a glitch in the server. Not even Xisuma knows what it is, until a night attack reveals a vampire in their midst. Tango takes the job of confronting said vampire, even if the vampire turns out to be his love.

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I'm sorry not sorry for this one. It's mostly angst and kind of creepy, but there's some fluff at the end. Another Hermitcraft AU and mostly self indulgent, but I had a lot of fun writing it.

Obviously a warning for vampire stuff, it doesn't get too crazy but it's there.

For those of you ready for more fluff, I've got some cute requests coming, so just hold tight ;)

“We have an issue.”

Xisuma’s gaze swept over the assembled Hermits. Tango shifted uncomfortably in his spot, wondering what was going on. The admin had randomly told them to gather at the Town Hall a little while ago. He gave no context, and his voice was as calm as ever, but Xisuma didn’t normally call meetings with no warning, and every Hermit could sense something was up.

“There’s been a glitch,” Xisuma went on. “But this time, I can’t tell what it is to fix it. It’s either minor or hiding somehow. Although I hope it’s the former, I’m thinking it’s more the latter...either way, you all need to keep an eye out for anything strange. It could be anything, including potentially harmful things, so we have to be careful until we know what it is.”

Uneasy murmurs passed through the crowd of Hermits. Tango glanced at Impulse and Etho next to him. Impulse had a mixture of curiosity and concern in his gaze, and Etho seemed a bit uneasy but calm at the same time.

"I know no one has any real idea, but what do you guys think it is?" Tango asked them.

"It could be anything if Xisuma doesn't even know..." Impulse murmured. "I have no idea."

"Hopefully it's not anything too bad, but we'll see I guess," Etho said.

"Yeah," Tango sighed.

After more fruitless discussion about what it could be, the Hermits returned to their bases. By then the sun was beginning to sink, and Tango was more than ready to curl up in bed. He put the last few blocks away from finishing a build, then slipped into the sheets, sighing as he let himself relax. Still, no one had found the glitch Xisuma had talked about, but nothing had been affected either. Everyone was beginning to think it was just a minor issue.

Beeping from Tango's communicator woke him up not long after he'd fallen asleep. Letting out a yawn, shortly followed by a growl of annoyance when the communicator wouldn't shut up, he snatched it off the table and began reading the chat to see what was going on.

Impulse: WE HAVE A PROBLEM Ren: What's up my dude? Grian: Why are we being woken up before it's even midnight, come on guys Impulse: I THINK I FOUND THE GLITCH Impulse: OR SOMETHING

That piqued Tango's curiosity, all sleepiness fading. If Impulse was as scared as he seemed, it didn't sound like the glitch was something minor either.

Tango: What is it?!? Impulse: ETHO TRIED TO BITE ME

Tango had to do a double-take, and still the sentence made zero sense.

Tango: What?! Ren: Dude what? Impulse: He jumped out of nowhere and started attacking me, then while we were fighting he tried to bite me with like vampire fangs or something?? Mumbo: :0 Impulse: OH COD HE'S STILL HERE HELP Xisuma: Meet at Impulse's base everyone.

His heart beginning to pound, Tango shot out of bed. He spread his wings and jumped into the sky, beginning to fly to Impulse's base. He was worried about both of his friends--Impulse, who seemed to be in trouble; and Etho, who for some reason was attacking Impulse. His communicator fell silent halfway there, increasing Tango's worry, and he couldn't get to Impulse's base soon enough.

Most of the Hermits had gathered in the base or were heading to it when Tango arrived. Xisuma was questioning Impulse, who looked a bit shaken, while the others looked on and listened intently. Tango landed and made his way over, straining to hear Impulse and Xisuma as he neared.

“Tell me exactly what happened,” Xisuma was saying.

“I was just sleeping, like normal, when suddenly I woke up feeling unusually cold and uneasy for seemingly no reason. I didn’t see anything right away, so I started to go back to sleep. Then something shot out of the shadows and hit me with a sword, and I realized it was Etho. We started fighting, and he pulled down his mask during it. He had fangs and started trying to bite me. I got a pretty good hit on him and he disappeared long enough for me to chat with you guys. And then obviously we were fighting again when you guys started showing up,” Impulse replied.

“Bdubs and I were working on something in Aqua Town and we got here first. We started to help Impulse fight but then Etho vanished into the shadows,” Scar said.

“I guess he didn’t like being outnumbered,” Bdubs added.

Etho was a vampire? What? Tango was struggling to process the information. He couldn't imagine Etho with fangs and a taste for blood. Besides, he'd been fine earlier. Hoping Xisuma would have answers, Tango turned his gaze to the admin, who was currently silent, looking thoughtful.

“Well...assuming Etho being a vampire is the glitch...that makes it a lot harder to fix,” Xisuma said after a moment.

“It can be done, though, right?” Tango asked.

“I’m not sure,” Xisuma admitted. “I can code the server, but I can’t code a player. Etho has to fix himself, in a sense. We might be able to help him along, but ultimately he has to fix himself. And if he can’t...” Xisuma trailed off, and Tango’s heart twisted as he realized what the admin was going to say. “If he can’t, we’ll have to kill him. We can't have a vampire to worry about all the time."

In all honesty, Tango knew Xisuma was right. But the thought hurt a lot more than he wanted to admit. He’d never told anyone, and somehow no one had found out, but Tango had a pretty significant crush on Etho. He was a lot more than a friend by this point, and Tango didn’t know if he could deal with losing him.

“We need to talk to him, then,” Scar said. “Maybe we could talk some sense into him.”

“He’s not going to come out if it’s a big group, though,” Impulse pointed out.

“Maybe someone needs to go alone to somewhere Etho would be able to easily find them, while the rest of us stay here on stand by if they need help,” Bdubs said.

“I’ll go.” Tango didn’t even realize what he was saying at first. His heart spoke before his mind, needing to know that Etho was okay. But he didn’t correct himself once it was out. It could be fun, right? Exciting? Maybe?

"I don't like the idea of someone going alone in such a dangerous situation, but I guess we don't have a choice," Xisuma sighed. He glanced at Tango, the seriousness in his eyes making the demon hybrid shiver. "Are you sure you're okay with doing this, Tango?"

"Yeah. If I can build decked out and survive the ravagers, I can deal with Etho," Tango assured, with much more confidence than he felt.

"Oh, I don't doubt you'll survive him," Xisuma replied. "What I'm worried about is what will happen if you can't convince him. If he doesn't change, whoever goes will have to kill him, and I'm honestly not sure you can do that, Tango."

Tango swallowed hard. That wasn't something he'd considered at all, nor did he think it was something he could do. But...something told him he would be even worse off if he wasn't the one to go. This was something he had to do. He could only hope that death would be an unnecessary measure.

"I can," Tango replied, just barely managing to keep his voice firm.

Xisuma gave him a long stare, then sighed. "Okay, fine. Just please, be careful."

"I will," Tango promised. "Should I go now?"

"I guess so, while there's still plenty of night left," Xisuma agreed. "If you need help, we'll be a message away. Check Etho's base first."

Tango gave one last nod to Xisuma before taking off again. As he flew, he was painfully aware of his sword resting in its sheath against his side. He desperately hoped he wouldn't have to use it against Etho. On second thought, maybe he wasn't the right person for this job. But he wasn't going to turn back now.

The base that was normally so friendly and cheerful-looking now gave Tango chills as he landed. Structures of varying looks and heights cast eerie shadows throughout Etho's base, and the fact that it was dead silent didn't help at all. Tango struggled to stay calm as he slowly made his way through the base, his gaze flicking nervously from shadow to shadow as he watched and waited for Etho.

"So they sent you to kill me, huh?"

The whisper about gave Tango a heart attack. He spun around, frantically searching for the source of the sound, but he didn't see anything.

"Funny. I was wondering what your blood tasted like~"

Tango's heart was pounding as he continued to spin in circles, unable to find Etho. "E-Etho, stop, please..." he said, hating how his voice trembled slightly. It scared him, how much Etho had changed. "This isn't you."

"No. It's better." Etho's voice was a slight snarl, putting Tango even more on edge.

"At least come out!" Tango said desperately. He was terrified, drenched in sweat. This was by far the most exciting night he'd had in a long time, but he hated it with every rapid breath he took.

Something dropped down behind Tango. He whipped around, his heart skipping a beat as he met Etho's mismatched eyes, practically glowing with the menace they held. The temperature seemed to drop significantly, while Tango's heart rate spiked. He gulped, trembling with either cold or fear, he didn't know.

"Etho..." Tango whispered, not knowing what else to say. The now-vampire's stare didn't waver, but Tango noticed his hand slipping to his sword. "Please, Etho. Listen to me. Come back to me. I don't want to have to fight you," he begged.

Etho drew his sword. "Too bad," he said coldly as he raised the blade.

Instinctively, Tango pulled his sword out to block it. The weapons clashed, the sound breaking the quiet. Etho pulled his back to attack again, but Tango blocked. The cycle continued, neither of them giving nor taking hits. Soon, Tango's moves began to slow as he grew tired. He couldn't take this much longer.

"Etho, just stop. You're stronger than this. You can fight it," Tango said, praying Etho would listen.

"Why should I? I'm fine like this. No one can convince me otherwise," Etho hissed.

"I will!" Tango growled. "I'm not losing you, Etho!"

Fueled by his new determination, Tango began to overpower Etho. After a few more blocks and attempted hits, Tango tried a disarming move. Etho's sword flew out of his hand, leaving him defenseless.

"Now you have to listen to me," Tango said.

"I won't," Etho growled. He spread his arms, leaving his chest and ultimately his heart vulnerable. "Just finish the job, Tango. You can't change me back, and I know Xisuma gave you one other option if I didn't listen. Now do it."

"I..." Tango glanced at his sword, then at Etho. Tears pricked at his eyes and a sob escaped his throat. "I can't. I can't kill you, Etho. It would destroy me."

"Guess you're mine then." In a flash, Etho had pulled his mask down and lunged. Pain stabbed through Tango's neck as Etho's fangs sank in, and he let out a choked cry. He pulled away from Etho and pressed a hand against the wound. Etho stared at him, licking his bloody lips and fangs. Tango's stomach twisted at the sight, and his mind drifted to his communicator. Should he call for help? He was definitely in need of it. But if the others saw this, Tango had a feeling Etho wouldn't last long. Something told him there was still hope for Etho, he just had to keep trying.

"What's on your mind?"

Etho's voice, twisted into a demonic whisper, jolted Tango back to reality. He had an idea. Love confessions worked for this sort of thing in the movies, right? It was by no means sensible, but Tango was getting very desperate.

"You," Tango admitted. "I like you, Etho. A lot. And it hurts me to see you like this. I want to help you, but you need to cooperate with me."

"That's sweet. But I already told you, there's nothing to be helped. This is fine," Etho said.

"Is it?" Tango asked softly. "Are you truly okay with what you've become?"

"I-" To Tango's surprise, Etho faltered. "No. I'm not. But it's too strong for me..."

Tango's heart clenched, but he continued with new confidence. "Etho, I may not know how strong whatever this thing is, but I know for a fact you're stronger. You can beat it. I know you can."

Etho dropped to his knees, his fingers curling into fists. He whimpered softly, trembling. "It's...too strong..."

Tango sat in front of Etho and hesitantly placed a hand on his cheek, causing him to look up. "You can do it, Etho. Don't let it win."

Etho's eyes flickered and he closed them, releasing a low hiss. Tango watched anxiously as Etho battled unseen demons, mentally cheering him on. He slipped a hand into one of Etho's, and Etho's grip tightened as if it were for dear life.

Seconds turned to minutes as Etho continued to fight the glitch, urged on by Tango's words of encouragement now and then. Tango lost track of time, completely focused on Etho. It was painful watching Etho suffer, but all he could do was offer support.

Finally, Etho began to relax. His fangs began to disappear, and when his eyes fluttered open Tango noticed the normal sparkle was returning to them.

"I think...I did it..." Etho gasped.

"I think you did too!" Tango grinned. "I knew you could!"

Etho cast Tango a tired smile. "Thank you. I couldn't have done it without you, Tango."

Holding back tears, Tango wrapped his arms around Etho and pulled him close for a hug. Etho snuggled into Tango's arms in response. "I love you, Etho," Tango whispered.

"I love you too, Tango," Etho replied.

Both gazed into each other's eyes for a long moment. Then, both leaned in to meet the other's lips, letting their worries fade away as they kissed passionately.

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"It's been over an hour." Impulse turned to Xisuma, biting his lip anxiously. "You'd think if everything was fine they'd be back by now. I think we should look for them."

"I'm not sure. These things can sometimes take a while. I don't want to disturb the process," Xisuma responded.

"I'll be careful, I promise," Impulse said.

Xisuma sighed. "Okay. But try not to be seen, and don't engage unless it's absolutely necessary."

"Understood." With that, Impulse was off.

He flew over to Etho's base and landed on one of the upper areas. It was oddly quiet, and Impulse began to get worried until he looked down. Tango and Etho were curled up together, both sleeping soundly. Impulse smiled, reassured, and happy to see them both sleeping well.

As he made his way back to Xisuma, though, Impulse made a mental note to tease them about it later, like the amazing friend he was.

#hermitcraft au #hermitshipping #tangotek #ethoslab #xisumavoid #impulsesv #goodtimeswithscar #bdubs #rendog #tango x etho #etho x tango #vampires #vampire!etho #glitches #angst #angst with a happy ending

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planetchii · 3 years

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THE MEGA NICHIASA SHITPOSTING REPORT

NOW WITH THAT GREAT 2 WEEK LATE TASTE

Tropical Rouge, Culture Festival! Everyone Together, Let's Put Make-Up On Aozora!: The Tropical girls are getting ready for the best time of the year: The cultural festival. And in true Tropical Fashion, the girls decided to hold make-up classes for all visitors. But while planning just the right make-up to teach the novice children and grown adults, Laura gets suspicious that Minori is looking over to her ex, the Literature Club. I mean, when you up and disappear into the library, it's kinda hard to not think that you're looking for an escape route. But it's fine because they totally have enough people to help with the make-up classes. As long as Minori stays in the clubhouse.

That being said, distancing yourself from the rest of the group isn't very cool, Minori. Now you have a suspicious smug fish being all suspicious. And being a detective. And asking questions. A lot of questions. And she would ask even more questions if Manatsuu and the Smug Fish Laura's homeroom booth wasn't short-staffed because the kids with that shift decided to get an early head start on getting their Yaruki power stolen.

Meanwhile, the Lazy Trio has clocked into work, and Chongiri drew the short straw today. Guys, he just wants to cook. He wasn't trained for this. And he certainly wasn't trained for being kidnaped by a bunch of martial artists to run their grilled squid booth. Even if it's the most fun that he's had. At least right up until the point where he remembered he was still on the clock. At least everyone is busy.

I mean, really busy: Sango is still teaching people how to put on lipstick properly, and Asuka is trying to make sure no one cuts the line. The only one who the Broadcast Club could interview for the Tropical Club was Minori. Who turns out to be a secret master of the make-up arts.

The lesson the monster should have taken away was don't touch books. Books are supposed to bring people joy. I feel like I've heard that before. It also turns out that the reason Minori left the Literature Club is because her sempai quite literally read The Great Book and that story was already written, and therefore boring and too familiar and unoriginal. Again, I feel like I've heard this before. But that's okay because Minori's stronger with the Sword of Logos Tropical Club.

Reviving A Legend! The Pretty Cure's Power-Up Makeover!: After getting the results of a contest that the girls were not aware they were part of, The Tropical Club finds out that they came in second in the "hey, this booth is pretty cool" contest. Everyone is so excited that even Kururun even has to say something in front of the School newspaper. In other news, the girls suddenly develop a love of ventriloquism. Before telling Kururun to do their best impersonation of a statue.

Elsewhere, the Witch is waking up from a nightmare when her ex-girlfriend up and left her. If only her ex just didn't have the energy to leave... she probably should have given her ex's money back. But on the plus side, the Butler finally does something! He heads to the nearest watering hole and figures out a way to make polymer slime. While that is going on, Manatsuu and Laura are having a loving conversation over who is the most Tropicool.

After a nice long conversation, Manatsuu and Laura head to sleep, where Manatsuu meets the legendary Precure in a trippy and glowy dream aquarium. Manatsuu probably shouldn't overeat at dinner. Especially when she nearly drowns in her own dream.

But in the morning, the Girls start heading to school, only to have the Butler's slime experiments come up from the depths of the town's canals. So the girls transform and try to find the source of the Yaruki power, only to have the Aqua mirror 404 error on Cure La Mer. But while trying to find the source of the Yaraneda power, Cure Summer learns that Kururun is a good listener and has not moved since the beginning of the episode.

Meanwhile, the villains really still have no idea what their actual job description is. They're now working to form a union because they don't even know why they have to do all of this extra work. They're just a maid, doctor, and cook respectfully. They have also decided that union dues are due at the end of the month. Nuremi will collect.

Elsewhere, Cure Summer has picked up one (1) Kururun but ends up having to sacrifice herself to save the good sealo. And while Summer is now being farmed for Yaraneda power, Kururun becomes the new Cure Summer. All Hail Cure Kururun. Only to get hit with friendly fire via Cure Papaya's eye lasers. RIP Cure Kururun.

But with the power of Friendship (TM) and a new Mirror (buy our toy) Toei actually giving a good budget for an episode and some new barefoot dancing, The Butler's polymer slime experiment is defeated. This type of leadership should be the Student Council President. Revice, The Devil is Just a Bad Guy?!: It's time for a company review of last week's (lol), super conference where FENIX was super happy to show off their belt and their choice for a Rider in front of the whole world and one over-excited family. Since it didn't go too well, someone's getting demoted as punishment. RIP Hiromi's commandership. Perhaps he shouldn't have tried to be a hero, because now instead of a belt, he has a contract to become a magical girl I mean, have a deadman walking around. And now, the one that they wanted to be Revice in Daiji, has become a go-for to get his older brother to sign a contract to also become a magical girl I mean to work for FENIX, since he's not scared of the belt. Daiji can't win.

Meanwhile, in a golf competition, an older brother and younger brother are fighting over who has the better swinging motion, and who has the better golf knowledge. The fighting gets so... well, not intense, but belittling for the younger sibling, so much so that he gets fired as his older brother's caddy.

Don't work for family. (I say that as a younger sibling too.) But at least he was sold this spiffy new contract by a personified alcohol person. Alcohol for your soul. Salespeople are getting real pushy with their selling.

Meanwhile, back at the bathhouse of Happiness, Daiji has come back home to offer Ikki an offer he can't refuse.

Ikki promptly refuses it. Something about needing more bare butts in the tubs. And probably wouldn't want to trigger Vice's fight or fight harder instincts. But in the mists of the "Please, Ikki, there's a 300,000 yen signing bonus" fight to get Ikki to work for FENIX, the dad apparently found a live stream of the golf fight. Fight or Fight Harder instincts fully engaged, Vice possesses a bike to get to the action faster. Regular bikes are for squares; get your demon-powered bike now at your local bike store.

At the golf course, Ikki and Vice transform. And while Ikki was actually doing his not-his-job, Vice went off to do some selling. He'll be denied no fights. At least until the new VStamp pulls him back in to become an Eagle. After beating the older brother's contract deadman, Vice goes back to selling things. At least until Ikki undoes the transformation.

But good news, everyone! Mama is almost completely healed from almost being eaten unceremoniously. And soothes Ikki's fear and tells him that plenty of people have had 2 jobs before. I mean, look at Vice, selling things. He sold the younger golf brother on visiting the Deadmans and getting his own Deadman. That's some A+ selling.

Not the right selling, apparently, since Ikki is pissed. We're not supposed to be selling the Deadmans, we're supposed to be selling the bathhouse. I mean the bathhouse services. And as punishment, Ikki fights this new Deadman without transforming when Daiji notifies them of this new, totally out of the blue and not sold to, Deadman. I mean we can't have other lives in danger.

Tasked with either apologize and fight properly or not fight at all, Vice agrees not to sell shit like Deadmen again and finally gets that magical girl contract. After beating the second Deadman of the day, the two golf brothers make up as much as siblings are willing to, for the low price of their stamps.

Hostage Trouble, What To Do Brother?!: While hanging out at the best-awarded rave place in town, the Deadmen are trying to look for a way to revive their head of ravers, and peanut butter named villain Jif I mean Giff, with a new recruit, a walking hood. Meanwhile, while Mama is trying to support her middle child, in a surprise to all middle children everywhere, an eviction company came to evict the bathhouse. Ikki proudly states that they will never be evicted from that spot, despite the father's best attempts.

Elsewhere, Sakura and her best friend forever Ayaka are going shoe shopping, where Ayaka finds these really nice sparkly shoes. Since Ayaka was not invited to her little sister's photoshoot (instead opting to bring her mom), it was only fair to bring about the shopping therapy. But it turns out that one of them has a stalker following them. And that stalker has some Deadmen foot soldiers. He really has this thing for Ayaka. But Sakura has a cellphone, and calls for Ikki, since we're not doing hide the identity thing.

When Ikki gets to the scene of the crime, he tells them to run, only for the stalker to throw a Pokeball and catch Ayaka. He also demands Sakura, a woman who could probably kick his ass, or he'll kill off Ayaka. But live your dream dude. No kink-shaming here. But they agree because killing people is bad. But is then interrupted by the Kong Deadman. At least Daiji comes in at the right time with the 555 suitcase, now holding the Revice Driver.

While in the midst of a hard-fought battle, the Deadman runs to where the girls are kidnapped, and while chasing this Deadman, Revi and Vice run against another alcohol personified man who wants to make a bargain: The girls for the stamps. This leads the new Go-For Daiji to go back to the FENIX Inc., and retrieve the new stamps, and takes a look at the new P-Bandai belt. Daiji asks if it's possible for him to use that belt, only for George to do his best Ankh impersonation and laughed in his face.

In a sign of kindness, the stalker allows Ayaka to call her mom, who tells her to bug off, she's watching her daughter work the cameras. It sucks to know you're not the favorite.

Elsewhere, the trade is going down, in the following fight allows both of the stamps to go back to Ikki and Vice who pull off their best Den-O impersonation, and end the fight. And in the confusion, Sakura breaks out of her confinements and kicks the ass of the stalker, proving that if Toei doesn't make her a Rider they are missing an opportunity. Sucks that it seems the stalker isn't the actual contract holder.

Back at the Rave Central, The Hooded Intern has these new sparkly shoes.

Zenkaiger, No. 27-kai! A Great Voyage Through Seven Worlds!: After hearing that his mom is still alive and has escaped her deep sleep can on Tojitendo Kikaitopia, The Zenkaiger group starts looking for Kaito's mom Mitsuko. Despite their best efforts, including a massive Google search by Secchan, they still can't find her. This leads to the thought by Gaon that maybe she escaped to a whole other world.

Since it was a good thought, Kaito asks his boyfriend Vox if he can borrow his pirate ship to go look for her. He promises to fill it back up with gas. What does it take, diesel? Regular?

Vox doesn't allow this because Kaito has no driver's license. I mean, neither does Vox, but Flint does and Flint has the keys.

Meanwhile, Stacey hates his job and now is sent on a wild chase to find a woman he may or may not have let out for the sake of his adopted grandma and ice cream supplier. Truthfully, it wasn't entirely his fault. It's not like he attacked the warp gate like the others when he may or may not have left the sleeping pod open.

Back with the heroes, Vroom and Gaon stay behind because Toei's budget is running a little tight. Can't have all that CGI and stuff after spending all that money on the CGI for the other worlds. There are budget concerns to think about, you know. But the remaining heroes board the Pirate ship and Magine sets about looking for Mitsuko with her crystal ball. But because the Pirates have no time for proper seancing, they just start picking the closest worlds to our heroes' world and work from there. Mr. Su is everywhere, by the way.

And after going to worlds where they are called perverts, nearly arrested, and freeze to death, in that order, Stacey arrives with his entourage of other people looking to cash in on overtime and says that all of the other worlds are getting visited, because she didn't just go back home, and not because they shot themselves in the foot. Instead of searching for clues in the Ice World, the Zenkaigers and Twokaizers head off to the Mushroom Kingdom. They did not see any plumbers, however. But, they "find" "Mama" "Mitsune" before Stacey and his crew of merry overtime workers, and a fight breaks out. After beating this wave, the Pirate ship heads off to Earth, much to the relief of Stacey who just wants to make Yatsune happy. Only to be told to follow them. Leading to another battle on Ice World. Stacey better be getting paid time and a half for this. The Zenkaigers win again and head back to Earth. But after the fight, "Mitsuko" takes off the magical disguise to show that it was Me, Magine! (not actually this writer.) with the hope that the bait and switch will get Tojitendo Kikaitopia to leave the other worlds alone, and just focus on them.

No. 28-kai! Weekly Shonen Manga World of Great Illustrations!: Kaito finally got his learner's permit to drive interdimensional ships and is going on a drive with Flint and some of his friends for practice before his big test with the Experienced Driver Flint. Vox has decided that is not his scene and is hanging out at Colorful, on Kaito's dime.

As someone who loves discovery, Vroom has made a big one: Vox is an Otaku. Vox loves him some manga. This is cool since Vroom is also a Manga Sommelier. And so is today's world, Manga World. And Manga World is working on his new hit piece for not-Shonen Jump about the everyday lives of the People of Earth. The pages even move! Now with exclusive Zyuran and Magine chapters! This is a limited edition, so make sure to get yours soon.

Back at Kikaitopia, the entire Tojitendo is still not happy about losing the Eve to their Adam. It'll be fine guys. It's not like there's someone there who'd sell you guys out for one ice cream parfait or something. He's too busy trying to get intel and how to get the father out to really mess with his own dad.

Back at Colorful, the Comics and the Not-Comics are having a conference about how to deal with Manga World. Kaito thinks that because Manga is just "drawing" and "some words" and some "Ink" that anyone can be a Mangaka. That it's sooo easy. This may or may not piss off Vox (and this writer.) about how people think it's so easy to be a Mangaka and storms off. Probably to an art room to make his Manga.

So because plan A didn't work, they go with plan B and buy the latest edition of the most popular manga. And after unbinding the pages of the latest Tankobon of Kimetsu no Yaiba and laying them off on the floor, Manga World starts trying to collect and read the pages. Kaito, thinking he's a ninja tries to steal it while he's reading, only to be caught and sent to the Manga page world. That Limited Edition now has a Kaito Chapter. Only 50 made! (Use the Ninninger or Hurricaneger gear next time.)

But this gives just enough time for Vox to drop ALL of his doujinshi and Original Works onto the floor. The Manga World loves the fact that they're seeing this new work about a pirate in space, looted, in true fashion, from Mangatopia. So much so that Vox does what pirates do best and swipes the limited edition not-Shonen Jump.

Everyone transforms to fight, including the comic pages. And proceed to fight and win, with half of the time acting it out in comic pages. And all the people are freed from their comic pages. I hope you got that limited edition not-Shonen Jump before it was too late.

And while Vox used that manga to save his family, he'd like to get it back now. Too bad Yatsune has ordered that manga back to Mangatopia. If he doesn't tell, will he get to keep it?

#precure #pretty cure #tropical rouge precure #tropical rouge pretty cure #kamen rider #kamen rider revice #kikai sentai zenkaiger #zenkaiger #this is long #very long #shitposting is my passion

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forestwhisper3 · 3 years

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Welcome back to the SI/OC series, where I introduce my various brainchildren. This time around, though, we’re gonna do something a little different. Apart from giving you a couple of pics, I’ll also give you snippets that I’ve written out. This is mostly because I have nothing near resembling an actual fic and have literally just written segments.

It’s kinda long, so click the expand to read on.

So...this SI/OC is one that I’ve had in my head for a while. I mentioned her in one of Klonoadreams’s streams and figured I should probably mention her in this SI/OC series too. She is one of two for the Kingdom Hearts fandom, and when the mood strikes, I try to flesh out her story a little more. Maybe one day I’ll have something publishable. For now, here’s Ignis, a fellow student of Master Eraqus, along with Terra, Aqua, and Ventus:

This is her before everything goes to pot, however. The thing with this SI is that, despite her knowledge of the games, and despite all of her efforts to prevent the events of Birth by Sleep, she still fails. Master Xehanort is not a man easily defeated, after all. So, it is a weary, heartbroken Ignis that finds herself on Destiny Islands after she loses everything yet again...

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'This is...'

I smiled, knowing it was a bit wry in nature. After all, whenever I'd given the thought to being here, I'd never quite pictured it...like this.

"Whoa, you were right! There is another weird person here today!"

I found myself laughing at the comment without meaning to, the reaction startling me and filling me with sorrow all at once. It had felt like ages since I'd laughed so freely...

"Hey...are you okay?"

I looked at the two boys before me, ready to assure them that everything was fine but...the words just didn't want to come out.

"You're crying..."

Fingers touched my cheeks, only to come away wet. How did I not realize...?

I gave a start when I suddenly felt small arms wrap around me, the warmth of the action seeping into the chill that had seemed to settle in me these past days.

"Don't cry," Sora pleaded, his own eyes staring earnestly into my own. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

If my next laugh was mixed with a sob, I didn't think any of us would tell.

"You already have," I told him once I'd calmed down, making sure my smile was gentle.

"Really?"

"Yes. I think a hug was just what I needed. Thank you."

"Oh! I'm glad! I don't like seeing people sad."

I smiled, the warmth continuing to spread as I studied him. I'd thought...it would be strange to see them as children while not being the same age, but...this felt right.

Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.

"My name is Ignis," I began softly, "and I come from somewhere far from these shores."

"I knew it," Riku piped up. "You're from the outside world! Just like-...uhh..."

I chuckled a bit at his attempts to back up, clearly not wanting to break his promise.

"Going by your comment earlier, I'll have to assume you've met Terra or Aqua?"

"Yeah! Miss Aqua was nice!"

"Terra was too," Riku added.

"And he left you with something special," I finished.

"Err...yeah."

"What?! He gave you a present!? No fair!"

"Hey now, don't get upset. What's your name?"

"Sora!"

"Sora..." I put my hand out, smiling at his gasp when my Keyblade appeared. "Terra entrusted your friend with something very special because he must have seen something in him...just like I see it in you."

It wasn't just because I knew what was to come. Riku's light was...amazing- there was no doubt about that. But Sora-...Sora gave off his own light too. A light so warm, and loving, and kind that it chased away the darkness and made me feel safe. I know the games had always made Sora's light out to be something special, but...Being able to feel it, and knowing that both Aqua and Terra had passed him up for one reason or another made me want to cry all over again at the injustice of it all.

Sora would not be the backup plan. Not if I had anything to say about it.

"In your hand, take this key..."

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"Master!/Master Ignis!"

I groaned, turning over in my cot and doing my best to block out their yells and subsequent pounding at my door.

"Master!"

I yelped when a large weight practically threw itself upon me, sighing at the sound of Sora's giggles and Riku's snickers. Still, it wasn't quite enough to stop the smile that tugged on the edge of my lips.

"Alright, alright, I'm up. What are you two doing here so early anyway?"

Sora propped his chin up on his hands from his position on top of me and grinned. "It's not early. You just slept in!"

"Yeah...I thought adults were supposed to be responsible and stuff."

Riku laughed when I threw a pillow in his direction.

"You're lucky I like you," I said without any real heat.

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"This form was a particular favorite of Master Eraqus," I began, smiling slightly when I saw how much Sora and Riku were struggling to remain in position. "Not so much one of ours."

"I-...I can't feel my legs!"

"Don't tell me you-...you can't handle it, Sora!"

"Your legs are shaking too!"

I felt a laugh bubble up. God, those two really were like-

A sharp pang shot through me, and despite my best efforts, it left me feeling desolate all over again.

'I'll see them again. I know I will...but...twelve years is a long time.'

And I would be the only one to actually age.

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"Kairi, I understand that you don't like fighting like Sora and Riku do. Really. But...Keyblades don't just go to anyone- you have to be chosen. The fact that you have one...will you at least learn the basics? You don't have to use them, but you'll know them. Just in case."

She mulled it over for a while, before nodding.

"Thank you," I sighed out with a relieved smile.

"It...means a lot to you...doesn't it."

Despite my efforts to the contrary, the question made me freeze. By this point, the boys had given up any pretenses of being busy and were watching in unabashed curiosity. With a welling sadness that hadn't really dulled these past years and an ache in my heart, I nodded.

"It does," I confirmed quietly. "But more than that, I just want you three to be safe. To know how to take care of yourselves if-...Anyway, this is the best I can do."

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"Master Ignis, when-...when is Master Terra coming back?"

The question, sudden and unexpected as it was (though I really should have seen it coming), hit hard. All of a sudden, it felt like there was a vice-like grip around my heart, and I flinched so violently that there was no way I could have hidden the reaction.

And Riku- who was so clever and so observant that I was constantly reminded of Aqua -didn't fail to catch on.

"...He's not coming back. And...Master Aqua isn't either."

There was a deep hurt in his eyes, and hints of betrayal. All three of them were aware of how the relationship between Masters and students worked by now, which meant that they knew that despite the fact I was teaching all of them, only Sora was my true apprentice. The rightful heir of my teachings, so to speak.

"Oh, Riku," I breathed out, feeling that all too familiar twist of my heart, though this time, it was accompanied by the sharp sting of tears. "They-...They can't."

Riku blinked, the hurt look being replaced by a questioning one. A few feet back, Sora and Kairi watched on, too hesitant to get closer, but not enough to leave their friend completely.

I sighed, and if there was a breath of a sob mixed in, well, no one would know but me.

"Come on...I think it's time I told you."

They were young yet, but if I didn't tell them now, I didn't think I'd ever work up the strength to do it.

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"...When I finally managed to get back to Radiant Garden, there was no sign of Terra or Aqua- the only hint of their fate being the lingering chill in that courtyard. I-...I can only assume they were dragged into the Realm of Darkness. I spent the next few months searching for a way to get to them, as well as keeping an eye out for Ventus, but..."

"...You didn't find either," Riku finished sadly.

"No. Eventually, I found myself here, on these islands. When I saw you, I-...I knew that I couldn't leave. It would have been the height of negligence and cruelty to move on- to leave you ignorant of the legacy you bear. I knew Terra well enough to say that he had every intention of coming back for you, but since he can't, I will do my best to train you in his stead."

He was silent for a while, mulling it over. Finally, he nodded.

"Thank you for telling me, Master Ignis."

"What about Kairi?" Sora asked, his head tilted. "If Mister Terra chose Riku, and you chose me, who chose Kairi?"

"That would be Aqua," I told them. "Just like I could feel Terra's claim on Riku, I can feel Aqua's on Kairi."

"...I don't remember," Kairi said.

"Perhaps it's one of the things you've forgotten," I told her gently, even though I knew that even if she had remembered her meeting with Aqua, she still wouldn't have known when she was given the power. "But even if the mind forgets, the heart remembers."

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The stars were disappearing.

I looked up at the night sky, unease settling in my stomach as I watched another one blink out of existence. It was the third one this week, and while I now knew that some stars actually were just stars in this universe, I also knew that those weren't what was going out.

Xehanort was on the move again.

I'd been wondering about it for a while- mostly since the finer details of the games had slipped from my memory as the years passed -whether or not his plan had some sort of deadline he needed to meet. It seemed I'd gotten my answer. The question now, however, was how were things going to play out.

I was under no delusions that I hadn't derailed things. I had not only trained Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but I had actively done my best to keep them hidden. My unease mostly stemmed from worry over whether it had been enough. If it hadn't, then odds were that Xehanort was going to be paying a visit to the islands soon.

Just the thought of it made my blood run cold.

Ten years, and it still didn't feel like I'd had enough time. I had known what was going to happen, and I hadn't been able to stop it. It had taken everything Terra, Aqua, Ventus and I had had to fight him, and we'd still lost. This time, I was alone. If he came-...

If he came, I probably wasn't going to make it out alive.

I swallowed, feeling my eyes burn as I continued to stare up at the sky. Years ago, that was all I could have hoped for. Anything to escape the agony brought about by losing everything yet again. Now, however...

"Miss Ignis!"

"Master Ignis!"

"Master!"

I found that...I didn't want to go.

"Master...?"

I sighed, a small, wry smile making its way onto my face at the voice. He would be the one to run into me tonight, wouldn't he?

"You should be asleep, Sora," I scolded, though anyone could tell it was halfhearted at best.

"I can't," he said, settling down next to me.

"You should at least try," I told him. "You've got a big day tomorrow."

His grin was just as bright now as it was when I'd first met him.

"That's exactly why!" he exclaimed, turning his gaze up to the night sky. "We've always heard the stories, but to know that we'll actually get to go out there! To see other worlds! It's amazing!"

I couldn't help the fond smile that slipped onto my face at that. He was so much like them, and yet, the warmth he always seemed to instill was unique to him alone.

I hoped that by nurturing it in him, I'd thrown Xehanort's, and even the mysterious Master of Master's, plans awry.

"But," Sora continued, his much more subdued and hesitant tone instantly drawing my attention, "there's...something I've been meaning to ask."

"What is it?"

"If-...If Riku hadn't been chosen when you first got here...or if Kairi had already been with us and not chosen by Master Aqua...would you have still chosen me?"

I blinked, honestly taken aback at the question. "What?"

He seemed a bit more embarrassed now, but the question still seemed to be weighing him down. "It's just- since you've started teaching us how to sense light and darkness in others, me an' Kairi noticed that Riku's...bright. Like, really bright. Then I noticed later that I couldn't sense any darkness in Kairi, and I just-...I couldn't help but think that-...that I-..."

"That you were chosen only because they were first."

He winced and I felt my heart twist painfully at his small nod.

"Sora, no," I told him, perhaps a bit too vehemently, but maybe that would make him listen more. "No, that's not it at all."

I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and waited until he was looking back at me to continue. "Sora, even if I'd had the option, I still would have chosen you. Precisely because you are you."

"Because...I'm me?"

I smiled. "Maybe Riku's a bit brighter, and maybe Kairi's a bit purer, but you...You want to know what I see when I look at you?"

He hesitated for a moment, probably afraid of what I might say, but nodded in the end.

"I see a warm light. Soft and gentle, like a sunset on the beach. It was that very light that reached out to me ten years ago, and pulled me back from the abyss I could feel myself starting to slip into. Sora, I wasn't kidding when I said your hug was just what I needed. That warmth- your warmth -kept me from ending up just like the others."

He blinked rapidly, his eyes becoming glassy with tears, and I sighed softly before throwing an arm around his shoulders and pulling him close. Even after all I'd done, Sora had still ended up doubting himself and his place as a Keyblade wielder. Still, at least this had happened now, when I could set him straight, as opposed to later, when I...might not be around.

"...Do you really mean that?" he asked quietly.

"I do," I reassured him. "Never doubt yourself, Sora. If you ever find yourself feeling low just remember this:

I chose, and would always choose, you. Not Riku. Not Kairi. You. Because you are kind, and cheerful, and strong- even if you may not believe it at times. You also have something special that they don't: a warm light that welcomes all. A light that shelters and heals. I know, without a doubt, that you will do great things. Amazing things." I smiled down at him, my heart lightening at the small smile on his face as he looked back. "And you trust your master, don't you? So trust in me now."

"...Okay."

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Sora watched with growing concern as his master paled. His gaze fell onto the figure behind her, his eyes widening when he realized it was the man in the cloak he'd spoken with just yesterday.

"I must admit to some surprise," the man continued, seemingly unaffected by the storm that raged around them. "I thought I'd gotten rid of all of Eraqus's pupils, yet here you are- with students of your own, no less..."

She stiffened, finally whirling around to face him with a glare. "You will get nowhere near them, Xehanort!"

Suddenly the gravity of the danger was clear, and going by how Riku and Kairi seemed to freeze right next to him, they realized it too.

Xehanort. The man who was responsible for all of the bad things that had happened to Master Ignis and her friends. Because of him, Mister Terra couldn't be here to teach Riku, and Miss Aqua and Ventus were lost somewhere.

It was because of him that his master was so sad and lonely.

Even his laugh was sending chills down his spine. "Is that so? You may have ten more years under your belt, girl, but you're still nowhere close to my level."

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...To be continued?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Maybe I’ll post snippets of my other, as of yet, unpublished SI/OC fics if you all like this well enough. I leave you with a picture of how Ignis looks at the end of these snippets, or rather, at the beginning of the events of KH1:

#SI/OC series #Ignis #Hearts- fanfic #Yeah I have a title for the fic despite not having much of a plot #Story snippets #Storytime with ForestWhisper3 #Brought to you by my brain

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mimiplaysgames · 4 years

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A Powerful Enough Dream (Ch. 3)

Pairing: Terra/Aqua (eventually) Rating: T Word Count: 9,275

Summary: Too many people need Aqua’s help, and if she’s going to do her job as a Keyblade Master, she’s going to have to set aside her personal needs to pull them through... Only to find that something is not entirely alright with her.

Read on AO3

A/N: Ahhhh, I've never meant to ignore this particular fic for so long. ^^;; In all honesty, aside from so many other things going on in my life (I went on hiatus and am due for another, I was dedicated to other projects and I just got accepted into another zine ;-; and there was my stupid, broken computer which is now replaced! :D), I really dreaded writing this one. When I announced that I was splitting this story in two fics, I knew I dug a grave for myself. There is no way to fix this chapter without rewriting the first one entirely, but I figured it was much more important to get started Aqua on her journey and I need this loose end tied as soon as possible. If you're new to this story, I'm sorry this chapter is so bad - I'm totally aware, I promise. I've tried my hardest to make this side-quest as sensible as possible.

****

Crazy

His heart beats hard, fast, irregular, and it's about to collapse.

He doesn't hear how ragged his breath is, running as desperately as he is, and he ignores how much his muscles are screaming for rest.

Then there's the headache. That's the one thing Terra is mindful of.

He trips.

The Realm of Darkness doesn't make it easy, not with how rough it shapes its terrain, like it tripped him on purpose. Cobblestones not fitting well together. Pits in the dirt. Rocks hidden in tall grass where he won't notice.

Flashes of light burst somewhere far behind. It's too foggy to see what's going on. Terra spits sweat out of his lips.

There are eyes - a pair wedged right next to a pebble, near enough to grab his fingers. Another in the hollow trunk of a tree. And one more in the distance, in the direction he was heading, and now he has to choose another way and pray he doesn't fall off a cliff.

Behind him, he hears bubbling, the same sickly sound that always announces the arrival of Heartless.

It simmers across his back and he grabs whatever landed on him and throws it as hard as he can and he summons Ends of the Earth -

But can't. He hasn't been able to, not since he left the beach.

Not since he saw a flash of light and Aqua was gone, sent home to her freedom like she deserves. Not since some tall men in dark, hooded cloaks appeared out of nowhere in the sandy shores. Organization members. They wanted to kidnap him.

Terra had to choose between waiting for his friends to come back in dangerous waters, or running away.

When he can turn back into Xehanort at any moment.

He chose to run.

And now he's surrounded without a Keyblade. He thinks about Xemnas, and even though he's tired, and even though his stomach hurts, he takes that brief memory of what it feels like to be numb, to be detached and disheartened, and waves his hands in a sweep against the earth and flies them upward.

A barrier shoots erect - but not just any protective shield, an offensive one. The type that electrifies the Heartless that ram into it, and sends them flying backwards. The kind only a Nobody can summon.

He conjures more - two by his side, another behind him - to force these damn things to back off, and he escapes when he's had enough -

Tripping again when the Realm tricks a hill to look like a straight path and oops, there he goes, falling in air, rolling against dry dirt and tumbling until he finally halts.

It's dark down here. The headache will split his scalp open.

"No," he grumbles, running fingers through his hair and he wants to rip the strands off. "I can't control-"

His limbs go rigid. "No," he says again. He wants to make sure Xehanort hears him loud and clear.

Terra cannot summon his armor anymore for that matter, since Xehanort has clouded both in darkness. They should be in arms' reach, waiting peacefully in his heart, ready to come at his will… but it's like his Keyblade can't see or hear him either.

He manages a small sob when he loses control of his arms - which are quite literally, moving on their own to grip at his legs.

The taste of loss is bitter, as prickly as the tree roots ripping out of the earth and tangling around him. It's like the Realm sees what he's going through, and wants to point and laugh. They squeeze, tightening so his bones can't reply, and he's left to allow them to drag him.

But light is warm and always there - because without it, there wouldn't be any shadows. It shines like a halo, making the roots writhe and wrinkle away, letting him go, letting him breathe. It eases his headache, which he knows won't last forever, but finally… relief.

"Mickey?"

Two large, yellow shoes - big enough to belong to a clown - step in front of him, a pair of comically round ears leering over him with a huge smile. Mickey is the physical embodiment of a hearth, of everything that makes children happy in the outside world, a complete mismatched reflection of the twisted underground of the Realm.

"Slipped, did ya?" he squeaked.

"Maybe," Terra scoffs, just able to move a finger to trace the dirt. It feels so real.

As real as Aqua's skin when he held her - he held her. That was real. And she escaped. Terra considers this a success, a wish fulfilled, to stay behind so she could taste food again.

… Terra didn't even get a chance to tell her about his feelings. He chickened out in the last minute.

She's smart. She'll free Ven, too. And Terra will drag Xehanort to drown in the darkness together.

If he can manage to keep control of his body that is.

Mickey's Keyblade now dons some new chinks and chips.

If they continue this way, neither of them will last much longer. Terra has already woken up a couple of times, right in the middle of a duel with Mickey, a silver Keyblade high in the air and ready to strike, only for Terra to realize what he's holding and drops it. It's flashes of moments that in reality may have lasted only minutes but seem much longer. If Xehanort keeps hacking away, Mickey's Keyblade will break.

And then Terra won't have anyone left to help him.

But it hurts, that headache.

"Chin up, Terra," Mickey says, surveying where they should head to next.

The fog dissipates and gives them two paths: one paved with a line of lanterns illuminating the way, the other a rocky uphill hike into a forest.

"I… need to rest," Terra breathes, wanting to take back the words. If he rests, he'll lose control again.

"Aww, Terra, don't worry."

"I'll hurt you again." He chokes on a whimper, the headache roaring this time. "I don't know how Aqua survived years of this…"

Hands take hold of his shoulders, and this small mouse, barely as tall as his knees, takes Terra's entire weight onto his shoulders to sit him up. "Remember, I got ya."

"What are we going to do? I can't summon my Keyblade anymore and I just don't-"

Terra doesn't know what to say. I just don't know if I can keep waiting for anyone to come back?

"Well," Mickey muses, "we'll have to keep moving."

Thanks, Captain Obvious.

"I don't know how you do it, either."

"I don't have Xehanort weighing me down, and I think that makes you pretty strong. Don't be so hard on yourself."

"This place doesn't make you sad?"

"If I think about it…" A frown on Mickey's face is ill-fitting. "But we don't have time for that."

Funny, since the Realm will be sure to give them all the time it has to offer. The Realm will be sure to give them reasons to stay.

Maybe it's darkness creeping in, or maybe Terra had enough of reality to taste - it's sour.

"I don't see how anyone is going to find us," he says.

Mickey is silent for a moment.

"I had an old friend," he starts, "who used to have a motto he lived his life by."

He holds a fist up, and releases each of his four fingers with every rule: "'First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare.' To honor him, I have to believe that every step we take will get us closer to freedom."

As if to prove a point, he faces Terra, and finishes with, "I think that's what helped Aqua last this long down here."

Condensed simply, those all sound like tenants of a Keyblade wielder.

"Was your friend a gentle man?" Terra asks.

Mickey smiles with a shrug to his shoulder. "Ohoho, he also said something to the effect of, 'You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.'"

"... It makes you stronger." How often has his own Master said the same thing? The Realm will kick him when he's already down, and he's supposed to stand on his own two feet and carry on like it doesn't hurt.

"Something like that." Mickey points to the rocky uphill hike. "My heart tells me this will be the safer way to go. C'mon Terra. How's about we keep going? Our friends think about us all the time, and they will light our way."

Terra grunts like his legs hate him, and he rolls his neck. It helps soothe the headache.

"Okay."

It starts with the suggestion by a simple-minded mouse, and Terra gets on his feet, fighting off dizziness, to face more odd nights.

****

The clock still hasn't struck ten and if the way her legs are shaking are any indication of how… is annoyed is the right word? Anxious?

Impatient. Aqua keeps crossing her legs and checks the time, and for a second she thinks she's back in the Realm of Darkness when she swears the minute hand went backwards.

The lights in the lobby are dim, the carpet as red as a deep wound. The chair she's lounging in is comfortable at least, but it nags at her back and she's desperate to move. She's still in the hotel, her heart torn by her duty to the people she swore to protect, nowhere near Ventus, nowhere near Terra, nowhere near anywhere she truthfully wants to be. If it continues to tear in opposite directions, will her heart break in two?

Rydia is also slouched in a lounge chair of her own, and has a radio playing, the static clearing to the lullaby of an accordion and violin. Their story is a long trek through a city filled with the lights of a harp, guided by the sad, gentle canals of a tuba. The violin abandons the accordion, and the tuba reassures the accordion, and it's lonely until they all reunite powerfully at the end of a long night.

Rydia is dressed stunning as always, her empire sleeves in gold trimming piling on top of the floor as she braids and unbraids her long green hair, a gentle smile on her face as she eases into her chair, losing herself to the song.

Everyone around Aqua is either doing two things: hustling to wherever they need to be - the infirmary, the battlefield, to their families - or, they linger, living out the seconds until Kefka comes.

Until Kefka comes: that is what is on everyone's mind, and Aqua can't bear to pass more than a second of thought to it.

But she'll stand corrected when the clock finally hits ten, and after ten strikes from the clock tower, here come the sirens.

They wail at first, getting louder which every passing vibration until she can't hear anything else, and she feels Rydia getting stiff right next to her. The sirens keep blaring.

They quiet, only to come back around and Aqua realizes the town is desperate because there won't be a place that could possibly escape the sound. They need her help. Terra and Ven need her help. Too many people need her help.

Focus, Aqua.

Silence, and her heart still drums in her ear.

"I swear that clock tower is haunted," Rydia says, slowly letting out breath as if letting it go all at once would make too much noise. The music sounds softer, as if the sirens had intimidated it, and Rydia leans over to bring her ears closer. "It always knows when to interrupt the best parts."

When Aqua stares at her with uneasy eyes, Rydia continues, "Don't worry, you'll get used to it."

Aqua never wants to hear them again.

The bustling energy in the hotel took pause during the sirens, and is now at full speed again - maybe even faster, knowing the minutes are ticking. Kefka arrives at eleven. One hour.

Cid barges through, keeping the double doors to the lobby open with a lit cigarette pursed in his lips, and a scowl worse than his usual attitude. "Incomin'."

In comes a tall, blond man with ridiculously spiky hair, and a giant blade strapped to his back (giant is an understatement), dragging carts of wooden boxes, throwing them open to reveal potions - as much as a store inventory.

Aqua recognizes him faintly from the night she came through the Door to Light... and suddenly she feels that twist in her gut, a sweaty coldness that only comes with what she must be most familiar with at this point.

Darkness. This man has the trace of it… and Cid is helping him like no one is in danger and Rydia is welcoming him like he's a friend.

The man pauses his hyper-focus when he sees Aqua, the severe look on his face softening with… pity.

"You're Aqua, right?" he asks her.

"That's right." She hates the way he's looking at her. "And you're…?"

"Cloud." Here it comes. "I'm sorry about Terra."

She has to remind herself that people mean well (and once she frees Terra, everyone will stop trying to apologize to her).

"Thank you," she says and she's relieved she doesn't sound ungrateful.

Cloud looks away at first, minorly distracted by Cid's grumbling about how they only have one ram left for the fight. Then he stands up, approaching Aqua.

"I was really torn up when I heard," Cloud says, uneasy like it's weird for him to be so open-hearted, "but I respect his decision. He has a good head on his shoulders."

Then he extends his hand to her. "Welcome to the team, Aqua."

Cloud has a gentle half-smile on his face, and darkness extends its hand, expecting her to shake it.

She's expected to be polite and she tries - she really wants to try - but her hand limps in his firm shake. Cloud gets the message, dropping his own and turning over his shoulder. "I'll be at the site," he tells Cid. "Hurry it up."

Cid groans, and saying out of ear shot, "Kid swears he's a hot shot."

Aqua rolls her lips inward.

"You alright?" Rydia asks, leaning forward.

"He has darkness." It's impolite to say, but Aqua has little patience to play with the dark.

Rydia cocks an eyebrow, her gray eyes searching for a proper explanation. "Your point? We all harbor darkness within ourselves."

"That is true, but… it's not normal to be able to sense it."

Rydia sits back, nodding to what she's understanding. "I suppose Cloud has been through so much, considering… what I don't understand is why it has to be such a black and white issue."

"What do you mean?"

"Where I come from, darkness isn't considered to be evil, at least among mages. We have white and black magic, but it has more to do with how you wield them. Darkness alone says nothing of your character."

Then Rydia smiles, to prove her point. "I trust Cloud with my life."

Aqua supposes she's being unfair - after all, her reflection has proven to her countless times that there are cracks within her very own heart, and it's unrealistic to believe they have all been sealed and darkness-proof.

There's been a lot of nights when Aqua had wondered if she should end it, pierce her chest with her Master's Keyblade and let the ocean take her. What darker sadness could there be besides that?

And then there's Terra… he has darkness, and maybe it's strong but it's always outshined by his spirit. He will always be a good person.

"Cloud, the sad hero," Cid gruffs, pulling potions out onto tables so everyone who passes by can easily pack them. "Basque in his greatness when he feels sorry for you."

Rydia takes a sleeve her mouth to cover her chuckles. "Where is this coming from?"

"He's more depressin' than an opera." He takes a puff of smoke. "But eh, I can respect 'im. He gets shit done."

Cid glances over to the hallway, suddenly switching gears and gives the two girls a fair warning: "Look sharp."

It's for Garnet's arrival, who is followed closely by Lulu, the organizer of the orphanage... So she hasn't followed the children to safety after all.

Garnet walks like she's on air, the most feminine Aqua has ever seen, her head held high like she's not as small as she really is, her hair and her bubble sleeves floating like there's a breeze that only graces her presence. Her heart is determined and open, embracing what's to come.

Lulu has her arms crossed, her face contorted in annoyance and a touch of impeccable, heavy makeup, her fur and leather-trimmed gown trailing long behind her. She walks with responsibility, but her heart doesn't want to accept what's going on around her.

"You're going to find me hard to submit, Your Highness," Lulu says, her voice as serious as her disposition.

Garnet whips around. "What you propose is preposterous."

"Your point?" Lulu scoffs. "I didn't stay behind to let you do what you please. I'm speaking for what is best for everyone else."

Garnet huffs. As if to end the conversation, she pretends to organize through potions even though they are all the same color, handing over some to Lulu, taking more for the battle ahead.

Lulu apprehensively accepts, and proposes something: "When the children want to win an argument, they play a game called Snap. Winner gets the final word."

"Is that so?"

"It's a game of magical prowess. Hold a coin flat in between both palms, and you fight to keep it."

Garnet straightens up, understanding exactly the kind of filibustering Lulu is trying to do, and extends her hand, gesturing to be given something. "Let's have it, then."

Out of Lulu's bra comes a large silver coin. She holds the coin together with Garnet's palm, like they are slapping it in place. Visually, nothing seems to be happening as their faces lose themselves to concentration, but Aqua recognizes the energy in the air: there is magic bustling in between their fingertips, and whoever exercises more willpower gets to keep the coin.

"Now," Lulu says and they pull hands apart like they're avoiding harm.

It takes a moment to process, and Garnet flips her fingers to reveal that the coin has stayed with her. Whether it's beginner's luck or she's that more skillful, Aqua doesn't know enough to figure.

"I've won," Garnet announces.

"Except you've lost," Lulu says with dejection, with concern, with stern ambition. She hovers over to Rydia's side.

Rydia has cast her eyes downward, avoiding the game altogether, a profound look of guilt betraying her need to keep a straight face.

Three women standing on one side of the room with Garnet opposing them.

It's enough for Cid, who's sitting on his own away from the drama, to throw his hands in the air, as if saying this isn't worth the trouble. "Women."

"What is going on?" Aqua asks.

Her interruption makes Garnet jump, but the princess ignores the question.

So Lulu answers, her tone as exasperated as her eye roll. "Garnet thinks she can get away with sacrificing herself."

"You haven't left me with much choice," Garnet says, sending a glance over to Rydia. "I have been blessed with more time to be there for those in need of me. And yet, I have to do what is best for my people, and I cannot sit idly by to watch you play the sacrifice on my behalf."

Aqua stands up. "I don't understand what you're implying." Except she does understand. She just refuses that there's any justification to it.

Garnet breathes, ignoring Lulu's scoff. "Kefka demands female mages… Turn them into Heartless or else it will continue to haunt us every single night, and I cannot have this when we are in the middle of evacuations. I must ensure the safety of my peers."

Garnet then holds a hand to her heart. "Speak of nothing to Noctis. He'd never leave me out of his sight if he knew."

Hands gripped into themselves, shaking her head, Aqua groans and doesn't know what to say. "Riku never…" Said anything to me.

Just to stay behind and protect the hotel, out of real harm's way without giving her a choice.

So Aqua sets her sights. "Kefka is supposed to come every other night, right?"

"That is correct."

"So you'll buy one night with your life?"

"...Yes. We are the last ones." She gestures to herself, Lulu, and Rydia.

The entire room is quiet, weighed down by the severity of what was said.

They are the last ones, and does it matter really which order they get taken out, one by one?

It's not fair. It's ridiculous, and Aqua, Keyblade Master, is not going to tolerate it.

"Your Highness," she says, "I don't mean to show disrespect, but I think you should listen more to your peers."

Rydia leans forward, like she's looking for a speck of hope. Lulu thanks some force out there that someone around here is speaking reason.

"What would have me do, Master Aqua?" Garnet asks gently. "Shall I be content in my path to survival while those who've paved it for me waste away?"

Aqua swallows hard. The job of a Keybearer will sometimes have easy missions, and sometimes impossible ones, but they are all equal in the importance of saving lives. This decision is a no-brainer.

Even if they buy just one more night of peace, Terra is rotting and Aqua has to get going. Ventus is waiting and she promised…

"If Kefka wants a female mage, I'll give it one," she says, starting to head to the exit.

Garnet drops her jaw. "Are you mad? In your condition?"

"I don't have a condition." Aqua stops at the ornately carved wooden doors, and turns to face everyone in the room. "Cid, can you take my place in protecting the hotel?"

It's not just Aqua and the other mages squaring themselves against Garnet's judgment - Cid proudly dusts off his shoulders, nodding. "Better than facing that crazy clown."

Crazy clown doesn't seem to cut it as an appropriate nickname for the terror everyone around Aqua is feeling.

Aqua glances over to Rydia, who is still healing from a wound. "You need to always be by her side. Rydia, are you okay with this?"

Rydia has fire in her eyes, grabbing her longstaff and using it to keep herself standing. "I don't need to move much to destroy Heartless. I'm strong, and I'll stay."

"You're either really naive, or really powerful," Lulu says to Aqua. "I'll take my chances. I'll follow." She picks her potions like she's heard good news, taking her place across the room.

Garnet stands silent, defeated, with an expression that makes Aqua feel horrible, as though the Keyblade Master is really asking the princess to commit to something that is extraordinarily difficult and painful.

This morning, she had such a bright light within her that her healing touch shone white. Now it's dim, her eyes an empty black.

"It's my job to protect you," Aqua says, attempting to comfort her.

And Garnet only stares, like she doesn't believe it. Like she's faced this too many times, and knows from experience that they will all lose.

****

By the way she breaknecks towards the third district, Aqua can feel the clock ticking, even though the tower is quiet.

She takes long strides, stepping on the occasional puddle, leaving a poor Garnet to jog with her short legs in order to keep up. Traverse Town is decorated in lights, but it's otherwise a vacation town for ghosts. No one to dream about fancy jewelry, to admire the latest fashion, to salivate at the aroma of tonight's dinner.

The third district would have been a sight if it wasn't already halfway-destroyed - debris piling on colorful electrical wiring, lanterns that have been bent in half, a water fountain that has been blown open, and apartment homes with all the lights off, wind blowing through curtains. No one lives here anymore.

In the place of a bustling modern district are a bunch of wooden crates, tossed around between people to gather potions and weapons. ...It's a lot of fighters for one Heartless. Aqua would make the fourth Keyblade wielder up against this thing.

A part of her has this sudden apprehension to take another step forward - these people follow her now, swayed by her confidence that all of their worries will end tonight.

What if she has given them false hope?

Could she cope with it?

It's cold. Someone is watching her.

Aqua recognizes this feeling, since she's been faced with it for the better part of twelve years. There's already Heartless here, and she looks every which way to see if she could spot them hiding among the shadows.

Whatever is there is already studying the people gathering here, honing on the way Garnet and Lulu stride towards the middle of the square, pleased by how frantic people are rushing to finish preparations.

She whips around to find the clock tower in the distance, a great vantage point for anyone to stalk from. It's twenty past ten, but…

It's very cold.

Kefka is already here. It's just waiting for the time to start.

It's a sick situation, Kefka twirling these terrorized people in its fingers.

Aqua's expecting to find a certain pair of yellow eyes that would normally come from feral demons, but a different pair perks up when he sees her arriving to the third district.

And they belong to none other than Lea. She is surprised that he even cares that much.

Or maybe he's just really dramatic, but something about the twitch of his lips tells her that he isn't exactly pleased with her presence there.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he says with a smirk, feigning surprise and she doesn't know why he tries so hard to plant certain impressions on other people.

Aqua has no other answer for him except the obvious: "I have to help."

The facade in his eyes flicker out like a lighter turning off. He places his hands on his waist, letting himself be more honest, yet still keeping a hot air of distance between them. "Are you sure it's a good idea for you to fight something this malicious?"

The nerve of him. "I've faced more nightmares than anyone has ever slept with. I can take care of myself."

"Even after what Terra went through to get you back? Do you think that's fair to him?"

Aqua stammers. It isn't fair to drag Terra into this… "I don't need your permission to fight."

She leaves him with his mouth wide-open, searching for words and failing to find them.

Which only leaves her hearing the words, "She's just as dense as him!" fading behind her. It makes her smirk. Terra hasn't changed - when he has his mind set, he can become the worst kind of stubborn, as immovable as a boulder.

On her way to the middle of the square, past some men mapping out the upper levels where long-range fighters should situate, Aqua finds two particular individuals in one of the highest balconies who take way too much interest in watching her.

A well-dressed man, impeccably so, his silk sleeves a clean white like he's never been to battle, bracelets like he appreciates the finer things in life, and an exquisite embroidered vest like he can afford it, and a rifle sitting casually on his shoulder. He's not the one who initially took an interest in her - he only does so when his partner whispers to him about her arrival.

Said partner is a dark-skinned woman, with long, stark white hair that reaches her thighs, and jackrabbit ears stretching high into the sky out of her helmet. It only makes her look taller, taller than the well-dressed man, taller than Terra. Something about this woman makes Aqua wonder if she's seen her before, but this is no time to sit and think about it - that can wait until later. This rabbit-woman immediately takes notice of Aqua, tightening her grip on her bow.

Now there are two more pairs of eyes watching Aqua's back as she continues onward, out of ear-shot of whatever their opinions are.

Aqua comes across Cloud and Noctis, the latter with a clipboard filled with a checklist to make sure everything is in order. Occasionally he asks Cloud about the setup. Garnet and Lulu are already making laps around the square to check in on their sole wooden ram - Aqua gets the sense that Garnet is avoiding her, and Lulu is only following to make sure she doesn't do anything drastic.

Without really looking at Cloud in the eye, Aqua reaches over to hold Noctis' elbow firmly. "Make sure to keep an eye on Garnet," she says softly.

Noctis stammers before getting grim, and he's disappointed. He looks over his shoulder, where he sees Garnet cheerfully speak to a man like nothing is wrong and no foul plans are being made.

"Make that four eyes," Cloud says, smirking, and Aqua can't bring herself to smile back.

"Thanks for the warning," Noctis says. "She never learns."

… That's the weird thing about the people here. There's so much sadness, in Noctis' eyes, in Cloud's, in Garnet's… and they try smiling anyway like they're tricking themselves. Aqua doesn't remember if she's ever really smiled the entire time she's been in the Realm of Darkness.

Maybe once, when she saw apparitions of Terra and Ventus, but when they disappeared, she reasoned that she was being too hopeful. That it was never really truly a smile, because she can only give one around the people she loves. Not ghosts.

How grateful she is that a super-friendly face comes running up to her, bright (huge) yellow shoes splish-splashing through puddles to greet her, Donald and Goofy closeby.

"What are you doing here?" Sora asks, skidding to a stop.

Aqua really wishes people would stop questioning her drive. "Where is Riku?"

Sora takes a pause, his eyes darting for a moment towards the ground. "He's not here yet."

So it's not four Keybearers against Kefka, but three.

A faint thought nags at the back of her mind again. "He never told me about the female mages."

Sora's eyes widen, like he forgot that detail. But he lets it melt away into a small smile. "Riku hides stuff from me, too, sometimes."

"You've fought it before? Kefka?" Aqua searches his eyes for the truth, and she realizes that she actually sounds apprehensive.

She could fail this mission. It wouldn't be the first.

"Ah, phooey!" Donald scoffs, waving his arms like he's shooing a gnat. He's in a really bad mood, and how can he not when he's stuck here for duty's sake just like everyone else? "It's just a clown."

Sora brightens up, a triumphant fist in his palm. "We have a good team here."

His smile is ill-fitting because it's genuine. Nothing like the others who try to hide their fear, but he makes his out of immense faith. Sora's light is powerful, and… rare, Aqua thinks.

"We do," she says, remembering Ven's smile. Something about Sora reminds Aqua that there are reasons to look forward to happier times.

But everything pleasant is short-lived, and maybe that's a sad fact of life.

Someone screams. Points to the clock tower.

The minute hand speeds up, gaining velocity towards the top of the eleventh hour.

It takes three strikes of the bells for everyone to decide whether this is a joke or it's actually happening early.

Two more strikes for Noctis to yell, "Get aggressive! Stay alive!"

Three more for Garnet to whisper a spell that shines a light upon every single person in the area, and another two for Aqua to witness a faint crystal wrap and spin around her before fading away.

A protection spell, something completely unique and rare. Garnet's light is pure and blinding.

One more and it strikes eleven. Ten minutes to do the job or Kefka walks for another night.

The bubbling that signals the arrival of Heartless gargles, a dark mass growing and growing and growing to the size of a building, before an enormous clown steps down, shaking the ground underneath its mismatched shoes and socks.

It laughs, piercing like a speaker is about to blow her ears. Aqua clutches her heart, protecting it from ripping out of her chest - everyone else is gripping their heads like they're containing a massive migraine.

Kefka leans forward just to take a peek at Aqua, its stupid-looking collar a vomit-inducing mix of yellow and red, three swords carried on each shoulder, its white mask welded onto its dark face, bright yellow eyes in circles wide and without lids, a smile painted and screwed together -

And two huge gashes diagonally across its shield of a face, exposing the skin of a shadow underneath.

They all have been saying this thing is impenetrable. Sure.

Aqua summons her Master's Defender.

The clown's hands shiver, and its jaw widens just like a machine - it lets out a screech that sounds like gears out of control, getting louder and louder like Kefka is offended by her weapon.

And it cuts off.

A cleaver flies into its face, knocking it out of place. There's no way someone has that kind of strength but there is Noctis appearing out of nowhere in its tail, like the weapon is a destination. He strikes and Kefka barely blocks it with its forearm. Noctis throws his cleaver elsewhere, and wherever it appears he warps to. He sends a spear to strike Kefka's shoulder. Disappears. A sword, and then Noctis again, attempting to jab the clown in the eye.

Either way, Noctis stays up high, distracting the clown from doing anything else, like a fly determined to be annoying.

"Light!" Sora yells.

He beams, a force bursting out before racing back to his body, and suddenly he illuminates white and takes two Keyblades (Two? Aqua can't think about it right now), sending himself flying high, his weapons a passion to be reckoned with.

They are both heavy hitters, Noctis and Sora, black and white, one sneaky, the other forward, both brave.

Aqua has much to catch up to.

If it's aggressiveness they want, she has plenty of it. Her magic swirls around her as she charges forward, drawing her thoughts inward to her belly, letting her body twirl faster and faster to hurl the energy out in whips and circles.

Donald and Lulu tag team, throwing lightning strikes, icicles, fireballs on the top of the clown's head. It really, really hates having its face touched, and between those spells and Sora and Noctis zipping around like insects, there's already enough distractions.

Cloud thrusts at its metal calves with his giant sword, an impressive power from below to add to the frenzy.

The well-dressed man and the rabbit-woman take calculated shots from afar, aiming for the eyes and only when the clown has an opening.

Lea also takes that cue and throws firey pot shots from afar even though he's a Keyblade wielder (maybe it's smarter to keep a distance).

Goofy is a little all over the place, but his attack, inspired by a tornado, hits the spot when it does, joining Aqua in the mess she's created.

That's… ten fighters at least against one Heartless and it doesn't do much.

Kefka instead takes a moment to just… stand there and take the heat like it isn't bothered. It can't be this easy.

It's not. Like it suddenly woke up, Kefka stomps the ground, and with it comes a roundabout of explosions that start at the rooftops right behind it and circle the entire third district, tossing debris into the ground and causing several people to succumb to coughing fits.

Garnet immediately checks person to person, her light shining to heal. Noctis is already at her side, and she pretends not to notice.

Cloud starts yelling commands to get the ram ready. He's trying to maneuver it and several men crowd together with him to make it move faster. "Aim it toward our bombs. Let's send it back to darkness!"

As though Kefka heard him, it sprints directly towards Cloud and his group of fighters, as if ready to run them flat. They all scream.

Sora scrambles for the feet with his double-weaponry and misses - just because Kefka likes to hop and skip around.

The clown freezes before it takes the last step, one knee high in the ground like it's deciding to squish them, and a hand outstretched - and balls into a fist.

Aqua expects another explosion, and the fighters scream again in fear.

The fist makes a honk - like a toy car.

Kefka laughs and everyone hurts, hands gripping heads to ease the headache, Aqua holding her heart still.

Now Kefka ignores the men it has targeted.

It instead whips around and with that same balled fist, it throws a blast of dark energy at the group of fighters on the opposite side - throwing bodies, slamming doors, disheveling potions and ripping weapons from their holders.

Aqua stumbles from the quakes, and she sees freed hearts, softly glowing, floating gently as the bodies disappear - three of them at least, heading towards the sky.

"No…"

Three lives lost already. She's failing.

Lulu is on the ground, clutching a Moogle doll closely to her chest as Lea holds her by the shoulders. Garnet is frantically throwing light to various people. The only healer in the group.

Both female mages are okay for now.

Kefka loses interest in Cloud's group - who are still preparing the only ram - to strut across the square like no one is watching, right toward a vulnerable Lulu.

Not like she's the type to get intimidated. She raises a fist close to her face, a succession of explosions slapping Kefka in the face and keeping it at bay. She's shaking it like she's grabbing hold onto something stronger than her and the explosions keep going until she has no choice but to let go.

Here is where Lea follows her patterns, but he's not as skilled at the Keyblade. Blessed with deception, definitely, his movements just as unpredictable as Kefka's, throwing fireballs to distract the clown like tossing bees, only to look like he'll dodge in one direction but he really dodges another.

All to keep the clown's attention away from Lulu.

"Cloud!" Lea yells. "Now!"

Cloud and two men push the ram with all their mind, Cloud yelling about making sure to hit it from the southeast direction or they'll miss the planted bomb.

Then the ram loses a wheel. Dilapidates onto the ground.

Kefka takes notice. It always smiles at the expense of others.

A loud whistle, and the sound of water. A wave. A tsunami, really. The well-dressed man blew the whistle, summoning a massive wave to overflow the district and head straight for Kefka.

A new ram, built by exquisitely rare water magic.

This is no time to admire, but an opportunity and Aqua takes it, throwing a trail of ice onto the water as it passes by her and she skates it up, up, and up. When she gets to the crest, she spreads the ice all over the thrash of ripples, turning them into steely icicles, straight into Kefka's torso, right onto the building behind it.

She missed the planted bomb but she's got it pinned. Standing on an icy wave, face to face with the smiling beast. It struggles against the ice, and she readies her Keyblade.

"Time to take care of you," she says.

Kefka stops, leaning its head forward with whatever movement it has left to stare right into her eyes, and even though it's programmed to make only one expression, it almost looks like it's smiling wider.

Aqua lowers her Keyblade. Kefka isn't in front of her anymore but there are flashing pictures of a man. A funny-dressed man, a river, throwing poison into the water, so much that it turns dark. There are many people dead and there's a laugh, and a trial, and a battle, and powerful magical transformations.

The worst kind of people become the worst kind of Heartless.

There's a voice.

"Crazy is just a word they use to describe us."

Aqua has never known a Heartless to be able to talk. It can't talk, it's all in her head.

"What?"

"What are you doing?" Donald yells from the ground below.

Kefka has its large hands around the brim of her icy prison and breaks it piece by piece, thrashing against the building, and she slips and slides off the back of the wave, away from its inevitable freedom.

"Let's go!" Sora and Lea zoom past her, aiming for the clown before it sets loose, but Lea is smarter and backs out when he realizes it's too late, and Sora keeps going until he's exhausted.

One of his Keyblades fade away and he falls, Goofty barely catching him while skating on his shield.

"Keep it up, come on!" Noctis yells to a huge disheartened crowd, followed by Cloud for another barrage of assaults.

Not that Kefka is particularly interested. It hops and dances, skipping along the block and every step it takes strikes a random explosion in a random location, some hitting nothing, others being blocked by Lulu's powerful barriers. One hits near the balcony where the well-dressed man and the rabbit woman were standing, leaving rubble and two long-range fighters onto the ground where they have less of an advantage.

It's dusty and Donald's fireworks sprinkle the air in bright colors that combat the sound of bombs to the point that Aqua has a hard time following Kefka.

She tries but a lot of her attacks end up missing because of Kefka's erratic movements. She has to rely on widespread attacks, which drain her and she takes deep breaths in between to keep herself going.

Sometimes when Kefka runs, it attacks where it aims for, and sometimes it decides not to. It's hard to keep up.

Garnet slips by in all directions, her main concern is healing other people - with such sharp determination that she doesn't care whether Noctis is trying to protect her.

Just when Aqua thinks that Kefka doesn't see her, it attacks, and Garnet is flung straight into a wall, her protection crystal shattering.

"NO!" Noctis yells.

She slumps and doesn't bother to get up. She folds her arms around herself, waiting for the next hit, and Aqua summons another trail of ice to get there faster (faster, faster). She can't let this happen on her watch.

At this point, Aqua is shielding a stupefied princess with her body, and Kefka will attack the both of them, already ready with a dark mass bubbling in its palm.

But it gets hit from behind by a massive… missile? It's forceful enough to actually make the clown stumble.

The droning sound of machinery draws near, a flying gummi ship coming close. Kefka laughs and everyone hurts, Aqua gripping Garnet tighter to quiet the squirming princess.

Kefka telepathically takes all six swords and glides them in a sweep, up right through the middle of the ship, cutting in half, and Riku vaults out of the captain's seat, rolling off a roof and landing with a huge thud right next to Aqua and Garnet.

"Just in time," Riku says, summoning his new Keyblade. It's heavy and massive for his size.

Garnet snaps out of her stupor, heaving because she's just escaped death. Her eyes flash anger, and she takes her shortstaff and holds it in the air. A column of light bursts through the cobblestone with a loud punch, shooting right into the sky with such a trembling force that Kefka is knocked away from them.

"Thank you, Aqua," Garnet gently says as she picks herself up. She casts another spell, encasing herself and Riku in crystal.

Even though he has his Keyblade ready, Riku gladly waits for her to finish like they've done this routine one too many times and it's the best they can do to keep an eye on each other.

But Riku doesn't wait for a command though, chasing as soon as his crystal stabilizes itself. It's Cloud that sprints by his side and gestures an order without saying anything. In sync, they hit both of Kefka's ankles with their massive weapons, tripping it to its knees.

Garnet is also on her knees, exhausted. Whatever attack she conjured, it drained her of power and Aqua slumps her over her back - Garnet may be short but she's heavy.

Some force of wind takes Aqua off her feet, and Noctis suddenly has his arm around the both of them, and they glide over the ground until he reaches his next waypoint and drops them right behind Lulu, who is frustrated, worried, and determined to keep Garnet behind her.

The look on Noctis' face is awful as he takes a glance at the chaos: Kefka easily standing up after being tripped, Cloud and Riku desperately attacking its shins, the ram since abandoned. Goofy and Sora attacking its ankles from behind, Lea acting like bait, the well-dressed man shooting his gun upwards and missing, the rabbit-woman shooting an arrow and hitting the clown straight in the eye, but it all does so little.

Noctis is tired - not just exhausted, but the kind of tired Aqua dealt with for years.

Not the kind when he's had enough and he's angry - the kind when he's had enough and it's time to give up.

And Aqua's had enough.

She charges forward with a yell, jabbing her Keyblade straight into the air. She summons a giant snowflake, spinning and flashing until it stabs Kefka right at the hip.

In reaction, Kefka commands its swords again, and throws them all at her with a huge swipe, and Aqua doesn't dodge. She blocks, each slash of a sword against a properly placed Keyblade. Kefka is strong, and Kefka is big, and these swords are twice her size - but none of them matter. She's been training with two large men her whole life, and Kefka doesn't compare to her Master's skill or Terra's ferocity.

"You're pissing me off!" she cries when she blocks the sixth sword.

It takes a lot out of her but they are not called special techniques without a good reason.

Her Master's unique chains, first encircling her in a glow of golden light, then lurching until they wrap around Kefka. At the touch, these chains burn Heartless - they've certainly burned her when the Master first taught them how to use it.

Success. Kefka's arms are twisted tightly against its torso, and one of the links wraps under its thigh and actually keeps the stupid thing on its knees, a perfect target for everyone else.

The air chills, fog rolling in and Aqua at first considers a new threat but it's actually a dragon shaped out of mist, bobbing in the air before landing on the roof. It blows steam onto the clown, carefully skipping allies like they are precious, leaving a clown squealing like an unoiled engine.

"That's my girl," says a breathy Lulu, who barely has the energy to stand up.

It has to be Rydia's summon. Such powerful magic, Aqua has so much to learn still.

But a dragon twice the size of Kefka still doesn't make a dent (what the stars is its skin made of?), and it soon dissipates, leaving a dumbfounded Aqua - but no one else seems surprised. They keep throwing attacks, and Aqua is getting drowsy. She can't hold onto the chains much longer.

Ah, Kefka's floating swords, she forgot about them. They strike against her chains. They'll break. The damn thing.

At this point, Aqua has nothing left to give and so much to lose.

"Noctis," she says, whipping around and holding him by the shoulder. "Can you fly me up?"

He has dirt on his face and defeat in his eyes, but why not? He grabs her by the waist and throws his dagger up in the sky. She flies, then he grabs her again, throws his dagger even higher, making her soar to heights she couldn't possibly jump to on her own.

Aqua lets herself float, aiming for the sword nearest her. She grabs the grip of the hilt. Her feet stomp the guard and she stands straight.

She ignores Noctis when he freaks and screams, "Don't touch those!"

The sword spins to knock her off but she has a direction she wants to go and this thing will obey.

Down she goes, the point of the sword cutting straight through the air with one very particular destination: in between Kefka's shoulder and clavicle.

She rips into it, metal creaking and gears popping apart until she hits a thud that she's sure is the ground. Like a needle, Kefka is pinned in place by its very own. Aqua's chains flickjer but still - it can't move.

Kefka can't turn its face well to get a full look at the Keyblade Master triumphantly standing on its shoulder, right in between its lost limb.

"Get off of there!"

"Don't touch that!"

"Are you nuts?"

Voices by some she recognizes and some she doesn't, she ignores them. Instead, she watches Kefka's eyes, hard on her. The smile on its face doesn't waver even though she can tell - she can feel - rage building.

Several gears choke right under its chin, still turning but only barely. It's so weak under the frame - most of its inner skeleton is just metal beams and a cloud of purple smoke for organs with a black balloon for a head, all wrapped in a tacky costume. For a Heartless, it cannot create a hard shadow body like all the others, so it made itself a hard shell instead.

Like that of a man with a soft ego, too short-sighted to see his his arrest and execution coming, the ghost of a crazy clown who never wanted to be weak again and has only proven himself so.

"It's not as fun like this."

Aqua studies the two gashes on its mask, burnt at the tips and curving outwards.

"Terra did that to you, didn't he?" She scoffs. Her hands are melting into the swords hilt - this isn't fully solid either, and she can feel Garnet's soft puffs of white light healing her fingers the longer she's touching it. "I've faced worse than you in the Realm of Darkness."

She summons her Master's Defender. In darkness, only light slices the way. Even though the Keyblade is blunt and rounded, the point is to reach the heart - and every darkened heart has a weakness to exploit, the very same insecurity that haunted its former human.

Aqua has felt it all with every Heartless she's defeated in the Realm: the grieving, the enraged, the depressed, the vengeful, the feral, the crazy.

She yells, the light off her Keyblade aiming straight for the neck - she promised to be a Wayfinder, and for darkness that simply means releasing them.

Her Keyblade sparks against the gears and she has to look away, and this force burns like steam but she keeps at it. She's not letting this thing dance away tonight.

Kefka screeches.

There are yells about abandoning her with the clown.

Sora yells back that they have to help her.

Riku agrees.

Lea (apprehensively) follows along.

And Aqua keeps doing what she's doing.

Kefka's shoulder budges the moment the purple smoke of its insides release like gas, into her face and up her nostrils. It's putrid and it burns behind her eyes. She coughs but she stands strong until her Keyblade gives way and suddenly there's another collapse and she's falling backwards with the arm.

Something large topples on itself as there's a shimmer in the air.

Cries of amazement. Hollers. Yells to get back as far as possible. Aqua can't tell, it's cloudy in dark purple and she can't see in the gas.

Two pairs of hands grab her by the shoulders and drag her, and there's so much coughing - her throat burns and she hears Riku telling Sora to hurry up and he coughs as well.

It's clear now, the gas slowly fading away and whatever is left of the clown slowly - slowly - topples away like it still wants to resist. First the entire right arm where she chopped it off, then the left, until the knees buckle and its head rolls forward and it all turns black and gets blown open by sparkles of light.

A large heart floats upward, the crowds watching in silence like it's a stunning show they respect too much to interrupt. They don't shift until it floats higher, somewhere high in the sky where Kingdom Hearts will eventually accept its arrival.

The crowd doesn't believe it at first even though it's as clear as day. Claps start, then sobs, then whoops, then hugs and kisses, and a melting of relief rolled into a platter of overused desperation that still needs a place to be served.

The fight is over, and the night is as bright as the dawn.

There's so much happiness but all Aqua feels is shivering - it's so cold all of a sudden and her teeth chatter.

Riku is on his hands and knees, hacking.

Sora is on his side, his hand rubbing a massive headache and he moans.

Donald and Goofy run to his side, the former giving him a lecture instead of congratulating all the accomplishments of the night, and Goofy swings Sora over his shoulder to carry him away.

Lea throws Riku's arm around his shoulders. "Come on, buddy," he says, patting Riku's back.

Cloud gently carries Aqua in his arms, whispering, "I wasn't expecting that. It's impressive."

But it hurts to swallow and she doesn't say anything back. He lowers her onto a stretcher, in between Riku and Sora, who each have their own.

Riku rolls his head. "I can't quite believe it. Stupid clown."

Sora makes a trembling thumbs-up. "We did it." It plops down.

Gasps and sobs make way near them, and Garnet wanders into view, unable to keep up with her smiling tears, her gloved fingers intertwining with Aqua's.

"It is done. It is over," she says.

"What is happening to me?" Aqua asks hoarsely.

"Oh, you've been poisoned, dear," Garnet says with a sweet smile, leaning over her. "Not to worry. Terra has made sure we've plenty of elixirs."

"Terra…"

It's just like him to always be there.

Even during treasure hunts, where he left clues through the forest to make it easier for her to find him. Like stepping stones on an ocean so she could walk across, and she follows.

Garnet melts into tears again, the cheers silencing her quiet sobs and Lulu is asking for her, gathering everyone except the poor souls on stretchers into a huge embrace.

Celebrations are just as chaotic, nothing like the stars.

The stars. Aqua gasps when she sees them, and it sends her into such a coughing fit that Cloud has to put an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth.

But there they are, dim due to the light pollution. They're her first since she's been freed, and she's forgotten how special she always thought of them - a light to pierce the darkness. Guides to give people directions. Reminders of hope. Wayfinders for all the dreams she's had.

They're beautiful.

#terraqua #aqua #terra #kh fanfic #kingdom hearts fanfiction #noctis lucis caelum #garnet til alexandros #rydia of mist #lulu final fantasy #kefka palazzo #riku #sora #MERRY CHRISTMAS I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD #my fic

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blasphemous-tiefling · 4 years

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I wanna take a few steps back for a minute and talk about KHI Riku and the Destiny Islands Trio as whole.

We are given:

1. Main protag with spiky hair and happy-go-lucky attitude

2. Cute and plucky obvious love interest girl

3. Edgy older boy who’s cooler and tougher than main protag

The very first scene between these three sets up a very important image where Sora is much less serious than Riku, Riku has an affectionate yet playful friendship with Kairi, Kairi and Sora like to tease each other and are probably into one another, and Sora and Riku are very competitive with one another. When given the opportunity to one-up the other in a race, Riku sits down, they both act uninterested, and as soon as Kairi says go, they both hop up and bolt for it, probably silently hoping the other one wouldn’t get the jump on it and would have a late start.

In the next scene with the three of them, we once again see that Riku is mildly flirtatious with Kairi, and Sora is less than happy about this, presumably because he likes Kairi himself. We get more characterization of Riku as an adventurer, someone who wants more from life than what he has in front of him now. Sora and Kairi seem to share this desire, but not on the level that Riku does. They both even show minor hesitation when Sora asks, “But how far could a raft take us?” and Kairi asks, “You’ve been thinking a lot lately, haven’t you?” as if this is a newer, more forceful side to Riku that she’s not used to.

Immediately after, Riku introduces the player to the concept of a paopu fruit, teasing Sora saying, “C’mon, I know you wanna try it,” hinting that Riku is well aware that Sora likes Kairi. In fact, this is probably why Riku is a little flirtatious with her- to get under Sora’s skin and mess with him. It’s clear to us that Riku has a rivalry with Sora and that he likes to joke with him. This scene’s impact is extended when the race occurs and Riku says, “Winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi,” and Sora then hesitates, unsure if he can actually beat Riku and considering how high the stakes are.

The next major scene is between Sora and Kairi alone as they sit on the docks. It is made clear here that Kairi shares Sora’s romantic feelings, suggesting that Riku has changed and joking, “Let’s take the raft and go, just the two of us!”

So. We’ve established that Sora and Kairi like one another. Riku is like the jerk of an older brother who is better than Sora at everything and likes to tease Sora by flirting with Sora’s girl. BUT it is important to note that Kairi and Riku DO have a friendship all their own. Riku credits Kairi with giving him the ideas of exploration. Without her, he probably wouldn’t have been so inspired. He also has a different form of teasing her, remarking that she is just as lazy as Sora. For Kairi to suggest that Riku has changed implies that she knows Riku well enough to notice any change in his normal day-to-day behavior. This is a group of three friends, two of whom just happen to like one another romantically.

Fast-forward a little bit to Traverse Town when Sora finds Riku (or the other way around) and Riku becomes jealous of Goofy, Donald, and the keyblade. Riku’s always been better than Sora, but this is the first time he sees that Sora is able to hold his own and probably starts to feel a little unnecessary. He falls into Maleficent’s lies that Sora does not want or need Riku anymore. He starts believing Sora has not only abandoned him, but that he’s abandoned Kairi as well. Riku takes on the responsibility of getting Kairi back and making sure she’s safe. Because she’s his FRIEND and that’s what friends do for one another. Guys, this is so important. There was a time when Riku and Kairi were FRIENDS. Riku goes through hella lot to make sure that Kairi gets her heart back. He screws over some people, feeling hurt and betrayed by Sora, desperately doing what he can to regain at least one friend. “Soon, Kairi. Soon,” was a line that Riku spoke after being granted some new dark powers. He wasn’t going along with Maleficent because he wanted cool new abilities and got all cocky acting like he was better than everyone else. He did it because he genuinely thought it was the right path to save Kairi. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Riku did some bad things in order to save her and ended up losing himself in the process.

Fast-forward even farther to The End of the World. Kairi has her heart back, and Sora has to go off on one last venture to try to get Riku back. When Riku is inside the Realm of Darkness, about to be cut off from the Realm of Light, he turns to Sora and says, “Take care of her.” THIS is Riku’s last comment to Sora, a sentiment that declares that Riku knows Sora can handle himself now. Sora doesn’t need Riku anymore. Kairi has Sora to take care of her. Sora and Kairi can be together. And Riku doesn’t hold a grudge about it. He just knows it’s the flow of how things worked out. He’s fading into darkness. There isn’t much he can do for his friends anymore. But he trusts Sora with the responsibility of taking care of Kairi and blesses him with the ability to do so unimpeded by any anger or frustration Riku may have had.

All I’m trying to say is that Riku and Kairi were friends. Riku loved both Kairi and Sora at one point. I don’t understand why the newer installments (namely KHIII) decided to act like they were never a trio, as if it was always just Sora and Kairi and then just Sora and Riku rather than Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

KHII, while it didn’t have very many scenes featuring the three together, still did its part to remember the trio. Kairi begging Riku not to leave, desperately calling out for both of them before the dark pathway closed off and Sora and Riku were left to fight Xemnas.

I’m gonna keep posting these things, man. This series has changed a lot. How I felt about the characters and their dynamics in KHI is not at all how I felt about them in KHIII. In KHI, I actually liked Kairi and wanted to see her in the spotlight. In KHIII, I want nothing more than for Xehanort to slash that gal in half and be rid of her forever. In KHI, I love Sora and Kairi’s relationship, the evidence that they like one another but neither one of them have the nerve to say it. In KHIII, I’m screaming, “GAAAAAAYYYYY!!!” any time Riku is on screen and I’m rewatching that scene with Dark Aqua and Sora and Riku’s reality shifts thinking about the Sleeping Realm Theory and how desperately I want Soriku to be confirmed. In KHI, I want the three of them to be together again, free to explore the worlds. In KHIII, I don’t see any reason for the three of them to even be in the same room at the same time. There is a distinct shift in their relationships. Maybe it’s because the series decided the push Kairi to the side for many installments and just focused on Sora and Riku. Maybe it’s because Kairi’s voice actor changed, and that has a huge affect on me. Maybe it’s because Kairi didn’t have the same drive she seemed to have in KHI and KHII. I always go back to the scene where she and Sora are in the tunnel in Traverse Town, and she just assumes she’s going with Sora to save Riku. And then in KHII when she jumps in Naminé’s dark pathway, without knowing what it is, because she’s decided that “waiting isn’t good enough.” And then again in KHII when Riku gives her a keyblade and she immediately hops in and starts killing some heartless. Where was this ready-to-fight, all-in Kairi in KHIII? Maybe it’s because Riku as a character has grown so stoic and cool-tempered. Like KHI Riku got smad and aggressive and sassy. KHIII Riku acts all Mr. Placid McBoring.

I’m all in for character development. But this doesn’t feel like development. In fact, it feels like the opposite. It’s like character regression where the characters slowly get more and more one-dimensional.

I think that’s about it. That’s all that I have to say today.

Edit: Okay, my bad. I can see where this would suggest that I don’t like Riku anymore. That is very much not the case. I still adore that boy. It’s just... different than how it used to be...

#kingdom hearts rant #kingdom hearts #kingdom hearts 3 #soriku #sokai #straight up not how to write a story #straight up not how to write characters #destiny islands trio #sora #riku #kairi #sora don't ever change #this time ill protect you #take care of her

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thanksjro · 4 years

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Eugenesis, Part Five Scene One: I Guess Everyone’s Just Lost Their Minds At This Point

New Part! Let’s see what we’re working with.

Hmm. Well, it’s not Latin- I checked. It’s not any language, if my extensive research on Google Translate is anything to go by. Maybe it’s not a word, but rather part of one. It kind of looks like a piece of a message that’s been chopped up, perhaps by bad signal or interference. “Life traces” is going to be my guess. We’ll see where this goes.

It’s New Years Eve, and Soundwave’s ride just quit on him. That’s okay though, because he’s about where he wants to be anyway. He’s reached Helex, and is about to enter Leagus- the silo that Sixshot’s bunker is under.

I know, it’s been forever since we last saw him!

So, Soundwave’s just escaped imprisonment, the enemy is everywhere, he’s beaten all to hell, and what’s the first thing he does?

Soundwave’s a good dad, though l feel if he knew what Sunstreaker had said to Spooler, he’d be storming Kledji himself to enact some vengeful parenting on his ass.

Laserbeak drops Frenzy out of the sky in front of Soundwave, and he sticks the landing. No word as to Roberts’ take on his color-scheme, but I can’t wait to see him compete in the next Olympic games. They greet their carrier, saying that they thought he was dead, and so does Sixshot.

Sixshot’s been holding everyone underground, saying that the Autobots have been holding the Quintessons off. Sixshot’s a friggin’ liar.

No more lips, I’m begging you.

Soundwave busts into the silo, throws Sixshot’s door wide open, and essentially calls him a bitch to his face.

Soundwave’s the best, you guys.

Sixshot, sensing that this isn’t going to go his way, calls for Octane to come to the throne room to take care of their guest. Too bad everyone just straight-up doesn’t respect him. They show up, but they just watch as Soundwave tears into him. They could have turned the tides of this invasion, if Sixshot had stopped sitting on his ass and DID something about it. Sixshot takes out a gun and threatens to shoot Soundwave. Soundwave says ‘try me bitch’, and he does. It’s a shame Frenzy grabbed the clip out of the gun before he grabbed it. Octane tosses Soundwave a gun- this one being loaded- and Soundwave blasts Sixshot in the chest. He then pulls the shooting victim to his feet and asks if anyone wants to keep the poor bastard alive. It’s a resounding ‘no.’

Soundwave, why do you know you can do that? Why are you aware of the fact that you can punch your fingers through someone’s metal-ass skull and crush their brain? How many times did you practice this? Did you practice at all, or are you just running off of pure rage and murderous intent at this point?

Having killed Sixshot in the most hardcore way possible, he tells the Decepticons to load up and get ready to head out.

Meanwhile, over at Delphi, it’s time for Science™ with the Sci-Guys Pincher and Swerve! The boys are taking a look at those bottles the Micromasters brought in along with Galvatron.

We get some prime Swerve action here- all snark, all self-depreciation, and not one iota of self-preservation.

Fastlane walks in to see how things are going. He just got back from Optimus Prime’s FOUR HOUR speech. Pincher’s about to shoot the cap off of a bottle with a gun. Things are suddenly silly again, and it’s a bit of whiplash for the brain.

Fastlane knows who he’s working with, apparently.

Now, we the readers know what’s in these bottles, since we’re following the narrative, but our sci-guys do not. Swerve’s still a good ten years away from getting Meta-gunned, so that’s not a skill in his arsenal at present.

And proper lab safety protocol wept. Swerve, what the actual fuck?

So the aqua fortis obviously burns straight through his stupid little hand, and Fastlane orders a toxicological report on the contents of the bottle.

Let’s do a wellness check on Prowl.

Hmm. That’s... not great.

Hey, so, looks like Prowl actually did try to kill himself with a wasting disease. Look, man, I hate to be the one to encourage suicide, but surely there are better ways to do it. You’ve been at war for millions of years, surely one of the billions of guns that were manufactured was lying around somewhere. Or there was a roof to jump off of. Something other than this.

Chromedome and Red Alert are just kind of staring at him in his quarantine pod, like they can’t believe he actually did this either. Red Alert’s convinced that they need to keep this secret from everyone else, considering that they still have Kup to deal with.

Well, we found the necrophile in the ranks, so we got that going for us at least. Also, not sure how you’re going to keep the fact that the leader of the Autobots is dying, especially since there’s only a handful of you guys left.

Prowl’s in a bad way. They don’t know what strain of disease he has, and without a donor for tissue, he’s basically a dead man.

Perceptor’s in charge now. Chromedome wanders off to go check the messages on their answering machine, then almost immediately calls Perceptor over to take a look at what he’s found.

You’re going to have to be WAY more specific, Chromedome.

Well that’s just 𝙛𝙖𝙣-𝙁𝙐𝘾𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂-𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘.

Perceptor calls for all hands on deck, get ready for a fight. Everyone loads onto the balcony to watch death approach.

Then Perceptor does something that Swerve would never think of.

He uses his brain.

Turns out it’s not the Quintessons. It’s Soundwave and the Decepticons. I smell a team-up!

We’ve barely started, and Part Five is already gearing up to be the weirdest one so far.

#transformers #jro #eugenesis #part five #maccadam #Hannzreads #text post #long post #prose writing

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nadziejastar · 5 years

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Why Lea and Isa Needed to Heal Each Other’s Pain With the Power of Waking

“The mind forgets, but the heart will always remember. And what is the heart's memory but love itself?” — Twan Eng Tan

Aqua: “It's the power of true love that defeated you.”

Maleficent: “I will not be defeated by something as insignificant as love.”

Aqua: “You don't even know the first thing about it. You're too clouded by darkness to see that there's something greater.”

Besides Lea and Isa, I also really love Terra, Aqua and Ventus. Terra and Aqua’s relationship also felt romantic to me. Along with Axel, she sounds like she’s speaking from experience when she mentions love — romantic love. But that’s just how I personally interpreted it. Since Aqua is one of the wisest and most mature characters in the series, I didn’t have trouble believing her when she talked about the power of love.

“All that’s left in my heart is misery and despair, and I want you to feel it!”

Her love for Terra is so great that it leads her to sacrifice herself. She doesn’t just retrieve him from the abyss; she stays in his place. Unlike Terra, Aqua didn’t have a problem controlling her darkness. She was filled with light. Yet, purely out of love for Terra, she chose to take on the burden of his darkness and despair, instead of letting him suffer alone. She didn’t have to. She wouldn’t have fallen into darkness on her own. She chose to.

Ven: “Whatever it takes. Anything to save Terra and Aqua.”

Vanitas: “Hmph, it's always about your friends, isn't it?”

Ven: “At least I have some! I've become a part of their heart, just as they've become a part of mine. My friends are my power...and I'm theirs!”

It was Terra and Aqua who helped Ventus heal after Xehanort failed at turning him into a vessel. Ventus’ heart collapsed the first time. He didn’t fight back and he became a lifeless doll. The second time around, he had the strength to willingly accept the total annihilation of his existence, all to save his two friends. Although Xehanort said he was too frail and benign to be a good vessel, I think he was wrong. His heart just needed someone to fight for.

“Aqua, Ven... One day I will set this right.”

Terra starts off thinking he just wants to be stronger, but as soon as he lets his heart do the talking, his thoughts always turn to his loved ones. The only way Xehanort can make someone his vessel is to fracture their soul, but not break their heart. Most of the subjects he tried this on during his experiments suffered the total collapse of their heart. Only very rare individuals have a heart strong enough to endure that level of darkness. Of course, the heart’s strength is totally dependent on one’s relationships with others. In order for the heart to not break, you need to have a bond that is so strong, it can withstand even the shattering of your soul.

“I’m not afraid of what the darkness holds now. Even if you do wrest control of my heart from me, even if you cast me in the deepest, darkest abyss, you’ll never sway me from the one cause that pushes me to keep on fighting. Whatever the cost, I’m ready to pay it.”

You need to love another so much that you can stare down the deepest, darkest abyss for their sake. You need self-sacrificing love. That’s what Terra, Aqua, and Ven had. Terra had a purpose, a vow he made to his friends to set things right. The strength of his heart is initially what caused him to be used as a vessel, but it was also the strength of his heart that allowed him to wrest control from Xehanort and finally set things right.

Joshua: “By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone — that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was for someone to see them, connect with them.”

And while I thought the Wayfinder Trio had a mostly (but not completely) satisfying story, I cannot say the same about Lea and Isa’s story arc. The main theme of Kingdom Hearts 3 was supposed to be "ending hurt". But the story never addressed either of them healing their pain. I think Lea and Isa were supposed to have a relationship just as meaningful as Terra, Aqua, and Ven's.

This isn’t even about personal shipping preferences (as much as I do ship them). I believe that the writers had something very beautiful planned for Lea and Isa’s relationship, but it turned out quite differently than how it was originally envisioned. Their relationship seemed to be heavily inspired by the concept of Twin Flames or Twin Souls. Same-sex ones at that, which is refreshingly unique in fiction. Twin Flames are the key to healing each other's pain.

Axel: “Love is what happens when there’s something really special between people.”

Roxas: “More special than friends? Like…if they’re best friends? Inseparable?”

Axel: “Well, you can care about your friends, but that’s not exactly it…”

The concept of having a “Twin Flame” originated in Plato’s mythic dialogue entitled “The Symposium” which wrote that human beings originally had two faces, four arms, and four legs. Under the threat of being overpowered, the gods split them in half, creating the humans we see today. Hence, it is thought that we all have one “twin” soul out there in the world. Twin Flames are a divine expression of Balance, Harmony, and Unconditional Love.

A Twin Flame, or Twin Soul, is a person who you feel connected to not just on a physical and emotional level, but also on a spiritual level. Twin Flames are our friends, our lovers, and our teachers. They are the yins to our yangs, the suns to our moons, and the light to our darkness. Twin Flames are also our mirrors in that they reflect back to us all of our hidden fears and shadows, but also our true inner beauty and strength. In this way, Twin Flames open the door to tremendous emotional, psychological, and spiritual growth.

Put simply, the purpose of the Twin Flame relationship is to help shed away the snakeskin of the ego, face and heal both of their wounded hearts, and transform each other into awakened beings. The love experienced between Twin Flames is said to be like Holy Fire: it burns you to ashes, but it also forges you into a new creature, like a Phoenix emerging out of the dust. Twin Flames have a reputation for coming in and out of your life. Or often some outside force stands in the way of you being together. But it seems like you’re always pulled back to them in one way or another.

“Go on, you just keep running. No matter how many times you leave, I’ll bring you back. Every time.”

Twin Flame relationships are notorious for what is called the “runner and chaser dynamic”. The chaser waits for the return of the runner, having the patience of a saint while working on their own issues as each day goes by. During this period, the chaser is hoping that the runner wakes up to their spiritual call, while at the same time healing their own past wounds. Twin Souls may share only a brief moment in time, but the chaser keeps the faith that one day their counterpart will reach out again. Months or years go by…and then… one day...they call.

Rhyme: Aw, it's no big deal. You know what they always say — "Sometimes memories just need a little help getting out."

The runner does not understand what’s happening to them on a spiritual level. They feel like they’re losing control over their own emotions. They don’t know what to do, so their natural reaction is to run away, and chasing after them only makes them run even more. Inner healing is crucial for this type of journey to even have a chance of working out. Reuniting with your Twin Soul requires patience, and lot of inner work is necessary to be ready for them.

“And if the darkness gets ya, I promise I'll bail you out. "Dark Rescue" is my middle name.”

Well, Lea is definitely the chaser. And what could possibly be considered more “running away” than going to the Realm of Sleep? Soul fragmentation is the ultimate form of running away. You literally leave material reality because you cannot handle the pain of conscious awareness anymore. Someone else has to enter the darkest parts of your subconscious and chase down all the broken pieces of your soul just to bring you back. The main theme of Lea and Isa’s relationship is “memory”. I think Lea was going to be the one to heal Isa by using the power of waking on him and in doing so, he would be healed as well. Bringing back a person’s fragmented soul is all about healing and unconditional love.

Naminé: “Some people think pain is something you can just wipe away — and sometimes, maybe, you can. But not all pain can be erased. The only way to deal with it is to accept it head-on. And if the hurt is too great for you to bear it alone — well, then you turn to a friend close to your heart.”

Saix has two weapons of the same shape called Light Year (a reference to Axel’s famous quote about red light) and Luminary, which is how the ancients referred to the Sun and Moon. Luminary is one of only two weapons he can upgrade to ++ status. And it is shaped like common depictions of Reiki, one which looks like an angel. Reiki is a Japanese healing technique based on the principle that someone can channel their energy into the afflicted person by means of touch, activate the natural healing processes of their body and restore their physical and emotional well-being. In Reiki, the color of a person’s aura has a specific meaning and so do colored healing gemstones.

The aura is gold, which is the strongest color to help cure all ailments. It nourishes the whole being — body, heart, and soul. It is useful for healing and mental clarity. It is simple and gentle. Gold also represents awakened spiritual power and energy. When an abundance of gold is found in the aura, the person radiates and glows, becoming like the Sun. Spiritual masters who achieve this level of enlightenment see their auras fully restored and they are able to radiate energy to heal others as well. Just like Kairi did for Sora. The weapon has a red tip. Red jasper stones are about protection, stability and security. I have no doubt that this weapon represents what Lea is to Isa.

Xaldin: “To hold something dear is to let it hold you. His heart is in thrall to it, don't you see? And that, Roxas, is ample weakness.”

In 358/2 Days, the Mystery Gear’s description is: “A weapon that draws forth its wielder's personality.” Saix’s version of this weapon is called Moon Rabbit. The story referenced by Saix’s weapon is called The Hare on the Moon.

Morals from The Jataka: The Hare on the Moon

Long ago, the Buddha was reborn as a hare. The hare had three friends–a monkey, a jackal, and an otter. The Lord of Heaven was watching the four friends from his great palace on the peak of Mount Meru, and one day, he decided to test their virtue. The Lord of Heaven took the form of a priest, and he went to the otter and said "Friend, I am hungry. I need food before I can perform my priestly duties. Can you help me?” And the otter offered the priest the seven fish he had gathered for his own meal.

Then the priest went to the jackal and said "Friend, I am hungry. I need food before I can perform my priestly duties. Can you help me?” And the jackal offered the priest the lizard and curdled milk he had planned to have for his own meal. Then the priest went to the monkey, and said “Friend, I am hungry. I need food before I can perform my priestly duties. Can you help me?” And the monkey offered the priest the juicy mangoes he had looked forward to eating himself.

Then the priest went to the hare and asked for food, but the hare had no food but the lush grass growing in the forest. So the hare told the priest to build a fire, and when the fire was burning, he said “I have nothing to give you to eat but myself!” Then, the hare threw himself into the fire.

The Lord of Heaven, still disguised as a priest, was astonished and deeply moved. He caused the fire to go instantly cold so that the hare was not burned, and then revealed his true form to the selfless little hare. “Dear hare,” he said, “By your great virtue you have been spared! The earth will forever remember you and this act of sacrifice you have committed.” And then The Lord of Heaven painted the wise hare’s likeness on the pale face of the Moon for all to see.

The Lord of Heaven returned to his home on Mount Meru, and the four friends lived long and happily in their beautiful forest. And to this day, those who look up at the Moon can see the image of the selfless hare.

Xemnas: “The strength of the human heart is vast. Soon, though...we will have gained power over it! Never again will it...have power over us.”

Since this weapon in particular is said to represent the wielder’s personality, let’s examine it. The rocket and the rabbit are emanating an indigo aura, conveying integrity, devotion, deep sincerity, and wisdom. But the rocket’s occupant has a black aura. A black aura is one of the few auras that is predominantly negative. Typically, having a black aura means your natural aura is being stifled. The black aura consumes your natural aura and suppresses it, making it easier to feel hopeless and trapped. It is not the "real" you.

But the path to the moon is white. And so is the space inside the crescent moon where the star (representing the sun) would go. White represents purity and is the color most resistant to corruption. The aura on the moon is pale yellow, meaning renewed hope for the future. The rocket is taking off straight from a heart gemstone that is pink, implying that the rocket was launched by an act of love. Even the bottom of the rocket is a turquoise stone, offering protection from corruption. So much meaning in one design. And the design matches the story perfectly.

Why would the writers choose that as the weapon representing Saix’s personality unless they had a vastly different story in mind for him originally? It sounds like it would have nothing to do with him in canon. It would make sense if Isa had been “Subject X”, though. The sole test subject who didn’t have his heart collapse, causing him to become Xehanort’s unwilling vessel. I think the last thing on Isa’s mind before his soul fractured was his friend. And he was willing to sacrifice himself for Lea, out of love. And I think this is the reason that, unlike everyone else who was experimented on, his heart didn’t break. The moral of The Hare on the Moon is that unselfish love will be rewarded with a joyful rebirth. And that’s an important theme in KH3 as well. It’s how Rapunzel brings Eugene back and how Elsa brings Anna back.

A promise… We’ll meet again…in the next life. We did say that. I remember. I remember our promise.

Which is the exact same message that Lea’s Keyblade has. The Flame Liberator is based on the Phoenix. It builds its nest, which at the same time is its funeral pyre, and then it cremates itself. But it arises anew from the ashes transformed. In alchemy, the solar bird represents the idea that the end is only the beginning and is a symbol of the Philosopher’s Stone.

“As long as we remember each other, we'll never be apart. Got it memorized?”

According to ancient lore, the process of death and rebirth happens in four stages, called Magnum Opus. The process of creating a Philosopher’s Stone involved taking a White Stone (the Moon) and turning it red. The stages are called Nigredo, Albedo, Citrinitas, and Rubedo. Both Axel and Saix have weapons that are based on these stages, going along with their respective character arcs.

“I don’t want to disappear…But still, it wouldn’t be so bad if I did. Not here.”

In alchemy, Nigredo, or blackness, means putrefaction or decomposition. Axel’s weapon is called Blaze of Glory. It represents the Phoenix’s self-immolation and also the idea of leaving behind a lasting impression before your departure.

Axel: We just exist. We are Nobodies. But your memories and existence end here. Aren’t you happy?

Vexen: S-Stop! I don’t want to-

Axel: Well, see you.

It represents the moment of maximum despair a person experiences; the dark night of the soul when everything seems hopeless. That darkness is a prerequisite to personal development. His words to Vexen are, in a way, referring to himself. Lea has lost everything he ever cared about. The past is gone forever. Like Aqua, he was trying to share that misery and despair with others.

“That's absurd. He won nothing, and IS nothing. He couldn't stand the emptiness of being without a heart. And THAT led to his demise. He was foolish and weak.”

Saix’s weapons are emanating a purple aura, the most sensitive and wisest of colors. This is the intuitive color in the aura, and reveals psychic power and attunement with the self. But, like the bunny’s rocket, these weapons also have a black aura. Black draws energy to it and in so doing, transforms it. It captures light and consumes it. A black aura can indicate possession by a negative entity as well as unreleased grief. The stone on the tip is black tourmaline, which is used to release negativity and blockages and gives powerful shielding and grounding.

The weapon called Orbit has a sun symbol ☉ in the middle with a Recusant’s Sigil over the sun. The Moon and Earth orbit the Sun. Like the Phoenix, the lunar phase symbolizes the constant alternation of birth and death, creation and destruction. This weapon represents the death stage.

"Do you know what happens to those who lose their true purpose? Inevitably, they destroy themselves."

The other weapon is named Balsamic Moon. This is the symbol that Isa wears on his jacket. It is the final stage of the moon, symbolizing the death of Isa himself. Something is subconsciously gnawing away at Saix. Deep down he is utterly miserable. He thinks it's because he has no heart. I think it’s because Isa’s captured heart is wounded and in a lot of pain. It can’t stand the emptiness of losing its purpose. There’s a yellow stone on the weapon, called citrine. It carries the energies of sun as well as radiates warmth and comforting energies.

Axel and I talked for a while about the things we can't bear to lose. Axel thinks that for Nobodies, it's our pasts, because that's all we have to remember the pain of losing something.

The second stage is Albedo, meaning "whiteness". The goal of this portion of the process is to regain the original purity and receptivity of the soul. Burnout is the name of Axel’s weapon.

Xemnas: “About Axel. The poor fool. How long will he keep chasing the illusion of friendship, when he himself lacks emotion? Trying so hard to retrieve what he has lost, when it may never have existed in the first place. He deserves nothing more than our pity.”

Burnout is a state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism, detachment, feelings of ineffectiveness, and a lack of accomplishment. I think this fits Axel pretty well after he becomes a complete person again. So often, it seems like things will never work out for him. But he never gives up.

Xigbar: Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a specific reason--round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind. Translation — they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort.

Saix’s weapons are Crescent and Gibbous. Both are shaped like the Phoenix’s wings. The crescent phases are about letting go of the past and turning one’s thoughts and attention to the future. Crescent is shaped like ⚸, the symbol for Black Moon Lilith. Technically speaking, the Black Moon Lilith is a mathematical point that's exactly in between the earth and the moon. Essentially, it's empty space. Isa has been turned into an empty vessel for Xehanort.

Xehanort: "X"... A most ancient letter. Some say "kye," but the meaning is the same. Death... A letter that spells endings.

The gibbous moon is the final stop before the full moon. It’s the homestretch. It symbolizes a time when you are so close to achieving your goal. This phase is about refinement and gratitude. The stones on the weapon are gray agate. Agate raises self-awareness, stabilizes the aura, transforms negative energy, and is a powerful conduit of spirit. This stone heals anger and lack of self worth, and enhances emotional stability.

“So you don’t need a heart to have something that you can’t bear to lose then. If that’s true, then I guess the closest thing that we Nobodies have would be memories of our past. It’s the memories that create the things that we don’t want to lose.You know, memories of the stuff we couldn't bear to lose, back when we couldn't bear to lose it.”

Citrinitas, is the third stage, meaning "yellowness." In alchemy it stands for the "transmutation of silver into gold" or the "yellowing of the lunar consciousness." The dawning of the "solar light" inherent in one's being. The weapon is named Outbreak — the sudden or violent start of something unwelcome. The final battle. I think the real reason Lea kept wearing his Organization cloak is because he could never be truly free of Organization XIII until Isa was free, too. They joined together, and Lea would only leave if it was together.

Roxas: I found out about love on today's mission — that it's something powerful.

Axel: That's true. It is. But I'll never get to experience it.

Just like with Aqua, I got the feeling that he has been in love before. Axel was optimistic when he spoke about cherishing memories of the past. But when Roxas brought up love, his attitude darkened. It depressed him to think he’d never experience that special kind of love again.

“Inside people's memories, I can live forever.”

The two weapons of Saix are Crocea Mors and Werewolf. Crocea Mors means “Yellow Death” in Latin. It was the sword of Julius Caesar, which was said to kill anyone it struck. Citrinitas is the “dawning of the solar consciousness”. The weapons have a yellow aura, the color of awakening. That’s why I think this is the scene where Saix would have remembered his true purpose. The irony of Xemnas calling Axel a fool shows itself here. The gemstone on Crocea Mors is azurite, which promotes insight, justice, and concentration. The one on Werewolf is red jasper again.

Sora: “...No. The hurt is what reminds me I've forgotten. It's proof there's something there, something...important. I won't run from it. It'll stay in my heart until the day I remember again.”

Axel spent all of 358/2 Days thinking Isa forgot him, but the only reason his heart never collapsed is because he didn’t forget him. Saix may remember Lea with his mind, but he doesn’t with his heart. With Berserk Saix, it’s the opposite. His heart had a purpose; a reason to keep existing. That was the very reason he was used as a vessel in the first place. But just like the selfless hare, that act of selflessness is also what saved his heart from breaking.

“Bet you don't know why the sun sets red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest.”

Rubedo or "redness", is the final stage of magnum opus. Both gold and the Philosopher's Stone were associated with the color red. It’s the point when a person discovers their true nature. The Phoenix symbolizes the Rubedo stage and it represents the freeing of the spirit from the bounds of the physical.

Saix’s red (er, pink — close enough) weapons are Moonset and Horoscope. Moonset is the weapon that is shaped like ⚶, the astrological symbol of Vesta. She was a Roman Goddess known as “The Keeper of the Sacred Flame”. The ⚶ is a symbol of the creative flame encompassing sacred sexuality, chastity, devotion & vigilance. The eternal flame that she protected never diminished, for she was guardian of hearth and home, family and community.

Roxas: What is it that you're so afraid of?

Riku: Huh? Hmm... Losing something that's important.

Horoscope combines the astrological symbol for Cancer ♋ with the astrological symbol for Venus ♀. Cancer is “The Sheltered Crab” of the zodiac represented by the Moon. Those born under this sign are very modest, shy, and extremely emotional individuals. Venus was the Roman goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility.

The silver gemstone represents protection. Both of these weapons radiate a pink aura. In Reiki, pink light represents the energy of love and has a very high vibration. It is tender, sensitive, sensual, affectionate, pure, and compassionate; it is associated with a new or newly revived romantic relationship. Pink light is soft and brings about gentle yet powerful healing. Red is the color of light that travels the farthest. This color heals Isa’s pain. But pink is the color of light that can heal Lea’s pain. The pain of losing something that’s important.

Ventus: “What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?"

Riku: “Hmm... My close friends.”

The Red King and White Queen are another symbol of the Philosopher’s Stone, along with the Phoenix. Their union is called the alchemical marriage. In alchemy, 🜍 sulfur represents Sol, the fiery male element. The counterpart is ☿ mercury representing Luna, the female element. Their marriage represents the spiritual goal of alchemy. Saix has a weapon named King of the Night shaped like a combination of 🜍 and ☿. The weapon has a silver base, the color of mercury. It has an indigo aura, indicating sensitivity to others’ energy, clarity and communication. The tip is aquamarine, meaning determination, courage, enlightenment, spiritual awareness and success. Perfect for using the power of waking on someone he cares about, like a close friend.

Xion: “Riku. What do you wish?”

Riku: “More questions... All right... I wish...to recover something important that I lost.”

Saix also has another weapon called Queen of the Night. The weapon has a yellow aura; the color of sulfur. It is aquamarine, also representing courage, determination, strength, communication, and success. The gemstone is aragonite for peace and calm. The name refers to a white flower that is part of the cactus family. It is one of the rarest and most expensive flowers in the world. It only blooms for one night a year, then it closes again when the sun rises.

This flower tends to bloom on days of a full moon, and thus is sometimes called the Flower from the Moon or Flower from the Heavens. It has a rich history in Japan, where it is known as the “Gekka Bijin” or “Beautiful Woman Under the Moonlight”. It is said that any wish prayed for while the flower is blooming will be fulfilled. Well, all Lea really wished for was to go back to the past. To once again experience the happiness that only existed in his memories. To recover something important that he lost.

Ansem the Wise: “Then, you came here, and you were questioned by three young people. That was the final key to awaken him. Sora is awake. You can go home now.”

The three questions were a test. Love is the key to use the power of waking. In the Realm of Sleep, time does not flow. The individual’s consciousness is forever frozen in time, until they are healed by someone who loves them. After their “birth by sleep”, a person is restored to exactly the same state as when they fell asleep. Like the hare on the moon, Isa’s selflessness would never be forgotten and he'd be reborn, just as he was before. And this is exactly how Isa would heal Lea’s pain. Simply by being the same person Lea remembered him to be. Or at least, that’s what I think should have happened.

Ansem the Wise: “So many are still waiting for their new beginning. Their Birth by Sleep.”

Isa’s entire character arc was meant to be about being brought back to life by Lea. When he was a kid, the symbol on his jacket was a waning crescent, the final phase of the moon symbolizing death and endings. In the ending, the new symbol on his jacket is a waxing crescent which is the first phase of the moon symbolizing rebirth and new beginnings. The star and crescent is a symbol signifying the union of the sun and moon, complementary opposites.

#kh meta #kingdom hearts meta #kingdom hearts #akusai #kh lea #leaisa #kh isa #kh saix #kh axel #kh terra #kh aqua #kh ventus #anti-kh3 #kh #KH3 #kingdom hearts 3 #kingdom hearts birth by sleep #kh3 spoilers #kh3 speculation

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plumedesimili · 5 years

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Inversed - Vanqua Week

Challenge : : #VanquaWeek Day 6 Word Count : 1360

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She woke up to the squeaking of one of these weird creatures. Her first reflex when she saw it was to summon her weapon, but something stopped her.

What was that? If she didn’t know any better, she’d say it was an Unversed ; but it was the first time she saw one like that. It looked like a tiny bird, all white with light blue feet, and pink eyes. All the Unversed she knew had red eyes and dark colours. What exactly was this thing, and why was it staring at her from this tree?

Tired and slightly injured from her visit in this world, and from destroying so many Heartless, the new abomination spreading through the worlds, she had decided to take a nap under the shade of the trees - the wind was blowing nicely, carrying the fragrance of a flower field nearby. This place was perfect for a nap.

But now, she was really concerned about the tiny creature staring at her. It still gave off an Unversed feeling that put her uneasy - but if it didn’t attack her, she wouldn’t attack either.

The bird was joined by another, and then by a third one. They didn’t look unfriendly. She slowly got back to her feet, stretching. It didn’t scare them away. She smiled at them.

“Why, hello there. I’ve never met birds like you before.”

One of them chirped, and it sounded like a giggle. It was communicative, and she chuckled too.

Something moved in the bushes behind her. She tensed, ready to fight if needed ; but it was another curious creature.

It looked somewhere between a fawn and a cat, white again, its legs a nice gradient of lilac. It purred, grazing towards her. She needed to be wary of it, but it was hard when the creature looked so graceful and beautiful. It rubbed its head against her legs, and she realised it wanted to be pet. She sighed. “Fine, fine. You’re not a dangerous one, now, are you?” She scratched it between the pointy ears, and the creature closed its pastel eyes, happy. “Aren’t you a pretty one, though?” she laughed, as the creature licked her face. “Okay, enough now, enough. I need to go home.”

But instead of letting her go, the fawn (cat?) gently bit her skirt, as if trying to drag her somewhere. The birds left the tree, flying a few feet away - the direction the other ‘animal’ was pulling her to.

“I need to go over there?” Of course, there was no answer, but they looked pretty insistent. “Fine, I’m going. Show me.”

They went further and further away into the woods. What if this was a trap? They looked pretty, that didn’t mean they weren’t deadly. And the woods clearly weren’t safe.

A branch snapped behind her, and she turned around to see a gigantic Heartless - now that looked like trouble. But before she could even summon her weapon, the birds started pecking at it, the fawn charged with its tiny antlers. They took down the Heartless faster than Aqua could ever do. Did they protect her? What were they? Where were they taking her? This time, she was really curious about them.

They walked for twenty minutes, and they destroyed all the Heartless (mostly Shadows) on their path. Aqua wondered for the hundredth time what was going on. Until they stopped.

So it was a trap. There was no other explanation. She had been tricked, trusted creatures solely based on how they looked, and now they delivered her to their boss who would use that trust to destroy her.

… Or would he?

If they indeed landed to the very place where Vanitas was, he wasn’t facing them and didn’t even look like he noticed them. He was sitting in a flower field, which was unusual, and he was surrounded by loads of freshly picked flowers, which was unexpected. He was swearing a lot, which at least was something natural. The fawn gently pushed her towards him, and one of the birds perched on her head in silence. She carefully took a step, then another, until she was right behind his back. He was full of openings, so focused on what he was doing that he had not noticed her yet, even though she could almost touch him.

“What are you doing?”

Startled by her, finally noticing her presence, he jumped with a gasp, trying to go back to his feet but falling in a cloud of flying flowers.

“What are you doing? Here I mean?” he snapped, trying to look angry, which wasn’t easy when your face was covered with colourful petals.

“These little ones brought me here.” So he really wasn’t aware they did. This wasn’t a trick. Instead, he just looked at the creatures and frowned.

“Them. I knew I couldn’t trust them. They are abominations.”

“They are pretty cute, I’d say,” Aqua chuckled while petting the fawn. The bird on her head chirped, while the two others landed gently on Vanitas’s shoulders.

With all these flowers and animals, he could join the Princesses of Heart group, Aqua mused, although she didn’t say it out loud.

She looked at the flowers that were on his laps. Delicate blue ones, vibrant pink ones, and subtle white ones. Their stems had been butchered, cut, torn, twisted, but the petals had been carefully preserved.

“What is it you were trying to do?” she asked, crouching next to him. He sat up, his face a bit red.

“Nothing of your concern.”

“Are these yours?” she looked at the creatures next to them. He groaned.

“Yeah. They showed up earlier, when I saw… Never mind. They’re not like my regular Unversed, I don’t know what they are. I call them Inversed. And if they’re not attacking you, then they’re useless pieces of trash.”

“Now, now, no need to be rude to them. They brought me here, protected me, in fact.”

“Like I said, useless pieces of trash.”

She picked the flowers from his lap. Somehow, some or the stems had been knotted together. She gasped. “Could it be… Were you trying to make a flower crown?”

She tried to imagine Master Xehanort with delicate flowers crowning his bald head and had to cough to hide her laughter. Vanitas flushed.

“Laugh all you want. I was actually making a funeral wreath.”

“A wreath? Whose?”

He clicked his tongue. “Saw you sleeping earlier. You looked dead. I thought it would be fun to make a wreath and put it on you. So that you’d look even deader.”

Aqua looked at the flowers again. Blue, pink, white. And from the looks of it, it was way too small for a wreath. But the perfect size for a crown.

“You mean this was… For me?”

“But as soon as I thought about making you one, these idiots showed up.” He glared at his Inversed. “I hate them.”

Aqua chuckled, ruffling his hair before realising he was supposed to be his nemesis. But instead of pushing her away, his face turned a new shade of red, and a dozen of white butterflies started flying over them, their eyes a soft pink.

“Do you want me to teach you how to make them?” What was she thinking? He was her enemy. But right now, he just looked like a human.

“Make what?”

“Crowns. Wreaths. Whatever you want, really. I can teach you how to braid flowers together. I’d hate to see these beautiful flowers be wasted.”

He turned his head away from her, pouting. She waited with a smile. Let him decide if his pride could take it.

Then, after a while, he finally sighed, his shoulders collapsing.

“Fine. Teach me how to make these stupid flower crowns. But once we’re done, promise me one thing.”

“What is that?”

“Fight me.”

She smiled, and he smiled back, and they spent the whole afternoon making flower crowns under the gentle protection of more and more Inversed. When night came, they fought, and when they both were too tired to keep going, they went each their home.

With a beautiful crown circling their heads.

#fanfiction #kingdom hearts #vanitas #aqua #vanqua #unversed #inversed #cute #pets #collection #vanquaweek #vanquaweek2019 #tumblr took away my horizontal line and I'm sad

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kiruuuuu · 5 years

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Kapkan/Fuze oneshot in which they resolve an argument in their own way. (Rating M/E, fluff + not very explicit smut, ~4.5k words) - written for @yovelie! Thank you so, so much for commissioning me again, I’m enjoying your requests immensely ❤ Find my commission info here!

This has also been posted to AO3! You can read it here :)

Shuhrat gets assigned a new room. Not much changes, except that he doesn’t need to hide his cigarettes anymore since none of his new comrades smoke and the little thief with the lisp has been reassigned. His new roommates are improvements in some regards and worse in others, neither of them snore but one of them has a habit of getting up late, risking the ire of their superior, one talks too loudly and another has a buddy system going on with someone outside who hides candy and naughty pictures on the outskirts of their training grounds in return for a little cash. Shuhrat gladly trades one or two of his smokes for chocolate and biscuits despite them being worth less and turns down any other offers. He has no use for the other wares his roommate provides.

And then there’s the guy with the shockingly bright eyes. Sometimes they’re aqua blue, sometimes a pale grey, and Shuhrat spends too much time figuring out their real colour.

The guy is not dim – can’t be, not with how much respect he seems to have earned, not with how long he’s survived in Spetsnaz so far without suffering any major injury, has gone a few years and his track record is allegedly excellent. And still, his equipment malfunctions surprisingly often.

Making a show out of sighing, explaining the basics and looking down on him is beneath Shuhrat, so he silently shows him how to maintain his guns, demonstrates simple repairs with an air of irritation and maybe slams the fixed piece onto the table separating them with a little too much force. The man possesses the opposite of a green thumb for electronics and the likes, it’s as if he produces his own magnetic field designed to destroy and whenever he’s entrusted with anything, he inevitably ends up turning to Shuhrat for aid.

If he’s honest, he doesn’t have time for this. He could be sleeping instead of messing with the tiny radio but his pride won’t allow it despite how exhausted he is most of the time. In climbing ranks quickly and proving himself, he’s hoping to bring honour to himself, his family and his new home country – and fixing someone else’s mistakes isn’t really part of it. And yet he stays up late to dull his favourite screwdriver on this stupid transistor radio just so he can present it to its clueless owner the next day and collect his well-earned payment of crinkling skin, a flash of teeth, and sparkling green or grey or hazel.

Sometimes, they spar. He’s banned the other man from using knives after bleeding through his thick jacket one day and since then, it’s become routine, a quick gaze and a nod enough of a signal for them to slink away and throw each other onto mats or the soft earth outside, taking no longer than fifteen minutes to vent their pent-up aggression and return to their daily duties. Once, they find a stash of their roommate’s under some shrubbery and decide to leave most of it out of goodwill, though piercing eyes lock onto a chocolate bar which ends up snapped in half and quickly wolfed down by the both of them. Neither of them pays the pictures any heed.

When he comes back from a week-long training trip, he mockingly asks a different colleague about grey-blue-eyes’ gadgets self-destructing without him there to repair them.

All he receives is a short laugh and the meaningful reply: “They only do that when you’re around.”

~*~

Fuze wakes up with five minutes left to get ready. He examines the large, empty bed, throws a glance at the alarm clock and decides to be reasonably grumpy for the rest of the day. As a shower is out of the question, he goes through a slimmed-down version of his morning ritual and devours the still-warm pancakes he finds in the kitchen. Since his clothes have already been laid out – and it’s a tighter shirt than what he’d normally choose, but at this point he can’t be picky –, he manages not to be late after all, arriving at base just in time.

Just in time for Kapkan to bitch at him, too.

“Did you drop your brush down the toilet? What happened to your hair?” Kapkan seems offended at how Fuze’s hairstyle is going to reflect badly on him, as if their CTU was a family and he’d failed one of his children’s behavioural education.

“I overslept”, he states simply as it’s the truth but somehow it makes the other man flush in anger.

“Well, it’s not my fault you can’t set your alarms properly”, he snaps and earns odd looks from the other three Spetsnaz who seem taken aback at his foul mood.

“No”, Fuze replies politely. “It isn’t. And no one implied it was.”

Kapkan turns even redder and storms away dramatically as he seems to find no more wisdom to bestow upon Fuze, leaving the rest of his CTU to look after him, puzzled.

“Is he alright?”, Glaz wants to know, concern shining through his features. Fuze decides it’s best not to answer as he doesn’t want to poke the bear any more than necessary, and collects his lunch which has been placed on top of his locker for later consumption.

Around noon, he gets asked for the fourth time.

“What’s up with Maxim?”, Mira yells through half the workshop as usual and turns quite a few heads in doing so, attracting everyone’s attention without being aware – Fuze is unsure how she does it as every other gaze he notices lingering on him burns uncomfortably on his skin and reminds him of the times he had to present anything in class, stumbling over unfamiliar words and hearing the usual boys snicker at his expense. Kapkan once called him allergic to attention jokingly, adding how it was typical for someone from Uzbekistan. When Fuze told him it was the smarter choice to be invisible as an Uzbek in Russia, he grew quiet. It took him a week to apologise.

At this point, Fuze has grown tired of the question. He supposes it’s fair enough, seeing as Kapkan and he are usually inseparable, huddling in a corner while they’re on their phones or occasionally lost in a topic, never more than a few metres apart in the workshop, and definitely not actively avoiding each other. It’s no wonder everyone has noticed though he wishes he weren’t the focus of the resulting curiosity. “We had a disagreement”, he clarifies for everyone’s benefit and hopes this ensures no more nosiness. The Spaniard isn’t as persistent as Ela is, at least normally, and she seems appeased with the answer.

“What about?”

Well. Not everyone is.

“I am not at liberty to say”, he addresses Rook diplomatically and doesn’t miss the raised eyebrows following his statement. Maybe he should’ve worded it differently – this will only pique everyone’s interest even more and the last thing he needs is literally all of their colleagues scrutinising their interactions, watching them out of the corners of their eyes. Capitão already noticed them bickering over a dessert recently, he doesn’t need to add to potential suspicions.

True to his fears, the Frenchman turns to his small group and murmurs: “Did he accidentally disclose a state secret or what?”

Before he can dispel this notion, however, Kapkan bursts into the room. He presumably came straight from physical training as he’s still sweaty, and despite all occupants of the workshop openly staring at him, his eyes snap to Fuze immediately.

It’s one of the hardest things he’s ever done in his life not to let his gaze run over Kapkan’s form, bask in the damp t-shirt clinging to muscles visible through the slightly translucent fabric nor dwell on the messy wet locks. He might’ve gotten away with it (as everyone else’s attention is directed towards the same target his own is) were it not for Kapkan’s impatient expression. Wordlessly, Fuze reaches for his bag, pulls out the extra water bottle and the towel he packed this morning and tosses both towards the man who looks more akin to the animals he likes to hunt than his normal, civilised self. Fuze feels a prickling at the back of his skull. An itch with which he’s intimately familiar.

Kapkan nimbly catches the objects despite his bad throw (and this only serves to heighten the tingling), turns on his heel and vanishes once more, in his wake leaving Fuze a little short of breath and unable to concentrate on his current collaboration with the taciturn Japanese man whose direct style of communication he appreciates.

For a lack of a better option, he starts gathering all the equipment Kapkan will need once he’s showered and changed and piles it up on his usual table.

Standing on the threshold of his flat, Kapkan reminds him more of a feral cat than ever – he’s always moved with such grace when he’s uneasy, as if anxiousness triggered slumbering feline instincts in him. Fuze prefers it when he’s comfortable enough to let his guard down, to stubbornly keep throwing rubbish at the bin until he finally lands it but he can’t deny enjoying Kapkan’s proximity when he’s charged like this, tension in his muscles and ready to pounce at any time. Especially when, on very rare occasions, he reluctantly allows Fuze to pet him nonetheless.

“You’re early”, Fuze informs him. He’d pair it with a smile but he’s still miffed and doesn’t bother to hide it.

“Are you cooking?” Kapkan is mirroring his disapproval and a scowl is pulling on the corners of his mouth.

“Salmon and baked potatoes.” The frown dissipates. It’s one of Kapkan’s favourites and Fuze knows it. “You made breakfast and lunch, so I thought it fair if I made dinner.”

“It’s not my fault you didn’t get up on time”, comes a hostile response apropos of nothing.

Ah.

That’s what this is.

Fuze fights the urge to assure Kapkan again that no one claimed otherwise and instead steps aside so Kapkan can enter his abode which is really their abode as the other man’s apartment is as much of a front as Blitz’ occasional assurances of not wanting any more sweets. It’s believable when met with no scrutiny but ultimately serves no purpose other than to project outward for the benefit of their colleagues.

Now he reads it in Kapkan’s body language, too, a slight duck when the Russian passes by, bright eyes darting around, conscious footfalls. He leaves the man to it and enters the living room, pushes the coffee table aside, moves the couch, picks up some dirty dishes and places them next to the sink in the kitchen. They include a butter knife he prefers to be out of reach. The potatoes will take a while so he can wait with the salmon, meaning he has at least a quarter of an hour of free time.

Convenient.

Blocking the first three punches half-heartedly thrown at him once he’s back in the other room is comparably simple, withstanding the leg sweep which follows isn’t – and yet he manages. One of his jabs lands on Kapkan’s ribs but he suffers a graze on his cheekbone for it, and now that the niceties are over, he follows an impulse and goes for the crotch. His world tilts and the cream-coloured rug is suddenly his sky instead of the ground; his ankle slams against the edge of the table and causes a painful sensation of white noise in his toes. He should’ve known better.

“You should’ve known better”, Kapkan deadpans and takes a few steps back to catch his breath. “I told you it would never work again.”

He did – more than two years ago. Groaning quietly, Fuze rises and shakes out his foot cautiously until he can feel his sole again, pointedly ignoring the small smirk on Kapkan’s face.

When they’re back at it, the Russian takes care not to move too much and pretends they’re wrestling in cramped conditions so Fuze doesn’t need to strain his aching leg. He gets the air knocked out of him several times and manages to make Kapkan stumble, trades a knee to his guts for an elbow in Kapkan’s sternum and laughs when they briefly hold on to each other to not lose their balance. They give as good as they get and yet Kapkan’s features are soft, eyes gleaming mischievously when he finally fells Fuze with one swoop.

Giddiness has taken over both of them at this point, relief bubbling up with nowhere to go, so they roll over the floor, haphazardly throwing limbs everywhere until Kapkan hits his head on the radiator and then his teeth are on Fuze’s throat, and at least one of them lets out a low growl. A button rips, callouses brush over the bumps of Fuze’s abs, there’s unruly hairs tangled in his eyelashes and a warm weight grounding him. Kapkan becomes the space between his hands, a writhing and squirming mass whose undulations resonate with Fuze’s quickening heartbeat so he adapts, tugs and shoves and yanks and only stops once all the skin is available to him.

The spots where he got hit still ache and the scorching tip of a tongue only inflames them further, seeking them out with enviable precision and pressing against soon-to-be bruises, so he returns the favour with fingertips and earns a variety of primal noises in return, rumbling against his own chest. Another struggle breaks out and this time Fuze is victorious, ends up on top and snarls at the hand pulling on his hair. His own hands are occupied, one used to prop himself up so his mouth can seek out its counterpart and the other between their slick bodies, leaving Kapkan’s to roam freely and weaken his focus with every erogenous zone they relentlessly attack. Leftover energy crackles between them and Fuze begins rolling his hips, thrusting into his grip and sliding his hard shaft over Kapkan’s. The cavern of his mouth houses the first few moans until Kapkan breaks free and releases several into their living space, echoing off the walls and sweet to Fuze’s ears.

He needs to see. He cranes his neck so he can drink everything in, the sight of two torsos glistening with sweat, two blunt heads rubbing together, strong thighs, an abundance of marks on pale skin, some of which he put there, most of which he didn’t. And when his gaze wanders further up, there are two icy grey eyes staring directly into his mind, dismantling his composure with their intensity and communicating without words. The only syllables escaping swollen lips are part of his name, strangled, pleading, outraged.

“You’re beautiful”, Fuze addresses the wild being below him, the creature which allowed itself to be tamed, the deity benevolent enough to put up with him. He speaks the truth, never before has he witnessed anyone this chock-full of life and determination and resilience. Claws draw blood and fangs bury themselves in his shoulder to interrupt the mantra calling for Fuze as if he wasn’t here with him right now, and his tempo is unchanged, fast, impatient.

The climax hits him harder than expected and they both spill onto Kapkan’s flat stomach together, moving in unison, gasps and pants mingling as they revel in the moment before beginning to come down. The afterglow transforms Kapkan into something with fewer edges, less tension, and though it’s sure to change once he’s sobered up, Fuze makes use of the moment by examining the now decidedly human features of the entity sprawling on the carpet in front of him.

“Why”, Kapkan mutters, disgruntled, and motions to the mess on his upper body, just as the timer in the kitchen goes off.

“Because I need to finish cooking”, Fuze replies, smacks an inviting-looking thigh and flees before Kapkan can retaliate. The fish should go into the pan right now if he wants to time everything perfectly, so he foregoes dressing in favour of fetching the apron someone gifted Kapkan as a joke a while ago. He’s not keen on hot oil splashing onto any of his exposed body parts.

The gaze in his back is tangible, even if he didn’t hear Kapkan enter the kitchen. His presence is unmistakable, the air of a different quality whenever he inhabits a space.

Once the salmon is almost done, Fuze asks without turning: “Are you still mad?”

And the waves of irritation rolling off of Kapkan who silently moves to his side to glare at him accusingly are answer enough. Even so, his aggression has mellowed into childish pouting and his yes is followed by entrancement undoubtedly caused by Fuze’s backside perfectly on display and framed by the wine red fabric. In contrast, Kapkan is fully clothed again.

They chat briefly while gorging on the food and the way Kapkan piles up even more on his plate after tasting it tugs on Fuze’s heartstrings. Kapkan washes up of his own volition and pretends to be unbothered by Fuze lounging on the sofa for two hours, restlessly moving about the flat, tidying shelves which don’t need to be tidied. He overlooks the space available between Fuze’s legs where he normally lies and even heads out to buy some beer. Fuze acknowledges the bottle set in front of him with a nod and tries his best not to let his amusement show.

Long after they’ve turned off the light, Kapkan scoots closer on the mattress and presses his back to Fuze’s.

The next morning, Fuze wakes up to the smell of freshly-baked waffles. His bed is large and empty and his alarm clock informs him that he has ten minutes left to get ready. What a luxury – if he’s lightning quick about it, he can even squeeze in a shower. After having gone through most of his morning routine, he notices the single piece of clothing laid out for him to wear for the day and barks out a laugh. Maybe he should cook more often. He stores the apron in the kitchen where it came from and chooses a less revealing outfit he knows Kapkan still likes instead. He arrives at base just in time.

“Is this going to be a trend? Are there wild birds nesting in your hair?”

Tachanka, Finka and Glaz are already tired of Kapkan’s antics. It’s obvious in the resigned glances they exchange and the sigh one of them accidentally lets out. They’ve spent the previous day hovering around the two, full of hesitation of whether they should intervene and try to mediate or leave them be altogether and Fuze imagines it’s draining, to neither know what’s wrong nor what the best course of action is. Kapkan is famous for being quick to annoy yet holding a grudge goes against his usual behaviour, whereas Fuze is known for being unflappable. If their team is this worried, it means Fuze has let some of his internal imbalance show on top of Kapkan’s attitude. And he assumes they’re unaware of its source being the brilliant light inside him, eternally trapped rays refreshed every time his eyes make contact with Kapkan’s.

“I overslept again”, he responds, tone gentle. Kapkan used to remind him whenever they entangled their limbs before drifting off to sleep, so Fuze remembers whenever they cuddle in bed. Since Kapkan is upset, there’s no reminder.

“Again? How?”, Glaz hopes to de-escalate the situation by speaking up before Kapkan can snarl at him again.

“Sweet dreams wouldn’t let me go”, Fuze says, making sure to not break eye contact with Kapkan as he takes out an extra pen. He knows the other man has forgotten his.

And once again, his workday begins with Kapkan storming off while blushing furiously.

When Fuze gets asked the eighth time, he decides he’s had enough. Kapkan has sulked sufficiently and he’s not going to stand for everyone on base getting involved in their private matters – if he can avoid a repeat performance of the week when Kapkan was made of sharp remarks and pointy looks, he’ll gladly do so. Seeking him out and dragging him to an empty meeting room is surprisingly difficult since the other man seems dead set on refusing cooperation, but mutely remaining by his side and waiting patiently does the trick.

Kapkan’s dissatisfied grimace melts the second Fuze pulls out the ring.

“What”, says Kapkan.

“It’s for you.”

“We said we wouldn’t do rings. We said we wouldn’t do anything.” He takes it nonetheless and inspects it against the light, runs a thumb over its smooth surface. It looks like it belongs already.

“It’s a wood ring. Grey maple.” The colour of your eyes.

“I’m not gonna wear this. People will ask.”

“You don’t have to wear it.”

Kapkan pushes it onto his right ring finger, blinking a little too often. Its neutral grey and simple make suit him perfectly, adorn without being tacky, decorate without drawing too much attention. He needs two minutes to compose himself during which he keeps turning and moving his hand as if to get used to the sight. “Is this an apology?”, Kapkan eventually wants to know.

“Only Sasha, Glaz and Lera will ask. Wedding rings are worn on the left hand almost everywhere else.”

He can’t stop touching it, distractedly explores its surface with his fingertips. “Why this one? Why wooden?”

“Because it’s unusual.” Some of Kapkan’s scorn returns at the word, so Fuze continues speaking: “Your brother married before you and inherited your grandparents’ rings. My family will never approve and so I don’t want any of their tokens. This is made for you and no one else. Not many people have wedding rings made of wood but it’s beautiful nonetheless. It suits you.”

The moment Kapkan understands is the moment Fuze knows without a shadow of a doubt that he will carry this ring to his grave. He might not wear it in public, might not wear it the majority of time but have it on him regardless. It’s a promise, a reassurance, a reminder, and for a moment Kapkan looks so helpless that Fuze is utterly incapable of resisting the urge to lean in and press their lips together.

Again, he should’ve known better. He’s done this only once before, displayed carefully controlled affection in public, in a place where they could be seen and paid the price for it, was starved of caresses and devoted gestures for a while as punishment and vowed never to repeat this mistake – Kapkan neither forgets nor forgives easily.

And yet, when Fuze withdraws, the stormy eyes piercing his skull aren’t furious. Not angry at all.

Kapkan drags him back in and kisses him, properly this time – what they did the previous evening hardly deserved the title, more akin to frenzied feeding instead of a soft slide of lips on lips, but this. This is blissful, warm and gentle.

He’s accepting Fuze’s explanation and acknowledging the fact it’s no apology as well. Fuze will not apologise for the emotions roaring in him whenever he’s basking in Kapkan’s presence.

They must be emitting a peaceful aura when they return seeing as their entire team once again stares at them, thunderstruck.

Finka, of course, is the first one to notice the grey band on Kapkan’s finger and speak up about it. “What happened to you guys? Did Shuhrat propose?”

The smile on Fuze’s lips seems to be his permanent companion now. “I did not propose, no.” It’s not even a lie.

“You know I’m married to my work”, Kapkan adds dismissively and this, too, isn’t a lie – he is indeed married to a certain part of his work. He’s emphasising his claim with how barren his apartment is every time he invites anyone over, comes across as single-minded and devoted to his work only because he’s scattered his belongings and memorabilia all over Fuze’s flat instead.

“But you guys are good now?”, Glaz clarifies and makes no effort to hide his relief when the two of them nod. “I’m glad. What did you even fight about?”

They exchange a glance and no more is needed for them to be on the same page. “Shuhrat called my favourite shirt ugly”, Kapkan replies drily.

Fuze still can’t stop smiling. “I said it was unusual”, he corrects gently and doesn’t add: and therefore suits you.

And all they earn are more blank stares, a lack of understanding born from the fact they will never know just how long it took both of them to accept themselves. How much of his life Kapkan wasted desperately trying to fit in, be normal, be like everyone else. How terrified he’d been at first, mirroring Fuze’s trepidation, both of them stumbling and stepping on each other’s feet like unskilled dancers too stubborn to quit, how the happiness Kapkan felt whenever he saw Fuze drove him to tears at some point. How he shied away from anything considered abnormal. They won’t know of Fuze’s own struggle, his reluctant acceptance of being other and the journey towards coaxing Kapkan out of his shell so he could share Fuze’s self-approval.

Whenever he declares any part of Kapkan outside of the norm, he earns panic, confusion, and hurt. He’s still self-conscious about his body and unconsciously hides it whenever he can despite Fuze’s best efforts, and so his comment sparked a half-silent argument full of accusing glares and unfinished sentences, the underlying issue never really spoken out loud. Kapkan doesn’t appreciate being reminded of how unusual they are, having found each other in their line of work, whereas Fuze has trouble taking the other man’s insecurities into consideration despite sharing them to a certain point. They kept snapping at each other about the piece of clothing but were really referring to an entirely different subject instead.

Neither of them will tell the other Spetsnaz about any of this. They’re keeping this secret close to their hearts.

“Maybe I should’ve called it special instead”, Fuze admits and hardly registers Tachanka's amused that actually makes it worse because Kapkan knows exactly what he means, and though he plays off the colour on his cheeks as anger while he complains about this new choice of words, Fuze has no doubt ire isn’t the emotion flooding Kapkan’s face with this flattering pink.

An hour later, Kapkan seeks him out under the guise of his phone malfunctioning, asking Fuze to fix it and in the process mentioning his pistol being strangely inaccurate as well. Fuze promises to take a look and suggests assisting him with his newest EDD prototype, to which Kapkan enthusiastically agrees.

He is certain he won’t oversleep the next day.

#rainbow six siege #kapkan #fuze #kapkan/fuze #fanfic #oneshot #commissions #they ended up surprisingly sweet #and I imagine the years helped #the beginning must've been atrocious concerning their communication #I won't get tired of thanking you #especially because of all the kind words you had for me

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adhdxion · 5 years

Text

Repose

Summary: Aqua regains what’s hers.

Read on Ao3

The walk was long, and rather boring; Through some hallways, down a spiral staircase, and through another hallway, this one lined with rooms that she wasn't sure whether to describe as cells or cages. They were empty, but Aqua couldn't help herself from glancing into them, and she felt a chill go down her spine with each one.

"You're sure it's down here?" She asked the young man in front of her. He was walking with his head down, as though avoiding looking at the cages.

"No, but it's likely," the man, Ienzo, answered without looking up. He was clearly uncomfortable, and Aqua made a note to herself that she must think of a way to thank him for bringing her here despite that. "Xehanort spent quite a bit of time down here, and Xemnas later banned anyone but himself from entering. Assuming he even kept your keyblade, it's likely to be in the Chamber."

"Do you think he would have gotten rid of it?" She wasn't sure what she'd do if her blade was lost or destroyed. Even after all this time, Master's Defender never sat quite right in her hands, always felt a bit too heavy.

"...I can't say," he responded, then stopped walking. Aqua only then noticed they'd reached the end of the hall. "But we're here, so you may as well check before worrying about that."

The door had no handle. Aqua stepped forward to look closer, then jumped back in surprise when it opens on its own. Within sat a throne, much like the one in Castle Oblivion, and beyond that…

She felt it before she saw it. A tug at her heart, a feeling like she's just remembered something long forgotten, and before she could think she was running across the room, falling to her knees at the other end. Her armor was there, broken and dilapidated and probably beyond repair, but none of that mattered, because Stormfall is there and it's in her hands and it's hers.

Memories flowed through her in waves - the day she was bequeathed, the first time she summoned her blade, the first fight she won, the first spell she cast. The day she left a part of herself in her best friend's hands, and left herself to fall. Aqua doesn't realize she's crying until a tear falls on the hilt.

Ienzo came up behind her, holding out a hand. "Are you all right?"

"Y-yes, I'm fine," she said, taking his hand and letting him help her up. Aqua wiped at her face, embarrassed at breaking down in front of a relative stranger. She's cried far too often, lately. "I was worried, I suppose. I thought, after so long without it, it might not feel like mine anymore.

She held out her hand and dispelled her keyblade before summoning it back, the most natural thing she's ever done. Any dust or grime that coated the blade was gone, leaving it shining like new, and Aqua struggled to keep the tears from starting again. "But it's the opposite," she continued, "I feel like I've regained a piece of myself that I didn't even realize was missing."

Ienzo smiled. "I know that feeling well." He didn't elaborate, and Aqua decided it was best not to ask. Instead, she leaned down to her armor, willing it to dissipate at her touch. She could already tell it was too damaged to be repaired by its innate magic, the same way Terra's was after a decade in the badlands, held together by willpower alone. They'd both have to figure out what to do with them later. For now, she was ready to leave this dungeon.

"May I ask you something?" she says to Ienzo once they reach the spiral stairs.

"Of course."

"The man you knew as Xehanort… do you think any part of Terra was still within him?"

Ienzo paused on the steps to consider the question - or perhaps to catch his breath. "You would be better off asking Terra. I don't know him personally, nor did I know Xehanort before he came to be with us."

"Terra… I can't bring myself to ask him," she said, frowning. "I can tell he isn't ready to talk about that time. But I guess it's been on my mind."

They walked for a while without speaking. At the top of the stairs was a ledge that overlooked the facility, and Ienzo took a seat on it. He nodded his head at Aqua, and she takes that as a cue to sit beside him. After another moment, he spoke:

"I was very young when I first met Xehanort, and my life since then has been unconventional. My memories of his time as an apprentice are clouded at best, and he was a fairly different person as Xemnas." Ienzo drummed his fingers on his leg as he talked. Aqua wasn't sure she fully understood the idea of Nobodies, how Xemnas was different from Xehanort, but she knew the gist, and let him continue.

"I remember being distrustful of him at first. Perhaps I sensed the darkness in him, or perhaps I was simply an antisocial child. But either way, I warmed up to him over the course of a year. He was… kind, perhaps, or at least not cruel, and he didn't talk down to me like the others often did." He sighed. "I trusted him, by the end, and I trusted Xemnas as well. But Xehanort's past was always vague, and his actions inscrutable. I don't know if his kindness was due to Terra's influence, or his memory loss, or an intentional act of manipulation. Perhaps it was some combination of the three. But make of that what you will."

None of that helped, but it didn't matter. It was something to put on her mind, something new to think about. She hoped she was wrong, hoped Terra hadn't been aware, didn't have to feel even more guilt for things over which he had no control. She knew, even for a short time, how it felt for control of yourself to slip through the cracks, how helpless lucidity felt as she watched the darkness control her. But Terra was himself now, and so was she, and as Aqua held her keyblade to her chest, she knew they would never give that up again.

She stood. "Thank you, Ienzo. For everything. I should get home before Terra and Ven start to worry."

"Do you have a way to get home?" He asked, standing as well.

She shook her head. "Don't worry, I've got everything I need."

In the courtyard, Aqua raised her keyblade to the sky, then flung it into the air, both surprised and not surprised at all that she remembered how. With her mind full and her heart fuller, she boarded her glider and took to the realm between, and for the first time in a decade, Aqua felt whole.

#kingdom hearts #fanfiction #aqua #ienzo #zexion #i wrote a little missing scene fic in like an hour read it if u wanna!!!#txt

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echo2themoon-art-music-games · 5 years

Text

Kingdom hearts 3 spoilers

This is just some of the first impressions I had after finishing kingdom hearts 3 . Idk how to properly tag it so sorry if I did it wrong for this. Seriously, don't read this if you haven't finished and please keep in mind these are my personal impressions and opinion of this game, as someone who has waited 12-13 years for this and have been playing the other entires, patiently waiting for kh3.

Finished it today. Was very disappointed. So many issues it had that made everything feel rushed compared to all other installments.

I hate that Kairi was just there for plot convience with no real character development, compared to the other games, and didn't have a real purpose to be there, other than to futher push Sora's own plot along. The way they used Riku was clunky I feel. He's so strong in this verison, yet so weak and really took a back burner in this game, even though his role was still important.

Just like for Kairi, it feels like he was held back a lot due to plot with how often he was struggling. Even though his will to carry on is probably the most fierce it's been. It still felt very off, especially compare to 3DDD Riku's role. In the other installments as well, even when he wasn't featured much, he still progressed in the story and as a character in his own way.

I know it's because he's was more of an equal lead in 3DDD than here. But, I feel at this point, with the way they've develop the characters, they can't keep just acting as though Sora is the only important thing in the series for main installments due to plot. As it cheats him out of character development as well when convenient things happen for him due to plot.

I have a slight idea how they could have fix this but right now I'm just commenting on my first impressions of the story.

They really wanted the importance of a trio reuniting to be a driving factor with everything they did in the story but but it felt like they made Sora, Kairi and Riku extremely distant from one another in terms of interaction and that really to me, broke the flow and line of friendship the series has stayed true to with all other games leading up to this moment.

I was seriously irritated with how they handled this. It be different if they all were doing their own actual character development during this game but there's really no reason why they're separate here, other than wanting Donald and Goofy to always be the main teammates no matter what, with only guest Disney characters appearing in Disney worlds until end game.

Yeah, they explain what each of them are doing but there could have still been more reasons for them to see one another I feel. It would have served Kairi better to get "real battle experience" prior to just throwing her and Lea/Axel in the final battle and expecting that to go well. That would have been a good opportunity of development for her and Sora, too.

Maybe her going with Riku for a bit to save Aqua would have been too much but that also could work since again, they just throw her in the final battle fighting on the front lines with no real prior experience fighting other than in kh2, in the world that never was. Her "training" with Lea, is not realistically enough to fight not only all of organization 13, but all other boses and heartless we've come to learn about in the series as well. This makes sense and is doable for everyone else we end up gathering towards the end, but Kairi does not fit this dynamic of fighting experience and it was honestly obvious something was going to go wrong with this decision to bring her into battle with no real preparation.

Especially since they had established earlier, that Kairi was an important piece again, because she was still a princess of light. They did really nothing to prepare her for this and it's bothersome because it was for basically plot to purposely sabotage her readiness for end game battle.

She should have been featured a lot more in getting stronger and interacting with everyone since she basically was one of their last hopes in keeping the enemy from fulfilling their plan. That could have also been another way to develop her and Sora's relationship as well and show where Riku has finally settled in how he sees himself in the trio. ( I'm not suggesting shipping stuff just wanting them to flush out the obvious plot they tried to ham out at the last minute using her as a plot point end game so Sora could have an excuse to sacrifice himself again for the next KH game )

Riku was originally very envious and jealous of Sora and Kairi getting closer and feeling like he didn't have a place in the trio, this is basically what malefacent fed off on. (I know there was more than that, but to me, this was the initial issues he had ).

This was resolved already in other games and even though they have more pressing matters in the story, it still would have been nice for them to show their trio was doing alright instead of having them all so distant from one another and especially making Riku be off by himself all the time again. I would have liked all of them to have shared the paopu fruit together to keep along the lines of staying together no matter what. Riku has always been shown to care about Sora and Kairi both, but his reaction to Kairi getting sucked up and her getting basically killed, didn't seem in character at all due to the plot they wanted to push for Sora.

Getting her use to dealing with darkness and tough enemies early on as fast as they could, to me would have made much more sense. I know Kairi wasn't what the story was focusing, and only just put her there as a way to conviently push Sora's plot along, but they used her as a plot convience anyway, so at least this would have made up for it a bit. Her getting a chance to see what Riku and Sora have been dealing with all this time. A lot of times, alone, would had been a great opportunity for her character, I feel.

I feel it would have been more appropriate if her desire was to protect both Riku and Sora from harm, than just Sora. Because that's always been her personality. And see how hard they've been fighting In their journey, while traveling and fighting with them, I feel would have been great for the story while still allowing them to stay on the same course of the game.

Just this time, instead of Kairi being used against Sora, she would perhaps willingly try to fight and protect both Sora and Riku. Making Sora's words, " I won't let her be alone a minute longer" and acknowledging his journey started because of her, a lot more impactful.

I'm not even a big Kairi fan, I just was expecting so much more out of the original trios story and felt like this could have been handled much better than it was. It's tiresome seeing a female character be discarded in the way Kairi keeps being done. Aqua is written well and is strong, so I feel they could attempt to do the same for Kairi, so when she is sacrificed, it not only impacts the progression of the story but her character arch as well.

We haven't seen them all together, together in a real way since kingdom hearts 1, in all honestly. I was really looking forward to seeing how their dynamics between one another had changed since being kids. Especially since Donald and Goofy has served as much development for Sora as they possible can at this point. They could still be teammates, just have Kairi or Riku also trade off in traveling in joint with him occasionally, so we could get more insight on their dynamics.

It really bothered me how distant their friendship all seemed and how very little screen time Kairi and Riku got. I hoped for Kairi to have a least one wow moment and Riku to be more emotionally present than he was.

Also, the worlds we visited lacked so much in terms of content and story relevance.

It really hammered things in, all at once and I feel that some of the worlds, especially the final last world, should have happened in the beginning of the story because the start of the game seems like there's zero reason or direction on why we're going to other planets. I know he's looking for the power or waking. But there's zero leads to this and the planets barely have relation to khs 3 main story. Sora is just wondering, aimlessly. He literally might as well went with Riku and Micky to get Aqua. What would it had mattered if he didn't have the power of waking? He didn't need it for her, who was the only one that knew where ventus was and we could have gotten more story content sooner than we did.

If the final world, and even a bit of the final battle had happened more near the middle or beginning, that could have been Sora's reason for searching for the power of waking even more, plus recovering his powers and trying to prevent everyone from dying. Needing to go to each world, to get access to different parts of the final world, then, would have possible fit.

I know this probably makes no sense, I just feel like this possible could have worked out more than having us just go to Disney planets for the sake of Disney planets. The previous games always felt like we went to them for a reason and a purpose. We didn't leave empty handled and it helped push the story along for Sora and the gang. Not just revealed stuff to the player we may have already been aware of but Sora oblivious to.

Yes, he lost all his powers in 3ddd but this could also could explain why the game is rushing towards the end. Like a race against time and helping things feel more dire. Which also would excuse the worlds themselves being so empty or not needing Sora's involvement at all. He wouldn't have time to " meddle" in the affairs of the worlds, he just needs to try to keep the organization from getting what they need while also purposely entering the final world, to get more pieces of himself, hoping it'll help him recover the power he needs or he feel he needs.

Him purposely going there would be the risk of him "never coming back" but he has to take it in order to reverse the events that happened. Needing to find the power within himself so he could do what needed to be done by gather the pieces of himself he's been loosing all this time. ( Since you can collect more than just 111 pieces of Sora in this world ) also maybe have him go there one final time to save Kairi, which takes aways the shock of the ending, but gives us more closer in him basically sacrificing himself again and going there and risk loosing himself permanently, to bring her back. Because then we could get another touching goodbye scene between then, that could be a throwback to kh1 ending but this time, it'll seem even more final.

They could have kept their same plot, but this maybe would have felt like, we the player, had more "purpose" in our actions. Even have like all of the final fight, happen in the beginning where Sora maybe uses Mickey's time magic to reverse things so he can alter everyone being wiped out. A second chance to fight better and not lose hope. Idk. That may not make sense but nothing in kh series does at this point. Lol..

Sora just ends up places in kh3 by happenstance and not because of real leads. The worlds we visit in most don't see integral to the story as previous KH hearts games. It feels more so like I was just rewatching Disney films instead of being apart of plot related to kingdom hearts. Toy story felt flushed out but frozen was disappointing. Majorly.

Stuff would progress in the Disney worlds regardless of Sora being present or not and it really made me feel like there was no real purpose in going there. Especially since there was nothing in particular Sora was searching for. He was just there. If story order had changed a bit, I feel it would have given purpose for why he was on the other planets. Other than us just running around, bumping into plot. Making things feel more "fulfilling" and making Sora purposely trying to save everyone, because he wants to prevent their deaths in the final fight, that gets revealed to him due to time reversal plot. If Sora is going to sacrifice himself. I feel like rearrangement of the story points would have made it all feel impactful and made it all seem like there was a real drive in Sora's development. Making the ending even more meaningful and not just giving us straight whiplash.

#spoilers #kingdom hearts 3 #major spolilers don't rrad if you haven't finished...#kh3 spoilers

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lombax-lombardi · 5 years

Text

Scientific Structure~

Summary: A Scientist follows a set chart for their day to day. Until Seven’s gets interrupted by a somewhat unwanted, but welcomed visitor.

“These numbers don’t match” she mumbled under her breath, earning a slight gaze from Ienzo, peeking at the robot from his eye lashes.

“Is there something wrong with the formula I have presented?” he asked, the brunette lifted her head giving him a slight frown. “No, it is just these numbers do not match the ones I have used to make the prototype for this cure...”

The holographic line that connected her antenna squiggled and became jagged, to reflect her current emotion on the situation. Ienzo gave pause as he watched her.

She was truly fascinating.

Considering her make and build and how she looked it was very hard to believe in her world, that she is the result of advancement in technology not heard of.

She had told him a lot about where she came from. Her companions. The Maverick Hunters X, Axl and most important Zero.

Her ‘heart’ was so fixated on trying to save this ‘Zero’.......

“May I ask something?” He spoke up, grabbing the Reploid’s attention from staring at the holographic panel before her. “Yes? What is it?”

“This Zero of yours...he must mean a lot to you for you to go through such lengths.....” He gives a small smile, causing the heat to rise up in the scientist’s cheeks, Seven pressed her fingers together to show her embarrassment.

“Zero is very important to me...” she caught herself. “I-I mean to us Maverick Hunters!” But it seems her change in tone did not go unnoticed by him. Seven saw the look in his eye and she sighed.

“Yeah. He means a lot to me, even though I have not told him how I felt” she bit down on her lip.

“You have not?”

She shakes her head. “No. He lost someone important to him before, it sparked a change in him to be more...cold...harsh. B-But he does care! I promise”

“...Does Direheart know?”

Seven froze. “Oh nonoonononono! She can’t know! She can’t!” She rose from her chair in such a panic that it caused a slight crash when she rose up.

She didn’t realise how much weight she did have.

“That is why this whole project and my feelings have to remain secret! She can’t know!” They way her big brown eyes changed into something akin to a puppy dog being sad, well he caved.

“Fine fine. I shall keep this secret”

“Thank you Ienzo thank you~” she grabbed his hands in glee.

Outside, Vanitas is sulking around the shadows, ever weary that Direheart is probably watching him but for now his focus was on Rii who was sitting with Aqua.

“How is that...Seven girl? She updated you on her progress yet? Whatever she was doing seemed to be important” Aqua asked her young friend, Rii gives a tiny smile.

“Seven told me it is still a long process. She’s barely slept, then again she is a robot so....” Rii tilts her head, leading Aqua to chuckle when a shadow flew over them. Looking up they saw Direheart, flying around, doing her patrol route.

“I am surprised she is out and about, considering what happened recently. Seven was very brave to take on such a large...Heartless” Aqua commented, eyes following her flying friend, the young woman next to her gave a nod.

“Yeah. Seven...doesn’t really speak much about her home unless she is really close with them.”

That’s when something caught their attention. Direheart had stopped in her flight path, the gem embedded into her chest shone brightly, even causing Vanitas to look up.

“Sense something Gem Girl? Or is one of your many alternates in trouble huh?” He said with a cocky grin, the white haired female heard him frowning at him.

“As a matter of fact it does. The brighter my ruby, the closer the person is. It is not one of the others who share my name” she said, landing softly on her feet, Rii shielding her eyes from the gem’s brightness.

The sound of...robotic like footsteps came closer and closer along with another set of footsteps. Direheart readied herself for a fight if necessary.

“C-Can’t your ruby tell you who it is?” Rii squeaked as Aqua kept her close, Vanitas lurking in the shadows still watching closely.

No threat to Rii will ever pass. He would make sure of that.

That is until a familiar figure appeared before them, it was Terra. He gave a raised brow. “Maddi? Why are you so tense?” he approached her, she gives him a look.

“I sense something..unfamiliar.” The way she scowled made Terra give a small smile. “Oh right, someone was looking for you” She raised a brow at him.

“Are you sure they were looking for me and not Seven? We share the same name remember?” She hissed a slight frown on her lips once again. Terra folded his arms across his chest, obviously slightly amused by her temper.

“They specifically asked for you. They didn’t say your real name, love.” Terra motioned behind him, a shadowy figure made their way before them. Aqua raised her arm in front of Rii, Rii looked slightly worried and as for Vanitas....

He had seen that figure somewhere before.

The shadows faded as the figure stepped into the sunlight, Direheart lowered her hands once she realised who it was. “Zero?”

The others turned to her with wide eyes.

“Zero?” Aqua questioned. “You know him Maddi?”

“I do. Zero is from Seven’s world. He is an extremely well versed fighter, a high ranked Hunter in his own right and is Seven’s companion” The white haired female explained.

The others looked him over. He did look a bit like Seven but obviously with a male build, shiny red armour, an impressive helm and a long blonde ponytail out the back, full and a lovely shade of blonde.

Cold steely blue eyes to match as well.

“It is good to see you Zero” Direheart said with a small smile, which caught the red Reploid off guard somewhat.

“It has been a while Direheart. I trust you are in good health?” He asked somewhat gruffly, he probably didn’t mean it to sound that way of course. Direheart shook her head.

“Same old Zero. The years I spent trapped in Seven’s body did not leave me Zero, I am very well. Oh these are my friends” She motioned behind her, giving brief introductions.

Aqua was confused and Rii was surprised to say the least, while Vanitas still lingered close by.

“What brings you to my home?” Direheart asked the robot, he folded his arms across his chest. “I’m here to check up on Seven. The others back home have been worried about her.”

“Oh?’ The now physical spirit said in slight surprise. “Well follow me I’ll take you to her”

It was a fright.

Seven was not expecting Zero.

The two robots stood in front of each other, Direheart sensed the slight tension and asked Ienzo to follow her out.

The red Reploid stared at his companion, not aware that the others were watching them through cameras.

“......Is this what you are working on? A cure for the virus inside me?” He said coldly, the brunette hung her head low.

“Yes....”

The male placed a hand on the table, looking around at the notes and scribbles.

“....Have you even rested?”

The silence she gave him was answer enough for him.

“You know how I feel about you not taking care of yourself! This is why it took so long for you to go out on the field”

Seven seemed to flare up at his tone.

“You know I am stubborn! All of us are stubborn!” She hissed, eyes narrowed. “Don’t you tell me what to do! You may be my superior but this matter is deep and close to my heart!” She gritted her teeth.

“And why? Are you trying to play the hero?” he asked sternly. “I know you take great pride in your work but what if you can’t cure the virus? What if you make it worse?”

“I’ve ran ever scenario in my head and I have to save you! Save our race! Save the humans!”

“This burden is too big for your shoulders alone. You need to stop before you burn yourself out”

The others watched from behind the tinted window, Direheart frowning more then usual.

“You don’t understand why I am doing this-” She was cut off.

“X and the others would be upset that you kept this secret from them. Why? What if I can’t be saved? Why work one something that could lead you to a dead end over and over?” His tone made her more angry.

“Because I love you, you idiot!”

If only she could have swallowed those words before she said them, covering her mouth in slight embarrassment.

Zero stared right back at her, eyes wide in surprise, not as wide as the others watching of course.

“You-”

Seven refused to answer, hiding her face into her hands. “I tried not to fall in love with you. I know. But I couldn’t help it! I tried! After Iris I....I....”

She pushed past him, running out the doors. “I’m sorry!” she called out, her comrade watched her leave in a hurry.

What was this he felt?

it was the same feeling he had before....

Could it be that he returned her feelings?

There was silence.

“I can’t believe it...” Direheart said in shock, falling back into a chair Esper pushed behind her to catch her in time.

“How did you not notice?” Aqua asked, slightly confused. “She is you? How could you not tell?”

Direheart shook her head. “If one of my alternates wishes to keep something secret, a section of their heart will be closed off. That information is forever locked out to me. Why didn’t she tell me....?”

That response made Terra laugh. “Because you have a fiery temper, much like Seven’s” Direheart narrowed her eyes and was about to retort when the doors opened again, the sound of footsteps sounding.

“Where is he going?” Rii asked.

“He’s going to find Seven. Grab onto me everyone....even you Vanitas..” The spirit eyes the shadows nearby. “I will take us to Seven’s location”

What Direheart heard next was a scoff.

“Why? She’d probably be sobbing and-” The glare she sent his way made him think twice.

Her eyes were red not blue this time.

He complied placing a hand on her shoulder even though it irked him. In a bright red flash they were transported a bit further away from Seven’s location. Direheart lifted her head. “Now we wait....”

It didn’t take long for Zero to find Seven, he could sense her. He found her, standing by a nearby fountain, his footsteps alerted her to his presence.

Her eyes were big. Conveying sadness and embarrassment.

“......I understand if you do not....” she stopped herself. She was angry at herself, angry at his tone! Angry that she was like this. All this negative energy was feeding him she thought, making him stronger.

But she didn’t care right now.

“I know I am not Iris. I know this b-but....b-but” Clenching her fist she raised her voice. “But I can’t help how I feel! What are you here for? To tell me I can’t love you? Tell me my work is in vain? Why are you here Zero!”

She felt so exposed before him but she didn’t care right now.

Her structure was interrupted by his arrival.

She was met with his stoic gaze and silence, she looked down at her feet.

“I can’t help how I feel. You can dismiss my feelings...but I can’t dismiss mine....” The holographic line connecting her antenna made little heart shapes as she spoke, conveying her real feelings.

There was more silence.

Her face turned red.

“S-Say something!” she screeched only to raise her head and find he had moved closer to her.

Then she felt her head being pressed into his shoulder and the other hand on the small of her back.

“.....I said to Axl once you are a jewel in our Maverick infested world....That is why I would rush to your aid. Keep you safe....” his voice was soft, caring.

“You are worth protecting. I’ll make sure of that”

“B-But the virus! I need-” The look he sent her made her silent again

“....Shush...just stay quiet. And stay close...for right now” He said in something akin to a whisper, causing Seven to freeze.

“........O-Okay...”

Perhaps this was a good sign.

#Maddi writes #HOLY SHIT IT IS A LONG ONE #AND SEVEN FINALLY TELLS HER FEELINSG AHHHHHJHHHHHH

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lyssala · 6 years

Text

You’re Idiots, the Both of You

Parings: Terra/Aqua, Kingdom Hearts

Setting: Right before Aqua leaves for college; Terra & Aqua are 19 &18

Rating: T (Slight Language)

Notes: I felt this one a lot cause while I ended up not going away for college I almost moved to a big city from a small town all alone and I was terrified. I based a lot of this on those feelings I had as sometimes it really is hard to leave all you’ve ever known even if it’s to live your dream. Also those two are so stubborn bickering is probably more common place than not and also we all know neither are great at communication when emotions run high haha I try not to only show the good times, but the rougher times too, the mistakes, and the anger because that’s just as real in anyone’s lives.

AO3

12. Fight

“I’m fine. I’m great. It’s a big fat happy sunshine day for me.”

-Luke

Terra didn’t think it would be that bad. He thought if he could at least be there with her it wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined it would be. Yet as he sat on her bedroom floor, surrounded by bags and boxes while she was pulling things from her closet the reality of the situation was hitting him harder than it had before.

In a week Aqua would be gone.

Not permanently but she’d be at school more often than she’d be home and while he knew she’d visit and he’d visit it wouldn’t ever be the same again. Terra couldn’t get this sinking feeling out of the pit of his stomach that he was losing her. He was finding that was a hard pill to swallow.

“Oh God,” Aqua said as she pulled herself out of her closet. “How long has it been since I cleaned this out.” She made a face holding up a pair of glittery Mary Janes that were way too small for her now.

“You used to love those things,” he snorted, tossing the few papers in his hand in the nearby garbage bag. “You’d even wear them in the rain and get your feet soaked.”

Aqua rolled her eyes. “It’s a miracle there’s any glitter left on them.” She tossed them in the garbage bag near before diving back in the closet.

Terra felt a sharp jab in his chest even though he used to hate those shoes because they always hurt her feet and cause her to get sick when the weather was bad even if she loved them. He wasn’t attached to them in the least and yet, it was like throwing his memories away in a black trash bag. It wasn’t really possible since he could always have memories without the physical item but there was just something about sitting here and deciding what was going with her, what was staying, and what was getting tossed that made Terra just feel…bad.

He tried not to show it as she was all smiles and excited energy as she got ready to start her new life. He really didn’t want to bring down her mood since he was essentially sulking but it was just so hard, especially since she didn’t seem nearly as upset as he was. She was getting a chance to leave, getting a chance to do the things she loved with people who loved doing them, she’d have more friends who had interests like hers and where did that leave him? Here alone.

“Terra?”

He looked up at her and realized she had been trying to get his attention as she held a shirt up to herself. It was way too big but very familiar. “Is that mine?”

She nodded with a small laugh. “I think I stole it from you a while ago.”

“I’m not surprised.”

Aqua tossed the shirt in a pile off to the side of her bed, the rest of Terra’s things they had found in here. He honestly didn’t want any of it back, he wanted her to keep it all maybe then he wouldn’t feel so awful, like she’d take at least some part of him with her.

With a sigh, he leaned over to her night stand to do what he was actually here to help with. The bottom drawer was already opened from where he grabbed his last handful of papers, all old school assignments and notes really. He was about to grab another to flip through but something else caught his eye instead. Off to the corner of the drawer was a dried flower, he carefully picked it up though he already knew it as the flower he gave her to wear on her wrist at her prom a few months back.

“Still here, huh,” he said, holding it up a little.

“Oh, yeah,” she laughed lightly, sticking her head out of the closet. “It looked so pretty, I wanted to keep it.”

Terra never lied to her, he really did hate proms and other school functions that only existed to get classmates to have some sort of school spirit and be forced in confined spaces together but there was no way he would’ve ever said no when she asked if he’d go with her. It was easy to put his feelings away for her and make sure she had the night she wanted. Seeing that she still had the flower made him feel nice, like maybe he did just that. “It might dissolve sooner rather than later,” he said as he placed it delicately in his palm.

“Ah, yeah.” Aqua paused, looking back into her closet.

His stomach lurched. Or maybe not. He let the flower roll off his hand into the garbage bag, his throat feeling choked as he did. This was stupid. They were just things. Yet they were things that symbolized how much things were changing and how much he absolutely hated it.

Terra reached back into the drawer, trying to file through what she’d probably want to keep and what he could toss. If he just focused on the task maybe all these stupid feelings would go away. Aqua wasn’t wrong, she wasn’t doing anything that wasn’t normal. It was him. He was too attached when clearly she didn’t feel the same way so he needed to get let go too.

The thought alone seemed impossible not when every part of him wanted to just desperately hang on.

“Oh!” Aqua exclaimed, pulling herself out of the closet again. “Look, Terra!” She was holding up a ratty old bunny stuffed animal in her hands that looked like it had seen way better days, as it had since it was his from when he was a baby.

“Oh, yeah, something else you stole from me.”

“I absolutely did not,” she said, carefully wrapping her arms around the stuffed animal so its arms flopped over hers, just how she used to carry it. “You gave it to me.”

That was the truth. Aqua used to be scared of the dark, and he gave it to her one night at his house to help her sleep better; it worked so he just let her keep it. He honestly didn’t even know she still had it.

“I thought my mom got rid of it but I guess I did a good job hiding it from her.” Aqua smiled as she looked down at it. She used to take it every single place she went and always made him feel glad he could do something for her, give her some form of comfort.

“Maybe because it’s falling apart,” he said but he couldn’t stop his lips from twitching upwards to see her hold it again. Their lives were so tied up together, there’s no way just a two hour car ride could erase that right?

Aqua sighed as she pulled the bunny away from her and tossed it over to the rest of Terra’s things.

In one instant, he felt like his whole world was being shaken, like he was losing his grip on everything he ever held dear. Terra didn’t even realize he stood to his feet until Aqua was looking up at him confused.

“Terra, what’s wrong?”

He didn’t even know what to say, how to explain. It hurt to see her toss away things that meant something to him, that he thought meant something to her. “Does it really mean that little to you?”

She blinked at him, looking a little lost. “Does what? What are you talking about?”

“Anything, the things we had together, me.” He threw his hands up a little, his tone coming out much harder than he intended but he couldn’t stop. He knew he expressed his hurt in anger and he knew it was wrong of him to take it out on her but right now it was all he could do.

Aqua pushed herself up to her feet. “Terra, seriously, what are you talking about?”

“You’re just giving up everything in here so easily.”

“I’m moving, I have to get rid of things. I can’t keep everything, you know that.” She still looked confused but her tone was firm as she was trying to calm him down.

“Oh, yeah, you’ve made that abundantly clear.” Terra regretted his words the moment he saw the hurt flash across her face. It only lasted a seconded before her eyes narrowed.

“What the hell is your deal? You offered to help me, and now you’re just mad cause I’m not keeping every little thing? My room there isn’t very large. I physically can’t keep everything even if I want to.”

The reminder of the reality of this situation was a stab straight to his heart. This was happening. She was leaving and no matter what he did there was nothing that could ever change that. “Yeah, okay, I’m aware, but you don’t have to seem so happy to get away from here.”

She stared at him, looking almost like he had slapped her in the face. He never hated himself more when he saw the way her eyes started water. “How could you think that?”

He wanted to stop, to apologize, but he couldn’t stop the words from coming. “I dunno, Aqua, maybe because the whole day has been you just tossing away anything that had any meaning like you don’t care at all.”

Her eyes were still wet but her mouth was in a hard line; unsurprisingly, she was never one to sit down and take anyone’s shit, let alone his. He knew it and could recognize it but it was almost like he was watching himself from outside his body, unable to stop anything that was happening.

“I just…I don’t get you right now, Terra. You’re never sentimental about these sorts of things. What is your problem?”

His jaw clenched. She was right, he knew she was right but it didn’t really seem to matter all that much. “I shouldn’t have come. You obviously are all ready to leave everything here behind, so I’ll just leave you to it.”

Aqua gave an exasperated sigh. “Jesus Christ, you’re being such an ass right now I hope you know that.”

“Yeah, well, it should be easy to forget then since you’re so eager to get away. Well, I can’t, okay. I don’t get to leave. I’m stuck here without you, maybe that’s fine for you but it’s not for me. Stupid things are all that’s left when you’re gone.”

She stopped as she watched him; the anger seemed to melt away in her eyes, leaving them watery like they were before. “Terra, I’m not-”

He turned and left. Even as he was doing it, he knew it was stupid that he was the one essentially running away now but he couldn’t bring himself to face her again. Confrontation wasn’t his strong point and he already blew this whole thing out of proportion.

She didn’t call after him as he hurried down the stairs; though Mrs. Queen called his name he didn’t answer, already closing the front door probably way too loud. He shoved his hands in his pants pockets and headed in the first direction he saw which was down the road. He just wanted to leave, get out of the same places, everything that held memories.

Terra absolutely knew he was being unreasonable and deep down he was happy for her to do what she wanted to do but right now all he felt was the hurt, how much his life would be lacking without waking up and knowing she was a few steps across the street. It was stupid and selfish of him but he couldn’t stop it, he couldn’t stop himself.

He walked and walked under the late summer sun, the humidity making him feel sticky and gross but he didn’t stop. He kept going until the anger, the frustration, all sort of faded away leaving him with just an ache in his chest. Aqua was leaving soon, he couldn’t and wouldn’t stop it, it was something he’d just have to learn to live with but now on top of it he ruined some of the few moments they had left together. Hot tears stung his eyes more so out of frustration with himself than anything. He hated this, he hated the things he did just because he didn’t know how to express how much she really meant to him, how empty all of this would be without her. He clenched his fists against his sides, wondering if he should just go home.

“Terra?”

The sound of his name made him jump even if the voice was familiar. Terra glanced over to the yard he was standing in front of to see Master Eraqus crouched down near one of the small patches of flower gardens scattered around. There were some gardening tools around him as he was lifting his sunglasses onto his head to get a better look at Terra.

“Shit,” he murmured, reaching the back of his hand up to his face, trying to wipe his eyes. He didn’t even know he walked that far up the street.

Eraqus stood up and started to walk back towards the house, gesturing for Terra to follow. “Well, come on now.”

Terra knew he didn’t have to, he could just turn and leave but he found he didn’t want to. He walked up the path that led to Eraqus’ porch, the door still swinging from where he had disappeared inside. Terra plopped himself down on the bench that sat under the overhang of the porch overlooking the front yard. How many times had he and Aqua sit out here together when Eraqus was babysitting them? There was nothing, nowhere in this town that didn’t remind Terra of her.

The door opened again and Eraqus stepped back out, hanging Terra glass cool to the touch. He took a sip of the sweet lemonade while Eraqus sat down next to Terra with a sigh.

“I’m sorry, Master,” Terra mumbled slightly into his drink.

“Oh, it’s nothing. You’re never a bother, my boy.” Eraqus glanced over. “Though I have a feeling I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.”

Terra dropped his hands to his lap, taking the glass down with them. “Always know what’s up, huh.”

“Oh, no,” Eraqus chuckled. “But I know you and I know how you look when you feel guilty. So why don’t you just get it off your chest.”

“I don’t want her to leave.” What was hard to say to some people always came easy when it was Eraqus; he had a presence Terra always found comforting, soothing. Maybe he had known exactly where he was walking to.

“And whys that?”

Terra also appreciated he didn’t need to clarify who he was referring to. “Because she gets to leave and go start a new life somewhere and I’m still here day in and day out left with just a reminder everywhere I go that she’s gone and I’m here.”

“Is she gone though? I know she won’t be here every day any more, but this is still her home is it not? Her friends, her family, you are all still here.”

“Yeah but what if she meets new people she likes better and never wants to visit home? What if that becomes her home and not here anymore?”

“Terra,” Eraqus chuckled. “You’re jealous of people who might not even exist.”

That was…a fair point. “She was so happy packing today, and I mean, I get it, I’m sure it’s exciting and don’t get me wrong I really am happy for her but just seeing her toss away things that held memories like she didn’t even care, like it didn’t matter.” He looked down at his hands. “Like how I felt didn’t matter.”

Eraqus held up his hand slightly. “Okay, well, two things. The first being did you tell her how all this was making you feel?”

Terra swallowed a small lump in his throat. “Well…not really.”

Eraqus gave a knowing look but didn’t comment. “Second being does any of that sound like Aqua? Think about those things that you just said. Does any of that sound like anything she’d do? Your best friend who still wears that tattered friendship bracelet because you still have the one she made you. Aqua, who almost always considers your feelings before she does anything, does that really sound like her?”

“Um, well, no.”

“Could it be maybe she already knew you have a hard time with change and that you’d probably be hurting and was trying to make everything seem like it was okay to help you feel better.”

That…yeah, that sounded like Aqua. Terra stared down at the floor, guilt turning his stomach.

“You know, I’m fairly certain she’s probably feeling the same way you are about all of this.”

“Why?” Terra glanced up. “She gets to start a new life and do amazing things. Who wouldn’t want that?”

“Unlike you, my boy, Aqua never had much desire to leave here. Sure, she is because it’s a wonderful opportunity for her and she knows that but I very much believe she doesn’t want to start a new life despite how many times you keep saying it.” Eraqus paused for a second. “And while you have to sit here and be reminded of her around every corner, she’s going somewhere brand new and she knows no one and will be reminded around every corner that you’re not there. I can imagine that would be very scary.”

“She’s not scared of anything.”

“Oh, I know for a fact everyone is scared of something, Terra. She is, just like you are and I’m willing to bet those two fears are generally the same thing.”

Terra almost let the glass slip out of his hands but Eraqus reached over to take it first.

“I bet she could really use her friend right about now.”

“Yeah,” Terra nodded. That sounded like something he needed to do, even if at least to apologize for the way he acted. He pushed himself to his feet. “Thanks, Master.”

Eraqus waved Terra off. “Do you need a ride back home?”

“No, I got it.” He jumped the last few steps on the porch before turning to wave back to Eraqus before heading back the way he came.

Granted, it felt like it took him way less to walk all the way up the street when frustration was his highest emotion. It felt like a million years when he was heavy with guilt and worry that she’d still be angry with him; so much so that he paused when he saw her house in front of him. He swallowed and walked back up to the door.

As carefully he could, he poked his head in the door. It wasn’t like he left quietly; Mr. and Mrs. Queen both probably heard everything and it wouldn’t have surprised him if they were waiting for him knowing Terra always came back with his tail between his legs.

They weren’t in the kitchen or the living room though. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him before turning up the staircase past the kitchen. Aqua’s room was the first one on the right, the door still wide open.

He hesitated but he knew if he walked away now he’d only be festering in guilt. With his heart feeling like it was caught in his throat he stepped in her room. Aqua was still there though she was sitting on the edge of her bed, the rest of the room the same state he had left, and the stuffed animal hanging loosely in her hands. Her hair was falling into her face making it hard to see if she even knew he was there but he supposed it didn’t really matter.

Terra walked in till he was crouched down in front of her. He honestly wasn’t sure what he was going to say but when she looked up her usually bright blue eyes were red and a little puffy. Nothing else but the truth seemed to matter.

“I don’t know what to do without you,” he said. It was the truth, the one he was afraid of because it was about to become his reality. “I don’t know how to wake up knowing you’re not next door, or how to go to work and know you won’t be there for lunch or dinner or anything.”

“I’m scared too,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper like she shouldn’t even be admitting it. “I don’t think I want to go.”

Terra’s throat went dry. “Because of what I said?”

Aqua shook her head, reaching the back of her hand up to wipe away a stray tear. “No, I was already feeling that way. It was why I was trying to act so positive about packing. I don’t want to get rid of any of these things.” She dropped her hand back down, holding on to the old stuffed animal again. “I want to stay here with my parents, with you, with the people and places I know. I don’t…”

Her breath hitched and he could see the way her eyes started to tear up again. “I don’t want to go to some strange place with strangers and live by myself without my mom to cook for me or without Ven to ask me to watch a movie with him and then you won’t…” She closed her eyes and the tears rolled down her cheeks. “You won’t be there at the end of the school day anymore.”

Terra knew Aqua better than anyone and he felt like even more of an absolute asshole for only focusing on how he was feeling and not realizing her own worries right away. He leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her so she fell slightly off the bed into him. She put her arms tightly around him, burying her face into his neck. “I want you to listen to me okay?”

She nodded though he knew she was making an effort not to cry more.

“You’re without a doubt the strongest person I know. If there’s anyone who can leave everything she’s ever known and be just fine, it’s you. You’re going to do way bigger things than this town could ever dream of because I know you can do it.” He nudged his head against hers. His chest still ached at the thought of her leaving but it honestly wasn’t about him, it never really should’ve been. “It’s okay to be afraid, but I know you’re gonna be just fine. I know you, Aqua.”

“I took the flower out of the garbage. I never wanted to get rid of it.” She let go of him, leaning back to her bed a little; Terra realized she still had the bunny in a tight grip in one of her hands, just like she used to.

“I’m sorry, you what?”

Aqua nodded over towards the nightstand where the flower he gave her was sitting. “I wanted everyone to think leaving didn’t bother me, everyone was so proud I got into this school I didn’t want to let them down by saying how I really felt. I knew it would hurt you to see me sad, that I just wanted you to be okay. I thought if you could see me let go of things you’d know I was okay, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry.”

“Hey.” He reached his hand up to her chin, forcing her to look back down at him. “I’m always proud of you. God, I’m gonna miss you like crazy, but I couldn’t be prouder of you. Distance can do its worst, but it’s not something we can’t handle.”

She rolled her eyes but there was a small smile pulling at her lips. Aqua lifted her hand, holding her pinky out to him; her silent way of asking, “promise?”

He hooked his finger with her.

Aqua threw her arms around him again, hugging herself closer.

“I’m sorry, for the things I said earlier.” He placed his hands on her back. “I should’ve known you were upset.”

She shook her head, telling him it was okay. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

He knew having to say goodbye to her next week was going to be one of the hardest things he did but it wasn’t forever, it wasn’t even for most the year. They had phones, he had a car, it wasn’t the end of anything really, just a little different than usual. Somehow they’d always be together, he knew it deep down. As long as he had that, it would be okay.

#terraqua #kingdom hearts #terra kingdom hearts #aqua kingdom hearts #my fics:kh #bothofyou #modernaukh

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