Disclaimer: Any characters and settings used in this story do not belong to me, but belong to both Disney and Square Enix. The events of this story are in no way meant to be canon or assumed to be tied to the Kingdom Hearts franchise.
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[BC]”I waited so long..”
[BC]”You left me to wander endlessly…”
[BC]”You’re too late…”
[BC]”Now all I know is despair. And now, you can share it.”
[BC]”No matter how much you think I’m gone, I’ll ALWAYS be a part of you-”
[IMG=O3S]
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[CI]Background OST
[CIU]Fire Emblem Three Hopes: First Light
[IMG=F4T]
[BI]”GAAAHH!”
A blue-haired woman shot up from the soft confines of her bed with a cold sweat dotting her forehead and body. Her breaths were shallow and ragged as she attempted to get a better grip on herself. She slowly began to calm down as her eyes scanned over the bedroom she was staring at, taking note of the rather quaint living space she found herself in.
Relief flooded in all at once as she realized that the dark and murky surroundings within her nightmare hadn’t followed to the real world. And much to her further delight, the eerie twisted version of herself hadn’t dared to make itself known either.
“Another dream…” Aqua muttered to herself as she pulled her legs a bit closer to the point where she was hugging her knees close to her chest, her eyes looking down towards the ruffled bed sheets below her.
She’d almost gotten used to nightmares like these with how frequently they racked her sleep. She at first attributed them to the fact that it had been quite some time since she had a proper bed-
The Realm of Darkness had few hospitable places, even amongst the shattered and fallen remains of the worlds that fell to darkness. Rest was a luxury; one that she had to get used to again after the conflict with Xehanort.
Now having finally stabilized herself, she slowly leaned up a bit to look outside the bedroom window to see that the sun had just barely begun rising into the sky. A few distant cries of seagulls could be heard in the distance, most likely from the shoreline.
[IMG=B6N]
She had to admit that she had seen plenty of the beach in her lifetime, but the serenity of Destiny Islands felt far more pleasing than the one in Dark Meridian. At least there was actual sunlight, as far as she was concerned.
Sunlight, though, meant that her friends would be waking up fast. And that meant that she needed to make the most of her time to herself before then.
Quickly changing into her more combat-oriented attire and summoning Master Defender to her side, she quickly ran down the steps and outside of the small apartment she had been staying in.
The cover of dawn had meant that the streets of Destiny Islands were fairly isolated, which meant she didn’t necessarily need to worry about bumping into anyone.
“The last thing I need is for one of them to get concerned with me being out this early. Terra would probably be the first to say something about it and I wouldn’t want him to waste his time worrying about me. I was more of an early bird anyway.
[BCI]”What an interesting excuse there~”
Shaking her head a bit, she decided to take the faster route and go through the nearby stretch of woods to reach the coastline.
Aqua had to admit that Destiny Islands had done a fair bit of growth in the time she had spent away from it. Before, it was simply a small town that housed no more than about a hundred or so people to form a tightly knit community.
Now it boasted many more attractions such as ice cream shops, courtesy of some Scrooge McDuck, eateries, and even some sort of Blitzball stadium. Or at least, that’s what she swore one of Kairi’s old friends had called it.
She had to admit that it was a bit overwhelming to walk around at night or in the evening with all the bright lights and hubbub swarming around her. Her previous life with her parents wasn't anything noteworthy and her extended time at the Land of Departure hadn’t exactly helped on that front.
Some Keyblade Master she was; overwhelmed by a few flashing lights in the city-
Still though, as pathetic as she thought that was, said line of thinking wasn’t enough to make her train in the dead of night either-
Eventually, she finally managed to reach the shoreline of the world. Aqua’s eyes couldn’t help but look out to the pale pink horizon that stretched out endlessly. If anything did make her feel at home at beaches, it was that sense of calm that being alone to listen to the waves brought oneself.
But as much as it was a soothing experience, she had work to be done. So many improvements to make and mistakes to correct and ensure they never plague her ever again.
With a flick of her finger, roughly 10 or so orbs of light had spawned around her. The technique had been something she had picked up from Eraquis thanks to his demonstration during the Mark of Mastery.
“It’s not a real physical opponent, but it’ll do just fine,” Aqua muttered to herself.
[BCI]”Now doesn’t this bring back memories? Too bad that old coot isn’t here to spice it up like last time.”
“I thought in life, I could soldier on ahead. That I could be a beacon of hope and safety within the realm; to guide the fallen and protect the weak. That was my duty as a Keybearer; as a Keyblade Master. To foster the light within the realm at any costs.”
“I was so…foolish back then. I understood nothing. I still don’t, not really.”
“But I can’t afford to let myself be so weak again. I’ll keep training harder and harder to rectify my mistakes. To see the world protected. It doesn’t matter what I have to do to myself to keep them safe, so long as the next generation is ready.”
She would do better; be better, no matter what stood in her way.
[BCI]”You’re already better, already changed. You’re just denying it, just like you’re ignoring me.”
Aqua visibly grimaced at the sensation, her expression darkening as her grip on the Keyblade only grew tighter.
[CI]>Background OST
[CI]>Final Fantasy XV: Up for the Challenge
[CI]
[IMG=N1L]
She readied her Keyblade as she looked at the orb of light, her eyebrows only becoming more and more furrowed the more she dwelled on her thoughts.
“I’m not talking to you. Today is an important day for me, so I don’t have the time for it.” She growled to herself.
It would just be like another training session, just like she had been doing since that fateful day.
Just like before everything went to hell and her former home was turned into a rotting shell of itself.
If only they could go back to those days of peace.
[BCI]”But you’re living in that peace right now. Unless of course, that isn’t you anymore. Yes, you just don’t fit so neatly in that picturesque photo, do you?”
Aqua hadn’t bothered to give a formal reply to the disembodied voice in her head, though the effect of its words wasn’t lost on her as she couldn’t help but continue to think to herself.
It was such a lovely time-
But it felt so distant to the blue-haired Keyblade Master.
Looking back upon these memories now seemed almost alien to her, as if there was no recollection of what had happened before. She could not dare and look upon the hallowed halls of the Land of Departure with the same optimism once again, her thoughts going back to the day she had returned home-
At this, she decided to take a few swings toward the orb of light, practicing her usual style of fencing. A few quick thrusts to vital areas here and there, pivoting and spinning to increase the momentum and range of her attacks.
[IMG=N8M]
[BCI]”How long until that facade of yours drops? Your heart isn’t pure like Ven and now everyone knows it. If you don’t let loose soon, you’ll end up becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy and be every bit of the ticking time bomb you’re worried you are.”
Her expression only grew more annoyed-
This morning would be one of the many days where even her training wouldn’t let her clear her thoughts.
At the very least, to her, the annoyance of that voice was a prime motivation to take herself to the limit tonight-
All those years ago when she saw the state of the world in utter discord and disrepair; to know that her Master’s blood had soiled and stained the pristine courtyard by none other than her friend’s blade-
She had failed him as his apprentice in the world’s hour of need not once, but twice. Twice she had fallen to her ineptitude as a Keyblade Master and left the affairs of the world in the hands of children.
She would get stronger, faster, smarter;
She would not stand by and let the worlds falter under her watch any longer-
She only increased the ferocity of her attacks, wildly zipping about the sand and utilizing the extent of her martial and magical prowess to do away with the remnants of the orbs.
“Master Aqua?”
She hadn’t even registered the voice as she continued hacking away at the orbs of light with all the strength in her body.
She had to get stronger. Faster.
No matter the cost.
She couldn’t afford to be a failure anymore.
“Master Aqua…?”
She still hadn’t even registered the voice behind her,
[BCI]”At any cost, hm? To suppress me? Stop me from hurting your friends? How noble. But how long can you keep it up before something slips, just like before?”
Now Aqua’s patience had run out, a firm and hateful scowl on her face as she continued wildly destroying orb of light after orb of light. She had already thrown her typical refined combat style to the wayside, her eyes glowing the slightest bit of the same sickening yellow she’d come to fear.
If the voice wouldn’t stuff it, perhaps a display of force would be enough to shut it up permanently.
“Master Aqua!”
[BCI]”SHUT IT!”
Aqua bellowed that out at the top of her lungs, her lips curled into a ferocious snarl as she whipped her head around to face whoever was bothering her. She expected to see some sort of manifestation of whatever was trapped in her head, but what she found caused her expression of annoyance to quickly fade into regret and shame.
She looked over to see that Kairi, the red-headed Keyblade wielder she had taken as an apprentice, had been eying her up with a mixture of concern and confusion.
At her side had been an equally as confused Terra, the brown-haired Keyblader wielder eyeing her for a few moments.
She knew that gaze from anywhere-
It was one that she and Terra would often wear when any sort of threat presented itself to Ventus; one of protection and as an underlying threat to whatever stood in their path.
[IMG=S4U]
Terra quickly relaxed his expression though, most likely from him realizing that he was giving her THAT gaze. Yet it was far too late, as his glance away from her had only caused Aqua to shamefully look down to the ground while still trying to catch her breath.
The bluebird looked down at the arm she was wielding the Keyblade in, only to see that it was coated in a familiar but horrid black aura.
Darkness-
Once again, it had gone unchecked and had seeped out of her-
She would have torn her hair out in frustration at the sight of it. It had been an annoying commonality in the weeks since Sora’s disappearance, with no amount of meditation or relaxation proving the least bit effective.
“Come on Aqua, game face! You’ve got a class to be teaching today! It’s just one single lesson in status spells and then you can get right back to training. Just because Terra’s here doesn’t mean anything!” Aqua stammered to herself before shaking her head, finally offering an apology to the pair.
“I’m sorry about snapping there, Kairi. I’m just…well…a bit high-strung this morning thanks to me having a bit more coffee than normal.” Aqua partially lied, neatly but awkwardly folding her hands together in front of her and giving a sheepish smile.
A partial lie indeed-
She was drinking an ungodly amount of coffee to help herself get up in the morning, something she never really needed to do before-
She supposed her training must have been sapping her of her energy-
[CI]”A small price to pay. It doesn’t matter so long as I can get this under control.” Aqua thought to herself.
Kairi’s expression turned back from a slight look of concern into one of understanding; she certainly had been in that position before, even if it was a rare sight to see Aqua genuinely snap at anyone.
[CI]>Background OST
[CI]>Fire Emblem Three Hopes: Sunlight Through the Trees
[IMG=T1B]
“Ohh, that must explain it! I always thought you were more of a tea person though, Master Aqua! Go figure!” Kairi said with a small chuckle before she placed her hands on her hips and gave a small pout.
“Still though, you’re late for our practice! It’s nearly noon by now, ya know?”
At this, Aqua visibly balked at the info before looking up towards the sky. Much to her surprise, the sun was already at its highest point in the sky and the sky was a bright and ever-beautiful blue.
She came here at the crack of dawn and it was already noon?
Had she lost track of the time that profusely with her training? She did feel herself starting to focus only on the voice in her head and her training late into the session, but she hadn’t imagined that it had bled into the time she set aside for Kairi.
“Oh! Sorry about that! I guess I might have gotten a bit carried away.” Aqua said before glancing over to Terra, offering another sheepish smile.
“So I’m guessing she went running off to you to fetch me, huh?” Aqua said with the faintest hints of a smirk on her face, with Terra returning the gesture with a chuckle of his own.
“Well, yeah. Buuut, I did come here to stay for the lesson.” Terra muttered, rubbing the back of his head and looking off towards the sea to avert Aqua’s gaze.
What? A lesson? With her?
It was certainly an unexpected scenario for the blue-headed Keyblade master. It would mean there would be no room for error in her instruction
She’d have to be perfect-
[BCI]”You haven’t been doing that well lately, have you?”
[CI]Ignore it…”
[BCI]”Ignore me? Well, I guess if that’s how you want to handle your problems, then be my guest.”
If she messed up in front of him, she’d never be able to live down the embarrassment and shame she’d feel, even if he comforted her.
“S-staying? Oh! Um, I see! I don’t know what you’d gather from that though. I’m only going to be working with Kairi to help her deal with status effects. It’s nothing the Master hasn’t drilled us on before.” Aqua said, a tiny bit of a stutter in her voice despite her best efforts to curtail it.
“See, about that-” Terra started, his cheeks turning a slight pink from having to admit this.
“I actually could use a refresher on that too. I only learned the essentials of magic and what came naturally to me. Curaga, Quake, and enough of the Firaga spell to mix it with darkness. Aside from that, I’m kind of a newbie at it.”
For a moment, Aqua struggled to get an answer out, still rummaging around in her thoughts as to why she was starting to feel her heart pound just the slightest bit faster.
It wasn’t until Terra had spoken up, taking the lack of a response as an admission of shame from his blue-headed friend.
“Ah, see? Pretty stupid, I’ll admit. I can swing a sword like the best of them, but a little blizzard spell will do me in, haha.”
Aqua quickly snapped out of her thoughts, her cheeks turning a small pink at having made Terra wait for an answer from her.
“N-no! I mean, I can’t say that I’m as proficient as you with how you handle your Keyblade. You and I both could stand to learn a bit more to round out how each other fights.” Aqua responded, wanting to practically kick herself for the slight stutter at the beginning of her statement.
“Hmmm…tell you what! You teach me how to use some status magic and I’ll show Ars Solum off to you? ‘That sound like a deal?” Terra asked, flashing a small smirk to his companion, which earned a sigh from Aqua.
“I think I’ve seen enough of that technique to last a lifetime. But it does look like a powerful string of attacks- It might not be a bad thing to pick up and learn. Maybe Kairi can even replicate it someday.” Aqua thought to herself, still remembering her encounters with well…
Terranort.
She quickly shook the thought out of her head, not wanting to dwell on those dark days. Not when she was going to be teaching and having a good time with her pupil and close friend.
[BCI]”Close friend? Don’t you think you're being a bit modest there? I think he’s a bit more than a close friend.”
“Shut. It.” Aqua muttered under her breath, only to get a look of confusion from Terra and Kairi once more.
At this, Aqua dismissively waved her hands before she resummoned her Keyblade, pointing over to the side.
“Pay no mind to t-that! I was just in my head a bit! Kairi, if you could sit over there, please? And I’ll need you to help me with some demonstrations for the spells.”
“Gotcha! Though I don’t understand why we can’t move on to the more advanced stuff. Riku heard what we were doing today and said that status spells aren’t THAT big of a hindrance to anything.” Kairi pouted, earning a small chuckle from Terra and an eye roll from Aqua.
“Something funny?” Aqua muttered over to Terra, now giving him the side-eye.
“Haha! I have to admit that he takes after all of our best and worst traits, don’t you think?”
At this, even Aqua couldn’t help but agree and offer up a wry smirk in response, placing her hands on her hips.
“Well, at least he knows how to cast Slow of all things. Now come on, Mr. Brute Force. I’m going to get you and Kairi up to speed so we can get to the more “advanced stuff” tomorrow.”
And with that, Aqua began her demonstration of all the particular status effects that she had encountered throughout her travels through the Realm of Light and Darkness-
Both Kairi and Terra had to admit that while some were obvious, others were effects that they had never considered.
Poison, Sleep, Slow, Stop, Confusion, Sap, Zero Gravity-
Even some of the rarer versions such as Locking commands, Ignite, Blackout, and Doom.
Kairi and Terra had been making sure to absorb as much of her lecture as they could, the two even managing to pick up that both the Panacea and Esuna spells were something they could utilize if the effects they were suffering from ever became too much to bear.
There was just one spell left to cover and one that Aqua knew was best described with an actual test dummy. The others were a bit more straightforward to explain, but she couldn’t help but feel this urge to have a live demonstration for this spell in particular.
[BCI]”Keep telling yourself that~”
[CI]”I’m not talking with you today. You can bug me all you want later on.”
[BCI]”Oh come now! Always so feisty when there’s no reason to be. You cling on to the light like it’s necessary for your very existence. There is such a thing as letting it blind you.”
“And finally for our last one, I’ll need a volunteer to demonstrate it.” Aqua began before pointing over to Terra, which earned a look of apprehension from her companion.
“Are you sure about that one? I mean, I’m glad you’re not asking for me to be poisoned or paralyzed, but still-” Terra said, his lips pursing a bit until Aqua’s hand came to rest on his shoulder as she gave him a reassuring smile.
“Terra, I know what I’m doing. It’s just going to be a small Mini spell and nothing more.” Aqua said in a soothing voice, that being more than enough to have Terra acquiesce.
“Well if there’s anybody I trust with my life, it’d probably be you. So fine, gimme your best shot.”
[IMG=S5N]
Terra’s response had made Aqua stop for a few moments, her heartbeat starting to rise as her cheeks threatened to turn a rosy pink. After all, she had never once really been on the receiving end of such a compliment from Terra-
At least, never one that made her heart flutter like so-
[BCI]”My, my. I wonder what the reason could be for why you’re so flustered! Could it be that-”
[CI]”Enough. What you’re suggesting is wishful thinking- Nothing more than that.” Aqua thought back to the voice in her head, briefly closing her eyes to start her chanting of the spell.
[BCI]”Whatever you say. All I’m saying is that I never suggested you have a partner for your demonstration~! A bit odd, don’t you think?”
[CI]”I-I…”
This time, Aqua was at a loss for words for what to say about her unwanted guest, simply choosing to brush past it and continue with her demonstration. That is until she felt a hand on her shoulder, Terra walking up towards Aqua with a concerned expression on his face.
“Aqua? You seem a bit distracted today. And are those…bags under your eyes?” Terra asked, his face inching a bit closer to her own as his eyes studied her face.
At this, Aqua’s concentration was noticeably rattled as she looked away from Terra, trying to hide the blush that was clearly on her face.
Honestly, she could have socked Terra in the face right now for being so close to her and not knowing why she was so flustered. Was he seriously that dense with this sort of stuff?
But of course, he was keen enough to pick up on the fact that she looked a bit more haggard than usual-
The one thing she hoped he wouldn’t pick up on.
“L-let's just get on with the lesson, okay?” Aqua stammered out, practically wanting to throttle herself for another unwanted stutter in her voice.
“Okay…Well, you’re the teacher here.” Terra said, raising his hands in a defeated manner before he stepped a few paces back. Even he could tell that their conversation topic was a bit tense-
With said space granted, she raised her keyblade towards the air before pointing it back down towards Terra.
[BCI]”Oh my~! You must want him so badly that you’re willing to stuff him somewhere on you! How lewd!”
This managed to catch Aqua off guard as she briefly lost her concentration with the spell, a blush appearing on her face as quickly as a scowl did.
“M-mini!”
[IMG=D7A]
A ring of bright yellow energy was sent around her, quickly hitting Terra’s body and surrounding it in the same pale yellow energy.
Before Terra knew it, his surroundings began to slowly shift as the entire world seemed to expand around him. He looked around in utter shock as both Aqua and the distant Kairi seemed to resemble skyscrapers more than actual people.
“I’ve never heard of this spell before…” He muttered as he placed a hand on his chin,
“Gotta say though. It’s a bit disorientating being this small. I feel like my head’s gonna pop at this rate.” He groaned as he held his head, sudden vertigo causing him to hold his head for a few moments.
He looked up at the pair, noticing that Kairi was looking at him with stars practically in her eyes. At this, he couldn’t help but let out a long-winded sigh and a sheepish smile, knowing full well that she must have thought him to be some sort of doll.
When he glanced over to Aqua, what he saw wasn’t as welcoming.
It was hard to read her expression though, the only hint of her feelings being a slight blush on her cheeks.
There was a similar vibe to Kairi with her most likely thinking he was cute or something, but there was something else in there that she was desperately trying to hide from him.
Desire, almost.
“Whatever that means, at least.” He thought to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest and looked back over to Aqua, expecting her to turn him back.
Aqua simply slowly reached down towards the small Terra with the same unreadable and transfixed expression she wore before, gently plucking him up from the ground and holding him before her face.
[BCI]”Awww~! You know, we could always have a little fun with Terra you know~? Men like him certainly wouldn’t mind it, I feel!”
[IMG=S5C]
Aqua had to admit that the thought was tantalizing, to say the least, seeing as she unconsciously hugged him against her cheek and let out a sigh of relaxation. Terra was a bit shocked by the gesture, seeing as all he had done was offered her an awkward hug back.
“Um…Aqua?” He asked with a cocked eyebrow, but the bluebird wasn’t listening much to what he was saying at this point.
It was as if she were on autopilot at this point, as she gently reached over and booped him on the nose.
“Maybe I should leave you this small! Seeing you this is honestly too adorable, hehe~!” She teased, causing Terra to start blushing profusely. The poor man wasn’t used to Aqua being the more forward of the two, and his new predicament was causing him to act a bit more pathetically than he normally would.
“Come on, knock it off already! You’ve made your point.” He said while rolling his eyes, earning another giggle from Aqua.
“I dunno. I think you ought to stay like this for the whole day! Especially with an attitude like that. If you’re not careful, all those comments of me being the Mom of the group might lead me into punishing you like one~!” She said, her smirk growing a bit wider, completely forgetting that this was supposed to be a teaching session for Kairi.
It wasn’t until Kairi spoke up that she managed to glance her way.
“Master Aqua…? I think we get it with how the spell is supposed to work.” Kairi said with a raised eyebrow of her own, starting to pick up on the clues Aqua was leaving behind concerning her true feelings for Terra. Said clues that the poor man would be too ignorant to notice.
This managed to snap Aqua out of her temporary teasing mood as she shook her head, now recalling what she had just done.
Her cheeks turning a bright red, she quickly pushed the doll-size Terra onto Kaifri for her to hold as she cleared her throat.
“A-and that ends my tutoring for today. E-excuse me…I need some time to recollect myself and get some rest! I’ll be back for another lesson in a few days!” She quickly muttered out in the blink of an eye before she began to walk away from the summer beach, leaving the two just as confused as they were a few moments ago.
“So…Am I going to grow back, or…?” Terra asked before Kairi let out a sigh of her own, knowing that now she’d have to spend the entire night learning the spell to revert Terra to his real size.
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[CI]>Background OST
[CI]>Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep: Aqua’s Theme
[IMG=D1B]
[CBI]Another day-
Another morning and afternoon were spent tirelessly fighting against the light orbs with all the ferocity Aqua could muster, sparing no expenses in making sure her temporary training partners felt every bit of malice that was seeping through her.
One arc of her Keyblade had been enough to rend a nearby orb of light in twain with one single slice, with nearly half of the beachside following suit.
Aqua had slowly looked at her handiwork with a rising amount of trepidation and regret, her hands shaking for a moment as she noticed that the large gashes in the sand emitted slight wisps of black smoke.
“Darkness? Again…?” Aqua asked in a slight bit of horror as the tide rushed back into the beach, quickly filling the new trench that was created from her attack.
[BCI]”You’re starting to lose your grip, Aqua.”
[CI]”If you’d just shut up and let me focus, I could stamp you out for good and not have to worry about this,” Aqua muttered as she brought her keyblade close to herself, trying a bit of mediation to calm her frayed nerves.
[BCI]”And let you tear yourself apart? Look at you! You haven’t gotten a wink of sleep worrying about little old me! Pretty pathetic if you ask me, just like your little time with Terra yesterday.”
[CI]”W-What? I did the right thing yesterday! It was my fault I shrank him with that Minimize spell, so I felt it was necessary to leave someone else to him.” Aqua quickly responded before beginning her assault once more, trying to block out the voice once more and continue her efforts on stamping it out of her head for good.
[BCI]”You didn’t do anything and that’s the problem! It’s eating you alive if that dream of yours is anything to go by. Never mind anything you REALLY wanted, you couldn’t even muster up a KISS to him!”
Aqua noticeably bristled at the statement, her body becoming coated in a black and fiery aura as her movements became more erratic and less refined.
[CI]”Now isn’t the time for fantasies like that! I put aside those feelings a long time ago when I had to fight that monster using Terra’s body. And now that things are settled, I can’t afford to”
[BCI]”Can’t afford to…what? Live your life? Oh right! It’s because, in your eyes, you’re as pathetic as they come! A few failures and you’re nothing to your sickeningly sweet friends, right? What a disgrace!”
Aqua didn’t have a response to her statement this time as she continued to hack away at the orbs with a renewed ferocity, her mouth curled into the most ferocious snarl she could muster. Never before had she wanted to lay waste to whatever was in her path, her vision starting to turn a bit red.
She pounced on the remaining orbs, destroying them with a few more wild swings from her Keyblade, eradicating them without a single thought.
”You don’t deserve that Keyblade. You say you can’t protect anyone, so it must be true! You should have stayed in the dark.”
”Shut it! You don’t know anything about me!” Aqua screamed out before she let out a blood-curdling roar as the aura of darkness only intensified and erupted out of her, sending out a giant spire of it into the sky before dissipating.
[BCI]”Locking yourself away? Playing the hero? Being so reserved and cold? You hate it. You hate what you’ve become. That’s why you’re losing your grip on the darkness. It’s because you desperately want more of what it gives you.”
”Control. Freedom.”
“SHUT UP!” Aqua cried out at the top of her lungs before she wildly began to strike at the beach, batting away and disintegrating large handfuls of sand over and over again. Each strike filled with a veil of darkness so hot and corrosive that it left bits of the beach forming sand crystals. And what hadn’t turned had been scorched a fetid black color.
Aqua had been unaware of the sound of a crowd of something approaching from behind and around her, disturbed by the sounds of screaming and the dark pillar that had briefly appeared in the sky.
When she finally noticed their presence, she whipped around to see numerous copies of herself which caused her to nearly fall to her knees.
That snow white hair-
Those golden eyes-
It was all too familiar to her-
The sense of dread and terror from a few months ago-
Her long length of time spent sinking into that endless sea of black; left with nothing but her malice, hatred, and bitterness.
This was what she hated, what she never wished to become throughout all her years spent training alongside her friends and under Master Eraquis.
The sky had turned from its usual inviting blue to a deep, unsettling purple. Cracks from her earlier strikes at the beach had materialized as if she was causing the entire world to fall into the deepest pits of darkness. Even the water had mutated into some distorted version of itself, with the ocean turning into a viscous red that resembled blood.
“St-Stay away from me! You don’t have a hold on me anymore!” She screamed out as she fearfully pointed her Keyblade towards the crowd of Anti-Aqua’s, her breaths shallow and haggard and her fear clouding her judgment.
”This is who you want to be. Powerful. Dominant. Assured. You wanted to do more to Terra that night, didn’t you? But you were too scared to accept that part of yourself, just like you can’t accept me.” The voice whispered once again in her ear, it sounding painfully more and more similar to her own as the seconds went by.
The chilling laugh it left her only proved that line of thinking, causing her panicked breaths to grow even more frantic.
“ENOUGH! I won’t let myself be that type of person again! I won’t! YOU HEAR ME!” Aqua screamed at the top of her lungs once more before she lunged towards the Anti Aqua that was standing a few paces ahead of the pack, Keyblade raised and poised to deliver a killing blow towards what she saw as an apparition.
She was surprised to see that the apparition of an Anti Aqua had met her charge by placing its weapon in front of their body, absorbing the majority of the force of Aqua’s attack. It buckled a bit underneath such a ferocious charge, but stood tall and glared Aqua in the face with a sinister smirk.
As if the Anti Aqua was a mouthpiece for the voice in her head, it began to speak to her in a slightly more raspy but self-confident voice than before.
”So long as you continue to ignore the obvious, I’ll get more and more of a hold on you. Until there’s nothing left aside from what created me. Your hatred. Your lust. Your envy and greed. Every dark feeling that resides within you.”
“NO! I WON’T LET YOU CONTROL ME!”
Another huge burst of darkness erupted from Aqua’s body as she pressed against her evil doppelganger's weapon with all of her might. With this renewed strength, she was able to force the apparition onto their back as their weapon went flying out of their hands.
She laughed triumphantly for the first time in weeks as she quickly pounced upon the apparition, taking great delight in seeing the smug expression on its face turned to shock and dismay.
She would be a puppet no longer-
The stress, the rampant training-
Ignoring everything else in her life was worth it-
She would be free once and for all.
She would feel whole once again.
She attempted to plunge the Keyblade straight into the apparition’s heart with all the strength she had left at her disposal, only for her to be stopped by a voice cutting through the sound of blood rushing in her ears.
“STOP! PLEASE!”
This had given Aqua a moment of pause as she stared at whoever had called her out with a wild and confused look on her face.
It wasn’t the sound of the voice that was plaguing her-
“It’s me Aqua! Come on, snap out of it!”
Another new voice chimed in, this time coming from the apparition that she had nearly killed. She slowly turned around to face said apparition, finding its appearance to be almost…shimmering.
After shaking her head a few times, the shimmering and blurry image of her surroundings and who was speaking became more and more clear. And as she began to see what truly stood before her, her golden eyes had only widened in shock and utter despair.
Her Keyblade was stationed at the throat of her beloved friend and secret crush, Terra. Blood was dripping from the slight nick she had created when she was preparing to slit the throat of what she thought was a cruel apparition. His eyes were one of shock and fear, a look that she had known all too well-
[IMG=H0S]
The same one she had given him all those years ago when his body fell under the control of Xehanort-
The look that one might give a monster-
A true menace.
She quickly shuffled off his chest and dropped her Keyblade, it clattering down towards the beach with a small thud.
She brought her hands to her mouth as she slowly looked around her to see that the other apparitions had been townsfolk all staring with wide and open eyes. The very same as Terra~
For those who had their children beside them, they had clutched them close to their chests in a defensive position. Perhaps they even did so to avert their young one’s eyes from the sorry state of the Keyblader.
And then her eyes fell on Kairi, who was staring with her Keyblade drawn and pointed at Aqua with tears in her eyes, a light surrounding the tip of it.
Normally, that light would have been a comforting bastion of strength to draw upon. But when she looked at it now, all she felt was how much it burned to be in its mere presence.
The island had returned to its sunny disposition, as did the remnants of her illusion-
She simply looked down at her hands to see that they were still reeking a nauseating amount of darkness, something that caused them to start to shake and quiver.
[CI]”I’m s-so sorry…”
That was all she could mutter in her state of shock and soul-crushing regret before it all became too much for her.
Weeks and weeks of nonstop training, as well as mental stress, had taken its toll on her body, and this event was the nail in the coffin. She felt the entire world start to spin as her vision started going black.
[BCI]”I told you. This is who you want to be. This is who you are. And the more you reject it, the harder it gets to ignore me.”
She finally collapsed down to the ground, only hearing the muffled sounds of someone calling an ambulance and hurried footsteps surrounding her before everything went dark.
———————————————————————————-
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ a34; ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ d28; d28; ┊ ┊
[C]┊ a33; a33; ┊
[C]a34; a34;
[C]┆ ┆ d45; ┆
[C] ┆ d45; ┆
[C]┆ d47;
[C] ┆ d47;
[C] d47;
[C].·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ a34; ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ d28; d28; ┊ ┊
[C]┊ a33; a33; ┊
[C]a34; a34;
[C]┆ ┆ d45; ┆
[C] ┆ d45; ┆
[C]┆ d47;
[C] ┆ d47;
[C] d47;
[C].·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ a34; ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ d28; d28; ┊ ┊
[C]┊ a33; a33; ┊
[C]a34; a34;
[C]┆ ┆ d45; ┆
[C] ┆ d45; ┆
[C]┆ d47;
[C] ┆ d47;
[C] d47;
[C].·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·.
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ ┊ a34; ┊ ┊ ┊
[C]┊ ┊ d28; d28; ┊ ┊
[C]┊ a33; a33; ┊
[C]a34; a34;
[C]┆ ┆ d45; ┆
[C] ┆ d45; ┆
[C]┆ d47;
Giantess World
Chapter End Notes:
So yeah~!
This is the first part of the actual story! It's a bit more plot/character focused rather than focusing on size stuff, but I had a really good time writing it!
Anywho, hope you guys ended up enjoying reading it! There will be two more parts on the way~!
If you guys have any thoughts about the story or any suggestions, feel free to let me know^^
This is the first part of the actual story! It's a bit more plot/character focused rather than focusing on size stuff, but I had a really good time writing it!
Anywho, hope you guys ended up enjoying reading it! There will be two more parts on the way~!
If you guys have any thoughts about the story or any suggestions, feel free to let me know^^