[She had been falling. Falling, endlessly, succumbing at last to the darkness, the cracks in her heart split open by the shadows. And then-
”Aqua, are you okay?”
That voice… Aqua opens her eyes, and she is not falling anymore. No, she’s waking up.]
When… when did I fall asleep?
[Talking to herself once again. Had Mickey’s voice only been another illusion, another friend dangled before her, like Ven and Terra’s shadows? Aqua rises to her knees, placing a hand against the dirt wall and peering up at the darkened, clouded sky. It’s strange - she hasn’t felt a need to sleep, a need to eat, not once in this timeless nightmare. What could have brought sleep on now? Her mind traces back to her final thoughts, before she heard Mickey call to her.
Now I can be… one with darkness….
Aqua sighs and leans back against dirt.]
Is this what it is to fall into darkness?
[Slipping away gently, just like falling asleep. It doesn’t seem so bad.... but no, she can’t entertain that thought. She feels like herself still; but how would she know? Her mind drifts to Terra, reaching out in the darkness. A mere illusion, or truly him? They had spoken; it had been Terra, she knows it. And then that voice; her name, said so familiarly... she clasps her hand over her heart.
A trick of the darkness, to give her false hope? Mickey, calling for her, grasping her hand - but hadn’t Terra and Ven also reached out to her, to pull her back from the brink once before, their hearts coming to lift her from despair through their bonds? A warmth blossoms in her chest, a familiar and yet so distant one. Her friends won’t give up on her. She never gave up on Terra, and he’s still out there, fighting. And Ven is waiting for her, asleep.
No, she hasn’t fallen to darkness. Not yet.]
Maybe... maybe I wasn’t ready to give in.
[Maybe her heart had summoned one last hope for her, to pull her back from the brink. Closing her eyes, Aqua breaths in deeply, then rises to her feet. She’ll wander this endless darkness once more, venturing between the fragments of swallowed worlds. She’ll find her way out, one day. Aqua pulls herself from the grave, and somberly looks at the headstone with her name carved on it. She reaches out, tracing the letters, pondering what this new trick of the darkness could mean.
She doesn’t notice the approach of footsteps.]
Scenario Two
[It’s so loud. It’s so alive. This city, fallen to the darkness, is nothing like the fragments of worlds she’s visited in her wanderings. It’s so different from the silence she’s grown used to, it’s almost overwhelming. The sounds, the bustle, everything - had this city been so completely consumed? Or is the darkness once more playing on her wishes, showing her a chance to shed the consuming loneliness of the dark world.
But there’s something different about them, the figures and voices she’s seeing and hearing. They aren’t like the phantoms that have haunted her. None have attacked her, and none of them are from her memories - she has never seen any of these buildings, any of these people, especially not the one who has spotted her and has run up to her, brandishing fliers and talking animatedly. She’s only half-listening, too stunned by the interaction, something so unfamiliar after the darkness. When the man holds out a flier, she reaches past the paper, grasping at his hand - and gasping softly when she touches skin.]
You’re real. Not just a shadow.
[She marvels at this, but there’s an undercurrent of sorrow; Aqua would not wish this dark fate hers on anyone. And yet a part of her wonders at how different this is from the endless hours, how vibrant and full of life this city is. Could it be…?
Her thoughts are interrupted by the babbling of the man whose hand she’s holding. Aqua blinks.]
I’m sorry, what?
You’re monster? We will fucking party! What the shit!
[Aqua is taken aback, as the man now clasps her hand instead, dropping the fliers.]
I-I don’t understand-
It is a season! Yes! You will party, monster?
[It’s been so long since she’s had any true interaction with something not spawned by the darkness, that all she can do is stare, aghast. She’s been to many worlds, but this… this is new. She doesn’t really know where to begin. An intervention may be in order.]
Network
It’s all real, isn’t it? This place.
[It’s hard to believe, but she’s finally coming around to it. Somehow, this Fog god pulled her from the Realm of Darkness. Somehow, she’s no longer trapped.
It’s a strange world she finds herself in, this Ryslig.]
I’m sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Aqua. I’ve never heard of this world before, but if I’ve been brought here, then maybe my friend is also here. His name is Mickey. He’s short, and has two large, round ears. I’m sure he’s looking for me as well, so if you’ve seen him, please, let me know.
[She’d felt his hand on hers before awakening here - if there’s any chance at all…!]
Aqua | Kingdom Hearts
[She had been falling. Falling, endlessly, succumbing at last to the darkness, the cracks in her heart split open by the shadows. And then-
”Aqua, are you okay?”
That voice… Aqua opens her eyes, and she is not falling anymore. No, she’s waking up.]
When… when did I fall asleep?
[Talking to herself once again. Had Mickey’s voice only been another illusion, another friend dangled before her, like Ven and Terra’s shadows? Aqua rises to her knees, placing a hand against the dirt wall and peering up at the darkened, clouded sky. It’s strange - she hasn’t felt a need to sleep, a need to eat, not once in this timeless nightmare. What could have brought sleep on now? Her mind traces back to her final thoughts, before she heard Mickey call to her.
Now I can be… one with darkness….
Aqua sighs and leans back against dirt.]
Is this what it is to fall into darkness?
[Slipping away gently, just like falling asleep. It doesn’t seem so bad.... but no, she can’t entertain that thought. She feels like herself still; but how would she know? Her mind drifts to Terra, reaching out in the darkness. A mere illusion, or truly him? They had spoken; it had been Terra, she knows it. And then that voice; her name, said so familiarly... she clasps her hand over her heart.
A trick of the darkness, to give her false hope? Mickey, calling for her, grasping her hand - but hadn’t Terra and Ven also reached out to her, to pull her back from the brink once before, their hearts coming to lift her from despair through their bonds? A warmth blossoms in her chest, a familiar and yet so distant one. Her friends won’t give up on her. She never gave up on Terra, and he’s still out there, fighting. And Ven is waiting for her, asleep.
No, she hasn’t fallen to darkness. Not yet.]
Maybe... maybe I wasn’t ready to give in.
[Maybe her heart had summoned one last hope for her, to pull her back from the brink. Closing her eyes, Aqua breaths in deeply, then rises to her feet. She’ll wander this endless darkness once more, venturing between the fragments of swallowed worlds. She’ll find her way out, one day. Aqua pulls herself from the grave, and somberly looks at the headstone with her name carved on it. She reaches out, tracing the letters, pondering what this new trick of the darkness could mean.
She doesn’t notice the approach of footsteps.]
Scenario Two
[It’s so loud. It’s so alive. This city, fallen to the darkness, is nothing like the fragments of worlds she’s visited in her wanderings. It’s so different from the silence she’s grown used to, it’s almost overwhelming. The sounds, the bustle, everything - had this city been so completely consumed? Or is the darkness once more playing on her wishes, showing her a chance to shed the consuming loneliness of the dark world.
But there’s something different about them, the figures and voices she’s seeing and hearing. They aren’t like the phantoms that have haunted her. None have attacked her, and none of them are from her memories - she has never seen any of these buildings, any of these people, especially not the one who has spotted her and has run up to her, brandishing fliers and talking animatedly. She’s only half-listening, too stunned by the interaction, something so unfamiliar after the darkness. When the man holds out a flier, she reaches past the paper, grasping at his hand - and gasping softly when she touches skin.]
You’re real. Not just a shadow.
[She marvels at this, but there’s an undercurrent of sorrow; Aqua would not wish this dark fate hers on anyone. And yet a part of her wonders at how different this is from the endless hours, how vibrant and full of life this city is. Could it be…?
Her thoughts are interrupted by the babbling of the man whose hand she’s holding. Aqua blinks.]
I’m sorry, what?
You’re monster? We will fucking party! What the shit!
[Aqua is taken aback, as the man now clasps her hand instead, dropping the fliers.]
I-I don’t understand-
It is a season! Yes! You will party, monster?
[It’s been so long since she’s had any true interaction with something not spawned by the darkness, that all she can do is stare, aghast. She’s been to many worlds, but this… this is new. She doesn’t really know where to begin. An intervention may be in order.]
Network
It’s all real, isn’t it? This place.
[It’s hard to believe, but she’s finally coming around to it. Somehow, this Fog god pulled her from the Realm of Darkness. Somehow, she’s no longer trapped.
It’s a strange world she finds herself in, this Ryslig.]
I’m sorry, I should introduce myself. My name is Aqua. I’ve never heard of this world before, but if I’ve been brought here, then maybe my friend is also here. His name is Mickey. He’s short, and has two large, round ears. I’m sure he’s looking for me as well, so if you’ve seen him, please, let me know.
[She’d felt his hand on hers before awakening here - if there’s any chance at all…!]