Wannabe Locksmith

[f0rceless]

Characters: Ventus and evrr'bodyyyy
Setting: Room 1-16 and Floor Fifteen
Format: Have prose, will action for CR
Summary: Ven is keybladeless, so he undertakes an endeavor to try and fix his tragic keepsake. Except he is not handy at all.
Warnings: Group B paranoia ahoy, especially since he's working on a weapon. Also splinters.

Comments

...pretty sure, go ask Ienzo though

[prayerless]

Aqua had to smile a little forlornly over at Stormfall and the broken practice Keyblade. Maybe she could try fixing it with a little magic at some point. It probably wouldn't be able to hold up for attacking, but it would look a little less sad, at least.

"...when Terra was trying to protect you from the Master..." she started, raising a hand to set it gently on the guard of the dummyblade as the smile fell away. "...he couldn't control himself. The Master was...he was struck down in the struggle," the mage eventually decided, using the same phrasing she had used when speaking to Terra about it.

Though that didn't explain why Aqua had his Keyblade, so despite that jarring news, she had to go on. "When I passed the Mark of Mastery exam, Master Eraqus told me that if anything ever happened to him, I could use his Keyblade to transform the Land of Departure, and keep all the secrets within safe." It was knowledge reserved only for masters, but the point was null now. "...so, that's where I put you while you were sleeping."

And yet, it still wasn't exactly clear why it remained in her possession, but she was reluctant to get into her ten years in the realm of darkness. This was a lot for Ven to shoulder as it was.

>PROCCEED TO POLL ALL OF THE SCIENTISTS EVER

[f0rceless]

Ven looked up to pay attention to Aqua, but his face just started to fall when she brought up the last time he had seen the Master. And when she continued... his eyes grew wide and his face grew into horror.

"St-Struck down...?!" He stood up from his seat so fast he almost knocked it over, bumping the Keyblades slightly. "B-But...!!"

He had known Terra was going to fight the Master; what did he expect to happen? But to know that they had been fighting because of him, that it was technically his fault, and even if their worlds were still around, the Master was gone, even if he had been afraid..

Ven didn't even even seem to care about the fact that at least he had been on the Land of Departure while he was asleep, he just turned back to the table and sat back down, holding each side of his head and set his head on the table. "Why...?!" It wasn't fair.

...i don't know if that'd end well

[prayerless]

Aqua's eyes fell to the Master Keeper in her hand. In the realm of darkness, it had resonated with her -- it felt different from Stormfall, but it still felt active, still felt alive. There was no connection with it now though. She didn't want to think of it as a dead hunk of metal, but...

"I'm sorry, Ven," she said, sincerely. "...you deserved to know." And then, as an afterthought: "It's not your fault."

She wasn't a mind reader, but she knew Ven well enough to know what he was probably thinking.

but at least it'd end hilariously

[f0rceless]

"Yes it is...!" His voice was a bit muffled against the table, and the blonde had moved to wrap his arms around his head, one around and one on top, and try and make himself as small as possible.

"Terra was fighting to protect me! I-If I hadn't listened to Master Xehanort...!!"

It was probably obvious he was trying really hard not to cry.

and probably in a magic science explosion, and then you get Heartless

[prayerless]

Aqua set a hand between Ven's shoulder blades, bending over a little so she could be closer to his head (and consequently, his ears). "It isn't your fault. You never wanted to make the X-blade or anything like that. This was all Xehanort," she assured him gently.

She stooped a little more so she could move her arm to rest across his back, just below his shoulders in a half-hug. "You didn't do any of this."

...and now we know how it all started.

[f0rceless]

"I-I...." Of course he hadn't wanted to make the X-blade. He hadn't wanted anything to do with the darkness which was exactly why he had ended up in Land of Departure in the first place which of course he didn't regret, but it was because of him he got Aqua and Terra involved and then Master Eraqus was dead because he had wanted to go back and ask.... If he hadn't done anything, how come he still felt horrible?

When she stooped closer, Ven turned and shifted to wrap his arms around Aqua's torso. "It's not fair..."

magic and science are basically like Romeo and Juliet in that regard

[prayerless]

Aqua wrapped her other arm around Ven to hold him close when he turned, stroking a hand gently over the spikes on top of his head. "...I know," was the response.

A moment of pause followed, before she went on in a voice that was soft, but no less confident. "The Master still lives on, you know. In your heart. And memories." She tightened up her hug just a little. "...he helped to keep you safe for all those years. He wouldn't want you to blame yourself for any of this." After all, without him, she would have never known how to create the fortress where Ventus had slept.

someone write that fanfic

[f0rceless]

"I...I know...." He retracted one arm to place a hand over his chest. It did make him feel a little better. There was no way for anyone to be completely gone, right? He had always been telling himself that after all, just like how the worlds could never be really gone....

"But...." Ven started, but trailed off. But then what about the fact that the Master had attacked him in the first place...? He had been mad at Eraqus when he had gone there after all. Regardless, he apparently decided not to voice this thought, and shook his head slightly, curling a bit more into Aqua's embrace. "Thanks, Aqua."

...magic/science OTP? --wait who would top

[prayerless]

Aqua didn't know exactly what Ven was thinking, but from the tone of his voice, she had a few thoughts. Thankfully, she had a fair enough sentiment that pretty much covered all of them. "...everyone makes mistakes," she reminded Ven quietly. Her, Terra, and even the Master.

She held her friend close, lips turning in a small smile. "It'll be okay," assured the young woman in response. No one knew what was going on, but things would turn out okay eventually. And at least they were together again.

uuuuh they trade off every week

[f0rceless]

Aqua was pretty good at this big sister thing. Her blanket statement, though he didn't feel completely chipper again, did make him feel a bit better. He wrapped his other arm around her and gave her another quick squeeze before he released his grip and withdrew.

Ven looked down for a moment, still a touch of a frown, before he looked back up at Aqua. "Um...Aqua?" He wasn't completely frowning, but he certainly didn't look happy. "What happened to you and Terra while I was asleep?"

...equality, i like this 8|a

[prayerless]

The query made dread coil in her gut. Her outward response was only a small frown and an aversion of the eyes, but Ven knew Aqua well enough to pick up on the gravity and insecurity of the change in expression.

"Xehanort tried to take Terra's body as his own," she answered. "I...we fought him, after I made sure you were safe." She folded her arms delicately over her torso, letting out a small breath that was almost a sigh. "He was falling into darkness. I had to save him."

And then, a pause, indicating that her next words were probably not going to be pleasant news. "...I don't know if it worked," she admitted. "I left him in the realm of light with my armor and Keyblade...I haven't seen him since then."

they shall maintain the eternal balaaannccee

[f0rceless]

He recognized the change in expression, and quietly steeled himself for what would come as he watched and waited for whatever she was doing to say next; he knew it wouldn't be good but... He couldn't just go around not knowing what happened to Terra.

The same creeping horror made its way onto his face when Aqua did speak though, but this time Ven tried to not let it outwardly show or freak out, and just slowly turned away a little and rubbed his opposite arm with his free hand. "O-Oh...."

"...--Huh, wait." He looked down at Stormfall, still gripped in his hand, and held it up slightly when he spoke. "If you left this with Terra, why do you have it here...?"

this will be a great step for magic's civil rights movement, you know

[prayerless]

Aqua's lips curled down a little in evident thought. "...I don't know," confessed the young master for the second time. She was getting really uncomfortable with the amount of things she was finding she didn't know. "I couldn't summon it anymore when I was trapped in the realm of darkness."

Then she looked down to Master Keeper, and held it up next to Stormfall. "...the Master's Keyblade came when I called. I guess once I was on the same plane as my Keyblade, it could respond again." And then, as an afterthought, "I can't actually summon Master Eraqus' anymore."

Though this better explained to Ven why she still had it, if it answered her call when she was in that other world.

considering how long the Magical Civil Rights Bill has been blocked, it's a long time coming

[f0rceless]

It sucked when Aqua didn't know, and got his frown to deepen even more, just slightly.

Ven hardly knew anything about how summoning the Keyblades worked really, for having worked with them all his life; he thought about it, and it appeared in his hand when he needed it. Of course he had hardly thought about all this Keyblade loaning, and it kind of just made him even more confused.

He lowered Stormfall once again, and looked back up at Aqua, not entirely depressed anymore, but just a bit..curious, although his disposition was still somber. "What's it like in the Realm of Darkness...?"

and then magical theories will be able to stand beside scientific theories as equals

[prayerless]

Aqua's comprehension of her Keyblade was mostly from personal derision. She didn't know specifically how Keyblades worked, and she didn't understand all of them, but she knew she understood hers. That knowledge had served her well enough until it came time to part with it -- and now, hopefully, it would serve her again.

The Keyblades were sort of like people, Aqua surmised. It was hard to generalize a how or why, but some people you could just predict, because you knew them so well.

At the question, Aqua turned her head, looking off into the distance and somewhere far, far away from Ven and even the Tower. "...aimless," answered the mage after a moment of heavy thought. "It's hard to tell time or where you are." She wouldn't have known how long she had been stuck there if it wasn't for her sheer determination not to lose herself.

"There's blue crystals in some places. They look like they just...come out of nowhere." She delivered the description passively, with an almost glazed look in her eye, as if she were still wandering that tiny path over that huge abyss. "...and there's a lot of monsters there, too. I think they're called Heartless."

~and so the dream was made real~

[f0rceless]

Ven's face fell and he seemed to shrink away a little at seeing Aqua's expression. He didn't know anything about the Realm of Darkness except for bits from Master Xehanort, but to think that she had to live in a place for who knows how long....

"The monsters that rise from the shadows, right?" He inquired, hoping to at least bring Aqua out of the funk she had fallen into. "Yeah, those are Heartless. The Realm of Darkness is where they're from, so it makes sense that there'd be a lot."