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“Will you stop already you little rascal!” Xion dove after the small form of the Flood that had ducked behind one of the large bookshelves that stood like towering cliffs around the room. She had been running after this little trouble maker for the better part of twenty minutes, once she had spied the tell-tale blue streak of a wayward Flood in one of the hallways. They were still trying to keep the Unversed under lock and key, they referring to Ventus, Naminé, Vanitas and Xion who had also gotten her best friends involved in Unversed catching duty. The less rogue Unversed Terra and Aqua saw, the better. The problem was they still sprung up quite often, every time Vanitas was upset in any kind of way one plopped up and they sometimes got away, before the boy could grab them.
Xion was on her knees, wrangling the Flood out from under one of the comfy armchairs, when she heard the door of the library open. There were two sets of steps; the sound of body’s sinking down into overstuffed cushions and then one of the new arrivals spoke up. “I don’t like it, Terra.”
Xion blanched, that had been Master Aquas voice. In her arms the Flood squirmed. She pressed it closer to her chest and sank down against the bookshelf, thanking Kingdom Hearts for the visual cover from the other two. She couldn’t just leave now. From the sound of it they had taken a seat by the entrance area of the library, so she couldn’t sneak to the door without them seeing the Flood.
“I don’t trust him either, but Ven believes he’s being sincere.” Xion froze in her hiding spot. They were talking about Vanitas! Oh, Xion really didn’t want to be here right now. Hopefully they would leave soon.
Aqua gave a derisive snort. “We both know that Ven can be too trusting for his own good.”
There was a sigh and ruffling fabric. Xion had to strain her ears to hear the next words. “It should be a good thing, believing in the best of people” Terra spoke softly.
Now it was Aquas turn to sigh. “Maybe I just can’t anymore, after…” There was a tremor in her voice and she paused as if to compose herself before she continued. “After all these years in the realm of darkness.”
Silence fell for a moment and Xion edged closer to the end of the bookshelf to poke her nose around the corner, curiosity getting the better of her. Before she could reach it though, there was a strangled gasp. “I’m so sorry Aqua. If it hadn’t been for my weakness you never would have had to-” Terra didn’t get any further. There was the sound of movement and when Xion finally peeked around the corner, she could see the two at the far side of the library. Aqua was leaning on the armrest of the stuffed chair Terra was sitting in and had her arms slung around him. She made calming noises as she stroked his hair. “You had to be so strong for so long, I never could have-” The sentence ended in a choked sob. Even though Xion couldn’t see his face she, was certain there were tears streaming freely from Terras eyes.
“Shush, you. I might have been fighting off outer darkness, but you spend just as much time fighting on the inside.” By now her voice was shaking as well. Terras arms came up to pull Aqua closer. Xion couldn’t begin to imagine how it must have been for those two. Literal years of being eaten away at by darkness. She was feeling really bad by now for eavesdropping on such an intimate conversation. She had no business knowing of these kind of emotional burdens those two were carrying around. Considering they were doing their best to hide them normally. They should get to decide who to share them with on their own terms, but now Xion knew and there was hardly a way to erase that knowledge. Xion felt like she was trespassing.
“And I would still be fighting, if it hadn’t been for you, lighting my way back.” Xion saw Terra lift his hand and cup Aquas cheek. For a second she caught a glimpse at his face and her heart constricted at the tenderness she saw there. In the next second, a wave of rage swept through her, how had Xehanort dared to do something so abhorrent to these two? She only noticed how much she had tensed in her fury because the Flood in her arms twitched violently. She loosened her grip immediately, mouthing a silent sorry and petting the antennae on its head in apology.
Silence descended for a while, only disturbed by the occasional shuddered breath. When it looked like the two would untangle themselves from each other, Xion ducked back behind the bookshelf. “Maybe for Vanitas Ven will be the light to bring him out of the darkness.”
“Terra!” Aqua admonished sharply.
“Hear me out, please” begged Terra his voice filled with vulnerability and Xion could have sworn she felt Aquas tension drain out of the room. “Thank you. You know” he began “there are a lot of things I did, after the whole debacle that was our Mark of Mastery Exam, that I’m not proud of. Bad things, terrible things- No don’t.” Xion could imagine Aqua had opened her mouth to protest but Terra wasn’t having any of it. “We both know I did. But you and Ven never gave up on me and I realized the errors of my past behaviour. That would never have happened, if you hadn’t persisted on giving me a second chance. And maybe Vanitas doesn’t deserve one, but it’s never about deserving a second chance. It’s about being given one and taking it.”
It was silent as Aqua pondered Terras words. In the end she apparently decided they had merit for she said: “All right. I’ll try to loosen up around him, but trust is earned and must be worked for.”
“That’s all anyone’s been asking” confirmed Terra.
“And I suppose Ven is happier for it. But have you noticed he’s a bit more fidgety around us?” Aqua asked which coaxed a laugh from Terra.
“Well he is a bit jumpier, I think” Terra mused, chuckling. Aquas laugh rang through the library and Xion was amazed, that after all the years, after all those struggles, her laugh sounded as free as it did. “Maybe we should check on what he’s up to then?” Terra proposed.
“Yes, I reckon we should.” Aqua was still chuckling as their steps moved towards the door. Xion sighed in relief as the door shut behind them.
She lifted the Flood up and gave it a stern look. “Well you certainly got me into an awkward mess.” The Flood didn’t look the slightest bit guilty. Xion huffed and got up. Her legs started tingling from having been folded up for so long. “Time to get you back to your creator. I’m sure he’s been wondering where you went.” Xion took a few steps and then angled her head slightly. “That is if he even noticed you got out.” Sometimes Vanitas was too preoccupied to realize he had released an Unversed into the world.
And thus Xion left the library, slightly wary of the possibility, that Terra and Aqua could still be nearby, and wouldn’t it be unlucky to get caught sneaking an Unversed around after all? She certainly could have lived without witnessing that conversation. Just thinking back on it made her tremble in indignation and forced tears into her eyes. She decided to seek out Naminé after delivering the Flood. She needed a good cuddle after all that.