Aoi Uta

Summary: Drakengard 3 inspired TerrAqua AU. Aqua has been cursed by a Flower to live as an Intoner, destined to destroy the world with the Power of Song. But her Disciple Terra has sworn to stand by her to the end, which makes her burden a little easier to bear. Cross-posted on AO3

This fic's name is based on one of the music themes of Drakengard 3, Kuroi Uta, which means 'Black Song'. This fic's name means 'Blue Song', due to Aqua's color theme. To know more, read the notes at the end.

Also, this will include my first real attempt at writing something "dirty". Please be gentle. I have never done something like that before. And another thing, this is a dark and messed up story. There are mature/darker themes in this so please, be aware of what you are reading.

Mature themes included: nudity, sex, language, violence, suicidal thoughts, descent into madness.

You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or Drakengard 3.

I hope you enjoy it!

Aqua's life had never been an easy one. Like anyone's, she'd had her ups and downs. She treasured every good moment she'd had, and still had nightmares about the bad ones. And through it all, she stayed strong.

But what she hadn't expected was for the end of her very existence to be so cruel it would be controlled by a Flower that despised humanity and wanted it gone from existence.

Aqua didn't remember her parents. She had been raised an orphanage along with many other abandoned children. And when she had finally turned fourteen, the local brothel's owner, Larxene, had come looking for pretty, young girls to work for her.

Aqua's unique blue hair and eyes, like nothing the mistress had ever seen, immediately got her snatched up. Aqua was too young then to work in the actual brothel itself, but Larxene had her be a server until the second Aqua turned sixteen.

Patrons practically lined up to see the blue-haired girl that was articulate, charming, and beautiful beyond all accounts. Unfortunately, that meant many creepy, drunk, and even old men came to see her and get a closer look. And Aqua was forced to put up with it or get thrown out into the harsher world with absolutely no protection.

Aqua despised the idea of giving herself to any of these men. She didn't trust men in general because they made her feel like an object and not a person. But she was smart. She had read up on remedies and brews that could save her if needed. Anytime a patron tried to get her to sleep with them, and she could always see in her eyes if they wanted exactly that, Aqua would slip a sleeping brew into their drink when she served them, which kept her pretty clean and untouched by the dirty drunks.

Until she met Terra.

Terra had been a soldier, stopping in with his regime for a drink as they passed through the territory. Aqua quietly served his drink, but offered him a genuine smile, as opposed to the fake ones she usually gave patrons. A quiet thank you for not grabbing her the second she got close like so many other men.

It didn't take long for a particularly drunk and handsy man with an eyepatch to attempt to put his hands on Aqua. She squirmed uncomfortably and tried to rip her hand away from him, but that made the man grip harder. Terra stepped in and twisted the old man's arm, releasing Aqua. Larxene had seen the exchange and demanded to know why Aqua had refused a customer, but Terra offered the explanation that he had already asked to have Aqua for the evening. The mistress almost protested, but Terra paid extra front to get them some privacy, and more importantly, get Aqua out of their sight.

"You didn't have to do that," Aqua said. She had led the man to her bedroom, where she was required to take any man who wanted her to do… whatever they pleased. Her room was a simple one, but she had a big bed covered with blue sheets and pillows, and a dresser and bookshelf. Reading was one of Aqua's hobbies when she wasn't needed to service others and crafting things and making her potions were others. Her brewing set was stashed in one of her drawers, she wasn't going to let anyone catch her doing that and throwing her out for drugging her customers. As much as she hated the brothel, she had nowhere else to go.

"What? Help you?" the strange soldier asked.

"No, lie. And if you wanted to spend a night with a me, all you had to do was tell me when I served you a drink or tell Larxene."

He was no doubt handsome, Aqua thought. Tall, muscular, dark haired, and those soft but serious blue eyes, but Aqua knew how men were and they were all the same. This man only stood up to show his superiority to that old eyepatch-wearing geezer. She was already grabbing a premature brewed elixir to knock him out if he got too close for comfort.

"You think I did that because I wanted to sleep with a prostitute?" he asked.

Aqua looked at him, confused. "Isn't that what all men want? A pretty girl in their arms, taking her virtue and letting others see what a man he is that he made that girl come apart in bed?"

He sat in stunned silence for a moment.

"I only did all that because I saw you were in trouble," he told her.

Now it was Aqua's turn to be stunned.

"But… you paid for—"

"I only did that to keep the situation down there from escalating," he said. "To shut up that hag and make that old creep let go of you."

"Oh…"

He stared at her for a moment.

"You know," he said, "typically when someone helps you, it's proper to thank them."

"I—I know that," Aqua said. "It's just that… no one has ever helped me just because."

"Really? No one? Not once in your life?"

"No. No one really cares about me. All I'm good for is bringing business to this awful place because of my looks and my body. No one cares what I want. Not even my parents, whoever they were."

"You didn't know your parents?"

"I was given up at birth. The only reason I even have a name is because the caretaker at the orphanage I was raised in thought my hair looked like water. So, she named me Aqua."

"That's beautiful," the man said. Aqua felt herself blush.

"Thank you," she said.

"I'm Terra."

"Nice to meet you, Terra. And thank you for helping me." Aqua put her sleeping brew back in the drawer she usually hid them in.

"The pleasure is mine, Aqua."

That had been the start of their relationship.

Terra's company had planned to spend some extended time in Aqua's village. And every night he came to see her, paying up front for the chance to see her and just talk.

It was the night before Terra had to leave that she finally let a man take her virginity. Aqua had protected herself using those brews, but Terra was someone she never had to protect herself from. He was gentle, kind, attentive, and though he hadn't known her very long, he knew her better than anyone ever had.

It had been so easy. Aqua took Terra to her room and it started with them talking, Terra saying where he was going to go from there, but how he wanted to see her one last time.

They had been sitting so close, Terra had his arms around Aqua before she noticed.

"I'm going to miss this," she said. She reached to Terra's cheek and cupped it tenderly. She was so utterly lost in his eyes it was getting hard to pay attention to the conversation.

"I'm going to miss you," Terra said. "I've never met anyone like you."

"Well, there aren't a lot of people with blue hair," Aqua said. Terra was running his fingers through her short tresses as she spoke.

"True," Terra snorted, "but that's not what I meant." He was pulling her closer to him, if that were possible.

Aqua smiled coyly, this man being the only one who could coax these feelings out of her. "What did you mean then?" She was starting to play with the tips of his hair that framed his face.

"Smart," Terra whispered, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Kind," a kiss to her cheek. "Beautiful." This time Terra captured Aqua's lips with his kiss and she melted into him.

The kissing continued for a while. Aqua loved the taste of this beautiful man who had come to her as a person instead of just because she had a pretty face and unique hair.

Terra eventually moved from Aqua's mouth to kiss under her ear, sucking it gently. Aqua gasped, a little surprised but loving the sensation for once.

While Aqua had never let her customers take her virginity or pleasure her, she had been forced to allow them to touch her body. At least until the drugs she would slip them kicked in and they got too tired to continue. When they woke up, they would go on their merry way none the wiser to what she had done. And she had never enjoyed it, it was just something she put up with.

Terra was different. He was attentive, gentle, and actually talked to her and asked about her. Other men just bragged about how great they were or how they had been dying to sleep with her. No one ever asked how she felt.

"Do you want this?" Terra asked her, pausing in his kisses.

"Hmm?"

"Me? Do you want me?" he asked. "If I told you I loved you, and wanted to keep you to myself because I think you are the most amazing woman I've ever met, would you have me?"

Another thing that separated Terra from others, he asked her how she felt.

"If I said I loved you and wanted nothing more than to be yours forever, would you have me?" she responded.

Terra grinned and lifted Aqua from their seats on the small couch and carried her to the bed.

"Please, Terra," Aqua said, settling in and grabbing his face. "Love me, take me, I'm yours."

"And I am yours, Aqua," he responded, claiming her mouth again in a harder, but still gentle, kiss.

Aqua let herself be taken in by this man. The way his lips caressed hers was nothing like Aqua believed it would feel before. It was sweet and magical and everything made of light Aqua had imagined. But there was also a beautiful darkness to it. Every kiss ignited her from within, her blood was boiling in seconds.

And the feeling of it all: desire, lust, love. She felt for the first time that she was wanted. Truly wanted, truly loved.

Needing air, they separated.

He scooped Aqua up and took her to her bed. He laid on top of her, searching her eyes for permission to go further.

Aqua cupped his face, lost in his eyes, cobalt and shining and filled with desire for her.

For her.

Not because she was beautiful. Not because no man had been with her intimately before him. But because of her.

It didn't take them long to remove their clothes. Aqua may have been forced to let men in her room before, but she'd never been naked for them or seen a naked man up close.

Aqua wasn't shy by any means. Maybe a little reserved, but she didn't retreat from Terra's gaze as he let himself absorb everything while she did the same.

"So beautiful," Terra said.

"So are you," Aqua replied. "I love you."

Terra smothered her lips with another kiss. His hands ran up and down her naked form as Aqua touched his face, the tips of his hair in her fingers in one hand while she held his neck in the other. They melded around each other, a perfect fit.

Every kiss, every touch, every caress set Aqua even more ablaze. She had never known arousal was so addictive a feeling. She wanted this man only. Always.

"Please… make love to me…" Aqua whispered into his ear.

Terra was gentle with her, even when it hurt. Aqua writhed, the discomfort annoying at first but after she got used to the feeling of him being inside her it was exhilarating.

Aqua laid down with her legs wrapped around Terra's waist as they came undone, squeezing him as she rode out the climax.

When they were spent and holding each other close, Terra held Aqua in his arms and kissed her again as he suggested they run away together.

The Flower ruined everything.

Going on the run with Terra had been wonderful. He became a deserter from the army, but he decided to work as a mercenary while traveling with Aqua, who continued studying medicines and herbs and selling them and offering them to anyone who may need them in the towns and villages they stopped in.

Roughly two months after Terra and Aqua went on the run together, they were camping near a beach when Aqua came across the Flower.

Aqua had seen the beautiful blue bloom when she was gathering herbs for medicine. She'd never seen anything like it before, so she picked it with the intent of studying it.

That was when she had heard Terra scream.

Aqua had dropped the herbs she was carrying it, but the Flower was still clutched in her hand. Or maybe it was attached to her hand, she still wasn't quite sure.

Aqua returned to their temporary camp to see Terra being restrained by a thuggish man with dreadlocks she'd never seen and another one with blue hair and a vicious x-sha[ed scar on his face punching Terra in the stomach while a third man with spiky black hair and gold eyes watched with a sick look of amusement.

"TERRA!" she screamed. Aqua ran and jumped on the man hitting him and grabbed his arm, he just shoved her off and Aqua hit the ground.

"Aq—GAH!" Terra was hit in the face this time, his eye already swelling up, a little blood coming from a cut above his brow.

"So, there she is," the black-haired man said. "The wench that ran away from her master."

"What?" Aqua said.

"The brothel you worked at, bluebird," he explained. "Larxene was pretty pissed you decided to up and run away. She hired us to hunt you down and drag you back by your hair if we had to. We weren't sure about your little bodyguard though. Granted, against Saïx and Xaldin here," he scoffed "he didn't stand much of a chance."

"Terra," Aqua gasped.

"Vanitas, what do we do with him?" asked the blue haired man.

Vanitas sized Terra up. Blood was now dripping a little from Terra's lip.

"Just leave him," he said. "The old hag just wants the girl." He turned back to Aqua. "The way you left home like that wasn't very nice, little girl. The mistress had taken you in and gave you a home and a job. She said she let it slide that you drugged your clients because you didn't want to sleep with them. But after you left her business really fell behind because you brought it more customers than any of the other girls. That lady was not happy, and that's an understatement." Vanitas shook his head, almost laughing at the whole situation.

Aqua couldn't believe this. She had finally gained her freedom, and now it would be taken away again.

No, she thought. I don't want this!

I can help you, a soft voice told her.

"What?" Aqua said.

"What?" Vanitas said. "Don't you get it? We're gonna drag you back to that brothel where you're gonna spend the rest of your miserable life and your boyfriend is gonna be left here to rot. What is so hard to understand about that?"

"No, it's…" Aqua realized then that she still had the Flower. The voice could only be coming from it.

"Nice flower," Vanitas said. "Never seen one like that. You two?" he directed the question at his thugs. They shook their heads.

A blinding flash of blue light burst from the Flower and its light enveloped Aqua. It felt horrible. The feeling was like something clawed open her chest and crawled inside it, settling next to her heart. When the light faded, Aqua ripped the neck over her shirt over her head so she could see where she swore that weed had ripped her open. There wasn't even a mark or blood.

Sing, it whispered.

Aqua stiffened and let the feeling wash over her. It felt numbing but warm, almost like arousal, but Aqua couldn't resist when her mouth opened and a sound she never knew she could make erupted from it.

The song was terrifying and dark, but beautiful and haunting. As Aqua sang, blue light burst forth from her, covering everything around them.

"What's going on?" the man with the dreadlocks yelled.

"I don't know!" Vanitas yelled.

Curse you, damn you, let you know pain and misery! the voice said. Aqua heard it during the song. Off to the side, she also noticed Terra standing up like he wasn't even hurt. But for some reason his hair was now different, it had turned silver and had gained some length.

Defend your Lady, the voice said. Terra stiffened up and suddenly his eyes went from their cobalt blue shade to a blazing orange-gold. The look on his face changed from stunned to ferocious, like an angry wolf. His body started to shift too, his muscles swelling up and becoming larger. He even appeared to grow an extra foot when he stood up.

Mistress of the Seas, answer the siren's call, protect your new Master! Aqua still heard the terrible voice calling out to things she wasn't aware of, but the ground started trembling.

"Damn! What is this?" the blue haired thug shouted. "Let's get out of here! This freak isn't worth it!"

Terra suddenly pounced on the man. He punched him and started literally tearing into him. The man with the dreadlocks grabbed Terra around his middle and tried to pull him off his companion, but Terra grabbed the man's arm and pulled it clean off the man's body.

Screaming joined the singing in the terrible symphony of madness, the man was grasping at the socket where his arm had once been.

"Like hell this is worth it!" Vanitas screamed. He and the now one-armed man started running, but the trembling in the ground had gotten worse.

Out of nowhere, two streams of water flew around Terra and Aqua. One stream snatched the fleeing men and rose into the air. The other began to take a new form, solidifying until it was no longer translucent and taking the form of a mermaid holding a steely blue trident.

"I am Leviathan, and this threat to my mistress shall not be tolerated!" the mermaid cried.

"Look, we were just doing our job!" Vanitas cried. "It was nothing personal!"

Leviathan began turning back into water, her form growing until it became a massive serpent that made everyone present quiver in fear.

"Be gone! Wretched human!" the serpent screeched. Her massive mouth was the last thing the thugs saw before being swallowed by Leviathan.

Aqua finally managed to stop the Song, gasping for air as it released its hold. The water retreated from the area, taking the body of the last man with it. Aqua heard his screaming as he was dragged away, most likely to be drowned by Leviathan's waters.

"Aqua!" Terra's arms were suddenly around her and pulling her close to him. "What was that? What… happened to us…?"

"I killed those men…" Aqua clutched at her head, fingers buried in her hair, almost ready to tear it out of her skull. "I killed them… with that song…"

"It's okay," Terra said. "It's okay."

"But… what was that? That… flower!" she gasped.

My Intoner, you shall be my instrument of destruction, the voice told her. Sing this wretched world into oblivion. Drown it in the power of your Song.

Every day after was a nightmare for Aqua.

Terra and Aqua continued traveling for a time, only going near towns to get supplies. If Aqua ever had to go with Terra, she wore a hood to cover her hair so no one else who could be looking for her would recognize her.

One such time was when she was treating a child who had caught a nasty fever and Aqua mixed some herbs to make a cure for them. The Flower had offered her some advice and suggested she sing to strengthen the medicine's effect as the child drank it.

She was an idiot to have trusted the Flower's advice after seeing what it did the first time.

At first it seemed to have worked and the child healed overnight. Many people in town asked Aqua if she could do the same thing for their sick relatives.

Aqua did as she was asked, and she and Terra even considered settling in the town, but it didn't take long for things to go wrong.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary at first, but the people followed Aqua wherever she went. In the woods, to get goods at the store, and even when she and Terra had gone on what they intended to be an evening swim together, they had followed her.

They would beg her to sing for them. Aqua refused because the first time had been so terrible and she hadn't put that much force into her Song, as far as she could tell, when she healed them. She didn't trust her new power yet and she didn't know much about it.

Terra decided they had to leave while the people slept. They packed up and headed down to the inn's main room in the middle of the night, but the entire town was waiting outside the inn they had been staying at and the people demanded for Aqua to sing.

Terra shoved their way through the crowd, pushing people aside and trying to restrain the new strength that the Flower had given him. He kept a tight hold on Aqua the whole time.

Sing, the Flower whispered to her. Sing and they will calm down and leave you be.

"Not after you made me sing for them the first time!" she said. "I don't trust you!"

Sing! it urged. And like the first time, Aqua couldn't control it. She froze up and the Song simply rang out of her.

The singing seemed to soothe the people at first, calming and quieting them. But when the Song ended was when all hell broke loose.

Terra took Aqua in his arms when he noticed the Flower had frozen her to force her to sing. He carried her all the way to the edge of the village where the last people were standing, which was when the Song finished.

An old man snatched Terra's cloak and dragged him backward.

"Whoa!"

"Where do you think you're taking her?" the old man demanded.

"She's staying here!" a little girl added. "We need to hear her sing! It's the most beautiful sound!"

"I'd give anything to see her every day and hear that beautiful voice!" a younger man called.

"Sing! Sing! Sing!" the crowd chanted.

"We must have the Intoner's Song!" an old lady said.

"Terra, I don't like this!" Aqua said.

"Neither do I," Terra told her. "We're leaving now!"

"NO!" the crowd roared. They all pounced and tried to pull Aqua away from Terra.

Aqua screamed at the pain. "Let me go!"

"No! SING!" they demanded.

"Leave. Us. Alone!" Aqua screamed and as she did her Song burst forth again, but this time it had something much darker in it.

Disgusting humans, the Flower's words were laced into Aqua's Song. You shall know the price for making demands of my goddess. Know darkness, known damnation, know hell!

As Aqua's Song continued, blue light poured off her in waves. Terra actually dropped her, he was so shocked. The waves of light hit the townsfolk and they burst into flashes of light too. Every last one of them.

When the light died down and the Song stopped, Aqua almost fainted.

"Aqua!" Terra caught her before she passed out, but the sight of the town before them was enough shock to give her a second wind.

Where there had been a crowd of people was now a hoard of monsters. Still humanoid in shape, but some had flesh falling off them, others had sprouted growths and horns, and some were still in the process of changing. There was so much screaming as they continued shifting and chanting.

"Sing…In…toner…" they groaned. "S…ing…"

Terra pulled Aqua into his arms and ran as far as he could as fast as he could.

Hours later, after Terra had finally exhausted himself from carrying Aqua and all their supplies. He tried to get his footing, but took a step and Aqua screamed in pain and they both tumbled to the ground. As it turned out, Terra had stepped on her very long grown out hair. He dropped Aqua he was so shocked.

"OW!" she yelled.

"Aqua, what the—?" he tried to say.

She was just coming to herself, having passed out in Terra's arms long before the rude awakening. She was grasping the long trails of hair she now had. When she stood at her full height it reached the ground and still trailed for a few feet.

"Where did all that hair come from?" Terra asked.

"The Flower…" Aqua said, her voice trembling. Her hands were clutching at her skull.

"Aqua, just breathe," Terra said.

"That Flower… that parasite… that monstrosity!" she raved. "It did that. It forced me to do that. I destroyed all those people. I turned them into monsters…"

She couldn't stop the tears or the blood curdling screech. Tinged with waves of her Song, it blew Terra back and into a tree so hard, he cracked it right up the middle.

"Terra!" Aqua had snapped out of the tantrum and rushed over to him.

"I'm fine," he said. "I'm more worried about you. Aqua, that Flower has done something to us, yes. But this is not how we are going to deal with it." He pulled her into his arms, despite her trying to push away from him. "I am fine, stop pushing." He stroked her waterfall of hair. "We will figure this out. We are going to get through this. But for now, we are going to find someplace we can hide while we figure everything out."

Terra's words weren't enough to calm Aqua down. She was shaking in his arms, thinking about what her Song had done to that village. Men, women, children, the elderly, the Flower cursed them all without prejudice. People who had lived a peaceful existence until she brought that weed into their home.

Terra's words aside, even getting as far from civilization as possible and away from more people the Flower would force her to corrupt, these ideas weren't enough. Not after the night they'd just had.

That was when Aqua decided she was a monster.

Despite Terra's role as Aqua's Disciple, what the Flower had dubbed him, protecting her wasn't necessary because as it turned out, Aqua also couldn't die.

The leader of one group of mercenaries that captured Aqua and knocked Terra out had decided to kill her on a whim, having heard of the all-powerful Intoner with otherworldly powers. Aqua had been impaled right through her heart, but the Flower had burst from the hole that was in her chest and somehow she had managed to crawl out of the Flower's receptacle in a brand new body, covered in blood.

That was one time she sang willingly. She called Leviathan to her and the sea serpent devoured the men who had hurt her Lady.

Aqua had been ashamed of the act, but she couldn't deny it had saved her.

And still, that was when Aqua realized she was no longer truly alive. She should have died when that sword pierced her, but no. The Flower painfully revived her to keep serving its purposes.

She even tried carving open her own chest to reach in and pull it out. The Flower had simply burst forth from the hole and her body died and forced her into a new identical one that crawled out of the Flower, covered in blood. And once she was free of it, she was too exhausted to move.

It was horrific. She could maim, dismember, burn, cut herself open and the Flower would either paralyze her and kill her or force her to sing and paralyze her that way.

The nightmares made everything worse. Aqua saw everyone who died because of Leviathan when she sang to call it. She saw their blood, heard their screams, and watched their wretched corpses melt away in front of her night after night. Aqua would always wake up screaming.

So terrible was her existence as an Intoner.

"I'm a monster," she murmured. Aqua stood naked in a room in the abandoned mansion she and Terra had made their home, having attempted to remove the Flower again. But before she could, it forced her to sing, causing her to become lost in its trance.

Every time it forced her to sing unwillingly, a little more of Aqua's mind shattered. Her body was wracked with pain and her hair would grow so long she got tangled up in it a few times. She started carrying a knife with her at all times just to hack it off again. She had actually cut her neck a little this time and nicked her ear in her haste to remove the rivers of long blue hair.

She broke down crying, looking at her horrific, bloody, beautiful reflection in the mirror nearby.

"Why won't you let me die?" Aqua demanded. Sometimes the Flower would answer back. Sometimes it didn't. No matter which, Aqua thought her mind was slipping away even faster.

"I hate you! I hate this! I hate everything!" she screamed.

Enraged by it all, Aqua threw her knife at the mirror and it shattered, shards flying out and cutting her even worse. Blood poured down her body and she walked through the shards until she decided to just lay down in them.

Beautiful Intoner, the Flower whispered. You shall destroy this ugly world, make humanity know the same pains you do. The gods shall love you and bring you among them one day when our mission is complete.

"I hate your damned gods too!" she wailed, tearing at her hair again. "Just leave me alone!"

"Aqua?"

Terra had come into the room.

Her strong, gentle, beautiful Terra. What had she done to him by picking that wretched Flower?

The Flower had changed him. To anyone who came near Aqua or threatened her, he became a monster that showed no mercy.

But with Aqua, he hadn't changed. He was still the same man she loved, the only one who could offer her any form of comfort anymore in the nightmare she lived in. Even his new ferocity was attractive to her at times, but she was afraid that was the Flower putting impulses into her. She loved Terra for his softer side, the part of him she needed, not the savage the Flower turned him into.

He was shirtless, having come from doing some training outside. Seeing him stirred something in Aqua's core.

"I really shouldn't leave you alone," Terra said.

"No, you should get some time to yourself," Aqua said. "It's fine."

"But you're lying on a nest of hair and broken mirror, love."

He was the only thing that kept her even remotely sane anymore.

Aqua reached for him and Terra bent down to pick her up from the reflective, sharp mess around them.

"I wish you wouldn't do this to yourself," Terra said.

"Everything hurts," Aqua said.

Terra quietly nodded and carried Aqua from the room. He took her into their room, which had a bathing room with a massive bathtub big enough for ten people.

Terra had already filled the tub with steaming water that reached Aqua's waist when she stepped in. She turned in time to see Terra remove his pants and get in the water with her.

She wrapped her arms around him, feeling heat that had nothing to do with the water stir her very being. Terra put his hands on her shoulders as he lowered them both to sit in the water.

"Hold me," she whispered, her voice shaking with lust.

"Yes," Terra replied, kissing her deeply and pulling her into his lap.

"Love me," her voice was gaining a darker edge. And Terra felt the smirk against her lips. He rubbed her arms gently, removing the crusted blood from her. He applied the same ministrations to her legs, her stomach, her neck, and her breasts.

"Of course," he told her.

Aqua rose before him in the water, not a drop of blood left on her and all her scratches gone as if they never existed, putting her hands on his shoulders. Her eyes were swimming with lust as she told him, "Become one with me."

"My Lady," Terra answered. He pulled her back down and immediately pushed inside her.

Aqua couldn't control the strange urges in her body anymore since becoming an Intoner. It was like the Flower amplified her body's desire for Terra tenfold of what is was before. She couldn't relax anymore unless Terra had sex with her. Sometimes for long periods of time, not that they didn't enjoy that, but she just felt unable to calm down unless they did.

And honestly, they both enjoyed it way too much.

This hadn't changed between them. They were monsters living a terrible existence. One without meaning except to destroy and they were doing everything they willingly could to avoid just that. Their love kept them strong through it all. Aqua was the root of his existence as Intoner and Disciple and Terra was her rock, the reason Aqua was still Aqua and not the Flower's agent of destruction.

After they finished and after just holding each other in silence for a while, Terra got out of the tub and wrapped himself in a towel. Aqua slowly followed, wrapping her arms around him from behind.

"My love, my Disciple, my Terra," she said. "If the world had only given me you, I would be happy."

"I know, Aqua," he said. "If this weren't the existence forced on us, I would have given you the world. I'd do anything for you."

"Terra, I love you," Aqua cried. "Always. All I want is you. But this empty existence, staying in hiding, torturing myself because of the Flower. I'm so tired… I want this to end, Terra."

"I know, Aqua, I know," he said. He turned to wrap her in a towel and lift her into his arms. Terra laid a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"I hear it talking to me, telling me to destroy everything," she said. "I don't want this. All I wanted was to spend my life with you. And now I just want it all to end. And the Flower won't even give me that."

Tears flooded down her cheeks. Terra carried her to their bed and took the towel off Aqua's body so he could dry her hair. It was soothing to have him dote on and pamper her a little.

"I will stand by you, always," Terra said as he sat down and pulled Aqua to sit between his legs. "I know this has hurt you in ways even I can't imagine, and I've stood by your side the whole time. But you are strong. You are surviving this."

"But I don't want to." Aqua sobbed and leaned back into his arms. Terra stroked the freshly cut wisps of her hair and shushed her. "I've killed people, made monsters out of men, and what it's done to you…"

"I don't care. I am here for you. I will never abandon you. I love you."

"I want to die, Terra," Aqua said. "But the Flower won't let me. I feel like all that's left in my heart is misery and despair. The last thing I wanted was for you to share it."

Terra pulled the covers over their bodies. Aqua nestled against him and got comfortable.

"Our suffering will end one day, Aqua. We just have to find a way to make it possible."

Aqua could swear she heard the Flower hissing when she and Terra met Ven for the first time.

Aqua had insisted on getting out for a bit. Being in their house all the time was making her a little stir crazy and Terra suggested going into the mountains. The only things up there were animals and the occasional monster. But neither were a threat to and Intoner or her Disciple.

The first sign Ven was there had been the massive fireball he'd shot at them.

"Take cover!" Terra yelled. He pulled Aqua to the ground and they barely missed being hit by another inferno.

"Where are you?" an enraged, but soft, voice screamed above them.

"What was that?" Aqua asked.

"Only one thing I know of spits fire and does it from high up," Terra said. "Has to be a dragon. We're as good as toast if that thing hits us."

"I know you're down there, Intoner!" newcomer roared.

Threat! Dragon! Danger! the Flower panicked. Aqua felt it writhing inside her. Run! It will destroy us!

Sadly for the Flower, that was the last thing it should have told Aqua.

She looked up, waiting to see where the next fireball came from. When it finally came, it was off to her right. Aqua took off in that direction.

"Aqua!" Terra screamed after her.

"I have to end this. All this madness. I want it to end!" Aqua told herself as she ran for the dragon's flames. "I never wanted to be an Intoner!"

Aqua made it to the edge of the forest, a large exposed area overlooking a cliff, before she saw the dragon. It was a large white beast with golden horns and a black underbelly. His wingspan must have been fifty feet long and his claws and teeth were sharper than knives.

"Please kill me!" she begged it.

The dragon blinked in confusion. "Uh… what?"

"I want you to kill me! End my existence! I despise the Flower and everything it's done to me! Please!"

"Aqua!" Terra grabbed her and pulled her to him.

"Please, Terra. Let him do this."

The dragon, intrigued, decided to land. Aqua could finally see the color of his eyes. The sky blue color was the only thing that took away from the ferocious image of a fire-breathing, flying lizard. They looked too innocent, despite that he appeared to be scowling. Both out of dislike for the Intoner and confusion for why she wanted him to kill her.

"What kind of Intoner asks for death?" the dragon asked.

The Flower hissed.

"One who hates the existence the Flower has given her!" Aqua raved, forcing Terra to let go of her. Aqua fell to her knees. "Please. It's made me kill people, turn them into monsters, and it's made me feel pain the likes of which I'd never wish onto anyone."

The dragon tilted his head, mulling over Aqua's words. When he decided she was being honest, he spoke again.

"I've never met an Intoner who was nice," the dragon said. "Well, I've never met an Intoner before, but you know…"

"I get it," Aqua said. "Because of my terrible power, right?"

The dragon nodded.

"Please, I want this to end," Aqua said. "I've had enough."

"Aqua," Terra sighed.

"I'm gonna guess that she's going mad?" the dragon asked him. Terra nodded.

"I've watched her mutilate herself trying to remove the Flower," Terra said. "It just hurts her or kills her previous body and gives her a new one."

"That's how an Intoner regenerates? Yeesh. That's gruesome.

"You haven't seen it," Terra replied.

"You haven't done it," Aqua added. Her face turned a slight shade of green at the thought.

The dragon looked thoughtful for a moment. Then, he nodded.

"I'm Ventus," he said, "but call me Ven."

"Nice to meet you, Ven," Aqua said. "I'm Aqua. This is Terra."

"I know you said you want to die, but maybe there's something else we can do," Ven said. "I don't know much about the Flower myself other than I want to roast you alive because it's inside you, Aqua. The elder dragon, Eraqus, might have answers for you. I'll take you to him."

"A dragon would be the only means of ending your curse, Aqua," Eraqus said. "And by that, I mean your life would have to end. I am sorry, it is the only way to end the curse of the Flower, of which we dragons are the natural enemy."

Aqua wasn't surprised. She had tried removing the Flower so many times, she had lost count. There was no way for her to be human again, but if dying meant she wasn't an Intoner anymore, that was fine. She just wanted all the misery to end.

"I can take your life and put an end to all this, Aqua," Eraqus said. "This is the best I can offer you."

It was interesting he didn't do that the second Ven landed in the dragons' keep with Terra and Aqua on his back. But Eraqus was interested in why one of his own kind would bring an Intoner and her Disciple to their home, so he decided to hear them out.

"I want this nightmare to end, Eraqus," Aqua told him.

No, you will do as I tell you! the Flower snarled.

"No! You have done nothing except torment me since I found you!" Aqua screamed. "I will remove your existence from this world! I don't care what it takes!"

When the Flower didn't respond, Aqua noted the silence around her. Terra, Eraqus, and Ven were all staring at her.

"Master, I heard a voice," Ven said.

"I heard it too, Ventus," Eraqus replied. "That was the Flower."

"You heard it?" Terra asked. "It may have given me my strength, but I've never heard the Flower."

The dragons shared a glance.

"What is your experience with it, Terra?" Eraqus asked. "Enhanced strength, but it seems like it hasn't done anything else like it has to Aqua. She's been given eternal youth, incredible, if painful, regenerative abilities, and her reality warping Song."

"Whenever Aqua is in danger, it makes me attack like a wild animal," Terra said. "But mostly I have heard Aqua's fits when it tortures her. I've watched her come undone because of this parasite that's inside her." He turned to look at her. "I've watched you tear at yourself, hurt yourself, tear your hair with your bare hands, and your mind has fallen to pieces so many times I think my heart broke each time."

Aqua couldn't hold back her tears.

"And yet I would still choose to be with you every time," Terra continued. "I have loved you since I met you. I won't leave you alone, Aqua." He opened his arms and Aqua went to him. "I will follow you, wherever your broken spirit takes you."

Aqua squeezed him tight. "I love you," she whispered.

"Very well," Eraqus said. "If that is your wish, we shall grant it."

Terra and Aqua breathed a sigh of relief.

"But first, there is a task I would set to you…"

The task in question was eliminating every monster Aqua had created with her Song.

Truthfully, Aqua was almost unsure she was up to the task. The dragons wanted the Flower gone as soon as possible, but they said that the Song had created enough monsters or driven enough people mad that they should be killed to remove any chance of the Flower infecting someone or something indirectly.

"Prove that your intentions are true," Eraqus said. "Prove to the dragons that the Flower is as much your enemy as it is to the world."

Eraqus went on to explain exactly what the Flower was to Terra and Aqua. It was a parasite created by the gods who wanted to take the world back from humanity.

It was using Aqua as its host because the gods couldn't manifest their own power without a vessel. They manifested that vessel as the Flower, which would then establish a parasitic relationship with whoever came into contact with it. The Flower had essentially made Aqua into a goddess of destruction by granting her its powers and immortality. The gods would have welcomed her into their Pantheon had she fulfilled its mission.

That had almost broken Aqua completely. She had lived a rough life before meeting Terra, but she didn't hate the world enough to want to destroy it. She had liked being a healer, but the Flower had destroyed that.

Aqua almost struggled to say yes, not wanting to hurt people anymore, but Eraqus told her it would be the only way to make sure the Flower's threat was entirely eradicated.

And they were running out of time.

Aqua had lived for two years with the Flower slowly corrupting her very essence. She had maybe one more before the Flower consumed her entirely and its purpose served.

"Ven will go with you in case things get too out of hand," Eraqus said. "And as a dragon, he may be able to help keep the Flower in check. Its power is useless against us."

Ven's presence would also make sure the Flower couldn't take over Aqua. The dragons' presence couldn't keep it quiet, but it could keep the weed in check. Under threat of Ven devouring Aqua on the spot.

Dragons were also sensitive to the Flower's presence. It meant probably searching the whole continent for the people the Song had changed, but it would be a little easier this way.

Aqua didn't mind. She didn't mind any of it. Eraqus wanted to be thorough. Destroying the Flower warranted all of this.

She just hoped they got it done in time.

Ven did most of the killing. Aqua's real task was actually to witness everything. After Ven killed the first monsters because it was quicker, he told Aqua to remember all the deaths. To learn what destruction she had wrought by becoming the Flower's host, however unwilling.

"I know you hate the Flower and want this to end, Aqua," he said. "But this is about making sure you know what you've done. That's what Master said."

"I got it, Ven," Aqua said. "I know what I've done to the world. And I hate that I did it. The Flower forced me to do it, but I have used its power willingly before. And I am sorry for that. And what I did to that first town…"

"It will be over soon," was Ven's quiet response.

Finding most of the monsters was easier than expected. Most had stayed in the towns where they were corrupted. But when their little group got close, they would swarm Aqua like moths to a flame.

The only thing they said were, "Intoner… sing… sing for… us."

Aqua denied them, Terra attacked them if they got too close, and Ven would burn them all. The living, the dead, even little bits to make sure no trace of the Flower's corruption remained.

All that was left were burnt buildings and mountains of ash.

"It's really awful, isn't it?" Ven asked.

"You weren't here when it happened, Ven," Terra said. "This is just putting them out of their misery."

"I… guess that's one way of looking at it," Ven said. "I'm sorry for you two. Really."

"You don't have to be, Ven," Aqua said. "What I wouldn't give to turn back time and leave that damned Flower where I found it."

"Aqua, that might not have made a difference," Ven said. "The Flower had you in its hold the second you looked at it. That's how it works. Wouldn't be surprising if the gods picked you a long time before you even found the Flower."

"Great," Aqua muttered.

"The only thing the gods appreciate are beautiful things," Ven said. "That's all they want to preserve when they take the world back. Humanity is ugly to them because they are selfish and destroy to prove their superiority."

"That's true enough," Terra said. "But then, why would they choose a human host for their power?"

"I may be a dragon, but I can see how pretty Aqua is," Ven said. "The gods probably thought the same. Like I said, they like pretty things."

"Tell that to the faeries we met a few years ago," Terra said. "They thought I was a muscle headed freak and that Aqua was ugly."

"Yeah, they called me 'Blueberry Head' and pulled my hair," Aqua said, playing with the tips of her uneven locks.

"Faeries are hell spawn," Ven said. "They know how to push everyone's buttons. And they think anyone who's not a faerie is ugly."

Ven was fun to talk to. As proud as he was that he was a dragon, he also had a softer side. If it weren't for Aqua being the Flower's host, Ven probably would have greeted them like old friends when they met.

Ven had been overlooked by most dragons because of his natural curiosity and interest in humans. Dragons normally only bothered with humans who were either wise or warriors. Several in their land were unhappy Ven had brought an Intoner to Eraqus, but it didn't matter. Not when Ven was helping Terra and Aqua on their mission to wipe out the Flower and they planned to die when they were done too.

Eraqus had practically raised Ven. They had been together a long time, Eraqus was almost ten thousand years old, Ven's three thousand years were nothing by comparison. Eraqus was leader of their parliament of dragons, and he saw Ven's potential, so he took him under his wing and now no other dragon questioned Ven. He was one of their braver and bolder members now.

Aqua would miss him.

They made it with maybe a week to spare. Ven flew them all around the continent one last time just to be sure, but there were no traces left of the Flower's magic anywhere. Their task done, Ven, Terra, and Aqua returned to Eraqus.

The Flower was angry. It now hated Aqua because it couldn't force her to sing with Ven around and every vessel of its power was dead except for her. And soon Aqua would be dead too.

"There are no traces left other than Terra and Aqua?" Eraqus asked Ven.

"I swear on my honor as a dragon," Ven said.

"Good," Eraqus said. "Then, the time has come."

"Master, may I please say goodbye to them?" Ven asked. "They are my friends."

"Very well."

Eraqus gave them the time in which it would take him to go hunt down a meal and return.

Aqua couldn't help hugging Ven. This dragon had been kind to her like only Terra had been before in her previous life or her life as an Intoner. She would cherish it, wherever her soul ended up.

"Stay strong, Ven," Aqua said, holding his face in her arms. "And thank you."

"I'll miss you," Ven answered. Aqua could see the tears in his eyes.

"I'll miss you too."

"Take care, Ven," Terra said. He reached up and petted Ven's snout.

"I would have really wanted to keep going on adventures with you, Terra," Ven said. "You're like a brother I never had in a dragon, whether you are one or not."

"Thanks, Ven." Terra smiled. The first Aqua had seen on his face in a long time.

Eraqus was returning, snapping the last bits of… something down his maw. When he finished, he asked, "Terra, Aqua, are you ready?"

"You have always been my light, Aqua," Terra told her. "Even in this darkness we've lived in the past few years. You never stopped lighting my way. I love you."

"In the darkness I have stared into these last few years, it's always been you that kept the dark away, Terra," Aqua said to him. "I love you."

"I'm with you," Terra said.

"And I, you," Aqua said.

"I am sorry the Flower corrupted you both," Eraqus told them. "It forced you to live with a heavy burden. But now, I will free you of this."

"Thank you," Terra and Aqua said together.

"Good night, Terra, Aqua," Ven said.

Eraqus was readying himself to send an inferno that would end Terra and Aqua's lives.

It was fine. This was what they wanted.

They kissed each other one last time, holding each other tight when the fire finally reached them and ended their existences.

Finally, it's over, Aqua thought.

For some reason, it wasn't over.

Aqua stood in what appeared to be a lake of white flowers with water lapping her ankles. She wore a flowing white dress and a blue sash embroidered with silver stars was tied around her waist.

She almost turned up her nose at the flowers, but then realized that they didn't look anything like the blue Flower that had made her life a living hell. They were every variety of a flower that could be white. Roses, snow drops, daisies, lilies, and many more expanding off into infinity under a clear, starry sky.

"Aqua!" a voice called. Aqua turned around to see Terra, dressed in a white shirt and pants, and looking like he did before the Flower had made him her Disciple. His hair was brown, and his eyes were blue again, and the muscle he had gained was gone too, and now he was still muscular, but he was thinner and leaner again.

"Terra!" Aqua ran into his arms and pulled him into a kiss. "Is it you?"

"I'm here, Aqua," Terra said. "I'm here."

"I love you, I love you, I feel like I could never say it enough in life, but I love you," Aqua cried. For the first time in a long time, her tears were happy and relieved instead of sad and frustrated.

"I love you so much," Terra said. "And now we can rest."

"Yes, rest," Aqua whispered.

Terra picked her up bridal style, which he had done so many times when he had taken her to bed, and laid down among the flowers with her in his arms.

"Good night, Aqua."

"Good night, Terra."

And for the first time in so many years, Terra and Aqua knew peace.

Wow! That was LONG! But hey, I wanted it to be. But I didn't want to make it overly long, which is why eliminating monsters is summarized, not written into the experience. I wanted to focus on the characters and how they got along.

I hope you all enjoyed this piece I have thought of doing for a while. It's probably the darkest thing I've ever written. Which makes sense because Kingdom Hearts is pretty dark on its own (beneath its cheery surface) and Drakengard (laughs insanely while saying next part) is probably some of the most f'd up shit I've ever read honestly. And it's brilliant. (Reins in mad laugh.)

And yes, I wanted to include a happy end where they are reunited in the afterlife. I may have made them go through shit, but I want Terra and Aqua to be happy and in love together. But yeah, this piece was meant to be dark and f'd as shit. Hopefully, I succeeded at it.

Now, I figure I should explain how I came up with this idea. The main reason is because of the Intoner Two, and her Disciple, Cent. Two and Aqua share a strong visual aesthetic, that being the blue themes they both have. As for Cent, he happens to share his Japanese VA with Terra. So, this plot bunny nagged me to no end to write it. Though, I'm gonna add that I actually hate Cent because he's an annoying idiot. And his and Two's relationship is just sweet enough to rot your teeth clean out of your head. XP I really didn't want to go for that and I also included some of Zero's story into Aqua to show how being an Intoner really isn't all that great. Two can also testify to this, watch the scenes from her DLC chapter, I dare you not to feel horrible for her. I also took a little inspiration from Manah's story, given how screwed up she was, but I turned the feelings from hatred for humans and love of the gods to the other way around.

Oh, for Aqua's song, I picture the singing voice from Anti-Aqua's battle theme. I think it works. As for Ven being the dragon, I wanted to include him somehow and let's face it, he could give Mikhail a run for his money in terms of how sweet and adorable he is. And rather than make up a new angel/daemon for Aqua to summon, and my depiction of Leviathan was based off FFXV because it used her in mermaid form (for beauty) and serpent form (for wrath). (There's a painting in the Citadel featuring Leviathan as a mermaid.) Also, for why I never had Terra chant like a Disciple does for summoning, when an Intoner summons her angel/daemon without a song, they lose their minds. So, it was a bit about a descent into madness. I also chose Aqua's hair be the part of her that grows because 1, I couldn't think of anything else to use, and 2 it does look haphazardly cut, so if she cut it in a fit of madness, I think it would make sense.

Hope you had fun catching all the references I threw in there. And yes, I couldn't help making one about those Drakengard faeries from hell. They are evil little things.

Also, like I said before, this was my first attempt with dirty writing. One reason I wrote this was also to get that out of the way. Yes, other fics I have written included sex technically, but this was more explicit (though not entirely). I just wanted to get it out of my system.

And there is no name for dragons that I could find. I went with parliament (like a parliament of owls) because it's an organized word and the dragons are an intelligent species.

I thank you guys for reading my works again. Hope you are all staying safe during this insane outbreak and that we all make it through together and life gets back to normal soon.

Also, Happy TerrAqua Day 2020!