A cold winter wind blows throughout a barren wasteland, a place devoid of any life or any happiness. The only thing that can be sensed is the grim snowfall and the quiet of nothingness. In a tall and dark looming castle, Maleficent sits calmly on her throne, looking through an orb that can be able to see outside events from other worlds. She sees everyone having a wonderful time on Christmas, and she sees the smiles and the burning gleam of hope in their eyes, and then she stands up and scoffs. "Hmph, I have no use for petty emotions such as those...happiness, contentment...I only need to satisfy my desire of conquering all worlds. Yes, that is all that I desire..." But in her mind, she thinks of a time long past, a time where people would look up to her in admiration and respect. When people would look to her as a hero. But that time was long past, and she simply shrugged off the sense of nostalgia and she went towards the castle balcony, and then she saw Pete, who was supervising the division of the Heartless into different squads. "Oh hey there Maleficent, good morning to ya! I was just doing what you would want me to do Your Majesty!" Maleficent looked at Pete and for a moment smiled, but then she turned away and walked towards the far right end of the balcony. "Nonsense Pete, you don't need to be so formal. You've done a good job." Pete for a moment looks at her shocked and then he slowly stutters. "Um, not to question your mood Maleficent, but your seeming oddly calm today..." The evil faerie simply crossed her arms. "You incompetent fool, must you always be pestering me!?" Pete sighed of relief. "Oh, now that's the Maleficent I know!"
Down below, in the castle courtyard, gargoyle statues formed a circle in the center, as if they were silent sentient guardians watching over this fortress. Eraqus stands quietly beside one of the statues, leaning his back against it, his armor shining and wet from all the snow. Ever since the battle with Dark Orion, Eraqus had distanced himself from Maleficent and Pete, and he had begun the habit of taking long walks by himself. But that didn't seem to bother his allies, because they wouldn't chase him or send Heartless after him. He wasn't sure if they were even his allies anymore. He knew that he belonged to the light, but he had been with these allies for a while now, and he couldn't bring himself to leave. The only one he didn't see eye to eye though, was Guardian Xehanort. Although he wasn't exactly Xehanort, he was the spirit of that same Keyblade Master who had caused ruin and despair to loom large for many years. He was always on edge whenever Guardian Xehanort appeared. But then he felt relaxed, as he started to remember when he used to spend Christmas with Terra, Aqua and Ventus. His mind went back to that time, where everything was simpler and less complicated. He remembered how they all gathered near the Christmas tree in the center of the Keyblade Master's chamber, and he remembers how Terra and Aqua would eagerly await to see what their presents were, while Ventus was simply happy to have them close. As he remembered these feelings of happiness and a feeling of belongingness, his thoughts were suddenly stopped short as Guardian Xehanort appeared before him.
"Ah, Eraqus. On your lonesome, eh? Hmph, you know that thinking about the past won't do you any good." Guardian Xehanort said, smirking. Eraqus remained calm and didn't say a word. "No matter what you do Eraqus, your nothing more than a ghost from the past, as am I. We can never return to this world, we can only walk the road between. So let those needless thoughts go." Eraqus simply left Guardian Xehanort's side and he went towards the snowy wilderness, for he had decided he would go for a walk, where he could be alone, where he could be able to think of the past anew. He did know that he could never come back to the world of the living, but he could at least remember the moments of joy he had in peace.
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Kingdom Hearts
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Kingdom Hearts Christmas Special: After The Keyblade War
FanficIt's been three months since the Keyblade Wielders battled against Dark Orion and his forces! What have they been up to since then? With Christmas right around the corner, Kyle wonders what would make a great gift for his parents, Trish and Ventus...
