A sneer crept up on Vanitas' face when he saw Braig arrive with his hostage.

"Excellent job," said Vanitas as his golden eyes flickered down to Aqua's face. "Master Xehanort will be pleased."

Braig laughed. "Hey, as long as the old coot promises me that I can have my share of the dirt when he's caretaker, I'm all about pleasing him." Braig then pushed a chained Aqua towards Vanitas. "So, here she is," he said. "Do what you want with her."

Aqua looked with horror and fury at Vanitas, realizing at that moment just who Braig had been referring to as "Spiky" really was.

"Hello, Aqua," said Vanitas. "I'm glad you could join us tonight. Are you enjoying the chaos around you? I certainly hope you are. The more catastrophic it is tonight, the more convincing it will sound when Master Eraqus hears that you, Terra, and Ventus perished trying to defend the land from my Unversed!"

With glowering eyes, Aqua thrashed about in her chains. Muffled screams came out of her mouth as she tried to respond to Vanitas behind her gag.

"Braig," began Vanitas, "Shall we give Aqua a chance to tell us what she thinks about tonight's programme?"

Aqua felt Braig's hand fuss with the cloth knot behind her head as he began to untie the gag that was imprisoning her voice. "Be warned, Spike," said Braig with a small snicker. "She's a fighter, she is."

Vanitas frowned at him. "Don't call me Spike," he said in a low, disgruntled voice.

"Whatever."

The knot had become undone in seconds, and Braig removed the gag from Aqua's mouth. Her voice finally liberated, Aqua launched her wrath at her spiky-haired foe.

"YOU!" Aqua screamed at Vanitas. "I knew you were no good! I sensed it from the moment we met!"

Vanitas looked amused as Aqua's enraged eyes pierced like daggers into his. "Did you?" he said, smiling smugly. "Then I'm impressed by your sharp eye for matters such as these."

"Enough!" yelled Aqua. "How dare you and Master Xehanort endanger this land just for your selfish and wicked needs? This land doesn't belong to you! It belongs to Master Eraqus and Terra!"

Vanitas laughed, filling the air with a loud, maniacal, cackle. "Not anymore! After tonight, Eraqus is going to have to change his mind about who will look after the land after him when he finds out that you, Terra, and Ventus are no more! Besides, Master Xehanort is a more suited candidate for the position of the caretaker of the Land of Departure!"

Aqua kept on shaking her head. "You can't do this!" she shrieked. "Once Master Eraqus finds out you and Master Xehanort are behind tonight's attack, he'll never make either one of you a successor of anything!"

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong! Master Xehanort is going to make sure that your precious teacher will never suspect we were behind a single thing!"

"You really think you're going to get away with this?"

"The powers of darkness can do many great things, Aqua! Just a little bit of darkness, soon and your Master will be at the mercy of Master Xehanort and I! He'll have no choice but to listen to us!"

Vanitas started laughing maniacally. Braig started cackling as well, joining Vanitas in his moment of wicked merriment.

"Hey, Spi—I mean, Vanitas!" said Braig, "Why don't you tell this brat here what you did with Mr. Death Glare while she and Terra were having a cozy moment together?"

The rage in Aqua's eyes suddenly died and gave way to concern at the mention of Ven. In the midst of her despair of having to be separated from Terra and her fury at being captured, she'd completely forgotten about him.

"Wait," said Aqua in a small voice. "What did you do to Ven?"

Vanitas began to walk in circles around Aqua. He closed his eyes and shook his head as he maintained his circular path around her. "Oh Aqua," said Vanitas, feigning sadness, "It's going to break your heart to hear this, but Ventus, as we speak, is making a long and gradual descent down to the depths of the Realm of Darkness. You'll never see him again! And Terra will be joining him pretty shortly!"

Aqua gasped. The image of Ven falling deeper and deeper into the depths of darkness, screaming, was incomprehensible.

Vanitas smiled as he beheld Aqua's horrified reaction. "That's right Aqua, there's nothing you can do for Ventus now! He's can't escape! He's going to roam around in the darkness forever!"

Fierce rage returned Aqua's face. "You monster! You'll pay for this!"

Braig sighed harshly. "Hey, Spi—Vanitas! Can we just get on with business and toss her down there as well soon? I've got another fallen Keyblade wielder waiting back for me in the Summit to hand over to you too."

Vanitas held his hand out to Braig, silencing him. "Now just a moment, Braig, I'm nearly done but not quite yet."

Braig grumbled impatiently.

Vanitas resumed talking. "Now of course, naturally Master Xehanort's plans include casting you into the Realm of Darkness as well. However…" a leer then grew from the corners of Vanitas' lips, "ever since I first set eyes on you at this evening's gala, I made a momentous discovery about you!"

Aqua's eyes narrowed into slits. "What discovery?" she asked in a low voice.

Vanitas leaned his face dangerously close to hers. Revolted, Aqua tried to lean her own head back, wanting it to be as far away from his as much as possible.

"The discovery, Aqua," said Vanitas as he looked deeply into Aqua's eyes, "is simply this." His hand suddenly reached out for Aqua's face. Thinking that he was going to do something to her face, Aqua shut her eyelids tightly. She was genuinely surprised when instead, she felt Vanitas' fingers cup her chin and pull it closer towards him. Smirking, Vanitas said, "You, Aqua, I'm afraid, are far too beautiful to be cast away into the Realm of Darkness forever."

Aqua stared at him, dumbstruck. She thought he was taunting her at first when he said it. But as she continued to look deeper into his eyes, she realized that he was gazing at her. Suddenly, it all started to make sense to her—the unending hungered looks at her, the fact that she couldn't see Terra and he couldn't see her during the party, and the tour—Vanitas was behind them all! Aqua felt shocked and sickened as the truth became very clear to her: Vanitas liked her.

A look of disgust grew upon Aqua's face as she wriggled her chin out of Vanitas' fingers. "You," she hissed, "You are the most diabolical, revolting, conniving—!"

Aqua shut her mouth. There were many more words and names that she wanted to hurl at Vanitas' face in that moment. But Aqua held herself back from saying them. Master Eraqus had told her that it was important for one to hold one's temper in, and to not let one's anger go out of control either.

"You disgust me," Aqua said darkly, holding her temper in. "I'd rather eat a toad than remain here as your…" Aqua paused and shook her head. Just thinking about what Vanitas was planning for her instead of banishing her to the Realm of Darkness with Ven and Terra made her skin crawl. "…Whatever you want me to be," Aqua finished.

Vanitas' eyes narrowed. He rose from his knees and looked grimly at her. "You disappoint me, Aqua."

Aqua glared. "You know perfectly well that I will never let you have me! I don't care what you do to me! I am NOT going to be yours! I won't!"

A wicked smile grew on Vanitas' face. "Really, now?" he asked slyly.

"You doubt my word?"

"Yes," Vanitas replied, slowly. The sly grin on his face seemed to grow wider and wider as he continued to look at her with wicked intent. "I do." Just then, he held his hand out in front of Aqua. A Keyblade, in shades of red, dark blue, and black, appeared in it.

Aqua felt her heart stop as she found herself face to face with the teeth of Vanitas' Keyblade, which were now pointing menacingly at her face. She quivered under her chains.

"What…what are you doing?" she asked in a quiet and shaky voice.

A sinister laugh rung through the air. "Forgive me, Aqua," said Vanitas. "But I always get what I want."

She didn't have any time to react. A beam of light shot out of Vanitas' Keyblade and hit her in her brow.

Everything all around Aqua started to blur. That blurriness soon began to give way to gradual blackness. Aqua winced. A weary moan escaped through her lips. Losing all sensations of herself, Aqua collapsed limply onto the ground.

Closing her eyes, everything around her went black.

A/N: Oh dear, Vanitas did a mighty terrible thing to Aqua. You'll find out what he did to her in the next chapter. Hope this chapter wasn't too confusing or poorly written. Also, new character(s) will be introduced in the next chapter.

Excitement's coming your way guys!

-gt²