A/N: Sorry for the huge break I took! My only excuse is school but since I've just gotten done with break, I had some time to write this up :) There's a lot of new stuff going on, but there's some recap as well. Enjoy and thank you for reading/reviewing!

-x-X-x-

XI: The Witch

-x-X-x-

Time passed by slowly at the hospital. Seeing Zack practically do cartwheels out of Aqua's room told him one thing—she said yes. Terra smiled slightly, whether it be amusement or a grimace.

Tifa was quick on arriving. She dropped in for a brief visit and she and Aqua had some sort of "girl talk"—one of which the three boys were not invited to. Afterwards, she took Zack with her (by the ear no less; Terra did not envy him) and he and Ventus stayed behind to spend the last of their visiting hours with Aqua.

"The staff says they only found you with your messed up clothes. They searched the scene too—no keychain, I'm sorry," Terra explained, rubbing his head.

Aqua was visibly disappointed but she smiled tiredly and Terra could only return the gesture with a pained expression.

"Don't worry about it… I probably misplaced it somewhere else," she said, "Do the police still want to talk to me? I said I couldn't remember anything."

Ven shook his head before Terra could answer. "No, I told them to leave you alone. You don't have to worry about it for now. Even the doctors said you might trouble remembering some stuff."

"I can deal," she chuckled, "This is embarrassing, getting beat up like this. Anyways, you two should be going home now, especially you Ven. It's already been more than one day—no more excuses."

Ven groaned deeply with both lungs and diaphragm and everything. Before he could protest further, Terra decided to do Aqua a favor and herd the younger boy out of the room.

"G' Night, Aqua. We'll be back tomorrow," he promised before closing the door.

Ven whined as he continued to lead him out into the lobby.

"She's making me stay at Axel's," he complained as if that was the worst thing in the world.

Terra cocked an eyebrow. "Well his macaroni is terrible but he isn't that bad."

"No, I know that," he backtracked, "but why can't I stay overnight? Don't family members get that special privilege or something? I read it in a book."

"Maybe, not sure, but maybe Aqua just wants a night to herself. She was unconscious for the past two days so that doesn't count—I don't blame her for wanting some peace and quiet… Not that you're too much energy for her to handle or anything," he hastily added.

"Oh… I didn't think of that," Ven said bowing his head, "But still… —!"

Terra had promptly picked the blonde up by the waist and plopped him on the shoulders, despite the fact that he was only ten inches taller than him—less than a foot which was supposed to be some rule of thumb to carrying people on your shoulders or something. He figured that didn't matter since this guy was as light as a feather.

Ven still clung to his brown mess as if he was going to drop him any moment though.

"I've had enough of your negativity for the night," Terra scolded him jokingly. "I'm carrying you to the parking lot and I hope everyone sees you and realize how much of a negative Nancy you are being today. Cheer up, will you?"

"I'm not five years old—!" Ven wailed, still clinging to his head. Terra couldn't help but laugh as he kept a secure hold on the other's shins.

"Relax, I'm not going to drop you. See these arms? Yeah."

Ven stopped fighting and shaking once he gave him a chance to steady himself. Instead, he started pulling on his brown locks. "Why does this chunk of hair keep sticking up? Do you use super glue or something? Woah—watch the door!"

"Sorry," Terra hummed, though not sorry at all, as he promptly walked out of the hospital building. He suddenly bent his knees, sending Ven to strangle his hair again. "Better?"

"Not funny," Ventus growled, laughing at the same time. His voice faded into a sigh and he shamelessly plopped his chin down in the middle of his hair. "You know, Aqua used to carry me like this."

Terra arched an eyebrow, looking up at him even though he could only catch a glimpse of the blonde ends of his hair. "How small were you?"

"Not very small—" Terra could imagine him pouting "—I mean we were all the same size back then. We took turns of course—we did stuff like leap frog and everything."

"Just you two?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Our old town was a railroad stop. Aside from that, it was super small and we lived miles away from our neighbors. People would pass through, come and go, but no one really ever stayed for long. What about you, Terra? Do you have any siblings?"

Terra whistled thoughtfully. "I might," he said, "but I don't live with them, and I don't know who or where they are."

Ven was silent for a moment.

"…Oh. That's weird, how come?"

"I'm adopted, or something. Well maybe not really… I'm old enough and I have a steady job, and that's all that matters in the system really."

"You live alone?" Ventus sounded perplexed. "How do you pay for… stuff?"

Terra couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. "The same way Aqua pays for your stuff I guess. I live in a complex owned by Zack's family and I work at the dojo for the Lockhearts to pay rent. It's really not that bad of a life—it's liberating actually."

"Huh, maybe I should get a job too. It's the least I can do since Aqua tries too hard."

Terras nodded, remembering that Aqua was on her own, just like him. He felt a tinge of sympathy since he knew her position well. "Ven, do you remember when we first met, you said something about you and Aqua not being related?"

"Uh-huh, I think I do, why?"

"Which one of you was it?"

"Me," Ven answered without needing elaboration. "Aqua's mom and dad were really nice to me when they took me in—kind of like my old parents, but I don't remember them much. It was such a long time ago."

"I remember them, my own I mean," Terra said, "And it sounds strange, but I have holes here and there where I can't remember a thing. Do you get that?"

Ven thought for a moment. "I don't really know… I think it's just me forgetting. I mean, maybe it's because my life only really got going when I was Aqua's brother." He sighed guiltily. "Is that bad to say about my old mom and dad?"

"I don't think so," he answered. "Hold on." He got on one knee and Ven hopped from his shoulders with ease, barely making a sound when he touched the ground.

"Can I ask another question? Sorry Terra, it's just this is the first time I really got to talk about it with someone besides Aqua." He look down and shuffled his feet, sending ripples through the shallow puddle he was standing in. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it anymore though."

Terra ruffled his hair, eyes softening. He felt the same way, but he wasn't as open as Ven, nor was he willing to admit he felt the same as him. Still, it was… nice finding someone just like him who was able to understand, even if it was only a little bit. Of course Tifa and Zack were there for him. After they figured he wandered into Radiant Garden delirious and bare-footed, he had no trouble inspiring their deepest sympathies—but sympathy was not empathy and he was quite starved in that aspect, no matter how much he tried to deny it.

"Course not, I'm the one who brought it up in the first place."

Ven nodded numbly as Terra turned away to unbuckle his helmet from the bars of his motorcycle. "Do you… Do you think we were let go because we weren't wanted anymore? Sort of like how kids get sick of their toys?"

Terra tried to unclip the buckle. The hook jammed, pinching his thumb before he tore it off impatiently with a jerk. It was an honest question—Terra understood that. Terra also understood that Ventus was probably too young to remember his parents' faces the night of his abandonment. Unfortunately, he wasn't as lucky and he knew exactly why he was left on his own.

"No, I don't think that's the case," he lied, offering the helmet to Ven. "Our parents were… or are adults, not kids. They probably did the best they could at the time. I mean, I'm not saying we have to understand the decision they made, but it's no use questioning our own value. We have people who still care about us, isn't that right?"

"Yeah," Ven agreed, brightening up a little, "I have Aqua and you and Axel and everyone else at school." He took the helmet. "Hey, what's this for?"

"I don't want your sister gutting me if something bad happened," he said, grinning crookedly.

"But I'd feel bad—" Ven started uncertainly but Terra hushed him.

"Driver makes the rules. Driver says put on the helmet, it's getting late."

"I'm buying you a second one for your birthday," he grumbled, conceding. Terra only chuckled as he mounted his motorcycle, scooting forward a little to make room.

"Hold on, a helmet won't do you any good if you start tumbling down the freeway."

"Darn," Ventus huffed in deep exasperation. "Well I guess that ruins my plans for the night."

-x-X-x-

The skin of her front stretched against the stitches uncomfortably with every move she made, but Aqua couldn't help but force herself to the hospital window to watch Terra and Ven leave the parking lot. Seeing them talk and smile filled her with a pleasing warmth—she had to admit that Terra carrying Ven on his shoulders was sort of cute. She remembered she used to do the same thing when they were still small.

After the rumble of Terra's motorcycle faded from her ears, she collapsed back into bed, covering her forehead with the back of her hand. There were so many things she needed to take care of—her keyblade, and that one man with the silver hair.

The one who murdered her parents in their own living room. She remembered him now.

Aqua closed her eyes and listened deeply to the tick of the clock.

The continuous ticking that suddenly… stopped.

Puzzled, Aqua reopened her eyes and took the trouble of sitting up. The clock was frozen, and that wasn't it.

She smelled darkness in the air and sure enough, a doorway leading to the void opened up before her. She instinctively threw out her arm to summon her keyblade before remembering that she was without it—without a weapon and without luck.

"I-I'm not here to hurt you," came the soft voice of a girl.

Blue eyes widened as the owner of the voice stepped from the swirling darkness, dressed in white. A much taller figure clad in black followed behind her before the portal vanished.

"You… Namine, isn't it?" Aqua asked, still sitting up from her bed, dumbfounded.

The girl named Namine nodded, holding a hand to her chest as the dark figure continued to stand silently behind her like a guard.

"I've always wanted to meet you, Aqua."

"You know me," Aqua stated, although it was more of a question than a statement. "You tried to tell me about Ifrit and I wanted to talk to you for once, but I kept on forgetting—" she shook her head, "—I'm normally not that forgetful."

Namine lowered her pale blue gaze like a child caught in the middle of misbehaving. "The fault is mine. I had to manipulate your memories in a way that you wouldn't approach me and attract attention, but I did a messy job. My… caretaker did not want me to interfere, but I didn't want Axel to get hurt either. You saved him despite my mistakes, so thank you."

Aqua nodded in acknowledgement, but she was still confused. "You knew what would happen? You're a magic-user?"

"More like magic uses me," Namine corrected, smiling softly but bitterly. "I have dreams and visions of the 'future' mostly, but I can't control what I see."

Aqua tried to sit up, but her injuries made it difficult even with the soothing spell she received from Zack's flowers. She winced as she moved to the edge of the bed instead. "I appreciated it and I don't mean to be rude, but why didn't you just tell me yourself? Why a picture?"

"The future is not something that is written in stone—" came the deep voice of the stranger standing to the side. "—but deviating from 'fate' spells instability. Namine can see the future, but as a result, she cannot interfere with it."

Aqua's brows furrowed. She was used to studying about paradoxes as well as laws and rules of both science and magic, but she was having trouble grasping what they were trying to say. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I understand. You just said Namine isn't allowed to interfere, but wasn't sending me a picture as a clue interference? Even if it wasn't, what's stopping you from trying to affect the future?"

Namine appeared weary as she exhaled softly. "It's… something simple, but complicated. I'm sure you of all people know the very nature of magic, yes?"

Aqua nodded again, although it was unnerving to learn that this girl knew certain details about her. What else did she know? "I'm not the most capable spell caster out there, but I did study the subject thoroughly. The world we live in is a world dominated by science and logic, elements that are familiar to us as people. However, the world parallel to us, the Darkness Between, is dominated by chaos and wonder—absolute contradictions to the laws science has established."

Namine was listening and she beckoned her to go on. Aqua swallowed and complied, pulling from memory snippets she recalled gathering from textbooks. She wondered what she was trying to get to.

"Magic is the ability to connect from this world to the Darkness Between with a thread. This thread gives us the power to siphon energy and temporary break the laws that dominate this world to accomplish what we need. The energy we borrow though is synchronized with our own energy, so our power isn't unlimited. This also prevents any one person from totally destroying the laws of our world."

"That's right, and do you know the catalyst of magic?"

Aqua frowned. "It's language. Language lets us tap into magic—it was a skill invented and developed by our ancestors. That's why the older languages make better spells than modern ones, although technically any one will work."

"That's it. Language helps us define and control the chaos of magic for our own use. The two are closely related," Namine added, closing her eyes thoughtfully. "You really are capable, Aqua. You see, magic is imbued into my entire being; it defines who I am. As a result, I am subject to its restrictions—language is one of them. Magic allows me to see the future, and since law states that I cannot interfere, I cannot use language to convey what I see. That means I can't speak or write about my visions. This is why I can only draw and hope that someone will understand."

Aqua looked down at her hands, thinking hard and deeply. "That must be really difficult for you, isn't it? Having to be an observer with no power over the events that go on before you."

"It's not easy," she admitted, "but you don't have to worry about me. I know you have your own problems to overcome, and this is why I wanted to see you. This isn't about me, but you… Riku, I think we should return what's rightfully hers."

"Riku?" Aqua asked, peering curiously at the hooded figure. "You're Riku? I sensed you were familiar—but you're covered in darkness. You're Sora's best friend and I ran into you in the hallways. You said something about my…" Aqua paused. "…You have my keychain, don't you?"

Riku, whose face was still hidden by a hood, opened up a palm to reveal a silver charm in the shape of a teardrop. The charm was within her reach, but he didn't offer it to her right away. Instead, he asked, "…Why do you have a keyblade?"

How was she supposed to answer that? It wasn't like she knew herself—the Order as well as the Master said she was "Chosen" but to her, it didn't explain a thing. "I don't know," she answered, "All I know is that I need it to fulfill my mission."

"A mission?" He fell silent for a second. "I see. I took it with me when I found you after your fight with Xemnas. For a moment, I couldn't believe you had a keyblade until I felt the power within your chain." He tossed said keychain and Aqua caught it with both hands, grasping it tightly and drinking in the familiar energy she missed.

"Thank you," she said quietly. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised if you two know about Xemnas too."

Both of them nodded and Riku reached up to lower his hood.

Time was still as his hood fell and within seconds, Aqua was on her own two feet with glowing katana in hand, pointing at his exposed throat. A few of her stitches ripped but she didn't care.

Her eyes were wide and livid; normally calm waters glowering with fury. "You—"

"Put that down—" Riku hissed, his golden eyes narrowed. However, before either of them could make a move, Namine was between them with arms spread wide.

"Aqua, I know what happened seven years ago—! Just look deeper, you know they're not the same person. This is Riku, you said so yourself," she pleaded, shielding the one she claimed as "Riku". "Please don't hurt him."

Aqua didn't lower her blade, but she secretly complied and read his heart. Even with the murder of her parents involved, she wasn't one for impulse. She found a heart made of terrifying darkness, but with a glimmer of pure light that kept the darkness at bay. Namine was right—this person was not Xemnas. Xemnas was an absolute void she couldn't read. They had the same golden eyes and the same silver hair, but they were not the same person.

Even so, this Riku was a far cry from the Riku she was familiar with at school.

"Who are you?" She finally asked, lowering her sword by a fraction of an inch.

"My name is Riku," he answered flatly as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. "But you're not looking at me—this isn't my real form."

Aqua allowed her arm to lower as she looked on in confusion; this night was beginning to be too much for her to handle. "You have different forms?"

"In a way. Only at night." Riku stared down at his own hand, studying his fingers as if he really was a soul in an unfamiliar body. "I'm the 'emotions' of the one called Xehanort."

"…The emotions of Xehanort," Aqua repeated faintly. Her master's words were returning to her—

"The entity you call 'Xehanort' was human once, almost forty years from now… Xehanort twisted the very nature of his entire being beyond repair and ascended in order to accommodate his ideals for a perfect world in Darkness… I speculate that Xehanort evaded death since he reached a higher plane of existence that surpassed even death itself… His existence was split between what we will refer to as 'will' and 'emotion'. Aside from the fact that we know they are very real, everything else is lost to us."

"His existence was split between 'will' and 'emotion'," she echoed. The first half of Xehanort was standing right in front of her, an "abomination to humanity" that she was supposed to destroy.

"That's right, I'm the latter half." Riku crossed his arms as he waited for her next reaction.

"I didn't realize… This isn't what I imagined it to be." Aqua faltered. "You're a student, a human being like me—how can you be a remnant of Xehanort? Xehanort was destroyed eleven years ago, you're sixteen."

"Xehanort was defeated eleven years ago," Namine confirmed, voice soft and patient. "But only his body was destroyed. In fact, it was beyond salvation. This is why his existence lives on inside the hearts of others; his will and emotions needed hosts. His seeds of darkness planted themselves within two hearts in the same manner that the keyblade chose you and another." She looked towards Riku expectantly.

Riku averted his gaze. He reached forward and Aqua tense up. A mix of light and darkness swirled within his palm before shaping itself into a katana that was not unlike hers. The edge was a deep black and the opposite side was lustrous silver. A black metal keychain dangled from the hilt, swinging back and forth like a pendulum. "This is why I'm still myself."

Aqua's head was beginning to hurt.

Riku twirled the keyblade effortlessly and the blade itself cut ribbons of blue light into the air. The blunette reached out with her consciousness and found that the power was genuine—she was staring at a true keyblade. An actual keyblade other than hers.

"This wasn't mine originally," Riku explained. "Three years ago, the piece of Xehanort within me grew too strong for me to handle no matter how much I tried to hold it down. I couldn't understand what was happening—I didn't even know who Xehanort was, or what he tried to do in the past. It was Namine who saved us though."

Namine lowered her head, shaking it. "No, I only helped. Sora made the true sacrifice here."

"Sora… your friend?" Aqua asked, eyes fixed on the keyblade that emanated with both light and darkness.

Riku nodded before dismissing his weapon. "The keyblade chose Sora, not me. Namine appeared to us and explained everything—what the keyblade was, who Xehanort was, and what was happening to me. Sora he… He gave me a piece of his light. It was only a piece, but it was enough to subdue Xehanort's influence. Namine transferred Sora's memories of the keyblade to me so I could continue to fight the darkness. As a result, Sora doesn't remember what's truly out there, or that monsters and keyblades and magic exist."

"He returned to being 'unaware' for you," Aqua said. Their friendship was real and it was enough to thwart Xehanort's influence. This was the first time she had ever heard of such a thing, and she was awed. "You were saved."

"Yes, Riku's safe, but…" Namine bit her lip and rubbed her arms warily, obviously distraught. "I couldn't save the host of Xehanort's 'will'. Even now, I still don't know who it is. Since the two of you have already fought him, it's probably too late for that heart." Her voice shook and Aqua couldn't help but reach out to her and grasp her shoulder. "It's a horrible thing, to have one's heart engulfed by the darkness of another."

Riku spoke up. "Don't bother blaming yourself, Namine. You can't stop everything, especially with those restraints."

"He's right. It was probably too late from the beginning…" Xehanort killed Ven's parents; Xemnas killed mine. There's a connection there, I see it, but why… why us? "I suppose that Xemnas is the other half."

"He is," Namine sniffed.

"I've talked to Xemnas, I've felt his thoughts, or his 'will', or whatever," Riku said. "He named himself, and he doesn't talk as if he considers himself an extension of Xehanort. It's like… He's created his own identity, a failed one at that."

"Xemnas is strange and empty, I rarely have dreams of him, and when I do, his face is always blurry." The younger girl sighed again. "I wish I could see him for real."

Aqua was thinking, reflecting on the series of dreams she had while she was unconscious… I really did meet him in the snow all those years ago. It really was him who did all that. And I really did let him in… It was my fault. Aqua grimaced and pinched her brow. It's my entire fault, because I trusted him… I thought he could've been my friend. He was so kind to me.

A tender hand grasped hers and the keyblade warrior looked up, eyes glazed.

"Aqua, please don't," the other whispered.

"I… I know," she sighed. "I can't be thinking about that. There's so much I need to do and I feel horrible confined to this room."

"Can't you heal yourself?" Pointed out Riku.

"I can, but wouldn't it be odd if I walked out the next day when I was supposedly half dead two days ago? The doctors want me in for another week and the police believe the incident was a mugging."

"We can take care of that," Namine said, perking up almost instantly. She seemed pleased to finally be of some tangible help. "You'll be out within a day, no mess at all, just as long as you heal yourself well. There's more I wanted to talk to you about, but locking time is tiring." She pointed to the clock, which was still frozen. "I didn't want to take up your time."

Aqua blinked. "Oh, you didn't have too… I'm used to staying up nights, but thank you. You're really thoughtful, Namine."

"Not really," the blonde flushed, "I just try to help as much as I can."

Riku laid a hand on her petit shoulder. "We should go. There are going to be heartless tonight."

"Heartless…" Aqua bit her lip. She had been so caught up with the Xehanort issue that she forgot about them.

"Don't worry," surprisingly it was Riku assuring her. "I can keep them under control for now. Just focus on yourself."

"I want you to take care," Namine added, dipping her head. "We'll see each other again, and I don't mean just at school. Good night, Aqua."

-x-X-x-

Riku fell from a black crack in the air to the city skyline, silvery hair and cloak trailing behind him. He carried Namine in his arms who held on to his chest tightly.

"Was it really okay telling Ven's sister all of that?" He asked her.

Namine look up at him as they landed soundlessly. Riku took another leap. "You don't trust her?"

Riku didn't answer that.

"She has the keyblade, Riku. She's just like Sora."

"That's hard to believe," he scoffed. "She works for the 'Order', the same Order you told Sora and me the hide our powers from—the same Order you're running away from. They're our enemies, aren't they?"

"I trust Aqua," she said. "And besides, Riku, what would you expect people to do to an abomination they don't understand? Caging it would be the only way to make themselves feel safe—what they did was understandable."

"You're not an abomination, Namine, I've told you a thousand times." Riku grit his teeth, wind whipping his skin. "And that doesn't excuse what they did to you."

Namine braced herself for another leap.

"It shouldn't come as a surprise, I'm their nastiest creation yet."