Chapter Eleven: Split

"Aqua!"

I shoot upright in bed, blinking rapidly in the darkness, attempting to see whoever just yelled my name. I squint blearily as a figure comes into focus. Ventus. I yawn confusedly.

"Ven? What's wrong?" I whisper in his direction. I notice that he's holding his Keyblade and my eyes widen.

"Something's going on, there were heartless in my room," Ven tells me, not attempting to keep his voice lowered in the slightest. "A lot of them too! And when I looked outside my window there were more."

I swing my feet out of bed, pulling on my shoes in record time and grabbing a shawl to throw on over my pajamas. Heartless? Here? That can't be good. It has to be some scheme of Xehanort's. Perhaps some plan to take over Terra again or maybe even abduct him.

"Did you wake anyone else yet?" I ask, already walking out of the door.

I hear Ven run to catch up with me, matching my strides upon reaching me. I can barely see him shake his head no in the darkness. "I came straight to you."

"Okay, then let's split up. I'll go check on Terra, you should wake Ienzo if he isn't up already. Tell him and the others what's going on," I say. Ventus turns to run in the other direction but I grab his hand. "Be careful Ven."

He nods, shooting me a reassuring smile. He gives my hand a squeeze. "Okay. You too Aqua."

He runs off back down the hall and I hurry forward, summoning my Keyblade as I hurry through the dim halls. I make my way straight for Terra's or what used to be Xemnas's old room. I turn the corner to his hall and freeze. Countless Heartless bob in and out of the flooring, blocking my way to his room. It seems I was right. Xehanort is after Terra. But he isn't going to get him. Not this time.

I run forward, throwing flames at the flood of Heartless, taking care not to accidentally fling it at the walls. Slowly their numbers start to dwindle as I cut them down left and right. Just as I finish off the last one I notice a large dark hole in the ground. I creep forward slowly, peering into its depths. A darkside comes from within it, hardly fitting inside the hall. It flings balls of energy at me which I roll to avoid. Running around to the other side of the hall to slash at it from the side. It slams its hand into the ground and darkness surrounds it, causing little shadows to pop up and run towards me. I get rid of those and quickly run forward striking the darkside again. This time it fades into darkness, a heart rising up and disappearing through the roof. The hall now empty, I dart over to Terra's door and fling it open again coming to a halt at the sight in front of me. Someone in an organization coat stands in the center of the room and as I watch he sends Terra flying towards the window, the glass breaks on impact, shattering into a million tiny pieces as Terra disappears through it. His Keyblade lands on the floor in front of the window with a loud thud.

I run forward, leaning out of the window to see below. Terra slowly stands up, facing Master Xehanort in the grass. Blood trickles down from a cut across the side of Terra's face as he summons his Keyblade back into his hand. I place my hands carefully on the windowsill, preparing to leap down. But just as I start to push off from the ground I am held back by the person in the organization coat. I manage to spin around in their grasp and come face to face with Braig, who shakes his head no at me with an amused expression on his face. I glare at him, casting fire on his coat. He yelps and lets go of me and I take the opportunity to leap out through the window. I wince upon landing, pain shooting up through my leg. I ignore it and dart over towards Xehanort, holding my Keyblade out. Chains wrap around me, pinning my arms to my sides and wrapping around my legs sending me crashing to the ground. I bite my lip, fighting against them as my Keyblade is forced from my hand by the chains.

Apparently feeling certain in the fact that I have been taken out of the battle, Xehanort turns to Terra, flinging him backwards against the side of the castle. Before Terra can move he flings him in the opposite direction into a water fountain. Terra lets out a groan, slowly sitting up. Xehanort crosses the grass over towards him, pinning him down with his foot. He stares down at him for a moment, his back facing me.

"Now, what exactly to do with you?" Xehanort says. "Like this you'll only get in my way."

He lifts his Keyblade and points the tip directly downwards. I gasp, struggling to break free of the chains desperately.

"Don't touch him!" I yell, hoping in vain to distract him.

As I expected he doesn't spare me a glance, instead slamming the Keyblade down towards Terra's chest. Darkness envelopes both of them. When it fades I see three figures instead of two. The third being Xemnas who kneels in the grass, his face turned downwards. As I watch he looks up, glancing around confusedly. His eyes meet mine briefly in the small amount of light coming from the castle behind us, his widen as he turns back towards Xehanort. Terra is unmoving on the ground, seemingly rendered unconscious.

"Hello again Xemnas," Xehanort says, a slight chuckle in his tone as though he's amused by the current situation. And he most likely is. He spins chains around Xemnas and Terra. "I need your help again. Surely you didn't think that you would be rid of me that easily?"

He opens a portal in front of them and Mariaul walks through one as Braig comes from the direction of the castle, grabbing Terra and Xemnas and pulling them towards the portal. Xemnas struggles against Braig, trying to break free of the chains. A moan from Xehanort rips my attention from Terra and Xemnas. He doubles over in pain and I look past him to see Ventus standing there, he moves his Keyblade away from Xehanort's back, pointing it a couple of inches from the old mans neck. With Xehanort distracted the chains vanish around me. I jump to my feet, summoning my Keyblade and run over to point it at Braig, seeing him as a bigger threat than Mariaul. His golden eyes flash as he seems to weigh his options. Xemnas is beside me in a flash pointing one weapon at Braig and the other at Mariaul. With this it appears that we have the upper hand at the moment, even though Terra remains unconscious.

Xehanort glances behind me, anger flashing across his face. I glance back over my shoulder to see all of Ansem's apprentices standing there. All appearing ready for battle. Sighing, Xehanort shakes his head.

"Well well, it seems I shouldn't underestimate you and your friends Aqua," Master Xehanort says, his eyes locking with mine. "Keep them, it makes little difference to me."

He, Braig and Mariaul open portals in unison. The darkness envelopes them and they're gone. I breathe a sigh of relief as Ventus runs over to Terra. I follow a few steps behind. He's breathing, but still unconscious. Ienzo walks up, glancing at him briefly.

"Would you bring him inside please Aeleus?" Ienzo asks.

Aeleus lifts him quickly, slinging Terra over his shoulder as if he weighed no more than a leaf. I follow them, falling into step with Xemnas. I glance over to find him staring at the ground as if he can see straight through it, his shoulders hunched down. He glances up, catching my eye for a moment until I look away quickly. What is he now? Separate from Terra. I suppose he must have already built some of his own heart, to be able to exist separately. Is he mostly Xehanort now? There are so many questions running through my mind, I don't even know what to say to him at all.

Aeleus takes Terra to a new room under Ienzo's instructions. Once there Ienzo leaves, muttering something about the alarm system. Even stoops over Terra, examining him before cleaning the wound to his head. After a couple of moments he steps back.

"He should be fine, he's merely unconscious," Even informs the room, "and weak but he should recover in time."

I nod smiling. "Thanks. I think I'll stay here until he wakes up."

Ventus plops down at the foot of Terra's bed, stifling a yawn. "I'll stay too."

Glancing around the room I see a chair in the corner and pull it over to the bed, sitting down on it. I look at Terra's face. His eyebrows appear furrowed slightly as though he's upset. Or maybe in pain, whether emotional or physical. Reaching out I brush the bangs from his face gently.

"That was a close one," Ven says after a moment. "He almost got Terra...again."

I nod in agreement, leaning back in the chair. "But he didn't."

It's a good half of an hour later before Terra opens his eyes. He looks around blearily, focusing first on Ventus and then me. His eyes widen and he sits up, swinging his feet off of the bed. I hold out my hand to stop him from getting up, smiling at him.

"Wh-what happened?" Terra asks. "Where's Xehanort?"

"He left," I say, gently pushing him back against the bed. "Ventus showed up and turned the tides against Xehanort."

Terra seems to relax slightly at this before a look of dawning passes over his face. "Xemnas...he's no longer inside of me. Is he with Xehanort?"

It's Ventus who replies, shaking his head no. "He's here. He's probably talking to Ienzo."

"You should rest. Try to get some sleep," I tell him. "Ienzo was fixing the alarm system just now, so you should be safe now. And my room is just down the hall if you need anything."

Terra nods, closing his eyes as exhaustion lines his face. "Thank you Aqua. And you too Ven."

I get to my feet, offering Terra another smile as I head for the door. Ventus comes out behind me and shuts the door, yawning widely. He grins.

"I'm going back to bed, goodnight Aqua!" Ven waves before running off down the hall.

I'm halfway to my room before a thought suddenly occurs to me. Where did Xemnas go exactly? One moment he was standing with the rest of us and then he seemed to disappear. I start off in the other direction, strolling through the castle. I've walked through nearly the entire castle before nearly bumping into Ienzo. He looks surprised to see me, possibly because I'm standing right outside of the basement. Probably with a confused expression on my face.

"Ienzo, have you seen Xemnas anywhere?" I ask.

"I believe that he went to bed," Ienzo tells me, a stack of papers in his arms. "But he appears to be doing all right. Better than Terra. Granted he wasn't the one flung against a castle."

I smile. "Thanks, for everything Ienzo. You've been a great help through everything."

He smiles. "You're welcome... You should try to get some sleep. It's almost dawn."

I nod, turning back the way I came. "Goodnight."

As soon as I reach my room I collapse on the bed, kicking off my shoes and closing my eyes. I fall asleep almost instantly, my mind slipping quietly into the realm of dreams.

I wake feeling fully rested later that morning. The sun looks like it's been up for awhile yet the castle is silent as though everyone else is asleep or just now waking as well. I yawn, stretching. It takes me a moment to realize there's something heavy resting across my ankles, preventing me from moving them. I sit up quickly, nearly starting in surprise at the sight of Xemnas curled up at the foot of my bed, his head resting on my ankles and his eyes closed peacefully. What is he doing here? In my room? He looks so innocent while he sleeps, and oddly helpless. He still so greatly resembles Terra. I smile slightly as I reach out to shake his shoulder gently. He jerks before opening his eyes, looking at me and then the window. It's a couple more moments before he moves, slowly sitting up.

"Who am I exactly?" he asks, barely audible.

"What do you mean?"

He turns towards me sharply, his eyes boring holes into mine. I notice that he looks empty, like the life has been mostly sucked out of him. I thought he looked helpless while asleep but nothing compared to how much he does now.

He reaches out slowly, his fingers brushing against my cheek. "I know you're real. You're Aqua. But me? I'm not Terra, and not Xehanort either. I was never meant to exist, let alone separately from them."

How to answer him exactly? The truth is I don't really have an answer for him. Besides what little Ienzo has figured out.

"Well, you seem to be growing your own heart," I say. "According to Ienzo that is."

He looks at me dumbfounded, before uncurling his hands and staring at his palms, his eyes far away.

I get to my feet, smiling over at Xemnas. I feel a twinge of sympathy for him grip my heart. "Hey Xemnas? I'm hungry, I think I'm going to go into the town and get some biscuits... Would you like to come?"

He looks surprised before smiling at me. He leaves the room to let me change and then we head off towards the town. The sun shines brightly, making the day warmer than I've felt before in this world. Xemnas is strangely quiet as he falls into step beside me, matching my stride as I lead the way through the town.

He's still silent as I hand him two of the four biscuits. I got one for Terra and another for Ventus as well. In fact he doesn't speak until we're standing outside of the castle at which point he stops in his tracks and stares up at it.

"What do I do Aqua?" Xemnas asks. "Do I belong here with all of you? Or do I belong connected with Terra. I feel strange...it's difficult to explain. As if a darkness has been lifted from my heart, as though I can see more clearly,even my thoughts seem somehow different."

I smile at him. In a split second decision I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck. He stays still for a minute before returning my hug, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine," I tell him, stepping back. "You'll figure all of that out. And...you have friends. I'll help you."

He seems surprised by my last statement before grinning at me, appearing possibly the happiest I've seen him. He reaches out and squeezes my hand briefly.

"Thank you Aqua," he says. "Shall we go in?"

I nod, following him through the doors of the castle... Is he completely his own person? Have all of his actions been entirely his own? I bite my lip as I follow Xemnas into the kitchen. I wonder, do he and Terra still have a part of Xehanort inside of them? And without Terra influencing Xemnas, is he mostly Xehanort or at least heavily influenced by him? Can he be trusted?