I don't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts or Silent Hill. They belong to Square Enix/Disney and Konami respectively

Chapter 21

It had been such a stupid idea, but the bait had been too tempting. She had woken up from her foggy haze with one clear thought: her boys were in trouble. It had rung through her with unyielding certainty. Honestly, considering where they were, it wasn't a surprise, but Aqua had always been one to play the knight. She had forced herself to her feet, grabbed her Wayfinder from a nearby nightstand, and stumbled out into the hall.

It had been a long and laborious trip. The nausea from before hadn't gone away, and should she move too quickly, it would slam into her like a freight train. Her legs had been weak too, shaking as they supported her weight, and constantly fighting against her. But she had obeyed the nagging voice that spurred her onwards, and finally, toppled through the doors of Brookhaven Hospital.

The fog had been heavy, and she had almost been able to feel it pressing on her back. However, oddly, it had seemed to clear in front of her, laying a path for her to follow. She hadn't like it; nothing in this town came without a price.

You have nothing to lose by following, had whispered a smooth voice in her head, only by staying.

Ever since she had woken up, it had been hard to gather her thoughts and interpret them in any meaningful way. The creeping shivers from before had crawled back up her spine, numbing her mind into what was almost a trance. But the voice she heard had spoken calmly, firmly, and she latched onto it as the only coherent thought she had. So, she had walked into the mist, oblivious to how it collapsed behind her.

And now she was lost.

Her condition had only gotten worse the further she got from Brookhaven. She could hear things in the fog around her, sniffing, nails clicking against concrete; none of them attacked her though, and for that she was grateful.

At her side, a rusty knife hung next to her leg. She'd come across it while walking through an alleyway, and grabbed it. It wasn't nearly as powerful or comforting as Rainfell, but it was better than nothing.

She leaned against a wall, retching. Despite the shivers sending her body into seizures and the cold sheen of sweat on her skin, there was a strange spot of her heat in her chest, around her heart. She clutched at the fabric there as another dry-heave took over her body. Of all the times to be sick, it had to be now.

Keep going, said the voice, you're not there yet.

She pushed away from the wall, urging her struggling body forwards. She walked carefully, jerkily, too dizzy to trust her feet. She was making progress though, as slow it was.

She could only hope Terra and Ven would last that long.

Wrong way, the voice told her as she tried to turn off the street. She was vaguely puzzled by its certainty, but it was easier to listen than to think.

She continued to navigate the streets, adjusting her course only when the voice suggested it. Almost there, it whispered, that building.

She walked up to it, dragging her hand down the entrance's cracked and smeared window. The dirt came off on her fingers, staining them brown. Curiously, she stared at them.

She had the sense of something curling around her, a presence that hovered nearby. It was no physical form she sensed, but a force, energy. Some distant part of her cringed from the being, but the majority of her mind had been dragged down into the murky depths of her illness. The alarm simply didn't register.

Not inside, the voice said as she grabbed the doorknob, just wait.

She hesitated. She wanted to go inside. Inside was warmth and safety; inside, she could rest.

NO! the voice snarled. The word bounced around the inside of her skull like the strikes of a sledgehammer, adding further strength to her already powerful headache. She grabbed the sides of her head, her face twisting in pain. It was easier, she decided, just to listen.

She sat down on the curb, the knife lying across her lap. Apart from the old, stone building behind her, there wasn't much to look at. So, she stared at her reflection in the knife instead. The build-up of rust meant that she could see only the top half of her face. What she saw were sweaty bangs plastered on a pale face and eyes sunken from exhaustion. She sighed; she really needed a bath when she got home.

It was so hot now. She felt like she was boiling in her skin, but the working, logical part of her mind told her it was only the sickness. For all she knew, she was freezing to death. The world spun around her. Why had she left Brookhaven again? She sorted through her memories; ah, yes, her friends were in trouble, Terra and . . .

And who else?

It startled her because she knew there was another, and that he was very important to her. For a millisecond, her mind cleared, and she was able to grasp that the name began with a V. Everything after that, though, was blurry.

V. Okay, she could work with that. How many names did she know with that letter? She tried hard to think, but her brain was not cooperating today. It just wanted her to close her eyes and rest.

She obeyed.

"Aqua!"

The wind carried his voice far, so that it glided over the buildings like a wayward bird. The two syllables were stretched out to far beyond their usual length, blurring together as their speaker caved to worry and exhaustion. Ven tucked his chin against his chest, protecting his face against the storm.

It had started up suddenly, after he had spent about a minute outside. Whereas the snow had fallen lightly before, now it was violent and heavy, not falling in individual flakes, but in large clumps. The tips of his spikes were frosted white, and melted snow made his scalp wet. It felt like he was standing under a cold shower.

He could actually see the wind as it tossed snow into the air. Like merry children, the swirls ran around him, occasionally crashing right into his face. He brushed it off with his sleeve every time, only succeeding in transferring some of the dampness from his clothes to his skin.

Eyes dark with worry, he watched a hot puff of air rise from his mouth. The weather was bad enough for him, but for Aqua in her condition . . . he needed to find her fast. He prayed she still had enough sense to seek shelter.

"Aqua!"

The wind's howl answered him. Ven sighed, and ran his fingers along the curve of his Wayfinder. He wished that he had asked Naminé to modify his the way she had fixed the one belonging to Terra. Having an Aqua-radar would be great right now.

He looked back. A wall of wind and snow met him. It looked like it was too late to go back to Naminé.

He trudged through the snow. It came up to his ankles now, and judging by the squelch he heard every time he took a step, some of it had gotten into his shoes. It was an unpleasant sensation, but lately, he had faced worse. In comparison, this was easy.

A fresh clump of snow smacked him in the face, as if punishing him for thinking that.

A neon sign flickered as he walked past. Every store in sight had the word 'Closed' in its window. It almost looked like the owners had deserted in a hurry, for many of the signs hung lopsided or appeared broken and dusty from disuse. Most of the lights had been turned off, but there were a few instances where one still worked, highlighting this good or another. There were beautiful things that he saw, and he wondered how anyone could bear to make anything that special in such a horrible town.

He wondered how anyone could live here, period.

Snowdrifts blocked most of the doors. They looked as though they had been days in the making, not minutes. It only confirmed his suspicion that this storm wasn't entirely natural; clearly, the town was deliberately throwing obstacles in his way.

Ven stuck close to the walls, savouring whatever relief they provided. Awnings flapped, pulling at their bonds and looking as though they would take off at any given moment. One did tear loose, flying between the haloed streetlights and up into the sky, where it became nothing more than a black speck. He watched it, clutching to a pole as the wind picked up. That wouldn't happen to him, right?

The windows shook in their frames. Ven turned his head, walking blindly into the wind.

"Terra!"

It appeared neither of his friends was nearby. He sighed.

He didn't know how long he had been walking. But then, he heard the sound of sliding metal and ran towards it, hoping it was Terra. It wasn't, but it was an ally of his. Ansem stood in the middle of the street, holding his sword in two hands as he sliced through the midsection of some unknown monster. Ven only saw a writhing mass on the ground before it faded into dust.

When Ven stepped closer, Ansem whipped around, sword high and a snarl on his face. His eyes widened as he saw Ven there, and he redirected his swing just in time; it cracked against the ground instead.

"You're still here?" Ansem said.

"I need to find my friends."

"Hmph." Ansem sheathed his sword, looking around carefully. "Things are getting very dangerous, Ventus."

"I'm not leaving without them!"

Ansem closed his eyes. "I thought you might say that. Stubbornness seems to be a trait all of you share."

Ven grinned and jabbed a thumb into his chest. "That's us, alright!"

Ansem scoffed. "I never said that was a good thing."

"You never said it wasn't."

Ansem turned away, perhaps upset that a boy was verbally besting him. Ven frowned as he realized that the man intended to leave; he could really use a partner right now. There was safety in numbers, and safety was one of those things this town lacked. He couldn't do wrong by trying to change that.

"I don't really know where I'm going," Ven said. "Could I go with you?"

Ansem asked him a surprising question. "Can you fight?"

Ven summoned his keyblade and held it up. "Yep!"

"Then I suppose it would be nice to have a helping hand."

Ven tagged along behind him, and they walked into the fog.

Ansem didn't seem to know where he was headed either, although the storm may have just stopped him from finding his way. They moved about in a seemingly random fashion, sticking close for protection and warmth. Ven in particular positioned himself behind the man so that Ansem blocked the wind, and he grinned at his brilliance.

"I'm sorry I don't have your sweater," Ven said.

Ansem blinked. "That's alright. I have more important concerns right now."

Ven went on," I didn't lose it; Terra's just borrowing it."

"Terra?" Ansem's eyebrows, covered in white frost, rose. "Your friend who fell off a building?"

"He's fine," Ven offered as a means of explanation.

He heard Ansem snort, but the man said nothing else.

The storm died suddenly. Ven blinked and looked up at the shadow of the church, which waited behind a low wall. Bells rang, making his heart race, though he wasn't sure why. He had the sense of standing in the middle of the tracks as a train roared towards him; he could almost taste the danger on his tongue.

"This place again?" Ansem growled.

Ven looked at him questioningly. "You've been here before."

"Yes, I just left it."

On top of the church's spire, a weathervane spun. Ven grimaced and rubbed his chest. Something about this place pulled at him, called him closer, but common sense and fear held him back.

"Come," Ansem said, appearing disturbed himself, "let us leave this place."

After they had been walking for a couple of minutes, Ven spoke up.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

Ansem softly said, "Answers."

"What are you going to do with them?"

His lips thinned just a little. "I don't know. That is not for me to decide."

Ven nodded, and crossed his arms behind his head. "When I find my friends," he said, "first, we're getting the heck out of here. Then, I'm going to grab my stuff and sleep in Aqua's room." He grinned widely. "Whenever I do that, Terra feels lonely, so he'll have to come and join us, too!"

Ven sighed. "I miss them."

"I know; it's always hard to lose someone you love."

For a moment, Ansem's face was shadowed with grief.

She woke up wet and freezing, reaching for covers that weren't there.

It took a while to figure out why she wasn't in bed, or why the Land of Departure was covered in snow. She sat up and looked around, confirming that this horrible adventure was not a dream. Fog still surrounded her, but the sun seemed stronger, warmer. It was a welcome balm to the shivers overtaking her body.

"Terra?" she asked, her voice a croak. The older apprentice was nowhere to be found. Surely, Terra wouldn't leave her like this?

Oh, yes, that was right. He had left, and she was going after him. He was in trouble, possibly even hurt. She wondered how she knew that.

(Briefly, she thought there was something else she was forgetting)

Something stirred in the back of her mind. It's okay, go back to sleep, the silky voice from before said.

She shook her head, even though there was no one around. Terra was in trouble; she couldn't stay here and sleep!

It felt like there was anchors attached to her feet, but she moved them anyways. The world swayed under her, so she went slowly, dragging her toes along the ground. She knew Terra was in trouble, but if only there was a place to accompany that thought. It would make life much easier.

Stay, the voice whispered.

Again, she ignored it, and she thought she heard it grumble. Unseen, her Wayfinder gleamed.

She remembered falling asleep to the sight of this building. Her memories were still foggy, but she was relatively sure that this was the place Terra where was. If not, well, she didn't have anywhere else to look, and her mind was functioning enough to tell her that randomly wandering about was not a good idea.

She could see the front door to the building about half a block away. It was then she looked back and saw where she had been before. It was by a group of trashcans and rotting wooden boards, their forms dark even from this distance. From that vantage point, she would have been able to watch the front door while not being seen herself. The defensiveness of that spot surprised her, although considering all the monsters around here, it made some sense.

She was a few steps away from the door when the growling started. Slowly, almost dreamily, she looked over her shoulder. A green hound stood there, teeth bared. Its hackles were pointed straight up, shifting as it stepped forwards. Unlike the first one she had seen, this one did not appear at all friendly. She held out her hand, blinking when she saw the knife. Only then did she remember what happened to Rainfell.

Her keyblade was gone, and so, her ability to defend herself. More importantly, her ability to heal was gone, too.

She didn't have any time to panic before it leapt at her.

Teeth snapped an inch away from her neck, and the weight knocked her to the ground. She grabbed the dog's snout, dropping the knife, and pressed her head against its neck to keep it away from the dog's teeth. At once, she was assaulted by the stench of rotting meat. The dog thrashed, trying to break free, and flecks of saliva and foam dripped from its jaws and down her arm.

She felt the moment the dog went off-balance, and pressed her advantage. Pressing her elbow into its windpipe, she forced it to the ground. The dog's head landed just next to the sitting knife, which seemed to have a tint of red to it even as she looked. The dog continued to struggle, kicking her with its hind paws which, thankfully, lacked claws. All she had to worry about was the teeth, and she had control of that.

And then suddenly, she didn't.

Her left hand slid sideways, into the dog's mouth, and sharp canines plunged into her flesh. She screamed, instinctively trying to rip her hand away, and that only made the dog bite harder. It shook with all its weight, nearly throwing itself on the ground. She knew three seconds of agony as something stretched, and then she and the dog were flying apart, that same thing having given.

Weakly, she held up her left hand and stared at the blood streaming down it. The tips of her index and middle finger were missing, as though someone had picked up a sword and sliced through them.

She snarled at the recovering dog. Anger burned the exhaustion from her blood, filling her with its strength. It was a rage that did not feel entirely like her, like something she should be capable of feeling, but she was drunk on its power.

Without a second thought, she grabbed the knife.

Screams echoed through the air, but they were not human.

When it was over, she finally came down from her high, and trembled as she realized what she had done.

The voice in her mind laughed.

A lighter chapter (I consider it lighter, at least) before things get really intense. We're back to Terra next chapter, and that's going to be where the trio's situation becomes really nasty.