So, I started this scene forever ago because Aqua was yelling at me. I'm not sure how it made her feel better, but it must've (or it didn't, and so…) 'cuz she walked away about halfway through it and left me hanging there and I was like: "dangit, Aqua! I need to finish this!"

And then, the other night, Xehanort was like "INSPIRATION!" and I was like "Xehanort I hate you, you're so cruel, but it's inspiration, so-" *writes*

(if you have any questions about the chapter, please consult the commentary on my blog about it first, I think I cover all the major possible issues/questions)

oh, and sorry for spamming you with stuff in ASAS. Good news, though, Dead Inside will resume updates soon! I just need to get a chapter back from my beta and then it'll be ready for posting.

"Terra!" she cried, rushing forward. A wall of darkness flared up, stopping her in her tracks. She took a step back and shielded her eyes. Her heart turned in her chest. She wasn't going to make it at this rate…

And, sure enough, when she opened her eyes again, he was already gone.

Her stomach felt like it was in knots.

"No…" Aqua breathed, unwilling to believe it just quite yet.

Terra couldn't be gone.

Sudden anger flared up within her, and she activated her armor. "No!" she screamed, boarding her Keyblade Glider. "You do not get to take him from me!"

She was lucky enough to come out in the right world.

Because there he was…

Terra—

No.

Xehanort, using Terra's body.

He stood there, hands behind his back, a wicked smile on his face; like he had known this was going to happen.

"Such ferocity, burning in your heart," he said, and to Aqua's horror, he used Terra's voice to say it. "You hate me, don't you?"

She swallowed.

The answer was, of course, yes. She did hate Xehanort.

But afraid of Terra, who had to be listening to this, thinking that she was talking about him—

She didn't say anything.

"Afraid of answering?" Xehanort laughed.

"Give him back to me," Aqua replied, fighting to keep her voice even. "Give him back or pay the price!" Her voice rose to a shout and she drew her Keyblade, her hand shaking, fingers struggling to keep their grip.

"So you're willing to fight for him?" Xehanort asked, sounding rather amused.

Aqua's eyes narrowed, then she nodded.

"Even if you hurt him?"

Her entire body was shaking now, and she was beginning to think that it wasn't anger that she was shaking with. Fear, maybe? Was she holding back sobs without even realizing it?

"I- I want him back…" she stuttered. She was extremely aware of just how lame and utterly stupid it sounded, but she couldn't find anything else to say. Her brain was numb, and that was the only clear thought in her head.

She wanted him back.

She wasn't going to let it be too late.

Xehanort smiled. "Of course," he said, drawing his blade. (Thankfully, it was his own and not Terra's). "And this is obviously the best way to get him back."

He was mocking her.

She knew that.

But she didn't care.

She rushed forward, a scream escaping her lips as she struck. He blocked her blade with ease. She screamed again: a scream of utter anguish, and again she struck and again she was blocked.

She felt like she was going to cry.

She couldn't think straight enough to fight properly.

She couldn't think straight at all.

"Terra… please!" she said, though it came out choked. "Please don't give up! I- I need you." She sunk to her knees, covering her face with the hand that wasn't holding her Keyblade. She wasn't going to cry. Not here; not in front of Xehanort.

She heard Xehanort take a step backwards. His Keyblade suddenly wasn't blocking hers any more.

She had to get back up. Use whatever this silence Xehanort was regarding her with – it was probably amusement – to her advantage. Strike now.

But she couldn't make her arm move to swing her Keyblade again.

"Aqua…?"

Terra.

That had to be Terra!

She looked up, shocked; overjoyed.

"Terra!" she exclaimed, her voice containing every ounce of her happiness. He could hear her! He could fight! They could get rid of Xehanort! They could—

Something pierced her in the side. It was a Keyblade. Xehanort's—

She was an idiot.

Aqua quickly scrambled away from Xehanort, ignoring the pain that shot through her side with each movement. What had she been thinking? Of course that hadn't been Terra. It was just Xehanort; using Terra's voice to taunt her, just as he had been before.

"Heal," she breathed, placing her hand over the wound. She felt it close under her fingers and the pain stopped immediately. She looked up at Xehanort. The smirk on his face most definitely did not belong to Terra – though it made her sick to realize that she had seen a similar smirk on his face a time or two before.

But this isn't Terra, she told herself.

Terra would not hurt me.

Shakily, Aqua pushed herself to her feet, gripping her Keyblade tight.

"Are you positive about fighting me?" Xehanort asked, that smirk on his face widening, laughter clearly present in his voice.

"Yes," she replied. "Anything to get Terra back."

Xehanort chuckled, darkly. "Then you're wasting your time," he told her. "Terra is long gone."

"You keep telling yourself that."

XXX

She wasn't sure how long they fought; she only knew that she was exhausted, and Xehanort's hold on Terra didn't appear to be weakening. Xehanort himself seemed pretty tired, though. They stood on separate ends of the area that had become their battlefield (which was scorched in some places by Fire magic and Darkness), both of them breathing heavily. Xehanort was clutching his side and leaning on his Keyblade for support. Aqua was only just keeping herself from doing the same.

How much longer can we go on like this? she wondered.

She knew for certain that she could not continue for much longer, even as she cast a Cure on herself to negate any injuries she'd sustained recently. It didn't matter how many Cures she could cast; eventually she was going to run out of energy.

The same was true for Xehanort.

I just need to get him to that breaking point – then he'll be too tired to keep his hold on Terra's heart.

The plan was simple. Now she only had to carry it out.

She started to prepare a large Fire spell, but paused. Using magic would only wear her out faster. She needed to outlast Xehanort, or she'd be of no use to Terra. Aqua let out an annoyed breath – magic would've made this faster – and then rushed forward to strike with her Keyblade, instead.

"Aqua, wait!"

Terra's voice again.

Given that Xehanort had yet to use any voice but Terra's, Aqua had half a mind not to listen.

But only half a mind.

She slowed herself to a halt, and glared at him skeptically.

He had not moved from where he stood; still clutching his side and leaning against his Keyblade for support. He looked up at her, slowly. Her heart seized in her chest. The look in his eyes was both panicked and worried: emotions she doubted Xehanort would ever express.

"You need to go!" Terra – she was almost certain it was him – said. His voice was not cruel, like when Xehanort used it. His voice was firm, but kind, just as he had always been towards her. "He's going to kill you if you stay!"

"I'm not leaving without you, Terra," she told him, simply.

Terra paused, turned away for a second.

"Then put an end to us both," he said, voice quiet.

Her stomach churned. That was a request she could not answer. She had been fighting this whole time with her only intention being to save Terra. She had not been fighting with the intent to kill. She'd merely been fighting in hopes to wear Xehanort down.

"I can't, Terra," her voice was only a whisper.

Killing you is not an option.

"You know—ah!" Her words were cut short as Terra – no, Xehanort – reached out and grabbed her by the neck. His grip was strong. If he wanted to, he could probably easily crush her neck and kill her then and there.

"Stop your useless prattling," Xehanort said; and he used his own voice to say it. "I am tired of dealing with you."

His grip on her throat tightened, and her vision blackened around the edges. Aqua slowly closed her eyes and focused on getting air into her lungs. She was vaguely aware of Xehanort straightening, and that her feet left the ground, but all that was really clear in her head was that it was getting harder to breathe.

She didn't want to die this way.

"Terra-" she gasped. "Please…"

…don't do this!

But she didn't have the air to say those words.

And it was growing harder to think…

Terra…

…Ven…

Xehanort suddenly let go of her. Sweet air filled her lungs as she fell—

And kept falling.

She should've hit the ground a long time ago.

Darkness enveloped her. She opened her eyes, but the only light she saw was a rapidly fading pinprick in the distance. Part of her knew that she should try and reach it, but her oxygen starved brain couldn't make her body move towards it.

It was probably too far away, anyway…

"Sleep, child," a voice whispered. It came from nowhere. It came from everywhere. "Surrender yourself to the darkness."

To the darkness, never, Aqua thought in defiance.

But to sleep… maybe…

"Sleep, then," the voice said. "Here, sleep is safety. Here, in the Realm of Darkness, sleep is everything."

Aqua knew these were lies, but that didn't stop exhaustion from taking her. Slowly, she shut her eyes…

She awoke with a start. When had she fallen asleep? When had she gotten here?

More importantly; where was here?

Aqua looked around. There was a crooked path beneath her, and nothing but darkness around her. How had she gotten here?

Images flooded her mind: Terra, no, Xehanort in Terra's body. He was smirking at her. Flashes of battle. Terra calling out to her. Xehanort choking her. Falling. Darkness.

She shook her head to clear it of those images.

She needed to get out of here. She needed to get back to Terra.

Aqua pushed herself to her feet and summoned her armor, then her Glider. Though these came to her just fine, no portal opened to take her from there. She frowned, then focused her energy, willing a portal to her. None came. Her frown deepening, she slowly got off her Glider and summoned her Keyblade to her. She pointed it in front of her, focused her energy again, and called a portal to form. Nothing.

She was stranded.

She banished her armor, then her Keyblade. What was she going to do?

Was there even anything she could do?

Slowly, she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wayfinder. Sadness surged through her as she looked at it; the wayfinders were meant to keep them together, and yet that was the exact opposite of where they were now.

Images of Ven flashed through her mind. She had left him sleeping, his heart torn from his body, with a promise to return and wake him. She had only wanted to find Terra first…

Terra—

The images came to her then were much worse.

He was angry at her. He was hardly ever angry at her, and certainly never to THIS extent.

He was threatening to fight her.

He was yelling at her; telling her to leave him alone; that he was FINE.

Xehanort had him. Xehanort was using him to taunt her. Xehanort was using him to fight her.

Xehanort had nearly killed her.

"Aqua, run! He'll kill you if you stay!"

Had the words even been Terra's?

She chose to believe so.

"Somehow," she swore. "I will find a way out of here. I will find a way to wake you, Ven." Her hand clenched around her wayfinder. "Somehow, Terra. I will find a way to bring you back."

Resolve set, she started walking.