It is my first attempt to write something in this fandom after I beat almost all KH games.

This text will be rather dark and full of violence, so if you don't like this kind of stuff, don't read it.

It is about what would happen in the Realm of Darkness if Aqua wouldn't be there alone, but the one she met wasn't especially the best company.

I'm not a native English speaker, so sorry for the mistakes. I'm also looking for a beta reader, so if anyone wants to help I will be very grateful.

Warning: bad language, violence, and graphic description of injuries.

The dance between water and vanity

I

The darkness was overwhelming. She could hardly breathe, choked with the salty and strangely humid air. There was no life or hope in this cursed place, only death, despair, and countless of Heartless.

But she couldn't give up. She had to find a way out and wake up Ven…

The thought of her little friend, her little brother, made her heart squeeze even more. He was waiting for her. But on the other hand, the thought, painful as it was, gave her a purpose; she had to fight; she needed to find the exit. She couldn't just lie down, cry, and die. She was his only hope, and that one thing kept her going. Nobody could stop her. She was the Keyblade Master, and she had to fix her mistakes. She was Aqua, and surrender wasn't in her vocabulary.

The landscape didn't change much when she passed through the Realm of Darkness. It was a desolate place, haunted and sorrowful. Dark, sharp rocks, gray sky, and distorted mountains somewhere on the horizon were everything that surrounded her.

She walked step by step with Keyblade still in her hand and the flow of the time was irregular. Sometimes it seemed like only a few minutes had passed, other times like decades. There was no sun or stars to signify the passage of time – only fatigue. She counted the days by the number of breaks. When she couldn't go any further and stayed somewhere to get some rest, she marked the day as over.

She sat down on the ground in a shallow cave. It hid her from the wind and from the eyes of Heartless, but she could still hear their angry howls. They were everywhere, and she already knew she wouldn't get any sleep. It was too dangerous. She had to stay focused even though the tiredness was overwhelming. Every part of her body was sore and covered with scratches, although she wasn't severely injured. Heartless were no match for her, but she had a feeling that she had been fighting through eternity. There was no end to this.

The darkness and the countless Heartless weren't the worst things in this cursed place. The worst was loneliness. Aqua was all alone, with no help, no other soul to go with. Sometimes she wanted to cry for someone, but she just pressed hands tightly to her mouth and stayed silent. There was no point in screaming. Nobody could answer.

She put Keyblade next to her and pulled up knees to her chest. It was so cold in there, and she had nothing to cover herself with. Her dress gave very little warmth, and any kind of hot meal was only a wild dream. It was strange, she wasn't even hungry or thirsty, she only felt a void growing within her. It seemed like the darkness was trying to consume her from the inside.

How long will it take before she will be lost to the dark? She had to hurry, otherwise, there would be no one to wake up Ven.

But she was so tired.

Her hands were so heavy, and her vision began to blur. With each passing minute staying awake was becoming more and more difficult, and even the noises of Heartless couldn't keep her from falling asleep.

But suddenly, there was silence, and it woke Aqua up faster than anything else. Forced her tired legs to move on, she got up and went to the cave's entrance. She didn't see any Heartless in her surroundings, no little Shadows hiding behind the rocks, no Darksiders in her sight. Maybe she was a bit lucky and could get some rest?

But luck was never an option in the Realm of Darkness.

She focused on the strange feeling that had filled the air. It felt like there was some acid scent that gave a metallic taste on her tongue. She knew that feeling - magic, very horrid, dark magic. No Heartless could use it.

She tightened her grip on the hilt of her weapon. She was no longer tired, the adrenaline took away the soreness and pain. In this exact moment, she got a purpose, and it added her strength. As Keyblade Master, she had a duty to annihilate all darkness in her path. She may never get away from this rotten place, but at least she'll take someone with her.

Aqua went straight to the source of the nasty feeling. With each step, she felt it stronger, it was like a worm trying to crawl under her skin. She had goosebumps on her arms and felt slight nausea down her throat.

Silence step by step made room for low hum and then lauder noises. In the end, Aqua heard a clash of weapons and… words. Magic spells and curses.

She knew that voice! At first, she slowed a little stunned, but then a wave of anger pushed her to sprint. She climbed on a small hill and then saw a swarm of Heartless, furiously attacked by a single person.

The masked man in a black and red outfit slashed through Heartless as if they were nothing. From time to time, he also cast a spell that burned everything to the ground within a few meters around him. Shadows weren't any kind of an opponent for him.

But Aqua was!

She rushed to him, the Keyblade in one hand and Thundaga in the other. She destroyed several monsters that stood in her way and cast a spell right at the man. The shower of lightning struck both him and all nearby Heartless. He looked confused for a moment but managed to dodge her next strike.

"You!?" he growled when he saw her face.

"Vanitas! I'll kill you!" she screamed and attacked him even more furiously.

Her next strike missed his head by inches, and she had to back off as his blade nearly pierced her stomach.

The advantage of surprise she had very quickly melted to nothing. First stunned, Vanitas regained his composure in seconds.

He was fast, exactly as fast as Aqua remembered. His moves were hardly predictable, and it seemed as if he wasn't afraid of injuries. His bodysuit was all covered with scratches and blood, but it didn't affect his movements. He was wild, brutal, and full of himself as always.

"To slow!" he screamed as he managed to attack her from behind.

She hissed in pain as his blade reached her right arm.

"Cure!" she cast a spell that quickly healed the wound. It was definitely her advantage. As she knew, the creatures of the darkness couldn't use any positive spell, otherwise, Vanitas would have healed himself a long time ago.

She remembered their last fight very well. At that time, Vanitas had the face of Ven, but his bloodlust and taunting attitude was the same as ever. She didn't know what face was hidden under his mask now, but she was sure it was the face of a monster.

Hit after hit, their battle became more aggressive. Aqua was trying to distract her enemy with magic and unpredictable blows, but he wasn't one to be easily fooled. He dodged every attack and didn't miss an opportunity to strike back.

And there were Heartless everywhere, attacking anyone who came too close.

Aqua unleashed a powerful wind charm that cleared the surroundings. Vanitas was surprised by the sudden gust of wind that pushed him through the Heartless, but he swung the Keyblade and cut a few monsters nearby. He didn't see Aqua, who jumped and struck him precisely in the head.

His dark mask cracked and broke into several pieces when he fell to the ground.

"You wrecked witch! Without those stupid spells, you would be no match for me!" he snarled and took off the rest of his helmet.

Aqua didn't know if she was more happy or more confused that his face didn't look like Ven's. Dark hair, furiously yellow eyes, and sickly pale skin. Vanitas wasn't even similar to Ven. He quickly jumped to his feet, and his mouth curved into a sadistic smile.

"You were expecting someone else, right? I have bad news for you because this is our real face. One you know as Ventus is only a scrap, like he himself."

Aqua felt the blood began to boil in her veins.

"You have no right to speak Ven's name! You caused everything! You ruined everything!" Vanitas laughed without a trace of humor.

"Oh really? How funny! You are such a hypocrite. It was all your fault. It was Terra's fault that he had jumped willingly into the old geezer's schemes. It was Ven's fault because he was such a weak crock. And finally, it's your fault 'cause you are worth less than nothing, Master. I don't know who was stupid enough to give you that title."

These words made her remember Master Eraqus, his calm and sometimes very tired face, and many lessons he had taught her in the past. And now he was no more, and Vanitas was so insolent to spit on his grave.

"Enough!" She wasn't going to listen to his words anymore. She will wipe these lies off from his lips, even if it will be the last thing she will do in her life.

Aqua braced herself and dashed to him, but Vanitas was ready to dodge her attack. However, he wasn't prepared for her next move when she cast the Aero spell and threw a bunch of Heartless towards him. Surprised by this, his attention jumped to monsters, and Aqua had a few priceless seconds to get closer. With one strike of Keyblade, she slashed both him and nearby Heartless. Vanitas fell to the ground, but she didn't finish. Her anger, increased by his vicious words, and by surrounding darkness, clouded her judgment as she leaped at the man and began hitting him with rage. She slashed his chest repeatedly with Keyblade and grooved many bloody wounds. Vanitas was trying to block her strikes, but she quickly disarmed him, and now his weapon laid out of his reach.

Blinded by rage, Aqua didn't see that she was attacking a defenseless man. She only saw her little Ven in a coma, remembered Terra, who had given up to the darkness, and she longed for her beloved Master, whom she hadn't even had a chance to bury properly.

In an instant, the Keyblade slipped from her grip because of the blood covering the hilt. She ignored it and started hitting Vanitas with bare hands. Her blows fell on his face, and he didn't even try to defend himself, almost knocking out. She didn't see it either. As well as she didn't see the darkness surrounding them. The ugly, dense darkness where no Heartless could be seen, even if so many of them stood nearby.

Aqua was focused on killing Vanitas; nothing else mattered at that moment. She wanted to see him dead, more, she wanted him to suffer. He was her enemy, the nemesis, who was the cause of all misfortunes she had gone through. She wanted…

Darkness began to evaporate from her blood-stained hands. She paused and stared at her palms in horror as if she had just now noticed the blood, the darkness, and the dying man beneath her.

Aqua jumped to her feet and took a few steps back.

"What have I done?!" she said in disbelief.

It wasn't something the Keyblade Master was supposed to do. This kind of cruelty, this bloodlust, she acted like… like… a monster… like Vanitas himself.

Despite his wounds, Vanitas managed to lift himself up on elbows. That taunting smile was still on his bruised face.

"I knew it! You don't have enough courage to finish the job," he snarled and spat the blood out of his mouth. "Pathetic."

The darkness around them seemed to thin out as if previously fueled by Aqua's wrath. Now she could see dozens of Heartless lured by their anger. They crowded together and began to merge into one terrifying creature. They built into a huge tower that started to move towards Aqua and Vanitas. She managed to escape, but he didn't have so much luck, as the tower swayed and fell on him, covering the man with countless bodies of Heartless.

Aqua heard his furious screams as he was trying to free himself from Heartless masses, but they quickly changed to more panicked and painful sounds. He was eaten alive, and that one thought made Aqua sick. He was her enemy, the vilest and disgusting person she knew, but no one deserved such a horrible death.

Not thinking twice, she cast a powerful Thundaga right into the heart of this creepy mountain. She had to repeat it three times before she saw Vasitas' body. He was barely breathing, but he was still alive.

"Cure!" she cast Curaga, and when she noticed that he had regained consciousness, she shouted. "Run!".

She cast two more Thundagas, and not looking at Vanitas, she ran away. There was no point in continuing this fight. She lost her Keyblade, which disappeared in the tower of Heartless and her magic power was almost empty. Only one thing remained – this awful feeling that she had made a grievous mistake again.