Chapter 9: Enchanted Domain

(Sorry it's so late! I'm just not gonna give a specific time of when these uploads will happen anymore. I'll get them up quickly as I can. You guys are awesome for being so patient, and it really means a lot to me, so thank you! And I hope you enjoy this story!)

Aqua and James arrived in a dark, ominous mountain road with skies a bleak gray shade. James narrows his eyes, "The darkness in this place… it's almost overwhelming." He mutters.

Aqua nods and places a hand gently on his shoulder, "Are you going to be ok?"

James lets out a sigh, "Yes. Don't worry about me." He assures her. And with that, the two march forward.

As they walk, they discover an intimidating castle perched at the peak of the mountain. Suddenly, a small light quickly flies away from the castle and into the distance.

"What's that?" Aqua asks.

James observed the light and responds, "Looked like a Heart to me."

Aqua's eyes widen, "Really? Do you think Ven could be in there?" She asks hopefully.

James shrugs, "It could be Terra. Either way we had better go take a look inside." Aqua nods and continues her path up the road with James beside her.

Once they had entered, strange creatures had spotted the two, "Intruders!" One of them yell.

The two summon their Keyblades, "Not the warmest greeting we've ever had." James says.

Aqua hums, "They aren't Heartless, or Unversed. Should we really fight them?"

James nods, "I get where you're coming from, but we need to figure out wha-." Suddenly, Starlight began to emanate a strange energy as James' Wayfinder started glowing green.

Aqua looks in surprise, "Jim? What's happening?"

James shakes his head, "I don't know! Starlight's never done this before!" Starlight suddenly started pointing down one of the path ways and launched an Aero spell. It was then that James felt a wave come over him, allowing him to understand, "It's Ven! He's here!"

Aqua gasped, "Are you sure?" She asked. James stared into her eyes with unwavering conviction. She smiles back, "Then we better hurry!" The two friends rushed into the fray, fighting their way through the castle as they made their way to Ventus.

"Aqua was right. With these Wayfinders, our bond will never fail to connect us." James thinks to himself.

After fighting their way into a tower, they heard Ventus shouting, "There's no way Terra would hurt somebody like that!" James nudged Aqua and gestured in the direction of Ventus' voice.

They saw him looking up at a woman who wore all black with horns atop her head and a staff in her hands, "You don't believe me?" She asks him.

James eyes the scene with concern, "She looks way too confident to be bluffing, but how does she know Terra? And what did he supposedly do?"

"That's unfortunate," she continued, "for he agreed so easily."

Ventus' resolve began to weaken, "He did?" He asks.

Unable to hide any longer, Aqua rushed out to him, "Ven! Don't be fooled!" Aqua said as she rushed out towards him.

James sighed, "So much for the element of surprise!" He thinks with a mental groan, "Oh well. In for a penny…" James leaps up to the walls and runs along them towards the sorceress.

Ventus turns and sees them both, "Aqua! Jim!" He exclaims.

Aqua looks at him with sincerity in her eyes, "Terra would never do that. You know that as well as I do."

Ven smiled and offered his friend a nod, "Yeah."

The sorceress speaks up to interrupt the two, "Ahh… The truth can be most cruel, even amongst the closest of friends."

James leaps from the wall towards the enemy, "Shut your damn mouth!" He shouts as he lunges starlight at her, "Light!" A pillar of light struck from the ceiling and hit the sorceress dead on.

"Curse you, welp!" She then launches a lime green fireball at him, sending James to the floor.

"Jim!" Ventus calls out and rushes to help him up.

James lets out a groan, "I'm ok." He tells the boy before looking up at the dark woman, "You can spout all the nonsense you want! But we know Terra! He'd never align himself with the likes of you of his own free will!"

The sorceress merely chuckles darkly, "You truly are fools, the lot of you. After all, one never knows the secrets of another's heart." She then looks to the three of them, "I'm sure you'll agree… Ventus… Aqua… James." The use of their names surprised all three of them, but they remained silently ready.

Aqua broke the silence when she turned to face Ventus, "The Master sent me." She told him, "Ven…let's go home." She says, holding her hand out for him.

Ventus looks away, "But Terra…"

James walks up and puts his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Terra's fine. Aqua and I will catch up with him at some point."

Aqua nods, "Terra's not ready to leave yet."

Ventus sighs, "Sorry, Aqua. Sorry, Jim." He says, "But… I can't go with you." Aqua tilts her head slightly, "It's just…" Ventus says, "I have to find him before it's too late!" He then turns and rushes off.

"Ven!" Aqua calls, but James stops her, "We'll deal with him later! We still have her to deal with!" He says, raising Starlight against the sorceress.

The sorceress smiles, "I see you each wield a Keyblade as well."

Aqua glares at her, "How do you know about the Keyblade?" She demands.

The sorceress' expression shifts, "A source of power… A key that opens the hearts of men, of entire worlds… and allows one to obtain anything and everything. Such a power I find most fascinating."

James tightens his grip, "You think the Keyblade is just another weapon? You don't know near as much as you think!"

She sneers at him, "Is that so? Tell me, how is your home…...Daybreak Town, these days?"

Rage flares inside of James, "What did you just say?!" He shouts through gritted teeth.

The sorceress smiles again, "Oh dear! Perhaps I have touched a nerve?" She says sarcastically followed by a light chuckle, "How awful of me."

Aqua, meanwhile, looked disheartened, "So, Terra… he really…"

The sorceress' smile turned more sinister, "Yes. Now, my dear, would you like to assist me, as well?"

James suddenly leapt into the air, "GO TO HELL!" He screams and swings his Keyblade down on the woman's head.

Before it could hit it's mark however, he was blocked by a familiar black blade. It was that of the Entity which attacked him before, except this one's physique was different. More feminine.

The sorceress saw this and narrowed her eyes, "Intriguing." She mumbles to herself. James regained his footing after the Entity threw him back, standing beside Aqua.

The two of them prepared to fight, "We'll never help you!" Aqua declared.

"I see, Xehanort was right." Said the sorceress. "You are a most stubborn lot."

The two were shocked by this discovery, "Master Xehanort?" She wonders aloud.

James looks at her, "How do you-."

"It seems you need time to consider my offer." The sorceress interrupts, "Fortunately, I have the perfect place." She then raises her scepter and stabs it in the ground, surrounding the two in a magic seal.

The Entity takes this opportunity and moves to directly in front of James, "Home…." It says in the same raspy voice as before.

Aqua glares at it, "What are you?! What do you want with my friend?" The Entity ignores her and sinks into the floor and vanishes. The seal turns into a Dark Corridor and the two fall into its black void.

They land inside a different room, presumably, in the same castle. Aqua's first instinct was to check on James, "Jim? Jim, are you alright?"

James stands up, "If you mean the fall, yeah I'm fine. If you're referring to the Entity, I'll worry about them later. Let's focus on finding a way out of here." It's at this moment, that they notice they weren't alone. A young man chained by his wrists and ankles sat on the far side of the room.

He looked at the both of them, "Who are you?" He asks.

They walk up to the young man, "My name is Aqua, and this is my friend Jim." She tells him.

James looks around the cell, "It looks like we were caught in a trap." He says before turning back to the man, "Why are you here?"

The young man scowled, "To prevent me from breaking her evil curse." He tells them, "I was to meet the most beautiful girl at a cottage in the glen, but now my true love lies in an eternal slumber… and only I can break the spell."

Aqua and James share knowing looks with each other, "We're familiar with such curses." He says, "A friend of mine was struck by a similar spell not too long ago."

The young man's gaze softened, "I am truly sorry for your friend."

James smiled, "Don't worry. She's fine now. And once we get out of here, so will this 'true love' of yours."

Aqua smiles, "You must really love her."

"Is what you said true?" Asks a new voice. James and Aqua turn to see three women wearing dresses of red, blue, and green respectively.

The young man nodded, "Yes. Maleficent told me."

The one in red gasped, "Oh, Prince Phillip! It's you!"

James stepped towards the women, "Can someone get me and my friend up to speed? We want to help, but we need more information."

The three women then introduced themselves as the three good fairies; Flora in red, Fauna in green, and Merriweather in blue. "Maleficent is a dark fairy, and master of this castle." Flora explains.

Aqua nodded, "She must've been the one we met then."

James nodded, "No doubt." He says before summoning his Keyblade, "Now then, let's get out of here." He taps Starlight against each of Phillip's bonds and they instantly open.

He rises to his feet as Flora approaches him, "Now, Phillip. The road to true love may be barred by many more dangers which you alone will have to face."

Aqua looks to the fairies, "I'm going with you." She states.

James nods, "Me too. Maleficent tried to make us lose faith in our friend. This is personal." He told them. Of course, he knew Aqua could tell that it was a front, and nothing more. In truth, they were starting to believe a Princess of Heart may be in danger, and that Phillip is connected to her, just as Snow White was to her Prince.

Flora nods, "Yes, of course, dears." She then turns away, "Now, come along. We must hurry to Aurora." And so, the group set out with speed as they fought their way out of the castle.

The fight on their way out, was much more intimidating than their fight to get in. Maleficent wanted no chance of the Prince reaching Princess Aurora. To assist him, the three good fairies gave Phillip a magic Shield of Bravery and Sword of Truth. With these weapons, Prince Phillip fought alongside Aqua and Jim as they made their way out of the castle.

They reached their final obstacle. The main gate closed with the courtyard swarming with soldiers. Archers on the upper level ready to strike from above, and the wheel that opens the gate under heavy guard.

James looked to his allies, "Aqua, if you can open the gate, I'll deal with the archers."

Phillip raised his sword, "I'll distract as many of the soldiers as I can."

Aqua nodded, "Ok. Let's do this!"

Phillip was the first to jump into the fray. With a rather un-trained skill, his blade fended off the hordes while his shield kept his life intact.

Next was James. He leapt up the wall and attacked the row of archers from the side with a Strike Raid, killing most and sending the rest over the side. He didn't slow down for a moment as he immediately went towards the next row of archers.

Finally, was Aqua. She used her shotlock, Bubble Blaster, to make short work of most of the guards, using her Spell Weaver technique to clear the rest of them away from the gate's controls. Once clear, Flora used her magic to open the gate, permitting everyone to fight their way through the enemy ranks and escape.

Now that they escaped the castle, the only task that remained, was reaching the Kingdom where Aurora was being kept, and the path was littered with Unversed.

James summoned Starlight, "Was wondering when these guys were gonna show up!"

Aqua summoned her Keyblade as well, "At least it confirms our suspicions." She says, referring to their theory on Aurora being a Princess of Heart.

James looked to Phillip and the good fairies, "You guys need to march ahead! We'll deal with these guys and keep up as best we can!"

Phillip looked hesitant, "I can't! There's too many, you two could never-."

"Don't underestimate us!" Aqua says, "We have friends that believe in us, and that belief will give us the strength we need." She then looks to Phillip, "Aurora needs you. Don't keep her waiting." Phillip nodded reluctantly, mounted his steed, and charged ahead.

James and Aqua then donned their Keyblade armors and used their full power to quickly obliterate the Unversed, allowing them to remove their armor and run to catch up with Phillip.

When they reunited with Phillip, his path was blocked by wicked thorny trees that were impassible. Fauna was about to cast a spell, when James and Aqua leapt in front, "Ready Jim?" She asks as she raises her Keyblade and points it at the trees.

James does the same, "Always!" The two Keys shine together and fire a singular, highly concentrated, beam towards the trees, creating an arch-like path forward that the group ran down immediately. Once they were nearing the castle, Maleficent appeared before them, a look of irritation and rage clear on her face.

Aqua glared at her, "Maleficent! What did Master Xehanort tell you?"

James gripped his Keyblade tighter, "And, where is he? What have you done with him?"

Maleficent glanced at both the Keyblade Master and Wielder, "Such a pity, children, that you don't have Terra's gift for obedience." She tells them, "Nor can you see how easy it was for him."

James grit his teeth, "Enough!" He shouted, "I already told you! You can't turn us against our friend with your lies!"

Aqua nodded, "Terra would never do anything to help you!" Maleficent adopted a wicked grin, "Quite the contrary. He fully embraced the darkness within himself."

That caused Aqua to snap and she emitted a powerful wave of energy from within herself, "STOP LYING!" She screamed.

Maleficent folded her arms, "See for yourself-All the powers of hell!" She opens her arms wide and a massive lime green energy erupts from Maleficent, transforming her into a massive and ferocious dragon.

James' eyes widened, "What?! How did she-."

"I'll take her!" Aqua yells, charging straight towards Maleficent. She struck Maleficent's maw with a furious barrage of attacks, causing the dragon to slam her fore legs to the ground, using the shockwave to send Aqua flying.

"I got you!" James yells as he jumps up and catches her. He looked at her, "I get why you're so angry, believe me! But if we don't do this as a team, she'll kill all three of us!"

Aqua regained her breath, "Ok. You're right. And I've got a plan." She gets up and points to her legs, "You and I need to pin her down. If she can't move, we'll limit her options. That'll allow Phillip to use his enchanted blade to finish her."

James grins, "Now we're talking!" He looks to Phillip, "Stay back and wait for our signal!" He nods as the two others charge ahead towards the Mistress of Evil.

James was the first to move, "Union Ragnarök!" He unleashes a massive Shotlock spread attack towards Maleficent's fore legs on each side.

This allowed Aqua to move in with her Keyblade, "Splashza!" She calls, firing a massive water stream into Maleficent's torso. The dragon tried to counter with her fire breath, but Phillip rushed in front and used his shield, which created a massive barrier that protected them.

Just as the flames were dying out, Aqua and Jim leapt up. "Bubble Blaster!" Aqua calls, firing her Shotlock.

"Thundaga!" James shouts with Starlight raised skyward.

The bubbles were struck and absorbed the electricity, "Thunder Bubble Barrage!" The two of them shouted together. The combo attack struck Maleficent mercilessly, dealing catastrophic damage unto her.

James looks back, "NOW!"

The three fairies rushed to Phillips' side as he raised his sword. "All together…" Flora says, "Now sword of truth, fly swift and sure, that evil die, and good endure!" They cast a spell on Phillips' sword, causing it to glow radiantly. Phillip took his sword and threw it clean into Maleficent's chest, piercing her heart. The dragon fell to the ground, regaining her normal form.

Aqua looked to Phillip, "Hurry to the Princess! We'll finish things here." He nods and runs off.

James glares at Maleficent, "You could never have stopped him. Even if Aqua and I had never intervened."

Aqua raises her Keyblade, "It's the power of true love that defeated you." She spits at the sorceress.

Maleficent limped forward, "I will not be defeated by something as insignificant as love." She says.

Aqua's eyes narrow, "You don't even know the first thing about it." She says as she lowers her Keyblade, "You're not worth the effort anymore. You're too clouded by darkness to see that there's something greater." She turns her back on Maleficent, "Try all you want, but you'll never defeat a heart filled with light."

"Perhaps." Maleficent says, "But remember one thing-as long as there is light, there will be darkness." She states forebodingly.

James steps forward with power in his step, "And as long as there is darkness, there will be me to fight back against it. You'll never have your way again, Maleficent. I swear it!" Maleficent swallows her next comment and disappears.

Aqua grips her Wayfinder, "Terra… You better stay strong for me."

James looks up to the sky, "I know this is a bad time…. but we gotta acknowledge the Pink Elephant in the room here. She was working with Xehanort."

(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Maleficent sure knows how to bring out the worst in our heroes, but ultimately, she stood no chance! The Entity, however, seems like quite the anomaly and has quite the fixation on our dear friend James. Tell me in the reviews, who or what do you think the Entity is? I'm really curious to see what your thoughts are on the matter. AS ALWAYS, let me know what you think; like it? Hate it? Somewhere in the middle? Let me know, and I can make this an even greater story just for you guys!)