Hello everyone!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Happy Hanukah! Happy Kwanza! (Sorry if I missed anything!)

The new chapter is ready, just in time for your holiday enjoyment. The next chapter will hopefully get out before the break is up, since I'm here until January 13th.

With that said, let's get to it!

The eighth floor of Caste Oblivion waited peacefully, the unseen magic preparing its next illusion. There were many interesting memories floating through its walls. A few stood out more than the rest. A young girl, no older than thirteen, she held intriguing images within her heart.

Memories of hardship, friendship, longing. And deep, deep down, begging to be called to the surface: memories of war. There were other memories, too. Oh, but that had to be impossible. Those memories…didn't belong. It almost seemed as if they weren't—

Oh, dear. Master Aqua was approaching. The magic hid itself as the doors to the floor flew open, Master Aqua leading the remaining friends as they sprinted away from the danger they faced on the previous floor. They all piled in before the door closed behind them.

There she was, at the caboose of the band of friends. The young girl. The magic within Castle Oblivion crept up behind this girl, feeling her memories. What illusion would bring those of war to the surface? The funny little creature from before had a good idea, but Castle Oblivion's magic knew it could be stronger.

Nightly felt a chill go down her spine. She shivered as she listened to Sora and Riku almost arguing over whether or not to go back for Kairi.

"She'll be fine, Riku. She and Lea have been training for a while. If they didn't think they could handle it, they wouldn't have told us to go on ahead."

"And what if something happens, Sora? She's a Princess of Heart, what if she gets hurt?"

"The we'll help her," Aqua interrupted. "But until that happens, we need to get through and out of this place as fast as possible. We have to get to Ven."

Nightly smiled sympathetically at the two. She knew she'd feel the same way if it came to Ephemer and Skuld. The disagreement resolved, they continued on. Nightly followed, but fought the urge to look behind her as the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end.

She barely got a couple steps in before a scream erupted in her ears. She gave a shout of fright and spun, trying to see whatever it was that pierced the silent air of Castle Oblivion.

Everyone else jolted and watched as Nightly looked around frantically. She looked back to them and desperately said, "Please tell me you guys heard that, too."

Giving her a concerned look, the rest of the gang slowly shook their heads. Nightly sighed, beginning to think she was just going insane before another voice broke through the quiet.

"Nightly."

This time, everyone looked around, searching for the disembodied voice.

"Another nightmare?" Riku asked, ready to summon his Keyblade.

"No, something else is doing this," Chirithy replied, looking around the same as Nightly.

Once again, Nightly's name rang out throughout the castle. Then again, then again; each time a different voice, each time a different tone.

"I think we should leave," Mickey piped up.

Nightly nodded, covering her ears from the noise. The wielders and company bolted through the next door to the ninth floor, the door slamming behind them.

The magic watched the group retreat. In one final attempt, it softly called out a different name, the name which belonged to the misplaced memories. The girl paused at the other side of the threshold, and turned, looking back into the room, the slightest shade of green hinting around her deep brown eyes.

The magic smiled at its tiny victory as the doors to the ninth floor closed. It knew it was a matter of time before every and all memory was called to the surface…

"You okay, Nightly?" Aqua asked.

"I…I think so," Nightly replied, turning away from the door. "What was that?"

"I have no idea," Aqua replied. "Castle Oblivion has a magic of its own, and uses peoples' memories to try and deceive them, but it shouldn't be active while I'm here. I have no idea why it's targeting you so much, Nightly. I'm really sorry about that."

Nightly gave Aqua a smile. "It's alright. It's not your fault. This was all to protect your friend, right? I'd say the castle's doing its job pretty well."

Aqua chuckled. "I guess so. Let's keep going." A collective nod went through the group, and they stepped to the next door, opening the doors to the tenth floor.

They walked briskly through, breathing a collective sigh of relief when no obstacles stood in their way. The doors to the eleventh floor were opened with hopeful gazes.

The friends poured in, Aqua and Riku pushing the door shut behind them. Backing away from the door, Riku froze when he heard the familiar sound of a time bubble being formed.

He turned, seeing Mickey already jumping in front of Donald and Goofy as the younger Xehanort fired a large Stopga and the pair. The king blocked the spell, and it dissipated. Young Xehanort stood before the group, looking at them with a blank yet menacing expression.

"'Bout time we ran into you," Riku said, stepping in front of his comrades to face Xehanort, who only responded with a bored smirk.

"Guess it's our turn," Sora said, summoning his Kingdom Key.

Riku put his hand in front of Sora, stopping him from coming any closer. "You guys go on ahead. Mickey and I can handle this."

"Are you sure?" Aqua asked, coming up behind Riku.

"Yeah," he said, looking behind him at his friends. "We got this."

Sora nodded to his friend. "Okay." He glanced at the rest of the party, and motioned for them to follow him. They ran around the impending battle and through the door to the twelfth floor.

The twelfth floor also held a visitor awaiting the remaining six friends. Having seen him first, Sora summoned his weapon and scowled at the old man standing before them. "Out of our way, Xehanort!"

Aqua summoned Master's Defense, and stood strong beside Sora. Nightly, who had yet to see the new threat, paused as an idea formed in her head. As Aqua demanded to be let by, she checked her inventory, a clever smile creeping on her face. She stole a glance at Chirithy, and the two exchanged a nod.

She lightly touched Aqua's shoulder. "Buy me some time. When the flash happens, sneak by him to the next room to Ven." Aqua discreet nod told her she understood.

Aqua waited for the signal Nightly described as Xehanort said. "You don't understand, my dear. I want to help young Ventus just as much as you do. You simply have no idea what's at stake should Ventus stay asleep much longer."

"Oh, I'm sure I have a pretty good idea," Aqua retorted.

She felt Nightly's hand on her shoulder again. "When I say so, run toward him and jump over him. That's how you'll get by him. Don't look back, just get to Ven." She nodded without moving as Xehanort continued.

"I just want to send Ventus back to where he belongs," Xehanort said.

"Now," Nightly whispered.

Aqua charged toward Xehanort. As she did so, a blinding light erupted from behind her. The sound of metal clashing against metal resounded around the room, and the light dissipated, revealing Aqua and Xehanort locked onto each other. Aqua jumped back, brandishing Stroke of Midnight in her fighting stance.

"He belongs with his friends," Aqua said, tensing to strike again.

Xehanort smirked. "It is clear you do not understand the true meaning of those words. But it matters not—Ventus will be where he truly belongs shortly."

Aqua once again charged towards Xehanort, swinging her Keyblade at him. Stroke of Midnight only phased through him, and he disappeared. A moment later and two figures took his place, both Sora recognized instantly.

"Look out!" he shouted, blocking the incoming blow from Ansem's guardian. Aqua saw it a second too late, but was spared from Xemnas's blow when Goofy threw his shield at the attacker. Aqua used the stagger to her advantage and struck Xemnas as Sora did the same to Ansem.

He dodge-rolled out of the way, glancing over at Aqua and Xemnas. His heart leapt at the sight when the two of them clashed together, sparks flying at the contact. The observation distracted him for a moment, and Donald called out to him just in time to dodge another blow.

"Sora, focus!" Goofy chastised.

"Sorry!" he called back. He fired a spell, stealing a glance back to the other two caught in the heat of battle, just in time to see Aqua get pushed back by Xemnas. His heart gave another unexplained leap as he actually leaped to dodge another blow from Ansem. He blinked, and a name bubbled in his chest. Before he knew it, his mouth opened and the name tumbled from his lips.

"TERRA!"

Kairi gave out a cry as she dodged another round of laser bullets from Xigbar's guns. Rolling too far too fast, she hit the wall and slumped with a dizzy head.

"Kairi!" Lea shouted, blocking an incoming blow from Saïx. The Luna Diviner came down with a heavy blow, making Lea cringe under the weight. Before he could recover, the redhead was thrown backwards as Saïx twisted around and landed a back-handed blow to his abdomen. Lea's back connected with the wall behind him, and he fell to his hands and knees.

He felt the claymore as it brushed up beside his ear. He looked up to see Saïx glaring down at him with his bright yellow eyes. Saïx brought the claymore back, about to deal a finishing blow, but Xigbar stopped him.

"We got a problem, Bluey," Xigbar said seriously.

"What do you mean? We seem to be winning," he said, ignoring the fact that Xigbar just called him a name he hated.

"As if," Xigbar scoffed. "You've been so caught up in your little revenge story, you haven't even noticed."

Saïx paused, his eyes wandering to a place beyond Xigbar. He huffed a sigh. "It seems…this must wait for another day, old friend," he sighed. In puffs of darkness, he and Xigbar disappeared from the battle.

"Lea?" Kairi asked lazily.

"Yeah," he answered, pulling himself up. "I'm right here, kiddo." He walked over to the injured Princess and knelt by her side. "You doing okay?"

She gave a soft smile. "I'll be fine. We should get to the others." She tried to stand, only for Lea to push her back down.

"Uh-uh. Come on, Kairi, I thought you had it memorized. We can't go anywhere in this castle without Aqua. We just have to wait here for them to get back with Ven."

Kairi paused, then huffed a sigh. "Yeah, okay, you're right. Let's just wait."

Lea chuckled. "Alright, then." He settled down beside the Princess of Heart and cast a Curaga on the both of them. They sat in silence, awaiting their friends' return.

Riku stumbled forward, trying to reach the time device. He thrust Way to Dawn toward another Xehanort, knowing he would disappear on impact, but also knowing he had to hit the illusion before a hit could be made upon himself.

He reached the device and delivered the final blow. 'Man, this gets redundant after a while,' he thought to himself.

The bubble disappeared, and once again the young nemesis stood before them. Xehanort looked at the two of them, his Keyblade aimed and ready to strike again, before his Keyblade suddenly disappeared.

"It seems we must finish this another time," he said with a smirk. "I look forward to facing you at the fated place." A cloud of darkness swirled up around him; and when it disappeared, he had gone, too.

Mickey walked up beside Riku as he sent Way to Dawn away. "What do you think that was about?" Riku asked his friend.

"I'm not sure," Mickey replied. "Guess now all we gotta do is wait for Aqua and the others to come back."

"Guess so," Riku agreed. He leaned back against the wall and stared at the door, ready for his friends to come back through.

"TERRA!"

The name echoed off the walls, silencing everything else happening within the room. Xemnas paused, as did Ansem. Aqua and Sora looked between the two in confusion, before a loud growl came from the guardian.

It disappeared into darkness, and Ansem clutched at his chest. "No, not you, not now."

The seven collectively turned to the door to the thirteenth floor as it opened. "What?!" Sora asked in surprise.

There, in the doorway, stood another Aqua. A blonde boy on her back, she looked up at her doppelganger with just as much confusion.

Again, the silence was interrupted by Ansem. "We must…leave," he grunted. He summoned a Corridor of Darkness around himself and Xemnas, leaving the room before any argument could be made from his partner.

The threat gone, the Aqua from the thirteenth floor stepped down to the other Aqua and Sora. "What was that all about?" she asked.

Sora tried to answer, "I…I don't—"

"You called him 'Terra'," the other Aqua said.

"What?" asked the Aqua carrying the unconscious boy.

The Aqua in question put her hand to her shoulder. In a flash of light, Nightly once again stood before the two. "The guy I was fighting. You called him 'Terra'." She looked at the four shocked faces staring back at her and added, "I can explain; but later, okay?"

"Okay," Sora agreed slowly, still trying to figure out everything that just happened.

"What do you mean you called someone Terra? Where did you hear that name?" Aqua asked, looking slightly desperately at Sora.

"I…I don't know. I just saw Nightly and Xemnas fighting, and suddenly I just…shout 'Terra'. I don't know why, I've never met a 'Terra' before." He ran a hand through his hair. "This doesn't make any sense."

Aqua sighed. "Well, we'll worry about it later. We should get out of here before we run into any more trouble."

"Definitely," Sora agreed, Nightly nodding along with him. He looked to the familiar-looking boy on Aqua's back. "So, is that him?"

Aqua smiled at Sora and turned so he could see the boy. "Yes," she said contently, "this is Ven."

I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. How did you like the inclusion of the view of Castle Oblivion itself? That was a spur-of-the-moment idea, but ended up setting something intriguing in motion.

I know ending the chapter at Aqua introducing Ventus to Sora is a little sudden, but the conversation about Roxas looking like Ventus will happen and be resolved, do not worry!

And like I said earlier, I will try to get the next chapter out before break is over. Stay tuned everyone!