"Quick, Aqua! In here!"

Aqua dove for the open door, right behind Vanitas and the tiny Flood who had somehow found them again. Following the Flood wasn't a decision she'd wanted to make - it could still be connected to Void - but she couldn't let the city guards catch them. She'd had enough of playing prisoner. At least Void she could fight head-on, now that he wasn't holding Vanitas hostage. He wouldn't take her by surprise again.

Thankfully they were fast enough; the guards sped by on the main street, ignoring the alley that the Flood had slipped down to find this abandoned building.

"You're some kind of freak of nature, you know that?" Vanitas said. For a second Aqua thought he was addressing her, but the amber glint of his eyes was focused on the Flood at his feet. "How'd you find us again, anyway?"

Aqua was about to remind him the creatures couldn't talk, but it just shrugged and gestured deeper into the building. Not that she could see anything deeper in; the only light came from the ethereal glow surrounding the Flood.

"You want us to check it out, huh?" He asked. Aqua's brow furrowed.

"I don't think so. Void could be here, for all we know. The guards are probably gone now; we should focus on getting out of-"

Suddenly a light flashed a few yards away; she summoned Rainfell with one hand and blocked her blinded eyes with the other.

"Vanitas, get behind me!" She called, readying a barrier spell. If only the spots in her eyes would clear -

"Wait, Aqua! It's not him, it's just me!" A familiar voice called from the light. She blinked rapidly, willing her sight to adjust.

"Terra?" She grinned. The light from his keyblade cast sharp highlights across his face, but wasn't bright enough to illuminate much beyond that.

A weight lifted off her shoulders. He was here, she'd been right - maybe the guards had even chased him here, too, considering what she'd seen at the top of the wall. Maybe after the trouble with Void, they were targeting anyone who looked like they didn't belong in this world. Whatever the reason, seeing Terra calmed her racing heart. She'd been so worried after finding out Master Xehanort was behind all this. Something could have happened to him, the way everything had happened to her…

"Whoa, Aqua, are you alright?" Terra stepped forward quickly, blinding her again as he moved. He'd never perfected the a hovering Fire spell the way she had. But at that moment she cared less about the fact that she couldn't see, and more about him noticing the tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Yeah, I'm - I'm fine." She took a deep breath. Despite what had happened to her, she was still a Keyblade Master. She needed to stay strong and prove she deserved that title. "Listen, Terra, I found out-"

His eyes darted from her, picking up movement. She nearly jumped, but it was just the Flood, trying to dart off into the darkness. The light from Terra's blade flashed in a single arc as he struck it down.

Her mouth fell open as the wisp of blue smoke — all that was left of the Flood — floated towards the ceiling. She shouldn't be attached to it. For all she knew, it was still loyal to Void… but it had helped her escape. It had led her to Vanitas in the castle, and away from the guards, and to Terra just now. It was different from the other Unversed. It was…

"Aqua?" Terra asked, lowering Earthshaker. She took a step back. "Something's wrong. What happened? Why were the guards after you?"

Straight to the point, as always. She laughed a little, trying to stifle her unease at the Flood's passing. It wasn't like Terra knew the Flood had helped her. All he'd seen was a monster to be destroyed.

"It's a long story, but that's not important right now." Her face hardened. As much as she wanted to catch up, there was still the most pressing issue. "I learned where the Unversed are coming from."

"Me too," Terra said, surprising her. "I found Master Xehanort, and he told me—"

"Master Xehanort?" She cut him off, fear flooding her veins. "You found him?"

He tilted his head and grinned a little in spite of her tension. "What, you're that surprised? It was my job, and I did it. Just because you're the Keyblade Master doesn't mean you're the only one who can figure stuff out."

She caught the faint undertone of jealousy in his voice, something she could only recognize from years of living together. A frown tugged at her lips.

"This isn't about that, Terra. Master Xehanort is—"

She gasped as a wave of nausea rolled over her, threatening to send her to the ground. Terra caught her by the shoulder and steadied her.

"Aqua, you really don't look good. Maybe we should—"

But she barely heard him. She knew that nauseating feeling — a terrible darkness loomed near.

"Void," she whispered, her wide eyes meeting Terra's. "He's found me."

"Void? Who's—?"

A low voice called from the darkness, chilling Aqua's blood.

"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

XXX

Terra. It had had to be Terra. What had his Flood been thinking, bringing them here? Sure, he'd needed to find the idiot and taunt him into following him to Radiant Garden, but — not here. Not with Aqua. Not like this. His already fragile plans crumbled to ash the second Aqua had laid eyes on her friend. She'd forgotten Vanitas immediately; it had been easy to fade back into the darkness. Too easy. If Void had really been a separate person, "Vanitas" would have been picked off before she even noticed. All because she was focused on some idiot who didn't even appreciate her.

But that didn't matter. Soon Terra wouldn't be a problem for either of them. Vanitas just had to keep his head on straight.

Rather than rising to his taunt, Aqua summoned an orb of Fire that hovered over a table full of junk. The light spread farther than the bleach-scented gleam of Terra's blade. Far enough to illuminate the front of Vanitas's helmet — and enough for her to realize that someone was missing.

"Where's Vanitas?" She demanded, summoning her keyblade. He retreated a step back, where the darkness could more fully hide his trembling hands.

So now you remember me. I'm flattered, really.

"Vanitas?" Terra shouted, making him flinch back. Void, he knew! Vanitas had forgotten Xehanort had told him; that secret was more dangerous than any spell Aqua could throw at him. "Aqua, he's—"

"Ready to put an end to this," Vanitas interrupted, his own keyblade materializing in his hand. Dark vapors trailed off of it, pushing back against her Fire's soft light.

An end. This is really it, isn't it? He couldn't let Aqua out of here alive. Master Xehanort would surely learn the truth then. It might already be too late, with Terra having seen her, but he still had to try.

His grip tightened on Void Gear as he stared at her, her lips parted, eyes gleaming in the light of her Fire, blue hair also catching its orange glow. The last good look he'd probably ever get of her. The thought constricted his chest, costing him precious seconds he could have used on a quick attack.

Terra didn't have the same hesitation. He braced a hand on a narrow table and vaulted over it, scattering junk to the ground as he did. A growl rose in his throat, but Vanitas backed into a portal before his blade could reach him.

"Get back here!" He snapped, head whipping from side to side, but Vanitas was already across the room. Directly behind Aqua.

"So you finally reunited with your idiot friend. Congratulations," he said in a near-whisper, closer than he should've dared. Her scent flooded the inside of his helmet. That, at least, he knew how to filter out by now. She swung Rainfell at him, but only collided with a box of potion bottles as he sprung back, vanishing again.

"It looks like I did come at a bad time," he called from above — his portal had landed him in the maze of wooden rafters. Terra and Aqua looked in every direction before finally realizing he was somewhere overhead, but their fire and light couldn't reach him here. Aqua wouldn't risk sending a Fire too close and burning down the building… probably. The plan he was currently making up had far too many probablys for his liking.

"You didn't even get the chance to talk to him yet, did you, Aqua?" He forced himself to snarl her name; it felt wrong on his tongue. That was the least of his worries, though. He couldn't take them both head-on; he wasn't that stupid. His only shot would be to play off their weaknesses.

"What are you talking about?" She called back, raising Rainfell. Probably getting ready to use a shotlock, as soon as she could get a read on his location. Well, he wouldn't make it easy for her.

"Terra, of course." He snorted in disdain as he crept among the rafters. The pair of keyblade wielders had retreated closer together and circled back-to-back in search of his voice. The effortless way they worked together brought an Archraven to boil near the surface of his skin, but he squashed it back down.

"You remember what I told you, right?" He continued to Aqua. "I'm not the only one with darkness here."

"Shut up!" Terra shouted. "I'm nothing like you!"

Of course he wasn't. He had friends who cared about him, a Master who cared about him, barely any problems beyond the tiniest sliver of darkness — nothing compared to Vanitas's own. But that wouldn't stop Vanitas from preying on his fear. He hummed in feigned nonchalance; the sound echoed eerily through the warehouse, as if the wood walls were taking up his song.

"Are you so sure about that? You heard the old man. You know what I am." It was a dangerous card to play, but if he could draw on his connection to Ven - the fact that they used to be the same person - Terra might lose some of his confidence. However, it had a different effect on Aqua.

"Xehanort toldyou about him?" Aqua spun to face Terra. "Do you know that they're—"

But Terra wasn't listening. He was busy snarling up at the shadows where he thought Vanitas was hiding.

"I know what you are. You're an abomination beyond hope of salvation."

Vanitas froze. Those words. He'd picked those words.

An abomination beyond hope of salvation —

"Do you think that means Void has some good inside him?"

An abomination —

"No. I don't."

Beyond hope of salvation —

"You - you freak!"

He dropped his keyblade, which dissolved in dark flame as he clenched his teeth and shoved his hands over his ears.

"I am NOT!" He roared back, gripping the wooden beam so tightly that splinters stabbed through his suit. "SHUT UP!"

A Bruiser started to wisp from his back, stealing away the power he desperately needed for himself. But it didn't have time to fully form. Before he could berate himself for the stupidity of his outburst, a bolt of electricity slammed into his chest. Then another — and another —and another —

White overtook his vision. His leg scraped the rough wood as he toppled from the beam. A split second of gasping for breath, and then the remainder of it fled him as his body hit the floor.

"Nice shot, Aqua," Terra's voice filtered through the static in his ears.

Aqua. That was… that was… Of course it was her; Terra couldn't have pulled off a shotlock like that. She didn't know he was her friend - he wasn't her friend. He knew that. Didn't he? She was just a diversion to him, and he was just an obligation to her.

So why did the fact that it was her hurt as much as the electricity lingering on his skin?

"Is he…?" Her voice murmured. Was he imagining the regret in it? His brain was as fried as the rest of him. That was all. He'd never be having these thoughts otherwise.

"No, look. He's breathing."

Barely, and that only thanks to Xehanort's training. He'd survived worse, but he'd only keep surviving if he moved, if he could get out of here — but even if he did Xehanort would just electrocute him again and again, or worse — there was nowhere he could go, nowhere as long as Aqua was alive —

Aqua. She'd done this to him. It was time to get over his foolish hesitation.

It was time to do what she'd been willing to do to him all along.

His eyes shot open — and were immediately blinded by the light of Terra's blade. But he didn't let it stop him. With every scrap of energy he had left, he sprung from the floor. Channeling dark energy into his fingers, he made a desperate grab for Aqua's neck.

Frozen in surprise, she didn't dodge fast enough. His hand connected, fingers wrapping around her throat. Darkness poured from his hand, through the neck of her shirt, into her skin.

A scream tore from her throat, more visceral and raw than anything he'd ever heard. If she'd had his powers, he could only imagine the Unversed that would have accompanied that scream. Could he really do this? Her voice was meant for singing, not screaming like this —

Shut up! It's her or me! He grit his teeth and forced himself to keep going — until a blunt force slammed him back to the ground.

"Stay away from her!"

Terra! Why couldn't he be the one Xehanort wanted dead? Vanitas didn't know if he could take the bigger keyblade wielder down too. But he had to —he had to get out of here —

Another thud — Aqua had collapsed beside him. She wasn't — he hadn't killed her, had he? She was stronger than that, she was — no, he had to kill her! Why was his heart still begging him to check if she was alright?

He couldn't even do that much. Terra's keyblade slammed into the wood floor between them.

"What did you do to her!?" He demanded. The light wreathing his blade flickered fitfully, casting ghoulish shadows across his face. Aqua's Fire had gone out when she'd hit the ground, leaving Terra the only source of illumination.

But not for long, if Vanitas had anything to say about it.

"Same thing that's going to happen to you," he said, voice deadpan. He couldn't summon his usual snark, but at least his fear — for himself or for her? — didn't bleed through. "Her light's gone."

"You — you stole her light?" Shock flickered across his face before his teeth clenched in rage. "No! Aqua's light is stronger than that!"

"Maybe it is… maybe it isn't." He shrugged, wincing when his shoulders scraped the floor. "The real question is, how strong is your light, Terra?"

The jab cut deeper than he'd expected. Dark lightning crackled across that bronze keyblade again, making Terra gasp and let go. With that contact broken, the light vanished entirely.

For the first time since entering the warehouse, a grin stretched Vanitas's lips. The darkness surrounded him like an old friend; he used its security to down a hi-potion he pulled from his belt. Energy trickled down his throat and into his battered limbs.

He could do this. With Aqua out of commission — not dead, he was sure, but he'd deal with that later — he had the chance to lure out Terra's darkness. If he could push Terra over the edge, maybe Xehanort would overlook his other mistakes. Maybe. It was better than running away empty-handed, at least.

Void Gear came to his palm in a burst of purple flame.

"Are you ready to see how strong your light really is?" He taunted as his eyes adjusted to the dark. Xehanort had trained him to fight in pitch blackness; he doubted Terra's master had done the same. "Or are you ready to give in to the dark yourself?"

"I'll never do that," Terra growled. Vanitas heard the soft shink as he pulled his keyblade from the floor. "I may have darkness inside me, but I'm not like you. I'll never let my darkness hurt my friends."

A faint glint caught his eye — but there wasn't any light to reflect, was there? No, somehow there was — something glowing in Terra's open palm. Soft orange light surrounded it, then flooded over Terra's body. Some kind of command style? No, it smelled different than that.

"And they won't let it hurt me," Terra finished with a smile, and Vanitas finally recognized the scent: the cotton-sugar blend distinctive of a Princess of Heart. It made no sense, but his nose had never been wrong before.

"Cute light show." Vanitas drawled, hiding his sudden misgivings. "But let's see you prove it!"

XXX

Terra dodged back from Vanitas's onslaught, pressing himself against an old dresser. The masked boy was fast — he definitely shared Ven's speed, but none of his mercy. His serrated blade slammed down directly where Terra's head had been, shattering the dresser into splinters that cut his cheek. He barely felt the pain; the glow surrounding him seemed to have the same healing effect Cinderella's care had. It made sense. Their D-Link had done more than just connect them — it pushed down his darkness, cleared his mind, steadied his heart. He wasn't alone. And so he could do this.

"Is that all you've got? You're just gonna glow and run away, huh?" Vanitas taunted, taking another quick jab at him. Terra batted that serrated blade away, knocking the masked boy back a few feet. He stumbled and steadied himself against a stack of boxes — he hadn't recovered as much as he wanted Terra to believe.

"I'm not running anywhere." He'd drawn Vanitas away from where Aqua lay unconscious, but now he stalked forward; his D-Link's glow reflected off the boy's mask. There was nothing he could do to help her until he eliminated the threat.

"And neither are you, Vanitas."

There was nowhere for the boy to run, no darkness for him to hide in. The boxes and tables barred him in on three sides, with Terra carefully approaching from the fourth. Vanitas might still have a trick up his sleeve — or in his suit — but Terra wouldn't fall for it. This boy had targeted Cinderella, and Aqua, and the rest of the worlds. He was pure darkness, unfit to exist. Beyond hope of salvation.

Rage boiled inside him, barely contained by the soothing effect of his D-Link. As much as he wanted to tear Vanitas apart, he needed to keep himself together. His darkness might not have hurt Cinderella before, but there was no telling what it would do if he let it loose again.

Darkness or no darkness though, Vanitas still needed to be destroyed. Terra raised his keyblade —

And the boy rolled out of the way, slipping under a table and disappearing into the depths of the warehouse again.

Terra shouted, punching a box with his free hand. His aura flickered briefly.

"Get back here, you freak!"

"Freak? I'm the freak?" Vanitas laughed, a shrill, unhinged sound. Nothing like the taunting chuckle from before. "I might be made of darkness, but I'm not the one about to kill a piece of my friend!"

"You're nothing like Ven!" Terra snarled into the darkness. Stretching the limits of his tight pants, he leapt over the table, and his D-Link's glow illuminated the few feet of clear space behind it. No sign of Vanitas. Where was the little creep? He had no right to talk about him or Ven.

"Nothing like — you idiot, I am Ven!" The voice came from above. In the rafters again? That hadn't worked for him last time, and Terra would make sure it didn't again. "I'm more of Ven than your loser friend is! He's nothing more than an empty shell without me!"

"Don't talk about my friend like that!" His anger was useless, but — but this freak wasn't his friend. He just wanted an excuse to keep Terra from destroying him. Well, he'd fallen for a lot of things, but not this time. This time, he was going to set things right.

There. A shadow of movement, at the top of a tall wardrobe — Vanitas's silhouette was slinking across it, then down a staircase of boxes to the ground, as silent as darkness itself. But that darkness wouldn't stand up to his light.

He whirled, shrouding himself in a magical barrier and surging at Vanitas. For once the boy wasn't fast enough; he went flying into a bookshelf at the impact.

"Nngh… when'd you have the time to learn that?" He muttered, but got back to his feet and resumed his stance, holding his keyblade high overhead.

Terra didn't bother answering the question, not that he even knew the answer. He'd never used that command before. The link must have borrowed some of Cinderella's power, even though she wasn't a keyblade wielder like Aqua or Ven.

But now wasn't the time to wonder about that. Instead he utilized another command the link gave him: Wish Shot. A glittering orb of magic spiraled out from his keyblade and took Vanitas in the chest. He gasped, staggering back and cringing around the blow.

"What, can't handle a little light?" Terra couldn't help taunting.

"Gah — shut up!" Vanitas shook himself and leapt forward, bringing his blade down hard. Terra barely blocked in time to keep his skull from being split.

Can't get cocky, he chided himself before retaliating with a spinning strike that charged his weapon with even more light. The unfamiliar command left him dizzy, though — these attacks Cinderella had unknowingly given him were too different from his usual fighting style. Vanitas jumped on the opening and shot a Dark Firaga at his leg. He slid away a split second before his pants would've gone up in flames. He could only imagine how Cinderella would've reacted to him coming back with her father's clothes in ashes.

"I thought you were supposed to be the slow one!" Vanitas snapped. "Stay still!"

"How about you stay away from my friends!" Terra came at him with his regular combo —better not to risk any more spinning mishaps. Vanitas blocked the first two strikes before taking the last on his keyblade arm.

"Gah… You and your friends. Which one are you talking about? Aqua? Ven? That princess you're sticking around for?" He leapt back, dodging another strike from Terra while he uncorked a potion with his teeth and downed it. "I bet you loved what my monsters did to her place. Much homier now, I think."

Fire burned in him at the memory. "You're sick, you know that?"

"Oh, I know. I've only been told that about a million times," Vanitas snarled, charging back into battle.

They exchanged blows, too quick for either of them to throw insults at each other. That was fine by Terra; he'd rather throw spells and strikes. The ragged sounds of their breathing and the sharp clang of metal on metal grounded him. Just like sparring with Ven or Aqua — only this time, he'd have to go harder than he ever had before.

For Aqua. For Ven. For Cinderella. Vanitas had to be destroyed.

His D-Link was wearing thin — the glow wouldn't last long now. And once it faded, he'd be in Vanitas's realm.

"Nngh… I see why Xehanort wants you now. You might be stupid, but you've got power, I'll give you that."

He grit his teeth, but didn't respond to the taunt. Vanitas had to be desperate to result to jabs like that — which meant he had to be close to going down. If Terra could just get in a few more good hits on him… but he wasn't making it easy. He twisted and dodged like the shadow he was. Meanwhile, Terra's glow dimmed to barely a glimmer.

"Heh. Looks like you're light's not gonna cut it after all."

Rage bubbled up — and with it, the darkness he'd been holding back. His D-Link burned out, Cinderella's light no longer protecting him. Her light. Not his — he'd never had enough — he'd never been worthy to be a master —

While Terra wavered, Vanitas struck. His blade ripped through Terra's suit, his shirt, his skin - he tried to cast Cure, but his own darkness choked out the green light. Pain lit every nerve on fire, but through it all, one thought remained:

He couldn't let Vanitas win.

"And here I thought you were actually going to put up a—"

Terra's arm snapped out, his hand clutching Vanitas's throat. The same way the freak had grabbed Aqua before. Now that the tables were turned, he clawed at Terra's fingers, writhing as he lifted him off the ground. Darkness pumped through his veins, out his skin, into the abomination —

And then suddenly there was light. Terra flinched as it flooded the warehouse, pouring out from — from the door. His blood froze, but he didn't let go of Vanitas's neck. If he could just —

"Oh my — Terra?"

No — no — not her, not now, she couldn't see him like this—!

Silhouetted in the doorway, hands hovering over her mouth in shock, stood Cinderella.

A/N: Sorry for another cliffhanger right after that last one! The good news: I now officially know where the end of this story is going. The bad news: I probably won't update again until a while after KH3. But I'm sure you'll all be distracted enough by that that it won't be too much of a problem lol