So, umm... Six months. How did that much time pass already? Urgh. I'm really sorry about that. Never meant to go so long without an update. But hey, II.5 is right around the corner, and that means I'll be getting plenty of chances to look for new ideas! (Not that I've forgotten any suggestions people have offered!)

Anyway, to try and make up for the wait, this update's a bit longer than usual. And it's another one of those "would change everything" ones. Kind-of-sort-of-but-no-actually-not-really inspired by the song that provided the title. Enjoy!

Follow You Into the Dark

Fighting Terra was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do. This was so different from the match they'd had during the Exam – and didn't that feel like a lifetime ago. They were both so much stronger now, so much more capable to truly hurting each other... And, of course, it wasn't actually Terra fighting her, but Xehanort, who had no reason to hold back against her.

So when she'd finally managed to reach Terra, finally been able to give him some of her light to fight back against Xehanort's darkness, she'd hoped that would have been the end of it – Terra was the strongest person she knew, after all. She honestly didn't believe he could lose.

She'd seen the struggle, as Xehanort tried to attack her and Terra held him back. And one of them – she hated that she couldn't be sure which – had driven Xehanort's Keyblade into his chest, locking away their joined heart. That strange, shadowy creature that had appeared behind him crumbled to pieces, leaving a pool of darkness seething on the ground.

And then her best friend had fallen backwards into that darkness.

Without even thinking, Aqua had dived in after him, barely remembering to activate her armor. Her glider raced through the darkness, far too slow for her liking because even in the total blackness around her, she could still see Terra falling further and further away.

Aqua tightened her grip on her glider's handlebar, pushing it as hard as she could. "The darkness can't have you!" she told him, willing herself to go even faster.

Finally, she started edging closer. She reached out, desperately grasping for Terra's hand. A thrill of exhilaration raced through her when she caught him, pulling him onto her glider and turning around, back to the pinpoint of light that was the portal they'd come through.

But as she pushed the glider to its limit, the delicate arcs of metal rattling around them, she realized that point of light was getting smaller. With Terra's additional weight, even at this speed, she didn't know if they would reach it.

I have to do something, or we'll both be trapped.

The light continued to shrink as she racked her brain. For one terrible second, she considered letting Terra go, leaving him here. As much as she wanted to believe Terra really had wrested back control of his body, if he woke up and it turned out that Xehanort was still in there... She pushed the thought away with horrified disgust. She had failed Terra so many times on this journey. Now, at the very end, she would make sure she wouldn't. No matter what, she would save him.

If she got off, instead...

Terra would make it back to the world of light. But he'd be alone; Ven's heart was asleep, Master Eraqus was gone, even their home was unrecognizable. And, again, if Xehanort was still lurking in his heart, could she really risk loosing that monster on the worlds again?

She tightened her grip around Terra, pulling his limp form closer to her. She couldn't let Xehanort free, and she wouldn't abandon Terra. Decision made, she leaned further over her glider, praying for it to hold long enough, to be fast enough to make it through that dwindling light.

"I'm with you," she said softly, almost whispering the words into Terra's ear, and she had never meant anything so much in her entire life. They would make it out together, or not at all.

The gateway grew smaller and smaller, and Aqua tried to make her glider go even faster, half-pleading as she urged it on. "Go!"

And moments before they reached it, the light vanished, trapping them in darkness.

Aqua stared blankly at the empty blackness ahead of them, glider stalling to a stop. They... didn't make it? But... but they still had to wake up Ven! And restore their home! And that boy, Riku, who would train him now? They had to make it back!

The heavy weight against her shoulder reminded her of where she was. This place was nothing but darkness. And darkness, as she'd seen throughout this journey, was fueled by negative emotions. She had to focus on something else, or she really would be lost, trapped here forever.

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down and consider things differently. Riku was still a child; it would be years before he was ready to learn how to use the Keyblade he'd inherited. Their home would stay just as it was, locked in stasis between light and dark, until she unlocked it. And Ven was there as well, hidden in a place only she could ever find. He would remain as he was, just like the castle, until she and Terra could return to wake him up.

"Ven, I'm sorry," she whispered into the darkness. "I might not make it back as soon as I thought." She hugged Terra's unconscious form closer to her. "But I found Terra. And I promise we'll be there one day to wake you up."

For now, though, she was tired. Her glider finally faded, vanishing in a swirl of light that wasn't strong enough to break through this darkness. She could feel herself falling, slowly drifting deeper down, and absently noted her armor had disappeared as well.

It probably didn't matter. She held Terra closer, determined not to lose him now. As long as they were together, they would eventually find a way. And she was so very, very tired...

Aqua woke to the odd, distantly familiar sensation of sand pressed against her face. She rolled over, absently rubbing off the sand and wondering why she couldn't smell the ocean. And why was the sand cold? It should be warm, shouldn't it?

Oh, there was something warm. Aqua inched towards it, snuggling against whatever it was. It wasn't sand; it was too firm for that, or for her pillows, come to think of it. But it wasn't her mattress or the couch in the library she often ended up sleeping on...

ba-dump. ba-dump.

Was that... a heartbeat?

Everything suddenly came rushing back to her, and Aqua's eyes flew open as she snapped upright. Next to her was Terra, still asleep, sprawled out as he usually was. Smiling faintly, she touched his shoulder, about to wake him, but stopped. Was it Terra? He still had that darkened skin and silver hair he'd gotten when Xehanort possessed him. If he woke up, would he still look at her with those cold, bright orange eyes? Would he attack her again?

Her heart ached at the thought, and she reluctantly removed her hand. It was selfish, but she wanted just a little more time where she could believe it really was Terra. Even if it was just a few more minutes until he woke on his own.

Seeking a distraction, she looked at their surroundings. They were on a broad, winding path of dark grey sand, surrounded on all sides by strange, rounded rocks split with glowing blue veins, providing the faintest of light. Aqua could only see about fifteen feet in either direction. Everything beyond was simply black. She couldn't even see the walls the rocks must be attached to – it was like they were simply floating in the darkness, making it seem endlessly vast.

This was it, then? All their strength, all their struggles, and it all came down to this empty place?

Aqua stood, refusing to accept that. She would make it back to the world of light. She had to. And she was bringing Terra with her.

Rainfell appeared in her hand, and she threw it ahead of her, shifting it to its glider form. After a short struggle to lift Terra onto it (which hadn't woken him, much to her surprise – and, privately, gratitude), she climbed on, following the path. Somewhere there must be a place connected to the light. All she had to do was find it.

Aqua didn't know how long they'd been wandering. They paused infrequently, whenever she felt tired, after stretches that sometimes felt like hours and other times felt like days. Time didn't seem to have much meaning in this place, and she had mostly given up on trying to keep track of it.

Their rests were often brief, however. The strange creatures that lurked in this realm made sure of that. The smallest ones were easy to dispatch, and the largest too slow to be much threat. Her glider could outrace them all easily, at least, but sometimes there were just so many...

She didn't sleep, anymore. At some point she'd simply stopped needing to, and their short breaks were enough to let her continue on. She didn't know if it was because of the distorted sense of time or simply an effect of being in this place, but as long as it meant she couldn't be ambushed by those monsters, she was willing to accept it.

Another reason, one she only realized in those rare moments when the darkness felt completely still, was that she was afraid. Through everything, even the close call where she had almost lost him off the side of the strange path they followed, Terra had never once stirred. If she fell asleep, would she wake up again?

Aqua didn't know, and so didn't risk it, distracting herself by talking to her friend about whatever came to mind. People she'd met on her journey, misadventures she remembered from their youth, even the vague memories of her earlier childhood that she'd mostly kept secret ever since showing up at the Land of Departure. She wondered the whole time if he could hear her even if he couldn't respond, if he'd remember her stories about seashells and stars and a boy who left. She thought about waking him so many times, but each time stopped short, unwilling to risk losing Terra, even if it was just this tiny fragment of him.

And so they continued, endlessly, through the realm of darkness.

She was beginning to doubt they'd ever escape when the strangest thing happened: somewhere ahead of them, a light appeared.

For a second she simply started, not believing. And it seemed so far away. Could she be imagining it?

She rubbed her eyes and looked again. It was still there. Aqua turned to Terra's sleeping form, a smile spreading on her face (she'd almost forgotten how to do that). "Let's go!" she said, loading him onto her glider, giddily excited with an emotion she hadn't truly felt in a long time: hope.

They raced towards the light, Aqua pushing harder than she had in ages, urging it to go faster and faster. They were getting closer, they were close, they were so close...!

The light led them to a chamber unlike any she'd seen in their endless wandering. It had the same dark grey, dusty ground, and the same strange rocks with their faintly glowing veins, covered here and there with writhing patches of shadows dotted with innumerable yellow eyes. But behind them was something like a tunnel, through which came a pale, healthy light completely different from the luminous cracks she'd become used to. And on the far side of the cavern – she could actually see the whole room – was a large door, startlingly white. And she knew, without a doubt, that the world of light was through that door.

But then a swirl of light rose from one of the rocks in the middle of the room, and the door began to fade away. "No," Aqua breathed, refusing to believe she'd missed by inches again.

A group of those large shadow creatures swarmed the point where the light had appeared, and through the heart-shaped hole in one's chest, Aqua saw a figure she'd recognize anywhere. He was using a different Keyblade, and wore red shorts instead of the black suit she remembered, but there was no mistaking those huge, round ears.

Aqua pushed thoughts of the door away. Mickey was her friend, and she needed to help him. So she angled her glider for a strafing run, firing beams of energy at the nearest monster. It turned towards her, and Mickey leaped impossibly high, spinning in the air as his Keyblade sliced through another, dissipating it instantly.

Aqua swerved to avoid another monster's grasping claws, holding tightly to Terra and firing off another round of blasts. Mickey jumped off the rock he'd landed on, again leaping into the air, this time towards her. Guessing his intent, Aqua leaned the glider to match Mickey's arc, and he caught the side, clinging to the metal as she dived to avoid another giant hand.

"Aqua! Boy, am I glad to see you!" Mickey said, grinning widely at her.

Aqua felt a small smile pull at her lips again, despite everything. "Hold on," she told him, readjusting her grip on her handlebar. She hesitated for a moment, debating which way she should escape, then launched her glider down the tunnel, blue flames blazing anew as she swerved to avoid the rocks stretched across the entrance, headed towards the light. After all this time, she couldn't simply return to the endless dark paths she'd been following.

Fortunately, Mickey had gotten a good grip, and Aqua had a lot of practice carrying Terra after all this time. The light got brighter as they went, washing out the grey stone to a warm white radiance. Aqua felt her hope rising, that maybe, after so long, they would finally reach the realm of light again...

But it was not to be. The light began to fade, and Aqua searched the landscape below them as they flew. There was enough light to see by, at least, though it was dim, almost like moonlight. And there wasn't much to see: black sand and dark waves continued far into the distance, the beach empty but for the twisted, uneven rocks scattered all around. This place wasn't the endless tunnels of the realm of darkness, but it wasn't their home in the realm of light, either. It was something entirely different, an in-between place that was neither one nor the other.

Aqua gripped tightly at the handlebar of her glider, continuing to coast above the sand with a building disappointment driving her on. She had been so close...

It wasn't until Mickey touched her arm, reminding her why she had put those thoughts aside in the first place, that she started to slow down. "Sorry," she said, waiting for the little mouse to get a better position. It wasn't like her to lose focus like that. "But what happened back there? I've never seen so many of those creatures all in one place."

"The Heartless were trying to get through the Door to Darkness," Mickey said, ignoring her lapse, though whether it was out of obliviousness or kindness, she couldn't say. "Me'n Riku locked it to make sure they couldn't, and to bring back all the worlds that fell to darkness."

"What?" Aqua blinked, sure she must have heard him wrong. "The worlds fell?"

Mickey nodded. "Gosh, have I got a lot to tell you..."

And so he did, as they drifted aimlessly along the waterline. About how Maleficent had gained control of the Heartless – those shadow creatures that existed in this realm – and searched for the Princesses of Heart to open the Door to Darkness so she could rule Kingdom Hearts, and through it, everything else. About how he'd been too late to save a world, and been dragged into the Realm of Darkness along with it, and searched for the Door so he could try to close it from this side. And about Riku, that little boy who'd grown up and become the Keybearer the worlds had needed, traveling with his best friend Sora never far from his side, somehow wielding a Keyblade of his own.

"We've missed so much," Aqua said sadly, slowly feeling the weight of the the ten years they'd been gone settle around her. "I should have been there. Those boys shouldn't have been forced through all of that..."

"I know what you mean," Mickey said, looking down at his hands. "I knew we'd need two keys to lock the Door, but I didn't think..." He looked up, cheerful smile almost brighter than Aqua could handle after so much time in darkness. "But Donald and Goofy took real good care of them! And you had to look after your friends, after all!" The overwhelming smile on the mouse's face tempered a little. "Is Ven here, too?"

Aqua shook her head. "No, but he's safe. I made sure of that. But when I went to find Terra..." She glanced at the still-unconscious man in her arms, sighing heavily. "Xehanort... He took over Terra's heart. I fought him to try and get it back, and I thought it worked, but then he fell into this place..."

"And you've been trapped here ever since?" Mickey asked softly.

Aqua nodded, swallowing to loosen the tightness in her throat. "I've thought about waking him up so many times, but... I'm afraid. What if he wakes up and he isn't Terra?"

"Then we just gotta help him remember that he is Terra," Mickey said firmly, and there was no pity or uncertainty in his voice, only determination. "Then we can focus on getting back to our friends, where we belong."

"But how?" Aqua asked, tilting her head to indicate the empty realm around them. "That was the first honest light I've seen in all this time, and it still wasn't enough to get us home."

Mickey smiled, full of confidence. "Don't worry. There will always be a door to the light." He laughed, tapping a finger against his chest. "We just gotta follow our hearts."

"Our hearts," Aqua repeated quietly, the beginnings of a realization slowly forming.

"Yep!" Mickey nodded, still smiling. "We're part of our friends' hearts, just like they're part of ours. As long as we remember each other, we'll always be connected. Our friends are the lights that help us find our way through the darkness, no matter how bad it gets."

"An unbreakable connection," Aqua said, that realization building. She reached into her pocket, drawing out the small, star-shaped charm she hadn't looked at in... she wasn't even sure how long anymore. Could it really have been years? "Bound together, through eternity."

The Wayfinders had been a hopeful wish, based on a half-remembered story. But the friendships she'd made were so much more than a simple charm could hope to contain. Everyone she'd met through her journey – Cinderella, Phillip, Zack, even Sora and Riku – she was connected to all of them. She promised herself, that very moment, that she would see them again. And there were two more promises she had made to both of her dearest friends, promises she was going to keep, no matter what.

"You're right," she said, squeezing the charm before putting it away. Determination renewed, she angled her glider down, landing softly as her feet sank into the drab sand. She gently laid Terra out as the glider vanished, taking one of his hands with both of hers, drawing in slow, deep breaths.

No more being afraid.

She'd spent so long searching for the way out of here, waiting for the fainest glimmer of light to show her the way, and using it as an excuse to put off what had to be done. But here, in this in-between place so unlike anything she'd known, she thought she finally understood: she wasn't supposed to find the way, but make one, by following the connections of her heart. And if she was going to follow her heart, then it was clear where she had to begin. "This is where it starts, I know it. Because I meant what I said, Terra: I'm with you."

Mickey nodded from Terra's other side, taking her friend's other hand and smiling at her in encouragement. Aqua closed her eyes and took a deep breath, listening to the dull crash of the waves behind her before reaching down inside herself for the well of energy that was her magic. It bubbled up at once, always ready to answer her call. And then she reached deeper, for the light in her heart that was the source of that magic. Warmth flooded through her as a faint blue glow began to emanate from her, and Aqua directed it through her hands into Terra, urging it towards his own heart, to dispel the darkness wrapped tight and wake him at last from his long, long sleep.

And, after so many years, he began to stir.

The shipping may come off a bit stronger than usual in this one. Or is that just me? I only bring it up because I've been keeping things pretty firmly at the "friendship" level, and this is much more "either way" than things I've done before...

And yeah, I actually followed up on this one a bit, if only vaguely. Because the repercussions of this are easy to map against a similar idea I have for something that will remain unmentioned because spoilers.