Last real chapter :c R&R appreciated. Thank you.
Chapter 9
The Sentiment watched from above as Aqua touched down and dismissed her armor and Rider. She paced around, calling Terra's name. The armor didn't move, though. It was still unsure of Aqua.
A dark scent entered its senses. Xehanort! The source of this scent was Aqua. Suddenly, her form shimmered to look like a silver-haired young man.
Xehanort. The Sentiment thought so.
xxx
"Terra, come out here!" Aqua called through the rock field. The Sentiment was always here...why wasn't it coming out?
She heard the sound of rock being broken and spun towards the source. The Sentiment was standing about twenty feet away from her, oversized Keyblade stuck in the ground, hands folded on top of the guard.
"There you are," Aqua said cheerfully. "I was beginning to worry."
Deep enraged rumbles rose from the armor. "Why would you...worry about...me... Xehanort?"
"Xehanort?" Aqua raised an eyebrow. "What are you..." Of course. She had been with Xemnas for a long time. His scent must have rubbed off on her. "Terra, I'm not Xehanort."
"You can't...fool me..." The Sentiment pulled Gaia Bane from the ground and charged forward.
Aqua narrowly dodged with a cartwheel and abraded the heel of her hand on the stone. She summoned Rainstorm as it charged again and blocked a massive blow that would certainly have killed her. It released the pressure and swung at her legs. She leaped onto the Keyblade and used the upward force to launch herself over the armor and land near the rock monolith.
The Sentiment split Gaia Bane into two Keyblades and charged. She dodged and it drove its weapons into the rock. It dislodged them and swung. The hits were so hard they stunned Aqua and sent her flying, then skidding. She struggled to her feet with Rainstorm and fired off a Thunder spell. The bolts struck, but they didn't have much effect.
The Sentiment transformed Gaia Bane into a bow and fired projectiles at her. She narrowly dodged all of them as she skidded towards the armor, then struck it hard. She chipped off some paint and rust and dented its arm. It reverted the bow to Gaia Bane and slashed again, but she slipped beneath it and hit a leg, leaving similar damage to the previous arm. It got her with a powerful kick to the gut and smacked her away with the Keyblade.
Aqua hit the ground with a bone-crunching thud and felt blood dribble down into her eye. The Sentiment was above her before she could even blink. She rolled to avoid a downward-thrust blade, then another, then another, then another. She flipped onto her back and shot a point-black Fira. A smoke cloud surrounded them and she took that opening to escape. She coughed. A few ribs were broken, she was halt-blind from the blood in her eyes-it didn't look so good for her.
But the Sentiment didn't have it much better. As Aqua was healing herself, it stumbled out. Its helmet was broken, one of the horns bent badly and the other blown completely off. Its left arm was torn open.
It saw her and transformer Gaia Bane in a whip. It snapped the stony tip at her. She yelped and leaped back from the rock shrapnel. The Sentiment spun the whip in a small arc overhead and cracked it again. One of Aqua's feet slipped on a loose pebble. The Sentiment's third whiplash found its way around her ankle and pulled tight. She screamed as she was thrown into the air and snapped effortlessly around. The Sentiment slammed her to the ground and she saw stars. She stood up and ran away as it transformed the whip into a drill.
Aqua dodged narrowly as the Sentiment charged forward. The drill ground the stone like butter as spat debris everywhere. Sharpened stones cut her bare legs. She took a wild swing at the Sentiment. It connected. The armor flinched and released the drill, which reverted to Gaia Bane. Aqua kicked the weapon away. "Please, Terra. Stop."
"NO MERCY!" The Sentiment seized her leg and dug its sharp fingers into her flesh. She screamed and slapped its helmet. That didn't do much accept for aggravate the pain in her leg.
"STOP!" Aqua shot a Flare at the armor.
The backfire was extreme, scorching her arm to the elbow and blasting her quite some distance. She bounced once and the slid to a stop. The agony was horrible; her skin was a mess of bruises, cuts, and blisters. Many of her bones were broken. It was all she could do to breathe in and out, and watch the smoke clear.
xxx
Just after Aqua left, Xemnas heard a chiding voice.
"Leaving again, Xemnas?"
Xemnas turned around. Xigbar, his face creased by a scowl, stood behind him. "Don't try to act stupid," he growled. "I know about your little escapade."
Xemnas raised his hands. "You caught me. But how?"
"I can tell the difference between a clone and you." Xigbar gruffly grabbed Xemnas' hands and tugged them behind his back. "You're coming with me." He opened a dark corridor and led Xemnas through to the Soundless Prison.
"Now, I've let a lot of these little trips go," the Freeshooter said, forcing Xemnas forward, "but I can't just let THIS slide."
"I haven't seen her in so long, though," Xemnas protested.
"You've never seen her," Xigbar growled as he pushed Xemnas into a prison. "She's a stranger."
Xemnas went to the bars. "Then explain this. She's a Keyblade Master, she's most skilled in magic, she's a close friend of mine, and I hope to kill her someday."
"Then you know who you are," Xigbar muttered.
Xemnas grabbed the bars. "Tell me who I am, Braig!"
Xigbar looked away. "You'll have to find that out for yourself."
Xemnas felt a twinge in his gut; something was wrong with Aqua. He could feel it. "I need to get out of here."
"No." Xigbar's face was stone.
"Aqua's in trouble," Xemnas tried again. "I don't know why, but it's bad trouble. I have to help her." He shook the bars. "Please!"
"I can't!" Xigbar shouted!
Xemnas growled and gripped the bars tighter. Red energy coursed from his palms and made the material boil and begin to melt. Crimson energy pulsed out in the form of lightning. "If you do not let me go, NOW, you will suffer a fate more horrible than any fate imaginable! Do it now, Braig!"
Xigbar cringed and opened the gate. Xemnas rushed out and through a dark corridor to Aqua.
xxx
Aqua drew another gasping breath as the smoke cleared.
The Sentiment was a mess. Its armor was twisted and bent, crushed and snapped, melting and completely dislodged. It rose to its feet, joints screaming and groaning under the pressure. It stood unevenly, one foot bent beyond repair. It jerked its head to the left as its left arm fell off. "Xeha...nort..."
Aqua gasped in another painful breath.
The Sentiment stumbled and fell, then did an extraordinary feat. Its foot snapped into place. Its visor reformed. All the dents and twists in its armor repaired themselves, but nothing reattached, like last time. It summoned Gaia Bane and ran forward. It was about to slam its weapon down when two red blades stopped it.
Xemnas!
xxx
Xemnas had been truly anguished when he saw Aqua, and a hideous rage filled him when he stopped the armor from landing the final blow.
He stared at the living armor's visor and a searing pain washed through his skull. Images, sounds, and sensations filled his mind. And he knew.
Master Xehanort had taken control of Terra's body and created a new being, and fought the discarded armor of the latter. Then, his memories fading, the being had gone to Radiant Garden and met Aqua, and tried to strangle her. They had fought, and Aqua had won. Terra had taken control of the being and sealed himself and Xehanort away, losing his memories in the process. Aqua had saved him from the realm of darkness by sacrificing herself.
He understood who he was now. He was truly Terra at heart.
Xemnas felt many things pass through his armor's mind. "Who are...you?" it asked.
"I am you and your enemy as well," Xemnas told it. "Kill me if you want, just don't harm Aqua anymore." He dispersed his weapons and put his hands on the armor's torn shoulders. The sharp metal dug into his flesh, but the pain was minor.
"I don't...understand..." The armor shifted and suddenly cracked Gaia Bane on Xemnas' side. A rib snapped and Xemnas skidded across the plateau. The armor was soon upon him again. He summoned something in his hand and slammed it into the armor's chest, puncturing the metal with an earsplitting shriek. The armor staggered against the weight of the familiar weapon. Xemnas blindly slashed again, then again, and again, beating his living steel senseless and broken. He balled a fist and, powered by nothingness, smashed its visor. He swung the weapon again and brought the armor to the ground.
It groaned. "I couldn't...why..." It fell silent.
Xemnas sighed and ran to Aqua, who's breathing became increasingly shallow. He cast his most powerful Cure spell. She gasped and groaned as ribs snapped into place and bones corrected themselves. Her arm healed, the burns and blisters gone. The hideous patches of bare, bloody flesh on her back healed. She sat up and looked into his eyes. "Thank you. For saving me."
"Don't mention it," Xemnas shrugged. He turned away from her.
Aqua placed a hand on his shoulders. "You know why now?"
Xemnas nodded. "Yes. You were right." He touched his chest. "I've been missing out on life."
"You were using Master Xehanort's Keyblade," she remarked solemnly.
Xemnas blinked and looked at his weapon. It was true. "I think I know why."
"Why?" Aqua asked.
"I realize now," Xemnas whispered, "I realize now that I don't want a heart. I don't want to help the others get hearts, either. All I want is to live truly, with you and Ven. You're my best friends." He sighed and removed his gloves for effect. "I can't really live in this body."
"I don't care how you look," Aqua said. "You're still the Terra I remember."
Xemnas pushed her attempted comfort away. "You don't understand! I look just like Xehanort. I don't want to. How can you treat me the same when I'm like this?" He stood up.
Aqua stood with him. "Why would I?" She turned him and he saw that her eyes were filled with both pity and hope. "Now, I see you as you, Terra."
"If you can, then help me see it." Xemnas put his big hands on Aqua's shoulders and looked into her abyssal blue eyes. "I want you to know something."
"What?" Aqua asked.
"I love you, Aqua," he whispered, smiling sadly.
Aqua didn't need words to explain. They embraced. Every message was sent with that, every sadness, every happiness, every tender moment of goodbye. When they let go, Xemnas wanted to cry.
"You have to go back to the realm of darkness," he said. "You can't remain here. When it's time, I'll come for you."
Aqua nodded, unable to speak for fear of crying.
Xemnas opened a dark corridor. "Let's go."