Chapter II

"You're powerless," Vanitas taunted the downed Xehanort-possessed Terra as Ventus and Aqua hurried back to them.

"Ah!" Aqua cupped her hand over her mouth at the sight of their friend. "Y…you weren't exaggerating," she mumbled to Ventus, who nodded. Vanitas ignored them and lifted the χ-Blade, aimed at Terra-Xehanort.

"No!" Ven threw the Wayward Wind and scored against Vanitas, knocking him off balance as the Keyblade returned to its wielder. The boy's yellow eyes widened as he turned toward Eraqus's apprentices.

"How in hell are you-" he cut himself off, staring directly at Aqua. "You're supposed to be dead!"

"Not today, Vanitas," Ven tightened his grip on his Keyblade as Aqua pulled hers back, ready to spring.

"We won't let you harm Terra anymore!" At that, Vanitas laughed maniacally and shook his head.

"Terra might as well be dead!" he announced as Terra-Xehanort attempted to heave himself to his feet, to no avail. Vanitas turned to him and knocked him to the dirt again with a swift stomp to his back. "You're useless now. I'll deal with you in a moment." He turned to Ven and Aqua, readying the χ-Blade. "This won't take long." He disappeared in a wave of darkness and reappeared behind the duo, nicking Ven's abdomen with the tip of the χ-Blade as he jumped back to dodge. Aqua shot a blast of fire magic at their opponent.

"Pathetic," he grunted and lunged for her. "I don't know how you're alive, but it won't happen again!" Ventus threw his Keyblade once more, knocking the χ-Blade off its path. Aqua quickly took the opening and struck for Vanitas's chest, but was forced to the ground by his weapon as he recovered. She quickly rolled back and stood up, retreating to Ven's side.

"I can't get close enough when he's got that as a weapon…" she admitted, panting a bit with her eye squinted in pain. Ven rested his free hand on her shoulder for a moment.

"When will you learn?" Vanitas chided. "You can't win now that I have the χ-Blade. You're wasting your time!" Ventus glared at him, gnawing on his lip.

"The χ-Blade…" Aqua repeated, lost in thought. "Maybe… maybe attacking him isn't the way we're going to win. What if we attack the χ-Blade itself?" Ven thought it over.

"It's our only chance," he agreed. "Let's do this. For Terra!" Aqua cast a blast of blizzard magic toward Vanitas in an attempt to distract him. He shrugged it off rather easily.

"So, you're still going to fight? You're really going to waste your pathetic lives?" he shook his head. "You're complete idiots. Not a sense in you." His opponents quickly raced toward him, Keyblades at the ready, and he disappeared into darkness momentarily before reappearing and striking Ven in the back. He let out a grunt of pain and heaved himself to his feet as Aqua aimed for the χ-Blade. Vanitas jerked to the side and she barely grazed her target, getting a glare of hatred from him as Ven slashed the Wayward Wind up hard. Its teeth cut into the center of the χ-Blade, and Vanitas stared at it in horror as its bright silver slowly faded into a strange brown pattern. He grit his teeth and sent Ven flying back with a wave of dark energy.

"This has gone on long enough," Aqua decided as she stabbed Rainfell into the spot Ventus had damaged, and the resulting blast of energy sent her, Ventus, and Vanitas flying back in different directions.

"Huh?" Vanitas stared at the χ-Blade as strange waves of light came forth from it. "No! NO!" he sprinted toward it, only to be knocked back once more toward the unconscious Terra-Xehanort.

"Aqua!" Ventus called out, attempting to make his way through the shooting lights toward her. "Aqua!" he yelled again. "Where are you?"

"Over here!" she replied, and he quickly dodged around the light in her direction.

"You…" Vanitas growled. "You… Agh!" he yelled wordlessly. "You cost me everything! I'll kill you after I make your friend here suffer!" He shot a large ball of dark energy toward the demolishing χ-Blade, and Ven stared at it in horror as it suddenly exploded and he was flung up into the air.

"Aqua!" He reached out to her, and she grabbed for his hand. Her fingers slipped through his at first, but he quickly grabbed them again as they flew up and into blackness.

"Ngh…" sometime later, Ventus found himself lying across the back of Aqua's Keyblade glider, speeding through the Lanes Between. He carefully got to his feet as she looked down to him.

"Thank goodness, you're awake," she sighed in relief, and he rested his hands on her shoulders shyly to keep his balance. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," he replied. "What about you? What happened?" he looked around, finding no sign of Terra to his dismay.

"I've had better days," she admitted. "But I'll be okay." She paused. "I'm not entirely sure… all I know is that the χ-Blade exploded, and I woke up sometime later here in the Lanes. I… don't really know what to do right now…" They continued on in silence as Ven thought their options over.

"I'm guessing there's no sign of Terra or Vanitas," he mumbled.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I don't know where they went, or whether Terra's okay…" she took out her Wayfinder for a moment and gazed at it. "I suppose the only thing we can do is hope for now."

"Terra's a strong guy," Ven smiled. "He can handle just about anything that comes his way. Even Xehanort." Aqua laughed a bit.

"Yeah… he'll be alright. I know we'll see him again," she said. Ven's smile faded as a thought crossed his mind.

"I think we should go to the Land of Departure," he told her. "I don't know why… I just have a feeling we need to." Aqua lifted her head a bit.

"Right!" she suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" Ven wondered, greatly confused. Aqua turned her glider in a new direction and increased their speed.

"To the Land of Departure," she replied, leaving him with no answers. After a few minutes, they landed in their home world and Ventus looked around in dismay.

"What happened here?" he demanded, his heart breaking at the sight of his home, torn apart and engulfed in darkness. He cried out in anguish as he saw the lone Keyblade lying in front of the stairs leading to the audience chamber. Aqua bowed her head in silent grief.

"The master was struck down…" she explained. Ven shook his head.

"That's impossible." He looked to her. "It… it wasn't Terra… was it?" She returned his gaze painfully. "Aqua… Was it? Please, tell me."

"Xehanort pushed him to…" she replied slowly. "I… I know he regrets it…"

"Terra…" Ven clenched his fists. "How could you…?" Aqua walked over and picked the Master Keeper up.

"I promised I'd bring Terra back," she mumbled. "I told the master that he would be ready… that I would protect him…" Ven placed his hand on her shoulder again.

"It's not your fault, Aqua," he tried to assure her. "This was all because of Xehanort. We'll find him, okay?" Aqua nodded.

"Ven…" she turned to him. "There's something I have to do. Will you… come with me?" He nodded and followed her as she entered the audience chamber. She walked behind the three thrones at the edge of the chamber.

"Master Eraqus told me that… if darkness is about to overtake this land, that I should use his Keyblade and lock it away," she began. "To keep the balance between light and darkness here from being overthrown or abused." She lifted the Master Keeper and pointed it at the back of the middle throne, causing a strange keyhole to appear. The two stared at it curiously, and Aqua lowered the Keyblade in hesitation.

"If the master said to…" Ven prompted. "We… er… you probably should."

"The land will be transformed…" she continued. "That's what he told me." She thrust the Keyblade toward the Keyhole. "All who visit this land will be lost to oblivion…" a light formed at the tip of the Keyblade and flowed into the Keyhole, causing a light to envelop the ruined chamber. "No one but myself able to solve its mystery…" She and Ven shielded their eyes from the light of the Keyhole. When he opened them, he found the chamber washed in white, the Mark of Mastery decorating its walls and a single white throne as its only feature.

"It seems so lonely," she sighed. "But… I believe we'll be safe from Vanitas and Xehanort here." Ventus nodded as he continued scanning the room.

"Then… should we look around?" he wondered, and she dipped her head. He followed her as she led the way through its white corridors, trying to create a mental map of their new home.

"I can see why the master said people would fall to oblivion," he mumbled as he stayed close to her. She laughed weakly and nodded as they came to the front gates. Outside was a jagged rock path and nothing more- only darkness. Aqua turned to face the castle, colored a brownish-green color with an odd structuring, its points a bluish-green hue. Ven swallowed his grief to see his home in such a state, but put on a strong face.

"A castle of Oblivion…" Aqua took a deep breath. "To everyone but us, its masters." She turned to him and smiled a bit. "We'll have to do some work to make it seem more like a home, huh?" Despite everything, he let out a hard, genuine laugh.

"I guess," he agreed. "But for now… I think we should start looking for him." She nodded.

"All right…" she narrowed her eyes in thought. "But… where would he go?" she looked up suddenly. "Perhaps… that little boy. Riku… I think that was his name. I believe Terra passed his Keyblade to him. Maybe Terra ended up there, now that he's touched the boy's destiny…" Ven put his arms behind his head.

"Maybe," he shrugged. "But it's the only real lead we've got. So, where is this Riku?"

"Destiny Islands," Aqua replied. Ven's expression became rather blank and he lowered his arms. "Ven? Are you okay?"

"I'll tell you on the way," he replied. "Let's get moving."