At Riku's suggestion, they had all purchased some sea-salt ice cream. They were all hanging out near the beach of the main island, watching the sunset. Aqua was talking with Tidus, Wakka, Vaan, Penelo, Serah, and Selphie while Sora, Riku, and Kairi sat off to the side, talking to each other.
"So you're saying that this guy's heart is inside your heart?" Riku asked as Sora nodded.
"Yeah. But we'll save him. All I have to do is become a true Keyblade Master like Aqua, and then find Ven's body so I can put his heart back inside it." Sora explained.
"It's probably going to be harder than you make it sound, Sora." Riku said as Sora shrugged.
"I dunno. Aqua's a good teacher. It did take me a while to learn to summon my Keyblade Rider though but Aqua said that once I get it right the first time, it becomes much easier the more I do it." Sora explained.
"Ya might want to work on your landings though Sora." Riku said with a smirk as Kairi giggled.
"Riku, stop teasing him. I'm just glad he's okay. He could have died out there on his own." Kairi said.
"Oh thanks for the vote of confidence, Kairi." Sora said sarcastically with a smile.
"I was just playing around, Sora. You know that." Kairi said as Sora nodded knowingly.
"So where are you going to go next?" Riku asked.
"Dunno. Aqua said that there were places that she needed to take me that would be worth visiting. I think I heard her mention on the flight here that she wanted to truly see my skills in action against a real opponent. I would have thought fighting Xaldin again would have been enough." Sora said, catching Riku's attention.
"Hold on, when did you face Xaldin? I thought you killed him back at Beast's Castle?" Riku asked.
"I did. But according to Roxas, the Xaldin I faced recently was something known as an-." Sora said as Riku interrupted.
"-an Absent Silhouette?" Riku asked as Sora and Kairi both looked at him curiously.
"How do you know?" Sora asked.
"I spent a year working for Ansem the Wise. I learned things about Nobodies and the Heartless that you probably haven't even dreamed of." Riku answered.
"So do you think that we'll encounter more Absent Silhouettes?" Sora asked as Riku shrugged.
"Can't say for sure. But if you encounter that guy again, then you might encounter more." Riku replied. He didn't realize that his entire conversation had been overheard by Pete none the less.
"Oh, Absent Silhouettes you say hmm? Well two can play at that game bub." Pete snickered as he hobbled off, passing a tall man, about twenty one years old, with blond hair, hidden under a black bandana, and a stubble beard. He was wearing a long gray coat with a pair of gray pants and matching boots. He also had a long blue scarf wrapped around his waist and dangling down in front. He was approaching the group. Penelo noticed the man's approach and giggled.
"Oh Serah, you're fiancé's coming." She said in a sing-song voice, causing Serah to blush fiercely.
"Serah!" the man called as he walked up.
"Hi Snow!" Serah said as she turned and hurried up to him. Snow bent over slightly so they could kiss each other on the cheek.
"Who's that?" Aqua asked as Sora, Riku, and Kairi, joined the rest of the group.
"Oh that's Snow Villiers. He's Serah's fiancé. The adults all say that he was the first one Serah saw when she arrived on the island years ago." Vaan explained.
"I take it you all know him?" Aqua asked, still looking at the two.
"He's always friendly to the rest of us. He defends us when bullies try to mess with us, though that hasn't been necessary ever since Riku came back with a Keyblade. But he always flips the bill for us for ice cream whenever he's around. He kinda like a big brother to all of us." Tidus explained.
"Shhh here he comes." Selphie whispered as Snow and Serah approached arm in arm.
"I hear someone bought ice cream and didn't tell me." Snow said with a laugh and a friendly smile as he approached. Vaan laughed and held out a stick of ice cream to Snow who chuckled.
"Aw thanks buddy." Snow said taking the stick before noticing Aqua.
"Well hello there. The name's Snow, Snow Villiers." Snow said, extending a hand which Aqua promptly shook.
"I'm Aqua. I'm Sora's Keyblade Master." Aqua said as Snow looked at her with an impressed expression.
"A Keyblade Master huh? Hey if Sora doesn't behave for ya, just let me know okay?" Snow said as Aqua chuckled and Sora groaned.
"Oh come on Snow. She could kick both our butts if she wanted to." Sora replied.
"Yeah but you know how I like busting your chops Sora." Snow said with a friendly smirk.
"Snow, be nice." Serah said with a giggle.
"Watch it Sora, looks like Snow's got your number." Riku chuckled.
"I take it that you've got it pretty hard around here huh Snow?" Aqua asked.
"Around here? On the Destiny Islands? Please." Snow scoffed.
"Yeah, nothing ever happens around here, ya?" Wakka said with a laugh. Without warning the ground shook violently, only proving that one should never invoke Murphy's Law, even in jest.
"What was that?!" Vaan asked as everyone looked around. Then Kairi spotted something.
"Look!" She exclaimed, pointing towards the islet where a giant black creature appeared looming over the islet. Sora and Riku both recognized it immediately. It was the Darkside Heartless.
"What is that thing?!" Serah asked as she held onto Snow.
"It's the heartless that attacked the islands a year ago!" Riku exclaimed as he, Sora, and Aqua summoned their Keyblades.
"We need to stop it before it finds the keyhole!" Sora exclaimed.
"Where is the keyhole here exactly?" Aqua asked as Sora and Riku gave her dumbfounded looks before pointing towards the islet.
"Guess!" Riku said before Aqua quickly summoned her Keyblade Rider without the armor.
"Sora, let's move! Riku stay here and make sure everyone here is safe!" Aqua ordered as Riku nodded. Sora summoned his Keyblade Rider and they both flew off towards the islet.
"Come on; let's move before something worse shows up!" Riku ordered as he turned towards the rest of the group only to see someone he didn't expect to see.
"Well if you're saying that now then I'd say it's a bit too late for that!" Pete laughed menacingly. Riku didn't miss a beat and lunged straight at the servant of darkness. Pete quickly leapt out of the way of Riku's attack.
"Oh you're fast alright, but let me tell you this. Nobody, and I do mean nobody, messes with the Mighty Pete!" Pete laughed before he snapped his fingers and a large swarm of Shadow Heartless appeared between him and Riku. Pete laughed again. "Try and get past that mister Heartless Hero!"
"Let me give it a try!" Snow shouted, plowing his fists into a few heartless, defeating each one he hit with a single blow. He grinned at the dumbfounded Pete. "And that was just for starters!"
"And so were the Heartless." A voice said from out of nowhere. The voice caused a chill to run down Riku's spine.
"I know that voice. I've heard it before!" Riku exclaimed as a figure in tattered gray Organization robes approached with a stagger in his step.
"Friend of yours?" Snow asked Riku.
"Definitely not." Riku said, gritting his teeth. Pete looked at the guy curiously.
"Say, you're the guy who sicked those Absent Silhouettes on the Keyblade boy and that girl. Don't suppose you could do it again could ya?" Pete asked as Riku and Snow prepared themselves.
"What? Who? Augh, my head!" the man asked confused. Riku quickly raised his Keyblade and leapt at the man with an enraged yell as the man put his hands behind his back. In a bright flash Riku came down on him only to discover a long black Keyblade with menacing spikes on it, pressing against Riku's Road to Dawn Keyblade. The sudden gust of wind from the attack caused the man's hood to fall back, revealing a tanned face with stark white hair kept in three backward spikes, two dangling bangs that framed his face, and a pair of different colored eyes. His left eye was amber-gold while his right was a sparkling blue but there was a hint of amber-gold in that eye as well. Riku was in disbelief at the sight of this man the man known simply as…
"(Gasp) Xehanort!" Pete exclaimed, trembling in utter shock and disbelief. Riku shoved himself away from Xehanort as he staggered slightly.
"Who?" Snow asked. Riku turned to him with a face that obviously belied fear.
"Run! Take the others and RUN!!!" Riku ordered. Snow turned to Serah and gave her a nod.
"You heard him, Run!" he shouted to her. Serah nodded back and she and the rest of the group turned and ran down the beach, away from them. Xehanort clutched the sides of his head in agony, dropping the Keyblade.
"What's going on Riku?!" Snow asked as Pete laughed.
"You're looking at the creator of all Heartless! Xehanort! The Dark Lord of the Heartless!!!" Pete laughed as Xehanort threw back his head in an agonized scream, causing an upward burst of dark magic to erupt from the ground beneath him. This caused two gray and black spheres to appear in midair on either side of him. One sphere had the image of a book appearing and reappearing within it while the other had the picture of a shield with a strange cold white mist circling around it. They were Absent Silhouettes.
"Whoa I like your style. But there are others who want to meet ya! So long boys, hope you enjoy playing with your new friends!" Pete laughed as he put his hands on Xehanort's shoulders before summoning a Corridor of Darkness around them and disappearing. The two Absent Silhouettes suddenly morphed into two black hooded figures. They pulled back their hoods, revealing themselves as Vexen and Zexion.
"Oh boy, Snow! I told you to run!" Riku shouted.
"I ain't backing down from a challenge!" Snow replied.
"And neither am I!" a familiar voice said. The two turned to see a figure run up between them with the Destiny Place Keyblade in her hands, ready to fight.
"Kairi?!" The two men exclaimed in disbelief. Zexion proceeded to lift up and opened his Lexicon, known as the "Book of Retribution" and proceeded to create several clones of himself, each wielding the Road to Dawn Keyblade. Vexen held out his hand and in a light blue flash of light, his shield, known as "Frozen Pride" appeared in his hand.
"Augh! Kairi! Help Snow!" Riku grunted as he started battling Zexion and his clones. Snow and Kairi turned towards Vexen who stood ready to fight them.
"This time, I'll fight!" Kairi said before she and Snow charged at the Chilly Academic.
…
Meanwhile, Sora and Aqua arrived back at the islet just as Darkside approached the waterfall where the secret entrance to the secret cave and the Keyhole sat.
"Hey ugly!" Aqua shouted at the giant heartless but Darkside ignored her. Sora ran past her with his Keyblade raised. He quickly hurled a Blizzaga blast at Darkside's back. That caught its attention. Darkside turned around towards them and raised its fist before swinging it down at Sora. Sora rolled out of the way, causing the fist to slam into the ground and create a puddle of dark clouds around where it hit. Shadow Heartless started to pour out from the clouds, running towards the two Keyblade wielders. Aqua cartwheeled into action, delivering a fierce swipe and destroying several Heartless in one swing. She then leapt up towards Darkside's face and hurled a powerful Firaga blast at its head. The blast caused Darkside to topple over onto its back. The small cloud of darkness disappeared.
"YEAH! No one messes with us!" Sora cheered as Aqua landed next to him.
"It's not over yet Sora!" Aqua said as Sora stopped cheering and saw why. Darkside was starting to climb onto its feet and looked down menacingly at the two Keybearers.
"Oh boy." Sora said. Darkside raised its fist over its head, a massive sphere of dark energy appearing around its fist. Sora gulped, none of his spells would be able to reach the sphere unless he got dangerously closer. Aqua immediately started hurling powerful magic attacks at the towering heartless, one after another, until finally she started glowing with a white aura and floating in the air.
"Sora! Stand back!" Aqua ordered as she entered into her Magic Wish Command Style. She immediately flew straight up into the air and fired a strange bullet of white light magic from the tip of her Keyblade at the sphere of dark energy mere seconds before Darkside would have swung it down. The magic bullet caused the sphere to explode right next to Darkside's head, injuring it severely. Sora noticed the heartless was now weakened from the attack and quickly charged up to the monster's feet, attacking it's legs with a series of fierce slashes as Aqua entered Ghost Drive and started delivering a series of fast and unpredictable attacks to the creature's head, leaving afterimages behind after each attack, making it seem like there were dozens of Aqua clones in the air around the Heartless's head. Finally the Heartless had taken all it could and started glowing with energy that seemed to radiate upwards. It threw back its head and let out a roar as Sora and Aqua regrouped.
"We've got it now Sora! Let's deliver the final blow!" Aqua said as Sora nodded.
Aqua and Sora grabbed each other's left hand, facing opposite directions. They then started channeling their energy together before they separated and a powerful whirlwind of energy appeared, swirling around them both. They both turned towards Darkside and leapt apart, literally flying around to opposite sides of the Darkside to where they were facing each other. They both reared back their Keyblades and flew straight at it, their Keyblades both glowing with a white light. They came together in a flash of blinding white light and when it faded the two had swung their Keyblades straight forward and had passed each other by, instead cutting completely through the towering Heartless. Darkside let out an agonized roar as it started to disintegrate. Sora and Aqua landed on either side of it, looking up as the giant monster started falling apart. Without warning its entire left arm broke free from its body and started plummeting towards Aqua. Sora saw it happen as Aqua stood watching in silent awe.
"AQUA WATCH OUT!!!" Sora shouted as he leapt at her, shoving her out of the way mere seconds before the arm came down on him. Aqua sat up from where she landed, staring in horror as she saw the arm seemingly crush her apprentice.
"SORA! NO!!!" She screamed as she watched the entire beast dissolve into dark ashes, releasing a large glowing pink heart in the process. The arm dissolved too, and much to Aqua's relief Sora lay apparently unharmed but unconscious where the arm landed.
"Sora! Sora are you okay?! Speak to me!" Aqua begged as she quickly picked him up, cradling him in her arms as she endeavored to wake him up. He let out a half conscious moan and cracked his eyes briefly. Aqua looked at him worriedly as she held onto him. Suddenly in a flash of light she briefly flashed back to something that happened eleven years ago. She was holding Ven the exact same way only Ven had been frozen solid and his helmet broken but he was still alive as she could see his eyes moving. As fast as the vision came, it vanished causing her to gasp.
"Ven." She whispered as she hugged Sora close. Just then she heard someone calling her name.
"Aqua! Aqua!" she turned around and saw Serah approaching quickly from a rowboat just off shore with Tidus, Wakka, Penelo, Vaan, and Selphie close behind and each looking worried.
"What? What is it?! What's going on?!" Aqua asked as she climbed up onto her feet.
"It's Snow! And Riku and Kairi! They're fighting!" Serah wheezed as she caught her breath.
"Fighting?! Fighting who?!" Aqua asked as she looked at the group.
"They're fighting a couple of strange guys in black robes and strange powers! You've got to help them and quick!" Serah said as Aqua stepped back slightly in surprise.
"Right, but Sora's unconscious, I need the lot of you to stay with him and keep him safe until he wakes up." Aqua said as the group nodded.
"You can count on us." Penelo saluted. Aqua started walking towards the beach as she held up her Keyblade and in an instant the Keyblade rider appeared. She then hopped on before flying back towards the main island.
"Do you think she'll make it?" Selphie asked as they watched Aqua fly back.
"I hope so." Tidus said.
"Aww she'll win for sure." Serah said as they all turned to see Serah with Sora's head on her lap, gently stroking his hair.
"She'll win…I know she, and Riku, and Snow, and Kairi will all win." Penelo said with her arms crossed assuredly.
"Um, not trying to cast doubt on her but what makes you all believe that?" Tidus asked. The three girls looked at each other with a knowing smile.
"Because we could see it in her eyes. She wants to reunite with that Ven fellow and her hope and faith that she will reunite with him has been rekindled." Selphie replied, earning confused looks from the three boys.
"I'm not sure I follow." Vaan said.
"Simply put…Aqua is in love." Serah replied as they all watched the main island intently.
End Chapter 7.