I don't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts or Silent Hill. They belong to Square Enix/Disney and Konami respectively.

Just to clarify, there is no connection between Terra, Xehanort and Xemnas in this story

Chapter 8

The wind pounded on her back, almost like hands pushing her forward. Aqua stood at the base of the stone stairs, staring up at the structure before her. It was almost identical to Naminé's drawing: a massive stone church with a cross proudly erected on top; wooden doors much larger than her; and a gloomy, oppressive air that reminded her of a prison. It was not at all the sort of place she would associate with Ven, and she hoped that he had the foresight not to wander off.

She had passed through the graveyard already, through row upon row of crosses. It was disturbing how many of them there were when she considered how many townspeople she had actually met. Clearly, this place was very old - the run-down buildings would attest to that – and she pitied those who had been born and died here, never realizing the darkness of the town they lived in. She still felt it around her, although it fled like a shy animal whenever she really tried to grasp it. Whatever it was though, Aqua was certain that it played a part in the strange occurrences that Ansem was investigating.

A raven ceased preening as she advanced up the stairs. Warily, it watched her, but made no move to flee as she passed. Perhaps it was a tame bird, waiting for someone to throw it scraps.

She looked back at the graveyard and couldn't help but wonder what kind of scraps.

The doors stood before her. Aqua raised her hand to knock, but hesitated. Her confidence faltered, and dread rushed in to fill the space. She didn't know why she felt that way, but she had to struggle to keep Rainfell from materializing. It wouldn't do good to greet the people inside with a weapon in hand; and she was going inside. She had to. Ven was there.

Not that her decision mattered. The doors opened by themselves, and Aqua squinted as a brilliant light hit her square in the face. A hooded figure stood in the center of the doorway.

Aqua broke the silence. "Hello?"

The figure said nothing. A gust of cool air tore past them, rustling Aqua's clothes, but failing to do the same to the figure's cloak. The figure was absolutely still, silent, like an illusion her stressed mind had conjured.

Then, suddenly, the figure moved and in one fluid motion, unveiled his face. Aqua shook her head, unsure of what it was she was seeing. Had she not known better, she would have wondered if this was Terra's father. This man was older than her friend, with silver hair and orange eyes, but the resemblance was uncanny.

"I was wondering when you would arrive," the man said.

She blinked. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

"Personally, no, but a mutual friend has had much to say about you, Aqua." Hearing her name come from this man gave her a weird feeling she didn't understand. As if sensing this, the man smiled. "My name is Xemnas, and it is with great pleasure that I welcome you to Silent Hill."

"Yes, it's a . . . unusual place," she said for lack of a better description.

"Indeed. Darkness can conceal many things within its folds."

He knew? Xemnas raised his hand in a silencing gesture before she could absorb this. His steps were silent as he retreated back into the church, cloak billowing behind him. Down the aisle they went, past pew upon pew. Xemnas stopped on the altar, where a ratty book sat upon a lonely stand. He stroked the old book's spine as above, a stained glass mural looked down on him. "What brought you here?" he asked. "It is not often that the town attracts one such as yourself, less so that they are drawn here of all places. Tell me; I am most curious."

"I'm looking for a friend of mine named Ventus. I was told that he was here."

"Ventus." His fingers tightened their grip on the book. "You are his friend?"

"Yes, we've known each other for years. He wandered off yesterday night and my other companion, Terra, and I have been looking for him. You wouldn't have happened to see anyone named Terra, have you?" she added.

Xemnas' face remained impassive, but something changed in the air between them. His eyes seemed to darken, narrow like a wolf's as it gazed upon a fallen deer. "The name Terra rings no bells, but I have spoken to Ventus in this very place."

"He's here!"

"Perhaps. He disappeared from my sight some time ago." Aqua sighed; of course Ven did. "He may be somewhere out there, or he may be exploring the depths of the church."

She might as well thoroughly search the church before she left. "Is he was still here, where would I find him?"

"Come." He beckoned her. "I will show you."

The air crackled as his hand swiped through it. She thought she saw tiny sparks, although they vanished so quickly that she couldn't be sure. She was sure, however, that the floor was folding away. Like a carpet being rolled up, the floor of the altar was torn away to reveal stairs underneath that carried a musty smell of mulch.

"Should Ventus still be in this building, it would be down here."

She nodded her thanks and began the descent.

No torches lined the walls, nor did any magic guide her way. Yet she could see perfectly; nothing was hidden from her here. Maybe the light was from the place she had entered, where the church's light shone through. Or, perhaps, it was from the bottom of the stairs where stone gave way to slick glass. The room here was perfectly circular, and the glass floor glowed with its own light. The walls and ceiling were pitch-black so that it seemed she was suspended in the middle of space. Never before had Aqua set foot in this town or its church, but the glass underneath felt familiar nonetheless.

"The Station of Awakening," she whispered.

A voice, the same one she had heard when she first fell asleep dreaming of her keyblade, murmured in the back of her mind. It whispered to her as she made her way to the center of the room, asking where her heart laid and what she would do to defend those that mattered.

Warrior of light . . .

Aqua closed her eyes and the voice grew in volume. But it was not one now, but several, drowning each other out as they scrambled to be heard. The voices grew and grew, hissing about light and darkness, clashing, and then went silent. A beat passed, before one spoke again.

Beware, the closer you are to light, the darker your shadow becomes.

She couldn't help but glance down at her shadow. She frowned in confusion. The shadow seemed normal to her, although it was hard to tell as that part of the glass was black and red. It was an odd sight as all times previous, her Station of Awakening had used blue as its primary colour. Her eyes began to trace the outline of the black and red image, but were quickly drawn back to her shadow, which was undeniably becoming darker. It wasn't from anything she had consciously done; no, the light of the Station had swelled, dazzling her with its brilliance. Aqua covered her eyes, shut them tight, but even that didn't seem to be enough to block it.

And in the cover the light brought, something stirred.

A great mass slammed into her. She was flung across the glass, sliding to a stop near the edge. Before she even had time to summon Rainfell, the monster was upon her. Its hot breath blasted her in the face, and she held her arm up in an effort to defend her head. Teeth sunk into her arm instead.

Her back was pressed against the glass. There was still too much light to see; all she knew that whatever was attacking her was very big and had hold of her. Aqua grit her teeth as the monster adjusted its hold, its fangs shifting in her flesh.

"Firaga!"

The close contact meant that the spell rebounded. The force pushed her hair back and dried the sweat on her forehead, but it also hit its mark. She clutched her bleeding arm to her chest as the monster reeled back. The noise it made was like the hiss of air escaping a balloon, and flesh smacked against the glass as it stomped about. And she still couldn't see. Her keyblade was in her hand, but it was useless when she couldn't tell whom it was she fought. She slowly backed away from the hissing, hesitating when her heel clicked against a wall.

The hissing died for an instant, as if the monster was trying to hear her. Quickly, she reminded herself where she last heard the beast, and sent a Thunder spell raining down. The lightning cracked, and the hissing began again, only this time the floor vibrated as it thrashed.

One hand on the wall, Aqua felt her way around. The monster had ceased its convulsions, clicking softly as it slithered towards her. She still couldn't see, but some instinct inside her reacted as the monster reared, and that instinct brought her keyblade up in a Reflect spell; the barrier shuddered as it bore the monster's weight and Aqua stumbled, using her keyblade as a crutch as the barrier's strain went through her.

The monster wrestled with the spell a little while longer, then drew back and slammed into it. Again, Aqua stumbled. She began to move more hurriedly, worried that her magical reserves would soon be depleted.

She didn't find the staircase, she fell into it instead. The moment she touched the steps, there was a sense of breaching some intangible border, almost the sense of doing something wrong. The monster hissed behind her, but that seemed to become fainter and fainter, and as she carefully opened her eyes, she saw that the light, too, had diminished. She snapped her head around just in time to see the monster's long tail leave the Station, as if it had been swallowed up by the wall.

Her right hand was wet as she held it above her bleeding arm. Underneath her palm, the edges of her wounds knitted back together with the green glow of a healing spell. Soon the wounds was gone, but the blood that was already spilt remained. In the patches of her skin that weren't red, the flesh underneath was bruised black.

Xemnas was waiting for her when she climbed back up to the church. His attention quickly settled on her left arm, taking in every inch of the bloody appendage. His head tilted to the side a little, almost like a curious puppy; but his expression held no friendly concern, only the cold, calculating gaze of the dog's forefather. Aqua missed that though, her attention on the warm liquid on her hand, and by the time she looked up, Xemnas had settled his features into an expression of indifference.

"I do not believe that you had possessed those wounds when you entered my church."

"There was a monster down there," she said quietly. The unasked question of Did you know? floated between them.

"A monster, you say. I have been down there many times, and never has my weapon against clashed against another." Xemnas shook his head, as if he were a parent listening to the exaggerated tales from his five-year old son. "But come, I have supplies to dress those wounds."

"It's fine," Aqua said. "They're already healed." Really, all she wanted to do was leave.

And Xemnas was suddenly close. Too close. Aqua stepped back, but Xemnas stepped forwards without pause, maintaining the same distance. "Healed?" he echoed. Aqua jumped as his fingers suddenly touched the spot where she had been bitten; she hadn't even seen his hand move. "Indeed, they are cured on the outside," he agreed, "but the inside. . ."

She pushed his hand away, finally putting some distance between them. "What is that place?" she asked.

"The center, the heart of the church; you may say it is the heart of Silent Hill as well. And if that stands true, then it only stands to reason it is the heart of darkness."

"Then the heart of darkness holds an awfully large amount of light."

Xemnas peered down at her. "Is that what it looked like to you?"

She had no answer to that.

Xemnas went on. "I suppose that, considering your circumstances, it is reasonable that you would see light. Yes, if your previous encounters were full of it, why would it change now?"

"I've never been here before."

"No," Xemnas said after a pause, "you have not, but that does not mean that your hearts have never collided." He turned away from her. "There is a well out back," he told her. "Should you desire it, you could wash yourself there."

He smiled at her, and it was not a kind smile. Come to think of it, had any of his smiles been kind? He did not seem troubled by the fact that she failed to return the gesture, no matter how faked it would have been. "I will see you again, Aqua," he promised.

She shuddered.

I was on a roll and finished two chapters this week, so expect to see the next one up by tomorrow.