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

Chapter 23

She wasn't sure how she had crawled away from the site, but she had. Aqua lay curled up in a narrow alcove, clutching her right side in a vain attempt to stop the blood. That entire side of her was red, dripping onto the hissing snow, and the bleeding still showed no signs of stopping.

Terra . . . Terra had . . . she was still in shock. She was too stunned, too weak and tired to feel any emotion towards her ordeal, even fear at what appeared to be her approaching death. The voice in her mind took care of that part, as it cursed and raved about the recent turn of events. In a morbid way, she almost found it funny. It hurt to laugh though, so she quickly reminded herself that this was her death they were talking about, and then the humour went away.

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Was this really the end? She thought about Terra, about how he had reduced her to this state, and yet, could only feel disappointed that she never got to tell him she was sorry. She hadn't meant to snap at him and drive him off before. Actually, she had no idea why she did that at all. That memory was blurry, like a half-forgotten dream. All she knew was that she would depart this world with her best friend still believing that she hated him.

Her brow scrunched. Wasn't there another person she was friends with?

Her hand dropped as she grew too tired to hold it up. Unobstructed, the blood flowed freely. The snow around her had long since melted and red slush made up the border. With a whimper, she closed her eyes and waited.

Steps. They echoed in her head long after they stopped. She sensed someone nearby, watching her. It didn't frighten her as much as it should – didn't frighten her at all, actually – and she focused on keeping herself breathing.

A hand brushed her bangs away from her eyes. She frowned at the contact, but did nothing. Really, there was nothing she could do even if she had wanted to. She was dying, helpless.

She almost wished the monsters would come and finished what Terra began.

"Aqua . . ." The voice that spoke her name was soft, drifting through the air like a summer's breeze. Her mind responded, part of her urging her towards it. The voice in her mind agreed with that sentiment, but another part of her balked, wanting desperately to flee.

She lay there as the hand ghosted down her face and down to the hole in her side. The touch was warm and cold at the same time, one of the oddest sensations she'd ever felt. Weakly, she opened her eyes, struggling to focus on the dark form in front of her. She wasn't sure whether it was dark or her eyes weren't working properly, but she couldn't make out a face. The light illuminated the person from behind so that their features were shadowed, but the outline was blinding. What she could make out was a small figure with spiky hair. That triggered something. Didn't she know someone like that?

She closed her eyes, thinking hard. It hadn't just been her and Terra, had it? There was another, this boy in front of her, and his name began with a V.

She could think of no one, but the voice in her mind offered a name.

Vanitas?

"This wasn't supposed to happen," the boy said, and this time, she could identify him as Vanitas. "Damn it, Terra!"

"Vanitas?"

He shushed her and his hand, covered in blood, moved away from her side and stroked her hair. He shuffled in closer, his other arm sliding underneath her arm and raising her to a sitting position. She fell back against a wall, aware of the dim thumping of her heartbeat in her ears.

"Shh . . ." He tugged on her gently, guiding her so that she was leaning entirely on him for support. "It's okay. I'll fix this."

Vanitas pushed her back a little, and raised her chin so that she stared into his golden eyes.

A heavy sheet fell over her consciousness, threatening to crush it. Blinking, she tried to shake it off, but the force had gripped her mind tight and was dragging it under. Through this, Vanitas continued to hold her. He had slipped behind her now, so that she lay against his chest. One of his arms fell over her shoulder and around her neck in a loose headlock. The other was in her hair.

He whispered into her ear, "I'll take care of you."

She felt darkness radiating from him, and immediately, tried to move away. But Vanitas had a secure grip on her, and even if she hadn't been so weakened, he was incredibly strong. He stopped her easily, nearly choking her as he held on tight. The darkness built, numbing the places it touched, oozing down her back and around her body.

This time, she could see the darkness. It was like being deep under water, with the pressure of the liquid coming at all sides. Dreamily, she tried to swim, to brush the darkness away, but her hands passed straight through.

This was wrong; the darkness shouldn't be here. Aqua's light, what little remained of it, rallied, trying to drive its rival away. But there was so much darkness, her light was already so broken, and the darkness only shied away for a second before trampling it.

"That's it," Vanitas crooned, like a mother talking to her child, "just relax. Trust me."

It's okay, said the voice in her mind. Trust him.

And despite herself, she listened.

Vanitas chuckled. With one hand, he guided the darkness towards the hole in her side. Most of it wrapped around her like a liquid bandage, holding everything in. The rest latched onto the edges of her skin, pulling it inwards, and with a scrunching of his brow, Vanitas cast his spell.

It seemed, at first, that it would work without consequence. The darkness, not accustomed to this sort of task, healed her surely, but slowly. Vanitas clucked his tongue, continuing to guide his magic. Aqua could feel the darkness around her, but her weak protests were waved away as the voice in her mind lulled her into sleep.

Then there was sudden resistance. She could feel the darkness straining against a wall, and the harder it pushed, the more the wall pushed back. She heard Vanitas curse, and then a sudden surge of darkness pounded against the wall and it gave.

And through the cracks, light poured out.

Vanitas howled in pain. The darkness retreated and flew back to him like a cowering dog hiding behind its master. His scream startled Aqua into full consciousness for a few brief seconds, but then her illness, the voice in her mind, and Vanitas' cool, soothing voice reclaimed her. She closed her eyes, settling back into her lifeless state.

Vanitas continued to hold her, stroking her hair, and bit by bit, the world was lost to her.

When he spoke again, she was in so deep that she couldn't open her eyes.

"You need to let go of your light," Vanitas urged, "it's fighting against me. I can't heal you while it's still there."

Her light? That was what made her what she was. She shook her head, gasping when the numbness lifted and the full pain of her injuries slammed into her.

If you don't, the voice in her mind warned, you will die.

She shook her head. A murmur from Vanitas, and then she was screaming and arching in pain. It was horrible, like someone was peeling the flesh from her bones. Instinctively, she tried to call up her magic, which – without her keyblade to channel it – failed. She thought she could feel the wound festering, relived the agony as Terra's keyblade ripped through her. Through all of this, Vanitas just watched.

When she settled down again, simply became too exhausted to react, he tried again. "Let go of the light."

The pain was unbearable. She just wanted it to go away. But if she turned her back to the light, then what would become of her?

If you die, then so will they.

With that final declaration, she was swayed. Whatever happened, she had to protect her friends, even at this cost . . .

And she wanted the pain to go away.

"H-how?" she whispered.

Resuming his stroking of her hair, Vanitas released his lock around her neck, grabbed her wrist with his other hand, and directed her hand to her pocket. It took her a moment to react when her fingertips found the smooth glass, but then she curled her hand close around the Wayfinder, and let Vanitas bring it and her hand up to her chest.

"Break it," Vanitas said, "smash it, and be free."

In her dazed, pained state, it was hard to convey how terrifying that suggestion was. She resorted to whimpering, wrenching her wrist out of his grasp. Now that Rainfell was gone, it was the most important thing she had.

You can make another one, the voice said. Is it worth dying for?

She didn't know. Once, she would have agreed that she could remake it, and that it was not worth her life. Now, though, she wasn't sure if she would be able to summon the magic for another one.

"It's for the best," Vanitas said. "Trust me."

She did. Despite all the creepy encounters she had with him before, a part of her still trusted him and she couldn't explain why. He brushed her bangs out of her eyes again, and pushed her off of him.

"Look at me, Aqua."

She did. She turned and looked clearly at Vanitas' face for the first time. She was surprised by how young he looked; he still had the rounded face of adolescence, however, his face was sharpened from experiences and agony that weren't at all appropriate for his age. Her heart ached with sympathy, and sensing this, Vanitas repeated his earlier request.

She refused.

His fingers slid under her chin again and lifted it. His golden gaze burning into hers, he slowly leaned forwards.

"You seem familiar," Aqua croaked.

Vanitas broke out into a giddy smile. "I knew you remembered me!"

His yellow eyes still holding her gaze, his forehead touched hers. At once, a flurry of memories assaulted her.

She and Terra sitting by the bedside of a comatose Ven as they waited to see if the latest addition to their family would awake.

Her sitting alone with Ven as he slowly readjusted to being able to move again.

Introducing Ven to the world piece by piece, watching as some emotion finally stirred in those eyes.

"Ven . . ." she whispered, guilty tears welling in her eyes as she realized that she had forgotten him.

Ven summoning his keyblade for the first time, and accidentally destroying one of the Master's paintings.

Ven sniffling as he talked Terra into buying the three of them ice cream – and then sharing a conspiring grin with her when Terra left to do so.

Ven waking from a bout of sleepwalking and her confusion when his eyes were yellow instead of blue.

Reflecting sadly as Ven slowly left her and gravitated towards Terra. Seeing how much Ven looked up to the male apprentice made her feel a little lonely, but if that was what Ven needed, then it was okay. . .

Locked inside her own mind, she didn't notice when Vanitas adopted Ven's voice and whispered into her ear, "Smash it."

. . . She only wanted him to be happy.

The Wayfinder shattered into a thousand pieces.

The sound snapped her out of her trance. What had she done?

No, what had he made her do?

She pulled away from Vanitas, and he was quick to pounce. Forcing her to the ground, he crawled on top, using his weight to pin her. She struggled, but Terra's attack had left her so weak, and he was so strong. Vanitas trapped her easily, and a black mist rose from him as he beckoned the darkness. This time, there was no resistance against his spell, and his magic did its job well; flesh knit together, bones repaired, and her pain vanished, leaving her with nary a scar. But it didn't end there, he was still summoning more darkness. Like water flowing out of a broken dam, it poured out of him in a torrent, leeching into her.

The entire time, he was whispering in her ear, trying to calm her down. Instead, she only grew more frantic as it became apparent exactly what he was doing to her. She resorted to tooth and nail, anything to make him let go. Vanitas bore it all, his expression never changing as the darkness shredded her defenses and seeped into her soul.

"Stop, please!" she begged.

Vanitas shushed her and wiped the tears from her face. "It will all be over soon."

With those last words, the darkness gathered around her heart and soul, and squeezed.

The sirens wailed.

Ven immediately summoned Wayward Wind, standing back to back with Ansem, who had unsheathed his own sword. Upon seeing that the older man knew what the sirens meant, Ven gave him a sorry smile, which was returned.

The world began to change. The road split apart forming a crevice that, presuming they had a running start, both of them would be able to jump – assuming they had the courage. On the sides of the crevice, he could see orange light from the fire below. It honestly looked like a hole to hell.

That same orange light was in the sky, outlining the black clouds so that it looked like they were seeing a giant inferno. Maybe they were. It was hard to tell what was and wasn't a lie here.

Though at first glance, it still seemed to be snowing, but after it smudged his fingers, Ven knew that it was actually ash. Considering the theme that seemed to be developing here, he wasn't surprised. Even now, the buildings around them were turning black, iron bars slamming down in their windows. There was a sense of the buildings sagging, of a stench of charcoal infiltrating his lungs.

"This is different," Ansem remarked.

"Not for me," Ven said.

At once, he began to wonder: was Ansem being pulled into his dark world? Would he even be going through this at all if he wasn't with Ven?

Ansem shook him, breaking him out of that line of thought. "Look alive," he said, "there's no telling what awaits us."

Ven nodded, and the two waited as the rest of the transformation took place. When it was over, they stood in a broken husk of a town. Smoking piles of debris blocked the doors, and there was no telling what had happened to anyone still inside. Most of the glass in the windows had shattered, and the shards lay all over the street. However, access was still blocked by the iron bars, which flared hot when Ven poked them.

"Come," Ansem said, "we should leave this place."

They kept their weapons out, but nothing came to greet them. Somehow, Ven knew it would be that way. The air was too clear, the world too silent for the monsters to be coming. He wondered then what the town's aim this time was.

And suddenly, they weren't alone. Ansem held his sword out in front as he observed the still figure. "Who goes there?" he barked.

The figure didn't move. Head bowed, it continued to stand there.

Ven approached. "Hello?"

"Ventus, wait!"

Ansem reached for him, but Ven shrugged his hand off. As he got closer, he recognized that shadow, and broke into a wide, toothy grin.

"Aqua!"

Aqua didn't stir upon hearing her name, and Ansem's brow furrowed. The latter walked towards her slowly as Ven started to run. Ven skidded to a stop right in front of her, frowning when she failed to look at him.

"Aqua?" He shook her shoulder. "It's me."

No reaction. Ven sighed, figuring that she was too sick to figure out what was going on. Wait, he had the aglaophotis, didn't he? He could use it right now and cure her.

"Hold on, I got this." He looked down and was groping inside his pocket when Aqua finally moved. Curious, he looked up, expecting to see her weary, but relieved, expression.

Instead, he got an emotionless mask. And yellow eyes.

It all happened so quickly. Ven was still trying to wrap his mind around the colour change when Ansem's sword sliced down in front of him, clanking against Aqua's keyblade.

"Stay back!" Ansem shouted, shoving Ven behind him. It was only when he saw the tip of Aqua's keyblade in the ground that he realized that she had tried to stab him, to hurt him.

Wait, her keyblade?

"Aqua?"

It was her, and yet it wasn't. It wasn't just her eyes that changed, but her keyblade as well (how had she got it back?). The keyblade she held now was the same shape, the same size, but the colours were all messed up. Rainfell had been based around blue and silver; this one was based upon purple and black.

He rubbed his eyes. This had to be an illusion. Aqua wasn't here; this was just some shadow that looked like her.

But his heart insisted otherwise.

"Aqua," he choked, reaching for her, "what are you doing?"

Her yellow eyes were empty, soulless.

Ven grabbed his head as static filled his ears. There were other noises too: clanging metal, rushing water, a mass of voices scrambling to be heard. Then one voice, Aqua's voice, cut through them all.

"Ven, run!"

Again, it was Ansem who sprung to his rescue. With a grunt, he deflected Aqua's keyblade, locking his weapons with hers and wrenching it out of her hands. Aqua didn't even hesitate before calling it back to her, and Ansem jumped in surprise as the corrupted Rainfell returned.

Her next attack returned to her typical strategy of magic, but that, too, had changed. The shockwave she sent out was flecked with darkness at the edges, even though it was a light-based spell. Having been so close when she cast it, it was almost impossible to dodge. Still, Ven tried, diving to the ground. The spell washed over him, and surprisingly, it hurt little.

Then he realized that was because Aqua's light was so weak.

"Aqua, snap out of it!" he cried.

All he succeeded in doing was drawing Aqua's attention. She abandoned the fallen Ansem, who was still struggling to stand after her last attack, and her keyblade glowed with a black light as she slashed at Ven's side. He slipped out of the way, summoning a barrier between them. Aqua slammed her keyblade against it, letting it rest there as she stared in confusion. That only lasted a second though, as she changed to using Thunder spells to bypass the barrier completely.

The air crackled with her spells, and the world was lost in bolts of blinding light. Even with his speed, it was all he could do to dodge them. He knew that sooner or later, one of them would meet its mark. Hoping to bait Aqua into using her keyblade instead, he dropped the magical barrier, leaving the path clear.

Unfortunately, he had assumed she would have to choose. He never considered that she might compromise.

In the flashing lights of the Thunder spells, he didn't see her sneaking up on him. Instead, he leapt right back into her, and stars exploded in his vision as her keyblade hit him across the head. He fell to the ground and not a second passed before she electrocuted him with another spell.

She pointed her keyblade at his head, ready to fire again, when Ansem lunged out of nowhere. Head lowered like a charging bull, he slammed into her and they tumbled to the ground. Ansem tried to keep her there, but that only lasted a moment before he was flung away. Lying on his back, Ansem cried out as what seemed to be arcs of electricity danced over his skin. Ven took a step towards him, but was stopped by a wall of fire.

The reflection of the flames in her yellow eyes was like looking into hell. There was nothing hidden from him now, and he could see exactly how much she had changed. Aqua had always had a gentle, motherly air to her; now, there was no trace of that side of her. She looked dead where she stood, a slave to the darkness that held her hostage.

"Aqua, please, it's me!"

Nothing, not even a flicker of recognition. Aqua waved her keyblade, and the fire etched out a circle around them. Ven swallowed, forcing himself to keep his head up as he met his friend's possessed stare.

"Aqua, you have to fight this!" He leapt back as a Fire spell nearly singed him. "Don't you remember? It's me, Ventus."

Her face twitched, but for the most part, she didn't react. However, seeing that tiny change gave him hope, and he continued his pleading anew.

"Me, you and Terra," he said, "we're best friends! We were all sent here to look for Master Xehanort, but then we got separated, remember? We were looking for Terra after he ran off!"

She was close, and he was getting worried. "Remember, Aqua, please!"

She stopped moving, and something blue flickered in those eyes.

"V-Ven . . ." Her speech was hoarse and rusty, as if she had not spoken for a long time.

The static started up in his head again. It bugged him, but it was easy to deal with. Aqua twitched violently, nearly having a seizure as Ven came closer.

"Aqua . . ."

The static broke, and he heard Aqua's voice in his head again.

"Ven, no!"

He was a distracted for just a second, and that was all the time the force possessing Aqua needed.