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

Chapter 24

Throughout all of history, he didn't think there was anyone who was as much a failure as he was.

Slumped on the ground, Terra stared blankly into space. The memory of striking down Aqua kept replaying in his mind, grainy and unfocused, yet still somehow vivid. Somehow, he had gone from protecting his friends to hurting them, and through that, tearing apart his own heart.

When the sirens came, he didn't bother to move. Let the world change; he was already in hell. He watched with mild interest as flames engulfed the town, vaguely noting that this didn't happen last time. Last time he had seen fire was when he went after Ven.

A twinge in his mind begged him to go find the youngest apprentice. Terra refused, staying where he was. If Aqua was anything to go by, Ven was better off without him. Ven would find her, or vice-versa, and then Aqua would tell him what had happened and they would depart this world. They would get their happy ending.

And he? He would fade into the darkness, just as a monster should.

Closing his eyes, he crossed his legs and waited.

To a passerby, it would have looked like he was meditating. Indeed, Terra felt oddly calm. Maybe it was due to that sense of inevitability. Whatever it was, he was thankful for it.

His great plan was interrupted by someone he hadn't expected. Opening his eyes, he saw Ansem staring down at him. The man looked horrible; the side of his face was singed and covered in sweat, his legs were shaking, and his clothes were torn. It looked like he had run into an entire nest of monsters.

"You, boy, are you Terra?"

Startled, Terra nodded.

Still panting, the stranger closed his eyes. "My name is Ansem. Thank goodness I have found you."

Terra shrugged and returned to his meditation.

"Don't fall asleep on me now!" Ansem snarled, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

Terra let out a mirthless snort. "Trust me, Ansem, you don't want me around."

Ansem frowned, possibly surprised by his answer. "It is not so much what I desire as it is what your friends need."

"My friends," he spat," are better off without me!"

It was then that Ansem seemed to understand what was going on, and he lowered his voice, speaking gently. "Terra, they are in trouble."

Terra hesitated. Of course they were; they were in trouble as long as they were in this town. But what exactly was Ansem referring to when he said that?

"Right now?" Terra croaked.

Ansem nodded. "They need your help."

Terra sighed. He may make pretty promises and vows, but the truth was that he had always been a sucker for his friends.

"Lead the way," he said.

"I would," Ansem said, "if I knew where."

"You don't even know where they are," Terra repeated flatly. Luckily, there was a solution for that.

Holding the Wayfinder against his heart, he whispered, "Take me to her."

The Wayfinder reacted, but not in the way he wanted. Its tug was random, going in every direction at once. There was no sense to it, unless Aqua had suddenly turned into the air. Maybe it didn't work in the dark world.

He shook the Wayfinder, scowling. If it didn't work here, then Naminé should have told him that. Unless, of course, it meant Aqua wasn't in this world – which in that case, was perfectly fine.

"What is that?" Ansem asked.

"My Wayfinder. It should lead me to my friends, but it doesn't seem to be working," Terra said.

"Lead you to your friends?" Ansem reached out to touch it, but Terra turned and kept it out of his reach, unwilling to let any stranger's hand taint it. "How?"

Terra shrugged. "Magic. Naminé did it for me."

Ansem's laugh was more like a bark. "That devil, you trust it?"

"Hey!" he cried, naturally reacting to Ansem's unfounded accusation. "Naminé's done nothing but help."

"If that what you think?" Ansem scoffed, sounding smug. "I will tell you what she has done; she has delivered you to the jaws of darkness, Terra."

"Look, you obviously have no idea what you're talking about." Terra drew himself up, staring down at the older man. "If you're not going to help me, then leave!"

A short silence passed. Then, awkwardly, Ansem said, "Ven said that you had my sweater."

"Oh. Sorry, lost it."

"No need to apologize," Ansem said. "I hated it."

The silence fell upon them again. Terra rubbed the back of his neck, kicking at the ground as he wondered what to stay. It was clear that Ansem did not intend to leave, and truthfully, Terra was glad for that; this town was safer when you had more people.

In a final test, Terra firmly said, "I'm going to Brookhaven to talk to Naminé. You?"

A muscle in Ansem's jaw jumped, but he held his tongue. "I will accompany you."

Terra nodded, pleased that at least one plan hadn't blown up in his face.

They wouldn't have found it if Xion hadn't shown up. One look at her face, and Terra knew that everything Ansem had told him had been true – bar the part about Naminé. Xion looked absolutely devastated, not even reacting when Ansem spoke bile at her. Her mood seemed to strike Ansem, who ceased to insult her after his initial attempt roused no response. Instead, Ansem walked stonily behind her, carefully keeping his face blank.

Or maybe, it was Xion's state that had silenced him. Terra wasn't sure what had happened, but she couldn't walk properly. Instead, she leaned on him for support, nearly limp. Her cloak was torn in various places, and could distinctly make out two holes on her back where what appeared to be giant fangs had punctured her.

But despite how badly injured she was, Terra made no efforts to hide his growing panic.

"Are they alive?" he asked. "At least tell me they're alive!"

"They are," Xion confirmed, "but it's really bad."

She offered little else, but what she did offer, Terra clung to like a drowning man clinging to a plank of wood. As long as they were alive, things were fine. He would rescue them, throw them bodily out of this world, and then return to his self-imposed exile.

He only prayed that the reason they were in trouble was something that he hadn't caused.

Strangely enough, Brookhaven hadn't changed. The hospital had always been rundown, but compared to the heaps of charcoal around it, it was a palace for the gods. He dismissed his keyblade as they entered Brookhaven, trusting Naminé despite whatever Ansem may say. Even though the man was behind him, Terra could feel his hatred as the small blonde girl came into view. It was funny, almost, that Ansem felt so threatened by such a tiny creature. Almost.

"What's going on?" Terra demanded.

Quietly, Naminé said, "The darkness has them."

Next to him, Xion shut her eyes. Ansem nodded thoughtfully, for once not dismissing Naminé's words. Terra was still wondering what the heck was going on.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He's taken control of Aqua," Naminé said to Terra's horror. "She's far too weak to resist him, so he used her to capture Ventus."

"He's taken control of her?" He shook his head and stepped closer. "Who, Naminé?"

"The God." She bit her lip, looking around as if she expected something to jump out at her. "I can't say his name."

Terra stayed in control just long enough to walk over to a wall. Then he drove his fist into it with all his might, staring at the blood that ran down his knuckles afterwards. Too weak to resist him? Of course she would be after he had nearly killed her. It was just as he feared; once again, his overzealous reactions had hurt one of his friends.

"Where are they now?" His voice was deceptively soft when compared to the torrent of emotions he felt.

"Back where it all began: at the church."

He nodded, not looking at anyone. "What does he want with them?"

"Ventus' light. He craves it." Naminé said that with a cadence that made him sick.

Terra clenched his fists; if this god was after light, then it explained why he was currently in the clear. Not that he hadn't had his own share of problems. As if reminding him, darkness swirled around his fist. "And Aqua?" he said.

"He wants her," Naminé said, "just like he wants you."

At the beginning of Naminé's sentence, Terra had been disgusted to hear that someone could even think of Aqua like that. Aqua was light, innocent, an angel in pure white clothing that no one had the right to tarnish. He was fully prepared to tear this god apart limb by limb when the second part of the sentence hit him. This god wanted him? If that was true, then hopefully it didn't want Aqua for that reason. But then, why else? Terra couldn't think of much that he and Aqua had in common, save for their keyblades.

"Why?" he asked.

Naminé's big blue eyes were wide, and reminded him of Ven. Truly, the girl must have hated what she had to say next.

"Because," she said, "he thinks you're his friends."

Friends? Terra was at a loss for words. He hadn't even met this guy, how could he consider them friends?

Friends don't take over each other's minds, he fumed.

He repeated his earlier question. "Naminé, who are you talking about?"

She shut her eyes, shaking her head. "I can't . . ."

He stepped away from the wall. Naminé flinched when he approached, probably expecting her to hit him. Instead, he crouched down so they were at eyelevel and put on hand on Naminé's shoulder.

"He already has my friends," Terra said quietly. "What else can he do to me?"

Naminé leaned over and whispered into his ear. "His name," she paused there, "is Vanitas."

The lights went out.

Xion shrieked, and Terra was aware of a flurry of movement around him. A hand latched onto his wrist, too small and shaky, he realized just in time, to be a monster. He felt backwards for the wall, collapsing against it, and bringing with him the one who had grabbed him. It had to be one of the girls; she was too small to be Ansem. With his hand, he mapped out her arm, then her shoulder, and brought her in close, ready to play his role as the protector. With his other hand, he held Earthshaker, and he called out for the others, willing them to come to him.

Something slammed against a wall. He knew without seeing that it came from the outside. His eyes flickered yellow, then blue, then stayed on yellow, and suddenly, they were able to pierce the darkness of the hall. Ansem was standing a few feet away to his left, sword out and looking as though he would slice through anyone that came near. Xion was the one holding his hand, Naminé was pressed into the wall further down to his right, and he pulled Xion along as he went to her.

There was scratching at the doors to the hospital. Through the slit of light at the bottom, Terra could see the shadows of things lingering at the entrance. The girls curled into his side as the doors rattled, and Terra sucked in a deep breath, ready to spring to the rescue.

He felt something slam into the wall behind him. The girls gasped and Terra shoved them away, terrified that the stone would split and some monster would rush through the crack. However, though the monster slammed against the wall a few more times, it held. There were a few moments of relief, and then they had their hands over their ears as a horrible screeching filled the air.

It was at a window. Terra approached warily. He couldn't see much of the monsters, only their clawed hands as they carved words into the glass. He watched, mesmerized, fear suddenly gone. In great, curved letters, the monsters wrote his name. They wrote it again and again, sideways, upside-down and any way you could think of, filling up every inch of space. And in his mind, Terra heard a voice.

Come to the church, Terra. Come to me.

He nodded to the invisible speaker, and walked down the hall like a robot. Xion and Naminé's cries went unheard, and when he startled Ansem and the man swung, Terra blocked the sword with Earthshaker and shoved him aside.

We're waiting for you.

His hand was on the door when he felt the warmth of his Wayfinder in his pocket. The heat burned away the spell that had been cast over him, and he scrambled back as if the door had bit him. In his mind, he heard what sounded like a growl, and there was the sense of something slithering away.

The lights flickered back on.

Ashamed, Terra turned away from the door, refusing to look at anyone. What had he been about to do? Not only would he have let the monsters in, but he had been ready to hand himself over. Yet again, he held the Wayfinder against his chest and thanked Naminé in his head.

Aiming to get things back on track, he said, "I'm certain I've never met anyone by that name before. There's no way we're friends."

"But you are," Naminé insisted, "your hearts are connected."

At this, Terra actually laughed. "I think you have the wrong person."

"I don't!"

He and Naminé continued to argue. Xion watched, her eyes growing wider, until she finally shouted, "He's Ven!"

Silence.

"What?" Terra growled.

"Ven and Vanitas, they came from the same heart," Xion said, walking towards him. "And you're connected to Vanitas, because. . ." She trailed off, touching Terra's Wayfinder.

Terra backed away, cradling the Wayfinder. "You're saying that Ven's doing this?"

"A part of him," Xion said quietly.

Ven . . . Ven was . . . it simply didn't compute. Ven was the nicest kid he knew; Terra didn't think Ven even knew how to be mean. How could a kid that chased butterflies and who ran through the castle screaming about shooting stars turn around and torture his best friends like this? It didn't make any sense.

But why would they lie to him?

"Okay, stop explaining," Terra ordered. "Just take me to them."

The first thing he noticed was that his head hurt. The second thing was that his hands were tied behind his back.

Consciousness came to him slowly. Ven blinked sleepily, the world spinning as his eyes struggled to focus. It was hard to tell when they did though, as the fog blanked out much of the world and prevented him from getting his bearings. He did, however, figure out that he was moving backwards, which was odd since his legs didn't seem to be moving.

In fact, they weren't even touching the ground.

Even slung over her shoulder, Ven could recognize Aqua in an instant. She was moving steadily towards her unknown destination, not slowing no matter how much he squirmed. All his efforts to speak to her ended in the same result: silence. He had the eerie sense that it wasn't Aqua he was speaking to, but someone who simply didn't care.

He heard a metal gate opening, and saw it when it swung shut again. Slowly, graves glided into his vision, and he understood they were back at the church. The question was why Aqua (or rather, the thing possessing her) would bring them back here.

"So, you caught the puppy?"

He twisted, knowing that voice. Sure enough, he caught a glimpse of Xigbar's smirking face, and then more than a glimpse as Aqua handed him over. Xigbar carelessly tossed Ven over his shoulder, ignoring his squawk.

"Well, let's not keep the Boss waiting."

For the first time since he had woken up, he saw Aqua, but not her. He couldn't find any trace of the real Aqua, only the coldness of her possessor. Like a dog, she followed obediently behind Xigbar, not reacting to any of Ven's pleading stares.

The church doors opened, and they walked into the light.

Aside from Xigbar, there were five other cloaked men there. One, the man Xigbar passed him off to, he remembered as Xemnas. He glared hatefully at the man, who only chuckled before slinging Ven over his own shoulder. Then began the short journey to the altar, where Ven was able to study the others. He saw Vexen again, whose green eyes sparkled with curiosity. Next to him was Lexaeus, whose eyes held something close to sympathy. The large man stood partially in front of someone that Ven had never seen before, as if shielding him. This boy was the shortest of the bunch, and appeared to be the youngest. Grey hair covered most of his face, so that all Ven could make out was one blue eye.

The last member of The Order to greet him was a battered Xaldin, who nodded as part of the floor drew back and revealed a hidden staircase. Here, Xemnas set Ven down. When Xemnas turned his back to address The Order, Ven tried to crawl away. However, Aqua slammed her corrupted keyblade down in a silent order to stay where he was.

"My friends," Xemnas said, "now we shall witness the birth of a new era. By this time tomorrow, the god of darkness will finally be complete, and with his power shall come ours. His influence will transcend and connect all worlds, binding them to his power, and we shall take our place as masters of the universe."

"Hear, hear!" Xigbar hooted, looking as though he was having the time of his life. Xaldin shared a similar cruel smile, his dark eyes shining with glee.

"There will be no borders that daunt us, no force that can withstand our might!" Xemnas thundered. "Knowledge, power, it will all be ours."

Xemnas basked in the cheers. The bloodthirstiness of the cries terrified Ven, who habitually crept closer to Aqua. He could see that Xigbar and Xaldin were completely on board with this plan, and that Vexen had been won over by the last tidbit about knowledge. Lexaeus and the young boy though, they were hard to read.

Wanting someone to do something, Ven said, "You can't!"

Xemnas looked down at his restrained prisoner and smiled. "But I will," he said softly, "and you cannot stop me. Go, it is time."

Aqua said nothing, but turned and walked over to the formerly hidden stairs. Ven tried to grab her, but she shook him off and made her way down to the depths of the church. To Ven, it looked as though she was descending into a bottomless pit, never to return.

"Terra will stop you," Ven said.

"Terra," Xemnas replied, "will join Aqua in servitude."

Ven cringed; no, not his friends . . . "You'll be just a servant, too!" Ven cried, searching for any way to turn the tables.

Xemnas laughed hollowly. "That is not true. Our God has little interest in managing the worlds. All he cares for is judgement and punishment. No, it will fall upon me to take up the mantle of king while our God has his fun. And you?" He forced Ven to his feet. "You will become nothing more than a memory."

Xemnas had enough mercy to slice through the ropes tying Ven's wrists together, but hardly a moment passed between that and Xemnas pushing him down the stairs.

The floor slid back into place, trapping Aqua and him in the dark.

Yes, that's right. Xehanort is NOT the bad guy in this story. Next chapter will be from Vanitas' perspective, and will elaborate more on his backstory and why he's insisting that Aqua and Terra are his friends. Until then!