The Sapphire Sorceress

Disclaimer: The rights to Kingdom Hearts belong to Disney and Square Enix.

Act 80: L'Impeto Oscuro

"No. My heart has ties to the dark. That must be why we can talk. But I can't see anything, Aqua. If you say Ven is there, then he's like me- an illusion created by your heart."

Castle Oblivion: Chamber of Waking ( Aqua's POV )

How many days has it been since I've seen your face? A smile that reminded me of several other people like Sora, Roxas, Xion, and even your own dark side known as Vanitas. The three of us looked ready to fight against the world as a team of Keybearers, then Xehanort happened and we each went away from one another in a sense. Terra lost his own body to Xehanort's influence while you were placed into an endless slumber that you are unable to awaken from no matter what. That is why you had to remain in this lonely room for your protection from anyone who would want to harm you.

All the trials I've had to endure is worth it now that I can finally feel your blonde hair again when I run my fingers through your head. No matter what I had to overcome just looking at your face made the pain I felt necessary for this moment. Smelling his wonderful scent, seeing his face despite his eyes being unable to open up, and most of all knowing this was really happening.

"How I had missed this..." Rubbing my head on his showing my genuine care for Ven's safety, a dream that I finally made into reality and nothing was going to rip him away from me again! Nothing...and no one in the universe...

'Your desire to reunite with your friends...such a goal makes it easy to accept the darkness within one's self much like that boy: Riku.' Darkness? I guess we did have something in common in that aspect, however, I haven't lost my soul to that fake Ansem.

'Indeed, the dark impetus you now wield is YOUR own to control, and only through that power can you free your dear friend out of this endless slumber claiming him.'

Putting my hand over his face I realized that he couldn't wake up for a specific reason, and no matter how many times I tried shaking his body he remained slumped over in this chair like a lifeless doll.

"His heart...that's right it isn't in him anymore."

Putting an ear to his chest to find no kind of pulse confirmed that Ventus lacked a soul to truly awaken. Unlike a Nobody or a Heartless Ventus remained as he was before losing that soul in his body to stop Vanitas. The remaining pieces of his heart were out there likely in someone else who had enough of a connection to him likely being Sora. This is why I sealed him here to find a way to revive him one day, but here I was with no answer to this problem. How could I be so damn selfish?!

'Hmm, are you certain you don't know of a way to revive him? After all, if hearts can be removed out of others what makes you think that you can do that on someone special?' What are you trying to suggest to me? That I can simply pluck out a heart that I can place inside of Ventus?

'Not just ANY heart! A unique one that no one else could possibly have in the universe. That kind of soul only resides in one boy who you already know...' You can't mean that I would rip out HIS heart from his body. He and Kairi both might have "destroyed" my Nobody self, but that doesn't mean I should take it out by stealing his heart for Ven's sake...should it?

'Why are you doubting yourself? It isn't like Sora would be kind enough to help save your own - our friend if asked. There is no way that a heart can be created besides with Kingdom Hearts, and with that now gone you don't have many options...'

You...make a good point if you really are my inner voice whispering into my conscious self about my next course of action. Right now I had Ven's body, and yet, this reunion was really just a giant shame if he can't talk with me like before all of this madness. I have become so warped if this is what I have to do in order to feel happy.

"...I don't know if I really should have a heart if all that I feel is nothing but pain and sadness..." Placing a hand on my chest, the beats got faster by the second as I felt the somehow warm body of my friend on my skin. There must be something I can do besides sit in this cold room waiting for an impossible miracle to come true for my friend right next to me.

'Perhaps our other friend might be able to help you. Someone who likely doesn't even know what's happened to you since leaving the Realm of Darkness.' Another friend of mine? No, you can't mean that HE is out there...even if he was still alive after the fall of the Land of Departure. There was no way I can just find him so easily if he was still not the Terra I knew from my past.

'Allow the darkness inside to guide you to him. Your bonds now will connect you right to that person you wish to seek out.' Relying on this new power instead of finding him on my own despite the chances of succeeding being quite slim without using this strange, yet the comforting power to aid in my search for his whereabouts.

'Yes, he will be able to recognize you, even if he's not like the Terra from your memories.'

"You mean he will likely try killing me upon seeing me considering the last time we interacted. Oh, why am I even considering such an idea like that..." Terra is someone else I did want to find again certainly, however, was this the right method?

'You HAVE to choose who matters more to you right now? Mope around here with a lifeless boy or find that person who made your heart spark with feelings that you can't admit to even now...'

Putting my hand over Ven's eyes trying to see his eyes that looked vacant like a hollow doll I knew that deep down this voice wasn't wrong once again about my inner desires for Terra remaining underneath my former duties as a Warrior of Light. It had only gotten me so far in life until this point when the darkness feels so tempting instead of embracing the warmth of the light.

"I have to at least try and get through to him if only to discover a way to save him and Ven from their current situations..." There wasn't any other solution I could think about considering in this moment.

"I don't really have much of a choice..." Using a portal of darkness meant having to change up my current outfit, but despite the protests from the voice in my head, I spent a few more moments with Ven trying to make this moment feel very real to me. That my efforts had some kind of merit before I had to depart from this person despite how much I wanted to stay here.

"I hope that you are dreaming of a better time and world, friend." For a split-second, I thought I saw his mouth twitch a little, which appeared to be him trying to smile like he actually heard my voice despite not opening his beautiful eyes. I had to move on for the sake of the future if I had little chance of getting through to my other friend it was worth a shot!

Wrapped myself in the familiar outfit of the now-defunct Organization XIII I made my way out of the chamber to seek out the only other person who might understand my situations and could possibly fill in the blanks on the remaining questions in my head that couldn't be answered by the whispers from my own mind.

Unknown Location

I wasn't sure if I would even come close to wherever Terra or at least the person who looked like him might be in the universe. There were many different places, so many locations, and all sorts of unexplored worlds for him to be roaming around in right now. Still, if darkness was the rope that would connect me back to him I figured to follow my instincts on this one.

"A grassy field..." I certainly wasn't expecting to end up in a hillside location at the time of dusk with the moon almost close enough to the planet for me to fly up and land on it. While I wasn't sure where exactly I was at the moment, the second I left that portal I could detect the faintest sign of a dark power lurking in this area.

'You are a Seeker of Darkness, the ability to detect others like yourself comes rather easily if you think about it.'

Seeker of Darkness? That is what that fake Ansem called himself, but I'm nothing like that heartless who tried sinking the world into darkness...am I?

'Of course, that being while powerful was nothing but pure instinct. You have intellect, the ability to adapt to situations, and most of all the power that destroyed that fake is yours to wield. Such a fine body and mind you have...'

...I didn't know how to respond to that comment, but as I continued walking into this open area with my hood covering my face I hoped that no one else would be able to recognize me considering the fact I'm even supposed to exist anymore. I couldn't draw unwanted attention to myself, so why not rely on the darkness provided by this outfit.

"This sensation...it's getting stronger..." Whatever or whoever I was coming closer to had a powerful sensation to them, and that could mean something bad if this might be a heartless or person with a lot of potent darkness within. Much like myself in this second life I've gotten for unknown reasons, and sure enough my fears were confirmed when I looked at some powerful upgraded shadows were looking at me with those yellow eyes I knew all too well.

'Don't worry, a being like this can't find you due to your heart being sheltered in the dark.' Confused by the voice's calming tone I moved my hand around at these creatures only to realize they weren't attacking me. They couldn't see me right now because of this cloak? Testing fate I moved my body past these creatures, and they titled their heads around looking just as surprised as me at this.

'Your heart is safe and secure with the power of darkness shielding this body from losing it's precious soul inside.' Those phrases were making me worried about the true identity of this voice, however, that wasn't my current issue rather the identity of this source of powerful darkness lurking nearby...

My footsteps got much slower as I saw a figure walking up closer to my location, my hands began to shake, and I felt my breath get more frantic as I began to wonder about this person's identity. Could he actually be someone else that I was thinking of instead of who I expected to see looking at me from across this hillside, but I stopped moving when he cut through each of these heartless with that Keyblade formerly belonging to Mast- no I refuse to call Xehanort my master!

"That outfit...why have you come back here?" It was his voice, and when I saw that darkened skin, yellow eyes, and silver hair my heart knew who this person is, even if I wanted my instincts to be wrong about this revelation. Should I even say a word knowing he might be able to recognize my own voice rather easily; a lack of a response might result in getting attacked if even I wanted to avoid conflict...

'You can rest for a while and let me take over for you...'

For me? Okay, the next words coming out from you better be who the hell you are or else-

"State your purpose, Xehanort!"

X-Xehanort? He believed that I was Xehanort, but how...

"Explain yourself!" I barely had enough time to react when he brought out THAT Keyblade to hit me before I used Stormfall to protect myself. He widened his eyes when he looked at my Keyblade before he pointed his blade directly at my face demanding I reveal myself.

"How do you possess THAT weapon?! You can't be that person..."

"What if I am..." His voice was colder, harsher than before while mine was full of restraint and concern about this situation. He grabbed onto my hood to get a better look at my face still believing that I wasn't being truthful when he gazed at me for several seconds that felt like hours to my mind.

"I-Impossible...you shouldn't be here..."

"I kinda figured that is what you would say." Well, this was rather awkward to say the VERY least about this conversation as he continued inspecting me trying to possibly tell himself I was really in this place.

"You...possess the power of darkness, and you have one of those cloaks. Then, that means you've-," I felt the tip of his weapon come near my neck as those eyes that I loathe to see bore into my skull. "Who are you?"

"You...don't remember me? Aqua?! Who I am despite knowing about this Keyblade?" I couldn't believe the possibility of Terra losing his own memories as well much like myself. Could it due to Xehanort's influence over his heart or some other kind of reason for this distinct change in his previous personality.

"I am more curious about how you possess one of those cloaks when they are meant to belong to that group that person mentioned earlier."

"Group? What you mean Organization XIII?!" The second I said those words his blade suddenly got closer to my neck like he wanted to cut through my neck to sever my head off.

"You know about them?"

"I was one of their members, so why should I know about that group?" He certainly wasn't expecting me to say that, but fortunately for myself, I had proof with my personal journal describing many important details that didn't sound fabricated when I showed it to my friend who surprisingly was being reasonable right now. At least the person who looked like the Terra I knew from all those days in my past.

"Then, you lost your heart to the darkness becoming a Nobody as that man put it..." Nodding, the long process of explaining what happened to me felt like explaining my life story up until finding Ven was a lot to get out in such a limited amount of words for the sake of simplicity.

"I don't know how or why I have a heart again, but I took advantage of this opportunity to find my friends again..."

Terra didn't react after I told him about my reason for coming to find him here in this place knowing that both of our lives had been changed forever. He slowly walked over to me, a voice told me to run while that other one from many times before suggested I stand my ground and not run away.

"You were led here not be your own desire rather HIS. It is faint, but I can sense him beginning to consume your soul or in your case SHE..."

Wha-

Where am I? I felt the whole world around me shift like I had been dragged into a completely different area that was like a void of darkness. Seeing the glass-stained pattern below me I realized this was the world in which only Keybearers can see and reside in. The question is why was I here right now?

'Easy. Because I need you to stay here for a while!' That voice! Turning my head around I noticed the floor below my feet begin to have some kind of black substance cover the images of myself and my friends while a figure slowly began to rise up out of the darkness forming into a bubble. Then, a figure emerged out of the black liquid forming one of those cloaks myself and other Nobodies wore in Organization XIII!

"At last, your body has fully adjusted to my enhancements allowing me the opportunity to hmm how would you put it take this vessel out for a test drive!" You...were using me all of this time?! How could I have fallen for this trick?!

"Hehehe finally putting the pieces together way too late into the game. At least you won't be completely obvious about your fate like I had expected." Xehanort! I could recognize that voice from anywhere, but his face wasn't seen under the hood of this figure standing still in front of me. I tried summoning my Keyblade only to discover that it wasn't in my hands!

"Foolish girl. I've stolen more than just control over your body, the weapon, magic, and powers you possess are mine as well. All of this time you've been helping me gain more power in this form while you lacked a heart of your own making yourself worth enough for my powers, and to take in my heart like your precious friend, Terra!"

You bastard! I tried running over to punch this old monster in his face only to see a black tendril wrap around my arm, a strong force began to pull me down into this black substance continuing to cover more of this floor by the second as the figure pointing at my face mocking my current predicament.

"The darkness has taken to you quite well unlike Terra who still resists my influence. Your hated and desperation to reunite with your friends was the perfect source of this darkness to feed upon, and unlike the failures from that first Organization XIII you are turning out to be a fine vessel."

The voice changed from a crusty-sounding hermit to that of a young woman like before who helped guide me into heading on this short journey only with a more playful sound to her tone. I tried grasping onto the ground to escape this bind around my body only to feel the tendril wrap around me tighter while this figure walked up closer to me laughing in a more sinister voice.

"A very young form to use will make dealing with your "friend" very easy to communicate with, so I have to say thank you for being such a welcoming host for myself!" My eyes widened, and my voice screamed when I looked at the face of this person who had removed their hood to show me a face...MY FACE!

"Relax and enjoy the show from this seat!" All I could hear was MY own wicked laughter before I saw nothing besides darkness surround my vision.

"...A-Aqua?" My first moments of emerging as the dominant personality were to feel that sting of my own Keyblade against my body, the irony almost made me laugh at the funny nature of this whole ordeal.

"Aqua...is it really you...who is...Aqua..." So, the silly boy still exists inside of that body. I'd thought my heart would have eradicated his personality over time, but it seems all it has done is remove vital memories from his mind. I both expected this development and didn't anticipate how strong Terra's will had been if he could keep a piece of himself inside of that body for this long. No matter - this face and woman will get rid of any hesitation he might have left inside...

"Aqua, Aqua, Aqua..." Chuckling her body - NO my body slowly rose from off the ground to look at the face of my current vessel. Well, one of them actually but Aqua won't figure that part out when her soul will be extinguished very shortly.

"This is her body, however, she won't be talking with you for a long time," Opening my eyes that would begin to turn solid gold along with this girl's hair and skin changing to further match the heart now in control of this form much like with Terra and my other 13 seekers. "Your role to play has to come no matter what happens to what remains of the one you call Aqua."

"Your eyes..."

"We're starting to have a resemblance, right? Soon I will fully adjust to this eager vessel to help complete the True Organization XIII." Naturally, Terra resisted his destiny of being my next incarnation in this world once the "reunion" is completed. I suppose he would need to accept his future if even he will keep resisting that every step of the way.

"I have no interest in whatever you're planning, so I would suggest you leave while you can."

"That hurts my feelings, you know? She went through all of this trouble, and you're just going to push her away like she didn't matter to you. Such cruelty you are showing, Terra."

"That isn't my name! I'm not Terra...or Xehanort..." Blinking, the answer he gave was rather surprising to hear him deny both names like he was his own kind of person. Bold while very stupid to say from this old student of mine...

"Oh, my who are you supposed to be then if you're neither Terra or Xehanort?!" My voice was an imitation of Aqua's caring tone with a smirk to get him into accepting my question, but he merely charged at me with that Keyblade forcing myself to shield his attack with this new body's own Keyblade again nearly catching me by surprise.

"My name...is Ansem." Ansem? He's actually taking the name of Ansem the Wise, such as when Xehanort's Nobody stole that name to create his name as Xemnas. Was it for the sake of irony, respect, and or perhaps the sake of clinging to the past...either way I formed a grin once I watched him begin to hesitate when he looked at me once again. He was willing to push me back however his heart still wanted to keep this girl safe what a pitiful thing to observe.

'Leave...him al-' Huh? You're still here?!

"It seems Aqua is still resisting me similarly to yourself. I suppose there is only one way to remove these last pieces of her soul." Knocking back his blade as he tried stabbing me with that weapon I knew that sticking around much longer might end up costing me not just this body at the hands of this individual when I had to deal with this woman once and for all.

"You seek to remove any human ties she might have in the universe thereby gaining full access to Aqua's body without any more struggling because of your body's true owner."

"Figured that out so quickly? I've underestimated your intelligence. Oops! Did I insult you just now?" I couldn't help teasing him like the old days...wait I don't remember doing this to him. She was still affecting me to some degree, such as now when Terra gave a rather odd grin making me feel even more confused.

"Looks like you don't have as much control as you might have expected. Aqua wouldn't give up that easily..."

"Much like you haven't fully surrendered to the darkness quite yet, Terra..." The both of us would be departing like nothing had changed between us when both of our bodies and souls would soon become identical to the Master who taught ourselves everything he knew about his own grand plan. We tried fighting against the darkness only for us both to end up falling to the erosion of this substance. Walking into the portal that would allow me to exit this world I felt something come down my cheek.

Had a tear come down my face? What exactly would cause my eyes to let out some tears?

Traverse Town: First District

Taking the chance to leave before "Ansem" changed his mind again I followed my instincts to seek out those who were close to this vessel's heart and eliminate them to gain further control of this woman before she can re-emerge from the depths of this body once again. Who I was expecting to find wasn't exactly clear however if my powers brought me here, then it was a sign there was someone in this world that Aqua knew I just had to find them in this town. Using this hood on this uniform I began to observe the ignorant masses living here.

Blindly unaware about how their world along with many others would soon be plunged into a glorious new war. All of these hearts will soon be sucked into a wonderful new conflict to help build the pathway into Kingdom Hearts. Granted Mickey's followers would soon be out of two important pieces to their side of this war, but I'm sure they can make up for that considering that "ordinary" boy managed to change the destiny Riku was supposed to have much like Terra before him.

'Everything not going according to your plans, huh?' Quiet! You will soon be snuffed out as we completely trade positions after I take care of these loose ends here as I walked through this small area looking for anyone she might remember. So far I only found a bunch of boring people wondering around like their lives weren't on the line in the continuing schemes of my original self, but they will learn how useless they are eventually when the 13 dark seekers rise to confront the 7 chosen lights.

"I can't believe Sora and Kairi managed to stop that group of Nobodies from hurting the other worlds because of their actions."

"Yeah, they are truly amazing heroes to the universe!"

"I hope they come back here again to visit us because my kids would love to meet them in person."

I couldn't help scoffing at this praise, a naive mind like that of a child would look up to people like Kairi and Sora as their idols unaware they were merely following the overall designs of my original incarnation's scheme, which meant their actions regardless of being different from the original plan would end up serving Xehanort's long-term objective.

'They stopped the original Organization XIII, so it might be possible they can overcome this newest incarnation.' Aqua spoke from within my body suggesting they would defeat the 13 Seekers as easily as those Nobodies who lacked their true potential without hearts. They were led along with the promise of new hearts unaware they would have to give up their own personalities to allow MINE to consume their bodies.

Walking past this crowd my little investigation continued as I explored more of this uninteresting town filled with many other ignorant civilians moving along with their short, dull lives like they will amount to anything. Wondering into some alleyway I found more people communicating with one another.

"Hey check out that hoodie over there? Isn't that one of those cloaks those weird Nobody people wear like those ones who showed up recently?"

"She might be into this "cosplay" think people were talking about in another world Kairi visited or that place where it's themed after Halloween." I already knew these gentlemen would pose a problem if I remained here, so I decided to "spare" them by leaving only to discover a taller man was now in front of me likely intending on boxing me into this area.

"Well, I've yet to get in some exercise with this new body guess your poor fools will become my guinea pigs." One of these men pulled off my hood, his face turned into confusion when he looked at my revealed face making me grin at his horror.

"W-What is going on with your eyes and hair?"

"How come her skin has some tanned parts over her body?" Simpletons, the lot of them...

Pulling my shoulder back into one of these oafs, a simple boot to his head from my black-booted foot took him out as I slammed my heel into his back showing dominance over this worthless mortal. As the other men tried grabbing my arms I pulled out my Keyblade to deal with them in short fashion knocking them back with a single slash from this mighty weapon. Running forward I pushed one of these men into a wall aiming my blade to plunge right into their weak-minded heart!

'He...has nothing...to do...with this...' Huh? You're making me stop my hand, even by this point you still resist me?! If I risk removing this man from existence it might increase this girl's will to fight back against me, and she made a valid point this crying fool wasn't my real target in this world.

"If you value your pitiful existence I would suggest you tell me how you know about this "hoodie" you mention earlier..." Taking advantage of their lapse in confidence this man quickly caved into the pressure of having his heart ripped into two halves; in truth, he only knew about rumors of certain people being in this world who also were in a black cloak being unable to see their faces meaning there had to be only one explanation.

'Former Organization members were here?' Indeed, the failures who lost their Nobody selves were now restored into their normal forms with their hearts restored into their bodies. Of course, they all had no idea there was something else that was now inside of their complete selves a piece of myself!

"They were hanging out in the middle of town last I heard! I've told ya the truth, swear on my soul they were here!"

"I believe you..."

The fear of getting a Keyblade jammed into your body will easily bring out the truth from a person, so I merely plunged it in the wall next to this frightened man who nearly relieved himself when he realized his life would be spared today. Running off into the center of this town I knew these former Nobodies wouldn't be drawn to me unless I drew their attention. Observing a pack of Dalmatians running around my mind wondered about disturbing their peace until I felt Aqua seize control of my body for a split-second.

'You won't hurt an innocent person not while I can fight you...'

"For how much longer I wonder..." Hissing at my "conscious" my attention went over to another foolish older man who seemed to be out of sorts by the way he was wobbling around the place. Was he under the influence of some kind of toxication that was affecting his motor abilities?

"Woah...oh hey there lady! You know you shouldn't be *Burp* wearing that kind of outfit. Like I told that blonde you have too much not to be showing off in this kind of town." Has he seen them up close in person? Running up to him I picked up high up thrusting his body off the ground to demand information and perhaps a way to vent my frustrations with dealing with these ignorant humans.

"Hold up! I was just playing with ya nothing personal..." I sneered at him while considering how I should play with this man in a way that wouldn't agitate that little voice in my head. "Please your mind is already polluted with dirty thoughts, so why should you try and behave all innocent right now?" Gripping his neck tighter my mind considered merely letting him pass out from losing oxygen, a way to hurt this man that might not be lethal and drive Aqua back into regaining control at the same time.

"No one can hear you scream," Taunting this man whose eyes were beginning to close shut I knew that deep down Aqua was enjoying this demonstration of strength. "Another feeble heart that will fall victim to the darkness..."

Yes, all worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, it grows, consumes it. Such is its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came. Leaning in closer to this man I whispered the final words to that quite I knew quite well.

"You see, darkness is the heart's true ess-." Ugh! What is this feeling in my back? Like someone had thrown something and it was causing me...pain?

"How about you let that drunken bum leave and fight a real opponent!" It can't be that girl who was speaking to me, but when I turned around I felt a huge weapon knock me backward as that fool took the female's advice to flee while he had the chance. Hold on a second...the weapon is something I've seen before but - no!

"I should have known Auxaq's words had some merit, but to imagine my suspicions proving themselves correct. At least she didn't lose herself for nothing in the end..." A pink-colored scythe, the knives that were called Foudre. Still wearing OUR cloaks like they had the right to even look like us! Their bodies might be slightly different, but I knew who these traitors were and so did SHE.

'Larxene and Marluxia or I guess they are now Arlene and Ulmaria! Ready to take you, and I do mean YOU down!'

"They are merely failures who will soon be without hearts once again!" Drawing out my weapon I was ready to seek out these enemies of the darkness for the sake of my original's ultimate dream! I cannot fall here! I will not be denied by anyone!

[ Sticking with my original name for Marluxia's somebody in case anyone asks. So yeah next time a major battle not just with Aqua and her two associates from Castle Oblivion, but also within herself with Aquanort. Xehanort - Aqua? Not sure of good names to call her, but this is how I figured the process goes that slowly turns somebody into a vessel for Xehanort's heart and mind. A slow, decaying, and corrupting influence that develops like a parasite from within to eventually consume the host. Think of it like the Superior-Spider Man arc, and now you see why Aqua was given the name of sorceress or as they are also called witches. Next time might be the finale unless I feel like there are too many loose ends to leave it as one chapter but we are indeed at the climax folks! ]