The Sapphire Sorceress

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

Act 81: The Eye of Darkness

"Ah, but destiny is never left to chance. I merely guided them to their proper places. The broken boy who failed to be the blade... the misguided master who sacrificed herself for a friend... and the feckless youth who became my new vessel."

Traverse Town: Second District ( Xehanort's POV )

Number XI and Number XII. The Savage Nymph, and The Graceful Assassin. Two of the major conspirators who tried overthrowing my Nobody in charge of the first Organization XIII with their own agenda being to gain control of that group. Funny that Sora and Riku mostly took care of these two for me unaware their actions in a way would be helpful in containing this issue before it truly became an issue until this moment when I was looking at their original incarnations who were back in their heart-filled bodies.

Well, not for much longer that is once I'm done with these two who seemed surprised to see me or rather this vessel's face that was now my newest Seeker of Darkness. Grasping tightly on this weapon that formerly belonged to the previous owner of this body.

"Those eyes certainly are nasty-looking..." The blonde girl muttered looking at my form with disgust being expressed on her face while the man who was once Marluxia likely was thinking about how he would try slicing up my body with that giant scythe in his left hand that weapon he utilized as a Nobody. While he was below the likes of Xemnas, Roxas, and Xion he was given leadership over Castle Oblivion for a reason not merely to lure him into his demise.

'Two on one at least means it won't be easy for you, Xehanort!'

"More like they are in the disadvantage with how strong this body has become. Compared to the power of a Keybearer these failures are nothing..."

"Why are you talking to yourself like a crazy psycho?" That irritating taunt came from that blonde girl who looked ready to cut me with those knives she was holding in her fingers, but she didn't look willing to engage in combat despite her cocky phrase from a few seconds ago.

"Don't be too hasty, Arlene. This isn't the Aqua or should I say Auxaq we knew in that castle. Her body is slowly being consumed by a powerful darkness, which could only belong to that person mentioned in her journal. A face from her past, the man who continues to haunt Aqua along with the rest of the universe even in the present. The one she called "Master" Xehanort is still alive..."

"In the flesh!"

Laughing at that mini-analysis provided by Marluxia's real-self looking at me like I had no right to exist in a rather ironic fashion. I knew one of us would need to make the opening move in our inevitable battle, so I fired off the first shot to draw their focus on fighting me like I had wanted to be rid of these ties Aqua still has left to the universe. Only by severing those ties, and removing those connections will her grip on my heart finally release ending this struggle within myself!

Moving my head around the knives being thrown at my face, a buzzing sound came from the charged-up knives likely because of this former Nobody's elemental powers. If this body had mostly the same powers from before, then Marluxia and Larxene's somebodies having their old weapons and powers wasn't that surprising. Of course, now that we all had hearts again our seemingly "lack" of having emotions as Nobodies or enhanced strength was no longer available to each of us.

"Be careful around that Keyblade!" I didn't let "Ulmaria" get out another word as I tried impaling him with my weapon only for that scythe to slice the very ground I was standing on forcing me back into defense; I should have remained on the offense when I felt some of those knives get stuck in my back as "Arlene" tried grabbing me with her hands not to attack rather hold me down?

"Get out of her body, you old bastard!" Was she trying to reach out to Aqua rather than trying to destroy me? Rather odd for the woman who once was called Larxene was known for her sadism and cruelty that I admired to some degree.

Throwing her off my body I pulled out these knives from my back unaware of that pink scythe coming in my direction until I deflected it with my Keyblade despite how long of a weapon my opponent was using against me. Knocking the scythe upward, a powerful dark fireball came out of my hand to land on this pink-haired mortal. Following that, I ran over to Ulmaria before I slashed him a few times with my Keyblade until he vanished from my sight in a whirlwind of cherry blossoms, so I tried finding him with my eyes only to see a black-colored boot ram itself in my chest.

'There you go Larxy!'

I couldn't even reply to that annoying voice when Larxene followed up with a few punches to my face, which were lacking in true intensity almost like she was holding back to some degree. Well, I wouldn't hold back as I prepared to drown this girl in darkness until I felt several lightning-fast jabs to my stomach as this girl kept stabbing me over and over with fists that had those knives curled up in them. I never imagined having this kind of body would mean enduring this kind of punishment, and when I tried punching this girl back my limbs couldn't move despite my mind issuing that command to my fists.

"Now, grab her while she's immobile!"

Damn it! She was merely keeping my body in a weakened state by shocking my limbs to help in this silly attempt at capturing me showing how much they were underestimating ME! Spinning around I fired back with several Blizzaga attacks before following it up with fire magic that drenched Marluxia's somebody in liquid, and Arlene seemed aware of my next move as she warned my other opponent to back off. At least that is what she thought until I grabbed hold of her body taking advantage of these lightning-charged knives and tossed them at the water-drenched Ulmaria.

...Huh?

That damned scythe actually blocked those knives before they could electrocute his body in such a short amount of time...how interesting! Running at my other opponent, the next move I made was to slam my weapon down after charging it up with a boost in dark power to help make the strike more powerful than my last few strikes. Causing a small crater in the ground my own might surprised me as I tried hitting this man with my weapon while this target continued moving at an elevated amount of speed making it hard to actually land a blow on him.

"Aqua! I know you're in that skull of yours, so fight back against this prick already!"

"How dare - I'm...really trying to..."

Is she able to communicate by using me? Larxene's somebody was able to break through my defenses to give Aqua the strength to fight back like this?! I tried casting a barrier over myself to stop Arlene and her knives only to feel slashes coming from that pink scythe making me remember how much range that sharp weapon had, even from this distance he could easily hit me with that tool. Growling at how difficult these opponents were compared to my expectations I knew that separating them was my best option.

"You're not getting away that easily..." Arlene had fallen right into my trap as I opened up a portal of darkness to drag her into away from her partner-in-crime who is continuing to interfere with my plan to eliminate the both of them, a plan of attack that seemed ready to work until I saw that pink-haired pest standing in front of the portal slamming his scythe into the floor, the shock of that weapon slammed into my body rather hard causing me to flinch my knee in pain as my mind was getting a major headache from THAT voice.

'I'd hate to say it, but I'm really rooting for these guys to beat me!' Not yet, the battle hasn't truly even begun!

Using my legs to sweep Arlene off her feet I tried stabbing her in the arm with Stormfall, but she used her left hand like a claw to keep my weapon dangling above her right arm surprising me considering I expected blood to start coming out by this point from this mortal. Grinning, my free hand charged up a huge ball of darkness that connected with her chest making her cry out in pain. Now, this is where the fun begins!

"She's allowing the darkness to influence her abilities, which explains how this "virus" infected her body to such a degree."

"Finally realizing the process, you are too late in saving this poor girl I'm afraid..."

Running at Ulmaria, his scythe moved downward to hit me however I jumped high enough to send out several black and purple balls from Aqua's Prism Rain maneuver. It took quite a lot for him to avoid getting badly harmed by this attack, even as he kept spinning around that scythe my attack managed to blast through to his arms and legs injuring him somewhat. The only thing that was holding back my true potential is indeed this vessel's former personality meaning that erasing Aqua was the key to truly being complete.

Charging at Ulmaria while he was off-guard my hand reached forward to fire a more powerful blast of darkness at him when I felt a gust of wind push at my body suddenly pushing down hard on my back making me gasp out in pain. Then, Arlene sent down a huge spark of lighting that stunned my limbs once again giving Aqua more power to begin pushing through the darkness surrounding her back along with my heart.

"Okay, so why don't you start talking about what you've done with Aqua or so help me I'll kick your ass something fierce!"

"HAHAHAHA! Don't you mean you'll be kicking our posteriors," Giggling when this blonde woman corrected me about my more "PG" language I enjoyed seeing how clueless these two really were about their situations? "You both have no idea about why you have your hearts again, do you?" Aqua also remained in the dark in every sense of the world about why her soul along with the other Nobodies WEREN'T truly lost like they were led to believe.

'You mean...all of this time...'

"Your souls were intact in a very safe place while the other members went about seeking new hearts that wouldn't exist until Kingdom Hearts was complete." They both looked like I was stating a complete lie, the ignorance of these two about the truth was rather pleasing to observe while I tried regaining control of MY fingers to continue fighting these two fools.

"Your former leader told you that you lacked the ability to feel, think, and be like a normal human. Never once did any of you question if this was actually the case for Nobodies or not. You all willingly accepted that situation of being without a soul, and decided to listen to Xemnas and his plan not realizing you've only been furthering along someone else's grand design!"

"Impossible. There shouldn't be any way he could be influencing events in the present if he was dealt with in the past!" Oh, Ulmaria you truly underestimate the might of darkness and how...good it can feel!

'Wrong! This kind of power in your hands is just rotten! All you want to do with this darkness is corrupt the universe for the sake of research!'

How boring of a response from that girl stuck in the back of MY mind; trying to hold onto that small glimmer of light in the eye of darkness with no chance of escaping its clutch. I wanted to fight back when I pulled back my hand, but I felt Arlene stick more of those knives in my arm when I had blinked and missed her moving at the speed of her own lighting.

"I don't want to hurt you too badly, so perhaps I'll tweak a finger each time you lie or hold back information," I couldn't help but grin at her serious expression while she made the threat of torture while I was unable to move for a couple of moments. Ulmaria walked up to me with his scythe out in case I tried anything. "Why don't you start explaining what the hell was the point of Organization XIII if it wasn't to get our hearts back in the first place?"

"Hehehe. To have some fun and laughs that weren't actually real in the first place. Ahhh, the truth is rather long and difficult for minds like yours to understand, even my current vessel hasn't fully grasped it..." I saw the sharp cutting tool in front of my face as one of my fingers got bent a little, but Arlene was not putting down a lot of pressure like I knew Larxene would do without a conscience to worry about ignoring.

"True, but Aqua's Nobody left us quite a few good hints from her journal." Tch, a minor issue that won't change her fate but this might explain how these two might have known more than they should have by that point in this whole ordeal. "Turns out that I can recall something from my own past that might surprise you and your captive prisoner. I've MET Ven in the past." W-

'I-Impossible! There is no way that Ven's ever seen Marluxia before, so then how-'

"Silence! How could you...no it couldn't be..."

Ulmaria was around during the earliest days when the likes of those masters were around, the beginning of everything that leads my past self into sparking a second Keyblade War. Why did I overlook such a thing like that?

"I am telling you the truth, but even I had forgotten that until I learned about you and the reason Roxas resembles that boy so much. Still, I never imagined we both would be seeking out the SAME boy sleeping in that castle."

"No - he is MY friend!" Huh? Aqua broke through to say that, and when I looked at Ulmaria his smirk told me that is what he wanted to happen! I had been tricked by this man again...

"Speaking of Aqua if she had no clue, then it sounds like only a few people knew the truth about Organization XIII. Xemnas was likely a given, and Xigbar acted clueless despite likely being aware of this conspiracy as well. Naturally, this leaves a lot of the other selected "candidates" in the dark on this scheme of yours, Xehanort."

Of course, not everyone would be thrilled about losing their personality and body for the sake of creating the "enemy" force in this upcoming war.

"Good, the process wouldn't have worked if Nobodies realized their hearts could be grown back over time. If the plan was to work out each one of the candidates had to remain as emotionless as possible to reject a new heart from being formed in their bodies." I saw the sharp edge of this pink weapon come right near my eyes like Ulmaria wanted to make me resemble Xigbar or should I say Braig.

"You've played us all! All of our efforts to become whole were really helping out this insane plan of yours!" Hehe, such a violent response wouldn't you agree-

"ARGH!" She's fighting back again...were my comments adding fuel to her fire within me? This is becoming rather insufferable...

"Aqua is able to resist that crusty old man's soul?"

"It would seem that Xehanort hasn't completely bonded with Aqua's body quite yet. Still, we need to learn more about what this knowing about his plans..." I tried breaking away from these two, but a sharp jab to my leg kept me in this position with Arlene clutching my arm while this scythe cut into my left leg adding more pain to my senses. This was a situation I hadn't expected to deal with today!

"How about you explain the details about this process? Your eyes are different however there is more to fully taking over a body than that like with your darkness-enhanced abilities, correct?"

"These bodies have to become properly conditioned for my soul to inhabit them; any sign of rebellion or rejection means losing a possible vessel as you two have proven already."

"So, by making everyone share the same kind of thoughts you make it easier for them to accept the same heart and minds likely by using a kind of power source to give them that kind of heart." Has that traitor already figured that part out as well? Sighing, I did confirm what he and Aqua likely didn't want to believe even if it was the truth despite it seeming like "more lies" in their opinion.

"Kingdom Hearts," Purring out that phrase that matter to me so much I couldn't help smirking when I would deliver this devastating bit of information to all parties involved here. "By completing that device which contained all of your hearts could your empty shells be replaced with MINE!"

"That is bull-"

"Arlene! Don't get worked up this easily, even if the implications are...less than satisfying to finally understand." I had to laugh by how much this man tried underselling this revelation. The look in those eyes told me everything I wanted to know about his feelings at this moment, his despair over realizing how pointless that attempt of taking over Organization XIII was in the end.

"I made my choices as a Nobody, so I will have to live with them along with Arlene. I desired the power of the Keyblade certainly for selfish reasons, but I wouldn't have ever devoured people's bodies!"

"Trying to play the saint? Pfft, how sad!" The way he treated Namine along with his cohort in Castle Oblivion alone proved him to be nothing but a hypocrite trying to paint himself in a better light.

'That doesn't mean he doesn't sound sincere about it. He's done horrible things, but he is nowhere near YOUR kind of treachery.'

That is a rather flattering compliment, but we are going nowhere with this conversation not when my objective is simply eliminating these pests before the reunion begins...

Leaning down I made my move by slamming my shoulder into Arlene's body while firing off several blasts of darkness at Ulmaria to keep him busy while I got away from his range. While I could easily make another portal of darkness, the odds of them not finding me are slim right now plus I REFUSED to allow them a "victory" over myself.

My mind is fighting itself over what I should be doing next or rather it is because of Aqua's constant interference...

"Got ya in my sights!"

Damn it, the blonde was faster than I thought if she already caught a glimpse of me in this alleyway, but then I noticed the blood trail I'd left behind from these knife wounds with the drop spots serving as a good way to follow me. Grunting I let the darkness flowing through my body take care of these scars to make sure I couldn't be tracked by either of these people until I saw more bolts of lighting coming down from the sky as I saw Arlene leaping down to stab me again with her knives. Holding out my Keyblade I creating enough of a cold atmosphere to freeze these knives in mid-air before they hit me while I slammed my foot into Arlene before she tried hitting me.

"You're moving slower than usual, Aqua! Thankfully, it makes it much easier to hold you down to get you the help you need!" Help? Like you can help this girl in your pitiful attempt of redeeming yourself along with your partner-in-crime when I saw one of her Fourde knives on the ground suddenly creating a huge surge of lighting enter my body.

'That's it, Arlene, just a little more and you'll take me out.'

"Are you suggesting that she destroy us?! I thought you wanted to live again!"

'NOT LIKE THIS!' Too bad then...this is MY heart, my BODY, and my MIND in control! Holding out my hand I used a powerful Graviga spell on this girl before I began to teleport around to strike her several times with my Stormfall. Hearing this girl's moans of suffering was music to my ears as I fired off several ice shards to return the favor of getting stabbed by her knives, then following up by charging at her to slam into her chest with the full brunt of my weapon before she had a chance to fight back.

"You're done for!" Thrusting my blade forward I expected her heart to stop beating the second it entered her rib-cage only to discover it was being stopped by her hands much to my surprise. Her gloves had blood dripping from the sharpness of my blade, and how quickly she was able to stop it - thank goodness...

"What why...am I doing this?! Arlene...please...stop me..." Was she slipping through the cracks again? I have to find a way to regain control before-

"ARGH!" I felt the push of that huge scythe enter my back as Ulmaria didn't stab me in the back rather he was going to toss me into a wall in this alley!

"We can't risk hurting her too badly, even if HE is going to keep fighting back."

He was right about that as I slammed my feet into the wall before I could get knocked into these bricks to regain my footing to launch myself at the scythe-using man while forming a magical barrier to protect myself from Arlene's projectile attacks. Using the athletic build of this form I began to spin around in mid-air while swinging around my Keyblade to create a whirlwind of darkness that knocked these two backward.

Was I...actually trying to catch my breath due to these two humans? They were former vessel options for a reason, so I must have underestimated their capabilities. No matter if I can just regain...control these two will finally di-

"Stop me now! Before it's too late!" I-Impossi-ible she is able to stop my body like this? Despite my commands to move my limbs, fingers, and feet none of those body parts would move an inch. Despite being on the inside looking out she is managing to overcome my own will!? I'd thought I taught you to not become this strong, unlike Eraqus! Are you still taunting me despite no longer existing?!

A single slash from that pink-colored assassin from his scythe managed to wound my body to the point I felt blood come out from my chest as I fell over to the floor slowly losing my sight. I couldn't fall here...not before the fated reunion with that boy...

"You'll be fine...probably..."

Mysterious Tower: ( Aqua's POV )

I have to escape from this place inside of myself. This corruptive influence from within my soul has to be destroyed before I completely lost myself to this darkness threating to drown my entire being. I tried struggling against this current of evil, but no matter how hard I tried to fight back Xehanort was simply too strong. What I expected was the undignified end to my life; what I got was a bright light shining in front of my face along with voices that I didn't recognize at first.

"Are ya fellas sure this will keep her safe?"

"I think you have that backward, Mickey. It is meant to keep us safe from HIM. Of course, if you two were involved with that Organization we aren't exactly safe with you two being here."

"We had no other place we could go to figure out what to do with her, so this was our only way of solving this mystery..." Mystery? Ugh, the first thing I wanted to say is what they were talking about however my headache became my current issue.

"Yen Sid, Aqua is waking up or at least I hope this is her..." Yen Sid? Mickey? Wait I know about those two! They helped me out after the fall of Master Eraqus along with helping me put my friend in that land that would become Castle Oblivion. I tried getting up, but I felt a cold strap on my hands keeping me from doing that like a snake had been stuck on my wrists and legs.

"Identify yourself!" Myself? Before I could realize where I was that scythe and set of knives I've been reacquainted with was pointed right in front of my face when I couldn't do anything to stop it. Wait, the fact I was looking at them like this with some amount of control over my body has to mean...Xehanort is gone?

"Who are you right now?!"

The voices got louder, and when these weapons got closer I told them I was Aqua to ease the tension in this room. Arlene and Ulmaria backed away leaving that black mouse to stand in front of me, and I moved my eyes around the room to discover that wise old sage sitting near a table just like before all of those days gone by from my past that was looking at me in this present time.

"I never thought I'd see ya again, even if I did kinda see you a couple of months ago..."

That's long it has been for me? I guess time hasn't affected me as a Nobody, but Marluxia and Larxene's somebodies don't look all that different from their heartless selves besides Arlene not having that "bug-looking hair" as Axel put it while Ulmaria's hair was much shorter than when he was without a soul. A small difference in the grand scheme of things, but a sign that we aren't the way we had been in Organization XIII.

"What happened to me?" Ulmaria went on to explain that after he "knocked me out" they tried looking for someone to help me get out of that "possessed" state I had been in resulting in them coming across "The King" during their journey carrying my unconscious self around the worlds until a couple of hours ago. Now, the party gathered me into this tower while restraining myself in this room to ensure I don't cause trouble. Well, this is certainly not one of the better days I've had...

"To think we would find more evidence of Xehanort's possible influence while our two exam students are still trapped in slumber. This is certainly a bizarre coincidence, to say the least." I didn't know how to respond to that comment, but then when the word exam came up I wondered if he meant THAT kind of exam.

"Was this also something he expected to happen? How far has Xehanort seen into the future is the question..."

"Hold on...don't tell me that someone is taking a Mark of Mastery exam!" That had to be the reason when I didn't get any kind of response from anyone in the room, the very look on Mickey's face all but confirmed what I suspected. Someone was trying to reach the next stage in becoming a Keyblade Master much like myself, Terra, and Ven. Only I came out with the rank of "Master" while I felt nothing like the likes of Eraqus and...Xehanort.

"Sora and Riku, the two who's paths have crossed with each other time and again. I'm sure you know that well considering you've encountered these two boys quite a few times as a Nobody, Aqua."Nodding, I couldn't believe what Yen Sid had explained to me about their current predicament in the realm of dreams as they were both trying to reach the rank of a Master during this special kind of exam process.

"Can you hear him, Aqua? Is he whispering or even talking in your head right now?" Shaking my head at Mickey's question I realized there was no "inner voice" taunting or seducing me right now, and yet, doubt crept into my mind that it was this easy to remove this darkness within myself for good.

"You fellas haven't been taken over by this dark presence, but Aqua was consumed for a brief period of time. Is there something that Xehanort needs someone to fully take control of their body..."

I wanted to say something, but this conversation went on leaving me with nothing but more questions like I was inside of a place called home while feeling so far away from a safe haven.

'Will I ever get out of this feeling of being isolated from the light? All I want is to see my friends again - the second chance to embrace such a wonderful warmth of that light that people like Sora, Riku, and Kairi are now blessed with having in their lives.' All of a sudden I could hear footsteps of someone being outside of this room, and then it hit me who else was in this tower on this day.

"If she is here along with you, then I'm guessing the rest of Organization XIII is still around despite their Nobodies being wiped out."

"Yeah, but I think something is wrong with her and I couldn't find Isa anywhere despite meeting with some of the other guys." Isa? Wait as in Saix's own Somebody from Radiant Garden? When I heard that voice get louder I finally recognized that voice belonging to someone else who shouldn't be here, which had become a recurring pattern these days. Listening to these voices get louder I also realized the identity of this female voice getting louder that could only belong to HER!

"Hold on for a second, Kairi! You don't know what you might be walking into-"

"If she is alive in some way, even if she is possessed by something that means my job isn't done."

Her tone sounded like she was furious meaning that we wouldn't be having a friendly conversation. Ulmaria, Arlene, and even Mickey tried stopping her while I attempted to remove these binding ropes around my limbs that seemingly were magically bound to my body. Precautions if I started trouble I had to assume, but when I saw that girl who was close to Sora charge in with her Keyblade in hand I knew she might be the problem instead.

"Why? WHY?! WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?! After everything, we did to stop Organization XIII all just to realize it wasn't going to matter. If someone who's fallen as far as you is still alive with a soul while others have lost their entire beings!" Seeing the Keyblade get jammed into the wall next to my face I didn't even flinch as Kairi was on the verge of spilling tears of self-righteous fury out from her eyes. The last I saw of her was Kairi overcoming my strength while showing this same kind of compassion mixed with rage. How poetic my life might end again by her hands...and THAT Keyblade.

"What is keeping you and your "friends" around to continue tormenting us? Revenge? Sadness? Hatred? Just tell me...why am I looking at someone who I should loathe with all of my heart, but I can't help feeling sorry for when hearing about her situation. TELL ME!" Well, hello to you as well, Kairi.

[ Yeah too many loose ends to wrap it up here, and why not have some DDD content along with having everything come full circle. Yeah, Kairi seems kinda vexed, but she is furious over the fact Xehanort is messing up stuff, and she feels like Aqua is still the Auxaq who kept messing with her throughout the other worlds. Next time everything comes to a conclusion with this story with all the final threads closing up for good. For everyone who's kept reading, I thank you for your patience, so I only hope the ending will be worth your wait. Aquanort commands you to stay! :D ]