The Sapphire Sorceress Chapter 83: Epilogue: The Sapphire Sorceress, a kingdom hearts fanfic

The Sapphire Sorceress

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

Epilogue: The Sapphire Sorceress

"I just can't wait. Once we set sail, it'll be great."

Mysterious Tower: ( Kairi's POV )

I wonder what would have happened if I never met this woman on THAT day. I would have likely been in danger by visiting new worlds, fighting against the forces of darkness, and struggling to protect others from these dark forces threatening the universe. So many things would likely be different if I didn't take her hand in that moment, but would it really be for the better? Meeting people like the Beast, Zidane, Mulan, Aladdin, Gwen and her "Avenging" friends along with many other faces from other worlds.

Those connections that gave me the strength to push forward through all of the rough time that was part of my current role as a Warrior of the Light. Of course, my training was only beginning after speaking with Yen Sid, Mickey, and several other people who've helped Sora along his journey. Such bonds provided us the support needed to overcome Heartless, Nobodies, and vile people wanting to hurt others for selfish reasons that needed to be stopped. It was all part of being a protector of those who can't defend themselves from those beings lurking in the dark.

"To keep fighting, even when you can barely stand up in the face of the opposition. To defy the expectations people have for you, and to save those you care about defending. That is what it means to be a hero. When I look at you right now I can certainly say you will become a great hero if you haven't already, red." Zidane put that rather elegantly despite his more blunt personality. He was so young and had a long life to look forward to until the heartless came to steal his thriving soul when it was about to make Garnet happy...

His death brought sadness to everyone back at the academy including me, but in that despair, I finally understand why I had to take up this role of protecting the universe. I knew that my strength currently was enough to deal with the future threat being presenting by what I now realize is the true evil behind all of these events. A man who was considered dead by most of the world who knew about him, but with recent developments that didn't seem very likely to be the case. Xehanort, the name belonging to someone who was close to Ansem the Wise, yet it seemed that this "Xehanort" was not the real one from Aqua's time. It wasn't a heartless either rather her other special friend.

Master Xehanort, a researcher who dived too deeply into the search of darkness for the sake of finding Kingdom Hearts that would endanger many lives who had nothing to do with his twisted designs. Because of him all of us in the present and possibly the future would suffer due to his influence that was felt even now. One of the victims who endured so much pain, loss, and misery that I had to deal with as we both were Keybearers. Both of our destinies were to continue on, even if we had been separated from the two boys that we've gotten close to in our lives as either great friends or...something more.

"I...want to hate you for giving into the crap Xemnas has fed you despite that, however, my heart is full of sadness. We both just wanted the people we care about back in our lives. Unlike Riku and Sora, you still haven't got your friends back in one piece..."

Looking at her face look away I could tell she must regret not being fortunate as I had been in that department, and yet, like the rest of that group she was still in one piece here in this tower. Granted she is not exactly the Auxaq or Aqua I had known along with everyone close to her with this awful stench of darkness as Riku called it radiating from her body. While as a Nobody she was still dripping with this sensation it wasn't THIS strong before along with the warning Axel - actually Lea his real name as a Somebody gave me.

If what everyone is saying happens to be the truth, the person I'm looking down at could potentially become my enemy once again against her own will. Despite our issues, I wouldn't want that kind of fate wished upon anyone.

"Why don't you hate me if it makes things easier. You've surpassed me despite my increased power as a creature of nothingness, so taking away my existence a second time can't be any more difficult for you, Kairi." She sounded defeated, her eyes still looked distant from my face, and body language suggested that she'd given up on living on. This behavior just...infurated me resulting in my Keyblade getting jammed into the other part of this wall next to her face.

"Please stop abusing this place, Kairi. The walls shouldn't have to suffer because of your anger..."

I blinked when Yen Sid of all people said that phrase making Lea and Arlene laugh showing that their enjoyment was genuine thanks to the hearts beating in their chests. It meant their feelings weren't something artificial or fake in how they felt sad, bored, and happy. Things should be better for Aqua except that she was suffering from another problem that likely resulted in this depressed state she was in.

"When this all start for you," I decided to ask my former or possible future enemy as she was stuck in these binds keeping her from "causing trouble" as Mickey told me. "I know you must have gotten out of that gloomy world of nothingness some time ago, but what exactly have you been up to lately that caused this change?"

She turned her head around to give me a look that told me that she was beyond caring about what happens to her by this point.

"I DID find my friends again, but they weren't the people I knew when I was fighting for the sake of the light." Aqua usually had this kind of problem of finding those she cared about; only to end up losing them for one reason or another. It was the story of Aqua's life recently with this new heart in her chest adding another sad chapter to her misery filling up her despair these days.

"It doesn't mean they are gone forever, so you can't give up this fight within yourself. You are so close to returning to the light-"

"WHY SHOULD I?!" Her increased tone made me flinch up in shock when she shouted back. Her eyes looked full of pain and sorrow likely due to whatever traumatic events happened to her since she returned to normal as she looked at everyone in the room.

"I caved into the pressure, accepting the darkness as my ally, but what did it do for me? All I got with isolation from everything I knew and if it wasn't for Xehanort I wouldn't even be here right now. I gave into what Eraqus despised and it only brought me so little time before I expired from the universe at least until this "heart" came back to me..." Did she feel guilty for accepting that power to fight against me, Riku, and Sora? This must be also because of the soul that she was able to reclaim that gave her this remorse over her actions.

"Are you sure this is AQUA talking or Xehanort doing a good impression of her..." The blonde former Nobody who once was called Larxene asked while looking down at her former partner in Organization XIII.

"I know that you really liked it when I called you Larxy, and when you spoke about your former boyfri-"

"Okay, the proof I need is right there ZIP it!" Umm...I don't exactly know what that was about, yet, the concern Arlene had seemed to disappear rather quickly after that exchange while Lea gave a friendly wave to Aqua ignoring her more cynical comments from a few moments ago.

"Been a while, huh? Err sorry about that betraying you and helping out Kairi and her pals here I just...got tired of being on the losing team. Guess you were more loyal to the cause than I was in the end, Aqua!"

"Yeah, but where did that kind of faith get me in the end. Serving a being who only wanted me to become a "perfect" vessel for the Master I despise more than anyone else in the universe. I suspect everyone else who I fought against hates me for trying to ruin their lives and worlds."

"Geez, the mood certainly has gone down with that comment..."

Still, I knew that "Axel" helped saved many lives because of his betrayal to help us out. I also knew that he was genuine in wanting to make amends for his misdeeds as a Nobody compared to Larxene and Marluxia. This pair likely only want revenge against Xemnas or I guess his true identity as Xehanort's Nobody rather for doing something completely for the sake of what's right much like with Maleficent. She only desired to reside in the castle, but shortly left there in search of something else that peaked her interests.

"I'm afraid we don't have much time for such a conversation, our other guests still must complete their own trails to end this exam." Of course, the whole reason Riku and Sora came here was to become Keyblade Master like Aqua once was until she lost her heart. Unlike those tests she mentioned Sora and Riku were currently stuck inside of a dream for their own personal trials that must overcome to pass this exam. At least until Aqua came here along with these other former Nobodies, which is why Yen Sid and Mickey contacted me.

"That is why I was brought here, Lea? To get Aqua to say something that will help you guys understand what is going on inside her? To...eliminate this threat in case it grows out of control?"

My hands were shaking as I wondered if everyone figured Aqua to be too far gone in this process, and when I got a better look at her face I could see why they figured that was the case. Those eyes that didn't look as blue as I could remember, a more amber color was in her irises now, the blue locks of her hair slowly were turning silver, and most frightening of all was the spots of tanned skin beginning to consume her body. It was like the Aqua everyone knew was being replaced with someone else...

"I see, the girl who eliminated my Nobody self will not finish me off again such a fitting end to me."

"Stop talking like that! You overcome so much in your life, and you will defeat this Xehanort as well!" I couldn't let Aqua remain in such a defeated state anymore if her friends had a chance of being saved from herself, even if she didn't have any kind of hope left for herself.

"Hey! You think we could possibly dive into her dreams like Sora and Riku did, wise old one?" Lea made a suggestion that sounded odd to me considering I never even heard about traveling into someone's personal dream like it was going into space with a Gummi Ship. Yen Sid quickly explained that it was indeed possible to dive into the subconscious. Such a method was considered rather danger with the appearance of these creatures referred to as Dream Eaters. Unlike the Heartless, Unversed, and Nobodies some of these creatures were capable of not only being friendly some actually were helping out Sora and Riku during their exam process.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea if Xehanort is lurking in her body. His influence is powerful enough to corrupt someone like Aqua, then it could easily wipe out anyone who tries to remove his presence while he's lurking in her heart. The only way to safely remove Xehanort would be the person he's trying to consume from the inside out. Aqua will have to defeat this entity on her own..."

Was he saying there wasn't anything we could do to stop this?! I refused to let Aqua drip into this state of defeat without doing anything to help her!

"That doesn't mean she's entirely helpless in this fight," Mickey's bright tone lifted my eyes from off the floor as this small, but mighty king explained to us how Aqua could be helped in her current situation. "With enough emotional support from those she cared about or knew it just might able to get through to provide her power that she doesn't believe can help her anymore."

To guide her out of this darkness-induced despair she needed the emotional guidance of her friends or people who've known her? That does make sense however she doesn't seem willing to even give that a try...

"Listen, you've been through a lot of crap lately and dealing with the spirit of that old geezer isn't making things better! You need to wake up and kick his rear end already! If you did beat Terra in your past, then taking out some ghost Xehanort shouldn't be that hard."

"I'd hate to agree with this prick for turning on us, but he's right about that. You're a freaking Keyblade Master not some helpless victim of Xehanort!" Arlene with Lea tried boosting Aqua's morale to struggle against the vile influence residing in her body, the following remark from Ulmaria only surprised me further.

"We might not be able to do much, but to have the chance of getting back at this schemer by removing the strings from one of his chosen puppets would be good enough for us in the current flow of events. To regain a powerful piece on this chessboard would surely help out your cause, Mickey." The King nodded in agreement while everyone looked at Aqua for her reaction or actually some kind of reaction considering how quiet she has been in these past few minutes.

"...Tell me something. Do you have envy for Riku and Sora taking part in the exam instead of you?" Her question made me freeze up for a moment, a question I certainly wasn't expecting to hear let alone give a response to from this person. She waited for my reply that I had trouble forming due to the nature of this question for myself.

"It really doesn't matter if they succeed or fail. I just want them to make it back from their slumber. It might sound rather silly of me to say, but I don't really need or want to become a Keyblade Master." Those were my honest feelings, the reactions everyone in the room made was that of shock, confused, and surprise all except for Aqua.

"You only wish to have the power to keep your precious friends safe without wanting or needing that rank. I can't help but find the irony of that considering I wasn't exactly wanting to be a "Master" until Eraqus promoted me in a last-minute decision." Was she telling me that she didn't deserve to be a Keyblade Master? That...

"You're wrong about that! That skill, talent, and power you have shown in our battles along with your intellect and desire to protect your own friends mean you are worthy of that honor!" I couldn't let Aqua stay in this state of misery for a moment longer, and so I would be the one to end this depression she was feeling to give her the power to fight back against Xehanort from within her heart. She looked at me for a split-second before turning her head back to the floor.

"You're the one giving me advice when it was a girl like you who once looked up to me as some kind of role model. Despite that, you quickly took up your blade against me when I stopped caring about humanity in general." I knew the fate of the universe depended on my decision to fight back against the person who blessed me with this power in the first place.

"Thank you for giving me what I needed to reach this point. I wouldn't have become strong enough to defend and save the ones I cared about without your help...despite the fact you did want to hurt me back then." I couldn't help but smile at that remark while she stared at me in confusion over my genuine thoughts about our little "rivalry" over the past several months.

"I...huh?!" Aqua? She's beginning to shake her head in pain causing everyone in the room to panic about what might be happening to her. She began to sweat like she was going through a lot of strain while her legs and feet struggling in the binds around her limbs.

"Do you think he's messing with her again, Yen Sid?"

"It wouldn't surprise me considering how much his influence has already changed her body. Ulmaria, Arlene, and Lea was it? You three might want to prepare you weapons."

No, she can't be falling under his power again! I tried to shake her shoulders to make her wake up when her eyes closed up. Opening up her eyelids I could see the color of her irises flicker back and forth between her blue color and HIS yellow eyes. She was slowly losing her identity and body to this monster that was once a man, but I had no physical way of helping her in this fight against such an evil force controlling her body and mind.

"Is there anything else we can do to help her?" Lea said what many of us were thinking at this moment while she had to go through such a horrible experience causing her body to shake and thrash around in such a violent manner; it was like she was fighting someone and getting hurt despite not actually being punched or kicked around to show those bruises on her skin. Then, her body went limp as she was now slumped over slowly breathing in and out of her mouth like she was trying to get sleep.

A pregnant silence came over us with everyone not sure what was going to happen next, but something in my heart slowly began to sink into fear about what was going to break this ominous quietness that had taken over the room. Her head slowly began to rise up as she began moving her neck around seemingly to crack it making it looser. I hoped she was merely relaxing in her spot, but my hope was quickly crushed when I heard that laugh. A laugh filled with sadism, taunting, and full of cruelty much like the Nobody of this woman now glaring at us.

Yellow eyes told us our enemy was observing us...

"What a HAPPY reunion, huh?! All around me are familiar faces. Worn out faces, worn out places..." She giggled while twisting her head around to frighten us as it was clear we were talking with Xehanort. This was the first time I was looking directly at the face of the true enemy threatening the entire universe, but Aqua's face was slowly being replaced by this vile monster's image.

"Haven't you done enough already?! Just leave her damn body you rotten old son of a b-"

"I suggest you still that tongue of yours, Axel. Lea, or whatever you want to call yourself today. Do keep in mind that I CONTROL this body, and little by little my influence is defeating hers. If I desired I could harm, wound, and severely injure any part of this body that I want!" As if to show that her hand began to twist and turn in those binds likely in some horrible attempt of harming Aqua's wrists while she was not in control.

"Why are you picking Aqua over the other candidates in this room, Xehanort?"

"Straight to the point, Yen Sid! I must admit that kind of trait is admirable. I've already pointed this out, but in order to get the proper vessel certain conditions have to be made for the process to succeed," I heard some of this from Lea before he brought me over to this tower for training. To think he could easily possess someone by tainting their bodies with a faint hint of darkness. "Aqua was already quite a special girl before I began to enhance her powers to better suit my soul when this time came for me to return."

"The reunion?" Mickey's comment made Xehanort pause for a brief moment before she opened her lips to let out more laughter.

"The promised time where all of the pieces of a similar heart and mind gather to welcome a new body into the fold! It is unfortunate you all won't be able to make it to the party!" I was going to ask her what she meant, but a loud slap came down on her cheek from Arlene who was "interrogating" the now Possessed-Aqua several more times.

"Start explaining about what the hell that's supposed to mean? What's with this reunion crap you're saying, and what does it have to do with those others like you?"

"Riku and Sora will soon figure that out along with everyone else here, but this will mean the count of 7 will be brought down to 5 shortly. Hehehehe..."

7? What does that number have to do with anything? Xehanort's piercing yellow eyes looked at my face.

"You didn't finish the job, Kairi. Because of that, you will have to fight off the 13 Seekers on your own with no left to help you!" Was she saying that I failed in my duty, so because of that Riku and Sora would be lost forever? That...is just a lie!

"They will come back to me, the strife you can put them through along with someone like Aqua won't defeat them no matter what you think. All of your schemes, plans, and manipulations won't keep you around forever. The future isn't yours to claim when it belongs to everyone in the universe, a series of worlds filled with many people with many hopes and dream-"

Ugh...what is this feeling...is she choking me out with her free hand. Why...is it blanked with some fog of darkness? Xehanort must have always been able to break out of those bonds, so he merely waited for this moment to hurt me when I got close to her face...

"HAHAHAHA! Ignorance let you all believe you could hold me down, and for that...I must - I will fight back against Xehanort!" That's it, Aqua. You can't let him win if you want us to get our friends back like I know you do inside of that heart that isn't completely black and evil. There is a glimmer of light in that void that only she could get, but she wouldn't be alone in her struggle...we would be there as well.

Unknown Location: ( Aqua's POV )

The many tendrils wrapped around my limbs had been smothering my body for quite a long time. This vile taint covering my soul had to be Xehanort's physical force weighing down on me. Unlike before this sensation was getting stronger when I felt negative feelings about this whole ordeal likely giving this man, even more, power over me. My hands and feet were growing weaker by the second as I felt my body get sucked into this black mass further and further with each passing moment. If leaving the Realm of Darkness would have put me into this kind of situation, then I wish that I neve...

Yes. The words Kairi told me before I tried fighting back again. Everyone who does still believe in me despite my horrible choices was waiting for me outside. Despite the pain and suffering my soul would have to endure for the sake of their wishes for myself to come back in one piece. I had to struggle against this dark power in some kind of way...

"Useless efforts." Not if they can result in something you weren't anticipating! Like for example...I can feel something affecting my hand like it was trying to reach out to grasp something to pull myself out of this thick darkness. The small line in this never-ending void of evil that could allow me the opportunity to fight back had to be here...

'You seek freedom out of this cage?' More than anything in the world right now. I didn't know who was speaking to me, but I had to focus on keeping my head from sinking further into this disgusting much covering my body. Come on, Aqua. Just a few more steps...

'You have been drowning in a sea of darkness for so long your body might not be able to withstand the light of escape. It might completely destroy you along with the other side to your heart.' You mean that I was destined to die no matter what? Even if I returned to the light that warmth would only completely burn me up...

'A balance must be found, such as the one Riku has managed to find within himself.' A balance of light and darkness? My body was originally meant to burden the light just as Eraqus wanted, but then I lost my soul to the darkness that I considered my ally. Could a combination of both elements be the key to unlocking the shackles over my body?

Suddenly, my hands began to glow two different shades of color one being white and bright while the other was purple and dark in the shade covering it. Somehow I'd gotten this strange power of wielding both of these elements despite their natures being polar opposites from each other.

'Xehanort may wield a mighty amount of darkness, yet he cannot use its true potential unlike you.' Huh, so that meant he wasn't able to fully utilize the darkness he craves or even use the power of the light just like Sora's Nobody and Xion. All of his research and skills couldn't give him this kind of power, and even I wasn't able to realize until when I had exhausted all other options left.

"This could fail and result in my untimely end, but that hasn't stopped me before from doing something crazy."

'Do you wish to use this power to protect those you care about? To get revenge against Xehanort for using you?' Was it for those reasons or something else entirely I began to ask myself at the words from this mysterious helper.

"I'm going to do this for all of those reasons, but mainly for myself!" To have the opportunity to make up for my past mistakes and errors in judgment also showing Eraqus that darkness isn't as bad as he believed considering it saved my life on more than one occasion not to mention someone like Riku who came back from such a deep darkness like this.

'Good luck as you embrace the twilight of the middle road.' Charging up my power I fired off a beam of light to cut through these black tendrils around my body as I began to crawl through this huge mass of darkness. I knew this was my last chance, so I had to make the most of this opportunity given to me to reunite with everyone outside of this place.

"That light...how did you?"

Guess you don't have COMPLETE control over me, Xehanort! Feeling the grasp of Stormfall in my hand I swiped the extending tendrils attempting to wrap me back up again. Of course, this new power in my other hand was actually hurting me in the process. It was like a burning fireball was in my hand, a sensation that likely was because of the nature of the darkness still within my body while using this light to fight Xehanort's influence. Seeing dark energy balls come in my direction I fired off more blasts of light despite it causing a tremendous amount of pain to shoot through my free arm.

"You can't fully wield that power while accepting the darkness! You're not going to end up like that boy, Riku!" Indeed, the chances of allowing you to change my body will be slim now that I can fight back. Stabbing a couple more of these tendrils moving around to stab me. Watching these limbs move at rapid movement I knew that I couldn't let any of them get a grip on my body. Moving back in this sticky floor below me I knew that I could only hold back this force for a limited amount of time when it had grown to this height and power.

"You can't hold me back forever..." That is why I'm trying to force you out of that mass you're currently hiding in, Xehanort! Rolling out of the way from one of these blasts of darkness I knew that my body was likely going crazy on the outside because of this battle in my mind.

( Kairi's POV )

Oh, this can't be good! Aqua's eyes were yellow again plus she was now beginning to escape the binds on her body causing Mickey to cast some kind of spell that caused Aqua's body to slow down.

"This won't hold for long if Xehanort gains full control over this body," Mickey's golden Keyblade was being pointed at Aqua who was glaring at him even while being affected by the most powerful time magic I've seen. "Aqua has to overcome Xehanort before it's too late to save her..." I knew that this was all up to her, but I also knew that we needed to give her more time to help her out while sitting on the sidelines.

"Like hell, we can't do something to stop this crazy old timer from messing with the present!" Lea threw out his fire-spewing weapons at Aqua trying to render her unconscious only for them to get stuck in that black fog used earlier.

"Don't be so reckless! We don't know how powerful Xehanort is in this form, and we've been lucky not to agitate him-"

"TOO LATE!" Gasping in horror, the chakrams were slowly eroded by the darkness blanketing Aqua's body as she was beginning to move faster in this slowed-down state. I tried using Blizarra only for Aqua to point her Keyblade and fire off a powerful spear created from the darkness covering her body that nearly hit my shoulder. I was fortunate that spear was slowed down from Mickey's magic, a lucky break that let me move out of the way in time, however, she began to charge up more with her shaking arm.

"Hey, wise old sage guy. You might want to get out of here things are gonna get messy." Yen Sid was hesitant to follow Arlene's suggestion, but Mickey told him that nothing would get too badly broken while we dealt with this problem.

"You...can't stop me...in...time..." She hissed out before launching out some more spears that were sliced in half with Ulmaria's scythe. The speed was getting fasted with these spears not to mention her power or rather HIS is slowly becoming stronger with his strength. Then, she used some kind of magical spell that made her body glow orange before she disappeared through one of those dark portals making me gasp about how she was able to move so quickly.

"I'd forgotten Aqua likely knew how to use that kind of power from being a Nobody. She could be anywhere or come from anywhere..." Mickey's warning put us all on edge as we got into a circle position to watch each other's backs. What was also alarming is how much her hair changed having even more silver locks than before along with her skin becoming more tanned in color. The transformation process was likely almost done...meaning Aqua was on the verge of losing herself in the process.

"We can't let her be consumed by this force, she has already lost so much and we can't let her soul end up being another thing stolen from her by Xehanort!" In the middle of my speech, I didn't even consider Aqua merely appearing behind us to slash at my back with her Stormfall Keyblade. Moving my own Keyblade to protect myself Arlene, Ulmaria, and Mickey tried holding her down only for her to begin firing off several blasts of darkness in a limited area to fight in thus making it hard to dodge these attacks.

"I'll start with you, little red! Once I plunge this key into your heart it will lock up this persistent host of mine forever!" Clashing with the magical blade from this possessed-Keybearer I knew that I had to buy Aqua some more time to overcome the darkness within herself. Something must be done to save her heart, but what more could I do to stop this? Defeating her again wasn't the answer, the idea of containing her wouldn't work if she had grown this powerful, and with Xehanort controlling her reasoning would fall on deaf ears. What? What? What can I do?!"

"There is a reason this girl was given the surname of "The Sapphire Sorceress" as a member of Organization XIII. Her magical power managed to surpass the likes of dear "Ven" and even Terra making her rather useful in my NEW version of that group." You won't be joining that group of poor souls when I stop you!

I tried hitting this possessed warrior with a powerful blast of light while Lea, Arlene, and Ulmaria tried to keep her distracted with their weapons only for a huge wave of darkness to come out and cover the entire room in a black fog making it very difficult to find where Aqua was due to that cloak hiding her presence. Actually, there might be a way to see her...

'Detect the evil lurking within.' With the light from my Keyblade, and entrusting my heart I knew this was my only way of defending myself against the next attack hidden in Xehanort's element despite Lea's attempt of creating a fire to guide us to Aqua's location. Seeing this horrible sensation lurking behind Lea I knew where she was going to strike next, so I pointed at her direction with my Keyblade revealing her location along with HIS intention on harming this man.

"You're a failure of a vessel! Did you honestly believe this could be a way to repent for your prior actions?" Her grip on his neck was tight, of having this reach within his element we barely had enough time to strike at Aqua to save Lea from getting impaled by her blade. She was moving at a rate of speed that was nearly impossible to predict not to mention the vast black fog still clouding this room. Ulmaria was knocked by from this enemy's weapon along with Arlene leaving me and Mickey as the only two still able to fight back.

"Such a potent darkness, she is on the verge of being totally consumed by Xehanort."

Nodding, the next move would be crucial in saving Aqua's life meaning I had to do something drastic to reach out to her. Something that would get her the chance to regain control, and this idea popping into my head might be rather deadly. Still, I knew that at my current level I wasn't a match for a fully-powered Xehanortified Aqua not to mention everyone else here was getting tossed around by this threat. If we didn't end this now we all might end up being slaughtered and losing our light forever.

"Kairi - wait what are you doing-" Aqua was moving in on Mickey, and despite his smaller size and speed she was able to easily overpower him with her darkness blasting him into a wall. She grasped her weapon in a stabbing motion meaning that I had no time left to reconsider my idea that will hurt me badly, but this was our last chance to stop her!

"Kairi?! KAIRI!" I felt the painful sting of this weapon in my chest along with the darkness enhancing the power of Stormfall as it was plunged into my chest.

"AHAHAHAHA! What a worthless gesture to save this foolish King. How tragic...K-Kairi...why are you...oh no! Please don't tell me I-I..." I smiled through the pain my body was feeling as I could feel a little bit of blood coming out of my mouth, and despite this, I was glad that Aqua was speaking to me again. "Why! Why did I let this happen?!"

"This...isn't YOUR fault." I knew this was how it needed to end with no one else being hurt because of these unfortunate circumstances rather myself...because that means I'm the only one who has to do this. Using the remaining strength in my arm I pointed my Keyblade at the chest of Aqua's body knowing that she would get the message...I wish her luck on defeating her own self...

( Aqua's POV )

"NO MORE!" I let out a huge burst of light magic causing the black mass to shiver up in pain while I let my emotions come out against the other tendrils retreating into the darkness surrounding this place. Using every inch of magic left within this body I knew that this abomination had to die along with myself; in order to save others from suffering like Kairi. Firing off some darkened-fireballs at the limbs slamming the floor I ran up to attack this beast with renewed determination.

"You've gotten your strength back? Damn that brat, Kairi! She must have provided the catalyst for your rebellion spirit returning!" Running closer to the yellow eyes of this monster I jammed my Keyblade right into one of them making the beast scream out in pain. Following that move, I began to teleport around the area launching several burst attacks that were light-enhanced that severely hurt Xehanort's more inhuman form. I couldn't give him the chance to fight back while his guard was finally let down, so I ran up past more of these tendrils to slam my blade into another eye making it roar out again.

"You can't reject me! I'm too far etched into your being! You will never be rid of the darkness, Aqua!"

"Perhaps, but at least now I will be rid of YOU!" Holding up my Stormfall I fired one powerful burst of ice magic that was followed by a fire spell creating a series of raindrops that were pouring down over myself and this monster. Following that, I used more ice spells to keep this beast from moving while parts of its body were being frozen due to my ice allowing me the opportunity to charge up one final blast of magic. I had to end this here or else Kairi's actions would have been for nothing.

"I will never die, never, never, never, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, NEVERNEVERNEVERNEVER!"

"All things must come to an end, Xehanort. The both of us have been avoiding the end for too long!" With my Keyblade now shining with the power, I had nearly abandoned for the sake of revenge and hatred I plunge this blade into the heart of this monster causing it to writhe up in pain and shake around the room sending me flying over to the edge of this area. Hanging onto the edge I noticed the beast isn't fading away rather it was shrinking in size returning to a human-looking shape again. Then, I saw my face with Xehanort's skin color and those spiteful yellow eyes staring at me.

"I overlooked the bonds that I tried to severe from you, such a powerful factor in yourself. That said you haven't won. I might slither back into the deepest portion of your heart, but so long as Xehanort lives I WILL NEVER DIE!" So that wasn't enough to destroy this horrible thing? I guess I've also underestimated my opponent's determination, even if she was less powerful than earlier when I had truly given up on living.

"Besides, the reunion will give me another vessel with the ability to wield a Keyblade."

"The other chosen hosts to reunite at The World That Never Was!?" Aquanort who I guess is what I should call this twisted version of myself gasped when I spoke about that plan, which was about to begin due to Sora and Riku getting separated from Mickey and the others in the realm of dreams.

"YOU! Don't tell me that you were able to tap into my mind earlier? This is rather troubling, but no matter! Keep holding onto your pitiful self while you can because the second I can fight back you will be erased forever! For now, I will accept removing that girl you care about from the chessboard!" She pointed at me while hissing out that statement as her body slowly disappeared into the black void behind her leaving nothing but questions for me to figure out. I've won the battle, however, the war had only begun for the fate of the universe, but more importantly, I had to do something to save Kairi...

Returning to the normal world I was horrified by the image of Kairi remaining unconscious while the black, foggy wound in her chest continued to grow bigger with each passing moment. Because of my weakness, she was now in this horrible condition...

"Come on, Kairi! You can wake up from this right, Your Majesty?!" Mickey didn't respond to Lea's question making him react in a way I rarely saw from the former double-agent of Organization XIII. Arlene and Ulmaria also seemed worried about this girl despite the fact her friends were the ones who destroyed their Nobody selves in Castle Oblivion.

"I don't know if any kind of healing magic will fix this wound."

"That's because it is something only a being of darkness can fix."

I knew this injury was like a parasite eating away at the light inside of Kairi's body, so only I could take back within myself knowing I might end up being fully possessed in the future. To keep her light from fading means that Xehanort would remain inside of myself waiting, watching, and resenting me for stopping him if only for a short period of time. To save this girl's life I would endanger mine, but this kind of sacrifice was something I embraced with joy in my heart knowing that for a moment I was able to bathe in the light again.

"You've done remarkable things and been a pure-hearted person, Kairi. Even if you won't accept the title of Keyblade Master you're more than earned that name." Placing my hand over her chest, the horrible sensation of evil that lurked in this girl slowly returned to its point of origin born from my own negative thoughts and feelings. Gasping once the last of this venom returned to my body Arlene and Lea took hold of my shoulders out of worry.

"I...cannot stay here for long. Xehanort has been submerged into the depths of my heart, but until the current vessel of his original heart is saved...until Terra can return to normal I remain a danger to everyone. After all Sora and Riku also happen to be in great trouble because of Xehanort..." I knew that now wasn't the best time to explain what I learned from being possessed however with those two still diving into the depths of dreams they were now vulnerable to the evil lurking in the darkest of nightmares. They wouldn't exactly be thrilled to see me here unlike Kairi was, even if she had to hold back that happiness for the sake of fighting me again. There was only one place left I could go that would welcome me with open arms, the very place where all of this began.

"That's a pretty freaking stupid idea, Aqua! I mean being alone in that crappy place with no one around is asking for trouble..." Arlene voiced her concerns while Lea and Ulmaria wondered what I could gain from going back there instead of training Kairi like they expected me to say instead.

"She can't learn anything useful from me. You can leave if you wish Ulmaria and Arlene if you so wish considering you two also aren't exactly well liked by Sora and Riku. I do ask that you help Kairi out with her training in my place, but if you can give her a message from me it would this." Proving him the same popsicle stick he left for me before his demise when he was Axel. The gesture being shown is that she was lucky compared to myself in having so many things go in her favor despite knowing that she had to become stronger for the upcoming war.

"I'll give her the message, but you better come back or I'll come there and drag you back!" I gave a nod to Lea who wouldn't let me go without a response like that along with my word.

In case she would need to destroy me permanently I couldn't let her get attached to me, even if I wanted to train her and tell her all of the events from my life as a Keyblade Master in training. She was truly the heir to my position as a heroine of the light, so that is why it pained me to leave her with so many things she would need to handle on my behalf. At the very least I can see a new Keyblade Master in that girl with how selfless she had become; compared to me greed and wrath nearly sending me into ruin. She was everything I once was in life, and I knew that I could leave most of my mess in her hands to clean up while I handle the rest from the dark...

"Good luck to all of you. You're certainly going to need it in the upcoming months."

The Realm of Darkness

Home sweet home. Well, for a being like myself who could use the darkness as I removed the top of my black cloak to find THAT certain person who I figured had to be stuck here considered the last moment I heard about him stopping Xemnas and his artificial Kingdom Hearts. He certainly wasn't expecting me to follow him into the place where my life began down this dreadful, yet exciting turn that let me see the worlds as they were today. In retrospect, I don't regret heading down this journey despite it nearly costing me everything that makes me who I am.

"I didn't think you would come to visit a ghost, Aqua."

"We're both in the same situation. Having made terrible decisions that have cast us out of the universe for the protection of everyone living there." I walked over to where he was standing as we both were in these black cloaks to protect our hearts from the darkness. Looking at the vast ocean in front of us I had a feeling of melancholy come over me while I tried seeing his face underneath that hood.

"I can't do much to make up for taking away Roxas or Xion, but would you mean a silly old man providing you one of his stories from a time long ago?"

"Not much to do besides wiping out heartless. I'm all ears, Ansem." I couldn't help the chuckle from escaping my lips as I knew that eventually, I would need to find a way to help out Kairi, Sora, and Riku in their battle with Xehanort. At least for this moment, I could appreciate the isolation of this place knowing I wasn't alone in this purgatory...

"Terra, Ven, Lea, and Kairi. Please wait for me a little while longer..." I promise that everything will work out for us one day. Then, I can introduce you all to the ones who will be our replacements as we all get some sea-salt ice cream in Twilight Town with Lea and my other friends. Yeah, that would be nice...

[ To be continued...I wish!

If anyone feels like picking this up you're welcome, but as for this story, I'm pretty much done with it now. I have some regrets that it took so long to complete, and the writing in several chapters at the start could have been improved. I am grateful for everyone who stuck with this story and provided the motivation to continue and make this one reach a conclusion.

For that, I thank all of my readers and reviewers of this story that have been keeping up until the very end. I could have added something more about Kairi, but this was Aqua's journey first and foremost. As for my next story, I have to finish my HXH stuff, however, I'm working on a small piece from Mario as a late Halloween present, so expect something really spooky for my next fanfic. Until then thank you all for following, reading, and giving me your thoughts on my stories. :P]