Brothers Light and Darkness

The blue must faded away along with Jinn, leaving the four in the same chamber as before. The God Brothers stared at Aqua who remained silent while Poppy looked at Aqua in complete and utter silence, eyes wide and barely able to grasp what she had learned.

The Brothers remained silent before the God of Darkness spoke up. "It appears we have our answer, Brother."

"Yes." The God of Light sounded…sad. "Perhaps we cannot salvage anything from the experiment."

Aqua raised an eyebrow. 'What do they-?'

"Salem eventually grows powerful enough to challenge and destroy us if she can destroy entire worlds and humanity will fail to unite in the future and that other power that the girl who becomes the new Yggdrasil becomes greater than ours. Perhaps you are right and we should end this now. Humanity cannot be redeemed so we will end them now to stop what will come in the future and Salem will be left to wander the Remnant alone until the end of days to prevent either of them from becoming a threat to us."

Aqua's eyes widened as she froze, stunned by what she was had just heard. Behind her, she could hear Poppy gasping, sounding as horrified as she was.

Did they just say?

"Yes. They've become too much of a problem. I knew it was a mistake to allow for them to survive." The God of Darkness agreed. "They threaten us again even after we give them a chance to redeem themselves. They will never learn."

"It is sad to admit, but I must agree. Salem will only become a threat if she believes she can trick us into destroying the Remnant for her, in the hopes that she will die with them rather than learn her lesson. There is no other option." The God of Light said, sounding remorseful. "It seems Ozma's task was for nothing. We will end it immediately."

"NO!"

This didn't come from Aqua, but Poppy as she stepped forward with an infuriated look on her face. "YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO THIS!"

Both deities regarded her, the God of Light seemingly surprised but the God of Darkness. "What did you just say?"

"I said you do not have the right to do this! Why should we redeem ourselves to you?!" Poppy shouted, tears dripping down her face as she glared. "Your monsters killed my entire family and now you want to kill everyone else because you're frightened of us?! I can't believe you are this petty!"

"I see insolence is indeed a human trait. So that woman was not so unique after all." The God of Darkness chuckled but it was anything but humorous. "You claim to look down on us when we are the only reason you exist? Know your place before I put you in it."

"It's not me you should be scared of." Poppy replied before pointing at Aqua. "It's her!"

Aqua looked at Poppy with a surprised face. "…Poppy?"

"I saw it all…I know she's not from this world…She's a warrior defending worlds from evil…" Poppy looked at the Brothers. "And you're afraid of her…Because you know she can destroy the both of you-"

"Enough!" The God of Darkness raised a hand, conjuring a sphere of dark energy. "Know your place!"

"Poppy!" Aqua screamed as she rushed to the girl she had taken as a student.

The sphere exploded into a shockwave of purple…

Poppy turned and faced Aqua just as she reached out with a hand…

Mere inches from her…

Poppy smiled as the dark light engulfed her…

And then she was gone.

Aqua went still, even as she fell forward onto her knees, seemingly frozen to everything around her.

The God of Light had looked away as his brother removed Poppy from existence, disintegrating her body with just a mere thought. It was harsh but expected. She had disrespected them and their place and they could not allow for that.

Not now or when Salem had turned humanity against them.

"Foolish girl." The God of Darkness lowered his hand. "She should have known better than to believe she could speak to us in such a manner. Now we finish our task and remove the rest of humanity from the Remnant and put this behind us."

Before he or his brother could do anything else, they spotted a bright blue aura surrounding Aqua who was still kneeling with her head bowed.

Xxx

Terra froze, feeling a wave of despair and…anger shooting through his heart. "…Aqua."

Xxx

Far from Remnant or the Ever After, in what used to be the Land of Departure but now known as Castle Oblivion, a boy was sleeping in a white chamber.

In his hand, a green star shaped charm began to glow and the boy was seemingly sad.

Xxx

"HA!"

CLASH!

Neo's Way to the Dawn clashed with Ruby's Crescent Rose as they continued their fight. However, just as the sparks began to fly Neo froze as she felt something.

Something very wrong.

"Aqua…"

Xxx

Aqua stood up as her Aura flared around her and she lifted her head up, casting an infuriated look at the Brother Gods.

"Aqua, what are you doing?" The God of Light asked, feeling wary now.

"Bring…her…back." Aqua said slowly as she summoned her Keyblade.

The God of Darkness looked at her. "Are you ordering us, Aqua?"

"I said, bring her back." Aqua stepped forward. "Now!"

"Hold your tongue or I will you put you in your place like I did that girl." The God of Darkness snapped.

"Aqua, you cannot attack us. You yourself said that you cannot intervene in the affairs of other worlds." The God of Light reasoned.

"This is not about rules!" Aqua shouted, her Aura flaring even brighter. "You just told her you were going to destroy her home and then you killed her without second thought!"

"You didn't see a problem when I wiped out Salem's army…On your request." The God of Darkness retorted.

"Because I saw no way to change your minds! You were going to wipe out everyone, even people who were innocent! Just like Poppy!" Aqua shouted. "She was an innocent too but you don't care about that? All you care about is that you're afraid of your own creations killing you!"

"I said hold your tongue!" The God of Darkness growled.

"Aqua, you saw what Salem will become. We cannot risk her becoming a threat, not to us but to all worlds that you claim to protect." The God of Light tried to reason. "You might not agree but it is necessary. And you cannot intervene or you will break your own rules regarding the balance between worlds. Will you break your own rules to stop us?"

"I am following the rules of my order!" Aqua retorted. "You left Remnant behind! Its affairs stopped being any of your concern! And I would never stand aside and let a whole world and its people die to appease the two of you."

"So you are just like her." The God of Darkness snarled. "You claim to respect us but when it's no longer convenient to you, you turn on us, make demands of us and even wish to destroy us. After everything we have done for you!"

"Aqua…There is folly. Please do not try to stop us." The God of Light tried one last time to change the Keyblade Wielder's mind. "Go and return to your realm."

"You want to end the world?" Aqua settled into her ready stance. "You have to go through me first!"

"Very well." The God of Darkness snarled before in a flash of dark light, assumed his dragon form. "I knew trusting you was a mistake!"

(Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack Fight and Away Begins)

(Information: Defeat the God of Darkness)

The God of Darkness wasted no time, charging right at Aqua with his mouth wide open. Aqua dodged, cartwheeling to the side. The God of Darkness spun around and raised a claw, showing large nails sharp as any spear. He rose up, towering over Aqua and prepared to strike. Aqua jumped up, twisting her body as she dodged and flew over the God of Darkness' head.

"Thunder!" She shouted, pointing her Keyblade at the dragon deity's head.

ZAP!

A bolt of lightning hit the God of Darkness as it turned but it seemingly had little affect…

Other than making the dark god angry by the growling sound it was making. Aqua landed perfectly on the ground, looking up at dark deity without fear.

"RAGH!" The God of Darkness opened his mouth and from it came dark fire.

Aqua dodged again, shooting off to the right and then charging at the dark dragon. She jumped as she ran, preforming a Double Jump and drop kicked the dark dragon's side. Despite her impressive move, her kicked seemed to leave nothing at all.

Not even a scratch.

Aqua bounced off and landed on her feet as the dragon turned to her. "Fool! A mortal cannot harm a god!"

"Then why are we fighting then?" Aqua retorted.

She charged at the God of Darkness again, letting out a battle cry as she ran. She jumped into the air and landed a slash with her Keyblade on the dark dragon's side. The God of Dragon didn't believe he would feel anything but to his surprise he felt the Keyblade touch his skin…and cut it.

If the God of Light had eyes, they would be wide in shock…and horror.

The Keyblade could hurt them!

"RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" The God of Darkness roared and kicked backward.

"Defend!" Aqua raised her Keyblade and projected a barrier in time but she still flew into the air from the sheer strength of the kick.

The barrier protected her even as she crashed into a wall. She grunted as she fell but managed to land on her feet. The God of Darkness then swung his tail at her but Aqua blocked again, once again being thrown to a wall. This time she hit the wall with her feet, absorbing the shock before she kicked off and landed on the floor.

"Brother, she can harm us!" The God of Darkness shouted to his light counterpart. "She is as much a threat to us as that woman will become!"

The God of Light was still, staring at Aqua in silent and stunned awe.

Aqua looked back at him…which allowed the God of Darkness time to make his move. The dark deity roared, releasing a shockwave of dark energy that struck Aqua before she could react. Once again air-borne, Aqua let out a surprised cry before she hit the wall again. Having not been prepared this time, Aqua's Aura took the full hit and she fell to the ground.

Her Aura shimmered and broke easily from the hit.

Despite the benefits of having an Aura, Aqua could see that her Aura couldn't match up with the power provided by the Keyblade. Neo told her it took training to make an Aura strong enough to take powerful hits and recover quickly. Unfortunately, even with her training it took a full hit from an actual deity so it wasn't surprising it didn't hold out long. Aqua groaned but managed to get up, bringing a hand to her face and felt a scratch.

A large one.

"Heal!" She quickly said, healing her wound while wiping away the blood that had spilt.

The God of Darkness snarled as it slowly approached. "So all this time, your Keyblade had the power to harm even Gods. I knew it was powerful but to this extent, I was right to consider you a threat the day we first met. You preformed a service for us when you faced that woman and her army and I repaid that service by commanding my Grimm children to cease hunting you. But I will not let anyone, even threaten me or my brother in anything."

Aqua wiped the blood from her face and glared at the God of Darkness.

"To think a mortal could ever gain the power to challenge a God." The God of Darkness said balefully. "And you can even travel through time. So why do you even bother? Why go all through this? Why…do you keep coming back?"

"I have to…" Aqua answered slowly. "Because I am fighting for a purpose."

"A purpose?" The God of Darkness asked.

"That's right." Aqua glared at the dark deity. "For my friends, for Poppy…for the worlds…I have to fight!" Her shouting echoed throughout the room. "I fight for those who mean something to me!" Aqua said, a smile appearing on her face as the faces of her friends appeared in her mind.

"Mean something? Who could mean so much to you that you would travel through time and fight us? Are these pathetic mortals worth that much?" The God of Darkness asked as he slowly approached the Keyblade Master.

"That is right. I fight for my friends, the ones I hold deep in my heart and I know they would do the same for me. Both the friends I have made before coming here…and the ones I know I will make in this world in the future!" Aqua brought a hand to her chest. "That's how I have become so strong! For them, I will fight through everything, even you! That's why I won't let you destroy this world!"

A tear fell down her face as her Aura seemingly returned, blazing to life around her. "I'll keep them safe, no matter how long I must fight or travel through Remnant's history. If you ever think of harming them…You'll answer to me!"

The God of Darkness stopped, staring at the Aura surrounding Aqua while the God of Light was frozen still. "This energy…This…devotion…"

Aqua summoned a golden star glyph underneath her with her Semblance and she shot forward, running at the God of Darkness with a battle cry. The dark deity let loose another blast of dark fire that seemingly consumed Aqua…

And then she leapt out with a golden Aura covering her and didn't have a single scratch on her.

"WHAT?!" The God of Darkness roared.

A second later, Aqua's Keyblade smashed into the dragon deity's face. He staggered back as Aqua landed perfectly on the ground while the golden Aura around her vanished.

'The invulnerability I got from Hercules uses up my Aura quickly. I can't use it again until I can replenish my Aura reserves.' Aqua thought but wasn't worried.

It had been worth it in her opinion.

"YOU!" The God of Darkness hollered, incensed by Aqua's defiance to the point of madness.

His mouth opened and he let loose dark fire at Aqua again. The Keyblade Master took running, easily dodging the dark flames. The God of Darkness roared and took off into the air and fell towards Aqua. Just as it was right on top of her, above by only a few inches, Aqua teleported out of the way.

CRASH!

Cracks formed along the stone floor from the crash and the aftershock shook the chamber. Aqua appeared a few behind the dark dragon, managing to remain standing. The God of Darkness spun around, lashing a claw at her but Aqua ducked and it passed over her head. She jumped up and charged forward, swinging her Keyblade.

The God of Darkness jumped back before he was hit, now wary of being touched by the Keyblade. Aqua landed on the ground and watched as the dark dragon took off into the air again.

"You will not defeat me so easily!" The God of Darkness roared. "Your weapon has to touch me to hurt me!"

"Then it's a good thing I can!" Aqua retorted as she aimed her Keyblade up at the dark dragon. "I told you, I fight for those important to me!"

A pillar of light shot out from under her and managed to hit the God of Darkness, causing him to scream in pain from the light.

"This can't be…" The God of Darkness groaned before falling to the ground.

(Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days Original Soundtrack Fight and Away Ends)

The God of Darkness was struggling to get back up as Aqua slowly approached him. "It's over now. Bring Poppy back."

"I…You…" The God of Darkness groaned, managing to lift his head up. "It's impossible for a power like this to exist."

"And yet it does." Aqua pointed her Keyblade at the dark dragon. "Now bring back Poppy!"

A golden light from the corner of her vision was all Aqua needed as a warning before she jumped back, dodging the dragon form of the God of Light as he moved between her and his brother. "Enough! How can you claim to be fighting for the balance when you break your oath not to interfere?"

"I told you, the affairs of Remnant stopped being your concern when you abandoned it." Aqua retorted, pointing her Keyblade at the light deity. "So I am upholding my oath. I'm defending this world from you!"

The God of Light snarled, but did not move to attack Aqua. He only made sure to stay between her and his brother as he recovered from Aqua's attack.

"You lasted well against my brother, Aqua. However I do not believe even you can defend yourself against both of us at the same time." The God of Light quickly pointed out.

"Then stand down, Izanagi. Bring Poppy back and forget about destroying Remnant." Aqua argued. "There are other ways to solve this problem."

"The Remnant is a hold out from a failed experiment. The people are too selfish to ever be redeemed. If they become a threat to us, they can just as easily become a threat to you." The God of Light pointed out.

"But Ozma hasn't gathered the Relics together. You're scolding me because you think I'm breaking my own rules but you both constantly break your own rules without a second thought. You can't return until the Relics are gathered together." Aqua shot back.

This caused the God of Light to pause.

"Izanagi, I don't think you understand the severity of what you and Erebus have done. Both of you created humanity on Remnant. That means that they naturally possess both light and darkness in their hearts. They will ALWAYS have disagreements that put them at odds, much like their creators before them." Aqua stated. "When you refused to revive Ozma, you never told Salem why. If you truly wanted to preserve the balance between life and death, you would have explained how delicate that balance is to her, even if she refused to accept it. But instead, you thought an endless life would be the perfect teacher for her. Immortality and a grieving mortal don't mix.

I've seen what she has become, and it's not pretty. She's on a warpath to make the two of you feel the same pain she feels. And she WILL use her immortality to its fullest to that end. Salem is still human at her core, and we humans can overcome anything when properly motivated. Keyblade Wielders, like myself, are one example of humans becoming strong enough to challenge gods.

"It's a long and difficult road, but it is possible. There's nothing more dangerous in this world or any that was, is, or will be than an immortal, heartbroken woman with powerful magic and nothing left to lose. Even if you end all life on the first world you made, Salem WILL find a way to leave it and hunt you down out of spite. And it seems that the destruction of life on Remnant IS what she wants.

"You'll only give her what she wants if you do this." Aqua finally finished and waited for the Brother Gods to reply.