"Look who finally decided to show up," Kairi teased lightly, pointing to the shore where Lea and Riku were rowing in.

Aqua smiled in relief. She had expected the two boys half an hour ago, and Riku didn't seem the type to be late without a good reason. She and Kairi had passed the time by building sandcastles and training a bit more.

They jogged over to the shoreline, where Lea was already flopping out of the small wooden boat, looking as sick as he had the first time he'd ridden in it. Kairi covered her mouth to hide a laugh when her eyes landed on his new outfit.

"Riku, please tell me you didn't let him wear that."

"Believe me, I tried to talk him out of it," Riku said while stepping out of the boat. "He wouldn't take the clothes back, and I wasn't about to loan him any more munny."

"Hey, they're fine," Lea insisted, standing up and brushing the sand off of his shirt—a bright orange tank top with a paopu fruit logo on the front. "It was the first thing I saw that didn't have flowers all over it."

"Alright, but… green shorts too?" Aqua asked through a laugh.

Lea crossed his arms.

"They're swim trunks! In case Riku knocked us both into the ocean on the way over."

At least he was wearing tennis shoes instead of beach sandals. He would still be able to fight in those if it came down to that. Imagining him battling Heartless or whatever else they ran into in the Realm of Sleep made her laugh again, which then led to Kairi giggling too.

"Alright, alright," Riku said. "You can make fun of him on the gummi ship. We're late enough since he slept in."

"Hey, you slept in too…!"

"Right." Aqua coughed, ignoring Lea's protest.

She made small talk with Kairi during the flight to the Mysterious Tower, but her mind was elsewhere. She tried to stay focused on positive thoughts. This could be it: the last obstacle between her and rescuing Van. The last thing between her and knowing if the words she'd heard last night had been real.

"I love you, Aqua. I miss you…"

"Aqua? Are you alright?" Kairi asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yes, I'm fine…" She relaxed her grip on her Wayfinder, which had been so tight she'd lost some feeling in her hand.

"It's okay. We'll find your friend." Kairi smiled. "I've got a good feeling about this."

Aqua hoped Kairi's gut feeling was right.

By the time Riku landed them in front of the Tower, Aqua's nerves were wound tight. She jumped when Lea clapped a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't let Riku freak you out. I bet all the Norts have cleared out of there by now." He gave what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile. She would have been more reassured if he hadn't said anything.

She forced a smile—a grimace, really—and followed him out of the gummi ship.

XXX

"You intend to return to the World That Never Was." Yen Sid clasped his hands on top of his desk. "I do not believe this is wise."

"Please," Aqua replied. "It's the only idea we have left. If my keyblade armor is anywhere, it has to be there."

The old sorcerer frowned thoughtfully. Or maybe he was just frowning because he still thought the plan was unwise. She knew it would be dangerous; so did Riku, Lea, and Kairi. They had all willingly agreed to the plan. But if Yen Sid wouldn't send them to the Realm of Sleep, their support would all be for nothing.

"I cannot afford to send all of you. If something were to go wrong, four keyblade wielders is too many to lose."

"I have to go," Riku said. "I'm the one who knows the Realm of Sleep best."

"And I know the World That Never Was," Lea added.

Yen Sid raised an eyebrow at him. He'd been standing in the back, but now the sorcerer got a look at his clashing clothes.

"You will not be going anywhere in those garments."

Lea smirked. "So then if I change, I can go?"

Kairi, who had been standing in the back near Lea, frowned. "I'll be the one left behind again, won't I?"

No one replied. Riku rubbed the back of his neck. As much as she wanted to, Aqua couldn't argue for her; it seemed it would be difficult enough to convince Yen Sid to transport them at all.

"I'm sorry," she eventually said to Kairi, who sighed.

"It's fine. This is about your friend, anyway, not about me." She forced a little smile, which Aqua returned guiltily.

This is why you're the Princess of Heart. You're the most selfless out of all of us. Aqua herself wouldn't have given up so easily.

"Very well. Master Aqua, Master Riku, and Lea." Yen Sid inspected each of them in turn. "Are you sure you are sufficiently prepared?"

They met each others' eyes and nodded.

"Yes," Aqua answered.

"Ready as we can be." Lea shrugged. "Unless you're actually going to get me some new clothes."

"That will be taken care of when you arrive," Yen Sid replied. "Keep your wits about you."

He closed his eyes and stretched out his hand.

XXX

Aqua's stomach somersaulted, her hair whipping about her face. Fractured shapes flashed past. Blue and gray and black. What had Yen Sid done? Was she falling back into the Realm of Darkness?

"Stay together!" Riku called from below her. He was falling too, but he'd turned so he was facing her. Oddly, she noticed that his clothes had changed, and… did he look younger? "We'll be in the World That Never Was soon!"

"Ugh, I hate this part…" Lea groaned from above. Hopefully he wouldn't lose his lunch on her.

"We're coming up on some buildings. Follow my lead!" Riku shouted to be heard above the wind.

Sure enough, blocky gray shapes rose up to meet them. Riku rolled over in midair, giving himself plenty of time and room to dodge the impending buildings. It was a good thing he did—it took Aqua several seconds to figure out how to mimic his motion, and even then she had to propel herself with a small burst of Aero.

"Spread your arms if you're falling too fast!" Riku called.

"Agh…!" Lea sputtered overhead.

Aqua didn't dare try to look up at him—she didn't have that much control over her fall. But she did have enough control to spread out her limbs, and the air did the rest. She hovered just long enough for Lea to collide with her.

"Hey—!" he shouted, but she just grabbed hold of his sleeve—he had sleeves again?—and pulled him to her side.

"It'll be easier if we stick together," she said over the rush of wind.

He nodded. He wasn't wearing the awful outfit he'd bought on Destiny Islands anymore; instead he was back in his black coat. She briefly panicked that this place had changed her clothes too, but she felt the tight belt around her waist, the dark veins protecting her skin. Did Yen Sid leave her suit alone on purpose?

That was the least of her concerns right now. More buildings were emerging from the void below.

"Stop flailing," she told Lea, whose panicked movements were sending them closer to the gray shapes.

"I'm not trying to," he said. "If we could just corridor in like sane people…"

"Just hold onto me," she said, letting go of his sleeve to grab his hand instead. "I can steer us with magic."

He nodded, though his face was still a little green.

"Do your thing, Miss Keyblade Master."

"Incoming!" Riku shouted from below.

Aqua saw what he meant—they were now falling towards a maze of disklike shapes, each with a hole that they would barely fit through.

Lea groaned, but Aqua just took a deep breath. It was refreshing to be up against a problem that wasn't a product of her own heart.

They dove into the labyrinth, Aqua adjusting their course with delicate Aero spells. Wind may not have been her strongest element, but when it came to skill, she could manipulate just about any type of magic to her will.

They made it through unscathed, unless she counted the pins and needles in her hand where Lea had squeezed it numb. He let out a sigh of relief and opened his eyes. It was probably best that they'd been closed; he hadn't seen just how close they'd been to splatting against the walls.

"Good work! We're almost there!" Riku said. "Get ready!"

"What?" Aqua called. "I don't see anywhere to—"

Suddenly he vanished—there one second, then gone without a trace. Lea wasn't freaking out this time, though, so she remained calm. Seconds later, they fell through the same rift in space that Riku had disappeared through.

Her stomach lurched again as their fall slowed dramatically. Then their feet finally touched down on solid ground. Lea breathed a sigh of relief.

"Home, sweet home." He cracked a grin, gesturing to the empty hallway before them. "Gotta say, the Norts really let this place go."

"It looks even worse than when I came here last time." Riku frowned.

He did look younger. Why had this place done that to him, but not Lea? Did she look younger? She surveyed their surroundings, looking for a pane of glass or something she might catch her reflection in.

No luck there. They'd landed on a balcony made out of the same fractaled gray material as the obstacles they'd fallen past. Behind them floated more building-debris. Aqua wasn't sure what she'd been expecting from a place called The World That Never Was—maybe something like the broken, floating ground in certain parts of the Realm of Darkness. This place, while distorted-looking, still looked as if it had once been built by someone—or something. Those geometric forms couldn't have been created naturally.

Before she could ask if they had a plan, she heard animal calls echoing from down the hallway. Lea summoned his keyblade, but Riku perked up at the sound.

"Wait," he said, holding up a hand.

Suddenly two rainbow-colored monsters came bounding down the hallway. One monster was shaped like a lion, another like a t-rex, of all things. They looked even stranger than the Unversed and Heartless put together.

"It's okay. They're the good kind," Riku assured them

"These are the Dream Eaters you were talking about," Aqua realized as the lion nuzzled Riku and purred. "The ones Drizzle reminded you of."

"Yeah." Riku petted the lion between its ears, then scratched the dinosaur under its chin when it growled jealously. "This is Fang, and the lion is… Roary." He winced. "Sora named him."

Aqua chuckled. She could imagine Ven picking out a name like that.

"I'm glad they found you again," she said. If only Drizzle could come back so easily…

She looked around, as if the Realm of Sleep could bring him back to life. Of course, that was silly. Only Van could bring the Inversed back.

"Yeah, good for you," Lea said to Riku. "Can we get on with this?"

Riku nodded somberly. "Right. Did you have a specific room in mind, or should we just search the whole castle?"

"Well, Xemnas always liked lording it up on the roof…" Lea looked up, ruffling his hair. "I don't know how much is left of it now, though."

"It's worth a try," Aqua said.

If searching this whole castle took half as long as searching the one in Radiant Garden, they could be here for days. Hopefully having a starting place could shorten that time.

"Alright. Be sure to stay together, just in case."

In case Xehanort is here, Aqua understood.

Deep down, she almost hoped that he was here—just so she could ram her keyblade through him.

There would be time for that. But not yet. Van needed her more.

She followed Lea and Riku's lead, with the two Dream Eaters guarding their flanks. The bad kind of Dream Eaters—Nightmares, Riku called them—showed up from time to time, but they weren't much harder to take out than Heartless.

Every once in a while the path in front of them had crumbled away or was blocked with debris, and Lea had to work out a new route. She followed in silence, not voicing the worries she felt—that there might not be a way up, that the skewed walls might collapse on top of them, that she was a rat trapped in an endless maze.

Don't think like that. This isn't the Realm of Darkness. Riku can get us out if we need to.

Outside shattered windows, she caught glimpses of city lights far below. Their glow was distorted by a swirling layer of silvery fog.

Fog. Not smoke, not mist. Not the Dark Wind…

She jumped when the next mob of Nightmares appeared, then chided herself. Riku and Lea were handling themselves, and they'd both faced horrors here before. The least she could do was stay strong for them—and for Van.

Fighting off the Dream Eaters helped release some of her nervous energy, but it built up steadily as they continued walking in silence. She kept her thoughts on Van to distract herself. Still, the echoes of their footsteps played tricks on her mind. She imagined she could hear someone following them.

"Do you think we're close?" Aqua finally asked, making Lea jump.

"Yeah," he answered quickly. "Long as the next few halls aren't too busted up."

She nodded. Hopefully her armor would be there, or else… well, they would just have to keep searching this hollow castle, no matter how much it unnerved her.

Thankfully, the next few hallways were intact, though the floor was skewed so that it felt like the whole castle was tilting sideways. Aqua's heart beat faster as they climbed a crumbling set of stairs. She took them two at a time, outpacing Lea, Riku, and the two Dream Eaters.

"Aqua, wait—" Riku called, but she was already near the top.

Please, please, just this once, don't let my hope be in vain…

At the top of the stairs, she stopped cold. Her armor wasn't on this weathered roof. But something—someone—was.

He stood on the opposite end of the long space, his back to her. The black coat he wore was unfamiliar, but the silver hair flowing over his shoulders gave her a clue of who he might be.

"Xehanort," she whispered, her hands tightening around Master Keeper.

Lea and Riku burst out from the stairs behind her. She heard the sounds of their weapons being summoned.

The silver-haired man slowly turned.

"Indeed, you could use that name." The man smiled, gold eyes glinting in the ambient light. "Yet it is not the one I would expect to hear from you… Aqua."

Her breath caught. She shouldn't be surprised—Terra's armor had warned her of his current fate.

"Terra…" She couldn't help taking a step closer, squinting across the space between them. Despite his golden eyes and twelve extra years of age, she would recognize her friend's face anywhere.

Terra… what has Xehanort done to you…?

"Don't let him fool you, Aqua," Riku said while turning an angry glare on the man. "That's Xemnas. One of Xehanort's vessels."

"And my old boss," Lea said, his face hard as flint. He called towards Xemnas, "You take one step closer, and I'll see what this new keyblade looks like sticking through your chest."

"Please, Lea…" How could Aqua explain it? This might be Xehanort, or Xemnas, or whoever, but he still had Terra's face.

What if part of Terra was still in him? Terra's armor hadn't been able to stay fully conscious forever. If this Xemnas died, what if the rest of Terra—the parts that he needed to be whole—were lost forever?

"I doubt that my friend would allow that to happen." Xemnas's smile almost looked sincere. "Isn't that right, Aqua?"

"I…" She looked between him and Lea, who was staring at her like she was crazy.

All she could think of was her nightmare—the one where she'd killed Terra, thinking he was still Xehanort. The one where she'd been wrong. Could she really risk making that mistake again?

"We're not going to fall for your taunts. What do you really want?" Riku shouted at him.

Xemnas stepped forward. Riku held out a hand, blocking Lea from charging.

"I would like to speak with my friend. I believe I have something that belongs to her."

He stretched out his hand, and just like that, her keyblade and armor materialized on the ground. Her keyblade—Stormfall. It wasn't an illusion; she could feel it calling to her. When she tried to summon it to her hand, though, it wouldn't come. She would have to make physical contact with it again first.

"Don't," Riku warned. "It's a trap. It has to be."

"Can I just kill him now?" Lea asked. "Then we can grab the armor and run."

"You can't kill him!" she said, voice cracking. "Would you kill Sora or Roxas if they were being controlled by Xehanort?"

Riku and Lea looked away.

"I am surprised to find you've allied yourself with those two," Xemnas said. "Both have betrayed those closest to them in the past. That one in particular is the greatest traitor of them all."

Lea sneered in the face of Xemnas's scowl.

"Sure, I'm the traitor. I'm not the one who lied and told a bunch of clueless saps that they didn't have hearts!"

"It was not a lie to most. Take your Saix, for instance. He was the most empty of us all. A perfect candidate for one of my vessels."

"His name is Isa!" Lea shouted, flames dancing down the length of his keyblade. "He'll never be one of you!"

Xemnas shook his head with a small chuckle. "You are still a fool, Axel. Always chasing after illusions of things that never were. Saix joined us quite willingly."

"Shut up!"

Aqua had no time to try to stop him. Lea shoved past Riku and charged towards Xemnas, keyblade wreathed in flames.

"Lea!" Aqua started after him, but Riku grabbed her arm.

"We need to get out of here. Xemnas was waiting for us. We're giving him what he wants."

"We can't leave Lea!" And she couldn't let him kill Xemnas. The man wasn't her friend, but if there was the chance he still held parts of Terra, she couldn't let him be destroyed.

"I'd say you can't leave at all."

Aqua gasped and spun around. Standing on the steps behind them was a face she had never expected to see again: the eyepatched man who had fought alongside Xehanort at the Keyblade Graveyard. And next to him, someone she didn't recognize—a man with blue hair and an X-shaped scar on the bridge of his nose.

"You!" Aqua bared her keyblade. This man she could kill and have no qualms about it.

"The name's Xigbar, Bluebird." He grinned. "So what are you gonna do? Stay here and pick a fight with me, or keep Flamsilocks from incinerating your poor little Terra?"

Aqua's stance wavered, but she resisted the urge to glance back at Xemnas.

"I can take care of them," Riku said. There was only one of him, though, and there were two of these black-coated lunatics.

"No. I think I've got time for both," she sneered at Xigbar, steadying her blade. Riku took up his battle stance—the one that looked just like Van's—beside her.

Then all hell broke loose.

In a blink, Xigbar summoned two guns to his hands and fired several shots right at Aqua's chest. She staggered back and managed to block the rest of them, even reflecting back a few of the purple projectiles. Riku charged the blue-haired one, who stepped back and summoned a giant backhanded sword. Their blades clashed with the sound of grating metal. Aqua had to trust that Riku could hold his own; the bullets wouldn't let up long enough for her to help him.

"You're gonna have to do better than that!" Xigbar called at the same time the smell of smoke hit Aqua's nose. She grit her teeth and cast up a Barrier, then spared a glance behind her.

The other end of the roof was awash in flame. She saw flickers of black moving within, the only proof that Lea and Xemnas were still alright. There was no way she could reach her keyblade and armor through that, though.

Her Barrier shattered, and a few more bullets grazed her arm.

"Get your head out of the clouds, Bluebird! Or do you want to end up like your pal Terra over there?" He grinned, leaving himself open while he magically reloaded his guns.

"That's not Terra!" she yelled, then cast Blizzaga towards him. He teleported away, leaving his laugh hanging in the air.

"You didn't sound so sure earlier," he said from behind her.

She spun and struck him in the arm, but not before several more of his bullets struck her back. Those stung more through her suit than they had through her armor.

If only I could get to it…

There was no time, though. She cartwheeled towards Xigbar and managed to land a few more blows before he teleported again.

"Stay still, you freak!"

He just laughed—this time while hovering upside down above her. "You calling me a freak? As if!"

She cartwheeled away from his projectiles, then sprung up and launched a Triple Firaga towards him. He cursed and teleported again, the edge of his coat singed.

That wouldn't be the only thing singed if Xemnas and Lea's battle continued. Sweat drenched her under her suit.

"You seen yourself lately, Bluebird? You look like you were taking fashion lessons from that punk the old coot kept on his leash. What was that kid's name again?"

Aqua snarled, casting Thundaga and Ice Barrage in succession. The second wasn't as effective with the flames so near, but it still knocked Xigbar back a few steps.

"Van-something. Vanilla? Come on, give me a hand here."

"What do I have to do to make you shut up?" she yelled, reflecting his projectiles back again. That seemed to do more damage than her magic had, but still he kept shaking it off.

Desperate and furious, she kept raining spells around him, but her aim suffered as smoke and anger blurred her vision.

"Kill me, probably." He shrugged, dodging her Thundaga Shot. "Just like you did with that kid, right? For someone who's supposed to be so light-happy, you sure don't got a problem with murder."

"I didn't kill him!" she screamed, releasing the largest burst of magic she could. The aura enveloped them both, but he blocked most of it with his guns crossed in front of his face.

"Ooh, touchy, touchy!" He laughed, downed a potion, and tossed the bottle aside. The glass shattered against the ground, the fragments trembling in the heat. It was only thanks to her suit's protection that she wasn't melting as well. "You want to grow a conscience now? Looks like you're too late."

He nodded towards her, resting one of his guns on his shoulder. Surprised, she looked down at herself—and saw the darkness swirling around her.

"Didn't think you had it in you, but I guess the boss was right after all. You'll make a good enough vessel."

"No," she whispered, turning over her hands, watching the dark energy curl around them.

All the anger, all the hate, all the fear—she'd released it. She'd brought it upon herself. Again. She had been too furious to feel the dark effects at first, but now its icy tendrils clawed their way through her veins, multiplying her terror.

"Hey, you should be happy! You and Terra will get to be together again! Now all we need is the sleeping kiddo."

Aqua barely heard Xigbar's words. The darkness was rushing through her head, sounding like the crashing of waves. Or the roar of fire.

"Lea, you have to stop this!" Riku yelled from somewhere across the battlefield; she couldn't see him through the flames. "You'll get us all killed!"

"Heh. As if." Xigbar chuckled. "Us Norts can get out of here just fine. And you can, too. What do ya say? Ready for a family reunion?"

"Like… like I'd ever join you!" Aqua shouted, trying to bite back her darkness. Take deep breaths—only she couldn't, not without inhaling smoke and having a coughing fit.

"As if you've got a choice! Actually, you do. We can do this the easy way, and you get to keep some of your free will. That's what I did. Or, we can take you kicking and screaming, and you can end up dead inside like X-Face over there." He gestured with his gun to somewhere behind him.

"You're wrong," she said, clenching her eyes shut. A bad idea when facing an enemy, but they were burning from the smoke and from holding back tears. "I won't fall into the darkness again. I will prove to you I'm stronger!"

She opened her eyes and leapt towards Xigbar, bringing her keyblade down in a powerful overhead blow. It took him by surprise, enough that the hit connected with his skull for a moment before he teleported away. He reappeared a few paces off, staggering.

"Heh… you've got spunk, Bluebird." He raised his guns and fired, but most of the bullets went wide. The few that would've hit she reflected back at him, and he stumbled back, towards the edge of the flames. "You should really pick the easy way. It'd be a shame for the old man to suck your soul out."

"Shut. Up!" She slid forward, still leaking darkness. It didn't matter now. Nothing mattered, except getting rid of Xigbar, the man who had helped take her friends from her.

He raised his guns again—and she slammed the hilt of her blade down on his fingers. He hissed in pain; the weapons fell and disappeared in a purple flash. Then the teeth of her keyblade were at his neck, touching his skin, inching him closer to the flames.

"You're really going to kill me, aren't you?" Xigbar said. For once, his voice wasn't taunting. It wasn't scared, either. It wasn't anything at all.

Violet energy swirled around Master Keeper's shaft, splitting into tendrils that snaked out to hold Xigbar in place.

"Yes," Aqua said, her voice cold. Too cold. Was this really her? The thought was distant, barely formed.

Suddenly Xigbar grinned. "Then that just means I did my job right. See ya in hell, Bluebird."

The bold words made her hesitate—but her darkness was already flowing, constricting Xigbar without her command. It started to push him back into the fire.

Wait, no… he needs to die, but… this is what he wants…?

"Now would… be a good time… Xemnas!"

"What?" Aqua spun—too late.

The silver-haired man was waiting for her, his hand outstretched. Touching her darkness.

Controlling it.

The dark force reversed, sending the tendrils curling back in on herself. She screamed as they pierced through her suit, into her heart.

She collapsed to the burning ground. The last thing she saw were those glowing yellow eyes, set in Terra's face. His lips, enunciating words that she'd longed for the real Terra to say.

"Welcome home, Aqua."