"Xemnas!" Lea yelled. "I'm not done with you yet!"
Where was Xemnas? Just seconds ago he'd lobbed a chunk of building at Lea's arm, and then suddenly he was gone. Lea wanted to be optimistic, but he didn't think he'd done enough damage to scare the other man off. No matter how he stoked the surrounding flames, Xemnas never seemed to feel the heat.
Thankfully, Lea didn't either. He stalked through the fire like a specter, searching for any sign of his ex-boss. He caught a glimpse of movement, two figures locked in battle—was Riku fighting Xemnas now? Lea ran towards them, but stopped short when he heard a voice from off to his right.
"Then that just means I did my job right. See ya in hell, Bluebird."
That voice—Lea cursed. Apparently Xemnas wasn't the only Nort here to crash the party.
Hiding himself within the flames, Lea snuck around until he could see Xigbar without the other man seeing him. Theoretically. Even though he was missing an eye, Xigbar could snipe from distances further than Lea could see.
But Xigbar had more than just Lea to worry about at the moment. Aqua's keyblade was pressed to his neck—and she was leaking darkness.
Sometimes Riku uses darkness too, he thought. Maybe she has it under control this time.
She looked like she was holding her own—winning, actually. Maybe they could finally take out one of the Norts for good.
"Now would… be a good time… Xemnas!"
Lea knew he had a heart, because it froze at what he saw next. Xemnas burst through the embers on the opposite side, then immediately started drawing on Aqua's darkness. Her scream pierced through the roar of the fire.
Trailing flames, Lea ran towards her—but not fast enough to intercept the dark tendrils.
"Welcome home, Aqua."
Xemnas smiled as she collapsed. What had he done? Was she still breathing? Lea was still too far away to tell.
"Hey, look alive!" Xigbar shouted, pointing an arrowgun over Xemnas's shoulder at Lea.
"How about you look dead!" Lea snarled back.
Xigbar's bullets whizzed past him, but Lea still wasn't close enough to strike yet. If only he still had his chakrams, he would just chuck them—oh, right.
He hurled his keyblade, and it spun through the air in the strongest Strike Raid he could muster. The hilt struck Xemnas right in the back. While he barely staggered, it was enough to distract him from Aqua.
"Why must you always interfere?" Xemnas asked, facing him.
Lea caught his keyblade as it returned.
"I promised my friends. I'll always be here to bring them back."
Xigbar rubbed his neck, where Aqua's blade had been moments before. "Right. Like you were there when X-Face needed you?"
Lea grimaced, but didn't rise to the taunt this time. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
Especially when that mistake might have just cost Aqua her life.
He shook off those fears and dashed forward. He'd hoped to have a bit of surprise on his side, but now Xemnas was ready for him. The man threw up a barrier, and Lea's momentum carried him into it face-first.
"Take care of the traitor," Xemnas told Xigbar. "It won't be long now before Aqua's heart succumbs fully."
"Before her heart what?" Lea gaped as he recovered.
Spiderweb cracks distorted his view through the translucent barrier, but he still saw Xemnas bend down and brush Aqua's hair back from her face. Maybe it was a trick of the firelight, but one lock seemed to gleam silver.
"You—you Norted her?"
"Hey, the old coot's an equal-opportunity employer. Your pal wouldn't be the first girl he Norted." Xigbar smirked. "I wonder if she'll get along with Larxene?"
Lea couldn't get drawn into a game of banter. From what Xemnas had said, Aqua's heart wasn't completely lost yet. Lea still had a chance to save her.
He swung his keyblade like a baseball bat, and after a few strikes, Xemnas's barrier shattered. Lea raised an arm to block the light blue shards from his eyes. When the remnants settled, Xemnas was surging forward, blades flashing so fast they left afterimages.
Lea leapt to the side in a desperate attempt to dodge, but his keyblade arm still took a glancing blow. Hissing, he braced it with his other hand. He tried to cast Cure, but his form was off, and the small flash of green light flickered out. The failed spell gave Xigbar an opening to pelt him with energy bullets—a whole barrage of them took him in the chest, knocking him back towards the growing inferno.
"Nice try, Flamsilocks! But don't worry, we'll take good care of the girl for—" Xigbar stopped mid-sentence, his single gold eye widening. Lea coughed as he tried to suck in air.
"Like I'm... gonna fall for that—"
A primal roar sounded from behind him. Acting on reflex, Lea dove out of the way and into the fringes of the flames. From there he saw the source of the sound.
"Isa?" Lea gaped.
His friend—once-friend—crashed across the battlefield. Riku was in pursuit, though he looked in worse shape, with blood and ash staining his face and clothes. One of his pant legs was on fire; he cast Blizzard at it to put it out.
"Lea—" Riku coughed, "get rid of this fire already!"
It took a second to process the words—between Isa's appearance, and Xemnas talking about Norting Aqua, and Xigbar now raising his arrowguns again. But Riku was right; Lea's flames weren't doing enough to stop the Organization members. He drew in a sharp breath and commanded the blaze to retreat. He couldn't make it disappear completely when it was so out of control, especially in his weakened state. Instead he pushed the flames outwards, enlarging the ring of fire so that it rimmed the roof's perimeter. What was left of it, anyway—Xemnas had used chunks of the building as his projectiles.
"Would you prefer to fight Saix, Axel?" Xemnas asked with a smirk. "You cannot be satisfied with Riku harming your friend."
In spite of himself, Lea's eyes were drawn to Riku and Saix's battle. Riku slid in with quick stabbing strikes; Saix retaliated with powerful backhanded blows. He looked just as much the berserker as he ever had beneath the full moon, but there was no light of Kingdom Hearts here. Where was he getting his power now? Xehanort?
"Riku is my friend," Lea finally replied, brandishing his keyblade in spite of his injured arm. "I don't know what you did to Isa, but that's not him."
Just like how Xemnas was no longer the friend Aqua remembered, this Saix was not Isa. As much as Lea's heart still wanted to try to reach his friend, he couldn't make the same mistake she had. It would just get them all killed.
"Heh, so much for always being there to bring 'em back." Xigbar chuckled and reloaded his arrowguns.
Meanwhile, Xemnas created a boxlike energy barrier around Aqua. At least she wouldn't get caught in the crossfire that way, but Lea wondered just how long he had before her heart would be lost forever.
As he charged back into battle, he hoped he wouldn't have to find out.
XXX
Cold… so, so cold…
Aqua couldn't register anything but the freezing sensation that had taken her over. Her limbs might as well have been disconnected from her body; her skin might have turned to ice. She would shatter at the lightest touch.
What… what happened to me…? The question eventually pierced through, once the cold had finally made her numb. Too numb for pain, too numb to remember.
But she needed to remember. There was something… something important…
She tried to sit up from where she was lying on the ground, but her body wouldn't respond even to that small command.
"Go back to sleep," a sickly-sweet voice said.
The stimulus shocked her, and she opened her eyes—or at least, she felt like she did, but she still only saw blackness.
"You won't have to worry about anything soon," the voice continued. Not just any voice—her voice.
Aqua knew where she was.
Get… get out of my heart! She wanted to shout, but her lips wouldn't move. Her mouth might as well have been frozen shut.
Her reflection—the black-haired, golden-eyed version of herself—leaned over her.
"You should be the one getting out. Not that you can. You'll be trapped here forever once Xehanort gets ahold of you."
It was then that Aqua noticed something different about the reflection—one streak of silver shined in the center of her bangs.
"It's started already," the dark Aqua said, touching that silver lock and frowning.
"This is… your fault," Aqua choked out through cracked lips. "The darkness… let him in…"
"My fault?" Her reflection snorted. "I'm a part of our mind. You might as well blame yourself."
She did blame herself. But arguing about that would be useless. She had to get out of here; she had to wake up.
But how? Last time, Riku had saved her. She couldn't count on that happening twice.
"There is no waking up," the copy said, reading her mind. Their mind. "Once the fragment of Xehanort's heart breaks this pillar, we're stuck here. Forever."
Aqua looked up. Violet energy circled overhead. Where dark bolts crackled from the storm to the platform, ice and glass cracked.
"Then I'll have to wake up… before then."
Exerting all her strength, Aqua dragged her hand up to her chest and cast Cura. The numbness receded a little, leaving pain in its place. But Aqua had pushed through pain before, and she would again. Her reflection jumped back as she struggled to her feet.
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" The dark reflection asked. Aqua glared in determination.
"By defeating you."
XXX
Riku hadn't fought a battle that lasted this long since his Mark of Mastery Exam. Saix cycled between calm, controlled phases and berserk rage. No matter how much damage Riku inflicted, the man shook it off by the time the next cycle came around.
Right now, that cycle was set on rage. Riku rolled out of the way of his claymore, nearly ending up in the flames again. His clothing, while made for the Dream Worlds, was much less fireproof than the Organization coats. Bulky and stifling as those coats were, Riku missed his.
Saix crashed across the battlefield, busting more craters into the roof. At this phase, it was more practical for Riku to keep dodging than to try to attack.
While rolling out of the way, he caught glimpses of Lea fighting Xemnas and Xigbar. Lea had switched his blade to his left hand; the other hung limply at his side.
Saix's claymore clipped Riku's foot, bringing his attention back to the fight at hand. Lea would just have to take care of himself.
But they'd already taken down Aqua… That didn't bode well for their chances of winning. She was the oldest Master next to Yen Sid, having passed her Mark even before Mickey, the King had said. Riku had seen a few of her spells, and they certainly seemed powerful. How had Xemnas and Xigbar taken her down so quickly?
He forced the thoughts aside when Saix finally slumped, his berserk rage worn out. That would give Riku a few seconds to attack again before—
A wall of flames sprouted up beside him, the heat blistering his exposed skin.
"Riku!" Lea called, suddenly jumping through the wall of fire. Violet projectiles whizzed over his head, one taking Saix right in the center of his scar. The blue-haired man staggered back as Lea stumbled over to Riku's side.
"If you're worried about me killing your friend, don't be," Riku said, spinning and holding up Way to Dawn to deflect more of the incoming energy bullets. "I'm barely holding my own."
"That's not it." Lea stretched his arms out to his sides, widening the barrier of fire and raising it higher so that it blocked the remaining projectiles. Riku grimaced at the heat, but at least Lea was keeping it under control this time. "We need to get Aqua out of here. They're trying to Nort her."
"What?"
"You heard me. Any chance we can grab her and Drop out of here?"
Riku shook his head. "She's already unconscious. I can't take someone out when they're dreaming inside a dream. Not without going back inside her heart again."
Lea cursed. "So we've gotta fight off these guys and wake her up?"
"Unless you've got a better plan."
At that moment, Saix came raging through the fire, pulling Riku back into focus. As he moved to intercept Saix, Lea called back the flames, revealing Xigbar and Xemnas closing in too. Riku and Lea went back to back, facing the three members of the True Organization.
"A better plan." Lea laughed shakily. "You up for some flexible thinking?"
XXX
Aqua skidded across the glassy ground, breathless after a hit from her reflection's Thundaga Shot pierced right through her barrier. She landed too close to the edge of the platform, which was just as unstable as the last time she'd been here. Even more so—the pillar shook with each crack of the storm's dark lightning.
"Stop fighting already," her reflection called through her sneer. Even more silver streaked her black hair than before—Aqua was losing more than one fight here. "Don't you see? I'm even stronger than before, and you couldn't beat me then. What makes you think you can beat me now?"
"Because…" Aqua winced, pushing herself up with Stormfall. "I have to."
The copy snorted. "Why?"
"You're a part of me. You know why," Aqua replied, stretching out her hand and casting Zero Graviga. Her reflection floated in midair, writhing but unable to escape the magical field.
"There's no one left for you to save!" she yelled. "And once Xehanort takes over, you'll forget all about them! We won't have to worry anymore!"
Something about that wasn't right. Well, a lot of things weren't—but one in particular. Aqua frowned.
"You say that like you're worried about them."
The copy dropped to the ground, landing on her feet. Aqua had been too distracted by her words to take advantage of her vulnerability, and now the moment was lost. Her reflection sprinted forward, locking her black Stormfall against Aqua's gray and blue one.
"Would you believe me if I said I was?"
Aqua's blade slipped. The reflection shoved her back, but Aqua turned the momentum into a quick cartwheel. The platform rumbled, nearly throwing her off balance again.
"I wouldn't," Aqua snapped. "You're my darkness. You don't care about anything."
"So hurtful." The copy placed a hand over her heart. As she did so, another lock of her hair bled from black to silver. Aqua thought she saw her wince. "Have you really learned so little?"
She's just trying to distract me, Aqua had to remind herself. I have to defeat her before Xehanort takes over.
She dashed back, dodging the darkness-laced orbs of her reflection's Teleport Strike. One orb was too quick, so Aqua sliced through it instead, but its dark energy still crackled across her skin.
If only I could distract her…
Aqua recovered in time to block another Thundaga Shot. Her reflection seemed to be fond of that spell—interesting, since Aqua didn't focus much on the Thunder element. Maybe Xehanort was influencing her already.
"Tell me," Aqua said, "if Xehanort enters our heart, will you be trapped here too?"
The copy paused, leaving an opening for Aqua to cast Triple Firaga. The first flame struck the reflection in the chest, though she blocked the next two.
"Just as trapped as I've always been," she replied, though her brow was furrowed. Maybe that was just from the effort of fending off the flames.
"So you don't care if he takes over our heart?"
"You just said I don't care about anything." She swept Stormfall out in front of her, creating a wave of icicles that speared towards Aqua. Despite her attempt to dodge, one caught her in the leg, freezing around it.
"I thought maybe you'd care about yourself," she said to stall while trying to tug her leg free.
"How many times do I have to tell you? We're the same person. If you don't care about me, then why should I?"
Aqua frowned. The copy's logic wasn't making sense, but at least the conversation was keeping her distracted.
"If we're the same person, then you should care about destroying Xehanort, and keeping our friends safe."
The reflection smiled, a sharp grin that looked wrong on her.
"I would care about those things. But it's too late. We've already lost."
Silver ate its way up another clump of her hair, making the copy shudder. Aqua tried to hide a shudder of her own.
"No! It's never too late!" she yelled. She slammed Stormfall against the ice, making it shatter and release her.
Her reflection laughed, but this time it was a weak sound, lacking any kind of malice.
"Sometimes, Aqua… there isn't always a way…"
XXX
"Flexible thinking?" Riku asked over his shoulder.
"Uh-oh. That's code for Flamsilocks is gonna do something stupid." Xigbar grinned, raining down bullets over Lea, but Lea just reflected both the grin and the bullets back at him.
"Maybe something stupid enough to work."
Xemnas lunged forward, ethereal blades aimed at Lea's neck, but the redhead raised his keyblade in his left arm to catch them. The more important thing, however, was what he was doing with his injured arm.
"Lea—!" Riku caught on, but not fast enough to stop him from doing the one thing he had been warned not to do:
Summon a dark corridor.
"You would run away? Leaving your friends behind once more?" Xemnas asked.
Lea ducked as Xemnas's blades slipped out of his block. Luckily Riku had also dodged to the side to avoid a blow from Saix, or the ethereal blades would have taken off his head instead.
Xigbar teleported directly in front of the dark corridor. "As if we're gonna let you sneak off again."
Lea smirked. The dark corridor was pulsing oddly, at a higher frequency than usual. That was bad for his Plan A, but you didn't attempt flexible thinking without a Plan B.
"Hey, freaky wind Heartless! Can you hear me? These losers are trying to take your host body!"
"Lea—have you lost it!?" Riku shouted. Saix used his distraction to knock Riku across the roof, nearly into a crater.
"I always knew you there was something wrong with you, but—"
Xigbar didn't have time to finish his mocking remark. A hissing sound emanated from the portal.
"Yesssss… our vessssel… sssshe isss near…!"
Lea froze, his blood running cold in spite of the battlefield's heat. From Aqua's description, he had expected the mist of darkness that was trying to filter out of the corridor. He had not, however, gotten the memo that it could talk.
"Okay… sure didn't see that one coming," Xigbar muttered, rubbing his neck and stepping back from the portal.
Xemnas faced it, summoning an energy barrier to block it off.
"A noble attempt, but pitiful nonetheless."
"Lea!" Riku shouted from across the roof, where he had gotten to his feet and was again battling Saix. "Close that thing! You have no idea what it could do!"
As Riku said it, Xemnas's barrier began to crack. Black smoke leaked through it, swirling towards him.
"There issss no light in you..." The wind hissed as Xemnas leapt back. "And the girl, her light isss being desssstroyed… yessss… perhapssss we will choossssse a new vesssssel…"
"Uh, perhaps we won't." Lea flicked his wrist, directing the corridor to close. It resisted his command, as if the dark mist was trying to hold it open. "Oh no you don't…!"
The mist that had already made it through rushed towards him. From behind it, Xigbar reloaded his guns and grinned.
"Look at that. I knew you were gonna do something stupid, but this really takes the cake."
Lea ignored him. He held out his keyblade and cast Firaga. The spell cut through the darkness, taking Xigbar in the face. The man went down hard, his arrowguns vanishing in purple flashes of light. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the smoke from coming for Lea.
He crossed his arms over his face and braced for impact.
XXX
"Sometimes, Aqua… there isn't always a way..."
Aqua's reflection stepped forward, her boots crunching across the ice-crusted glass. The platform shuddered, cracking even more of the ice.
At least, Aqua hoped it was just the ice. With how brittle her heart felt, it could have easily been the glass cracking below.
Though she kept a brave face, the copy's words ate at her, just as surely as the dark lightning ate at the edges of the platform. The only way she'd gotten out of here before was because of Riku. This time, she was facing not only her own darkness, but also Xehanort's power. Even Terra, one of the strongest people she knew, hadn't been able to fight that.
"See, now you're getting it," the copy said, reading her mind again. How did she keep doing that?
"Stop sounding so surprised. We are the same, Aqua. I am as much you as you are." The reflection readied a spell, gathering violet darkness at the tip of her blade. "At least, until Xehanort finishes his work with us. Then neither of us will be Aqua."
She keeps saying we're both me. If that's true, then…
The copy's spell flickered out as her eyes widened. She realized Aqua's plan. And if she looked that worried about it, that meant there was a chance it could work.
Aqua lowered her blade, instead pouring all of her focus into reaching her reflection's thoughts. It was like chasing the tail end of a dream after waking, diving into a part of her mind that she had never been fully conscious of.
"Aqua, don't—!"
But it was too late. She had connected to those dark thoughts, and now they swept over her in a roaring wave.
Hate it HATE IT ALL how could this HAPPEN how could Xehanort do this to us? How could Terra kill the Master how could Van leave me here HOW COULD I FAIL THEM? Hate them HATE MYSELF too weak I'm no Master—should have let me die instead, going to die anyway—Xehanort didn't kill me then, he'll kill me now, all my friends are DEAD, Ven's heart is gone I'M THE ONE WHO DESTROYED IT, tried to kill Vanitas, he'll never forgive me, he says he does but he can't, he's stealing my light—he's the reason I hurt HATE HIM NO HATE MYSELF—
She screamed at the emotions, wishing in vain that she could create Unversed, anything to get these feelings back out of her heart. She released them as spells, blasting Mega Flare and Deep Freeze and Thundaga Shot across the surface of her dive platform. The ground shook; she fell to her knees among shards of ice, the frozen pieces jabbing her through her suit. Still she kept casting spells, trying to expel the darkness.
"Aqua, stop! You're going to kill us both!" her copy shouted.
Good! Then I won't have to feel this anymore!
"You don't mean that! You're our light!"
I'm nothing! She screamed wordlessly, no longer able to cast spells, but unrestrained magic still poured off of her in waves. I'm… I'm…!
Brightness broke through her closed eyelids. The magic she was emanating—it was a bright, unmistakable white.
Light.
"Light can destroy just as much as darkness. You have to stop this!"
Light… light can destroy…?
The ground cracked beneath her. That was what finally snapped her from her trance, snapped the connection between her and her dark half.
She reeled back, scrambling away from a section of glass as it crumbled to black dust. The light drew back into her, leaving the platform in darkness. She blinked rapidly and finally noticed the gaping holes in the floor of the pillar.
Her reflection was lying a few paces away, her hair almost fully silver now.
"No," Aqua whispered. Shaking off her dizziness and dodging the largest of the holes, she made her way to her dark half.
"Congratulations, Aqua," she muttered. "All you've done is break our heart further. Now Xehanort will have no problem using us as his vessel."
"No… this isn't what I…" Aqua stammered.
"You wanted to kill me. But I'm you. You just did Xehanort's job for him."
The reflection's eyes fluttered closed. The storm above and the ground below both rumbled in anger as her last lock of black hair succumbed to silver. Aqua gasped as the remaining pieces of the platform began to crumble even faster, but there was nowhere to go, nowhere to run. And it sounded like her only hope—defeating her dark half—had backfired.
Tears leaking from her eyes, she clung to her reflection as the glass platform finally crumbled completely.
"Sorry, Van… I guess I won't be coming to save you after all..."
XXX
Lea crossed his arms over his face and braced for impact—but it never came. Instead he heard the summoning of a blade, a flash of light through his closed eyelids. He opened them in time to see a magical barrier surging towards the darkness.
"Aqua?"
The barrier shattered—but from the inside out. The blast swept back the dark mist, driving it back towards the portal. At the center of the shattering magic was a girl, but not the one he was expecting.
"Kairi?" Lea gaped.
She flashed him a quick grin.
"I knew you'd be helpless without me!"
"How kind of you to deliver yourself to us again," Xemnas said, coming at her with his ethereal blades.
"I won't be anyone's prisoner this time!" Kairi said as she cloaked herself in another barrier and met him head-on.
"Kairi!" Lea called. She might be a keyblade wielder, but that didn't mean she was ready to fight Xemnas. "I'll handle him! Use your light-powers to get that mist back in the portal!"
A shockwave emanated from where Xemnas struck her shield, but she slid out of it and nodded, running towards the black mist.
"Yessss… now there is some light to desssstroy…"
Lea wanted to help her, but he was busy intercepting Xemnas. At least Xigbar was knocked out, having taken that Firaga in the face. On top of that, King Mickey was helping Riku fight off Saix.
"Wish you two would've shown up earlier," Lea said, throwing a left-handed strike raid and then ducking under Xemnas's lasers. One still caught the tip of his hair.
"Just be glad we showed up at all." Kairi called up another spherical shield, keeping out the dark mist. Had Merlin taught her that? Lea really did need to take his training more seriously. "Mickey could've been on the other side of the universe, but he came back to ask Yen Sid about that box. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't be here."
"I'll be sure to thank him later." Lea grunted as he clashed his keyblade against Xemnas's ethereal blades. "Now can you take care of that darkness or not?"
"I'm trying! Magic isn't really my thing, you know!"
"What do you mean? You're a Princess of Heart, aren't you?"
Xemnas must have had more of a heart now than he did in the original Organization, because he scowled at Lea shouting so close to his face. Maybe using annoyance as a weapon would make a good battle strategy.
"Well it's not like I've had to do this before!" Kairi said. Then Lea heard an explosion from her direction.
"Kairi!" He looked back, leaving Xemnas with an opening to strike. His left arm took the hit from the glowing blade. His grip failed; his weapon clattered to the singed ground.
"Lea! Close it now!"
From within the translucent barrier, Kairi had her arms outstretched, forcing out a powerful blast of light. The mist writhed towards the portal, trying to flee it.
"Thissss light…! We cannot consssssume it…!"
"I'm a Princess of Heart," she told the mist. "Your darkness can't get to me."
"Heck yeah it can't." Lea grinned, jumped back from Xemnas's combo, and flicked his wrist.
The dark corridor closed with one last angry hiss.
"This changes nothing," Xemnas said, calmly continuing to force Lea back with long-ranged sweeps of his blades.
Lea was no longer holding his keyblade. Even if he were, his arms were in so much pain, he probably couldn't do much with it.
"I think it changes a lot, actually," Kairi replied, throwing a Strike Raid at the man's back.
That's my girl, Lea thought proudly.
Anger flickered in Xemnas's gold eyes as he turned on her.
"Hmph. We shall see."
Kairi drew Xemnas away, allowing Lea to catch his breath and finally, finally, pull off a successful Cure. Then he summoned his blade back to his healing arms and dashed after them.
"You—will not—hurt my friends—again!" Kairi yelled, ending her combo with another blast of raw light.
"Get that memorized." Lea smirked and added his fire to her light.
Xemnas called up a chunk of ground, blocking the blast and then hurling it at the two of them. Lea and Kairi were forced into a game of blocking and dodging the giant projectiles.
He's kept me on the defensive this whole fight, Lea realized. He's just buying time! We have to get Aqua out of here before—
A cracking sound came from the center of the battlefield. Xemnas let the last piece of building drop, crossing his arms and smiling smugly. Lea wished he could punch that look off his face.
"You are too late, Axel. Your friend has become ours now."
XXX
There was nothing. Nothing above her, nothing below, nothing but the other version of herself Aqua clung to as if her life depended on it.
Which it very well might. The other Aqua seemed to have fallen unconscious once the platform crumbled. Aqua didn't know how she could still be awake herself.
Maybe… Xehanort still hasn't reached me yet.
It was a futile hope. In the ambient light, locks of her hair gleamed silver as they whipped around her face. Most of the strands were still blue, but that wouldn't last long at this rate.
What would happen when there was no blue left? Would she think like Xehanort? Would she have any idea who she once was?
"Oh, you will know."
Her eyes widened at the new voice in her head. Not the Dark Wind—someone even worse.
Master Xehanort himself.
"That's right. Your heart will still be here, broken by your battle with the darkness. From here you will watch as your body fights alongside my vessels in the Keyblade War!"
"No!" she shouted into the void.
"Yes. But do not fear, girl. At least you will be reunited with your friend, after all this time."
"Terra," she whispered.
So the evil Master did still have him. Maybe he really was inside of Xemnas.
"He… he wouldn't want this. I have to stop you…"
Master Xehanort's voice chuckled.
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
Aqua looked down, at where her reflection was sleeping with her eyes shut tight, her expression pained. The darkness she'd tried to destroy. But that was what had cracked her heart, allowing Xehanort in. If that was the case, then…
"You would accept your darkness? Let it back into your heart?" Xehanort sounded genuinely surprised.
Of course he would be surprised—he only knew the old Aqua. The one who would fight darkness with all her might, the one hewn from the same stone as her Master.
But now… now she was something else. Someone with the strength to admit when she was wrong.
Someone with the strength to change.
"Yes," she whispered, the wind carrying away her words. "I accept it."
Her reflection's lips twisted into a smile.
And the pain began anew.
HATE HIM hate that I let this happen so so WEAK—fighting myself, don't want to accept it—too much pain it HURTS all the things I've done I'VE FAILED better to forget forget FORGET—
No—no, she could do this.There was more to her memories than pain and regret. She sucked in a deep breath, calming the flood of thoughts.
With a shout, Aqua called up her memories of light. The things she did want to remember. The people she loved, the times she'd done right.
Passing her Mark of Mastery. Hiding Ven's body away. Befriending Van. She took all these memories and channeled them towards her reflection.
"What is this?" Xehanort asked curiously.
Her reflection's eyes opened. Still gold, but that didn't matter right now—the silver was retreating from her hair, revealing her natural black. Aqua smiled and held her tighter.
Their thoughts, their feelings, their memories—all blended as one. The way she was meant to be.
"Now," they whispered in unison.
Aqua released a beam of white light at the same moment her reflection released the darkness. Instead of countering each other, the two beams spiraled together, streaking into the storm above.
"You always were a stubborn one," Xehanort's voice came, but it was strained.
"Some things don't change." Aqua smirked, but kept powering the spell. As she did so, she felt a tension release from around her heart.
"You can't… defeat me here…"
"That's where you're wrong. This is my heart, Xehanort. You have no place here."
Xehanort's voice didn't reply. Aqua closed her eyes, pouring the last of her energy into the spell. Finally both her and her reflection ran dry, their magical beams fading out. They had done all they could.
Aqua slipped into unconsciousness, hoping it would be enough.
XXX
Cracks arced across the boxlike barrier where Xemnas had hidden Aqua. Lea knew he should use this moment to sneak in an attack, but he couldn't look away.
"Axel, what's he talking about?" Kairi asked worriedly.
Lea didn't answer—he didn't have to.
The energy barrier exploded, blasting fragments across the roof. Lea's ears rang; Riku and Mickey lowered their keyblades. Even Saix and Xemnas went still, watching the figure who was emerging from the debris. She stepped forward, silhouetted against the background of flames.
Is she…? Lea's stomach dropped when his eyes caught the tint of her hair. Please let that be a trick of the light.
"Meet the newest member of our Organization." Xemnas smirked as he gestured to Aqua. She smiled and summoned her keyblade as she approached.
In the firelight, her eyes glinted gold.
"Aqua…" Kairi gasped. "They… Lea…?"
"We… we should get out of here," he whispered to her. Already his eyes were darting for an exit, but between the fire and craters in the roof, he couldn't see a way for all of them to get out.
"No! Lea, we can't leave her like this!"
"There's nothing we can do," he said, his voice lacking the emotion he felt.
He'd lost another friend. And it was his fault—he'd led her here, into this deathtrap of a world.
Aqua took her place at Xemnas's side. He smiled at her and tenderly brushed a strand of silver hair from her eyes.
"I knew you would see, Aqua. You are back where you belong."
She placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling back up at him.
"Yes… I am."
And then she plunged her keyblade through his stomach.
XXX
Terra, if you're in there, I'm sorry.
Aqua pulled her keyblade from Xemnas's abdomen. His amber eyes were wide; his lips parted in a silent gasp.
"You… how could you…?"
She unwove the color spell surrounding her hair and eyes. A rainbow shimmer passed over them, and they returned to their previous blue shades.
"I see… you are as strong and bright as I remember." He smiled, holding his hands over the gash in his stomach. It bled darkness that wisped up like smoke. "Until we meet again, my friend."
With those words, he disappeared, leaving nothing behind but wisps of darkness. Her keyblade vanished from her hand.
"Goodbye…" she whispered, "Terra…"
No. Xemnas, he—he wasn't Terra. Terra would never have attempted to turn her to Xehanort's side. She had to believe that, or else…
Or else I murdered my best friend...
"Aqua?" Lea and Kairi ran forward, Lea grabbing her shoulders, Kairi hovering worriedly behind. "They didn't Nort you?"
"No," she managed to get out, shrugging him off. "Please, I… just let me breathe for a minute…"
Riku and Mickey came over, offering their concern and support, but Aqua barely heard their words.
She should have been happy. Her plan had worked; by finally accepting her darkness, her heart had become whole. She'd had the strength to push out Xehanort's influence. She'd tricked Xemnas, and…
"I didn't want to kill him," she finally told them, interrupting Lea's attempt to ask how she'd escaped.
Her knees buckled. She sat down roughly, then finally allowed the sobs to start.
I killed him… is this what it means to have darkness? I thought I understood. I thought I could accept the dark without losing the light, but… I never would have killed him if…
Wouldn't she have, though? She had been perfectly willing to kill Xigbar. She would have gladly rammed a keyblade through Xehanort too, even before she had ever set foot in the Realm of Darkness.
They were at war. War meant someone was going to die, and someone was going to kill.
I just never thought Terra and I would end up on opposite sides...
"I wouldn't be so sure he's dead," Lea said with all of his usual tact. "I mean, Sora and Riku have tried to kill him before, and he came back."
Riku nodded, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder.
"And even if Xemnas is gone, we'll still find a way to bring Terra back."
"That's right!" Mickey added. "Ansem the Wise left us some clues to bring back the lost keyblade wielders. I haven't had time to go through them too much yet, but I bet Terra's one of them!"
Aqua sniffed. Clues? Why hadn't anyone told her before? Well, she had been rather preoccupied with saving Van, and Mickey had been trying to take care of multiple missions at once. But at least she knew now, and that was something.
She took a few more minutes to get ahold of herself, finally calming her shaking shoulders. She wiped her eyes dry with the heels of her hands.
"Thanks," she told the four of them quietly. "I think… I'll be okay."
She had felt this kind of shock after the battle at the Keyblade Graveyard, she had to remember. Some problems she would face whether her darkness was involved or not.
Kairi smiled and held out a hand to help her to her feet. Meanwhile, Riku cast his eyes over to his left and frowned.
"I think we're forgetting something."
Aqua followed the line of his sight. Standing slumped near the rim of the flames was a ragged-looking blue-haired man.
"He's just standing there," Lea said, taking a few steps closer to him. "I wonder…"
"Lea," Riku said warningly. "He's been fighting us as much as anyone else in the Organization."
"But why isn't he fighting now?" Lea asked, and Riku didn't seem to have an answer.
"Maybe he won't do anything without the other Xehanorts around?" Kairi guessed.
Lea looked over at Xigbar, who was lying unconscious a few feet away. His eyepatch had been burned off, his face blackened.
"We have to do something with the two of them," Riku said.
It was only then that Xigbar coughed, a wheezing sound that slowly turned into mad laughter.
"Heh heh. As if." Still laying on the ground, Xigbar grinned and faded into the darkness. Lea cursed.
"Should've finished that one off while I had the chance."
Aqua found herself agreeing with him. But despite Xigbar's disappearance, the blue-haired man was still standing lifelessly.
"Maybe… we could take him back to Yen Sid," Riku suggested, though he didn't look happy about it. "What do you think, Mickey?"
The mouse frowned. "I don't know, fellas. It could be some kind of trap."
"Or, it could be an opportunity to get my friend back," Lea countered, crossing his arms.
"I vote we bring him with us," Aqua said.
Lea had been through so much to help her get her friends back; the least she could do was support him in return. Besides, if the blue-haired man ended up being a problem, he would be outnumbered at the Mysterious Tower.
Riku and Mickey shared a look, then finally nodded. "Alright. Let's go."
Lea approached his blue-haired friend, coaxing the dead-eyed man towards their group. Kairi went off in the opposite direction, then returned with her arms full.
"This is yours, right?" She said, dropping the blue keyblade and pieces of armor at Aqua's feet.
Aqua blinked, her eyes threatening to well up with tears again. After all this time… all her searching…
She bent down and touched her armor. With a flash, it disappeared from the ground, then reappeared around her. She flexed her hand, feeling the metal plates slide seamlessly around her fingers.
"Stormfall," she whispered, finally picking up her true keyblade. She had fought her reflection with it inside her heart, but she hadn't held its true form in years. It hummed at her touch, glowing slightly. She felt its warmth flow through her.
I can finally save Van, she thought, then scanned the battlefield. Lea was calming the flames that had surrounded them, leaving the roof scorched and pockmarked. She remembered what he had told her before, when they were searching through Radiant Garden's castle.
"If getting Vanitas back lands you in a dark place… All I'm saying is you might regret doing 'whatever it takes.' Got it memorized?"
She gripped Stormfall tighter. She would never forget what she had sacrificed to retrieve it. But she had sacrificed for her friends before—that was what had stranded her in the Realm of Darkness in the first place. She was who she was because of those sacrifices. So did she regret them?
No, she decided, placing a hand over her heart. A heart that now held light and darkness in harmony. Fear and pain, but tempered by love and hope.
If this is who my sacrifices have made me… I believe I can live with it.