Dark Storm

When Aqua returned to the other world, she was surrounded by what could only be described as death.

This was the domain of the God of Darkness and it clearly showed why it was called that.

A land of eternal night with red clouds, devoid of life aside from the Grimm that populated it and giant purple crystals sprouting from the ground.

Those crystals reminded her of Surtr and she remembered the God of Darkness turned from a mortal and into a monster.

Even though she didn't know it, Aqua began walking like Salem did when she came here, walking through this dark realm and stopped at a stairway leading up the mountain, similarly mirroring that of the Domain of Light's. The difference was that the stairs were made of the same strange purple crystalline like substance that populated this land. Aqua sensed a great magic flowing from the crystals, likely made by the God of Darkness and used to influence this land.

She stopped when she noticed a skeleton at the bottom of the stairs with a sword embedded in it. Evidently, people were not as welcome here as they would have been in the Domain of Light. She briefly thought of Hades, the Greek God of Death and wondered how he would felt in such an environment. The darkness here was so suffocating; it was almost like she was in the Realm of Darkness.

As a being from the Realm of Light, Aqua would find a realm so filled with Darkness extremely discomforting and it was here did she feel it. A feeling of overwhelming Darkness, filled with negative feelings. She heard snarls and looked around, seeing Grimm of various shapes and sizes watching her with their hunger filled red glowing eyes. She tried to ignore them but kept an eye on them in case they chose to attack but found it difficult to breathe.

Then she felt a magical pulse.

Aqua blinked and before she knew it she was wearing the strange dark coat the Master had given her before she had returned. Aqua looked down at herself, seeing even dark gloves covering her hands and suddenly felt better, like the darkness that populated this land was no longer affecting her. She looked up again and saw the Grimm had yet to move from their spots but were now adopting a slight bit of curiosity in the way they stared at her. Deciding to keep on moving, Aqua walked up the stairs, feeling better now.

It seemed the dark coat was protecting her from the Darkness much her armor was supposed to. That was both strange and surprising as she wouldn't have expected a simple coat to ward of the Darkness. Aqua reached the top and stared down at a rather large blackened pool of tar-like liquid. Surrounding the pool were Grimm, all of them looking on her as she walked down the stairs.

"So, at last you have come."

Aqua watched as the God of Darkness emerged from the pool in all his wicked and terrifying glory, slowly walking out of the pool. Aqua stood before the pool, remaining composed but also harmless, not wanting to provoke the dark god into attacking her. She could sense the unfathomable power coming off this deity, feeling he was as strong as Hades. Even though Aqua had fought and defeated Hades, the fact is she wasn't able to kill him and only forced him to retreat.

She wasn't arrogant enough to expect the same results here.

"The one who comes from outside this world. The wielder of the so-called Keyblade. Aqua." The God of Darkness emerged fully from the pool. "And this time, you have chosen to come to me instead of my brother. How interesting."

Aqua brought her legs together, spread her arms out and bowed slightly. "Great God of Darkness, I come to you with questions I hope you can answer."

The dark deity was still but Aqua had a feeling if he had eyebrows he would be raising one of them. "And what questions would have for me?"

"In the world I was previously in, I found and fought creatures that resemble what the people here call Grimm. I am told they were created and as I look around I see that they were not only right but also live here." Aqua straightened herself. "I wish to understand how they were able to follow me because I worry for the other worlds if they were to journey beyond this one."

The God of Darkness chuckled. "I see. You seek knowledge…Well, since you have decided to show the proper respect I will humor you. Yes, I created these children, the ones you mortals call Grimm and yes, I created the children that followed and attacked you."

To even demonstrate his claim, the God of Darkness made a single gesture and from the dark pool rose a Grimm looking exactly like the ones that Aqua had seen and fought in Daybreak Town.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The God of Darkness spoke with what sounded like affection in his voice. "Until now I never considered the possibility of giving my creations the ability to travel to other worlds…Until I was inspired by you, Aqua."

Aqua remained composed, even as she realized what that meant. "So, you sent them after me."

"I did. I found your presence in this world to be a threat to my brother and I. He sees potential in your presence, a chance to expand our great experiment." The God of Darkness folded his hands behind his back. "However, I wondered if his curiosity towards you blinded him to then potential threat you represent."

"In what way am I threat?" Aqua slowly asked. "I bear you or your brother no hostility. I asked him for help in leaving this world with no intentions of harming him or the people here."

"The highest threat I have seen from my observation of you is the weapon you wield. Your Keyblade, that supposedly grants you access to magic without the assistance of my brother or myself. A being who does not need a god to attain great power is one that must be carefully observed and if deemed a threat, destroyed." The God of Darkness stated. "Though I will admit, your presence has forced me to begin creating new children in ways I had not considered before. Granting them great power than I had previously with the humanity of the world my brother and I created. Though my brother and I share a deep pride in our creations, my first children, the one they call Grimm have often felt I have favored humanity over them."

He walked over to a Beowulf lying near the pool and patted its head, electing a pleased sound from it as it nuzzled his hand.

"I had initially agreed to stop creating them with my brother but even if I am pleased with what we have made with humanity, I still retain my fondness for my first children, if only because they share my nature for destruction even more so than humanity and because humanity has almost never come to me for my blessings but they would seek my brother." The God of Darkness continued, jealously leaking into his voice. "If humanity was content to leave me along, I would continue to create more of my first children and allow them to test humanity, to show me their tendency for survival in the face of destruction."

Aqua frowned but took a deep breath, closing her eyes to keep her composure and opened them a moment later. "And is that why you sent your children after me?"

"I did a lot more than that, Key Wielder. I was the one who created those magical weapons that found their ways to the kings and queen who challenged you and it was I who created Surtr from the dying remains of Sidorak. All to see your own potential and the potential of this Keyblade, that supposedly was born from your…'Heart' as you call it. I wanted to see how it would fare against weapons created by me." The God of Darkness stared at Aqua. "Though you didn't exactly defeat those wielders by yourself now, did you?"

Aqua met his 'stare' with narrowed eyes. "The Keyblade comes from the Heart…and the Heart is never alone as long as there is even one person to connect with. I have seen many worlds, many people and each time I gained a connection with them that remains steep and strong within my own Heart. Even if Ozma and Salem never came to my assistance, I was not truly alone then and I am not alone now."

The God of Darkness tilted his head slightly. "Is that so?"

"It is." Aqua answered. "My bonds are my power and that power is what defeated Surtr, those wielders and the Grimm that came after me."

"Do you proclaim your power, this power of the Heart, to be greater than that of my brother and I?" The God of Darkness questioned, giving the impression of a glare.

"I don't proclaim to be unbeatable. It is inevitable that one day I might fall in battle, to the darkness or to any kind of foe." Aqua admitted honestly, bringing a hand to her chest. "But my bonds and my convictions are what allowed me to come so far, every step, every foe, and every friend, leading me to here."

"Really? I see your confidence remains after all this time."

(Kingdom Hearts Maleficent Theme)

Eyes widening, Aqua spun around and spotted a familiar woman in dark robes with a horned headdress as she walked down the stairs. "…Maleficent?"

Maleficent, the dark fairy whom Aqua had met in the Enchanted Dominion and defeated alongside Prince Philip, was indeed standing there at the bottom of the stairs with an amused grin on her face.

"To speak with such confidence, such conviction. You truly have not changed, Aqua." Maleficent remarked, her grin never leaving her face.

The God of Darkness stared at the newcomer, feeling she was not like this world like Aqua but felt a great darkness and power from her.

"How are you here?" Aqua turned and faced the dark fairy. "This isn't your world."

"Oh, I suppose you wouldn't know, child." Maleficent mockingly said with a small laugh. "How many years it has been since we last met."

"Years?" Aqua questioned slowly.

"That is right. For you, it was perhaps a recent encounter but for me, the years I spent spreading darkness and despair across multiple worlds with no one to stop me." Maleficent answered proudly. "In fact, if not for you and your friends I wouldn't have become aware of the worlds outside my own and truly become the Mistress of all Evil."

"Who are you?" The God of Darkness asked finally, earning both of their attention. "I sense you are not from this world like her."

"Why, you are correct." Maleficent stated with a pleased smile. "Like her, I too come from another world, having been brought to this one by sheer coincidence. I have even faced her and others like her in battle."

"And lost." Aqua quickly brought up.

Maleficent cast a glare at Aqua for that. "Admittedly, yes but I remain strong and absolute in my goals. The Keyblade is a mere tool and those that wield it are just as frail as any true mortal, especially their Hearts. I am sure you haven't forgotten young Terra, have you now?"

Now Aqua was the one glaring. "Do not speak his name, Maleficent."

"I surmise he failed to conquer the darkness in his heart then." Maleficent now had a pleased grin on her face. "Which only proves my point."

"Why are you here?" Aqua asked, unconsciously clenching her fists.

"Hmph. You retain that brazen attitude you showed when last we met." Maleficent scoffed but her grin returned. "Truthfully, even though I was told you were here I had not expected to meet you here. I had come for another reason."

Maleficent then turned away, looking at the surrounding Grimm. "Do you know of a woman named Salem?"

The mention of that name made both Aqua and the God of Darkness stare at her.

"When she told me about you, she was traveling to other kingdoms, spinning tales of how she had stolen immortality from the gods and that she could help the rest of this world gain what she now had, allowing them to forever live without fear of dying or watching their loved ones die." Maleficent answered with an amused look on her face as she looked over her shoulder. "All they had to do was destroy the gods themselves."

The God of Darkness snarled. "Lies! She did not steal immortality from us! She was cursed for daring to deceive us!"

"What?!" Aqua spun her head to the deity. "You cursed her?!"

"She wanted to bring her beloved Ozma back from the dead. She sought my brother out first but when he denied her plea she came to me, believing she could trick me as she begged me while choosing not to tell me she had only come to see me after my brother had refused her request." The God of Darkness answered as his mood darkened.

This mood was shared by the surrounding Grimm as they began snarling, growling and a few even howling.

"Oh, so it was a lie after all." Maleficent chuckled as she turned back to face the two. "Not surprising. I never actually believed her myself."

"Then why did you come here?" Aqua questioned, looking back at the dark fairy.

"To see the God of Darkness for myself and see his creations that I am told are as dark as the Heartless." Maleficent answered as she looked upon the surrounding Grimm. "Impressive, if somewhat limited at the moment."

"You dare enter my domain and show such blatant disrespect?" The God of Darkness snarled, his mood already foul from the news of what Salem is doing.

"I do what I please for I am Maleficent, the Mistress of all Evil and the one who shall rule over all worlds." Maleficent stated, not at all afraid of the dark deity before her.

"Your overconfidence is still your greatest weakness." Aqua snapped.

"Your faith in your friends and their hearts is yours." Maleficent retorted.

"Enough!" The God of Darkness bellowed and in a blast of dark purple light, assumed his dragon form. "You both are a danger to me and our world and thus I will destroy the both of you."

The surrounding Grimm snarled and charged at Maleficent and Aqua, heeding their creator's intent to destroy them.

"Fool." Maleficent's staff began to glow and she plunged it into the ground, erecting a wall of green fire that burned the Grimm to ash on contact. "You think you can destroy me? Me, the Mistress of all Evil?!"

"I know I can!" Aqua said, raising her hand and erecting a dome shaped barrier around her and Maleficent who glared at her which she ignored as she looked at the dark god. "God of Darkness, I have not come here to disrespect you or to control you. I came here seeking a way to convince you to stop sending your Grimm after me so that no one else on this world or the other will be harmed. I think I know a way to prove it."

The God of Darkness glared at her. "Explain."

"Maleficent is my enemy." Aqua summoned her Keyblade and took off her dark coat which vanished as it fell off. "Allow me to fight her on your behalf to make her answer for disrespecting you."

Maleficent scoffed. "And what makes you think I would participate in such a farce?"

"Because the God of Darkness will make sure you can't leave until the fight is over." Aqua reasoned. "And even if you escape, unless you are on another world I assume he and his Grimm will hunt you down until you are gone, no matter what."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes. "And what are the terms if I win this little duel?"

"…Then you leave freely." Aqua answered before looking at the God of Darkness. "Are these terms acceptable to you?"

The God of Darkness stared at Aqua for a moment before he finally answered. "Very well. Since you wish to fight her on my behalf I will allow it and if you win, I will consider hearing your plea."

To ensure Maleficent would not escape the God of Darkness surrounded Aqua's barrier with a purple glowing barrier of his own, further trapping them inside.

(Kingdom Hearts Maleficent Theme Ends)

(Kingdom Hearts OST Squirming Evil)

"Very well, I shall participate in this farce for the moment." Maleficent tapped the ground and a small circle of green flames surrounded before the ground was in the surrounding circle was lifted up into the air.

Aqua readied herself, taking her stance and watching Maleficent closely.

"Come out!" The dark witch shouted, slamming her staff on the ground and summoning four Heartless, all of them large and sporting large shields that were as big as them and resembling a beast's head.

Aqua jumped and pointed her Keyblade a sphere of multi-colored light appeared at the tip. She 'locked' onto all five targets in her mind and let loose a barrage of multi-colored spheres. The platform with Maleficent on it flew out of the way and left the Heartless to take the full blast. Aqua then turned to Maleficent who hovered over, smiling as she held up her staff.

"Have you forgotten my power?" She asked as dark clouds formed above her and from them came lightning bolts.

Aqua grunted as she formed a barrier around herself that protected her from the lightning. She grunted as she took off, running and dodging the lightning bolts that rained down upon her. She finally had enough and jumped up, using her Double-Flight and fell towards Maleficent while swinging her Keyblade. The dark fairy raised her staff as the orb on it glowed and covered the rest of it in dark green and black fire.

Maleficent blocked Aqua's Keyblade with her staff and then swung at Aqua who then blocked. Maleficent struck again and once again Aqua blocked, grunting as she felt the heat from the dark fairy's staff. Both dark fairy and Keyblade Master traded strikes with their respective weapons while the platform they were on started spinning. Finally Maleficent had enough and transformed into a pin wheeled shaped cloud and flew off to the other side of the barrier while the platform spun so fast Aqua was knocked off it. She grunted as she hit the ground but got back up easily.

She watched as the pin wheel cloud flew back onto the platform and Maleficent reappeared back on the platform.

"See now, Aqua? I am much stronger than in our last encounter. If you still doubt my power than I shall show you the folly of challenging me!" Maleficent declared and spread her arms out. "Meteors of heaven, unleash thy fury!"

Dark portals began appearing all around the interior of the barrier and from them came blue glowing meteors. Aqua was forced to dodge the incoming meteors, not wanting to stay still and risk blocking them all with her barrier. Grunting, Aqua knew she had to take Maleficent down quickly and pointed her Keyblade up, waiting for the right second.

Just as dark meteor descended upon she made her move…

Maleficent watched as Aqua suddenly vanished under the meteor but sensed she had used magic to teleport out of the way just in time.

"Mega-Flare!"

From the end of her Keyblade came an explosive that collided with the platform Maleficent stood on, creating an explosion of blinding light. Maleficent grunted as she covered her eyes and the blast sent her flying off her platform, landing roughly on the ground.

The dark fairy got up slowly, narrowing her eyes at Aqua. "It appears I underestimated you, Aqua."

"Wouldn't be the first time." The Keyblade Wielder retorted.

"Don't believe you have won yet. You know I am far from finished!" Maleficent shouted as she spread her arms out again and a column of green and black fire blasted from where she stood.

Aqua readied herself as the familiar form of a black and purple dragon Maleficent had turned into the last time they had fought appeared before her. The God of Darkness on the other hand was…stunned by the form Maleficent had taken.

So dark and yet had the same color as his own form.

The only main difference was that Maleficent's dragon form had a more organic look, lacking the skull shaped head that the God of Darkness' own dragon form had and those yellow glowing eyes that blazed with the deepest and darkest flames.

"Beautiful…" The dark deity whispered, having never encountered such a being before.

Almost like him and his brother.

Maleficent tried biting Aqua who hastily dodged several times before she slammed her Keyblade into the dragon's head just as she dodged. Maleficent roared and lifted herself up on her hind legs and then slammed back down onto the ground, creating an earthquake that knocked Aqua off her feet. Maleficent tried slashing her with her claws which she was down but Aqua immediately rolled away just in time. Just as Aqua got back up onto her feet, Maleficent reared her head back and let loose stream of dark green fire.

Rather than dispersing in the air, the fire fell back down around the field and turned into small fires.

'Dark Flames.' Aqua thought as she made sure to avoid the fire. 'They can't be put out but they have a time limit.'

Maleficent tried biting her again but Aqua teleported to the far side of the area. The dragon spun around and released a blast of dark fire at Aqua who immediately conjured a barrier around her.

"Defend!" She shouted, creating the domed shield that blocked the fire.

Once the attack ended, Aqua quickly pointed her Keyblade at the evil dragon. "Firaga!"

A fireball shot out and hit the ground in the face but did little damage. Maleficent stood on her hind legs to try and crush Aqua again but to their surprise, the barrier receeded and the God of Darkness stepped forward, still in his dragon form.

"I will take it from here." The God of Darkness snarled at Maleficent who turned and glared with an equally dark snarl.

Aqua blinked but got out of the way as the God of Darkness lunged at Maleficent, slamming into her and knocking her back. The God of Darkness roared to which Maleficent answered with a roar of her own as she got back up. Both dragons inhaled and released streams of fire at each other, dark purple flames colliding with dark green fire in a blinding blaze, cancelling each other out moments later. The two dragons roared at each other again, only now the Grimm were roaring as well.

Aqua looked around, seeing the Grimm roaring while completely ignoring her. She didn't really understand what was going on here. The God of Darkness was content to allow her to fight but for some reason had taken over and Aqua could tell there was something else going on. The fight was becoming more beastly and primal with each bite of their teeth, slash of their claws or blast of their fire.

Then the God of Darkness finally pinned Maleficent down and roared right in her face. Aqua's widened as she realized what it was.

It was an act of domination.

The God of Darkness was trying to force Maleficent to submit which she refused by roaring back in his face. The dark witch turned dragon continued to struggle, biting and clawing at the dark deity who fought back with equal ferocity. Aqua covered her mouth as she watched the two continuing to fight.

She wasn't sure what to do.

Should she stop this?

Should she just allow them to fight?

Maleficent was certainly no friend of hers and was a threat to all the other worlds. However if she intervened, she might lose any lingering good will she had with the God of Darkness.

What could she do?

Was this even her fight anymore?

"STOP!"

(Kingdom Hearts OST Squirming Evil Ends)

Just then, an answer came in the form of the God of Light who appeared in his brother's domain. He created a great light that blinded all who saw him, transforming into his dragon form and flew in, separating his brother from Maleficent who immediately jumped back. Maleficent was covered in purple glowing bite marks and bruises that had been inflicted on her by the God of Darkness. Rather than face the two Brothers, Maleficent faded away into Dark Flames that lingered only for a few seconds.

"Brother, why did you intervene?" The God of Darkness snarled at his brother.

"You were going too far, Brother. Your instincts in your true form were clouding your sense of reason." The God of Light answered.

"Regardless, she intruded on my domain and disrespected me. As such I would deal with her as I see fit." The dark brother retorted, almost sounding like he was embarrassed but covered it up.

He couldn't really explain what had happened.

He had been so overcome by such base instincts he had immediately reacted upon seeing Maleficent fighting in her dragon form.

He wasn't sure what these instincts were directing him to do but rather than fight them he embraced them.

That witch had disrespected him so he felt no hesitation in doing so.

"Perhaps but she was still not of this world and we both agreed to handle such matters together." The light brother answered before looking back at Aqua. "I see you have returned."

"I have." Aqua nodded as she looked between the two Brothers. "I think we need to talk."


Maleficent grunted as she limped away from the Land of Darkness. "How humiliating."

Shifting back into her human form had been hard, especially since she still felt the pain from wounds inflicted on her by that infernal dark deity. Unlike the God of Darkness, Maleficent had recognized the instincts he had been driven by when he had attacked her.

He had been trying to…court her.

Her, the Mistress of all Evil!

Well, perhaps she would feel flattered by such a dark deity being attracted to her but Maleficent would never submit to anyone, not even gods. She had recognized those instincts and even felt the same flowing through her as in her dragon form; she was more susceptible to the animal instincts that came with changing into a dragon. Still, she remained in control and would never submit herself to anyone and if she ever saw that dark god again she would utterly destroy him.

"Darkness, I am done with this world!" She shouted to the sky. "Take me back to my own time, now!"

The Darkness appeared before her. "Are you sure?"

"Very. I have had enough of this world." Maleficent grunted as she managed to stand up straight. "Show me the way back or be gone from my sight."

"…Very well." The Darkness opened a Corridor of Darkness for her to enter. "I shall take you where you want to go."