Mirror, Mirror

When Aqua and Neo entered the castle, they were expecting to enter the ballroom that Aqua remembered from previous adventure.

Instead they came out into a forest, different from the one they had been in before.

"Another world that was lost to the darkness?" Aqua wondered sadly.

Neo looked around, taking a few steps ahead before looking back at Aqua for clarification.

"This is the Dwarf Woodlands." Aqua answered. "Here I met a young girl named Snow White who living in a cottage with seven dwarfs."

Neo raised an eyebrow. Dwarfs? Like little people with long beards?

"Yep." Aqua answered while putting extra emphasis on the 'p' sound at the end of her answer. "Her stepmother was a queen, an evil one who tried to have her killed. She disguised herself as an old woman and tricked her into eating a poisoned apple."

Ouch. And people always say eat your fruits and vegetables. Neo shrugged.

Aqua giggled but stopped upon noticing a glass coffin. "Is that...?"

Inside the glass coffin was a boy, sleeping peacefully or was more like dead who Neo had never seen before but evidently Aqua did.

"Ven!?" She shouted upon seeing a phantom of Ven in the glass coffin and ran over to it, placing her hands on the glass. "Ven. What did you come here to tell me? I know I promised to wake you up. I'm sorry. But I have to find a way home before I can help you."

She brushed a hand against the coffin. "I just want you to know that it's been you that keeps my heart strong. Keeps the dark away."

Neo stayed back and watched but when she noticed something behind she walked up to Aqua and tapped her on the shoulder. The phantom Ven vanished as Aqua sighed and looked at Neo who pointed at the mirror.

"It's a mirror..." She answered, but had to clarify when Neo gave a look that said 'duh'. "A mirror belonging to the Evil Queen who tried to kill Snow White. A magical one."

Neo had no trouble believing that it was magical based on the way it was floating before them but there was the obvious question yet to be asked. What does it want?

Aqua slowly walked up to it and reached out with one hand…And a hand matching hers reached out and grabbed her wrist. "What!?"

She struggled against it and felt Neo grab onto her but the hand was too strong and pulled both her and Neo into the mirror.

Xxx

When Aqua opened her eyes she found herself in another familiar place. It was the underground lair of the Evil Queen, looking larger and more circular than the last time she was here with a round chamber in the center and hallways extending out of the center. And instead of stone walls, they saw the chamber was floating in the same dark abyss as the Castle of Dreams and the town leading up to it.

She looked to her right and saw Neo getting up, slightly dazed from being pulled into the mirror.

Speaking off mirrors…

Three mirrors floated around them, identical to the one they were pulled through and floated off to the end of the three hallways.

"What just happened?" Aqua asked, confused on three mirrors appearing and surrounding her and Neo before floating to their respective places.

Neo just shrugged, looking around with a somewhat nervous look on her face. They looked at the mirror fell through and Aqua placed her on it, trying to see if they could get back through but there was no reaction.

"Those mirrors... Maybe they're a clue." Aqua said, looking back down chamber.

Neo followed her gaze, looking between the chamber and the mirror. Are all your adventures this crazy?

"…Somewhat." Aqua said as she took a few steps forward. "I never had a partner with me before, though."

Neo gave her a look which she couldn't quite understand before the subject was changed. Do you know where we are?

"Remember the Evil Queen I mentioned?" Aqua asked and Neo nodded. "This was her lair, beneath her castle. Only it looks different from before…Those mirrors were the same as her magic mirror I mentioned before but they never floated in front of people like that before."

Not really reassuring but Neo left it at that.

Besides, they had other issues like more Heartless appearing and attacking them.

Shadows along with other kinds of Heartless appeared, looking like the flaming ones from before but different.

It didn't matter and both Keyblade Master and…partner immediately readied themselves and starting fighting against the Heartless as they attacked.

It took a few moments but eventually the Heartless were defeated, allowing Aqua and Neo to continue on.

Which way first? We got three mirrors. Neo messaged.

Aqua shrugged and gestured. "Which do you prefer? Left, straight or right?"

Neo rolled her eyes and just picked right because it was the closest to her. They walked up to the mirror and saw pillars inside it. Upon entering they came upon what looked like a giant room with what looked like endless columns and the floor seemingly made of a giant mirror from what they could see of their reflections on the ground. Neo and Aqua shared a look before walking forward, passing by a few pillars and seeing nothing different.

"Wait. Look." Aqua stopped and pointed at a pillar with glowing bricks.

Neo followed Aqua's gaze and then walked up to it. Think this is important?

"I have a feeling." Aqua summoned her Keyblade and slashed at the bricks, creating a gap.

Once Aqua and Neo moved to examine it, both were greeted with the surprising of finding themselves and the room were now upside down. Neo grabbed onto the pillar, expecting to fall but didn't feel gravity take hold of her and when she saw Aqua standing perfectly still she let go of the pillar and tapped the ground…or rather the ceiling.

What the hell is going on here? I may have never taken a physics class but even I know that this is not natural.

"Powerful magic is at work here." Aqua stated, not even blinking as she continued. "Come on. I think see another glowing pillar up ahead."

Neo shook her head and followed after Aqua as they reached another pillar and with a simply slash the room returned to its upright position. Aqua and Neo continued looking around but the room seemed to go on forever.

Finally Aqua looked up and realized why it felt like that. "Neo, we need to find another glowing pillar."

When Neo looked at her questionably she pointed up at the ceiling. Neo followed her finger and saw the floating mirror they were looking for on the ceiling. Sighing, Neo helped Aqua look around and spotted another pillar with some glowing bricks. Aqua walked over and slashed it and when they examined it they were once again standing upside down.

The two then approached the floating mirror.

"Is this what it means to face your demons?" Aqua briefly wondered as she reached out to touch the mirror and there was a flash of light.

When Neo opened her eyes she saw that Aqua was gone.

Xxx

Aqua opened her eyes, finding herself in a strange but familiar void. She remembered this place when she visited the Evil Queen's castle and was pulled into her Magic Mirror.

"Only your heart is hollow enough to be a demon's." She heard a voice, her own voice speaking to her.

Aqua watched as what appeared to be a complete copy of herself appeared before her, even holding its own Keyblade. The only difference was this copy of her had lighter blue eyes.

"That's not true! My heart is strong! I'll prove it!" Aqua summoned her Keyblade, preparing to fight.

While the thought of fighting herself was jarring, Aqua pushed those thoughts aside, knowing they would only hinder her in battle. She had already faced a copy of herself created by Drasil so she was already experienced in going up against copies of herself. The copy started first, summoning six giant ice crystals that seemed to home in on Aqua, forcing her to dodge by cartwheeling out of the way in time or blocking with a barrier. The copy followed up by teleporting and striking at Aqua who worked fast to try and block them but the copy got in a few hits.

Grunting, Aqua went on the attack slashing against her copy several times before it teleported away. As the battle continued, Aqua was surprised to see her clone actually creating illusionary copies of herself. She had remembered trying to do something similar to that in the brief time she had met Ava but hadn't had the time to follow up on it.

"Is there any point in continuing this fight?" The Phantom Aqua asked as she surrounded the real one with illusionary copies, all of them spinning as they activated Aqua's very own Command Style: Spell Weaver.

Aqua watched the copies carefully, knowing only one of them was real but knew if she didn't time it right she would be hit and had no interested in finding out what it felt like on the receiving end of her own Command Style.

"No one can save you. And no one wants to." The Phantom's voice said as the copies circled closer to her, making their move to strike her at once.

"Thunder!" Aqua shouted, summoning bolts of lightning down on the copies and dispelling them.

The Phantom Aqua survived as she tried to attack but Aqua jumped and rolled out of the way in time. Aqua let out a battle cry as she tried attacking the Phantom several times but each time came close, the Phantom teleported away and followed up with a teleporting strike that forced Aqua back. It went back and forth as Aqua and Phantom battled, teleporting, dashing and even dancing through the strange void that created this Phantom.

Aqua grunted, having been hit several times over the course of the duel but she managed to remain standing and fought back.

"Just let go of everything and fade into the darkness." The Phantom said as they clashed.

"Never!" Aqua shouted, knocking the copy back. "I will never submit!"

Ventus being possessed by Vanitas…

Terra standing before her with dark skin, silver hair and yellow glowing eyes…

"I will never fade!" Aqua shouted as her Keyblade flashed, breaking through the Phantom's guard and slashed through her.

The Phantom had a surprised look on her face as she fell back…and then smiled as she faded. Aqua stayed still, watching as the Phantom vanished and then closed her eyes as a bright light engulfed her…

Xxx

…When she opened her eyes she saw Neo kneeling over her with a look that almost made it appear she was concerned.

"Neo?" Aqua sat up and saw they were back in the circular lair they had first appeared in and the mirror they had entered was cracked. "What happened?"

You tell me. I watched that fight you had with your copy in that mirror. When you won there was a flash and the next thing I knew we were back out here. Neo typed. What was that about?

"I'm not sure." Aqua stood back up and looked at the broken mirror. "Terra, Ven...and now my own phantom? What could it all mean?"

First there was the Castle of Dreams and the Dwarf Woodlands being pulled into the darkness.

And now these mirrors.

"Chances are we can't leave here until we find the other two mirrors." Aqua glanced at Neo. "And that likely means facing a phantom copy of ourselves in each mirror. Whatever they, I think their purpose is to play on our self-doubts and fears, weaken our resolve and make us give up."

Neo frowned at the ramifications of that.

While Roman would say the only time to fight is when they needed to fight long enough to find an opportunity to escape. Never prolong a fight with anyone and always prioritize your survival over actually winning, especially against a doo-goodie Huntsmen and he had done even when they had been forced to work for Cinder. She can admit to having her share of demons, especially from her past which she had worked to make sure stayed dead.

She wasn't looking forward to facing a ghost from her past if what Aqua said was true.

"All right," Neo snapped out of it when Aqua spoke. "Which way next? We took the right first, now we have the left or the center."

Neo shrugged, pointing at the nearest one which had the image of a staircase in it and they were pulled into. Once inside, the pair found themselves facing the same set of stairs the mirror had been showing. Aqua and Neo looked at each other with the latter shrugging before they walked up the first set of stairs…and then felt themselves running into something. Neo let out a grunt and placed her hand forward; touching what seemed to be an invisible wall…

Then blinked when she found herself and Aqua back down at the bottom of the stairs.

Aqua and Neo looked at each other, surprised by their sudden relocation but climbed the steps again to see if it was only a fluke.

It wasn't.

Within the blink of an eye they were back down at the bottom again.

"Well, this is a bit of a head scratcher." Aqua muttered to Neo who sat down on the first step in annoyance. "There has to be some sort of clue that tells what we need to…" Neo noticed something and pointed behind her.

Aqua turned around and sure enough the second mirror was right there, having been behind them the entire time.

"…Or sometimes it's the simplest answer." Aqua admitted as she and Neo walked up to the mirror and there was a flash of light.

Only this time Aqua was the one standing while Neo had vanished into the mirror.

Xxx

Neo opened her eyes, finding herself in a strange and eerie void and in front of her appeared a complete copy of herself, smiling with glinting eyes.

Neo pointed her parasol at the apparition who held her own Hush and pointed it at her.

Eager to fail again?

Neo narrowed her eyes.

Why are you even here? To save the world? The entire world could rot for all you care because it never cared for you in the beginning, Trivia Vanille.

Neo shot forward, the blade of her Hush stabbing the Phantom Neo in the head…only for the phantom to shatter like glass much like her own illusions did.

Why so angry? We both know it's true.

Neo carefully looked around, knowing how her own Semblance and fighting skills worked.

Mommy and Daddy didn't love us; they hated our eyes and our voiceless mouth. Daddy always shouted at us, shook us to speak and locked us away from the world. Mommy only married him for his political connections and we were a mere ornament to them, something to show the perfect little family.

Neo would have snarled if she had a voice.

Daddy even locked us in a room filled with explosive Dust and Mommy wanted to make us into her little puppet, a spy and an assassin like she was.

No love.

No freedom.

No heart.

This was not something new to Neo.

She had known all along that her parents never truly loved or accepted her.

Only one person ever did…

Ah, Roman. Our Dum-Dum.

Neo gritted her teeth.

Why so angry? You know it's the truth. You are me and I am you, Trivia. Just as I was you when you were little, created by your heart's desire for freedom. I am Neopolitan, the one who was your only friend before you understood who I really am.

Neo ducked under a slash aimed at the back of her head and swung her leg out. Phantom Neo leapt up over her and delivered a kick to her face that knocked her back.

Only you really have fallen so far since you last saw me. Sure, you broke free by getting those two monsters killed and you finally found a friend in Dum-Dum but he sure got us stuck deep in this mess now, didn't he?

Neo jumped up and thrust the bladed end of Hush at her Phantom who easily blocked.

He allowed that Flame-Witch to force us into working for her, protected her identity and even after the height of everything we did for her, she left us for dead.

Neo became more aggressive in her attacks but Phantom opponent was easily blocking and it didn't help it was copying her smile, taunting her as it did so.

You could have tried running. You could have even rat her out to the authorities when you had the chance or even snatched Roman away before the train crashed and hid yourselves somewhere where they would never find you. What did their plans matter compared to your lives? Didn't Dum-Dum say that survival comes first above all else?

Neo horizontally swung Hush and her Phantom leapt back, landing perfectly a few feet away.

And after her plans got Dum-Dum killed you still went along with her to kill Little Red. Why? Because you were afraid of her back then just as you are afraid of her now. You rationalized that killing Little Red would be easier and accepted Cinder's idea, letting her take over for Roman and look where it got you.

You really do let everyone do the thinking for you. Her Phantom copy made a gesture that she was giving a haughty chuckle with her hand over her mouth. And now you have nothing. No Dum-Dum, no world, only a faint hope to restore a world that will want you dead for what you have done. Maybe you should have just accepted being Mommy and Daddy's mindless puppet when you had the chance.

Neo was furious now, attacking with more anger at her copy who was easily dodging, swing her parasol down and delivering a spinning kick to Neo's face that knocked her down.

Or maybe you've convinced yourself none of it was your fault. Like how it wasn't your fault that Mommy and Daddy didn't love us, that Dum-Dum wouldn't have died if we had been with him and that Little Red and Cinder were responsible for everything that happened to us.

The Phantom shot her blade forward, stabbing Neo through the head but she shattered, revealing that the Phantom's target had been an illusion. The Phantom closed her eyes and jumped, somersaulting over a strike from behind by Neo. She landed perfectly on her feet and the two fought again, slashing and dancing around each other with their kicks colliding in mid-air.

But we both know the truth. We know who we truly blame.

The Phantom grinned as she ducked and preformed a hand stand, spinning and aiming one foot at Neo who tried to slash at the incoming leg only for the Phantom to suddenly spun the other way and her other foot moved too fast for Neo to dodge in time. The kick knocked Neo back but she managed to remain standing.

If you really seek to blame someone for Dum-Dum's death…Then look no further than…Me!

Neo's eyes widened and she almost had no time to block the stab from her Phantom. She jumped and rolled to the floor before swinging her parasol right at her Phantom.

We killed Mommy and Daddy and felt nothing. They never loved us so we felt nothing for them. We allowed Dum-Dum to die because we were not at his side when he needed us.

Her Phantom swung again, so hard Neo was sent flying across the void even if she managed to block.

We needed someone to blame, to kill, a purpose to keep us going.

The Phantom Neo held up the pointed end of her parasol, ready to stab Neo through the chest. Luckily Neo rolled out of the way in time.

We had one thing to take away the pain. A single light, a single friend and they made that end.

Neo's eyes widened as an image of Roman stood before her, almost making her drop Hush before he suddenly burned away. Now Cinder and Ruby were standing before Neo, glaring contemptuously at her.

We needed a target and so we chose those who were convenient. Just so we could focus our rage on them and ignore our own guilt.

Neo swung her parasol, slashing through both illusions and left her open as the Phantom Neo tried attacking but Neo managed to block the strike.

Our guilt for not trying to find a way out of the mess we found ourselves in. For not trying to kill Cinder when we had the chance, for not knocking out Roman and dragging him to Vacuo to get as far away from Cinder as we could. She needs people to do things for her. You know it, because of how much she relied on us to get her into Atlas.

How easy it could have been to outsmart her…if you took two seconds to think for yourself!

The Phantom Neo went on the attack, slashing and stabbing at Neo who blocked as she quickly stepped backwards.

We could have done so much more but we let everyone to the thinking for us! Roman thought we would survive anything and look where that got him! A free meal for a Grimm!

Neo growled and swung her Hush in anger, managing to hit the Phantom Neo right in the face. Neo then tried stabbing her in the face but the Phantom blocked.

Lie, cheat, steal and survive. That was his mantra and we made it ours because we enjoyed being with him.

Both clashed their weapons in anger, causing sparks to fly.

You knew he was a fool. That's why you called him Dum-Dum because as smart as he thought he was, we both knew he was an idiot who never thought things through when it counted. Like the folly of believing Cinder would care if we died in the mess she made.

Neo ducked as the Phantom's blade passed over her shoulder and she grabbed the Phantom by the collar of her coat and threw her forward, slamming her into the ground. She then tried stabbing the Phantom through the heart, only to shatter.

But you never tried to convince him otherwise.

Neo's mouth shot open, letting out a silent scream as the blade slashing her in the back shattered her Aura.

Because you trusted him, believed in him, loved him. Leaving you blind and unable to act when it would have counted.

Neo fell to her knees and looked up, seeing her Phantom self standing over her.

You know the truth.

Neo knew.

She had known all along.

Somewhere deep inside, she had known it all along.

Red and Cinder didn't get Roman killed…

She did.

She tried to deny it, putting aside her guilt and focus on her revenge but she knew the pain would never stop.

Because, the person she really wanted to kill…the person she truly blamed for Roman's death…was the person she saw in any mirror, magical or not.

Phantom Neo raised her blade. You can be with him. Die here and now!

Neo!

Neo's eyes shot open from a voice sounding like Aqua calling out to her and she grabbed her Phantom's parasol right before it stabbed her through the heart. Both gritted their teeth as they struggled, but Neo leaned back and fell to the ground. Her Phantom self fell with her and that was the chance.

Shink!

Her Phantom's eyes widened as it felt Hush stabbing through its chest. She looked at Neo who had tears dripping down her cheeks now…and reached out to touch them.

Don't let…his death…be for nothing…

The Phantom vanished into mere sparkles of light and the void immediately followed.

Xxx

"Neo!" Neo opened her eyes, seeing Aqua standing over her with a concerned look on her face. "Are you okay?"

Neo slowly looked around, seeing they were back in the main chamber again and the mirror they had entered was as cracked and broken as the first one. She had never before felt so satisfied in seeing a broken mirror, even though it would bring her bad luck.

"Neo?" Aqua asked as Neo sat up and noticed tears coming from her eyes. "Are you all right?"

Neo felt the tears on her face as she looked at Aqua, showing weakness which she hadn't done in a long time.

And she didn't care.

Aqua was caught by surprise as Neo suddenly grabbed her and hugged her, sniffing as she silently cried. Aqua softly wrapped her arms around Neo, just holding for now and allowing her this moment to let out her pain and anguish.

There was a chance they would be feeling a lot worse before it was truly over.