I don't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix/Disney

Just a heads up: some people noticed it last chapter, but Aqua wasn't the only person who's different from their canon self - Ven's changed too. Being a firsthand witness to Xehanort's abuse of Aqua has forced him to grow up. He has more in common with Roxas now. Between that and how Xehanort is dealt with, I'm not too sure what people will think of this.

Anyways, the last part, in which Ven is an inconspicuous wildcard.

. . . Often Go Awry

The two of them, neither much older than ten, were huddled in their sleeping bags, casting suspicious looks at the shadows outside their tent. An orange light lit up the side to the right where Master Eraqus sat outside, meditating alone by the campfire. Without a word, Terra crawled over to the tent's opening, checking to make sure that their Master really was there and they were safe.

"He's still there," Terra said, retreating to the warmth of his sleeping bag.

"You're trying to change the subject!" Aqua accused.

"No, I'm not! I said yes, didn't I?"

"But do you swear?" Aqua asked. "Do you pinkie-swear?"

There was no hesitation before Terra locked his pinkie with hers. "I pinkie-swear. Friends forever," he vowed.

Aqua woke up. For the next ten minutes, she laid awake and stared at the ceiling.

It was just her and Xehanort right now. Ventus was still sleeping, though no doubt she would have to wake him soon. Even after all this time, the boy would still sleep in until the afternoon if allowed – and it took effort to rouse him. Sometimes, she just wanted to set his hair on fire and see if that worked.

But for now, she submerged herself in the silent company of her Master. Xehanort was seated at the table sipping some tea, while Aqua waited impatiently, her meal long since finished. She knew very well that it was useless to find something else to do (Xehanort would begin training soon), but she was growing bored, and Xehanort hated small talk. So, to occupy herself, she summoned her keyblade and made a show of polishing it with her sleeve.

Xehanort cleared his throat. "Aqua."

She glanced up to see that Rainfell had nearly knocked Xehanort's plate off the table. As if it would be a waste, she thought snidely. Xehanort ate so little that it actually caught her off-guard when he did. She wondered if he somehow drew energy from the darkness instead.

"I'm sure it will taste the same whether it's covered in dirt or not," she said.

"You will have to judge that," Xehanort replied without missing a beat, "because you will be eating it, my apprentice."

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed, bringing back to life what was a constant argument between the two of them. "You know that I'm ready to take that stupid exam."

"But Terra is not," Xehanort reminded her.

She stiffened. Normally, the mention of Terra was enough to make her lapse into a sullen silence. However, in wake of her dream and what she had learned from Ven last night, she was able to soothe her hurt long enough to keep talking. "Why is it that you want me to take the exam with him? We both know that he'll look terrible in comparison to me." In a lower voice, she added, "Is that the plan?"

Xehanort's eyes narrowed. "Why do you want to know?"

She blinked, taken aback. Xehanort had never held back his plans from her before. Unwilling to admit her surprise, she covered it up with arrogance. "Because if I have to wait to get what's rightfully mine, I should at least know why."

It was hard to say if Xehanort would answer. No matter how much she had a right to know, she knew that he simply didn't care. But whatever plan he had in mind didn't require that much secrecy, as Xehanort put his cup of tea down and said, "It is required to fuel Terra's darkness. I alone could probably wake it, but having you there will be an excellent backup."

"Fuel Terra's darkness," she repeated. "Are you doing that just to screw with Eraqus?"

"A heart opened to darkness is one more receptive to my possession."

Possession? At first, Aqua was at a loss to explain what that meant. Was Xehanort trying to take Terra away from Eraqus too? Was Terra going to come train with her? Normally, the idea would have her burning the place down in a rage, but if she was honest with herself, all this hate – hate for Terra, hate for Eraqus, hate for Ventus and even occasionally, hate for Xehanort – was wearing. She and Ventus had stayed up for a long time discussing his visit with Terra, and dealing with her conflicting emotions then had drained her. With as little sleep as she had gotten after that, she really didn't have the energy to muster up the righteous anger she usually had.

But why would Xehanort want yet another apprentice?

And then it all clicked into place.

"He's your new body!" she blurted out.

"Indeed," Xehanort said. "He is young, strong, and attuned to the darkness. He will serve my purposes well."

Something akin to horror threatened to choke her. Terra? Terra? Xehanort had chosen Terra? How long ago had this decision been made, she wondered, how long had Xehanort been eyeing him?

Not that it matters, she reminded herself gruffly. Terra had betrayed her; she didn't care for him, wouldn't care for him. It made no difference if Xehanort planned to kill him.

She stood and left, hoping that Xehanort had seen none of the conflict in her mind.

She found herself drawn to Ventus' room for some illogical reason. She stood in the hallway, staring through the open door at his sleeping form. What had her feet been thinking? This was stupid; he wasn't going to do anything but annoy her.

She turned on her heel, intent on putting this silly thing behind her, when a sleepy voice asked, "Aqua?"

Too late to run, then. Ventus was rubbing his eyes when she faced him, the boy blinking furiously before saying, "Is it time to get up?"

"If you're up now, you might as well get out of bed."

"Okay, thanks!" He flashed her one of his wide grins, and it only made anger curdle in her stomach. How could he do that: smile all the time? It was unnatural, that's what it was. No one should be that cheerful, especially when they were treated the way Ventus was.

She stood there, an unidentifiable emotion filling her. How could he got to be so happy?

She marched away. This really had been stupid.

Her keyblade rippling with fire, she lunged at Ventus who dove out of the way. The younger boy tucked into a ball, rolling across his shoulders before springing back up to his feet, looking pleased with himself. But as fancy as his dodge was, it took him too much time to gather his bearings afterwards, and she closed the distance between them. A quick Blizzard had him rooted to the spot and then, with her Master's approval, she slammed her keyblade into his chest.

She swore something cracked. Ventus' mouth opened in a mute cry and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Startled, she backed up, giving him room to breathe; she hadn't meant to kill the kid. He hunched over like a rag doll, a low, feral sound coming from his chest.

And when he raised his head again, his eyes were gold.

She grinned wickedly. Finally, time to see what he can really do.

She had never been able to hit Ventus as hard as she could, but now, with the darkness bolstering his strength, she could let loose. She locked eyes with his gold ones, bringing her keyblade down hard.

. . . Only for those eyes to fade back to blue.

She changed her course just in time, and Rainfell impaled the sand instead.

"Enough!" Xehanort barked. He glowered at Ventus, who sheepishly kicked at the ground. "Get out of my sight – both of you!"

They did as he ordered, metaphorical tails between their legs. "Why did you do that, idiot?" she snarled when Xehanort was out of sight.

Ventus looked like he was trying really hard not to snap at her. Too bad for him.

She continued. "Now the Master's mad at us. Nice going."

His hard blue eyes looked up at her. "Do you know why he wants me to use the darkness?"

"To make you stronger," she lied smoothly.

He shook his head, as if he had just asked what two plus two was and she had answered one. "What if I don't want that power?"

He was kidding, right? He must have been. "Why wouldn't you?"

"Aqua, I've seen what my darkness is capable of." His eyes grew distant as he visited old memories. "I want to become a keyblade Master to help people, not hurt them. You understand, right?"

"I . . ."

"We'll be the best heroes ever!" a tiny Terra declared, waving his keyblade around like a drunk pirate.

She crossed her keyblade with his. "Uh huh, there won't be any bad guys who can defeat us!"

"Aqua, what are you going to do when you become a Master?"

She shrugged. "Whatever Xehanort tells me to do."

"But you'll be a Master . . ." Ventus seemed to realize that this current chain of conversation would get him nowhere, and switched onto a different track. "Then let me ask: what do you want to do? What do you want?"

She just stared at him. Once upon a time, she could have answered that in a second; but that had been long ago, before she had embraced reality and realized that the life her younger self had imagined was no more than a fairy-tale.

Once upon a time, she had wanted nothing more than to be a hero with Terra.

Now, she had nothing.

Ever since she had learned who Xehanort's host was going to be, something uncomfortable had settled between them. I hate Terra, she chanted in her mind, it doesn't matter to me what happens to him.

Why should I care about him when he doesn't care about me?

But despite the dozens of time she chanted that, she still couldn't help but ask, "Master, couldn't you find someone other than Terra?"

They were currently walking the streets of the Enchanted Dominion, Xehanort having visited the witch, Maleficent, in hopes of striking an alliance. From what she could tell, his goal had been accomplished, but in name only. If Maleficent was anything like her Master, then they had to be careful not to have a knife plunged into their back.

"Why would I?" Xehanort asked.

"Because it's . . . it's Terra!" she said, shuddering.

He smirked. "It will be strange, yes, and hard to take orders from one with the body that you despise, but in time, you will see that it is only me. The entity that you know as 'Terra' will cease to be."

Okay, that was better. It was true that the thought of Terra ordering her around made her want to rip her hair out. She just had to remind herself that it wouldn't actually be Terra. Once Xehanort took over his body, he would no longer exist. For all extents and purposes, Terra would be dead.

That's how she wanted it, right?

She watched as Ventus carefully examined his ice-cream stick, squinting as he held it up to the sun. They had found a place on the old clock tower in Twilight Town, high above the rooftops where they almost seemed to be on par with the sun. She had finished her ice-cream and as the stick was being held loosely in her hand, Ventus snatched it from her.

"What are you doing?" she asked flatly.

Ventus grinned. "Sometimes, if you're really lucky, you get a stick with 'Winner' on it."

"Great. Fantastic. What do you do with it?"

It appeared that question had never occurred to him. "I don't know."

She rolled her eyes and leaned back against the tower.

"Aw, come on, Aqua!" Ventus tugged at her sleeve. "It's like a lottery."

"I don't like leaving things up to fate." Her fists clenched at the last word. After fate had screwed her over so badly, she held no warm feelings for it.

"Suit yourself." He checked her stick, tossing it over the edge with a sigh when it failed to be lucky.

The two of them stared at the motionless sun, watching as clouds passed over it. Here in Twilight Town, the sun never set. It must have been weird for the residents, but to her, it was nice not to be chased out of a world by nightfall. Of course, the downside was that time seemed to pass quicker than it should.

"Have you ever thought about what it would be like to live here?" Ventus asked.

"Nope," she said.

He glanced sideways at her. "Can't you work with me?"

"Nope."

He smiled. "Yeah, okay. You know, I could be your apprentice when you become a Master."

She laughed. "As if Xehanort would allow that. Besides, I'm sure I'll be sticking around."

Ventus batted his eyelashes, his eyes growing huge. "For me?"

She scowled. "Don't be ridiculous, Ven."

He grunted. There was silence for another minute or so before he suddenly sat up, weaving his hands together. Hesitatingly, he began. "I was being serious. Once you become a Master, the two of us could just . . . leave. We wouldn't have to live under Master Xehanort anymore."

"Leave?" she echoed. Her senses heightened as her muscles tensed, feeling danger in this conversation. "Why would we do that?"

"Why wouldn't we?" Ventus asked, and his voice was much too loud. "All he does is abuse us! I don't understand how you can put up with it."

"He's our Master . . ." she protested.

"That doesn't mean he has the right to treat us as he does!" Ven argued. "When's the last time you've had a training session that didn't have to be stopped halfway through so that you could heal a broken bone?"

Her throat ran dry as panic threatened to overwhelm her. Why was he saying this? "He trains us like that to make us stronger," she said stonily.

"How many times did he have to tell you that before you believed him?"

It was too hot here, too crowded. She felt like she was going to teeter off the edge of the tower. "Shut up," she growled.

"No, I –"

"I said shut up!" She grabbed him and threw him halfway off the tower before she realized what she was doing. Her blood icy cold, she hurriedly pulled him back to safety. He ended up on his back, with her hovering above his chest. His reaction wasn't angry as she thought it would be, just pained.

"Why him?" he whispered.

It took some time for her breathing to slow so that she could answer. "He's the only thing I have."

"What about me?"

She looked at Ven, really looked at him, something warm making itself known inside her.

But she grabbed that part of her and stomped it into dust. She was Master Xehanort's only apprentice. Ventus was a tool, nothing more than a pawn meant to be sacrificed in a greater plan. And once he had played his part, he would be tossed aside with the rest of the trash.

"What about you?" she said.

She sighed impatiently as Xehanort continued to interrogate her. "I've told you," she said, "he doesn't want to use his darkness to hurt people. He's convinced that he's going to be a big hero or something. If he survives that long."

"In a way, he will be a hero," Xehanort said. "He will be the key that opens the door to a new world."

"Yay, Kingdom Hearts," she cheered in a monotone. "And then what?"

"Then comes the Keyblade War." Xehanort's eyes got that glassy look to them, like those of a priest who was hearing the voice of their god. Even though the graveyard before them was empty, he smiled as if those keyblades were held in battling hands rather than uselessly sitting in the sand. "Then the destruction of everything known, and finally, the rebirth."

She arched an eyebrow. "Directed by you, of course."

He smirked. "With the power of Kingdom Hearts on my side, I will rebuild this universe in my image."

"And we rule the universe forever. Hip, hip, hooray."

"I will rule forever," he corrected sharply.

She shouldn't have expected anything different, but it still hurt to hear him say that. Xehanort glanced sideways at her face, blinked, then hastened to say, "And you will serve as my foremost lieutenant, the highest honour."

She smiled. It was the first time that he had ever given an indication that he intended for her to still be there in the end.

This plan, this future, was everything she needed, and with Xehanort pulling the strings, she would be sure to get it.

(So why did part of her still feel miserable?)

Xehanort watched Ventus greedily, waiting for that spark of power that would signal the X-Blade's arrival. Alas, at this rate, it would never come. The boy stubbornly insisted on using his light, refusing to do anything more than allow his darkness to peek out.

He had thought that the string of defeats at Aqua's hands would feed that dark fire inside Ventus, but instead, Ventus only seemed to be suppressing it further. Even with the knowledge bestowed upon him by his other apprentice, Xehanort was unable to turn this to his advantage. What use was a warrior that refused to hurt others?

A necessary one, he thought to some dismay. This current path would not do.

He stroked his chin. Clearly, fear and power were not achieving the desired results. Instead, it made Ventus go in the opposite direction from that which he wanted. Therefore, it was reasonable to say that the opposite of his previous efforts may achieve his goals. That meant affection. He groaned inwardly; it was exhausting enough to keep Aqua adoring him.

"Well done, Ventus," he said to the boy's obvious shock. "It will not be long until you can journey to worlds by yourself."

"Uh, thanks, Master." Xehanort was delighted to see that Ventus was shyly pleased.

He decided not to end it there. "I will admit," he said, walking past his stunned apprentice, "that I had my doubts during the beginning of your apprenticeship, but you have certainly improved since then. You, truly, are the greatest of my apprentices. Perhaps, someday, you will be as strong as I."

He smiled. "I am very lucky to have you, Ventus."

In his mind, he saw flashes of similar words spoken to a little girl. He reached out, his smile warm and uncharacteristic, seeking to bring Ventus under his spell as he had done to Aqua so long ago.

But Ventus shoved his arm away, and staggered back. His glare filled with fury, he hissed, "I'm not Aqua. I'm not falling for it."

Ventus stormed away, and Xehanort was left to try and figure out what went wrong.

How could he have miscalculated? How was it that Ventus had figured out his intentions so easily? How could he have missed how much the boy had changed?

All of these questions and more ran through Xehanort's mind as he sat alone at the table. He raised a cup of tea to his lips, scowling when his noticed his hand trembling slightly. It was one misstep. One. There was no need to be so upset over it.

But he was. Ventus was a child. A child had figured out his schemes! Was he losing his touch? Had old age finally caught up to him?

All the more reason to lay claim to a new body, he thought as he forced tea down his throat. Like always, the warm liquid calmed him, doused the fire of his inner turmoil. With that, he was able to think clearly again. So what if Ventus had ruined that plan? The boy was still under his power and had no idea what Xehanort truly had in mind for him. He smirked. It was as if Ventus had taken one of Xehanort's pawns, but left his queen open in the process. In the grand scheme of things, Xehanort was still the victor.

A door slammed shut and moments later, Aqua and Ventus walked into the room. After the shock he had received from Ventus, Xehanort had ordered Aqua to train him for the day. He was disappointed to see that neither appeared grossly injured; in fact, though he was terribly sweaty, Ventus was smiling up at her.

That disturbed him.

"Aqua, remain here. I wish to speak to you."

He purposely didn't address Ventus, sending a silent message that the boy was not to be included in this conversation. Aqua caught on immediately, shooing Ventus away. For a brief moment, Ventus' eyes locked with his. However, the standoff – if it could be truly considered one – was laughable.

"How are you finding Ventus?" Xehanort asked after the boy had departed.

Aqua shrugged carelessly. "Honestly, having Ven around is like having an annoying puppy that you can't get rid of. "

Ven? He searched his mind, trying to count how many times he had heard that nickname in the past. That undercurrent of unease returned, once again associated with that brat's name. How was it that Ventus kept inserting himself into all of his perfectly formulated plans? Aqua was not supposed to be feeling a kinship with the boy!

"If you kick a dog enough times," Xehanort said, "it will leave you alone."

"Or it'll bite," Aqua deadpanned. "Look, it's fine. I've dealt with worse."

"But why put yourself through this unnecessary bother? Spare yourself the trouble and tell him the truth."

Aqua didn't say anything, turning her gaze towards the ground. He saw his chance then and before it had even registered, he was on his feet and walking towards her. A simple touch on her shoulder brought her face up to his, and her eyes widened with surprise and nervousness as she tried to figure out what he would do next.

He locked eyes with her, knowing that she lacked the strength to look away.

"You don't need him," he said softly. "You never have."

And just as he had known, Aqua didn't look away. Her head tilted slightly to one side as she absorbed her Master's words. The agreement fell out of her easily, as if she were in a hypnotic trance – and in a way, she was. Even as he watched, he could see the poison of her love for him corrupting her mind, twisting it until it became perfectly aligned with his.

He smiled, but it was not a smile directed at her. It was one meant for himself, a smile that stemmed from the understanding that Ventus was a fluke. Here was everything Xehanort needed to prove that he was still as sharp as ever. Aqua was the perfect specimen, or she would be if it wasn't for the light that survived within her. For not the first time, he had the urge to force her to make those choices that would destroy what remained of her light – if only to prove that he could. But he swallowed it down. Now was not the time.

"Go," he said. "I have nothing left to say."

"Yes, Master!"

She ran off, her steps filled with new energy. Xehanort returned to his table and cup of tea, thinking. It was true that Aqua's rapport with Ventus would probably lead to little harm, but he still did not like it. The thought of them enjoying each other's company disgusted him.

It was not hard to figure out why. Even for him, it was impossible to spend almost a decade with another person without developing some sort of bond with them. But by no means did that mean that he felt for Aqua what she felt for him. His affection for her was not built upon trust or fondness, but possessiveness and control. He cared for her just as a dragon cared for its gold.

And like a dragon, he had no intentions of sharing.

There was a divide between Ventus and Xehanort, one that hadn't been there before. Ventus was as jumpy as a cat around Xehanort, and always seemed to be listening for some underlying meaning in their Master's words. Aqua would have been annoyed normally, but for whatever reason, this issue pried Xehanort's focus away from his future X-Blade wielder.

She basked in his attention. Except for when they had first met in the Land of Departure, Xehanort had never had this much interest in her. Still, she took it without question, and on her Master's suggestion and encouragement, shunned Ventus.

Now, Ventus was the one watching from the outside. Sometimes, when it was her with the Master, she'd see Ventus watching from a distance. His expression was always perplexing: sorrowful, but not quite sad. More like sympathetic. That confused her, because why should he feel sorry for her? She was the one receiving the praise that seemed to fall freely from her Master's mouth these days.

And then, one day, everything changed.

Early in the morning, Xehanort pulled her out of training, telling her that he had an errand for her. It turned out to be a menial task, one that normally would have been given to Ventus if Xehanort wasn't insisting on having another private session with him. Still, she agreed without complaint, saving that for when Xehanort was safety out of earshot.

She returned shortly after nightfall, the items Xehanort had asked her to fetch stuffed in a sack. She slung the sack over her shoulder, and it wriggled against her back as some of Xehanort's more sinister ingredients acted up (grabbing those had been the only tricky and fun part of the job). She had no idea what he planned to conjure this time, and she wasn't too interested in knowing.

She stepped inside his office, figuring she'd just leave it on his desk for when he got back from training Ventus. The desk was nearly empty save for an inkwell with a quill, a stack of papers in one corner, and a piece of paper with writing on it in the center. She placed the sack next to the inkwell.

She was all ready to leave, when the sack moved and bumped against the stack of papers, knocking them to the ground. She paled, looking around nervously. She knew very well the consequences of disturbing her Master's sanctuary.

. . . She was going to have to clean these up, wasn't she? Sighing, she began to gather them up, moving quickly lest the Master would discover what had occurred. Her eye lazily scanned over the papers, picking up an odd phrase here or there. She didn't really care for what the papers had to say, not really . . .

Dear Aqua . . .

The pile she had gathered up scattered again, so violent was her twitch. The paper she had just read, one with sloppy writing, fluttered to the ground, barely having time to rest before Aqua's shaking hands snatched it up. Stepping into the moonlight coming through the window, she started to read.

Dear Aqua,

About a week ago, I finally got to meet Master Yen Sid's apprentice, Mickey. It was kind of a shock at first that he wasn't human, but I guess seeing how many worlds there are, it had to happen eventually, right? Ha, I can see you shaking your head at me. Anyways, Mickey just happens to be the king of Disney Castle, if you've been there yet. Of course, seeing how far ahead you are, you've probably been everywhere by now. Just promise to take me (and Ven) on a tour someday!

About those questions you asked in your last letter . . .

Last letter? What letter? She didn't need to search her brain to know that she had never written any letters. Well, there had been a few in her early years, mostly to Terra, that Xehanort had sent for her, but she had never gotten an answer to them. There was no way she should be receiving a reply now.

She greedily read the rest, an almost physical hunger driving her onwards. When she reached the end, saw the words 'Until next time, Terra', her mind shut down. How . . . what . . . why?

She shook the haze off. Terra had written her a letter? Why now? Did Ven have something to do with this?

Words from long ago came to her.

"Then why are you guys exchanging letters?"

Not caring about the mess she had made of his papers, or what would happen to her if she was caught, she collapsed in Xehanort's chair. She placed Terra's letter on the desk, smoothing out the crinkles. Letters, with an s. Plural. If Ven was being honest, then there were others out there.

An animalistic rage took over her, making her hands curl into claws as she glowered at everything in the room. Had Xehanort misplaced them? Were there more of those letters – more of her letters – in here somewhere?

She surrendered to the primal part of her, and tore apart the room in search. Each minute that ticked by without a find made her more anxious, more desperate for answers.

And finally, in a secret drawer below Xehanort's desk, her answer came in the form of a folder labeled: Xehanort Reports.

She was in her room alone, head buried in her pillow as tears forced their way out of her eyes. The words of what she had just learned haunted her, pounding against her brain like a hammer seeking to break it in half.

She sniffed, and sucked in a huge breath, only to break into sobs again. From the beginning, from the very damn beginning, it had all been a lie. Every word that had come out of Xehanort's mouth had been a lie. Now that she knew the extent of his schemes, she cursed herself for not seeing it earlier. She had been too blind, too loyal, too devoted to her so-called Master.

Eraqus, she wondered, why couldn't you see what was happening?

But she couldn't blame him, not really, not when she hadn't figured it out either.

She curled into a ball, crying harder. Before, she had only Xehanort. Now, she had nothing. Her ties with Terra and Eraqus had been broken long ago, even if the former still thought he was writing her (it was Xehanort writing those letters back to him, she had learned, and it sickened her to speculate what sort of things he and Terra had chatted about). She had purposely ruined any chances of a friendship with Ventus, just to please her Master. And Xehanort, oh, Xehanort . . .

She couldn't even be angry with him. In a way, she deserved this, didn't she? She must have, or else why would this keep happening to her? Even more sickening, deep within her, she could still sense her love for her Master, because although he was false, he, the future he offered, was still everything to her.

Because the truth was that it wasn't worth fighting him. If she were to call Xehanort out and reveal his treachery, it would earn her nothing more than a swift death - and Aqua was too selfish to die. She had nothing, no one.

She was ready to give up and stop fighting; stop thinking and merely obey. Maybe, in time, if she stayed with him, Xehanort would grow to care about her too. Maybe then she wouldn't be alone . . .

Underneath her pillow, her hand brushed against the edge of an envelope.

She wiped the tears from her eyes in order to see. She pulled out the envelope, seeing her name written in childish script on the outside. Gingerly, she ripped it open and reached inside.

Her fingers found a wooden ice-cream stick. 'Winner' was carved into its side.

Silence filled the room.

Maybe she wasn't alone after all.

Xehanort smiled as his latest plan came to a close. Ventus was in front of Xehanort, his eyes rolling up in his head as he collapsed, Xehanort's keyblade still stuck in his chest. Nearby, the twitchy black creature that embodied the boy's darkness stared around in confusion. He looked very much like a neoshadow, although his form held a shadow of Ventus' spikey hair and he was a bit bulkier and human-looking. The creature's head snapped around to face his fallen other half and with a sound much like that of a puppy's whine, he reached out a clawed hand.

"Empty creature," Xehanort said, drawing the darkness' attention, "to you I give the name Vanitas."

Vanitas' yellow eyes brightened, as if naming him had granted him intelligence. Vanitas' head cocked to one side as he stared over Xehanort's shoulder.

"V-Ven?"

What was she doing here? Had her errand been completed already? Xehanort turned and tore his keyblade out of Ventus' heart. "Aqua, meet my newest apprentice, Vanitas."

Vanitas stared at her almost sadly.

"Now," Xehanort said, turning to the creature of darkness, "Vanitas, I command . . ."

He stopped midsentence, eyes wide,

Never had he expected to feel a keyblade in his gut.

A moment passed, and then Aqua pulled her keyblade out of his body in the same way that he had retrieved his from Ventus. Xehanort stumbled forwards, holding his side, healing magic washing over him on instinct. The wound closed, and he held his hand away from his body, staring at the blood that stained it. How . . . how dare she?

It was time for her pathetic life to end.

He lunged. Expecting the attack, Aqua successfully blocked, but even that did more damage to her than it did him. From experience, they both knew that he was the strongest, the fastest of the two. Even if Aqua managed to fend off all his blows, it would weaken her so much that he would be able to kill her with ease.

From the side, he charged again, thrust his dark keyblade towards her heart -

. . . only to pull back at the last moment when Vanitas leapt between them.

Growling, Vanitas backed towards the girl, arms spread wide as if to shield her from view. The shadows around his claws had stilled and solidified, so that they gleamed like knives. Through this all, not a single emotion flickered across Aqua's face, even as she pointed her keyblade at and cast a spell.

Her raw skill was no match for Xehanort, but he was greatly handicapped. Vanitas, Ventus' darkness, vital to him and not an option to destroy, kept interfering. Vanitas would dive in the way whenever Aqua retreated, covering her weak spots, and would claw at Xehanort whenever he got too close. At some point, the dark creature learned how to call forth a keyblade of its own, and then it joined Aqua on the attack. Still, Xehanort knew he was the best of them all.

His opening came and with one swing, he took them both down. Vanitas, though very weak, recovered and lunged like an animal, only for Xehanort to grab him by the neck and toss him aside. Aqua was on the ground, groaning as she tried to force herself up.

"You foolish girl," he growled. His keyblade flared black. "You knew that you could not defeat me! Better you had accepted your fate as my servant than have chosen to die like this. Know this, my apprentice," he dropped the pitch of his voice, "I will show Eraqus and Terra this wound in my side, and I will tell them that I was forced to slay you in self-defence. You will die alone, friendless as you deserve, and no one will ever know the truth of what really happened to you."

Xehanort raised his keyblade high, savouring his victory.

But he had made one mistake.

So engrossed in the fight as he had been, he forgot that there was a fourth player in their game.

Ventus swung, and his keyblade tore down Xehanort's back and straight through his thigh. Xehanort shouted in pain, guard slipping, and Aqua saw the opportunity . . .

Next thing he knew, he was on the ground in unbelievable pain with three figures looming above him. Ventus was shaking, looking quite pale and Vanitas pressed close to his side, his longing to be whole clear in his eyes. Aqua stared down at her fallen mentor, grief, rage and a collection of other emotions written on her face. The air around her was a mix of black and purple, stained by the dark mist rising from her.

Aqua, Eraqus' magical prodigy, the girl with a heart full of light, had finally given into the darkness.

It was the last thought he ever had.

She couldn't remember much after Xehanort had passed on. Time had been a series of blurry memories, beginning with Ven and Vanitas' efforts to heal her wounds, and ending with a landing on a world that seemed strangely familiar. From therefore, she was aware of only colours and sensations; the world had turned into a patchwork of distorted shape and voices, which seemed to grow and wane in accordance to her heartbeat.

And one day, she was able to understand what she heard. Her eyelids were too heavy for her to open them, but her ears were functioning. She heard breathing, her own, but also some that did not match up with hers. Occasionally, there was the creaking of wood or the scratching of nails against flesh. Somewhere in the distance, steps echoed through a hall.

Touch came to her next. She was warm on all fronts, although there was a slight breeze that tickled her nose. Something soft cushioned her head and back, and a weight, though a light one, covered her body. Her fingers curled and the soft material below them gave way, but only for a little bit.

She laid there for what might have been hours, until she regained the strength to truly wake. Then slowly, her eyes opened. Light shone into them, making her squint. Weakly, she raised a hand to protect them.

"Aqua?"

She knew that voice. "V-Ven?" she choked out. Her head lolled to the side, her vision struggling to focus on her fellow apprentice.

He was seated in a chair, hunched over as to be eyelevel with her. "How are you feeling?" he asked.

Before she could answer, another voice, one she didn't recognize, said, "I'm going to get the Master."

Master? Xehanort was still alive! She tried to sit up, only for a powerful spike of pain to go through her head. She moaned, cradling her aching head in her hands.

"Yeah," she heard Ven say, "I should have warned you. Xehanort really did a lot of damage to you. To us."

Through her fingers, she glared at him. It was then that she noticed that they were not alone. In the corner, couched on top of a dresser, sat the shadowy creature she knew as Vanitas. He watched her with doleful yellow eyes, claws brushing against the wood upon which he sat.

"Vanitas . . ."

Ven shifted uncomfortably. "He's the darkness from my heart. When I refused to use the darkness to fight the neoshadows, Xehanort decided to rip him out of me." Ven shivered. "Eraqus said that he would help us find a way to be one again."

"Eraqus?"

"Yeah." He looked at her sympathetically. "Your injuries were bad enough that we couldn't heal you, so we took you to the Land of Departure instead. That's where we are right now."

In a quiet voice, he added, "This was your old room."

She immediately looked around, her eyes landing on the soft blue walls, and the picture of a younger her, Terra and Eraqus on a desk. It looked exactly as it did when she had left, and she was surprised the bed was still able to fit her now.

"Yes, this time I'm sure she's awake, Master."

There was that strange voice again. Aqua peeked at the doorway, waiting to see who else had been waiting for her to wake.

So used she was to the short stature of Ven, Vanitas and Xehanort's slouch, that she aimed her sights too low and ended up staring at a chest instead of a face. A big, muscular chest too; the muscles were visible even through his clothes. It set off the alarm bells her in mind, and she fought hard not to summon Rainfell in response to this potential threat.

Don't show fear. She was weak, barely able to sit up as it was, but she let none of that show on her face. She schooled it into a mask of indifference, clamping down on her natural arrogance until she had time to evaluate the situation. Her gaze moved upwards, past the armoured shoulders and up the tanned neck . . .

She gasped as she met Terra's cobalt eyes.

This was Terra? Before, they had been around the same height, but she could see that presently, he would tower over her. He had grown into his body and the muscles which seemed awkwardly huge before now appeared normal. His chin was sharp and defined, the roundness of his cheeks had faded, and for all intents, he was a man. Yet it was still a boyish smile he gave her even as he stepped into the room.

"Long time no see," he said gently.

She looked at him, at a loss of how to respond.

Her attention was directed to the door again. Eraqus walked through and despite the years that had passed, he looked exactly the same. The oddness of it almost convinced her that she was dreaming again.

"It is good to see you awake, Aqua," Eraqus said, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. It almost seemed like he was fighting not to cry. "If the rest of you could leave us . . ."

They did so without question, Terra casting a backwards glance at her.

The door clicked shut, and an uneasy silence set over them. Her fingers itched with the need to summon Rainfell, if only to add some excitement to the room.

"Aqua," Eraqus moaned, reaching for her, "my child . . ."

She swatted his hand away with a vicious glare. She wasn't his apprentice, she wasn't anyone's apprentice! Eraqus looked hurt by her action, and the reaction made her smile.

"Aqua, what happened to you?" This time, there definitely were tears in his eyes.

"Why do you care?" she sneered. As far as she was concerned, Eraqus had shipped her off to the enemy. She didn't care if he had 'good intentions' or whatever he wanted to call it; if it wasn't for him, none of this would have happened. She would still be here, with him and Terra, and this would still be her room.

He shook his head sadly. "I thought Xehanort had changed. If I had known . . . Oh, if I had known. . ."

"Save it," she told him. "I don't care for your apologies."

She rolled over in bed, facing the wall and refusing to speak. Eraqus stuck around for a little while longer, but eventually, she heard him sigh and the door opened and shut again.

Alone at last.

Maybe, for her, it was meant to be this way.

It wasn't uncommon for her to be alone in her room with Ventus and Vanitas (the latter seemed to follow Ventus around wherever he went). Being alone with Terra, however, was much more unusual. She stayed curled in bed while Terra sat in a corner, neither sure how to break the ice. Honestly, Aqua would have rather faced the Terra who had betrayed her, and not the Terra Who-She-Thought-Had-Betrayed-Her-But-Actually-Didn't. It roused feelings of guilt inside her that she really did not appreciate, and she dragged her nails against the bed's wooden frame just to blow off some steam.

"So," Terra said, "Ven says that you claim I never wrote to you."

She felt his eyes boring into the back of her head. "You were exchanging letters with Xehanort," she said listlessly. "I never even saw them."

She expected rage, denial and sorrow; she did not expect his relieved sigh. "Good to know I'm not crazy," he said

She turned her head, staring at him incredulously. "You knew?"

"I had my suspicions after I received the first letter, and I knew for certain by the third. They sounded like you wrote them, but it wasn't you. There was something missing," he said, looking at a loss of how to explain. "Master didn't believe me."

"What a surprise," she said flatly. She laid her head down again with a wry smirk.

"He honestly thought he was doing the best thing," Terra said. "Don't think that he didn't care about you."

"I don't want to talk about him," she growled.

"Then what do you want to talk about?"

She thought about it for a second. "If you knew it wasn't me, why did you keep writing?"

He leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "After Eraqus visited, you and Xehanort disappeared. The letters, even if they weren't written by you, were the only things I had left. I always had hoped that you somehow saw them, that either you wrote the replies with Xehanort watching over your shoulder, or you snuck into his office to read them." He smiled crookedly at her. "Which, I guess, you did. I just wish it didn't turn out this badly."

"You shouldn't have kept writing. It was stupid."

"It wasn't stupid!" Terra was on his feet now, looking angry. "I had to! I had to prove that I never forgot you, even if it was only to myself in the end."

She looked up at him, her face pained. "Xehanort said that you didn't want to come with Eraqus to visit me. "

He spoke so quietly that it might have been her imagination. "Did you believe him?"

"Yes."

She had crushed him with that one word. Terra turned away from her, pacing across the small room, fingers combing through his hair. His face, when she saw it again, was absolutely devastated, and she was left feeling very small.

He took a seat on her bed and she opened her mouth to order him off, only to close it again.

"I never forgave myself for letting Xehanort take you away," he murmured. "Never. I begged the Master to let me go with him to see you, but he refused. I never did find out why." He sighed, and his fingers brushed against the top of her knuckles. "There were times, after I learned to summon my glider, where I ran away looking for you, or else abandoned my mission to chase after someone I swore was you. I never stopped praying that someday, we would find each other on some distant world."

They looked at each other, and in that moment, time seemed to rewind. They were no longer adults burdened by time and regret, but two young children making promises in the dark.

"You swear? Do you pinkie-swear?"

"I swear. Friends forever."

"I never stopped caring," Terra whispered. The small bit of space between them crackled with . . . unease? Anticipation? She did nothing as his hands slid up her arms to her shoulders, pulling her in close.

And he held her tightly in his arms as the lies crumbled around them.

In my books, that's a happy ending. I figured at least one of my stories should have one. So yay!

And yes, Xehanort was ultimately thwarted by a popsicle stick.

Hopefully, Aqua/Ven/Vanitas managing to defeat Xehanort didn't ruin this. That's the one thing I'm really uncertain about because on one hand, Xehanort is insanely tough, but on the other hand, it only takes one lucky shot to kill someone . . .

Because the question will probably come up, I'll answer it now. The reason Ven was able to get up and attack Xehanort after having his darkness torn away from him is that his heart is stronger than it was at this point in canon. Also, as Ven once told Vanitas, he draws his power from his friends, and seeing Aqua about to die gave him that burst of strength he needed.

Anyways, that's the end of this fic. Thanks for reading, everyone!