Chapter Text
Seeing Terra Aqua runs up to him holding unto her hope. “Terra!” she yells. Maybe hearing her voice can break him out of the dead daze he is currently in.
Slowly he lowers his head focusing on her as if it really was her voice that woke him up. He reaches out sluggishly as if to caress her shoulder gently, but Aqua easily backs up out of his reach with a gasp. However, he breaks his stride, jutting his hand forward and latches onto her neck. Soundlessly and without any change in expression, he lifts her. She dangles her feet huffing in her struggle to continue breathing evenly.
He remains unmoving, blank faced. Then he asks, “Who…am I?” with a face similar to a kid being told forthe first time that he is adopted, while a black energy begins to radiate from him.
Aqua sees her opening. That face could never belong to Master Xehanort. “Such a terrible darkness. Fight it. Terra, please!” Her face clenches as her breathing grow more difficult due to her own struggle.
“Terra, you say?” His voice has deepened as if his entire person has changed.
Without warning he drops her, and she lands roughly on her knees. She stays there gasping. He clutches his head, eyes clamped shut in pain. Then he recomposes himself.
“Terra’s heart has been extinguished—“he says with a smirk. “Smothered by the darkness within him.”
Still on the ground trying to recover, Aqua barely has time to see that he is raising his keyblade ready to strike. She backflips just in time to miss his swing landing eight feet away. The leap somehow cleared her airway, and air enters through her nose and mouth in great gulps. Feeling normal again, she sets her eyes on the man who used to be Terra full of determination.
“My name is Master Aqua. Now return my friend’s heart or pay the price.”
She doesn’t want to fight Terra, but she reminds herself again and again that this isn’t Terra. But it is his body, and whatever damage is done is done to him. She doesn’t have time to worry about this, though, as he comes full swing at her.
They knock keyblades, the vibration running up both of their arms with a noticeable quiver. He’s strong. Has Terra gotten stronger during their time apart, or is this Xehanort’s power?
They had had so many misunderstandings as of late, and she wants so badly to set things right between them. She wants to hug him to her, let him know that everything is okay and tell him all the things that she never got around to, but she knows in her veins that if she doesn’t fight now she will never get the chance to. So, lifting her head high she smacks at him with her full strength. Now is not the time to show Light’s weakness but its strength.
“Terra, I will make you hear me.” He blocked the hit with his own keyblade, but the vibration is stronger this time. He sidesteps gaining extra footing which he uses to push at her. She back up forcefully.
Glancing around she spots a loose stone, and she kicks it upward striking him square in the jaw. While he is busy cringing she knocks at the base of his keyblade managing to slacken his grip on it. Just a little more. But as she readies to hit it again he grabs for her arm. His grip is tight and she cries out. She spins her angry face at him. “You will never win.”
He laughs, but she kicks down at his feet, and he momentarily relaxes his hold and she uses the opportunity to grab at his keyblade. The weapon slides out of his hold, and when it hits the ground with athud she casts an aero spell to distance it from them.
He watches as it is swept far out of reach with a scowl. “You haven’t won yet.” He raises his hands and casts quake making her wobble on her feet. She times a jump when a bit ground is solid jumping to anuninfected area.
She casts raging storm. She approaches him, and while he kicks sharply at her, getting some hits in, he is dealt massive fire damage.
Groaning he backs up clutching at his right shoulder, which has been severely burned. A golden light begins to surround him, and Aqua can feel a lingering lightness filling her. It’s Terra!
“Stop fighting back.”
“Terra, I know you’re in there,” she calls, hoping that reassurance can help him win his own internal battle.
His movements become labored as if Terra is restricting them. “This’ll teach you. Get out of my hearts!” Before she knows what’s happening he’s reaching inside his own chest.
“Terra!”
He pulls out and his Guardian appears behind him. It’s massive form floats there tauntingly, but it’s fading power is evident. A dark portal forms beneath them, and Aqua is forced to watch as their forms sink into the hole.
“No!” Without a thought she leaps at them. Just as it seemed that she wouldn’t make it she grasps his hand.The darkness encloses her pulling her along. The pull is strong and her grasp of his hand is broken.
“The darkness can’t have you.” Summoning her glider she takes off toward his falling, unconscious body. She manages to pull him up on the glider, but their joined weight is too much, and the glider crawls through the black. The opening of light above them is closing rapidly.
“I have to do something or we’ll both be lost.”
She sighs sadly dissolving the glider. Gently, she places her keyblade into his hand, curling his fingers around the hilt. “I’m with you.” And her meaning holds more than one. Surging all of the Light power that she can here in this realm of darkness she shoots him up toward the opening.
“Go!” she yells her arms lifted in farewell.
Seeing him make it through safely, she smiles. “Ven, I’m sorry…I might not make it back as soon as Ithought. But I promise that one day I’ll be there to wake you up.”
Watching the last bead of light disappear, she drifts effortlessly downward. There is no sound, no light, nothing; nothing but thoughts. Oh, Terra I wish we could have had more time. Why did we have to be pulled away like that? I always believed in you, I swear. Now I’ll probably never be able to tell you.