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Time froze. Ven looked around him at the still spectacle; the bald man raising his white and black keyblade in the air, his yellow eyes glinting; his companion standing unphased by his side; and Aqua, on her knees, tears hanging from her cheeks, looking at Terra with deep concern as she held the limp body in her arms. Ven had a sudden rush of remembrance, and he thought of a time in the past, when Aqua had looked at him like that, while he felt a sharp freezing pain all over his body. He remembered that she used to look at him in such a way, out of...love?
"Love," Ven said, as the memories rushed into his head and the scenes played out; Aqua, sitting on the windowsill during a sunset, gazing across a vast landscape of towers and civilization; Terra, locked in a room, furniture hitting walls and portraits cracking; a young boy and girl on a beach, watching sunrise as they held hands; a bright light, followed by a swarm of doves, revealing a large platform of stained glass; and a small child, sitting on a chair in a large white room, her head downcast as she solemnly drew on a beige notepad. Ven felt a wave of awakening rush over him, ashe envisioned the faint outline of a boy, his hand outstretched.
"What are you waiting for, So-" and his words were cut off as time relapsed and the fight resumed.

Terra stood, blocking a blow from the Shadow and swung his sword around at the Wizard's legs. He brought the sword up as Wizard jumped, forcing him to teleport back. Terra pressed his attack onto Shadow, keyblade slamming down repetitivly on the dark one's. He kicked Shadow in the stomach and slammed his keyblade handle on Shadow's neck. Then Wizard was back, forcing Terra towards Ven and Aqua. He gritted his teeth and starting shoving Wizard back.

Terra screamed in rage and tackled the Wizard, the man's body surprisingly strong with all the years that weakened him. He punched the Shadow across the room, his fist colliding solidly with the facepalte, which cracked but did not break. Terra withdrew from the wizard, picking up Ven and Aqua's keyblades. He roared as he charged, catching Wizard's sword down low, blocking Shadow's sword, which sent vibrations throughout his body, and spun, kicking Shadow and slamming the hilt of Aqua's sword into Wizard's jugular. Blood splattered on the wall, next to Aqua's, as the skin tore open. Terra raised both swords, and with a cry of victory plunged them into the Wizard's chest and neck. He ran across the room towards Shadow, barrel slamming him into the wall, which shuddered under the impact. He picked up his sword, and sliced open Shadow's neck with one fluid motion. He tossed the body next to the Wizard's and retrieved both swords. Terra sat next to Ven, bending over Aqua and bandaging her chest, knowing that for all his efforts the enemy was not dead.

Could not die.

"Roxas," the blonde-haired man said, his voice surprisingly strong, "are you beginning to remember the truth?" Roxas nodded, dropping the keyblade on the floor.

Xehanort stood outside the mansion's iron gates, waiting patiently for what would happen next. He had put on a black cloak that he had found in the closet of Zexion's library. He shifted his stance as a multicolored swirling portal appeared in front of him. A young boy with spiky blonde hair jumped out and fell on his knees. His head lulled back and forth, and his hands hung limply at his sides.
"You are no longer Sora, nor are you Ven anymore." Xehanort threw his hands at Ven as the letters S, O, R, and A spiraled around him. The letters came to a stop and floated where they stopped. The letters now spelled ROXAS.
"R-roxas...?" Ven said, looking up at Xehanort.
"Yes. A new you," Xehanort replied and disappeared into thin air.

The King walked through the dark and gloomy passage between the rocky crags that made up most of the world's land. Little light shined through the occasional breaks in the ravines above, but from what he could make out, The King knew it was sunset. I don't have much time, he thought, and he gripped his keyblade in his hands firmly.
"You ready to do this, Starseeker?" Mickey said, lifting up his keyblade, and pointing it sharply at a solid rock wall blocking his way. Mickey charged forward and lept up in the air. "Light!" he yelled, and swung Starseeker several times before landing once again. The wall crumbled before him, revealing a vast, mountainous landscape that stretched for miles and miles. Mickey squinted as he tried to see something in the distance. He saw innumerable keyblades wedged in the ground near a tall, pointy stone formation. He spotted three dots standing in a semicircle, while another dot approached them.
"Oh no," Mickey whispered, "I'm too late." The lone dot split into two, and one of the three dots ran forward. "Terra."
The scene played out before Mickey, and soon darkness fell. No moon, only clouds. Mickey ran down a path that led to the ston formation, passing the beginnings of the Keyblade masses. Out of the corner of his eye, The King saw a stream of purple light shoot up from one of the specks and penetrate the clouds. For a moment, everything was still. Then the clouds parted to reveal a heart-shaped moon, illuminating everything in the King's way.

YoTerra lay in a pool of blood, and though the thick liquid swirling around his face was warm, he could feel nothing but cold. It went through his bones, as if he was nothing but cold. Is this how stars feel? Surrounded by heat, but cold, alone. Terra tried reaching towards his keyblade, but his arm wasn't moving. He couldn't feel it, and he couldn't see it. He smelled the blood all around him, and could sense nothing else. He saw the Shadow nearing Aqua, and tried to cry out, but blood just bubbled from his lips. Terra could taste the metalic tang, unable to feel anything but the pain, and he fell into the blackness. Sire... He though, floating in the black. Majesty, I have failed. An image of the King swam in front of his eyes, and behind him, Ansem the Wise. Forgive me... Terra strained his eyes, for there was another face, behind Ansem's. It was Xehanort. Terra stared into his eyes, then closed his own, before plummeting through the shadow like a rock.

Terra burst through the top of the crashing black waves, gasping in a lungful of air. He saw a light, high above, above the storm, and he awoke. "Riku..." He struggled to stand, shaking, but made no noise as he nearly fell. "Give me your sword." He whispered, holding out a bloody hand.