Enchanted Dominion

First Appearance: KINGDOM HEARTS Birth by Sleep (2010)
Origin: Sleeping Beauty (1959) 

It was the third time Aqua had stepped into a world she knew. The Enchanted Dominion had reverted to the form it took when Maleficent had tried to take over the kingdom. Vines had appeared all throughout the forest, twisting their way to choke the life out of the flora around her.

In front of her was... It was Terra! And Ventus! They had reappeared once more, but this time they were walking away from Aqua. Why were they here again? Aqua ran forward but the boys vanished. Could they be phantoms that the Darkness was using to try and break Aqua? She doesn't care if they are, or if she falls into darkness. She misses her friends and knows she is close to reuniting with them.

Aqua ventures deeper into the forest, scaling cliffs and battling demons. Vines appear to block her path, but they're no match for her magic. The further she goes in, the darker the forest gets. She destroys more vines and is suddenly face to face with one of the scariest demons she has seen thus far.

It was tall, with glowing yellow eyes and part of its body was missing in the shape of a heart.
"Do you really think you could keep me away from my friends?" Aqua barked at the giant.
The demon summoned darkness to try and destroy Aqua, but it was no match for her. 

Aqua continued along the path until she saw something truly breathtaking. There were so many of those giant demons standing between her and Maleficent's Castle. They were all beneath a giant red ball of Darkness. Could that be where they were getting their energy from?
"Okay then..."
Aqua knew she had to take them all down if she wanted to reunite with Terra and Ventus.

The demons threw balls of darkness up into the sky, each one seeking to join the giant one floating above the battlefield. Aqua ran past the demons to the giant red ball of darkness, but one of the giants was underneath it, determined to end her journey. Aqua dodged and deflected the demon's attacks, and struck the giant red ball. It floated higher into the sky, purple darkness surrounding it. The demons began to vanish! Except the wind was so strong, Aqua felt like she was being pulled up towards the ball as well.

Resisting the wind, the ball exploded and each demon disappeared. She did it, and now she could see her friends up ahead.

Aqua runs beyond the arch towards Maleficent's castle, where Terra and Ventus stand waiting. She calls out to them, and is surprised when Terra turns around and begins to converse with her.

Aqua wonders how Terra is now speaking to her, while Terra wonders how Aqua was now able to see her. He couldn't see Ventus, despite Aqua being able to see him. Terra also couldn't see that Aqua was standing in Enchanted Dominion. Something wasn't right, but Aqua didn't care. At long last, she was with her friend.

Aqua explained that she was in Enchanted Dominion, except this version of the world had been consumed by the Darkness. This was news to Terra. He was suppose to be in the realm of light, but was surprised to learn that the worlds had fallen to darkness.

Could this be another trick, Aqua questioned. Could the weakness in her heart be playing more tricks on her? Aqua turns to Ventus, hoping for him to finally speak to her, to reassure her that he is okay. The boy still slept, but Terra promised that his appearance in front of her isn't a trick.

But he isn't himself either. Aqua keeps calling the man in front her of "Terra", which means she is seeing him the way that she remembers him. But it's her heart that is shielding her from the truth. Terra is lost in shadow, he reveals, but not trapped in the Realm of Darkness like Aqua is.

Terra reveals that his heart has ties to the darkness, and that is how is able to speak with Aqua, but he is unable to see anything that Aqua can see. This includes Ventus. Both are confirmed to be illusions created by Aqua's heart to guide her. 

"You and Ven are safe in the outside world?" Aqua questions Terra, trying so desperately for any reassurance that her friends are safe. Terra believes they are both safe, and revealed that he found Aqua by looking inside his heart, and heard her in the darkness. This was the second time that Terra mentioned his ties to the darkness, which confused Aqua. Why does Terra's heart have ties to the darkness? How is this possible? What does he mean when he says he is "lost in shadow?"

It is then that Terra reveals that Xehanort is still alive, and he is trying to locate Ven. Aqua promises Terra that Ventus is hidden well away from Xehanort's reach, but it's too late. Terra begins to transform into the white haired man Aqua fought in the Radiant Gardens. The man who had taken over Terra's body and tried to lock his heart away.

"This 'place'. Is it the Chamber of Waking?" the man asked.
"Yes," Aqua responded as she turned to the man she still thought was Terra.

Aqua was surprised to see the man. She asked who he really was. With a hint of mocking her in his voice, he began to answer her question when an apparition of Terra appeared behind the man and tried to hold him back.

This Terra reveals the truth - Xehanort is a part of him. He's using the connection Terra has to Aqua to try and manipulate her into revealing where Ventus is hidden. The man struggles against Terra, summoning a demon to help stop him. He grabs Terra's head in the palm of his hand and hold's the lost boy above the ground. Darkness seeps out of a portal, and giant hands grab Ventus and Aqua.

"Now you can be one with the darkness!" the man yelled out, as Aqua watches on. She begins to lose consciousness, but not before she see's Terra fight back, turning gold and summoning chains that encase the white-haired man. 

Aqua passed out.