The Two Who Waited
by StorySpy
How long has it been since that fateful day? How long did I travel this perilous road? How long have I been trapped in the Realm of Darkness? I do not know. What I do know is this: I made a promise to my friends and I intend to keep it, no matter what it takes.
My name is Master Aqua. I used to live in the Land of Departure with my two friends, Terra and Ventus. Together, we three trained to become Keyblade Masters under the watchful eye of Master Eraqus. We three dreamed of this moment, however, when the time came for the Mark of Mastery exam, I was the only one of the trio to make this dream a reality. Soon after, we received word that Eraqus's old friend, Master Xehanort, has mysteriously disappeared. Coincidentally, this came after we learned that the worlds were being endangered by creatures called the Unversed. I was then tasked with four missions: find Master Xehanort, hunt down and eliminate the Unversed, keep a watchful eye on Terra, who went on his own journey, and retrieve Ven, who ran off on his own adventure.
As I traveled through the worlds of the Realm of Light, I met up with a colorful cast of characters on my quest. Some were friends, some were foes, and one of them wanted to date me. During my travels, I ran into three children with a special destiny ahead of them, and one of these children was accidentally chosen to follow in my footsteps, although something told me that it wasn't an accident. Basically, things started out so well for me and my companions. That was before things went terribly wrong.
Recently, I learned from the great sorcerer Yen Sid that Eraqus was fatally struck down by Master Xehanort, and Terra helped him do it. To my sorrow, when I met up with Terra at the Keyblade Graveyard, my friend confirmed it. Ven met up with us and explained that Master Xehanort was attempting to create a powerful yet dangerous Keyblade called the X-blade. With this Keyblade, the old warrior could condemn all worlds to the darkness of oblivion. To acquire this weapon, he made Ven fight his apprentice, a masked boy named Vanitas. Then Master Xehanort and Vanitas arrived at the Keyblade Graveyard and confirmed his sinister intentions with my friends and quite possibly all life in the many worlds. We couldn't allow them to succeed, so we fought the diabolical duo. I had the worst of it as I first had to fight Braig, another one of Xehanort's minions, before I dealt with Vanitas.
After he knocked me out, he took over Ven's body and attacked me with the newly forged X-blade after he made clear his intentions to open Kingdom Hearts and start a second Keyblade War, but with the help of a fellow Keyblade Wielder named Mickey Mouse, I stopped this evil plot in its tracks. Unfortunately, when I destroyed the X-blade, there was a massive explosion that separated us. Fortunately, I managed to take Ven with me when I got blasted to the Lanes Between. Unfortunately, the ordeal had damaged Ven's heart, causing it to be lost and leaving him in a comatose state. But despite everything, I refused to believe that Ven was gone. With Ven's help, I took him home to the Land of Departure, only to find that Master Xehanort destroyed this place.
Once a place of light and peace, this place was now a ruined wasteland shrouded in darkness. All that remained was Eraqus's Keyblade, Master Keeper, and the ruined castle. But I had vowed to do what I could for my friends, which is why I was thankful that I remembered what Eraqus told me after I became a Master: I was to use the Master Keeper to seal the world away and transform the Land of Departure, making it so all who come here will be lost in oblivion. With my job done, I left Ven in one of the newly transformed castle's chambers. At least here, he'd be safe.
With Ven safe, I searched for Terra. Sadly, my luck with Terra wouldn't be very good, since I discovered that Terra was possessed by the darkness. Realizing that Xehanort was involved, I once again had no choice but to fight my friend. When I weakened my opponent, I noticed that Terra was fighting the madman from the inside. Xehanort turned his Keyblade on himself, seeking to lock my friend out. Then, the darkness tried to take him away. But I refused to allow this, so I dove into the portal to the Realm of Darkness, but when I realized that one of us would make it out of here, I sacrificed my armor and Keyblade to save him. I sent Terra to the Realm of Light, and I sank into the dark world.
And so it was that I ended up all alone in this dark place, surrounded by heartless creatures of the darkness, with no way out. I believed that I should give up and let the darkness take me, but when the Keyblades of my friends saved me from an army of these dark creatures, I regained hope. I began to believe that there was always a way.
And so, I began to journey through the Realm of Darkness. As I moved forward through this unfamiliar terrain, I noticed that this adventure was not without danger. Through my new quest, I dealt with many of this world's obstacles, faced this land's dangers and I fought many of the realm's dark inhabitants, including a huge creature that prowled through the realm's dark valley like some kind of hunter of the dark. Like I said, this journey was not without difficulty or peril. But in the end, I defeated my dark opponents, overcame the realm's obstacles, and survived the many dangers of this dark, foreboding place, even though I had yet to find a way out of here after all that. The situation looked bleak, but I refused to give up because I swore that I would find my way out of this place, and when I did, I would do all within my power to save my friends.
Eventually, I began to notice that this place looked and felt like an endless labyrinth. It seemed like I could never find refuge in this hazardous place. Finally, after traveling for a long time through the Dark Realm, I soon caught sight of a mysterious coastline lit by the light of the moon. I went to this dark margin in hopes of finding something that could probably aid in my escape, but when I got there, I found that there was no boat, no portal, and no sign of life in this dark meridian. I was completely alone in this place. Or so I thought, for right when I was about to turn around and leave this place, I caught sight of a man in a black coat sitting on a rock and looking upon the moonlit sea. Not sensing any danger from him, I walked up to him and noticed, upon getting a close look, that he was meditating. Somehow, I developed a curiosity for this stranger in this strange dark land. At the very least, I was curious enough to want to ask the stranger some questions.
"Who are you?" I asked the stranger.
The mysterious man turned to me and, in a voice that reminded me of a wise old man, he said, "Why, hello. It's not often that I get visitors."
"Please, call me Aqua," I said to the man after learning that he didn't look like he was in a position to attack me. I then asked him, "Why are you sitting here all alone in the Realm of Darkness? How did you end up here?"
"Well...I can tell you this is my second time on these shores. But unfortunately, much like the first, I do not remember who I am or whence I came. Everything was washed away in whatever currents carried me here," answered the man.
"That's too bad," I said, "I know I've been here a long time, wandering through the endless hours...unable to escape."
"You wish to return to your own world?" asked the man.
All I could do was nod in response. Somehow, this guy knew what I was doing here. This is probably because he himself might've tried to leave this place once before.
"It's my friends," I explained, "I promised I'd be there for them."
"Your friends?" said the man in the coat, "Somewhere in the scraps of memory I have left, you remind me of a boy I once knew. He is very much like you. He was true to his friends and kind as well. This boy travels to many worlds and fights to keep the light safe."
"Keep the light safe?" I didn't catch that part. I could've sworn that he said something about my job. What could that mean? "I've been away too long. Did something happen out there? Are the worlds in danger?"
The man said, "Sad to say, they nearly fell to darkness more than once. But at every turn, that boy arrived with Keyblade in hand to save the day."
"Huh?" I said in confusion. Boy with Keyblade? But that means... "Wait a sec...is his name Terra or Ven?"
The man's answer was, "Neither of those, I'm afraid."
Blast! "Should've known," I said. I really should have known that it wasn't them. But the question here is: Who, if it wasn't Terra or Ven, was the one that saved the day? This was clearly something to think about.
"How long has it been since I met him? At least a year now, perhaps more..." uttered the old man. As he searched what remained of his memory, he remembered the boy that wielded the Keyblade. The old man then said, "Back then, my heart was clouded with vengeance. I did terrible things...both to him and his friends. I brought unhappiness to more lives than one. I felt something must be done. Was that why? A means of clearing my conscience? Or perhaps, out of a sort of scholarly instinct? While the boy slept his long sleep, I hid the results of my research inside him, transplanting the data to where it might best serve a purpose. In fact, I would like to believe..."
"What?" I asked him, "You would like to believe what?"
"Maybe he can set things right. A boy like him who touches so many hearts could open the right door and save all those people whose lives I managed to ruin."
"Do you really believe that this boy that you are speaking of can accomplish such a task?" I asked the stranger.
"Yes, I do," the man answered, "So many are still waiting for their new beginning, their birth by sleep. Even me, and even you."
What the stranger was clearly telling me was that in my absence, the darkness was free to wreak its havoc on the Realm of Light. The worlds were in peril, and if the sight of Cinderella's castle in the Realm of Darkness was any indication, they were clearly not faring well without me to protect them. I got upset when I realized that all that I had done was in vain. Then I became hopeful when I learned that a wielder of the Keyblade saved the Realm of Light from certain doom. Maybe he's right. Maybe this boy can save us. Maybe he can set everything right. There's one thing I needed to know, however.
"What's this boy's name?"
"His name...is..."
"Who? Who is the boy?"
He then uttered, "Sora."
I gasped in surprise. Was the old man talking about the child that I met on the idyllic Destiny Islands? The child to whom I didn't pass down the Keyblade ended up acquiring the legendary weapon? I was filled with shock upon hearing the boy's name. But then, I began to wonder some things. Could this small child be destined for big things? Could it be possible, nay, probable that this little island boy from the Realm of Light may in fact grow up to be the one who holds our destinies in his hands? Could he be the one to save us from our fates?
At that point, I felt hope spring up within me. I shed a single tear as I thought of the possible savior of my and my friends. I now know that this boy from the Realm of Light will be the one that will save us. This young child that wields the Keyblade. This boy named...
"Sora."