It was a bright, clear day in the Land of Departure. Under most circumstances, Aqua, the blue-haired woman recently named Keyblade Master, would either be training with Terra and Ven, or she would be reading.
Considering recent events, though, that wasn't going to happen.
Something had happened during the Mark of Mastery exam. The orbs of light they needed to attack had suddenly been tainted with darkness. Then Master Eraqus had said Terra's heart was wandering close to darkness. Sometime after that, the bells had rung and both he and Aqua were tasked with going to other worlds to battle a threat called the Unversed. Though Eraqus said that if Terra's heart fell to darkness, Aqua was to bring him back immediatly. To their surprise, Ven had run off as well, despite Master Eraqus saying not to. So Aqua was asked to retrive him. So she was just about to leave.
"Master Aqua, a word?" A voice behind her said.
Turning, Aqua came face-to-face with Master Xehanort. Aqua was rather surprised that he hadn't left yet. Every time Aqua looked at him, she felt a little uneasy. She couldn't quite place why, he just sent a shiver up her spine. She also didn't understand why he was here. Master Eraqus said that he couldn't contact Xehanort, and Terra said he was going to look for him, so how did they not realize he was still here?
"Is something wrong?" She asked.
"I'm... concerned for Terra." Xehanort replied. "Eraqus is correct. Terra has allowed darkness into his heart."
Aqua frowned. Master Xehanort didn't have to remind her. She was there when Eraqus said that.
"I fear that the darkness may try to overtake the light in his heart. We can't let that happen." Xehanort said.
Aqua nodded. "I'm sure Terra will find a way." She said. "He, Ven, and I-"
"I'm concerned for Ventus too." Xehanort interrupted. "He is an impulsive one. I should know. He tends to not think things through. The darkness would love to take such a young, naive heart."
Aqua frowned. "That's not good. What can we do?" She asked.
"I'm afraid there is another matter I must attend too." Xehanort replied. "But I know that, as a Keyblade Master, you will be able to help them in that matter. After all, isn't it a Keyblade Masters duty to protect the weak?"
"Weak?" Aqua asked. "Terra and Ven are strong too."
"True, true." Xehanort said. "But still, they haven't reached your level. You are all strong, but as a Keyblade Master, you're still ahead of them. But I'm sure someday they'll reach your level."
Aqua looked at Xehanort confused. Why would he say something like that? All three of them were powerful. Ven could attack faster then any of them. And no one matched Terra in strength. But, was that not enough? Did being a Keyblade Master make her... better then them?
"Shouldn't you be off?" Xehanort said, pulling Aqua out of her thoughts.
"Oh, right." Aqua said. She then activated her Armor and Glider, and started off for the nearest world.
Xehanort watched her leave with a twisted grin. Everything was going according to plan. Now Aqua had the idea that she was more powerful then Ven or Terra planted in her head. It would continue to grow, corrupting her heart. If his plan with Terra failed, then Aqua would do as well.
With a small laugh, he opened a dark portal and walked through, ready to begin the next phase.
The first world Aqua arrived at landed her inside a lavish castle. From the looks of it, there had been a ball of some sort. Aqua was just entering when a woman in a dress ran by, followed by what looked like a Duke with a glass shoe. Before she could follow, she heard a voice call her name. Looking up, it was Terra!
Terra raced down the stairs to see Aqua. "Terra, Ven ran away from home. I think he's looking for you." She said.
"What? That's bad. I'll look for him." Terra said.
"Terra, before I left-" Aqua started to say. However, Terra cut her off.
"I've found out Xehanort's looking for hearts of pure light." Terra explained. "Why, I'm not sure yet."
"How did you find this out?" Aqua asked.
"In another world, a princesses heart was stolen. An evil fairy told me Xehanort wanted it because it was pure light, like others."
"Do you know who these others are?" Aqua asked. She frowned when Terra shook his head. 'Great. A lot of help you are.' Aqua thought. Then she shook her head. 'Wait, why did I think that?'
"You OK, Aqua?" Terra asked.
Aqua looked at Terra. "Oh, yeah." She said. "I'm going to look for more clues here."
Terra nodded. "Check with the prince in the ballroom." He said, then started to leave. However, he stopped. "Do you still have the same dream?"
Aqua tilted her head in confusion. "Yes, but why is this important now?" She asked.
"There's a girl here named Cinderella. She showed me that it's important to keep believing. No matter how bad things get, a powerful dream can still light the darkness." Terra said. On that, he walked off.
Aqua stood there confused for a few seconds. "Dreams... lighting darkness?" She asked herself. Then, she did something unexpected: she started to giggle. "That's it? That's his big revelation? That's silly. If he's thinking like that, he'll never-" Then she caught herself. "Wait, what am I saying? That isn't silly. What's wrong with me today?"
Then she looked up at where Terra was. "Maybe I should speak with the prince. Could take my mind off... my mind." She said to herself.
Aqua's search for clues did not end very well. First, she checked the ballroom Terra had come from, and learned about the girl, but not before encountering three woman she felt had darkness. After this, she started off for the nearest house.
However, when she reached the clearing, she encountered a number of Unversed. They were much smaller then she expected (excluding one big purple Unversed). Summoning Rainfell, she engaged the Unversed. The battle ended faster then she expected, with the Unversed attacks being basic.
"These are the Unversed? Those tiny little things and big purple idiots?" She asked herself. "They didn't stand a chance against me. If it's all like this, I'll be home in no time." With that, she dispelled Rainfell and continued to the house, unaware of how arrogant she sounded.
Upon reaching the house, she learned it belonged to the women she saw earlier. Resummoning Rainfell, she prepared to confront them, only for another woman in blue to appear behind her.
"Wait, you can't fight darkness with light." The woman said. "It's dangerous."
Aqua stared at the woman like she was crazy. "Really?" She asked. "And you are?"
"A Fairy Godmother." The woman answered. "Listen, I know you want to help. Those women in there have succumbed to jealousy. However, you can't go in there and attack their darkness with light. One must not overtake the other."
Aqua was now a little intrigued. "Ok, the how do you propose I help?"
This was not how Aqua had thought things would go.
First, she was shrunk to mouse size to help a talking mouse named Jaq free Cinderella. Then she grew back near the step-mother and step-sisters, but thankfully Cinderella showed up in time. The slipper fit Cinderella, and she went off to see the prince, only for a coach Unversed to attack. Aqua defeated it, but not before it killed the step-family.
Now she was watching the prince and Cinderella embrace from a distance. Just then, the Fairy Godmother appeared behind her.
"See?" The Fairy Godmother said. "Things worked out in the end. Cinderella got her happy ending."
"Yeah, and all it took was three women dying for that to happen." Aqua replied, upset. "If you hadn't told me to help Jaq-"
"You might have hurt them." The Fairy Godmother replied.
"I wasn't going too!" Aqua said, now angry. "I was just going to question them. If you had let me just go in, they might still be alive!"
"Then why did you summon your weapon?" The Fairy Godmother asked.
That made Aqua hit a mental brick wall. Why did she do that? She only wanted to question them. Didn't she? "I... I need to go." She said. On that, she got up to leave.
"The creature was made from their jealousy. It might have appeared regardless of if you confronted them." The Godmother said. "You're letting the darkness in your heart blind you."
Aqua stopped. "What did you say?" She asked.
"You are a kind young woman, I can tell." The Godmother answered. "But I can sense darkness growing in you. Perhaps you should-"
"You're wrong." Aqua interrupted. "I can't have darkness. My master-" She stopped herself. "I'm leaving." On that, she left.
The Fairy Godmother watched her go. "Poor girl." She thought. "I hope she'll be ok."
'She's wrong.' Aqua thought as she travelled through the Lanes Between. 'I took Master Eraqus's training seriously. There can't be darkness in my heart. But my reaction to Terra's comment, and how I treated that fairy. Do I have darkness in me?'
Her train of thought was interrupted when she saw another world.
'I should land.' She thought. 'It might clear my head.' On that, she headed for the world.