Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, or the cover image. I own nothing!

A/N: As the summary said, this is a The Little Mermaid AU (alternate universe) story and by The Little Mermaid I want you to know this is NOT going to be Disney. There won't to be any singing crabs etc. This story is mostly based on the original, the Hans Christian Anderson story, but it will not be EXACTLY the same so don't panic or expect it to actually BE the Hans Christian Andersen version. I am going to put my spin on things. There will be differences, and I will do my best to make it unique. I will keep my usual writing style which means it will be darker and more mature at times. Enjoy!

Sapphire Scales

Chapter 1

Life in the deepest fathoms of the sea was not like the life humans experienced above. Colorful fish imitated birds in the azure, crystalline sky. Flora grew on the murky depths but not as they grew on land. Plants were abnormally shaped and held unnatural colors. They contained only the brightest hues of color while corals, undersea trees, and vibrant, marine flowers caressed the sandy terrain of the world below. Sparkling lakes and ponds did not exist in the underworld and the sun did not shine as brightly nor did the moon have the strength to illuminate their distant dominion.

The denizens of the sea could live for hundreds of years while the life of humans was much shorter. However, merfolk and humans both had to perish, but only humans had immortal hearts. Once a mermaid or merman perished, they would never live again; their hearts could not rise to glorious, unknown regions. Their hearts would never experience the mythical realm beyond the glittering stars that the human's called Kingdom Hearts.

The undersea inhabitants would never live lives after their bodies turned to foam, but they couldn't shed tears for their perishable existence. They could not weep as the humans could. One could not cry underwater. Tears never fell from the inhabitants' eyes, making their seldom felt sorrow all the worse, but most did not think of their impermanent existence for they knew they were much happier and much better off than human beings.

Aqua could not cry but she could feel sorrow as she stared at her small, undersea garden. She formed her flowerbed around a strange, key like weapon that had been permanently lodged within an algae covered boulder. Nearby, her regal grandmother told tales of her ventures to the surface world to the young mermaids who had not yet made the journey to the upper realm.

At the age of fifteen, all ocean dwellers were allowed to travel to the surface and witness the chaotic world above. The moment Aqua turned fifteen she ascended to the higher domain. She had been so thrilled and excited at first but now, at the age of eighteen, the journeys to the surface only tortured her. They reminded her that she could only observe and that she would never be able to truly experience that world. To look and never to touch. To see but never be seen.

The younger maidens with fishtails were still amused by her grandmother's stories but they no longer charmed the mermaid with short, blue hair. Aqua had been to the surface countless times and had heard her grandmother's narratives until she knew each of them by heart but every word and every observation only caused her more unbearable pain.

She wanted more than to just watch and listen. She wasn't ignorant. She knew there was more to life. Aqua didn't want the simple life of nothing but dreadfully boring balls and garden tending. She didn't want the life of her grandmother or the life of any of the other women below.

Aqua's baby blue eyes traveled over her flawless flowerbed for the millionth time.

All the mermaids had a garden. Each had a unique flowerbed filled with flora of their choosing and the plot formed a shape they desired. Most had geometric shaped plots like circles, squares, or triangles but Aqua's was in the shape of a star. She based her plot's design on a picture she had seen in a book that had descended to their world when she was young.

Like every other denizen of the sea, Aqua couldn't read but she still loved books. She especially loved books with pictures. She would stare at the words that were illegible to her as if she could somehow learn to understand their meaning. Aqua memorized the scribbles and marks but they made little sense to her. Her grandmother told her it was another way the humans spoke, that they transformed their words into marks that they could translate.

Aqua wished she had such talents, but most, like her father, found human talents absurd. Her father, King Eraqus had been a widower for many years. Aqua couldn't remember her mother but her grandmother had filled that void in her life. Her grandmother stayed with them and helped her father to raise her after her mother's death.

The older mermaid wore her lengthy, white hair in a bun atop her regal head. She adorned her hair and violet tail in gems and rhinestones to display her rank and status as the Sea King's mother.

"I wish you would get rid of that thing," her queenly grandmother chided and pointed a willowed finger to the key like object that slumbered within the center of Aqua's star-shaped garden.

Aqua rolled her eyes. Her grandmother had scolded her about the object she informed her was called a Keyblade many times. The regal elder thought the legendary, human weapon sullied Aqua's otherwise immaculate flowerbed.

"No, Gran, the Keyblade stays," the blue-haired mermaid said dreamily while running her porcelain fingertips along the weapon's rusted hilt.

Many a time had Aqua tried to remove the weapon she cherished so but since she couldn't, she chose to build her garden around it instead.

"You are impossible, child," the old dowager chastised with a shake of her white head, her ornate necklaces and ornaments clinking as she moved.

"Tell us another story, Gran!" a raven-haired half-human named Xion cried with excitement.

Like many of the other mermaids within Eraqus's kingdom, Xion called the dowager Gran. Xion was one of Aqua's best friends and she would be turning fifteen in a day or so.

Aqua envied her enthusiasm. Xion reminded her of herself right before she turned fifteen; bright, energetic, and enraptured to the point of rupturing. However, Aqua was sure Xion would be the same as the other maidens that traveled to the surface. They would venture up a few times until their curiosity was sated then they would return with a newfound fondness of their underwater home. After that, they would rarely revisit the world above.

Aqua had stopped traveling to the upper world but not because she was sated, she stopped journeying heavenward because it tormented her to. Each new journey would cause her more pain than the last. Each new excursion caused the ache in her chest to intensify with unrequited, incurable longing.

As demanded, Gran began telling yet another parable. Aqua released a dejected sigh and stretched herself along the surface of a nearby boulder and buried her face in her ivory arms, her short, azure mane tickling her forearms. Her bare breast pressed to the frigid surface of the curved stone and her shining sapphire tail whipped around behind her as she helplessly willed yet another glum day to end.

Fishes both small and large weaved between the branches of the underworld trees just as birds fly on land. The fish glided in and out of the windows of Aqua's room within the Sea King's palace in search of food. She extended her hand for the limbless organism to come and feed from her opened palm.

The fish did not move like the birds she had seen. Fish effortlessly glided and twitched but the birds soared and stretched their wings. Wind filled their natural sails while the fish slithered through the thick mass of liquid that she too inhabited.

This was how she spent her days, constantly analyzing her world and comparing it to the other. She intricately inspected every single detail, pointing out the underworld faults and glorifying the land she knew so little about but yearned for nothing more than to learn everything about it.

The sound of distant popping and the squealing of mermaids paddling away from the surface brought Aqua out of her thoughts. She levitated off her perch on the marble ledge she sat upon and drifted through her window. Cobalt orbs squinted as she inspected the flashing sky that led to the world above.

The sky reflected every color she knew and even some she didn't know.

Curiosity proved superior and she ascended to the surface, veering towards the lights and sounds the others fled from. She wasn't afraid. Aqua knew it would be amazing. To her, everything the humans did was amazing.

The mermaid rose to the surface like a bubble.

The sun was setting as her porcelain skin was smothered with crisp, cool air. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she adjusted to her new surroundings.

The usually blue sky was orange while the clouds that muddied its expanse were tinted with rippling shades of gold and crimson. Twilight lingered while the moon and stars slowly emerged within the upper atmosphere. The waters were calm and the air was gentle.

When Aqua's eyes left the sky, she noticed an oversized ship with three masts lying lazily in the sea's tender embrace. Men sat and socialized along the ship's large deck or along the ropes, cables, and chains that supported the ship's massive masts.

Lanterns were being shot into the darkening sky. They streaked into the air and exploded into flower like patterns once they reached the heavens. The lanterns filled the sky by the hundreds, occupying the air with immeasurable amounts of unique colors and distinct designs. Aqua had never seen such before.

Aqua swam closer to the ship, much closer than any other mermaid would dare to go, they lacked her fearlessness.

The half human with a blue fishtail closed in on the ship's cabin window so that when the waves rose high enough, she could peer through the clear glass that separated her from the humans inside.

She could see many people dressed extravagantly while others wore shiny steel and metal on their bodies. She instantly noticed the men adorned in protective covering held Keyblades in their burly hands.

Among the men in armor with Keyblades was a young man with royal blue eyes, dark brown hair and tan skin.

Aqua wasn't the type to fawn but he was the most handsome human she had ever laid eyes on and she found that she couldn't stop watching him. She followed him as he socialized throughout the cabin, and she even followed him when he ventured out onto the deck with the other human beings. The humans clamored, danced, drank, and the men with Keyblades playfully spared with one another on the deck.

Her cerulean eyes refused to leave the man with royal blue eyes. He effortlessly spared with the other wielders of the key as more lanterns shattered in the ebony sky. It seemed like the humans were celebrating something and she instantly began to wonder what they were celebrating.

Gran had once told Aqua that humans celebrated birthdays, weddings, and things like her people did but that they also celebrated things like victories or accomplishments. Her father had also said that humans were savages that often engaged in war because of their greed and unhappiness, which led her to believe that perhaps the humans were celebrating a successful crusade.

However, as she observed the festivities, she came to the conclusion this was likely a birthday were gifts, foods, vibrant deserts, and two very happy looking girls, one blonde and one a redhead. Aside from their hair color they were identical, likely twins, which would explain why they were both celebrating a birthday.

The some of the men around the girls seemed to be guarding them as they pranced around the ship with poorly subdued excitement. The key-shaped weaponry some of them had led her to believe that these men were possibly soldiers of some kind or maybe peacekeepers. According to her grandmother, the Keyblade in her garden was a weapon used by peacekeepers and the handsome man with brown hair looked more like a peacekeeper than a cruel tyrant or soldier. He looked kind, sincere, and considerate.

Water began to mist down from the sky while more explosive lanterns swam into the heavens. Blinding lightening crashed along with the bursting flowers in the upper atmosphere causing Aqua flinch but she didn't retreat to the safety of the water.

The stars that flew from the lanterns streaked across the coal-black sky and slowly fell onto the unsuspecting ocean. The explosions were so bright Aqua could clearly and plainly see every single detail of the ship. She could see the loose ends of the rope, the cracks in the ships wooden framing, and she couldn't help but notice the peacekeeper covered in bronze metal looked even more handsome when the exploding stars illuminated his dark features. His smile was charming, his eyes hypnotizing, and his movements alluring. She was completely captivated by him.

It was getting very late. Aqua needed to go back to her father's palace but she couldn't stand the thought of not seeing such an unusual, unique sight again…of not seeing the man with navy-blue eyes again.

The explosions had ceased and the sky was no longer stained with vibrant, sparkling flowers but the sea was growing agitated. The ocean began to grumble and groan beneath her and the ship. A storm was approaching and the ship began to respond to the threat.

The humans stirred and the ship began operating again. The sails were released as the ship prepared to flee from the pending storm.

Aqua knew they were departing so she reluctantly gave the ship one final glance.

As the blue mermaid descended into the deep, she could sense the unsettled sea. Grim waves were savagely crashing upon the surface and the wind eerily howled. Its bellow muted, muffled, and slowed by the texture of the liquid around her.

Worry coiled in her entrails.

What if the mystical ship sank? What if it couldn't fend off the unforgiving storm? Such things had happened many times before and would surly happen again. The merciless sea would engulf the ship and the men and even the girls on board would surly suffocate on the enraged water. Their lungs would fill with the ocean's swell and they would lazily plummet to the Sea King's palace, their skin blue, their eyes drearily white, and their faces frozen in an everlasting glower.

Aqua couldn't bear the thought of the bronze man descending to her palace in such a way. Her heart would break if she were to find him permanently sleeping upon the ocean floor, murdered by the very ocean she inhabited. The agony was too much and she once again left the ocean's secure embrace.

It was dark, too dark. The mermaid couldn't see but she could hear the snapping of beams and the cracking of wood. Her heart raced and her baby blue eyes narrowed as she tried to take in the scene around her.

Lightening flashed and she could see that the ship was on its side, taking in large gulps of water while mountainous waves continued to pummel the already suffering ship. The ship's population scattered to board the smaller boats that she assumed were used if the larger ship were to founder.

The world blackened again, her eyes sightless. Planks and beams surged past her and threatened to impale her and crush her to unrecognizable bits.

Frightened, she delved back into the swell to avoid the hazardous wreckage being thrown around by the wrathful sea. After regaining her courage, she ascended only to be greeted by the same unfriendly darkness that inhibited her vision before.

Lightening flashed again and her eyes immediately darted to the boats but she didn't see him. The twin girls and the countless other humans were there, safe upon the spare boats, but she didn't see the man her eyes desperately searched for.

Lightening continued to flicker, giving the world an unnatural, shivering glow. She could hear voices by the ship and she finally saw him. He swam in and out of the sinking ship, aiding those unable to escape to the safety of the smaller boats.

The human with royal blue eyes and the other humans that she'd seen carrying Keyblades helped the other struggling humans to the tiny boats. The men continued to squabble with the sea until they were sure everyone had successfully escaped the ravenous clutches of the deep. The men who carried keys then quarreled with the persistent, cascading swell until they were finally able to get into the boats.

Before the bronze soldier could board, another monstrous wave full of debris crashed onto him. Aqua helplessly watched as the others remaining in the water searched for him in vain. They called a name she couldn't decipher as they desperately scanned the water for the man in bronze covering.

Frantic, Aqua dropped into the water and searched her surroundings for the man with brown hair. She located his fleeting form falling just below those who were searching for him. They didn't see him and they wouldn't see him unless she did something. He was losing his strength as he fought to resurface only to be continuously bludgeoned by wave after powerful wave. He was quickly losing the ability to swim in the unnatural, stormy sea. His obvious strength was failing him and his sincere eyes unwillingly closed.

As fast as she could, the mermaid scuttled to him and looped her arms under his. He was much larger than she thought he would be but he wasn't too heavy. She could still swim.

Swiftly, she rocketed into the ocean's sky and looked for the humans and the boats but she couldn't find them. She couldn't risk being seen but she needed them to find the man in her arms. Aqua couldn't see the appendages they walked on in the water; she couldn't even see the shadows of the boats.

Unable to wait any longer, Aqua resurfaced; holding the human above her so he could get the air he needed to survive. Eyes the same color as the sea timidly inspected the expanse, but the humans were gone. She'd drifted too far and they had been hauled away by the furious swell.

Aqua held his head above the water as she tried to think of what she should do. She couldn't see the humans nor could she see any form of land she could take him to. They were at the mercy of the sea, the sea would pity her but it would have no compassion for the man she held.

Aqua tightened her grip around him as she silently promised that she would show him compassion for the ocean would not. Carefully, she shifted him and let the sea safely drift them where it would.

Day was breaking and the storm had ceased but Aqua still saw no sign of his human companions or any debris left by the ruined ship. It was as if it had never happened at all.

The sun gradually rose and its powerful rays extinguished the deathly pale hue that had clung to the bronze man's face throughout the night, but his eyes didn't reopen.

Aqua brushed the sopping hair off his face and quietly begged him to open his eyes. She didn't care if he saw her; she just needed to know that he would live.

Once his hair was brushed away, she caressed his expressionless face.

"I wish I knew you name," she admitted as her thumb stroked his cheek.

"Do you think you could wake up so you could tell me your name?" she asked warmly even though she knew he didn't hear her nor could he answer her.

The mermaid continued to speak to him while she waited for any sign of land or civilization. She told him her name, she told him that her father was the Sea King, that her grandmother had helped raise her, that she loved books, and that she had a Keyblade similar to his but couldn't wield it. She even told him of her star-shaped garden, stroking his face and running her fingers through his chocolate-colored hair as she spoke to him.

Eventually, she saw a small mountain range in the distance. Snow slept upon its apex and as she swam them to the mountains she noticed a lush, healthy forest surrounded their base. The closer she got to the landmass the more details came into view.

A small, wooden shack stood by the shore and many other wooden structures were embedded in and around a foliage-covered large tree. Some even jutted out into the ocean like ships, but she couldn't determine what they were or their purpose. Palm trees and trees with star-shaped fruit surrounded the unknown establishments and it appeared that the building might even contain a garden.

Aqua swam with her bronze companion to the beach. Tenderly, she laid him onto the warm sand and allowed him to bask in the warm, midday sunshine. She gently angled his head so he would be able to take in air if he needed it.

The shore was made of sand that mimicked fine-grained alabaster, and the bleached sand burned her sapphire scales as she inched onto the seashore beside him.

Aqua wished she knew more about human health so she could aid him. She felt worthless now that she had gotten him to his natural environment.

His eyes remained closed and his body didn't move. He was eerily still. Was he dead?

The maiden with a fishtail held her hand to his mouth to see if he was breathing.

Feeble, labored breaths fondled and slithered between her ivory fingers. Hesitantly, she rested her head on his broad chest and tried to listen for his heartbeat. She didn't know much about breathing but she did know that they both had a heartbeat; it was one of the few things they shared.

His chest weakly rose and fell as she listened to the faint thumping of his vital organ. Aqua found herself closing her eyes and indulging in the sounds his body created and reveling in the heat that radiated off his form. Humans were much warmer than her cold-blooded brethren were. She had never felt such warmth.

Unwillingly, Aqua left his chest and took his large hand in hers and held it to her face.

"Please, wake up. If you die…" she pleaded and found that she wasn't sure how to proceed. She wasn't sure what she would do if he died…

His brown brow furrowed and his hand twitched.

Aqua gasped and for a moment, she was completely terrified.

His hand opened before it clenched her fingertips tightly. He was so warm she felt that she might melt in his firm grip.

With her free hand she caressed his cheek and he instinctively leaned into her cool touch.

"Mmm," he groaned distressingly, his powerful chest vibrating as the noise reverberated in his sternum.

Aqua's heart stuttered when it heard the sound erupt from his throat. He was alive and she was relieved but she wasn't sure why… She didn't know him, she didn't even know his name!

His hazy eyes fluttered open and focused on her.

Instantly, Aqua flinched and snatched her hand away from his face.

"Don't," he mumbled incoherently and weakly reached for her face.

Stunned and petrified, the mermaid didn't move and allowed him to touch her cheek. Leisurely, his hand flattened against the side of her face and she closed her dazzling eyes when his foreign warmth smothered her cheek.

"Stay," he raved.

He was delirious and she knew it but his words still pierced her soul.

"I-I can't," she replied earnestly and softly, resting her hand on the warm hand that he had placed upon her cheek.

The man's brow creased again and his eyes narrowed while he tried to make out her features. He was coming to. Just as Aqua was about to ask him for his name, the sound of female voices invaded her sensitive ears. A small group of young women were making their way onto the beach.

"I'm sorry," Aqua apologized and leaned forward, placing a tender kiss upon his forehead before she scrambled off the beach and back into the water.

Aqua swam out into the shore and hid amongst several high, jagged boulders that jutted out of the sea. She lowered herself into the water, tossed her hair into her pure face, and let the water cover her to her cobalt eyes so that her face would not be seen.

Attentively, she watched and hoped the girls would help him or at least see him.

It wasn't long before one of the human girls approached the spot where he laid. The young girl seemed afraid at first but her fear lasted but a moment. Once the fear faded, she knelt beside him and called for her friends to assist her.

The man the mermaid saved slowly came back to life within the other woman's arms. As he regained consciousness, he smiled at her and the other girls who had surrounded him.

Aqua's heart ached when he didn't smile at her…but she shouldn't expect to receive one of his charming smiles. He didn't know that she was the one who saved him.

Aqua watched with pain filled eyes as he was led away from her and toward the safey of the shack.

Once she was sure he would be taken care of, she dove into the water and woefully returned to her home.

A/N: Thanks so much for reading!

I saw all the stories where people have put KH characters into stories like Mulan, Snow White, Cinderella etc. and I wanted to give it a shot! It was a random idea I got after rereading The Little Mermaid and since I am a Terqua fan, this is the odd result!

I'm also going to point out that Aqua isn't going to have 6 or 7 sisters (however many the chick is supposed to have) and Terra isn't a prince in this story. He's just a Keyblade wielder/bearer. Keep in mind this is an AU and characters will probably be different and I'm not necessarily trying to make them match their character in the games.

Thanks again for reading and I hope you liked the first chapter!