The Realm of Darkness

"Who are you?" Aqua asked upon hearing the man's voice which sounded much younger than it should have been.

"I am…or was…Oscar Pine." The man said in a saddened voice. "I'm the latest in a long line of people who have tried and failed protecting the world known as Remnant. Ozma was our first incarnation, chosen by the God of Light to redeem humanity."

Aqua's eyes widened at the mention of Ozma's name. "Incarnation?"

"Whenever the previous person holding Ozma's soul dies, that soul eventually reincarnates in another like-minded body. The two become linked and slowly merge together over time with the previous host eventually fading and leaving the new host with all the memories and experiences of its predecessors." The person calling themselves Oscar explained. "I was Oscar Pine before…it happened and my soul wandered for what felt like forever before it made its way here and merged ironically with the soul of my friend, Jaune Arc. Only he was broken when he found out our world was destroyed by the girls when they gained the powers of the Maidens and I pretty much was left to take over, for all the good that it will do me now."

Oscar turned away from Aqua, looking at the wall. "Remnant is gone; Ozma's mission is over even if we can summon back the Gods."

"Summon back the Gods?" Aqua shook her head. "I'm sorry, I am trying to process this but I think you might want to start at the beginning."

"Yeah…" The young man chuckled sadly as he looked at Aqua again. "It's a bad habit I need to work on. Do you know the fairy tale 'The Girl In the Tower'?"

Aqua shrugged. "Can't say I'm big on fairy tales."

"Well, in a way it was real. There was a girl locked in a tower by her cruel father and was one day saved by a heroic warrior named Ozma. The two fell in love and planned to spend the rest of their lives together. Only Ozma fell ill and passed away." Oscar began, shocking Aqua with his story. "Salem couldn't accept his death and tried to get him back. She went to the Gods and asked them to bring him back to her and when they refused she tried to trick them and when she forced the issue they made her immortal. She could not die and be reunited with her beloved until she learned an important lesson about the balance of life and death."

Aqua was watching closing as the man holding the heart of the boy named Oscar stopped for a moment, struggling with deep feelings regarding Salem.

"Salem learned all right, she learned she could trick the Gods into fighting each other and if they could be tricked…They could be killed. She used her immortality to united humanity together against the Gods, deciding if they wouldn't bring her love back she would destroy them. As punishment the Gods wiped out humanity for their betrayal, wiping the world clean and leaving Salem as the only living person left alive."

'The only-Wait, that's not true.' Aqua perked up. 'I asked Izanagi and Erebus to spare the ones not involved in Salem's plot and they agreed after I defended them from Salem. Ozma died before that happened…Is it possible he was never told the truth?'

"But for some strange reason, the God of Light brought Ozma back, granting him the ability to reincarnate himself into the souls of like-minded people, tasking him with redeeming humanity and uniting the world. Ozma agreed, if only because he could see Salem again and tried to work with her in uniting humanity…" Oscar trailed off and looked away.

"…Oscar?" Aqua slowly reached a hand out.

"Only to fail and he spent the next millennia trying to stop her from bringing about humanity's second and permanent end."

Xxx

What was going on?

Aqua sat outside Oscar's cave, staring out at the forest leading out to the see. Oscar's story fit most of what she knew, only missing the obvious parts involving. The parts where she fought Salem and her army to stop them from getting themselves and everyone else killed and the Gods agreeing to spare those who were not involved.

Either Oscar left those parts out or he didn't know.

All she did know was that Ozma had been revived somehow and had been fighting with Salem for centuries up until they used Ambrosius to create that pocket dimension she fell through when she fell into darkness with Terra.

So why didn't Oscar know her?

Even if they knew each other briefly, Oscar would have had Ozma's memories of them fighting together against Sidorak who became Surtr and those mad rulers up until he died.

And why did Izanagi choose to bring back Ozma?

Aqua had more questions than answers now and she knew where she needed to go to get them.

Aqua stood up and walked into the cave, finding Neo and Oscar sitting around a fire. "I have to leave now."

Neo glanced at her while Oscar spoke up. "And go where? There is nowhere to go."

"There is. That giant tree in the center of the island is no ordinary tree. It's a spirit, connecting this realm to the realms outside." Aqua answered, causing both to stare at her. "It sent me to a point in time in your world before its destruction."

"Impossible." Oscar looked away.

"Because you have seen it yourself or you just gave up?" Aqua questioned. "I have been at the center of the tree and met the spirit, Yggdrasil. She introduced me to Jinn, Ambrosius, Nimue and Janus."

Oscar spun around, staring at Aqua with wide eyes. "Those names…"

"The names of the spirits for Knowledge, Creation, Destruction and Choice." Aqua nodded. "I've met them."

Neo slowly looked back between Oscar and Aqua…before standing up and walking over to Aqua.

"You wish to come with me?" Aqua asked Neo who nodded. "All right but be careful. I am not too sure Drasil doesn't have her own agenda."

Neo shrugged at that and held up her device which she called a Scroll. Everyone has their own agenda. That's pretty much the same on every world.

Aqua sadly could not argue with that.

She looked at Oscar who was still just staring in surprise. "You're welcome to come with us. I have a feeling the girls don't like you as much they like us."

Oscar just blinked…

Xxx

"Well, look who has returned and with company too."

Neo and Oscar looked upon Dracil in surprise but Aqua could see familiarity in their eyes before she looked at Drasil who was looking at them with a curious smile. "My friends have some questions for you."

"I am flattered but I am not a Spirit of Knowledge." Drasil stated.

"That hasn't stopped you before." Aqua answered, walking up to the spirit and slowly paced around her. "You sent me to a point in time in their world before either were born but Oscar carries the memories of Ozma who met so why didn't he recognize me? And how could the Gods have wiped humanity if I pleaded with them to spare the ones who didn't betray them?"

"How indeed." Drasil noted with a small smile.

Aqua frowned. "Drasil…"

"I have explained it before, haven't I? This realm exists outside of known reality and that includes space and time. Here, all possible timelines intersect including those from a time where you did not arrive in the world and save humanity from becoming extinct by Salem's foolishness." Drasil answered while shrugging. "I told you before, didn't I? Traveling to the distant past of the first world would not change the future."

Aqua considered this as she looked at Neo and Oscar who were just staring before she looked back at Drasil. "And them?"

"Well, I could send them back in time but only in their own times. I cannot send anyone before their own birth or beyond their death." Drasil admitted.

"So you could send them back before their world was destroyed?" Aqua asked.

"Perhaps but not without its own dangers." Drasil answered.

"Like?"

"Should I send someone back in time, they would arrive at completely random point in their past and their bodies would dissolve, leaving only their memories to merge with their past selves." Drasil explained, causing Oscar and Neo to become really interested. "So they would only have their memories in their new present while previous timeline becomes their past which continues on without either affecting the other."

"And what about me?" Aqua asked.

Drasil smiled as she now paced around Aqua. "Since you did not come from this world, I could send you to any point in time, including the long past."

"And if I wanted to travel to another point?"

"Impossible now. You have journeyed to the long past, at the end of the Age of the Gods, to send you to any other point would risk corrupting you and the timeline." Drasil answered.

Aqua carefully considered this new information just as Oscar stepped forward. "What about sending us right back before Remnant was destroyed?"

"Possible for you, not for her." Drasil pointed at Neo. "She fell here at that point, I cannot send her back once she is beyond the point she had left."

"And me?" Oscar asked.

"Yes and your memories would fuse with your past self." Drasil nodded.

"Then I can try and stop the world from being destroyed." Oscar realized.

"Wait, you don't know that." Aqua cut in. "You don't have the power to stop the Heartless by yourself and you won't even know where to find the Keyhole to the World's Heart."

"It's better than spending the rest of my life here." Oscar argued and looked at Drasil. "Can you open a way to my past?"

Drasil nodded. "I can."

"Wait." Aqua stood in front of Oscar. "At least wait a few more minutes before you suddenly make this decision. We don't know the full story behind traveling back and forth in time from this place."

Oscar looked ready to argue but relented while Aqua turned back to Drasil. "Is there a price to pay for time travel?"

"You mean aside from creating alternate timelines?" Drasil asked rhetorically. "As I said, the original body dissolves and leaves the memories to emerge with the past self in their new present and also it's completely random. And of course once you make the decision you cannot return."

Aqua wasn't sure but she knew that there was more to it than that. "Why was I allowed to return?"

"…By special permission." Drasil said vaguely.

Aqua raised an eyebrow, confused by what she meant. "What do you mean?"

"You were blessed with the ability to travel between worlds by both your weapon and Heimdallr as well as the fact that it was Ambrosius who brought you here." Drasil explained. "Since you are not a natural part of the First World you are allowed to travel back here. If you tried traveling back in time during your time in the Age of the Gods, the same rules as these two," She pointed to Neo and Oscar. "Would apply to you."

Aqua frowned, processing the information. "…And nothing else can be done about the world aside from traveling to the past?"

"…Well, there might be a way." Drasil answered hesitantly, clearing her throat as all three looked at her. "You might want to talk to Jinn again."

Xxx

"So this is where the spirits live? I thought they lived inside the Relics." Oscar said in awe as he and Neo followed Aqua into the realm called Fantasias.

"Well, I guess the best way to describe it is the Relics are somehow all connected to each other, forming a world of their inside them." Aqua explained, leading them into the desert realm that was Jinn's home. "The major benefit is they don't get lonely."

"Wait, Jinn was already asked three questions back home. How do we know she'll answer three questions here?" Oscar asked as they continued walking.

"She said one of her questions in your world were answered. It seems she is not limited in her world." Aqua shrugged. "Hopefully she'll be open to answering three more questions when we see her."

Neo then tapped Aqua on the shoulder, making the Wielder look at her and the message she wrote. Would she answer only three questions or three questions from each of us?

That made Aqua stop and ponder the mute's question. "That's honestly a good question. I am not really sure."

If that's the case, then perhaps we should have a compromise then.

"What do you mean?" Oscar asked the girl who was technically an ally but still remembered her as an enemy.

If she will only allow us to ask her three questions, two of those questions go to me and the old man. Neo gestured to Oscar, letting them know who the 'old man' was.

Oscar frowned but didn't disagree as it was a good idea, as much as he disliked admitting it.

Aqua just looked at Neo and sighed. "Fair enough."

They continued walking and Aqua led them into the cave and they came upon the crystalline library that continued to show images of anything and everything that is happening. Neo and Oscar looked around in awe of the place, having been in the realm of a spirit before.

"Well, well, the famous Keyblade Wielder returns. Well, you're not just a Keyblade Wielder now. You are the One Who Named the Gods and the Ocean Knight" Both Oscar and Neo looked ahead, watching as the Spirit of Knowledge before the trio with her usual smile. "And not just her. How nice to see you again, old man."

Oscar just waved at Jinn with a smile as the spirit then looked at Neo.

"And the troublemaker."

Neo shrugged at the nickname Jinn had given her.

"So you've come back and I assume you only have because you have questions for me." Jinn stated, leaning forward and bringing her arms up to her chin. "And what makes you think I will answer them?"

"…Because you're the Spirit of Knowledge." Aqua answered with a shrug. "Granting knowledge to those who ask for it is your purpose, isn't it?"

Jinn raised an eyebrow but her smile remained. "True but I have already answered your questions and the three questions for those who use my lamp have been used up for the next one hundred years. Why would I allow you ask me again so soon?"

"Perhaps because it's not just me asking. It's all three of us." Aqua answered, gesturing to herself and then Oscar and Neo. "We've all agreed that if you allow us three more questions, we will each use only one."

Jinn looked between the three and giggled. "Well, I suppose that is different. All right, I'll play along. Ask me your questions."

Oscar stepped forward. "What happened to our world?"

Jinn smiled and summoned a blue mist around then. "It all started when the four girls summoned Ambrosius."

They watched the four girls, the ones Aqua knew as the Maidens holding a golden ornate staff and before them appeared Ambrosius.

"He created a pocket dimension for them to evacuate the people of a fallen kingdom."

Aqua watched as long spiraling pathways appeared across an empty void, reminding of the darkness she had fallen into and expected to take her to the Realm of Darkness.

"The pocket dimension, a point in between dimension, a point in between worlds. Existing over the world they would fall into. A world outside of the universe, where light and darkness cannot reach."

The island was shown next.

"But opening a point in between worlds is dangerous for it can beckon those from outside…"

The Central Evacuation Location was shown again as the spiraling pathways all vanished but as they did, yellow eyes appeared from them. The three looked up, watching as hordes of dark creatures, dissolving into a dark purple miasma existed through the portals.

"And let in that which should never be let in."

"The Heartless." Aqua whispered.

What was shown to them next was a world with the clouds darkening and a dark vortex appearing.

"The world was swallowed in darkness…And the people along with it."

Oscar could only fall to his knees with a devastated look on his face, tears dripping down his face. "So it's true…We really did all this."

Neo just looked to Oscar with an unreadable expression.

"I can barely remember what happened…After the location…We were in Vacuo, trying to help the refuges…Then everything went dark…" Oscar gripped his head. "I couldn't remember anything after that…The next thing I knew I was Jaune's head."

"The world was swallowed, its remains becoming part of the Realm of Darkness."

The next setting was a dark place that Aqua knew to be the Realm of Darkness. There they could see various landmasses and castles that Aqua did not recognize but evidently Neo and Oscar did.

"The people gone, becoming part of the darkness…"

"Stop!" Oscar shouted, unable to look on or hear anymore.

The blue mist brought them back to Jinn's realm as she floated before them with a dispassionate look on her face.

"You'd think you'd have learned by now, old man, the price of having too much knowledge." She commented.

Aqua knelt down and placed her hand on Oscar's back, rubbing it softly and soothingly.

Neo stepped forward, presenting her question to Jinn. Can our world be restored?

Jinn leaned forward. "…Yes."

Oscar and Aqua's heads shot up, looking and Jinn as Oscar cried out. "How?!"

"You have already asked your question, old man." Jinn reminded.

Aqua placed a hand on Oscar's shoulder as she stood up. "But I haven't. If the world can be restored, how can it be done?"

Jinn's lips curled into a smile. "You are much different from the old man. You are able to ask the right question the right way."

Jinn floated forward and hovered down in front of Aqua, looking her right in the eye. "Go to the Realm of Darkness. Seek out the Door of Darkness and seal it."

Aqua 's eyes widened from the answer. "The Door of Darkness?"

"I have answered your three questions." Jinn floated back to her chair. "That is all I can say on the matter."

Aqua frowned but accepted, knowing that she had a way to save their world now and turned to Neo and Oscar. "I think I know how to get there."

She produced the Horn of Passage, surprising Oscar with its golden and ornate appearance. "This was a gift to me by Izanagi, the God of Light."

Oscar's eyes went wide at Aqua's statement. "His name is-"

"This can open a passage to any place, anywhere. I can use this to enter the Realm of Darkness and find this Door of Darkness." Aqua continued. "If sealing it can stop the Heartless and restore your world I have to use this and the Sail of Heaven to reach the Realm."

"We're coming with you." Oscar immediately said.

Neo looked hesitant and glared at Oscar for speaking for her.

"It's not simple. The Realm of Darkness is made up of the darkness in everyone's hearts. If you go in there without proper protection your heart will fall to the darkness and you'll be turned into a Heartless." Aqua shook her head. "I have my armor and Keyblade to protect me."

"So you expect us to just wait here?" Oscar asked angrily.

"She's not completely right." Jinn suddenly spoke up, causing them to look at her again. "She has one other method of protection one of you can use to travel the Realm of Darkness."

Aqua's went wide as she remembered something else: the black coat the Master had given her. "That's right. I do have something to help traverse the Realm of Darkness but only one of you can wear it."

"Then I'll-"

Whack!

Aqua blinked as Neo karate chopped Oscar in the back, knocking him out. "What did you do that for?"

I got tired of him speaking for me. Neo simply typed.

"So are you volunteering?" Aqua asked.

I don't believe in risking my life to save others…But the alternative is being stuck on that island with those four…girls, chasing me and trying to kill me and he, Neo pointed at the knocked out Oscar. Likely won't be of any help. He wasn't before you got here and he likely won't be when you are gone. So if it's all the same to you, I think I will take my chances with you in this Realm of Darkness. At least I will be with the one person not looking to kill me.

Thought her motives seemed rather selfish Aqua supposed she could allow Neo to come with her. She was a skilled fighter from what she had seen and Aqua might need the help.

"All right." Aqua presented her the Black Coat. "You'll need this…And we need to find you a weapon to use against the Heartless…I think we'll have to pay a visit to Ambrosius before we go."

Xxx

After asking Jinn to look after Oscar, Aqua and Neo left her sanctuary and headed towards where Ambrosius lived. In the meantime, Neo was now wearing the black coat Aqua had given her which she took a moment to examine in her reflection off of one of the floating crystals in Jinn's realms. The black coat magically modified itself to fit Neo's size, also giving her black gloves, black leggings over her white pants and narrow-toed boots with a slight high heel.

Not exactly her color but Neo did find a stylish appeal to it.

They walked into what appeared to be a void but Aqua simply closed her eyes and focused. Before Neo's eyes, a temple unlike anything she had ever seen suddenly appeared before them.

"Well, well, well. Look who has returned!" Neo jumped back as Ambrosius appeared in front of them with a dazzling smile on his face. "The wielder of the great key, herself and she has a friend this time. Come to engage in my creative wiles again."

"Something like that." Aqua gestured to Neo. "I need to create a weapon for her to defend herself against creatures of darkness."

Ambrosius glanced at Neo who simply stared back. "You know I am forbidden to destroy life."

"But not to create something to defend life." Aqua said as Neo presented the design to her weapon, a parasol that she had apparently lost.

Ambrosius looked it over and grinned. "Fine craftsmanship, darling. But just so you know, since we're not out in the physical world where my staff is, it cannot survive outside this realm. Unless…"

"Unless we do what we did before when creating my glider and armor." Aqua said, summoning her Keyblade. "It needs to be able hold up against the darkness, like my Keyblade and armor and defeat creatures like the Heartless so it can't be like an ordinary weapon."

"So, we're doing it again. Not nearly as dangerous as before since it's a rather simple design but I like you enough to try." Ambrosius said as he floated over Aqua. "Just don't make this a habit."

Neo watched as Ambrosius turned into a blue mist that entered Aqua's body much to her surprise. Aqua let out a small gasp from feeling the divine spirit enter her body again and quickly worked to just focus on what she had to do.

She pointed her Keyblade at Neo who stepped back and a voice that wasn't hers spoke from her mouth. "Behold my artistry!"

Neo jumped as a flash of light appeared before and solidified into…her signature weapon, a parasol that she had named Hush! She caught it and looked it over, glancing at Aqua who fell to her knees as the blue mist left her body and solidified back into Ambrosius.

"There, it is done. The weapon resembles the one she showed to me and as per your instructions it has been enchanted to fight against those Heartless creatures and their dark powers. The magical properties of it have been imprinted onto her so only she can use it and it is as durable as your armor." Ambrosius stated.

Aqua took a deep breath and sighed as she stood up. "Thank you. Now we should be off."

Neo started at Aqua, not entirely sure what to make of her now but felt grateful to have the last gift, even a copy of it, she had from Roman back in her hand and more powerful too.

Aqua summoned her Keyblade and its armor before taking out the Horn of Passage. "We're off now. To the Realm of Darkness."