The Realm In-Between
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The castle and the surrounding villages were burning.
Monsters of darkness roared as they attacked without warning and without mercy.
And they were being led by and what could only be a monster in the shape of a man, directing and leading the attack. The castle was the first of many alongside the land of Midgard and once the land was conquered he would take his armies east to dominate the kingdoms there. Surtr, formerly known as Sidorak stood in front of the burning castle, still and silent for moment before slamming his hand into the ground. Purple crystals sprouted up from the ground, traveling to the burning castle, piercing its burning walls and in a matter of moments, the burning castle was replaced by a dark tower made of dark purple crystal that was shaped and molded to its creator's liking.
Surtr rose up, hovering above the ground for second and then flew up to the top of the dark tower. Then with a mere gesture of his hand, the tower and the ground surrounding it was lifted up from the ground and into the sky. Creatures of darkness, given to him by their master and creator flew around the tower as it was lifted up into the sky, flocking to the one their creator had blessed.
"From here I will see all." Surtr said, turning around and walked up to a crystal shaped throne for him to sit on. "All will kneel before me and I shall take my revenge on those who nearly destroyed me."
That foolish hero Ozma…
And the woman with the key shaped weapon.
From here, he would gloriously conquer the rest of the world and no one would stand in his way.
Except maybe the God of Light but as long as he avoided the light deity's domain he would be safe and he would not interfere.
He had the God of Darkness backing him now so he need not fear any mortals and their powers.
And he would show them why they should fear him.
"Go forth and conquer." He ordered the surrounding beasts and they immediately set out to do so. "Do not stop until every corner of this land has felt the touch of what is to come from Surtr the Destroyer!"
He sat on his thrown and watched as the beasts flew off and the ones on the ground took off to do what they were meant to do: destroy everything.
Xxx
She remembered tasting that fruit and then…
She fell into a deep sleep.
So deep she felt like she was literally falling.
And she was.
She landed in the darkness but a second there was burst of light followed white doves flying up and around her as the light spread out and revealed a platform with a glass mural that she was standing in the center of.
The mural was of her, holding her Keyblade and her eyes closed serenely, seemingly lying down against the circular edge of the platform with pictures of Terra, Ven, Donald and Goofy hanging above her.
This was…
"Inside my heart?" She wondered aloud.
She hadn't been here since she had taken the Dive Within test and awakened her potential as a Keyblade Wielder.
But why was she back?
A speck of light caught her attention and Aqua watched as several spheres of multi-colored light appeared above her.
Red
Yellow
Black with a purple outline
White
Green
A second shade of yellow
Pink
These orbs of light circles around above her and then shot off all directions, forming into their own platforms that surrounded hers.
"Those lights…" Aqua's eyes widened. "They all representations of hearts…bonding with mine…But why?"
Why would someone's heart bond with hers when…
'That's right. My master said that hearts measure time differently. But then, whose hearts would bond with mine when I have barely met anyone here.' Aqua thought. 'And so many of them too…Can they help me?'
Looking around, Aqua decided to see what she could learn and jumped off the mural representing her and landed on the nearest one which happened to be made by one of the red lights.
The platform had a red and black colored mural with a rose theme and a little girl with black and red hair with pale skin and wore black with red outlines and a long red cape. When Aqua landed on the platform she froze as she heard a voice.
"…ail-…"
'Who is that?' She asked, trying to find the source.
"We failed. All we wanted to do was the right thing…And we still failed." The voice of a broken girl echoed around the platform and Aqua could just feel how heartbroken this person was.
It was as if their heart had been shattered.
"Hello, can you hear me?" She called out but received no answer.
Was she all alone here or was she actually hearing the thoughts of these lost hearts?
She looked to a platform that was yellow and hopped over to it. On the mural was a young woman with long blond hair and lilac eyes. She was kneeling on all fours and above her were four pictures. One was of the girl in red from the first mural, the second was a woman who resembled the girl, the third was a blond haired man with blue eyes and tanned skin and the other was of a woman who looked like her, only with black hair and red eyes.
Aqua stopped when she heard another voice. "…ould-help…I couldn't help them…Here I am, trying to be all strong so no one would worry about me…But I was lying, even when I was accusing others of it I was lying to them and to myself and now look where we are."
It sounded as heartbroken as the first one.
Aqua was beginning to sense a pattern as she hopped onto another platform, this one a white haired girl dressed primarily in white. She looked like she was sleeping with a saddened face and above her were four smaller pictures like the first two.
A man with white hair and moustache with a contemptuous look on his face.
A woman who looked the girl with similar hair and eyes that looked sullen.
A girl who looked to be few years older than the girl with similar hair but curiously had black eyebrows.
And a boy with white and blue eyes like the rest with a smile on his face.
And like before, Aqua heard a voice.
"Pointless…All I wanted was to redeem my family's honor…Now I have no family. No honor. I should be beyond upset but all I feel is…empty." Her voice didn't sound as heartbroken as the others.
It just sounded empty like she had said.
Aqua hopped onto the next platform, this one of a young woman with black hair, yellow eyes and curiously black cat like ears sticking up at the top of her head. Above her were four pictures.
A muscular man with black hair and a beard with matching eyes.
A woman with short black hair and matching cat like ears.
A young man with red hair and bull like horns sticking of his head with a white mask with red markings over his eyes.
And a blond haired boy with a cocky smile.
"I was supposed to show that we were more than animals…Look at me…I ran so much I became invisible...I kept my feelings hidden away until I thought I was better…But it was never better, just another façade I put up to hide." This voice was muffled and seemed to shrink in volume until it was gone.
Then to the next platform and curiously this one had no one person but several. In the center was a boy with dark skin, brunette hair and hazel eyes with several men behind him, all their faces obscured with the boy seemingly crying into his hands. Unlike the other murals, this one didn't have any pictures at the top.
"I tried to redeem them…I tried to protect them…From the monster I helped make…I failed and here is my punishment…Never to rest, floating in an infinite void with those that remain as broken as I am."
The voice that spoke didn't sound like one person, but possibly hundreds of them, all of them speaking in tandem for some odd reason.
Shaking it off, Aqua arrived onto the next platform, depicting a boy in armor, kneeling with a broken sword in his hands, his eyes closed with a look of absolute sorrow on it. Above him were four pictures like before.
One was of a woman with long red hair tied back in a ponytail with a tiara around her forehead and green eyes. She had a sad smile on her face.
The next was a black haired young man with an expression of serenity.
The third was a girl with short orange hair and aqua colored eyes.
And the fourth was the white girl whose family seemed to have a theme going on with the color white.
"All I wanted to do was be a hero like my parents and their parents…What an idiot I was. They didn't want me to do that because I didn't understand the price of all that. I had my head up in the clouds and they gave up trying to bring me back down…Or rather I didn't want them to. Now they're gone, my sisters are gone…and what's left of her is gone."
This one sounded as empty as the white haired woman.
The final one, a platform depicting woman with duel colored hair, brown on one side and pink on the other, dressed in similar colors with white added into the mix.
Unlike the other murals, this one only had one picture above the person.
It was a man with orange hair that covered his left eye and he wore a bowler hat over it.
She could barely hear the voice of this one that came out as a whisper. "I had one thing…They took it away from me…A single light, a single friend to call my own…I wanted something of my own that didn't come from…And I wanted to make those who took him away from me pay…and now I can't even be with him in death."
All of this sadness.
All of this sorrow.
Why was she feeling all of this?
Why her?
Why are they connecting to her?
Where they special in some way to her?
Would she meet them soon?
Or perhaps she was going to join them, wherever they are…
'….AQUA!'
Aqua shook her head at the sound of Ven and Terra's voices and held a determined look on her face. "No!"
The entire platform seemed to shake.
"I cannot give up!" Aqua said, holding a hand over her heart. "I don't know how, but I will find a way back to my friends! Even it takes the rest of my life or over a thousand years I WILL FIND A WAY BACK AND SAVE MY FRIENDS!"
A light appeared from her chest, representing her heart and it seemed to resonate with that of the surrounding platforms as they began to break.
"You all feel as if you lost everything, like there is no way back." Aqua brought a hand to her chest. "I know this feeling too. I know it because I feel the same despair as you…But I know in my heart that it's not going to be my end."
She spread her arms out as the light from her heart shined even brighter.
"If you feel you can't go on, like you don't have the strength…Then take my strength!" She shouted, the light shining even brighter. "Take my hope and use it!"
The platforms all shattered and the lights from before returned, coming around Aqua as she floated up in the dark void and slowly she grasped each of them, holding them to her chest.
'If I can't save the hearts I connect with…How can I save the hearts of my friends?' Aqua thought as she closed her eyes and the light created by her heart engulfed them.
Xxx
"Gah!" A little girl shot up in her bed, clutching her chest as she panted.
"Ruby?"
She looked over at the door, seeing a blond haired girl that was a few years older than her, holding her chest as well.
"Are you okay?" She asked.
The little girl nodded slowly. "I had…a dream…I think…"
The older girl nodded. "Me too."
She walked over and hugged the smaller girl, both of them feeling strange.
Xxx
Far away, a little girl with white hair and blue eyes gasped as she awoke, startled by something.
It wasn't a dream but it sure felt like that.
"Weiss?" She looked to the door and saw her older sister enter and come over to the bed. "Are you all right?"
"I…I don't know…" The little girl answered.
The elder girl placed a hand on her forehead. "You seem fine. Perhaps a bad dream."
"Y-yeah." The girl nodded. "A bad dream."
The elder sister smiled as tucked the girl back in. "It's all right. Dreams can't hurt us. Now try and get some sleep."
"Okay." She lied back down and closed her eyes but opened them again, seeing her sister heading to the door. "Winter?"
The girl stopped at the door. "Yes?"
"Can you stay with me?"
The girl paused but nodded with a smile. "Of course."
She walked back over and lied down next to her sister, both of them falling asleep a moment later with the girl named Weiss placing her hands over her chest.
Xxx
"Ah!"
In another location, another little girl shot up in bed with a startled cry, curling up in a ball with her hands over her chest.
"Blake?"
Not even a second had passed and her parents were at the door, coming into their daughter's room.
"Are you okay?" Her mother sat down next to her. "Did you have a bad dream?"
"I…I don't know…" She answered, feeling her father hugging her which she quickly returned.
"It was possibly a dream you can't remember." Her father said with a kind smile. "It can't hurt you now that you are awake."
She felt warm and safe in her father's arms as they took her back to their room.
She slept peacefully through the rest of the night.
Xxx
"Ah!"
This time, the person that woke up suddenly was a boy, not a girl.
"Jaune?"
But he was immediately surrounded by at least seven other girls, all of them looking very concerned.
It was going to be a long night with them fawning over him, making sure he wasn't sick or going to have any more bad dreams.
Xxx
A gasping sound was heard as a man woke up, taking a few deep breaths as he tried to understand what had happened.
"I felt…something…familiar…" He touched a hand over his chest. "Something…from the past…"
He almost was certain that he had felt this power before.
'It's not her power otherwise I would likely be dead or dying in agony but something else.'
Xxx
"Ah!"
Far away, another young boy shot up in bed, startled from his slumber by…something.
"Oscar?" His aunt was there, coming over to his bed and immediately checking him over. "Is something wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"
"N-no Aunt Emma." The little boy answered, grasping his chest.
"Hmm…" The woman frowned but then smiled as she patted the boy on the head. "You are okay. Now try and get some sleep. No monsters can get you in your aunt's house."
"Yes, Aunt Emma." Oscar said with a grateful smile as he lied back down, trying to sleep.
He didn't know why but he placed a hand over his chest where his heart was, feeling better.
Xxx
There was a sharp intake of breath as she shot up in her bed, looking around frantically for a second. Mama and Papa wouldn't come in the check up on her. They never did before.
The only person that did was…
She calmed down when her friend appeared in front of, looking concerned.
She then pointed at her chest, as if telling her what had woken her so suddenly.
She looked down at her chest, placing a hand over her heart and then looked at her best friend who smiled and nodded.
She then watched as her friend's eyes and hair turned blue for some odd reason.
She looked at her chest and then back at her friend…who just vanished and then looked at the door. Sadly, no one came to check up on her, make her feel better aside from her friend who was only there for a brief second.
She lied back down and placed a hand over her chest, wondering why she suddenly felt so different.
As she placed a hand over her chest where her heart was, she could just small bit of warmth.
Xxx
"Aqua."
Her eyes opened slowly and she looked up, seeing the branches with the golden leaves above her. As consciousness and feeling returned to her she sat up and looked around, slowly remembering where she was.
She looked up to see the God of Light standing on the water in front of her.
"You are back." She slowly stood up and stretched her limbs, letting out a sigh as she did so.
"I am and I have spoken to my brother. Neither of us ever expected there to be an outsider for we never found worlds of life outside the one we have created." The God of Light replied.
Aqua looked at the God of Light, remaining silent so he could explain.
"My brother is skeptical of your claim and wishes to see your powers as proof." The deity continued.
"See my powers?" Aqua slowly asked. "I…I am not sure how that I can do that or why I should."
"A mortal has recently come to my brother, seeking the power to survive and to exact his revenge on the ones who had defeated him. I believe you know him. He was formerly known as Sidorak." The God of Light continued.
"Sidorak?" Aqua straightened up slightly. "I…I helped defeat him in combat with Ozma."
"And he was gravely wounded in that battle. So wounded his life was lingering on the edge when he was brought to my brother. My brother has had very few followers as almost all humanity fears him. The chance for an actual disciple was enough to convince him to save Sidorak's life as well as grant him power." The light deity continued. "And now he seeks revenge."
There was a rippled in the water and Aqua looked down, watching as her reflection changed to show images of monsters of darkness with red glowing eyes like Jinn had shown her before, being led by a dark figure in a tower made of purple crystals.
Aqua gasped when she saw the figure on the dark throne. "That's Sidorak?"
"That was formerly Sidorak. Now he is Surtr." The God of Light waved his hand and the image vanished, returning to Aqua's reflection. "My brother bathed him in the pool of destruction in my brother's land that mankind calls Ragnorak but kept him from dying, allowing the pools to recreate him into what he is now. He now goes forth to conquer the land of Midgard where Ozma lives and he believes he can find you there."
Aqua looked back up at the deity. "Can he be stopped?"
"He can be stopped but it will take many humans with strong magic to stop him." The God of Light nodded.
"And you want me to help stop him?" Aqua asked.
"This is the task I have for you." The light being answered. "Help defeat Surtr, prove your story and claims to be true and we will help you return to your world."
"Really?" Aqua asked, trying not to sound hopeful.
The God of Light raised his hands and from the surrounding pool came a rainbow pillar that rose up into the sky.
"Behold: The Pathway to the Heavens." The God of Light said before it vanished and a golden ornamental musical horn appeared in mid-air before Aqua. "I create this as a gift to you, Aqua. This musical instrument will create and open a door between worlds. Defeat Surtr and this is yours."
Aqua stared at the horn before sighing. "Is this the only way?"
"You have the option to refuse but we are wary of you and we seek to understand your intentions, not by word but by deed." The God of Light answered.
Aqua closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again with a look of determination. "All right, I'll do it. I'll fight Surtr."
She summoned her Keyblade and then her armor.
The God of Light stared before nodding.
Xxx
Aqua didn't know it but the God of Darkness had been watching and had been interested in his brother's proposal to the outsider.
"A weapon meant to balance and protect worlds." He mused before having an idea. "It would only be right if I…balance the scales."
Holding out his hand, the God of Darkness conjured a dark fiery sword that burned the very ground it touched.
"I agree that the woman should be tested, brother. But I would want to make sure it is on equal grounds." The dark deity chuckled. "After all, we are committed to maintaining the balance of the rules we made."
