Wayfinder

(Kingdom Hearts OST Fragments of Sorrow)

Aqua narrowed her eyes as the man hovered in the air, crossing his arms as the monster behind him snarled. 'I saw Terra destroy that creature. How is it still alive?'

Aqua shook her head, knowing she had no time to think as the creature flew at him, swatting its giant hand at them. Neo shattered, thanks to her Semblance while Aqua dodged. She then teleported in front of the man, slashing with her Keyblade at his head. The man quickly dodged, keeping his arms crossed as the guardian creature flew back and tried to grab Aqua by the legs.

She slashed at its face, forcing it to release her and she somersaulted down, bringing her foot down on the man who raised his arm to block her kick. The guardian tried to grab her but Neo jumped over Aqua's shoulder, ran up its arm and kicked it in the face. The creature snarled, barely even acknowledging that it had been hit before it tried swatting Neo away but she managed to jump over its head and landed a few feet behind the man. In the meantime, the guardian began firing disks of energy at Aqua who jumped and somersaulted back, avoiding being hit all the while.

Having faced this creature before, Aqua knew all of its tricks and what she had to do to stay one step ahead. Neo moved in while the creature was distracted with Aqua, stabbing her Hush at the man who moved to the side, dodging the attempted stab and kicked Neo away. Neo grunted but managed to land on her feet, glaring at the man. The man's guardian monster flew back and into the ground before Neo's own shadow started growing.

"Neo, move!" Aqua shouted.

It was too late as the guardian shot up and grabbed Neo in a tight bear hug. Aqua quickly ran to try and free her but to her surprise, the Neo in the guardian's grip shattered, showing that her Semblance had already left a duplicate for her to be grabbed.

How does she move so fast?

"Open your heart!"

Aqua spun around and saw the man flying at her, a giant ball of energy forming around. She quickly raised her Keyblade, forming a barrier around her before the man collided with her. The shock of the blast knocked her back and suddenly she found herself in the guardian's grip.

"Compassion…is still your greatest weakness." The man said as he hovered up to Aqua with a taunting grin.

Aqua glared at the man, her anger rising as she looked into his yellow eyes. "…Xehanort."

As soon as she uttered that name, deep inside her heart, a great deal of anger built up and threatened to explode.

The anger was all directed at the man who ruined her life along with the lives of her friends.

She wasn't sure how it was possible but knew that the man grinning at her was in some way Xehanort and that made her angry. So when she immediately went on the attack, she let out all the anger she had for the man who fell back, dodging her strikes before summoning the guardian monster to block by grabbing her Keyblade and throwing her away. Aqua landed perfectly on the ground, glaring at the man who held out his hands and summoned spheres of orbs of violet energy that surrounded Aqua and fired laser beams at her.

"Defend!" Aqua shouted, conjuring a barrier around her that blocked and deflected the lasers right back at their origin, destroying them instantly.

Aqua then turned to face her opponent when a sphere of dark light flew at her and she quickly jumped out of the way.

BOOM!

The attack created a small explosion in the ground but the man was far from done. He fired four projectiles at Aqua who managed to dodge each one as she charged at him.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Just as Aqua dodged the final blast and charged at him, the man summoned more violet glowing orbs that surrounded him and fired lasers, not at Aqua but around the man and forming into a barrier as he flew at her.

"Barrier Surge!" Aqua shouted, forming a barrier around as she jumped forward, knowing it was too late to back down.

The two collided in a surge of blinding light with both opposing fighters struggling to overpower the other. However Aqua's Barrier Surge was temporary did not last as long as the man's own barrier and shattered a few seconds later. The attack stunned the man while Aqua landed on the ground. However that was when the guardian appeared in front of her and swat her away with its arm, sending Aqua flying back.

Aqua grunted, her Aura glowing as it protected her from the majority of the attack and she managed to get back up not a second after being hit.

"Interesting…" The man mused with a smile. "A form of energy projected around your body…A clever move."

Aqua said nothing, knowing the man did not know about how Aura worked and didn't plan on giving him any ideas.

All that mattered was taking him down here and now.

She aimed her Keyblade, 'locking' onto the man and used Prism Light Shotlock, firing orbs of multi-colored light at the man but his guardian monster floated in front of him, taking the hits and without seemingly being harmed at all. Aqua narrowed her eyes as she saw several shadows appearing along the ground and teleported away in time as several dark claws shot out to grab her. The man grinned as more orbs of violet light appeared around him and fired at Aqua, forcing her to run and evade the lasers. The number of violet orbs had increased and thus the number of lasers had increased as well, making it difficult for Aqua to launch a counter-attack.

The man grinned as he continued attacking, confident he would soon have Aqua where he wanted her.

Nearby, Ansem had taken cover and looked on with a helpless look on his face. He wanted to help but he had no powers or weapons that could allow him to take on the Heartless of his former apprentice. If he didn't do something soon, the ongoing stalemate between Xehanort and Aqua would break and he wasn't sure Aqua would be able to defeat him.

That was when he noticed a pink and white streak…

The man grinned, seeing he had Aqua pinned by his attack was about to command his guardian to attack. However before he did there was a streak of pink light surrounding him.

"What?!"

A flash of bright light engulfed his vision, disorientating him as he grunted and covered his face. In all the excitement, he had forgotten about Aqua's little friend.

Or rather he had dismissed her.

Neo's Overactive Imagination Semblance allowed her to temporarily create whatever she wanted, allowing them to exist for a brief moment in time.

It wasn't enough to truly hurt someone like the Heartless of Xehanort but she didn't need to hurt him.

She just needed to blind him long enough…

Neo ran at the man from behind, launching a double kick at the back of his head. Unfortunately the guardian was able to sense as it shattered the glowing mirror Neo had placed in front of the man with her Semblance and blocked her kicked with one arm.

The man looked over his shoulder with an annoyed look on his face. "You…"

That was when Aqua jumped out and teleported right in front of the man, delivering a single strike that knocked him back and saved Neo from the guardian. The man grunted as he hit the ground but quickly got up, glaring at the two.

(Kingdom Hearts OST Fragments of Sorrow Ends)

"I think this is the part where I ask you: where's your Keyblade?" Aqua asked suddenly, settling back into her ready stance. "I know who you are…Xehanort. I don't know why exactly you look like that but I remember that monster. Shouldn't you be using your Keyblade by now? I can't believe you would be so arrogant to try fighting us without it."

"He can't." Ansem called out. "Because he's a Heartless."

Aqua glanced over her shoulder. "What?"

"Ten years ago, my apprentices and I found an unconscious man on our doorstep. He remembered nothing of his past, only his name…Xehanort." Ansem explained as he stepped out from behind the rock he had used for cover. "I took him in as an apprentice, studying what could have granted his unnatural power and strength but he started experimenting on the Heart in such ways that were forbidden, delving into darkness and looking for the door leading to the Heart of all worlds…He took my name and banished me here and then he forsook his own body, becoming a Heartless while the body was left to become an empty shell with no Heart."

Aqua looked back at the man, a look of horrified realization on her face. "So you are Xehanort…You took Terra's body…Only to abandon him?!"

"It was necessary." The man she knew as Xehanort answered. "I am not Xehanort…I am Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness."

Aqua gripped her Keyblade tightly. "What did you do with Terra then? If you really cast off his body what did you do with his Heart?!"

Neo nervously glanced back and forth between the two, having almost no clue what was going on or what they were talking about.

Ansem, the dark one simply chuckled. "His Heart is gone, consumed by the darkness."

Aqua's eyes widened but then narrowed. "You're lying…I know he's not gone…He's still here…I can feel him and I won't stop until I save him from you!"

"Foolish girl…Just like your master." The Heartless mocked as the guardian behind him began gathering energy. "Fall like he did!"

The guardian released a blast of darkness at Aqua who stood her ground, refusing to let Xehanort, or whatever this incarnation called himself win.

As this happened, a bright light appeared Aqua's feet.

(Kingdom Hearts OST Forze Del Male)

Neo looked at her, seeing the outline of an orange glowing star appear underneath Aqua's feet. 'A glyph?! Is she discovering her Semblance? And it's like a Schnee's?!'

Aqua was suddenly overwhelmed by this feeling of power flowing through her and her Wayfinder charm started glowing as well.

Dark Ansem's eyes widened as a bright light appeared in the chest of the guardian. "Impossible."

'Aqua…' Aqua's eyes widened as a golden brown aura surrounded her and felt a familiar presence in it. "Terra!"

Just as the attack neared, Aqua felt her body being guided as she settled into a stance different from her usual one. She held her Keyblade in both hands as the dark attack was right upon her and she let out a yell as she swung right at the attack. The surge of power she channeled through her Keyblade was so great she sent the attack right back at Dark Ansem whose eyes widened from seeing his own attack sent back at him. His guardian appeared in front of him, taking the hit and let out a scream of pain.

"Terra!" Aqua shouted, seeing the light coming from the guardian's chest. "That's where his heart is."

Dark Ansem growled as he stumbled back, dismissing the guardian. "What did you do? What is that power you just used?"

Aqua didn't answer because she wasn't sure as she slowly approached the Heartless. "Release his heart…now."

"You don't seem to understand." Dark Ansem grunted. "He cannot be saved by you no matter how hard you try."

"I said…" Aqua slowly said as the bronze star appeared under her feet again. "Let. Him. GO!"

Another star shaped glyph appeared above Dark Ansem much to his and everyone else's shock, a flaming boulder, an actual meteor appeared and fell down towards Dark Ansem who hastily moved out of the way.

'Her glyphs…They're different from a Schnee's. The Semblance of a Schnee is through multiple glyphs that appear when their Semblance is used, each of them having different abilities that are amplified through the power of Dust. Without it, they are limited to summoning, increasing speed, shield, even a power source and time dilation.' Neo thought with wide eyes as she remembered all the times she had studied on the abilities of the students at Beacon when Cinder forced her and Roman into working for her. 'Normally you would need Dust conjure like that. A combination of Fire and Earth Dust but she just willed it into existence without any Dust at all.'

She looked at Aqua, seeing the golden brown aura still surrounding her. 'And her Aura color changed. You can't change the color of your Aura. It's the manifestation of your soul.'

She then looked at the golden brown light inside the dark guardian's chest. '…No way. It's not her Aura…She's channeling the Aura of that Terra guy! Her Semblance…It can use another person's Aura to boost her own through those glyphs she uses, even if the person themselves don't have theirs awakened! And she can conjure whatever she wants because she uses magic like a Maiden so she doesn't need Dust for elemental attacks…Her Semblance could be even stronger than any I have ever seen before!'

Not for the first time Neopolitan was grateful to have Aqua as her new…partner at least in helping to survive but it's more apparent now.

When Aqua asked her to help her awaken her Aura, Neo was skeptical since it seemed compared to her Keyblade, Aura would only serve as a minor boost but this was far more than what she was expected. Her power alone allowed her to take on a Maiden but with a Semblance like hers added into the mix, she could very well go toe to toe with someone like Salem!

'Is this all her or because of her Keyblade?' Neo briefly wondered to herself. 'All the times she claimed her Keyblade's power comes from her heart and that the heart has a great power than almost anything. Is it her heart that makes her this powerful or maybe it allowed her to have a Keyblade first and then awakening her Aura and Semblance pushed her to become even stronger?'

In the meantime, Aqua let out a loud yell as she swung her Keyblade up and spikes of earth shot up from the ground right towards Dark Ansem who flew out of the way with a grunt.

Aqua wasn't done yet as she took after him, feeling the surge of new power through her. 'Is this my Semblance? It feels like Terra is right here, guiding me.'

She looked at the guardian hovering behind Dark Ansem and knew that if she struck it with her Keyblade she could free Terra's heart.

'Is Terra the only one though?' Aqua thought to herself and then the image of Ventus appeared in her mind. 'Ven…'

A new star shaped glyph appeared under, this one was glowing green and Aqua could feel a breeze around her.

'Wind…' Aqua thought as she closed her eyes and felt the gentle breeze surrounding her, slowing lifting off the ground as a green glowing Aura surrounded her. 'You're still here…even as you sleep.'

With that Aqua shot forward, moving faster than the eye could see, propelled by wind as she shot forward at Dark Ansem whose eyes widened because of not just how fast Aqua was moving but because her new wind power seemingly allowed her to fly.

Fast enough she slammed into Dark Ansem before he could react.

The guardian vanished into the ground and Aqua jumped back, gathering wind beneath her feet as the green star glyph appeared again and she dodge as the guardian shot out of the ground, trying to grab her.

'This is impossible.' Dark Ansem thought as he glared at Aqua who summoned the orange star glyph again.

With a sing of her Keyblade, spikes shot out of the ground towards Dark Ansem who jumped back.

'This is no mere elemental magic. She is actively calling upon the strength of the hearts connected to hers.' Dark Ansem noticed the same glowing light in the guardian again. 'If she keeps this up, the heart inside my Dark Figure will break free and I will lose half my power.'

Aqua summoned the green star glyph again and a green whirlwind surrounded her, slowly pulling Dark Ansem and the guardian towards it.

"I will not allow this!" Dark Ansem shouted as he allowed himself to be pulled into the whirlwind, summoning a blue shield around him as he did.

Aqua grunted as she created a barrier around her that blocked Dark Ansem's attack but sent her flying back. The whirlwind dispelled but Aqua recovered as she landed perfectly on the ground, glaring at Dark Ansem who regrouped with his guardian. Her green star glyph appeared again under her and the light green aura surrounded her.

'Ven, please give me strength.' Aqua prayed as she closed her eyes. 'I promise I would come back to wake you…and I'll save Terra as well!'

Her eyes shot open as the green star glyph under her began spinning and a white bright aura surrounded as she shot forward, moving too fast for the eye to see and delivered a powerful slash to Dark Ansem before he could react. Dark Ansem simply stared with widened eyes from how fast Aqua moved and so fast that he had no time to react before he fell to his knees.

(Kingdom Hearts OST Forze Del Male Ends)

'I cannot take another hit like that.' The Heartless of Xehanort thought to himself as he looked over at Aqua with an angered look. 'My mistake…I didn't believe that she could have become so powerful no matter how long she had been here. I must inform the others at once.'

With that, a Corridor of Darkness appeared around him, signaling his escape.

"No!" Aqua shouted as she ran to try and stop him from leaving.

The man narrowed his eyes but then grinned as he fired a dark blast…

But it wasn't aimed at Aqua.

The blast collided with Neo before she could react, sending her flying off the ground and falling into the dark ocean.

Aqua spun around, her eyes widening. "Neo!"

Dark Ansem grinned as he vanished into the Corridor of Darkness. "Another time, Lost Guardian, Master."

With that he was gone but Aqua had no time to spare him a second thought as she raced towards the water, watching as Neo hit the water. "Neo!"

SPLASH!

As soon as she hit the water, Neo felt herself falling rather than sinking for some reason. It didn't help there was a blackness spreading from the center of chest and out across her body.

"What's…happening…?" Neo slowly asked, her voice filtered by the water as she continued to sink deeper into the darkness.

Back on the beach, Aqua clenched her fists as she stared at the dark water. "No…Not this time."

"Terra!" Aqua shouted as she dove into the darkness after Terra.

She looked over her shoulder, seeing her discarded armor that had fallen into the Realm of Darkness with her and rushed over to them. She didn't know what would happen by having two sets of armor with her but she touched it and her pauldrons where the armor and glider created by Ambrosius was stored.

There was a flash of light that caused Ansem, who had been watching, to cover his eyes until the flash of light faded.

When he opened them he saw Aqua standing there, completely covered by armor made from two sets of armor that had merged together. Aqua then held up her Keyblade and transformed it into its glider form before taking off over the water and jumping down into where she saw Neo land. She grunted, feeling the pressure of the water around her as she continued to sink. She hoped her armor would allow her to sink faster and reach Neo in time.

There!

She could see Neo's brown/pink and pale skin contrasting with the dark coat she wore. Aqua continued sinking after her, reaching out with one hand towards her…

As she opened her eyes, eyes that were now golden yellow.

Neo grabbed her hand and then her neck as she leaned up with an grin on her face and pulled Aqua down towards her.

"So glad you could join me, Aqua." Neo said through the water but Aqua could still hear her. "Let's sink together…into the dark!"

Aqua grunted and struggled, trying to break free of Neo's grip before they both sank into the darkness but it may already be too late.

There was nothing but pure blackness around them now as Neo's pink and brown morphed with the brunette side turning black and the pink side becoming bleached pink with more white streaks. Her armor was the only reason she was not succumbing to the darkness like Neo had but if she didn't break free soon she wasn't sure if she could save herself or Neo.

'Come on….' Aqua continued struggling to break free but Neo was holding tight.

In fact, Neo had managed to work her way around Aqua until she was behind her and had her arms around Aqua's neck in a chokehold.

'Come on, Neo…' Aqua grunted as she felt Neo's arms tightening around her neck. 'Fight it…'

They continued to sink and it was getting so hard to see in this blackness…

This sheer, empty and depressing darkness.

'Fight it!' Aqua's eyes strained to remain open. 'Fight it!'

She needed a way to reach Neo's heart, to try and break through the darkness that was corrupting her before they both died down here.

That's when Aqua's eyes shot open as an idea entered her mind. 'Maybe…I hope we've reached the point where this works!'

Aqua called upon her Semblance and sure enough a pink star glyph appeared under her feet, brightening upen the surrounding dark waters.

Neo's golden yellow eyes went wide as a pink light appeared in her chest.

'That's it!' Aqua concentrated, feeling Neo's own heart through her Semblance. 'If you cannot fight the darkness alone then accept my light!'

The corrupting influence of the dark water struggled against Aqua's attempts to purify Neo's heart of the darkness she had already been infected by. Aqua summoned her Keyblade and transformed it into its glider form, grabbing Neo and shooting up towards the surface. It was slow and it felt like the water was struggling to keep them from escaping.

'Not…This…Time!' Aqua thought to herself as she continued struggling towards the surface.

'Looks like you could use some help.'

Aqua glanced around, having heard a strange voice. 'Who are you?'

'Me, I'm a heart who is lost here like you two. I was almost on the verge of fading when you two caught my attention.' The voice answered.

'Please, if you can…I need help.' Aqua humbly asked.

'…Sure thing.'

Aqua suddenly felt a force pushing her up, allowing her to move faster and without the dark waters slowing her down and she made it to the surface.

"AAH!" Aqua let out an exuberant scream as she blasted out of the water.

Ansem watched with widened eyes as Aqua flew back to the beach, the glider disappearing and she and Neo fell onto the ground, both of them panting and both too weak to move. He immediately rushed over to them, checking them over for injuries.

Neo seemed to be completely unconscious and Aqua was on the verge of fainting.

She turned over and stared up at the dark sky. 'Thank you…'

'No problem.' The voice of the presence that helped save her and Neo spoke back.

'Who are you?'

'I already told you, I'm a lost heart that was on the verge of fading when you caught my attention. Thanks for giving me a reason to stick around.'

Aqua would have asked what he meant but she felt tired.

So tired.

All she could think of was the power that was her Semblance.

Yes, it was her Semblance.

She had discovered it.

It reminded her so much of those star charms she had made for herself, Terra and Ven: Wayfinders.

'Yes, that's my Semblance.' Aqua thought with a smile as she slowly slipped into a blissful slumber. 'Wayfinder…To always remind me…of my promise…to find them. I felt you both with me…I promise that will find you both…'

Her Semblance.

Her promise.

Xxx

Aqua's Semblance: Wayfinder

Abilities: Aqua summons a glyph similar to a Schnee but these glyphs take the forms of stars similar to her Wayfinder charms and each glyph offers a unique ability depending on the color:

Terra's Glyph:

Color: Orange

Ability: Control and manipulate Earth.

Ven's Glyph:

Color: Green

Ability: Control and manipulate Wind.

Neo's Glyph:

Color: Pink

Ability: N/A