Against the Darkness

"Excuse me, Mother?"

Glynda Goodwitch was considered to be a very scary woman.

Many knew her as a capable huntress and she had more than once shown that to be true.

She was the Combat Instructor of Beacon, charged with training the students to become the very best of the new generation of Huntsmen.

And one more thing.

She was also a mother.

Standing at the door to her office was none other than her own daughter, Namine Goodwitch.

She had blond hair like her mother with blue eyes she had inherited from her father. Her hair draped her over shoulder, rosy cheeks and pale pink lips. She wore a white dress with short shoulder blue sleeves that ended at her thighs in an embroidered lace pattern with a navy blue skirt. She wore white gloves on her hands that traveled up to her elbows and white stockings that stopped just below her knees with white high heeled shoes.

"Is now a good time?" The girl asked, standing at the door to her mother's office.

"Of course not, sweetheart." Glynda answered with a kind smile and gestured for her daughter to come in.

While Glynda Goodwitch was a stern mentor to her students, in the presence of her daughter she showed a much kinder demeanor to her daughter but was still somewhat strict. Namine entered and sat down on one of the chairs in front of her mother's desk.

"What can I help you with?" Glynda asked with a small smile.

"I heard that the Atlas students are arriving…And that Father is coming with them." Namine answered.

Glynda's smile faded, replaced by a small frown but quickly erased it. "Yes, he seems to be coming here on urgent business."

It was likely unsurprising that her daughter would immediately come to her when she heard the news. She likely saw the air ships approaching Vale and even heard from one of the staff about her father coming to Beacon.

"I see."

Glynda could see that Namine was somewhat conflicted now. It was understandable given that she had not seen her father for some time, likely not since they had last visited Atlas. "I am sure he will be very happy to see you, Namine."

"Me too." Namine nodded with a small smile. "I hope we can spend some time together. Maybe all three of us."

Glynda returned the smile with one of her own. "I am sure he would happy for that."

She only wished she could be as sure as she sounded.

Xxx

(Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix OST A Fight to the Death)

In quick response to the Keybladers attacking her, Salem fired multiple dark beams, forcing them to dodge and scatter. Wherever one of those dark beams hit, nothing remained which gave them all a good idea of what to expect if any of them were hit.

But they were not Salem's only form of attack.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Salem let out a demonic screech that blasted away anything nearby.

In fact, the screech had enough force it sent Terra flying over the edge.

"Terra!" Aqua called out before turning to Salem with a glare. "That's enough!"

With her new Keyblade in hand, Aqua moved to attack but Salem was already on the move. She charged at Aqua on all four of her horse legs, ready to strike. Only Aqua held out her hand, creating a spherical Barrier around herself at the last second. Salem collided with the barrier and it shattered, stunning her. Aqua leapt up and delivered several slashes at Salem before the former Grimm Queen recovered and swatted Aqua away.

Aqua somersaulted through the air, landing perfectly on her feet as her Aura surged, having taken the hit for her. Salem turned and fired another dark beam at her, but a beam of light shot past Aqua and collided with Salem's attack, cancelling both attacks out upon collision. Terra landed back on the platform, perfectly unharmed but that was likely to be expected. Salem glared at the returning knight but did not allow herself to be distracted as Oscar shot in, moving at amazing speed as he jabbed his Keyblade multiple times at Salem all over her body.

Salem raised one hand and slammed it into the ground, creating a magnificent explosion.

BOOM!

Oscar dodged but was thrown back by the sheer force of the explosion. Salem marched through the flames, glaring at Oscar with burning hatred. A blast of light caught her attention and she turned to see her head to see multiple spheres of light being fired at her by Aqua. The orbs of light slammed into her, forcing her to take a single step backwards as she growled in annoyance.

She turned to Aqua and summoned magical spheres of her own. Only these spheres were colored only red and they fired red beams of light at everyone around her.

"You have got to be kidding!" Neo yelled as she twirled out of the way of one beam and then ducked under another. "What is with these darkness people and lasers?!"

Salem then charged at Aqua again, intent on trampling her to death. Aqua cartwheeled out of the way and sent a Thundaga at Salem as she charged past her. The lightning spell hit her in the back and she growled as she turned around.

"Meteor!" Terra shouted.

Salem looked up and watched as a literal meteor fell towards her but before it hit, a dark aura surrounded her. Oscar gasped, recognizing the aura from fighting the Nightmare Dream Eater in the Realm of Sleep. The aura enveloped Salem and then manifested into something that shielded her from Terra's Meteor.

The darkness solidified and formed itself into a creature of some kind, wearing a white and black robe with grey bone armor on its arms which were pitch black along with the red of its body. Its face was smooth and black with red eyes that were made to resemble a crying face and on its chest was a symbol Aqua and Terra knew all too well.

"An Unversed?" Terra questioned. "I thought Vanitas created the Unversed."

"A what?" Neo asked, glancing at the armored wielder.

"An Unversed is a creature made from pure negativity. Terra and I fought these things before we came here." Aqua quickly explained. "And their main source was Vanitas who is dead. How can Salem create an Unversed?"

Oscar slowly looked at them with a guilty look. "I did it…In the Dream Realm."

"What?" The three plus Ansem and Penny looked at him.

"I faced down Salem who was also a Dream Eater, her mind left behind when it succumbed to sleep. When that happened, Salem's mind was left behind as a Dream Eater while her heart returned to the waking world as a Heartless." Oscar explained. "I tried purging the darkness from her Dream Eater and it followed me back here…"

"Oh great." Neo rolled her eyes. "More overly complicated stuff that I couldn't care less about but in laymen's terms: it's your fault there's two of them now?!"

Salem's Unversed was on the move, raising its hand and firing a blast of darkness followed by its Heartless counterpart. The four jumped out of the way, avoiding the dark blasts as they shot past them. A literal tornado appeared underneath the Unversed, lifting it up into the air where orbs of dark purple light surrounded it. From these orbs came beams of multi-colored light that rained down on the Keybladers.

Aqua and Oscar used Barrier to block the beams while Terra and Neo focused on the Heartless as it charged at them. Terra's Keyblade morphed into a giant shield that he then slammed into the ground and braced himself as Salem's Heartless crashed into his shield. Terra grunted as he was slowly pushed back but Neo jumped onto the Heartless' back and stabbed at it several times before Salem tried to swat her away. The distraction lasted long enough for Terra to shove the Heartless back and morph his Keyblade into a giant mace that he then swung with all of his might.

The mace slammed into Salem with enough force it sent her literally flying right off the platform and down into the forest below.

"Okay, that was awesome." Neo admitted after landing on the ground next to Terra. "You guys got to teach me how to do that."

In the meantime, Oscar and Aqua had to dance around the Unversed as it rained down magical energy blasts on them. The Unversed's tornado transformed into a dark cloud and from it came lightning, shooting down towards the two.

"Reflega!" Aqua shouted, deflecting the lightning bolt aimed at her right back at the Unversed.

The lightning bolt it dead on, causing it to fall and the storm cloud it created dissipated as it hit the ground. Oscar dashed it and repeatedly slashed at it, wanting to eliminate it as quickly as possible. The Unversed raised its hand and fired a blast of magic. Oscar raised his Keyblade, barely blocking it in time but was sent back by the sheer force of the blast.

The Unversed slowly rose up, not acting like it had been wounded at all. Meanwhile, Terra and Neo looked over the edge to see where Salem's Heartless had landed, only to be greeted with the surprising sight of Salem running back up the tree on all four horse legs. Both jumped back as Salem shot up over the edge and landed back on the platform next to her Unversed.

Salem looked at her Unversed which quietly stared back and then grinned. "It seems no matter what form I take, I command whatever force of darkness I find. Perhaps this is my destiny."

"You don't understand darkness or destiny, Salem." Aqua stated.

"I understand it more than you think, Aqua. I have bathed in the pure essence of darkness and thus my power is limitless. I can feel the darkness constantly struggling to overcome the light and the darkness is winning, even before Remnant was destroyed." Salem smiled. "Ozma may have restored it but all I need do is find its heart and it will be easily destroyed again. Or when I gather the four Relics and watch those Brothers destroy it and then destroy them myself. I can even sense the darkness in all your hearts, including you Ozma."

Oscar responded by firing a magical blast that Salem easily blocked with one hand.

"Why do you continue fight when you have only failed for the last thousands of years?" Salem asked, lowering her hand. "Why do you still continue to fight? Why not embrace the darkness with me and just let it go? Forget Remnant, forget your foolish task to the Brothers and just end it all?"

"Because I don't do it for them, Salem I do it because I believe that there is a better way. That people can change for the better and I've seen people who prove me right." Oscar answered. "You…You stopped learning, you stopped growing, even after all this you remain the same. Never stopping to think that maybe if you had taken one iota of responsibility in your life maybe you could start to change for the better and eventually even have your curse lifted. But it's never enough for you because nothing will ever be enough for you."

Salem growled as she and her Unversed fired more magical blasts at the four. Oscar and Aqua blocked with a barrier while Terra aimed his Ultima Cannon and fired. Salem and her Unversed dodged by splitting off in opposite directions before charging at the Keyblade Wielders from opposite sides. The Unversed shot at Oscar from one side, rearing its fist back to crush him in one hit.

"ENOUGH!" Aqua shouted, landing in front of Oscar.

She drew upon her Keyblade, initially planning to use her Command Style but she felt something new surging and acted on instinct, reaching with her Keyblade which glowed. In a flash of light, her new Keyblade Ocean's Apart extended and morphed into an entirely new weapon, changing into a spear like weapon.

A Naginata.

The staff was blue with a silver point forming the blade and the silk cloth from the original form now wrapped around near the bladed end. Acting on instinct she thrust her new weapon forward, piercing the Unversed's hand. There was unearthly screech as the Unversed pulled its arm back, allowing Aqua to pull her naginata back as well. Jumping up, Aqua delivered a series of slashes to the Unversed's face, knocking it down.

Aqua let out a battle cry as she jumped up and angled her spear down, piercing it through the Unversed's chest. The Unversed let out a scream before it began to dissolve into a purple mist that shot past Aqua and straight to Salem's Heartless as she fought Terra.

The Heartless let out a screech as the remains of the Unversed were absorbed back into her and she let out a smile. "…Yes. This power…I controlled the Grimm before but now I control the very feelings of negativity itself!"

"It's just never enough with her." Neo muttered as she helped Terra fight.

All the while Penny was force to just look on and watch as Aqua and Oscar immediately joined Terra and Neo in fighting Salem's Heartless.

"This wasn't supposed to happen..."

They had defeated Drasil...

She had become the new avatar of Yggdrasil...

Oscar had restored Remnant...

Yet as Penny watched the four Keyblade welders fight Salem, she felt more helpless than ever.

"Hey..."

Xxx

Penny blinked as a she found herself in a white void alongside Ruby and her friends, who smiled at her… "Ruby?"

"Looks like you could use some help." Ruby said with a soft smile as she along with teammates placed their hands over Penny's chest.

Xxx

Penny's eyes snapped open as her body was enveloped in a powerful white light in addition to the blue glow of Yggdrasil's magic.

Just as Salem knocked the four Keybladers away, a great light appeared in the corner of her vision that was almost blinding. "What?!"

Salem turned to face the light and was enraged.

This power...

'It rivals- neigh- surpasses that of the Brothers...'

"That's not Penny's Yggdrasil's power..." Neo widened her eyes.

"That light-!" Aqua gasped. "Is she the Princess of Heart?"

"No! I saw this back when Ansem first fought Sora in Hollow Bastion! It's more like Ruby's heart connected with Penny's! Just like how Kairi's hid within Sora!" Terra replied.

Penny levelled Salem with a cold hard glare. The blue glow of Yggdrasil and the light of Ruby's heart swirling around her like flames.

"This is MY home..."

She summoned her knives, which spun around rapidly.

"And you..."

A ball of energy formed within the spinning blades.

"Are not welcome here!"

With one last cry, Penny unleashed the power at Salem, who let out one last roar as it began disintegrating her...

And she didn't heal...

Salem's eyes widened despite the pain.

'No... this cannot be... I... I WON'T BE DENIED MY VENGECE ON OZMA! ON THE GODS! ON-'

"SILVERRRRRRRR EYESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!"

And just like that, Salem, Queen of the Grimm, the darkness of Remnant... was no more...

The power of a Princess of Heart, a fragment of the X-Blade, was a power parried by few and surpassed by even fewer.

Even the curse of the Gods couldn't hope to stand up against such power.

(Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix OST A Fight to the Death)

"So…It's finally over right?" Neo finally asked after a moment of silence.

"As close as it can be." Terra answered.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Neo asked, throwing an exasperated look at Terra who ignored it.

"Her Heartless was destroyed, freeing her heart which will be left to rest in darkness. Her Unversed was destroyed too but she likely had a Nobody left behind." Terra explained.

"Destroy the Nobody," Ansem said as he walked forward. "And Heart and Body will be reunited."

"And I destroyed her Dream Eater in the Realm of Sleep as well. Her memories could return." Oscar spoke up. "Meaning if the Nobody is destroyed and the reconstruction process happens, Salem will be back one day."

Neo threw her arms up. "It's just never enough with you people, is it? We kill the biggest bad in Remnant and you just have to drop the bad news on me. Just when I thought I could brag to Red and Cinder about taking down the big bad witch."

"Ruby would have as much reason to brag as you, Neopolitan." Penny spoke up with a smile and a hand over her chest. "She assisted us in finally destroying Salem."

"Great." Neo rolled her eyes. "Figures she'd show up."

Aqua held up her naginata and watched as it changed back into her new Keyblade. 'It grew stronger from the bonds I made here…Neo, Terra, Ansem, Penny and even Ruby and the others. We were all connected by this place by sheer chance but it helped us grow stronger.'

"Aqua?"

Aqua looked up, seeing Terra 'looking' at her. "Yeah?"

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Aqua nodded. "Just needed to sort myself out for a bit. Ever since I came here, I haven't had much of a chance to rest. Between the Maidens, Drasil and Salem…And that's not even counting the fights I've had in the Realm of Darkness or anywhere else."

"You're telling me." Neo fell to the ground on her back and looked up at the sky, seeing the two suns. "I need a vacation…Somewhere else preferably. You key people know any good worlds where someone like me could have a break?"

"We still have a few things to cover." Oscar replied to which Neo sighed in irritation.

"Oh come on!" Neo sat up. "One second of peace is too much to ask?!"

"Welcome to the life of a Keyblade Wielder, Neo." Aqua simply said with a smile.

Neo fell back onto the ground. "Maybe I should rethink this whole gig. So what could we possibly have left to do?"

Xxx

"You're leaving your Keyblade here?!" Neo stared at Oscar incredulously as he handed the blade to Penny.

The group had come back down to the bottom of the tree and had gathered at the base where a portal to Remnant was waiting for them.

"Indeed. The power of the Keyblade is unrivalled, but its path is not my own." Oscar shook his head. "Were I too accept this path, I could never interfere with the Grimm nor Salem again."

While they destroyed her Heartless, they had no clue on the location of her Nobody. Even if Penny had been able to destroy Salem's Heartless, not even the power of a Princess of Heart could prevent Salem's Somebody from returning.

"Plus, Remnant needs me. I shall return for Gungnir when it is needed." Oscar stated before looking at Penny. "Please, take care of it."

Penny nodded as the branches took Gungnir into the tree. "You have my word."

"Oh great, give the goddess more power." Neo rolled her eyes.

"Actually, she's not a god." Ansem spoke, catching everyone's attention. "At least, not the kind you're thinking of. Divine beings grow more powerful with time, training, and worshipers. At this point, Penny is a low-tier Tutelary deity guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation."

He continued. "In truth, it will take several millennia before she can be considered a Creator God like the Brothers."

"My point stills stands. You basically just said that she's a goddess-in-training."

"Well, if you are heading back to Remnant, I guess Terra and I will take our leave as well." Aqua stated, causing everyone to look at her. "We still need to return to our world and awaken our friend."

"A little too soon, don't you think?"

Everyone spun around to see someone approaching them slowly. They were wearing a dark coat exactly like the ones Neo and Ansem were wearing. The man stopped and slowly took off his hood, revealing his face.

Aqua and Terra gasped, recognizing the face but it was much different from before. "…Xehanort."

"Close." The younger incarnation of Xehanort remarked with a smile.

Terra let out a yell as he charged at the young Xehanort, swinging his Keyblade at the young man's head. Young Xehanort seemingly vanished just before Terra's Keyblade struck his head and then reappeared in front of him, making a simply gesture with his hand. From the hand came an invisible blast that sent Terra flying back, crashing to the ground in front of his friends.

"No need to resort to pointless violence. I am not here to fight any of you." Young Xehanort lowered his hand.

"Maybe not, but we are." Aqua pointed her Keyblade at him. "Thunder!"

"Guard. "Young Xehanort easily deflected the lightning and it shot past Aqua, hitting Ansem in the chest.

"ANSEM!" Aqua called out as Ansem was blasted into the trunk of the massive tree and a cracking sound was heard.

Penny immediately rushed over to the man pressed a hand over his wounded chest.

"How interesting this place is." Young Xehanort said as he vanished and then reappeared behind the group, standing in front of the portal. "The portal here in this world allows one to travel to any point in time of that world, so as long as they are not from the world known as Remnant."

Aqua spun around, pointing her Keyblade at Young Xehanort's back. "Step away from that portal."

"It would do you no good anyway if I did, for I can tell this world has already been altered…by you, the Lost Guardian of Light." Young Xehanort replied as he slowly turned around. "Having been blessed with the power to travel through time myself I can sense when time is being altered by outside forces. Yes, the previous age of humanity in this world that was supposed to be exterminated by the deities of that world."

Aqua's eyes widened slightly, recalling that event. "How do you-"

"You changed the twin brother's minds about their decision to wipe out mankind for the disrespect that they had shown. In addition, your arrival gave birth to a demon that would not exist if you had not appeared." Young Xehanort continued.

'A demon…Surtr!' Aqua realized.

"And I can see, you and your friends are more involved in this world than ever before." Young Xehanort continued. "And it isn't just the two of you. Hearts that you had connected with, you brought them to this new world."

"What are you talking about?" Aqua demanded, glaring at the younger incarnation of her most hated enemy.

"He's talking about the alternate timeline that was created in response to your arrival, Aqua." Penny suddenly spoke, causing everyone to look at her. "You appeared in what would be considered the present to you but the past to myself and my friends. A new timeline emerged, similar in most ways but yet different to the one I experienced up to this point where you did not appear."

"What are you even talking about?" Neo asked, finding herself lost in all of this talk of time travel.

"When Aqua appeared in what we know as the deep past, it led to the creation of several differences. The creation of the demon king Surtr, the creation of more Relics instead of just four and golden weapons of power that are perhaps more powerful than even the Maidens, utilizing and controlling the elements without Dust." Penny answered. "You in fact hold two of the new Relics right now, Aqua."

"I remember those. I asked the God of Light, Izanagi for a way back to the Realm of Light and he gave me the Horn of Passage and the Sail of Heaven to travel between the worlds. And the God of Darkness, Erebus created five magical weapons, one of which was originally made for Surtr, to fight me and any other Keyblade Wielder." Aqua recalled the magical weapons she had faced and held out the Horn of Passage and then brought out the Sail of Heaven. "But Drasil told me my actions in the past would not alter the future."

"And it didn't. It just created an alternate timeline that branched off from the one I, my friends and even Neo came from." Penny replied. "In the new timeline, they still suffer a great deal but many of it has been altered thanks to the good you and the others have done, Aqua."

"Who are the others?" Terra asked, managing to keep up.

"I can't say yet, Terra. If I did, it might not come to pass and thus more timelines could potentially appear. Time manipulation is dangerous, even to us." Penny gestured to herself before looking to Young Xehanort. "You were given the power to traverse time but you have avoided any long term affects unlike Aqua."

She brought a hand to her chest which glowed briefly. "And I now have the hearts of Ruby and the others inside me, waiting to be returned."

"Their hearts…" Aqua's eyes widened. "They have taken refuge in you."

"And are waiting for moment to be reborn…Their birth by sleep." Penny nodded before glaring at Young Xehanort. "If you seek to bring darkness back into our world I will stop you."

"You will find yourself outmatched, girl." Young Xehanort retorted. "It is not I who threatens your world with darkness but I am here to make sure that these two," He gestured to Aqua and Terra. "Stay within the roles that have been chosen for them."

"Think again." Aqua retorted.

"Our days of being your pawns are over, Xehanort." Terra growled, leveling his Keyblade at the incarnation of the man he had come to hate for his actions against him and his friends. "I'll stop here and now."

"You would have better luck trying that after you and your fellow guardians fulfill the role you have yet to play." Young Xehanort gestured to the portal behind them, showing Remnant's past and present, though it was not entirely familiar to those who knew its history.

"Is that me as a princess?" Neo suddenly asked, seeing a younger of herself dressed as a princess, even having a small crown and the jewels to go with it…

Next to her mother who was dressed like a queen while her father remained as a city councilman.

"What the hell did you guys do?" Neo glanced at Aqua and Terra. "I'm pretty sure Mama was just a high class socialite who lost touch with reality while my Papa was a greedy idiot. None of them come from royalty or they would have likely been even more insufferable."

Aqua simply shrugged as Terra answered. "We're still not sure how any of this is possible."

"Another side effect, brought forth into the alternate timeline. The outposts of mankind were always referred to as kingdoms, once ruled by a monarchy before it was disbanded at the end of the Great War. Only instead of the councils just ruling these kingdoms, the councils have an assembly to elect their members with the purpose of keeping it small so that it remains efficient. The councils also have a 'king' or 'queen' to act as the chief representative to lead the council and represent the kingdoms in the alliance that unites them." Penny explained. "The supposed 'queen' in this case is more of a figurehead since having one person lead an entire government would be seen as having too much power."

"Of course. Just standing there and looking pretty." Neo rolled her eyes. "About the only thing she ever knew how to do."

"Still, what you want from us?" Aqua narrowed her eyes at Young Xehanort. "What could helping this world do to benefit you?"

Young Xehanort smiled. "More than you know. After all, those people brought the darkness to their own world. Do you think they won't do it again?"

"Xehanort."

Young Xehanort's eyes fell on Oscar who stepped forward with a stern gaze. "Master Odin. It's certainly been some time."

"What have you done?" Oscar simply asked.

"What I have done…the purpose for my existence." Young Xehanort answered.

"What?"

"All around the world, people live seemingly peaceful lives. They believe themselves to be moral and virtuous, but it's all an act." The young man slowly explained. "Darkness lurks in the pit of everyone's heart. Their light is a total farce."

"Is that what you see it as?" Oscar questioned.

"Those who are weak and desire greater power simply strip the strong of their power, and convince themselves they've earned it. That's how people become tainted by darkness. They believe what they want to believe, using hollow reasons as justification. They repeat this cycle and their darkness grows." Young Xehanort continued.

"It is how the world exists; it's how they have always existed." Oscar argued. "How is this helping to bring balance?"

"No, its better they be ruled by darkness." Young Xehanort shook his head. "People carry delusions of having power, but it's a lie. They are but sheep pretending to be wolves. Though I can admit, I understand why."

"And you would ally with the darkness to do it? How is that helping to change things?" Oscar questioned.

"Because left alone, the world would fall to chaos. There needs to be order." The young man answered. "I saw this long ago, even as an apprentice and you did too, Master. Or should I say Ozma?"

Oscar's eyes widened slightly. "I never told you about that name. How did you discover it?"

"I discovered so much in my journeys across the world." Young Xehanort spread out his arms in a grand gesture. "I know your life as Ozma, trapped in an endless cycle of life and death, betrayal and sacrifice. If anything, your existence has proven my point and why I must act. And so I shall carry out the role that has been given to me, just as you all shall do the same."

"And why would we do anything you suggest?" Aqua retorted.

"Then you would be consigning a world to darkness. An act that goes against your oath as Keyblade Wielders." Young Xehanort answered with a taunting smile. "Is your hatred of me enough to make you forget your purpose?"

This caused the Keyblade Wielders to suddenly pause.

Did their hate and distrust really blind them from the likely chance that if they didn't hear Xehanort out, then a world would be lost to the darkness?

Granted, it was Xehanort and Terra and Aqua understood better than anyone the folly of trusting him.

But they could see that Remnant was in danger of being destroyed over and over again.

"Of course, if you would rather distrust me and simply walk away, that is fine as well." Young Xehanort turned around to leave. "After all, you have made it clear that I cannot be trusted. I am sure my former master can teach you the secret to crossing time…the only method of saving the world by altering its fate and saving your friend, Ansem the Wise before he truly dies."

Oscar's eyes widened. "…No. Xehanort, you didn't."

"I have done nothing, my former master. Their choice had already been etched stone by their choices and their oaths as defenders of the light. All that is left is for someone to show them the way." Young Xehanort said before vanishing into a Corridor of Darkness.

Aqua and Terra remained on guard, even after he was gone as Terra 'glanced' at Oscar. "What is he talking about?"

Oscar took a deep breath as he looked at the two. "There is a way to cross through time if the proper conditions are met."

Everyone looked at him, while Penny had a knowing look on her face as Aqua turned to her. "How is Ansem?"

"Not good." Penny answered, keeping a hand over the wounded Ansem's chest. "I think his back was broken when he collided with the tree. I fear even your healing spells are not enough to save him in time."

Aqua looked crushed that her own attack had wounded a man she had just recently begun to think of as a good friend.

She failed again.

Neo turned to Oscar. "What was that creep talking about? I know you know what he was talking about."

"It's called the Power of Waking. An ancient method that Keyblade Wielders used to reach other worlds or wake sleeping hearts from a deep slumber or even death." Oscar began. "It involves the user using their sheer will to use their Keyblade to open a way to other worlds within someone's heart."

Aqua, Terra and Neo simply stared at Oscar as he explained what this Power of Waking actually was before Terra spoke up. "How come we never learned this power?"

"Because only a true Master of the Keyblade can wield this power and it fell into rare use as Keyblade Wielders learned how to create gliders from their Keyblades and the armor. That was a safer method than the Power of Waking." Oscar answered.

"So how does that help with traveling through time?" Neo inquired skeptically.

"It can also be used in reverse, traveling through worlds to reach Hearts instead of the other way around." Oscar stated. "It would create a tear that we call a singularity on the universe that will manipulate time and change history."

The three were stunned beyond belief by what Oscar was saying.

Change history?

"But this power has a price if it's misused." Oscar immediately said. "The price of using it too much could cause the user to…disappear from the world."

"Disappear?" Aqua and Neo slowly asked.

"Disappear as completely vanishing from the world as we know it." Oscar nodded. "We can travel to other worlds but if one disappears through the Power of Waking, they end up somewhere they can't come back."

"And Xehanort expects us to use this power?" Terra would have scowled if he could. "It's obviously a trick to get rid of us."

"Even if it was, the task would be limited to just one of you." Penny said, looking directly at Aqua who gestured to herself.

"Me?"

"The altered timeline…it started when you arrived in the deep past…and then you followed Oz into the future." Penny explained, shocking Aqua and the rest of the group. "And the end you reached was when you arrived in the time where Oz's heart was present with the hearts of the other six."

"Six?" Aqua questioned but then realized who she was talking about. "Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, Jaune and…" She then looked at Neo.

"Me." Neo finished for her. "The six of us…They created the whole tear in time and space with that staff that brought you here."