Chapter 3: Aqua - Reconstructed


"AGH!" Ash awoke with a shout. Gazing about in a panic, he once again found himself upon a stained-glass pillar. This time, however, instead of one of his friends, he was surprised to find his own visage imprinted upon the platform.

"Pikachu?" the boy called out nervously into the eerie darkness surrounding the pillar. "Charizard? Sceptile? ...Anyone?"

"I'm afraid your friends aren't here," a vaguely familiar voice called out to him. Feeling himself stiffen at the unexpected intrusion, Ash spun around to see a blue-haired girl standing across from him.

Now, while this was hardly the strangest thing to happen to him as of late, Ash could only eye her suspiciously. "...And who are you?" he demanded. "Where am I? And what the heck is happening?!"

The girl raised a hand; prompting him to sigh and run an aggravated hand through his hair. When he had finally calmed down somewhat, the girl smiled. "My name is Aqua," she said. "As for your other two questions… well… That's a little harder to explain."

"Well, I'm not exactly going anywhere," Ash said pointedly; gesturing to the endless darkness surrounding them. Aqua giggled in response.

"True. True." She said with a smile. "Well… Let's start at the beginning."

"A very good place to start."

"Quiet, you!" The girl admonished; though his quip was awarded with another smile. "Your body is currently asleep as it's being transported."

"...Asleep." Ash repeated; raising an eyebrow at her. "...So, I'm dreaming right now? None of this is real and you're just a figment of an overactive imagination? I'll wake up in my bed and everything will be back to normal?"

Though he intended it to be a small joke, it came out more as a desperate plea. His hopes were dashed, however, when Aqua shook her head.

"Just because you're dreaming doesn't make this any less real," she said solemnly. "This place you see," she gestured to the platform. "is your heart. Or a representation of it, if you will."

"My heart…?" the raven-haired teen murmured; his brow furrowing. "But then… Wait a minute…! Your voice… I recognize it! You were the voice from my dream!"

"Yes," Aqua said with a small smile. "I was the one who helped you during your Awakening."

"My Awakening?"

"Your dream." She elaborated. "It is the trial that all Keyblade wielders must brave in order to unlock their true potential."

"Keyblade…" Ash murmured. Turning his gaze downward, he tried to remember the sensation of summoning the two strange weapons. His efforts were rewarded when they appeared in his hands in a flash of light and a cloud of darkness respectively.

"T-Two?" Aqua stammered; taken aback.

"Judging by your reaction, I'm guessing that this isn't normal?" the boy asked sheepishly.

"N-No!" she exclaimed; shaking her head furiously. "To be honest, I've never even heard of someone naturally dual wielding Keyblades before." Aqua once again shook her head. "Amazing… I guess you really are the Chosen One."

"How do you know about that?" Ash asked; raising an eyebrow at her as he dismissed his weapons.

"I was told by a stranger wearing a red cloak," she explained. "In fact, he was the one who told me to contact you and showed me how to do it."

"...And did he give you a name?" he questioned; feeling slightly unnerved.

"Unfortunately, no," Aqua admitted before shaking her head with a sigh. "And he disappeared almost as quickly has he showed up."

"Great…" Ash grumbled; releasing a sigh of his own. He moved to run a hand through his hair in irritation, but felt his arm being impeded by something cold and metallic. Confused, he glanced to his left and was shocked to see a maroon, pauldron-like armor piece extending from his shoulder to mid-bicep.

"What the heck?!" He exclaimed; cocking his head in order to more clearly examine the maroon-colored pauldron.

"Ah, you noticed!" Aqua giggled.

"What is this thing?"

"Let's say it's a gift from me to you," the girl said. She gestured to the armor in question. "Here. Try activating it. Tap your right fist into it and focus the same way you do when summoning your Keyblades, but this time focus on your shoulder-piece."

Nervously, Ash complied with her request and slammed his fist into the pauldron. Suddenly, he found his vision flooded with white light and let out a startled yelp as he instinctively closed his eyes. When nothing adverse happened, the boy slowly re-opened his eyes to find himself staring through what appeared to be a visor of sorts; similar to the kind the police wore when donning riot suits.

"Whoa…!" Ash mumbled, gazing about in wonderment. It kind of reminded him of those superhero movies he once watched with Iris and Cilan while he was traveling through Unova. Steel Man or something along those lines.

"Over here!" Aqua snapped her fingers to bring his attention back to her. "Is it working properly? It's my first time making something like this. You should be seeing some information streaming across your vision."

In front of his eyes, the blue-haired girl's face was highlighted by a green square. Various details appeared and began to stream across his vision such as her name (Aqua), age (sixteen), gender (female), and current disposition (friendly - indicated by the color green. Presumably, hostiles would be tagged as red). Along with other details such as relative distance (five feet away).

"This is pretty cool," Ash admitted.

"Isn't it?" she asked with a grin. "That armor is given to apprentices by their masters. It will protect you as you travel between worlds and allows you to breathe in space. And the heads-up-display (HUD) will come in handy when you're traveling at high speeds."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Ash held up a hand, which he noted was now encased in a deep, maroon-colored gauntlet. In fact, his entire body was now clad in a matching set of armor. "Space? Worlds? What the heck are you talking about?"

"Ah, right," Aqua said; grimacing slightly. "Now we get to the real nitty gritty." She shook her head with a small sigh. "Ash… You remember those creatures you fought, right?"

How could he not? The image of their hideous forms and venomous eyes would forever be imprinted in his memory. Silently, he nodded.

"They're what are known as Heartless," she explained. "They are the physical manifestations of people who have been taken by darkness; lacking a body or soul..."

"So, those… Heartless came from the residents' hearts?"

"No… Well, in a sense," Aqua admitted. "But they were after something else. Something bigger." She turned her gaze up and met his eyes head-on. "They were after you."

"M-Me?!" Ash squeaked; the armor encasing his body disappearing in a flash of light. "W-Why me?"

"The Heartless fear the Keyblade," she explained solemnly. "They were after your heart. To eliminate you before you became a threat."

"They were after me…?" the boy repeated softly. "So… everything that happened… was because of me?"

"You can't think like that, Ash," Aqua said sternly. "The Heartless are obsessed with devouring worlds and consuming the hearts of its people. They would have come eventually. Your presence merely sped up the process."

"But why?" Ash asked hopelessly; nearly collapsing as he slowly sat down. "Why me? What is the point of even having a Keyblade?"

"The Keyblade chooses its wielder based on the strength of their heart," Aqua said as she knelt down; gently reaching out and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. She graced him with a small smile. "And from what I've seen, you have a very strong heart, Ash."

The raven-haired teen met her eyes and smiled weakly in return. "Thanks," he murmured.

"Of course," the girl said sweetly and the two sat in silence. Neither party said anything for several moments.

"...Er… Aqua…?" Ash spoke up somewhat awkwardly.

"Yes?"

"Y-You can let go now." The girl looked at him in confusion before realizing just how close the two of them were. She was nearly on top of him for goodness' sake!

Squeaking slightly, she leapt back as if she'd just touched scalding water. "S-Sorry!" Aqua exclaimed; her cheeks beginning to glow a rosy color. Ash merely nodded; his face equally red.

"S-So," Ash coughed. "T-The Keyblade?"

"Ah, y-yes!" The blue-haired girl cleared her throat; her flushing starting to die down. "He who wields the Keyblade is entrusted with the protection of all worlds. A guardian of the galaxy, if you will."

"So… I'm a space cop?" The boy questioned; raising an eyebrow at her.

"...I would't exactly describe it like that but... yes, I suppose," Aqua said awkwardly. "But you really aren't supposed to interfere too deeply in regards to the different worlds. Serve and protect, yes. But it's generally frowned upon to involve oneself with a world's laws and government…" She paused before adding under her breath, "...Not that there's anyone to do the frowning anymore..."

"So, if I can't interfere, then what am I supposed to do exactly?"

Returning her attention to him, she explained. "Well, I'm not saying you can't," Aqua admitted. "The Keyblade's purpose is to maintain order and balance. Light cannot exist without darkness and vice versa. However, whenever someone threatens to overthrow that balance, action must be taken. If that means interfering with a world's governing body, then so be it."

"Okay…" he mumbled. "So, how many worlds are there? Eight? Nine?"

"Hundreds."

"WHAT?" Ash nearly choked on his own saliva as he cried out. Aqua giggled and raised her hand.

"Calm down," she said with a grin. "You're not alone in your endeavors. There are others who wield the Keyblade, y'know."

"Really?"

Nodding, Aqua raised her right hand and in a flash of light materialized a gray Keyblade with a simple square hand-guard and teeth in the shape of an 'E'.

"Y-You?" Ash exclaimed. "Wait… You said this armor is given to apprentices by their masters, so that means…" Aqua brandished her Keyblade and gave him a mock salute.

"Master Aqua, at your service." She said; grinning at the stupefied look on his face.

"Er, s-sorry for any disrespect, Master," the teen said nervously. The girl merely giggled in response.

"Just call me Aqua," she insisted. "I've always hated going by that title."

"Right…" Ash nodded; rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "So, Aqua… Earlier, you said that my body was being transported or something…"

"Yes," Aqua said. "It's being taken to a different world. I don't know who it is transporting you, but their presence doesn't seem to be hostile."

"Wait, so it's not you?" he questioned; taken aback. "Where are you anyway? Assuming that this isn't your physical body."

The blue-haired girl shook her head with a sigh; smiling sadly as she did. "I'm trapped in the Realm of Darkness."

Ash blinked. "The… Realm of Darkness?" he parroted. He wasn't entirely sure what that was, but it certainly didn't sound very good. "How did you get there? Why are you trapped?"

"I took my friend's place," she said simply. "My friend… He was falling into darkness, but instead of allowing that to happen, I chose to sacrifice myself to save him. Now, I'm here."

"But… if there's a way in, there has to be a way out."

"If there is, I haven't found it yet," Aqua said with a wry smile. "I don't know how long I've been trapped here. It could be days. It could be years."

Ash merely stared at her for several moments. "...Aqua?"

"Hmm?"

"I'll get you out," he said; his eyes glinting in determination. "I'll definitely save you!"

"Ash…" She simply shook her head and it was clear she didn't really believe that. Regardless, she smiled slightly. "...Thank you."

The raven-haired teen clenched his fist and gazed up at the inky black sky. "I will get you out of the Realm of Darkness," he repeated, glancing back down to meet her eyes. "I promise."

Aqua just kept smiling. "I'll be waiting." Suddenly, she sat up. "It looks like our time is up."

"Huh?" Ash gazed up at her confusedly as she stood and hastily scrambled to his feet to join her.

"Your body is waking up," she elaborated.

"Wait, but what about you?" he exclaimed.

"Like I said," Aqua smiled at him one last time. "I'll be waiting. You have a long journey ahead of you. And if you ever feel lost…" She reached into a small pouch at her side and retrieved something.

Ash blinked in surprise as she held up a charm identical to his own, only blue in color. "T-That's…!" Suddenly, everything began to grow hazy and Aqua's voice began to drift farther and farther away.

"Just remember that we're connected." Aqua's voice said gently. "We'll see each other again soon."

"Aqua?" Ash shouted; desperately grasping through the growing darkness. "Aqua!"

"I'll always be close by… Just don't forget..."

"AQUA!"

"We are connected."


A/N: Ash is Iron Man. xD

I changed Ash's armor from silver to maroon to match with the color of his pendant as well as the color usually associated with him (red). So, voila: Iron Man!Ash. (I'm kidding of course. He's still a medieval knight like Aqua and the rest.)