DISCLAIMER: All Square Enix/Disney characters mentioned and used in this fictional work is/are the property of their respective mother companies. They are not mine and are only being used by my imagination to share my love for this franchise, its story, and characters to everyone in the lovely place called the internet.

This is the first part of a series of KH/Union X fanfics called "When Stars Align", it serves as a prequel-sequel to majority of the events that will happen in the KHUx era. This one is mostly in the POV of Aqua as she meets [Player], who does not remember who they are, and tries to help them. I generally wanted to give it a reader-insert vibe but it was difficult to do that when the POV is on another character. So instead, I wrote them with gender neutral pronouns and zero physical characteristics. Feel free to imagine your avatar's in [Player]'s shoes and conversing with Aqua. This is my first KH fanfic so reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: The second part "Hope is a Lie, But I'll Believe It Anyway" is now up! It's a second POV- sort of reader insert continuation of this story focusing more on the [Player]'s thoughts and soul searching which is set before Aqua is not-Norted. Anywho, enjoy this one first!


Chapter 1: Found


Time worked differently in the Realm of Darkness.

A single step meant weeks, maybe months, perhaps even years in the realm above. Regardless of how much time has passed, Aqua remained none the wiser about it. She was trapped in this bleak wasteland, surrounded by danger without hope of seeing the light ever again. If it wasn't for Mickey, Aqua never would've guessed ten years had already come and gone in her absence.

Shocked as she was about it, Aqua didn't stay as such for long. She had walked the same path, and recurring fallen worlds for what felt like an eternity. She had a goal in mind but no destination nor way as to how to get there, and therefore wandered aimlessly. If anything, the news of the passing decade made her think of the other things she once needed to survive but no longer did. She was neither parched nor famished in the ten years she'd been stuck here. Even though she missed the sweet taste of tropical fruit, or the soothing cold of potable water, it did not change the fact that she could live without it anymore.

Aqua hated her predicament, but she was a bit grateful that time was frozen here and she didn't need food or water to survive. It was hard to come by resources for such in this empty world. Despite this, the Darkness made it essential for her to sleep. The Heartless exhausted her magic every chance they could attack her, and the Realm constantly changed around her.

The Darkness always moved and changed. It was rarely the same thing twice. To do so, the Darkness used up energy the worlds it had swallowed previously, as well as living creatures like Aqua, trapped within it. It didn't always start this way, but her time in the Realm had started to take its toll. Every time the landscape changed, Aqua felt half of her magic be siphoned away into the dark. She could still perform advanced forms of magic and maneuver herself out of danger quite well, but she was slower and less focused.

The Heartless were ruthless in their pursuit of her ever since she got trapped in the Realm. They were in their element, and thus there was never a shortage of them. Aqua could hold herself well against them on a good day, but when she wasn't, she had to make the smart choice and run away. She learned to have light feet so as to not catch any unwanted attention, as well as sharpened her senses to invisible danger whenever she closed her eyes to catch some sleep.

Overtime, Aqua developed a sixth sense for the subtle shifts in the dark. Not visually, no, more like… emotions. A faint hum of energy lingered around her whenever the darkness was calm, like a gentle breeze before the storm which raged endlessly like fire on her skin. It was something unconscious at first, but the more Aqua recognized it, the more she learned to use it for her own safety. She felt around the dark to scout for Heartless ahead of her. It has been fairly useful in picking fights she should engage in or not.

The survivor within her applauded herself for making use of this ability while the Keyblade master struggled with allying herself with the Darkness. Using the darkness so freely like this could taint her heart and corrupt her. She could fall and become a Heartless herself. Despite this fear, Aqua remained steadfast and used the darkness with a firm grip on her sense of self and duty. She wasn't that weak. She was a warrior of light, and she had a promise to keep to her friends.

She needed to stay alive, and Aqua would do that within reason. She never used her new found awareness to fuel her magic and only ever used it to orient herself in the dark. In time, Aqua learned that the Darkness had three states, the calm, the chaos, and then the nothingness.

Aqua was particularly fond of the calmer. It remained ominous and generally displeasing, but it allowed her to rest and gather her bearings back. It was a time of peace and quiet that allowed her to explore the fallen worlds and find a semblance of joy in them. Unfortunately for her, the calm seldom stayed. For most of the time, the Darkness hungers for chaos. It was shaky and impatient which agitated a lot of Heartless to attack. This always kept Aqua on her toes, and if she was lucky, she could survive this phase unharmed.

Then on the rarest of occasions, there was nothing. Aqua despised this one the most because the Darkness always focused on her. Without a world to sustain, or Heartless to feed its anger into, the Darkness threw everything at her. It was unbearable, and damn near impossible to stay sane when there was nothing. The Darkness was just too suffocating. She'd thought of letting go a dozen times in the nothingness, but her light continued to spark. Her heart continued to fight for the people she needed to go back to.

However, just as she feared, using this power opened her mind to the whispered and taunts from the Darkness. Most of the time Aqua could ignore it, but sometimes, in the rare moment when she's tired and hopeless of the future, Aqua can't help but entertain them.

Knowledge has always been a double edged sword. Their keyblade masters were living examples of that. Master Eraqus gathered knowledge to become a wise but unbending believer of the way of light. Master Xehanort, on the other hand, sought out to understand it. When he did, he'd fallen off the path of light and into Darkness.

Aqua looked to her hand, feeling that invisible, cold thrum of dark wade around her palm. She can't help wondering if she was heading down the same path?

She accepted the dark like Xehanort did. Their circumstances and reasons may be different, but the well of power remained the same. The Darkness never thrived within Aqua, but she still used it all around her. It was, in the eyes of the Light, a truly sickening sight. Whenever she second guessed herself like this, the Darkness attacked, whispering thoughts she never would think of herself.

In the Realm of Darkness, a single thought was all it needed. A sliver of pain, doubt, anger or fear could be used against her, and the Darkness used it well. The Darkness amplified her thoughts, threatening her of the dangers of falling - failing the light. It terrified her to the point that she began to question the very teachings of Master Eraqus himself.

The dark argued the truth behind a world painted as black and white; a battle between good versus evil. Was it really something so simple? She couldn't help but think of Terra and his darkness. Aqua has known him since they were children. They started studying to be a keyblade master together, and never once has he shown the capacity for darkness. He has a kind and good heart; there was no way he could be evil. He was stubborn and firm headed, but a righteous person nonetheless. Darkness should never have tainted him, yet it did. It made Aqua wonder whether it was possible for darkness to swell in her heart as well. Was she capable of such evil even without Xehanort's influence? Or perhaps, she would only be capable of it if Master Xehanort corrupted her like Terra?

If it was the latter, Aqua couldn't help blaming herself. She knew Terra was going through a lot after he'd failed that Mark of Mastery, but she turned a blind eye to him. Perhaps his fall was her fault? She was too slow to save him and Ventus. This was all her fault and she needed to fix it.

Aqua fished out a blue, star shaped charm encased in metal in her pocket and studied it with somber eyes. Regardless of whether it was her fault or not, Aqua knew she wouldn't be of use to anyone, especially not to Terra or Ventus if she stayed here feeling sorry for her mistakes. She needed to survive, if not for herself then for them. She'd survive for them.

Aqua pressed the wayfinder to her chest. "As long as you're with me - Terra, Ven," she said. "I'll always find my way back."

A sudden shift in the darkness pulled Aqua away from her thoughts. White lightning ran across the purple-red skyline and warned her of what was to come next. "Time to go."

Aqua stood and hefted herself towards high ground as buildings crumbled around her and returned to the abyss. She bounded from one rooftop to another until she reached what seemed like the edge of this world. The Darkness pulled at her consciousness, her energy fading slightly as the landscape fell into a new scene. Aqua leapt off the ground and spotted a blurry silhouette of what looks like a humongous twin tower by the horizon.

She wasn't really sure what it was, but it was definitely something new.

After a decade trapped in darkness, Aqua had become acquainted with a few dead worlds. She recognized familiar worlds she'd visited in the past like the Castle of Dreams and the Enchanted Dominion, but most of the time was left without a clue of what the world used to be. For these forgotten worlds, Aqua took the liberty to give them one. She thought that it gave them some semblance of an identity – a life – even though it probably didn't mean much.

These worlds appeared randomly but Aqua recognized them from afar now. The well-defined tower was not something she'd seen before. As more of this new landscape's infrastructure formed, Aqua couldn't help but think aloud. "Did the darkness take another world?"

Aqua slid off a purple colored roof and effortlessly dropped to her feet in the new area. She was in a narrow alleyway, surrounded by three-story, cream colored, and cabin like houses. It looked like a wonderful neighborhood to live in, but the empty streets and the withered; decaying flora that hung from the windows and doors didn't reassure her. Yet another world lost in the darkness.

Thousands of hearts filled with darkness.

Aqua gave herself a few minutes to recover the energy the Darkness used to fuel its change. She kept an eye out for any Heartless in case they decided to ambush her again. They were usually very restless after a new world was created before her. After what seemed like a minute passed, Aqua lowered her guard. Guess the Heartless decided to give her a break this time around. Still, Aqua wasn't fool enough to relax. She closed her eyes and felt around the darkness, patting a feel on its current mood, was it calm or chaotic?

Aqua frowned. Something was different in the Darkness of this world. She can't quite define it, but it was deadly still and muted; like it was nothing but empty air. Aqua searched around the town for an answer or two, and did so by following a dull colored yellow brick road.

There were a lot of wooden boxes scattered about, stacked on top of each other to form something like a makeshift flight of stairs. A couple of them were smashed to pieces near corners or sometimes just in the middle of the street. Aqua carefully walked over them, not wanting to deface more of the wood.

There were also papers littered around as she walked. Out of curiosity, Aqua picked one up that was written in a foreign language. The headline was written in bold black color with an exclamation point at the end, which made it seem like an announcement of sorts. Below it was a picture of a beach front with a lighthouse to the upper most left corner and blurred out figures in the center. Underneath it was a set of numbers that detailed a generous 5 digit reward.

"A bounty? Just what is this place?"

Aqua picked up another one and was surprised when this and the succeeding fliers she picked up became less decipherable by the second. The foreign writing soon washed away to blank paper, and the photographs lost its colors turning into black boxes instead. This continued on until Aqua was left with empty pieces of paper on her hand. Aqua was convinced something was wrong here.

Maybe she needed to activate lanterns like with Cinderella's world to understand what happened here? The Darkness was definitely hiding something from her, and Aqua was determined to find out why. Her quest led her to a long flight of stairs that seemed to reach the dark heavens. Aqua debated whether or not to take it, or slip back into another path that led to more houses. She tried to probe the Darkness for some sort of sign or warning but once again ended with nothing.

She did not like this. Silence in the Realm of Darkness usually meant the nothingness lingered close by.

"Well," she sighed, "I guess I could use a little exercise." Aqua climbed the stairwell, eyes wandering to take in the sights as well as threats. Halfway to her ascent, Aqua heard a soft crunch to her left and instinctively summoned Master's Defender to her side.

A door slammed shut to her right, and Aqua's attention snapped towards a normal two story house. She took cautious steps towards the door then slowly pushed it open. She raised her blade once the door swung open, and stepped inside with full intent to smite some Heartless should they be present. To her surprise, she was greeted by a small room lit only by candles scattered around the surfaces in the room.

Aqua dismissed her weapon to look around. There wasn't a lot of furniture in the house, but a green colored book lay on top of one of the desks. Aqua scanned through its handwritten pages, once again unable to read the foreign text. As she flipped through the writing, the more indecipherable they became just like the fliers. Halfway through the diary, Aqua found a set of photos of children.

The first photo was a group of four kids lifting a doll with a red balloon on top of their head. They looked like they were celebrating some sort of victory in a dimly lit tavern. The next photo had the same group, plus a new child whose face was pushed off frame by the other's enthusiasm in what looked like a sewer. By the time she scanned through halfway of the extensive collection of photos, the remaining pictures had faded out as well.

Only one picture appeared safe from this odd spell.

A photo of a silver haired boy with an arm slung over the same shy-child from the previous photos. There was a grey stuffed cat atop their head, and a girl with long black hair trapped her two friends in an embrace. They looked happy.

These kids reminded her of Ven and Terra and how she wished they were all together again; able to laugh so freely as these children. Truly, she missed them. Her heart ached at the thought of them, but even more so when she realized that these children have all lost their lives in the darkness.

Aqua wiped a tear in her eyes and returned the photos just as she found them. She quietly excused herself from the house and resumed her climb. Aqua let out a relieved sigh as she took one final step unto even ground. A majestic fountain stood in the middle of the plaza, surrounded by potted white colored flowers around the base. Water flowed down from the tip as though in slow motion. Aqua picked up a small rock and flung it towards the stream. It left a gaping hole in the center before it slowly resumed its natural form.

Aqua walked over to inspect the fountain closer and was surprised to see a very clear image of her face reflected on the water's surface. For the first time since she got trapped here, Aqua finally saw how unkind the darkness has been. Her face has lost its natural glow, and looked a lot paler than she remembered. Despite not looking any older than she was, her eyes already reflected the olden wisdom it gained through time spent in darkness. The insufficient, or lack thereof of, sleep resulted in black circles under her eyes. Aqua ran a hand through her blue locks and sighed. While she kept in the way that she liked, she also realized how much soot and dirt it accumulated.

To say that she looked terrible is an understatement. She looked horrible, yet Aqua found it in herself to laugh. The first mirthful laugh she's had in a long time. Oh, the things she'd sacrifice just to get a steaming hot shower.

Aqua cupped her hands and cautiously dipped them into the water. She expected some kind of force to drag her down, like that mirror in Enchanted Dominion, but nothing. Everything remained in a still, silent, mood around her. Aqua did not like it. Not by one bit. But she wasn't going to let it spoil her fun.

Deeming the fountain safe to use, Aqua splashed her face with refreshing, cool water. She let out a deep sigh as she felt layers upon layers of dirt come off her face. She continued to make good use of the fountain by cleaning herself up and drinking from it. She didn't have to hydrate herself anymore but the feeling of cold liquid tracing the back of her throat was amazing.

A drop of water landed onto the pool at the base of the fountain and caused Aqua's reflection to subside through slow moving ripples. From the corner of her eye, just further ahead of the fountain, a figure caught her attention.

Aqua's mouth dropped, aghast when she met eyes with a child holding a pot of snowy white flower atop a whorl of three leaves in their hand. Their eyes were blown wide open as though surprised to see Aqua standing there as well.

Aqua stood up almost too suddenly as her heart leapt in joy to see another human trapped in here. Quick as it was, so did the heartache as a grim realization dawned on her. This child, probably no older by Ventus, somehow survived the darkness and woke up alone and with nothing. She can't even begin to imagine the horror they must've gone through. Not to mention… the Heartless.

"Hello," she said. "My name is Aqua and I –!" The unusually silent darkness suddenly sprung back to life and pricked her skin with pins and needles. It was trying to spread fear within her and called forth the Heartless, but the more Aqua kept her attention on the Darkness, the more she realized that it was not the case.

The Darkness wasn't spreading fear, it was afraid.

The child dropped the pot, terrified, as though they too could feel the energy and ran.

"Wait! Come back, kid!" Aqua tried to run after them but was suddenly blocked by countless shadow's that materialized out of thin air. She summoned Master's Defender and brandished it with confidence. "Get out of my way."

The Heartless cried out and Aqua retaliated.


Aqua swiped the keyblade clean through a Flame Core then shot a quick ice spell towards another at her left. The Heartless vanished in a dark shadowy wisp, and were immediately replaced with a Fat Body that slammed its hardened belly behind Aqua. She flew forward with the momentum and rolled to the side, kicking off on the wall and slashed behind the bulbous Heartless.

The keyblade master dismissed her weapon and fell to her knees, already out of breath. She managed to get some rest after the world changed into this purple colored town, but after the kid ran the Heartless just kept coming at her and quickly depleted her. It's been a while since she engaged in such drawn out combat so it was a jarring change of pace.

All this time while she defended herself from the enemy, Aqua tried to cover a lot of ground searching for the kid. She didn't want them to be in danger with all these Heartless around. She ran after them from the fountain but quickly lost them in the labyrinth of streets in this world. Well, it was either she got lost, or the kid did. Regardless of which, Aqua couldn't find them anywhere.

She didn't want to think of the worst outcome and kept on searching. She emerged into a large plaza with multicolored banners strung overhead. There were quite a number of fruit and vegetable stalls neatly set-up all around, as well as a couple of flower crates. This was the first time she's seen a market in a dead world. She quickly walked through it, not wanting to dwell with the thought of people's death. Aqua followed the cream colored path out of the market and into a small tunnel that led into an avenue and diverged into two paths. One led to a viewing deck of a lighthouse while another led to a park that had adorably star shaped hedges.

Aqua went towards the park, and hoped to find the child there.

Meeting another human, a child no less, was definitely not in the list of things she expected to happen or even be possible in the Realm of Darkness. The child was able to survive the influences of Darkness that even she, a Keyblade Master had difficulty doing. It raised plenty of questions but Aqua shook them off for later. What mattered right now was locating them, preferably alive.

She reached the edge of the park without a hair nor hide of the kid. Aqua looked out into the darkness that spread out further before her and turned on her heels to return to the fountain. She had a feeling the kid would come back there eventually. The fountain was decorated with flower pots, and the kid was carrying a pot when they met. It was just a guess but she thought maybe it was the child's handiwork. A sort of memorial for the family and friends they've lost.

To her surprise, the child was indeed in the fountain plaza. They tended to one of the flowers seemingly lost in the act. They barely even noticed Aqua walk towards them until the latter accidentally tripped on a loose floor tile. Aqua's slight panic registered on the kid's mind and quickly backed away, trying to run away again.

"Please, wait! I just want to talk." The darkness stilled around them, giving Aqua a vague idea of what the child felt, as odd as that may sound. They were tense, and looked rather apprehensive about her sudden appearance. She lowered herself to the ground and raised her hands in good faith. "My name is Aqua."

The child's eyes narrowed towards her as though to say they already knew that.

"I got trapped here some time ago. I never expected to see another person here. What's your name?"

They stared at Aqua, neither answering nor moving to respond.

Aqua's smile faltered a bit, but she kept it up nonetheless. The kid was not much of a talker. She wasn't sure if they were mute or they just didn't want to talk to a stranger in a foreign, scary land. "Look," she said, "I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not here to hurt you, I only want to protect you."

The child frowned, tilting their head a bit at the offer.

"This place is very dangerous." She summoned Master's Defender to her side, which seemed to elicit some reaction from the child. Aqua can't quite place the emotions on their face. "I'm what they call a Keyblade Master. This weapon, the Keyblade can kill those monsters living in this realm. We call them Heartless."

"Heartless..." the child echoed while their eyes were oddly transfixed on the blade on Aqua's hand.

"Yes," Aqua nodded a little glad that the child had a voice. "I can protect you from them with my weapon and magic, so please, if you'd allow me?" she stretched out her hand for the child to take,

The kid merely glanced at her hand and turned away. They grabbed an empty pot and walked back to where they ran to earlier.

Aqua wanted to follow them but decided not to. The kid needed time to think about it, even though Aqua was already determined to stick around regardless of whether or not the kid wanted her help. It was her duty as a warrior of Light to protect every living thing. She failed to save her friends and ended up here, she was not going to fail this child.