Hey! UknownHero here and welcome to another chapter of Awaken By Time! Wow, I'm actually a lot farther than the original fic so let's just get things started!

Load Game... Start!

Chapter 2: Dive into the Heart

Aqua felt like she was floating for forever. No sound. No touch. No sight. Just floating. After she left that white room, she been here. Ven was missing, she didn't know where Terra was and to top it all off, she couldn't summon her Keyblade, eventually giving up of ever summoning it again. But she had hope. She would see her friends again, find Xehanort and finally kill the old man. She regretted not saving Terra from the darkness, and she regretted letting the title of Keyblade Master go to her head. If they only trusted each other more, none of this would've happened. She would be at home, having dinner with Master Erauqs, Ven and Terra. Now it seemed like it wasn't going to happen any time soon. It was like a scattered dream and a far off memory, just waiting to be brung back.

She just sighed, "So... this is what death is like." Aqua talked to herself, "No wonder no one wants to die." She muttered, 'Oh great, I'm going crazy.' She groaned, 'God, I'm so stupid. If we just talked, then Terra would still be in the light, I would be still alive and Ven...' She suddenly realised. If she was dead and Terra is being possessed by Xehanort, who's taking care of Ven? "I am the worst big sister ever." She muttered. She wasn't really Ven's sister but she liked to call herself that. Hell, maybe even call herself more than that. But as far as she knew, Ven was alone for... how long? Days? Weeks? Months? She didn't dare to think about years. She couldn't bare it, 'Please, someone take me to Ven. I want to see him, at least once.' Suddenly, she saw a light. It was small, but it gave Aqua hope.

The light was getting brighter, already close to blinding her. When it did, she suddenly felt wind rushing past her ears. She opened her eyes and saw that she was falling into the ocean. She tried summoning her Keyblade out of habit only to see that it didn't come, 'Of course.' She thought as she hit the ocean, creating a huge splash. She tried to swim up but found her arms feeling like lead. She thought she was going to drown, until she realised she could breath normally, 'No way.' She thought in disbelief, remembering her first time. When she felt something pull her up, she knew that it was a Dive to the Heart. A signal that you have the potential to wield a Keyblade, 'But why am I going through this again?' She thought as she hit the floor. She looked around in the darkness before bracing herself and taking a step forward. She quickly shielded her eyes as doves started flying everywhere. After the doves escaped, she looked down and saw her Station. She smiled, remembering the first time she did this. She had no idea what she was doing back then. And now she was a Keyblade Master, but her Station didn't reflect this. Instead, it pictured her in her armour, which was rusted and dull, not even holding a Keyblade. It was still the lavender colour she originally had, but it was duller. The borders were the Mark of Mastery symbols but they looked chipped and cracked as well. Her friend's heads were just silhouettes; only their hair making it obvious.

It was like she was broken.

'What happened to me?' She thought, knowing that when you're in a DTTH that your ability to talk was taken away. She suddenly heard someone in the back of her mind.

There is little to do, but so much time.

'What?' This was different. She thought the mysterious voice always said the same thing after she talked to Terra about the subject.

You are not required, but rather needed somewhere else.

'Somewhere... else?' Aqua thought, 'I guess I'm not dead. Question is; where am I now?' She shook off the thought as she saw stone pedestals appear. She was expecting the Sword, Staff and Shield combo but was instead met with Master Eraqus, Terra and, 'Ven?'

The path you follow, is the path to awakening who you truly are. Which path are you willing to take.

Aqua looked between all the boys, wondering what the voice meant. She just shrugged though and touched the one with her Master on it.

The Path of the Master. Willing to sacrifice anything and everything for what is right. A lonely path, but a rewarding one never the less.

She thought about her past experiences before letting go. She never wanted to go down that path again, not unless it takes her to her friends and Master without driving them away. She turned and went to Terra's one and touched it.

The Path of Redemption. To make amends for the mistakes that has caused much suffering. But, it may lead you to your own destruction in the end.

Aqua quickly let go. She didn't want to die. She would leave too many people grieving about her now that she thought about it. She still had that date with Zack anyway, even though it was mostly out of pity. She sighed before turning and touching Ventus'.

The Path of Unknowing. Anything could happen. Those who choose this path never have the same story, but do share one thing in common.

They follow their hearts, and never look back.

Aqua thought about this. It sounded... perfect. Something that could lead her to her friends and Master. But there was always the chance that it couldn't. Was she really going to take this risk? She looked up and saw Ven's smiling face, frozen for eternity, 'No more thinking Aqua. Thinking only got you here.' She thought, before slapping herself realising that she just did, 'I choose the Path of Unknowing.' She said in her mind. The images of her friends and Master disappeared, only leaving the pedestals. Then 3 Keyblades appeared, the ones that Sora, Riku & the girl had.

Your path is set, but not yet clear enough to travel. Who is the light that will guide you?

She looked at the 3 Keyblades. Were they representing who she should follow? She decided to test the theory and grabbed the one made out of bat & bird wings.

The Way to the Dawn. A Keyblade with no connections, no alignment but working towards the light. The Wielder of this Keyblade was trapped in the darkness, but eventually found his way to the light. But choosing this one may break many connections, and have little formed ones.

From what she was hearing, she didn't like it. It reminded her of Terra. A lot actually. And she knew that if you wanted to become powerful, you have to make connections. It's one of the functions of the Keyblade. The closer you are with someone, the stronger your Keyblade becomes and does you. The only other way to become powerful is to give into an alignment, like light or darkness. She didn't want to go through that so she put the Keyblade back and went for Destiny's Embrace.

The Destiny's Embrace. A Keyblade with a light shining brighter than the sun. The Wielder of this Keyblade was weak, but very powerful. Choosing this one may help in the future, but may lead you astray from your path and ultimately lose it.

Aqua was a bit conflicted. This was obviously the girl from Radiant Garden's Keyblade, the one that had a pure heart. If she chose this one, it could help her in the long run. But it could also mean losing what's really important to her. And Aqua had a feeling that the girl wouldn't summon her Keyblade until much later in her life since even when she was 16, she didn't look very battle hardened like her friends. She sighed as she knew finding her friends and Xehanort was more important than the girl. And she did cast that charm on her necklace to keep her safe from anything that'll try and harm her. She put the Keyblade back and went for the last one. The skeleton key.

The Kingdom Key. A Keyblade with sleeping power waiting to be unleashed. The Wielder of this Keyblade was never supposed to have one, but turned out to be the greatest out of them all. Choosing this one may lead you astray, may even put many in danger. But in the end, everything will come to a conclusion, good or bad. The question is; are you willing to take the risk?

'Take the risk, huh?' Aqua thought. She closed her eyes and started thinking, 'It could take a long time, maybe even before I die. But if it leads me to what my heart wants, I'll take.' Aqua stepped back held out the Keyblade before stabbing it into the Station, causing it to shine brightly. When she opened her eyes, she smiled. The Station had changed. The armour was gone, Rainfell was in her hand, the symbols were fixed, the colour was extremely vibrant and her friends were now visible. But she noticed something different. In the middle of the whole Station was a Wayfinder, made out of each colour: Orange, Green and Blue, 'We're connected, no matter what.' Aqua thought as she pulled out her Wayfinder.

"There's always a way, right?"

Save Game... Quit!

Second Chapter is done! WOO! Well, I'll try and update this thing as much as I can. Anyway...

UknownHero signing off, my friends!