In the vast ocean of stars lay a singular tower, one of the rare places in the Realm of Between. There, two friends sat on the steps in dismay.
"I just don't understand why she wouldn't wait for us!" The duck sighed in worry. "The princess was the one who called us here, after all!"
"I'm sure she didn't mean to, dear." Clarabelle Cow mumbled through the pins she held in her mouth. She placed another in the purple fabric she was currently making a dress of with Daisy as her muse.
"And it's really strange…" Daisy slowly turned when told to. "that she requested you come too, no offens-ouch!"
"Sorry." Clarabelle gasped, repositioning the pin. Daisy's question caught her off guard. She wondered whether or not she should tell the secret, that she'd known how to wield magic since she was a calf. Not only would it strengthen their bond, it would make this dress fitting much quicker. But if she learned about what she'd done because of that magic… "Mmm, I'm sure she wanted me to make a change of clothes for you ladies, can't go running around saving the world in ballgowns, can you?"
"Guess not." Daisy agreed.
Suddenly, a star shot across the sky before pinging this way and that.
"Ah! That must be her!"
"Daisy- The dress!" Clarabelle moaned but Daisy had already torn herself out of the fabric, racing to see the star land.
Clarabelle tidied up quickly with her magic while Daisy's back was turned before walking up behind her.
"Princess!"
Aqua rubbed her head before glancing up at the two in confusion as the light cleared. "Who…?"
"You're not Princess Minnie." Daisy grunted, crossing her arms.
"No, I'm Aqua…" Aqua answered as Clarabelle helped her up. Wait, Minnie's a princess….? "You two must be Minnie's- Whoa!"
Aqua found Clarabelle had a tight grip on her arms and was now being escorted up into the tower.
"You've got it wrong, I'm Minnie's friend too!" Aqua explained. "She saved me and-!"
"Sounds like her, but how do we know you're telling the truth?" Daisy asked, glaring side longingly.
"I guess you don't-"
"Look, she has the star shard, Daisy." Clarabelle whispered.
"Hm?" Aqua glanced down to find it was indeed still clutched in her hand. "Oh, here, you can have it if you're going to see Minnie. I was just trying to give it back."
Daisy gingerly took the star shard from her before looking a bit more trusting. "Well, it's Yen Sid's, so we ought to return it to him."
"Wait, Yen Sid?" Aqua gasped. That's right, Yen Sid's Minnie's keyblade master! "You mean, this is Yen Sid's tower?"
She didn't have to wait long for an answer seeing as they were now at the top. The trio stumbled in together, getting the wizard's attention at once.
"Aqua, I wondered if you'd come visit." The elderly wizard with wide eyes said, turning to them.
Seeing as Yen Sid already knew and trusted her, Clarabelle finally released her.
"It's an honor to meet you, sir. I'd hoped I would when I was a master as well but…"
"Ah, yes, my condolences on your exam…. Because of it, Master Eraqus would like you and Ventus home at once." Yen Sid reminded her curtly, making the woman bow her head in shame. "However, I cannot blame you for following your heart, it is a lesson I'm afraid Eraqus may have forgotten."
Aqua looked up in surprise. He really did train with Master Eraqus, enough to question his teachings! Her mouth tried to work out a response, not sure what to say since she'd never heard anyone but Adar speak against her master. She'd have to be respectful while defending his honor this time, right? Or maybe she should let it slide? "Oh, um…"
"The star shard, you got it from Minnie, I presume."
"Not quite." Aqua said, placing the shard on the table. "She and I did meet before but then there was a bright light and we were separated. I haven't seen her since, and I only just found the star shard in the previous world I visited."
"As I thought. Minnie has been hurtling from one world to the next. That is why I've been unable to discern her location." Yen Sid muttered.
"But now that she doesn't have the star shard, you can find her, can't you?" Daisy asked worriedly.
The old master nodded before waving his hands around. A white mist formed into a cloud, revealing Minnie collapsed in some bare and unforgiving place.
"Minnie!"
"The princess!"
The trio leaped forward to see it closer but it vanished as soon as they got close.
"Where'd she go?! Did something happen?! Is she alright?!" Daisy cried.
Yen Sid shook his head, not entirely sure himself. "There is a strong and powerful dark force interfering with my magic…"
Someone with stronger magic than Yen Sid? Aqua thought in shock. Adar is getting more powerful but surely not enough to rival an old master… Who could it be?
"I just need to know where she is, Yen Sid, then I can-!"
"No. I can't let you do that." Aqua interrupted Daisy, getting their attention. "I recognized that place, please, let me save her."
"What?! But I'm her best friend!"
"I understand, that's exactly the reason I can't let either of you go….! I can't allow Minnie's closest friends to be hurt, neither of you have a strong protection against the darkness either. I do." Aqua explained. Minnie had saved her, she had to return the favor. Plus, the second she heard of the darkness blocking them, the more she felt drawn to fight it. It was something she had to do.
"B-But…"
Yen Sid cleared his throat to grab their attention and simply nodded.
The friends glanced at each other in defeat before looking back to her.
"Alright." Clarabelle whispered, Daisy was too upset to speak. "Just be careful!"
"I will. Minnie and I will be back soon, I promise!"
Aqua found the badlands to be right beside the tower, as if someone knew she was coming and arranged it to be there.
She touched down on the world before unsummoning her armor, allowing clouds of dust to envelop her. The woman shielded her eyes, scanning the area for any sign of her friend.
Her eyes landed on the tiny figure in pink and she raced to her aid, taking the princess in her arms. "Minnie! Please, wake up…!"
Minnie just barely stirred, her breathing shallow and weak.
She held her closer, feeling her heartbeat.
"We meet again, my dear…"
Aqua felt her body freeze over at hearing that all-too-familiar voice. She gently placed Minnie down before turning to the man, the person who'd abandoned her four years ago. "Master Xehanort…?"
The moment the two met eyes, a sharp pain hit Aqua's head. She gasped in shock and pain, grabbing her head.
Master Xehanort trained me… I lived here in these badlands until…
"I know what you have planned for me, and I refuse!"
He… did something… He hurt me so terribly…
"I'm afraid I made a mistake regarding your precious power…"
He left me to die… until I showed I could summon the keyblade… then he left me with Eraqus…
Aqua gave a scream in pain as she fell to her knees. Her head felt like it was going to explode as she tried to fight the burning sensation in her mind. I don't want to… I want it to stop…!
"Finally starting to remember, are we?" Xehanort smirked, he gestured carelessly to the woman as if she wasn't shuddering on the ground, feeling like she was going to die. "You've felt it all along this journey, your darkness returning to you as you sacrifice your light to it…"
Darkness… Light…? Aqua realized through her pain. All that time I was fighting the Unversed, every kill allowed me to feel darkness again… Again? So… I had darkness in my heart before? Where… Where is it? Could it be…?!
"Stop refusing it, let her into your heart once again by dueling her! Pure light against pure darkness shall forge the ultimate key! The X-Blade!"
Adar is my darkness… and I'm her light… When we join together… we become…
The pain stabbed deeper into her heart and head, making her collapse to the ground.
"Key… blade…?" It was all she could get out, that signified how confused and ignorant she was to the matter.
"Not the keyblades you and I carry." Xehanort tutted as if he was still her master training her. "X… A most ancient letter. Some pronounce it 'kai', but it means the same: Death. A letter that spells endings."
Death…? Death to what…? To who…? Aqua couldn't even raise her head as she whispered out: "I have… such a horrible power…?!"
"Not horrible, my dear, miraculous." He hissed down at her as a vortex of darkness began to form above her and Minnie. "For after 'The End', the story restarts anew…"
Aqua didn't understand, she couldn't… "Anew…"
"I offered Eraqus a spot at my side in this new world… But he… he refused me." She could hear the betrayal in his voice. "Just like he refuses you. He denies his feelings for the sake of guarding the light… Even that of love."
"What…? No, the master…!"
"Even if you looked to him as a father, even if he felt the same, he would've failed you regardless! You were never going to pass the Mark of Mastery and join your friends, Aqua!"
"Never? The master… was never going to let me be a master with Terra and Ven?" Aqua realized, slowly rising to her feet.
"Go ask the man yourself!" Xehanort urged, shoving his hand forward to create a gust of wind. "Learn the truth, and remember you have a greater purpose!"
"Ghgh!" Aqua fought against the wind until it finally threw her into the air. She saw Minnie was swept up as well and tried to reach for her before it all went dark.
Aqua came to in the Realm Between, her armor had summoned itself. She looked around for Minnie but she was nowhere in sight. The memories were still fresh in her mind, her head was reeling after all Xehanort had revealed. I'm… part of something called the X-Blade, but I don't even know what that means… And Master Eraqus, he's known all along… Did he truly never want me to be a master? But that's my dream…
She saw the Land of Departure appear ahead of her as if knowing she needed to go home.
Xehanort was right, there was only one way to answer these questions.