Depths of Darkness

Aqua didn't know what had happened when she had blacked out but she felt herself falling deeper into the darkness.

A single light that was fading…

"Now I can be...one with darkness..." Aqua said quietly, closing her eyes and her Wayfinder charm slipped out of her hand.

She only hoped Neo would find a way out.

What she didn't see was her charm falling into someone else's hand.

"Aqua, are you okay?"

Aqua opened her eyes, seeing a familiar face, holding her hand. He pulled her up and they flew down onto solid ground with glowing rocks all over the place.

Impossible…

It was Mickey Mouse, her good friend and fellow Keyblade Wielder.

"Mickey, how did— Terra! Ven!" Aqua asked slowly before remembering what had happened to Terra and Ven.

Mickey looked behind Aqua with an alarmed face. "No time to talk."

He summoned his Keyblade as Aqua turned around, watching as a familiar monster…Or rather a swarm of monsters appeared out of the ground several years away.

"Dwellers of darkness..." Aqua said when the Demon Tower appeared.

"They're called Heartless!" Mickey stated before he and Aqua charged into battle.

Much like before, the Demon Tower would try and ram them and when it was separated the Shadows that made up the tower would try and swarm both Aqua and Mickey as they fought. Aqua had a better understanding of how it fought now so she was better prepared and it much easier with a fellow Keyblade Wielder assisting her. When the eyes turned red she would either block with a Barrier or dodge out of the way which would divide it into Shadows.

Mickey and Aqua would then work together, taking out the Shadows that made up the beast, whittling it down until it retreated like before.

Mickey dismissed his Keyblade. "Better not push our luck. Gosh. I never thought I'd find ya in the Realm of Darkness, that's for sure. So, um, what happened?"

"Have you seen Terra or Ven?" Aqua asked her own question.

Mickey shook his head. "No, just you."

Aqua had a saddened look on her face at that. "I'm sorry. The darkness in this place, it's getting to me."

"Oh. But, you'll be okay." Mickey said optimistically.

"Right." Aqua nodded. "Oh, have you seen a girl with pink and brown hair?"

"A girl with pink and brown hair?" Mickey asked but shook his head. "Nope, haven't seen anyone like that either. Say, we've been looking for ya a long time. How come you're in this place?"

"First tell me: how long's it been in the realm of light?" Aqua asked, wondering how long has it been.

"About...ten years." Mickey answered slowly.

"Interesting. After we last spoke, I took Ven somewhere safe, and then I went after Terra. But Terra was about to fall to darkness, so I had one choice. I stayed here in hopes of giving him a chance." Aqua then told Mickey what happened to her.

"I...didn't know." Mickey said sadly.

"What 'bout you? What could've brought you here? Has something happened? In the realm of light?" Aqua changed the subject wondering why Mickey was in the Realm of Darkness.

"It's the Heartless. They've been attacking worlds and taking their hearts. And worlds with no hearts vanish into darkness. But if we can lock the door between the two realms—light and dark—from both sides, we can protect the other worlds." Mickey explained. "So ya see, I came here to find the key on this side. Turns out, it's not so easy getting into the realm of darkness. The points you can cross have become unstable. It's only when a world gets consumed, that an entrance appears in the realm between. So, I waited for my chance...to sneak in.

"But hey, when I got here, I felt a warm, familiar light. I followed it to find my way...to you."

"The charm. So they were helping. Terra and Ven brought you and I back together again." Aqua brought her charm back out.

"Yeah!" Mickey nodded with a smile.

"But, the worlds are still in danger. Terra—did he make it back to the realm of light?" Aqua then asked.

"We still haven't found him." Mickey said, slumping his shoulders.

"I see. Well, wherever he is, he's fighting. He'll beat his darkness. And I know he wants me to fight too." Aqua said, having faith in her friend.

"I think you're right. He'll be just fine." Mickey agreed.

"Yes. But what about Ven? He won't wake up unless I'm there with him. I have to go. I have to find a way back to the realm of light." Aqua then remembered her other friend.

"Good. Then let's locate that key and go home together!" Mickey said optimistically.

Aqua then remembered something. "Wait, I can't go back. Not yet."

"What do you mean?" Mickey asked.

"…It's long story but there is a world somewhere in the Realm of Darkness, or maybe a dozen worlds that are in danger of being destroyed by the Heartless. I came here with Neo, the other person I asked you about to try and save. Only Neo and I were separated." Aqua explained. "I need to find her but I'll help you find your way out. Since you came here, does that mean you know an exit?"

"Well, uh, I was so busy finding a way in, that I didn't give a lot of thought to where there'd be a way out." Mickey answered honestly, rubbing the back of his head. "But, together we're sure to find one!"

"You haven't changed at all." Aqua shook her head in amusement.

"May our hearts be our guiding key." Mickey answered back, waving his hand.

"There's a phrase no one's used in ages." Aqua commented, remembering her Master saying that once or twice.

"Keyblade wielders used to say those words to each other. And now, it's something I like to try and remember. So. Ready?" Mickey asked.

"Ready!"

Xxx

Neo could say that she would have been fine with going her whole life without seeing Salem again.

It didn't help that the last time they had met, Neo had stolen the Lamp back, the same Lamp she had taken from Red's friends which Cinder had taken credit for, and used it to blackmail Cinder into fulfilling her end of the deal they had made. She hoped Cinder hadn't actually told Salem about that since it would make things even more difficult for her at the moment.

"I was so sure that I was the only one left." Salem said as she took a few steps forward.

Neo noticed a flash of gold and realized that Salem was holding the Staff of Creation with the Lamp attached to her hip.

That's right; Cinder took the Lamp from her and must have taken the Staff after she had knocked her and Little Red into the void.

"I do not remember everything that had happened. I only remember the sky turning dark before the world was seemingly devoured with everyone on it…Except for me." Salem looked up and around at the dark void they were in. "Always the one left behind."

Neo nervously glanced left and right, making sure that there were no Grimm around.

Not that Salem likely needed Grimm to kill her.

"I am curious though how you might be here." Salem waved a hand and from the debris around them, conjured a table with chairs. "Come and sit. I think we are due for a little…talk."

Neo wanted to say no.

She wanted to run.

But she knew that Salem would likely stop her so she simply sat down, facing the Queen of the Grimm.

"Now then, let's talk." Salem sat down next.

Neo pointed to her throat.

"Oh, right." Salem seemed like she genuinely didn't know Neo couldn't talk and held up one hand as it started to glow. "Let's fix that."

Xxx

The trip through the Realm of Darkness had been treacherous, even for two Keyblade Masters. There was no shortage of Heartless attacking them and so far there was no sign of Neo. Aqua hoped that she was okay. Skilled fighter or not, Neo was out of her depth in the Realm of Darkness with only the dark coat she gave her to protect her from the darkness.

Strangely enough, at the end of the path was a cave with a light shining inside it. They both followed the light and came upon a beach of all places.

Aqua was struck by a sudden sense of familiarity as she looked around, feeling a warm sun shining upon her. "This is...where I met those children."

"So many worlds have been lost. And now they're trapped here in the dark. Wait—you know this place, Aqua?" Mickey asked upon realizing what Aqua had said.

"Yes. I visited once, and I met two boys I considered passing the Keyblade on to. But because Terra had already given one of them the power, I didn't." Aqua explained.

"Aqua. What were the boys' names?" Mickey said, suddenly sounding urgent.

"They were...Sora and Riku." Aqua answered, wondering what was bothering her friend.

"I see. We're getting warm." Mickey said, turning and walking forward.

"Huh?" Aqua followed the King of Disney Castle.

"Welp, it's Sora and Riku who've been helpin' me. We're tryin' to get that door shut for good."

"The same boys?" Aqua questioned, sounding surprised.

"Aqua, if this is where my friends first got the Keyblade, it also must be where we'll find its counterpart. The Keyblade of darkness has gotta be here on the dark side of their world." Mickey explained, leading her towards a cave.

Before they could proceed any further, a swarm of Heartless blasted out of the cave, flying past them and around the beach, circling around the two.

'Demon Tide.' A voice whispered in Aqua's mind, telling her the name of this new Heartless.

Both Aqua and Mickey watched as it dug into the ground and a second later jumped out, aiming for them. Aqua and Mickey split apart as they dodged, jumping to the sides and watched as the monster charged at them.

"Guard!" Aqua shouted, summoning a barrier to block the attack.

The attack slammed into her barrier, forcing her back but as Aqua slipped back, Mickey jumped up and slashed at the monster, taking several Shadows while others fell onto the ground. The red eyed Shadows tried swarming him but Aqua activated her Shotlock Bubble Blaster and took out the Shadows before they could swarm the King.

When she saw the Demon Tide, it was about to dive in again on top of her.

"No you don't!" Mickey jumped up and over Aqua.

From the tip of his Keyblade came a blast of light that caused the monster to disperse into an army of red eyed Shadows. The Shadows moved to swarm the two but Aqua raised her Keyblade.

"Thunder!"

Lightning rained down from the sky, destroying over a dozen Heartless while the rest moved to regroup around a dark ball.

"I think that's it's weakness." Aqua pointed at the ball as the Heartless surrounded it. "Some sort of core for the beast."

"I think you're right." Mickey nodded.

However, even if they found its weakness, it seemed the monster was taking them a little more seriously now as the scenery around them turned darker. It came out of the ground with its core surrounded by a whirlwind of Shadows. It moved towards them like a tornado and even fired bodies of Shadows at them like bullets.

"Watch out!" Mickey cried.

They both jumped out of the way, thinking it was a bad idea to try blocking these Shadow 'bullets' and decided to play it safe. It seemed they were both entering the final phase of the battle now as they kept on attacking the monster and it became more desperate and aggressive. In addition to the Shadow 'bullets' it would also shoot giant purple balls of Shadows that dove into the ground and jumped at them, almost like fish. There was also a variant of the attack where the Demon Tide became a large circle and spawned these balls of Shadows from the ground where they rose into the sky.

Aqua and Mickey had to work extra hard to dodge, using their magic increase their speed to dodge each and every attack just in time.

"Enough!" Mickey shouted as he jumped up and landed on top of the Demon Tide.

He rode on the Demon Tide as it tried to shake him off. As this happened, Mickey's Star Seeker and Aqua's Wayfinder started to glow as he rode it towards Aqua, who fired chains of golden light light to bind the Heartless' core, leaving it vulnerable. With the Heartless bound, Aqua and Mickey moved, guided by the new power that they felt.

They repeatedly teleported around the Demon Tide, slashing away at the Shadows that made up its body until the core was uncovered. Mickey and Aqua pointed their Keyblades at the core, firing bright orbs of magical light that collided with the core and the remaining shadows, destroying it in an explosion of light and causing the remaining Heartless to vanish. Aqua sighed as she and Mickey dismissed their Keyblade. With the Heartless gone, they were free to continue their journey which was inside the cave the monster had emerged from.

Of course the cave ended up being small, enough for Mickey to still walk but Aqua had to kneel down and crawl through it. As she crawled, she noticed chalk drawings on the walls, the kind you would see from kids. At the end of the cave was a door that slowly opened for them and inside was a black space with a single light.

The light that was in the shape of a key.

"Is that what you're after?" Aqua asked as she stood up.

It was rather basic compared to hers or the one Mickey had right now. It was golden and looked like a normal looking key with a silver guard and the rain-guard was red with a red handle.

"Yep, it's just the key I was looking for. A Keyblade from the dark realm!" Mickey answered as he approached the Keyblade.

"A Keyblade of darkness." Aqua whispered.

"The door of darkness...tied by two keys. The door of darkness...to seal the light." Mickey said as if he was reciting something as he grasped the handle and lifted the Keyblade "Welp, we've got the keys. Now, we find the ones to close the door."

"Sorry?" Aqua asked.

"The door between the two realms—it won't let a heart with light pass through. So only darkness keeps spilling out. We can lock the door by using the two Keyblades, but we need help on both sides to get the door shut." Mickey explained.

"Well, then, since you'll be doing the locking, let me be the one to close the door." Aqua offered.

"Sorry, but the job's taken...by somebody else." Mickey replied.

"Huh?"

Before Aqua could ask what he was talking about, the entire cave began to shake and a bright light engulfed them. When the light faded Mickey and Aqua were standing in an area similar to the one they had found each other in.

And up ahead was a massive white door that was partially open.

"Is that the one?" Aqua asked upon finding the door.

"Yep, the door to Kingdom Hearts. Welp, it's not the Kingdom Hearts you know. Not exactly. But even though it's smaller, it's still the heart of many worlds." Mickey answered. "And even if it's not a complete Kingdom Hearts, we definitely can't leave it open like this, or darkness will escape and destroy the remaining worlds. It's time. With this key and Sora's in the realm of light, we're gonna close this door. Now, all we need is Riku."

"Sora, Riku." Aqua muttered softly, almost finding it hard to believe it the same boys she had met on the beach were helping to save the worlds.

"There!" Mickey pointed at the doors and Aqua could see a silver haired boy standing at the doors. "That's everybody! Come on, Aqua—"

Suddenly another swarm of Shadows appeared and flew straight at Riku.

"Oh no!"

"Back off!" Aqua shouted, protecting Riku from the Demon Tide by summoning the chains from before and restraining the monster.

"Aqua!"

"Go without me!" Aqua shouted, holding the Heartless swarm back with all her strength.

"No, I—!" Mickey was about to help but the Demon Tide broke the chains and reformed, launching itself at Aqua.

"Aqua!" Mickey cried out but was thrown aside as the Demon Tide carried Aqua back to the island. "Aqua…"

Xxx

"The battle for the realm of light...is not won."

Aqua was lying on the beach, watching as night fell over the place which was still odd for a place lost in the Realm of Darkness.

"Thanks to Terra and Mickey, I know what's at stake. I'm not afraid. I will face the long darkness. The next time someone wanders into the realm of darkness, I'll be here." Aqua closed her eyes. "A light to cut through all the shadows. I will be their wayfinder. And one day, I'll return to Terra and Ven. I am Master Aqua. And that's a promise."

She opened them. "But first, I have a world to save and protect here. A world with its own light and darkness that is barely on the edge of destroying itself."

She needed to find Neo and help her find her way back to her world.

"It's beautiful. The stars are out. Terra, Ven... Just me again." Aqua mumbled, watching the sky and seeing orbs of light covering the island. "They did it. The worlds are being restored."

"'May our hearts be our guiding key.' You'll know...where I am." She whispered before the ground beneath her vanished.

Xxx

When Aqua opened her eyes, she found herself back in the Realm of Darkness, standing on what looked like a dark beach unlike the one from before.

"I better find Neo." She pulled out the Horn of Passage and summoned Heimdallr.

"You called?" The spirit asked.

"I need to find Neopolitan. Can you show me the way to her?" Aqua asked.

"Of course."

A portal opened and she stepped in, seeing Neo was standing atop a tower of what looked like a ruined castle with…a strange woman.

Aqua immediately entered the portal and emerged on the other side.

"Aqua?!"

Aqua stopped and blinked, hearing a voice coming from one of the two people before her…

And it wasn't the woman in black with hair and red eyes who looked very familiar for some reason who was also exhibiting a powerful darkness.

It was…

"Neo?" She spoke as the girl approached her.

"Ye-Yeah." Neo actually said, her voice sounding slightly raw but at the same time matching the voice of a young girl.

"But I thought…You couldn't…" Aqua trailed off.

"You can thank her." She gestured to the woman who looked dispassionately. "She used her magic to heal and restore my vocal cords so I could answer her questions. I've spent the last hour and a half learning how to talk." She frowned. "Where were you? Did you restore the world?"

"Yeah, I did." Aqua noted some strange crack marks appearing Neo's skin. "What is happening with you?"

"The same thing that is happening to you." Neo pointed to Aqua's hand.

Aqua held up her right hand and saw a strange crest mark appearing on it. Frowning, Aqua looked at Neo and knew something was wrong.

"I don't think we should stay here." Aqua said to Neo who nodded. "Come on, we can get back to Drasil and see what she knows."

"So you do come from another world." The red-eyed woman spoke with a very familiar voice.

Aqua's eyes shot up and she started with a surprised look. "…Salem?"

"And you know of me as well. I suppose I should be flattered." The woman she had once known as Ozma's lover stepped forward. "You restored this world…Now I can continue my task of destroying it."

Aqua held out her hand to summon her Keyblade but to her shock, her Keyblade did not appear with her. "What?!"

Neo nervously glanced at Aqua, noticing something wrong. "What's wrong?"

"My Keyblade…" Aqua whispered, seeing some crack markings appear on her skin. "Neo, we need to run…Now."

"Going somewhere?" Salem held out a hand and red glowing glyphs in the shape of an eye symbol appeared under both Aqua and Neo.

From the red glyphs, shadow arms reached out and grabbed Aqua and Neo, pulling them down.

"I want to know more about you and the worlds out there." Salem said as she strolled forward.

The shadow arms pinned Aqua's arms to her side as she was pulled up and forced to kneel before Salem.

"Neopolitan was very helpful once I helped her gain the voice she had been denied upon being born." Salem held out a hand and a dark sphere that hovered close to Aqua's face. "Telling me about the forces of darkness that destroyed this world and how you are meant to defend against it."

Aqua noticed a crest on Salem's hand with similar crack markings slowly appearing across the skin in addition to the dark and purple vein markings Salem now had.

"I want to know about this force of darkness…and your Keyblade." Salem brought the ball of magic closer to Aqua's face.

"Salem…what is happening to you?" Aqua grunted as a shadow arm kept her from turning her head away.

Salem pulled her hand back and was about to use her magic on Aqua when a foot slammed into her face, knocking her down. The shadow arms and sigils disappeared, freeing Aqua and the illusion Neo had used as a decoy.

"Come on, we got to go!" The real Neo said as she pulled Aqua to her feet.

Aqua watched as Salem stood up, not looking injured at all from Neo's kick. More cracks appeared along her skin and she noticed more cracks appearing on her and Neo. They needed to get out of here and without her Keyblade they were helpless against Salem.

She pulled out the Horn of Passage and summoned the spirit. "Heimdallr!"

"You called?" The spirit asked.

His appearance had stunned Salem, having known of the spirits existing inside the Relics but didn't expect Aqua to have one of her own.

"Your vision allows you to see any place of the universe right?" Aqua quickly asked.

"Of course." Heimdallr nodded.

"Then take us to my Keyblade!" Aqua immediately requested.

"No!" Salem shouted as her back cracked open and allowed for red bat like wings to sprout from her back.

"As you wish." A portal appeared behind Neo and Aqua and they jumped into it as Salem lunged at it.

The portal vanished just before Salem could reach it, leaving her to fly past it. The Grimm Queen hovered above the remains of Beacon with her new wings keeping her in the air as she let out a demonic howl as the mark on her hand faded and reappeared on her chest. Her body then began to break apart into something else…

Some kind of creature born only from the deepest and darkest nightmares.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Xxx

"Gah!"

"Agh!"

Aqua and Neo fell out of the portal on the other side with Neo landing on Aqua who groaned as she tried to get up. Looking at her hand, Neo noticed the strange mark vanish along with the crack marks that had appeared with it and she noticed the same went for Aqua.

Neo slowly got off of Aqua and looked around where they had ended up. "What is this place?"

Aqua slowly got up and looked ahead, her eyes widening when she saw a pile of discarded armor and a Keyblade… "My old armor and Keyblade."

Her original Keyblade, Stormfall was right in front of her.

She had given it up to save Terra.

When she had told Heimdallr to bring her to her Keyblade she had initially thought it would be the Master Defender…But then she remembered she didn't think of it as her own Keyblade but rather her late Master's Keyblade.

Heimdallr must have sensed her feelings and took her to her original Keyblade instead.

Neo looked at the armor and Keyblade. "That belongs to you?"

"It was my original armor and Keyblade before I fell into the darkness." Aqua stepped forward and knelt down in front of the armor, slowing reaching out and grasping the handle of Stormfall. "But what is it doing here?"

"I brought them here."

Both Aqua and Neo spun around, spotting a man in a familiar dark coat, sitting on a throne in the center of the small room.

"It's been far too long…My friend."