The Age of Fairy Tales:

The Four Maidens

Deep in the forests of Remnant, beside a great and mighty river, stood the small, fragile home of a cold, frail man- a lone wizard.

Hidden from the dangers and distractions of the world, the wizard seldom had visitors. But on this day, as he peered out his window, his gaze fell upon a young maiden.

Calmly, she sat beneath his tree in a state of absolute tranquility. When the wizard demanded an explanation, the maiden simply replied, "My name is Winter. I am on a journey, and I am waiting for my sisters."

With that, she closed her eyes and sat in silence.

The wizard told himself the girl was a fool, but the longer she sat, the more he wished to share in the serenity the young maiden enjoyed. In time, he grew tired and decided to close his eyes as well, thinking on this strange predicament.

Upon opening his eyes, the wizard was befuddled to find that a second maiden appeared beneath his tree, cheerful and spry, with a basket of fruit and flowers.

When he asked for an explanation, the girl simply replied,

"My name is Spring. I am on a journey, and I am waiting for my sisters."

To show her gratitude for his reluctant hospitality, the girl retrieved a handful of seeds from her basket and planted them in the wizard's garden.

The old hermit could hardly believe his eyes as the maiden turned what was once a mere pile of dirt and manure into a beautiful garden, from which life would surely blossom.

It's likely he would have gazed for hours, were it not for the unfamiliar laughter he heard from beneath his tree.

A young woman with a warm smile now stood beside the two maidens.

The wizard begged her to introduce herself, to which she happily responded,

"My name is Summer. I am on a journey, and I am waiting for my sister."

"Of course." thought the wizard. But another chirp of laughter left the old man perplexed.

What in the world was so funny?

As it turned out, it was him. The new arrival found the wizard's insistence on staying indoors so very amusing.

Why choose to view the world through a small window when the door leading out to it was right at his side?

It was a compelling argument. And after only a moment of brief hesitation, the wizard left his home -

- and stepped outside.

The warmth of the sun brought with it a surge of energy and life, and soon the wizard wasn't feeling much like himself anymore.

He was feeling much better.

As the day drew to a close, the maidens and the wizard all settled down and prepared a feast. Winter set the table. Spring supplied the crops, Summer prepped the meal, and the wizard was the happiest he'd been in ages.

But in all the excitement, he nearly failed to notice the delicate woman that now stood beneath his tree.

He smiled, and beckoned her to join them, asking only for her name.

"My name is Fall," she replied softly. "I am on a journey and am here to meet my sisters. Who are you?"

"Me?", the wizard wondered. "Well, I am but an old hermit - I have lived in these woods alone for centuries and I'm afraid my story is not very interesting, as I have no one to love and nothing to my name."

The elder sister looked up at all that surrounded them.

"But sir, do you not see? You have so much."

It was true. With their help, it was now clear to see that the wizard had everything he could ever need. He was grateful, but a question lingered in his mind.

"Why me?", he asked. "Why did the four of you choose to open my eyes? To share with me your gifts? Why am I so special?"

The four sisters looked to one another, perplexed. Finally, the eldest spoke.

"I beg your pardon sir, but we did not do these things for you because you were special. We do what we can for everyone, because we are able."

The old wizard was at a loss. Never in his years had he come across such kindness. It was in that moment that he knew what should be done.

The wizard summoned his magic, every ounce he could muster, and bestowed it upon the sisters.

He smiled. "Take this gift and know now that you are able to do so much more."

Now armed with the elements, the very powers of nature, and the unimaginable magic of the wizard, the four maidens, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall, promised to carry on with their journey, using their gifts to aid others, just as they aided him.

One by one, the sisters left. Before they did, they made one final promise.

They promised to return each and every year, to visit their dear friend.

"Jinn, who is Salem?"

Jinn smiled and a blue mist engulfed Aqua and everyone else…

And per her duty as the Spirit of Knowledge, Jinn answered Aqua's question.

The girl locked in the tower.

The young woman who sought to bring back her beloved.

The woman who was cursed by the Gods and in revenge turned humanity against them.

She who cursed everyone but herself.

She who decided to become a new God alongside her husband.

The one who planned to replace humanity with her own spawn.

And in the end, was imprisoned by the woman she saw as a threat.

Imprisoned in a crystal.

The simple question brought forth a long story as Jinn showed everyone, the surviving soldiers and guards who Salem really was.

When it was over, the entire army was left in stunned silence…

Their goddess was never a goddess at all.

It had all been a lie.

All of it.

Ozma looked down to his daughters, having witnessed Jinn's tale along with everyone else.

There were a few minutes of silence…

And then someone looked at Ozma. "…LIAR!"

And is if a spark had been lit, everyone turned to Ozma, shouting in anger for being deceived.

Ozma's eyes widened, seeing their anger and realized the danger the crowd posed to his daughters. He pushed Poppy behind him along with his daughters, lifting them up with his magic and threw them over the crowd towards Aqua who gasped and pointed her Keyblade. She used a Gravity spell to lighten their fall, allowing them to land softly on the ground. The crowd fell upon Ozma, punching, kicking and even stabbing…

Aqua gasped, clutching her chest and fell to her knees.

"Aqua?" Poppy was by her side instantly. "Are you all right?"

"I…" Aqua held up her hand and watched as her hand became transparent. "…Oz…"

Poppy looked to the crowd as they continued beating and killing Ozma…

The White King wasn't bothering to fight back.

She looked back at Aqua and realized what was happening.

Aqua was only able to follow Ozma because she had been traveling through his heart.

That's what she had learned when Aqua had finally explained herself, confiding her a few years after meeting her.

It had been kept a secret from everyone else.

Ozma was dying…

And Aqua was disappearing because of it!

"Poppy…" Aqua managed to say as her body became transparent. "You need to get out of here…Get the girls away from here."

"I won't leave you." Poppy shook her head, unwilling to abandon her mentor, her friend…

The only person she could consider family since she had lost her home.

"You have to get the girls away from here…" Aqua removed the Lamp and the Staff, along with the Horn from her person and gave them to Poppy. "Use the Horn to get back to the temple…Hide the Relics again…and don't let them be brought together…"

The final knife was stabbed down onto Ozma's chest and with that, the White King was dead.

And Aqua disappeared with him, vanishing from this world.

Darkness.

That's all there was in the beginning.

No light.

No sound.

And then she felt warmth…The kind of warmth she only felt in the comfort of her home.

When she opened her eyes, she saw blue skies.

White clouds.

And an endless ocean acting as the ground of this place.

The Final World.

She looked down at the water and saw her reflection.

Blue hair and eyes.

Flawless skin.

And she had completely regressed to her appearance when she first appeared in the new era.

Even her clothing was the same as before.

"You have returned."

She sat up, looking at the creature in front of her. "Chirithy."

"You ended your first of many journeys." Chirithy stated. "How did it go?"

The end of her journey…

Meeting Poppy and saving her but was unable to save the rest of her village.

The giant monster known as Sin.

The Cult of Yevon.

Salem and Ozma.

Their children…

Ozma dying and she disappeared with him…

Aqua sighed deeply. "I traveled, witnessed so much, both great and tragic. I tried to keep myself from revealing too much about my powers…But I ended up attracting a lot of attention."

"You made friends." Chirithy corrected. "They followed you and you bonded with them. There is no shame in that. You stayed true to your path as a Keyblade Master and brought guidance, not interference."

Aqua glanced at Chirithy, looking surprised. "You were watching me?"

"I read your heart." Chirithy answered back. "You always tried to do what your heart believed was right and that is all that can be asked of anyone."

Aqua was quiet, carefully considering what she had been told. "So now what?"

"Your physical form in that era faded when the one whose heart you bonded with passed on. Your heart came here and waited as your physical form was reconstructed back to the age and appearance of when you first began your journey." Chirithy explained, floating up to look Aqua in the eyes. "Time has no meaning here, but it is possible that your form's restoration means that you are about to begin your next journey."

That's right.

Those ten years she spent…

They were only the beginning of her journey.

"Only ten years and it felt so long." Aqua brought a hand to her head, rubbing it softly. "And how long will I have to keep doing this?"

So much had happened…

And there were times she wondered if she really should be doing this.

Wandering on a world, all alone and trying to do as much good as she could…

Many nights she spent, looking up at the stars and wondering how long she would be doing this.

"Do not fret, Aqua." Chirithy came back into view. "You did much good and you will continue to do good."

Aqua looked at the small creature she had come to consider a friend. "How do you know?"

"I know because my heart tells me so. Surely, your heart tells you what is right." Chirithy replied.

Aqua looked surprised by how simple the answer was.

And in some way, perhaps it was that simple.

Aqua sighed before smiling at Chirithy. "So…what do I do while I am waiting?"

Chirithy shrugged. "Not sure. Not a lot of people come here."

Oh boy. Sounds like Aqua would be waiting for when Ozma was fully reincarnated which might take a while.

Just great.

Aqua looked around and could only see endless oceans and blue sky. "I guess there's no chance of there being a place to sit down and wait."

"You can just sit on the water. Your name is Aqua after all." Chirithy pointed out.

Aqua could tell that Chirithy wasn't trying to make fun of her by the naïve tone in its voice, so she let out a humored chuckle to let it know she thought the joke was funny. Sadly, the creature probably had no understanding of humans outside of trying to help them in mastering their Keyblade, given what she had seen in Daybreak Town.

…

That's right, Daybreak Town!

"Hey Chirithy?" Aqua asked the creature who stared up at her. "Does the name 'Ventus' sound familiar to you?"

"Ventus?" Chirithy asked but then gasped happily. "Oh, you know that Ventus?"

"Uh…Yeah, I think so." Aqua nodded slowly. "Blond hair, blue eyes, wears a white jacket?"

"You do know him!" Chirithy suddenly flew up and then around Aqua. "I didn't think you would be one of his friends!"

"But the Daybreak Town I was at was so long ago. If it the same Ventus I knew, how could he still be alive?" Aqua asked, trying to keep the flying creature in her sight.

"Oh." Chirithy stopped and hovered in front of Aqua. "He must have traveled through time like you."

Aqua's eyes widened, caught completely off guard by the answer. "Traveled through time? So Ven was never from our time?"

"That is right." Chirithy nodded. "I wondered if you were one of his new friends."

"But why would Ven need to travel to the future and how did he even do it? Did he…Use the Power of Waking like me?" Aqua asked slowly, struggling to wrap her mind around everything she was being told.

"Ventus was born in the time before the Keyblade War and was likely sent to the future using one of the Master's Lifeboats."

"Lifeboats?"

"Lifeboats are machines capable of transporting people to other worlds but they can be used to travel through time, if certain conditions are met." Chirithy explained. "It separates a heart from one's body and sends it forward through time. Unlike the previous method of displacing, one's heart, this method of time travel allows one's entire self to travel forward permanently. Instead of having a vessel at the destination, the time traveler's body is reformed. While this forgoes the need for a version of the traveler at the endpoint, it requires two other things at the destination: a medium – some sort of object with a connection to the traveler – and someone with memories of the traveler.

However, if the process is incomplete, the traveler may be left without memories of their original time."

Aqua was flabbergasted to say the least. A machine was capable of propelling someone not only to other worlds but through time?

Did her Master know about this?

Would she have learned about this if she and her friends hadn't gone on their adventures?

But then…

"If Ven came from the past…How did he meet Xehanort?" Aqua brought a hand to her chin as she carefully contemplated what she had been told. "Was it coincidence or did he somehow find out where Ven came from?"

"I cannot say for sure since I was not there." Chirithy shrugged.

Okay, that was a good point.

Aqua at least now understood why Ven was at Daybreak Town and why he seemingly couldn't remember where he came from when she and Terra first met him. Chirithy said if the process for time traveling through one of these lifeboats was incomplete, the traveler would be left without memories of their original time.

Was that what happened to Ven?

If he had traveled through time and lacked a medium or even a destination, he could have lost his memories and ended up just about anywhere.

And yet somehow, he had landed right into Xehanort's hands.

If there was one thing Aqua had learned from her encounters with Xehanort is that nothing was a coincidence concerning that man. He likely somehow knew where Ven had come from and that was why he chose him as an apprentice and later tried to sacrifice him to summon Kingdom Hearts, not once but twice.

First when he shattered Ven's heart and created Vanitas.

And then he forced Ven and Vanitas to merge back together.

Before anything else could be said, Aqua's body began to glow and slowly began to dissolve into golden glowing particles.

"It seems it's time for you to go." Chirithy noted, watching as Aqua's body began to fade.

Aqua looked down at her body as it dissolved into a golden light and closed her eyes, letting out a sigh as she disappeared from the Final World.

"May your heart be your guiding key."

When Aqua opened her eyes again, she was standing in a green meadow that stretched out as far as the eye could see with mountains in the distance.

"Well, my journey begins again." She sighed to herself, wondering how long she would be around this time.

She supposed in the meantime, she should try to return to the temple and see if Poppy was still there. The poor girl…

She lost her family and her village and for a long time Aqua was all she had.

Then she disappeared in front of her when Ozma's subjects killed him for his and Salem's lies.

She reached out with her senses, and she could feel Ozma's magic signature and like before it was close by. Perhaps whenever she reappears after he reincarnates, she was pretty much meant to reappear close to him.

That was fine for now.

She needed to speak to him.

Little did she know, it wasn't going to be what she expected.

"She has returned."

"Finally. Took her long enough."

It had been years but the Brothers had been waiting patiently in the Relic of Time, waiting for when she would return.

"It seems she can only return when Ozma fully reincarnates."

"That explains why she vanished when he died."

Both Brothers had watched Aqua vanish at the same time when Ozma's followers had killed him. The Brother of Light, Izanagi was disappointed in how Ozma gone along with Salem's plans to masquerade as Gods to bring humanity together.

That had not been what he had wanted.

"Now, we can send our new follower." The Brother of Darkness turned to their new acolyte.

It was a male ith a stout stature, wearing red and orange armor of varying design. He wears face paint that is white or grey with red markings. His armor had a grey steel chest plate, grey pants with polka-dots with multiple layered skirts, a belt with a monstrous face on the clasp, a helmet with a pair of black horns and a tassel, and black and gold bracers and boots.

The man had been kneeling before the Brothers as they were speaking but stood up when they turned to look at him.

"Do you understand your purpose?" The God of Light asked.

"I do." The armored man answered.

"Do you know who we are sending you to face?"

"I do."

"You have done well to travel the worlds, honing your skills to become the great warrior we promised you would become. Now it's time to fully tests those skills."

"I understand." The armored man nodded. "It will be a great joy to have the Keyblade Master herself as my opponent."

A corridor of darkness appeared before him and he stepped inside it.

"Remnant, I Gilgamesh have returned!"