Author's Note:

Well, I've decided to make the chapters a lot more longer, so you guys don't have to wait as long for some of the cliffhangers I left in the original. Enjoy, and please, no flames.

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I was actually in that realm; well, at least in spirit.

The woman smiled at me. "You must be quite gifted to have been able to hear me," she said.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Aqua. I am a Keyblade Master -an advanced Keyblade Wielder- but still very much like yourself," she replied.

"Why are you here? The worlds are disappearing; you could be helping others. Isn't that the duty of a Keyblade Wielder?"

Master Aqua shook her head. "I can't. There's no way for me to leave here."

I looked her over and realized some of her clothes were torn. "H-how long have you been trapped here?"

"Not sure. You can never tell if time passes here."

"How did you get here, then?"

That made her reluctant, but she answered after a few moment's hesitation. "I took a dear friend's place so he wouldn't have to live in Darkness."

"Terra?"

She nodded. "But I fear I was too late." She looked into the distance and added, "My time to leave this place will come in good time, so don't worry about me. You need to focus on saving Sora, Riku, and Kairi."

Hearing her mention those three surprised me. "You know them?"

Master Aqua nodded. "I met them many years ago when they were only kids, and I gave Kairi a gift that would protect if anything were to happen."

"Like when her world disappeared and she ended up on Destiny Islands."

"Exactly… And now I will give you a gift as well." Master Aqua stepped off her rock and- standing in front of me- asked, "Could you summon your Keyblade?"

I wasn't quite sure where she was going with this, but I did as I was asked anyway and brought the key-shaped sword into existence.

Master Aqua reached out and with a light touch on my hand where I held the hilt, a soft golden light appeared and formed into a star-shaped keychain on it. When the light faded and she pulled her hand away, a five-pointed star half white and half black was left.

I lifted up the keychain and studied it. "What is this?"

"It's a charm based off a star-shaped fruit; it symbolizes connection with those you care about. Now, whenever you are in need of my help, I will be able to speak with you."

I looked up at her with grateful eyes. "Thank you, Master Aqua," I said, then bowed.

Master Aqua laughed a little. "You are very welcome. Now, return to your friends."

XXXXX

I opened my eyes to find myself lying on my side on the hardwood floor, everyone surrounding me with concerned looks on their faces. "Would ya mind giving me some space, please?" I retorted.

They all sighed in relief and backed away, while Yuffie pulled me to my feet. She led me back to the chair I had originally been sitting in and Aerith handed me a glass of warm tea. I blew on it a little, then took a sip, the smell of cherry-blossoms sweet and calming.

After a few more sips, I eventually put my tea down and turned my attention back to the others. They seemed calmer now that I was conscious, but a sense of unease still remained hanging in the air.

I sighed. "First I could read people's hearts, now I can travel to other worlds spiritually. Ansem the Wise might as well have written up an instruction manual." I took another sip of my tea.

"You did seem pretty empty when you collapsed," Merlin remarked.

Leon nodded in agreement. "So what exactly happened?"

I looked down, going over in my head how I was going to explain it to them. Did they know Master Aqua? Being a Keyblade Wielder, King Mickey more than likely knew, but the others were in question. Only one way to find out, I told myself. I took a deep breath and brought my eyes back to everyone.

"I met Master Aqua."

Unsurprisingly, everyone except Mickey did not respond. The King's eyes grew wide and he gasped, but stayed silent as I continued.

"She knows about the growing darkness in the worlds and said she'd come back in good time," I explained, looking down. "She gave me a gift so that she could guide me on my mission."

"Tell me," King Mickey said, bringing my eyes back to him. "How did she seem when you saw her?"

I thought for a moment, recalling the gleam in her eyes when she first saw me. "She seemed… hopeful, like I was the first light she had seen in a long time."

There was silence once more until Cid yawned and stretched his arms in the air.

"Well, that's enough excitement for me for one day. Why don't we all get some sleep?"

We all nodded in agreement, while Mickey headed off, saying he would return the next day after reporting back to Master Yen Sid.

As I laid in my bed later that night, I thought over what King Mickey and Master Aqua had told me. Things seemed much worse than Ansem the Wise implied, but perhaps he kept the information he gave me at a minimum so I would be more willing to accept the task. I wanted to evaluate the knowledge I had obtained further, but my body was sore and my eyes grew heavy that soon I was in a deep, peaceful sleep.

"Hikari," a voice said in my head, bringing me out of the world of dreams.

I opened eyes slowly and yawned, stretching my arms.

"Hikari," the voice said again, and I realized it was Master Aqua's.

"Master Aqua?" I asked groggily, rubbing my eyes and sitting up. I shuddered when I felt an icy coldness against my chest and looked down to see blackness had taken over a large portion of the white wing half.

"We got company," Master Aqua stated, answering my un-asked question.

It was then that I began to hear footsteps coming from outside. They were faint but definitely there, giving me the impression that whoever they belonged to were quick and light on their feet. I looked to the window just in time to see a flash of black pass by it.

I jumped out of my bed and got ready, putting on my street clothes and brushing out my hair. Once that was done, I hurried out of my room and into the main part of the building where the computer room was. I must have been making a lot of noise, for when I rounded the corner, Cid, Leon, and another man were looking at me with curious looks. The newcomer looked around the same age as Leon, and he was tall, I mean, like 'pro basketball player' tall. He had spiky red hair, piercing green eyes, and wore a full body black coat with matching gloves and boots.

The red-head gave a little laugh and looked at Cid. "Still not ready to give up babysitting?"

Cid held out his hands and shrugged. "If anyone's the babysitter in this case, it's Leon."

Leon mumbled under something under his breath, gaining another chuckle from his friend, who then walked up to me. "This ought to be interesting. The name's Lea." He pointed to his head and added, "Got it memorized?"

The action confused me, but I nodded nonetheless and held out my hand. "I'm Hikari."

Lea shook it. "So what's your story?"

"Not now, Lea," Leon huffed. "We need to go."

"I know, I know," Lea muttered.

I sensed the urgency in Leon's voice and grew concerned. "Maybe another time. What's happened?" I asked.

Lea looked down. "A giant Heartless has taken over the castle and some friends of mine are trapped inside."

"So that was the darkness I sensed," I said under my breath. I looked at Lea and added, "I'm coming with you," before summoning my Keyblade.

Lea jumped back when he saw the key-shaped weapon in my hand, but then relaxed. "Seems everyone gets a Keyblade these days," he stated.

At the sound of that, a bell rang off in my head. "Wait; You have a Keyblade too?"

As if to answer, Lea smiled and, holding out his right arm, summoned a Keyblade as well. The hilt was a chakram of sharp red and black and the arch was that of a spiraling tower of flames, the tip of it multiple colors of red, orange, and yellow twisting in a circular formation. "Only just recently learned how to wield it, but man does it pack a punch," he commented.

I couldn't help but smile a little. "Same here."

"Lea!" Leon barked.

"Alright, alright; we're going," Lea muttered and headed for the door.

I started to follow him, but Leon stepped forward to block my path.

"You're staying here. I'm not endangering your safety," he stated with a firm tone.

"No way. Don't treat me like a child; I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," I retorted.

Leon shook his head. "No. You're staying here and that's final; besides, you'd only get in the way."

"Now hold on, Leon," Cid said from behind me. "Don't ya think that's a bit harsh? I was there yesterday when you trained her and quite frankly, I think she'd be a great deal of help."

"Yeah, Leon. Give the kid a chance," Lea chimed in, leaning against the frame of the door with a smirk on his face.

The teasing I could have lived without, but at least I knew Lea had my back. I looked Leon straight in the eyes, determination burning inside me. "I can do it; just let me try."

Leon looked at me, down at my recently-healed leg, back at me, and seemed to study my eyes for several heartbeats. Eventually, he closed his eyes and sighed. "Alright. Go with Lea to the castle. I'll take care of the Heartless outside of town."

My heart leaped as I smiled and nodded my head. "Thanks, Leon."

Leon reopened his eyes and smiled a little, then turned to Lea. "Keep an eye on her. If she gets hurt, you'll get it from me and King Mickey."

Lea threw up his arms in defense. "Fine, I got it." He looked at me with another smirk and added "Sure you can keep up, squirt?"

I gave him my own smirk before rushing past him out the door, summoning my wings, and taking to the sky. The morning air was cool, dark gray clouds had control of the sky, and I felt the distant presence of darkness. But none of that mattered in that single moment; I felt free as a bird and I'd been wanting to feel the excitement of flight once more after these past few days of being grounded. Eventually, I stopped climbing and looked down to where I had left Lea; even from a height of what I estimated 30 feet, I could see the awestruck and envious look on the red-head's face, and I had to fight the urge to stick my tongue out at him.

I cupped my hands around my mouth and called out "Sure you can keep up with me?"

I could see Lea's mouth move in a mumbling manner, but couldn't hear him. Cid, on the other hand, was laughing in the doorway, the sounds echoing across the town. Leon was hurrying out the door towards the outskirts of town with sword in hand, so I decided it was time to rejoin Lea on the ground. I descended until I was a few feet in front of him and floating but just half a foot off the ground.

"Couldn't help myself," I apologized, rubbing the back of my head.

Lea gave me a combination of an irritated and surprised look, then wiped it away. "Let's take out a few Heartless first so I'll know just how strong you are."

I nodded in agreement, then dropped completely to the ground and willed my wings away, returning me to my normal garbs.

Lea shook his head in bewilderment before leading the way towards the castle.

Most of the Heartless we ran into were the black ones I had first encountered, which Lea explained were called Purebloods. A few, however, held some actual form; these were referred to as Emblem Heartless. These Heartless were much more powerful and were known for being quick and using magic.

Lea saw that I struggling with the Emblems, so we hid for a moment and he taught me how to use a Fire spell. I practiced a little until I got the hang of, which didn't take long as I pick up things fast.

The closer we got to the castle, the thicker the Heartless groups became, but with Lea charging in without fault and me with my newly acquired power, we quickly arrived at the castle. We snuck into the garden and into a secret passage that twisted, turned, dropped, and fell, but eventually brought us to a study of sorts. It obviously hadn't been well cared for in a while, for papers were scattered everywhere and dust clung on every inch of the room.

"What is this place?" I asked as Lea climbed up out of the tunnel.

He held out a hand and I took it as he pulled up. "Ansem the Wise's old study." He scratched the back of his head and added, "We were trying to clean it up a little, but as you can see, we never found the time."

Just then, a moan was heard from just beyond the large wooden doors. My eyes met Lea's, who nodded and slowly crept towards the door, Keyblade in hand. I stayed by the large desk, ready to cover his back.

But when Lea opened one of the doors ever-so-slightly, I wasn't expecting someone to fall inside. Lea barely had time to will his Keyblade away and lean down to catch the figure before they hit their head on the hard tile.

"Ienzo!" Lea exclaimed.

I hurried over to him to get a better view on the situation. The boy that lay unconscious in Lea's arms looked around 20 or so, with layered black and silver hair, and was covered in cuts and bruises, his white lab coat torn up and dirty. I then sensed the immense amount of foreign darkness in his heart, close to completely consuming him.

"Lea, let me see him," I ordered, getting down to my knees and holding out my arms.

Lea looked at me questionably. "Why?"

"Don't you sense it? Darkness is invading his body and it's only a matter of time before he'll lose his heart." When Lea didn't reply, I continued. "I may be able to save him, but you need to hand him over."

Lea looked down at Ienzo for a moment before returning his eyes to me and handing his friend over.

My body seemed to move on its own as I laid Ienzo out and had his head rest on my lap, making me blush now at the memory of it. I placed my hands side by side on Ienzo's chest and closed my eyes as I took breaths and time seemed to slow. I concentrated hard on my light and forced it down my arms into the young man's body.

Ienzo's body twitched under my hands and he started to moan in pain, but I couldn't stop and continued to release my light and absorb the darkness within him. I was sharing his pain, and it felt as though my entire body had fallen into a frozen lake, the coldness and feeling of loneliness telling me how much pain Ienzo was in. I couldn't manage to open my eyes, but I could faintly hear Lea shift back and forth uncomfortably.

I wasn't aware of it at first, but when Ienzo's light had been nearly restored, my wings materialized and the darkness I had taken in seemed to wash into my black wing. Both of my wings beat uncontrollably against the evil energy as my pain reached its peak and then suddenly vanished. Just like that, I felt comfortable and calm with no shivers running down my spine and arms or urges to scream. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that Ienzo's face was now more peaceful and relaxed.

Lea smiled slightly at me, then took his friend and leaned him against the wall by the door.

I sighed in relief. "He's going to be just fine." Right then, I became dizzy and my vision started to blur. My eyes closed involuntarily as my body began to sway and then fall over to the left. Just before I thought I would hit the ground, strong arms caught me, but I couldn't manage to look at Lea and I slipped out of consciousness.

XXXXX

Different visions flashed before my eyes at neck-breaking speed, though each one was somehow imprinted into my mind. A boy around Master Aqua's age clenching his head as his dark brown hair slowly became silver-white, Master Aqua grabbing onto this boy and sending him up to the light as she sunk into Darkness, a man with an eyepatch and Ansem the Wise surrounding the fallen boy, a collapsed and fading young Ienzo as well as an older man, and a figure in a brown cloak speaking with the boy with silver-white hair on a beach. Then things fast-forward a little until I saw a different boy around my youngest brother's age with blue-gray hair giving off large amounts of darkness, a boy in red with a Keyblade similar to King Mickey's fighting him, the boy with blue-gray hair losing control of his body and then transforming into a dark-skinned man with long gray hair, but then being held off by the spirit of the boy who owned the body, the boy in red defeating the man, then closing large white doors with his friend on the other side. Fast forward again and an older version of the boy with blue-gray hair, now around my age, wearing a long black coat like Lea's and a black blindfold covering his eyes, standing atop a sky scraper, rain pouring down and lightning flashing across the sky, him fighting a figure in a similar black coat, then taking off his blindfold and becoming the gray haired man once more; an older version of the boy in red crying tears of joy as he clutches his friend's black coat, a flash of light that returns the boy back to his old self, a battle of the two friends against a man similar to the first boy, and the two boys and a girl around the same age with red hair all leaning against an oddly-formed tree with star-shaped fruit, overlooking the ocean.

The final thing I saw felt more like I was actually in the vision, like when I had first met Master Aqua. I was standing in what appeared to be a dungeon cell, the lighting very weak and the sound of water dripping from the ceiling could be heard. My eyes wandered to study my surroundings, but when they fell to the back wall, my heart sank to the deepest part of my body; There, sitting against the wall, covered in cuts and bruises and chained by both wrists and ankles was the blue-gray haired boy. His head was bowed and a defeated atmosphere hung around him.

Riku, a voice in my head said, though I was unsure if it was Master Aqua's voice.

My emotions soon took over and tears started to stream down from my eyes. "I promise I'll save you," I whispered.

Riku's head shot up and looked straight at me with eyes full of surprise. "Who are you?"