As it turned out, the Realm of Darkness was able to play tricks on one's mind, but not in the way Aqua hoped. Sadly, spotting Peach's Castle off in the distance wasn't an illusion, as she could still see it as she walked forward. No, the trick was just how close the castle truly was. Somehow it appeared so large that it seemed she was right near it, but after an hour of walking, that wasn't the truth at all. It was as though the castle was floating away from her. Not only that, but she had another obstacle.

Before her, towering high up into the black sky, was Mt. Itoi.

Aqua was stunned when she saw it, just as much as she had been when she had seen Peach's Castle. What was it doing in the Realm of Darkness? What horrors were going on in the Realm of Light that could even cause such a thing?

It seemed to be a recent development too, not that time really meant much in the Realm of Darkness. Aqua had no idea how long she had even been there. Sometimes it felt like it was only a few days, sometimes it felt like a few years, then it'd fluctuate back to a matter of days. The inconsistency was incredibly stressful to say the least…

By the base of Mt. Itoi was a city she was familiar with, even if its location wasn't exactly how she remembered. It was no longer by the ocean, and all the area surrounding it was missing. It simply stood right at the base of the imposing mountain. Even that wasn't entirely accurate, as Ellay was at least a bit of a ways away from Mt. Itoi's base, but now it was right up against it!

She knew she had to investigate, wondering if she would encounter anyone. Unfortunately, the Keyblade Master saw no signs of life from where she was…though if anyone was there, they would probably be inside to avoid the-

Aqua's thoughts were interrupted as more of those unusual dark creatures formed around her! They were the small variety with the antennae that just melt out of the ground, the Shadows! Summoning The Master's Defender, the mage quickly cast a Thundara spell all around her, destroying most of the monsters in an instant. The few that survived lunged at her, but she made quick work of them with a few slashes of her Keyblade. As far as she could tell, these were the weakest of the odd creatures that plagued the Realm of Darkness. She wished she knew what they even were, as she had never seen them in the Realm of Light or even heard Master Eraqus speak of them!

In a way, their existence was a bit of a plus. Being in the Realm of Darkness for an extended period of time acted as a drain on her body. She didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep, but it seemed the realm itself weakened her. As she fought, though, the experience of battle kept her strong. It was as Master Eraqus said, entering combative situations helped one grow fast through the experience gained. So, she was in a nasty cycle of growing weaker, but then fighting off the unknown monsters got her the experience needed to keep her strong. If there was a lull in their appearance, she even found herself unable to use her most powerful spells!

With a light sigh, she kept her Keyblade ready and reached Ellay in a matter of minutes. She felt defeated as she walked the empty streets of the once-bustling city that she had only known for a brief period. Not only that, but she felt so…alone. Not that this was anything new, but the alien geometry of the Realm of Darkness had for the first time given way to a place that should be full of life. Yet…there was nothing.

Did anyone manage to escape? What exactly was it that happened? Was the rest of Ninten's world in the darkness to? Was Ninten himself safe? Ana? Lloyd? Teddy? She could only wish for that, and the thought of he friends and companions made her heart stir for the first time since she witnessed Ventus' and Terra's Keyblades that single, solitary time.

Her footsteps echoed as she walked along the poorly paved roads of Ellay, the buildings around her serving as massive stone husks that somehow seemed to be watching her. Once or twice, she swore she saw a shape, a fragment of what once was, shifting in the windows. Yet whenever she looked closer, there was nothing. Aqua didn't even bother to call out, she knew it was useless to even try.

Ellay wasn't a pleasant place from the brief time she had spent there, but she felt like its citizens, and that of the rest of Ninten's world, had a sense of safety. At least, not worrying that something so awful as losing their world to an encompassing darkness was even possible! The working man, the children at play, even the pets awaiting the return of their masters as they went out to the store…they were all gone. Was there any chance of them returning? Was it possible for their world too escape the clutches of the Realm of Darkness?

As she got lost in her thoughts, Aqua started to think about Terra and Ventus again. She had saved Terra, she knew he had to be in the Realm of Light, but was he okay? Was he back to being himself? If so, she was sure he'd fight tooth and nail to protect the worlds from whatever was attacking them. Did it involve the dark creatures she had been encountering? They weren't Unversed, that was for sure. The glowing yellow orbs they had for eyes lacked any of the emotion that the monsters spawned by Vanitas had. It seemed they ran entirely on instinct and felt nothing…

Then there was Ventus. She had left him in that castle, and she was sure he was safe…but was there any chance he could wake up without her? Only she knew how to reach him, so unless he woke up on his own, Aqua felt there was little hope. She wanted to protect him so bad, to tell him how she felt…

At this point, Aqua left the empty city and reached the proper base of Mt. Itoi. There was a sudden rumbling, putting the Keyblade Master on edge. Before her eyes, she saw huge chunks of the mountain tear away and lift off into the sky! With the chasms left behind, she had no way to move forward! She could jump pretty far, but the gaps she would have to get through were simply too much for her to handle…

Really, there wasn't any actual reason for Aqua to progress anyway. Walking forward would surely accomplish nothing…but it wasn't as if she had anything else she could do except putting one foot in front of the other and hoping for a miracle. Nothing akin to Terra and Ventus' Keyblades appearing happened since that event, it was just journeying through the twisting Realm of Darkness and fending off the odd shadow creatures with those primordial, yellow eyes…

While she thought to herself, the young woman spotted something on the ground. Going over to it, she saw it was a simple doll. It was lying in the dirt of the mountain, blankly staring up at the alien sky of its new home. The little girl that owned it…what became of her? What became of everyone in this world? Did the residents of the dark get them, or did they not even make it to the Realm of Darkness to begin with?

Not even thinking, Aqua bent down and carefully picked the toy up off the dirty ground. As soon as she did this, a music box within the doll played, startling the woman enough to drop it. The music box only let out five notes which sounded remarkably familiar to Aqua, but she couldn't put her finger on its source…

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as the ground started to shake again, startling her as she readied to fight or run! To her surprise, though, this rumbling was a good thing! A number of chunks that had broken off of Mt. Itoi went back down and fit themselves back into place! This created a short path forward that was cut off by the rest of the chasm that stretched to the peak.

Astonished, Aqua took a few steps forward, waiting for some more rumbling to occur…but things remained calm. Somehow, hearing that song helped her move forward! Or rather, a part of a song. Why did it seem so familiar to her? As she thought about this, the woman kept her eyes peeled for some object that didn't belong as she slowly made her way up the mountain path. One positive was that the creatures that lurked on Mt. Itoi were no longer around. She did expect another onslaught of dark creatures to appear at any moment, though.

Alas, that didn't happen as she went forward, instead spotting something else that didn't belong! Instead of a doll, it was a statue depicting a canary with its head thrown back and its beak aimed toward the sky as if it were about to cry out. For a moment, Aqua simply stared at it before realizing she had to touch it. When she gently brushed her fingers against it, five more notes erupted from its petrified beak, startling her a bit.

Once more, the ground shook and more chunks of mountain descended and fit back into place, allowing her to continue just a bit more to her destination. Not that she had any idea what to expect at the top of Mt. Itoi if there was even anything there at all. There was something in her heart that simply told her to keep going, despite lacking an actual reason.

Going further up the mountain, Aqua kept her eye peeled once more for anything out of the ordinary, and quickly stumbled upon such a thing. For the second time, it was a statue, but this one was of a monkey perched on a rock. Like the canary, though, it had it head thrown back, mouth open as if it were singing. Picking up on the pattern, Aqua brushed her hand against the monkey statue and wasn't surprised when five more notes came out from the object. As expected, this quickly triggered more of Mt. Itoi to reform, allowing Aqua to move forward.

That song was just so familiar, though. It was in fragments, and she swore there were words to go along with it…but what were they? For whatever reason, she just couldn't think of a single part! Not a word! At this point, she was starting to become more engaged in learning the entire song than seeing what could be on top of the mountain. After all, she expected the peak to be empty anyway.

Rushing forward, Aqua didn't have to walk long before the fourth object appeared before her. It was a bit different this time, taking the form of an old piano with dusty, ivory keys. Instantly, she walked towards it and reached towards the keys, but quickly found her hand practically moving on its own. As if she had practiced for hours, she perfectly played four sorrowful, haunting notes from the large instrument. And when she did, she sang under her breath.

"Sweet harmony…"

Eyes widening, Aqua raised a hand to her lips as she spoke for the first time in what seemed like months. For a while after entering the Realm of Darkness, she spoke to herself frequently, just desperate to hear a voice, even if it was her own. After a while, though, being the only one she could talk to started to depress her, and she all but gave up on making any noise save for grunts in battle. But that wasn't important! She remembered the song!

How could she forget? She had been listening to fragments of the song that she sang along with Ninten, Ana, Lloyd, and Teddy to stop Giygas! It was such a sad, gorgeous melody and she had no idea how it managed to slip out of her head. For all she knew, it had been years since that moment, but even so, it felt like something too important to forget. Was it the Realm of Darkness getting to her, maybe? What other things could she possibly be forgetting?

At the very least, she remembered her promise to come back for Ventus, and she knew she had to get back both for him and to make sure Terra was okay. Even if she forgot everything else, she had to hold onto those two in her heart! It made her wonder what else she could've forgotten during her imprisonment in this realm. It wasn't like she could realize she forgot something until she remembered it.

All the people she met along her journey amongst the worlds were still in her mind at the very least. As far as she knew, anyway. Before seeing Princess Peach's Castle and Mt. Itoi, Aqua thought about how her friends were doing in their world. She worried about Bowser trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom, Link's ongoing quest, or if Wirt and Greg ever made it home. Now she was just hoping there weren't more worlds that had been consumed, ones belonging to more of her friends or otherwise!

While Aqua stood there in her thoughts, a small swarm of creatures appeared! The usual small ones with the antennae but also larger ones that flew in the air and had batlike wings, the Flutterings! Readying her Keyblade, she charged them with little worry, casting off another Thundara spell to act as quick cleanup, taking half of the monsters out in an instant. The flying Heartless proved harder to hit, making Aqua have to close the distance and take them out with a few swings of the Keyblade.

And before she knew it, she was alone once more.

At this point, destroying these shadow creatures was second nature to Aqua, the young woman able to take them out with great ease. It didn't help that so many of them were weak. Once or twice she faced ones larger than herself like the one on all fours that was like some sort of savage beast!

Composing herself, Aqua continued her trek up Mt. Itoi. Each time she made some progress, she naturally ran into something else that formed the complete melody that she had forgotten. A petrified cactus, statue of a mighty dragon, and then EVE in an area similar to where she shut off. With each part of the song, more of Mt. Itoi reformed.

Quite close to the peak, Aqua spotted the XX Stone in the exact same kind of area that it appeared in initially, just like with EVE. Though as she approached, there was a rumbling. It wasn't the mountain-shaking kind like she had felt a dozen times since reaching Mt. Itoi's base, though! It seemed to have an actual source from under the ground that was approaching fast!

Keyblade at the ready, Aqua's eyes widened as a massive dark shape erupted from the ground between her and the XX Stone! At first it was abstract and moving around so much she couldn't quite make it out as it spiraled up into the air. After a few moments, though, she realized it was a horde of those small black creatures, those Shadows she had been fighting all this time. But they were acting in a way she had never seen before as a countless number of them were stuck together as if they were part of one mass, forming a column that shifted and moved like it was one being! In just a few seconds, the Demon Tower had formed, the mass of creatures moving about in an erratic, hostile manner.

Aqua had to wonder if this was tied into the worlds falling into the Realm of Darkness somehow, as the dark creatures had never done anything like this before! Pushing the thought aside, the mage attacked first by shooting several fireballs at the mass of creatures. Acting as one, the Demon Tower spiraled at Aqua, weaving between the first few fireballs with only the last one hitting it. On impact, a few of the creatures making up the mass were destroyed, but it made no noticeable difference with the rest of the formation!

The Demon Tower continued to charge Aqua, prompting her to put up a barrier just in time! When the entity struck the barrier, it spilled off around it like it was a stream of water. It seemed to quickly realize it wasn't going to breath through so easily and reformed, the individual parts of the structure sprinting back to the rest. Knowing she couldn't wind by just defending, Aqua lowered the shield and cast a Blizzara spell at the Demon Tower, hoping she could freeze most of the creatures in place!

Unfortunately, the Demon Tower dodged around the icy blast entirely, spiraling at Aqua once more. She wasn't able to put up a barrier this time but managed to at least block with her Keyblade. This didn't do much, however, as the heavy impact from the living column sent her off her feet and knocked the wind out of her! She was airborne for a good few seconds before slamming into the ground and rolling a bit down the mountainside.

Recovering, she got onto her feet as the Demon Tower came in for another attack! Frustrated, Aqua raised her Keyblade and cast Thundara once more, the random bolts of magic proving too difficult for her opponent to entirely dodge. It tried to weave between them, but several strikes managed to hit it, each one evaporating a handful of the creatures…but this sadly made no noticeable difference. Aqua couldn't tell if the numbers just got instantly replenished or if there were so many that she just couldn't tell the difference.

As the Demon Tower drew near, Aqua prepared to dodge but then it suddenly threw in a new strategy! The mass of creatures came apart, the numerous monsters scattering in every direction, guaranteeing that she had nowhere to dodge! Summoning up her magic, a pink glow surrounded her as the mage threw The Master's Defender forward, the Keyblade spinning wildly as it let off magic that destroyed the monsters that it touched. She did this to clear the path forward of the onslaught of mindless creatures that just ran at her.

As the Keyblade came back to her, Aqua threw it again, the weapon still spinning as it went in a large circle around her, wiping out even more of the monstrosities of the Realm of Darkness. Leaping up, she caught the Keyblade and aimed it at a mass of her opponents and unleashed a ball of magic that exploded upon contact with the ground, scattering a number of the creatures and evaporating many more.

Yet this seemed to do little, as the Shadows reformed the Demon Tower once more, her spells having no real effect on its numbers! As she landed on her feet, the yellow eyes of the entities glowed a nasty orange as it spiraled at her yet again. With a cry of effort Aqua spun about, her Keyblade scraping against the ground as she started out low. Magic came out of The Master's Defender, forming a cone around her as she slowly stood up, spinning faster until she was on one foot, a spiked mass of ice above her as her Spell Weaver technique finished!

Spinning about like a top, Aqua darted towards the Demon Tower as it rushed her, the magic cone around her acting as a shield and a means of attack. As the mass of creatures hit her, they were destroyed by the magic surrounding her, Aqua's technique slicing through the onslaught like a knife through hot butter. Yet no matter how many she destroyed, more seemed to take their place!

Aqua started to run out of energy, her Spell Weaver attack stopped as she stopped spinning and the magic faded away. However, it seemed the Demon Tower had enough at this point. Even though it reformed and seemed as good as new, the countless eyes returning back to their normal yellow, the entity spiraled up into the air and flew into the ground, a dark, liquidy portal of sorts swallowing the creatures up! The gateway closed instantly after, and all was quiet.

Panting a bit, Aqua had to wonder just what that thing even was and why it was only appearing now. Was it really tied to the worlds being swallowed up somehow? It seemed like a reach, but all she knew was she never encountered anything like that until she saw Princess Peach's Castle and Mt. Itoi…

But there was no real way for her to find out.

With the fight finished, the young woman approached the XX Stone and placed her hand on it. As expected, it played the lats few notes of Maria's lullaby as Mt. Itoi became entirely complete once more. In her head, Aqua couldn't help but sing the song to herself.

Take a melody

Simple as can be

Give it some words and

Sweet harmony

Raise your voices

All day long now

Love grows strong now

Sing a melody of

Love, oh love

As the last bits of Mt. Itoi slid into place, Aqua made the rest of the trip to the peak, feeling almost a bit soothed just imagining the lullaby in her mind. It was the most comfort she had felt since she saw Terra and Ventus' Keyblades. When she got to the top…it was empty. The massive hole was there as usual, and she almost expected Giygas' ship to fly out from it. Thankfully, no such thing happened. The entire trip felt worthless, but…she also had no idea what she even expected.

While the trip up Mt. Itoi was horribly dangerous, with the most powerful being she had ever encountered at the top, she'd rather be there than on this swallowed up version in the Realm of Darkness. Bowser had granted himself invincibility, but he still managed to get beaten into submission. Giygas fled because of the aches in his heart entirely unharmed…for that, Aqua feared the alien far more than the King of the Koopas, even when he had the Star Rod.

Of course, more than anything, Aqua wanted to be with her friends, even if it was just one last night with them under the stars. At this point, she'd give just about anything for even that much.

"Aqua." A voice called.

After not having been talked to in what felt like years, Aqua felt her heart skip a beat and her blood run cold. Eyes widening, the young woman spun around and brandished her Keyblade before he realized who the voice belonged to! Walking towards her was…Terra! Her jaw dropped, but she quickly closed it as she looked her friend over. Unlike the last time they met, he had his normal hair and eye color back…he had to be back to normal! But…even so…

"Terra?! What…are you doing here…?!" She asked, words a bit stilted as she wasn't used to speaking to another actual person. "What's happening to the Realm of Light? Why are segments of the worlds here?! Is Ven okay?!" Aqua put away her Keyblade, both worried and also relieved to see a familiar face. Yet, as Terra stopped mere feet from her, he said nothing. "Terra, why won't you say anything?"

Reaching out to grab his hand, Aqua gasped as her own went right through. An…illusion? A memory amongst the shadows? Was this fake Terra just a way of the Realm of Darkness to mock her, or was the real Terra somehow sending the image to try and not let her lose heart? Whatever the explanation, the young woman felt a deep misery as she watched the false Terra fade away until he was gone.

Once more, Aqua had to wonder where the people who lost their worlds went. Not to the Realm of Darkness…so maybe they were somewhere safe? Maybe they somehow managed to get to a haven? She had no idea how that was possible, but it was the only hope she could cling to. More than ever, she wanted to get to the Realm of Light. Not just for the sake of her and her friends, but for everyone whose world was in danger!

With a determined breath, Aqua summoned her Keyblade once more and went around the large hole at the top of Mt. Itoi. Once on the other side, she saw that Princess Peach's Castle was a lot larger and closer than before, where earlier it seemed to stay the same distance somehow. Looking closely, she was able to see the remnants of Toad Town by the castle as well as…snow? Yes, she remembered Shiver City and the surrounding areas. That must have been it. Aqua could only hope it wasn't as cold when it was in the Realm of Darkness as she slowly made her way down the opposite side of Mt. Itoi…

A/N: Yes, I didn't forget about Aqua. I just thought it best to have the first chunk of her journey through the fallen worlds in the Realm of Darkness happen after the first big leg in Sora's journey before he goes back to Traverse Town. Yes, these chapters will all probably be about this length. A Fragmentary Passage is such a short experience and Aqua is all by herself for a lot of it that it'd be tough to stretch it out too much. Not much else to say, as sadly Aqua didn't accomplish much for the time being. Of course next time will be back with Sora, Donald, and Goofy.