Darkness. The opposite of the light, the home of evil…or the misunderstood. Darkness was known to be the total evil, a bringer of chaos, blackest night could never compete to the brightest day.

Yet this land was not without its own beauty. The sounds of the waves crashing onto the dark sand was a soothing sound to the ears of a young woman.

She was wearing a black and blue, high-collared halter top, two pink, intersecting belts over her chest, and black shorts. Black stockings ran up her legs and white bell-sleeves and tan, fingerless gloves on her arms and hands. Small parts of armor decorated her shoulders.

She sat on the sand gazing across the dark sea with a sorrowful gaze. Remembering the past. Her failures. She let out a sigh her short light blue hair shifting do to the wind. She should have done more.

The young woman shook her head trying to remove those thoughts but they would not leave. She had failed them. Her friends, her master…everyone. She closed her eyes and buried her head in her knees.

'I'm sorry…' she thought sadly.

It was then she felt the coldness of the darkness fade and was replaced by warmth. Blinking her eyes open she gazed around in confusion, something from the corner of her eye caught her attention and she turned to see a small hole that was radiating heat and something she thought she would ever see again.

Light.

The young woman slowly rose to her feet. "How...?" She breathed. There wasn't supposed to be light here...That wasn't possible!

But if it WAS here...Maybe, just maybe she could get back home and set everything right!

She wasted no further time dwelling on the light's mysterious appearance. Eyes narrowed, the bluenette dashed for the hole. She feared it would vanish...Just disappear into thin air long before she could get to it...

Luckily, that never happened.

When she made it to the hole, she saw a yard.

She was kneeling on ground feeling the grass tickle her legs. The scent of a freshly cut lawn and the wind once of the dark now brought warmth and comfort. The sun was shining bringing warmth down to the world traveler.

She rose to her feet and gazed at her soundings with wide amazed eyes. She walked over to a tree and hesitantly placed a hand on the bark and she almost wanted to cry. She was out of the land of darkness. She was free.

Thoughts swam in her head. Her friends, the king, Xehanort, the worlds everything. She gazed up at the blue skies and her eyes narrowed. She had a job to do! Her hand hovered over a silver pin on her shoulder but a soft whimper made her pause.

She gazed around wondering where the sound came from before spotting movement behind a small shed. Curious she approached the back of the building to take a look and gasped softly at what she saw on the other side.

It was...a little boy! A tiny, TINY thing with huge green eyes and a long messy mane of dark hair. Aqua approached slowly. "Um...Hello..." She greeted tentatively. He looked very delicate...And she hadn't interacted with anyone in so long.

Harry sniffled slightly at the sound of her voice. "H-Hi...?" He asked, almost as if he wasn't sure if he was allowed to greet her. Aqua smiled.

"Aw, aren't you precious?" She said, amused by his soft, shy little voice and tiny size.

"H-Huh...?" The boy was confused. "Wh-What's...p-precious...?"

She gave him a soft smile as she knelt down to his level. "It means your adorable little one." She said softly to him.

The boy looked down sad confusing the young girl. "I'm ugly though…" he muttered.

Aqua frowned confused. "Why would you say that?" she asked softly.

"Cause it's true…all freaks are ugly."

"Freaks?" she asked images of the monsters she has faced over the years flashing through her head.

Harry nodded slowly his eyes closed.

"You're not a freak."

His eyes shot open in shock to see warm blue eyes staring down at him.

"B-But why not...?" He asked, thoroughly confused. Aqua slowly reached over and picked him up.

"Where did you get the idea that you're a freak?" She asked. "You look perfectly ordinary to me."

"But I'm not..." Harry replied. "I'm a freaky monster and you have to hate me..." Aqua shook her head.

"No. I don't." She replied. "Never."

"Why…?"

"Because, we barley know each other first of all, second I've seen monsters. Both tall and small, but you? You are no monster." She said softly.

Harry stared up at her with wide eyes. Was it true…is what she said true.

She gave him a small smile. "Look in your heart." She said placing her finger on her chest.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to look. He remembered all the pain his uncle caused, all the names he was given, all the chores he had to do…yet even when he used his…freaky stuff it was to help. It repaired broken things, changed a clothes color, and even helped him recover from his worst beatings.

Was she right that he was not a monster?

Aqua smiled down at him. She had noticed he was lite very lite. Also the dark spots on his arms and face showed he was being hurt. She sighed softly and shook her head. 'People can be so cruel.' She thought.

She gave him a small smile anyway, to hide her concern and not spook him. "Well? What does your heart say?"

Harry tilted his head. "M-My heart...?" He asked softly.

"Yes." She placed a hand over his chest. "Your heart. Do you FEEL like a freak?" She asked. Harry blinked.

"Wh-What does a freak feel like...?" Aqua smiled, then held him in her arms.

"I imagine a freak would know exactly what it is that makes them freaky." She replied.

"Oh...Then yes...I am a freak 'cause I know what makes me a freak..."

Her eyes grew wide at that. "What?" she asked surprised.

"I do freaky things. Fix things, make things float, change clothes to different colors…I'm a freak." He muttered.

Aqua's mind was whirling in thought before it froze, 'Wait a second…' She remembered the three little fairies that changed the color of the princess dress, she remembers the god of the underworld lifting boulders up to the sky to drop down on her, she even remembers using Cure to heal herself and others. It all made sense.

Magic. The child was using magic.

Aqua smiled widely and shook her head. "No, little boy. That's not even a little bit freaky." She replied. Harry tilted his head.

"I-It's not...?" He asked. Aqua nodded.

"I know of many people who can do things like that." She explained. "I can do it. Watch this..."

With a quick flex of concentration, she pulled out her keyblade. Then, she held it outward.

"Cure." She said before gently tapping his shoulder.

Harry yelped at the large key appeared in a flash of light and was even more scared when a strange green glow started to shine from the blade. He looked up and his eyes grew wide as a green flower was over his head dripping down petals over him.

The boy himself glowed green and to his amazement felt all his pain go away! He stared wide eyed at his arms and felt his face to feel no marks or pains. He reached into his shirt and felt no scars…he was healed.

"What…how?" he asked with wide eyes.

Aqua smiled at him her eyes twinkling slightly. "Magic little guy." She explained.

"But…that...doesn't…"

"Exist?" she asked getting a nod. She smiled lightly down at him. "Magic is very real, and while it's not something everyone can do, it is a helpful gift."

"Gift?"

"Gift. It allows you to see the world in a new light, helps you out when you're in a pinch, or when you just can't be bothered can make all mundane tasks easy." She shrugged. She may be a keyblade master but she has had her lazy moments along with her friends.

"But…why do I always get hit because of it?"

Aqua's eyes widened, and she crouched down to his level. "Hit? By who?" She asked. Now she was concerned. Very, VERY concerned.

"M-My uncle doesn't like it...He doesn't want me to do it...So he tries to make me stop...But I can't help it...It just happens...And...And...He gets mad and it hurts...it really, really hurts, and-"

Aqua put a hand over his mouth. "Shhh...I understand. I understand what's going on." She said gently. "And it ends now."

She stood up straight and lifted him into her arms. She gazed around till she saw the large house. Her eyes narrowed and she walked over to the door and tried to open it.

Locked.

She scoffed and summoned her keyblade again and pointed it at the lock. Harry watched with wide eyes as a beam of light shot out of the keyblade into the door lock and the sound of a 'click' was heard soon afterword's.

Aqua nodded as she stepped up and dismissed her blade before opening the door. She gazed around the house and narrowed her eyes at how…fake it felt.

She took a few steps into the house. 'Now to find his uncle and-'

"BOOOOOOOY!"

Ah. Good she didn't need to go looking.

"Hey!" She called out angrily. "I want to have a word with you!" There was a brief moment of silence.

"...Who the bloody hell are you?!" Came the man's voice, sounding less than pleased.

"Never mind who I am. All you need to know is that I disapprove of your treatment of your nephew!" More silence.

"BOY! WHAT LIES HAVE YOU BEEN TELLING?!"

And that's when she saw him.

He was a LARGE man with a huge gut and towered over her. She was not scared of him though. The keyblade master had battled larger monsters then this man. She glared into his seething eyes.

"About you beating him for using magic!" she shouted to him.

Vernon narrowed his eyes angrily at the woman, "You one of them?" he asked darkly.

"A magic user? Yes." She said sternly holding Harry protectively.

"Another freak!" he shouted at her. "GET OUT! DROP MY PROPERTY AND GET OUT!" he shouted livid.

"Property?!" she shouted back enraged. "He is a human child!"

"THAT IS AN ABOMINATION!"

"Abomination?! How could you?! This is your own flesh and blood!"

"He is NOT! He's my wife's sister's brat!"

"HE'S FAMILY!"

"I DON'T CONSIDER HIM MY FAMILY!"

'POW!'

The big man stumbled to the ground with a thud as Aqua held her keyblade out and pointed it threateningly at the big man. Her eyes where flashing in a azure light as the woman glared down at him.

"You...monster" she growled at him.

Harry's eyes grew wide at her tone and placed a hand on her cheek making her blink her rage away and look at his scared face before taking a deep breath to calm down. 'Don't fall to the darkness.'

She narrowed her eyes down at the man her keyblde still in hand. "Where is his room?"

"What?"

"His room!" she shouted.

Vernon began to cower. If he didn't play his cards right, she would use the bloody M word on him! And so, in a panic, he turned and pointed to the cupboard under the stairs. "Right there! It's there!" Aqua was silent.

"That's not a room...That's a CUPBOARD." She spat. "You really are lower than dirt." Vernon gritted his teeth but said nothing.

"Why do you want to know where his room is anyway?"

"Because I need to get his things if I'm going to take him away from you monsters."

"You can't do that!" he shouted.

"Watch me." She growled at him and walked past him and into the main room. She looked down at the child in her arms and gave him a small frown. "Little boy?"

"…Uh Harry…my names Harry…" he said softly.

She giggled lightly at him, "A pleasure Harry. My names Aqua."

"Pretty…" he said making her blush.

She keeled down to face the cupboard and slowly reached out to open it. She paused when she heard the child whimper and felt him tense. She leaned her head down to rest on his making him blink.

"Don't worry. You aren't going back in there." She said softly.

Harry nodded timidly and with that Aqua opened the door.

She gagged immediately upon doing so. Then she glared furiously at Vernon. "What have you DONE?!" She said angrily.

"H-He was...Erm...That is to say..."

"Forget it. No excuses." Aqua spat. "I'm going to make absolute certain that you do NOT get away with this!" Vernon gritted his teeth.

"You B***..."

"You'd better watch your language, fat boy."

The man roared and charged at her.

"Blizzard!"

Only to be frozen in a block of ice.

Small snowflakes danced across the end of her keyblade as she glared at the man.

Harry stared with wide shocked eyes. He had never seen his uncle stopped before and with the frea-magic. He looked up at her wide eyes. "Is he okay?"

She looked down at him with wide eyes confused by his question. But it didn't take long for her to understand. Even when Tera was going crazy she was still concerned about him. The young woman gave him a nod. "Yeah, he's just in a time out." She said.

Harry's eyes grew wide at that. He knew of time outs and that meant his uncle did a bad thing! "He did bad?" he asked adorably.

She smiled sadly down at him. "Yeah he did bad." She looked into the cupboard and winced at the horrible smell and its contents. To her amazement however she saw two items that looked clean. A small blanket and a light blue teddy bear.

She took a deep breath, then pulled the two items out of the cupboard. "I guess these belong to you, huh?" She asked.

"Teddy!" Harry cheered, accepting his bear. "And blankie!" He nuzzled the two soft items. Aqua giggled.

"Aw, you really love those, huh?" Harry nodded.

"They're the only things that are mine..."

She felt deep sadness at his tone and wanted to fix it instantly. She glared over at the frozen man before lifting Harry up. "Let's get you out of here." She said softly,

Harry's eye's grew wide "B-But where will I go?" he asked scared. He did not want to leave her side. She made him feel safe.

'Good question.' She thought with closed eyes. What does she do with him? She can't take him to other worlds, the space would kill him without armor or a ship. She bit her lip in thought. She could take him to an orphanage, they could help him.

Yet one look at the child made her rethink those plans. I can't do that! What if he gets someone worse!? I can't do that to him, save him then just walk away. She paused misstep. 'Like I've done all this time…' she thought saddened now.

She remembered failing her friends and master and watching her world crumble away into a castle of memories. She had no home now.

"WHO ARE YOU!" The loud screeching voice shook her out of her thoughts as she looked up surprised.

She grimaced at the sight of a stick-thin, horse-faced woman staring at her with wide eyes. Aqua scowled. "None of your concern."

"YOU'RE IN MY HOUSE AND MY HUSBAND IS FROZEN IN A BLOCK OF ICE!" The woman screeched.

"I assume you had something to do with this child's abuse too...right?" Aqua said lowly.

"Abuse?! Those were well-justified punishments! He deserved everything he got!"

"For what!? Casting magic?!" she shouted back.

"DO NOT SPEAK THAT WORD IN THIS HOUSE!" the woman screeched and was about to throw a fist.

Only to freeze when she saw the end of a giant key with an enraged blue haired girl holding it. The end cackling with magic.

"Take one more step and I promise you. What I did to your husband will look like a blessing to what I will do to you." She spoke in a low threatening tone.

Petunia's face went pale as she stepped back slowly. "Okay...Okay..." She said with a low whimper. Aqua nodded.

"Good. Glad you're smart enough to not pick a fight you can't win. Now say goodbye to your nephew. You're NEVER going to see him again." Petunia huffed.

"Fine! Take him! I couldn't care less!" Aqua scowled.

"I knew you'd say something like that...You disgusting excuse for a human being."

Petunia scowled at the young girl as she passed by her. "Enjoy the freak." She muttered.

Aqua heard and reacted, swinging her keyblade around to whack the woman on the back of the head knocking her unconscious.

Harry whimpered at the act making the girls eyes widen. She dismissed her weapon and with both arms around the boy she maneuvered him into so she was cradling him like a baby and started to rock him. "Shh. I'm sorry. I'm sorry"

Her words soothed him slightly but he was still concerned, and it was then that she finally understood. The light, that guided her. The very light that saved her from the realm of darkness was his.

Somehow his heart shined bright enough to pierce the darkness and call out for her. It was decided then. She can't leave him! She would not fail another one! She would make sure this child was cared for and loved beyond all doubt.