DISCLAIMER: All Square Enix/Disney characters mentioned and used in this fictional work is/are the property of their respective mother companies. They are not mine and are only being used by my imagination to share my love for this franchise, its story, and characters to everyone in the lovely place called the internet.

This is the first part of a series of KH/Union X fanfics called "When Stars Align", it serves as a prequel-sequel to majority of the events that will happen in the KHUx era. This one is mostly in the POV of Aqua as she meets [Player], who does not remember who they are, and tries to help them. I generally wanted to give it a reader-insert vibe but it was difficult to do that when the POV is on another character. So instead, I wrote them with gender neutral pronouns and zero physical characteristics. Feel free to imagine your avatar's in [Player]'s shoes and conversing with Aqua. This is my first KH fanfic so reviews and feedback are greatly appreciated.

UPDATE: The second part "Hope is a Lie, But I'll Believe It Anyway" is now up! It's a second POV- sort of reader insert continuation of this story focusing more on the [Player]'s thoughts and soul searching which is set before Aqua is not-Norted. Anywho, enjoy this one first!

Chapter 1: Found

Time works differently in the realm of darkness.

A single step can mean weeks, maybe months, perhaps years, has passed in the realm of light. But regardless of how long, Aqua would be none the wiser about it. In this realm, time makes no sense, to the point of non-existence. And to Aqua that means the minute she got trapped here, and the time she accidentally bumped into Mickey while the latter was on a mission to close the Doors to Darkness, all happened within days of each other. She didn't know ten years had already come and gone until Mickey told her.

Aqua wasn't really surprised with that news. She's been walking the same path for what feels like an eternity, with no real destination in mind; and hasn't seen nor felt a single sun or moon that would indicate just how much time has passed. If anything, she was more surprised that it has only been ten years. But her perception of time wasn't the only thing the darkness stole from her. It also deprived her of bodily needs like food and water.

It was an odd realization… But once she acknowledged the fact that she hasn't felt the need for them, Aqua began to miss it. Unfortunately for her, good food and drinkable water is hard to come in a realm filled with nothing.

While she didn't feel the need to eat or drink anymore, the darkness was kind enough to retain her need to sleep; the only other thing Aqua wished the darkness took from her instead. It's not that she doesn't enjoy a well-earned rest after exhausting her magical ability, it's just that she can't say sleeping actually does her any good to regain that.

The realm of darkness is never stagnant. It's always moving, always changing, almost never the same thing twice. That amount of movement needs energy and it takes that from the worlds it has swallowed previously and beings, in Aqua's case, trapped in it. She didn't use to be affected by the darkness like this but she supposed being trapped in it for too long has begun to show its drawbacks.

Thankfully enough, the darkness hasn't been merciless enough to cut her dry yet. She can still perform amazing feats of magic, and fight in her preferred fluid gymnastic like combat, but her stamina has been relatively lower. It has become a bit of a nuisance as of late, and it urged Aqua to choose her battles more often than not. She never really liked to run if she knows she can win it, but the darkness has forced her hand. She may have backed down against this fight, but Aqua has yet to lose the war. She can't let the darkness take her. Not when she has a promise to fulfill to her friends.

As she became more and more attentive with her surroundings, Aqua also began to noticed something deeper in the darkness. No - not just notice. Feel. It was like she developed some kind of awareness for it, like a sixth sense that alerts her of the darkness' moods, its subtle shifts in movement, like a gentle breeze turning into a violent one, and whether or not a creature of the dark, a Heartless – as Mickey called them – would appear.

It was something very unconscious at first, but the more Aqua tried to understand how or why, the more learned control over it. With enough practice, she learned how to turn it on or off with her will. Despite feeling acconplished with this improvement, Aqua remained conflicted with the use of her new ability. At one end, she finds this ability as a useful defensive and evasive weapon against the darkness' moods. On the other hand, she wondered if the darkness granted her this ability to communicate with her through an empathic link - make her lower her guard and ultimately fall prey to the dark in the end.

Aqua shook her head. She refused to continue this line of thought. The moment she doubts herself, is the same time she lets the darkness have its way. So instead, Aqua turned to labeling the darkness' moods to better orient herself.

During this experimental search of understanding, Aqua managed to label three main moods of the realm - calm, chaotic, and nothingness. Aqua particularly prefers the calmer side of the darkness. It was still ominous and generally displeasing to feel, but this mood allows Aqua to have some kind of peace. The calm allows her to explore the world's present and not have to worry too much. Unfortunately, this happens very seldom.

For most of the time, the darkness is angry, hungry, chaotic. Aqua figured that the during this time, the darkness is telling her that it wanted more. It wanted more worlds, and Aqua can feel it trying to bend her wishes as well. But as a keyblade wielder, a chosen warrior of light, Aqua is able to ignore those thoughts and remained steadfast. This mood she found the most inconvenient, but she can handle angry.

On the rarest of occasions, the darkness is just filled with nothing. Aqua despises this one the most. When there's nothing, it's only the black void of darkness surrounding her, suffocating her, and letting her free falling for all eternity. The darkness steals all of her senses and fills them with dread. All she can feel is darkness. Without a world around to keep stable, the darkness' focus is on her, and it can be unbearable. She can't even remember how many times the thought of letting herself go has passed, but one thing is for certain - even at the darkness' barest form, Aqua persists. While her mind wants to lose, her heart, filled with the lights of her friends, are still fighting to protecting her. After all, her purpose has yet to be fulfilled.

Aqua initially thought that understanding the darkness' moods would have no drawback but it appears she was mistaken. Every time she took a step closer to putting the feelings, the moods, into words, the darkness found a way to whisper into her mind. Whispers that she's tried to ignore but sometimes can't help but entertain.

Knowledge has always been a double edged sword. Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort were living examples of that. Master Eraqus gathered knowledge to become a wise but unbending master of light. He knew not to dwell on the power of darkness and was afraid of ever coming close to understanding it. Master Xehanort, on the other hand, sought out knowledge from the darkness. She's not really sure as to why, but when he got a taste of it he just kept wanting more.

Aqua shuddered to herself. Was she perhaps heading down the same path?

She's reaching out to the darkness like Master Xehanort did. It may not be for the same reasons, but she was still trying to understand the enemy. And in her decade long isolation, Aqua has become accustomed to thinking back and processing the actions she has done that led her here. She doesn't regret having done what she did. She knows her actions were the right thing to do but the darkness whispers otherwise - doubt, pain, sorrow, and anger.

Sometimes the influence comes progressively slow, but the moment she agreed and dwell on them, the stronger the feelings become. In other times, it just happens instantaneously. The feeling of anger that stems from her own heart, spilling out so uncharacteristically from her, scared her. And when she gets scared, the Heartless come. It was like they were attracted to negative energy as much as they attracted to the keyblade's light.

This revelation gave Aqua all the more reason to avoid dwelling on her troubled past and thoughts. She insisted on only thinking about the good things, but even then, the darkness still found a way to slither into her thoughts.

Once, out of the blue, in her long silence and exhaustion, she found herself questioning the very teachings of Master Eraqus. She wondered if the world is really as simple as black and white, or good and evil, like she was taught. Her argument grew even stronger when her thoughts lingered to Terra. She's known Terra ever since they were children, when they were both beginning to train under Master Eraqus as keyblade masters. She knows him to have a kind and good heart, stubborn and firm headed, but good, nonetheless.

She never pegged him to have harbored darkness at all. She didn't think he'd let himself fall so easily. And so, Aqua wondered… whether the darkness in his heart was evil to begin with or was merely corrupted by Master Xehanort.

Aqua sighed. If she hadn't cast Terra aside when she discovered the growing darkness in him, could she have saved him then? Was she simply too slow to help Terra, or was she simply ignorant of what the darkness in him truly is?

Aqua fished out a glass blue, star shaped charm encased in metal from her pockets and stared at it with somber eyes. Watching it reminded her of the distant voices of her beloved friends. They assured her of her struggles and reminded her of her purpose. Aqua smiled. She isn't falling to the darkness, she's surviving in it. She would be of no use to anyone, to Terra, nor to Ventus, if she allowed herself to succumb to the pressure of the dark. If she can understand darkness without using it, then maybe… just maybe, she can find a way to save both of them.

Aqua pressed the wayfinder to her chest and thinks of her friends. She thinks about those boys – Sora and Riku – and how they've grown to be strong warriors protecting the light. She thinks about Queen Minnie and her compassion, Mickey's bravery and optimism, Zack's boldness, and most of all, her own heartfelt wish. All of these keep her from falling completely to the darkness. The warmth that cloaks her from the cold embrace of nothing; safe from the invasive whispers of the dark, and it will remain that way until her dying breath.

"As long as you're with me, Terra, Ven," she mumbled. "I'll always find my way back."

A sudden shift in the darkness pulled Aqua away from her own thoughts. She looked up at the skyline, a permanent storm of molted purple and red, as a streak of white lightning dashed across the horizon as thought warning her of what is to come next.

"Time to go." Aqua stood from her spot and hefted herself towards the rooftops. Buildings crumbled all around her as the darkness willed for the world to return to nothing. At this point, Aqua has gotten used to racing 'time' whenever a world crumbles before her very eyes. Most often than not a new world will replace it anyway, but she never really figured out a pattern for how long, or when a world will disappear again. Aqua doesn't think she ever will. The darkness is just as indecisive as it is chaoti that way.

Aqua bounded from one building to another until she reached the very end of this world. She jumped towards a small hill and took her time to regain her breath. By the horizon, Aqua spotted a blurry silhouette of what looks like a tall twin tower. She's not really sure what it is, but its definitely a building she's not familiar with.

Aqua has become acquainted with a few worlds the darkness has mercilessly taken from the light. Some of them she recognized from past visits, like the Castle of Dreams and the Enchanted Dominion, while for the lesser known worlds, she didn't. For these forgotten, unnamed worlds, Aqua took the liberty to do so and in some way give them a sense of identity – a life. It didn't really matter to anyone, most certainly not to its lost inhabitants, but to Aqua, it lifted her spirits up a bit. If Ventus and Terra were here with her, she's certain they'd be proud of what she'd name a few.

These unnamed worlds would appear ever so often, there was never an order, but they happened so frequently that Aqua has developed an automatic recognition of each world just by seeing a worlds facade. She knows the worlds far better than she understood the mood shifts of the darkness - which is a lot more comforting to know than if it was the opposite. So as she closed in on the tower and the rather blank looking world before her, Aqua is certain that this is not one she's visited before.

"Did the darkness take another world?"

Aqua bolted herself off the ground before a massive sink hole can swallow her whole and landed on damp, uneven ground. She slid off the surface and fell forward in a soft yelp. Quickly catching herself on one arm, Aqua took her momentum and rolled to stand on her feet. She shook away the hair and frowned at the the sudden change of scenery from barren land, to being sandwiched in between two long rows of three-story, cream colored, cabin like houses, with purple colored roofs and chimneys. Aqua liked the color this world has compared to the previous towns she's visited, but the withered and decaying shrubbery and flora decorating the windows and doors didn't help lift the mood. It pains her to know that they would've been beautiful alive.

Aqua stood up slowly and scanned the unfamiliar terrain on high alert. Shifting between two different worlds without notice usually meant a great amount of trouble. She held out her hand at the ready, just in case she needed to summon her weapon if and when the Heartless decide to greet her. A couple of minutes pass and Aqua lowered her guard. It's odd that the Heartless have yet to appear before her. Usually they're very relentless after the darkness shifts into another world, and Aqua has to pick up the pieces to calm them down.

Aqua closed her eyes and attempted to get a feel on the dark energy around her. If something unusual like this happens, the dark always tends to tell her this way, but for some reason... it didn't this time. The darkness wasn't responding. In fact, this darkness felt very different from normal. Aqua isnt quite sure how to define it. It felt similar to the silence, but it was more than just that. It was muted in a way she hasn't felt before, and... Aqua isn't quite sure what this new mood is, but she's certain to find out soon enough. Shaking off the yet to be labeled mood, Aqua lowered her guard but kept her eyes peeled for danger.

Looking around the town, Aqua noted how similar the houses looked to one another. Just about every house for next few miles had the same purple colored roofs, was made up of wooden and brick, and was built so tightly knit with each other that Aqua was forced to take the long way and follow the dull colored, yellow brick road before her. Its not all that bad considering how wide the streets are, so Aqua reminded herself to be patient about it.

Aqua also noted the wooden boxes scattered about. Most of them were stacked on top of each other, forming some make shift flight of stairs towards the rooftops, while others were smashed to pieces. Either in the middle of the street or flung across the wall. Someone must've been really angry before this world succumbed to darkness.

As Aqua walked on, the stack of boxes began to decrease in number and was soon replaced with old, tattered papers. Out of curiosity, Aqua picked up one of the fliers and read over it – Mission Quest! Was printed on the header in dark ink. She can't quite read the language used on the flier, but the photograph beside it did give her some context to work on. It was a picture of a beach front, with a lighthouse to the upper most left corner, and blurred out figures in the center. Aqua isn't sure if they were people or something else, but they looked like trouble. Underneath the photo was a note that detailed some sort of currency as well. Aqua may not understand the writing, but she hummed admirably at the 5 digit reward.

"Just what is this place?"

Aqua picked up another flier, and was surprised, when this and the succeeding fliers were becoming less and less decipherable. From what was once an unfamiliar language has now devolved into silly black scribble lines on paper until there was nothing left. The photograps slowly lost color as well, up until it was just a huge patch of black. The last flier Aqua picked up literally had nothing left on it anymore. It was like the darkness was actively trying to throw her off and keep her in the dark about this new world. Why that is so, she doesn't know. But if the darkness was adamant about keeping secrets, then it's her duty to figure out why.

After all, Aqua has been nothing but curious till recently. Why stop now? It's a lot better to be interested in a new world than the darkness. Even more so when Aqua found herself staring at the longest flight of stairs she's ever seen.

Aqua debated whether or not she should climb it or take the path before her that led to more houses. She tried to probe the darkness for anything, a feeling of malice or dread, but still, she ended up with nothing. Aqua scoffed to herself. To think she'll ever see the day the darkness remained quiet.

"I could use a little exercise," she joked to herself and embarked on some well-needed leg work. Aqua proceeded to climb, her eyes taking in the sights as she passed by them. There were actually a lot of paths that merged with the staircase she's currently on. Most of them led out to more paths in between the houses, but some of them led to even more secluded corners.

Aqua was interested in checking those places out later, but for now she'll stick to one path. She can't really get lost in the realm of darkness, but with the way the world was created, she most definitely will feel that way.

Halfway to her ascent, Aqua heard a soft crunch somewhere to her left and instinctively summoned Master's Defender to her side. She held her blade at the ready and spotted a door close very slightly. Aqua frowned at the unusual movement and took small catious steps towards the door. She raised a hand to pull it open and decided to probe the darkness for a warning. Unfortunately, the darkness was adamant about keeping silent.

Ignoring the oddities of the dark and this new world, Aqua pulled the door back at the count of three and was surprised to see nothing but a dark room, lit only by small candles, inside.

Aqua lowered her guard and dismissed her weapon. There wasn't a lot of furniture in the house, just a small table at foot of the stairwell with a green colored book on top of it. Aqua picked up the book and scanned through its handwritten pages. It was written in the same language as the fliers, and the further she flipped through them, the more indecipherable they became. Halfway through the diary, Aqua found a set of photos of children exploring various areas in and outside of town. The first photo she inspected is a group of four kids and a doll with what looks like a balloon on top of their head celebrating some sort of victory in a dimly tavern. The next photo was the same group of kids with an addition to a new child whose face was obscured by sheer enthusiam of the others trying to fit themselves on the small frame.

The remaining photos were beginning to lose their identity just like the photos in the fliers earlier, so Aqua scanned through them as fast as she could. In all of the photo's, Aqua noted that the same child hidden in the second photograph remained obscured from full view. She supposed they were just shy, or preffered to be the one behind the camera, but to be deliberately hidden whenever they are in the shot felt intentional.

Aqua finished looking through the photos just before they turned completely black and spotted a folded piece of paper sticking out from the last page. She pulled it out from the page and unfolded another photo of a boy with white-silver curly hair with an slung over the same shy-child from the previous photos, who had their face hidden yet again from view; this time by a grey stuffed cat, and a girl with long black hair trapping the two boys in an embrace. They looked happy.

It reminded Aqua of how she was with Terra and Ven before everything went to chaos. She thought that maybe she shouldve taken pictures of their time together as well. Her heart ached just thinking about them, but even more so when she realized that these children have all lost their lives in the darkness.

Aqua wiped a stray tear forming in her eyes and returned the photos just as she found them before turning away to leave. It's only right that she respect the memory of this worlds former inhabitants by keeping the place as neat as she found it.

Finally reaching the end of the staircase, Aqua found herself greeted by a majestic fountain in the middle if a plaza. Potted white flowers surrounded its base as though leaving it with a simple decoration; save for one or two empty spaces in between.

Water flowed out from the fountain's tip as though moving, and flowing down towards the base in slow motion. Aqua picked up a small rock lying about and flung it towards the water stream. It left a gaping hole on the stream before it resumed it natural form. Definitely slowed down. Aqua walked over to inspect the fountain closer and was surprised to se a very clear image of herself reflected on the water's surface. For the first time since she last saw her own face, Aqua has now seen how unkind the darkness has been to her.

Her face has lost its natural glow, looking a lot paler than she remembered, and despite not looking any older than she was, her eyes already reflected the olden wisdom it has gained through time spent in this realm. The insufficient, or lack thereof of, sleep resulted in black circles forming under her eyes. And her hair.. Aqua ran a hand through her blue locks and sighed. While she still kept in the way that she liked, she can see just how much soot and dirt it managed to accumulate.

To say that she looked terrible is an understatement. She looked horrible! Aqua laughed at herself, the first mirthful laugh she's had in a long time and relaxed in her space. Oh, the things she'll sacrifice just to get a steaming hot shower.

Aqua cupped her hands and cautiously dipped them into the water. She was expecting some kind of force to drag her down and drown her, like that time in the mirror of Enchanted Dominion, but nothing did. Everything remained in a still, silent, mood around her. Aqua did not like it. Not by one bit. But she wasn't going to let it spoil her fun.

Deeming the fountain safe to use, Aqua splashed her face with refreshing, cool water. She let out a deep sigh as she felt layers upon layers of dirt come off her face. She continued to make good use of the fountain by cleaning herself up and drinking from it. She didn't have to hydrate herself anymore but feeling cold liquid tracing the back of her throat is amazing.

A drop of water landed unto the pool at the base of the fountain and caused Aqua's reflection to subside through slow moving ripples. From the corner of her eye, just further ahead of the fountain, Aqua blinked up curiously at a figure watching her.

Her mouth dropped in aghast as she met eyes with a young, unmoving child holding a pot of showwy white flower atop a whorl of three leaves in their hand. Their eyes were blown wide open as though surprised to see Aqua standing by the fountain as well.

Aqua stood up almost too abruptly as her heart leapt in joy to see another human being trapped in here with her. But quickly felt heartache as the realization dawned on her. This child, probably no older by Ventus, somehow survived the darkness that swallowed their world and woke up alone and with nothing. She can't even begin to imagine the horror the child must've faced upon realizing that. Not to mention… the Heartless.

"Hello," she smiled sincerely and presented herself as meekly as possible as to not frighten them. "My name is Aqua and I – !" Aqua gasped as she the unusually silent darkness sprung back to life around them and filled it with fear.

No… it wasn't trying to spread fear; Aqua knows what that feels like. It was fear in a sense that it was - afraid. The darkness was afraid.

Aqua frowned to herself, baffled at this new mood from the darkness. She had hoped to probe it again but was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of ceramic breaking apart on tiled foor. The child was retreating up the flight of stairs they just came fron.

"Wait!"

Aqua tried to run after them but was suddenly blocked by countless shadow's squirmed and materialzed themselves all around her. Aqua summoned Master's Defender to her hand and brandished it with confidence.

"Get out of my way," she warned the mindless creatures. The Heartless cried out in response and Aqua immediately retaliated.

Aqua bolted herself from a stack of boxes and swiped her keyblade at a Flame Core to push it towards another Heartless to her left. Both Heartless vanished upon contact and Aqua dodged rolled on the ground as a Fat Body bounded after her. Aqua fired ice shards towards the Heartless, hoping to freeze or faze it, but it only pushed the enemy a few steps back.

Aqua tightened her grip on Master's Defender and ran towards the wall. With one foot she kicked off the wall, flipped over behind the Fat Body, and hacked her blade directly to the Heartless' back. It died in a puff of purple smoke and a flurry of yellow and blue shards which her keyblade absorbed in a second.

The keyblade master dismissed her weapon and fell to her knees to catch a breath. She hasn't encountered this many Heartless in quick succession of each wave before. She knew the Heartless appeared in droves, but never in a way that almost every ten feet summoned about five more to apprehend her. While Aqua had no problem defending herself and fighting them off, the constant barrage of enemies demanded too much energy way faster than she can replenish them. And to make matters worse, she hasn't seen a hide nor hair of the child yet.

Aqua pushed herself off the ground and began to take small steps towards… wherever the path before her was going now. While on her run from the Heartless, she's come to realize that this world, which she now calls as "Purple town" is practically a labyrinth just waiting for someone to get lost in it.

After defeating the Heartless by the fountain earlier, Aqua followed the child in the same direction she saw them go. She was determined to keep going in that direction, but the Heartless forced her to take turns she didn't want to, and effectively messed with her sense of direction. She had jumped on rooftops, fell through alleys she doesn't even recall anymore, and even got boxed in, in a dead end. This world is a mess...

Aqua looked around and noted the multicolored banners strung overhead her as she studied the new area the Heartless had led her to. Walking over to one of the many stalls neatly arranged around the plaza, Aqua was surprised to see a wide array of fruits in vegetables inside wooden crates. None of which look too edible to eat, unfortunately.

Moving on, Aqua followed the cream colored pathway before her and walked under a small tunnel that led to an avenue that diverged into two paths. Going straight would lead her to a viewing deck at the very end of a lighthouse, while taking the stairs on her left would lead her to a park that had these adorably well-kept shrubs cut to look like star.

She decided to take the scenic route and went down the flight of stairs towards the park. As Aqua took in the sights, she thought about that child and where they might have been hiding. If this was indeed their home-world, then Aqua will have no luck just searching for them in the open. The world is littered with Heartless, and if the child was smart enough to know they were dangerous, they'd stay indoors. Since she hasn't seen the child anywhere, it's safe to assume that they already knew that.

Aqua let out a relieved sigh. That would be for the best, but she was still determined to locate them and offer her protection. This child is just as lost and trapped like her in this realm, regardless of how long or how short that was for the child, Aqua still saw it as her responsibility as a Keyblade Master to protect everything and all beings of light.

But what if they aren't?

Aqua didn't consider it for a moment that the child was yet another phantom conjured by the darkness to mess with her in an attempt to make her surrender. It has happened way too many times for her to be fooled by another weak attempt to break her resolve. However, Aqua thought, "The darkness can't do everything… even create a child out of nowhere."

Aqua shook her head, refusing to see the child as such. She knows the darkness can create illusions –phantoms of herself and people she's cares about, but never someone she's never met before, much less a child. This child is real, just like she is, and she needs to find them before the darkness decides to be unforgiving yet again.

After reaching the end of the park, Aqua turns on her heels to hopefully find her way back to the fountain plaza. It was a huge guess, but she's willing to bet the child would return to the fountain plaza soon enough. Those flower pots surrounding the fountain must be their work. She did see them holding unto the same pot of flowers earlier.

Aqua pushed open the large wooden door at the furthest end of the market place and was surprised to find herself back at the fountain plaza. And much to her relief, the child was there as well, tending to the flowers around the fountain as though they never left to run from her in the first place.

They turned their head towards the door Aqua just opened and stood up in alarm. They looked just about ready to bolt for it again.

"Please! Wait, I just want to talk," Aqua pleaded.

The child frowned at her, their eyes appearing less afraid and more cautious. Aqua felt the darkness around them grow in alarm as well, but paid mind to it.

When the child continued to say nothing, she took it as a sign to proceed and started, "My name is Aqua."

"You already said that."

Aqua blinked, taken a back by the child's bluntness. "I did, yes. It's just common courtesy to introduce oneself to a new frien–"

"I'm not your friend," the child spat venomously.

Aqua raised her hands defensively to submit to the child's anger and slowly said, "Alright then. We're not friends – for now," she added dubiously, earning her a glare from the child. She doesn't remember Ventus being this hard on her when they first met.

"What do you want?" the child hissed impatiently through closed teeth. It appears that the child doesn't want to dabble with formalities and went straight to business. While Aqua would prefer a bit of formalities, she can't blame them either for wanting things to be fast paced. The darkness can be quite a stickler for time.

"To stay with you," Aqua breathed. "I know you don't trust me right now, but you're not safe on your own. There are creatures here that can hurt you, these creatures, the–"

"Heartless?" the child finished.

Aqua nodded, unsure how the child knows of the proper name Mickey used to call the creatures of darkness. Even she didn't know what they were called until Mickey told her.

"They've been scampering off my world for a while now. Hard to miss them," they said as though it was common knowledge. "I appreciate the concern, lady, but I don't need your's or anyone's help. I've survived in this place long enough just by hiding and I intend to keep that way. I'm not letting you drag me behind, so just leave me alone."

Having said their peace, the child turned on their heels and walked away from Aqua; leaving the keyblade wielder to wonder what the child has gone through while trapped alone in this darkness.