This is the only disclaimer of the whole story.

I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor any of the characters. But this 'timeline' created is mine and mine alone.

Enjoy.

There are many branching timelines for any 'reality'. They intersect but would take shape in their own paths.

This story is but one of them. A timeline where an act to save themselves, changed the course of history…

(Canon divergent and AU)

~o~

"Oh crap! Crap! Crap!" He could hear Lea's panic as the two ran for their lives.

He can feel how that…man is just taking his time. Casually walking after them, like a cat casually tormenting its prey. He knew that it won't be long until he grows tired and-

What. What can he do?!

Terror grips his heart as they come to a dead end. He wipes the blood away from his face. His beating heart made the wound on his face throb, reminding him of their near-death experience. But now…

He shared a terrified look with Lea and looked back as one. If they go out into the hall, it's doubtless they would meet the man with that strange weapon. It was only by luck that they managed to escape the lab. Where- no, don't think that Isa. It won't help.

But what can they do? How can they escape…?

He felt Lea slip his hand into his, and Isa unconsciously squeezes it. He isn't sure if it could do much but…they have to…to escape. How? How could they? He looked at Lea, who was looking out in the hallway with wide eyes.

Isa lowered his head, mind swirling. What can he do? How could he save them both? What? What what what-?

Want power?

Huh?

I can give you it…for a price.

Isa looked back out. He could hear the man's footsteps. He hesitated.

'What price?' he asked, wary.

Power always comes with a price. It's a matter if you let it consume you.

The footsteps are closer. He felt Lea getting closer to him. Nearly hiding behind him but not. Isa clenched his hand. He shouldn't trust the voice, and yet…

'So long as it could save us, I don't care. What…what do I have to do?'

All right. Just a taste. Use it to 'open' the way out of there.

He felt something. It's small, but…it feels like he had ate his ice cream too fast or had too much of it. It's cold. So cold. But…whatever it is, hopefully…yet what did that voice mean by 'open' the way out of here?

He had no time to think about it. The man is drawing closer. He had never felt so scared in his life. But…

He looked at Lea…then curled his free hand into a fist.

'Whatever I got…get…get us out of here. Someplace that's NOT here. Anywhere.' He had thought.

A strange sound is heard behind them, with Lea yelping. Isa looked back and saw a strange…oval opening behind them. Did…did he call that?

"What the…?" Lea began-

"You!" The two looked back to see the man. The man narrowed his golden eyes at them. "How did…?!" He seems clearly agitated.

Isa noticed it. An opening…

He grabbed Lea in a tight hug, and he all but dove into the portal with him. He heard the man yell out in anger, but the opening closed…

…

He groaned as his mind began to become aware he regained consciousness. His fingers twitched before he carefully pushed himself up. The ground felt…odd to him. What is it? He can't exactly…describe it. He opened his eyes…

And they took in the area. The area in question is…dark. Not dark enough to be pitch black but it's dark all the same. There's surprisingly some bit of light to allow him to see though.

He pushed himself up to his knees, looking around a bit more. Where is this place? How did he…?

Memories of what happened earlier flashed into his mind. He touched his face, drawing his hand back to see small bits of blood on his fingertips. He looked at the ground, seeing a very small puddle. It must have scabbed over while he was out. He then noticed something, looking around for the red-haired boy.

"…Lea?" He called out, staggering to his feet. When he didn't hear a response, Isa looked around. "Lea?" He called out, a bit louder this time. He cupped his hands around his mouth. "LEA!"

The place didn't even echo. His friend doesn't seem to be around.

Isa lowered his hands, a feeling of dread settling in his chest. 'Did we…get separated?' He asked himself. He was sure that they both went into the portal together. Did they…get separated after going through it? Where is Lea now? Isa feels…at a loss now. While he does make his own choices, sometimes he goes along with a few things Lea would do. Becoming Ansem's apprentices was Isa's idea, while saving that girl they befriended was Lea's…they both agreed that becoming an apprentice would be faster to find out what happened to her. He had little idea of how disastrous things had gotten. They were only there for about a few days until Ansem suddenly disappeared – the older apprentices claimed he had gone mad and abandoned them, but somehow Isa felt they were lying – and a couple of days later…

Isa took in a shuddering breath through his nose, trying to suppress the horrific image of seeing Even's and Ienzo's bodies on the ground, fading out. They had been in the manufactory when the monsters – different from the ones that appeared a year ago – appeared and gave him that scar on his face. It was only through sheer luck they got out of there with their lives…and came upon THAT.

It looked like Xehanort had gone mad…yet, something told Isa that the man knew exactly what he was doing when he attacked the two.

Isa put a hand on his chest, exhaling. 'If not for that power…we might have…' He furrowed his brows before shaking his head. 'I can't think that now. I need to find Lea. I'm sure he's around here. Somewhere.'

He looked up. Looks like there's no place else to go than the path before him. He took a breath through his nose and exhaled through the mouth. He walked forward.

He kept an eye out for his friends bright red hair and eye-catching clothes. They weren't apprentices for long, so they weren't wearing those lab coats. It should be easy to spot, right? Yet as he walks on, and on, he saw neither of those.

How long had he been walking? How much time had passed? Those questions aren't important right now though. He had to find Lea. Once he does…well, they'll figure it out from there.

His feet started to hurt when he noticed he was in a new area. The ground turned to dirt, with plants around him. From flowers, grass, to trees. Walking a bit further…he saw a castle in the distance. But not the castle Ansem himself once resided in. He looked around in a stupor. He looked up, seeing the sky. Is it even the sky? Where's the moon? Are those really stars?

Where did he and Lea (hopefully, or, not hopefully) land in? His head jerked to the bushes when he heard them shook. He stepped back…before he hurried away, not wanting to see what made the noise. He isn't sure if he wanted to know.

Going along the path, he found himself near a town. He's only disturbed by how deathly quiet it is. Now that he thought about it…he didn't hear birds or even insects on his way there. "Where are the animals? Or the people?" He muttered to himself. He scampers up a slope, getting to the top- and froze.

It…looked like the town was bending into itself, but parts of it is frozen in ice. In fact, it looked as if time had frozen this moment. He pushed himself up, staring in shock- and yelped as the ground suddenly gave away. He landed on the ground unceremoniously, pretty certain he scraped himself. He laid there for a moment, before he pushed himself up. He groaned, with his eye closed. What are the odds that the ground would give away?

He looked to the side, seeing a path leading to the town. Well, he's closer to the town at least. Pushing himself off of the ground, he moved to dust himself off before sighing. Not like he could get these cleaned at this moment. Hopefully, he'll-

A chill crawled up his spine. This is the same chill when…

He looked around, shocked to find small, black monsters appearing. They resembled ants, and yet…they're very similar to the ones that appeared with the others with those emblems. Xehanort had called them 'Heartless'. What are the Heartless-? He made a startled look and quickly dodged an attack at him. He nearly fell to the ground but regained his footing quickly before taking off into the town.

'What are the Heartless doing here?!' He questioned himself. 'Lea…is Lea even safe with those things around?!'

He has to find Lea. Fast.

His lungs burned as he ran. He doesn't know how long he could outrun them. He didn't dare look behind him. A bell tolling took him off guard, snapping his head to a clock tower connected to the castle as it struck midnight. Maybe…if he can get to the castle…

He nearly ran into a wall, but he continued his momentum by pushing himself off it to propel him forward, running towards it. And stumbled as he nearly got a face full of a purple flying…thing that came out of nowhere. "What the…?" He breathed out- before he felt several small claws grabbing him by the jacket. "Wait! Stop!" he struggled out of them, swatting them with his hands to get them away. He got several scratches as a result, on not just his arms but also his face. He attempted to cover himself from the flock of monster birds, swatting them away- and he lost his balance. "WHOA!" He tumbled down the stairs and landed harshly on his back. Groaning, he pushed himself up…

His blood ran cold as he saw many of the Heartless approaching him. All he could do is scoot himself backwards, breathing heavily from not just his run earlier, but he's also on the verge of hyperventilating. He looked back, seeing the opening. His eyes shifted back…and back to the opening. He goes for it.

He didn't get far, however. He barely managed to get a few feet, until he felt something slash his leg. He screamed out in pain as he fell. He looked down at his leg, seeing the pants having a hole, and a long nasty slash on it. He looked back up at the monsters as they approached their prey. All Isa could do is try to scoot away from them, even with his leg a mess. His thoughts ran faster than he could process.

Hoping. Wishing. For anyone- anything to save him. Despair began to fill him as they edge closer, and closer to him. He breathed out haggardly. He closed his eyes, praying that it would be painless. 'Lea…I'm sorry…'

The end didn't come for him, however. Instead…he heard slashing sounds, and something being destroyed. He waited a moment, before opening an eye. And stared in surprise at the person before him, her back (from the figure he could see) back to him. Short blue hair, a black top with the upper back exposed (with pink colored straps on her), black shorts and leggings (with cloths around her waist), armored boots and bell sleeves with armor on them.

She turned to him, with deep blue eyes. "Are you okay?" She asked him.

He was about to answer- but the weapon in her right hand caught his attention. It looks like a simple skeleton key, and yet…the shape…

His mind flashed to the weapon Xehanort had.

Panic filled his mind as he tried to scoot away from her.

"W-Wait! It's okay!" She tried to assure him. She looked surprised at his reaction. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"L-Likely story!" Isa retorted, pushing himself to sit up with a distrustful look. "Why'd you even have that?"

"Have what?" She asked, confused.

He pointed at the weapon. "THAT! One person had one of those and tried to kill me and my friend."

The woman's eyes were wide, before looking at her weapon. "Someone…with a Keyblade attacked you?"

Keyblade? Weird name.

He mentally shook his head, not wanting to be distracted. He pushed himself up. "Listen lady, I'd rather-" his leg gave out, and he fell back to the ground. He bit back a curse with a hand over his wound. 'Dammit…'

He noticed the blue haired woman cautiously approach, and he eyed her, wary. She seemed startled by his hostility. "…Please," she began, a hand over her chest. "You're hurt. I could help you."

Isa raised an eyebrow at her. "How?"

The woman hesitated…before the weapon in her hand disappeared. Carefully, as if he's a wild animal, she approached, pulling out something. "Here." It's a small bottle with green liquid inside of it, with it having a small blue star in it. She held it out to him. "I'd…rather use magic, but…this would help."

Magic? She talks as if it's a thing. But…considering what he saw and been through recently…yet, he couldn't find himself to trust her just yet. But he'd rather not look a gift horse in the mouth. He stared at her, reaching out and taking the small bottle. He quickly drew back, eyeing her with suspicion. When she didn't do anything, yet kept her distance…he eyes the bottle, looking it over. He found the opening. Tugging on it…it opens with a pop. Does he drink it, or…?

He huffs through his nose before he brings it to his mouth. He made a face at the taste. It's so bitter…but he forces himself to drink it. May as well get it over with. Once it's empty, he made a full body shudder. He looked at the woman, opening his mouth-and noticed that the wound on his leg glowed green. He watched as the glow made the wound shrink…before it looked as if it isn't there at all.

Isa stared dumbly at it.

"You can never go wrong with a Potion," the woman said, with Isa looking back at her sharply.

His face scrunches a bit, grunting. As much as he's hesitant to trust her…she did help him. "Thanks," he mumbled, tossing the bottle away. He moves to push himself up- and saw the woman offering her hand to help him up. He sent a look at her, before getting up on his own. He tested his weight onto his leg. It didn't hurt as much, but his pants are ruined now. He can complain about ruined cloths later. He's alive. That's what counts. But…

"Why are you here?" The woman asked him. "How…did you even get down here?"

Isa raised an eyebrow at her. "Down here?" He parroted.

"Oh right. You…wouldn't know," she muttered. He frowned, before crossing his arms. So, she knows where they're at? He wants answers. But…being rude may not do him any favors.

"…Well, where are we then, miss?" Isa asked finally after a moment of deliberation.

The woman looked at him. "Well…first, shouldn't we know our names? My name is Aqua."

Aqua, huh? "It's Isa," he answered.

Aqua nodded- but the two heard a sound, the two jerking to the source. There was nothing. But… "…We should probably get a move on. It wouldn't be safe here," she said to him.

He eyed her. She's right. He would get attacked by those monsters again, if left alone. He may have to stick around her just to survive. He sighed. "Fine. But, I need to look for someone too. He's around my age, with bright red hair and green eyes."

Aqua looked at him in surprise. "There was someone else with you?" He gave a curt nod. "I see…" She gave a sad look. "I didn't see anyone like that so far."

He tried not to look (and feel) disappointed. Lea is either in this…horrible place somewhere, with those monsters about, or somewhere else. Isa isn't sure if he wanted his friend to stay around in this place or is just…goofing off someplace else.

"Well, I better start looking," he muttered. "I have no place else to go anyway." He took a deep breath and looked at Aqua. "All right. Let's go. Tell me about what this place is, and why are YOU here."

"I'll…explain the best I can," she answered. "…It's a long story."

He can imagine. "Well, just tell me on what this place is, then," he decided.

He can hear the full story later, when he can.

~o~

Aqua is surprised to find someone else in the Realm of Darkness with her…rather, the fact that there's a duo. She would have most likely had missed Isa, and unwittedly leave him to his fate, if she didn't hear him scream. It was just after she had defeated the pillar of the black monsters. She had repaired the bridge by 'reversing' the clock's flow, to get to the Castle of Dreams. She managed to save him, but…

She will admit, it hurts to see someone younger than herself not trust her. She was more surprised that he knows what a Keyblade is and had a bad experience with one. The only 'bad' Keyblade users she knew of so far are…well, one is 'gone' but the other disappeared. The first real person she had seen, and he's distrustful of her.

Not that she could blame him. This place is just…awful. She had been down here for a long time, it…she wanted so badly to ask him on what's happening outside of the realm, but…

The best she could do, as they're making their way to the castle, is explain to him the Realm of Darkness, where the Dwellers of Darkness resided in. And answering what questions she could.

"So…this was…a world?" Isa asked as they walked the pathway to the castle.

Aqua nodded. "That's right."

"What's this world doing down here in the Dark Realm?"

"I don't know," Aqua shook her head. "I'm just…surprised."

"Huh…even you don't know." He's rather…blunt. She figured it's a part of his personality.

And she hates that he's right. She had no idea on why the world is in the dark realm, or what's even happening. If Terra is safe, why isn't he doing anything to stop this? Is he just…?

She wanted to ask Isa on why he's in the dark realm, with his friend apparently, but…

"I…don't have all the answers," she admitted, "But…whatever is happening, I have to find a way out of here."

"Might be difficult."

"I know. I had been looking for one since I got here."

"Wait, seriously?" He sounded surprised.

"I didn't have time to smell the roses," she answered dryly. "Unfortunate."

"I doubt this would have any roses. Or flowers much," he answered back just as dryly.

This guy certainly is different from Ventus, even though he looked to be around Ven's age. But…his sarcasm is apparent. They got near the castle, when Isa asked her, with hesitance, "How…long have you been down here?"

Aqua had to think…before she lowered her head. "I don't know," she admitted. "A long time, probably." She looked up. She could get up this easily, but…she looked at Isa. "Can you climb this?"

Isa, with his sea green eyes having an 'x' shaped scar on his face, looked up at it, studying it. His eyebrows furrowed a bit, frowning at it. He approached the cliff wall, feeling it out. There are a few things jutting out here and there, but they don't seem to make proper footholds. He narrowed his eyes further.

Aqua's face softened. Maybe he can't after all. "…Well, if you can't, then-" Aqua began to offer, until Isa reached his hands out…and proceeded to climb the wall. Aqua blinked as the boy carefully felt around the rocks and such jutting out, making sure they could hold before he used them to climb. His left foot is placed over a rock- but that came loose and lost his footing. With an oath, (and Aqua gasping in shock) he quickly got his grip onto his position, staying there. Aqua held her breath…and Isa soon exhaled and resumed his slow ascend. "Really, you don't have to," she called out to him.

"I'm fine!" He answered. "I don't need your help. I can do this on my own."

Still…Aqua watched anxiously as Isa slowly climbs up the wall. She gasped when she saw him slip a couple of times, but still held on. After a while, he managed to reach the top. She watched as he wiggled his way up to the ground above. He peered back down at her with a satisfied smirk. The boy really is something. Very stubborn.

She looked over the cliff face after he drew back, seeing what she could use. She decided to do a high jump…and then a second jump using a burst of magic to get to a higher point. She quickly grabbed onto the ledge and pulled herself up. They're near the castle entrance now, the foyer just ahead. She saw Isa going on ahead, looking around. She looked up at the clock tower, feeling her face falling. She recalled the memories she felt as she was dealing with the gears to rewound 'time' on the clock. 'Not even memories…are safe in the darkness,' she thought glumly. 'What I wouldn't give to really turn back time…' She looked up at the fake sky above her. 'To look at the stars one more time…with my best friends…'

She noticed that she was reaching out for them, the fake stars. With a soft sigh, she lowered her arm. "I'm doing it again…" she muttered.

"Aqua," she did a take at the familiar voice and looked up in shock. Approaching her is Terra, coming down the stairs.

She was in shock. "It can't be…" she muttered before asking out loud. "What are you doing here? You should be in the realm of light." Why is he here? She thought- "Oh no! Did you not make it out?" The whole time, he hadn't said a thing, with a smile on his face. "Don't tell me. Has the realm of light…?" Is Isa being here a sign? She didn't ask that question.

But the brunette didn't say anything. Desperate, she approached him. "Why won't you say anything to me?" She asked, anguished. She began to reach out-

"Hey!" She jumped at the voice. She looked up, seeing Isa looking down at her from the top of the staircase. She could make out the look he was making, questioning her actions. "Who are you talking to? I could hear you from up here."

What? She looked down- and her eyes went wide in surprise. Terra is gone. She let out a breath, stepping back a bit. 'An illusion…?' She thought.

Now that she thought about it…she only met Terra here, in this very castle when she first arrived on the world. She had been going around in the lanes between, searching for Ventus. After a long while, she came upon the Castle of Dreams, running into Terra. She felt assured that he hadn't yet lost his way but…

Sadness grips her heart, with her hand over it. Why hadn't she kept more faith in him? Some friend she is…

"Hey." She blinked and looked to her side. When did Isa get to her side? She saw a faint concern on his face. "…You're…not going crazy on me, are you?"

Aqua let out a soft bitter laugh. "I…might be. I thought…I saw a friend," she muttered.

It was silent. No words of judgment for her doing that. After a long while, Isa spoke, "Well…we should get going. I'd rather not stay here." She looked up – catching a look on his face before he turned around – and heads up the stairs again. She watched him go, before lowering her head.

'So…was what I saw a memory among these shadows?' She asked herself. 'Here to try to tell me not to lose heart?' She looked back at the town, before going up the stairs. 'The world keeps our thoughts alive. But where did the people who lived here go, once their world was taken away?'

…At the very least, they're not here, in this hellish place. They haven't fallen into darkness. Perhaps…they're at a safe place now? Hmm…she'll take what solace she could from that. For now, though…

She looked up at Isa, as he went up the stairs, staring down at her. She hurried her pace.

If Isa and his friend are here…something had to have happened. That pillar of darkness she saw escaping into that portal of light had to be a sign. Of what, she isn't sure. All the more reason to get to the realm of light again. But, the fact that Isa had acted like this to her…

Makes her feel…alone.

She isn't sure if that hurts more than the fact she had been alone for a long while now.

What had happened? She wanted to ask, but…she would need to earn his trust. Somehow.

This took place during Fragmentary Passage. But I will try to keep it as original as I could. From here on, anything can happen.

And don't worry, Lea's fine. But I'll tell you where he's not: safe.

At this point, Isa won't trust Aqua for a little while (understandable, since the last person who had a similar weapon like hers tried to kill them). We don't really know how they ended up as Nobodies, but they were in the same room the other apprentices were when they were re-completed. So what happened between the reports of Saix's and the two's account in Kingdom Hearts III is left to interpretation.

...But, I refuse to believe that it took a short amount of time for things to go to hell for them. So...in this timeline, the two took the time to slightly get to know the others, and Ansem, for Isa to build up that suspicion about Ansem going mad.

And one last thing...this will be split into acts. This is 'Act 1'. It's a part of the whole thing like in the summary. The reason I typed this story was because it was an idea - I've seen a few stories on Archive of Our Own about how one side would be a Keyblade Master and the other is 'Norted. (The whole Master Isa AU and Master Lea AU - but there's only one so far, while there's a bunch for Master Isa), or such. I want to make a story of how these two boys would be together in the Dark Realm with Aqua, but also manage to properly grow up. It's not that I don't like Axel and Saix, but...well, they were basically teenagers forced to grow up, never able to emotionally grow (them not having hearts and all). But don't worry, I got plans for those two.

Whether you would like this story or not, well, no big deal. It may not be your thing, and you could just leave this alone - at least you took the time to humor me and read this - but if you like it, please leave a review. I'd like to improve a bit more in this silly little hobby of mine. It had been a long time since I've made a story that's not exactly a crossover or a self-insert (and those hadn't been touched in years, dear god). I like to at least make something people would like. But if you just decide to follow along, despite you not liking it...why are you reading this?

In any case, I hope this could curb the boredom anyone is feeling during the quarantine. See you whenever I upload a new chapter. I've written a couple ahead of time, but I would go back and edit them a bit before putting them on here.

I rambled enough. Later.