I've had this idea in my head ever since I saw the KH3 trailer so I'm excited to finally get it out into words. I have a feeling that this teaser was supposed to be symbolic rather than depicting a scene that will happen in the game, but I went with it anyway. Hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the KH series or any of its characters.

xOx III xOx

Nothing. After visiting multiple words and talking to everyone humanly possible, there was absolutely nothing we could find about a "key to return hearts" or Mickey's friends: Aqua, Terra and Ventus. The three people I had seen in my dream.

I thought maybe coming home would clear my head, but it was the complete opposite. I was feeling more frustrated than ever and Kairi could tell. She pulled Donald and Goofy back to stay on the dock with her, knowing I could probably use some alone time. Whether or not it would actually help was yet to be seen, but I appreciated it anyway.

I didn't get very far before I noticed something off; metal gleaming in the sand farther down the island. 'What is that?' I squinted my eyes and approached it. 'A keyblade…?' My eyes wide, I leaned down to pick it up and held it out in front of me. It didn't look the least bit familiar so I knew it wasn't Riku's, Kairi's or Lea's. 'But who…' I wondered, looking around the area for its wielder.

At first, I didn't see anything at all. But after taking a second look, I saw what looked like someone crumpled up in the corner beside the door to the other side of the island. I lowered the keyblade, letting it fall to my side as I realized how familiar this situation was.

Twelve years ago, I found Kairi in nearly the same spot. I had never seen her before but she was soaking wet and I figured she probably went for a swim and then went to take a nap on the beach as I often did. But I quickly found out she had found her way to the island by chance, having absolutely no idea about anything but her name. Of course, realizing that, Kairi burst into tears and I quickly ran off to get my Dad so he could fix the situation.

As I approached the person crumpled up in the corner, I noticed familiar blue hair. "Aqua?" The name slipped from my lips automatically, as natural as if I had been saying it my whole life. I kneeled down, gently shaking her shoulders, repeating her name again, "Aqua, wake up."

"Ven?" She called back, her eyes not open yet and her voice hoarse.

I retracted my hands into my lap and shook my head, "No, sorry…"

Aqua sat up and blinked her bright blue eyes open. Her clothes looked extremely worn and she, herself, looked as if she had been through a lot too. Looking around in confusion for a moment, she looked back at me and asked in disbelief, "…Sora?"

I leaned back in surprise, "You know me?"

She rushed forward, wrapping her arms tightly around me, "Yes, I do. The last time I saw you, you were just a little kid… Now look at you." She laughed to herself before letting go and moving backward, "I'm so sorry, it's just… I've been looking for you."

"I've been looking for you, too." I replied sheepishly, thrown off by her hugging me. I picked up the keyblade and held it out, "By the way, I found this… I'm assuming it's yours?"

"It isn't technically mine but I'm borrowing it for the time being." Aqua took hold of it and smiled gratefully, "Thank you."

"Well, my friends are waiting on the dock for me so I should be getting back. If you come with us, I can take you to see the King; he's been really worried about you." I stood up and offered my hand to her.

Aqua squinted her eyes as she repeated, "The King?"

"King Mickey. You know him, right?" I questioned, worried that she may have lost her memory just as Kairi had.

She nodded, smiling, "Oh, so he's a king now, huh? Glad to hear he's doing well."

"And he'll be glad to hear the same about you." I replied, still holding out my hand.

Taking it and allowing me to help her up, she answered enthusiastically, "Let's get going, then."