The Dark Meridian. A black world, dark and depressing. Even the waters of the ocean here were black. Clouds twisted in the sky, that on any other world would have been storm clouds. But here, they were perpetually on the verge of raining, the skies themselves so bleak and depressing that even they saw no point in existence. So they hung over the Meridian bursting with lightning, wind, and rain, but never showing any of the three.

Muffled footsteps approached the ocean. The sand crushing beneath the figure's feet was a chorus only for her own ears. The air here was so dead, lacking in energy, that the sounds echoed in her own ears. It felt like she were trapped in a closet, her breathing was so tight and the sounds so close. She sometimes pushed her hands forward to make sure she wasn't in some kind of glass booth. She had been on a world similar to this. That had been a desert, full of wind and sound and now with painful memories. Compared to that world, this should have been paradise. There were trees, even though they were black and leafless, and a beautiful moon, although no matter how bright it was, it seemed to illuminate with only candlelight. But here, she sometimes felt claustrophobic from the depression.

She returned to the beach, and the lone figure sitting on the log, her only companion in this place.

"Did you enjoy your walk, Aqua?"

"It was nice to stretch my legs," the woman replied, plopping herself down on the sand and staring out across the waves. "I tried to count the seconds, but after the third time I lost my place I stopped trying, I was hoping to see how long it took me to make my way back here."

The cloaked figure did not turn to look at her, his deep voice betraying just a hint of amusement, "Perhaps an hour. Perhaps a year."

Aqua wanted to smile, but it was becoming harder and harder to take some grim humor away from her existence after she had met this stranger without a name of his own. Only on meeting him did she realize how much time has passed outside the Dark Meridian. "I hope Sora comes soon."

Only now did the cloaked man turn to face her, "He will soon, my dear. I know it."

Aqua shook her head in frustration, "You claim to not remember anything, but you're so sure that Sora will come for us."

"I know," the man apologized, "it is difficult to explain. It is disconcerting to know a boy's name yet not your own. But he has been buried in my memory so deep, that I think on my last visit to the Realm of Light, he was more important to my goals than I was."

Aqua sighed, "I know. I'm sorry."

The man nodded knowingly, "You are hurt by the powerlessness of this realm. I understand. You miss your friend, the boy, what was his name, Ven?"

"And Terra," she added.

"Ah yes," the man said, turning back to stare at the dark ocean once again.

Aqua summoned her keyblade, and examined it in her hands. Master Keeper wasn't her partner blade. She had sacrificed Stormfall to save Terra. But they had fought many enemies together since she had become trapped in the Realm of Darkness. The strange black creatures she learned from her new friend were called "Heartless". They were more powerful than the Unversed, but less menacing, as they didn't appear to have a goal and were more like animals. Several times she had considered letting them consume her, but in the end decided to fight on. As far as she knew she was the last Keyblade Master in existence. Until she heard about Sora.

He's probably my age, now, she thought broodingly, I've missed so much.

Aqua heard a sound like swirling wind. She looked up at a large rock on the shore. A black portal was forming from it, and opened wide. Aqua recognized it immediately and leapt to her feet. That hole haunted her memories. A pathway of Darkness, the same kind that left her trapped here.

At first, a hand emerged, as if testing the water. By now her companion had noticed the disturbance and risen to his feet too. Aqua readied Master Keeper and assumed a fighting stance. The hand withdrew from the portal, and suddenly a cloaked figure stepped through. He was wearing the same black cloak as the stranger, a hood over his face, though he appeared much younger than her companion.

The newcomer examined his hands and feet, apparently making sure they were all there. Satisfied, he looked up at the both of them, "Ah, Master Ansem, I'm glad that old pathway still works. Things have been falling apart without Xemnas maintaining the Dark Corridors. You never know where they'll lead to now, if anywhere at all."

Aqua and her companion simply looked at each other, then back to the newcomer who had so easily entered this realm the two of them had been exiled to.

"That's you," the newcomer pointed at Aqua's cloaked companion. "You…are…Ansem the Wise, aren't you?"

Aqua's friend held his hands up helplessly, "I cannot remember my name, friend. Do you know me somehow?"

The newcomer folded his arms and lowered his head in thought, "That is definitely his voice, at least. You could say I've been working for you."

"Working for me?"

The newcomer nodded, "For a while now."

"You say my name is Ansem?"

"Indeed it is. Better than the last time you were here. You started calling yourself DiZ, what a joke that was."

"And, what is this work that you claim to have been doing for me?"

"The same work we are all doing. Opposing Xehanort."

Aqua stepped forward, feeling the fire in her blood again, "Xehanort? You know about Xehanort?" She had difficulty putting aside her hatred for the man who had not only banished her here, but possessed her friend Terra, possibly killed Ventus, and was responsible for Master Eraqus's death.

The newcomer regarded the woman with the blue hair and firey blue eyes cautiously, "You are Aqua, aren't you?"

"I am," she responded without hesitation.

"Good, in fact, great that you're both here together."

"And what about Sora?" the apparent Ansem asked.

"Ah, Sora. They will be coming for you soon."

"They?" Aqua asked.

"I'm just the advance team," the newcomer explained, "And I'm sorry to ask you both to wait a little longer. I lack the power to take others with me through the realm of Darkness anymore. Master Yensid is making preparations as we speak to bring our Army of Light together again. But I felt I would make sure to open alternative pathways in case he fails."

"If you can't bring us back why come at all?" Aqua said, disappointment ringing in her voice.

The newcomer smiled under his hood, "I've never been one to sit around and let things happen."

"You mentioned an Army of Light?" Ansem questioned him.

"Yes," the newcomer said, all hints of joking leaving his voice. "To speak plainly, Sora lacks the power to battle Xehanort in his current form. He will need the aid of all his friends if he is even to survive this task. All of the Keyblade wielders and remnants of past Wielders are being brought together to oppose Xehanort's darkness. Ventus, Terra's remnants, Master Aqua, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, and Master Yensid are all preparing for battle, as well as all of Sora's allies across the worlds."

"And who are you?" asked Ansem.

"I will be there," the newcomer responded curtly.

Aqua stepped forward, "You said, Terra's remnants…I'm afraid to ask. What does that mean?"

The cloaked man turned to her, "I will not lie to you, Master Aqua. Terra's body is still possessed by Xehanort." Aqua gasped, covering her mouth with her hand in shock. Even after all these years? The man continued, "But there is a way to revive a remnant of Terra. But it will require your presence, as well as Ventus. It has happened before, on accident, with another person possessed by part of Xehanort." Even though she could not see them, Aqua could tell that the man was averting his eyes, "But that was only part of Xehanort. There are no guarantees this time."

"But there is hope?" Aqua offered hesitantly.

The man nodded, "So long as your hearts are connected."

Aqua slowly brushed a tear from her face. A muted wind blew through the beach in Dark Meridian, and she smiled, "Then he definitely will return to us. Our hearts are always together," she touched a small good luck charm on her neck fondly.

"Now," the deep voice of Ansem spoke up, "Perhaps you will be so kind as to tell us who you are?"

The man paused, as if unsure, "You'll be seeing me again," he replied, "just think of me as someone who owes you a favor." He reached his arm behind him, and the portal opened up, "As I said, I can only carry myself through this dimension anymore. It will be best for you two to stay here and wait for a proper rescue. If Yensid fails, you'll see me again, don't worry. By then, I may be strong enough to once again bring others with me." Aqua gripped her keyblade, as if readying to dash in after him, but he seemed to anticipate her feelings, "It would be in your best interest to stay here. Both of you. Master Yensid knows you're here, so once his preparations are complete, he can draw both of you back through the Realm of Light." His hidden gaze fixed on Aqua, "Neither of you may survive a second trip through this door," and with that, he stepped back, falling into the portal and melting away. Aqua sighed, and watched the doorway seal up behind him, finally letting down her guard.

"Well Aqua," Ansem said softly, "it seems our exile is coming to an end."

Aqua allowed herself a weak smile, brushing back her blue hair and looking towards the Dark Meridian's glowing full moon, the sloshing of the waves into the shoreline for the first time in her long exile finally relaxing her. They seemed to buffer the warm feeling inside her, a feeling she had until quite recently forgotten completely: hope, "I'm counting on you, Sora."

((Author's Note: Consider this your final spoiler warning if you haven't played 3D There will be a lot of exposition in the next 5 chapters or so. The least reason of which is that I needed a flow-chart to explain Dream Drop Distance to my brother, who actually played Birth By Sleep. I am trying to keep this accessible to people who only ever played to Kingdom Hearts 2. So, spoilers. They be here.

Also, I invite you to glance at my profile if I have kept your attention. There you'll find a complete story summary, mission statement, links to the feedback and input forum (voting!), and a link to RoxasTsuna, the artist who so graciously supplied the avatar for Deepest Descent.))