Ventus had never been happier, at least that he couldn't remember. He wondered if perhaps when he lost his heart he may have lost memories? No. He was over thinking the thought. As he waited by the ship, Sora realized he did leave something that he needed. "Ven, I will be back, I should go get something from home real quick!" Ven nodded as he watched Sora row across the ocean to the main islands. If only he knew how to give, or even make keyblade armor, he would show Sora. Maybe even Riku or Kairi. Does Kairi even know to use a keyblade, let alone wield one?
As Sora was rowing back, he tried recalling why he knew Ventus. He tried to think back. He couldn't remember much from when he was a kid and started to think harder, maybe he met- "Sora!" Sora jumped as he realized he had already gotten to the main island, "Sora you alright? You looked like you were lost in thought." He looked over at Kairi, who was leaning over the boat, while Sora had fallen back in it, laying down.
"Gimme a break-" Sora stopped as he chuckled, this had to have been the hundredth time they've done this. "Sorry, guess I got lightheaded there." Kairi helped Sora out of the the boat and walked to his house with him. "I thought you didn't need anything?" Kairi looked at him quizzically. "Actually, I remembered that I needed something... Important." He trailed off as he entered his house. "Be right back Kairi." He walked upstairs and past his mom into his room.
As Sora looked around he had finally found what he was looking for; a photo of him, Kairi, and Riku. He took it with his mom's camera, considered it his good luck item. "Gotcha. Almost forgot ya." He smiled before slipping it in his pants pocket. He walked downstairs past his mom again before she stopped him.
"So... You and Riku are going away again..." Sora stopped, he forgot to even say goodbye to his mom. Now he felt terrible. "And... Kairi... Mom." To be honest, his mom wasn't even that sad. She was mainly proud of him. "Sora... It's dangerous out there, from what I have been told by Riku, Kairi, and yourself." Sora turned around to face her and his mom hugged him. "Well, I just want to say... I am very proud of you. You've grown faster than I expected." Sora chuckled, "Well, yeah. Comes with being a-" His mom cut him off, "Hero. I know son. I just get worried one day I will lose you and never know it." She placed an Elixir in his hand, along with a keychain. "But I know you will come back safe. And I found this buried in the sand a week ago. I was going to give it to you once it was your birthday, but since you're leaving... I have no clue when you'll be back. So I thought you should have it now. Goodbye Sora, please return safely." She kissed his forehead before he hugged her tightly. "Thanks mom, I love you." He pulled back and started heading out the door. "Love you too... Sora."
Kairi was outside waiting for Sora, thinking if she had ever met Ventus. She remembered meeting someone who dressed similar to him. She still wondered why he looked EXACTLY like Roxas. She would probably never know. "Ready to go Kairi?" Sora suprised her, hugging her from behind. "Ah! Oh... It's only you. Please warn me beforehand. I though I was being kidnapped." She referred to when Axel got her. On the bright side she did see Sora again.
"C'mon Kairi, besides the islands disappearing, name one bad thing that has happened." He did have a point didn't he? She tried thinking about it, and again he was right. "Would you two lovebirds hurry up? I had to come back and get you because you were taking to long." Kairi blushed madly as Sora smiled. "What? I had to come back and get something!"
"..."
"Well Ven, I don't know how you woke up, but I sure am glad you are!" Mickey smiled widely as Donald drove the ship, Sora asking to drive. Again. Some things never change. "Well what do you mean Mickey? Was I not supposed to wake up?" Mickey shook his head. "No, but thats what is strange, first the Unversed, and now you. We all thought we needed the power to wake you, Riku could have but Xehanort had gotten Sora. So Riku had to use that power to wake him up. But sadly only Riku passed the exam, but Sora was a good sport about it!" Riku had walked over to hear that last half of what Mickey had said.
"Yes. I may have woken Sora, but I was the only one bequeathed master. And Mickey, Ventus is the one you mentioned before? When you had said that Sora's heart had fallen asleep too?" Mickey nodded and looked back at Ventus. "Yes. But now, we don't have the necessary power to save-" Ventus interrupted him, "Aqua..." Mickey looked over at Ventus, suprised he knew he was talking about Aqua in the first place. "Ven? How did you know it was Aqua who needed saving?"
Ven looked down at his hands, ready to cry, but knew he couldn't. He knew Aqua was trapped, she shall forever wander in darkness most likely because of him. He remembered.
Ventus had still been asleep awhile. During this part of slumber, he had only been able to wander in his head, a field of emptiness inside him. He fell down and wanted to cry, but couldn't. He was stuck, while his friends were saving people as he thought.
"Terra! Ven!"
Ventus looked up, wondering where he heard that voice... "Aqua...?" Ven said weakly, seeing himself being engulfed by darkness.
When everything had became visible again, he heard... Terra? "Aqua? Can you see me?" Ven wanted to scream, and hug his best friends. They were together again. Then he discovered, he couldn't move. He was lifeless, like a puppet. He couldn't speak either. Terra looked like he was on the verge of crying, he talked about how he was now linked to darkness.
He heard Aqua talking, but noticed something she didn't. Terra's eyes widened, and he grabbed his head, moving back and forth from pain.
He suddenly stopped.
His hair was now grey like ash. His eyes, they went from dark blue, to gold. His voice was different as he spoke, "This place. Is it the Chamber of Waking?" Aqua, who was to overwhelmed from seeing her friends, accidentally said yes.
"Who are you, really?" She glared as she moved Ven behind her. Terra chuckled, "You don't know? My name, is-" Another Terra materialized behind the golden eyed one, and grabbed him. As soon as he spoke Ventus and Aqua knew that was the real Terra. After a short fight, he and Aqua were grabbed by giant, hands from the darkness.
"That is... ENOUGH!!!" He heard Terra scream at the top of his lungs, golden chains flying around the Terra Xehanort, binding him. He faded as he was pulled through the darkness, away from his two friends.
Ven was stressed a lot when he remembered those moments. "I-I couldn't save them..." Mickey smiled as he shook his head. "Ven. Aqua is okay, but I'm not sure about Terra."
Just hearing that made him happy and sad; Aqua was alright, but not Terra? He will have to find Terra himself. He will, no one will stop him from doing so. Ventus was about to speak, but heard an alarm go off, signifying they were approaching Yen Sid's tower.
Everybody walked off, upstairs through the crazy rooms and stairs that led to the masters chamber. When they walked in Yen Sid had been going over the Book of Prophecies. He looked up, "I see you all have-" his eyes went wide as he saw Ventus in the back of the group. "Ventus?! How have you woken up? Your heart should only now have been halfway restored, you should still be in that ageless sleep!" Yen Sid was struck by this, clearly.
All Ventus could do was an awkward wave and chuckle, "I-I don't know either, but I'm here." He did a quick bow and stood up straight. Yen Sid dismissed him, addressing that he hadn't needed to bow. "Nonetheless, this makes our predicament more simplified." The master had Ven, Donald, Goofy, and Sora step out. He needed to speak to The king, Riku, and Kairi on their own.
It started with them talking about Aqua, and how Mickey had known her location. Riku felt slightly enraged; they could have saved her when closing the door! "Who's this new Riku? And what did you do with the old one?" Riku stopped and looked at Kairi confused when she said that. After saying he acted like Sora there he laughed with them all. Yen Sid handed Mickey and Riku black cases before sending them away somewhere.
Kairi stuck around after being informed about Axel- well... Lea being in training with her. She felt awkward about it, but would still have to do it anyways. Yen Sid eventually talked with Sora, Donald, and Goofy; sending them on their way to Olympus Colosseum.
He now needed to speak with Ventus, and Kairi.
"Kairi, as you now know, you and Ventus here will be training with young Lea. Ventus may not know him. But Kairi, Lea is on our side now, prevent yourself from antagonizing or attacking him." Kairi nodded, still a bit shaken from this. The guy kidnapped her, why wouldn't she not trust him!?
As Ventus spoke with Yen Sid, he thought about where he could have possibly met Lea. His or her name sounded so familiar. "And Ventus, since you have woken up and still aren't fully used to your body again, I will have you train with the wizard Merlin. Ven smiled widely as he was told that. He nodded quickly, and Merlin simultaneously appeared. Merlin laughed heartedly as he saw him. "Ah Ventus, how have you been my boy?" He and Merlin teleported over to an area he didn't know about, all the while catching up on what had been going on with each of them.
Ventus had been trained to use magic again, since he somehow forgot while he slept. Merlin stopped him, congratulating him on how fast he was learning. He had sent him back to Yen Sid, saying he had already learned and was able to train with the others now. "Really?!" Ven shouted, expecting to take several days to finish magic training.
Yen Sid instructed that everyone would be at Twilight Town training. Merlin created a door there, seeing as Lea and Kairi had taken the last Gummi Ship. "Now Ventus, seeing as Sora had his hands full, plus Riku and Mickey already being far gone into the darkness, you shall be partying with the two on missions." Ven nodded before smiling like a child and running through the door, he had suddenly felt everything go black once he made it through.
"..."
Ventus sat up, finding himself on a tall hill, with a small statue of a clock on it. He closed his eyes again. It felt so warm, and peaceful. "Wow..." He sighed as he looked out at the sunset. He checked the clock... Only noon?! It must be like this all the time, except nighttime obviously. Ventus found everything extremely beautiful as he walked around, from the afternoon streets, to the tall buildings and nice people.
He ran to the train station after finding out where it was. "The trains out? Half an hour?" He couldn't wait that long. He asked if there was a faster way, "Through the tunnel system?" He looked over at the area from where the person was pointing.
As soon as Ven made it to the tunnel, he saw a sliver of white zoom around him, circling him quickly before taking off into the tunnel. He wondered what that was about, putting his hands to his side.
"Wait a minute..." He gasped.
That thing stole his Wayfinder.
"Hey! Get back here!" He chased after it into the dark corridor, searching around every corner. He eventually had checked everywhere, giving up and sitting in the corner. He buried his face in his kness. He for some odd reason started hearing movement. When he looked up, there were Nobodies all around him. He screamed and jumped up, summoning his keyblade.
He started to fight them all, but for everyone of them he defeated, more would rise. "Where are they all coming from?!" He screamed as he tried to defend himself. Was he going to die? There were too many for him to handle!
"..."
The flame-like redhead walked down the afternoon streets, a teenage girl right next to him as they searched around for something. "Lea, where are we going?" The girl asked, seeing as they finished their mission. Why weren't they heading back? "Kairi, I'm doing something I used to do with a... Friend of mine." He walked up to an ice cream store, about to buy some. "You really don't have to." "No, it doesn't matter much, I do this all the time anyways." He sighed and bought two ice creams. "What flavor is this?" Kairi asked as she looked on the wrapper. "Its sea salt ice cream." He said as he was being handed his.
He suddenly heard a loud scream come from a tunnel nearby, possibly a male by the sounds of it. "Stay here." He handed his ice cream back, running towards the tunnels. Kairi handed hers back and waited as instructed, not wanting to upset him. "I just feel it wouldn't be right, eating it without him." The shopkeeper smiled and nodded, waiting for Lea to come back.
As Lea searched around the tunnels. He couldn't help but think. That scream sounded EXACTLY like Roxas! It couldn't be him though... Couldn't it? He was Sora now. And would remain that way as he thought. He soon came across a blonde boy, passed out on the ground and surrounded by Heartless and some other monster. "Roxas!" He screamed as he summoned his chakrams, throwing them at the Heartless and the other monsters.
"You won't forget this!" Lea threw the chakrams all around him, hurling them towards the enemies before summoning pillars of fire and incinerating all the enemies. He breathed heavily as summoned his weapons away.
"Roxas! I can't believe you're- wait you're not Roxas..." He sighed sadly when he looked closer. This boy gave him a different vibe, and he felt his pulse when he turned him over. He shook the boy, waking him up. "Ugh... Thanks... They overpowered me, and almost got me if it wasn't for you. By the way, my name's Ventus." Lea got a weird feeling about him, but his eyes got wide once he heard his name. "Ventus?! It's me, remember?" Ventus cocked his head. "Hm... You do look familiar." Lea shook his head, somewhat sad. "It's me, Lea!" Ven thought again, remembering his name sort of. "You do seem familiar." Ventus nodded and smiled. Lea sighed and chuckled, guess this kid was clueless like Roxas. "Yeah. You'll remember eventually. Come on, I'll get you an ice cream."
Ven nodded and walked alongside him, suddenly remembering something. "My-" he was cut off by Lea, who summoned his weapons and glared straight ahead. "Nobodies. Get ready." His voice sounded somewhat cold. Ventus recognized the Nobody as the white blur. He glared as he summoned his keyblade. Lea charged at them, swinging at them and burning them with fire magic. Ventus repeatedly attacked them, using standard attacks and random magic to kill them. Lea suddenly glowed red, surrounded by fire. He slammed they chakrams down, fire killing the remaining enemies. Ventus was envious of Lea's incredible power.
Ven suddenly turned around, stabbing a nobody that tried to sneak up on him. When he did, his Wayfinder fell to the ground. He sighed, and put it in his pocket. He loses the charm to much at this point. "Come on, my friends waiting and we need to get that ice cream still. Got it memorized?" Ventus suddenly laughed, realizing who this was, or remembering at least. "I do have it memorized! Oh, and I still think I won that fight back then." Lea gasped and turned around, a smile crawling into his face. "I was immature back then. Good to have you back." He walked out of the tunnel and saw Kairi.
"Kairi!" He waved at her, catching her attention. She waved back and smiled warmly as the two walked over. "Hi Ven! I see you and Lea already have met."
"Well, this means we can skip the formalities." Lea walked over and took the two ice creams back, buying one more for Ventus. "All right you two, follow me." Ventus didn't question it as they walked up the stairs of the clock tower. Kairi on the other hand didn't understand why they were going to the top.
As soon as they got up, Lea handed them their ice creams and sat down on the ledge. The two teenagers thanked him for the ice cream. "It's salty..." Ven said, "And sweet." Kairi finished, both realizing they were saying the same thing basically. Lea did a small laugh, trying not to get sad, "Funny... Roxas said that exact thing when I showed him this flavor." Lea sighed, staring out at the sun as he ate the ice cream.
"Hey, Lea."
Lea looked over at Ventus, "Yes?"
"What was Roxas like?" Ven asked, seeing how Lea and Roxas seemed very close at one point. Kairi also wondered too, only knowing Roxas from some accidental connection, and when he returned to Sora.
"Roxas..." Lea sighed, "He was... A goofball and a bit of a hothead. Him and I, we always sat up here after work. We laughed and we got sad, anything else best friends would do." Lea paused, "He wanted a heart. He wanted to know who Sora was, and why he had a keyblade." Ven remembered Riku saying Roxas was a nobody. But not that he had a keyblade. "Before he left, we worked for a bad group. They were called the Organization XIII. I believe I was number eight. Roxas was thirteen. He figured out that we were being used for a man named Xemnas, and fled to find Sora. That opened my eyes, but I couldn't leave at that point, or I'd be executed." Ventus noticed the pain on his face. "I finally left to go get Roxas back. But he always beat me, wanting to fight. I let my anger get in the way and let him go return to Sora. If only I could apologize to him." Lea went on to tell how he was called Axel, and other things about Roxas.
"Lea." Ventus sighed, catching Lea's attention. "If what you say is true, Roxas always had a heart. You need... A heart to cry." Lea let that sink in. Ventus was right. Lea still wondered a bit if Roxas was perhaps Ven's nobody. They looked exactly alike. He sighed and smiled. "Well, Roxas may be gone, but I won't forget him." They all ended up laughing and talking about everything going on.
"..."
Sora felt a tear go down his face, follwed by a bit of joy. What? He shook it off, assuming he was sad about leaving the islands now. What he didn't know, was that it was Roxas. He had heard Lea in the back of his head. He wanted to apologize to him as well. But he couldn't. He's where he belongs. He sat in the corner of Sora's mind. The area of his mind, was that of Destiny Islands. Roxas always assumed that it was what his mind took form as for Sora himself, something Sora loved.
Roxas sometimes cried, wishing for freedom. He went to the beach, looking out in the distance. He breathed in the salty air and sighed. Why was this place so joyful to Sora, but so... Empty.
"This could have been the other way around."
Roxas heard his own voice, the voice sounding like three of him out of sync as they spoke.
"That's why it has to be you."
Roxas fell on the sand and screamed, curling up. He screamed at the top of his lungs as he felt pain all throughout his body. Everything went black and when he opened his eyes again, he wasn't himself. He looked like Ventus, but didn't know it. He assumed something was screwing him and changed his clothes. As he got up on the beachfront and regained his posture, he walked towards the back of the island, wanting to find who did this.
He saw something from the corner of his eye.
When he turned around, there was a dark mist, hovering up above the bridge. "Hello. Ventus." Roxas raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me?" He said quizzically as he shrugged. "Wait. You're not Ventus." The voice coming from the mist growled, sounding irritated. "Who are you. And why are you here?" Roxas growled in the back of his throat, knowing whoever it was is real, not imagined by Sora or one of his fears becoming an entity.
"First, who are you? Faker." He noticed a form, curled up in the mist now. "Now, answer my question." The body stretched out, and a keyblade materialized in the figure's hand. "I'm Roxas. And who are you?" The figure appeared behind him. "To you, trouble." Roxas felt a sharp pain in his back as he flew to the other side of the island, landing on his side. He clutched his side as he stood up and summoned his keyblade.
The two got into a fight, lasting awhile. This person was beating Roxas. The man approached him slowly. "Vanitas." Roxas gasped as he was about to be struck down and killed. "Remember the name!" As soon as Vanitas swung his key down, Roxas heard a voice call out to him.
"Roxas!"
When he opened his eyes, he saw that he had two keyblades again. "Two?!" Vanitas jumped back and charged forward with mighty speed, only to be blown back by a gust of dark energy. Roxas jumped up and healed, immediately swinging the weapons around and flying forward with light attacks, some darkness as well. He flew right through Vanitas and saw him fall to the ground with a whimper. "Had enough?" Roxas said as he turned around, seeing that the person was escaping through a dark corridor underneath them. Roxas shouted and ran but was to late. He was gone. A voice echoed in the back of his head.
"I will be back, toy."
Toy? Is that what Roxas was to Vanitas?
"What is going on...?" Roxas felt tired, and went inside the small shack to rest.
Roxas felt this wouldn't be over anytime soon. What was happening?