Summary: Once a boy named Arun, Vanitas had lived through two lifetimes where he struggled to find himself. After journeying across multiple worlds, he had triumphed over many obstacles and had regained his true name and memories once again. All seems well except he is still in a body not his own and he carries a weight on his heart concerning his future. When King Mickey calls upon Arty to assist him in restoring a journal with missing entries Vanitas will discover that his future lies within the past. He had given up his quest to find Kingdom Hearts all for the sake of his friends, so his future is uncertain. He will need to visit Sora's first journey and rediscover what he was meant to do and perhaps discover there are deeper connections that need to be remembered.
Disclaimer for all chapters: I do not own either Square Enix characters or Disney characters. I own only original characters.
Chapter 1
Vanitas was sure he was in some kind of hell.
He sat in a chair in Merlin's house listening to the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee (formerly called the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee) argue about flower placements. The committee were having their weekly meeting, which explained while all eight members were there. They were seated in mismatched chairs at the stone dias. They were a tight squeeze given they were all there. He was sure he was the single person bored by it all.
Who would have thought two weeks ago Vanitas and his friends had taken on an evil group of Nobodies-Organization XIII-and he had discovered his true self again? His entire life at the tender age of six again? His entire life at the tender age of six he was an orphan that had no recollection of who he was. Now he knew his life and wondered if it was for the best. Two weeks ago his name had been Arun. At the present time he preferred for everyone but his closest friends to call him Vanitas.
It was all a mind fuck.
He drummed his fingers on the table, uncaring if it projected his boredom. In one ear went an argument about why they should open up the castle to the public that never went out the other. It was so boring! He could be doing better things like kicking Heartless butt! But, no. Because he was weak against a fifteen year old girl, he was stuck in some boring meeting.
"Arun?" Vanitas snapped out of his daze. He turned to his friend, Arty. She gave him an exasperated smile. "Meeting's over. We can go now."
True to her words, the members got out of their chairs. Leon and Yuffie left the house to go on their patrols. Aerith also left to go shopping while Cid went to the computer to start a new project at Ansem's office. Merlin even left gather some ingredients he needed for a new potion.
"Oh. Did we get anything done?"
"Not really," Caelum yawned on his other side. He stretched his arms above his head, relaxing in his seat in relief. "It's the same old, same old. We never get anything done past assigning patrol routes."
"It's not that bad," Arty said, contradicting what he said. "We have an important role in town. After all, it's our first priority. It's not like we can go out and save worlds."
"I know. All you've done is help destroy one," Vanitas teased. He referred to how Arty had willing went with them to take down the Organization's home base.
Arty pouted.
"I don't like destroying worlds. It just sometimes happens."
"You've got issues, Arty."
"Shut up."
Two weeks ago, during the dark point in his life, Vanitas thought it would be impossible to go back to the innocent days they once had when they lived in Meryton. They still happened, but they were few and far between. How could he enjoy those days when every time he looked at a mirror he was reminded of his past?
Vanitas remembered his entire life again since that happened. After defeating his 'Nobody' that turned out to be his inner darkness made corporeal, he took the time for self-reflection. One thing he knew was how he despised the face he wore and how much wanted his own heart. He didn't want to be associated with Ventus at all.
Except he had no choice but to. He had no body to begin with.
When the Heartless took my heart the body I had disappeared, he thought, sighing. That body was made real due to Sora lending him a little of his light. He was able to make a life for himself as long as he had his true self locked deep inside his heart. That normal life was all thanks to Sora's light. But, having lost his body (one that was originally made through sheer force of will and luck), he had nothing now. The small light he still held wasn't enough for him to create a new body, either. Of course, there was a way for him to regain his own body. However, that could lead to betraying all those he came to care for.
Betraying Arty and Caelum wasn't an option, so that idea was scrapped.
Who knew being 'good' would mean the most difficult and least fun path for him to take?
Oh, well. As long as his friends were happy, he was content. For now, anyway.
Vanitas got out of his chair, Arty and Caelum copying him. Arty went to the computer console in Merlin's house nestled in the corner to oversee some new projects. As per their usual routines, Vanitas and Caelum planned to head out to the Dark Depths, a cliff that overlooked the empty valley and oversaw Maleficent's old headquarters in the distance. They used that area to train more for Caelum's sake than his own.
Since the battle against Organization XIII, Caelum wished to train to fight the darkness more effectively. He saw how weak he was fighting the Nobodies. Training with Vanitas would help him become stronger. Vanita agreed on account of using his full powers again after eleven years.
Out of all his friends, he was the only one comfortable enough to use the darkness on a daily basis. Riku was the other one who could use the darkness as well, but he tried to not think about embracing it. One time he did proved how little control he had over it unlike Vanitas. So, he used what little darkness he had under his power to fight for the light. That left Riku as the perfect balance of light and darkness, both equal in his grasp. Vanitas, unfortunately, was nothing but darkness. He could never wield light as perfectly as the others. It suited him fine as he enjoyed using his dark powers.
"What are you going to do today?" Vanitas asked Arty, getting out of his chair.
"I think I'll be working on some side projects today," she replied. She sat back down at the computer. Picking up her satchel lying against the chair, she rummaged through it.
"Side projects? Isn't it bad enough you're working on upgrading the defense system as it is?" Caelum asked, exasperated. Vanitas was inclined to agree. The few weeks he lived in Radiant Garden he saw what was essentially Arty's daily routine. She spent most of her time working on the defense system that protected the town. Though Organization XIII was gone and Maleficent and her minion, Pete, had disappeared, Heartless popped up around the town like daisies. They had yet to vanish entirely and they were left to deal with them.
Seeing as how the Restoration Committee was so small in size, they needed to upgrade the system to accommodate their numbers. Needless to say it was still a hassle to deal with them.
"I know I'm busy as it is working on the Claymore, but I like to do stuff on the side. I get bored working on one thing for so long that I started doing some research on the side. Who knows? Maybe when I'm finished with my current side project you and Arun can have fun with it?"
"How so?"
"You know how we used to play at the arcade in Meryton after school?" Arty mentioned. The two boys nodded. Back in their hometown, there was an arcade there some of the kids went to after school. The three of them were no exception. When they had the money to spare they would spend a whole afternoon challenging one another at arcade games that were so old they belonged in a historical museum. They usually ended up playing for the highest score. "After finding out that it's possible to enter the computer systems, I got this idea to do what people in our world had struggled with: Virtual Reality."
"You've been trying to make it happen?" Vanitas asked, surprised.
"Yeah. I mean, why wouldn't I? I got the idea after I studied the mechanism that pulls physical objects into the digital space. I found it odd how it broke down the cells in the body into bits of data and code. After awhile of studying, I realized that doing it too many times can result in some...odd side-effects."
"How odd?"
"If you do one trip too many, your cells may mutate and you could possibly die." She winced as she said this. "It was also a waste of time to travel between the physical world and Tron's world, so I believed VR might be a safer option."
They nodded along to this. Vanitas, having been through the process of traveling between the computer system and the physical world, found it a better option.
"How does it work? Will it be like having a screen device strapped to your head and it'll sense your head movement and stuff?"
She shook her head.
"If I made it like that, I'd be more likely to hit someone. I was planning on trying something new." She reached into a box she had placed next to the computer console. From it, she took out a black bulky helmet with wires sticking out of it. There was a black plastic visor over the eyes. "I decided to try integrating the mind into a preloaded body. Using this helmet, it will scan the brain and nerves in order to send signals that mimic the five senses. It, essentially, fools the brain into moving in the virtual world rather than the real world. So, you're not using your body and it will be like you've fallen asleep while you're in the virtual world. And, because of how much it requires us to move around and fight in the virtual world, I had to make up a prototype game simulator like the kind you see in roleplaying games." She paused, and was suddenly very nervous. "Does...that make sense? I mean, it's just a prototype and all. I've managed to get the mind to integrate into the VR world, but I haven't worked out the kinks. Cid even had to help me come up with a decent processor, but it's still not the ideal one I think this needs. If it works, anyone can entered the datascape without physically leaving their body."
"It sounds complicated."
"I think that's a great idea," Caelum complimented, glaring at Vanitas out of the corners of his eyes.
"Yeah, great," he mumbled. While he did want to tell Arty maybe doing a Virtual Reality machine untested was a bad idea, the glint in her eyes when she got so passionate about her project was a sight to see. She shone while in her element, which was what he always admired about her. The way she got so enthusiastic about Gummi ships or when she spoke about Orion like he was a real person was so adorable.
And I'm done, he thought, running a hand through his spiky hair. This was bad. Why couldn't he stop thinking the words 'cute' or 'adorable' when it came to Arty? Ever since he fought his inner darkness, he was forced to acknowledge that, as his darkness told him, he had feelings deeper than friendship for his friend. He didn't know when or why, but he had formed something he was afraid to even think. It became apparent when he called her wearing the hairpins he gave her as perfect. These past few weeks, whenever they hung out together, he would get a bubbling feeling in his gut, his breath would shorten, and he always had to restrain himself from touching her in fear he would do something he would regret.
The second he remembered his true name Vanitas swore to himself he would stop living in denial. Unfortunately, this extended to his feelings for Arty. He accepted the fact he had these feelings for her, but he didn't know what to do with them. What was he supposed to know in this kind of situation? He never felt like this with anyone. Not like this, at least.
He let out a sigh. Why was this so complicated?
"Arun?" He was startled out of his stupor at his name. When he focused back to reality he did not expect a hand to be waving so close to his face. Glancing to the side, he found Caelum dropped his hand back to the table. His friend has his eyebrow raised at him. Arty was gone, sitting back at the computer console.
"Yeah? What's that look for?" It unsettled him how Caelum was looking at him like that.
Caelum considered him for a moment and looked like he was about to say something. Then, he paused.
"You're an idiot," he simply said.
Vantias flushed.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Just that you should stop ogling a certain someone or else I'll get Archimedes to peck your eyes out." Caelum stood from the table. "C'mon. We should get some training done before it gets dark."
Vanitas grumbled, silently wondering if Caelum knew he was starting to act weird when it came to Arty. Based on what he said, it was a possibility. He needed to start composing himself around her. He didn't want anyone else teasing him about how differently he looked at her.
The two prepared themselves for a long training session, grabbing extra Potions and Ethers they might need. It didn't take them long to do so and were ready to take off. They bid Arty goodbye when a resolute chime echoed from the computer console. Glancing at it, Arty rose an eyebrow.
"A message from Disney Castle?" Both Vanitas and Caelum stopped, intrigued. They hadn't heard from any of their Disney Town friends for ages. Arty pushed a button and on the screen a new window pulled up. It was a live video feed Chip and Dale, the royal engineers.
"Heya, Arty!" Dale, a brown haired chipmunk with a comically red nose, greeted exuberantly. "Long time no see!"
"Hi, Chip. Hi, Dale," she replied with no less the same enthusiasm. "How are you guys? Anything new going on?"
"You bet," said Chip. Unlike his brother, who began to chatter the daily routines going on in the castle, he went straight to business. "We were wonderin' if you could come over to the castle. We need your help with somethin'."
"What do you need help with?" Vanitas questioned, coming into the video frame. Caelum came up beside Arty, leaning sideways to give him all room on screen.
"Arun and Caelum are there, too! Good." Chip nodded in satisfaction. "Well, we were wonderin' if Arty could help analyze Jiminy's journal. Turns out his journal for Sora's first journey lost all of its entries for some reason. We didn't think nothin' of it till Jiminy found a message inside it."
"Do you mean that one journal? I remember Sora telling me about that," Arty hummed. "They also told me that after what happened in Hollow Bastion they fell asleep one night and suddenly woke up in Twilight Town's mansion where the computer lab was. They had no idea how they got there. They also found out a year had passed with no memory of what they did."
"I never heard about this," Caelum blurted out, perplexed. "I knew that they lost their memories, but I didn't know they had woken up in Twilight Town. How did they get there?"
Vanitas didn't know anything about this, so he kept quiet. He did want answers but decided to ask his questions later. Now wasn't the time. "What was the message in the journal?"
Chip brought up a picture of two images of paper. They were side-by-side on the screen."It was 'Thank Namine' and 'Their hurting will be mended when you return to end it.' Doesn't make sense, does it?"
"What does that even mean?"
"That's why we're askin' ya if you can come over and help out analyzin' it," Dale asked once more.
Arty thought for a moment. "What do you plan on doing to analyze it?"
"We want to use a computer that'll digitize the entire journal and we'll be able to scan through the journal's code to see if we can see the problem. Me an' Chip know how to set everythin' up, so that's why we're askin' for your advice, too."
"We thought that you might want to take a look," Chip added.
"I don't see why not. I'm curious about what happened to the journal, too."
"Great! Then, we'll see ya soon!" Arty and the two chipmunks chatted a bit more about what items she might need to bring over. While she did that, Vanitas pondered on this information.
He was a bit skeptical about the whole thing. What kind of thing did they need Arty for? It was nice for her to bond with other engineers and collaborate on a new project. That didn't mean he wasn't curious about the whole thing. They said it had to do with some journal that archived Sora's first journey losing all of its entries. He wondered how digitizing the journal would help figure out the mystery?
Ah, well, he dismissed as he watched Arty bid goodbye to the chipmunks. As long as she had a good time, he was willing to push his paranoia away. He wanted her to have fun when traveling to other worlds.
The stories he heard about her told him that while she didn't travel much, the few times she went to other worlds weren't the best experiences she had-not like the ones he had on his journey, anyway. He wanted her to have at least one good memory she could look back on.
"So," said Arty, turning to her friends, "what's the verdict? Do you want to go visit Disney Castle?"
"You're going whether we say yes or no, right?" She nodded. "Then, I'm going. I'd feel more comfortable if I was nearby in case something happens. Plus, I want to see Max and Queen Minnie again."
It may have been two weeks since he saw Max, but he had gotten so used to him behind around he left a hole behind. He had gotten attached to Max and quickly considered him a close friend. Who knew multiple life threatening situations could make them bond so fast?
As for Queen Minnie, well...He had a soft spot for her. She was kind to him even though she didn't know him. Anyone like that was okay in his book.
Caelum shrugged. "I wouldn't mind visiting them. I can ask King Mickey for some training advice while we're there."
"You're complaining about me working too hard?" Arty teased, shutting down her computer. "Then, it's settled! Let's visit Disney Castle. I'll go tell Merlin. You guys head home and pack some stuff."
It was agreed and they separated to go do their own tasks before they left their world. None of them thought this task would take very long and it would be a pleasant visit.
They were sure things would be fine.
XXX
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the sequel of Heart and Soul!
I'm sorry for the wait, but I've had some complications. As you can see, I'm basing this on the next game in the timeline, Re:Coded. Boy, is this going to be fun! However, I said in an author's note in the previous story I would write a full outline for this story. However, I came to the realization that I can't plan anything out because I rely on my reviewers to help point out things as I go along. You, my readers, helped me see things in my story that I missed out on. I had planned about the first two worlds in the outline before I came to a standstill. I hit a writer's block and I didn't know what to do. It also turns out I do better under pressure when I remember I need to update soon. That's one of the reasons why I have no outline. So, yeah. Four months of waiting and all I have so far are two worlds.
Sorry.
I hope you enjoy the story!
Please review!