My love for the new trailer(s) exploded, and while exploring all the new fanart, I came across an incredible comic by le-hibou on tumblr. That's where this came from.
I could have waited and let my roommate beta this before posting, but... I honestly couldn't stop myself. So enjoy!
Vanitas walked down a corridor, footsteps loud in the silence. He hated this place. He hated every place, but this one was sterile, white, too bright. The only thing that made it bearable was the underlying darkness, the raw emotion he could feel stored here, below his feet. Fear. It radiated from the place.
He couldn't help the chuckle that slipped from him. This world may have something to offer him yet.
Well, besides his "mission," he did have one other thing he wanted to do. Sora was supposed to be his main target. Vanitas had been told-by a piece of his former master, no less-that the happy-go-lucky keyblader had the seeds of darkness growing in him. He had given in once, only to be rescued by his "friends." What a weakling.
Vanitas had seen Sora only once. A brief contact during Sora's trip into the dream world. It had been unsettling for Vanitas to see his own face; His own face, yet someone else's. At least that had cleared up where he had gotten it. Which brought him back to his own, personal goal.
If he had Sora's face, that had to mean the light wielder was the reason Ventus had survived all those years ago. And if Ventus was still in there… Vanitas felt a smile slip across his face, a parody of joy. He left his helmet off for a reason. Ventus already knew him, so there was no point hiding. Besides, he couldn't wait to see the look on Sora's face when he was confronted by the person he gave his face to.
Whether Sora remembered seeing him or not, light wielders always had such fun reactions.
If only he could pinpoint where they were. He paused for a moment, concentrating on the tugging in his half of the heart. There. It was faint, but he felt it; a light that both drew him in and repulsed him.
Turning, Vanitas pushed through a nearby door into a locker room. Ventus was close.
"I can feel you here…" Vanitas said, voice low and deliberate. Even though there was no response, he didn't doubt that his other half could feel him coming. His smile grew. "Ventus-"
He turned a corner into another part of the room and immediately stopped. A long mirror lined the wall above some sinks, reflecting back a clear image of the room, and Vanitas.
Horror struck, he couldn't move. Just stared at his face, eyes running over it again, and again. Some part in the back of his brain knew, knew that worlds could change wielders to suit them. But he couldn't take his eyes off the horror in front of him.
Colorless, dark fur covered his skin, his hair replaced by black… scales? Fins? His gaping mouth gave him a good view of his new fangs, and his head was framed by what looked like horns growing where his ears used to be.
He finally caught his own eyes, still a bright yellow, the vertical slits in them shrunken to almost round pinpricks. Monster.
That blue-haired master's voice rang in his head. "You freak!" Vanitas clenched his hands to keep them from shaking. The voices kept coming back, over, and over. Monster. Freak. Empty creature… At least I have friends! Nothing. You monster! How could you?!
"No..." Darkness pooled in his fist, summoning his keyblade.
"I'm not a freak!"
He brought Void Gear down on the image in front of him, shattering the glass.
Breathing heavy, Vanitas just stared at the jagged hole in front of him. Blank, like his face used to be. He couldn't look at it anymore and turned away, using his free hand to summon his mask. Ventus would recognize him, regardless, so he could still taunt Sora. That was all that mattered.
Void Gear vanished into motes of black as Vanitas stalked away, pointedly avoiding reflective surfaces. Now, where was that coward hiding?
A/N: So, I may come back and do a thorough edit of this later. But lemme know what you thought of it. I just really wanted to capture a possible reason Vanitas was walking around with his mask again, and I can't help but really feel for my angry son, augh.