"Gotta admit I never thought we'd be coming back here together," Riku said as he and Sora arrived at the small piece of land in front of the gates of Castle Oblivion. Sora looked up at the strange castle with his last journey there flickering on the edges of his memory. Riku had informed him of some of it and he knew Roxas had once been there, but had passed out before taking ten steps inside. Beyond that, he found he really didn't know much about the strange world.
"Come on," he said lightly, picking up his pace. "The sooner we find the Chamber of Waking, the better."
"If we even find it," Riku grumbled. "Lea said the Organization had no luck at all." Sora turned back to face him and smiled.
"The King said he thinks I'm holding onto… what's-his-face- Ventus- his heart, right?" Riku nodded. "And he and Master Yen Sid think his body might be somewhere in this castle. Maybe I'll have better luck." He looked up at the castle again as they reached the front doors. "He came to me all those years ago and I just wanted him to be happy. And The King said we have to save those who are hurting. Not to mention finding these Seven Lights to fight Xehanort, right?" They both fell silent, and suddenly Riku started laughing. "What's so funny?!"
"Did you ever think we'd get roped into something like this back when we were building the raft?" he asked. "All we wanted to do was see other worlds. And now we're fighting to save them from total destruction or whatever else Xehanort has planned. We've dealt with Heartless and Nobodies and hearts where they're not supposed to be…" He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "It's just… I never could have guessed we'd end up involved in all this."
"Well, we are," Sora shrugged. "Might as well make the best of it. So come on, Master Riku. We've got people to save!" With that, he shoved the door open and blinked as they entered the stark white halls of Castle Oblivion, disorienting compared to the darkness outside.
Sora came to a stop once the door shut behind them, and Riku tilted his head curiously.
"You okay?" he asked, and Sora didn't immediately reply. He frowned and took another few steps forward, and he felt something strange reacting in his chest.
"I think he's here," he finally said. "I can feel it." He picked up his pace and Riku followed closely as they started through the deserted castle, long since left by Organization XIII after the members stationed there had been eliminated. It was almost eerily quiet, and the Keyblade wielders' footsteps echoed through the halls as they made their way through. Sora didn't say anything as he followed the sense in his heart, changing direction as well as he could when it started to fade. Riku stuck close to him out of fear of getting lost if they were separated and silently wondered how easily they'd find their way out.
"We're getting close," Sora announced after some time, placing his hand over his chest. "Something in there… It wants out badly."
"He wants to go home," Riku said, and his friend nodded. They came across an open room, empty save a bit of dust. Sora slowed down and looked around carefully, his fingers tightening over his chest as the feeling in his heart began to hurt. He summoned his Keyblade and shut his eyes.
"Show me where to find you," he mumbled. He opened his eyes as his Keyblade reacted to something- he wasn't entirely sure what- and Riku leapt out of the way as it swung around and pointed at one of the walls. A light shot out from it and in the wall appeared what looked like a portal. The Keyblade wielders exchanged a look, and Riku tilted his head toward it. Sora nodded and the two approached it. Light flashed around them as they passed through, and they found themselves in front of another door.
"No wonder they couldn't find this," Riku noticed as he looked around the small room they had been taken to. "I bet this isn't even directly connected to any other part of the castle. Not to mention needing a Keyblade."
"Yeah," Sora said, only half paying attention as the pain in his heart intensified. He half stepped, half stumbled to the door and, after a moment's hesitation, opened it slowly.
The chamber's walls bore what appeared to be slight chains and a symbol resembling a heart shape with sharp angles. It was empty save a single white throne in the middle, and within it was a sleeping boy.
"That's him," Riku said softly, almost as if not to disturb him. Sora blinked, confused as he observed the boy. He strikingly resembled Roxas, though his face was slightly different. He had several pieces of armor on but was otherwise dressed rather casually in an outfit mostly made of blacks, whites, and grays.
"Ventus," Sora breathed and took several slow steps toward him. The pain in his heart reacted wildly as the boy's heart tried to return to his body with no luck. Sora frowned, trying to collect his thoughts. Here he was, his body and heart, but the two couldn't rejoin. "But why not?" he grumbled. "I guess I figured it would just sort of go to him."
"What do you mean?" Riku asked, and Sora turned to him.
"His heart. I can tell it's trying to go back to him, but… It's like it can't." His gaze dropped as he tried to think. "Like when Kairi's heart was in mine… I couldn't return it to her without…" Riku shuddered.
"Well, then what do we do?" he wondered. "Should we take him back to Master Yen Sid? Maybe he can think of something." Sora lowered his head and crossed his arms in thought, trying to focus through the pain in his heart.
"Maybe…" he thought aloud.
"Maybe what?" Riku wondered.
"You're a Keyblade Master," Sora continued, turning to his friend. "You should have the power to take a heart from a body, right?" Riku's eyes widened.
"Uh-uh, no way. Not a chance." He could see from Sora's gaze that it wasn't a winning argument. "I've never done anything like that, Sora."
"There's a first time for everything," Sora replied lightly with a smile. "Come on. He needs us, Riku. And I don't think we're getting it out any other way." Riku, after several moments longer of staring at him, let out a long, heavy sigh and summoned the Way to the Dawn. He took several steps back and turned back toward the brunette boy.
"You're sure about this?" he asked as he raised his Keyblade, and Sora gave him a reassuring smile and nod. He hesitated a moment longer, then tightened his grip on the Keyblade's handle. A light formed around the tip and shot forth, targeted at Sora's chest. Sora grunted as it struck him and Riku clenched his teeth, both boys trying to focus on the heart within Sora's.
Sora stumbled back as a bright light appeared from his chest, and Riku hurried over to grab his arm before he fell. Sora smiled again and looked over to the light that had appeared. It was much brighter than he remembered from that brief time he'd seen it when he was a little boy gazing up at the stars. He straightened up as the light gently floated over to the boy sleeping in the throne and absorbed into his chest. Both Keyblade wielders ceased breathing as they waited for some sign, anything, to prove their efforts hadn't been in vain.
After what felt like an eternity in only a few heartbeats, the boy's right hand twitched. A soft, nearly soundless groan came from his throat. He slowly opened his blue eyes and lifted his head to find two boys staring at him with fevered concern. And as his consciousness returned to him, he smiled.
"Sora," he said gently, and a bright grin spread on Sora's face.
"You know my name?" he asked, and Ventus nodded slightly.
"I've been a part of your heart for… I don't even know how long," he replied as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes again. "Thank you for keeping my heart safe for so long."
"Yeah, well," Sora scratched the back of his head sheepishly once Riku had released him. "I just wanted you to be happy. And now you're back." Ventus looked up again, joy sparkling in his eyes.
"Yeah, I am." His smile faded slightly. "How long have I been out? Do you know?"
"Master Yen Sid said nearly twelve years," Riku reported, and Ventus stared at him for some time as this news sunk in.
"TWELVE YEARS?!" He nearly fell out of the throne. "I've been… asleep… for twelve years."
"Sorry, maybe that was kind of blunt," Riku noted. "What matters is that you're here now."
"Yeah, I guess…" Ventus agreed half-heartedly, still visibly trying to come to terms with this information. He shook his head vigorously and looked up again. "Uh… Sorry, I don't know your name. I'm Ventus. Ven for short."
"It's Riku," he replied.
"Master Riku," Sora added with a grin. Ventus's brow rose curiously.
"Master… As in Keyblade Master?" he asked, and Riku nodded. "You haven't met another Master named Aqua, have you?"
"No, sorry," he said.
"We're going to look for her next," Sora said. "But first, let's get you to Master Yen Sid. There's a lot we need to catch you up on." Ventus almost smirked.
"How much of it has to do with Xehanort?" he asked, and Sora and Riku exchanged a quick glance.
"Just about all of it," Sora replied shortly, and Ventus sighed softly and nodded.
"Right." He started to get to his feet, bracing his arms on those of the throne, but once he stepped forward, he stumbled and nearly fell. Both Sora and Riku rushed to help hold him up as he snorted. "Guess twelve years of sleeping in a chair isn't all that great for coordination."
"No, not really," Sora smiled. "Don't worry. You'll be back on your feet in no time." Ventus smiled as well.
"I'll try." He pulled his arm from Riku's shoulders and held it out in front of him. "But first, I just… need to make sure." He shut his eyes and a light flashed from his hand, revealing the Wayward Wind in his grip. He opened his eyes and smiled warmly as he gazed at it. "Alright," he said with a voice of renewed resolve. "Let's go." Riku took his arm around his shoulders again and, with the boys' help, he started shuffling toward the door. "Uh, where are we, anyway?"
"A world called Castle Oblivion," Sora said. "Some Nobodies set up shop here and were doing research on memories, or something like that."
"Nobodies?" Ventus repeated.
"Wow, we really do have a lot to catch you up on," Riku remarked, though not unkindly. "Nobodies are what's left behind when a person loses their heart. Their body and soul become the Nobody."
"So… I'm not the only one?" Ventus wondered, and Sora and Riku again looked at each other curiously.
"No, I guess you were a special case," Sora replied. "Like apparently people who lose their hearts to Darkness, their bodies and souls are reborn as Nobodies or something." He paused. "How'd you lose your heart, anyway?" Ventus's eyes darkened with the pain of some memory he didn't want to relive.
"Xehanort," he said dully. "Him and a boy named Vanitas. All because they wanted the χ-Blade."
"χ-Blade?!" both Sora and Riku echoed within a heartbeat of each other. Ventus looked down and didn't say anything else for a few moments.
"Can we maybe talk about it later?" he asked. "It's… not something I like to think about."
"Of course," Sora nodded. "Let's just make sure you're doing okay for now. We can get into all of that stuff later."
"Thank you," Ventus said softly. "Sora, Riku, thank you." With that, they left the Chamber of Waking and began making their way back to the main doors of Castle Oblivion, where they would return to the Gummi Ship they had taken there to the Mysterious Tower.