Greetings, prospective readers! Welcome to my latest Kingdom Hearts creation! The idea for this one simply fell into my head one day, after I was looking up some cover art for a completely different project altogether, and hopefully, it'll be this project that'll far exceed the others I've attempted thus far. Well, let's not waste anymore time, and get this party started already!
Chapter I: The Man In The Mask
Disney Town-Outskirts
A shimmering black and purple portal appeared out of seemingly nowhere. Through it emerged what seemed to be a young man in his mid twenties, clad in a black and red metallic suit of body armor that was not dissimilar to the one worn by Riku Hatake while possessed by Xehanort's Heartless, however this red and black version lacked the Heartless symbol on his chest, and his face was concealed by a shining black and silver mask, and it had clawed fingertips and red boots that looked as though they were part of the armor.
Vanitas went a little misty-eyed at the sight of the town in the distance that, in another life, he had once called his home away from home, before it, like so many other worlds before it, fell to darkness. Before they fell to Xehanort's rule. However, he quickly crushed the feeling. There was no time to get sentimental, not if he hoped to turn the darkness unto itself and save this town and the rest of the worlds in this timeline from Xehanort's wrath. Or, at least ensure that they would be saved.
Speaking of darkness, almost as if on cue, a swarm of Dusks from Organization XIII appeared and boxed Vanitas in, each of them swaying and moving in such a manner that it almost appeared as though they were dancing. Vanitas scoffed as he summed his primary Keyblade, the Void Gear, and held it in a long-practiced battle stance.
The entire battle was over in a matter of moments.
"Useless dogs," muttered Vanitas as he dismissed his Keyblade, his voice disguised by his mask. Vanitas sensed there were more Dusks present elsewhere in the castle town, and that there were a small group of Keyblade Wielders fighting them off. Vanitas let out a gasp as he recognized three of the Keyblade Wielders. He knew them like he knew his own name. With that thought in mind, Vanitas took off in the direction he sensed the Keyblade Wielders were in.
Disney Town-Marketplace
Sora Hikari, a young man of fifteen with spiky brown hair wearing a black, red, and grey outfit with large yellow and black shoes sliced through a Dusk with his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key, causing it to disappear in a flash of light. Fighting alongside him was Riku Hatake, a young man with shoulder-length silver hair, a yellow and black sleeveless shirt, blue jeans, and black and white shoes; The ruler of Disney Town, King Mickey, who was clad in a black and white outfit with large yellow shoes; and Kairi Haruno, a beautiful young woman about the same age as Sora with flaming red hair, a pink outfit, and blue and white shoes, and whom Sora had a crush on.
The four of them had been fighting against a seemingly endless horde of Dusks for what felt like days, even though it had only been for a few hours, and all of them were on their last legs. Finally, the four of them were collapsed on the ground, unable to continue fighting. As a Dusk lunged at Sora, going in for the kill, a black bolt of lightning struck it, causing it to disappear in mid air.
Sora, his comrades, and the Dusks looked around for the caster of the spell, and caught sight of a masked warrior wearing a suit of black and red armor that reminded Sora of the one Riku had worn when he'd been possessed by Ansem.
King Mickey let out a gasp of recognition. "It can't be… he's supposed to be dead…" he said, at a loss for words as the masked warrior summoned his Keyblade and went to work on the Dusks.
"King Mickey, do you know that guy in the mask?" asked Kairi as she used a Mega-Potion to patch everyone up.
"He's called Vanitas. He was the result of Xehanort extracting all of the darkness out of a Keyblade Wielder by the name of Ventus. Xehanort planned to use both him and Ventus to try to reforge the X-Blade, which had been the guardian of Kingdom Hearts until it was shattered. Needless to say, it didn't go as planned," explained Mickey. "Problem is, Vanitas was destroyed years ago."
Riku frowned. "But, if that's the case, then who the Hell is that guy?"
"I haven't slightest idea. It's strange."
"Well, if he's pure darkness like you say he is, I'm taking him down!" said Sora as he pulled himself up off the ground and charged at Vanitas, even as his friends tried to call him back.
Sora took a swing at Vanitas when his back was turned, only for him to vanish into thin air, leaving the teenager confused until he felt a Keyblade alongside his neck.
"You always did like to leap before you looked," said Vanitas with a small chuckle.
"King Mickey says you were destroyed years ago. How are you still alive?" asked Sora.
"Because I chose to survive. Tell me, Sora, have you made a play for Kairi yet? Because if you haven't… well, let's just say you'll live to regret it. Trust me, I know, I've seen it," said Vanitas.
Sora growled in anger as he turned around and attempted to strike Vanitas with his Keyblade, only for Vanitas to jump back. "You stay away from Kairi!" Sora snarled.
"Whoa, sounds like I hit a nerve," Vanitas said with a chuckle as raising his Keyblade as he and Sora began to circle each other. "Do you honestly think you can beat me, Sora? There's not one move you've got that I don't already know."
Sora said nothing, but instead swung his Keyblade, which Vanitas countered, then struck Sora with a black fireball, sending the young man flying backwards. Vanitas then summoned a wall of black fire that prevented King Mickey and the others from interfering with his fight against Sora.
Sora got back up and swung his Keyblade at Vanitas, only for each swing to almost lazily be deflected, before Vanitas struck Sora in the chest with a black lightning bolt, knocking the teen off his feet.
"Come on, surely the Kingdom Key's Chosen One can put up more of a fight than this. You're starting to make me cry," taunted Vanitas.
As Sora pulled himself up, he began to suspect that something was off about this guy. It wasn't just that he knew all of Sora's tricks, though that certainly seemed to be the case. It was almost as if he knew what move Sora was going to do before he even made it.
If that's the case, then I need to finish this up quickly, thought Sora as he triggered one of his Drives. His outfit turned almost completely red and a second Keyblade appeared in his hand.
Vanitas was not amused. "Valor Form? Really?" he said before an aura of dark energies emanated from him. With a dark flash, the red of Vanitas's armor became much more pronounced and a second Keyblade, known as Everlasting Torment, appeared in his hand.
Sora charged at Vanitas, his Keyblades swinging, only for Vanitas to deflect his attacks and fire a powerful bolt of black lightning that not only sent Sora flying, but rendered him unconscious almost as soon as he hit the ground.
"Well, that was… unsatisfying," said Vanitas before he dispelled his transformation and opened a portal. "You've got a long way to go before you're even remotely close to having a chance against Xehanort. And surviving the unbearable sacrifice that will come your way."
As he entered the portal, Vanitas dispelled the black flame wall, allowing Sora's friends to come to his aid, although it was too late to go after the masked warrior.
"You know… I've never seen Sora so much as lose a Keyblade battle before, let alone get demolished like that," said Kairi as she helped Riku pick up Sora's arms and carry him back to the castle.
"I haven't either, Kairi," said Mickey as he followed Riku and Kairi back to the castle, looking over his shoulder in the direction Vanitas had disappeared in. "There's something off about that Vanitas fella. I don't think he's the same one Ventus and I faced before."
Radiant Garden-Maleficent's Abandoned Castle-Private Chambers
As Vanitas emerged from the portal, he walked over to an old table that held a variety of things, ranging from formulas for potions and poisons, to framed photographs of what seemed to be Sora, Riku, and Kairi, some on their own, others with them together, including one that looked as though Sora was actually getting married to Kairi. All three of them looked as though they were in their late teens, or young adults in their early twenties. There was also a few random ones, such as a teary-eyed Goofy holding his what appeared to be his newborn son.
Vanitas picked up one of Kairi's pictures and stared at it, holding it as though it were an incredibly delicate flower.
"Everything I have done, what I've become, all of it… it was for you, my love. All so I can prevent you from being taken from me, in any universe, timeline, or dimension. My sweet Kairi…" Vanitas whispered, his tears concealed by his mask. "I just hope the Sora of this dimension succeeds where I failed…"
With that, Vanitas put down the picture, reached up, and removed his masked, causing his armor to disappear, revealing a black jacket with a dark red shirt underneath, a heart-shaped music box locket around his neck, black pants, and black leather boots. Vanitas then walked over and looked at the tear-soaked, scarred, and cold face in a nearby mirror.
It was the face of Sora Hikari.
Oooh, things are getting pretty interesting methinks! So, if you liked what you saw here, be sure to fav, follow, and review, and hey, why don't you guys check out my other stories while you're at it?