Remember how I said this was a one-shot? ...J-just kidding!
He'd found it, the source of all the fear. Somehow, this world's inhabitants had found a way to capture fear, and they used it as fuel for their entire world. Vanitas felt his mouth trying to stretch into a sadistic grin. This, he could work with. He grabbed an entire yellow canister, surprised that it was light enough to lift with one hand. Perfect.
Making his way back to the large workroom he passed through earlier, he felt the tugging on his heart reach a peak. Ventus was here.
"Finally," Vanitas said, voice low in annoyance, but eyes gleeful beneath his helmet.
The workroom was a large, open area, with high windows letting in soft moonlight. The main color was white, just like everything in the damned place, but this room was at least broken up by workstations and some odd machinery in the floor. Vanitas thought that might have been where fear was collected, but he couldn't bring himself to care about the 'how.' Not with Sora now in his sights.
The light wielder turned, and Vanitas stopped moving. For a moment, it seemed the world itself was frozen in time. Sora had changed, too. He had the same fur, his ears had changed, his hair was now red fins, and Vanitas was certain he would see the same sharpened teeth when Sora spoke.
Then Sora frowned as he glanced around, still searching for something, and Vanitas moved again. His helmet was on. Move on with the plan.
The dark wielder was intrigued to see that Sora was not surrounded by his friends. Hm. That would make things easier, since he wouldn't have to put up with any distractions. And he could always go after them later. Yes, that sounded like a good way to test out all this fear.
Before he reached the light wielder, Vanitas dropped the canister in his hand. It was unnecessary for this confrontation. The resounding clang drew Sora's attention, and Vanitas used some of his power over darkness to teleport behind him. The hero of light was still watching the fear canister as it rolled slowly towards him, and Vanitas could just imagine the stupid look of confusion on his face, the same one Ventus used to wear.
Summoning his keyblade, Vanitas walked right behind his target and leveled Void Gear at his chest.
"I need the half of me..." Sora gasped and turned as Vanitas spoke, giving him a view of wide, unbelieving eyes, "...That sleeps on inside of your heart."
Vanitas could mark the exact moment Ventus recognized him, seeing the astonished look turn into a fierce glare. Yes, that was the look he needed. His other half ready to fight, and merge, again.
"Vanitas!" Ventus yelled through Sora.
Vanitas just cocked his head. He felt his smirk widen again when Sora put a hand up to his heart, a confused "Huh? Wha...?" escaping him.
"Ventus," Vanitas acknowledged him with a breathy chuckle, lowering Void Gear. Sora's expression was flickering between confusion and anger, seemingly unable to decide.
Vanitas stalked towards the other keyblade wielder, watching as Sora tensed, eyebrows furrowing. "What a strange place to slither off to..."
He was so close. Vanitas could hardly hear over his own heartbeat, feeling his own beat in time with the heart hidden inside the boy right in front of him. Stretching out his hand, he thought he could almost touch it.
"You little fragment of my heart."
Sora scowled and batted the gloved hand away. "What do you want? Who are you?"
Vanitas stopped advancing, but Sora was still tensed from how close together they stood.
"Don't play stupid with me, Ventus, no matter how good you are at it."
"The name's Sora!" He cut a hand through the air in front of him, as though trying to dispel the other name.
Vanitas laughed. "Are you really that clueless?"
"Are you really with the Organization?" Sora shot back. Vanitas thought his grin might split his face. This light wielder really was interesting.
"Is this what's bothering you?" he asked, tilting his head as he gestured to the cloak he wore. "It doesn't change anything, Ventus. You know who I am."
"Yeah?" Sora gripped a hand near his heart, his face having settled on a scowl. "Then why are you wearing that mask? Too scared to show me your face?"
Thick, suffocating silence settled after that statement. Vanitas merely stared at Sora, holder of his other half, his smile gone. What would Sora think? Monster. Vanitas slowly raised his empty hand, settling it on his mask, fingers trying to dig in. Sora had relaxed, standing straighter as he stared intently, perhaps thinking he was about to see his enemy's face. You freak! Vanitas noticed Sora had never summoned a keyblade. That was his own mistake.
With an enraged cry, Vanitas lunged forward with Void Gear, catching Sora off-guard and sending him flying backwards. The boy must have been more experienced than Vanitas first thought, since he managed to catch himself and stay on his feet.
Wide eyes looked back at Vanitas before he lunged again, his strike finally meeting with another keyblade. He laughed, knowing how unhinged he sounded.
"Yes, fight me Ventus!" He pushed harder against Sora, but was surprised when the boy showed a sudden burst of strength.
"No!" Vanitas slid back and immediately got into a ready position. "I won't fight you!"
Again, Sora seemed confused at his own words, brows coming together even as his eyes searched his cloaked enemy for any sort of answer. He wouldn't get any, as Vanitas simply charged him again, their keyblades clashing again and again, filling the air with metallic clangs and scrapes.
Vanitas dropped into the ground, becoming nothing more than a dark puddle before moving swiftly towards Sora. As he rose up through the darkness to attack, Sora lunged to the side. He was hit by some of the darkness that exploded out, but not Vanitas himself. As soon as Sora came out of his roll, he stepped back, his keyblade positioned defensively. Vanitas noted that he looked tensed to flee again, not attack. He lowered Void Gear and scoffed.
"Still pathetic I see, Ventus." He saw Sora gearing up for another retort, but cut him off, saying, "Do you think you can stop Sora?"
The boy in question froze, eye flicking rapidly over Vanitas. What he hoped to find, the masked boy didn't know.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked slowly. His grip on the keyblade didn't waver though, so at least he was a little smarter than Ventus. The very thought combined with Sora's question caused a bubbling feeling in Vanitas.
He laughed, loud and long, only amused further when Sora dropped into an attack-ready stance.
"How many worlds have you been to now?" Vanitas asked. "How often have you met with my master? And yet you still don't know?" He couldn't help another cackle from escaping him. Perhaps Sora was as clueless as Ventus.
"Your master...?" Sora mumbled, almost to himself. He straightened up to ask his next question. "You mean Xehanort?"
"Someone's been paying attention," Vanitas said, voice thick with sarcastic praise. He took pride in the way Sora's nose scrunched at the insult. "Yes, genius. Hasn't anyone told you about your prisoners yet? Or did you just forget?" Like you forgot everything else, he thought.
"My... prisoners? Start making sense!"
Vanitas sighed in mock disappointment. "I always knew Ventus was a coward, but to think he wouldn't even tell you he rested in your heart." Vanitas pointed at Sora's chest, and was pleased by the way the light wielder's eyes widened.
"My-?" Sora took a hand off his keyblade to rest it over his heart.
Vanitas saw the opportunity and immediately dove at Sora. He was so focused on the feeling of his other half-right here right in front of him-that he didn't even see what hit him. Something heavy clocked him right in the head and sent him bouncing across the floor, screeching to a halt as he dug Void Gear's teeth into the floor. It was a good thing he had worn his helmet after all.
New voices sounded near Sora; though Vanitas had his eyes closed to fight off the sudden pain and dizziness, he was certain they were the weakling's friends. When he finally looked, he found he was right. And they all looked like monsters.
"Stay away from Sora, you Organization creep!" shouted the one-eyed duck.
"Guys..." Sora was looking at his companions with, ugh, gratitude.
Vanitas saw the yellow canister sitting between himself and the group, realizing that must have been what hit him, and the large, blue furred monster was the likely culprit. He huffed and stood up, trying his best to look like he was unfazed, even as small spots danced in the corners of his vision.
"Looks like you get off easy, for now." Vanitas dispelled his keyblade before making a dark portal. He stepped backwards to it, watching the group for any signs they were going to attack him. Surprisingly, Sora was the one to step forward, though he didn't leave his friends.
"What did you mean about Ventus? Who is he?" Vanitas chuckled.
"Don't worry, we're not finished yet." The portal closed over him, leaving nothing but inky darkness. "...Not until we're one, Ventus."
A/N: Okay, welp, I literally typed this up over a few days while at work, soooo. If there's any glaring issues I missed, let me know. Otherwise, just let me know what you thought of it! I tried to stitch together an idea for the events on the Monsters, Inc. world. Hopefully, it was entertaining and fun to read.
And now I'm done. For real this time.