Chapter Two: Vanitas

It had been a long and interesting day. All Vanitas wanted to do upon reaching his bed was crash, letting himself fall into a deep sleep, where he hoped to remain until he had to get up again when the sun was up. He hadn't been able to get more than three hours of sleep the night before. He could only figure it was from nervousness.

As expected, he was asleep only moments after his head hit the pillow. It was hardly any wonder that when he found himself on a large circular platform a short time later, he let out a growl of frustration. Because though true, he was in a dream, it was not one that would allow him to get any rest. Yes, the next day he would wake feeling like a complete zombie. He looked up when he heard his twins footfalls, and allowed the brunette to pull him to his feet. Because for him, being inside the same dream as Sora was nothing out of the ordinary.

"I am so not in the mood for this," Vanitas grumbled, running his hand over his face. He was surprised when he pulled his hand back and his new Keyblade appeared in it. Now he had a weapon in his dream? "Well, that's new."

He strode forward, tilting his head as he peered at the images on the circular platform he stood on. Images of he, Riku and Kairi rested in the middle. While a much larger image of a sleeping Sora rested in the background. He wondered not for the first time, why he and Sora couldn't just have all of their dreams like normal people. But no, since he was very young his dreams were often like this. Even if Sora wasn't in them, he would often dream on his own platform. Yet his goal in his own dreams was a bit different...

"C'mon Van, let's go," Sora said. Ever the excited one as he turned and raced up a flight of multicolored steps that had just appeared.

Vanitas followed him more slowly, but soon sped up when the stairs started falling rapidly behind him. He nearly collided with Sora when his twin stood as though frozen in time, shock lining his features. Vanitas scowled, looking past him. A gasp escaped him when he saw his father crouched down, gripping his spiky hair with a look of fear on his face. Sora approached him first and Vanitas followed close behind. He bent down on the other side of his father as Sora placed a hand on the mans arm. The blond man looked up, appearing only slightly surprised as he looked between his sons. At last a small tear rolled down his cheek as he smiled a pained smile at them. It was truly shocking to Vanitas, seeing his father in such a state. His father who was always so strong, who he had never seen cry. It unnerved him.

"Dad?" Sora asked softly.

Vanitas frowned. "What's the matter?"

"How about that... I've become so worried that I've dreamt my sons up," Cloud said. In all the time they had spent with others in their dreams, no one had ever realized that they weren't in an ordinary dream. Vanitas was a little surprised at himself for being surprised by his father thinking that as well.

"Well, what are you worried about?" Vanitas inquired.

Cloud sighed. "You guys, and your younger brothers. Your mom too, even though she would hate me worrying about her," he smiled,"she would tell me that she could take care of herself."

Sora looked baffled. "But dad, you have no reason to worry about us. Van and I are safe, so are Roxas and Ven. Nothing's going to hurt us."

Typical Sora. Vanitas wondered if he hadn't yet realized the full extent of the worry on their father's face. If there was one thing he, Vanitas, was sure of, it was that they were definitely not safe. Most likely not even at the school. He became even more certain of this when his dad began shaking his head no before Sora even finished speaking.

"Why exactly aren't we safe, dad?" Vanitas asked, his voice unintentionally cold.

Cloud looked sadly at his darker haired son. "No you aren't, Sora. Van, why else do you think I would let you and Sora attend a school where we can never see you? I always turned down their offers before this year. And as soon as Roxas and Ventus turn 14, they'll join your school too."

Sora frowned. "But I don't get it. What's going on?"

Cloud smiled fondly at Sora. The younger of his twins, by one whole day. He always appreciated the boys optimism, and could see that even now, he wasn't entirely freaked out. Vanitas however, had long since worried him. He had grown distant from the rest of his family over the years. He had absolutely no friends. Cloud hated how little he understood him. The only two people that Vanitas was close to were Marlene, who both he and Sora referred to as their big sister, and of course Sora himself. The twins certainly understood each other, and nothing could separate them.

"There's a storm coming Sora. And I don't know if anyone is ready for it," Cloud said.

A storm? Vanitas frowned. "But who or what is going to cause it?"

"Vanitas, if you are ever given the opportunity to leave Sora behind. If you ever find a dark path that you are drawn to. I ask that you do me a favor, and run the opposite way. Run as fast and as far as you can." Cloud again had tears in his eyes, as he reached out slowly and put his hand on his sons shoulder. Vanitas shivered slightly, drawing backwards. Of course, Cloud seemed to like giving vague answers. Vanitas wondered if perhaps, deep down, his father realized that this wasn't any ordinary dream. But his advice confused Vanitas.

"How exactly would you expect that I could leave Sora behind? I couldn't even if I wanted to," Vanitas responded with a chuckle.

"That may be, but still, rely on one another. Surround yourselves by people from the light, and maybe, just maybe..." Cloud broke off as his eyes grew far away. "No, who am I kidding? When is anything ever okay..."

"Dad don't worry, I'm sure everything will end up okay," Sora said brightly, but there was finally a trace of fear in his blue eyes.

When Cloud failed to respond Vanitas glanced at his twin. They exchanged a worried glance. Not only was Vanitas now certain that something truly terrible was coming. And that his father was worried about him being too tempted by the darkness. But Sora and Vanitas couldn't leave the dream until they could instill a sense of peace on their father's heart.

Vanitas leaned back on his heals, staring at his hands, turning his fathers words over in his head. Trying in vain, to figure out anything what could be coming. Sora seemed at an equal loss, as he gazed at his shoes.

"Dad...does this have something to do with...Sephiroth?" Vanitas finally inquired.

Cloud's eyebrows furrowed, and Vanitas knew immediately that he had struck a cord within his father. He watched his expression carefully.

"It has...much to do with him," Cloud at last responded.

After a long stretch of silence Vanitas got to his feet. When he opened his palm, his Keyblade materialized within it. Sora after glancing at him did the same. And the two crossed their Keyblade's before their father, who looked up, surprised.

"But you see. You have nothing to worry about," Vanitas said with a smile.

"Vanitas and I, we can take on anything that's thrown at us," Sora finished.

Vanitas watched as Cloud got to his feet. He stood directly in front of them. "I can only hope that you're both right. Remember. Rely on each other."

With that he began to fade. Vanitas watched him until he was completely gone. Mission complete. Now, he just had to figure out what was coming. And whether he and Sora were truly ready for it. He looked down at his hands as he began fading as well.

"'Night Van," Sora said, he too, looked worried. But before Vanitas could say anything to him, he, Vanitas, had left Sora's dream.

He was greeted by the sound of an explosion that shook everything around him, roughly jerking him from his sleep. He leapt to his feet, feeling as though he had again, gotten close to no sleep. Since he had fallen asleep with his shoes on, he simply raced out of the room, very nearly colliding with his twin coming out of his own room across the hall. Together they raced down a few floors and were greeted with a great deal of smoke. Vanitas could hear many sets of voices coming from the kitchen, but only two really stood out. One was a woman's voice, high pitched and laughing. The other was a long stream of profanities from a guy. Frowning at Sora, Vanitas approached the barely open doors of the kitchen, pushing them further open gently. He immediately began coughing, as intense smoke and the smell of spices greeted him, catching in his throat.

"All right, who let Lea into the kitchen again?" A guy with pink hair asked, coming in behind Vanitas.

"No one, he let himself in," the only girl in the academy said, still giggling.

"Enough Larxene," a teenager no more than two years Vanitas's senior said. He had long bangs that fell covering the right half of his face. He wore a lab coat and stood nearest the stove, as a result he was covered in so much ash that his lab coat appeared grayish. The one eye that was visible seethed with a strangely calm anger. "Lea...you are lucky that I do not have time to do something truly terrible and damaging to you at the moment. But I expect to have a nice lunch waiting for me when I get back from my lesson with Mr. Even...or else."

Vanitas and Sora quickly moved to one side in order to allow him to pass by them. He did, frowning at Riku who had just appeared in the doorway. Riku raised his eyebrows, moving to stand on the other side of Sora.

"Okay, what exactly just happened? I thought the building might be collapsing or something," Riku said, taking in the overall appearance of the kitchen.

Glancing at the kitchen himself, Vanitas noticed for the first time that a small fire was slowly growing in a corner, and the cabinets and countertops were coated with ash, with the occasional spark.

"I missed it, but apparently it's someone named Lea's fault," Sora whispered to his friend. "It looks like that guy who was just here might have been cooking."

"That's right," piped up the girl. "He was cooking breakfast for everyone actually, and It looked so good too...Until Lea decided to speed the process up. Honestly Lea, what were you thinking?"

A red head scowled, dusting off his sleeve. "Well, I have to get to class in ten minutes, I just wanted to eat my food in time. How was I supposed to know that adding fire to this stove would cause an explosion..."

"How foolish can you get? Honestly Lea, you would think that after you sent a turkey flying through the roof, you would know better than to get within five feet of the stove," the final person in the room said. He was seated at a very long table, and had blue hair. His most striking feature however, were his pointed ears. There was also something else about his face that was distinctly in-human, Vanitas couldn't help but think.

"Shut up, Isa," Lea shot back, opening one of two metallic refrigerators. He pulled out a piece of bologna and slice of cheese before leaving the kitchen with a friendly smile at the three new students.

Chuckling softly, the guy with pink hair approached the stove, turning it on carefully, he set a frying pan on top of it before glancing back over his shoulder at the others.

"Since that worked out so well. Who all would like an omelet?" he asked. "I know you would, Larxene."

Isa briefly raised his hand before taking a sip out of his coffee mug. With a yawn, Larxene sat down in a chair across from him.

"And you three? I'm Marluxia by the way," the pink haired man said pleasantly.

Vanitas hesitated, glancing at the stove doubtfully. "I'd like one."

Sora and Riku echoed him, and they each sat down at the opposite end of the table from the others. Vanitas tapped his foot on the ground lightly before suddenly turning to Riku.

"So, heard from your father lately?" Vanitas inquired, knowing full well how touchy of a subject it was.

Sure enough, Riku's eyes narrowed. "You know full well that I haven't spoken to that man since I was nine... What's with the sudden interest?"

Vanitas shrugged. "No reason really."

Riku only glared at him briefly before looking away. Vanitas knew full well that he didn't believe him. But he and Riku also weren't fond of each other, and Riku knew Vanitas well enough not to press him.

"Guys!" a teen said, poking his head into the room. He had sandy blonde hair that stood upwards, in a style Vanitas was familiar with seeing on rock stars. "Skip breakfast, we're getting another new student! This time it's a girl!"

Lea appeared behind him, still covered in ash. "All classes are canceled."

Marluxia frowned, stirring the eggs before taking them off the stove and turning it off. "This is surprising. A new student has never joined without an announcement at least a week prior."

"A girl? Yes!" Larxene said, grinning. "I'm so tired of being the only girl around here."

"Not to sound silly or anything, but exactly how many students are there?" Riku asked.

It was Marluxia who answered, following the newcomers out of the room. "Counting you three, and this new girl, 11. However two more are off training elsewhere."

Vanitas followed his twin up into the meeting room, where it appeared all students and teachers were, minus the students that came in with them and Xemnas. They all took the same places as before. Vanitas glanced at a new empty seat beside him, it had to be for the new girl. Becoming slightly more curious, Vanitas watched the doorway. He didn't have to wait long for Xemnas to appear, followed closely by a girl with soft blue eyes and black hair cut short with bangs falling slightly in her eyes. She glanced nervously at the room. Her eyes met Vanitas's open stare and he looked away embarrassed.

"Everyone, this is Xion, her last name will remain hidden for the time being," Xemnas said. "She comes already wielding a Keyblade."

When he waved that everyone could go, almost everyone got to their feet, including Vanitas. However, the one who had been cooking breakfast when it exploded remained seated, a frown on his face.

"What is her ability?" he addressed Xemnas directly. "We all have one."

Xemnas seemed slightly surprised by the question. "That will be disclosed at a later time. You all may go."

Since the last sentence sounded like an order, Vanitas followed everyone else out of the room. As soon as the door was closed behind them the student with the rock star haircut spoke up.

"Hiya Xion! My name's Demyx," said person greeted.

Vanitas followed Sora over to them. Sora spoke first, tucking his hands behind his head as he grinned. "I'm Sora Strife!"

Vanitas offered her a small smile, holding out his hand before quickly thinking better of that and yanking it back. "I'm Vanitas. Sora's my twin."

"It's nice to meet you Vanitas. You too Sora. And Demyx," she said shyly.

"How old are you Xion?" Sora asked, cheerfully.

"16," she replied.

"Cool! Vanitas and I will be 16 in three weeks. Riku's already 16... Riku?" Sora said, turning around. "Van, do you know where Riku went?"

Vanitas frowned. "No idea. Thought he was right behind us."

Sora cupped his hands around his mouth. "Riku!"

Vanitas's attention snapped to the door of the meeting room as it opened and an irritated looking Riku stepped out of it.

"Right here Sora. No need to shout," Riku said, scowling at his friend. He looked at Vanitas and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "You, Vanitas, come with me."

Vanitas let out a yelp as Riku grabbed him by the collar and half dragged him down the stairs. Sora ran after them. Riku didn't let go of his hold on Vanitas until he had led them into his own room, at which point he finally released his grip on Vanitas shirt. Sending the ebony haired teen flying into Riku's dresser. Vanitas stepped back from it, glaring at Riku and rubbing his chin where it had collided with the dresser.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Vanitas demanded, anger coursing through him.

Sora having followed them, took a nicer approach. "What's up Riku? Did Van do something?"

"I'm not sure yet," Riku replied, breathing hard. "What made you ask about my father today? Has he spoken to you or something?"

Vanitas crossed his arms, gazing back at Riku cooly. Vanitas wasn't one to divulge information. "I was simply curious. Why are you so upset about it?"

"No, I don't believe that. You must have had a reason," Riku said.

"Well, it was just a dream we had," Sora said, ignoring his twins agitated sigh. "Our dad mentioned him."

A look of understanding passed in front of Riku's eyes and Vanitas noticed the anger leave his face. In it's place was an almost frightened look. Or Vanitas would have thought it was, if it weren't for the fact that he didn't believe anything could scare his twins' best friend. Because, he had spent much time when he was a kid, trying to shake Riku's quiet calm. But perhaps, for once, he was. Riku was also the only one who believed that their dreams were more real than most. Granted Vanitas thought Kairi probably would, however Sora for some reason was against telling her. Vanitas thought that probably had something to do with his huge crush on her. He wouldn't want to appear too weird of course.

"What did he say about him?" Riku asked.

"Just that trouble was coming, and that it had something to do with Sephiroth," Sora said, making Vanitas's eyebrows furrow even more. "Why?"

Riku paced over to his window, his hands balling into fists. Only slightly interested, Vanitas sat down on the edge of the teens bed.

"It's just...he...Seph—he—" Riku said, growing pale.

"Your father...what?" Vanitas inquired. Patience was never one of his strong suits.

Riku sighed, turning to face he and Sora. "He wants to see me. Tomorrow."