Sera's boat docks at the island at midday as she notices Xehanort kneeling at the water and walks over to greet him.
"Hey! Xehanort! What's up? Are we doing another investigation today or..."
As she approached, she trailed off with her eyes fixated on the strange sword he was holding and washing dirt, rocks and...blood off of it.
"...what...is...that?"
He notices her concern over the keyblade and tries to calm her down.
"I found it like this in the Secret Place. Whoever or whatever's blood is on this thing...it was a long time ago."
She stands there in silence for quite a while as Sora worried if she was too scared to say anything, but then she sighs loudly and kneels down with him; grabbing the keyblade without taking it from his hands. She then pulls some cloth and a small bottle of nail polish remover out of her pocket and starts scrubbing the keyblade with him.
"You gotta put some elbow grease into it. Stains like this don't come out easy."
Xehanort smiled warmly at her, but she was too focused on what she's doing to notice.
"So, what is thing anyways?"
He thought for a moment and spoke confidently.
"Our ticket out of here."
She finally looked him in the eye and saw just how serious he was.
"Okay… How, though?"
He stands up as she releases the keyblade and he turns toward the Secret Place.
"I'm not sure. Let's find out."
She chuckles.
"That runaway curiosity of yours is gonna get you in serious trouble one of these days. I just hope I'm there to see it."
They enter the cave together and stop at the door. But before she could ask what the plan was; he gave her an answer of sorts. He pointed the keyblade at the door and a keyhole suddenly appeared. Sora then made the worn down keyblade shoot a beam into the hole as the door unlocked. Sera took that as her cue and moved up to push the door open.
"Huh. Neat trick. So, it's a key...sword?"
Sora chooses not to answer as she looks inside the door to observe the surroundings.
"It's dark in this place."
She pulls a lighter out of her jacket and uses it as a candle. Xehanort picks up his pace to make sure he doesn't fall behind.
"Wait! It could be dangerous! Don't go in alone."
She taunted him by slapping her legs like she was beckoning a dog.
"Then pick up your feet, slowpoke! Come on, boy! Adventure is out there!"
After several hours of exploring the dark world they discovered, her tone shifts from excited to panicked as she sticks behind Xehanort.
"Something's out there!"
Once again, her ever-switching personality provides some much needed amusement to Sora who continues the trek deeper into the darkness. Something Sora noted as extremely odd was that they did not encounter a single Heartless the whole time despite Sera's constant anxiety attacks every time she thought she heard something.
"Ah! Something touched my shoulder!"
"That was me. Calm down or the only thing that's going to kill you out here is yourself when you give yourself a stroke."
She did a few controlled breathing exercises to calm down, but it was ineffective as she bursted into hysteria again.
"Ah! Okay. This time I REALLY heard something."
Xehanort keeps walking as he ignores the drama queen until she runs over to grab his arm and pulls him to face the hill they passed by. He decides to humor her and stays silent to try and hear the noise, but to his surprise...he actually hears something on the other side of the hill that sounds like fighting.
"There! Told ya! Fool, don't you ever call me crazy again. I had waffles for breakfast and I will...Mess. You. Up."
"I didn't call you- Ack!"
She drags him by his arm over to the source of the noise.
"Ow! Easy! You're gonna rip my arm out of its socket!"
She ignores his pleas as she lugs him up the to the top of the hill and drops him on the ground as she lays down beside him to hide. He grunts as he rolls his arm back into place and glares at her, but she only directs him to look forward.
"Look."
A fight was indeed taking place. A small gaggle of Heartless were being slain by a lone keyblade wielder. She stuck out like a sore thumb with her elegant bright white dress strung together by many complex strands and tassels with a golden fur trim wrapped under her shoulders and around the nape of her neck. Her massive flowing hair could almost be confused as part of her dress with how wildly intricate it was as well as the palest of blue tint to the otherwise pure white color.
The woman effortlessly disposed of the enemies and finally stopped attacking long enough for the two onlookers to get a glimpse at her keyblade. Sora's eyes shot wide open as he almost let his shock be heard audibly.
She was wielding the No Name keyblade. This woman was...or rather; would be...Xehanort's master?
The woman dismissed her keyblade and turned to face them. Could she see them?
"I know you're there! Come out! I'm sure you don't want to stay in the Realm of Darkness forever!"
Sora pondered the best course of action. Should he reveal himself? Would Xehanort's master finding him in the Realm of Darkness lead her to treating Xehanort with certain level of suspicion? And why exactly was she here? As his mind was too preoccupied to listen to his heart at the moment - let alone Sera - she decided to take matters into her own hands as she stood up and waved at the stranger.
"Wassup! You are totally awesome by the way! Just wanted you to know that! If you're offering to take us outta here, we're all for it!"
Xehanort face planted into the hill in frustration. The woman just stared at them; no doubt considering the threat they posed. Based on her response; Xehanort concluded that the results had converged on ZERO since she decided to come to them instead.
Xehanort pulled himself off the ground and dusted himself off. By the time he looked up to greet the woman, he found he to look up even more. Sora was used to being short in his original body, but Xehanort held quite a height advantage over him. Yet somehow this woman made him feel puny in comparison. She towered over them by nearly two extra feet.
"My name is Master Vacca. I'm a keyblade wielder on a mission. Or...WAS on a mission. Rescue wasn't on the docket for today, but I'm more than willing to help you kids get out of this nightmare."
Both Sera and Xehanort become very reserved. Despite her graceful demeanor and beautiful features, they were intimidated as she exuded - however unintentionally - an overwhelming presence. Like a rose, but instead of hiding thorns, that rose somehow hid a chainsaw. Her crystal blue eyes did little more than amplify this feeling of unease as they felt like she was gazing through their hearts themselves.
After not receiving a response from either of them; Vacca leans down to eye level with Xehanort and stares as Sora could swear her eyes were glowing. She then stood back up straight and pronounced…
"You are keyblade wielder as well."
She certainly didn't phrase it as a question, nor did her tone inquire for an answer. But Xehanort felt compelled to answer anyways.
"Y-yes?"
She glances over at Sera for a moment. But quickly concludes that she didn't have one and summons No Name again as she uses it to create a door.
"Come. This horrid place will do you no good."
Sera works up the courage to ask her a question.
"Uh...where are we going?"
The master opened the door as a blinding light poured out and she gestured to welcome them.
"Scala ad Caelum."
Back in the future at the gates of Twilight Town's old mansion, Noro Star led his crew inside as Namine struggled to stay on her feet with Vanitas weighing her down.
"Why...do I...have to...carry him?"
Noro Star sighed.
"Fine. I'll carry him inside."
He lifted the weight off of her shoulders as they took 3 steps inside and he tossed Vanitas onto the floor.
"Alright. That's good enough. Get to work on him."
She scowled at him as she was still breathing heavy.
"Are you...kidding me?! Can I get a break first or are you hellbent on getting me to hate you?"
"Ask me again when I care."
She plopped onto the floor in exhaustion as he chuckled to himself.
"Wow. This 'no heart' stuff is really handy. Knowing how much of a hassle Sora would've made this by being...considerate or something; it really shows the difference in results."
Namine knelt down to Vanitas and placed her hands on her head, but multitasked as she prodded Noro Star for more details.
"So, does that mean you favor Xehanort?"
He shakes his head.
"I'm not biased one way or the other. Sora and Xehanort both have their pros and cons. But in a lot of situations; when push comes to shove…Sora is quite unreliable. Xehanort has the problem of being too sure of himself to consider what should happen if he was wrong. Which - in hindsight - he was...a lot."
"Such as?"
"Vanitas, for example. He is more than a tool...as are you."
She lets out a fake laugh.
"HA!"
"...Something you find funny?"
His tone hammering home how unamused he is.
"You certainly don't treat me as a friend."
"Correct. You are NOT my friend. But it is amusing how you think so little of people that they can be classified in only two ways: friends and tools."
Her slight smug expression switches to appalled, but he doesn't let her rebuke him.
"You are my apprentice. I will teach you what I know. I will make you stronger. I will protect you...within reason, until you are strong enough to do it yourself. What? Did you expect to pick up a keyblade, swing it around a few times with some other incompetent wielder under the tutelage of someone who knows nothing about keyblades and expect to even be proficient? I'm sorry; if you need a break. But I'm going to treat you like my equal...not like a PRINCESS."
There was an awkward silence for a while before she responded.
"...We are still talking about ME, right?"
He turned away from her, ignoring her implication.
"...Just finish your work on him."
He started walking away as she returned her attention to Vanitas, but not before he left her with one final remark.
"...Then you can rest in your old room if you'd like."
He heads upstairs to the library, leaving her to repair Vanitas' broken mind and body.
After several hours of tireless work, she finally manages to identify some memories that don't belong. Could they be the memories Xehanort burdened Vanitas with? They were indeed Xehanort's. But they all seemed to be memories of a specific person. Every memory but their meeting was here. Everything related to this person was cast away by Xehanort.
"This woman. Sera. She...betrayed him?"
Meanwhile, in the past at Scala ad Caelum on the topmost spire of Castle DCCXIII; a young boy with black hair and white clothes sits on the windowsill, looking out over the hundreds of other castles and towns just like his own. His peaceful meditation was interrupted a guard dressed in extravagant gold and white armor with a message for him.
"My lord, Eraqus. Your master has returned...with guests. One of them is a keyblade wielder. She requests your presence."
He smiled as he jumps from his seat in excitement and rushes past the guard who steps out of his way and salutes as he passes.
"Finally. Someone new."
The guard calls out to him.
"My lord! What about your previous obligation?!"
"Sorry, Fide! Tell Aqua I'm gonna be late!"
*Wait...did he say Aqua? Hmmm...Big thinking face. To keep things simple. Fide and Vacca's names are both Latin; keeping in theme with Scala ad Caelum. It's not as interesting as they sound. Also, see if you can guess the meaning of Castle DCCXIII...I bet you won't get it. Nope. No way. I swear this is the last time I try to be cheeky and subtle at the same time.*