A/N: in which Vanitas plots, onlookers are confused, and Ventus chooses a side.
Published: 4/26/2018
Warnings: Vanitas' imagination
Chapter 8
Shaded Stratagem
Sora had been happily chatting with Riku after giving the other boy his present when he was unceremoniously pulled into his own mindscape.
Or was it technically a heartscape? Sora wasn't sure.
All he knew was that he'd been pulled here against his will, and he was pretty ticked off about it too. Who would dare? What twisted evil force would do such a thing?
"Keep him busy, Venny! Our. Time. Is. Now!" Shadow's voice yelled out.
Oh, wait. Duh. That twisted force.
Wait a second...
Venny? Shadow was calling Light Venny now? What was the world coming to? Had Sora accidentally walked into an alternate reality? Was this all in his head?
Okay, technically it was, but details.
"I told you not to call me that!" Light called out right back, sounding like he very much wanted to hit the other. Ah. Okay. Universe back to normal.
Sora grodgidly sat up. He'd landed in a heap right on the sand, which he could feel crunching beneath his weight. Looking around, Sora realized that he couldn't see Light or Shadow anywhere.
Concern momentarily replaced anger. Where they okay? Were they hurt? Had something happened?
Wait, no. Sora would have known if something bad had happened to the two of them. They literally lived in his head.
"Shadow? Did you need somethin'? Couldn't it have waited? I was talkin' to Riku and drawing pretty pictu-" Sora began.
Shadow then appeared before him in a vortex of shadows, up on the little wooden staircase. Then, he rudely interrupted Sora with a loud boisterous laugh, cackling evilly while shooting Sora what he could only describe as Riku's ha, I won again face.
Sora didn't like that face. He enjoyed wiping it off Riku's face whenever he got the chance. Unfortunately, said chance didn't come across very often because Riku was annoyingly good at anything he put his mind to.
That didn't mean that Sora couldn't give him a run for his money, though. If Shadow thought he could win here, in Sora's own head, he had another thing coming.
Sora's eyes narrowed. He took a step forward, when…
Light appeared before him, holding a bowl of…
"Ice cream!" Sora cheered. Like many children, Sora was easily distracted when it came to sweets. Light handed him the bowl, looking slightly guilty. Sora couldn't imagine why. Vanilla was the best.
Taking a bite, Sora smiled up at his friend. Light still looked sad for whatever reason. Sora frowned. Taking a bit of ice cream up with his spook, Sora offered it up to the other.
"Wha- what?" Light blinked at it, then at Sora.
"You look sad. Here! Ice cream should make you feel better! Mom always says that the best thing to do when sad is tah eat a tub of ice cream!"
Light's lip started to quiver. Then, suddenly, without any sort of warning, Light tossed his arms up in the air.
"I can't do this! It's too mean!" He cried out.
Sora looked at him oddly.
"It's not mean, I'm offerin' it to you. It'd be mean if you took it by force." Sora said, not understanding the problem.
If anything, that seemed to make it worse as Light sniffed, looking like he was just on the verge of bursting into tears.
Sora decided he needed back up for this one. Looking around the small tiny island, Sora spoke.
"Hey, where'd Shadow go?"
Shadow should be able to help! Maybe not to make Light feel better, but getting him mad should knock Light out of his funk.
Then, inexplicably, Light burst into tears. Taken by surprise, Sora almost dropped his ice cream.
"Light! What's wrong?" Sora asked.
"I can't do this! Vanitas, stop! Abort, abort, abort!" Light turned around and started screaming at the sky.
Sora blinked, bewildered.
Just… What was going on?
Their teacher then proceeded to prove she was useless as she walked off without another world. In her defense, this would hardly be the first time that Sora decided to take a nap in the middle of class after finishing an assignment.
The only one who seemed to see anything wrong with it at all, really, was Riku himself.
"Sora? Sora!" The boy shook his friend.
That hadn't been like last time. The look of surprise on Sora's face before he was dragged into his own mind was rather telling. Riku shook the boy's shoulders, determined to wake him from… Whatever this was.
He'd been forced into his mindscape. That was the only reasonable solution Riku could come to. Sora had been dragged in, and who's fault was it?
Riku's. It was Riku's because he'd told Sora to do it, he'd told Sora to let some stranger into his mind. Into his heart. He'd told Sora to let someone in, and now, and now…
Tears started to stream down Riku's face.
"What's wrong with Riku?" Selphie commented, looking at him as if Riku had randomly sprouted a tail.
"Sora's always been lazy, taking naps." Tidus continued, looking equally as confused.
"Sora knows the way, yeah? Sleepin' whenever he can!" Wakka concluded, fist smashing lightly against his desk ask he nodded to himself as if he'd just uttered the next great gospel.
Riku twitched.
Idiots. All of them. Sora was-
Sora's eyes snapped opened, except they didn't. They didn't, because instead of familiar blue, Riku was looking at gold.
Then, Sora stood, arms raised above him dramatically as he began to laugh evilly.
"It is done! At last, it is done! Buahahaha! Don't worry, Venny, I am a man of my word and I swear, I shall find a way to release you." Not-Sora promised, fist clenched against his chest as he peered up at literally nothing.
"Now he's acting weirder than normal." Tidus spoke with an arched eyebrow.
"Well, he does have an overactive imagination." Selphie told the boy.
Tidus considered this before nodding. "True." he acknowledged.
Not-Sora blinked at then all, as if barely realizing he was among other human beings. Then, turning towards Tidus, he spoke.
"Ahaha! Sorry, Timmy, I'm feeling a bit under the weather."
"Who's Timmy?"
Not-Sora blinked.
"Thomas?"
"No."
"Shuyin?"
"What! No! That's not even close!"
Not-Sora narrowed his eyes at Tidus.
"Are you sure? You look like a Shuyin." Not-Sora stated suspiciously.
"Yes! I'm sure! Geez, Sora. Are you feeling alright?"
To this, Not-Sora grinned evilly. A grin Riku had never seen in his bestfriends face, malicious and twisted.
"I've never been bett-"
Riku was done with this. Reaching out, he pinned the smaller boy before he could even think of retaliating. That actually got a response as Riku heard the sound of scrapping chars.
"Woah, Riku, calm down aye?" Wakka called. Riku ignored him. Useless, the lot of them.
Not-Sora gazed up at him in surprise. Riku growled.
"Whoever you are, let Sora go."
"But, Richard, I am Sora." Not-Sora lied, golden eyes blinking innocently.
"My name isn't Richard!"
"... okay look, I'm not good with names, alright? I-" Not-Sora froze.
Then, hands shoved Riku right off before Not-Sora gripped his head.
"Owe! Bad Shadow, bad!"
"Ven, you deceptive little Kain!"
Riku watched in shock as Sora swayed once, twice, then came to a stop. Familiar blue eyes blinked up at him.
Sora smiled.
"Hi, Riku."
Riku was very proud of himself for only hitting Sora once.
Vanitas glared at Ventus.
The little shit glared right back, unrepentant.
"Our one chance. Our one chance to get free of this mess, and you- you- do you exist to annoy me?!" Vanitas demanded.
The plan had been so ridiculously simple that Vanitas would have succeeded if Ventus had given him just a few more minutes. All he had to do was take over the brat, find somewhere secluded, then he'd be able to release their hearts.
Plain and simple, right?!
And, there would be no harm to Sora because Vanitas totally knew what he was doing.
…
Okay, so it might harm Sora if Vanitas messed it up, but he totally hadn't been intending to do that. If anything, Vanitas planned on taking Sora as his apprentice. The little brat had already proved he had a hidden sadistic streak, one that Vanitas planned to nurture for the sole purpose of setting him on Xehanort.
Except, all of his plans had been ruined, yet again, by the idiot standing right in front of him!
Ventus crossed his arms, looked away, and sneered.
"I'm not helping you if it means hurting Sora. Sure, he's a little annoying as he's got a temper and god forbid you disturb him in the morning, but he's a good kid!"
Vanitas trembled with barely controlled rage. It was a familiar feeling, one he had felt all his life starting the moment he'd been born.
Was born the right word, actually? Vanitas had kinda just popped out fully grown. Wait, no. Bad analogy, badddd. That would make Ventus his mom.
Wait a second…
Would that make Xehanort his dad?
Vanitas blanched.
Ventus watched in confusion as Vanitas turned around and started to slam his head against a tree while muttering about how he so need some brain bleach.
