Disclaimer: The following contains characters and elements from Disney, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Dissidia Final Fantasy, TWEWY, and some OCs. I own nothing but the idea and the OCs.
AN: Hi, everybody! Missed me? No? Okay, that's fine. Last time, we met Cosmos, oh, and Ventus is awake! That didn't take too long, did it? Anyway, sorry it's been so long, I've got work, and schools back in, you guys know how that goes. Anyway, our current voting line-up is:
Forever Crescent: 1
Brothers in Arms: 2
Family?!: 0
A Prince or a Pauper?: 0
Test of the Heart: 0
Guardians of the Other World: 0
BatClan 2.0: 0
Chronicles of the DEVA: 0
Okay, now that that's out of the way, Moving On! In this chapter, Ven and Vani are going to have a rather…enlightening conversation. This chapter is dedicated to you, Yue!
!WARNING! A section in this chapter contains a brief description of suicide. Read at your own discretion. The section will be marked as so: !WARNING! (When you see that, then you know what's coming.
Chapter 7: The Curse
"Vanitas, you can't let Setzer get to you. You know what he and the others are like. Just bide your time and ignore them. They'll come around eventually."
"And how exactly do you expect me to do that, Ven? You heard what Setzer said. I'm an oddity. I've been an oddity ever since we came to live here. I'm not an ideal Wielder. I don't fit."
"Just because the Masters can't decide how to train you doesn't mean that you don't fit, Vani. You're just a little…different from everyone else. It's not a bad thing."
"Why am I not reassured by your words?"
"Vanitas, we will figure this out. Watch and see. The Masters are going to figure out which Affinity you belong to. You'll train under your proper Master and become one yourself, just like anyone else in The Order."
"You really believe that?"
"I always have. Things will get better, Vani. I promise."
Ventus stared hard at the figure standing in front of him. There was no doubt about. It was his brother Vanitas, alive and healthy. A grin slowly spread onto Ventus' face. Without warning, he darted forward and wrapped his arms around his twin's neck. "Vani! You're alright!"
Vanitas placed his hands on his brother's shoulders and gave a low chuckle. "Yes. I'm here, and you're safe. I'm glad you're back, Ven."
Ventus frowned and pulled away from slightly away from Vanitas. "I'm back? Back from where?"
Vanitas looked sorrowful. "You mean you don't remember? Master Xehanort went rogue and attacked The Land of Departure. Every Keyblade Wielder that got too close to him ended up on a one way trip to the Realm of Darkness, to never get out again. The Order was nearly wiped out."
Ventus bit his lip and fought back tears as the memories of that horrid day came back to him. He could see it as clearly as if it had only just happened moments ago: Civilians running in panic, children crying and screaming for their parents, Wielders, people he had known for more than half of his life, people he was friends with, being cut down before his very eyes. And in the middle of it all, clearly pleased with the destruction he had caused, was Xehanort.
Ventus gazed into his brother's face. The last time the twins had been together, Xehanort had cast some sort of spell that had warped Vanitas' mind. The sixteen year old Wielder had completely lost control and had assisted in the destruction of their world. When Ventus had tried to stop him…well, he didn't really want to think about that right now. Then, Vanitas had been in a near constant state of depression, due to the way The Order had been treating him. Now, he looked…different.
Vanitas grinned, then lifted a hand to snap his fingers in his twin's face. "Hey Ven, still alive in there?"
Ventus shook his head, then returned the grin. "Yeah, I'm with you." Turning his head to better take in his new surroundings, Ventus gazed at the hallway around him. It looked nothing at all like the hallways in his old dormitory at The Land of Departure. "So Vani, where exactly are we?"
Vanitas forced a smile and beckoned to his brother to follow him down the hall. "Right now, we're in Twilight Town."
"Twilight Town? Never heard of it."
"That's because it didn't exist until twelve years ago. When The Land of Departure was destroyed, all of the survivors fled to Master Yen Sid's Tower, and built a new town at the base of it. We've all lived here ever since. Well, those of us who decided to stay here, anyway. Some took off in the hope of finding their lost loved ones. Others left because they wanted to scratch what happened out of their lives and completely start over in a new town. A few of the ones who went in that direction even went so far as to change their names and leave everything they owned behind. Most of us stayed here, though. Safety in numbers and all that."
"What do you mean by that?"
"After the disaster, Xehanort announced the existence of Keyblade Wielders to all of the worlds, told them about The Order and everything we did to protect them, then bragged about how he had destroyed us. No one believed his story at first, but then The Heartless came."
"The Heartless?"
"Monsters born from the darkness extracted from people's hearts that continue their existence by feeding off said hearts. Let me tell you right now, brother, my Unversed are cute and cuddly compared to those things. Another bunch to watch out for are the Nobodies."
"Nobodies?"
"When a person with a strong will loses their heart, the shell left behind takes on a life of its own. Those things have no hearts and no feelings, but they can and will pretend that they do. Finally, there's the Nightmares. Funny looking little things that remind me more of my Unversed than anything else. One difference though; my Unversed respond to my negative emotions, while Nightmares respond to everyone's."
"Sounds like things have been anything but quiet around here."
"I'm not even at the best part yet, Ven."
"Really? What's the best part?"
"Xehanort been really busy reeling in new Keyblade Wielders with the promise of teaching them, only to subject them to a series of tortures designed to extract every last shred of light out of their hearts."
"He's doing WHAT?!"
"Most of those poor kids end up dead by the end of it. The few that manage to survive, though, become Dark Keyblade Wielders, about as evil and nasty as Xehanort himself. The odds are stacked pretty high against us on this one."
Ventus put out an arm, stopping Vanitas, then turned to face his brother. "Please tell me that The Masters haven't just been watching all of this happen? They've been fighting him, right?"
Vanitas sighed. "Well, you see Ven, that's where the problem is. Most of The Masters were thrown into the Realm of Darkness with you and everybody else. Master Eraqus, Master Reyes, Master Carlotta, they're all gone. Master Yen Sid is still here because he was in his tower during the attack, seeing to his student's Mark of Mastery Exam, and didn't find about what happened until the refugees started coming. Master Guinness and Master Latchette, Master Eraqus' brother and wife, respectively, were the only Masters who got out of there alive. Master Guinness was the one who led the refugees here. He's the Mayor of Twilight Town these days. As for Master Latchette, she was here at first, but as soon as Twilight Town was set up, she grabbed her and her husband's kids and disappeared. She was part of the group that left to try and start over. She settled in a small town on a place called Destiny Islands, and died there about two years later. Suicide."
!WARNING!
"Master Latchette is dead?!"
"Local police in the area found her dead in her kitchen ten years ago. She had waited for her kids to go to school or the local nursery, then stuck her head in the oven."
Warning over. I did say it was brief.
"How did they find her?"
"The kids came home. It was the oldest boy who saw her first and called the police. The poor kid was only seven."
Ventus turned his gaze away from his brother, trying to process all of the information he had received. Then, a thought struck him as he remembered what his brother had said. "Vani, you said the attack was twelve years ago? Then how are you still, you know, a kid? We were sixteen when the attack happened. I know why I'm still the same; time doesn't exist in the Realm of Darkness, and the age you are when you go in is the same age you are if you manage to get out. But you, Vani, you've been here in the Realm of Light this whole time, right? You ought to be, what, twenty-eight by now? So why are you still-?"
"I'm cursed."
"What?!"
"I'm cursed, Ven. I can't grow. I can't age. I'm stuck at sixteen, and probably will be for the rest of my life."
"How?"
"It was during the attack, after I…after I threw you into the Realm of Darkness. Master Eraqus tried to bring me back to my senses, the same way you did. When I failed to respond, he put a curse on me."
"Vanitas Henderson…I cast this curse…on you now. Your crimes…truly terrible. If you are…not…forgiven…you will not grow…for as long as you live."
"I've been like this ever since. I can't age again until I'm forgiven."
"By who?"
"I…I don't know, Ven. I honestly don't know."
AN: Aaannd that's a wrap for now! Lot of info in this chapter, and the plot is finally in place! So, who do you guys think is the one who can break Vanitas' curse? Take a guess! See you later!
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