Key2DestNE: Hey guys, Key here- time for another chapter update! I'm sure you all are super excited for this, right?
DarkFoxKit: Yes, this is the chapter Roxas and Ven finally meets Lea and Isa! Also, it's when they go to Disney Town! Were you guys looking forward to this?
Key2DestNE: Heh… they probably were- I know I have been, and I'm one of the authors who wrote it! *is grinning in excitement, bouncing up and down*
DarkFoxKit: Of course you were! Now when they get to Disney Town, we had to change and adjust a few things and characters for Roxas- you know, to keep the tradition that every character gets their own 'ice cream' and 'adventure' in that world. The 'mini-game' we added was based off of the 'Odd Job' mini-game from Twilight Town's tutorial from Kingdom Hearts II.
Key2DestNE: But don't worry, it isn't just a simple copy and paste of that mini-game! ...Okay, it sort of is, b-but it actually serves a purpose, so I hope you all pay attention to it instead of just skipping it in hopes of more action!
DarkFoxKit: And there's more after Disney Town, but we won't spoil it. Now get to reading~
Chapter 8: Traveling
Ven was sitting in the flower bed while Roxas was sitting next to him. The Nobody was trying not to show he was weak but he was beginning to pant a bit more. I can't… let this go on… But… how is Ven… doing this?
Ven didn't even notice Roxas was panting, holding the wooden Keyblade in his hands as a memory flashed by of when he first got it. Terra… Aqua… what's happened between us? I… I thought we were friends… equals…
The Nobody looked over at Ven, he decided to try and ask him, "V-Ven… um… listen… sometimes… friends need some time to be alone and… work things out… And uh… do you feel any different?"
Ven frowned, but then he blinked, feeling Roxas nudge his side. "H-huh? ...Oh…" He frowned a bit, looking himself over. "Uh… not really- stronger, but I've been fighting a lot of Unversed lately…"
"I see…" Roxas looked down before looking up at him. "Um… Ven… I think… maybe you… might be…" he wasn't sure how to tell him without Ven taking it the wrong way. The boy was already pretty angry with his friends, he didn't need Roxas speaking nonsense to him too.
Ven frowned in confusion, turning a bit to look at Roxas. "What? What is it? You can just say it! I might be what? ...C'mon, Roxas!" He nudged the Nobody a bit.
Before Roxas could say anything, though, they heard someone, "Hmm? Am I seeing double or are you two twins?"
Roxas's eyes widen as he saw… a younger Axel. … A-Axel!? Roxas kept staring dumbly at the younger Axel while he and a younger, no-scarred Saix stood by before the younger Axel came up to them.
"Hey, so… who are you two? My name's Lea, got it memorized?" The red head spoke cheerfully, sounding almost identical to his Nobody self. "And ya didn't answer my question- are you both twins?"
Roxas blinked at this. L-Lea? … This is… this is definitely Axel's original self! Right now, the Nobody was resisting the urge to just stand up and hug him.
Ven answered since Roxas looked too… 'star struck' if that was the right word. "No, we're not twins…" He sighed, glancing away before Lea snatched his wooden Keyblade away. "H-hey!"
Lea chuckled, looking it over. "You still play with toy swords, kid? That's cute." Then he tossed it to the side, reaching into his bag. "Now this right here… Ta da!" He pulled out a pair of Frisbees, hanging them loosely on his fingers. "What do ya think? Pretty cool, huh?"
Roxas finally snapped out of his little trance at seeing Axel's original self upon noticing the Frisbees. … Axel… I wonder if he's doing okay… "... So you're Lea?" Roxas asked, standing up.
"Ah, so the other boy can speak!" Lea smiled, nudging Roxas playfully. "Yeah, it's Lea- got it memorized?"
"Lea, we have to get going, we don't have time to waste here." Saix's younger and original self snapped.
"Oh come off it Isa, let me have a little fun." Lea rolled his eyes. "You can be such a stickler sometimes, sheesh…"
Roxas couldn't help but give a chuckle, murmuring softly, "... I hope things go well for you…"
Lea blinked at that before looking at the two with a smile once more. "Hey, what're your names, you two?"
"...I'm Ventus- this is Roxas… But why do you need to know?" Ven frowned, murmuring, "Not like we'll see each other again…"
Lea chuckled, nudging Ventus playfully. "Heh, whatever you say- but alright, Ventus, let's fight!"
"Fight? Why would I want to do that?" Ven frowned, growing confused. "I'm not really a fighter…"
Roxas chuckled as he looked over at his look alike, shrugging. "Why not? It'll be fun to have a small spar." This must be what sparked a connection between Axel and myself… Maybe because I looked like Ven here, Axel became my best friend.
Lea nodded, grinning in excitement. "Yeah- besides, ya afraid to lose? C'mon!" He then jumped back, getting into a battle-ready stance. "Hope you're ready, you two- we're going for a battle royale!"
Roxas blinked, his eyes widening in surprise. "Wait… TWO? You mean ME too?" he asked in shock.
Lea chuckled, shrugging. "Yeah, why not? Or are you all bark and no bite? C'mon- show me what you've got, Roxas!"
"But I don't have anything to fight with!" Roxas quickly said. "I'll just watch!"
"Oh… Roxas, you can use this." Ven said as he threw a wooden sword he… got from his pocket.
Roxas blinked frowning as he looked it over. "Gee… thanks…" This better not mess up the timeline! He picked it up, sighing. "Fine, we'll do a free-for-all." He gave a small grin, though.. He already knew Lea's moveset as Axel- this might be pretty fun…
The young Nobody, before he knew it, was having fun play fighting against Lea and Ven. It was a lot different to play fight than it was to actually battle, he's done this a few times in the virtual Twilight Town, but it felt nice to just take it easy and not have anything big on the line, other than pride.
Eventually, though, Lea dropped his Frisbees and fell on his butt, panting heavily. "Y-you… had enough?" he weakly asked. "Because I'm… willin' to… call it a draw if you are!"
Roxas looked over at Ven, who looked like he could still go on, but Roxas himself looked ready to drop from that small scuffle. I need to fix this, and fast…
Isa rolled his eyes as he said, crossing his arms. "You know, the only thing you've done was have a big fat 'L' print that stands for 'Loser', 'Lame' and 'Laughable'. You've got to step up your game, Lea."
The redhead's jaw dropped, glancing up at Isa with a bit of mock anger. "Wha- isn't this the part where ya… I dunno, cheer me up or something? You know, 'You're just having a bad day', or 'That's what you get for pulling your punches!' Sheesh, some friend here…"
"..." Roxas looked at Isa, frowning in confusion. Saix was so… different… Yeah he's insulting Lea, but he's doing it good naturedly…
"Oh, so you want me to lie?" Isa smirked.
Lea rolled his eyes, chuckling a bit. "Sheesh, you see what I have to deal with here?" He smiled at Ven and Roxas, leaning back. "Sure hope ya don't have friends like him!"
Roxas gave Lea a smile back, really missing Axel right now, the only one in the Organization who cared. Ven gave a smile of his own, but for a different reason.
"Well, we'd better go now, Lea." Isa said, turning around. "We have to hurry after all."
Lea sighed but nodded. "Right." He stood up, poking both of them on the forehead. "Now… make sure you have my name memorized you two!"
Ven blinked, looking at the finger with crossed eyes before chuckling. "Right… It's Illegal, right?" Lea pouted, and Ven began to laugh. "Sorry, couldn't resist!" Then he frowned a bit. "...But you gotta go already? That sucks…"
"Hey, I'm sure we'll meet again!" Lea said with a smile.
Roxas nodded before he said, "... I'll see you again, Lea…" And by that I mean your Nobody in 10 to 11 years.
Lea nodded, turning around and following Isa. "Yeah, see you around, Roxas, Ven."
Isa rolled his eyes, turning back to Lea with a mock irritation. "What is it with you and picking up stray puppies?"
Lea shrugged, smiling brightly. "Hey, I want to make sure every person I meet remembers me, that way I can live on in people's memories when I'm gone."
"I know I won't ever forget you- trust me, I try all the time." the blue haired boy said with a slight chuckle.
"Good, that means I'm immortal~" Lea laughed.
Roxas gave a sad smile, overhearing every word. That's why he seemed so hurt when I didn't remember him in the digital Twilight Town… he wants to make sure everyone, especially his friends, remember him. And knowing that I didn't… that… must have hurt…but hey! It's not like I asked to forget him!
Ven smiled softly, muttering to himself, "Must be nice… knowin' who your friends are…" He glanced up at the sky longingly before looking over at Roxas. "Hey, uh… so you were saying beforehand? I might be doing something- what is it?"
Roxas blinked before looking at Ven, frowning a bit. "... Are we… friends, Ven? Like real friends or just… someone you tolerate?"
Ven blinked in surprise, but he sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "Well… you hid the fact that you have a Keyblade from me… but I guess I can understand- so yeah, we're friends. Not the best of friends…" Then he smiled, putting a hand on Roxas's shoulder. "But you're the only one I have right now… so thanks for sticking by me."
Roxas sighed, nodding. "Yeah… I guess. And… Ven, you wouldn't do something to really hurt me on purpose, right?"
Ven frowned, easily nodding. "Yeah, of course! Why would I hurt the one person who's stuck by me and hasn't told me to go home, or just brushed me off?" He chuckled a bit, shrugging. "I'd have to be stupid to do that!"
The Nobody blinked before sighing. Right… so he doesn't know then… "Well… that's good at least." He panted a bit as he was trying to regain his composure. "So… what do you… plan to do now?"
Ven sighed, shrugging. "I… dunno." he muttered softly, glancing up at the sky. "I don't want to go home… Not yet, at least- but… Maybe if I go to Disney Town, I'll have some time to cool off, ya know?"
"Oh… right… you still have the passes." Roxas said with a nod. "Well… I guess we could go…" he took a deep breath, wiping a bit of sweat from his forehead.
Ven looked at Roxas in concern, just now noticing Roxas's state "Are you… okay? You don't look so good, are you sick?"
Roxas gave him a small smile, shaking his head. "... I'm fine… probably just tired is all." Until I find out how Ven is sapping my energy and how to stop it… I-I don't want him to know, it'd just make him feel worse…
Ventus frowned in more concern, but he slowly nodded. "Well… alright, I guess…" He sighed, making his Keyblade Armor form. I'm not sure what Roxas is hiding from me… but I'll let him tell me when he's comfortable… It'd just better not be too horrible…"You coming?"
Roxas nodded as he held onto Ven's armor. "Let's… get going. To Disney Town…"
Ven frowned in concern, glancing back at Roxas. "Right… Maybe you should take a nap when we get there or something…"
"I'd rather not…" Roxas said with a frown. "But if I fall again, I may not survive a third time."
Ven paused at that, but he continued to fly in the right direction. "W-wait… You fell off twice!? And you survived!? The Lanes Between are pure darkness- it's why we wear armor!"
"... I guess that coat I wear keeps me safe from the darkness." Roxas answered. "... So how far is this Disney Town?"
Ven shrugged, glancing around a bit. "I'm not sure… It might take… I dunno- ten minutes to get there? It's probably not too far, if that Scrooge guy came from Disney Town himself…"
"Yeah, hopefully not…" Roxas said tiredly. Because if I hang on to you any longer… I'm going to pass out.
Thankfully, before too long, the two look alike boys soon came to a fun looking world that looked like the passes. Ven quickly landed into the world known as Disney Town and dispelled his armor. Roxas almost fell, he wobbled as soon as they landed but quickly regain his composure. "S-sorry, must've tripped…"
Ven frowned, helping Roxas back on his feet. "I dunno, Roxas… Maybe you should lay down for a bit…" I want him to tell me on his own… but he looks like he's about to faint at any moment- completely different from before…
Roxas just shook his head, now panting lightly. "I just have to walk it off… don't worry about me. Maybe… we should go our separate ways… you know, to… look around for a bit." If I keep staying like 5 feet from you, I'm gonna pass out, at least I can have some time to recover a bit from this.
Ven hesitated, but he slowly nodded. "Alright, I guess…" Then he frowned, hastily adding, "B-but you'd better come back here in about… 4 hours- okay? I'll meet you here!"
"S-sure, that's… fine." Roxas nodded as he wasted no time to turn around and began walking away. Whew… that was close…
Not looking where he was going, the Nobody bumped into someone wearing… white tights? "Wah?" He blinked in shock at that. "Who the heck…?"
"Hey! Watch where you- I mean careful there! You should always watch where you're going!" A big fat… cat… thing in a giant suit said.
Roxas blinked at the big fat cat thing wearing white and red tights with a cape. "... Uh… Hi-"
"I am Captain JUSTICE! I'm here to help those in need and in trouble! So… what do you need help with, huh?" the… cat thing said, calling himself Captain Justice.
Roxas blinked, any way he looked at it, this 'Captain Justice' looks like a big poser. "Uh…"
"You look like you're about halfway dead… I know! Let Captain Justice slap you awake!" 'Captain Justice' said with enthusiasm and raised his huge hand.
Roxas jumped and quickly said, "No! No! I don't need any smacking, okay? I'm… uh… Ah, why don't you tell me about this place?"
"... What? That's it?" 'Captain Justice' said with a grumble. "Well, fine. This here is the festival held by Queen Minnie herself- it's all about fun and games, but watch out, you may never know where danger lurks, and that's when Captain Justice comes to save the day!"
"... Right…" Roxas wasn't really sure what to say to this. "Uh… thanks… I guess…"
The big cat grinned, posing confidently. "And don't you forget that Captain Justice is the one who solved all your problems- that's justice with a J! So don't forget ta vote for him!"
"... Uh… vote?" Roxas asked, frowning in confusion. What's he mean by that?
"Oh never you mind. If you don't have any other problems, Captain Justice is going out to find more troubles!" And with that, the strange guy ran off somewhere.
"... What a weird guy." Roxas said to himself, sweatdropping. But the Nobody sighed in relief as he felt his energy returning, he was feeling so much better. "... That's more like it…" But if I don't tell Ven about this… he's going to keep sucking me dry without knowing… What should I do? I don't want to hurt his feelings… but…
Then Roxas's head perked up, hearing someone complaining nearby. "Oh darn it all! If these balloons don't get hung soon, this is going to be a much less festive town than it should be…"
The Nobody looked over to see it… looked like a female duck wearing a fancy purple dress. Huh… She looks very similar to Donald. Curious now, Roxas approached her, cautiously tapping her shoulder. "Uh… Excuse me, do you need some help, miss?"
"Hmm?" The duck turned and smiled at Roxas politely. "M-may I help you, young man? Are you looking for someone, perhaps?" Despite her polite tone, Roxas noticed a slight tremor in her voice, and her eye was twitching.
Roxas gave her a nervous smile. If she IS anything like Donald, then she must have a short temper too, maybe even shorter considering she's… well… a girl. "I was just wondering… You look like you could use some help- not that you're not… you know, doing a good job, just that… maybe you'd like some help?"
The duck quickly shook her head, giving a slightly strained smile now. "N-no, no, it's fine, although I appreciate your help young man! I am Lady Daisy- and what's your name?"
"... I'm Roxas, it's nice to meet you Lady Daisy." Roxas said as politely as he could, remembering the Queen of Hearts back in Wonderland and how bad of a temper she had.
Lady Daisy smiled at him before turning back to the balloons and her mood soured a bit as she huffed slightly. "Now if only I could get these balloons in the right places…" she muttered to herself, putting her hands on her hips. "I swear, 'Captain Justice' is putting too much work into getting votes instead of actually helping!"
"Captain Justice isn't helping you with this?" Roxas frowned. "He seemed pretty eager to help anyone in need…"
Lady Daisy sighed, shaking her head. "His real name is Pete, and no, if it looks hard or takes a lot of effort, he won't do it."
"... Really? He seemed disappointed when I gave him an easy task." Roxas said, crossing his arms in a bit of annoyance. So in other words… nothing we give him will satisfy him.
Lady Daisy gave a small frown as she then added, "Not to mention he's the one who put all the balloons in one spot- apparently it'll make this area more festive… But it's not just this one area that needs to be more festive! Honestly, I can't believe that guy sometimes!"
Roxas remembered that time in the digital Twilight Town, where he had to get a quick job to make some munny for the beach, which never happened, and one of the jobs were to set up the posters for the Struggle Tournament all over town. As he thought of that situation, this gave the Nobody an idea. "Hey, if it's alright with you, Lady Daisy, maybe I could put up those balloons where they should go?"
The duck blinked in surprise before smiling happily. "Oh my, you would do that Roxas? I would love to have some help with these balloons!" Then she frowned a bit, sighing. "But… are you sure you're up to the task? A bunch of these balloons are to be placed along roofs and other tough to reach spots…"
"I can do it, I've done something like this before too, so no need to worry." Roxas said with a wink.
"Well… alright, here, and try not to pop or lose them." Daisy said as she handed the boy the balloons.
"Thanks!" Roxas smiled as he found a nearby skateboard. "Hmmm…" The Nobody got on the skateboard and began going, he did some tricks as he tied up the balloons in their proper areas.
As the Nobody continued to breeze along, Daisy's jaw dropped at how fast Roxas was going. Oh my…! How is he so fast? This is practically a town record- I've NEVER seen anybody put up balloons so fast, especially without losing or popping any!
In about three minutes flat, Roxas finished hanging all the balloons in their proper places and he skateboard back to Daisy before stopping and getting off. "Well? Did I do good?"
Daisy had her beak wide in shock as she looked around slowly. "...I- t-that is…" She took a moment to regain her composure before she smiled brightly. "That was incredible, Roxas- you just completed it in less than 3 minutes when it would normally take over an hour!"
Roxas gave a small smile, blushing a bit in embarrassment. "Heh, well this was a bit easier than back home, at least I had a skateboard here."
Daisy smiled, before she perked up again. "Hey… do you think you could help me with one more thing?"
"Sure, what is it?" Roxas felt so full of energy now. It's odd, really- I suddenly feel like I can do absolutely anything!
The female duck chuckled at his enthusiasm, it was like he was a little kid on sugar rush. "Well, there are some monsters going around town attacking some of the townsfolk, I was hoping maybe you could clean them up before something really bad happens?"
Roxas nodded, pumping his fist confidently. "Sure, they shouldn't be too ha-"
"Now! Now! Let Captain Justice take care of these so-called monsters! I'm sure kids these days just like causing trouble for everyone." Captain Justice, or Pete, said as he came running over to them, obviously thinking 'monsters' meant 'children'.
Lady Daisy scowled, turning to Pete in irritation. "Pete, you no-good scoundrel! This young man is doing what you claim to do better! So why don't you just run along and keep playing pretend while Roxas here actually helps keep our town festive, hmm!? I swear, sometimes you're worse than Donald!"
Roxas blinked at hearing the name, but that was all the reaction he showed to the familiar name as Pete frowned. "Hmph! I'll show you I can do better!"
Roxas watched him go running off into town… only to come back running a few minutes later, screaming, "Waaah! No way, are you crazy? I'm not risking my life for this!" Pete snapped at Daisy as he kept going.
"... For a fat cat, he sure can run." Roxas chuckled.
Daisy sighed in irritation, rubbing her forehead with her left wing. "And now you see how irritating he can be on a daily basis… Pete always causes trouble- but it's always worse during these festivals, because we give out prizes at the end of each day…"
"Prizes?" Roxas asked, blinking in surprises. I didn't know there were prizes… That's interesting…
"Yes." someone else said, walking over to them, it looked like a mouse with a crown and a pink dress. "You see, the one who gets the most votes will get the Million Dreams Award, and I'm afraid Pete's only doing this to get his hands on the prize."
The Nobody frowned at this before sighing with a shrug. "Selfish, but I guess there are people like him around. Now… I'm going to go see if I can clean up the town of these monsters." Roxas winked at them as he head into town.
The mouse blinked, turning to Daisy. "Daisy… who was that? I saw a boy just like him a few minutes ago, talking to the Duck nephews and made some ice cream!"
Daisy blinked, surprised. "Really? Well he said his name was Roxas."
"Roxas… The other boy I met was named Ventus." the mouse said in wonder.
"I guess they're twins, kind of like how you and Mickey look alike, Queen Minnie." Daisy winked.
Roxas chuckled to himself as he heard the conversation before going out of earshot. The Nobody soon saw a lot of these… animal people screaming as they were being chased by Unversed. "Oh man, they're here too?" The Nobody grumbled as he summoned the Kingdom Key. "Oh well, it's as good time as any to brush up on my skills."
With that said, he easily charged at the first Unversed, beginning to smack away at it. "Hyah! C'mon, that all you got!?" Roxas still felt as energized as he could be, easily making the Unversed disappear. "Who's next?"
"HELP!" someone suddenly screamed. "I'M BEING ATTACKED, SOMEONE HELP MEEEE!"
Roxas looked over to see it was another duck, a much bigger duck than Donald or Daisy, or even Scrooge. "Hang on mister!" The Nobody quickly jumped and striked at the Unversed and it disappeared. "Are you okay?"
The big duck blinked before looking at his savior. "Oh thank you!" He shook the Nobody's hand quickly. "I thought I was a goner for sure!"
"O-oh uh, it was no problem, sir!" Roxas said as his body trembled a bit from the rough shake. "Uh… what's your name?"
The big duck saluted, and Roxas just noticed he was wearing an aviator's helmet. "The name's Launchpad McQuack, best pilot in Disney Town! What's your name?"
"I'm Roxas! Uh… nice to meet you, Launchpad." Roxas said, introducing himself. What kind of name is 'Launchpad'? "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe, but I have to go, there's still more I have to clean up."
The duck nodded happily, shaking Roxas's hand roughly again. "Well thanks again, Mr. Roxy! I'd better help gettin' everybody else outta here while you do your job!"
Roxas nodded, giving a slightly awkward smile. "Sure, heh, you do that." Launchpad took off. "... What a weird guy." The rest of the process was pretty easy since the Unversed were pretty weak here, and before he knew it, the Nobody was done.
"Whew, looks like that's over with." Roxas smiled to himself .
"Wow, you did better than I thought!" Roxas jumped when he heard Queen Minnie behind him.
"O-oh… uh, you really think so, uh, your Majesty?" Roxas said a bit awkwardly, he had a faint memory of a 'King Mickey', and this Queen Minnie looks pretty similar to him.
Queen Minnie nodded, smiling happily. "Why, of course- you were able to defeat those monsters like they were hand puppets! And you even kept everybody safe while doing it- thank you very much!"
Roxas couldn't help but blush a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. "Heh, well you know… they weren't too hard and it's nice to help people." Yeah, it really does feel nice, even though I don't have a heart…
"Would you and Ven like to stay for the Million Dreams Award? We're going to announce the winner in about ten minutes." Queen Minnie asked the Nobody.
Roxas smiled as he nodded, leaning back a bit and putting his hands behind his head. "Sure, why not?"
As if on cue, Roxas heard a familiar voice calling to him. "Roxas!" Ven rushed over, smiling happily. "This place is a blast- I even helped with making three ice cream cones! Here, I got one for you!" He held out… a single ice cream cone with what seemed like a million scoops on top of it!
"... O_O' U-uh… Ven, that was nice, but… d-don't you think that's a bit too much?" Roxas said with a sweatdrop. I mean I know I eat a lot of sea salt ice cream, but THIS is ridiculous! I'd DIE if I eat all this!
Ven blinked, pausing from his own humongous ice cream cone! "Uh… no, not really- it's really delicious, and it's actually easy to pack away…" He smiled, holding out the cone to Roxas. "Go ahead, try it a bit!"
"... Hehehehe…" Roxas sweatdropped even more. Oh great… now what do I do…?
Nine minutes later… the streets were literally filled with ice cream. Ven was a bit ticked off at his look alike. "You didn't have to spill EVERY. SINGLE. SCOOP."
"I didn't spill it… All I said was 'FREE ICE CREAM EVERYONE' and they all kinda charged at me and made me drop it." Roxas said with a nervous chuckle. I REALLY didn't expect them to charge at me like that- not my smartest plan…
Ven huffed, rolling his eyes. "You'd better think next time, Roxas- it was really good too, I made it just for us…" He sighed a bit, sitting on a single spot not covered in ice cream. If only Terra and Aqua were here- they'd be able to try it too…
"Hey, I did manage to save two scoops…" Roxas said as he held out the cone, and indeed, there were two flavors left, one raspberry and the other vanilla. "If you want, we can eat these…"
Ven glanced up at Roxas, "..." He smiled slightly, shrugging. "Well… I guess so… Thanks Roxas…"
The boys chuckled as they began licking the ice cream away. Then they heard Queen Minnie make an announcement over the speaker. "Will everyone please gather to the center of town? We are going to announce the winner of the Million Dreams Award!"
Roxas looked over and said with a small grin, "Hey Ven, let's see who won before we hit the Realms, what do you say?"
Ven blinked in surprise before he nodded, smiling. "Heh.. Sure, why not? I'd like to see how this turns out- maybe Huey, Dewey, and Louie won the award…"
The Nobody shrugged as they gathered to the center… only for Pete to bump into them and caused them to drop their ice cream cones! "Wah!"
"Move aside, I've got an award to get!" Pete said rudely as he kept going, like he didn't care he just bumped them.
Roxas frowned at that, crossing his arms in annoyance. "Hmph- rude much?" He grumbled, glancing at Ven. "C'mon, let's get closer to see who won!"
But Ven was still staring at the dropped ice cream, frowning in dismay. "... That was… our last cone!"
"... Ven… it's okay, we can always get more later." Roxas said, hoping to calm him down. "The ice cream machine is free anyway, right?"
Ven sighed, but he slowly nodded. "Yeah… I guess you're right…" He perked up a bit, but he still seemed upset about what had happened. "C'mon- let's get a bit closer, what do you say?"
The two boys made it to the center, where there was a stage. The townsfolk were all gathered there too, including Pete and Launchpad. And on stage, Roxas smiled to see Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy beside her.
Queen Minnie smiled as she began her speech, "Now, you have all done very well in the festival this year, and I am happy to see it was a success and went without too much of a hitch."
"Hmph, just skip to where you say my name." Pete grumbled from the back impatiently.
The queen continued, "Now without further ado, I will announce the winner of the Million Dreams Award." she took the letter from Daisy, and she opened it. "Oh my goodness, we have multiple winners this year! The winners are; Terra, Aqua, Ven and Roxas!"
Everyone cheered loudly as they celebrated. Roxas was shocked while Ven was happier than a child on Christmas morning. "That's great! When were Terra and Aqua here?" He grinned at Roxas, fist pumping. "Well, either way, I can't believe it- we actually won!"
"... We… WON? … But we just got here… a-and I thought there could only be one winner." Roxas kept blinking as if this whole thing was surreal.
Of course, this angered Pete as he shoved them out of his way, storming onstage. "Out of my way! What do you mean by that!? You better re-count those votes, because I know everyone voted for Captain Justice, I've made sure of it!" Instead, all he heard was crickets. "Uh… w-what about the rogue racer, Captain Dark!?" Still crickets.
Queen Minnie glared at him, crossing her arms in slight irritation. "The votes were all taken and carefully counted for, it was no mistake Pete." Pete was trembling in anger as the Queen continued, her glare warming into a small smile. "But you did get a few votes, because the people were happy that you helped and take care of them when they needed it."
But this didn't please Pete at all, it was win or no votes at all in his book. "I don't need their lousy votes, just cough up my prize!" And with that, he reached out towards her.
"PETE!" Both Queen Minnie and Lady Daisy snapped, stopping him. "I've been tolerant of you, but this is going too far! How dare you cast their votes away like they were nothing to you. It's time you learn your lesson, Pete. GUARDS!"
Roxas tensed up, but he blinked in surprise upon seeing… brooms walking up to Pete. …Are you serious!? The… the guards in this place are brooms? What's next, a bucket is the secretary?
The brooms walked up to Pete and picked him up without any problems, Pete yelled as he struggled angrily. "Hey! Let me go! I deserved that award!"
Queen Minnie sighed as the Brooms took Pete away and she turned back to the audience, "I apologize for that… Anyway, will the winners please come up?"
Ven smirked as he gave a playful elbow to Roxas, who looked at him awkwardly. "Come on, don't tell me you have stage fright."
"I-I don't…" Roxas frowned as he blushed in embarrassment. "It's just…" What if somebody checks the records of this year's award winners? I don't want to be shown in the record!
Ven chuckled, pulling Roxas up onstage. "C'mon, it'll be alright- besides, we shouldn't keep them waiting!"
Ven had to keep dragging the reluctant Nobody up to the stage, who really wished he hadn't given them his name.
Queen Minnie smiled to them, giving a happy nod. "I'm so proud of you two. Unfortunately it seems the other winners couldn't make it here, so Ven and Roxas will have to take the prize in their stead."
Ven blinked in surprise before he pouted. "What? Aww… I was hoping they were here too… But I guess they both already left…"
"Uh… excuse me… Your Majesty… I appreciate it, really I do, but… can you please not put my name down in the record? … I have my reasons." Roxas said to her with big, puppy dog eyes.
Queen Minnie blinked in surprise at that, as did Daisy beside her. "Oh my, are you sure?" The Nobody hastily nodded. "Well… I suppose if you want, we don't have to make note of your achievement- but we'll always remember you both!" Then she pulled out two bowls of ice cream. "And as an extra bonus, we made something special- an ice cream flavor just for you both! Double crunch ice cream for Ven, and chocolate and vanilla swirl for Roxas."
"Wow, fancy." Roxas said as he looked at the ice creams. Ven's had a mouse chocolate hat on his pink ice cream with two chocolate Keyblade shapes on the side. Roxas's ice cream also had a mouse hat, but this one was blue candy, and he had a big chocolate X in the front and a candy Keyblade in the back.
The two look alikes took their respective ice creams while the audience watched them, wanting them to taste it. Both Roxas and Ven nodded to each other, "Well, looks like we get our ice cream after all." Roxas chuckled to him.
Ven nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I guess so- c'mon, let's dig in!" And with that, both Keyblade Wielders took a few bites of their ice cream. Although Roxas loved the sea-salt ice cream, this one was pretty dang good too! "Whoa! This is so good!"
"Yeah, same here!" Ven smiled, tasting it again. "...Mmm, wow- it's amazing!"
Queen Minnie chuckled at that, nodding to them gratefully. "I'm glad you two boys like it."
"I guess it's a good thing we came here today." Roxas said a smile, seeing Ven looking a lot better since what happened in Radiant Garden.
Ven nodded, giving a bright grin. "Yeah, I guess so- I wish the two of them were here to take their ice cream too… but…" He shrugged. "I still enjoyed coming here!"
"You two, along with Terra and Aqua, are always welcomed here." Queen Minnie said to them as they nodded.
After they stepped down and Queen Minnie finished up her speech, Roxas just finished his ice cream before he thought about the whole energy draining issue- he felt fine now but if he keeps sticking with Ven, he might not be able to stand by the time they face another Unversed. "... Hey, uh… Ven…" he started, not sure if he should tell him.
The blond blinked, glancing over at Roxas in surprise. "Hmm? What is it, Roxas?" He smiled, holding a small trophy. "I'm sorry- just… I'm still shocked about the fact that we all won!"
Roxas bit his lip, he really didn't want to rain down on his look alike's parade, but if he didn't tell him now then it could end up fatal to him. Unlike with Axel, Ven has a heart and it could be hurt easily. "Listen… I don't want you to take this the wrong way… but… Well I know we're friends, maybe not the best, but we are friends and no matter what, I know you would never do anything to hurt me on purpose." he started, getting Ven's attention.
Ven blinked at that, before he slowly put down the trophy. "Uh… yeah, of course I wouldn't… so what's this about?" Is this about whatever Roxas is hiding? …A-am I hurting him!?
Roxas noticed the troubled look on his look alike's face, and he hastily said, "N-now it's nothing too serious, okay? It's just… um… when Vanitas grabbed your head during our battle he… somehow… made it to where you… you can… sap away my energy whenever I'm near you." he said that last part quickly, like ripping off a band aid.
Ven's eyes widened in shock, and his jaw nearly dropped. "W-what!? I'm… sapping your energy?" Is that why I'm suddenly feeling so much stronger!? he groaned. "Oh my… I-I… what've I done?"
The Nobody frowned, he knew Ven might've taken it hard but… he didn't think the boy would feel this guilty! Thankfully they were alone in the corner of town since everyone else was too busy partying back in the center. "It's fine, Ven! Really! You just-"
Ven shook his head, quickly stopping Roxas. "I… I didn't mean to do that! I… was that why you looked so beat up and tired? I…" If Roxas hadn't told me, h-he could have died! ...Heck… if I don't find a way to stop it… he could still die from me draining all his energy!
"VENTUS!" Roxas shouted as he grabbed the boy's shoulders, not caring that more of his energy was being sapped by doing this. "Listen to me! I know you can stop it Ven, unlike Xi… Xi… s-someone else I knew… you can control it and you can stop it! You just have to figure out how, okay?" That was weird… I didn't know anyone like that… Why did I say 'Xi' for?
Ven frowned worriedly, but he sighed. "I… r-right…" He slowly nodded. "I just… have to figure out how…" But… how long will that be? Will I figure it out too late?
Roxas sighed before he spoke up,patting his look alike's shoulder reassuringly. "Okay, Ven, just relax. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but… I think… Hmm… I do notice a pattern here, I think your… 'ability' is tied to your emotions… When you were happy, I didn't feel as drained as before, but when you were sad, troubled, angry or guilty, I felt so much weaker so quickly. It's possible the more negative your emotions are the stronger the sapping gets."
Ven gulped at that, but he took a deep breath. "I… r-right… So negative emotions don't help either of us… I-I got it…" He looked a bit nervously at Roxas. "I don't know how well I'll do… b-but I'll try to not hurt you, I promise!"
"No, no, you shouldn't bottle up your emotions like that." Roxas said. "It won't work… but I was just giving you a possibility of how it works, so maybe you can find a way to, I don't know, turn it off?" Then Roxas thought of something. "I know, why don't you try mind over matter? Wish, with every part of your being, that you do not want to hurt or sap my strength away!"
Ven blinked at that before he nodded. "R-right!" He closed his eyes and began to wish… he wished harder than he had ever wished before, squeezing his fists tightly. I don't want to hurt Roxas anymore… he's my friend, not my energy source, so stop it! STOP IT! No more sucking away my friend's energy like a leech! ENOUGH!
Roxas blinked as he suddenly felt tingly before… it stopped. The tiredness didn't increase rapidly anymore, and he began feeling better. "Hey, I think it worked!" Ven's eyes quickly flew open and he saw Roxas smiling in relief. "You did it, Ven!" he suddenly hugged his look alike!
Ven blinked in surprise before his eyes began to tear up, and he hugged Roxas back tightly. "I-I… I did it… Roxas, I-I'm so sorry… I didn't mean to…" He trailed off, sniffing a bit.
"... Ven, it's okay… I know you didn't do it on purpose. But… maybe this could be a good thing, maybe if it's necessary, I could lend you some of my power, but only if you don't totally suck me dry." Roxas said with a shrug, but then he saw Ven's face. "... Or you know, we can just forget about it completely."
Ventus gulped, quickly nodding. "Y-yeah… that's… That's a smart idea…" Vanitas… he's responsible for this- to… to think he nearly made me kill Roxas… I won't forgive him!
Roxas sighed before he looked up, giving a weak smile. "Well… shall we get going? I'm not sure what you plan to do, Ven, don't you want to go back home or at least look for Terra or Aqua?"
Ven sighed, looking down before glancing up at Roxas again, a fire in his eyes. "I… Roxas, I need to get stronger. I think they don't believe I can handle it- that I'm too weak. Well… what if I train somewhere?" he smiled a bit. "Maybe… I can work with them, and get back at Vanitas for what he's done!"
Roxas nodded, smiling. "Yeah, good idea, maybe we can train together, you could show me some of your moves and I could show you some of mine! Do you know any place like that? I've heard there's a world that has a coliseum that trains 'heroes in the making'." Ugh… That Phil was such a pain… I guess we're going back there, maybe he's not so bad 11 years ago.
Ven smiled at that, shaking his head. "That sounds like a good place- I don't know anywhere else, so let's get going!" he then glanced down at the trophy with a small frown. "...You know… I'm not sure where to put this…"
"Oh, just put it in your pocket." Roxas shrugged. "... Didn't you know you could fit a lot of things in your pocket? It's weird, right?"
Ven blinked at that, whistling lowly. "Wow… Even stuff that you can't normally fit?" his surprised expression slowly changed to a thoughtful one. "You know… I wonder if you could fit a tent in your pocket- I've got to try that sometime…"
"... Um… you actually could… uh… let's not try that right now, though." Roxas sweatdropped at the thought of it. "Um… come on, let's get to that world I mentioned."
Ven nodded at that, grinning. "Right- let's go!" he summoned his armor, quickly making the circle in the sky appear.
Roxas then took his hand, allowing the armor on him and jumped on the glider, before the two boys flew out into the Realms of Between once more, heading to the Olympus Coliseum.
Roxas was a lot more relieved now that Ven wasn't subconsciously sucking away his energy. Still… I wonder why he was able to do that with only me in the first place… maybe it's because we do share some kind of connection- but still…
Soon, they arrived at Olympus Coliseum… At least, Roxas thought it was Olympus Coliseum- everything looked completely different. There was a huge mountain that broke through the clouds, a giant town below it… It looked nothing like what Roxas was familiar with, and it was completely different from when Sora visited it.
This must be the Olympus Coliseum 10 years in the past. Roxas thought to himself. Looks… really different.
Ven looked around as they landed, frowning in thought. "Hmm… So I guess we go in and register for the games?"
"Yeah, I think that's how we do it." Roxas nodded.
Before either boys could move on, though, a strange and chubby, half man, half goat was running for cover somewhere and seems to be hiding. Roxas blinked, recognizing him as this chubby little goat man who put him through such harsh training! Not to mention Demyx really, really hated this guy.
The goat groaned, muttering to himself. "Geez… The kid's relentless- how many times is he gonna follow me around and find me today!?"
Roxas stood frozen as memories of this guy filled his head, not because the memory was painful for him, but because this guy trained him so hard into the ground that it really does hurt just thinking about it. If he tries to train me again, I'm bolting. Ven can train all he wants, I'm not going to be a part of it.
Ven, however, had no such issues, and he tapped the guy's shoulder. "Hey, whatcha doin' there?"
To both of their surprise, the goat man suddenly yelped, before he quickly turned around. "I told ya! I'm booked solid! N-O spells forget it! ...Huh? Who in Halicarnassus are you two? Am I seein' double or something? I'm busy!"
Roxas hissed as he grabbed Ven's arm. "What are you doing? This guy would-"
"PHIIIIIL!" someone suddenly shouted. A much younger Hercules was running over. "I'm all signed up! PHIIIIIIL!"
"Shh! Be quiet, can't you see I'm hiding?" Phil snapped at him.
"... Hiding from whom?" Roxas asked, blinking in confusion, he never knew Phil would be the type to run and hide from someone.
Then someone from behind them suddenly shouted, "Aha!" He rushed up to them, all decked out in armor and wearing an iron helmet. "Look, 'fess up already- I asked around and everybody says you're the guy. Trainer of heroes! C'mon Phil, pleeeeease! I really wanna be a hero!"
Roxas looked at this guy in shock, his jaw dropping. Whoa… who's this guy? I've never seen him before.
"Look, I really would love to kid, but I'm booked already." Phil said, grumbling mostly. "And ya wanna know why? Two words- student-teacher ratio! I've already got my hands full with this one!"
Ven blinked at that, before holding up his fingers. "Wait… uh… One… two… uh…." That's three words, not two…
Roxas crossed his arms, whispering to Ven, "Phil can't count, so just forget it."
"But I promise you won't regret it and I'll work extra hard!" the boy said quickly, almost begging. "C'mon, please! I'm low-maintenance, I swear!"
Roxas had to give him credit; the guy's pretty enthusiastic. "Well Ven? Didn't you say you wanted to train too?"
Ven frowned, shrugging. "Well… yeah, but I wanted to do it on my own- in the games, you know? I don't really need a trainer, especially one who's already busy…"
Roxas shrugged as they missed what Phil said to the boy. "Well we still need to ask him where the registrations are, right- Wah!?" He jumped when he felt Vanitas's darkness nearby… and suddenly, they were surrounded by a horde of Unversed! "W-wha!?"
"Unversed!" Ven frowned, summoning his Wayward Wind and rushing forward to protect Phil. "C'mon Roxas, we'd better get to work!"
The helmet-wearing boy grinned confidently, rushing forward. "I'll help too- I'll show you what I'm made of, Phil!"
Hercules nodded, getting into a battle-ready stance. "Yeah- and I'll help too!"
Hercules was a lot slower than he was in the future, Roxas noted, as he takes too long to wind up his punches and sometimes loses his balance after he strikes. The helmet boy was doing pretty well though, he strikes fast and hard. Ven seems to be the most effective out of the three since he's used to fighting Unversed. Roxas himself… well, he's looking for Vanitas in the crowd really.
I felt him… he was nearby… where'd he go? Did he just come here to flood us with Unversed? Why the heck would he do that? Roxas frowned as he hit an Unversed with his Kingdom Key.
Finally, though, Hercules defeated the last Unversed, panting heavily. "Phew… Heheh…" he sighed in relief, leaning back slightly. Man, that was tough!
"..." Phil groaned, taking a deep breath. Well, there's only one way to fix this… "Okay, change of plans- the Games are comin' up. So I'm gonna watch both your matches, then I'll decide which rookie I'm gonna train. Got it?"
The helmet-wearing boy cheered happily. "SWEET! Thank you, thank you! I'm gonna go sign up right now!" And with that, he began running up the stairs.
"Come on Ven, we better sign up too!" Roxas said to his look alike, not sure why he felt excited about this… maybe it was the Sora in him?
"Yeah!" Ven smiled, beginning to run towards the Coliseum too.
Phil spoke up, stopping them, "Wait a minute now, I'm sorry but the games are all filled up. Captain Eager there just took the last spot."
"Are you kidding me? There shouldn't be a limit to the rosters!" Roxas snapped, growling in irritation.
Phil shrugged. "Well then, clearly ya don't know how tournaments work! They have a set number of slots to fit in, and those who get in get the spot first!"
Hercules stammered a bit, frowning worriedly. "P-Phil, I don't understand- I thought you were my trainer!"
Phil sighed, glancing back at Hercules with a stony expression. "You wanna be a true hero, Herc? Then you're gonna have to go out there and show that everything I've taught you so far is gonna pay off! And no more training sessions for a while, okay? Wouldn't be fair if I helped you and not him!"
Roxas crossed his arms, frowning. He really wanted to try his skills in the games… he doesn't know why he does, he just does, and he never really did back when he was in the Organization, due to having to return to the castle after every mission. This irks him. I'll find a way to get into the games. Somehow, Sora's mischief has infected Roxas here, or maybe it was Ven who was rubbing off of him.
Meanwhile, Ven turned to Hercules, smiling. "Hey, cheer up man! So you gotta fight a couple of matches- no big deal. My name's Ventus- want me to help you train?" I might be able to train as well if I do!
"Really? You'll help me out? By the way, I'm Hercules, you can call me Herc for short." Hercules said, smiling happily.
Ventus chuckled, glancing over to the Nobody. "You coming Roxas?" he asked his look alike.
"Actually, I want to check something out, so you two go ahead." Roxas said to them as he walked into the stadium by himself.
The Nobody didn't hear what Ven or Hercules said, but he didn't care right now. Roxas did want to join the games, but… "... Maybe I'm just being stupid, why should I join it anyway? I don't want to get my name in the record…"
Roxas sensed some darkness nearby, before he heard someone come up behind him. "Roxas!?"
"WAH!" Roxas jumped at Terra's voice. "T-T-Terra?!" he yelped, spinning around to see the brown-haired man behind him.
Terra frowned a bit, crossing his arms in irritation. "So you didn't head home?" he sighed. "Roxas, you and Ven shouldn't be out here- it's dangerous, especially with Vanitas on the loose! You know what Master Xehanort said…"
"Well he's after Ventus, not me- and besides, I think Vanitas can tell the difference between me and Ven. Anyway… uh… what are you doing here, Terra?" Roxas asked, mostly to change the subject so he wouldn't have to answer why he was here, and he's sure Ven wouldn't want Terra to know he was here either.
"..." Terra sighed, glancing away. "You… you don't want to know, Roxas- just know that I'm competing in the Games. But you didn't answer my question- why are you here?" his gaze focused back on Roxas as he frowned. "As far as I know, the rounds are full- and you don't even have a weapon!"
Roxas crossed his arms and said, frowning a bit, "... Well… I came here for training too. I want to be able to defend myself… and maybe help you and Aqua out?"
Terra frowned even more at that, shaking his head. "No, Roxas- go home! You're not strong enough to fight off Vanitas, and I already said you don't even have a weapon to use! If you want to grow stronger, head back to the Land of Departure and ask to be Master Eraqus's student! I'm sure he'd be glad to teach you…" he sounded a bit bitter at the end, glancing to the side.
This honestly surprised Roxas, "... What? You think Eraqus would train an outsider like me? …" Roxas sighed, remembering how Terra looked when Aqua told him about Eraqus's orders- it was the look of betrayal, something Roxas knows all too well, having the Organization betraying him. "... Terra, look, I can hold my own, okay? But you have to give me a chance to prove it to you."
Terra frowned in confusion at that, glancing back at Roxas. "...Huh? What do you mean by that, Roxas? What're you hiding from me?" he frowned, darkness beginning to surround his hand before he gasped and quickly dispelled it. N-no! Ugh… I have to conquer the darkness in my heart before I grow angry and hurt someone by accident again!
I knew it, that darkness I was sensing was Terra! … His darkness is growing… Roxas thought to himself. That's not good… "Who said I was hiding anything from you? I just said to give me a chance to prove myself."
Terra sighed, rubbing his head in a bit of aggravation. "Ugh… And how would you prove yourself, Roxas? I'll be honest- I don't even think you could beat a basic Unversed without a strong weapon, you said back at the Land of Departure that you never fought before!"
Roxas sighed and said, reluctantly nodding, "... Yeah, I suppose you're right. As a kid who lived in Twilight Town, hanging out with friends and trying to make the most out of his last seven days of Summer Vacation and the only real fighting experience I had was the Struggle Tournament, I wouldn't be able to do much against such enemies…" By this, Roxas was referring to his fake life in the digital Twilight Town.
Terra nodded, crossing his arms with a faint frown. "I know you want to be strong, Roxas… but you need to train first- in fact, I don't think you could defeat me if I didn't use my Keyblade!"
"Oh really? Are you that confident?" Roxas crossed his arms, but he decided to drop it, no need to cause an unwanted argument here. "Fine, fine, I won't do anything dangerous." Not anything you'd know anyway.
Terra frowned a bit, but he sighed. "...Whatever- are you going to stay around here for a bit?" Roxas nodded at that. "Well… I suppose you could watch my matches then- at least so you understand more about how I fight without having to be in harm's way."
Roxas crossed his arms, frowning in thought. "... Well… I guess I could, but… the stands are full and the game tickets are sold out, I don't think I can." Roxas didn't know that for sure though, the reason why he said this was because he sensed Vanitas was nearby again and he wanted to find him before Vanitas finds Ven.
Terra frowned again, reluctantly nodding. "Well… if you can't watch, I suppose that's alright… just stick around here, alright? I'll bring you back myself when I'm done with my matches."
Roxas shrugged as Terra had to go into the arena now, giving the Nobody the time that he needed to find Vanitas. Looking around, Roxas made sure nobody else was near as he took out his black coat, hoping to use it to keep Terra from finding out at the very least. Putting it on, Roxas concealed his face once more with the hood before he followed where the darkness was.
As Roxas snuck around a corner, he noticed Vanitas and quickly ducked behind the corner again. The masked boy didn't notice him, thankfully, as he chuckled darkly, summoning Unversed after Unversed. "You know what to do! Now get to it- cause havoc in this stupid town!"
Roxas's eyes widen from under the hood as he saw this, this was his first time seeing someone summoning the Unversed. So… the Unversed… they all come from HIM? That's… pretty disturbing, actually- it'd be like if all the Nobodies came from Xemnas… I'm glad I'm not an Unversed. He shuddered at the mental image, taking a step back and accidentally knocking a can away.
Vanitas's head perked up, and he glanced over at the corner. "Who's there!?" he called out with a frown.
Roxas mentally cursed at the can. Who drops a freaking can right in the middle of a stadium anyway!? It's not like they're short on TRASH CANS!The Nobody grumbled, seeing as he had no choice but to walk out from the corner. "... Looks like we keep running into each other, eh Vanitas?"
Vanitas huffed. "I guess so, Roxas." Then he began to chuckle darkly. "You know… I've been looking for you again." he smirked under his mask, pulling out his Keyblade. "I'm curious… Who's stronger- you or Terra?"
Roxas frowned from under his hood, crossing his arms suspiciously. "... What? Are you going to make Terra fight me like you did with Ventus? … I'm guessing you'll try to use his darkness to take him over, huh?" After all, Terra's darkness is already growing pretty fast… I wouldn't be surprised if someone did use it against him.
Vanitas laughed at that, though, catching Roxas off-guard. "Not a chance- we're leaving his heart untouched, for now at least. No… Terra won't be fighting you…" he suddenly disappeared, and Roxas gasped, looking around worriedly before he heard the boy whispering evilly in his ear. "You'll be fighting the man you hate the most…"
"What?" Roxas jumped away quickly, about to summon his Keyblade but Vanitas disappeared again. "Stop hiding already!" he growled angrily, looking around as fast as he could.
"Hmm… how about… no?" Vanitas's voice echoed all around him as he kept teleporting to different spots. "Tell me… how do you feel about darkness?"
"... Darkness?" Roxas frowned, he's never really thought about it before. "I don't really care so much about light or darkness, I'd rather they're together and make twilight." he said the same answer to Vanitas as he had to Eraqus… which seemed so long ago to him now.
Vanitas laughed harshly at that, and it sounded right behind him! Roxas spun around, but the masked boy was no longer there. "Twilight, hmm? Well… then I suppose you hate somebody who's pure darkness?"
"I never said I hated darkness, just that I prefer twilight. And let me guess… you're a being of pure darkness, is that it?" Roxas said, trying to keep calm while he tries to find where his opponent went.
"Oh, perhaps…" Roxas froze, feeling Vanitas poking the back of his head with his Keyblade. "But either way, I'm not the one you're fighting…" And with that, an explosion of darkness engulfed Roxas's vision!
Roxas suddenly felt like his head was going to explode! He fell to his knees as he grabbed his head, grunting in pain before he cried out, "AAAAAAAAAAARGH!" After a few minutes, or what felt like an eternity to Roxas, the pain faded away and he panted, sweating profusely. He then noticed he was alone… no Vanitas or Unversed in the area. "What… what did he… do to me?"
Roxas groaned, slowly getting to his feet. "U-ugh… I feel… so heavy…!" What… what did Vanitas do to me? Then he froze, feeling a familiar presence in the nearby Coliseum. No… No, it couldn't be… I-it just couldn't!
A sinking feeling was in the pit of the Nobody's stomach as he hurried into the stadium, hoping against all hope that whom he sensed wasn't who he thinks it is. How could HE be here?! Was that person in the black coat I saw back at the mine HIM? But why and how? Did HE time travel too?! I-is he trying to find me and bring me to the Organization!?
Roxas, still having his hood covering his face, hurried through the arena, not caring that someone was scolding him for running in without being registered- he hardly even noticed whoever it was that tried to stop him. Roxas stopped short when he saw the last person he ever wanted to see again… and it looks like he just beat down that helmet-wearing boy he saw earlier. No… No… NOOO! XEMNAS!
DarkFoxKit: Ooh, what have we here? Xemnas is here? How could that be I wonder… what was Vanitas doing there? Hmmm?
Key2DestNE: Heh… Those of you who know the games know what's really going on- and if you do, you've earned a free digital cookie, baked by yours truly!
DarkFoxKit: As for the whole 'Ven was sucking Roxas's life force' thing, don't think that won't go anywhere later on, it'll be pretty helpful later. And now… onto the questions. Hmm… There doesn't seem to be any, and any of the previous questions were already answered in this chapter. Someone did ask about when they'll find out Roxas can dual wield, but otherwise, we don't really have much to answer.
Key2DestNE: Alright, so basically what Vanitas did to Ven wa- wait… did you say we had NO questions!? *stares at DarkFoxKit in shock* None at all!? T-then- then what can we do NOW?! We just lost all our material!
DarkFoxKit: Hey, hey! Easy there Key! *crosses arms* Well, as for when they'll find out, we're not gonna give that away. But we will say that Roxas will be going with Terra again soon, so look forward to that. Oh, and Key, why did you leave that fangirl in the closet?
Key2DestNE: … *whistles innocently, leaning on the closet door* I don't know what you're talking about, Fox. Nope… not one bit.
DarkFoxKit: *glares and taps foot* Key… let her out now.
Key2DestNE: But Fox, if I do, then she'll run loose and drive poor Roxy nu- … *quickly opens the door, smiling widely* Have fun, fangirl~!
DarkFoxKit: …. Uhh… Key… how long did you keep her in there?
Key2DestNE: *As the raving mad fangirl dashed out in her search for Roxas, he shrugged.* Eh… about a week or two, why?
DarkFoxKit: Then why are there skeletons in there?
Key2DestNE: Eh? There's- ooooooh, THAT'S where I put the Halloween decorations! *pulls out a skeleton.*
DarkFoxKit: ….. I'm going now. *takes the camera* Freaking Halloween…
Key2DestNE: *begins chasing after her* YOU MUST JOIN US ON THE WITCHING HOUR, SPOOKY AUTHOR!
DarkFoxKit: No! Now leave me alone! *begins to run away from Key2DestNE as he tried to put a pointy hat on her head* GET AWAY FROM M- *static*
*Then some text popped up.* Don't forget to review and ask any questions you might have, everybody!
