"I'm bored," Ventus announced dully as he and Aqua lounged around Castle Oblivion's great room.
"Go see if you can find the Chamber of Waking, then," she teased. He looked up at her with an exaggerated look of annoyance on his face.
"Tried that yesterday and it didn't work one bit," he replied. "You know as well as I do that I have NO idea where it is." It was true. He had learned the rest of their home well enough, but the Chamber of Waking, the first room the two had seen when Aqua transformed the world, eluded him ever since he set foot outside it. He was well aware she knew exactly how to get to it, but every time he tried, he ended up going around in circles for hours until he finally gave up. Part of his new mission in life was to track down that chamber, but he hadn't made any progress in three years.
"Then try again," she told him.
"No, thanks," he scoffed. "Everything starts to look the same after a while. Another four hours of that would just give me a headache."
"You're the one who said you were bored," she laughed.
"Aren't you?" he inquired. She shrugged and nodded. "See? So, any other ideas?"
"We could spar," she suggested. Ordinarily, he would have been fine with a quick match with his partner, but training itself had gotten stale when it was the only regular thing either of them could think of.
"We could go pay a visit to Destiny Islands," he offered. "It's been a while since we checked up on Sora and Riku."
"I know, but we don't want to interfere too much in their lives," she pointed out.
"I know that," he retorted lightheartedly with a smile. "We don't even have to say 'hi.' I'm just saying it's something to do."
"Maybe," she shrugged again and laid her head back. Ven opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as a foreboding feeling swept over him.
"Hey, Aqua," he beckoned.
"Hm?"
"Do you… sense that?" he wondered, slowly getting to his feet. They both remained silent as she stood as well.
"Someone just arrived," she realized. "Outside the castle."
"How did they get here?" he breathed, confused. "How would they even know about this place?"
"I don't know," Aqua sighed. "Then, let's…"
"I'll go," he volunteered. "It's probably best if they don't know we're both here- or how many of us there are, you know?"
"Is this just because you're bored?" she chuckled.
"Maybe," he laughed. "But hey, you have to admit I have a point."
"Fine," she held up her hands in defeat. "Go for it. Show 'em just what happens when they mess with they mess with the worlds' newest Keyblade Master."
"On it," he grinned and put his hand on her shoulder for a moment as he passed her, then headed down the castle's white corridors. On his way, he summoned his Keyblade Armor to mask his face and stopped once he came to the doors leading to the entrance hall. He peered around the corner just as three figured in black coats entered from the main entrance. All three of them had their hoods up, casting their faces in shadow. The young Keyblade Master blinked as he studied them, unable to ignore the nagging feeling that he had seen that coat before, but he couldn't place where or when.
"Huh," one of them, a tall but slender male glanced around the entrance hall. "This is such a stark contrast from the exterior. Outside, it's so dark…"
"It hurts my eyes," a larger built man agreed. "How strange."
"I wonder if anyone really lives here…" the third, much younger man spoke up. "Everything is so pristine."
"It may be different elsewhere," the first pointed out. "We need to keep searching." Ven sighed quietly and strained his voice, hoping the echo of the hall was as good as he thought it was.
"Insolent intruders!" he growled, his echoing voice catching the cloaked visitors off guard.
"Who goes there?!" the first one demanded.
"Show yourself!" the second yelled. Ven grinned, trying to contain his laughter.
"You dare order me, the lord of Castle Oblivion?" he inquired. "Remove yourself from my home before I personally see you out."
"Castle Oblivion?" the third repeated softly.
"You misunderstand," The first replied. "This castle is no longer yours. We are claiming it in the interests of the Organization."
"And exactly what makes you think you can just prance in here and take my home?" Ven continued, his throat starting to feel scratchy from his contorting his voice at such high volumes.
"You are in danger here," the third tried to explain. "You are so close to the darkness… you risk losing your very being to the Heartless."
"Heartless," Ven scoffed. "Darkness? YOU misunderstand. I've been here for years. Castle Oblivion will not fall to Darkness- I will be sure of that."
"How can you be so sure?" the first asked.
"Because that's what this world was created for," Ven growled. "Now, if you don't leave this instant, then you'd best prepare for punishment."
"You must not have heard me," the first continued. "This castle is being taken in the interest of the Organization."
"I really don't care about any Organization," Ven laughed. "Get out."
"No," the black coats replied.
"Fine. You leave me no choice." Ven summoned his Keyblade and launched it forward, striking the lead coat and knocking him back.
"What the…?!" The coats summoned various weapons- or so Ven thought. The supposed leader had a shield, the large one had an axe-sword, and the youngest brought forth a book of some kind.
"I'll give you one last chance: GET OUT," Ven threatened as his Keyblade returned to them. They didn't budge, and he sighed. "Very well." With that, he rushed forward in a flurry of strikes. Once he recovered, the one with the axe-sword tried to retaliate, but Ven leapt back and sent a blast of fire magic at him.
"We have him outnumbered!" the coat with the shield reminded his companions.
"Not like it matters," Ven taunted and focused his energy, then shot forth several blasts of magic that hit home on all three of his targets. Before they could recover, he rushed forward and struck again, forcing them toward the door. And finally, with a quick spinning attack, he knocked them out of the castle and stood in its doorway with his Keyblade at the ready.
"I told you," he mocked, again trying to suppress his amused laughter. "I'd make you leave. Now, do you want to continue this little one-sided fight, or would you like to go while you still have some dignity?" The three coats stared at him momentarily before hurrying back and summoning a Dark Corridor. They fled through it and it sealed immediately once the last one was through. After another moment, Ven doubled over laughing as he dismissed his armor.
"Well done," Aqua praised him as she exited the castle to join him. "I doubt they'll be back anytime soon. And nice use of Shotlock."
"That's the entire point of a Shotlock, isn't it?" he pointed out. "Much as I'm not sure how they found this place or what they're doing here… Who exactly is the Organization, anyway?"
"I'm not sure," she sighed. "What would they want with this place? Unless they knew something about the Land of Departure…"
"If they did, they would have recognized a Keyblade when they saw it," he guessed. "No. I don't know what they want, but they don't know the truth about this place. We'll just have to hope they got the message and won't come back."
"Indeed. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he chuckled. "They didn't even hit me."
"Well, you're unique even among Keyblade wielders in your style," she touched his arm gently. "I can't think of anyone else who uses your grip. People have to think twice about challenging you."
"Well," he rested his arms behind his head. "I try." At that, she started laughing.
"You're good at it."
When Traxer returned from Twilight Town, he found a very frazzled Vexen, Zexion, and Lexaeus tumbling out of another Dark Corridor. Saïx looked far from amused as they removed their hoods and got to their feet.
"Seems like it went well," Traxer remarked as he joined them. "What happened?"
"It's called Castle Oblivion," Vexen reported. "And yes, it's inhabited."
"And did you have any success removing the inhabitants?" Saïx inquired. "Judging from the injuries the three of you seem to have sustained… how many were there?"
"One," Lexaeus admitted. "Covered head to toe in armor. Personally, I thought it would inhibit his movements, but he struck with the speed of the wind itself." This caught Traxer's interest in its entirety.
"He attacked with some sort of giant key," Zexion added. "It seemed almost ridiculous at first glance. But it was quite effective as a weapon."
Head to toe in armor with a key… Traxer pondered, unable to believe his ears. Ven?
"So, do you think we can take the castle?" Saïx inquired.
"Not as we are now," Vexen grumbled. "He seems trained to be able to handle odds that are against him: whether he's outnumbered or overpowered, I have a notion that he'd be able to stand against us."
"And you couldn't see anything that would be able to identify him?"
"No. His face was masked by a black visor."
"Wonderful," Saïx sighed. "Fine. Go see to your injuries." The three of them nodded and dispersed. "You seem like something's bothering you, Traxer." Traxer turned to face the blue-haired young man, his gaze level.
"I'd like to see this Castle Oblivion for myself," he replied.
"Denied," Saïx shot him down quickly. "It's likely that our armored foe is on tight guard right now. Sending anyone else there, especially alone, would be foolhardy. If you value your life, you'll remain here and await orders." Traxer stared at him for a moment, then nodded.
"Fine." He started to walk toward the gray room's exit.
"And Traxer," Saïx continued. "Don't even think about sneaking off on your own. I don't want to damage any chances we may have later of capturing this Castle Oblivion."
"Understood," he replied through grit teeth. "See you later." He left the room and meandered down the hall, lost in thought.
"I heard it from Vexen," a voice roused him from his thinking, and he found Xigbar leaning against the wall. "Some guy armored head to toe with a big key, huh? Think it's one of your Keyblade-wielding friends?" Traxer ignored him and continued down the hall, and the arrowgunman made no move to follow him- he'd done enough.
"Aqua, Ven…" the silver-haired Nobody mumbled. "I hope you guys are safe… and I promise." He summoned his Greatsword and gazed at it. "I'll return to you once I can join you as a Keyblade wielder."
End Part One