Master Xehanort leaned back comfortably as he sat on the middle throne in the throne room of Eraqus' castle. With observant eyes, he watched as Vanitas and Braig came trotting into the throne room with confidence set upon their faces.
"Hey, Mister New Caretaker! We're back!" said Braig enthusiastically, though his enthusiasm did not seem to move Master Xehanort in any way.
"Anything to report?" the old Keyblade Master asked.
"Everything is in order," came Vanitas' smooth reply. "All the denizens living down the mountain are frightened stiff of the Unversed."
Braig snickered. "More like scared out of their lives!"
Master Xehanort smiled. "Excellent work, lads." Then he laughed wickedly to himself. "With all of the Land of Departure under my yoke, I can run it more to my … liking."
"And I'm the head of the law enforcement," said Vanitas with a smirk.
"Or …"
Vanitas looked at Master Xehanort with a spark of curiosity in his golden yellow eyes.
"… You can have a promotion."
"Oh?" Vanitas inquired.
"Just think, my boy—you, at the head of the Land of Departure's new army of Unversed—now doesn't that sound more interesting than simply keeping the new order around here?"
Vanitas crossed his arms and scoffed. "Huh. Those two sound like the same thing to me. However …" and then he chuckled darkly to himself. "There is a bit of a ring to the name, 'General Vanitas.'"
"Give yourself any title you want, my boy," said Master Eraqus. "You've earned it."
Vanitas grinned. "Oh, I think I'm going to like this," he remarked with a dark coolness tingeing his voice.
"Hey! What about me? I helped ya take over this world too, ya old coot!" exclaimed Braig.
"Of course…" and Master Xehanort laughed quietly. "Now you can be head of law enforcement."
Braig scratched his head in contemplation. "I guess that's fair." And then: "Do I get to sit on one of those chairs?" he asked, pointing to one of the three thrones in the castle throne room.
"No," Vanitas said tersely.
"Why not?"
"Because you're an idiot."
"Idiot? As if! Let me tell ya something, Spiky!" At this, Braig pulled out one of his arrowguns and aimed it at Vanitas.
"Watch where you're pointing that thing," said Vanitas with narrowed eyes. "Or you might hurt somebody."
"Yeah, that's right! Who's an idiot now, huh?"
"That's enough, the both of you!" said Master Xehanort in a gruff voice. "There's not a day that goes by where I don't see the two of you not starting an argument over something petty. Now will you two stop all this nonsense, for heaven's sake?"
Braig obediently put away his weapon with a scowl set on his face. He shot a dirty look at Vanitas.
Master Xehanort rose from his throne. "Now then, listen up you two," said Master Xehanort, "Now that we're done conquering this world, I have a brand new task ahead of us."
Braig groaned. "Please don't tell me it involves taking over other worlds. We already went through so much trouble in taking over this one."
"You haven't even heard what this new task is," said Master Xehanort. "Allow me to explain. There is a great force and power that I seek – one that many before me have too sought, only to fail in their endeavor. It is the great repository of ultimate knowledge, power, and wisdom in the Universe, the heart of all worlds – Kingdom Hearts!"
Vanitas rolled his eyes as he listened to Master Xehanort's musings.
"You see," Master Xehanort continued, "ever since I was a youth, I have always heard fascinating tales of what one could do if they made the power of Kingdom Hearts theirs. It was only natural, then, that I should want that power for myself. Ah, just imagine the all the possibilities if the power of Kingdom Hearts were to be mine!"
Braig spoke up. "Sooooooo what you're saying is that our new task is to find and get Kingdom Hearts for you?"
"You are mistaken, Braig. The real, true Kingdom Hearts was swallowed up by the Darkness after the Keyblade War, never again to surface. For that reason, I plan to acquire Kingdom Hearts by another means."
"And what would that be?" Vanitas asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
A wicked grin grew from Master Xehanort's lips. "If we cannot get to the true Kingdom Hearts … we shall have to create a Kingdom Hearts of our own!"
"Create our own Kingdom Hearts?" Braig repeated.
"Are you certain that is possible?" Vanitas asked.
"It's very simple, my boy," replied Master Xehanort. "All that needs to be done is to slay enough Heartless, and guide them to gather here, in the skies of this very land, until they weave together to create Kingdom Hearts."
"Ah," Vanitas smiled. "Now I understand. But now, what's our role in this?"
Master Xehanort pointed at his pupil. "You, my boy, along with Braig, will travel throughout the Realm of Light and command the Heartless on my behalf to infect every inch and corner of the world you set foot upon. Then, while playing the hero, you, Vanitas, shall slay each Heartless, releasing their hearts, until Kingdom Hearts is complete!"
Vanitas snickered and began to clap. "Bravo, Master Xehanort. I commend you for such an ingenius plan. It may be one of your best ones yet."
"Why yes, my boy. I myself couldn't have thought of anything better," said Master Xehanort, and then he laughed to himself. "And of course, while you are out in those worlds, should anybody try to stop you two … well, don't let them stop you."
Vanitas laughed, looking smug as he did. "Like anyone would dare to even try to do that."
"Don't be so confident, my boy," said Master Xehanort. "After all, there's talk of a certain Keyblade wielder in the Realm of Light who's not afraid of getting in the way of anyone who tries to interfere with the ways of the worlds."
"Oh don't you worry about that," said Vanitas as he summoned his Keyblade and held it confidently in front of him. "I'll teach whoever this Keyblade-wielding loser is to not meddle with other people's business."
…
The next morning, the Organization members were surprised to find the following memo posted onto the walls of the Gray Area:
MEMORANDUM
From: The Desk of Lord Xemnas, No. I, the Superior of the In-Between
Subject: Changes at the Castle
To All Members:
Please note the following changes, to take immediate effect on the date of this memorandum's publication:
- Mission reports will now be issued bi-weekly, and are due at No. VII, Saïx's, desk at exactly one minute before midnight on the Saturday of the deadline.
- It is no longer necessary to log a mission report on a daily basis. Members need only to compose a single report detailing all the missions they have conducted for the past two weeks leading up to the deadline.
- No. IX, Demyx, is reminded that doodling on his mission reports in order to fill up page space does not count as meeting the 2-page minimum for reports and will not be accepted.
- As of this day, Lady Aqua's status as captive and prisoner of the Organization is revoked; she is now an honorary resident and lady of the castle.
- In light of Lady Aqua's status change, all members are expected to address her with the deference and honorifics that her new station calls for.
- The Dusks are relieved of their duties monitoring Lady Aqua's activities and whereabouts.
Should there be any questions that arise regarding these changes, please set up a meeting with me to have your questions addressed.
LORD XEMNAS
No. I, Superior of the In-Between
"Oh, that is so not fair," muttered Demyx when he read the memo.
"About what? The new policy for mission reports?" asked Zexion.
"No, that I'm not allowed to draw on my mission reports. Dusks, this rots!"
"So," said Xigbar as he folded his arms across his chest, "Bluebird's above us now, huh? How did that happen?"
"I was wondering the same thing, Xigbar," said Vexen while staring at the memo and holding a steaming cup of tea atop a saucer in his hands.
Xigbar frowned slightly. "Well, I don't know what's going on, but I don't know if I like this or not. What captive goes from the bottom of the pile to the cream of the crop?"
Luxord nodded. "Aye, mate. I have nothing personally against Lady Aqua, but I'm disinclined to acquiest to this decision of Lord Xemnas'. Something is rotten in the state of –"
"This is preposterous! Has he lost his wits?" Xaldin exclaimed, cutting Luxord off. "The girl doesn't even know how to mind her place in here!"
"Hmph," went Marluxia. "As much as Aqua intrigues me, I don't know if I like a lowly prisoner being elevated to a station above mine."
"Yeah, since when did she ever become so special?" Larxene said scornfully. "It's not like she's of any useful capacity anyway, so why does she get the special treatment? It's not fair!"
Lexaeus, of course, said nothing on the matter, only stared at the memo with the same stony countenance he always wore on his face.
Roxas and Axel then arrived at the Gray Area. "Hey, what's going on?" asked Roxas.
"Take a look at this," answered Xigbar.
"Let's see," said Axel. He and Roxas weaved their way through the cluster of Organization members gathered in front of the memo Xemnas had written. Upon reading it, they looked at each other in astonishment and confusion.
"Could it really be, Axel?" Roxas asked.
Axel didn't say a word, only stared at the memo with shock.
"What's going on here?"
Multiple heads turned at the sound of Saïx's voice floating nearby. The Luna Diviner himself had arrived and made his way towards where all his other fellow members had congregated. As Saïx drew near, the other members backed away, giving him room. When he finally saw the memo posted on the wall, his molten golden eyes fell over the black typewritten print. Deep crumples began to form on Saïx's face as he read on, and when he was done, he turned his heels, hastily stomped away, and exited the Gray Area in a Corridor of Darkness without saying a single word as the Organization members watched him in deathly silence.
Axel frowned as he watched Saïx slink away. There was something about the blue haired man's behavior that struck him, and it aroused some suspicions that he had been harboring.
"Huh," said Demyx, "I wonder what X-Face has against us handing him our mission reports every other week instead of at the end of each day?"
The remaining Organization members groaned in disbelief upon hearing Demyx's remark.
The musician lifted his arms from his sides and, bending them at his elbows, held them out wide, looking at his colleagues in bewilderment. "What?" he asked in confused innocence.
Vexen slapped a palm on his forehead. "Demyx, you truly are hopeless."
A/N: Reinserting Master X, Vanitas, and Braig back into the story! I suppose you were wondering what became of them, eh?
Oh my. The Organization members do not seem pleased.
Also, Shakespeare reference! (Woooo).
And I love imagining Xemnas calling Demyx out on his slacker habits … Ah, Demyx, you so would break the tension in the room by saying something incredibly stupid but hilarious.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It's short, but the next chapter will definitely be posted soon!
-gt²
