"Time to go, Velle. Wake up," Vanitas's voice broke through Velle's rest.
"Five more minutes, Ven..." She groaned rolling over. She struggled to open her eyes and saw Vanitas standing in front of her. The day before's events rushed back to her and she sat up abruptly. Velle jumped to the other side of the bed and stood back from Vanitas. "No, please don't." She begged.
Vanitas sighed and walked closer to her slowly, "You know that you're not far enough for it to matter. I have to do it, Velle, Come on."
Velle rubbed the sleep from her eyes and groaned in frustration, she didn't say anything intelligible but walked up to Vanitas with her eyes closed.
"I need you to open your eyes, Vellum," Vanitas said surprisingly patient.
"Don't call me that," She mumbled, but opened her eyes. Vanitas held his hand up in front of her face and looked at her bright green eyes for a moment. Then he waved his hand and yellow started to overcome her pupils. Silver traveled down her purple hair until it was all gone and Velle was now, no longer in control of her body.
"Has Master Xehanort called for us?" She heard her voice say.
Vanitas cringed at the cold tone but nodded, "Let's go." She followed him out the door.
Vanitas brought her back to the badlands, they stood on a high cliff and waited for the old Master. The wind picked up a cloud of sand and through it Vanitas could see Xehanort walking.
"How was she?" He asked when he reached the two.
"Fine," Vanitas replied curtly.
"Thank you, you may leave Vanitas." Xehanort ordered.
"Leave?" He asked, shocked.
"That is right, you are no longer needed here. Terra is on his way here and the three of us need to discuss something." Xehanort replied.
Vanitas summoned a dark corridor and entered it, while inside the portal he paced. "What does he need her for? What is he going to do to her?" Vanitas spat, as he paced. "What if they're plotting against me?" he growled. The masked boy could literally feel the negativity of the unversed clouding his mind and making him angrier and angrier, he was seething.
Terra soared over the badlands looking for any sign of Xehanort. When he flew over a rather large rock formation he saw Xehanort waiting for him. "Xehanort…" Someone else caught Terra's attention, "Velle?" He quickly landed his glider and ran over to them.
"Velle!" Terra shouted. "Velle what are you doing here? Are you okay?" He ran up to her and grabbed her shoulders but suddenly gasped. There was something different about her, her hair, her eyes. "Velle? Why won't you answer me?" He asked again.
"Because she simply does not want to." Xehanort spoke.
"Yeah right, I know you have something to do with it. Look at her!" Terra accused. "I have been to other worlds. I know all about the things you've done. I just don't understand why!"
Xehanort looked at the ground, "Someone had to safeguard the light...from the demon I unleashed." Terra glanced at Velle.
"You must know about the boy by now, the one in the mask." Xehanort smirked, "His name is Vanitas. A creature of pure darkness, one of my creation."
"Vanitas? Are you telling me he came from you?" Terra asked.
"He came from Ventus," Xehanort replied.
"Ventus? Velle, come on, snap out of it! You can be disappointed in me all you want but he hurt Ven! You can't stay with him." Terra beseeched, but received no response. Velle just looked straight through him as if he wasn't there.
"Vanitas was the darkness that was inside your friend. It was an accident. While training with me Ventus succumbed to darkness and there was but one way to save him-strip that part of him away. And thus Vanitas was made. In the process I damaged Ventus's heart in the most horrific way. So I did what I thought was right and left him with Eraqus. I knew the boy could not stay with me, the man who did him such grievous harm." Xehanort turned and pretended to weep.
Terra looked at Velle, "Is this true, Velle?" She didn't respond. "Master Xehanort, you shouldn't feel bad. Ventus has gotten a lot better. You shouldn't try to blame yourself for trying to save him."
Xehanort turned to Terra, "Well, thank you lad, you know how to put an old man's heart at ease."
Velle was shouting in her mind, "No Terra! Don't fall for it! He's going to destroy everything! Terra!" However, no one heard her.
"Why didn't you say anything Velle?" Terra asked her.
"I didn't want to get the Master in trouble," Velle replied. It was the first time she spoke and her voice sent chills down Terra's spine. Something was wrong with Velle, that he was sure of. "What's wrong with her?"
Xehanort shook his head and lied, "I do not know, I found poor Vellum out in one of the worlds like this by chance. I took her with me to try to help her, but I have not figured out what ails her."
"Velle can you hear me?" Terra asked sincerely.
"Yes?" She was devoid of all emotion and her responses were slightly delayed.
"Don't worry Velle, Master Xehanort will help you. Get better soon, Velle. Ven'll be really upset if you get hurt," Terra reassured her. "Master, why is Vanitas still around?"
"Ah! Yes, Well I did the best I could to contain him the moment he emerged but.."
"He managed to escape," Terra finished for him.
"Mm," Xehanort nodded. Velle couldn't listen any longer. How could Terra believe Xehanort's lies? His story was too convenient, he was the common denominator. He was the enemy, why couldn't Terra see that?
"Master, I'll take care of Vanitas." She heard Terra say, he turned to her before he left. "Please get better, Vellum, we need you." He placed a hand on her shoulder and left.
"Well done Vellum, thank you for helping me fool your friend Terra." Xehanort chuckled to himself. He held his hand up and summoned a portal, "Take this dark corridor, it will take you to Vanitas. Do not tell him what transpired here." Velle felt herself nod and she walked into the portal.
The masked boy sat in his hotel room in Traverse Town doubled over in pain. Suddenly another jolt of pain sent him to the floor. Somewhere out there, someone was doing a number on his unversed. Along with the pain of them rejoining him he felt himself seething in anger. Why did Xehanort want Velle alone? What if he did something to her? What if he found out the Vanitas broke the spell? The minute he was alone with her he had to do it again so she could tell him.
Just then the sound of a dark corridor opening behind him caught his attention. He put one arm onto the bed and struggled to pull himself up to see Velle. He smirked ", Perfect."
Vanitas summoned all of his strength and held his hand out, slowly he waved it once over her and wiped the silver and yellow colors from her body and Xehanort's control over her was gone.
"Ah!" he cried out and fell to the ground in pain.
Velle blinked a dull headache away, thoroughly confused. She had no memory of anything since she agreed for Vanitas to relinquish control back to Xehanort. "Vanitas? What happened?" She ran over to him and crouched down.
"Don't touch me!" He snarled. The anger inside of him was unbearable. He wanted to reach out and choke the life out of Velle, but something was stopping him.
"I don't understand, what's wrong? Are you in pain?" She asked, looking for a wound but not finding anything.
"What did he want from you?" Vanitas snapped, pushing her away violently.
"I don't know," Velle said frantically.
"What do you mean you don't know? What happened after I left?" Vanitas pressed.
"I don't know!" Velle exclaimed, she tried as hard as she could to recollect what happened but she couldn't. The harder she tried to remember the more she noticed a dull pain throbbing in her head. "I don't know…" she repeated.
"Argh!" Vanitas fell to the ground in pain.
"Vanitas!" Velle cried, she got to her knees to help him up but he shoved her back forcefully.
"I'm fine," he growled through barred teeth. "Just tell me what happened."
"I can't remember Vanitas, I swear!" Velle pleaded. He struggled to his feet and slowly backed Velle against a wall. "Vanitas stop!" Velle warned.
"Don't lie to me Vellum, you don't want to cross me." Vanitas growled, he brought his hand to her throat and started to squeeze.
"Vanitas-" Velle choked out, she summoned her keyblade but he pinned her down so close to the wall she couldn't move anything. His toned body was pressed up onto her, not in a seductive way but threatening. Still, Velle couldn't help but feel her heartbeat quicken. Vanitas winced in pain as he was fighting back the anger before he did something he'd regret with no success. Even with that he still noticed her pulse quicken. He smirked behind his mask but didn't say anything, he was too furious. Why was she hiding things from him?
"What happened? Stop lying to me!" Vanitas snarled, tightening his grip further.
"I...can't… remember!" Velle struggled, her keyblade disappeared in a flash of light. In her vision tiny black spots appeared and a sharp pain gripped her head. Still she couldn't remember anything, it was as if she blinked and she was back in the room. "Ah!" Velle summoned all of her strength and pushed Vanitas away forcefully and grabbed her head.
"What the hell?" Vanitas asked as he watched Velle fall to the ground screaming.
"My head!" Velle cried, "I can't remember!" Velle tried to lift her head but the pain returned. Vanitas caught a glimpse of her face and she had black tears falling down her cheeks.
"What the f-" Vanitas cut himself off, he felt bad for pushing Velle to remember when she was being honest. He also felt guilty for allowing the unversed's negativity to affect him so much that he once again lashed out and attacked her. Vanitas let out a shaky exhale, his body exhausted from his own trauma. He limped over to Velle who was whimpering on the floor against the wall.
Velle felt something tug at her hand and she looked up. She couldn't see much, her eyes were clouded with the tears of darkness. A blurry Vanitas stood over her pawing at her wrist. He pulled her to her feet slightly and hooked his arm underneath her wobbly legs.
"What are you-" Velle started but whimpered when the pain returned, speaking made it worse. Vanitas didn't respond; he just brought her to the bed and struggled slightly to pull back the covers. He laid her down and joined her on the other side. Velle buried her face in the pillow smearing black tears all over the fabric. There was silence from Vanitas while the pain throbbed in her head. She was confused, one minute he was trying to kill her the next he was putting her to sleep.
"Does it still hurt?" Vanitas asked after a moment.
"Yes," her reply was muffled by the pillow.
"I wouldn't have asked if I knew this would happen," Vanitas mumbled.
"Are you apologizing?" Velle asked.
"No!" Vanitas said quickly. She laughed but the pain surged.
"Ah!" She hissed, grabbing her head again.
"Come here," Vanitas grumbled, he pulled one of her hands towards him and shuffled closer himself. Velle tried not to move as much as possible but Vanitas shifted her head onto his chest and placed his hand on her head. A bright green light emitted from his hand and that, coupled with the rapid beat of Vanitas's heart, somehow quelled the pain. Vanitas wasn't sure if it was because of the struggle of absorbing the unversed or if it was because of Velle being so close to him but he didn't question it, he remained still even as his heart tap danced in his chest. Velle's eyes were shut tight to keep the light out, she inhaled sharply and opened her eyes for a moment. Vanitas smelled exactly like Ventus, how was that possible?
"Still bad?" Vanitas asked after he felt her stiffen slightly.
Velle relaxed herself and shook her head against his chest. She decided to allow him to console her, even if he'd tried to attack her. The minute Velle smelled Ventus's cologne she felt safer than she had in days, "No, but it still hurts...I'm dizzy."
"Try to sleep, I don't think we'll be called to do anything else today…" Vanitas wrapped his arms around Velle's frail body and lulled her to sleep with the beat of his heart now that it had slowed down considerably. It didn't escape his mind that she was letting him console her. If she allowed him to do that, maybe it was possible for her to return his feelings.