Thank you for the encouraging reviews.
As for the one guest reviewer (which was also my first review on this story on either site) who stated their preferred ships that have nothing to do with my story and nothing else while ignoring my repeated reminders throughout VtD's series that TerQua squicks me out- Rude (did you like the story at all? I don't know). I'll give the benefit of the doubt that you might not have read any other part of Vulpes to Dandelions to catch that memo in more than one author note, but wow was I left to mentally rant at that review all day since FFnet sent it to me twice.
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Four months came and went since Aqua, Terra, and Ventus had gone into the Dark Realm. Sometimes those left behind would try to see if their Gummi phones would reach, but as they had already known from Riku's journey there, they were out of range. Still, sometimes the urge to message the trio became too much, and an undelivered message would sit in their chats.
Pictures were taken and saved.
Thoughts saved into electronic journals.
Isa was still very much-so a paper-and-pen man, but he was slowly cataloguing information into a laptop he'd had Cid build for him. It was a little rough around the edges, but it made inputting any stray bit of what seemed like important information into a large spreadsheet for future archival use.
Roxas and Xion had occasionally ransacked Ventus's room for various reading materials once they'd realized the eclectic collection he'd had (while keeping his more questionable reading materials safely hidden). In doing so, they had found Ventus's own notes on the unusual topics and materials each Library or study had that he'd been to. This had helped Isa exponentially in Data collection.
It allowed him specific focus, and he was able to more easily determine if something was more outdated than another, or if a topic had been left to obscurity that shouldn't have been by previous Masters.
Clearly the Land of Departure had needed an organizational overhaul for a few centuries, but no one had deemed it an important enough issue to rectify. Fortunately for future Wielders and those in the present, Isa was very much so the man for the task of organization.
He'd had his role in the first Organization for a reason, and with the difficulty he'd had in trying to find a suitable job for himself as well as a place to call home, he was able to feel like he was actually doing something that was beneficial to everyone at his own pace. It was a small comfort, and a way he could quietly atone while keeping out of the way.
However, the Castle could read the Hearts of its inhabitants.
It was pleased with Isa's work. It also knew he had a deep desire to find his friend that had been lost.
The Mysterious Girl, X, who had disappeared.
(Whose true and original body was safely nestled in its deepest basement awaiting the day they all could one day awaken.)
The Memory that had silently startled him and Lea during Terra's Mark of Mastery.
It had chosen the Union Leaders for a reason.
Something was coming, so it had started pulling away the cobwebs in Ventus's Memory.
The Children needed all the help they could get, and if Isa was still so set on finding Skuld, it would give him a greater means of which to do so. It knew Isa could not be left to mere bookwork, no matter how important.
He could have Greater Purpose.
Isa was reading over a particularly delicate scroll, immediately entering it into the laptop at his side as its fragility concerned him. Whether it was a truly important scroll or not, the information it held could not be lost.
His hair was in a bun again so he wouldn't have to deal with it in his way. Hours went by as he carefully transcribed the piece of parchment before finally deciding he needed to rest his eyes for a moment. Gently he placed it on the desk he had begun to drag around with him for this purpose and let his hair down.
He stretched out his back, leaning far back onto the chair he closed his eyes, his face raised as he breathed calmly.
The children were able to warm up to him this way, Lea was able to spend time with all of them in their shifts from lessons, to practice, to free time. The solitude was never piercing, even if it was tedious.
He felt pleasant. His shaky emotions were allowed to slowly remember and reestablish themselves without overwhelming him.
It had been why he had been unable to keep the job he had attempted to start at. He thought he could deal with clerical work, but found himself unable to deal with the reality of emotions.
He'd excused himself from the job himself, having found a tentative purpose in the Land of Departure.
It was good work.
Isa had lulled into something between meditation and dozing when something gentle and almost imagined cupped his left hand. He furrowed his brows and he slowly opened his eyes, only to be startled at the vibrantly energetic eyes of the red scarfed boy that Terra had fought hovering over him slightly to his right. He started as he properly sat up, only for the feeling on his left hand to intensify. He whipped his head to his left as the scarved boy seemed to be chuckling ethereally.
He took a sharp breath as he took in the girl's transparent and sleepy appearance. Skuld's Memory smiled at him pleasantly as Isa gripped his knees, "...You're that girl… the one they called X."
The Memory slowly nodded, You've been searching for the real me for so long… How could I not acknowledge your effort?
Isa blinked as the scarved boy happily flopped onto the table beside him, almost making him jump and panic over the fragile materials, only to realize the phantom hadn't disturbed anything as he teased, The Castle has more for you to do than dusty bookwork, Isa of Radiant Garden.
Isa frowned, glancing between the two phantoms.
He had not been bothered by the Memories of the Castle before this, so it was a little surreal since it seemed to primarily focus on Keyblade Wielders-
Isa gaped silently as he looked between Skuld and Ephemer's Memories, "What is it that you want with me?"
Skuld's eyes closed as she smiled, Please open your Heart, find purpose and endure with your Dearly Beloved.
Ephemer's Memory straightened and pulled on Isa's other hand, actually pulling him from his seat as Skuld joined in with him. Her eyes stayed closed, a pleased look on her features while Isa's heart hammered in his chest as the Memories pulled him along. "I- I'm not sure what you're planning, but if it's what I think it is, there's no way I'm worthy of a Keyblade!"
Ephemer huffed, That's your own doubt and self-flagellation that's insisting you can't have one. Did Axel truly deserve one? Or had the Hopes in his Heart allowed for it to become so? Don't you want to be able to stand by their side, no matter what dangers approach?
Isa's brows furrowed as he frowned, "Can someone as tainted as I truly obtain a Keyblade?"
Skuld squeezed his hand, as barely there as it was, it comforted him. You didn't forget me, Isa, just as I haven't forgotten you.
Isa clenched his teeth as a painful warmth built in his chest, it was an inexplicable feeling, yet it threatened to bring tears to his eyes. He breathed to try and run the feeling through and out.
The man and two Memories climbed up familiar stairs, coming up to the main hall where the three Master seats resided.
In the center-most seat laid Master Keeper diagonally across the armrests, awaiting the day it would be held once more by another.
The two Memories brought him close before stopping at the base of the stairs. Isa was frozen and captivated, uncertainty in every bone as he looked between them.
Skuld and Ephemer released his hands, both climbing the short steps as they stood on either side of the chair. They summoned spectral versions of their Starlights, raising them over Master Keeper in ceremony, the tips nearly touching. Ephemer spoke first, his voice solid and full of authority, "This Child has been Chosen, having been observed and found Worthy by this Castle for the sake and future of those who reside here."
Skuld then spoke as she opened her eyes fully, voice also strong and full of authority, "Oh Child, who has held Hope for those who were Lost, ever the Seeker of what was Forgotten. Be granted the chance to Endure, to Grow, and Stand on your own Feet alongside in Unity to those Dear."
Master Keeper began to glow with a soft light until it coalesced into a sphere as it floated above it. Together, the two Memories dismissed their Keyblades and took hold of the Light. In Unity they brought the sphere to Isa, who could not resist the sphere's calling lullaby.
He grasped the ball as it transformed into a basic Luxlight Keyblade, Skuld and Ephemer also keeping hold of the hilt over his hands as they continued together.
Oh Child of Moonlight
Be Empowered
Not by Rage, But by Love
For Friendship that Endures through Tribulation
Through Time
Through Long Suffering
Stand Tall
And Find New Purpose in this Gift
May your Heart Grow Ever Stronger
So that it may One Day be your Guide
The Memories released his hands as they stepped back with a smile before fading away.
Isa stood there for a long time, staring at the basic Keyblade.
He could tell it wasn't a reflection of his Heart, but simply a Beginning.
Slowly he lowered his arms, his left hand releasing its hold on the hilt as he firmly held the all-too-light blade in his right hand.
A Light Burden for a Fragile Heart.
One day he would have a Keyblade that truly reflected his Heart like the others, but for now… For now he would take this. He would… allow himself to accept this chance.
He turned and slowly walked toward the main doors before exiting.
As Isa walked in the late evening light, he found himself wandering. The Keyblade gently guiding him past what was familiar to him.
The sun finished setting as the vibrance of a full moon hung close and comforting in the sky.
Its light invigorated him, not towards his Berserk state, but to Peaceful Serenity.
He came upon the base of a waterfall as he was led further down the stream. The bend of water trailed along with a light flow until it met a calm collective in the form of a large pond. Water lilies of varied color floated on top of the still surface as the moon reflected in the water. Slowly he realized small orbs of light the size of fireflies were floating up from the water, tiny rainbow trails singing faint and ancient hymns.
The practice Keyblade spoke softly in a near whisper, Moonflow. A new piece of land to reflect the new you.
Isa felt the warmth of tears run down his cheeks as he stood at the pond's edge, staring out into its beauty as he was left captivated and soothed.
It was such a surreal experience, yet he now understood the difference of what it meant to reside on these Lands-
And what it meant to be a part of these Lands. To be given its Blessings in the form of being a Champion of the Light, and Protector of the Worlds.
To stand by one's friends against destructive forces.
Isa looked up towards the Moon, staring at its beauty for what could have been forever before slowly closing his eyes as a light breeze gently dried his tears in their itchy trails.
Time had no meaning here.
A light rustle of grass as a voice softly spoke, "Isa."
Slowly he opened half dried lashes to turn his gaze to Lea who stood to the side a couple of paces away, an unreadable look on his face.
Isa smiled slightly, "Lea." He finally dismissed Luxlight as he fixed his posture and turned to his friend, speaking soft and mellow, "Have I been gone for too long?"
Lea searched him for a long moment before nodding, "We were getting kinda worried."
Isa looked down and to the side as he acknowledged that, "I apologize." He looked back to Lea as he casually approached him before taking him by the hand and tugging him lightly back towards the Castle, "I suppose it's about time the Sun had its Moon once more."
Lea allowed Isa to pull him along, somewhat dumbstruck at his unusual show of affection and assertion. It wouldn't seem like much to anyone else, but he knew Isa. He nodded with an affectionate smile, "You bet, it's about time you came around."
Isa huffed with a warmth to his features that had been missing for far too long.
They would change one careful step at a time.
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Seven months in, and Naminé had chosen to finally spend her first night in the Castle with Roxas and Xion closeby in a close knit sleepover.
When it was time for everyone to go to bed for the night however, everyone had chosen to pile up together. Isa and Lea together on one side, Riku close by the door like a guard, and Roxas and Xion on either side holding her hands.
Together they were a sight, but Naminé felt their love and concern for her lingering fears as they stayed by her side through it all. She had so much to tell Kairi, as she kept her errant thoughts in her Gummi Journal despite visiting her Sleeping form often to talk out loud to let her feelings out.
Naminé slept with a smile on her face as they all fell into peaceful sleep.
Slowly, slowly she sunk into a familiar abyss, links, chains, and braided cords surrounded her Heart's form within Dreams.
Gently, carefully, she caressed each one as she faintly searched them.
Her hand caught painfully on a nearly invisible chain.
It was black and brittle, its owner unknown to her.
She lightly traced it to find its source. Sora's face but with distorted features came back to her with an annoyed snarl.
She was gently rebuffed, but for her effort a light blue frayed cord appeared interwoven within the brittle chain. It was a thin and strained thing, the chains protecting the strength left in it from further harm.
Naminé felt shock run through her as a small Hope ignited in her chest.
Gently she coaxed a few of Riku's links to her side as she allowed a single link to come into contact with the light blue thread.
A new Dream could be forged, a clue finally coming into place.
For though Naminé could not gain any further information from the fragile hold she'd gained, this one moment would be enough.
Riku would be able to trace it from there.
Her months of struggling to find meaning to her Power, now that she had become her own Person.
Tears fell down her cheeks as she cried out joyfully-
Finally, we can perhaps meet once more!
Skyscrapers and chilled damp streets filtered into Riku's Dreams.
A Luxlight nestled deep within Naminé's Heart as her reward.
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When Aqua, Terra, and Ventus had first arrived in the Dark Realm they had gone strictly with their planned rotation.
Eventually Aqua loosened up as they changed up formations, pairs, and patterns. They slowly found what worked and what didn't as they dealt with the random hordes of Heartless and varied Demon Towers.
However, sometimes Ventus slept too deeply, or froze as agony struck.
It was a planned for problem, but it was still frightening for them all. Yet, Ventus was insistent. He would not be left behind so soon, he would prove himself.
There were times that Aqua and Terra could remove their armors safely, but Ventus was unable to gain such freedom. Covered in the safety of his armor he kept alongside them as the Realm of Darkness began to pull at his bones.
Sometimes Ventus would crawl into Aqua's arms as they rested and softly tell her of how the Realm dragged at him. Being open about what was happening was the main reason he was allowed to stay, that they were able to determine if they could still go on.
The Realm wasn't hurting him psychologically, and though it pulled at him physically, he was able to make up for it with his mental fortitude.
This was where Terra and Aqua had problems. They were physically able to resist the Realm, but it dragged at their minds and brought them to their knees time and again.
Each could not refute the need for the other's presence.
Time was long and short, passing and sterile in stillness.
It was while they were fighting against a horde of Darksides that their worst fears came true. Ventus screamed, the Darkness sinking into an unseen crack in his armor and pulling him into Slumber. He collapsed as his Heart fell into the Dark.
Aqua and Terra's shouts faded away as he faintly noted a pop and Chirithy's voice calling out amidst the chaos he was leaving behind.
He was still alive.
He was simply falling into a deep Sleep.
Ventus wandered the empty abyss as he searched his Heart. There was only a tiredness within him as far as he could tell.
Had he been pulled under for a reason?
Carefully he walked further into the Dark, a strange Feeling Guiding him as he allowed himself to be lead.
A step, a small clink of leftover glass, and suddenly he tripped onto the too-bright glass of Vanitas's Heart Station.
The changes in his other's appearance startled Ventus as Vanitas stared at him in shocked silence until Ventus finally found his voice, "Vanitas?"
Slowly Vanitas nodded, "...Ventus. What are you doing here?"
They spoke at length, gaining information from each other as Ventus felt himself continuously tugged towards Vanitas's broken self.
Could he… could he help stabilize Sora and Vanitas?
Sinking sand couldn't hold together that which was also broken. Sora and Vanitas's cornerstones had been demolished.
He would make a new CornerStone, even if it came at a great Cost to them both.
Ventus approached his other half and embraced him. He closed his eyes as peace came over him despite Vanitas's clear agony.
Yes…
Let me take in your Darkness, as I fill your cracks with my Light.
We will never be The Same again, but perhaps… perhaps this is how things would have always ended.
Let us end The Loop once and for all.
Be Guided as you join together in Accord.
Let me take back… that small Ache that brought you to me in the first place.
My Loneliness that allowed for me to be manipulated. Allow me to take ownership of my own Naivete.
For the Life that was Lost.
I will take that Darkness, that Sinful Guilt back to myself.
They parted as they exchanged (Final) words, "...Until next time."
Ventus awoke to Aqua's tear streaked face and Terra's ashen complexion. Chirithy fretted nearby as Ventus slowly breathed, realizing his helmet had been removed in their concern for him.
Ventus croaked weakly, "We should go back."
Aqua huffed wetly, "You stopped breathing! Of course we're going back!"
Chirithy was now observing him with a tilt in its head, seeming to sense a change in Ventus that the others couldn't yet.
Ventus slowly breathed as he dismissed the rest of his armor, startling his friends as he carefully pushed himself up with slight difficulty. Terra helped balance him as he turned, Chirithy's paw on his leg as he searched the other two with a frown. They all watched each other in tense silence before Ventus finally spoke, "I met Vanitas."
Aqua and Terra were immediately concerned and alert at this, yet Ventus lifted a palm to stop them from speaking as he gave them a sharp look, "He's with Sora. Sora… he's not in the Realm of Darkness. He's somewhere far away… and it's been about a year since he disappeared."
The two gasped at this information. They looked to one another and then back to Ventus as they nodded together. Terra spoke, "We'll find out soon enough if he was lying or not.. Let's go home."
Ventus nodded and turned, summoning not Wayward Wind, but Missing Ache.
Chirithy gasped lightly as it left his side with a pop for now to explain itself further after they returned.
With a spin Ventus opened a Light Corridor on his own without help, much to Aqua and Terra's shock. He turned to them with a vague smile, "Wielders used to come and go from the Dark Realm all the time for missions… this is nothing."
They stared at him in confused wonder as he motioned them ahead, "Let's go home."
Together they left the Dark behind and walked into the Daylight of the Main Hall of the Land of Departure.
The bells rang as the portal closed behind them to welcome them back while Ventus took a few extra steps ahead.
His Heart knew it was Time.
The Castle would finally Judge him, for the Cobwebs had all fallen away.
He was Ventus of Twilight Hills, of the Union of Leopardus, who had been tricked by the Darkness to replace the chosen Dandelion to Lead. Manipulated to create discord at their fragile Beginnings.
A barrier blocked everyone from coming close as they filtered in from the Bell's toll, forcing them to observe as Strelitzia's Memory materialized before them, no white cloak to hide her agonized expression. A scythe of white and black clenched tightly in her hands that was so much like Marluxia's weapon.
Strelitzia strained as tears cascaded down her face, "You will answer for what you did!"
Ventus nodded as he got into position, Missing Ache clenched tightly in his fist as his Medals loaded rustily in the back of his mind.
He would be forced into the Castle's rulings.
The white clad Wielder charged at him, swinging her scythe in precisely timed swings as Ventus blocked. He dove away from her as he tried to figure out how he wanted to face his most painful and hazy Memory, unprepared to truly face this in a manner that could be deemed satisfactory.
But the Castle wouldn't allow him to only Block or Parry, so he was left no choice but to finally strike at her with the ancient medals that felt wobbly in their strength.
Time had bled much out of them, they felt so foreign to him as he quickly ran out of Gauges. With no easy way to restore them he was left with plain physical hits. He'd lost a lot of his experience in gaining Wayward Wind, his Level having been reset when he'd been split.
Strelitzia struck him painfully repeatedly in succession before she tossed him hard into the barrier far from the others as he fell and collapsed. She stood in place, heaving as she watched him wearily, she was clearly tired herself as her Scythe changed into her Starlight. Strelitzia fell onto her hands as she bowed her head in emotional pain, "Was that Person even saved..?"
Ventus pushed himself slowly onto his feet, using Missing Ache to stand unsteadily as he watched her in confusion, "...That Person…? Oh… yeah. The person you were Looking for…" He closed his eyes, "That person… they made it. Ephemer and Skuld… they were their friend, and I met them when we ran into trouble after the War."
Strelitzia's eyes seemed to clear and go soft as she looked at him with a desperate Hope, "Truly? They were able to become a Dandelion and flee..?"
Ventus studied her for a long moment before nodding with a small smile, "Yeah. They were saved."
Strelitzia bowed her head and wept, "Even though we weren't able to truly meet… They made it." She lifted her head as she smiled painfully and cried out, "Thank goodness! Thank the Light, it was all I had ever wanted! I might have lost my chance to meet them, to become their true Friend… but I'm so happy!"
A glow surrounded her as she stood, holding her Starlight to her chest, "I'm not done just yet… You have to suffer more, but… at least I can find some Peace. They were able to live despite my Death." She disappeared in a shower of sparkles as Ventus wondered where her Heart had ended up for the Castle to be able to bring it forth so solidly.
However, the time in the Dark Realm, the pouring out of his Light as he took in darkness to become Balanced.
It all caught up with him as he fell to his knees again unsteady, before falling forward and falling asleep.
Wayward Wind returned to his hand as it whispered into the depths of his Heart, Despite it all, you have proven your worth. Attain your Mastery Ventus, and release your past to me.
He breathed a sigh as he relinquished it all to his Heart's shape, his Keyblade that reflected him.
Though he had wandered, Wayward as the Wind as he grew up alone in Daybreak, he now had a place to call Home and Friends that Loved and Welcomed him.
His Keyblade changed as it took and accepted his past alongside of him.
Wind's Embrace
