Summary: Sequel to Coded Bonds. After the events within Jiminy's Journal, Vanitas wishes nothing more than to be left to his own devices and be with his friends. However, Destiny has an odd way of interfering with what he wants as Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery exam brings about issues he doesn't wish to confront. Forced to confront his past once again, Vanitas must decide whether his dreams for the future can be realized or if he must sacrifice everything once more in order to keep those he holds dear safe from the darkness that haunts him.

Chapter 1

Vanitas couldn't remember the last time he could stare up at a blue sky. Throughout the various worlds he traversed, the sky was a palette of various colors. From an iridescent violet to a soft sherbet orange, none of them were quite like the blue he remembered in Meryton. The only times he could remember the sky this vivid was when he had awakened in Ventus's body.

Lying on his back, he desperately wished that thought back No, he couldn't think about it. It was a time for relaxation; there was no need for stress. He went back to his task, concentrating on the blue sky and fluffy cotton clouds, waves crashing against one another only to join and break apart. There was nothing but peace and harmony in the world.

"Arun." A shadow fell over his eyes, obscuring the perfect view. His vision adjusted so he could regard the distraction. "Are you asleep? I can't tell with those sunglasses on."

"I'm awake. What's up?" he asked, pushing his sunglasses up. The harsh sunlight blinded him for a moment and he rubbed them.

"Nothing. Caelum's asking what you want to eat for lunch. He's grabbing food."

He scoffed.

"He's looking for another excuse to stay out of the sun."

"You know he's not supposed to be out in the sunlight for too long. He's already got a sunburn on his shoulders." She sat down on the picnic blanket he was lying on. He sat up as she adjusted the black board shorts she was wearing at the beach. He tried not to stare at her flat, firm stomach, tiny scars littered on her tan skin. "You've also got a tan going on too. You're turning as brown as a nut."

"That's what happens when we spend time on a beach for a week," he said, tearing his eyes away to stare out in the ocean. The peaceful view was somewhat ruined by the multitude of tourists crowding the beach. It made him miss Destiny Islands.

For a week now Vanitas and his three friends, Caelum, Arty, and Max, stayed on an island geared towards tourism for their income. The island they were staying on, Kauai, was a floral place where the tropical forests were just as impressive as their beaches. Vanitas was lucky he found them a place to stay at on such short notice and had extra gold accessories to pawn off for funds. Their residence and budget established, they were free to enjoy their vacation.

Despite the fact Vanitas forced them on one.

Vanitas's lips thinned as he put his sunglasses. Yawning, he glanced back at Arty while she reached for a blue cooler and pulled out a juice pouch.

"I forgot how much I missed these things," she said, stabbing the included straw in the plastic.

"Should you be drinking that? I thought we were going to have lunch soon."

"We are, but it's important to stay hydrated." She took a long draft, the tip of her tongue running over her bottom lip. "I thought we could spend some time together. We've been mostly doing group stuff since we got here."

"Are you complaining that we're spending too much time hanging out?"

She shook her head.

"Not at all. It's just we've been doing so much we haven't really stopped to talk."

"We've done nothing but talk every day."

"You know what I mean!" She glared at him without none of the usual fire. It was there lurking behind soft green-grey eyes.

"She means," said a deep voice behind Vanitas. Something cold pressed against his sensitive neck, and he cried out. He raised his hand to cover it as a can of soda was placed next to him, dripping perspiration dew all over the place, "that we finally need to talk about why we can't go home. Or, rather, why you won't let us go home."

"You got a problem with that?" Vanitas growled. He glared at Caelum sit beside him as he passed out box lunches with some sort of meat skewer inside them.

"Of course I do. When I'm being held hostage just because you're having existential crises there's going to be cause for concern."

"You could have worded that better." Max sighed, and plopped onto the blanket next to Arty. He handed her a bowl of yellow ice cream. "I know you're not going to be nice about it, but you could be more subtle. I know you have it in you."

"I do that. That doesn't mean I want to.

"I'm not having a crisis," said Vanitas, his skin getting unbearably sweaty.

Caelum quirked an eyebrow, methodically chewing on the delicious smelling skewer. It needed no other words to convey the single message he didn't buy anything that come out of his mouth. Vanitas's hand wrapped around his soda can, bicep twitching to hurl it at Caelum's head.

Arty clicked her tongue. Like some ingrained command, all of his irritation vaporized. She frowned as he grumpily snatched his own lunch and stuffed his mouth.

Hm. Pineapple and pork skewers. Not bad.

"I don't want you guys to fight over this, so I'll say it." She took a deep breath. "Arun, we need to talk about what happened back at Disney Castle." He kept silent and chewed violently on the fatty piece in his mouth. He couldn't bear to deal with her unspoken 'I'm disappointed with you.' " We gave you a week to cool off over what happened. Since you're not going to start, we had to do this. Sorry."

"I can't believe you're staging an intervention on me," said Vanitas through his full mouth.

"If you weren't an idiot, we wouldn't have to," said Caelum.

"The point is we want to know what happened back at the library," Arty continued. "You went into the journal to find out who that cloaked figure was. Then you came out without any real explanation, dragging us on a vacation." She paused. "Not that I didn't like the vacation. Seeing this island's ecosystem was fascinating. I would still like an explanation please."

"Nothing happened. I can't believe you guys can't appreciate a trip away from all the nonsense that we have to deal without having a conspiracy theory attached."

"We do appreciate it," said Max as he adjusted his baseball cap. "The problem we can't help but be suspicious when you refuse to tell us anything. You're acting like there isn't an issue you're dealing with."

"That's because there isn't one," he snapped. He stabbed his finished stick through the takeout box it came in. "I don't understand why none of you can trust me on that. There is no problem, nothing happened, and I'm fine!"

They were silent unable to string together a comeback.

"All of you are so high-strung," said Vanitas. If you're not going to appreciate my generosity, you can wait at the hotel until I feel like going home."

He got up, brushing the crumbs off his shorts. Ignoring the protests, he whipped off his sunglasses, pocketed them, then grabbed the surfboard propped up in the sand. He marched off into the surf hoping to drown the nagging voices in the back of his mind.

He swam out into the ocean and surfed until the sky dipped down past the horizon. The basics to surfing was similar to using his Keyblade Glider, so after a couple tries on their first day he took to the sport without problems. He loved how he battled for balance on the board against the versatile water. It batted away the heat at any rate cooling the few healing sunburns he had. Although they stung, he couldn't bother to care. It wasn't his body. Why should he care about it?

He repeatedly swam to the waves rhythmically padding out to the open ocean as they rose and rode them out. He only stopped when he heard his name shouted from the shore. Arty stood at the shoreline, waving her hand high. Panting, he paddled back to her.

She handed him a towel as he stumbled out of the water.

"Did you put on sunscreen?" she asked, frowning at his irritated skin.

"Maybe." He rubbed the towel on his hair until it spiked up at unnatural angles.

"I wish you would remember to put some on," she said, sighing. She grabbed the surfboard he lugged out of the water. "Here, I'll go return this. Caelum and Max are packing everything up."

"Got it."

He returned back to their spot. They had already packed up the cooler, his clothes set on top. Max picked up the trash and Caelum shook out the blanket of sand. Once Vanitas finished putting on the t-shirt and hoodie, he closed their large sun umbrella. The three boys grabbed their belongings and headed to the beach entrance alongside the other tourists to return to their hotel. They met up with Arty, who was already there, then began their trek back.

The summer heat diminished without the sun. A light breeze cooled the few droplets left on Vanitas's skin and made his shorts stick to his thighs. Shivering, he pulled at the fabric to free them. He listened to the others discuss where they should have dinner for the night.

"Let's have some barbecue," said Max. "I feel like I haven't had some in forever. There's been a couple of places I've noticed that look good."

"But I really want to try that one place we saw last night." Arty tugged on Caelum's shirt sleeve. "Remember? The one where they carved up a real roast pig? The smell coming out of that place was so good!"

"Why do you choose the weirdest places?" Caelum asked, wrinkling his nose.

"It's not weird."

"They had a whole pig on display."

"I don't care where we eat," said Vanitas, readjusting his hold on the cooler, "as long as we get bubble tea again."

Max laughed.

"How are you not sick of that yet?"

"I'm trying different flavors, that's why." He had no idea what bubble tea was before they arrived on that world, but he had to admit it was a tasty drink. It was fruity as well as sweet. The little balls on the bottom were also fun to chew on. So far, melon was his favorite. It reminded him of summers where they gorged on the fruit, laughing and arguing without a care.

"As long as it's in our budget, I guess we can stop by." Caelum felt for his wallet in his hoodie to count their money. He murmured under his breath, grumbling about numbers.

They reached the heart of town where the night brought life to its citizens. Tourists and locals alike were out and about to experience the night to its fullest. In the fading warmth they took to jeans and sweaters to fight off the breeze. They were all going to dinner just as they would soon. They sidestepped groups walking on the sidewalk where Vanitas had to remain between Max and Arty lest someone run into him as he studied the restaurants and stores.

Like all worlds, there were unique features about this one that was both similar and unusual to where they grew up. While they had vehicles that were geared towards off-terrain use, he didn't recognize the license plates they had. What the heck was a 'California' or 'New York?' These little tidbits often reminded him no matter how familiar a world seemed it was no Meryton.

They continued on through the town. About ten minutes away from their hotel, the streetlights flickered all along the street. Arty paused as she stared up at a lamppost.

"A power surge? That's strange," she said.

"Considering how old everything is in this town, I'm not surprised," said Vanitas, shrugging.

"I know that. Still, it's—" She cut herself off when, suddenly, the light post's bulb burst. The four of them ducked as all the lampposts up and down the street shattered one after another like gunshots. Vanitas stuck close to Arty and brushed off the glass that fell on her. Looking up, he saw an electrical arc run down the lines. Whatever it was disappeared around the street bend, nothing but chaos left in its wake.

Vanitas wouldn't have thought much about it until a slimy feeling washed over him. He glanced at the concrete street. His friends couldn't see it, but pitch black pools of shadows flickered past them to the street bend as well.

"Guys, take this back to the hotel," he said as he handed off his burdens to Arty. He didn't wait for their answer and ran off to where they headed. Sometimes, they followed the streets; other times, they cut through alleyways. Vanitas hopped over one fence to go after them. Before he knew it, he ended up in the residential area, weaving past the residents on the street asking one another about the blackout.

The Heartless' shadows went beneath a fence. Vanitas didn't waste time and grabbed hold of the edge. He hauled himself over on his skinny arms to land on his shoulder on the landing. As he got up, there was something before him that emitted a brightness like a lightning bolt. The Heartless attained their three-dimensional forms to surround what looked to be a neon yellow koala. Vanitas wasn't entirely sure what it was other than how foreign-looking it appeared compared to the natural greenery of the world. Whatever it was made a guttural noise like a food dispenser in the back of its throat, and it had its paws up to appear more menacing. They weren't deterred and crept ever closer.

It was Vanitas's first instinct to dispose of the Heartless regardless whether he was helping someone or not. On some level he wanted to exact revenge for what they did to him. It was their fault he lost his body in the first place and was trapped questioning his existence all over again.

He summoned his Keyblade. As one, the Heartless swiveled their heads around and honed in on the weapon. He didn't give them a chance to react as he sprinted at the nearest one. He struck its head, and the blow was powerful enough to knock it into another Shadow. From there, they sprang into action.

The Heartless all ganged up on Vanitas as if they knew he was the bigger threat. They were merely Shadows, so he struck back and guarded against their deadly claws. On occasion he blasted them with magic in the form of either a fireball or lightning.

There was nothing but a sheer number of the shadows. They surrounded him and slithered all about to strike at his weak spots. A shadow in front of him Swiped for his legs. Vanitas kicked it away at another one leapt overhead for his face. He checked and slashed up to at into its torso, then Swung down to bash at a Shadow that crept up behind him. He took a stance to summon lightning to strike down the rest.

Then, there was a burning sensation that seeped through his back. He pitched forward and bit back a scream. He caught his footing and twisted around to see a neon green ball hurtle towards him. He threw himself aside. It sailed towards the fence and melted a good chunk of a hole on the other side. Vanitas caught a glimpse of a toy rocket shape when the hairs on Vanitas' arms tingled. A chattered snarl followed as a bright streak like a lightning strike zipped past him. It hit toy rocket as if it were a lightning rode and zapped it. It rattled for a few moments before it spat the lightning back at Vanitas. He couldn't react in time and took the full brunt of the attack. However, there was no rush to his nerves. A heavy weight hit him in the chest. It knocked the breath out of him and he fell flat on his back.

Groaning, he glanced down at his chest. It was that strange koala, which moaned softly. He moved to get it off him but it jumped off on its own. Not a second after it did, multiple shadows dogpiled on top of him. Their claws scrabbled all over his body, scratching his bare skin. A growl forced its way out of his throat as magic built within him. Out of his Keyblade, an umbran orb manifested and exploded. The heartless were blown back off him disintegrating before they hit the ground. He rolled to his feet and threw him at the closest Heartless a flying yellow jar where its eyes gleaned beneath a golden cap. He fired another Dark Firaga and it blew it up before it could cast.

As it disappeared, another glob of what he thought was plasma sailed from behind it. He ducked his head and lifted it just as quick. There was only one Heartless left and it was the toy rocket-like one. It was more preoccupied with the koala as it turned into a streak of lightning and zipped all around it. The toy rocket resembled something closer to a toy dispensing vending machine like ones found at shops shaped like a rocket, because what he thought was a door was a tiny slot. Out of this slot it fired different shades of plasma wildly at the koala. It was exactly like lightning, its speed to great for it to be hit by anything. However, whenever the koala hit the rocket it bounced back unable to do any significant damage. It chattered in its fury and repeatedly slammed itself against its glass encasing. In its anger it forget itself and left itself open for an attack. The Heartless shot a plasma glob at point blank range after it bounced off.

The koala keened high when it was knocked back covered in blue goop and hit the grass. It shook itself vigorously like a soaked animal, yet the goop remained on its fur.

Vanitas thought the koala would have time to get itself back on his feet. But, the Heartless rattled around and something popped out its slot. He shot back up to his feet and sprinted to the koala. He slid to a stop and drew his Keyblade forward. The attack bounced off the blade and rolled aside.

He drove forward and thrust his blade out. His aim was off to only clip the glass case. The Heartless dodged before it could rattled again. Then, there was a harsh hit to his gut followed by a burning sensation. He pushed the pain back as best he could and swung his blade back. The Heartless danced out of his way and fired something else-a bright yellow glob.

Before he could retaliate, the koala's screech came. Its yellow streak came in front of him to take the hit. It flashed and crackled as it slid back on the grass. It shook itself out, all previous goop on its fur gone. Arcs of lightning bounced off its body as it snarled, paws flat on the ground.

There was a large burst of electricity which lit up the area. It blinded Vanitas as he shielded his eyes. The koala let loose a series of clicks and snarls that crashed past Vanitas. Jerking his head down, he saw it aim for the glass Heartless again. He couldn't understand why it would do that again. He knew the result would be the same.

A cold shiver passed through his body to liquify every cell. He was only aware of nothing but feeling, his sigh lost and every sense nonexistent. He could sense warmth tightly packed inside his vessels all over. He forced himself to focus on the ice cube close to where he was and made a dash to it. He forced the darkness to solidify him again and he did. His sight and nerves overwhelmed him but he fought against it to focus on the back of the rocket Heartless.

He swathed his Keyblade then raised it. He brought it down, tip dragging across the glass. The Heartless jerked forward and was smashed into as the koala slammed into it like a missile. Lightning shot off it to danced around the Heartless. Vanitas shouted when it also touched him frying his already numb limbs. While he fought to keep the pain at bay, it proved too much for the Heartless. It collapsed on its side, glass broken, then it broke down into evaporating particles.

The leftover static zapped Vanitas's skin. He hissed, rubbing his hands down his forearms to smooth the hair standing on end. As he did so, the electric koala abruptly collapsed in a heap making small whines. That attack it did must have exhausted it. Since it bothered to fight alongside him, Vanitas thought he might as well as heal it as gratitude. He approached it intent on doing just that.

Suddenly, a screech came from behind. Something sharp sliced right down his back as a heavy weight rammed him down. He couldn't do much except shout, startled, face pressed into the grass. The weight on top of him yelled incomprehensible words.

"You leave Sparky alone!" It was a little girl whose high-pitched voice was in a language he could understand.

"I was trying to help. I saved him from the Heartless!" he shouted, spitting out grass. He was miffed that once again he got no reward for being helpful.

"A likely story."

The thing on his back made an agreeing noise and continued on its rant. Vanitas debated on how he could get it off him when there was another softer voice that spoke. It was also incomprehensible and chittered in its own made-up language. Whatever it said made the creature on his back stop.

"Stitch, what did Sparky say?" asked the girl.

"Helped him. Saved cousin," the creature said in stilted words. Then, it rolled off him.

"I told you I was helping him." Vanitas sat up and hissed at the sting on his elbows. He searched for the people who suddenly assaulted him and spotted them next to the weird kaola. One of them was a little girl below the age of ten. Her red dress was the brightest thing about her as he had the coloring that marked her as one of the islanders. Her companion was more animalistic and resembled a koala as well, its long ears tilted down as it chattered to the other oddly colored creature. He scowled. "Do you guys go around attacking people who want to help? That's how you make enemies."

"You really helped Sparky?" the little girl asked. He nodded, but she narrowed her eyes at him. "I don't believe you. You don't look like you could have helped him from those weird aliens."

He almost wanted to correct her. Alien was already a synonym for weird. Then, someone called his name and those thoughts flew out of his head. On the other side of the fence was a commotion. Several voices called out and he knew it was his fiends. A silhouette hopped over the fence without any grace. The dark furred creature's ears pricked up, then darted to the newcomer without explanation. A girlish shriek scattered about to morph into squealing delight.

"Oh it's Stitch! How are you, little guy?"

Getting up, Vanitas drew closer to Arty in order to discern what had happened. The electric koala and the little girl followed him providing light. The dark furred creature turned out to possess a soft short haired blue fur coat that it rubbed affectionately against Arty's cheek. She was in bliss as she ran a hand down the curve of its spine.

"You know him?" Vanitas asked, brushing the grass off his shirt.

"He showed up in Radiant Garden. He ended up causing a bit of mischief, but calmed down once Sora befriended him when they were in town. He said Stitch got taken off his world and had been trying to find his way back. Eventually, Cid and I made him a Gummi ship that he could use to go home."

"That was when he went missing for awhile!" the little girl gasped. "Nani put up missing posters for weeks when he suddenly vanished. Then, she got mad when he almost crashed his ship in our backyard." She turned to Vanitas, her smile openly trusting. "I believe you. Only because Stitch seems to know you guys."

"More like because he knows Arty." Caelum hopped over the fence with relative ease. Max, on the other hand, fell flat on his face. While Vanitas was busy being amused, Caelum shoved their belongings on him. The weight was too much for him to carry on his own and he dropped them collapsing on top of them. "Don't shove your things on me again. I'll freeze your balls off."

"I didn't do it on purpose!"

"Nothing you do is on purpose. That doesn't mean I'll let you get away with it."

"Why'd you run off anyway?" Max asked, interrupting their ensuing argument.

"Heartless," was the simple answer. Nothing more needed to be said.

His friends stood at attention. Arty got off the grass and set Stitch down.

"You're joking." She grimaced and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay, I know I shouldn't be surprised at this point, but I am. Why are there Heartless here in the first place?"

"I can answer that," said the little girl. She jabbed a thumb at her chest. "My name's Lilo. You've met Stitch, and over there," She pointed to the neon yellow creature, "is Sparky, his cousin. Those giant shadow ants were after him."

They introduced themselves to her, holding back their bewilderment. Stitch had a cousin? And furthermore, they were after him?

"Why would they be after Sparky?" Caelum asked, examining the fidgeting Sparky as Stitch chattered soothing words at him.

"Because he's special?" The unsaid 'duh' and her accompanying flat expression was enough to make Vanitas laugh.

Caelum pinched him in the arm and continued, "Special how?"

"This wouldn't have anything to do with its electrical powers or anything, would it?" Vanitas wondered after he kicked him back in the shin. Arty stepped between them to half any retaliation.

"Of course it was. Sparky and Stitch are aliens." She nodded down at the two creatures. "Isn't that right? Stitch helped me fix one of the cranes to rebuild the castle. It was over a hundred times heavier than him and he picked it up with one hand. He's also pretty smart when he helped me figure out measurements and weight capacity."

"He's built like a super computer and a tank all wrapped up in a super fluffy package," Lilo said with all the wisdom of a sage. Stitch puffed out his chest, pride donning his tiny silhouette.

"Arun," said Max, running a hand down his face, "what does it say about me when I think that's a perfectly fine explanation and it's normally not supposed to be?"

"It means that you learned to adapt." Vanitas patted his back, empathetic. "Don't worry. You can still think it's weird when you look back on this moment. No one's judging you."

Caelum rolled his eyes at their drama. "I am. Anyway, why would the Heartless he after them? They're special, but not what they're usually after."

"Then how do you explain why they went after Stitch's other cousins too? They already kidnapped five of them. And while they're not the same, they're all alien experiments like Stitch and Sparky."

"All of them? That's... a bit worrying." Arty brought a finger to her lips, examining Stitch and Sparky. "I don't know why the Heartless are after you two, but this isn't something we can ignore. I can't just let this happen when we have the chance to do something about it."

"I agree, "said Max, recovering quickly from his initial gloom. ''We've always helped people in need. It wouldn't sit right with me if we ignored this, right?"

Vanitas groaned, massaging the aches already migrating into his temples. He already know where this was going. If Arty was going to help, he had no choice but to go along with it. If only to ensure she wouldn't get into too much trouble.

"Damn it, alright, I get it. We'll stay and help."

"Weakling," Caelum coughed as Arty and Max grinned at his acceptance.

"Great! We need all the help we can get," Lilo exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. It wavered as her excitement suddenly died. "But we'll have to talk more about this tomorrow. It's past my curfew and Nani-that's my sister- says even for the experiments I'm not supposed to be out this late."

"Where do you want to meet up?" Arty asked.

"My house." She quickly gave them the directions to get there, then gestured to Stitch and Sparky. "C 'mon, you two. We're gonna walk you back to the lighthouse. Okay, Sparky?"

It nodded. They bid the teenagers goodbye and hurried off home.

"This vacation got more exciting." Max commented as they climbed back out of the backyard. They didn't want to be caught on someone's private property. He walked down the street with same pep in his step." I didn't think this world was gonna be weird. I guess not."

Arty tugged down her shorts where they rode up after hopping the fence. "I never expected Stitch to be here. It's nice to know he got home alright, but not when there's Heartless after him and his family."

"Guess we can admit down kidnapping us was good for something. Otherwise, we would have never known this was happening." Caelum jabbed his elbow at Vanitas's arms. "Congrats, Arun. Your kidnapping was good for something."

Vanitas swung the cooler at the back of Caelum's legs. caught off guard, he stumbled and fell flat on the concrete. All he did was strip over his pane figure, ignoring Caelum a cursing and Arty's loud, exasperated sigh.

Even if he was on vacation, he could count on something wrecking his time.

XXX

So this was a long time coming. Welcome to Waking Dreams, the third part to my Heart and Soul series!

Sorry for not being out with this sooner, but, as you all probably know, the world turned upside down last year and it's been very hard for a lot of people (myself included) to remain productive. I did write much of the story in the meantime so it is mostly complete, save for a couple chapters that I hope by posting I will get around to finishing it.

In comparison, this story is much shorter than Coded Bonds since I am experimenting with writing shorter works. Still, I hope you enjoy it all the same!

Please read and review!