Chapter 3

Far From Home

Veritas slowly opened his eyes and let out a long yawn. He rubbed his eyes and grew a smile.

'Just a dream.' he thought.

He looked around his room but realized something was way off. It wasn't his room at all. The walls and floor were all made of wood. Along with the bed, the room was decorated with a wooden desk and a bookshelf filled with assorted literature. Hanging above the bed was a painting of a nature landscape. Leaning against the wall too was his Keyblade. There was a large window on the wall that had red curtains that were shut. Veritas quickly got up and ripped open the curtains being blinded by the sudden sunlight in his eyes. He reopened his eyes to see not his island neighborhood with the vast ocean in the background but a grassy field. In the distance he saw a river leading into a forest.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked himself, stunned.

Suddenly, the door to the room opened up. Veritas quickly looked to see a woman. She appeared to be in her early 20's. She had pastel blue hair with matching eyes. She wore a yellow sweater with brown pants with brown boots. She also had a bracelet adorned with a raindrop charm on it.

"Oh good, you're finally awake." she said.

"W-who are you?" Veritas said defensively.

The Keyblade suddenly manifested into the boy's palm. Due to shock, he dropped it to the ground.

"Please calm down! You're okay, no one is going to hurt you." the woman said.

"Who are- Wait, Leilani! Where is she? Where is my friend?" Veritas asked in a panic.

"Relax, she is across the hall. She's res-" the woman said but Veritas ran past her, pushing her out the way.

He slammed open the door to reveal a very similar looking room. In the bed however was Leilani. Veritas ran over to her and tried to shake her awake but she barely responded. Her only response was a recoil into a fetal position.

"What's wrong with her?" Veritas asked.

"She's resting. She had some serious wounds. We'll explain everything. Just calm down, please." the woman said, rubbing her shoulder.

Veritas was still panicked but took a deep breath, calming his nerves a bit. He thought it would be better to hear what was going on. He followed the woman out into the living room area. There he saw 2 couches and a coffee table in front of a fireplace. A large window with a view of the grassy plains sat adjacent to them. There was also a piano that sat next to a wall. Sitting on one of the sofas was a girl about his age. She had blonde hair with one blue streak going down with blue eyes. She wore black cloak over a blue shirt and blue jeans with black boots and a black beanie over her head. He noticed she had a nose piercing as well.

"I'll get you something to drink. Just sit down and make yourself comfy." the woman said.

She walked into what Veritas assumed was the kitchen. Veritas walked over and sat on the empty couch. He looked over at the other girl but didn't even look his way. She completely ignored his presence which insulted Veritas a bit. It wasn't long before the woman came out with a tray with a few mugs on it. She place one mug in front of Veritas and the girl.

"You like coffee?" the woman asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Thank you. Also sorry for, um, pushing you earlier." Veritas said.

"It's fine. I understand you were under a lot of stress. Let me introduce myself. My name is Raina Mythos. And Ms. Grumpypants over there is my little sister, Hikari." the woman said.

"I'm Veritas. Veritas Keyheart. The girl with me is Leilani Hime. So, can you explain to me what's going on?" he asked.

"Straight to the point, huh? Very well. You see, your world was subject of a Heartless invasion." Raina explained.

Heartless. Veritas knew he heard that word before but wasn't sure where. No, be did know where he heard it. He heard Hayato mention it before he vanished.

"Heartless? Were they those monsters I saw?" Veritas asked.

"Yes. They're creatures made from pure darkness. Their sole purpose is to collect hearts."

"I see. But why did they invade my island?"

"They were after the world's heart."

"World's heart? What's that?"

"The heart of the world. Like living beings, worlds have hearts as well. They are the core of each world. When that core is taken, the world will crumble and implode, wiped out of existence."

"Wiped out of existence? Does that mean…"

"Yes… I'm… so sorry Veritas."

Veritas covered his mouth as tears formed in his eyes. Was his home really gone? The island he grew up on gone in the blink of an eye. The people he saw everyday. Wait, the people.

"What about the people? What happens to them when the world is gone?" he asked.

"In most cases, they die on the world when it implodes. There is a small chance they are thrown into a different world but it's rare." Raina explained.

"No… no no no no no…" Veritas repeated, putting his head into his hands.

"I'm so sorry. I know this is a lot to take in. So take your time to process everything."

Veritas took a good 30 minutes to register everything. He was in absolute disbelief. Everything he ever knew, gone. His family was gone. His home was gone. His friends were gone. Everything was gone. It was just him and Leilani left. However, he wondered why they were spared.

"Why us?" he asked.

"Excuse me?" Raina said.

"Why did we get spared? Why did you save us?"

"It's because you're the chosen one."

"Chosen one?"

"That's right. You are the Keyblade of light's chosen wielder."

"Keyblade of light? What do you mean?"

"Okay so there are three realms. The realms of light, darkness, and twilight. We reside in the realm of light. You see, the Keyblade is weapon made of pure light to protect the realm and worlds inside of it."

"Protect it how?"

"By fighting the darkness. The Heartless fear the Keyblade for it is the only weapon to fully destroy them. All other weapons just sends the Heartless back to the realm of darkness. The Keyblade actually destroys the creatures. Not only that, the Keyblade has the ability to lock and unlock any door or lock that exists."

"I see. So the Keyblade is used to lock away the world's hearts, right?"

"Exactly right! You sure are smart! Each world has a lock that needs to be shut. Thus is the only way to keep each world safe."

"Okay, but why was I chosen?"

"It's due to your heart. Out of the entire realm and universe, you have a heart filled with the most light."

"I do?"

"That's right. Lucky you, huh?"

Veritas took a sip from his coffee. He was starting to understand what happened to his world and why he ended up hear. This relieved his anxiety some. Yet, he was still curious about the girls.

'Did they help me just because of the Keyblade? I need to find out more.' he thought.

"Okay, I'm starting to understand everything a little bit. But you never explained why you helped me. Was it really because of the Keyblade?" Veritas questioned.

"Yes, but I'll explain further. You see, our mother was the previous chosen wielder before she… passed." Raina said.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. We kinda knew for a while what was gonna happen."

At that point, Hikari got up and stormed out the room, walking to another room down the hall and slamming the door as she entered.

"Hikari!... I'm sorry about that. That wound is still fresh for her." Raina said

"When did she die? If you don't mind me asking." Veritas said.

"About a month ago. When a Keyblade wielder is slain, the sword takes a month to find its way to its new owner."

"I see. Go on."

"Thank you. Before she passed, she gave us the task to instruct you on the responsibilities of being the newest wielder. That includes trainings in swordplay, magic, worlds-" Raina said before Veritas interrupted.

"Wait, did you say magic? Like casting fireballs and all that?" Veritas asked in an excited tone.

"Mhmm, Hikari will train you in that field actually. She may not look it but she's a master level magician. I will train you in swordplay due to my swordswoman background."

"Okay, one problem. I think your sister doesn't like me."

"Oh she'll have to eventually. She's your world guide after all."

"World guide? What's that?"

"As the name describes it, a guide for the worlds. Every Keyblade wielder has one to understand each world they venture to."

"Okay, I gotcha. So we'll be like partners."

"Right, exactly. So try to play nice."

"Maybe tell her that."

Veritas walked down the hallway towards his room.

"Hey, Raina, I'm feeling kinda tired after today. I'm gonna go hit the hay." he said.

"Okay, Veritas. Sweet dreams." she said with a smile.

Veritas entered his room and laid down on the bed. He curled up into a ball. Everything that happened yesterday. Everything he learned today. He tried to keep it together as long as he could but as soon as he got to bed, all his emotions erupted all at once. All he could do at that point was sob himself to sleep.

Veritas woke up the next morning, sunrays beaming through his window and onto his face. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He still felt sad but crying the night before helped him a lot. The boy then got up and stretched. As he did, he noticed something on his desk. He walked over it and saw that there was a pile of clothes with a note. He opened the note and read it aloud to himself.

"Veritas, I thought that these would feel better than those ripped up threads you were wearing. Try them on and meet us for breakfast. Raina."

Veritas looked over the clothes he was wearing. They were in fact all ripped up and covered in blood.

'How did I not notice this? I guess I should change.' he thought.

He took off his ripped up clothes and started to put on the new ones. After he was done he looked over his new look. He was now wearing a red shirt with a long black hooded coat over it with dark navy blue jeans and black high top sneakers. Over his hands he wore black fingerless gloves. He also wore his signature goggles and necklace with the locket at the end. He kicked the tip of his shoes on the ground, getting a feel for them. He was actually surprised about how comfy the outfit was.

He then walked out the room and looked down the hall. He saw Hikari at the door to what Veritas assumed was the dining room. He waved at her but she ignored him as she walked into the room.

"Colder than ice." he mumbled.

Before he headed to the dining room, he walked into Leilani's room. He saw that she didn't move from yesterday. He walked up to her and sat at the edge of the bed.

"Hey… morning Leilani. You awake yet?" he said, reaching his hand out to touch her. As he did, she recoiled like before.

"Um, okay. I'll leave you be for now. Feel better soon, okay." the boy said before leaving his friend.

He walked out of her room and straight the dining room. There he saw Hikari resting her head in her head, presumably waiting for her sister. Veritas sat across from her. It was a little awkward so Veritas decided to break the ice.

"S-so, did you sleep well last night?" he asked.

She turned away from him more.

"Come on, I'm trying to be nice. Can you at least say something nice back? Like hi or something?" Veritas asked.

"...Don't talk to me." Hikari said.

'At least I got a sentence out of her. Guess that's some sort of progress.' the boy thought.

Raina then came out of the kitchen, holding multiple plates with food on them.

"Mornin' guys! Hope you're hungry!" she said with a chipper attitude.

She set the plates down in front of all of them. On the plates were an assortment of eggs, bacon, and fruit.

"Man this looks delicious! Thanks Raina!" Veritas said getting ready to eat.

"My pleasure. I just wish a certain some would enjoy my food more." Raina said, looking at Hikari.

"I'm fine with just the fruit. Thanks anyway." she said.

"Well, anyhow, thanks for the food! Can't wait to chow down!" the boy said.

The grabbed a few pieces of food with his fork and enthusiastically put it into his mouth. However, something was off. The texture was all mushy. The taste of it was something out of this world. Like sludge mixed with manure. Veritas tried to be nice and swallow it but every muscle in his body was working against him.

'I can't! I can't!' Veritas thought.

He immediately got up and ran over to the window near him. The slammed it open and spit out all the food in his mouth. He made sure to wipe his tongue to sure all food particles were gone. Even then he continued to spit.

"Talk about rude!" Raina said.

"I don't blame him. Your cooking is awful." Hikari said.

"Talk about double rude! You guys are…" she said.

Tears formed in her eyes and she ran out the room. Veritas and Hikari heard a door slam down the hall.

Veritas wiped his mouth and closed the window.

"You could've warned me about that." Veritas said to Hikari.

"I'm not talking to you." she said getting up and walking out the dining room.

"But you just did… Man, I was looking forward to that too. Oh well, might as well just cook something for myself." Veritas said to himself.

He walked into the kitchen. He threw away the rancid food Raina made and opened up the fridge. Luckily there was still tons of food so he got to cooking. He decided to make skillet plate with potatoes, eggs, cheese and sausage. After about 10 minutes, he was plating the food, ready to pass it out. He stepped out the kitchen into the living room, where he saw Hikari reading.

He set a plate down by her and walked away.

"I'm not hungry." she said.

"Yeah, I bet those few pieces of fruit really filled you up." Veritas said in a sarcastic tone.

He began to walk away. Hikari said something under her breath. Veritas wasn't sure but he could've swore she said thank you. He smiled a bit as he approached Raina's room. He knocked on the door. After a minute or two she opened the door. It was obvious she was crying.

"What do you want?" she asked in a sad voice.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude and spit out your food. It had an interesting taste I wasn't used to." Veritas apologized.

"... Interesting taste. That's one way to say it was awful." Raina replied.

"Er, h-hey. Never mind that. Here, I made you this as an apology. I hope that you forgive me." the boy said, holding out the skillet plate.

Raina looked at it a bit before grabbing it. "... I guess I can forgive you since you are being so nice. Thank you." she said.

She walked back into her room and closed the door. Veritas turned around to take Leilani her plate. He was sure she was hungry after sleeping all this time. As he was about to go to her room, he heard Raina shout from her room.

"Holy sh*t! This is amazing!" she shouted.

Veritas gave a small smile. He was always glad when people enjoyed his cooking. With some pep in his step, he headed to Leilani's room. Once he was outside he made sure to knock.

"Hey Leilani, it's Veritas. I made you some breakfast. I'm coming in." he announced.

Veritas opened up the door. He was met to a surprising sight. He saw Leilani, sitting up in her bed.

"L-Leilani…" he said, dropping the food in his hands.

Veritas ran over to Leilani's side, grabbing her hand. "Oh my god! Leilani, you're awake!"

"I am. What happened?" she asked.

"Leilani, the island… it's gone… Everyone is gone… I'm… I'm…" Veritas said, choking up.

"Oh… how tragic…" Leilani replied. However, there was no emotion in her voice, which Veritas picked up on.

"Leilani? Are you okay?" he asked, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Well, my wounds are healed. And the news about our home being gone is troublesome to hear. However, I feel nothing."

"Nothing? What do you mean?"

"I know it's sad but I can't feel sad. Or happy. Or angry. I don't feel anything at all. Veritas?" Leilani said, looking at the spiky haired boy. Her eyes were dull and lifeless. "What is wrong with me? Tell me why I can't feel any emotions, Veritas."

Leilani's finally awake! However, she can't feel any emotions. What happened to Veritas' friend? And what is the deal with Hikari and her hate for Veritas? Find out next time! And as always, thanks for reading

-V