AN: If anyone is wondering, Ventus gets Roxas, while Vanitas gets Xion when they're split like that. Both of them can share Roxas' memories, but Roxas is physically with Ventus. Anybody ever wonder why Xion's hair was black, hmm? Regardless, I play around with some game mechanics in a fun way here, and I'm really proud of it. (Also, Yen Sid is the secret MVP and some of you guys seem to agree with me. He will continue to be the secret MVP and skillfully avoid conflict as best as he can.) Enjoyyyy!
Neither of them had seen a breakfast table this full before. They supposed the gross overestimation was due to their magical source, and yet, the two could not hold back their wonder. Ventus was more expressive, Vanitas' own face less so. Vanitas still contained the same level of amazement within him.
"This is bigger than Aunt Rosa's wedding banquet." Ventus commented, grinning wide. Vanitas tried to gather himself, still mostly speechless from the sight. Half of these foods he'd never even seen before.
"Yeah, Grandma sure taught mom and her to appreciate food." Vanitas hummed, eying the huge pile for size. He missed his mom and the smell of her cakes every night as she tried to bake all of her daily stress away. Blueberry, strawberry: red velvet was his personal favourite, and she'd make it for him every year on his birthday. Would she recognize him in this form? Even love…?
Suddenly, Vanitas didn't feel too hungry anymore.
Yen Sid approached from behind him, Vanitas snapping out of his thoughts in order to move aside.
"I have to go deliver this downstairs to Lea. He's quite a sloth on his days off, and won't eat unless I bring it to him," Yen Sid sighed. "It rattles the mind's imagination as to what he gets up to down there."
"Couldn't you just teleport it down there?" Ventus proposed. He knew Lea lived in this tower, though not much else about the arrangement. He supposed that Yen Sid had become somewhat of a parental guardian, even if Lea was in his twenties.
"I have to check up on him every now and then. Dig in to your heart's content." Yen Sid nodded, a plate of food hovering beside him in the air as he made his way out the door.
"Oh man!" Ventus exclaimed, filled with joy. The chair was quickly sat in, Ventus eagerly rubbing his hands together. He could hesitate no longer, digging in and gulping down anything that could fit into his hands.
"Slow down, where's the hurry?" Vanitas commented, coming to stand where Ventus was sitting. The blonde had just been inhaling food, Vanitas surprised he managed to eat so fast. Maybe with all the obvious good looks, good skill - let's face it, good everything - Vanitas perhaps got what little force of restraint Sora had.
Ventus ignored him for awhile, going at it. Suddenly, he saw the empty plate set beside him and made a connection in his head.
"Sorry, it's rude to start when you're not even seated. C'mon and sit," Ventus managed to say through a mouthful of food. He patted the spot beside him - not that Vanitas had many options.
Vanitas slowly sat down, watching Ventus go at it full force again. He picked up a few odd fruits, inspecting them. At least, what he thought might be fruits.
He hesitantly ate a few, deciding they tasted good, and began to eat. Ventus hadn't stopped for a second, however.
"Idiot, do you want to get a stomach ache?" Vanitas berated, ripping off the piece of meat from a bone. Ventus stopped, eyes widening.
"You're right- hey, wait, what did I say about calling me that?!" Ventus complained, whipping himself around to narrow his eyes at his offender. He was less threatening than usual due to the leftover crumbs dotting his face.
"I can't help it. The truth just loves to flow from my lips," Vanitas smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Just like you can't help being an idiot."
Without warning Vanitas leaned too far back, causing him to fall off his chair. Ventus laughed at him, deciding it was okay if it was Vanitas.
"Are you okay?" Ventus said through his laughing. Vanitas was burning up, starting to steam with anger. He quickly scrambled to his feet, face red with all of his blushing.
"Well you, you-" Vanitas stammered, trying to come up with a good comeback. Ventus had continued to laugh, before finally suffering from his fated stomach ache.
"Ha, serves you right for laughing," Vanitas triumphed as Ventus bent over, clutching his stomach and groaning.
"Juuussst shuttt uuuppp." Ventus whined. He didn't like how the tables had suddenly turned.
"What is going on in here?" Yen Sid commanded their attention, entering the room to see Ventus leaning over in pain and Vanitas standing over him. Vanitas shut his mouth, eyes widening. This looked bad, really bad. He was going to have his newly regained freedom snatched away from him yet again, and all because Yen Sid walked in at the wrong time. Where was pity from this universe?
"Master Yen Sid, I can explain–" Vanitas stated desperately. A muffled sound from Yen Sid's mouth stopped him however.
"My, you two boys really have made a mess now, haven't you." Yen Sid announced with a defeated sigh, making his way to sit in a giant chair positioned at the end of the table. Vanitas just stood, speechless. He did not know what to make of Yen Sid's calm demeanor.
The man neatly unfolded a napkin as he caused a plate and cutlery to float over to him, acting as if what he saw was nothing more than normal behaviour. Ventus was just groaning, making his way to sit back at the table. Every movement was an effort.
"Come now, that chair will not pick itself back up, will it?" Yen Sid directed at Vanitas, causing the boy to jump.
"Huh? – Oh." Vanitas said, shaking his head and gathering himself together. Had Yen Sid really not noticed what just happened? Hoping to catch him off guard and have him confess to a crime he did not commit? It was Ventus' fault anyways for overeating.
He sat back down at the table, reserved from touching anything and ruining this unsure peace.
"You really shouldn't have eaten many of those Fairy Berries. Having one is sweet, but two is foul. It's a fruit that Fairies use to play pranks on one another." Yen Sid advised. Vanitas looked over to see all of these supposed Fairy Berries scattered and eaten, probably by Ventus.
"C'mon, you didn't mention that." Ventus whined, head rested on the table as he still held his stomach. He looked drained of energy as he groaned.
"It seems you do not truly remember, then." Yen Sid commented to himself. Looking from Yen Sid to Ventus, everything started to piece together for Vanitas.
It dawned on him now, that Yen Sid purposefully let them be alone together: why else would he stress Vanitas' supervision only to leave a manner of minutes later? This wasn't just a test for him, but for Ventus too, trying to see if he'd eat the fruit that he knew was a poison. Old fart had been playing them all along.
"I told you not to eat so much." Vanitas grumbled, punching Ventus' shoulder. It was fine if he just hit the sleeve. He just couldn't touch Ventus' physical body, otherwise they'd fuse together.
"Oh yeah?" Ventus said, sitting up with a sly look on his face. Vanitas didn't have time to react before Ventus had a hand on his shoulder and pulled their foreheads together. They became light, morphing into Sora.
"Hey, it doesn't hurt anymore!" Sora exclaimed. Their equilibrium must've caused his body to settle, Ventus' attempt at sharing his suffering with Vanitas having failed.
"Will you not change back, now that the pain has passed?" Yen Sid commented, cutting a piece of meat with his cutlery.
"Nah, being me is much better. Though, it was unfair of you to not warn me about the berries." Sora explained, starting to eat once again. He didn't remember anything about his supposed past life, much less something as small as a trick fairies might use on each other.
"Do you not mean Ventus?" Yen Sid corrected. Sora rolled his eyes, reaching over for the salt.
"...Yeah, I guess." Sora grumbled. He was Ventus, old man. When would he understand?
"Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, entering the world waving her hand. Sora sported his own grin, welcoming her to this island in the sky.
"Hey Kai, hey Riku!" Sora greeted. The two people in question walked over to him, Kairi holding a delicately wrapped box in her hands.
"How is my mom? Wait, don't tell me-" Sora was taking the box from Kairi's hands, "she baked a cake, didn't she?"
"Yep, that's Sora's mom for you: always baking. She asked us to bring it over in order to sate your sweet tooth," Riku then chuckled, "can't go too long without sweets, can you, Sora?"
Sora swung the box around, almost as if to protect it.
"Well if you're on a path of abstinence from sweetness, then that's more cake for me, Kairi, and Mickey too; Yen Sid if he wants a slice." Sora noted, stealing a glance at the master.
"And Lea, if he wants to crawl out of his basement lair, which is highly unlikely." Kairi added.
"Come now, Sora, you know I never said anything about that," Riku said.
"Oh no, I could feel what you were implying. Good luck with your diet Riku." Sora carried on, starting to open the box. Riku sighed, a small smile on his face. Yen Sid had come over, looming over the trio.
"Now is not the time to eat cake," Yen Sid declared, "Cake is not a breakfast food."
As the Master walked away, Sora stared at him with a small amount of annoyance, licking a bit of icing off the cake with his finger in a small act of defiance.
"Speaking of, didn't Ventus and Vanitas show up last night? Why are they gone?" Riku asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Sora closed up the box, wrapping it back up, albeit in a more dishelven matter.
"I like being me. This is who I am," Sora answered, shrugging. "I have to train today, though, Kai, do you mind holding the box again for a second?"
"Yeah sure, why?" She asked, taking the box back into her grasp. As soon as it left his hands, Sora clapped his hands together and a white flash of light signaled the reappearance of Ventus and Vanitas.
They both then reached for the box. Quickly, they eyed the other and Ventus gave, letting Vanitas go for the box. He was going to train after all.
Vanitas was about to touch the box, before he heard the sound of keyblades being summoned. Kairi had pulled the box away from him, and joined Riku in pointing her blade at him. The ravenet was frozen in thin air, stealing a glance up at them, confused.
"Uh?" Vanitas couldn't see anything wrong with his actions, forgetting his position of the current list of enemies of darkness. Ventus, perhaps still regarding Vanitas as an adversary, acknowledged there was something wrong here.
"Vanitas," Ventus whispering, reaching out to touch his shoulder. Vanitas grew tense when the two made contact and they turned back into Sora, the brunet standing there, sweating.
"You can put them down now, okay?" Sora gulped. Kairi and Riku both slowly fulfilled his request, looking towards Yen Sid for answers. Sora also looked over at him, hands in his pockets.
After Yen Sid informed everyone else later of their arrangement, there seemed to be little to no arguing with the powerful wizard, his glare forcing Riku into submission at his signs of protest.
It was decided they would train in the courtyard Yen Sid had summoned outside his tower. Riku and Mickey were assigned to teaching Ventus about wielding his new keyblade, even if Riku for the most part felt uncomfortable teaching something he wasn't really comfortable doing himself. Mickey told him that he could consider it as part of his 'teacher' training, if Riku as a Master ever decided to teach someone else.
Begrudgingly, Sora unfused into Ventus and Vanitas. The blonde secretly squeezed the other boy's hand to reassure him, seeing as they often ended up holding hands when they unfused. Any other contact after that would summon Sora back.
"I'll do my best, so watch me and cheer me on, okay?!" Ventus assured Kairi and Vanitas, grinning. Vanitas just crossed his shoulders and shrugged.
"Whatever Roxas, not like I really care." Vanitas chuckled apathetically. Ventus narrowed his eyes at him, being able to see the tiny bit of teasing in his voice. It was Vanitas' way of coping with his horrible situation, pretending he was above the blonde.
"Hey Riku, go easy on him, alright?" Kairi yelled to Riku, smiling.
"Sure thing!" Riku called back.
"He-Hey! Wait a second! Don't go and decide things for me, I'm still tougher than you!" Ventus yelled at Riku as he left Vanitas and Kairi on the side lines to join his friend in battle.
This left Kairi to sit out, still a pupil herself, enjoying her day off. When she turned, Vanitas was already sitting on the bench, viewing the fighters with a bored expression.
The thought of remembering kept him restrained, however. He knew Vanitas was a keyblade wielder, and bringing the blade forth would probably be a bad idea. Even now, he could feel the echoes of the handle in his palm, ready to come to his aid need be.
"Thanks again, Mickey." Ventus said.
"No problem, Ven. I might not be good at this, because I don't have the same style as you, but it's worth a shot." Mickey replied. Ventus tilted his head.
"Hey, I'm just curious, but why do you call me Ven?" Ventus asked. Mickey paused.
"It's a nickname Aqua came up with." Mickey said solemnly, a look of regret in his eyes.
"Who is she?" Ventus asked. The name sounded familiar, a foggy face running quickly through his mind before dissolving like dust.
Mickey's eyes widened in shock, then furrowed together.
"She is a good friend of mine. I'll tell you about her later." Mickey said quietly, shaking his head. That wasn't a good idea. Not so soon after he had gotten Ventus back.
Ventus shrugged, quickly going back into a battle stance.
While Mickey and Ventus brandished their swords to fight, Kairi took this time to examine Xehanort's supposed former apprentice. He seemed calm and collected; meticulously able to keep his actions under restraint. Cool and calculated, unlike Sora. His posture was a balance between stern and relaxed, eyes watching the training patiently and observably. He looked harmless, but Kairi could feel the underlying, not yet provoked darkness, seeping out of him slowly and quietly.
His golden eyes turned towards her, a small flicker of annoyance in his features.
"Why're you staring at me, Kai?" Vanitas asked, suspicious.
Her violet eyes quickly darted away.
"Ah, sorry. You just look so much like him, Sora. But, you're still kind of Sora, but not?" Kairi stumbled around with her words before sighing, defeated "I don't know."
"I'm just as confused as you are. Not everyday you find out you have amnesia and are not really even yourself. This is worse than finding out about Roxas. Can't I just stay one person for once?" Vanitas said with the smallest of smiles. Originally, the raven haired boy had come off as cold, and much of that still remained the same; then there'd be moments like these and Kairi would remember Sora was still there, even underneath all that black darkness.
Well, half of Sora anyway.
"Right. Now even Axel's true self has returned, Lea. I still manage to mess up his name sometimes." Kairi said with a laugh.
"Hey, I still do too. Don't beat yourself up about it." Vanitas said, crossing his arms and shrugging.
Kairi smiled, satisfied with their current conversation. A voice in her head reminded her that this unknown boy wasn't Sora, just another one of Xehanort's accomplices. It made her almost sour, debating her current stance with Vanitas.
"I wonder if you're limited to this world-" Kairi started, before being cut off.
"Watch out!" Ventus called. Kairi turned her head to see a fireball come straight at her. Vanitas, reacting fast enough, quickly jumped in front of Kairi, holding her body close as they dodge rolled away. The two winced as they hit the cold ground together, narrowly missing the fire ball.
Kairi's eyes were clenched shut as panic raced through her. The world was black around her, yet a colored figure came into focus. Sora looked down at her within this black world, worry filling his eyes.
"Are you alright?" Sora was speaking to her. She opened her eyes and Vanitas replaced him in her view.
Vanitas had untangled himself, looming over the girl with his arms planted firmly on the ground around her head.
"Hey, are you alright?" Vanitas asked again. Kairi took a moment, eyes searching Vanitas' face. He looked irritated, growing more annoyed with every passing second she didn't answer him. He seemed more angry than before. What exactly had she just seen? An illusion, a mirage?
"Yeah, I'm just shaken." Kairi gasped, still stunned from the experience. Everyone rushed towards them, Vanitas standing up and offering his hand to Kairi. Once they were both back on their feet, Vanitas reared his anger towards Ventus.
"What the heck was that?" Vanitas growled.
"Hey, I'm just trying to get a grip of this new keyblade, and a firaga veered off course!" Ventus argued back at Vanitas, returning his anger full force. He could see Vanitas was still steaming, teeth barred and arms crossed in begrudging acceptance. Kairi thought she could see him literally seething, his clothes quivering and changing.
Vanitas thought that perhaps there was a need for that "don't fight Ventus" rule afterall. But to Ventus, Vanitas didn't matter at the moment; Kairi was the focus.
"Are you okay, Kairi?" Ventus asked, concerned.
"I think so. Don't worry." Kairi reassured, the experience having left her a bit shaken. Vanitas had just moved so fast, and his cold hands grabbing her – she shivered uncomfortably at the thought of that huge mass of darkness being near her all at once.
Vanitas must've noticed her unease, closing his eyes for a moment. With a sigh, the illusion of darkness was gone. He turned back to Ventus.
"If you want to throw around fire, wouldn't Lea be a more appropriate redhead, Ventus?" Vanitas added sarcastically, rolling his eyes.
Got it memorized?
Ventus froze at the sudden image flashing through his head. He stumbled, clutching his head in pain.
"Ventus are you okay?" Mickey asked.
Ventus put up one hand to stop Kairi from touching him.
"Y-yeah. I think I'm remembering something." Ventus clarified. Memories of meeting a younger redhead raced through his mind.
"Mickey, what's Radiant Garden?" Ventus asked, steadily recovering. Everyone turned towards Mickey, caughting in a game of ping pong between the two.
"It's the old name of Hollow Bastion." Mickey answered. Oh, that would make sense why his memories didn't quite align with the Hollow Bastion he knew today.
"I never knew it looked that different." Ventus lamented, face saddening in thought.
"What did it look like before?" Riku asked, curious. He'd remained silent for most of the session.
"Well, it was an actual garden. Bright and colourful, with trees and flowers; a nice pattern of stones on the ground." Ventus explained to the best of his ability. He suddenly brightened up.
"Hey Mickey, can you take me to the worlds I've been to? It'll probably re-jog my memories if I get to see them!" Ventus proposed excitedly. He was practically beaming.
"That's not too bad of an idea, even for you." Vanitas added on, showing a little bit of pride for the blonde. Still a slow thinker, yet he was getting there.
"I'm sorry to let you down, Ven, but all of those have sadly fell into darkness. Well, besides Radiant Garden, one still exists, though not in the same way." Mickey admitted sadly.
"We can still visit Hollow Bastion, it might help?" Kairi suggested. Riku nodded, agreeing.
"There's people we haven't seen in a long time to visit there. A quick trip can't hurt." Riku said with a shrug of his shoulders. They started discussing getting a gummy ship down at the tower, Vanitas losing interest quickly. He wasn't able to leave, after all.
Vanitas walked over to the edge of the fighting ground, away from the noise. He looked up to the sky, the sun bleeding away and a trail of stars popping up. The sun and moon worked differently at the tower, the equivalent of a single day in his world meaning 3 or more cycles of day and night in here, even if time passed in the same way.
"Is something wrong, Vanitas?" Kairi asked. The boy had peaked Kairi's curiosity, the redhead having jogged over to stand beside him.
The raven haired boy was quiet for a moment, thinking.
"Not really. I probably won't be able to leave anyways, so listening to their plans is useless for me." Vanitas replied, a hint of regret in his voice. His eyes didn't leave the stars for one moment.
Kairi nodded with a small hum, otherwise, saying nothing. She followed his gaze and watched the stars start to appear along the halo of the dying sun.
"It's weird how all these worlds are so far away, but sometimes it seems like you can just reach out and touch it." Vanitas said, slowly reaching out his arm longingly in front of him to a star in the sky. Suddenly a black fire erupted from his palm, giving way to a dark corridor.
Their eyes widened, Vanitas yelping in surprise. He tore his hand away quickly, holding it close to his chest like he was nursing a burn. The dark corridor immediately disappeared, no trace of it having ever existed.
Everyone turned to look at the commotion, a mix of shock and confusion in their features.
"What happened?" Riku asked. The group walked over, Vanitas still stunned from the event. There was evident confusion, nobody having witnessed the appearance and disappearance of the corridor.
"Vanitas made a corridor of darkness appear." Kairi spoke. The group turned to Vanitas.
"Well, did you?" Ventus asked, unblinking. Vanitas was still shaken.
"Y-yeah." Vanitas answered, quickly regaining some of his composure.
"Cool!" Ventus expressed excitedly, throwing Vanitas off. Ventus' energy sometimes left him phased in the face of it. "Hey, could you show me how you did it?"
"I don't really know how I did it." Vanitas admitted, clenching and unclenching his palm. The two boys looked at Mickey.
"Am I a nobody or something?" Vanitas asked the mouse. He remembered the organization was capable of doing it. Oh yeah, and Riku, but still.
"Can I do it too?!" Ventus added on.
Mickey seemed at a loss for words, everyone's eyes peering down on him.
"Ah no, you're not a nobody. And Ven, unless you want to wield darkness, I doubt you can." Mickey said. Ventus' face fell, Vanitas raising an eyebrow.
"We'll always be together, so you can just ask me to take you places, at least when I can get a grip over this ability." Vanitas proposed to cheer the blonde up. Ventus thought for a moment, recalling what he had seen in a flash of his memories.
"Lea's older than the four of us, right Mickey? Would he have met me before I lost my memories?" Ventus asked the mouse. He was trying to make sense of what he could see, and sure enough it was a very different, but definitively, Lea.
"Perhaps, I didn't know Lea very well until recently." Mickey admitted.
"Let's go ask him then!" Ventus suggested, nodding with his head in the direction of the tower, where Lea had taken refuge in Yen Sid's basement.
"Uhhh, Ventus." Riku piped up, putting his hand on Ventus' shoulder to stop him from walking. Ventus looked confused.
"Huh? I need to talk to Lea face to face." The genuine confusion on Ventus' face was not helping Riku speak confidently. It needed to be said.
"That's exactly the problem, though." Riku sighed.
"What?" Ventus was completely bewildered.
"You do understand you look exactly like Roxas, right?" Riku spoke carefully, pointing out what everyone was thinking. Everyone knew how close Axel and Roxas had been: it was something unsaid, and yet well understood. Lea seemed to finally be letting go of his past, and to dig it up at such a stage of recovery...
Ventus blinked, looking down at himself.
"Oh." Ventus said, before fully understanding. "Oh."
"Yeah, 'oh'." Vanitas scoffed, crossing his arms. "Idiot."
Ventus stood staring blankly at the ground, thinking.
"But this is the only way. I don't know if my memories will come back unless I'm like this. I think I can do it." Ventus pleaded, fist clenching. Nobody spoke a word, everyone still remembering with a somber silence the relationship between Roxas and the former nobody.
"I, uh, think it's possible for Ventus to meet Lea. We just have to be gentle, that's all." Kairi suggested with an unsure smile, tapping the tips of her fingers together nervously.
"Are you sure, Kai? This could end up going south really quickly." Vanitas asked, regarding her with skepticism.
"Vanitas, you do not get a say in our plans. You are still under suspicion, don't forget that." Mickey voiced, eyes narrowing at the ravenet. Vanitas' stared blankly at him for a moment, before gritting his teeth together in anger.
"Oh yeah, okay, Roxas is only my nobody. I only have to live every single day of my life knowing that because of me he'll never see Axel again; that no matter what I do he'll never be his own person!" Vanitas snapped. He crossed his arms and started to hug his sides, anger causing him to tremble. There was a mist that started to materialize on parts of his body, pulsing and dying to an unknown beat. Something wanted out, Vanitas could feel it.
"Vanitas, are you alright?" Kairi asked hesitantly. She placed a hand on his shoulder, causing the boy to relax and his darkness to settle. She could feel it shifting under her palm.
Vanitas' face fell, looking at his hand. He put it to his face, guilt sneaking into his expression.
"I think so, I just… I'm sorry, your Majesty." Vanitas apologized. "I just want to help get Ventus' memories back like the rest of you, but Roxas is my Nobody as well as my friend. I'm hurt that you would assume I'd feel indifferent towards him."
Mickey considered his words carefully, seemingly remorseful for what he had said.
"Gosh, okay, Vanitas. I didn't know you felt that way. I have my own reasons for distrusting you, please be patient with me." Mickey answered. Vanitas nodded, Kairi taking her hand off of his shoulder.
Not being able to handle the somber mood any longer, Ventus clapped his hands together.
"Well, What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Ventus exclaimed, finger pointed at the tower.
"Good idea," Riku agreed, trying to further transition from this tense atmosphere.
"Don't forget your helmet." Ventus teased Vanitas.
"Yeah, yeah, mom, whatever." Vanitas grumbled, the black helmet appearing on his face. Kairi was glad to see everything back to normal, giving a small sigh of relief.
After walking to the tower, Kairi knocked on the trap door to the basement where Lea was staying.
"Hey Lea can you come up for a second?" Kairi called out.
"It's my day off, let me sleep!" Lea groaned back from beneath the floor. He wasn't budging, and Kairi knew it was useless to push any further.
"Axel." Ventus spoke. The word was wrong, though something deep inside of him made the name instinctively come forth. Immediately, came the crash and clangings of a scattered man, rushing up the steps with a fury. The trap door swung open with a bang, startling the group. Lea's head sprung up like a lightning bolt, coming face to face with Ventus, who was kneeling on the ground.
"Roxas." Lea whispered, eyes slowly widening. His red hair was disheveled and he hardly looked put together.
"Uh, Lea, I know I used the wrong name it just slipped…" Ventus said slowly.
Axel's face fell.
"Let me guess, you're not actually him." Axel proposed.
"I know I look like him. But I'm not." Ventus paced his words, thinking carefully.
"Who are you then? Did Sora die again and nobody cared to tell me?" Axel said, his impatience bordering into irritation with every passing second.
"My name is S-, wait, it's Ventus. But my friends… huh." Ventus said, fumbling with his words before pausing, "That introduction somehow feels like it's missing something, sorry."
"You could at least answer more questions, Ven." Vanitas said, standing with his arms crossed behind Ventus and Kairi.
"What?! Who-?!" Lea exclaimed, jumping before looking up at the helmeted offender. Lea's eyes narrowed with dislike. "You."
"Me?" Vanitas answered, confused.
"Yes, you. You're the jerk who didn't want to fight me because, and quote, 'I don't have any time to waste playing childish games', before running off." Lea spat, summoning his keyblade and stabbing it into the ground beside the trap door. "You and me, right now."
"Is anybody going-" Vanitas started, not impressed.
"Hold on, Lea. Both of them have no memories." Riku said, stepping in and putting an arm in front of Vanitas.
Lea readjusted his grip on the keyblade.
"Are you sure he's not Roxas then? Seriously, where is Sora?!" Lea said, exasperated. The group was at a loss for words, seeing as no one really had a grip on the situation either.
"Ventus and Vanitas are old keyblade wielders who recently appeared." Mickey tried to explain.
Vanitas rolled his eyes, sighing. He batted Riku's arms aside and quickly walked over.
"This is taking too long." Vanitas stated. Without warning, he leaned over and placed his hand on Ventus' head.
There was a short shimmer of light, the two figures melding into one. When it faded, it left a dizzy Sora and a completely confused Lea. Sora cursed in his head, knowing that Vanitas knew Ventus was really easy to latch onto. Every time it happened, Ventus just couldn't resist, and here Sora would return.
From the shock, Lea's keyblade was broken, the man's empty hand still left in the air.
"Just what is going on?" Lea exclaimed.
Each person took turns trying to give an explanation.
"...so, Yen Sid casted a spell on me, and then I split apart. I can only come back if we touch." Sora explained. "Ventus and Vanitas are me in a different way than Roxas is."
"And you don't have any idea why it's like this?" Lea asked. At this point, he was fully clothed and alert.
Sora flowed again seamlessly into Ventus and Vanitas sitting next to each other, this time Vanitas' helmet was off.
"No clue." Vanitas said calmly.
"How are you two so nonchalant about that?!" Lea expressed, again exasperated.
"I just go from existing here to existing somewhere else. It's not that confusing." Vanitas said with a shrug.
"Me and Vanitas are pretty close." Ventus tuned in.
"Huh?" Mickey exclaimed, cutting in suddenly.
"I'm just saying, we're team Sora, and as long as Vanitas doesn't remember, he's fine, right? We've got a truce, currently." Ventus asked, throwing the occasional glance over at Vanitas.
"A really reluctant truce, but you know, whatever floats your boat." Vanitas explained further.
"Uh-huh." Mickey said nervously.
"Anyways, I was hoping if I could get you to help me remember my past. Maybe we met before I-... Huh." Ventus' eyes widened, voice stopping.
"Mickey, why did I lose my memories?" Ventus asked. Mickey went silent, both young boys staring at him, one set of iris gorgeously blue and the other meticulously golden. He could feel the eyes of Riku, Kairi, and Lea also boring into him.
"I-I don't know, Ven. But Lea is here to help you get on yer' way to finding those memories. How about it, Lea?" Mickey asked, ungracefully diverting attention away from himself.
"I don't understand. What do you want me to do, exactly?" Lea asked, shrugging honestly.
"We were hoping that meeting people from Ventus' past would help him figure out his memories. Do you know anything that might help us? It would've been about 10 years ago, maybe 1 or 2 more." Kairi spoke. Lea's face fell, eyes on the ground.
"I… those memories aren't ones I like to think about, got it memorized? It wasn't a very pleasant time for me." Lea admitted, eyebrows scrunched together.
"Oh come on, nothing? Please?" Ventus begged.
"I'm sorry. This is where I draw the line. I want to look forward, not back." Lea said firmly. That face, it was so hard to say no to.
After Lea took his leave back down into the basement, the atmosphere was somber.
"Gah! Now we're back at square one!" Ventus complained.
"What a waste of time." Vanitas grumbled.
"Hey, how about we stick to our original plan and go to Hollow Bastion, that might work." Kairi pointed out.
"That's a great idea, Kairi." Ventus beamed, jumping to his feet. Vanitas followed suit, though with less enthusiasm.
"I call shotgun!" Riku exclaimed. Kairi turned to her friend, shocked.
"But you had it last time!" Kairi argued.
"Guess we'll have to see who gets there first." Riku answered, smiling as he took off with a head start.
"Hey, no fair! Riku!" Kairi called after him, following in pursuit.
Ventus and Vanitas turned to go after them, but Mickey stopped Vanitas in his tracks.
"Your Majesty?" Vanitas asked, confused.
"I'm afraid you will have to stay under the watch of Master Yen Sid." Mickey told the black haired boy. Vanitas narrowed his eyes, but otherwise, said nothing.
"Why? You said he could leave as long as a Master was with him." Ventus asked.
"We don't know what seeing the other worlds will do to affect your memories, much less Vanitas'. With Master Xehanort and his plans with darkness we can't take any more risks!" Mickey said, fists tightening with frustration. Ventus raised an eyebrow, crouching down to level with the smaller Master.
After a moment of silence, Mickey spoke softly, tired.
"Look, we can see about taking Vanitas next time, but not now." Mickey said.
"Hey, it's alright, Mickey. You can't control what's ahead." Ventus said gently in an attempt to comfort the mouse.
"I've lost two of my good friends to darkness, as well as many more because of Master Xehanort. I thought I had lost you too, especially since we…" Mickey cut himself off, closing his eyes for a moment. He sighed, relaxing his shoulders. "I'm sorry if I ever treat you two like ghosts: it's been a long time since I've properly seen your face."
Ventus and Vanitas were silent, feeling the weight of Mickey's words stay with them. Ventus slowly stood up, still lost in thought.
"Ventus." Vanitas spoke quietly. The blonde looked up at Vanitas. "It's fine, just go with them." Vanitas was trying not to meet Ventus' eyes. His fists tightened, attempting to not betray his still simmering disappointment. He didn't want to argue and ruin the already fragile agreement in place: having been given him a drop of freedom, and the tiny bit of trust with these friends who looked at him like an enemy.
Ventus nodded quietly, him and Mickey taking their leave. As they walked away, Ventus stole one last glance of sympathy towards Vanitas, who could only just stand there silently and take it. It was a feeling so old and true in his heart, the very thought of it pained him for reasons unknown.
"I'm surprised you didn't even react." Came a voice from behind Vanitas after the two left. He turned his head to see Lea popping his head out of the trap door.
"Nothing I can do, really." Vanitas sighed, eyes narrowing.
"I get it, you know. The whole former enemy thing. At first, everyone is suspicious because you kidnapped someone, then, the next moment you're sparring side by side." Lea joked. His humor did not have the desired effect on Vanitas, his frown barely budging.
"Your point?" Vanitas asked, crossing his arms.
"Well, I don't necessarily hate you. Ventus doesn't seem to, either. Give it time. You can't rush it – take this from someone who used to be in your shoes." Lea advised, giving him a smile of confidence. Vanitas let the words sink in, thinking them over quietly.
"Thanks." Vanitas returned a small smile. The moment didn't last, however, as Vanitas remembered he wasn't allowed to be out of a Master's sight.
"Anyways, I have to go see Master Yen Sid before-" Vanitas cut himself off by lurching forward and gagging. He held one arm over his stomach and the other over his mouth, bile in the back of his throat. Everything felt suffocating, like the air in his lungs were continually being forced out of him. His vision was growing black, blood pounding in his ears. Something was wrong, the very fibre of his being screaming out in pain due to its loss.
"I can't... breathe..." Vanitas wheezed, falling to the floor. Lea quickly started to get out of his door, stopping when he suddenly saw Vanitas disappear in a flash of light.
Meanwhile…
"Riku, I swear, it was just like it was back in the Organization's headquarters. I could see right through your darkness to you hiding underneath." Kairi explained. She had made it to the gummi ship first and was sitting in her seat snugly. She was slouched back and had her arms crossed, face filled with determination.
"How could I forget, outting me to Sora after I'd been running for over a year." Riku answered. "I believe you, when you said you could see Sora underneath Vanitas' darkness, but I don't know what that could entail."
"Huh? What do you mean?" Kairi asked, perking up and turning towards him.
"Well, I was only in that state because I had given into the darkness. If you saw Sora like that, it could mean he's in trouble. Perhaps, he's unable to handle his darkness after all that took place during the exam." Riku elaborated, eyebrows pressed together. Kairi slouched down. She hadn't considered that.
"But what about the way Ventus and Vanitas easily bring him back? Once you were back, you were back. You couldn't switch effortlessly between the two." Kairi pointed out. Riku thought about it.
"I don't want to consider it, but maybe Mickey's hiding something from us. It can't be that simple." Riku said, leaning back and crossing his arms.
"Riku, you know he couldn't, he wouldn't! For one, he's a horrible liar, and secondly, what would he have to hide?" Kairi exclaimed, worried.
"Nothing, apparently, just a blonde keyblade wielder named Ventus." Riku said, more determined than ever.
"Are you guys talking about me behind my back?" Ventus interrupted, standing behind the two chairs. Both Riku and Kairi jumped, whirling around.
"Don't do that! You scared me!" Kairi exclaimed.
"C'mon gang let's all settle down now." Mickey entered the room and quickly sat down in the driver's seat.
Ventus leaned up against the wall of the door, prefering to stand for the time being. He remained pretty quiet as they traveled off of the world. This was the first time he'd been so far from Vanitas, and he didn't like it. He somehow missed that dark aura constantly hanging by his side.
"So, Mickey," He said, grabbing the Mouse's attention.
"Yes, Ventus?" Mickey answered, not looking away from the space in front of him. Riku and Kairi also took an interest in their conversation, turning to look back at the blonde.
"Before I disappeared, how did I travel to different worlds?" Ventus asked.
"While my method was different and more random than yours, you used your keyblade armour to protect yourself from the darkness." Mickey explained. "It's the heavy plate of metal on your shoulder."
"Oh, so that's what this is!" Ventus realized. He reached up and lightly clicked the button on his arm, his armor appearing and shocking him.
"Whoa… cool!" Ventus exclaimed, excited. He looked himself over, inspecting the sides and different parts.
Riku squinted at him, confused.
"Hang on one second." Riku said, excusing himself from his chair and walking over to inspect the armor.
"Hm?" Ventus wondered, eyes suddenly droopy. He had to restrain himself from yawning.
"Yeah… I've seen this before, but I could be mistaking it." Riku continued, crossing his arms.
"What do you mean, Riku?" Kairi asked. She'd never seen anything like it before. Then again, same could be said for a lot of things now in her normal, everyday life.
"No– it's on the tip of my tongue, I just know it!" Riku squinted at Ventus, looking him over.
Ventus yawned and pressed the side of his arm to retract the armor, coming face to face with his silver haired friend.
"That's weird… I've… never seen…" Ventus said, slurring his words. He stumbled, Riku managing to catch him as he fell over. His wayfinder fell out off his pocket, clattering to the floor.
"Ventus! Are you alright?!" Riku exclaimed. Kairi hopped out of her chair, racing towards the blonde.
"Tired… so tie… erdd." Ventus mumbled, quickly falling asleep in Riku's arms. The silver haired boy shook him as he set the other boy down, panicking. Ventus seemed unphased, lying still on the floor.
Mysteriously, the wayfinder began to glow.
D-LINK: Activated
D-LINK: Vanitas
Suddenly, there was a burst of light and Vanitas appeared beside the wayfinder, on his knees gasping for air.
"Finally." Vanitas choked, once again being able to breathe. No longer were his ears filled with the sound of a frantic heartbeat. As oxygen once again filled his lungs, he looked up at the equally confused people surrounding him.
"Vanitas?!" Riku and Kairi exclaimed. Mickey almost jumped, quickly putting the ship in autopilot and coming over.
"What's going on?!" Mickey asked. Vanitas recovered and blatantly ignored the King's question, all of his attention focused on the blonde sleeping beside him.
"... Ventus, wake up, ya' sleepyhead." Vanitas quietly spoke, gently rubbing Ventus' shoulder.
"Hm... Vanitas? What're you doin' 'ere?" Ventus said with a yawn, rubbing his eyes. Vanitas smiled subtly after seeing that he was alright, sighing.
"If you wanted me here so gladly, you could've just asked." Vanitas half-heartedly complained to the sleepy boy, cracking his jaw and sitting up. Ventus just smiled in reply.
"Seriously, what's going on?" Kairi asked.
"Ventus… he pulled me here somehow. I could feel him reaching out if that made sense. I dunno, it said it was a D-Link?" Vanitas explained, before picking up the wayfinder. "This thing."
"Yeah! That thing! What's so important about that charm?" Ventus called out, sitting upright. All of his sleepy attitude was gone.
Vanitas hopped up on his two feet in one perfect jump, startling both Kairi and Riku. He tossed the charm to Mickey, who made a dive for it. He tried to handle it with the care Vanitas failed to give it. The mouse looked over it fondly.
"It's called a Wayfinder, made by our friend Aqua. It is supposed to serve as something that it links you and your other friends together." Mickey explained, a small smile gracing his features in nostalgia. He looked at the charm with sentiment, before handing it back to Ventus.
"Aqua." There was that fuzzy image again. A fuzzy image that hurt inside.
"Is it only with this 'Aqua' that it connects with?" Ventus inquired, scratching his head. Vanitas squinted at the blonde, wondering if he, himself legitimately got all the brains, or Ventus was just too dumb to think things through. Vanitas came to the conclusion it was both.
"Oh gosh, um, I think you were able to connect with any of yer' friends if you were in trouble, Ven." Mickey said. He hadn't known such a connection was made between Ventus and Vanitas, or to what extent. Ventus and Vanitas, being friends? Was it due to the aforementioned 'truce' they supposedly had?
"Question is, why would Ventus be in trouble?" Riku wondered aloud, offering his hand for Ventus to stand up. Ventus took it, being pulled to his feet.
"He wasn't the only one in trouble. I couldn't breathe." Vanitas said, wincing in memory.
"Perhaps it's because we separated the two?" Kairi suggested, taking this moment to finally speak up.
"Huh?" Ventus and Vanitas expressed together, confused.
"No, I see where you're going. Maybe if the two, after being with Sora for so long, will start getting side effects if too far apart. It would explain why they're fully recovered now, and why the Wayfinder summoned Vanitas here." Riku explored the idea further.
"Wait, does that mean I get to come with you guys on your little quests for Ventus' memories?" Vanitas said, perking up. Finally, something to do!
Mickey narrowed his eyes.
"I'm afraid that might have to be the case." Mickey solemnly confirmed.
"Should we go back to Yen Sid's or…" Riku asked, trailing off. Mickey closed his eyes recalculating. This was going to be more difficult than expected.
"Gee, I think we should-" Suddenly, he was cut off by a loud exclamation from the main port.
"HEY! What's going on in there?!" Chip yelled into the monitor. The whole crowd jumped, not expecting the two to interrupt.
"Chip and Dale?" Ventus asked.
"Oh, who's dat blondie there? Why's Sora all different lookin'?" Dale asked, squinting into the screen.
"Haha, 1 point to Sora!" Vanitas snickered. Ventus turned on him, frustrated.
"Hey, I thought you said it wasn't a contest?!" Ventus pointed out. They had both agreed to put the topic on "who was the better Sora" to a rest for the time being. This was an obvious contradiction to said truce!
"Not anymore, because I'm currently winning!" Vanitas smirked.
"If you had that helmet on, your face never would've been seen!" Ventus exclaimed, crossing his arms. After the words left his mouth, the power went out, the whole room going black.
"I meant his face specifically, c'mon!" Ventus cried out.
The monitor turned a red hue, the screen booting up with the words "EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER ACTIVATED" displayed. Once the loading bar was filled, the image of a frustrated Chip and Dale reappeared.
"This is what I was trying to say! This ship runs on happy faces, and I don't see anyone smiling!" Chip vented.
"You can't see much of anything, really." Vanitas mumbled.
"What he's trying to say, is that the doctor orders a heaping helping of happiness and smiling if we want to get this, uh, running!" Dale added. The transmission faded out, leaving the group in darkness.
Later, the group was all settled into seats, ship fully functioning again. Vanitas was the exception, standing next to Ventus, leaning onto the side of the blonde's chair.
"Oh my gosh, this is the worst rule ever!" Vanitas complained, face smiling painfully.
"Whose idea was it to have a ship run on smiles?" Kairi asked, equally tired and face estranged as everyone else's.
"I thought that it would be the best thing to keep morale up and this way, you never have to stop for fuel." Mickey explained, the regret bleeding onto his smile.
"But at what cost, Mickey?" Ventus said, pained smiley face growing closer to the king. "At what cost?"
He turned away from the mouse and slouched back in his chair with a sigh.
"You two fighting started this whole mess." Riku added.
"The ship probably would've lost power anyway, seeing as how whenever I enter a room it seems to negatively shift the mood." Vanitas grumbled through his smile. He wanted to make amends with Mickey, though he didn't know where to start.
"I wasn't mad that you were here, Vanitas. I think we were all just confused." Kairi said, somehow managing to smile genuinely after having to force it for the past half hour.
Vanitas remained silent, looking up at her and then eyes darting away. He wasn't smiling anymore.
"Wait! I think I see Hollow Bastion!" Ventus exclaimed, standing up with a spark of glee. Everyone turned their attention to the world ahead, more than happy to stop their smiling charade.
When Ventus exited the ship, he stretched his arms. It was great to move again: sitting around with that fake smile on his face was not the best time.
Vanitas trailed after him, the rest of the crew arriving as well.
"It's good to be back here. I wonder when I'll get my memories of this place fully back." Ventus wondered out loud.
"You've been here for barely one minute idi-." Vanitas stopped himself, grinding his teeth. It took a lot of restraint before he begrudgingly continued, "Ventus. You can't expect the memories to come back immediately."
"It's not gonna be that easy." Riku remarked, putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder.
"Guess so." Ventus agreed.
Vanitas was about to walk away with the others, when a small hand stopped him. He turned to see his strawberry headed friend, her eyes bashfully avoiding his own.
"Uh, Vanitas, I never got to say it earlier, but thanks." Kairi said. Vanitas raised an eyebrow.
"What for?" Vanitas replied.
"For saving me earlier. I mean, I probably would've dodged anyways if you hadn't stepped in, but still." Kairi's cheeks were a light red, punching Vanitas in the shoulder with not much effort. At her words, Vanitas gave one of his rare smiles that seemed genuine. Like all of his expressions, it was off and somehow twisted - just another reminder that he wasn't quite Sora - and yet, Kairi saw the happiness in his eyes, those golden, golden eyes.
"No problem, Kai." He replied with a light laugh. Kairi felt her face get more hot, though Vanitas didn't seem to notice.
"Vanitas, please put your helmet on." Mickey commanded, noticing the exchange. Vanitas rolled his eyes, but started forming the helmet nonetheless, vision becoming tainted by black.
Heartless began to spring out of the ground, shadows twitching and crawling. Luckily, all of them had experience.
Immediately, everyone summoned their keyblades to face the threat: everyone except Vanitas, who froze up. His arm was shaking, torn between his initial reaction and not wanting to trigger a memory. He grit his teeth together and tightened his hands into fists, taking on a stance of hand to hand combat. Readying his magic, he joined in taking on the numerous heartless.
Ventus was having trouble with this new keyblade of his. The way it was wielded was entirely different than his own. At the same time, the difficulty was only the cost of regaining back his old life, something Mickey sincerely wanted.
Ventus, though, what did he want?
Meanwhile, Vanitas was using his legs to swiftly kick heartless into oblivion, the force and combined speed of the limbs enough to banish many heartless alongside Riku and Kairi. He looked over at the blonde, who was pausing in battle, not noticing the strike from behind.
Acting fast, Vanitas seemingly teleported over, summoning a keyblade and blocking the attack.
"Whoa!" Vanitas exclaimed, startled by his sudden instinct to act. He'd done it without thinking, the thought of Ventus in danger so overwhelming, that nothing else had mattered in that instant. And his keyblade...
"Vanitas? How did you-" Ventus was met with silence, following the attention of Vanitas' eyes to the keyblade Vanitas held in his hands. All of the heartless were defeated, making it okay for everyone to drop their guard.
The keyblade in design, was what Mickey would tell them later was of "Void Gear", however it was now noticeably silver and gold, blue eye missing from the blade.
"Crownkeeper." Vanitas breathed.
"Huh?" Ventus asked, snapping out of his trance.
"It's called Crownkeeper." Vanitas reiterated. The gang gathered around to clue into what was going on.
"But, forget the weird keyblade, I just teleported!" Vanitas exclaimed, keyblade disappearing as he looked towards Mickey for answers. Immediately, he felt guilty. "Look, I didn't mean to summon my keyblade, it just happened out of habit. I saw Ventus in trouble and..." Vanitas tried to defend himself.
"Hold up, teleport? Is that a thing everyone can do or…" Kairi interjected, genuinely curious about the possibility she, too, could teleport. Forget battles, she could travel to the grocery store in no time flat!
"No, it's due to the nature of Vanitas' existence that he can do certain things that we can't." Mickey explained, being purposefully vague. "From what I've seen, he can only teleport short distances."
Vanitas remained silent, looking down at his palm. He could feel the darkness teeming under his skin, a potent and boundless force, waiting eagerly for him to call it forth. This experience was different than in the mark of mastery exam: then, he had been drowning in the thick sludge. Now, he was practically swimming in the stuff. The foreign feeling made him alienated from his own body, the skin and movements disjointed and unreal.
"Is everyone alright, we heard a commotion-?!" A girl with short black hair in stereotypical ninja-like attire barged onto the scene, a brown haired man following her.
"Leon and Yuffie!" Kairi exclaimed, smiling. The newcomers were surrounded by welcoming faces.
"Hey guys, what do we owe the pleasure?" Yuffie said. "Not often do we see the Majesty himself."
"Call me Mickey," The mouse said, smiling.
"Right!" Yuffie answered.
"We're here to help two uh," Riku quickly glanced at Vanitas, hesitating "friends, get their memory back. They might've been to this place about 12 years ago."
"That's a long time for people who look so young." Yuffie eyed the two suspiciously.
"It's complicated." Ventus said, rubbing the back of his neck with a shrug.
"What's up with all the darkness from this one?" Leon asked, turning his focus to Vanitas, whom he narrowed his eyes down at. Vanitas avoided the harsh glare reluctantly, not wanting to get into another conflict.
"I didn't ask to be made this way. We're here for Ventus, not me." Vanitas huffed, annoyed. Made, huh? Such a strange word to describe being born. It made him sound like a doll rather than a human being.
"If you could help us in any way, that'd be great." Kairi proposed, stepping in to dispel the tension.
"Well, I've certainly not been here for that many years, but we both know someone who has…" Yuffie trailed off, smiling and rubbing her hands together.
"Merlin! Hellooooo, anyone home?" Yuffie called out, stepping into his room. Of course, the room was filled with books in cluttered piles and a table with a whole slew of different ink bottles, quills, and scrolls.
The old man was standing in front of his alchemy set, the whole party wincing at the loud BAM! and puff of pink smoke that followed.
"Oh gosh darn it! Blasted-" Merlin coughed, dusting off soot and pink ash from his clothes. Everyone tried to regain their breath, Merlin eagerly opening all the windows to air out the pink smoke.
"Merlin, are you alright?" Kairi asked, waving her hand in front of her face to dispel the clouds.
"What did I tell you, knock first, knock first! You young'uns, comin' in and intruding into my home!" Merlin waved his finger at her, an elder berating a girl well below him in years, yet somewhat the same in height.
"I'm sorry, Merlin, don't yell at Kairi, it was me who came in first." Yuffie interrupted. Merlin glanced at Yuffie, then back at Kairi, then at Yuffie. He squinted at the red haired girl, before taking his glasses off and rubbing off the pink soot on them with a conjured handkerchief.
"Ah yes! I see, I see. Young girl, don't you know it's your day off? Could you not give an old man his rest? My, I don't even have the kettle running, what a horrible host am I." Merlin told Kairi, sighing. He quickly turned around, waving his hands to clear the table of any mess, and almost tripped on the scrolls as they rolled off the wood and into shelves lining the wall.
"I'm afraid Kairi's not the reason we've come here, Master Merlin." Mickey spoke up. The scattered Wizard stopped, blinking.
"Hmm, why then have such a large group of people come barging into my house, if not to seek my unbridled wisdom?" Merlin announced, straightening his back and stroking his chin.
"Um, hello Merlin." Ventus brought himself to the front of the crowd. "Mickey said you might recognize me. I'm supposedly Ventus."
Merlin came up the blonde, eyeing him up and down.
"Why, have we met before?" Merlin asked.
"I don't know, have we?" Ventus shot right back, shrugging.
"Don't you know?"
"Know what? That we've met?"
"Surely we have met because we are meeting right now."
"No I mean before."
"Before what? Before meeting now, or when?"
"That's what I'm saying, before have we-"
"Okay, this needs to stop." Vanitas interjected, placing his arm between the wizard and the boy. Merlin's eyes widened, quickly jumping back in alarm.
"By my beard, Mickey what have you brought to my dwelling?!" Merlin exclaimed, whipping out his magic wand at Vanitas, and holding his hat upon his head with worry. Riku and Kairi also reacted, ready to summon their own keyblades to defend these two.
"Huh?" Vanitas mused aloud, confused.
"Not only did I think I'd gotten rid of them all, one waltzes into my house, and speaks, nonetheless!" Merlin gasped. Gotten rid of what?
"Wait! We come peacefully. Please, put your wand down, and we can talk this out." Mickey said. "Master Yen Sid sent us here on a mission."
Merlin eyed him suspiciously, and after glancing over Vanitas one last time, put his wand away. He crossed his arms, chin up.
"What outlandish task has he sent you on now?" Merlin questioned.
"These two don't have any memories, and we're looking to get Ventus' back. Do you have anything you could tell us that could help get him on his way?" Mickey asked carefully. Merlin inspected the blonde carefully, stroking his chin.
"Ventus, Ventus, Ventus, now where have I heard that name…" Merlin hummed, thinking. He started looking through stacks of clutter, muttering to himself. "Now where did I put that… ah ha! Here it is!"
Merlin took out the brown spined book and slammed it down on the stand. Everyone crowded around, curious.
"Oh, the 100 acre wood!" Vanitas exclaimed. On the front cover still sat him and the silly ol' bear on a green hill, viewing the stars.
"But Merlin, what does this book have to do with Ventus?" Riku asked.
"I knew I've heard that name before, rather, seen it. Because you see, back a long time ago before all of your stupid gizmos and gadgets recorded everything, we did it with handy dandy ink and paper." Merlin explained. He opened up the book and turned it to the inside cover. There, was a slot attached to the cover, and a piece of lined paper inside. Written in different handwriting, was a few names in a list beside a recorded time:
Christopher Robin
Merlin
Terra
Aqua
Ventus
Sora, Donald, Goofy
"Funny, I don't remember signing it." Vanitas mumbled to himself, pointing out his signature printed below Ventus' own.
"It's magic, you see, so it records it automatically." Merlin explained, humming with amusement. He'd just managed to hear Vanitas' comment, and did not question its validity, too caught up in his own pride to full comprehend it.
"Terra, Aqua…" Ventus wondered out loud, trying to process these words. "Mickey, you said I knew Aqua right? Then why would we be reading this book at different times?"
"None of you three were supposed to leave your home world, really." Mickey explained. "You broke the rules chasing after each other."
"Breaking the rules, huh? Doesn't sound like something you would do, being such a goody two shoes." Riku teased.
"Shut up, Riku! The only reason I ever broke them was because you thought it would be fun, and then we would always get in trouble." Ventus shot back, even if there wasn't really any malice in his voice.
"It was sort of fair, we were idiotic to listen to him after all." Vanitas pointed out.
"Yeah, fine, you're right there." Ventus answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Yuffie raised an eyebrow.
"Funny, didn't you say you had amnesia?" Yuffie spoke, quickly growing skeptical. She and Leon did not yet know that they were both Sora.
"They've remembered some things." Riku quickly lied. He felt obligated, having teased Ventus in the first place.
"Sure." Leon scoffed, but not chose not to press further.
"Have you remembered anything from seeing this?" Vanitas asked the blonde, putting a hand on his hip. Ventus stared at the piece of paper in his hand, squinting. Everyone was focused on him as he intently tried to remember.
"Think, think, think." Ventus mumbled to himself as he tapped his head with his knuckles. The room was silent.
"Aaaaaannnnddd... I've got nothing." Ventus admitted with a sigh.
"Oh, bother!" Vanitas groaned, shaking his head.
"That's okay, Ven. You can't force these types of things." Mickey reassured, trying to lighten the soured mood. Ventus nodded, albeit, still feeling disappointed. He kind of felt like he let everyone down. As they made their way to leave, Kairi paused.
"Thanks Merlin for seeing us on your day off." Kairi expressed gratitude for the group of them.
"Why, it was no problem for a wizard such as myself. I wish Ventus the best." Merlin answered.
"Hey, out of curiosity, what were you making before we stepped in?" Riku asked, stopping beside Kairi. The whole gang wanted to know as well.
"Quite a difficult one, a love potion." Merlin hummed, gathering up some loose papers on the floor. Everyone jumped.
"A love potion?!" They exclaimed. No one was expecting that to be the answer, even if it explained the pink puffs of smoke.
"Yes, I don't think there need be such fuss about it." Merlin waved his hand, clearly not holding it in the same regard of importance as the others. Most of them were still gaping.
"Have… have you found someone that you liked?" Ventus asked, trying to hide any eagerness. When it came down to it, he was a small bit of a romantic.
"Ventus!" Mickey berated.
"What? We were all thinking it!" Ventus defended himself, crossing his arms.
"Nothing of the sort. A love potion is very difficult to make, so I was merely testing my skill. It's been quite a time since I've last made one. I'll just try again." Merlin sighed, heaving a bunch of ingredients onto the table.
"We'll leave you to it, thanks again, Merlin." Mickey said, holding the door open so everyone could leave. Once everyone was outside, they gathered together.
"So, what now?" Riku asked. "What could give us information on Ventus?"
Everyone collectively thought for a moment. Ventus and Vanitas both looked up excitedly, looking at each other.
"TRON!" They exclaimed.
"Huh..." Lea said, reaching down to pick up the box. The yard was empty, save for this package.
He opened it up, revealing the cake inside. He scooped some icing.
"It's not half bad."
AN: yes, electric boi! Who may or may not be accessed bc he was messed up in DDD, but still! – As you might've guessed there's a meaning behind the Keyblade's name and appearance. It's supposed to reference the emblem often associated with Sora aka his Crown. The name "Crownkeeper" comes from Vanitas wanting to protect his identity as Sora, while still blurring the lines with his past self in the way his keyblade looks like "Void Gear".