The Road so Far:
After discovering that Sora is actually Ventus and Vanitas, Yen Sid, Kairi, Riku, snf Mickey decide to lock up Vanitas in Yen Sid's tower while everyone else goes home for the night. Ventus and Vanitas have a heart to heart and decide to both acknowledge that they are both equally good Soras. Ventus manages to somehow unlock an "unlockable" door by Kairi and the two fuse together again. They get berated by Yen Sid and discover they can effortlessly go from Sora to their old selves without any help. Ventus confronts Lea about memories from his past, but the red head regretfully doesn't feel comfortable sharing any of his memories. Mickey, Ventus, Riku, and Kairi try to leave to go to Hollow Bastion to get more clues, yet Ventus' wayfinder summons Vanitas to the Gummi Ship through their D-link after their distance has adverse effects on their body. The group then decides to visit Tron when visiting Merlin does not yield any fruitful results.
CHAPTER 3: 1+1=1 Beep. Boop.
Summary: A few old friends come back into the picture from Ventus' life, yet Vanitas still remains unaffected by these encounters. They find a strange entity in Tron's world, but will this new variable help or harm these two adventurers?
An: First off, this chapter was beta'd by the lovely ArunPharyn256 and would've been by the beloved miano53 if they replied. I still appreciate you reaching out to me! Next time! Secondly, this is the first chapter that really dips into speculation for Kingdom Hearts 3 with the introduction of a character featured in the E3 trailer. Who knows if this character will actually do what he does in this fic, but while researching this chapter, it's interesting to see how it could be set up for them to have this reveal. Unrelated, but I feel as though the first half of this chapter has more humour in it than the second half, hmm….
Merlin tasked Yuffie to find the ingredients for the new love potion, seeing as it was her disruption that caused him to waste it on the first try. Leon joined her, thinking they'd get it done faster together. After they parted, the group decided to have lunch.
"Hey, are they gone?" Vanitas asked, bending over a bit to try and see if their figures had faded from view.
"Well, I think so. I don't hear their voices anymore." Kairi answered, nodding. Vanitas turned his head towards Ventus casually, being unable to just communicate what he wanted with his eyes due to his mask.
"Really?" Vanitas coughed afterwards in an obvious manner. Ventus' looked utterly bewildered for a moment, before giving a small nod to the other boy.
"Sooo, that means we're alone?" Ventus attempted to confirm, not so subtly glancing between her and Vanitas.
"I guess?" Kairi said, sporting a confused expression.
Vanitas' darkness flared up around his skin as if he was going to teleport, but Riku reached out and caught his arm, breaking Vanitas out of his focus. In that brief moment, Riku felt a wave of emotion run through him: fear, restraint, freedom, happiness… Ventus. It was so quick – like all of the physical contact Riku had shared with Vanitas up until this point – yet his brief confusion did not cause his grip to falter. The silver haired keyblade wielder put said weapon to Vanitas' neck, holding him firmly.
"Where do you think you're going?" Riku spoke, raising an eyebrow. Vanitas' eyes flickered between him and Ventus.
"I was… I was just going to try and regain my real appearance with Ventus. Y'know, since nobody's 'round?" Vanitas was audibly confused.
"Is that true, Ven?" Mickey asked the blonde. Ventus appeared nervous, and nodded slowly, somewhat guilty.
"Yeah, I figured it would be fine, since it's not going against the rules you and Yen Sid placed." Ventus explained. There were a few of them at this point: he couldn't fight Vanitas in battle, and couldn't look like himself unless those who already knew were around. Vanitas had an added on rule that applied to wearing his mask in public.
The first one, Ventus didn't know how to feel about. Everything about Vanitas that he knew so far from his general dark appearance and words from Mickey regarding Master Xehanort told him that Vanitas was bad news. Period.
...Yet, the Vanitas he had met wasn't particularly hostile, nor had the raven harmed anyone that Ventus cared about. Ventus was a very black and white type of person: although he understood the water was sometimes murky, he generally greeted everyone with a smile unless they gave him reason to do otherwise. Sure, Vanitas sometimes said mean things, but for now, he saw no reason to be in Vanitas' opposition.
The second rule, however, definitely left a sour taste in both Soras' mouth. He trusted Mickey wholeheartedly, and thought he was a great King (...even if Ventus still had no idea what he exactly ruled over). So for now, the rule would be followed with little resistance, no matter how easy it would be to just tell everybody who he was. He disliked being called 'Ventus', and truly wasn't used to it yet. A mysterious name that held an unknowable amount of weight to those from his past. Being Sora was much more simpler because he was Sora.
"So you weren't going to attack Ventus?" Riku asked sternly.
"I wasn't." Vanitas answered, slowly shaking his head. Riku lowered his keyblade and sighed.
"Okay, I believe you. I'm sorry, reflexes are hard to shake." Riku responded. Vanitas rubbed his arm where Riku had been holding it. It hadn't hurt, though the pressure there was uncomfortable. Truly, he had become a different person to the ones he held dear.
Ventus grinned mischievously.
"Y'know, I didn't specifically hear a no…" Ventus had slowly crept over to Vanitas.
"I didn't either." Vanitas suddenly perked up at the implication. Ventus raised his hand, holding it over Vanitas' empty shoulder.
"Ventus, wait-" Mickey started. He didn't act fast enough, however, Ventus putting his hand onto the raven haired boy and the two bursting into a smoke which blocked everyone's vision. As it dissipated, Sora was standing there, hands on his hips.
"Oh man, it is great to look like me again!" Sora exclaimed, stretching his arms high over his head. It had been getting weird, staying in those forms… it just didn't feel right to him! He missed that Beach tan, and the comfortable feeling of knowing all of the items in his inventory. (Well, almost all of them.)
"Sora, you really shouldn't've…" Mickey trailed off, face palming.
"Too late, already did!" Sora answered, grin still wide on his face. He paused when seeing the worry continue to plague the King.
"Relax, Mickey, I made sure they were gone, and there's not a lot of people who travel by here anyways. Plus, there's a really interesting place I think we should eat lunch." Sora announced, walking past the mouse.
The place Sora led them was a spot that overlooked the grand crevasse where he had fought the 100 heartless, a land that would be barren if it weren't for the flowers the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee had planted. Aerith thought of the idea, thinking it would provide colour and life to a place so empty. After a few days of hard work and defeating the pesky heartless that attempted to uproot them, the flowers were sprouting quite nicely, but not nearly old enough to show any signs of budding. It was a hopeful view, the potential of such a magnificent sight made Sora's heart soar.
Perhaps once again this place can be called a garden.
Sora thought to himself.
"So they finally got this all planted, huh?" Riku mused aloud.
"Yep, I even got my hands dirty and helped out a bit, but I didn't do as nearly as much as the others." Kairi smiled, hands on her hips and full of pride.
"Why didn't Merlin just use his magic to make them all bloom?" Riku asked, crossing his arms. Kairi sighed, rolling her eyes.
"Him and Cid got in this big fight about it." Kairi exclaimed before mustering up her best impression of the two, "I'll be damned before I let your witchcraft anywhere near these plants! - Oh don't be so stubborn, a little magic would have this done in a jiffy!"
All 3 males laughed.
"Really, Kai?" Sora asked through his chuckles.
"They argued for a good hour - you can see a little plot of land where Merlin started to use his magic over there. Didn't get too far." Kairi gestured over, and sure enough, some plants had grown a little faster than the others, none blooming yet.
"Those two always find something to fight about. Can't technology and magic coexist peacefully?" Riku pondered, going to sit down on the ledge. The others joined him, feet dangling on the cliff.
"Apparently not." Mickey answered with a sigh.
Sora stared off into the distance, his mind wandering about.
"Dandelions… there are no Dandelions here." Sora whispered.
"You want to see them here? Are they your favourite flower?" Kairi asked, taking a glance at the brunet who seemed to be concentrating on something.
Sora nodded, looking from the field up at her.
"Wait, what? Really? That's a weed, not really a… flower." Kairi looked at him incredulously.
"Dandelions, y'know, I loved blowing their white seeds around and watching them scatter to the wind when I was younger." Sora remarked, kicking his legs back and forth "Reminds me, in the dream I had last night there was a cliff with a ton of them. There were also strange people who had animal heads and could talk. It was especially weird to see-" Oh no, Sora was not going to reveal to them that his secret prized stuffed animal had been able to fly and communicate too. It would be absolutely mortifying if he revealed that.
"See what, Sora?" Riku pressed, mischievous grin on his face. Sora's embarrassed blush deepened.
"Uh, um, just there was this animal headed girl who wore pink and was really kind. She reminded me of Kairi." Sora spoke shyly, stealing a glance up from his hunched over stage to see Kairi.
"Am I supposed to feel insulted by that, Sora?" Kairi's annoyed glare steeped into him, hands on her hips. Sora jumped, immediately regretting his words.
"No, no, no! She had the face of a fierce and clever Fox," Sora quickly tried to gather something to save himself "a really merciful Fox!"
"Hmph! You better hope she was!" Kairi was steaming, arms crossed and puffs of air coming out of her nostrils.
"Nice one, Sora." Riku teased, nudging Sora in the side arm. Sora huffed and glared at him.
"Shut up, Riku." Sora shot back. He took a moment to think, before looking at Kairi earnestly.
"H-hey, y'know, when we first met, I thought your head looked like a big bouquet of flowers washed ashore?" Sora admitted, almost bashful, seeing as his previous words had seemed to offend her.
"Oh really? And say, how would this mysterious bouquet have gotten to shore, then?" Kairi teased, taking a sip from her water bottle. Sora's eyes looked up as he thought.
"I dunno, a cruise wedding or something?" Sora shrugged, before smiling. "I'm glad it turned out to be you rather than a bunch of roses, Kai."
Kairi returned his with a shy one of her own, a light red in her cheeks.
"Thanks, I guess." Kairi mumbled, not knowing what to make of this weird compliment. Such a Sora thing to say, coming out of nowhere and leaving her speechless.
"Man, I am starving." Sora quickly diverted everyone's attention to their empty stomachs, and everyone quickly went looking for their meal.
They had lunches pre-packed which had been put into their inventory before they left the tower, courtesy of Yen Sid. Just as delicious as the meal he had that morning… well before he ate those horrid Fairy Berries.
"Yo, anyone want this sandwich?" Sora held it up, glancing at the two humans and mouse.
"Didn't Master Yen Sid pack that for Ventus?" Mickey asked, peering over from beside Riku.
"But, he also packed one for Vanitas. Any items from when I'm like that are merged in my inventory, so if I get a potion as Ventus, I'll get it. Things belonging to my inventory originally as Ventus don't stay, though." Sora explained. Riku and Kairi exchanged glances.
"Where does Ventus' wayfinder go, then?" Riku pointed out. Sora just shrugged.
"Iw dwon't knoww." Sora spoke through the last of his sandwich.
"You know what would really be tasty right now? One of your mom's cupcakes." Kairi squealed in delight, rubbing her tummy.
"Aw yeah! Those are the best." Sora added on.
"Hang on, do you know how to bake, Sora? Gee I coulda' never guessed." Mickey inquired, seeming to have some genuine surprise in his expression.
"Barely. Sometimes you can't tell whether or not they're even edible just by looking." Riku shirked.
"Like you would be any better." Sora shot back. Riku shrugged, smug look still on his face.
"Sora's mom is so good, they heal 1 HP of damage with no enchantment whatsoever." Kairi tried to convince Mickey.
"She sounds like a good mom," Mickey commented, smiling alongside his friends. Sora's bright demeanor began to fade, becoming downcast.
"Yeah… I wish I could see her again. I made a promise to myself after I came back to always say goodbye." Sora lamented. His mom had been always pretty lack about him going out with Riku and Kairi, him leaving the house without even asking on multiple occasions. When he arrived back, it was like he'd never left, though still, he didn't want to leave again without at least saying farewell.
Mickey felt guilty, seeing his friend in such a slump. But in the end, he said nothing. How could he, really?
"Hey, Mickey, did you want to try one of my cupcakes?" Sora shifted his mood quickly, looking past Riku at the Mouse.
"They're really great!" Kairi pronounced in a sing-song voice. Mickey looked unconvinced after Riku's words.
"Uh, really Sora, it's…" Mickey's guilt overcame him and he gave in "Yes, okay, I'll try one."
Riku put a hand on Mickey's shoulder, going deadpan.
"It's not too late to back out." Riku stated. Sora had reached into his inventory and pulled the cupcake out. It was sloppily made, having been crumpled and smushed, with something that looked like icing on top if you squinted. Overall, the most unappealing cupcake the king had laid eyes on.
Mickey gulped.
"Here you go, your Majesty!" Sora presented it to the King, and the King just nervously looked between Riku, the cupcake, then Sora's bright shining smile. That bright, bright smile.
Mickey's hand shakily reached out to touch the cupcake, slowly taking it from the eager brunet. He had sweat going down his face. It was now or never. With one gulp, he ate the whole thing.
And… and…
It was amazing!
He stopped being so nervous when the wonderful taste settled on his tongue, putting a hand to his face as he hummed. It was a whirlwind of flavour and sweetness, swirling around inside like a leaf gracefully falling from the branch of a tree.
"So, do you like it?!" Sora asked.
"It's incredible Sora. One of the best cupcakes I've ever had." Mickey said.
Minnie's knife slammed into the kitchen chopping board, eyes a glow with a fierce terror.
"Gah! Queen Minnie! You startled me!" Daisy scrambled to catch all of the dishes she was carrying.
"I'm sorry dear Daisy, it's just… I feel as though an extreme hearsey has been uttered somewhere in this universe. Someone has undermined my cooking!" Minnie stared suspiciously off into the distance, cutting her vegetables with more fury than before.
Mickey shivered for some unknown reason.
"And what exactly were you saying about them being inedible?" Sora poked Riku, narrowing his eyes.
"I said they looked inedible, not that they were inedible." Riku admitted with a shrug. Sora still gave him the stink eye, crossing his arms.
"They never did look the greatest. Though, whenever I did have them, they always made me feel better," Kairi spoke, smiling "perhaps you should listen to me more, Mickey."
Mickey noticed that he gained 10 HP from the cupcake and was still glowing over how good it tasted.
"Did you enchant this, Sora?" Mickey asked. Sora grinned, putting his arms crossed behind his head.
"It has my secret ingredient." Sora smirked. Mickey looked up at him with confusion, but shook his head, knowing by that look he'd never get it out of him.
Mickey stood up, addressing Sora once more.
"Leon and Yuffie should be back soon, you should prepare, Sora." Mickey said.
"Why can't I just tell Leon, Yuffie and Merlin about my identity? They're my friends." Sora crossed his arms across his chest, huffing.
"We can't have Xehanort finding out about this, he could have spies anywhere. Who knows what he'll do?" Mickey said earnestly. Sora's expression softened, but his disappointment didn't waver as he avoided the mouse's eyes.
"It's okay Sora, we'll be here when you get back." Kairi said with a grin, reaching out to hold his hand within 2 of her own. Sora gave her a smile.
I never leave, Kai.
Was his last thought as he begrudgingly diffused into Vanitas and Ventus. This time, Vanitas squeezes Ventus' hand, giving him a firm nod. The wordless exchange made the blonde feel relieved in some way: he wasn't alone in this trial.
Along the way, both groups coincided again; Yuffie and Leon rejoining the party. It was then going to the computer – entering into the study that contained the trap door – that the group made an unlikely discovery, or rather, had a strange meeting.
"Ven…" a weird voice said from above. Ventus looked up and was surprised when a small creature dropped down onto his face, clinging to his head.
"Aaahhh!" Ventus exclaimed, trying frantically to get whatever it was off of him.
Everyone was put on guard, Ventus managing to pull Experiment 626 away from his face. The small alien licked his cheek, causing Ventus to drop him.
"Hey!" Ventus refuted. The experiment laughed and crawled around Ventus' body, snatching the Wayfinder and rolling around with it on the ground. Ventus quickly dove after the creature, wrestling with it.
"That thing! I thought we got rid of it last time." Yuffie exclaimed, clearly frustrated.
"Well, apparently not," Leon said.
"Myw-ine, friendship circle!" Experiment 626 cackled, quickly maneuvering out of the way when Ventus went after him.
"Hey! Give it back, it's my friendship cir-" Ventus cut himself off halfway, remembering his experiences in Deep Space. (wow, just like that? If only the rest of his journey could be this easy, huh?) There were people missing from his head, but he had a general idea of his adventures there. Gantu, Experiment 626, that big Heartless: he remembered them.
"Ventus, are you alright?" Kairi asked, noting his expression.
"That's it! I remember chasing after someone in the ship where I met this little guy. He had made a wayfinder of his own, funny enough." Ventus laughed, reaching down and patting the alien on the head fondly.
"Vennnn." Experiment 626 said, licking Ventus' hand. The blonde yelped his hand away, and Experiment 626 cackled again. Ventus sighed, wiping his hand on his pants.
"Could I please have it back?" Ventus asked, reaching his un-gooey hand out. "It's important to my past."
Experiment 626 looked over the shiny object one last time and hesitantly gave the object back to Ventus.
"Thank you." Ventus said. Experiment 626 nodded, taking in the group of people surrounding him. He recognized Leon and Yuffie, managing to escape from their clutches once more, and had seen Kairi at odds with another red head from afar. His eyes narrowed when he saw Vanitas. Becoming hostile towards a presumed enemy, he ran over to Vanitas and attacked the boy.
"What're you doing?!" Vanitas gasped, startled by the sudden aggression. He tried to dodge the scrapes and injuries that were being caused by Experiment 626. He was on Vanitas' mask, trying to get the helmet off of the hapless boy.
"En eh meee!" The Alien hissed.
Struggling, Vanitas managed to put up a good fight, holding the jittery alien in his hands.
"What did I ever do to you? I thought we were-" Vanitas voice caught in his own throat. Experiment 626 was friends with Sora, and apparently, Ventus; not Vanitas. It would be so easy to reveal his face and coerce the alien into remembering him, but he knew Mickey wanted his mask to remain on.
"Experiment 626, it's okay, he's my, he's," Ventus looked hesitant, and yet, still desperate "he's my friend. Please don't attack him."
Experiment 626 did not look convinced, pausing his attack to look between Ventus and Vanitas with his eyes squinted.
"Enemy." Experiment 626 growled in Ventus' direction, pointing his clawed finger at Vanitas. Vanitas was uncomfortable, trying to hold the alien as far away from his face as he could, silently pleading with Ventus to reason with it.
"Look, you know how important my Wayfinder is, right?" Ventus asked, pulling out his wayfinder and laying it out flat in his palm.
"Friendship circle! Me shay-ares with Ven!" Experiment 626 nodded.
"We're friends right, so we have a D-Link." Ventus went on. Magic caused the trinket to buzz in his hand, glowing with light magic. A small hologram of Experiment 626's logo appeared floating above the Wayfinder, showing a small rocket and the word [Stitch] underneath Experiment 626's orange printed name.
"Vanitas is also my friend, so I have a D-Link with him as well." Ventus continued. The Wayfinder glowed red for a moment, and the holographic image changed to Vanitas' logo, his chest's weird vein-like pattern and 2 white papou charms floating where Experiment 626's once were. The alien stared at the image for a few seconds, the glow reflected in his orb shaped eyes.
"Finnneeee." Experiment 626 sighed, mouth displaying all of his gums and canines as they grit together. He wiggled his way out of Vanitas' hands and dropped to the ground. Leon and Yuffie took this as their chance to try and capture the menace, Experiment 626 easily escaping their efforts and having them chase after him. Yuffie swang at him with a book she grabbed from the floor, knocking down the portrait of Ansem/not Ansem.
"Why you little-!" They could hear Yuffie call out in the distance as the Experiment cackled in return. Leon followed suit, leaving the group.
"Huh, we've gotten a few of Ventus' memories back. I wonder why Vanitas' aren't returning." Kairi noted.
"I don't know. I can't exactly ask Vanitas, can I?" Vanitas stated, sighing. If he didn't know, he didn't know. This exchange with Experiment 626 truly put things into perspective. This body, this form, was his new reality, whether he liked it or not. Vanitas had a lot of baggage that Sora did not want to carry around, and yet, he had to. Just what exactly did Vanitas do?
"But hey, I got him to stop attacking you! I wonder just how many D-Links I have." Ventus exclaimed, trying to look on the brightside. He attempted to look through his selection, but could only switch between Experiment 626, Mickey, and Vanitas.
"Are we not friends yet, Ventus?" Riku teased, lightly jabbing him in the shoulder.
"Of course you are! I just don't know how this thing works, that's all!" Ventus replied, annoyed he couldn't see 'Riku' and 'Kairi' on his list.
"Aqua made that spell, but she did not tell me exactly which spell she used." Mickey commented.
"Aqua. Her name comes up a lot in my past, huh? Were we that close?" Ventus asked, dispelling the holographic image and putting the Wayfinder in his pocket. Mickey nodded slowly.
"Unfortunately, yes," Mickey spoke, bowing his head.
Unfortunately? What does that mean?
Ventus thought to himself.
"Okay, okay, I'm glad Ventus got some of his memories back, and I almost got my face clawed off, but we came here to see Tron, remember?" Vanitas interjected. He dissolved his mask from his face, and headed towards the door of the computer lab.
"Why are you taking off your mask?" Kairi asked.
"I don't need to have it on now that those 3 are gone." Vanitas shrugged. Mickey looked like he was going to argue with him, and decided against it. Vanitas pressed his palm against the center of the wall, and the corridor revealed itself to them.
"Hey, um, Vanitas," Mickey spoke up again. The said ravenet in question kept walking, undeterred.
"Vanitas?" Ventus tried, noticing Mickey was in trouble. That time, however, Vanitas stopped, frozen in place.
It was a feeling, squeezing up inside his chest and making him noticeably tense. He slowly shook his head and his arms, trying to get the gears to turn inside again. Once the air could be drawn out of his lungs, he curved around to face the mouse.
"Uh, yeah, right, still not used to the name, what is it?" Vanitas blinked, eyes trying to regain focus.
"I was wondering if you two could stay apart for the time being. We really haven't seen how long you two can last out like this, and I would hate for Ventus to fall into a sleeping coma."
Both Vanitas and Ventus nodded, understanding his reasoning. Ventus lingered longer, stealing a glance at the previously shaken companion.
After walking down over to the computer room, they were met with another familiar face. There, sitting with a book in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other, was one of Ansem's former apprentices, Ienzo.
"Who are you?" Vanitas questioned, completely puzzled. Weren't the Restoration Committee the only ones with access to this place?
"I'm supposed to be here, who are you?" Ienzo shot back, somehow maintaining his deadpan expression. He must have not have noticed Vanitas' resemblance to Sora, or if he did, didn't bother to mention it. Kairi and Riku piled into the room next.
"Hey Ienzo, are you still waiting for Even to wake up?" Kairi asked, smiling.
"Unfortunately. I have to check for him every so often, it's annoying." Ienzo sighed, reaching over to set down his book on his side table.
"Kairi, you're friendly with this guy?" Riku gaped, whispering to her.
"I mean, yeah." Kairi said. "Him and the other ex-members are not really affiliated with Xemnas anymore. You've seen how far Lea has gone to prove himself."
As Ienzo was taking another sip of his coffee, Ventus took this very moment to enter the room. Immediately, Ienzo spat out his drink, and jolted up from his seat.
"Roxas?!" Ienzo exclaimed, showing the most emotion Kairi had ever seen from him. He set his coffee down, and appeared disheveled.
"My name, I'm not-, I'm not Roxas, I just look like him…" Ventus groaned, hunching his shoulders. "I don't even know who you are… wait, let me check."
Ventus paused and put a finger to his temple, trying to access Roxas' memories.
"Zexion…?" Ventus squinted, unsure.
"Are you sure you're not Roxas if you have trouble remembering things? When I first met him he had complete amnesia." Ienzo reasoned, stroking his chin and again growing calm. He now viewed Ventus like a scientist would any specimen.
"Ienzo, this is Ventus, and this is Vanitas. I can indeed confirm he is not Roxas, but he doesn't have his memories either. Neither of them do." Mickey explained, gesturing to the keyblade wielders.
"Again, how can you be sure he's not Roxas, and indeed, this 'Ventus'?" Ienzo further observed the blonde, coming up to inspect him.
Vanitas groaned, putting his hand up in the air just an inch away from Ventus' arm.
"Mickey, can I just show him? He's probably not going to tell anyone, and this conversation is taking forever." Vanitas asked, growing impatient with having to explain this all a second time, Mickey's earlier "split apart" command be damned.
"Just hold it for a second, Vanitas," Mickey answered, thinking of a solution. Ventus had an idea.
"Did Roxas have this?" Ventus smirked, pressing the button on the side of his arm in order for his armor to appear. Ienzo's eyes widened momentarily, before his eyebrows pressed together.
"No, he didn't, but I've seen that before." Ienzo spoke, shaking his finger twice before turning to search through the different drawers and containers in the control panel. He found a USB like object and put it into the computer.
"Or, at least, something similar." Ienzo continued. Everyone quickly gathered around, growing curious. Ventus dispelled his armor and peered over with the rest of everybody. The screen said a password was required.
"What do you mean?" Riku asked. He thought Ventus' armor was familiar too, yet, he couldn't quite place it.
"I was one of the originals in the Organization, so I was there when Xemnas built that room. Xigbar told me that he'd always talk to his 'friend' in there but none of us were allowed inside. I've been so bored over the past several days, I managed to stumble upon the passageway." Ienzo explained, typing in the passcode quickly.
"Wait, so you were apart of Organization 13?" Ventus clarified. Sometimes Roxas' memories weren't as correct when he recalled them.
"... You really aren't Roxas, then." Ienzo sighed, briefly looking up at the blonde as he pressed the enter key. There was a gentle shaking in the floor.
"So, what did you just open?" Vanitas asked, looming behind Ventus.
"The passageway to the Chamber of Repose is below the Heartless Manufactory." Ienzo explained. "That's where we'll find Xemnas' 'friend'."
"Why would we want to meet his 'friend'?! A friend of Xemnas is no friend of ours." Ventus declared, forming a fist. Ienzo got up from his chair, cutting through the small group around him.
"You were her friend, though, right Mickey?" Ienzo asked, looking down at the mouse. While Mickey was shocked, Ienzo maintained his bored expression. Ventus observed Mickey, the King almost appeared frightened.
Ienzo paitently waited at the door for them to follow. As Ventus took a step forward, Mickey put his arm out, stopping him.
"Ventus, all of you, please stay behind. See if you can find anything in the computer." Mickey said, walking towards Ienzo.
"Why can't we accompany you?" Riku asked.
"I need to confirm whatever is in that chamber is relevant to our quest. Please wait here." Mickey answered, shaking his head. "Someone needs to keep an eye on Vanitas."
Kairi and Riku exchanged glances, both wordlessly fighting each other. You do it, no you do it, oh for the love of- Kairi was pouting really hard by now, pulling out all of her puppy dog eye power. Riku sighed and wordlessly summoned his keyblade to hold it in the direction of Vanitas, obviously annoyed. Vanitas shared a different kind of irritation, quietly gritting his teeth together.
"By the way, the password is, for whatever unfathomable reason: Sora, Donald, and Goofy, in that order." Ienzo said before slipping out of the room as well. The four of them were left in silence.
"I wonder what's down there that Mickey wouldn't like us to see." Riku pondered out loud. Kairi put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sure he has his reasons. He looked very affected by what Ienzo said." Kairi tried to empathize with the King. Riku nodded, turning back towards the computer screen.
"I'm guessing Sora's been here before, then. Quite a unique password." Riku said, trying to take his mind off of it. Ventus perked up.
"Of course! This is where Tron lives. It's inside the computer." Ventus said enthusiastically.
"But, isn't Tron gone now? He was re-coded as the Rinzler, right? I tried so hard to get him back to normal…" Vanitas spoke quietly, leaning against the side of the console. He inspected his hand and the red veins that ran through it. With his helmet on, he looked a lot like the Rinzler: a being of good repurposed for the worse, forced to follow the evil orders of an ill-intent Master. He didn't blame Experiment 626 for attacking him when he looked like this.
Vanitas could hear something from a distant place, a world where there was an ocean: the gentle sound of waves upon the shore whispering in his ear. But perhaps, it truly was a voice being carried by the wind, for there was no water in this desert graveyard. Nonetheless, something was coming closer, a light extending itself out and grabbing hold.
It's time to wake up now —– All we have to do is open the door.
The voice was unfamiliar and faint, ringing true in his ears. As he opened up his eyes, it was as if he was waking from a nightmare, his brain feeling as foggy and forgetful as when he rested. Truly, something special had just occurred. What it may be, he was uncertain.
He'd been saved? By whom?
Who would offer him such kindness? Surely not that Master.
Something felt strange. He dispelled his mask and touched his mouth, finger tracing his lip. So he had a face, then. Quite a hilarious notion, wicked laughter tumbling out of his twisted smile.
"Vanitas? I asked you a question." Kairi said, jarring Vanitas from his thoughts. "Are you okay? You look out of it."
"Yeah, I'm just thinking that's all." Vanitas replied, looking up at her with uncertainty.
What had that vision been? A memory? Why would it be weird to have a face? What exactly was Vanitas? The raven haired boy thought.
Vanitas mentally slapped himself. He couldn't ask questions and go looking for answers, it would only bring him farther than who he wanted to be. This shadow known as 'Vanitas' could not be allowed to grow bigger.
"So, have you guys discovered anything?" Vanitas asked, wishing to draw away his curiosity and refocus it into something that was much more substantial.
"I'm having a difficult time accessing the files. Looks like they need a different password," Kairi squinted at the screen. Riku had been forced to be at guard, but he didn't really seem to be taking the job seriously, only half-hazardly holding the sword in Vanitas' direction as he focused on the screen.
"Looks like we'll have to wait to ask Mickey if he knows it," Kairi spoke with a sigh, crossing her arms.
"That or we could just always ask Tron?" Ventus spoke excitedly, jumping on the chance to see his friend again.
"Might be easier, too. Tron can just change the password for us." Vanitas added. He wouldn't lie and say he wasn't a tiny bit happy to see Tron again. Perhaps the program would see him as who he was: Sora.
"Hm. I've never met the first Tron before. His copy had his data corrupted." Riku pondered, recalling his days within the Master Exam.
"Yeah, but-" Ventus put his hand on the console as he leaned against it, and was interrupted by a voice.
"User Identified. User name: SORA. User: FRIENDLY. Beginning transfer." The computer spoke. The console began to glow.
"Wait, Wait-" it was too late for Ventus; him and Vanitas getting transported into the digital world.
"Oh gosh, that never gets easier, does it?" Ventus said, leaning against the wall of data. The two had been brought to the digital space constructed of data and software, home to the AI known as Tron.
"Seems not," Vanitas answered, inspecting his outfit. His suit was black and emitted a soft red glow instead of blue like Ventus' own suit.
"I wonder how we got pulled in. I didn't look like myself." Ventus wondered, also looking himself over. He was referring to not appearing as Sora.
"Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that being Sora was enough." Vanitas proposed, both of them having made contact with the console when they were sucked in. "Funny that a computer can see what most real people are blind to,"
Ventus slowly got up from leaning against the wall. This place hadn't changed much from last time he came here. Everything looked fine enough.
"I thought that Tron would come to greet us." Ventus said, rubbing his chin.
"We're not in that prison cell though, that's progress." Vanitas began to wander, trying to find some obvious path to follow. He saw a small head peak out from behind a wall.
"Hey, over here!" The person waved, and from the sound of their voice, it appeared to be a boy only a couple years younger than Sora. Both Vanitas and Ventus exchanged glances.
"Us?" Ventus asked, pointing with his thumb at the two of them.
"Yeah, you again, come quickly!" The boy said, sounding urgent. Confused, Ventus and Vanitas jogged over, the lone program pulling them quickly behind the wall.
"What are we-" Vanitas was cut-off by the boy.
"Ssshhh! Bugs!" The boy whispered. This did not make anything more clear, and the two continued to stare at him.
Vanitas and Ventus peeked out from behind the wall and saw huge floating blocks float back, scanning the area for something. From just the colour scheme, it was enough to tell the boys that they were bad news.
Quickly, when the blocks would look in their direction, they ducked back behind cover. After it looked like they were gone, the boy sighed out of relief.
"Thank goodness, I thought you two were goners. You need to be more careful this time." The boy said, specifically referencing Ventus.
"What were those things? Heartless of some kind?" Vanitas asked. Though, he didn't see any emblem on them.
"No, they were Bugs. They work for the Virus currently managing this computer." The boy said.
"The Virus? Where's Tron? Shouldn't he be handling this?" Ventus questioned, mostly out of curiosity, but also out of concern for his friend.
"I'm Tron," the boy spoke, confused.
"Haha, okay, that's nice, but no, seriously, where's Tron?" Vanitas gave a half-hearted laugh before adapting a serious tone.
"When the Virus came to this computer, it sought out to destroy everything in the computer. However, in order to do that, you need the passwords to access all the Data." The boy explained. "I know all the passwords, so of course it went after me first. It managed to wrangle a portion of Data out of me before I could get free. In order to salvage what I had left and make it harder to find me, I condensed my form into this younger one."
"Really?" Ventus tried to confirm, not really buying it.
"Yes, 'really'." Tron answered. "I thought you knew all of this, I've told you before."
"Um, no. I haven't entered into the program for a year or so after defeating the MCU." Ventus said, shaking his head. "It's me, Sora."
Vanitas' eyes quickly darted from Tron to Ventus, appearing unimpressed. He was Sora, too.
"Sora? Why do you look different? Where's Donald and Goofy?" Tron asked.
"We're both Sora. I know it's long and complicated to explain it, but the end note is, that this guy here needs his memories back, and we think accessing the files and learning about him will do that." Vanitas explained, trying to keep it brief.
"Hmm… The computer said it was letting in a 'Friendly User', and because I don't see any other Users, I think that explanation is satisfactory." Tron concluded. Ventus and Vanitas almost looked surprised that he had accepted it so easily. "Do you have any names I can call you two? Using the name 'Sora' for the both of you would not bode well."
"My name is apparently Vanitas." the ravenet answered, then gestured to the blonde. "This is Ventus."
"Hey, I'm just curious, but you can look different, so why can't I?" Ventus asked.
"You humans are not made out of data, however programs are just that: programs. We can be re:coded (ba-dum-chiss) for any purpose. I initially thought that other male had been a user as well, but now I'm not so sure." Tron tilted his head and considered the information.
"There was another user in here besides us? Who?" Vanitas asked, becoming curious. Someone else was messing with the data?
"I did not get his name. He comes here very rarely, but maybe he was the one who brought the virus here in the first place. He wore a black hooded coat." Tron described.
"The Organization!" Vanitas and Ventus both exclaimed, turning towards each other. Usually trouble followed those people around like a plague.
"That aside, we'll deal with him if we run into him. We need to access data related to the word 'Ventus', but I'm guessing we need to defeat this Virus first, huh?" Vanitas proposed. Tron nodded.
"I think that forming a team would be beneficial to both our causes. You two can help me defeat the Virus, and afterwards, I am more than willing to help a friend." Tron said with a smile, outstretching his hand. Looks like his emotion settings were functional.
"Of course!" Ventus expressed, jovially taking the hand. At that moment, there was a shine that came from Ventus' pocket.
D-LINK: ACQUIRED ➤
D-LINK: TRON ➤
"You got another one?" Vanitas said, reading the notification before it disappeared.
"Looks like it." Ventus pondered out loud, crossing his arms over his chest in thought.
"Is it something to be worried about?" Tron asked.
"Not really. It just lets me borrow my friend's aid through something called a 'dimension link'. I don't have it entirely figured out yet." Ventus shrugged. Vanitas sighed, putting his hands on his hips.
"We should focus on locating the Virus for now." Vanitas said, trying to get back on task.
"I know where it is, there's just the matter of getting the jump on it." Tron explained. "Do you still have the keyblade?"
Ventus nodded and in a burst of data, he summoned Kingdom key for a split second before it glitched into Wayward Wind. Vanitas summoned his as well, the keyblade giving off the same effect before settling into Crownkeeper.
"It looks different from last time." Tron pointed out.
"Yeah, Ventus has a different keyblade from mine own. It's called Wayward Wind, and Vanitas' called… Throne Stealer? Royal Protector?" Ventus pondered, hand on his chin. Vanitas rolled his eyes and put a hand on his hip.
"It's called Crownkeeper! I literally told you this a few hours ago, how much of an amnesiac are you?" Vanitas smirked, almost appearing sardonic.
"Hey, I've been learning a lot today! Lay off, alright?" Ventus reared his head, frustrated with Vanitas' demeaning attitude.
"Speaking of, I should probably record that for Ansem's files. He tends to keep track of new items especially when they're related to unnatural phenomena." Tron said, smiling earnestly "Say, do you know how Ansem is doing?"
Ventus and Vanitas both fell silent. They side glanced at each other.
"Tron, can I just, y'know, talk to Vanitas for a second?" Ventus asked the younger appearing Tron.
"Certainly." Tron answered. Ventus and Vanitas both walked off, just to have Tron following obediently behind them.
"Uh, I think he means alone. Just the two of us." Vanitas deadpanned, hand waving between him and Ventus.
"Of course," Tron complied, standing still as the two walked a far enough distance away so that the program wouldn't be able to hear them.
"Should we tell him?" Ventus asked in a hushed tone with a grimace on his face. "'Cause I really don't want to tell him."
"Well, he either goes the rest of his life in ignorant computer bliss or we tell him and risk shattering his tiny little digital heart." Vanitas whispered back. Ventus squinted at his companion.
"Then we don't tell him?" Ventus reiterated, crossing his arms.
"Sounds like the best option so far. Tron's a friend." Vanitas pointed out.
The two boys didn't get much more time to muse it over, however, because they saw a bunch of bugs coming towards them. They both readied their blades and swung them at the enemies, the weird blocks showing little resistance to the weapons.
Once they were all defeated, a piece of paper blitzed into existence in front of them, floating in the air.
Ventus reached out to grab it, inspecting the object. It had a crayon drawing upon the surface, depicting a blonde look-alike smiling, and two other familiar figures whose faces were scratched out with black.
"What is it?" Vanitas asked, coming and peaking over Ventus' shoulder.
"It's a drawing of me, I think, and two other people I don't recognize." Ventus answered, eyes never leaving the paper as he flipped it over. Blank on the other side, Ventus just went back to staring at the drawing.
A digitalized notice appeared within a blue square:
DO YOU WISH TO REMEMBER, USER?
Ventus stared at the words on the screen, even more confused. Ventus knew that was what he had to do. He reached up to press the button, Vanitas stopping him with his words.
"It could be a trap, Ven." Vanitas warned.
"It would be unwise to proceed without caution. There is not much known about the Virus." Tron chimed in. Ventus looked from the two guys back to the blue screen.
"This is the only thing we've got, so might as well give it a go." Ventus said. Before anyone could interfere, Ventus pressed the button and a haze of data consumed his vision, blinding him. As the three disappeared, the drawing slowly fell to land on the floor, a new notice appearing.
YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE FIRST QUESTION.
When Vanitas opened his eyes, he could see the landscape around him had changed. He hadn't left the computer, so the neon colour scheme was alive and well, but it looked like he was caught in a maze. He turned to inspect the wall behind him, summoning his blade and whacking it against the surface. It bounced off harshly, remaining unaffected. An error message popped up.
DESTRUCTION OF LANDSCAPE IS FORBIDDEN BY ANY UNIT.
"Forbidden, by whom?" Vanitas wondered incredulously. Screw this strange entity: if Vanitas was going to take out his frustration on anything, it would be this wall.
Gripping his keyblade in both hands, Vanitas wound himself up like someone up to bat at a baseball game. With all the strength he could muster, he swung it at the wall of data.
Vanitas jumped as he was immediately penalized with a bolt of electricity running through his body, and that same notification appearing before him. Golden eyes stared with a simmering distaste at the wall.
You win this time. Vanitas thought.
A blue notice appeared in the air behind him with a little ding!, him turning to face it.
WELCOME USER SORA
"How do you know my name?" Vanitas asked, genuinely surprised, yet still maintaining a good level of caution towards this strange entity.
The text changed.
DO YOU WISH TO REMEMBER?
Vanitas slowly approached the notification, those same two options that had been presented to Ventus now given to him.
"Of course not. I want to keep my friends, whomever you are." Vanitas spoke, not even hesitating to select the NO answer. He wasn't getting anywhere with asking questions, so he decided not to look stupid by talking out loud to no one.
GO TO THE CENTER OF THE MAZE AND YOU WILL FIND WHAT YOU HAVE LOST.
After reading it, the box disappeared and left the hallway empty once again
I just said I don't want to remember. Vanitas sighed.
Perhaps, it was speaking about Ventus; the blonde keyblade wielder nowhere in sight. Tron was gone, too.
Vanitas was alone. He hated this feeling. Usually, he kept Ventus within his sight, and though Vanitas didn't want to admit it; being in Ventus' presence made him feel safer, knowing he could turn back into his original form at any moment. He wasn't shaken, yet, this was an unsettling meeting familiar experience comparable to being trapped behind that door. This time, Kairi's semi-invincible lock wasn't the object taunting him; rather the unseen path that would lead him towards the middle, to Ventus, to Tron.
Vanitas couldn't let this challenge get the better of him. He was Sora: friend of Riku and Kairi, savior of worlds and wielder of the keyblade! No weird Virus was going to stop him from finding Ventus and rescuing Tron from its clutches.
"Wait for me, Ven. I'm coming." Vanitas announced, racing off into the maze with renewed courage.
Ventus awoke to the same sight as Vanitas, surrounded by winding walls and no straightforward path.
"Huh? Tron? Vanitas?!" Ventus whirled his head around, scanning his eyes for any of his allies. No luck. Maybe they weren't far - though, he didn't think they'd leave him all alone. Tron was diligent, and might've left if he truly thought that it would be advantageous to their situation. Vanitas, he… Ventus didn't know what Vanitas would do. Vanitas was begrudgingly Sora, and Ventus himself would never leave an ally alone if he didn't think it was safe to. Vanitas was also supposed to be Xehanort's friend and that meant much darker things if Ventus dwelled on it.
Ventus shook his head and focused on finding them. They couldn't have gotten too far.
"Vanitas! Tron!" Ventus called out as he walked down the hallway. His voice filled the air and seemed strangely empty without its presence.
No response.
How far did they go? Ventus thought.
He called out again with more urgency, and again was met with nothing. He felt like he was back in Wonderland, the Queen of Heart's hedge maze twisted and confusing. Speaking of, was that blonde haired girl at the end of the hallway Alice? What was she doing here?
"Alice?" Ventus was unsure of the words he spoke. As he began to approach, the girl seemed to notice him and ran off. Much like the very girl he named, he chased after his current white-rabbit. She was a bit taller than remembered, but that long blonde hair was unmistakable.
"Alice! Hold up, where are you going?!" Ventus was calling out to her now as he dashed through the maze. He never seemed to gain on her, those blonde locks disappearing around another wall just as he turned a corner.
Finally, it seemed she reached a dead-end and stopped facing the obstacle.
"Alice, is it really you?" Ventus asked through trying to catch his breath. He had stopped running and was slowly approaching from behind.
"Who's Alice?" The girl asked back, turning to face him. Ventus paused. This indeed, wasn't Alice. She was older, She was… she was, um...
"Wow," Ventus let out a breath he didn't know was stuck inside "You're so beautiful."
"What?" She seemed even more confused by that sudden confession. After realizing he had just said that out loud - wow, embarrassing - Ventus blushed a mortifyingly poignant red across his cheeks. He furiously rubbed the back of his neck, words fumbling, stumbling around like a drunken dancer with two left feet.
"I'm, I'm sorry, uh, what... is your name?" Ventus managed to get out, eyes scared to meet her own as he apologized.
"Hmm? Oh, my name... Why, it's…" The blonde girl seemed to be in a sudden state of urgency that wasn't there before. Ventus tilted his head, watching her.
"Oh, oh no, I can't... Good-bye." She said as she shook her head and started taking off straight towards him! Ventus reached his hands out, surprised by the sudden charge.
"Wait! Stop-" Ventus couldn't finish as she came up to him and… passed right through him? Even if he couldn't feel her body, there was still a force that managed to push him physically back a bit. Memories rushed through him: a young princess sleeping in a tower, thorny woods and thickets, a heart reunited, three fairies helping him face against a greater wicked fae - all of it swirled inside his head. Again, like before with Experiment 626, there were some missing pieces and gaps to fill, and sure, the heartless looked more off the more he thought about it, but, it was there. Tangible.
"Aurora, huh? We've met before: then and that time in Hollow Bastion." Ventus thought out loud, still trying to process everything. After overlooking his hands he put them down at his side, thinking about where she and his other companions had run off to. His hand hit something hard in his pocket, a ting of glass drawing his attention.
He pulled out the Wayfinder, a soft glow gently trying to communicate something to him.
Of course! That's it! I can just summon them here! Ventus concluded with excitement.
That D-link: it had brought Vanitas to him on the ship, and he knew it was still functional in this world because he had made that connection with Tron earlier. If at least two of them were together, it would make finding the third easier.
But, *who* do I chose? He thought, furrowing his brow in thought.
He had a sneaking suspicion that there was a limit to how many people he could summon, which meant that picking just one was his only option. Vanitas or Tron at his side could make things easier, and he had connections with both of them, so that didn't narrow down the options. When it came down to it, Tron probably knew the layout of the land and more about the digital world than the ravenet. Perhaps, they could find Vanitas faster that way.
He had his mind made up.
"Okay, now how do I do this?" Ventus pondered, inspecting the trinket. There was no obvious on or off button, so he placed the now digitized Wayfinder on his palm and the logos appeared above it in 8-bit form. He swiped in his very short list - now he had at least 4 allies - and tapped on Tron's name.
In a haze of data, the program appeared beside him.
"Tron! You really came!" Ventus exclaimed, overjoyed by his arrival.
"Ventus? How did you-" Tron asked, before his eyes focused on the Wayfinder in Ventus' hand. "I am continuing with the presumption that 'my aid' really meant 'summoning me to your side'."
"Yeah, I thought we could find Vanitas quicker." Ventus answered while he pocketed the green object.
"From analyzing the landscape I have found out that this maze was of the Virus' creation so I can not manipulate the rules encoded here, which makes it harder to locate Vanitas." Tron explained, pulling up a small screen in the air before him. He tried tapping on different options only to see ACCESS DENIED pop up repeatedly.
"Rules?" Ventus inquired, peering at the small screen.
"Yes. Users and programs must adhere to a certain set of rules in order to prevent errors that would cause the system to lower in functionality. Looking at this maze from a logical standpoint, the Virus wants us to go in a certain direction or reach a particular point. Cheating like breaking the walls or jumping over them would cause us to stray from that path, so such actions would be designated as against the rules and have penalties administered to them." Tron stated it with such focus and fluidity, that Ventus couldn't help but be reminded that his friend was a computer program.
"Um, could you say that again? I only really understood half of it." Ventus admitted, scratching his head and squinting his eyes.
"I apologize. What I meant to say, is that this Virus is probably controlling the landscape so we will be lost. This maze could have no ending as long as the Virus wants it to." Tron reiterated, somewhat flustered.
"What?! Then we could walk for hours and be getting nowhere! That's completely unfair!" Ventus exclaimed, waving his hands. Everything in this maze must have been controlled by the Virus, then. Wait… did that include Aurora?
Tron seemed to notice his sudden shift in thought.
"Is everything alright, Ventus?" Tron asked.
"I mean, besides this situation, yeah. I was just thinking about how I ran into an old friend of mine, Aurora, while I was running through this maze. I managed to catch up to her, and she helped me remember a portion of my past as Ventus. She disappeared right afterwards." Ventus explained, crossing his arms while thinking.
"Then she must have been created by the Virus. You said previously that you wished to remember, correct? Perhaps the Virus is actually fulfilling your request."
RIGHT AS ALWAYS, TRON.
There was a notification that buzzed to life in front of the two boys, catching them off guard.
"Who are you? Where did you take Vanitas?" Ventus demanded, going straight into an attacking stance and summoning his keyblade.
ACTING ON IMPULSE, AS ALWAYS, SORA. GO TO THE CENTER OF THE MAZE TO FIND WHAT YOU HAVE LOST.
As it fizzled out of existence, Ventus charged at the screen with his keyblade. Running right through it, he found this part of wall in front of him disappearing, instead, to be replaced by a door. He bounced off of it, and fell to the floor.
"It would be beneficial to not attack rashly." Tron advised, offering his hand to Ventus. Ventus nodded and gladly took it, the two now standing before the entrance.
The blonde raised his hand to take the knob, before hesitating.
"The door's here because the Virus created it, right? What if Vanitas isn't behind here?" Ventus spoke, hating how much he was at the mercy of this seemingly malicious enemy. Everyone always pushed him in different directions, while all he wanted to do was help out his friends.
"If the Virus had plans to eliminate either of us, it would have done so already instead of teleporting us here. That is the only logical explanation. The only way to progress is 'playing along'." Tron concluded. He put his hand on Ventus' in shoulder to offer some form of comfort, his appearance having had returned to normal seeing as it was out of the question that the Virus could detect and find the Program.
Ventus turned back away from Tron and further inspected the door. Placing his hand on the wood texture, he realized that this was the same door he'd seen in Yen Sid's Tower, the one to Vanitas' room: the one that only he could open. If Ventus concentrated, he could sense the ravenet nearby, his intuition knowing he should abandon all fear and face his friend with a renewed sense of purpose.
"Okay Tron, let's go!" Ventus exclaimed, pushing the door open.
"WHERE." Another close call from a pointy drill. "ARE." He stumbled back, the shockwave sending him off balance. "YOU." He managed to get a few slashes but it would just not stay down! "VENTUS!" Vanitas called out as the wheel got a barricade of hits against him.
When Vanitas woke up this morning, he did not expect to be attacked by a spinning wheel - hey, he had nothing against them, but for some reason, they now had a vendetta against him. It crawled around too fast and jumped in the most randomest of places. Was it a heartless? It didn't have a symbol of one, but now Vanitas was trapped in this small sized space with one.
Wow, it got right back up-
At this point, Vanitas had a number of things he hated about his former self. One, he made it incredibly hard for his friends to trust him; two, he worked with Xehanort; and thirdly, the guy had no healing potions or spells. None, natta, not a single recovery item in sight. This meant that if the enemy landed a few more well placed hits, he could be out of the game without another word: no allies to rush in to save his fading heart.
No no no-
This was it, lying on the ground. One more hit and he'd be out for good. As much as he hated Donald's erratic boosts and heals, he'd give anything to have the feathered friend at his side. Was this payback for every time he'd complained? If so, then it was coming back to bite him in the worst possible way. Forget recovering Ventus' memories, he'd never see Riku or Kairi again, never taste another one of his mom's cakes again-
"Vanitas!" Ventus called out. Vanitas' eyes bolted open as he rolled over to dodge the piercing drill about to stab him.
"Ventus! It's about time you got here!" Vanitas complained.
"Hey don't yell at me! It's a maze, I got lost!" Ventus argued back. He was running towards the ravenet, Tron at his side. His eyes widened in alarm at noticing Vanitas' glaringly low health points. He looked like a mess.
"Whoa! Are you alright?" Ventus asked. Vanitas was bent over, out of breath.
"Can you just heal me already? Vanitas seems to have had no self-preservation." The ravenet groaned.
Slipping, slipping, slipping. This was it, finally, the moment he'd been waiting for. For him to prove his strength and end him in combat. End was a silly word for this situation. Fruition, yes, this feeling of fading away, drawn towards the blonde he'd been seeking-
And a wave of energy warmed his core as green magic washed over him. He felt his strength return and once again he was renewed. That weird feeling remained however: itching to do battle, to fight.
"Snap out of it!" Ventus yelled, drawing Vanitas back to reality as another attack was heading straight towards him. Vanitas managed to dodge roll out of the way as the Wheel Master - was that its name? - swirled around and hit the wall with its drill.
DESTRUCTION OF LANDSCAPE IS FORBIDDEN BY ANY UNIT.
Popped up in its wake.
"There's that weird message again!" Vanitas said, running alongside Ventus to try and avoid the now airborne enemy. Vanitas had summoned Crownkeeper back, and was holding the keyblade in front of him with both hands. Ventus also wielded his in the same way, as Sora usually did with Kingdom Key, but Vanitas had a sneaking suspicion this keyblade wasn't meant to be held like this. It was not as heavy as Kingdom Key.
As the enemy stomped down, Vanitas managed to duck away, while Ventus wasn't so lucky. He recovered, managing to hear Vanitas' voice through the impact.
"What?!" Ventus called out.
The two boys were slashing wildly at the core of the wheel, only managing to get a few hits while Tron played support from a fair distance.
"Be careful, if you hit the walls too many times, you'll get electrocuted." Vanitas answered as the Master Wheel got back up and whirled to face them. It made a move with its spinning wheel for Ventus, but Vanitas teleported in front of the blonde and used his own two hands to roughly shove the wheel into the wall in a display of brute strength. Temporarily off balance, the Wheel Master felt a bolt of electricity rush through it from the impact.
That's when Ventus got an idea.
"Hey Tron, you said everything in this maze has to follow the rules, right?" Ventus asked. Vanitas summoned back his blade after throwing it aside to help Ventus and ran up to attack the monster from the side.
"It seems like you understood some of what I conveyed. You are correct!" Tron answered, sending a multitude of random blasts on and around the enemy.
"Well, what if we lure the heartless to attack us near the wall. It doesn't take fall damage, but the penalty has got to do something." Ventus proposed, dodging an attack by the drill. He shot a few blasts of fire from his blade.
"... And I can just dodge it with my teleportation, is that what you're getting at? I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually impressed." Vanitas smiled, Ventus only responding with a begrudging 'hmph!'.
"One problem. I don't really know how to teleport." Vanitas admitted, stumbling back from another shock wave as the Wheel Master crashed to the floor. Ventus glared at him amidst the fight.
"What do you mean?!" Ventus said. "You literally just teleported five seconds ago, and a bunch of other times!"
"Yeah, to you, and to you, specifically. It's not something I think about, I just do it." Vanitas complained. He was already back down to half health after temporarily becoming Ventus' meat shield, and it was hard to avoid most attacks in such a closed in area. Ventus was seemingly much lower, using another Curaga to restore his own vitality.
"If you're so high and mighty, just do it, then!" Ventus called back in a huff. Vanitas rolled his eyes.
"Whatever, let's see if this fails, idiot!" Vanitas grumbled. The boy ran towards the wall of the area, watching from a distance as Ventus and Tron tried to hold the enemy for the time being. They were doing their part, now he had to do his.
Concentrate, concentrate, concentrate.He repeated like a mantra as he slapped his hands on his cheeks.
How exactly did he teleport? It was just like he'd told Ventus: it was something second nature, something he instinctively knew how to do. For some reason, he didn't mind as much as usual if he got hit if it meant getting up and personal with the enemy to do damage. It was only when he was low on hit points did he see the flaw in his strategy. This body, however weird it was, loved taking hits. He'd been fighting with the Wheel Master for a while before being knocked down and this lead to noticing the weird protection Vanitas' clothing had, absorbing most of the damage in order to prevent him from feeling the full force. It made sense that if it was between him and Ventus getting hit, he'd much rather take it.
When he teleported he didn't have to think of helping Ventus because without Ventus he couldn't-
Vanitas didn't have time to dwell on selfish thoughts as his body was pushed aside by the force of a deadly drill. Another shock of electricity raced through the enemy, seemingly with more charge than before. Without any other options, Vanitas summoned Crownkeeper and sent strokes of fire and ice at the core of the Wheel Master, leaping back after each attempt. It wasn't teleportation, but it was working: he was wearing out the heartless.
Maybe noticing a failure in its strategy, the Wheel Master jumped into the air again to try and land on Tron. The program managed to jump away in time, but the shockwave from the impact still managed to hit. Vanitas angrily ran over to the heartless, and wacked it in the center with his keyblade. It was almost out of Health points.
While in the air, however, the upper body of the wheel started to whirl around, catching Vanitas on one of the arm of the drill. As it shot out, Vanitas' body was flung to the ground, his body rolling a few metres and Keyblade scattering across the floor before disappearing. When Ventus looked over, he couldn't see his face, back to the blonde: Vanitas. wasn't. moving.
"Vanitas?!" Ventus called out. No reply.
He really should have given the ravenet some health items.
Vanitas was on the other side of the area, making it harder to get to him without the enemy getting an attack of opportunity. Concentrating, Ventus gripped Wayward Wind in the weird backhanded style for the first time since Mickey taught him this morning and focused all of his energy on hitting the center of the Wheel Master. Ventus went at it with everything he had in him at this point, which admittedly, wasn't much, but the adrenaline was making up for it. After dealing a load of combos, his blade shone with a burst of white, and he let out five wide slashes of light, finally managing to pierce the heartless in two. Landing from dealing the final blow, he watched with heavy breathing as Wheel Master whirred and spun around clumsily without a top before crashing to the floor, lifeless.
"We finished it off. Good work, Ventus." Tron cheered; perhaps, being a program, with less gusto than Ventus would've had, but the sentiment still held the same joy. Ventus gave him a thumbs up, and smiled back.
"My plan worked, in your face-" Ventus managed to restore his own health, in doing so, looking over and remembering Vanitas' own plight. The two started to run over to Vanitas, surprised when the boy disappeared in a haze of data.
"What?!" Ventus exclaimed. Before he knew it, both him and Tron also felt themselves teleport away as well.
When Ventus opened his eyes, he knew he was still inside the computer. There was a raised platform just a few steps up from the ground a decent length away from him, with a figure sitting down in a chair mindlessly doing something on top. At the bottom of the steps off to the side of the stage laid an unconscious Vanitas, still in a state of disrepair. Tron was nowhere to be seen.
"Vanitas!" the blonde rushed over, only to be stopped by a translucent barrier of code keeping them apart. Ventus banged on it, the obstacle not budging.
"Welcome, Ventus." the entity said on the platform, not stopping the task they had been previously performing.
"What are you doing with Vanitas?!" Ventus yelled, summoning Wayward Wind and holding it accusatory in the entity's direction.
"I guess we haven't really met yet, huh? You met the real me, I suppose, but we've never gotten to know each other. I think we're still friends, though, right? Kinda my fault to begin with." They tucked a rectangular object under their arm and stood up, still facing away from the blonde. The chair disappeared in a hurricane of pixels with no one to occupy it.
"Friend...? Who are you?" Ventus asked, slightly confused, though still managing to stay on guard. She pushed her hair from her face shyly and turned to greet him with a smile.
"My name is Data-Naminé, but you can just call me Naminé."
Naminé. She was here, right in front of him. Ventus looked up and those eyes… they did not look normal. Her iris were blue, but the white that usually sat around those jewels had turned black. She had marks of corruption, ridged black lines cracking her skin.
Ventus was confused. Why had she taken Tron away and trapped Vanitas out of reach in this computer world? Had she even done those things?
"Naminé… what are you doing here?" Ventus asked, lowering his arm and keyblade to his side. She only continued to smile.
"I am not here. The real me is with Kairi, as Roxas is with you. I am a version of Naminé from Jiminy's journal. Data-Roxas brought a copy of me here as a backup in case the other Data-Naminé was destroyed. Seeing as he hasn't returned for somewhile, I can conclude he must've been successful." She explained. "You see, when I saw those memories within your heart, I thought that they were there through mere connections, not your actual memories as Ventus."
"Huh? You're not making a lot of sense." Ventus expressed, even more puzzled "Did you create that maze and heartless or not?"
"Heartless?" It was Naminé's turn to appear confused as she considered his words while tapping a crayon on her chin absentmindedly. "Oh, you mean the Wheel Master, the 'heartless'! I understand, my bad."
"You do? Because I still don't." Ventus replied, bordering onto impatient. A lot of this was not making any sense!
"You're right, Ventus. I am the Virus." Naminé answered, eyes glowing a weird blue for a moment. "I created that maze in order to see how many of your memories could be tampered with. I didn't want to harm you again."
Ventus went back on guard, taking a stance again to face her need be. She may have looked like Naminé, but too many things weren't adding up about her appearance and her actions. The vein-like cracks on her skin pulsated a light glow like waves upon the shore, coming to life and then fading.
"What are you doing to my head? Was any of that stuff with Aurora even real?" Ventus yelled.
"They were real, please believe me Ventus. I can even give you back all of your memories if you'd like." Naminé continued, holding her notebook in front of her lap and smiling. Ventus raised an eyebrow.
"Really?" Ventus reiterated, finally something she said making sense. Naminé must've been behind Aurora showing up in his pathway, and that drawing from earlier must've been hers as well. If recovering his memories was a good thing, then why did her appearance look so altered? Was that just due to her state as a Program? Tron looked unique and he himself took on that strange appearance as well when entering, but the way Naminé looked was something different. Something… off.
"On one condition." Naminé held up a single finger, taking on a more serious countenance. "You must leave Vanitas behind in the computer with me. It's the only way."
Ventus stole a glance over to the boy in the barrier, the ravenet seeming to stir from his unconscious state. He was still really hurt.
"... What do you want with him?" Ventus asked.
"Did, did Mickey not tell you what he did? What hurt he caused?" Naminé shot back, concern in her features as she made her way closer to him. Why was she looking at him like that? It wasn't his fault he couldn't remember anything! His brain started to hurt as voices tried to rise up inside of him, echoes from a past better left hidden away. All of the voices, calling out in a jumbled mess, it hurt his head.
"Ventus, I know you have the ability to take in the hurt from back then: this simulation proved that. I will give you time to think, so come back when you've decided, or come back never at all." Naminé spoke. Ventus did not see her approach while he clutched his head in his arms. As soon as he opened his eyes, she was right in front of him, arms reaching out.
"Wait, stop-!" Ventus called out. But it was already too late – his vision was getting blurry and then everything went black.
It felt like the battle was finally over. Ventus was safe. So was himself and Tron for that matter. Which led to the question why the hell he just felt like garbage.
When he slowly shifted his head, he could hear muffled voices, talking close, maybe far away? Blurry figures, one slowly moving towards the other? Everything was unsure and didn't make sense.
Ring-Ring-Ring-Ring-
The sound of his low health bar blaring over and over, annoying sirens trying to force him from sleep.
A figure dressed in white approached him as his mind was barely holding on; their smile too enthusiastic for him to tell whether or not it was genuine. Something about them pulled on that familiarity he couldn't quite discern, a far off memory purposefully hidden away.
"Oh what will I ever do with you? I can't have you dying on me just yet." The voice said, again striking a cord within his inner harp. That blaring sound stopped but he didn't feel much better.
"Go to sleep now," They continued, him not being able to fight them.
Everything weighed down, legs smitten with the floor and arms barely shifting when he tried moving. It hurt. A lot. Maybe it would be better if he just slept through the pain; perhaps when he woke up, Ventus would've healed him and he could go back home, see his friends again, and his friends see him for who he truly was. With that, his form went limp.
Vanitas fell back asleep, none the wiser.
"Ventus!" The group exclaimed, surprised when Ventus showed up suddenly in the real world. He appeared bewildered, just as shocked as everyone else, although not containing the same joy.
"Kairi, Riku, everyone, I…" Ventus didn't know what to say, becoming so overwhelmed with all of these faces and the confusing exposition Naminé had been trying to drill into him.
"Ventus, are you alright?" Kairi asked. She was so relieved. If he had been Sora, she would've hugged him. It was so scary watching the two suddenly disappear.
Ventus looked around. Ienzo and Mickey had returned.
"Yeah, I am, but Vanitas is still trapped in the computer. Naminé wants me to leave him there in exchange for my memories, but I can't do that!" Ventus complained.
"Wait, Naminé? How is she there?" Kairi asked, suddenly more confused due to the mention of her own Nobody.
"She said she and Data-Roxas were computer replicas created by Mick..." Everyone turned their head to the small mouse as Ventus drawled out his words "...key."
"Oh, gwarsh, I…" Mickey was speechless, his secret side project finally coming to light.
"Mickey," Riku paused, truly perplexed by the implications of Ventus' words "what is Ventus talking about?"
"Jiminy's Journal had a lot of lost data and in order to recover it, we input that data into a computer to try and find the information. There were a lot of bugs, and we needed a keyblade wielder who'd be willing to get rid of them. So, we created a Data version of Sora to help out." Mickey admitted.
"That's sorta kinda really weird, Mickey." Ventus said, kneeling down beside the king. A digital copy of him? Walking, talking, wearing his face? At least, his real face.
"Why didn't you just ask us to go in and solve the issue?" Riku asked, crossing his arms.
"It was around the time of the Mark of Mastery exam and I knew both of you would be busy." Mickey apologized, bowing his head.
"I'm a keyblade wielder! I would have helped." Kairi pointed out. Mickey truly went pale.
"I didn't want to interrupt your training, it seemed important to you. I was plannin' to tell you guys sooner or later. I'm sorry, if I'd known it would have upset you this much, I wouldn'a waited." Mickey continued. Ventus pressed his eyebrows together, thinking.
"Whoa, I don't think anybody's completely upset here. You could tell me more about Naminé? Or Data-Naminé, whatever?" Ventus asked.
"Well, I didn't think that the computer back at my castle would be able to connect with the network here, so there weren't any precautions set up. She was the last set of code to help us clear the journal of bugs." Mickey sounded somewhat exasperated, at a loss from the information given. They couldn't access the system right now and the confused blonde was the only one with answers.
Ventus got up, went over, and put his hand on the keyboard of the machine. He closed his eyes and concentrated, much to the confusion of his friends.
"Ventus, what are you doing?" Riku asked.
"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm trying to get back into the computer in order to save Vanitas." Ventus explained.
"Why?" Ienzo spoke up. Everybody looked at him, Ventus with more disbelief than the rest. Ventus rolled his eyes.
"I just said why-"
"I mean, he works for Xehanort – would it not be beneficial to just leave Vanitas in the computer until you can properly deal with him?" Ienzo proposed. Ventus was speechless, but everybody else seemed to be seriously considering the idea.
"Guys, you're not actually thinking about doing that, right?" Ventus asked, laughing nervously. The longer nobody answered, he grew more desperate. "Right?!"
"I don't know… maybe…" Riku spoke, still going over the idea in his head. If they kept Vanitas in there, it would be one more of Xehanort's supposed allies they wouldn't have to worry about: everyone in the room knew that. Ventus got more antsy the more the silence dragged on.
"Oh, come on." Ventus muttered, crossing his arms.
"We could for now leave him in there, and then once we come up with a plan and get Ven's memories back, we retrieve Vanitas." Mickey shared aloud with the gang.
"Vanitas is extremely low on health. If I start feeling extremely drowsy for no reason, then Vanitas could have trouble breathing, and then it's not even a question if we can get him out of there, because we might not even be able to." Ventus argued back, exasperated. He was moving his hands around, frantically trying to convince everyone that he was not insane for his objection.
"I know Naminé, at least, the Naminé I know would never hurt anyone." Kairi said softly, her eyes staring at the floor. She didn't know what to do in this situation, still trying to process what was going on. Riku was up to speed, however.
"Perhaps it'd be safer for him and everyone else if he was trapped in there." Riku added, trying to remain calm. "We don't know for sure that would even happen, Ventus."
But he wasn't Ventus! He wasn't this, he wasn't that, he was–
"You can't just keep people locked up in computers waiting for them to just fade away, Riku!" Ventus exploded, hands bouncing off his head and curling into fists at his side.
Whatever Riku was about to say died on his lips, taken aback with his mouth agape. Ventus' breathing was ragged, each breath slowly taken in and then crawled out like an iron sword dragged across the floor; his eyes filled with a long-forgotten flame once cooled by a brunet more than capable to take the torch to its satisfactory conclusion.
Passion. Anger. Loathing. Buried feelings now boiling beneath the surface.
"...Roxas?" Riku whispered, unsure and almost scared of the phantom before him.
Ventus' vision became clear again, blinking rapidly and standing up straight. There were too many emotions inside his heart, the organ racing in his chest.
"I…" Ventus started, but didn't know how to finish. Where did it even start? Why weren't the pieces lining up correctly? Everything was so confusing!
His eyes looked over to the computer dashboard, being drawn to the glowing surface. Without thinking about it too long, he slapped his hand on the device and was drawn into the digital world once again, his friends too late to stop him.
AN: Dun dun dunnn. Guess who's back to join the scene! Nami-bae! (lol jk jk). There's a lot I wanted to do in this chapter, and somehow my brain thought "wow, you can totally fit this all into one chapter". NOPE. Turned out longer than expected, but I thought this was a satisfactory cliffhanger mwahahaha. I coulda explained stuff but I love seeing the reactions and theories, it's great. — I searched up the male equivalent of Damsel in distress because Vanitas is at everyone's mercy for health points and recovery items, and it turns out it might be "a lad in distress". Which, is pretty cool - not cool for Vanitas though lol.