AN: Hello everybody. So, it's not as long as usual, sorry, but I've been sitting on this first part for awhile and I felt bad not releasing it. There's a lot of jumping around here, from different times and POVs so I'll try being good about making it clear the who what when. This chapter we get our first Riku POV, yay! Thanks as always to my betas, ArunPharyn and Miano53.
"Oh, you're back so soon." Data-Naminé commented, looking up from her drawing. All of her crayons had been sprawled out across her tiny desk and when Ventus tried to move, he heard the crunch of paper underneath his foot revealing the many drawings scattered about the digital floor. It was the same room from back in that Old Mansion within Twilight Town, the light from the window almost eerie due to how he knew it couldn't be from a sun. His digital clothes also contrasted with the bleak nature of the space, Data-Naminé's own blue pulsing scars and black sclera painting the whole scene as something that sat in between, the eerie feeling of waiting for a city bus on a lonely road in the dead of night.
"I thought you'd take at least a day to think things out, but looking back on that, you're more of a take action type, huh?" Data-Naminé continued, having a small chuckle. Ventus turned towards the wall of the room, taking a picture gently off the wall. After he continued to be silent, Data-Naminé prompted him again. "Have you made your decision?"
"Where's Vanitas and Tron?" Ventus asked as he continued to look at the crayon drawing of him, Riku, and Kairi on the beach when they were younger. He figured that Tron would be alright, considering he was more in tune with the world, but Ventus feared for his uncanny look-alike.
"Why don't you take a seat?" Data-Naminé said. She gestured at the other end of the table near him, a haze of blue pixels forming into a chair. Ventus didn't move from his spot, silently putting the drawing back and finally facing her.
"Naminé, why are you doing this?" Ventus snapped, the day having worn away at him like chalk slowly getting smaller after every stroke. Data-Naminé remained as patient as she could, if only letting out a short sigh due to understanding that this was going to take longer than she wanted it to.
"I want to help you, Ventus. I want to make it up to you, because I know you can do it." Data-Naminé answered. "You didn't get the opportunity to do it last time."
"What do you keep talking about? Memories I don't remember?" Ventus questioned further.
"Yes, and I can give all of them back to you, if only you leave Vanitas here, but," Data-Naminé slowly picked up her notebook as she raised from her own chair "I have a feeling that you came in here to get him back."
"Where is he?" Ventus asked, eyes searching the room.
"Somewhere safe. Tell me, did Mickey tell you about what happened? Why your memories are locked away?" Data-Naminé shot back at him.
"Something about fighting with Xehanort and forging the x-blade long ago." Ventus sighed, not really paying attention to what she was saying. Data-Naminé cleared her throat.
"I'm only asking, because I know if he did, you'd be fine with keeping Vanitas as far away as possible." She replied.
"Look, can I just have Vanitas back? I'll find my memories without your help." Ventus said, fed up at this point. He walked towards the door, Data-Naminé being too cryptic for his taste.
"Fine, I'll give you back one part of your memory, free of charge." Data-Naminé answered, picking up a crayon from the table and starting to draw in the notebook pressed against her chest.
Ventus by now had reached the doorway, fingers wrapped around the handle.
"I didn't correct you earlier, but you were wrong. The Wheel Master wasn't a Heartless," Data-Naminé finished drawing as Ventus opened the door, about to step out of the room only to be greeted by an abyss of darkness and mist. Stumbling back, the whole room turned into paper cranes; flying off of the newly revealed stein glass pillar into the unknown. Below him was Roxas sleeping amongst the green glass. Ventus looked up to face Data-Naminé. "It was an Unversed."
Ventus' eyes widened as suddenly a flock of monsters burst forth from her page, a haze of data projecting them into the world. The blonde knew he couldn't stay shocked for long, Wayward Wind summoned to his hand.
First it was a wave of little creatures that danced and twitched as they raced on four legs towards him. They looked like low level heartless, but somehow, heartless seemed more docile in comparison. These creatures had sharp points and were made of precise angles, two long rods of lightning jutting out of their head.
Ventus made quick work of them, each turning into black flame as he dispatched each and every one.
"Floods?" Ventus thought out loud. That's what these were called, right? He shook his head and tried to focus his attention on Data-Naminé. These were just distractions, an obstacle to keep him from getting closer to her. She was already on the other end of the pillar, scribbling away on her notepad to create more Unversed.
Next were similarly sized creatures that stood on two legs and had 3 fingered claws they used to swipe eagerly at Ventus. He managed to avoid most of them, these Scrappers, noticing how predictably they moved. Seeing an opening, he dashed towards Data-Naminé, dispelling Scrappers as he passed.
Too focused on her, however, he failed to notice the Mandrake hidden within the glass. It burst forth in front of him within a golden cloud of pollen, causing him to stumble back coughing. As he tried to swing at this new nuisance, vines darted out to jab at him. Acting on reflex, he blocked the attack and sent them off his keyblade. Fire surged forth from his blade as any Mandrakes left on the field were burned to ash.
A Bruiser decided to bully him from behind, Ventus unable to react to a large punch from the larger enemy. To make the already hard blow worse, he managed to stumble into some ill-placed Blobmobs, which shocked him and split into two from his physical assertion. Ventus winced as he stumbled, regaining his footing and blocking another blow. He kicked the Bruiser off its feet after jabbing his foot into its side. He ran for Data-Naminé, dodge rolling out of the way off some swooping Arch Ravens.
Any effort to regain footing in this fight was in vain, for the two Blobmobs managed to reach out with their tentacles and pull his feet right out from under him, dragging him away from the digital Nobody. Slamming to the ground must've knocked some old memories into him, quickly rolling onto his back and aiming his keyblade at the Blobmobs as he was moving across the glass. A well placed shot of ice froze the two Unversed jellyfish and he managed to defeat them with a keyblade throw. Their tentacles shattered and his feet were released.
Axe flappers, hareraisers, jellyshades, glide winders… Unversed of all different shapes and sizes relentlessly berated him. Data-Naminé watched him suffer from afar, a simple flick of the wrist bringing more enemies off the page.
Ventus was on the floor, almost out of magic and HP, as well as on his last stretch of stamina. The Unversed began to crowd around, faces holding no sympathy. Seeing as the group was about to pounce, Ventus weakly shielded himself by guarding his arms… but no attack came.
"Have you given up yet, Ventus?" Data-Naminé asked. When Ventus opened his eyes, everything had paused around him, Unversed frozen in place.
Data-Naminé came to stand over him, a chrono-twister hovering at her side.
"No, not until you give me back Vanitas." Ventus grunted, trying to get up on his elbows. Data-Naminé looked down at him with pity.
"Do you know what these are? What these Unversed did?" Data-Naminé questioned, her softened blue eyes trying to meet his own fierce pair.
"They attacked all of the worlds, like that of belonging to Aurora and Experiment 626. They're annoying, but caused a lot of havoc to these people." Ventus answered, groaning when he was too weak to get up.
"You're forgetting the important part. Find it inside you. Where do these Unversed come from?" Data-Naminé urged him to think harder, hugging her notepad to her chest. Ventus managed to drag out a health potion, gulping it down as he thought.
They were made of darkness, right? So maybe they were like heartless?
...a horde of fledgling emotions under my control.
Ventus' eyes widened.
"Vanitas." He whispered in realization. Just as it connected, time unfroze and the Unversed began to attack again. Ventus was able to roll out of the way, standing to look at Data-Naminé through the group of charging Unversed.
It was impossible, yet the image of the Unversed emerging from Vanitas' shadow was so crisp and clear in his mind, he had to be right. There was anger inside him at this thought, similar to the one that burned when he'd talked to Riku just outside. Everything had been tunneled towards Riku, losing himself in loathing and bitterness, that nobody else was in the room except his feelings and the person that made him feel that way.
Strangely enough, this weaker version of passionate hatred, wasn't centered on Data-Naminé, but on the very boy he was trying to get back: Vanitas.
With earlier, Ventus felt he could at least understand after the haze cleared why he had those emotions. He knew about Riku ripping Roxas away from Axel and his own identity, changing his memories and forcing him to return when it just wasn't his time. Yet now, he had no context, no reason for his distaste.
Slashing, swiping, cutting - He took out his growing confusion and anxiety on the surrounding Unversed, although it did nothing to cure him. Ventus saw a bruiser lung at him and his body hit the glass as he rolled to dodge an attack, a sound ringing clearly through with the motion.
Clink!
Ventus quickly targeted a blast of flame towards his enemy, glancing over at the noise. When he was rolling, his wayfinder had fallen out of his pocket, almost visibly indistinguishable from the rest of the stein glass floor.
Ventus saw it.
Data-Naminé saw him eyeing it.
Both dashed for the object.
Ventus clambered to make it there, but a Raven like Unversed swooped down to snatch it up first.
"Hey! Give it back!" Ventus yelled at the bird. He could attack the bird to get the object down, but that would mean the bird could drop the wayfinder, and Ventus didn't know how fragile the item was. He glanced over at Data-Naminé. Her head quickly ducking down at her sketchbook, as if she didn't want him to catch her staring. Ventus gritted his teeth.
"You can't just give me a choice and then get mad at me when I don't pick the one you want!" Ventus, well, vented! It was unfair, all of these rules pitted against him. His attacks were starting to become more forceful with the surrounding Unversed when it was obvious to him Data-Naminé wasn't even paying attention. What was the point of all this? Source of Unversed or not, he shouldn't be wasting time when Vanitas was off aching alone anywhere but here.
"Let's end this!" He exclaimed, shooting his keyblade up in the air. A tornado whirled around him, wind scooping up all the surrounding Unversed in a clear circular motion. Ventus braced himself as it gently played with his loose clothing, yet still kept his eyes on Data-Naminé. All the Unversed hit the ground in a blaze of data when the hurricane dropped them, leaving an opening in the chaos.
Ventus became a blur. The wind propelled him forward, giving Data-Naminé no time to react when he lunged at her. His hand on her forehead, notebook dropped from her hands–
"Sleep!" He commanded.
Data-Naminé's eyes shut immediately. He made sure to catch her as she collapsed into his arms. Thinking quickly, he kicked her notebook far away so that she wouldn't be able to attack if his plan didn't work. He laid her down flat and put his hands on her arm. Hopefully, magic would be able to cure her of the viral infection. Deep down, he knew she wasn't hurting him on purpose.
"Curaga." Ventus said, pushing a green burst of energy into her arms. She started to rouse from her temporary sleep, Ventus drawing in a breath of air, waiting with anticipation…
A few seconds passed. Silence. No Unversed were left, wayfinder on the floor a few feet away due to the raven's demise. The lines on her skin remained and when their eyes met, Ventus could see the black permeated all of the usual white.
"Oh c'mon Naminé, please come back. I thought for sure that would work." Ventus threw his hands up in the air, sighing. Data-Naminé got up on her elbows, blinking.
"Work, you mean-, ohhh." Data-Naminé murmured. She closed her eyes and all of the lines on her skin faded away. Her appearance went back to normal, filling Ventus with joy.
"I knew it! You're okay!" Ventus hugged her, pulling her close to his chest. Data-Naminé patted his back slowly.
"Yeah… I'm okay." Data-Naminé echoed his statement back to him. Ventus pulled away so they were face to face. She didn't seem as happy as he was.
"Don't worry, I knew the Virus just altered your thinking so you would make those Unversed attack me. Not the first time one of my friends has been possessed." Ventus shrugged, approaching this matter like it was no big deal. He stood up and offered out his hand for Data-Naminé to stand. She bit her lip, looking him over before hesitantly taking his hand.
"Yep, the virus had me real good. I'm so glad you saved me." Data-Naminé nodded, her voice almost flat as she rubbed her neck. Ventus put his hand on his hip, joy melting into curiosity.
"So, how did you get taken over by a Virus?" Ventus asked.
"I was sloppy. The bugs took me over and made me pull you into the digital world. I was thinking of reaching out anyways to help you get your memories back. Which, reminds me, the Unversed, it's really important I talk to you about them." Data-Naminé said, suddenly perking up.
"If you need to talk about the Unversed, you can do it while Vanitas is here. Did the virus make you do something to him?" Ventus' mood fell into worry.
"No, Ventus, that's the thing." Data-Naminé took one of his hands between her own two palms, holding it between them. "You must never tell Vanitas about the Unversed. His memory of them is the only thing keeping them from coming back. The minute he finds out, he'll be unable to control himself and it'll be chaos."
Ventus blinked, concern etched into his features.
"Please, promise me, no matter what, you won't tell him about the Unversed. Don't tell anyone." Data-Naminé begged. Her grip on his hand tightened.
"Of course Naminé. I trust you." Ventus answered with stern nod. He could tell she was desperate, and he believed in her. Data-Naminé was smart.
"Good." Data-Naminé said, finally smiling sincerely since she had been healed.
"You can, uh, let go of my hand now." Ventus suggested, his cheeks a faint red as he avoided her eyes. Data-Naminé's own cheeks grew intensely pink as she realized how long they had been touching.
"Right!" Data-Naminé let go and quickly put her own hands behind her back. She squirmed under his equally as embarrassed gaze.
"So, um, Vanitas!" Data-Naminé blurted out. She started pulling up different screen in mid air, little blue boxes to type on. "I'll bring him over."
Blocks of 0's and 1's dazzled right across from them, Vanitas' body appearing in the air. He wasn't awake.
"Is he, is he going to be alright?" Ventus asked. Vanitas continued to float up and down in the digital space. He was still unconscious. Data-Naminé pursed her lips.
"He should be awake soon. I made sure that he got healed." Data-Naminé said. Ventus tried reaching out to touch him, but upon realization quickly retracted his hands.
"How am I going to take him out into the real world? I can't touch him and I don't want him to stay in here alone." Ventus said.
"Hmm, that is going to be a problem. Do you know for sure you can't carry him? You just can't touch him, right?" Data-Naminé said, stroking her chin. Ventus flexed his arms.
"I don't know how strong Ventus is. Sorry I can't be of much help with finding an answer." Ventus said regretfully, shaking his head. Data-Naminé hummed, thinking to herself. Her thoughts were interrupted by a small notification appearing in the air before her.
"What'cha got there?" Ventus said. He tried to lean over and see it for himself as she was reading. Quickly, Data-Naminé waved the pop up away and clapped her hands together.
"I've come up with a solution. I think you can carry him, just, we'll have to wrap him up in something." Data-Naminé purposed. Ventus just tilted his head.
Data-Naminé took out her notebook and started to draw something. Ventus was startled, thinking she was going to call out an unversed, and a clean white blanket appeared instead. She carefully wrapped Vanitas in it, spinning him in the air.
"Hold out your hands." Data-Naminé instructed. Ventus nodded and held them out under Vanitas, the boy slowly lowered into his arms. He was a little heavy, though nothing he couldn't manage.
"Thank you, Naminé." Ventus said. His face then became incredibly red.
"No, shoot, wait, I didn't mean that thank you, I still have to - ugh." He bowed his head, defeated. Data-Naminé laughed.
"It's fine, Ventus. I'm sure if you ever meet the real me, she'll be glad to hear it." Data-Naminé said. "I don't want to keep you. Please, don't give up on Vanitas, even as you start to remember. He really needs a good friend like you to help him."
Ventus grinned from ear to ear.
"Of course." He promised.
"You should come through the portal sometime." Kairi said.
"I don't need any training done. Keyblade master, remember?" Riku leaned forward on his elbows. Kairi crossed her arms and shifted her shoulders around.
"I know, I've 'got it memorized'," Kairi repeated the phrase she'd heard one too many times. "just, I really want you and Sora to come and see it. It's an amazing view."
Everyone was waiting around for Ventus to return. They'd brought chairs in from the study while Ienzo continued to try and gain access to the computer. The click clacking of keys had become just as common as his grumbles of failure in the background of their conversation.
Kairi had been discussing her training under Merlin and the sunset within that place.
"It's a Forest, right?" Riku said.
"Yep. Speaking of appearances, I've been thinking of changing mine up. Y'know, maybe just like, a little trim. To keep the ends healthy. Might grow it out if I'm not happy with it." Kairi said. She held a piece of hair out and scissored it between two fingers. Boy oh boy, Riku understood the struggles of maintaining long hair.
After Riku cut it down, he remembered the first morning afterwards waking up with a bright clear view of his room. Everything had just been a sea of silver before. The strands got everywhere, and his shedding had become maddening to his mother in particular, who often had clients come visit the house for meetings.
Riku could remember the way he and his mom had settled in the living room after she'd gone through the whole "How could you leave for so long?! We missed you! You're in big trouble…!" routine Riku had expected. It was late at night, a cup of hot chocolate purchased in his hands and his mother's own drink dosed with Bailey's. Silence, save for the soft ticking coming from the clock in the kitchen. Both of them were tired and his mom in particular had a heavy redness around her eyes.
"You know," she started, Riku feeling her hand softly stroke his hair "I always secretly loved your long hair. I could never get it to grow out that lovely and long when I was younger."
Riku looked up from the drink in his lap at her.
"Were you jealous?" He asked.
"Of course not, especially since you never liked to brush it. Gel could only do so much." She had said before taking another sip of her hot chocolate. Riku could only smile. His mind drew away from that memory and back towards Kairi.
"Not going all the way, huh?" Riku prompted Kairi, gesturing to his own hair. The strands came down to his ears.
"As respectable as that is, I don't want to look exactly like you. No offence." Kairi said. Riku opened his mouth to reply with a boastful retort, but closed it with when his train of thought changed course.
How could Vanitas look exactly like Sora?
Oh man were Ventus and Vanitas confusing, and on some degree Mickey was too. Ventus was probably just Roxas with amnesia again; the universe taunting him for those 7 days in captivity, and Vanitas was like if Sora had fallen into darkness and never woke up. Some say that eyes are the windows to the soul, and those golden suns made him want to close the blinds and stay inside forever.
That's the part where Riku challenged Mickey the most. He said Vanitas was someone that existed in his past, worked under Xehanort, and almost caused Kingdom Hearts to fall into the hands of evil. But, Riku had a different theory. While Mickey's story would stay the same, perhaps Vanitas was just another boy that had been manipulated by Xehanort as he himself had been by Ansem. Riku would figure out the whole "why does he look like Sora" thing later, though for now, Riku was acting on this assumption. From the way that he acted, there had been some reform of character.
Out of safety, Riku would continue to operate as though Vanitas were an enemy, because Riku knew how dangerous even he had been back when he himself worked under Maleficent. He'd been so consumed by all of his feelings, he acted rashly even if his original intent had been morally good. Ventus was an entirely different skeleton in Mickey's closet that Riku felt too guilty to think about.
"Riku? Are you okay?" Kairi inched closer and Riku was pulled from his thoughts.
"Yes, uh, sorry, what were we talking about?" Riku said. Kairi never got the chance to respond.
Both of their eyes were suddenly drawn to the computer as it started to whirr and light blasted out, Ienzo standing up triumphantly. Everyone then turned their attention to the platform as Ventus and Vanitas appeared.
"Hey guys," Ventus said. The group crowded around him anxiously, yet most had some relief at seeing him return safely. Riku had his hands in his pockets.
"Ventus, you made it back." Kairi said, the first in the room with the courage to reply. Blue hair peaked up over her shoulder.
"Tell me, did I get you out?" Ienzo asked, hopeful. Riku had to admire Ienzo's determination at retrieving Ventus, eager to prove himself after switching sides.
"Nope, Naminé let me out." Ventus answered. Ienzo's shoulders slumped, mouth becoming a thin line.
Ventus looked from Ienzo to Riku and it almost startled him. His mouth became dry.
"Ventus, I..." Riku started, but he didn't know what to say. What could he say? Ventus shook his head.
"It doesn't matter right now, just-" Ventus seemed to be tetering "can someone take Vanitas? Please? He's still unconscious and he's heavy."
"Sure," Riku said. He stepped forward and took the Vanitas burrito from Ventus, the smaller boy giving out with a sigh of relief. Riku could swear that the scent of darkness emanating from Vanitas was stronger, almost hesitating. He owed Ventus this, so he'd bear with the smell for now.
It was kind of awkward putting Vanitas onto his back, but Kairi helped him with draping the white blanket over Vanitas' shoulders. Vanitas' legs were so loose around his waist that Riku knew he wasn't just faking it.
"I would carry him myself, just, y'know the whole can't touch thing." Ventus mumbled. Riku nodded, shifting Vanitas to fit more comfortably.
"Can you carry him with your cast still on?" Kairi said. Riku froze and looked down at his wrist, still encased in white. He'd gotten so used to it being there, he'd learned to manage the temporary disability.
"It's fine, I'm getting the cast off soon anyways." Riku dismissed.
"Wait what, that's a cast? How'd you get it?" Ventus said, looking closer. Ienzo also looked closer, coming to the same realization.
"I see, I thought it was just some stylistic choice. Fascinating that you're still able to fight given your condition." Ienzo remarked.
Riku could swear there was a leak or something in his brain, because words just continued to slip away. Should he tell him that Roxas caused it considering their previous interaction? That would make things even more awkward. He hated this.
Too much time went by, so Mickey picked up the conversation.
"Ven, are you alright? We became worried about you when you suddenly left." Mickey said, stepping forward.
There was that little nickname again. Now that Riku thought about it, the only people he'd heard calling him 'Ven' were Mickey and Vanitas - perhaps Lea might've - but for sure Vanitas fell into that category. Vanitas also called Ventus 'Roxas' once or twice, and not in a slip of the tongue sort of way. Riku tried to mentally shake himself of those thoughts. Why'd everything come back down to him?
"I'm... feeling better. Yeah." Ventus answered. "Naminé told me some things that were a little hard to hear, but I need to tell you about the information I gained from her." Ventus went on to explain how they found Tron and encountered bugs in the computer, about Naminé being controlled by a virus and how he managed to defeat it and free her. He described a huge heartless that they'd had to fight.
"Did you get any of your memories back?" Mickey asked. Did Riku detect a hint of worry in his voice?
"Yeah! I got some from the Enchanted Dominion, though there's still a lot of holes. It's like, there's these gaps that I know are important, and I just can't reach them." Ventus explained.
"Do you remember why you went to the Enchanted Dominion?" Mickey said.
Ventus squinted and furrowed his eyebrows with a soft hum. He then blinked rapidly and shook his head, hand cupping the side of his face.
"...I'm sorry what were we talking about? No. Ummmm..." Ventus said. Riku understood that it was hard when your memories got messed up. It was hard to tell left from right sometimes, foggy memories even more unclear than before.
"That's okay, we'll get them right on sorted an' back. Don't you worry, fella'." Mickey said, swinging his arm in front of his chest. Perhaps that worry Riku had detected could be categorized better as concern?
Riku supposed it didn't matter. He just had a habit of reading facial expressions due to the amount of manipulation he had been berated with by villains over the years. Sora usually sucked at it, but he always went with his gut and his gut was right most of the time.
"Did she give us back the access to the old journal entries and data files?" Riku asked. Ienzo slid into the computer chair and typed in some things.
"No luck. It is still denying me access." Ienzo said, looking up at all of them.
"Naminé said she couldn't risk us finding anything that could set my memories off and overwhelm my heart. But, she did say would give us a clue as to where to look next. She said it'd be under–" Ventus squinted at the black writing on his palm. "Nami_ , whatever that means."
Ienzo seemed to understand, however, and quickly made the image full screen for everyone to see.
"Hmm..." Ventus squinted at the screen analyzing the image. All of his friends leaned forward in anticipation. This was it, the next chapter of their journey, and...
"I don't get it." Ventus said frankly. Everyone slouched.
"Geez, Ventus." Kairi whined, scratching her head. She was a tiny bit disappointed, hoping her digital nobody would've wanted to communicate something she would recognize.
Riku inspected it, his eyebrows furrowing. It was hard to focus with the big weight on his shoulders.
"Um." Riku tilted his head. "Well, it's weird, it's like a wooden version of Sora's Kingdom Key."
The picture had been drawn with crayons, a signature style of the artistic nobody. Laid out on grass was what Riku described: a wooden kingdom key. Something inside Ventus responded to this picture. It resonated with that feeling of sword-fighting with Riku on the beach when he was younger; both inexperienced and eager to challenge each other.
There was a pop up on the screen, a notification.
"Some things never grow old," Kairi read out. The room was quiet for moment, thinking it over.
"Neverland!" Ventus exclaimed. "Nobody ever grows up there."
"I see. So that's where you guys will be headed next." Mickey nodded, smiling. "If we're quick, we can-"
He was cut off from a voice in the computer.
"Hey! Ienzo, you there?!" Cid appeared on the computer screen.
"Cid?" Kairi exclaimed.
"Kairi, what're you doin' 'ere on your day off? Who's that there on Riku's back?" He asked. Riku readjusted Vanitas a tiny bit.
"This is Vanitas. I'm Ventus, but." Ventus said.
"But?" Cid squinted.
"Yeah, I don't really remember. Call me Ventus." Ventus said with a shrug. Cid shook his head. Ienzo came closer.
"Yes, I'm here Cid, why did you call me?" Ienzo replied.
"To make sure you get fed. Dinner'll be ready 'ere soon." Cid berated, toothpick jumbled up in his mouth.
"You, you don't have to keep making me dinner." Ienzo said, a bashful light red of embarrassment on his cheeks. He bowed his head to hide his face.
"Of course I do, holed up in that place all day. You need to get out, you're twice as young as me! You need to embrace your youth!" Cid commanded, slamming his fist on his own console.
"Wait, how old are you, Ienzo?" Kairi asked, turning from the screen to the blue-haired boy.
"I'm 17?" Ienzo answered quietly, unsure. Riku never knew that. Huh.
"Hey, did you make extra for the rest of us?" Ventus spoke up.
"Who do you think I am?! The minute Leon and Yuffie told me we'd be havin' guests, me and Aerith got right back into that kitchen!" Cid said, leaning back and crossing his arms.
"It's nice to meet you two, Ventus, Vanitas." Aerith said, walking past Cid in the background.
"Hey! If you see that alien on the way back, can you guys capture it?" Yuffie exclaimed, butting in beside Cid. From her many bruises, it seemed she came back to base empty handed.
"Perhaps it's for the best Experiment 626 remains uncaught…" Ventus said with a small smile. He was a very intelligent alien, able to outwit most opponents.
"Fine, I'll come and join you all." Ienzo sighed.
"Don't forget to-" Cid was cut off by Ienzo pressing a button. The USB like object from before was ejected and Ienzo put it carefully away.
"It seems like he cares for you." Kairi pointed out. Ienzo sighed, sitting in an empty chair
"It seems that way, huh? That place takes in all types of lost souls. I guess I fall under that list now, my purpose under the Organization null." Ienzo answered simply.
"Aren't you waiting for Even to show up?" Riku asked.
"That may be true. Speaking of, I'm going to check for him before I leave, don't wait up for me. I'll make it to the base alone." Ienzo said.
"Promise me." Kairi said, putting a hand on one of her hips and pinky finger out. Ienzo narrowed his eyes, trying to determine whether or not she was serious. He sighed with a small smile, hooking his pinky with hers.
"If it would reassure you, I promise." Ienzo said. Kairi grinned and the two pulled away their hands.
Once the group was outside the Hollow Bastion castle, they headed back to base.
"Let's get a move on, okay? Vanitas is going to do permanent damage to my back at this rate." Riku said.
"It's getting late, we don't want to be out for long when the sun's coming down." Mickey said. The heartless were more plentiful when the moon was in the sky.
Everyone nodded and they began to make their way out of Hollow Bastion. As they were walking down the street, Ventus had his arms crossed behind his neck.
"Naminé said he was going to be alright. I'm glad." Ventus spoke to Riku, nodding at Vanitas.
Had Ventus and Vanitas really become so close within a day or so? Honestly, Ventus was going to give Sora a run for his money at how fast he was at making friends. Vanitas was still an enemy, someone who hurt Ventus. How could Ventus look past that so easily?
Kairi scooted closer, sandwiching Ventus between her and Riku.
"So, uh, did Naminé talk about me? Anything at all, maybe...?" Her voice got smaller as she trailed off. She tried to look disinterested, scratching the side of her face with a finger and avoiding eye contact.
"The data versions in the computer are only replicas. The real Naminé doesn't exist anymore." Mickey answered for Ventus. Riku saw Kairi's disappointment in real time, the slump of shoulders and defeated smile.
"Oh yeah, okay, I know, but – okay, yeah." Kairi caved into herself, arms running up her shoulders in an effort to comfort herself. Riku'd comfort her too if he didn't have a body on his back.
"I don't entirely believe that." Ventus said, frowning. Kairi blinked. "I don't think she's all gone."
Kairi nodded, some light returning to her eyes. Riku didn't want to continue this conversation because he knew for sure that Roxas himself, wasn't gone. What he had witnessed earlier proved that.
So he just continued forward, trying not to think of it.
Data-Naminé didn't know how else she should frame her home. The real Naminé had lived in Castle Oblivion for only a few days, and yet those white walls seemed to follow her everywhere she had went. When Diz had shown her her room in the Old Mansion, it was like arriving back in that cage. That time, she had a window and curtains to filter the sun.
"I have chosen to be here," she had thought "I must stay close to Sora in order to heal him".
So, without any other frame of reference, that's what Data-Naminé's residence looked like too. She took the liberty of opening up the space, the singular white room as huge and finely shaped as Belle's castle ballroom. In the center was a round table, a vase filled with flowers that would never wilt, and on one side of the room was a huge window that slowly cycled through the time of day.
The best difference, however, was that there was always someone waiting for her to come and sit down.
"Welcome back, Naminé." He said. Data-Naminé gave him a small nod as she took a seat beside him at the table, setting her notepad and crayons on the glass surface. She didn't glance at him.
"It's nice to see you too, Rem." She nodded. Rem smiled back brighter under his black hood, leaning forward to rest his chin on his palm. Data-Naminé remained silent, lost in needlessly straightening her crayons.
"Did… did everything go well?" Rem said, noting her almost somber expression. Data-Naminé stopped in her ministrations and pulled her hands into her lap.
"I feel bad about lying to him." Data-Naminé admitted. She suddenly seemed so small in this wide open white room. "I know I had to pretend I was being controlled by a virus in order for him to fight me, and yet... Gosh, I even had Tron lie to him for my sake."
She didn't look like she was going to burst into tears anytime soon, although her actions still clearly distressed her. Her thoughts faded with a long drawn out sigh, trying to compose herself. She reached out to grab a crayon.
"It's going to be alright. You followed your gut and did what you thought was best for Sora. As your friend, I'm pretty proud of you, Naminé." Rem said, hand beside hers on the table. His pinkie flirted with hers and she smiled as their two fingers engaged in a small pointless battle.
"Thank you, and for that message you sent as well. I would've never thought of the blanket." Data-Naminé said, grinning. Rem pulled away and leaned back in his chair, elbows perched on the top of the backrest.
"I know, aren't I amazing? What would you do without me?" Data-Naminé couldn't see any of his expressions under his hood, but she was pretty sure he had a big smirk on his face. She laughed and shook her head, diving into her drawing.
"I wouldn't go that far." Data-Naminé gave a dry laugh, shifting a bit in her seat.
"I would, I mean, meeting you was the best thing to ever happen to me. We were all alone until we met each other." He shifted his chair closer and Data-Naminé tried resisting the urge to move hers away.
"I… I chose to be alone. It was my burden to bear." Data-Naminé said. She was created to help sort through the memories that were lost, the ones that would help Sora deal with the hurt. She paitently waited until Data-Sora came to her door.
"Oh no, don't misunderstand me. I wasn't trying to say anyone forced you to be that way. We both know what it's like to be controlled, to be manipulated. How much it hurts... It's why I trust you so much, 'cause you'd never do anything to let me down, right?" Rem said, face tilted in a way that his eyes stared into her through the shadow of his hood. Somehow his hand found its way on top of her own. She sighed.
"Right, Rem." Data-Naminé said with a smile. She took his hand and held it tightly between her palms. Rem was her only friend in this digital landscape. Ventus and Vanitas both came and went, but no matter what, Rem would always be there for her.
About 12 years ago…
Sora's mom took special care with tucking her child in that night. The sheets were freshly washed and still retained the warmth of the dryer, everything in his room had been cleaned to the last speck. She hadn't put away his clothes from the hospital yet - those needed to be cleaned - but it didn't matter. Her son was back home.
"Everything all comfy, Sora?" She asked, tucking in the covers. She sat down at his side, holding his hand.
"Yep!" Sora said. His mom smiled, before turning into a frown at watching him try to stifle his coughs.
"Oh honey, the doctors said it'll clear up soon enough. Tomorrow, I'll bake your favourite: red velvet. How about it?" She resisted looking sorrowful, hating to see her one and only everything suffering like this. He was better, but not completely off the hook. As she padded a hand through his hair, she thought about how she came so close to losing him, and yet here he was. Able to be felt and loved, fed ice cream on hot days, and sing softly to whenever he had bad dreams.
"Cake will make me feel better!" Sora beamed, his cute face poking out of the covers. She returned his smile with a much softer one, and leaned over near her feet to grab something in a bag.
"I was going to wait for your birthday, but I decided that perhaps this was the right time to give you this." She brought up a grey stuffed animal that looked like a cat and had small squinting button eyes.
"Ooh!" Sora exclaimed, reaching out eagerly for the gift.
"This is 'Chirithy'. He's a family heirloom. He was grandma's and her mom before hers, then mine, and now he's yours." She explained, handing him the toy. He quickly hugged it.
"'Chirithy' is weird. I'm gonna call him ' '." Sora announced, looking over his new possession carefully. Mr. Snuffles had been well loved, but also taken care of for the amount of years since it had been tailored. Sora wasn't sure if he had seen this type of stuffed animal before in a store or not, due to it looking vaguely familiar. No, he was being silly, was super old.
"You can name him whatever you want. Your great grandma said that he was a dear friend of hers and always was there to guide and protect her. He's your friend now, too, Sora. Take good care of him, alright?" She patted both him and the stuffy on the head.
Sora giggled, holding tighter.
"Okay! I will!" Sora answered. It was perfectly soft and cuddly, just the way Sora liked it.
"Get to sleep now. You still need all of your strength to fully recover." She said, smiling as she reached down to kiss him on his forehead. After turning off the lights – quietly blowing one more kiss – she closed the door and left.
Sora waited a few minutes, hearing her go through the ruminations of her own night time routine before there was complete silence. The brunet positively beamed, having been looking forward to this night ever since the hospital staff told him he would be relieved. Unsurprisingly, part of that excitement had been due to the fact he was finally free to eat and go wherever he wanted. The pudding was good for the first few days, but then it had started to grow stale like everything else overtime. Yet, what Sora had really been excited for, was being able to play with Riku and his other friends again.
Now, he was going to secretly meet up with Riku. Before his operation, Riku and Sora promised that they would meet each other on the beach the night he was released from the hospital. Riku wanted to show Sora all of the stars and tell him about this weird theory he came up with. They had been planning to do it the same day Riku had met that teenager, but Sora had collapsed before they could ask their parents.
Sora pulled out a set of clean clothes he had put under the bed, not wanting to risk any noise by getting some out of the drawers. As he quickly got changed, he stole a glance at , the cat-like stuffed animal staring lifelessly at him in a way the young brunet chose to interpret as judgmental. The brunet sighed and sat beside on the bed.
"I know I should stay home, but I want to go see Riku." Sora whispered, trying not to whine too loudly.
was silent.
"Look, I promised Riku I'd meet up with him, so I can't just break that promise. Don't look so sad, ." Sora tried to convince his new adamant friend. Said friend in question didn't even blink. Sora nodded in understanding.
"Okay, . Won't stay out too late." Sora squeezed the stuffy in one last hug before carefully tucking the dutiful guardian underneath the covers. It could only watch as he snuck outside his bedroom window, using a nearby palm tree to slide down to the ground. All he had to do now, was find Riku.
"Hey Sora!" The young silver haired youth waved at him as he ran up the shoreline.
"Riku!" Sora called back excitedly. It'd been a long while since he'd been able to stand on this shoreline. After he'd fallen into critical condition, all he could see were the walls of the hospital staring back at him. That slowly fading beep… beep… beep of a heart struggling to thrive was his only companion to greet him after the surgery anesthesia wore off.
When he'd miraculously recovered, Riku was able to visit him in the hospital. He had asked Riku to give him something; though five year olds don't have much to their names, and four year-olds don't know what to ask for. On the second visit, Riku showed up with a proud smile on his face as he hid the items behind his back.
"Ooooh! Riku! Riku! Tell me what is it? What is it?!" Sora exclaimed ecstatically, practically leaping out of his bad. His UV line kept him from jumping all of the way but it was amusing to see.
"Hmmmm… Guess." Riku answered cheekily. Sora groaned, slumping in his bed.
"Oh come on, Riku. Tell me, tell me!" Sora demanded. Riku's mom tried to stifle a laugh as she looked up from her book, sitting off to the side as the two visited. Drawn to her small noise, Sora's eyes noticed the object in her hand before looking back at Riku.
"Is it a book?" Sora guessed, trying to peak over Riku's shoulder. The other boy carefully maneuvered his body to block Sora's vision.
"Nope,"
"Aaaaaa… piece of candy?"
Riku shook his head. Sora bounced with annoyance.
"C'mon, at least give me a hint." The brunet was growing impatient. Riku thought for a moment, humming.
"Fine. You can give these to get things, kinda." Riku supplied. Sora dwelled on those words.
Get something, get things with?
Sora thought. The harder he thought about it, the more his had started to hurt. Why was it hurting, . . .
Power to take what I want with my own two hands.
Words. Those sounds inside his head, his own voice, yet it felt different. Static drowning out everything else, dry laughter from old lungs and a woman crying out. Sounds of frustration, strange creatures wailing as they rose from black ash, the sound of–
"Have any more guesses, Sora?" Riku broke Sora out of his trance, the brunet blinking. That was certainly weird. What had he been thinking about just then?
Get things… Munny! Although, Riku wouldn't give me munny. I can't go to the hospital store anyways without Mommy or Daddy.
Sora pondered. Looking at a picture on the wall of a beach, he suddenly had an idea.
"Sand dollars! Did you get me some?" Sora was bouncing with energy on the edge of the bed. Riku smiled and outstretched his palms for his friend to see, presenting a chipped sand dollar and a few sea shells. Sora quickly grabbed them out of his hands and got to work inspecting them. One was uhhh… Sora didn't know a lot of these colours, but he knew that this swirly one was blue because he had asked his mom a few times. Blue was his new favourite colour, it looked pretty. The water was blue. She was blue. Wait, people can't have blue hair. Had he ever met someone with blue hair? Riku's was silver, that was pretty neat.
Sora loved these shells a whole lot.
"I looked everywhere for these. Most of 'em were cracked or somethin'. I wanted to get you a full one." Riku had a smirk on his face, arms crossed proudly across his chest. Sora didn't reply as he just kept absorbing the shells into his memory.
"Sora, what do you say?" Riku's mom cut in, stepping up where she knew Sora's own parents would.
"Thank you," Sora mumbled, finally looking back up at Riku. "Where did you get these?"
"I got these… from the beach? Five minute walk from my house?" Riku squinted at Sora, trying to interpret whether or not he was being serious. Sora blinked, eyeing the shells again with a frown.
"You did?"
"Yeah,"
Sora slowly nodded. Of course he lived on the beach. Destiny Islands, the name itself gave that away, duh! How could he forget something so simple?
"Ah, I just haven't seen the ocean or been able to collect seashells with you for so long." Sora spoke quietly. He couldn't remember how long it'd been since he'd been admitted to this place, unable to recall what his own bedroom looked like. That was weird, right? There had to be more to his life than this small room. These shells were proof that something outside these white walls existed, just waiting for him to come visit. Blue gave him comfort in that way.
"I'll just take a minute, okay guys?" Riku's mom had stood up from her chair to use the small washroom located in the corner.
"Okay mom." Riku answered. His mother didn't really respond as her body disappeared behind the door and the lock made a soft 'click' noise. The two boys were left alone.
"Hey, Riku, after I get out of here, can I, can we, visit the beach or something? Together?" Sora asked, holding the shells close to his chest. Riku raised an eyebrow; he was now leaning on the edge of the bed with his elbow, posed beside Sora.
"Don't tell me you already forgot we made that promise." Riku asked. He looked sad. Sora's mind desperately looked for answers, and finally found them. The day before his surgery, Riku had come in. He'd been colouring, and Riku wore the same expression he was wearing now. It was almost desperate, holding something that Sora, even in this current moment, couldn't decipher. Then they'd made that promise.
"Uh, no, you're right. The same spot as always?" Sora smiled, the information becoming more clear.
Riku nodded, resting his head on the side of the bed as he stared up at his best friend in the entire Universe. Sora.
...Much like he was doing now as the bouncing four year-old rushed to greet him on the beach. Riku was glad that they could get back to playing together again. He'd missed Sora while he stayed at the hospital, and hanging out at the beach was less enjoyable without the brunet tagging along.
Sora bent over as he came up beside Riku, trying to catch his breath.
"Sora, are you okay?" Riku furrowed his eyebrows, reaching out and not knowing what to do. The brunet had just had heart surgery, for pete's sake! Riku tried not to wince as he heard some roughness to Sora's voice.
"Yeah, better than ever!" Sora exclaimed. Riku forcibly covered Sora's mouth as he looked both ways for any surrounding people. They were alone.
"Sssh! We can't be too loud, you understand?" Riku's voice was firm. Sora nodded, realizing his mistake. The silver haired boy unclamped Sora's mouth and the brunet sighed in relief. Leaning back, the world revealed to Sora an inky canvas hanging overhead with millions of bright stars.
"Wow… I've never been to the beach at night before!" Sora's awe was evident in his eyes, becoming wide to just try and absorb everything into them.
"Yeah, it's something different than just looking outside your window." Riku answered, having a more subdued reaction, although smiling in his own way. Sora perked up and he pointed eagerly.
"Look, a shooting star!" Sora and Riku both watched the once beaming light fade into nothingness. Riku chose this moment to share his theory with Sora.
"... Y'know, I've been thinking all these nights since you left, that maybe, every star is a different world out there. And when a light goes out, that world falls into darkness." Riku mused, looking down from the sky to look at his friend. "Hey Sora, you're…"
As Riku pointed, Sora reached up to touch his face, and indeed a tear had graced his cheek.
"I'm… crying?" Sora said, inspecting his finger. When he blinked, another tear fell down. Something was curling up inside, making his harder to breathe, a different type of suffocation than what he experienced before his surgery.
"Maybe, in one of those worlds out there, someone feels so sad that they're reaching out to you for help. All you need is to take their hand." Riku suggested. Sora quietly debated the idea, crossing his arms behind his head for a moment.
"I dunno, Riku. You say some weird stuff sometimes, but I'll try it!" Sora accepted the challenge, clutching his fists together. Riku nodded and went back to looking at the stars. Sora closed his eyes and reached out. For anyone, someone…
When Sora opened his eyes, everything was black.
Upon further inspection, he was not on the beach anymore, but rather a big darkened stained glass pillar. Riku was gone. Sora could barely see anything in this low brightness, the glass below emitting a faint blue glow. It had been hard to make out the figure hunched over in the distance. Their back was turned towards him, slightly shaking due to the quiet weeping sounds they were making. The crying barely echoed in this endless space, barely mattered.
On the pillar there used to be a few faces ingrained into the design, though now they were darkened and cracked; only a single sleeping face remaining unbroken, yet not untouched by misery.
Sora wanted to speak but the words got caught in his throat. Was he taller now? Trying to reach out to the figure, the foreign checkered bracelet gave him pause. Why were tears coming out even more? Wasn't this supposed to stop the crying?
The woman remained hunched over and defeated, shoulders slowly rising and falling with every staggered breath. Sora didn't know what to do, who she was, and that's what hurt him even more. Dropping to his knees, his head hurt and the world started to cave in around him.
Her sniffling paused and he raised his head to see her turn towards him-
Who was she who was she whowas she who wasshewhowass͏h͡e̛w̸͘͠ḩo̷w̧҉̵as҉̵s̨h̢̨ewho̢was̸͢s͟h̛e͘-̷͟-
Her voice croaked.
"I'm sorry,"
Then Vanitas woke up.
AN: *nervous laughter*