Ventus never got tired of seeing The Lanes Between. Even with his saddened state and feeling of helplessness, its beauty was still awe inspiring. He flew from Metro City, wondering if Zack would be yet another friend he made that he'd never see again. Or, perhaps, he'd be able to revisit all the worlds he had encountered and see the people he met along the way. Maybe calling them friends wasn't too accurate, he still just struggled with the concept…
Unknown to the teen, he and Terra flew by each other. The two were so far apart that neither spotted their fellow student as they went to their respective worlds. Ventus quickly went to the same location that Terra just left from without even knowing it. The large mountain he spotted with the white cloud over it gave the boy shivers.
Yet…the teen felt drawn to the world, so he directed his glider over to it.
Something else that was unknown to the teen was that a few days had passed since Terra was in this world. The passage of time could indeed by mysterious. It went by just a bit differently between worlds.
Ventus flew down to the surface, finding his heart guiding him to a desert of all places. There were a few towns relatively close by, but there were no people where he landed. He touched down in the area where grass became sand, and the heat of the sun started to get him within moments of him dismissing his armor.
His heart guided him to this specific part of this specific world for some reason, so Ventus would trust it. He wasn't scared to go in the desert, of course. After all, if it started to become too much, he could simply fly away. There could be people in it that he hadn't noticed, though, so for the moment he'd go on foot.
The sand was hot even through Ventus' shoes as he crossed the thankfully flat area. Or, at least, he thought the heat of the ground was that intense. Maybe it was just his imagination. Either way, he was glad the sands didn't have dunes, as he knew that'd make it far more of a pain to cross.
It was odd how he knew things like that.
Ventus learned a lot of things about other worlds from Master Eraqus. Yet there were many more things that he just sort of knew on his own. He knew the names of many plants and animals such as the cacti he walked past or the birds circling overhead, he knew how to read and write, he knew how a lot of technology worked too. This stuff he just had a grasp on without having to be told.
Yet any memory of his life before The Land of Departure was a complete and total blank to the teen. Even after several years, not a single piece of information cropped up. Not a face, a voice, any information of his homeworld, or anything like that. Who were his parents Where did he come from? How did he even lose his memories and why did they never come back to him? While he had somewhat accepted that it was just how his life was going to be, Ventus still felt frustrated at the lack of answers.
His thoughts were interrupted as he heard shouts from his head. Foolishly, he had been sort of staring at the ground directly in front of his feet rather than the area ahead. When he looked, he saw a strange sight.
Not far ahead of Ventus were three kids, surely none older than eleven or twelve or so. Two boys, one with stark white hair, and a girl in a pink hat. Three kids alone in the desert was odd enough, but it was even more bizarre that they were fighting something! Hovering in front of the trio were strange saucer-like machines. Flying saucers? There were three of these devices, and they were firing laser blasts at the kids, who were dodging around the attacks.
Not about to let this go on, Ventus summoned Wayward Wind and charged towards the scuffle. "Hold on! I'll help you guys out!" He shouted, getting the attention of the kids and the saucers alike. These strange foes started to fire at Ventus instead, shooting their lasers off at him.
The teen was able to dodge around or block these attacks, the lasers no match for the extreme durability of a Keyblade. He leapt into the air and sliced one of the saucers clean in half, the two chunks of metal falling helplessly to the desert. After that, he quickly spun around and shot a fireball at another, melting most of it and causing it to explode.
"Look out!" The girl yelled, pointing to a saucer that went right over Ventus' head. Before he could react, she unleashed a bolt of thunder that struck the saucer! This caused it to shake violently before it teetered and drifted to the side, falling down into the sand.
Ventus was pretty stunned at the display of power, but he was thankful for it. "Hey, thanks for the save." He said with a grin. "Are you three okay? What were those things?"
"We're all okay." One of the boys, one with black hair, replied. "Those were aliens, of course. Haven't you ever watched any movies or read any comics? Little U.F.O.s trying to fry us!"
Ah…well, that wasn't something Ventus was familiar with, so he just lied. "Oh…right. I should've guessed, sorry."
"What are you doing all the way out here?" The other boy asked, poking around at one of the destroyed saucers, keeping his eye on Ventus as he did so.
"I cold ask you the same thing. I'm…on something of a personal journey…but I'm also looking for someone. But anyway, my name's Ventus, but you can call me Ven. Who are you three?"
That answer was apparently enough for the kids, who seemed less cautious of Ventus' presence. "I'm Ninten." The black haired boy said. "The kid with the glasses is Lloyd, and the girl is Ana. Thanks for that save, by the way."
"Yes, thank you!" The girl said with a small smile on her face. "I've never considered things like that could even be real!"
Ventus chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. "I'm surprised you needed my help. You've got strong magic." He said to Ana.
"Well…it's called PSI…but either way, I try not to use it." The girl said with a sigh.
The teen didn't know what PSI really meant, but he just accepted it. Different laws for different worlds. "I see…so, why are you kids out here, again? Aren't there any adults around?"
"We're on our way to Youngtown. Normally, we could take a train, but the bridge it has to cross is out." Ninten explained. "I also feel like something we're looking for is here in this desert…"
"What are you three looking for? Maybe I could help." Ventus was starting to think he was drawn to this world to help these kids, perhaps. He had his own personal journey regarding friends to worry about, but he couldn't ignore it if his heart started to guide him.
Ninten and Ana looked to each other, as if silently discussing whether or not to trust Ventus. Apparently they decided to trust hm, the two looking back at the teen with small grins. "We don't know, really. Something that produces a melody. We need to find four more of these."
"A melody? So, an instrument? Why are you looking for something like that here?" Ventus asked, briefly eyeing Lloyd who was still finicking with one of the fallen saucers.
"We don't know. Maybe!" Ana replied. "We just feel like it's in the desert somewhere."
Rubbing the back of his neck, Ninten let out a small sigh. "Well, I can just explain it real briefly…" The boy went on to tell about the four melodies that had been encountered so far, and about Magicant. "…and this guy named Terra was helping, and-"
"Terra?" Ventus interrupted, eyes widening. The whole story was unusual, though it still made some sense, but it was the name of his friend that really caught him. "He was here?"
"Eh? You're a friend of his?" Ninten asked. "He never mentioned anyone named Ventus, so I had no idea."
Even though he knew it was a bit childish to feel that way, Ventus still felt a bit sore that Terra never mentioned him. Then again, he probably had no real reason to. "Oh…yeah. We're friends. Was he looking for someone called Vanitas?"
"Hey! Yeah, that's it exactly! He asked about someone with a name like that. We never saw him, though." Ninten said with a nod. "Either way, he left a few days ago."
At this point, Ventus realized it shouldn't be a surprise anymore that he and Terra ended up in the same world. It had already happened several times, after all. "I see…well, if you guys want, I can stick around for a bit and help." After all, he had to have been pulled to this world for a reason.
"Oh, we'd really appreciate that!" Ana said with a look of relief. "Thank you, Ven!"
"Aha! There we go!" Lloyd exclaimed, the boy lifting up an object in one hand. It was a sort of gun, one that looked like it came from the saucer he was tinkering with. "A laser gun! A lot better than the stun gun I had!"
Ninten's brows rose as he watched Lloyd look over his new weapon. "You made that all by yourself?"
"Well…not exactly. I just took the laser from the U.F.O. and modified it lightly. Not a big deal." He looked between the three. "So, what were we talking about?"
"Ven's going to come with us for a while." Ana declared. "With four of us, things should go by a lot smoother."
"If only having four of us stopped this heat!" Ninten said, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. "Let's hurry and get that melody!"
Lloyd seemed surprised at the development, but quickly shrugged it off as he put the gun in his bag. "Right! Okay, let's go!"
The newly formed quarter went silently along the desert. Normally Ventus at least would want to talk, but with the nasty heat, it was just too much of a chore. As he panted along, the teen realized something. He wondered if it would even work! Readying Wayward Wind, he casted Blizzard. Or, rather, he brought forth that brand of magic in the most miniscule increments that he possibly could.
This resulted in a steam of cold air, even magically imbued snowflakes, spouting from the tip of his Keyblade. The magic was actually enough to bring a pleasant chill to the area around the four. "Oh, that's so much better…" Ventus breathed, keeping the magic going.
"I don't know how you're doing that, but please keep it going!" Ninten said, giving off a big goofy grin as he walked onward with his eyes closed, enjoying the breeze.
"Hey, what's that there?" Lloyd called as he enjoyed the breeze, pointing forward.
Ahead of the group was a cactus. Hardly an interesting sight in the desert, of course. What made this cactus stand out, though, was that it appeared to have a face. It had creased on its exterior that resembled a simplistic drawing of eyes and a face. The four approached it, as it was dead ahead of them anyway.
"I've never seen a cactus with a face!" Ana explained, tittering. "He certainly looks silly, doesn't he?"
Ninten was staring more intently at the cactus. "Wait…I think, maybe…" He murmured, reaching out. Carefully to avoid any prickly bits, he lightly touched the cactus.
Without warning, the mouth of the cactus opened, and out came a gorgeous sound. Four lovely, drawn-out vocalizations sprang forth from the desert plant. It was beautiful, yet somehow melancholy at the same time, as if the lone cactus despaired having none of its brethren near it. As the last note echoed in the distance, the plant fell silent.
The song really resonated within the quartet, making them all feel at ease, and it was a melody that managed to stick inside their minds. The kind of tune that never really got forgotten, no matter how much time passed.
"That was it! Another melody!" Lloyd exclaimed with a smile.
"Those are the melodies you're collecting? It was beautiful…" Ventus admired, staring at the cactus, part of him hoping it'd keep singing. Yet it remained still, as if it bursting out into song was just an illusion. "Didn't expect to hear a cactus sing…"
"Yeah, we've been finding them in all sorts of places." Ninten remarked. "The last one was played by a haunted piano."
Ventus could believe that, and not just because he encountered Boos in the past. A singing cactus was far more unusual. "So, where do we go from there then?"
"We still need to go to Youngtown." Ana explained, seeming rather solemn. "It's more to the east, and then to the south. So we'll have to stick to the desert for now…"
"At least I can keep us cool for a while." Ventus remarked, holding up Wayward Wind. Even with how minimal magic he was using, it would still drain him over time. He could only keep it up for a finite amount of time, and he was unsure of how long that was. After all, he had never tried this before.
Nodding, Ninten started forward, clearly eager to get out of the desert. "Come on then, let's keep moving."
Even with the cooling powers of Ventus' Keyblade, the quarter didn't talk much as they traveled. The heat situation was taken care of but walking across a desert was still pretty tiring. That, and Ventus' magic could only do so much. As the sun rose higher, so did the heat. If the teen increased the Blizzard magic too much more, it could potentially hurt the others.
When it was around noon, the cold magic started to do little, the quarter panting and sweating from the desert heat. "Hey…" Lloyd called out, pointing ahead. "I don't know if this is a mirage, but…is that a tank? And…I think I see monsters!"
The other three looked to where the boy was pointing. There was actually a small patch of greenery and life, an oasis! On that oasis, though, was an unusual sight. Sitting on the grass was a large old tank that seemed as though it wouldn't ever move again. Near the tank was a man being attacked by Unversed! At least a dozen Scrappers surrounded him, and he had nowhere to run!
"Hey, we gotta help that guy!" Ventus called, rushing forward without hesitation. The three kids weren't far behind, though Lloyd lagged a bit behind.
As the teen grew near, he used Wayward Wind to summon an Aero spell, blowing a few of the Scrappers a few feet away. This caused all the Unversed to turn their attention to the approaching group.
Ninten reached the Unversed before the other two kids, slamming his baseball bat into the head of one of the Scrappers and creating a barrier as another attempted to slash him with its claws. Ana snuck up behind that one and took out her fry pan, knocking the Unversed over the head with it.
Lloyd, meanwhile, stayed at a distance. With his new weapon, he fired off lasers from afar, taking out several Unversed with a look of satisfaction on his face. "It really works…!" He murmured to himself giddily.
Ventus took care of the last of the Scrappers, slashing one down the middle as it tried to charge him. Making sure there were really no more Unversed around, the teen turned to the man they saved. He was getting up there in age, his black hair dotted with bits of grey. The man wore a red cowboy hat and camo gear suited for the desert. "Are you okay, sir?" The teen asked.
Blinking a few times in surprise, the man straightened his hat and looked at his saviors. "You kids really came right when I needed you!" The man observed, wiping some sweat from his brow. "Thanks a lot! Those creatures just came out of nowhere!"
"It's no big deal." Ventus replied with a small grin. "You're not hurt, right?"
"No, no, I'm okay. Not a scratch!" The man said with a chuckle. "But say, what are you kids doing out here in Yucca Desert? Even before all this craziness, it isn't safe here. Especially since there's a landmine here somewhere I never managed to find…"
A landmine?! Even in a big space like the desert, knowing one wrong step could spell death was pretty unnerving. "Oh…uh…really?" Ventus asked, worried about the explosive.
"We're on our way to Youngtown." Ninten spoke up, apparently not too worried about the landmine. "The bridge is out, so we can't take the train."
"That right?" The man replied, rubbing his chin in thought. "The way to Youngtown is pretty dangerous too, you know. There's a massive robot that's blocking the way. And I mean massive! Easily taller than a house! It's been patrolling the area in the desert near the way to Youngtown for a few days now."
"Can we sneak by it?" Lloyd asked, clearly nervous at the prospect of facing such a foe.
Sighing a bit, the man shook his head. "I've tried myself, but I guess it has sensors of some sort. I try sneaking out that way, and it charges me out of nowhere. I've seen my fair share of war, but nothing prepared me for something so gigantic barreling towards me. At the very least, when I fled far enough, it gave up."
Ventus was pretty worried about this. Sure, he survived the fight against that mechanical Unversed, but this robot sounded a lot bigger, and the teen didn't have Terra or Aqua to assist him. He also had no idea how strong the three kids were…
"So, that's it? We can't move forward?" Ventus asked, trying to prompt for some other way to get through this.
"Well…you kids could always take my tank." The veteran said, almost nonchalantly.
Ana's eyes widened, looking at the old vehicle. "What? You'd just let us take it? Why haven't you used it then, mister?"
"I'm only one guy! Even as a veteran, I can't pilot a tank on my own." The man replied, taking something out of his pocket. It was a set of keys that he tossed towards Ventus, who nearly fumbled as he caught them. "I'm too rusty to help out, though…"
"I think I can handle it." Lloyd remarked, sounding abnormally confident as he took the keys from Ventus. "I've read a lot of books and manuals on all sorts of things…so I think I can get things running."
"What?! For real?!" Ninten asked, eyes wide and blatantly excited to be in a tank. "Lloyd, that's amazing! Come on, how do we start it?!"
The white haired boy spent the next hour making sure the quartet had a thorough understanding of the tank and its controls. He would be piloting it while Ana and Ninten would aid him with the ammo and being his eyes for the drive. Ventus, of his own accord, volunteered to sit on top of the tank. Even if he couldn't fight the giant robot on his own, he could at least be a distraction so Lloyd and the others could line up a shot.
With the oddly kind veteran waving the kids off, Lloyd drove the quartet through the desert. Ventus sat atop the tank, almost mesmerized at how cool the situation was. It was a sort of situation where the teen didn't realize this was something he knew he wanted until it was happening. The hatch to the tank itself was open, Ventus sticking Wayward Wind inside to let light Blizzard magic inside, as the vehicle had no air conditioning.
"You guys doing okay in there? Is my magic enough?" Ventus called, shouting to be heard over the tank.
"We're doing fine! Thanks, Ven!" Ana called, sitting down, and resting her feet as she enjoyed the cool air.
"Let us know when you see the target, Ven!" Lloyd called, doing a surprisingly remarkable job of piloting the tank. He was a natural!
The trip was pretty uneventful, the tank going along the desert and really giving the quartet a chance to rest their weary legs. Before a half hour passed by, though, Ventus spotted something on the horizon. It was massive and grey.
…Also, it was heading directly towards the group at a surprising speed!
"It's here! It's coming at us from dead ahead!" Ventus called, standing up and getting Wayward Wind ready. "It really is enormous!"
Starting to act as the tank's eyes, Ana seemed pretty nervous. "Oh! I see it too!" She called, worry in her voice.
Ninten helped prep the tank's ammo while Lloyd drove forward, the robot closing in. The robot's features also started to be made out easier. It was cylindrical in shape, its head hard to spot as it towered over the tank. It had limbs like a human, stocky and strong. Across its chest, large writing was imbedded into it: R7037.
"R7037…I guess that's what it's called…" Ventus murmured, really worried about what was to come. Could his Keyblade even scratch this thing? His guts started to churn as the robot got even closer and its true size became apparent. The teen had hoped that the veteran meant bigger than a single story house. No. That wasn't the case at all. Instead, the robotic menace was twice as large as a house with two stories!
"That's gigantic!" Ninten exclaimed, seeming nervous for the first time about the situation. "Can you really distract it, Ven?!"
"I don't have a choice!" The Keyblade wielder recalled, readying his weapon as he kicked off the tank as hard as he could, using an Aero spell around his feet to give him more of a liftoff. He reached R7037 before it reached the tank, throwing Wayward Wind in a Strike Raid against the machine.
R7037 stopped in its tracks, as if surprised that a human could achieve such a jump. It was a massive thing, so quick dodges were impossible for it. The Strike Raid hit the robot, dragging up its torso and towards it shoulder. Sparks flew as the Keyblade grinded against the metal, doing minimal damage, not even enough to properly pierce the chassis is it flew from its shoulder and back to Ventus' hand.
"Just keep at it! We'll fire when we have an opening!" Lloyd yelled as Ventus slowly fell to the ground, his Aero magic keeping him suspended as needed.
The teen was surprised at how little his attack did. He was hoping he could at least properly damage it that way. At the very least, he had more up his sleeve than that! He gritted his teeth and gathered up his magic abilities. While not as skilled as Aqua, he had felt his abilities grow as he went on this spontaneous adventure. He knew he could unleash this upcoming spell for the first time, shouting out in effort.
"Thundaga!"
With an almost deafening crack, massive bolts of thunder magic rained down around R7037, even getting somewhat close to the tank, but never actually endangering it or the kids inside. The robot was struck with several of these bolts, the electricity running over its body and locking it in place. After he landed, Ventus ran off to the side, astounded he was able to pull off such a spell of such a tier!
"…F…Fire! Fire! Get ready for the first shot!" Lloyd shouted, aiming the tank. Apparently the magical display had really stunned him. He launched a shell at R7037, hitting it square in the chest as it was immobile. With a noise on par with the Thundaga spell, an explosion erupted, causing a large hole to appear in the center of the robot.
"Jeez! That was amazing! Did it work?!" Ninten yelled, peeking out of the tank in awe as smoke billowed out of the mechanical foe.
The boy's question was answered immediately as, with a whirring sound, R7037 started to move again. This time its attention was on the tank, rather than Ventus. Shouting out in alarm, Lloyd started to back the vehicle up as Ninten and Ana worked on reloading it.
"Hey! Get over here!" Ventus shouted out, sending out several fireballs at R7037 to get its attention. All the projectiles hit the robot, but aside from lightly warping the metal with heat, the fireballs did little. At the very least, it caught robot's attention, as it stopped to turn towards Vents.
At this, the Keyblade wielder charged R7037, running up its leg, scraping the tip of Wayward Wind along the way. He knew it wouldn't do more than leave scratches in the metal, but he was sure it'd bother the robot and keep its attention on him.
This plan worked, as R7037 stopped pursuing the tank as Ventus reached its torso and kept going towards its head. It raised a massive metal hand and, with surprising speed, slapped down at itself in an attempt to squash the teen.
Ventus shouted out in alarm, surprised by the robot's speed, but was able to jump away from R7037 to dodge the attack. Shouting out, the teen fired up another spell. Orange light gathered at the tip of Wayward Wind before he unleashed Ragnarok, a spell that shot out orange projectiles that sped towards R7037.
The attacks all landed, actually leaving holes in the robot's metal, but nothing compared to the hole that the tank's shell left. Not even stunned, the robot attacked again, swatting Ventus out of the air and knocked the wind out of him. The teen hit the ground hard, even bouncing once before landing gracelessly on his back.
"Ven! Hold on! We've got the next shell ready! Get ready!" Lloyd shouted, charging forward in the tank again as he fired his second shot. This attack once more hit R7037, with missing being all but impossible given the robot's size. The projectile struck the mechanical menace right next to the previous hole, once more causing smoke to billow out. Unfortunately, this wasn't enough to destroy R7037, and it went for the tank once more as it backed away.
Ventus struggled to his feet, his body sore all over. Fighting back the pain, he ran after R7037 and shot more fireballs at it in an attempt to draw its attention. This, sadly, didn't work. It apparently decided that the tank was to be its primary target and that Ventus wasn't enough of a threat. He watched in horror as R7037 caught up with the vehicle, raising its foot and ready to stomp on the tank.
Shouting out in shock and horror, Ventus sprinted as fast as he could towards the tank, his speed allowing him to catch up just as the massive robotic foot started to come down. Gathering a great deal of magic, he readied a Reflera spell. When R7037 was about to stomp the teen and tank both, Ventus unleashed the spell. To his surprise, it actually managed to work, the Reflera having been a move of desperation.
With the distorting of metal, R7037 reeled back, its foot damaged from having the force of its stomp reflected back at it. It was wide open for attack once more, and Lloyd took advantage of this. With a cry, the white haired boy fired a third shot.
This third shell went right into the hole caused by the first shot, exploding violent within the core of R7037 and even causing a burst out of the robot's back. Yet even more smoke started to billow out of the wounds as the robot froze. Sparks started to fly from its damaged areas and its joints.
"It's going to explode!" Lloyd shouted, backing up the tank. Indeed, he was right. As the vehicle backed away, R7037 blew up with a deafening boom. Shards of metal flew all over the place, Ventus erecting a barrier to try and protect everyone. While he nor the kids got hurt, a large shard of metal hit one of the treads of the tank and destroying it. With that, the vehicle was rendered immobile.
"Are you guys okay?!" Ventus called as his barrier went down, looking at the many shards of metal and machinery that scattered about. One shard even hit the sand before a second, much smaller explosion sent it flying even further away. "There was the landmine…" He murmured.
The three kids crawled out of the tank, panting heavily. "Y…Yeah...None of us are hurt…" Ninten said between breaths. "That was so amazing, Ven! That one attack, you called it Thundaga, right? That was so intense!"
Chuckling a bit, Ventus rubbed the back of his neck as he dismissed Wayward Wind and helped the three off the tank and onto the desert. "I was surprised that even worked. I never tried an attack like that before…" It certainly drained him, though, especially with the other spells he used.
"That swat looked like it hurt, though." Ana remarked with a frown. "Here, let me…" She raised her hands, holding them near Ventus.
To the teen's surprise, his soreness vanished, and his wounds healed! "Wow, that's a lot better! Thanks, Ana!" Seemed she really knew her magic…or PSI, he supposed. She had a heat brimming with light, but he did note it wasn't like with Erina Pendleton. It seemed she wasn't a Princess of Heart…
"Nothing to it." Ana said with a sigh. "The poor desert has all this destroyed junk in it now…and that man's tank is broken!"
"There's really not much we can do about it." Lloyd said. "Driving that tank at all was amazing, though…"
"Yeah, he's right. It's not like we can clean this or drag the tank back." Ninten added on. "We should get going if anything. Nothing stopping us from going to Youngtown now!"
That caused Ana to brighten up. "That's right! Maybe the disappearances there are linked with my mother's vanishing…"
Her mom had vanished?! Ventus had never actually asked why the three were going to Youngtown. Poor Ana! The teen nodded. "Yeah, come on. Let's hurry out of this heat, right? I'm too worn out to cool us down for a while, so let's go fast!"
With nods and words of agreement, the kids rushed onward, Ventus quickly leading the way as they went towards Youngtown…
Terra found himself approaching a new world once more. He felt bad, still, about leaving that trio of kids behind. That being said, the young man also realized he had to keep moving. There were countless problems going on in countless worlds, some related to the Unversed and others simply as a result of internal issues. He couldn't stop and help every single person he came across, especially if this help would take days out of his time. Stopping the Unversed was still a priority!
The world he approached seemed fairly normal. Landmasses with oceans covering it, along with a healthy mixture of different biomes. The area he found himself going towards was very modern; a city with tall buildings and skyscrapers that seemed not too far behind from his own homeworld…
Such thoughts made him feel almost a bit nauseous, he shook those feelings away. His heart lightly tugged at him to go to this world, so he had to brush those thoughts aside. Making sure that he wasn't seen by anyone, he came down in the heart of the city, landing in an empty alleyway before dismissing his glider and armor. Stepping out into the open, he took a look around the world he found himself in.
Just as with Ventus, Terra quickly realized that it wasn't just humans that inhabited this world. Along with the people, the young man saw metallic humanoids walking about. Robots. Some didn't even pass as human, having too many or too many limbs or had odd shapes. One robot had treads and had four arms, all of which were holding bags or boxes as a young woman walked ahead of it. Its…owner? Builder? Companion? Were the robots and people equal, or were the machines simply owned?
Terra felt his heart grow heavy with darkness as he once more recalled his own homeworld. There were robots there, but they had only two purposes and two builds. One build was explicitly non-human, such as the ones that worked factories and were usually little more than limbs made to manufacture weapons or other machinery.
The other type…was made entirely for war. These were the humanoid ones but were still distinctly machines. They had two arms, two legs, a toro and a head. Yet they lacked anything that really made them humans. They didn't speak, laugh, feel or anything that made a person a person. Robots such as that had no hearts and were made only to march into battle without fear. Thankfully, they were all wiped out in the series of wars that reduced Terra's homeworld to a ball of dust, so he never had to personally see one in action.
Oh, but the stories he heard…
The young man shuddered, shaking his head to get the memories out as he tried to ignore the robots. Obviously, the ones in this world weren't made for war. Not exclusively, at least. Terra didn't want to give any more thought into what the machines were made for, and he moved forward, walking down the sidewalk.
At the very least, things seemed peaceful. Not just with robots, of course. The people were out and about, so it seemed the Unversed weren't an issue here. Or at least not so much that people couldn't go outside. His heart drew Terra to this world in specific and this part of it for a reason. The young man simply had to find it. He saw a sign in a store boasting it had the best prices in Metro City.
So, that's what the place was called…
Knowing where he was, Terra started to ask around about the Unversed and Vanitas. He still had to find the creature of darkness and prove both to Master Eraqus and Master Xehanort that he was able to handle this. Terra hadn't forgotten the idea that was proposed to him in Radiant Garden. If he wasn't accepted back in The Land of Departure for his use in darkness…he was free to go under Master Xehanort's wing. It was just that Terra still felt unsure if it was a good idea to do something so rash…
Either way, Terra didn't come up with much information. No one he talked to knew anything about Vanitas, but there were 'mysterious creatures' that had cropped up. There wasn't a doubt that these were Unversed. Apparently, though, special robots were made to keep watch for them, which was good to hear.
Terra soon came across a grumpy looking man with a long nose and bristly mustache. "Excuse me, sir…" The young man started.
"That's Inspector to you!" The grumpy man corrected. "Inspector Tawashi! Now, what's the problem?"
Oh, a member of law enforcement! If anyone would know if Vanitas was about, it'd be him! "I'm sorry. Inspector, I wanted to ask about someone. If this someone was spotted in the city."
This made the inspector take things more seriously, his grumpiness easing up. Just a tiny bit. "What? What is it, then? Reporting a crime?"
For a second, Terra hesitated, wondering just how to explain the situation. He couldn't just say Vanitas was linked to the Unversed. The inspector would maybe try to take him in for questioning, and the Keyblade wielder couldn't just talk about other worlds and the true origins of the Unversed so openly. Instead, he came up with a lie. "It's a person that I think might be missing. His name is Vanitas, and he goes about in a mask. Have you gotten any reports about him?"
"Vanitas? Darndest name I've ever heard…" Tawashi grumbled. "And I'll need a bit more information than a mask! What else does he look like? Height? Hair color…?"
Thinking of it…Terra had never actually laid eyes on Vanitas at any point. He had been looking around for the masked miscreant, but never managed to get Vanitas in his sights. Since he was born from Ventus' heart, did that mean he looked like him? Did a creature like Vanitas grow like a person? "Well…he's a teenager. About sixteen…" Terra realized this was a mistake. He was at least scoping just to see if any sort of unusual person in a mask was seen. Judging by the inspector's reaction, this didn't seem to be the case.
Indeed, the man huffed, giving Terra a bit of a dirty look. "That's not nearly enough! I'll at least keep an eye out for someone like that, as little information as you've given me. Who is this Vanitas fellow anyway? A lost relative?"
"Not exactly. He's an acquaintance I think might be lost in this city…I was just wondering if he went to the police for help, that's all." Terra even chose not to tell the inspector he was dangerous, since that would certainly raise too many alarms. This was a bad idea! Though the chances of Vanitas being in this one world at this exact time in this specific city were so low…
But if he wasn't there, why did Terra get drawn to this place?
"Hmph!" Tawashi snorted. "Alright. I see. So, not a strictly missing person's case." He deduced. "Is that right?"
Terra just felt embarrassed, his face feeling a bit warm. "That's right. I'm sorry, inspector, I'm sure he's fine. I'll just keep looking for him myself." Without waiting for a response, the young man walked onward down the sidewalk, feeling foolish for jumping into that without thinking things through.
Once he got far away from Inspector Tawashi, Terra let out a sigh. Well, at the very least, if Vanitas was personally causing trouble in Metro City, the law enforcement would know of it more than the citizens. That was good! Still, the young man felt lost, but he'd stick around this world a bit longer to see why it was that his heart guided him to it.
As he went, he spotted something that concerned him. On the corner of one of the city blocks stood a young boy. Couldn't be any older than ten, maybe. He was all by himself, seeming to be waiting for something as he watched the world go by in front of him with a small smile on his face.
Showing some concern for a child alone in the middle of a city, Terra approached the boy. "Hey…are you alright?" He asked the kid, realizing as he got close that he seemed a bit off. The boy seemed oddly…sculpted, as if any imperfection was removed artificially. It came across as lightly uncanny, but it was subtle enough that looking at the boy with a passing glance or at a distance would make it almost impossible to see.
"Oh! Hello, mister!" The boy greeted, smiling up at Terra. "Me? I'm fine. Why do you ask?" He was quite the polite child, speaking rather formally for someone his age…
This actually threw Terra off for a brief moment. He quickly got over it and replied as he glanced around. "Well, I couldn't help but notice you're all alone in this big city. Did you lose your parents?"
"My father and I got separated again." The boy replied, not seeming all too worried. "After the last time, he told me to wait for him in the last place we saw each other, so that's what I'm doing."
Made sense. Terra was still concerned about the kid just loitering around, but he wasn't about to drag the boy away to look for his dad. "Well…if that's what he said to do, I guess that's that."
Nodding, the boy beamed up at the young man. "Right! My name's Tobio, by the way. What's yours?" He asked, extending a hand for Terra to shake.
"Name's Terra. Nice to meet you Tobio." The Keyblade wielder replied, shaking Tobio's hand. It was normal at first…but he soon found his hand started to hurt. It took Terra a second to realize that the kid's grip was unreasonably strong! Wincing, he started to pull a bit, but found he couldn't retract his hand. "Hey! Uh…Tobio…?!"
"Oh!" The child exclaimed, letting go of Terra's hand with a look of guilt. "I'm sorry! I'm not used to shaking hands!"
Terra looked down at his hand, shaking it a bit in an attempt to get the pain to dull. That boy really had a grip! Was he like Pippi in Podunk and he just had extreme strength for no distinct reason? Well, Terra wasn't sure what else it could be! "That's fine…no broken bones or anything." The young man replied, mostly joking.
Tobio sighed in relief, smiling as if nothing happened. "Good! My father told me I shouldn't ever hurt…people." He hesitated on the last word, as if he were about to say something else but changed his mind at the last minute.
The Keyblade wielder was still reeling from the boy's strength and didn't really notice that odd pause. "Well, your father's right. I think you can certainly handle yourself, then. You sure you'll be okay on your own?" Maybe he should try and find Inspector Tawashi again…?
"I'll be okay, Mr. Terra." Tobio guaranteed. "Thank you, though. I can tell you're a good person. You're struggling a bit, but you're still good overall."
That really took Terra by surprise, wondering if Tobio had something like PSI. That and super strength? That'd be an odd coincidence, especially after the last world he visited. Well, Master Eraqus taught that certain things were found in many, many worlds. Humans, for instance, or animals such as dogs or cats could be found in millions of worlds if not more.
Well, it didn't really matter. Tobio wasn't in danger or a danger to others aside from getting a sore hand. Terra could feel he had a good heart, but…it also felt very odd for reasons he couldn't quite grasp. Still, he couldn't spend all day pondering about this boy. "Thank you, Tobio." The young man responded, not sure what else to say. "I hope your dad comes and finds you soon."
"Thank you! I hope you have a good day! Bye!" Tobio exclaimed, waving Terra off as he continued walking.
Terra tried to shake off the encounter, having to keep in mind that just about anything was possible in other worlds. From that handshake alone, the young man figured Tobio was far stronger than he was, at least in terms of raw power.
As Terra thought about this, he saw a large building ahead. An indoor stadium of sorts! Even from outside, he could hear cheering coming from the structure. While he was eyeing the building, the Keyblade wielder noticed something…
Going inside the stadium were three Unversed! Floods!
Without hesitation, the young man summoned Earthshaker and sped towards the stadium, going as fast as he was able. When he got inside, he saw the three Unversed going around a corner, continuing to follow after them. As he was about to round the corner, he heard a man screaming.
"Hold on!" Terra called. "I'll help you!" Going around the corner himself, he saw the Floods closing in on a man in a rumpled suit. One of the Unversed lunged at him, slashing at his sleeve and cutting it down to his elbow. This made the man fall to the floor in shock as the other Floods closed in.
Charging, Terra cut down the nearest Flood, who hadn't even noticed the Keyblade wielder, before it could take another step. One of the other Unversed leapt at Terra but was smacked away and into a wall. After dispatching it with a small fireball, he slashed the third one in half down the middle as it too tried to attack him in the air.
Shaking a bit, the man stood up, eyes wide. "You…saved me!" He gasped out automatically. "Thank you!"
"Are you okay, sir?" Terra asked, glancing at the man's arm. "I saw one of those things attack you…"
"Oh, this? It's okay. It's just a scratch. I don't think it's even bleeding." The man replied. After a moment of collecting himself, he extended a hand. "My name is Notaarin, I own this stadium. What's your name, young man?"
Terra shook his hand, almost a bit hesitantly, but this time it was a normal handshake. "My name is Terra. Glad I could help out. Have those things been a problem around here aside from just now?"
Retracting his hand, Notaarin sighed. "Well, this is actually the second attack just this day! A lot more of those creatures attacked the stadium, but two young men helped save me. One of them is even fighting today. Against robots! Can you believe it?"
Robots? So, a stadium normally for robots. "Say, what's this guy's name? The one in the arena?" Terra had to wonder if it might be Ventus, though participating in something like this seemed out of character for him…
"Interested, are you?" The owner said with a chuckle. "His name is Zack. Zack Fair. He's only a teen and armed with a sword, yet he's won all his fights so far! Hard to believe, eh?" At that, Notaarin paused. "Mmm…Say…I wonder…could you possibly aid me one more time? You'll be compensated for it, of course."
Ah, not Ventus. Terra had to wonder if he was the other helper. Honestly, it wouldn't shock him. The two have ended up in the same world more than once, after all. "What do you need, sir?"
"Well, you seem good in a fight. As it happens, one of my fighters has short-circuited. No way he'll be able to get fixed in time. We have a special device that allows the person wearing to be seen as a robot, which is how Zack participates. I'm sure he'd be willing to share with you…if you'd be able to replace my missing slot. What do you say?" Notaarin pitched, giving Terra hopeful look.
That wasn't what the young man was expecting at all. Normally he wouldn't stop for something like this, but…maybe it could be helpful. This could help gauge how far along Terra has gotten in growing stronger. On top of that, he had no qualms about fighting machinery with everything he had. As far as he was concerned, robots had no hearts.
"And this whole tournament lasts just today, right?" Terra asked, getting a nod from the suited man. "…Alright, that's fine. You don't need to pay me if that's what you had in mind. I don't need that. It'll be a nice way to test how strong I've gotten."
The payment refusal shocked Notaarin, but he seemed happy about it. "Well, if you're really sure, I won't try and change your mind. Thank you for aiding me in my time of need! Please, follow me…"
Notaarin led Terra into the stadium, past a door that needed a keycard to enter. It led to the area where the fighters were kept, a noisy place. It was a large room with robots at modifying stations along the walls. They were all certainly built for combat. Some were massive, twice as tall as Terra was and thrice as wide. Some had spikes on their chassis and others had buzzsaws for hands. Each of the robots were being patched up or given tweaks by their presumed creators.
Sticking out like a sore thumb was a young man with spiked black hair and a sword on his back doing squats in the middle of the room. When he saw Terra and the stadium owner, he gave a wave and walked over. "Hey, Mr. Notaarin!" The young man exclaimed, glancing over at Terra. "Who's this?"
"The name's Terra. I'm guessing you're Zack, right? Notaarin told me about you." The Keyblade wielder said with a nod of greeting. No more handshakes.
Not seeming to mind the lack of a handshake, the young man beamed at Terra. "That's right! Zack Fair's the name! First human to ever compete in this tournament!"
"Well, Terra here is going to be the second human to compete. With one of the robots unexpectedly breaking down, he agreed to take its place. You're fine in sharing that device Dr. Ochanomizu made for you, right?" The owner explained with a hopeful look.
"Oh, wow! That's really cool!" Zack exclaimed, starting to do squats again. "Sure, I don't mind at all! It'd be exciting if we made it to the finals. Two humans that managed to overpower robots!"
Sighing in relief, Notaarin nodded. "Good to hear! Terra, you should be prepared, as you'll be up against Zog." He said, pointing to the largest robot in the room by far. It was extremely wide to, sort of circular in shape with a sort of blaster in place of one arm and possessing stubby legs. Its head was little more than a lump with eyes, and the robot had 'ZOG' painted on its torso in capital letters.
"Oh…Well…I've got my work cut out for me, then..." Terra said, trying not to sound too unconfident.
"Don't worry, you've got this! I just know it!" Zack exclaimed, clapping Terra on the back. "Just try not to get crushed!" He teased in a friendly manner.
Terra chuckled lightly. "Yeah, I won't. I can't win the tournament if I'm flat as a pancake." He challenged Zack, who smirked in response. As soon as the fighting was all over, the Keyblade wielder planned on leaving, not having forgotten his mission.
No problem in testing how much he had grown before heading to another world, though, right…?
A/N: Five melodies down and Terra enters a tournament. I decided to make the stadium owner an actual character from Tezuka's Star System, and I just chose Notaarin on a whim due to how unremarkable he is and the owner is a pretty unimportant character. And Zog is, of course, from the 2009 Astro Boy film. In any case, these two visits will wrap up next time, and then Aqua can get some chapters all to herself.