Chapter 80
After the events that happened in Radiant Garden, Levy and Ienzo told the others what happened. Kagura survived the fall, but suffered a few broken ribs. She is being treated at the castle, along with the other fighters who were defending the castle outside. Bickslow and Evergreen managed to help the dolls by destroying them and putting their souls into statues found in the castle. But, they suffered from heavy damage due to the attack. Freed and Demyx were completely unconscious and covered in blood due to trying to defend Levy and Ienzo from Ansem. They are quickly being treated. The doctors then said that they'll be fully recovered by the end of tonight.
In response to this, they decided to tighten security to those who are still traveling to other worlds. They all believe Radiant Garden would be fine due to the response from the two Organization members that attack the castle.
After finding Aqua, most of the mages return to the Mysterious Towers while Sora's group headed to Castle Oblivion with Aqua.
Since they were the only ones still traveling to other worlds, the Magic Council and Lamia Scale sent Sherria Blendy with them. She wanted to join in as soon as possible, but she had lost her magic during the war with Alvarez six months ago. So she requested something that will help her use her magic again. The Magic Council then created a special lacrima bracelet that will let you use a person's magic powers from the past. However, this lacrima will only last until the war has ended. After that, the user won't be able to use their pass magic again.
On a dark sandy path in a very dark cloudy area, the group, along with Aqua and Sherria, were heading towards Castle Oblivion.
"I finally got to see another world!", said an excited Sherria. "The Sky Sisters are back!"
"Yup!", said Wendy.
Aqua laughed. "Those two are so cute together."
"They also perform together during festivals.", said Lucy.
"Happy, don't you want that fish to be cooked?", asked Aqua when she saw Happy eating a raw fish.
"Naw.", he answered. "Raw fish always tastes the best."
"Okay."
"So, we're here to wake Ventus up.", said Gajeel.
"Then we're set for war.", said Laxus.
"Good!", said Natsu. "I want to trash those guys!"
"You're not the only one.", said Gray.
"But why is Ventus' body here?", asked Charle.
"This wasn't like this originally.", said Aqua. "It was very beautiful. Until when Xehanort killed my Master, the keeper of this place, he plunged this world into darkness. My Master told me, when I just became a Master, that Keyblade Wielders protected this place for generations and that light and darkness lived in balance here. If this world was plunged into darkness, the one who holds this information should go to this world's Keyhole and lock it away using a special trick."
"And that's why this world looks like this?', asked Juvia.
Aqua nodded. "The special trick allows me to change the layout to this world. So I designed a special place where no one could find Ventus in this world."
"That explains how no one has found him in over a decade.", said Lucy.
"So this Ventus guy.", said Sherria.
"What is he like, Aqua-san?", Wendy joined.
"I like to know myself.", said Erza.
"And how became a sleepy head in the first place.", said Natsu.
"For personality wise, I'd say he's kind of like Sora: sweet, cheerful, curious, and gets excited at anything new or interesting."
"That's nice.", said Wendy.
"Maybe you two can be brothers.", said Sherria to Sora.
"Huh?!", said Sora with surprise. "I guess...that would be nice."
"So why is he sleeping?", asked Juvia.
Aqua explained. "Xehanort wanted him and Vanitas to fight to form the X-blade. They did fight, but Ven destroyed the blade, along with Vanitas. Because his heart was connected to the X-blade, his heart had fallen asleep. So I placed his body here and promised to bring Terra back here to wake him up."
"That's so sad!", said Sherria.
"But now that you are here, he can wake up.", said Erza.
"Yeah.", said Aqua. "And that is what I'm going to do."
"You sure about this, Aqua?", asked Goofy.
"If you want, we can take you back to Master Yen Sid's tower to rest with the mages, Riku, and the King?", Sora suggested.
"Uh-huh.", Donald agreed.
"Thank you.", she said. "But… Ven's expecting me. I promised to wake him. Said I'd be right back, but I'm not even close. I'm in for an earful."
"For being asleep for over a decade, I can see that.", said Lily
The group stopped and they stood in front of Castle Oblivion.
"That's some castle.", said Gray.
"Let's go in.", said Natsu as he and Happy towards the entrance.
"It's best not to enter that way.", said Aqua.
"Why not?"
"My Master said that whoever visits these lands will be lost to oblivion."
"You mean...if we open this door…there's gonna be a portal to oblivion?!", said a nervous Happy. "And there won't be a way out?!"
"No, no. Whoever tries to find where Ven is will never find it because the room is lost in a maze in there."
"So how do we find Ventus?", asked Laxus.
Aqua took a deep breath and exhaled heavily, making the others look confused. Donald kept looking at Aqua with confusion. He wanted to say something, but couldn't find the right words. He then crossed his arms and looked impatient as he tapped his finger on his arm. He then lost patience and was about to say something before Goofy covered his mouth. Donald was trying to make him let go while Goofy told him to be quiet. Aqua then summoned her Master's Keyblade and Donald became quiet.
She then lifted the Keyblade towards the door to the castle. A big Keyhole appeared in front of the door and was releasing a bright glow and a strong wind, amazing everyone. Goofy then left go of Donald as Aqua pulled her Keyblade back a little and pushed it towards the Keyhole. A light came from her Keyblade and it was sent directly into the Keyhole. The bright light and wind then became more intense, causing everyone to be pushed back a little. But Aqua stood still as she continued to blast the light into the Keyhole. Her eyes then brightened and she gave a smile. A force was then blasted from the Keyhole and the bright light and strong wind stopped.
An image of another castle appeared on Castle Oblivion. The small towers and windows on the castle then started to shift around to match the image. Then other towers magical appeared and four towers were connected to the main building. A staircase was formed in front of the entrance and the castle was complete. With its completion, the dark clouds started to part, revealing the bright sun. The sun shone throughout the land, showing the light blue sky and the land was transformed into a grassy garden area entrance with a cemented symbol on the ground. The mountains were then shown and chains from the castle were connected to the mountains.
Everyone was amazed by the transformation of the area.
"Holy crap!", said Natsu.
"The land has changed completely!", said Happy.
"It's so beautiful here!", said Wendy.
"I know!", said Sherria. "You can fly anywhere here in this open sky!"
"There's so much space.", said Gray. "You could really let loose here."
"The air is so calm here.", said Lucy.
"There's even mountains here.", said Laxus.
"A good training exercise with a tone of them here.", said Gajeel.
"So...this is the place where Keyblade Wielders train.", said Sora.
"This is a wonderful place, Aqua.", said Erza.
"Thank you, Erza.", said Aqua.
"Aqua-san, where does this path lead to?", asked Juvia.
"That just leads to the mountain path and the summit. Some of our training equipment is down there too."
"Seems like this place really prepares future Keyblade Wielders.", said Charle.
"Yes."
"I know this place is beautiful, be we must continue with our mission.", said Erza.
"Right."
Everyone then followed Aqua into the castle.
Inside, the halls were made of white stone bricks with golden metal decorations. The floor had the same symbol as the one from the outside entrance. There were also chandeliers hanging from the ceiling from the entrance to the end of the hall.
Everyone was amazed by the decoration.
"It's kinda hard to believe this nice place is used for training.", said Lucy.
"I really don't want to ruin this place with my training.", said Sherria.
"So where is Ventus?", asked Lily.
"He's upstairs.," said Aqua. She then gave everyone a serious look. "Ready?"
Everyone nodded and headed down the hallway. Once they reached the end, they turned right, where they found the stairs leading to the next floor. Once they reached the next floor, the room was huge.
The symbol from downstairs was bigger and the markings were golden. There were several pillars on each end that were green and gold that kept the roof up and still. There were two doors next to the stairs and a balcony with a stained glass window in between them. On the other end were several decorative windows and three brown throne chairs. They came up to the chairs and saw someone sitting in the middle one.
It was a boy. He wears a jacket that has a red collar and pleated. Underneath this, he wears what appears to be a grey vest with a single button and several white, angular patterns on it. He wears a third layer under this, in the form of a plain, high-necked, black shirt. He also has a chunk of dull green and grey armor on his midsection that appears to be under his vest, and another piece of armor on his left shoulder.
His pants balloon outward slightly before closing up about halfway down his legs, similar to caprice pants. These pants are colored in shades of grey, black, and white. He also wears an ornate, dull green and grey piece of armor on his upper-left arm, along with a black and white checkered wristband. He is also wearing two criss-crossing straps on his chest, on which he wears a silver Keyblade Master emblem. His boots are rather odd, as they resemble an armored version of normal street shoes in shades of dull green and grey. That boy was Ventus and he was asleep.
"That's Ventus?", asked Gray.
"That is not a great place for a nap.", said Natsu.
"Aye.", said Happy.
"Poor Ventus-san…", said a sad Wendy. "He's been asleep for over a decade…"
"Wendy…", said Sherria.
Aqua quickly ran up to him. When she came up to him she said with worry, "Ven." She then put her hand against his right cheek. He didn't respond. She still looked sad and hugged his head. "I'm sorry it took so long." She then put her hand on his shoulder and started to shake him gently. "Ven, wake up. Open your eyes, please!" Ventus didn't respond. Aqua looked disappointed. "Why? Your heart never found its way home?"
"Is there anything to wake him up?", asked Wendy.
"Why don't we try to bring Ventus to Lucy's apartment and let him lay on her bed to wake up!", suggested Happy.
"That's not gonna work!", said an annoyed Lucy.
Suddenly, someone spoke.
"That was a neat trick. No wonder no one could find him."
Everyone turned and saw Vanitas standing in front of them.
"Vanitas!", shouted an angry Sora.
"Who's that?", asked Sherria.
"A member of the Organization!", answered Wendy.
Aqua stood in front of the thrones and asked angrily, "Why are you here?"
Vanitas spoke mockingly. "Oh, I'm sorry to interrupt your touching reunion, but surely you won't begrudge me a moment with my brother?"
The group then charged towards Vanitas to attack. But Vanitas just chuckled and teleported in front of them, surprising them. Vanitas then disappeared, leaving everyone to search where he could have gone. He then reappeared sitting on top of the middle throne where Ventus was with his hand on his cheek, surprising everyone.
"What?!", said Aqua.
"So, Venty-Wenty wants to keep sleeping.", he said. "What am I ever going to do with you?"
Aqua quickly summoned her Keyblade and said, "Shut up!" She jumped into the air and was about to strike Vanitas down. But Vanitas summoned his Keyblade and blocked the attack.
"You better settle down there, 'Master.'" He then pushed Aqua away with his Keyblade and jumped after her. Both of them landed in the center of the room.
"Aqua, I'll handle him!", said Sora.
Aqua shook her head and said, "No. I'm ending this."
"What?!", said Happy.
"But...you haven't recovered yet."
"Sorry, but you've seen me too weak, too often. Now it's my turn to shine." She then waved her hand and summoned a large barrier surrounding Vanitas and herself. The group backed away when the barrier was summoned.
"Aqua!", shouted the others, except Erza, with worry.
"Don't be stupid!", said Laxus.
Erza then held out her arm, silencing the others.
"Be careful.", said Erza.
Aqua nodded and charged towards Vanitas. The two of them exchanged blows with each other. When Aqua was about to hit Vanitas with her Keyblade, he quickly disappeared and reappeared behind her. He was about to strike her from behind, but she quickly dodged the attack.
"Triple Firaga!"
Aqua blasted three firaga spells at Vanitas.
"Dark Firaga!"
Vantias blasted a giant dark fireball at the three fire spells. When they hit each other, it created a huge explosion inside the barrier.
"Is she alright?", asked Lucy.
"I don't know…", answered an unsure Sora.
But when the smoke cleared from within the barrier, they saw Aqua had put up her reflector shield. Vanitas had his Keyblade in a block position. Aqua lowered her shield and jumped into the air. She then blasted a tone of rainbow orbs at Vanitas. He tried to cut them down, but there were too many of them and they managed to land a hit on him.
Vanitas gained some damages from that attack. Aqua then quickly came up to him and hit her Keyblade hard against Vaintas', causing him to fly back away from. When he landed, Vanitas grunted with annoyance. He then looked at Ventus, who was still sleeping, and chuckled.
He then blasted from his Keyblade, fire magic, at the barrier where Ventus was, causing the barrier to form cracks from the attack. Vantias then began to fire the attack again.
Seeing this, Aqua ran towards the crack barrier. Vanitas launched three fire attacks at the barrier, but Aqua came in front of the cracked barrier and took the hit. She was then sent flying onto the floor and her Keyblade had disappeared. She now looks unconscious.
Vanitas then came up to her and was about to stab her in the chest, while others watched with shock.
Seeing her in danger, Sora shouted, "Aqua!"
Suddenly, Sora heard and felt a heartbeat and gasped. The area surrounding then began to change.
Sora was now in his own Dive into Heart where he saw his own stain glass station.
He then heard someone said, "I...have to wake up…"
"Yes.", Sora answered. "Tell me what to do."
"The power of waking…"
"I can't. I still don't have it yet."
"You never lost it… It sleeps…until someone needs it… Call to it..."
"I am calling...with all my heart."
Sora physically appeared at the center of his station. He then lifted his Keyblade and it began to glow. A bright light appeared in front of him on the station, revealing to be a Keyhole. The enter station was then covered by the bright light. Sora then jumped into the air. He then saw the light leaving the station in the form of white birds. As the birds left, the station was changed into Ventus' station with him holding his Keyblade. Sora then pointed his Keyblade at the station and blasted a light at it. A bright light appeared from the station Ventus.
"Thank you for always keeping me safe, Sora…"
A heart then came out from the station and flew straight into the black sky and disappeared.
Back at the battle, Vanitas was about to stab Aqua when a bright light appeared from the thrones, blinding everyone. The light then flew towards the cracked barrier and broke through it.
"Aqua!"
The light began to disappear, revealing to be Ventus holding his Keyblade. He then charged towards Vanitas with an angry look and hit his Keyblade with Vanitas'. The clash between the two released light and dark energy that cracked the entire barrier until it was completely destroyed. The boys jumped back away from each other and Ventus was protecting Aqua's body.
The group then ran up to Vanitas to fight him. Vanitas seemed annoyed and he jumped over them and landed far from them.
"Three guardians and some mages is more than I care to face.", he said with confidence. "But now that my brother is awake…I'm just certain that he'll come to visit." A dark corridor appeared behind him and he disappeared.
With Vanitas gone, Ventus was helping Aqua get back onto her feet.
"Aqua, are you all right?", asked Sora.
"Yes.", she answered. "I'm fine, Sora."
"I can heal you with my magic, if you want.", Wendy suggested.
"It's okay."
Ventus looked surprised as he got a closer look at Sora. He then saw Vanitas without his helmet on and then released the difference between him and Sora.
"Huh?!", he said with surprise. "You're...Sora?"
"Yup.", he answered. "Hey, Ventus."
He then held out his hand. Ventus looked unsure.
"I get it. You were my second chance."
"Huh?"
Ventus looked surprised at what he just said and smiled. He grabbed Sora's hand and shook it. "Call me Ven."
Natsu came up to him and said, "My name's Natsu. It's nice to meet ya!"
"Same here."
Aqua then put her hand on Ventus' head and said with a smile, "Good morning, Ven."
"Good morning, Aqua."
"You sleep too much.", said Happy while using his Area magic. "Time to get moving again! By the way, I'm Happy!"
"Ven-san, are you feeling okay?", asked Wendy.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just glad to be awake."
"Good!", said Sherria. "Because we have some butt-kicking we have to do soon!"
"Yeah, I know what you mean."
"My name is Wendy."
"And I'm Sherria!"
"I know.", He then faced the other mages. "You're Erza, Gray, Gajeel, Laxus, Lily, Charle, Lucy, and Juvia."
"How'd you know that?", asked Laxus.
"I saw you in my dreams."
"Dreams?", question Lucy.
"It must be because his heart was sleeping in my body.", said Sora.
"Yeah. So you don't have to explain why you are here."
"Guess that saves the trouble then.", said Gajeel.
"Then we must hurry and report back.", said Erza. "War is happening soon. We must be in our best shape."
"Right!"
"Wait.", said Natsu. "Ven just woke up, but Aqua was busy fighting. And Ven couldn't have woken up on his own."
"Yeah. And?", question Donald.
"That means that Sora must've woken him up!"
"Yeah, I did."
"That means you used the power of waking!"
Sora gasped. "I did!"
"Alright!", everyone shouted with joy.
"Congratulations, Sora!", said Lucy.
'We knew you could do it!", said Wendy.
"Thanks guys.", he said.
"Took ya long enough!", said a sarcastic Donald.
This resulted in him being thrown into the wall by Erza.
"This is a happy occasion. Show some support!", she angrily said.
"Aye…", Donald said weakly.
"Oh my goodness!", said a surprised Aqua.
"Yeah, I knew she was gonna do that…", said Ventus as he gave a sweat drop.