"Ah, we finally have our 7 guardians, we have Aqua, Ventus and Arthur, 3 deadly warriors, taught from a very formidably keyblade master. We have Sora, Riku and Mickey, we also have Donald and Goofy, which add 2 more guardians of light to our numbers-". Axel cleared his throat, cutting off the sorcerer, and getting attention. Yen Sid smiled and nodded "ah, yes, and we have Kairi and Lea, our newest guardians, you both have made tremendous strides in progress". Axel smiled and said
"Hey there! And that's future keyblade masters-"
"Kairi?!" Axel was cut off by Aqua, as she gazed at Kairi in fascination. Axel stepped away from the two, Kairi stood stiff as Aqua picked up a small pendant from her chest and whispered
"Remarkable! It is you!" Mickey walked up and asked
"Aqua, you know Kairi?" Aqua nodded and said
"It was when we first met, that girl, in Radiant Garden, when they Unversed were trying to harm her, remember?" Mickey got a huge smile on his face and said
"Gosh! You're right! It is her!" Axel, feeling rained on, since the attention was diverted away from him, said
"Look, this is very touching guys, but where do I fit in? Ven looks just like Roxas, or is it Roxas who looks just like Ven?" Ven looked over to Arthur, who smiled right back at him, and then he looked at Lea, and smiled. Axel put his hands up in some kind of defense
"And now I have to explain all of that to him, which is, in itself, a crazy long story, and apparently everybody already knows everybody, and this is an insane amount to get MEMORIZED!" Lea threw his hands up in an exasperated motion, and Ven chuckled and said
"Sorry, Lea". Axel got the look of utter surprise on his face, as he said
"Y-you remember me?" Ven nodded and smiled at him
"Yeah, 'course, we're friends, I can't believe you became a keyblade wielder, just like me". Axel just smiled and let out a chuckle before nodding. Sora looked over from Axel and Ven
"Wait, Axel, you know Ven?" Ven looked confused and asked
"Uh, Axel, who's Axel?". Axel sighed and said
"See? See? See? Major brain-ache" Arthur put a hand on Ventus' shoulder and whispered
"Later". And with that, Ven just nodded and they continued on their briefing.
After the briefing, Aqua, Ven and Arthur sat on the stairs, gazing at the stars. Aqua smiled and looked over to Arthur, she held her hand out to him and instructed him to take what she was holding. Arthur held out his hand, and Aqua dropped the object in his hand. He marvelled at what he saw
"You're as important to me as are Terra and Ven, I want all of our hearts to be connected, I guess we're not a trio anymore, but it doesn't matter, because you're as every bit as important to us as the next, I'm just sorry you went without one for so long". It was a Wayfinder, a beautiful ruby red. Arthur looked over to Aqua and Ven, only to see that they had their palms opened, with their own Wayfinders in their hands, Arthur mimicked them. Arthur looked up, only to see them staring back at him, both smiling, waiting for him to say something.
"Aqua… Ven… I-I don't even know what to think, you guys are the best friends ever, I can't wait to be with Terra too, I've missed you guys, I love you all". Aqua and Ven smiled at Arthur, and they all got into a hug. Arthur sighed, as he made to get up, and Ven asked
"Leaving so soon?". Arthur could hear the disappointment in his voice. Arthur looked back and said
"I'll be back as soon as I can be, I just need to speak to some people before the big day, don't worry, I'll be with you again before the night is up". Ven looked sad, but nodded and bid him farewell, as did Aqua.
Arthur left for the Radiant Garden, he knew in his heart that he would find that one person here. After walking through the entrance to the world, he arrived at the center of the world, with a lead up to the castle, and two side routes. In the center, he found him, Demyx. Having a nagging feeling of being watched, Demyx turned around and smiled when he saw Arthur staring back at him. Demyx waved him over, and Arthur obliged, sitting next to him. Demyx started off the conversation
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen that Vanitas kid so mad, you have a way with hitting his nerves, ya know?" Arthur nodded and said
"I feel… Weird, like… Nevermind, it's stupid". Demyx, perceptive as a particularly perceptive rock, honed in on the boy and interrogated him
"What? What's up?" Demyx eyed Arthur and Arthur avoided his gaze as best he could, eventually, Arthur whispered
"I've been meeting and re-meeting people… I feel weird, they make me feel like you do, and I'm not sure what to do, I thought I loved you, but I feel like I love them too, I'm so confused by this". Demyx sighed, he wanted to slap this kids parents, because Arthur knew so little about love, had he ever even been in love before? Demyx said
"Well, uh, you can love a lot of people, it doesn't need to be to one person, and you don't need to fear it, you just need some time to think on it, think about those people tonight, maybe before you go in for that battle, say, is this Vanitas guy one of them?". Arthur nodded, his face was a deep shade of red
"I feel… Safe, with him, he held me so protectively, and he said he wanted me to himself, he said he had some, uh, desires? But what would he want from me? It's not like I'm all that interesting…" He went off on a tangent while Demyx's eyes were as wide as could be, his face matching Arthur's red face, just the implications of that were a bunched up set of nerves to his stomach. Luckily, Arthur had his face away from Demyx and was staring straight ahead while he was rambling. Demyx managed to catch himself before Arthur stopped to let him speak. "... So, anyways, what do you think he could want from me?" bless his naive brain Demyx thought, almost as if on command.
"W-well, uh, I'd say that he really wants to be your friend, he must really like you, I'm just not sure if it's love, it'd be easier to tell if I saw him there". Arthur nodded in agreement and said
"I sure hope so, I really want to be his friend, I know there's something deep beneath the darkness, he just needs to look for it, and let others help him". Demyx nodded, wordlessly agreeing. Arthur then looked up at Demyx and asked "Demy, can I tell you something?" Demyx chuckled and nodded
"Go for it". Arthur looked up into the sky, before saying
"When I was trying to save a friend… I was killed, at least I think I was, I went to this weird world. I saw the sky, and it was beautiful, the ground was like an ocean, and it perfectly reflected the sky, but when I was there, I met a boy, he had gorgeous white hair, and beautiful emerald green eyes, I'd never met him before, but I felt the same way around him, safe and… Content, my heart yearned to be around him more, do you know anything about that, or about that boy? His clothes were ones I'd never seen before, in a way, he seemed ancient, I probably sound crazy, huh?" Demyx shook his head and exclaimed
"No! In fact, I swear I overheard something about a place like that from Vexen, he said that some of his subjects, or whatever, said they were in a place like that, what's weird is that, and don't freak out, but they visited that place after they lost their hearts, but only a few of them made it back, I guess you must be some sort of lucky, huh?". Arthur contorted his face in confusion, wondering why he was so lucky.
"Wait… So, I was dead for a little bit?" Demyx smiled and nodded
"Yep! But it seems not even death can keep you down for long! Guess I'm lucky you're on my side, and that you love me so much, huh?" Arthur laughed while playfully punching Demyx on the arm
"You're so silly, but you're not the only one though". Demyx smiled back and wrapped an arm around him
"... I'm still your favorite, right?" Arthur laughed and nodded
"Of course, who else could it be?" Demyx laughed as well, holding the smaller boy closer, they stayed like that for a long while. Eventually though, they both had to leave each other again, but like how history repeats itself, they went unaware that it may be the last time they would see each other like that. Arthur made to go back to the Mysterious Tower, but stopped and went somewhere else, somewhere he had not been to in a long time.
It was a beautiful day, people were going about their day, it was much more lovely than he remembered it being, maybe it was just form not seeing this place for so long. Arthur walked around, soaking in the sights, Arthur found himself by the tree where he'd spent so many days relaxing under.
Home… Arthur thought to himself. He heard someone shout out
"Hey! What are you doing?! Get away from there!". Arthur physically jumped and turned a deep shade of red, before getting angry, this was his spot damn it! No one was going to boss him around.
"Get lost! This is my spot!" Without having to look, he could tell the boy was pissed.
"Why you little runt! I oughta-"
"Mal, it's not worth it, leave the kid-" Arthur cut him off with an accidental yell
"What'd you say?!". Arthur spun around and for a moment, you could hear a pin drop. Arthur gasped and held a hand over his heart. There he saw his friends Malakai and Kaiu, anger, turning to joy and happiness.
"Arthur!" Malakai shouted out, before embracing his best friend in a bone crushing hug. Kaiu joined them and Arthur could feel himself beginning to cry, he had done that so much this journey, he wondered if it would ever go away. He stared back at his two best friends and Kaiu just looked at him, like he just ascended from the ground in front of him.
"I-It's really you!" Arthur smiled and nodded
"Yeah, yeah it is". Suddenly Kaiu began punching his chest, hard
"You stupid, stupid, idiot! Do you even realize how much you scared me?! You're so stupid that you nearly killed us with worry". Arthur held Kaiu, as he began crying. It was a shock to see someone he always saw as his older brother, crying so hard. Arthur didn't have anything to console him with, so he just whispered
"I'm so sorry, both of you, I know it was irresponsible of me to run off like that". Malakai smiled, and Kaiu said
"Well, you'll have all the time in the world to make it up to us, now that you're home!". Arthur went to interject, but was shouted out by Malakai exclaiming
"Yeah!" Arthur immediately wanted to make himself small. He sighed and decided to bit the especially emotionally painful bullet, by saying
"I-I can't stay…". The expressions from them were painful to see, he hated himself for this, but he knew there was no way around it, and it was, arguably, more morally questionable to keep them in the dark because he felt uncomfortable. Kaiu was the first to object
"We just got you back! You can't go!"
"Yeah, man, you seriously have no clue how happy you made us, don't go off, you're going to get hurt, and we can't handle losing you again… Please don't go". Malakai pleaded with Arthur to reconsider, but Arthur knew he couldn't, but he knew he could at least explain why.
"Mal, Kai, I'm not doing this to hurt you, I don't have a choice. I learned a lot of stuff while I was out… I don't understand it all, in fact, I'm convinced there's more I don't know about. But, I'm not even originally from here, I used to live somewhere else, I was an apprentice to a master of the keyblade, and that's where I was raised. I had three other friends who I was with… I'm a lot older than this-"
"WHAT?!" Arthur covered his ears as the shout pierced them, he expected this though.
"I know it doesn't make sense, it didn't to me either, but I hope I can help you understand it, keep your questions till I'm done?" They both nodded and looked with intrigued. "Okay, so, I don't know all of my past, but I know that it all began with a man named Master Xehanort, he was my original master, where I met my first friend, named Ventus, he tried to exploit us to forge the ultimate keyblade, called the X-Blade, it sounds the same, but it's different, it coexists alongside an entity called Kingdom Hearts. Well, somewhere along the line, we were both transferred to a man named Eraqus, where we met our two new friends. A year or so down the line, we were roped into an elaborate scheme to forge the X-Blade, it ended in failure, but we all lost as well. My best friend Ven, lost his heart, my other friend, Aqua, was lost in a realm called The Dark Realm. We only just saved them, but we haven't found our third friend, though we think that he may be with Master Xehanort. Tomorrow, we're going to the place where it all began, we're going to finish this, once and for all". They all looked shocked at this news.
"Let us come with you!" Kaiu shouted, and Malakai sided with him
"We don't know who this Xehanort is, but no one can hurt you and get away with it!". Arthur sighed, and shook his head
"No, you guys can't, you'll get hurt-"
"You will too!" Malakai declared, getting a bit heated
"But this is personal! I can't abandon them, if there's any chance of them failing without me, then I need to go, no matter what". Arthur reasoned
"What about you?! What about us?! Don't we get a say in this?" Kaiu spoke up once more.
"Arthur, you don't need to take on all of this by yourself, we're here for you". Arthur just sighed
"If you're here for me, then support me from the sidelines, like you always do, encourage me, tell me we'll see each other again, give me strength, I've been through so much, I know I can do this, I just can't do it without you guys". Both boys sighed in defeat, before nodding
"Alright, fine, I guess there's no changing your mind about this, but stay with us? Please?" Arthur smiled and said
"For as long as I can". All three boys took refuge under the tree, the sky turning an auburn-like color.
"Tell us about this Ven, tell us about all your friends". Arthur smiled and said
"Ven's… Perfect, he's so sweet, he was my first friend, and we always stuck together, he has spiky blonde hair, a perfect voice, and gorgeous blue eyes, they looked just like Sora's". Malakai smirked before asking
"Got another crush?" Arthur giggled before saying
"Ever since this journey, I've got so many, there's this sweet guy named Demyx, we actually dated-".
"What?! My baby bro is all grown up?! You're still so tiny! You can't be dropping this stuff on me, gonna make me have a heart attack!". Kaiu exclaimed, being as dramatic as usual, making Arthur and Malakai giggle.
"We aren't anymore, I'm still really confused about love, and crushes, we decided to just be friends, but he's really cool, like, he's got a weapon like a guitar, I remember, he was one of my first friends during… Uh, a weird time, don't ask, I don't even want to try and explain everything I've gone through on this weird journey. I remember when he serenaded me, I fell asleep on his shoulder, it was so romantic. Then, there's Aqua, she's always been like a mother to me, she's truly wonderful. Then, there's Terra, he's always been like a big brother to me and Ven, he's always been protective over us, there's not a thing Aqua and Terra wouldn't do for us, and that makes me feel so loved. Then… There's Vanitas". Arthur let the air settle around him, glancing up at his two friends, who caught on to what he was implying by his tone. "He's… Weird, I don't really understand him, but I want to help him, he's been hurt by Xehanort too, and I want him to be safe, but I haven't had much luck, he's with the enemy, that's why I'm going, I want to try want talk some sense into him, one last time". Malakai was shocked
"Wow… He must really be important for you to risk everything to see him again". Arthur nodded, and said
"I know deep down he's good, I know it, my heart wouldn't lie". They both nodded back at Arthur and smiled. It was getting late
"I should get going, you're not the only ones waiting on me". Arthur felt a tug on his hand, when he looked back, he saw Kaiu.
"Arthur, if anything happens… I just want you to know that we both love you, even if you're not from here, even if we're not a part of this big thing like you are, you've never been anything less than a brother to me, no matter where you come from, or where you'll go, or what you'll become, we'll never abandon you, you'll remember that, won't you?" Arthur enveloped him in a hug, as did Malakai.
"Forever and ever, I promise". Then, Arthur smiled "I'll spar you when I get back, you'll see how strong I've gotten". Arthur ended with a toothy grin. They both reciprocated that grin and nodded. "I'll see you when I see you, Malakai, Kaiu". They nodded back
"Yeah… See you, Arthur".
Arthur arrived back at the Mysterious tower, and made his way to his bedroom, where he saw Ventus laying down in his bed.
"Kept you waiting long?" Ven smiled and shook his head
"Not at all, I had a good time on your comfy bed, and guess what?" Arthur couldn't help but smile and ask
"What?" Suddenly, the second the question came out of his mouth, Ven jumped out from beneath the covers, revealing his pajamas, an adorable baby blue onesie with little Paopu fruits dotted all over it.
"Tada! Whaddya think? I bet I'm the most adorable person ever, huh?" Arthur smiled, giggled and said
"Definitely, you look good in that, maybe you should go into battle with that on". Arthur could barely contain his laughter as Ven began playfully hitting him and said
"Should NOT!" Ven also burst out into laughter. Then, when the two were quiet, Ven handed his Wayfinder to Arthur, and offered out his hand out to take Arthur's in exchange. The trade was made and they both looked deep at the others Wayfinder.
"It's beautiful, Aqua's such a great friend, making this for you, even when in the Dark Realm". Arthur nodded
"She's… Perfect". Ven got this funny look on his face and asked
"How much do you care for Vanitas?" Arthur sat there and had to think about it, he was willing to throw himself into Oblivion just to be near him, he had disregarded the consequences of Vanitas's natural danger in favor of making the lonesome boy happy.
"Tomorrow, we'll head back to that dreadful place, we'll have 10 guardians, 8 of which have Keyblades, I'm just heading back to try and convince him to side with us, one last time, so… Quite a lot". Ventus then looked at his friend cautiously
"Do you think he'll really be swayed?" Arthur looked deep into his eyes and sat there, as silent as a mouse, before answering
"I guess we'll find out tomorrow, yeah?" Ven smiled and nodded to reply.