Chapter 2: The Boy with No Memory
(A/N: I am so sorry that this chapter took so long to get out. I fell sick, plus college classes and studying, plus researching for specific moments to use for this chapter, made it all take a lot longer than I meant it to. Hopefully I will be a bit more regular with the coming chapters, but I can't promise anything. Thanks for your patience again.)
A few years pass, and James grew closer and closer with Aqua and Terra. They were like siblings to him, and he to them. Terra and Aqua were now his surrogate family in a way. The three of them always trained together, and were content. James in particular was happy, as he could, once again, use his Keyblade beside friends, rather than against them.
Eraqus had given James access to his own suit of Keyblade Armor. Something that both Terra and Aqua also had. It was a single shoulder plate on his left shoulder, but when activated, it was a full body armor that was pure white, with the sides of his helmet having red streaks on the side, his armor's design was identical to Terra's. Alongside the Armor, he was also given a Key Glider. This was a very difficult adjustment for him, as it gave Starlight the ability to Form Change into a Jetpack that attached itself to his Keyblade Armor's back plating. He struggled for a long time to master Key Glider combat, allowing for several funny memories for Terra and Aqua to hang over his head for years to come.
One morning, Terra and James were having a light sparring match inside the main training hall, while Aqua practiced her magic on the side. The three of them were interrupted when the doors to the Monastery opened wide to reveal a bald, elderly man dressed in black, walking in with a young blonde boy behind him.
James looks over at the old man, "Who's that?" He asks.
Aqua walks up beside him, "I don't know." She answers.
Terra walks up to James' other side, "We've never seen him here before." James nods. Eraqus went up to greet the two and Xehanort said something that seemed important, but they couldn't hear what it was.
Aqua eyed the young boy and noticed that he seemed to be troubled by something. She looked to her friends, "That boy… Is he ok?" She asks.
Terra turns, "I'll go check." He says as he makes his way down to meet the young one.
James eyes the boy curiously, "There's something off about him." He tells Aqua.
She raises a brow, "What do you mean, Jim?"
He hums, "I'm not sure. But he doesn't seem to be…" He pauses, "All there." He finishes.
Terra walks up to the young boy and smiles at him, "I'm Terra. What's your name?"
After a brief silence, the boy finally whispers out, "Ventus."
Terra sighs, "Whew, you can talk." He jokes before turning around and looks up at the other 2, "Aqua! Jim! Come here!" They both smile and rush down.
When they get down, Aqua waves at Ventus, "Hi. I'm Aqua."
James nodded to the boy, "I'm James, but you can just call me Jim."
Ventus slowly looked at all three of them, "Terra… Aqua… Jim…"
Terra then puts a hand to his hip comfortably, "So, are you here to train with us?" He asks. Ventus gives no form of response and Terra decides to ask a few more questions, "Where are you from?"
No answer, and Ventus starts to grit his teeth in pain, "Who was that man with you?"
No answer, and Ventus looked away, his eyes closing, "You good with a Keyblade?"
No answer, but this time, Ventus starts moaning in pain and drops to his knees and clutches his head.
"Whoa are you ok?" Terra asks.
Aqua kneels down, "What's the matter?"
James looks behind him, "I'll get the Master!" He says before running off.
James enters the room suddenly, the bald man eyes him, "Surely you should know better than to barge in on a private conversation!" He says.
James bowed his head, "I'm sorry sir, but there's something wrong with the boy that accompanied you."
The man's eyes widened, "What?!" Without another word, he rushed out the door, with Eraqus and James in tow.
When they returned, Ventus was no better off than when James had left. "What did you do?!" The man says as he hurries to Ventus.
Terra turns to Master Eraqus, "Nothing! I was just asking him some questions!"
Eraqus looked at Terra calmly, "Ventus cannot tell you anything." The group turns their gaze to the boy, who has since, fallen asleep, "Because he cannot remember anything." He finishes.
The old man stands and looks at Eraqus, "Despite my best efforts, I was unable to help him. I believed he would fare better under your care, Eraqus."
The Master nodded, "Of course Xehanort. We shall welcome Ventus into our home."
A few days later and Ventus was laying in his bed asleep, he had not awoken since the incident at his arrival. James, Terra and Aqua all took turns watching after him, in case he woke up. The man named Xehanort, a fellow Keyblade Master and longtime friend to Eraqus, had since left the Land of Departure, leaving all of Eraqus' pupils with questions about him. But none of them were seen as important when compared to their worry for Ventus.
James walked into Ventus' room and saw Aqua gazing worriedly at the boy, "Thought you could use some company." He says, startling her slightly.
Aqua smiles, "It'd be nice to talk to someone who can talk back." She jokes.
He chuckles, "Ya know, it's not unnormal for memory-loss induced comas to last for weeks at a time. He's going to be ok."
Aqua's smile is filled with relief, "Thanks. I appreciate that." A semi-comfortable silence covered the room after that.
Despite the closeness James had with Aqua and Terra, he never told either of them about his past life, mostly because Eraqus had forbade him from doing so. Eraqus said that he had knowledge that is meant to be forbidden from even himself, never mind his students. Eraqus also made it clear to James, after Xehanort left, that Xehanort must never learn of his past under any circumstances. He didn't understand why, but chose to trust in his new Master.
Aqua looked at James, "You know, I'm really glad you decided to open up to Terra and I. It's been a lot more fun with three of us, rather than just two."
James smiled, "Yeah well, when Ven here wakes up, it'll be four."
Aqua smirks, "Ven?" She repeats.
James nodded, "Yeah! A friendly nickname. It might help him feel more at home here."
Aqua rolled her eyes, "I don't think that's gonna catch on."
Jim tilts his head, "Well ya never know." He says as he stands up, "I'm gonna go grab some lunch. See ya in a bit."
Aqua nodded, "Ok. See you."
After about another hour, and Aqua was still watching over the sleeping boy, "Ventus, why won't you wake up?" She asks. Just as she turned to walk out of the room, Ventus began to stir and moan in his bed, Aqua turned to look as he slowly started to open his foggy eyes.
He slowly sat up as Aqua kneeled down in front of the bed, "You're awake! Ventus, oh, it's a miracle!" She then rushed to just outside the door and shouted down the hall, "Terra! Jim! Master Eraqus! Ventus is awake!" Terra quickly rushed in with James not far behind.
They all looked at him with joy on their faces. Ventus looked at the three of them, "Terra… Jim… Aqua…"
James nods, "That's us! The awkward Keyblade trio!" He says jokingly.
Terra laughs and puts Jim in a headlock, "Who ya calling awkward, buddy?" He asks with joking sarcasm.
James pretends to be choking, "Gah! Can't… breathe! Save me!" He cries out dramatically, looking to Aqua.
She simply giggles, "You two are such-."
She is interrupted, as well as the other two, by a small laugh from Ventus, that slowly grows into a hearty laugh. Terra and James smile as they let go of each other.
At this moment, Eraqus walks into the room, and his three students back up and give the Master space to speak, "Welcome Ventus. I'm sure you have questions." The boy nodded his head, "I will be happy to answer any and all questions I am able. Until then, I'm sure you must be famished. So, we will speak later."
A few short years later, and Ventus is perfectly at home in the Land of Departure. He wound up liking the idea of Ven being his nickname, so Terra, Aqua and James always called him Ven. James was currently sparring with Ventus in the courtyard.
James leapt over one of Ventus' attacks and landed behind the boy with a smirk, "C'mon Ven! You'll have to do better than that!"
Ventus smirked and gripped his Keyblade, "Oh I'm just getting started Jim!" They exchanged blows a little longer before James suggested they call it a day.
As they walked back, James looked towards Ventus, "So, tomorrow's the day that Terra and Aqua go for the Mark of Mastery Exam. How do you feel?" He asked him.
Ventus smiled, "I'm excited! I can't wait to see them both pass!"
James laughed happily, but gave no further answer. He decided to omit to Ventus that he also had the opportunity to take the Mark of Mastery Exam, but refused. He no longer cared about being a Master. He just wanted to enjoy his days with his friends. And he was doing just that.
(A/N: That's it for this chapter! Thank you so much for your awesome reviews! It really does help to inspire me to make these chapters faster so I can make you guys happy. I've gotten some votes on who James goes with. So far, the score is Aqua- 2, Terra and Ventus- 0. This is your last chance. If ya want him to go with Terra, Aqua or Ven, let me know in either a review, or a PM. Either way, please be sure to write a review and tell me what you think. And remember to favorite and follow so you never miss an update on James' epic adventures! You guys are awesome, and I'll see ya later.)
