Fallen angel
What do you mean he's dead?
The whisper leaked from the top tiers huddled in Leon's office. Halting at the entrance, Vanitas spun on his heel after hearing the news, his heart thundering in his ribcage. He barely registered Donald and Goofy following him and sliding into the mirrored elevator, he numbly punched for the lowest floor.
He wrestled out of the barely opening elevator doors. The portal room loomed in shades of black and grey and he hurtled past the podium. A section of the floor lifted and he jumped into a writhing dark corridor.
What do you mean he's murdered?
The dark corridor ejected him into a foreign micro-planet, a castle preyed by metal. Bronze... a giant emblem... purple steam and twisted turrets, the scenery distorted behind his dark helmet. Scrambling off the floor, Vanitas raced up a flight of stairs, darkness dripping off him like rain. The helmet and suit melted, puddling on the steps. Stained windows bled in the light of an orange sun.
His chest heaved like bellows, skittish heartless scattered as he relentlessly ploughed forward.
A familiar sword nearly cut his fingers when he grabbed the edge of the shroud and pulled it. The material draped over a lump on the floor of the courtyard. A heavy duty motorcycle idled nearby.
"Why do you have that?" Vanitas snarled at the blonde dressed in jet black leather. "That's-"
"It's mine now." Cloud clasped the hilt of the Buster sword with two hands. "You are not supposed to be here."
Wake up!
The white shroud slipped from Zack's ashen face. Swollen eyelids hooded over still glowing, mako infused eyes and Vanitas crouched over the dead body, his mind crashing to a complete stop. He peeled off his glove and gingerly touched the cross shaped scar on his mentor's face. How could he be so cold and stiff? Why didn't Zack smile and ruffle his hair?
Wake up old man!
And tell him to study?
What about his first solo mission to Agrabah? He never had a chance to show his report to Zack. Vanitas' eyes stung and the scent of sweet earth and flowers hit his nose. Mechanically he turned to a woman bent next to him; large tears spilled out of her forest green eyes, drew thick tracks on her cheeks and fell on Zack's face.
Shaking, Vanitas reached to close his mentor's eyes; again, the blonde stopped him.
"We were asked to preserve the crime scene," Cloud droned emotionlessly. "Don't touch him."
His eyes glowed like Zack's and the familiar tide of jealousy washed over Vanitas as realization dawned on him. The Buster Sword stood upright on its edge, biting into the stone floor and shrieking, Vanitas lunged for it. "Why are you here?" he demanded. "You should be searching for the person who killed him!" Hollow Bastion swirled with the tears in his eyes. "Who did this?" Vanitas screamed, "He's one of the top-tier members of the KBWA, killing him should be impossible."
The woman straightened her eyes raw from crying. "Nothing is impossible." She smiled despite her tears. Long, luxurious brown hair blew across her face, sticking to her cheeks and lips. "You must be Vanitas," she nodded to the body, "Zack told me you're his new puppy."
Puppy...
Void Gear materialized in a flash of purple flames and grunting in rage, he swung his keyblade at the metal intertwining the castle. The din spiraled to the sky, drowning his occasional sob. For once, Donald didn't bother him. His companions stood solemnly at Zack's inert corpse and dully paid their respects, hat and beret held in their hands.
"I'm going to..." Vanitas gnarled darkly, his warped image reflecting from a bronze pipe chugging lilac steam. "I'm going to find out who did this and tear off their heads." His eyes, ringed by moist lashes, blazed vengefully. He glared balefully at an apathetic Cloud. "You sit and watch," Vanitas vehemently spat, his grip tightening on the Keyblade, "when I find the murderer, they'll beg me for death."
"Don't do anything rash." Cloud straddled the bike and gazed at nothing.
Everything trickled into him slowly. The sounds arrived a second too late, his heartbeat roared in his ears, dampening the rage diffusing off the Black Saint. Who gave him the right to be so angry? Cloud wondered and touched the sword left to him by Zack, the cold metal was the only thing which felt real.
"Don't do anything rash," he repeated again when the Keyblade wielder stomped away, a tide of darkness churning at his feet.
10:10 a.m.
Wright and Co Law offices
Boardroom
His body resonated with a painful cadence and curling on the easy chair surrounding the marble table, Sora counted the minutes. Time crawled at half speed today and shifting constantly to give his bruised body a semblance of comfort, he created a little pillow with his scarf and flopped head first on the table.
This morning he woke up with an almighty pain in his wrists. His entire body resisted the effort of walking and hunching into a ball near the bathroom, Sora waited for Vanitas to find him. His younger twin helped him shower, cursed Nox colorfully and dropped him off to the agency after forcibly shoveling rice porridge in his mouth.
When Sora arrived at the agency, he petrified at the tension strangling the air. Trucy found Apollo sulking in People's park and dragged him back to the agency. Stringing a laconic Phoenix, she forced the two to sit opposite each other in the lounge and stomach bubbling at the glare Justice leveled at Mr. Wright, Sora escaped to the boardroom while Athena wisely stayed out of the way.
Refusing to meet his employer's eyes, Apollo resolutely glued his gaze on the portrait of Zak Gramarye. It was liberating not to wear his customary waistcoat and he fiddled with a button on his t-shirt.
"You two," Trucy planted herself in the middle, "please make up."
Silence.
Phoenix smiled indulgently at his daughter. "Could you leave us for a moment?" he asked, "I want to discuss something."
She tipped her hat, glanced concernedly at a rigid Apollo and closed the door behind her.
Once in a while, Mr. Wright opted out of his drab grey tracksuit for a pink one, chosen by Trucy. Today, he wore the eye searing color and it clashed horribly with the red sofa. Tea steamed on the cart and to keep his hands busy, Justice picked a cake and munched on it.
"Apollo-"
"Mr. Wright-"
Silence.
"I'm sorry for not telling you about the file." Phoenix contemplated the magic boxes stacked against the wall and spilling an array of silk scarves. "I'm sure you heard of Sora winning the case," Justice refused to comment, "and all the information has been recovered. You have nothing to worry about." Wright bunched his hands in his pocket; stubble darkened his jaw.
Finishing the cake, Apollo leaned forward, "If you are truly sorry, show me the file. I want to see what secrets you're hiding from me." His bracelet grew tighter when Phoenix's gaze shifted. "Mr. Wright!" Apollo's voice grew several decibels. "I want to see the contents of those files!" He stopped shy of shouting."
"I'm afraid I can't show you."
"Why?!" Apollo rose and furiously rubbed his bandaged wrist.
The magatama on top of Phoenix's chest glowed out of sight to reveal a lattice of chains and black psyche-locks swathing the fiery attorney. "Please trust me Apollo," Wright softly stated, "I'll tell you everything when the time comes, but right now, I can't. I'm waiting..."
Their attention pulled to the door, no doubt Trucy hid behind it, trying to catch snatches of the conversation.
"Daddy really loves you," she said when she pulled Apollo from the park, kicking fallen leaves along the way. "I love you too." Trucy squeezed his arm warmly as they stopped for the ice-cream truck ambling along the front of the Kitaki mansion. "So please don't stay away, it's not a Wright Anything Agency without you practicing your chords of steel in the morning." For some reason, they bought a single cone and shared it, fingers sticky with dripping ice-cream as the cone shuttled back and forth between them. "Besides, Daddy said you have a responsibility to mentor Sora."
Sunlight glinted off her shock of dark brown hair.
Apollo liked to think their hair was the same shade of brown. What would she look like with hazel eyes?
"...I'll wait for you to tell me," he defeatedly sunk in the couch. "Mr. Wright... tell me the truth ...one day... when you are able too." Justice faced the ceiling and sighed.
01:00 p.m.
Wright and Co. Law agency
Lounge
Startled out of sleep by a sharp knocking, Sora massaged his stiff neck, rubbed the drool off his cheek and shuffled to the door. Along the way, he remembered his scarf, inched back to the table and panicked as he wound his muffler and the knocking increased in urgency. He opened the door and Apollo marched in, trailing the fragrant aroma of caramelized onions.
"Aren't you hungry?" he questioned. "What were you doing here all alone?"
Staying out of your laser intense glare.
"Sleeping," replied Sora and rubbed his eyes. "After court yesterday, the KBWA called me for training. I was instructed on how to summon and dematerialize the Keyblade and my entire body is aching," he complained.
Frowning sympathetically, Apollo ushered the sleepy attorney out of the boardroom. "Maybe you should rest?" In front of him, Sora leaned against the wall, face pinched in pain. "You don't have any upcoming cases; I'll take you home right after lunch."
He blinked gratefully and collapsed in a couch, Pearl handed him a plate loaded with steak and fries. Tinted bottles of grape juice filled the cart and table. Trucy decorated a vanilla cake with frosting while Athena stood over her and scattered tiny, silver balls across the snowy surface of the cake. At the threshold, Phoenix and Maya stubbornly tried to navigate a small keyboard on wheels into the room and succeeded, bumping into the tea cart.
Dark red grape juice sloshed over the rims of several glasses.
"Daddy, be careful!" Trucy huffed and resumed icing the cake while Sora hungrily watched.
He hoped for leftovers to take home.
Wheeling the piano flush against the couch, Phoenix rolled his sleeves. His fingers hovered over the ivory keys and without a preamble, he started playing.
Sora choked on a fry, Pearl nearly dropped her plate in alarm.
Smirking impassively, Wright continued playing the piano and Athena looked up.
"Magnifique!" she cheered, a dollop of buttercream on the edge of her ponytail. "I think your piano playing is improving Mr. Wright."
Scowling Apollo hissed, "There is nothing 'magnifique' about his piano playing! It sounds like a chicken tap-dancing across the keys."
"Chickens can't tap dance Polly," Trucy argued.
"That's not the point!"
Through the bickering, the scream of a piano continued. Maya plugged her ears and with a splitting grin, joined Phoenix on the couch to try her hand at playing and the lounge burst into a cacophony as she doubled over in a fit of laughter. At her contagious glee, Pearl gingerly pressed the keys one by one and forced Maya to squeeze against Phoenix as she claimed the lion's share of the couch. Such aberrant noise normally wheeled Sora's head and stomach, however, the joy infected him and chewing contentedly on his food, he retreated into a corner, a smile unfurling on his face. Apollo joined him, perching delicately on a stack of yellowed phone books and framed the lounge through the camera lens of his phone.
Snap.
The photo showed Athena with a hand on her hip, cream in her hair. Trucy, tongue out in concentration and holding a piping bag.
Sunlight shone through the blinds on Phoenix, Maya and Pearl, fighting over the keyboard.
In the corner, Charley photosynthesized under a faded movie poster.
"How may I help you?" The receptionist enquired politely to the muscular, sliver haired man entering the agency. Car keys dangled from his wrist. "If you are a client, please take a seat," she indicated to the chaise lounge, "we will be with you shortly."
Refusing to sit, Riku studied a set of five modern art pieces hung behind the receptionist, gaze lingering on a bare patch of wall next to the fifth piece. "I'm here for Clavius," he intoned. "Is he in?"
Dipping her head, the receptionist picked up the office phone. "Of course, he is currently on lunch break, I will inform Mr. Clavius of your arrival."
02:15 p.m.
Keyblade Wielders Association
Basement floor 6, Library.
The desk disappeared under the weight of several books; none of which made any sense to Sora. He cautiously pulled the nearest tome, bound in red leather encrusted with amber gems and blinked rapidly when the text lifted in the air. A circle and heptagon floated on top of each other, tangerine outlines lurked around bookcases.
A giant boulder blocked the path to the library and people waltzed through it.
Nox thumped another book on the desk and paged through it, hair shining platinum under the brass lamp dangling from a nearby book case. "I'll teach you the basics of combat," he announced, teal irises flicking from one age stained page to the other. "First, you need to get in shape," Sora protectively crumpled on himself. "You hardly have stamina. To build stamina, you need to exercise."
Wish I listened to Vanitas and visited the gym for once.
"This building has a gym, you will be logging at least an hour in there, every day," Riku stressed and Sora bopped his head rapidly in agreement. "Once you can complete an hour of exercise without fainting, I'll increase the training schedule."
God, if you're up there, help me.
When Nox showed up to the Law offices, Sora's placidly content mood crashed, dipping straight into the deep end of anxiety. Apollo tried to deter the trainer, but Riku proved to be surprisingly obstinate and fearing his wrath, Sora meekly climbed into the smart car, inhaled the sweet aroma of mint candy and watched the little figurine waggling its head all the way to the squat, white painted building serving as branch headquarters. He craned his neck for a glimpse of his twin, unfortunately, his brother remained aloof and accepting his crisis with quiet dignity, Sora followed Nox to the quiet library, ducking behind the man when people passed a little too close for comfort.
"Let's see how long it takes you to summon the Keyblade today." Riku pulled out an old fashioned stopwatch from the pocket of his plaid pants. "And, you are not allowed any advanced electronics in the building," he added as Sora put his phone facedown on top of a journal. "In the future, turn your phone in at the reception."
Holding a sweaty hand out, Sora faltered when a group of girls entered the library, their high pitched voices dimming into a respectable hush. Kingdom Key appeared in a flash of brilliant light and strained his already aching wrists.
"Five and a half seconds," Nox informed. "Too long. Someone could kill you in five and a half seconds."
Not if Vanitas has a say in it. Sora massaged his hand and gingerly sat on the bench.
His trainee slid a book across the table. "This is for the basics of magic." Riku scribbled on a notepad. "Offensive magic is broadly classed into four categories." His low voice reverberated from the arched niches in the library. "Fire, which utilizes…fire; blizzard, consisting of ice and water; thunder, the element of electricity and aero which is air." Little drawings accompanied the four elements. "Apart from these, you also have light and dark magic, but those are mastered later."
Rummaging through the piles, Nox opened a book on Fire.
"The Black Saint is extremely proficient in Dark magic," he mused.
Attention briefly snared by a tall, bronze suit of armor standing vigil in an alcove, Sora squeezed his muffler.
Black Saint?
"Is this too much?" Nox asked and Sora shook his head. "Do you understand everything I said?" The trainee gawked blankly at the diagrams. "Clavius... your brother, is known as the Black Saint."
Suits him.
"I'd appreciate a little feedback," Riku brusquely stated.
The brunette opened his mouth, his eyes wandered across the painting of The Elementals and he shut his mouth, a deep flush rising in his cheeks.
"I...I appreciate your time," he finally squeaked.
Stacking the advanced magic books on the table, Riku pointed to the Fire diagram. "The easiest spell to master is Fire," he explained. He crossed to Sora's side and sat on the edge of the bench, the attorney tensed, fingers desperately gripping his scarf. "If I'm making you uncomfortable," Nox exasperatedly said, he didn't understand why the trainee found him so frightening, he was wearing casual clothes for Mickey's sake, "please tell me."
The new Keyblade wielder muttered something in his muffler and Riku patiently waited for him to make sense.
"I'm not comfortable around people," Sora mumbled, his words barely carrying over the fluffy fort jamming his mouth. "Sorry..." The clock in the library ticked. "I'd like... I'd like some space," he requested and Nox retreated to the opposite end of the table.
Sora exhaled gratefully.
"Fire is the easiest spell to master," Riku repeated and held up his hand; a flash of bright orange flames capered in his palm, throwing his pallid features in sharp relief. "It stems from feelings of anger and determination, if you will hard enough, Fire will come to you." He nodded at Sora. "Try it."
Mimicking Riku's stance, Sora raised his hand to the air, barely did he open his fingers and a writhing ball of fire ignited. He flinched at the beautiful flames dancing in his hand and held it out proudly.
"Strange how easily you were able to produce it." Nox jotted his observations in a report for Jiminy as the fire sputtered out. "I wonder if we can replicate such results with the Keyblade?" Neatly tucking the papers in a folder, he beckoned for Sora to exit the library after him. "We're heading to the gym," Riku stopped at a teleportation moogle and vanished.
Astonished at his disappearance, Sora fretted anxiously in front of the furry creature with a bauble on its head. The moogle regarded him with squinted eyes and hopping from one foot to the other, he stepped closer and uttered a strangled squeak as his insides squeezed together and expanded. He stumbled in forward, Riku caught him. Recoiling from his trainer, Sora tripped over his feet and sprawled on the floor.
Inside the gym, various Association members stopped pumping iron and huffing on treadmills to ogle the man on the floor.
"Is it the other Clavius?" Neku asked from his seat on a bike. "He's kinda... pathetic. I expected more from the Black Saint's brother." Thumbing his mp3 player, he resumed pedaling.
Hercules tried to help Sora off the laminated floor but the latter bolted upright when he approached. "Neku, we don't put anyone down here." Hercules smiled, teeth flashing brilliantly under the light. "If it's okay with you," he crouched, "I'll be your personal fitness trainer."
"Thanks Herc," Riku replied before Sora could formulate a reply. "He's currently on a one hour, non-intensive program." Nox drew his hood over his head. "I have business to attend to," he said, "go easy with him, he's fragile... and Clavius will set you on fire if you're not careful." Hercules grinned widely and nodded. "Mail me the results," Riku requested and left, his presence leaving a thick silence inside the gym.
Joining the sculpted man on a rubber mat; Sora painstakingly removed his loose sweater but opted to keep his scarf around his neck.
"We'll start with stretches." Hercules clasped his toes. "Please don't strain yourself," he hastily advised as Sora attempted a forward fold and turned a shade of dusky red. "It's okay if you go till your knees, in time you will reach your ankles and eventually your toes."
I'll be here for a very long time then, Sora gulped for air and tired again, reaching for his toes.
"He comes from the village of Gongaga."
Pressing a series of codes on the control panel, Vanitas waited for the training complex to change.
A startlingly realistic digital image stitched over the uniform grey walls, a mountain path boarded with lush greenery, led to a small village. Conical huts with cyan roofs steamed under the early morning sun, a cow chewed contentedly near the fence and the aroma of baked bread and spices permeated the air.
Is this what Zack woke to when he was young?
A cliff overlooked the village and the carcass of a destroyed facility lay on the outskirts. Curious, Vanitas approached a bigger, wooden house tucked in one corner of the village and separated by a low wooden fence. A tree grew in the yard, heavy with fruit and when he tried to pick one, his hand phased through the image and closed on air.
The village in the training room dissolved and he selected another location at random. Palm trees bearing bright yellow, star shaped fruit dotted the beach and Vanitas dragged his boots over the sand, oddly comforted by the view. Sea spray dotted his face and the hint of nostalgia vanished as a crop of pureblood heartless surfaced from the ground.
Good, he could work his frustrations off.
The training increased in difficulty till he stood defiantly before a Darkside. Twisted threads of darkness cropped on its head and a huge, heart shaped hole ravaged the monster's chest. Leveling Void Gear, Vanitas blasted a dark firaga and lowered his weapon when its head snapped off.
Darkside howled in rage and Vanitas joined in, screeching his throat raw. The heartless thrashed blindly, claws ripped through his designer jacket and raked across his shoulder.
Blood seeped across his skin; he hacked the limb apart and using the teeth end of his Keyblade, hiked up the intact arm.
The monster groped and Vanitas jumped, tearing Darkside apart from the middle, fluid darkness cushioned his fall and he rolled across the sand and sprang to his feet. A thundaga sparked on the tip of his weapon and he let it rip, sparks of lightning incinerating what little was left of the heartless.
Scorch marks radiated from the point of impact, black forks across sand. The complex's inner chamber opened with a pneumatic hiss and he detachedly brushed past Donald and Goofy waiting for him near the panel.
"The vice-chief wanted to see you," Donald quacked softly but made no attempt to stop Vanitas who lumbered away.
He remembered staring at the streets of Los Angeles through a cab window. People smiled, laughed and continued in their ways. He remembered climbing the steps to the apartment, glowering at the people ogling him in mute horror. He sat at the table in the kitchen, the sounds of an ocean gurgling in his ears and despondently ignored his brother.
Sora placed a slice of cake in front of him, the apartment began reeking of metal the moment Vanitas entered and when he swallowed the first morsel of cake, he realized how hungry he was. Cramming the moist vanilla sponge in his mouth, he chewed mechanically, hardly tasting anything.
Finishing his meal, he clomped to the bathroom and paused.
"Do you need to go?" he asked, blood ran in dry streaks down his chest and arms, the scratches stung like acid. "I'll be in there for long."
His twin shook his head. "If you need anything-"
The door to the bathroom closed.
Silver moonlight cascaded brilliantly through the windows when Vanitas finally clambered out of the tub. The steaming water cooled to tepid and not bothering to towel himself properly, he stalked across the lounge and threw himself in his bed.
His eyes smarted, his skin, scrubbed pink, burned like fire.
A stray moonbeam clawed into the apartment and irritated, he drew the curtains.
He flipped through the television channels, decided he didn't want vapid chatter for company and burrowed in his feather comforter, willing himself to sleep.
Hours passed, the moon waned.
He got up, swapped his damp shirt for a dry one and navigated through the furniture to the frosted glass cube. Vanitas opened the door.
And listened to quiet, rhythmic breathing. What did his brother dream about?
Silently he climbed into bed, knees sinking in the mattress; he curled on his side, knotted his fingers with Sora's warm ones and stared at the wall.
He kept staring at the wall as dawn bled outside.
Happiness
Night
Land of Departure
Stars streaked across a night sky.
He groggily opened his eyes when someone poked his cheek. A man smiled at him. Superior?
"Wake up Ven, there is a meteor shower," Terra pointed to the ebony sky, "you'll miss it, sleepyhead."
Yawning, he stirred into an upright position and joined Terra on the balcony to watch a shower of stars raining on the distant horizon. Aqua placed a blanket around his shoulders, his friends cocooned him gently on both sides.
He reached for the stars.
"I wish we could stay like this forever," Roxas announced. His heart danced, light and airy; a feeling he never had the luxury of experiencing. "I want to stay like this forever!" he screamed to the void and Terra laughed. Pouting he hugged Terra and Aqua's arms to his chest, to contain the bubbling within.
Is this what they called happiness?
"Let's stay out all night," he eagerly suggested and a flicker of disapproval crossed Aqua's face. "Please?" Roxas pleaded with Terra. Sighing, she nodded with a smile and he jumped in the air, the blanket sliding off his shoulders. "Yes!"
They stayed on the balcony through the balmy night, Roxas curled on Aqua's lap, falling asleep a mere two hours after his decision to stay awake. Terra snored next to him, the blanket under his head, arm protectively crossed over Ven's chest.
A/N: Zack's death formed the spine of this story. Long before I even fleshed out the sub-plot details, this scene was set in stone. I'm sorry. I'll really miss writing the interactions between Vanitas and Zack.
Riku appreciates feedback everyone, so read and review to feed his poor, starving soul!