Chapter Seven: Concerns
Yen Sid pointed out toward the sea of stars. "There...The End of The World...it is where the heartless have been stockpiling the hearts of worlds they have consumed. And in doing so create a door back to the realm of darkness from whence they came." Ventus and Naminé moved closer to the sorcerer, and saw where he was pointing, a star that seemed to shine with a myriad of colors, blurring together. But then there was a flash and the star split apart, light scattering across the sky, and stopping at various points on the horizon. Yen Sid smiled. "But it seems that the one chosen by the Keyblade was successful, and the worlds are being restored."
"So...it's over?" Ventus looked at Naminé
She nodded "Yes, he must have been able to close the door. I guess that's the end of the heartless."
Yen Sid sighed. "If only it were that simple. So long as darkness exists in a heart, the heartless will never be truly destroyed."
Ventus shook his head. "You make it sound like we'll have to be fighting forever."
The sorcerer turned to look at him. "While the burden of bearing a keyblade never truly ends, there are some times where one can find some peace. Perhaps with this victory, we might be closer to that. At the very least, a thinned horde of Heartless will make your task of finding Terra and Aqua easier."
Naminé nodded, "Right. Do you have any idea where there were last?"
Yen Sid closed his eyes in thought. "When Aqua left to hide Ventus, there was a mass of darkness gathering in the Radiant Garden. Not long after she left, that darkness dissipated. I doubt that is a coincidence."
She shook her head, "I don't think I've heard of a world called Radiant Garden."
"It no longer bears that name. Soon after, it was ravaged in an attack by the heartless, and taken over by fiends attempting to use the castle their as their base. When word last came to me of it, many only knew the world now as Hollow Bastion."
Ven shuddered hearing the name, "How bad did it become to earn a name like that?"
Naminé put her hand to her chin in thought. "I only heard of it as Hollow Bastion...if it was called the Radiant Gardens at one point...It must have been beautiful."
Immediately Ventus lit up. "It was amazing! The city was huge, and all the plants there were gorgeous! And the castle was so cool! Even though I didn't go inside, it was awesome to look at!" His brow furrowed. "All the water seemed to run up though. Not sure what was up with that."
She giggled at his friends excitement. "It sounds like you knew it pretty well."
"Well I only went the one time but-"
"If I might bring ourselves back on topic." The stern voice of Yen Sid brought the two to attention. "I would recommend starting your search there in the castle. With any luck, you might be able to contact some of the other survivors that made their way to the world to rebuild."
Ventus nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Ready to go Naminé?"
Yen Sid spoke up, "Before you depart. I would recommend speaking with the three Fairies in the adjacent tower." He gestured to the door in the side of the study. "I imagine you wish to fight alongside Ventus, given you are carrying a sword." She nodded. "While the spirit is commendable, the cloak you are wearing might become a liability in a fight. The fairies might be able to fashion you clothes that are easier to move around in, while still empowered to protect you from the lanes between."
"I see...what would I need to do in return?"
The sorcerer held up his hand, shaking his hand. "Child, helping to defend the worlds from the forces of darkness is repayment enough. Though we have our own concerns to attend to, we are glad to facilitate that in any way we can."
Naminé nodded, "I see...before we go there's one more thing. Ventus rescued me from a group in black cloaks calling themselves Organization XIII, they were trying to find a way to control the keybearer, Sora."
Yen sid furrowed his brow. "It is concerning that there are those who are not only knowledgeable of the keyblade, but actively seek to manipulate its power. Is there anything else we should know about them?"
She paused for a moment, "They're...beings without hearts, nothing but the animated will of the victims of the heartless."
Ventus stared in shock, "You mean they can't feel anything?"
She shook her head. "It might look like they have emotions...but they're just imitating it. Clinging to memories of when they were alive."
"Do these beings have a name for what they are?"
Slowly Naminé nodded. "Yes...they call themselves Nobodies."
Ventus gasped, "Then...that means…" he trailed off.
Yen Sid looked at the boy "Is there something I ought to know?"
There was a moment of silence before Ventus spoke up again. "Before we got here...we met a member of the Organization, Axel...I used to know him."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, he didn't seem to even care when I brought up what he was doing was wrong. If he has no heart, that might be why he changed so much."
The sorcerer nodded, "To lose one's heart would be a dramatic change. Probably for the worse. I will relay the information to the king as well as the keybearer. In the meantime, I would recommend you begin your search." The two nodded, and headed out the side door.
As the door closed, Naminé and Ventus both looked at each other. Eventually, she spoke. "Ven...About what Axel said…"
He nodded, "I know what he said. What he called you..."
She frowned, "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Because you're not like Axel. You weren't happy about hurting Sora. You wanted to help me out rather than just let me go on my own. If you really didn't have a heart, you wouldn't care. " He put his hand to his chest. "So maybe there's more to you than old memories."
She shook her head, "Maybe there is...But I don't know if it's a real heart or an illusion I've made up for myself."
He frowned, "Well...It's real enough for you to care about other people."
"...is it real enough for us to still be friends?"
Ventus blinked in surprise. "Wait...do you want to stop being friends?"
She waved her hands, almost frantically, "No! I don't want to give that up."
He smiled. "Then I won't give our friendship up either. Not unless you want me to."
She took a shaky breath, "Okay then," And smiled back at him. "Thank you, Ven." And with that the two moved to the other end of the hall and knocked on the door.
The voice of an old woman answered, "Just a minute!" After a few seconds, the door opened to three fairies waving their wands and levitating several sewing supplies into cupboards and drawers, "Oh I'm sorry about the mess, we weren't expecting visitors anytime...Ventus?" The one in red finally took notice of their visitors and floated over. "My goodness it really is you!"
The one in green floated over. "Ventus? It's so good to see you! Though I thought you would be a bit taller by now."
The fairy in blue looked incredulously at her sisters, "Taller nothing. You haven't aged a day!"
Ventus' eyes lit up in recognition, "You...I remember you now. You were back in the Enchanted Dominion! Yeah, I got hurt, and I was put under some kind of magic spell to protect me while I was asleep. Anyway, it's good to see you again, er..." Then he chuckled a bit sheepishly, "Um...I don't think I got your names.
"It's quite alright dear, we were a little busy with Maleficent when you arrived." The one in red nodded. "Flora"
"Fauna." Said the one in green.
"And Merryweather." said the fairy in blue. "Now, who's your friend?" she said, looking to the cloaked girl.
She gave a slight bow to the fairies "My name is Naminé. It's a pleasure to meet you all. Master Yen Sid said you might be able to make me an outfit that can protect me from the lanes between. Up till now I've been using this cloak."
Flora took a closer look at the black and gold cloak she was wearing. "This is definitely powerful material...yes, I think we can use this quite well. May I?"
"Oh, of course!" She undid the clasp holding the cloak together, and handed it over. Naminé then turned to Ventus and held out the clasp "Do you want this back."
He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah...Thanks." And with that, it was back in Ventus' hands.
Merryweather looked at Ventus and gestured to the door. "I think we could use the privacy. Could you wait outside?"
He nodded, "Sure! Just let me know when you're done." And with that he walked out to the hallway, closing the door behind him.
"Now let's see…" And with that, Fauna began to wave her wand, cutting the cape to pieces.
Ventus sat outside holding onto the clasp Naminé returned to him, turning it over in his hand. Once, he was proud to have earned a chance to wear it. Even though he wasn't formally training as a Keyblade master like Terra and Aqua, it was a sign that Eraqus saw him as a valued student. He smiled, remembering the years he spent with his master.
But…
He was also strict. He was adamant that Ventus stay hidden in the Land of Departure. Then there was him denying Terra's Mastery, just for those hints of darkness. And when he realized Ventus was the key to the χ-Blade. He didn't hesitate to turn his sword on him.
...What would he have thought of Naminé?
...What if he learned more about her power, or that she was a Nobody?
…
She didn't deserve that sort of treatment. Not after what she'd been through. Especially not when all she wanted was to help.
No. It was better that Yen Sid didn't know. Even though he was helpful, Keyblade Masters seemed to have a bad habit of going to horrible lengths to keep the peace.
His hand drifted to his heart as he remembered the other master in his life...and how far he went.
Feckless Neophyte...
He shook his head. Xehanort was gone, Yen Sid didn't mention him, so Aqua and Terra had to have finished him off. So...he had a fresh start, in a way. Looking at the pin, he made a decision. He removed the straps over his jacket, no longer fastened by Eraqus' clasp, and folded them into his pockets. A few moments later, he put the symbol of his master in there was well.
It was time he made his own choices.
A flash from the door snapped him out of his reverie. Then another, and another. As he approached the door, he began to hear voices from the other side.
"Red!"
"No, Blue!"
"Um…"
"The girl has the spirit of adventure! Clearly it should be Red!" Flora accented her argument with a wave of her wand, and Naminé's dress changed to rose tint.
"And she has a sense of refinement and grace! So Blue is the obvious choice!" Merryweather rebutted with a burst of magic that clothed Naminé in azure.
Fauna pondered, "You know, I've always helped with the design, but I so rarely get a chance to choose the color."
"Excuse me!" Namine spoke up, finally getting the fairies to end their squabbling and listen to her. "If you're having trouble with the color, maybe try using a bit of each of them?"
At this, Fauna nodded, "I think that's a wonderful idea!" And her two sisters looked at each other for a moment, then nodded.
"Then let's do this together. On three. One, two…" And in a flash of light, the fairies worked their magic.
When Naminé could see again, she looked herself over in the mirror. Her sandals had been replaced with a pair of white shoes. While she saw the same basic top of her old dress, she now wore a dark green skirt running down to her knees, a stripe of gold along the bottom. Finally, while she could notice her old dress, she now wore a blue vest with a hood. Though she soon realized something was missing. "What about the red?"
At Naminé's question Flora chuckled, "Take a look at your sword, dear." Looking down, she saw the scabbard had changed from a dull brown to a polished crimson finish. Unsheathing the blade, she saw it had similarly been changed from mere metal to a shining silver, a strip of red running along the blade. Putting it away she bowed, "Thank you so much!"
Merryweather called out. "Alright, Ven. We're done!"
Opening the door, Ven walked in. "I was a bit worried when I saw all the...lights…" and saw Naminé.
"Well?" She asked. "How do I look?"
Ventus grinned, "Great! I think you look set to go on an adventure!"
Flora nodded, "Then don't let us keep you. If there's nothing else we'll see you off."
"Oh! Actually…" Naminé realized noticing the various crafts around the room. "Would you happen to have any crayons, or something to color drawings with?"
Fauna put a hand to her chin in thought. "You know...we haven't really needed them...but I think…" With a wave of her wand one of the lower drawers on the dresser opened, and various items began levitating out of it. "Here it is!" and with that exclamation, one of the smaller boxes floated toward Naminé.
She nodded, pocketing the gift. "I appreciate it. I was looking for something that I could use for my own drawings."
"Maybe we could see some of them when we meet again." Flora offered.
"If we do, I'll be sure to show you some of them." Naminé smiled.
"What, you're worried about the new guy?"
"No." Worry wasn't quite the right word Roxas would use. But even so, the fact that Erxart seemed to have a lot of attention on him was...odd. It was certainly more attention than anyone else seemed to give him, besides Axel.
Though he he had to wonder why Saïx was sending him along on this first mission with Axel.
"Are there any major risks I need to know about for this mission?"
Saïx shook his head in response to Erxart. "No, this is more of a training exercise to gauge both of your abilities."
"Honestly, the biggest risk is that Roxas here is still a bit out of it. You should've seen him the first few days here. The fact that he remembers names now is a bit of a miracle."
…
"So, you remember my name, right?"
"Axel."
"And our boss?"
"Xemnas"
"Good, glad to see you've got it memorized." Axel nodded in satisfaction.
"And...do you know my name?" Their companion asked.
...It was on the tip of his tongue…
"Well, he knows the important names anyway so-"
"Erxart." Roxas nodded, "Your name is Erxart."
At this, Erxart smiled, and gestured toward the opened door to darkness. "Then I'm glad to be working together with you on this mission, Roxas." and so the trio began to walk toward the portal.
Though not before Axel whispered, "Whatever your secret is, I wanna know. Took him a week to remember my name."