Disclaimer: I don't own anything other than OC's
Van didn't know what to expect when he entered the limo, but it certainly wasn't this. The seats were comfy, and shelves were lined with colorful foods that Van had never seen before. He wasn't sure whether or not to try it since he still didn't trust the Auradonians. Nothing in this world was free after all, at least not to him.
The others weren't as bothered. Jay and Carlos happily began digging into the mini feast before them. Van wasn't entirely surprised considering their personalities, as well as the food shortage on the Isle.
Evie took out a hairbrush and started straightening her hair for when they arrived. She started doing the same for Mal who quickly objected.
"Hey, I'm plotting," Mal protested.
"Well, it's not very attractive," Evie countered. "One should always look their best when meeting new people for the first time. First impressions are important after all."
"I honestly couldn't care less about what people think of me," Mal replied in a deadbeat tone. She noticed Evie was still looking at her holding up the brush and relented. "But if you must, I won't stop you. Just don't mess it up."
Mal turned while Evie brushed. Van couldn't help but notice how red Evie's eyes were. If he had to guess, she and her family had an emotional send-off, not that he was surprised. His and Evie's dad, alongside Sephiroth, were best friends. They were good friends with a few other Isle residents but those three were quite close.
"Oh these, it's salty like nuts but sweet like nuts but it's sweet like in don't know," Carlos explained.
"Let me see," Jay said as he looked in Carlos' mouth. "Ew!" He then took the other half of the food.
Van barely resisted the urge to throw up. While Carlos was no doubt a genius, like his father and brother, but there were times when he and Jay could really act like idiots. This being one of them.
'Salty and sweet huh, that kind of sounds like Sea Salt ice cream,' Van realized. 'Dad said that's what it tastes like. I wonder if Auradon has it. Or maybe Twilight Town still sells it.'
While Van wasn't that much interested in Auradon itself, growing up he was interested in his parent's stories about their lives before the Isle and what they did. His father told him about this ice cream he came across in Twilight Town when he wasn't on orders from Xehanort. He described it as salty and sweet and literally one of the best things he had ever tasted. He would sit on this large clock tower where the train station was and eat it while looking out at the sunset.
Though he had never said it, Van did want to try it out himself despite knowing it was impossible.
'I wonder if we'll even be allowed to leave the premises while we're here. Most kids probably leave on weekends to spend time with their families, and I doubt we'll be doing that,' Van thought as he stared out the window. 'That reminds me, how did this guy get here? There's no bridge.'
Van looked out the window to see where they were and recognized it as the edge of the Isle. There was no bridge that was true, but there was a broken section of one that faced out to Auradon.
"Uh, guys," Van called out only to be promptly ignored.
Jay and Carlos continued to bicker while Evie brushed Mal's hair. As they neared the edge of the Isle, Van started to worry.
"Guys," Van called out louder, only to be ignored again much to his fury. "GUYS! WILL STOP ACTING LIKE IDIOTS AND LOOK OUTSIDE! WE'RE ABOUT TO FALL OFF THE EDGE!"
His outburst caught them off guard as they glanced outside. The second they did they started to panic, believing it was a trap. Van couldn't believe he had been so stupid to go through with this.
However, Van's worries briefly disappeared when he noticed that the limo was covered in light as it crossed over a gold bridge that constructed itself out of nothing as they drove along.
"It must be magic," Evie exclaimed.
"Way to scare us Van," Jay said.
"Hey, there was no bridge! What was I supposed to think?" Van snapped.
A warning from the driver would have been good. Still, it seemed those from Auradon didn't want them dead, at least not yet. Although he probably should've realized they wouldn't be willing to sacrifice one of their own trying to kill five kids.
"Hey! Did this little button open up the magic barrier?" Mal questioned the driver.
"Nope. This one opens up the magic barrier," the driver said holding up a gold remote. "That one opens my garage. And this button."
The driver pressed a button on the roof, causing the window between them to go up. Instead of being offended, Mal smirked at the man's rudeness.
"Okay. Nasty. I like that guy," she admitted before several of them started clutching their stomachs as a strange sensation took over.
It didn't take a genius to figure out that this was magic. Having lived their entire lives behind the barrier the teens were suddenly introduced to a world where it freely roamed. The whole thing was quite nauseating, especially for someone like Mal who was part Fae and God. It was a miracle she hadn't gotten sick.
Van was a different story. While he was unused to magic like the others, he was also not used to traveling by car, or any vehicle. The vibrations were making him woozy and he wasn't sure how much longer he could take it. Carlos was the first to notice his discomfort.
"Van are you alright?" he said in a concerned voice.
Van gazed at him weakly. "No. I don't know what's wrong with me. Being in this thing, moving in it. It's making me."
Carlos didn't need to hear anymore as he called the driver who quickly pulled over. Van wasted no time in getting out of the car. Taking a deep breath, he inhaled and exhaled until he was feeling fine. While doing this he took a moment to compare the air here and, on the Isle, and noted how much fresher and clear it smelt while on the Isle it was bad and polluted.
"Sorry about that," he apologized. "I don't know why that happened. I was fine before."
"It was motion sickness," the driver said plainly.
Van blinked confused. "Motion what now?"
This time it was the driver's turn to be confused.
"Motion sickness," he repeated. "Where you start feeling dizzy while traveling on a car or," He stopped suddenly remembering where Van was from. "Which you never would have experienced before."
Van shook his head. "No. The only one of us who has is Carlos, and that's because his mother sometimes made him drive her around in her car."
The driver was a little stunned. While he didn't actually know Carlos, he knew he couldn't have been older than fifteen. Most people didn't learn until they were older because it was the law. The kid didn't even have a license.
"How much farther until we reach this school?" Van asked.
"Less than ten minutes," he answered. "Can you survive until then?"
"I'll try," Van replied.
That was really all he could do. The driver didn't question it as they both got back in the car. As they drove the driver still couldn't get one thing out of his head.
'Why does that boy look like Sora?'
Auradon Prep Entrance
Ben stood at the entrance waiting patiently for the new students to arrive. In attendance were the headmistress Fairy Godmother, his 'girlfriend' Audrey, and the marching band.
He couldn't wait to welcome the kids from the Isle. It had taken a little while for everyone to get used to the idea, and while most still weren't comfortable, they were otherwise content. His father still didn't like the idea, believing it would only lead to bad things happening, but Ben was determined to see it through. Other royals like Queen Leah had ranted about how this would lead to Auradon's destruction and that he was making a huge mistake. Audrey was against it also, using every chance and method she could to convince him this was a bad idea. She had been especially outraged and horrified when she learned the daughter of Maleficent was coming to Auradon, and, well, let's just say she wasn't finished letting him hear the end of it.
The limo came into view and the marching band started playing with other students cheering in an attempt to look welcoming. Ben rubbed his hands nervously hoping to make a good first impression. He did not want things to go wrong, not now.
Meanwhile inside the limo.
"Guys, we're here," Evie announced before grabbing a tissue. "Carlos wipe your face. You've got chocolate all over it."
He did just that as Jay took some stuff with him. He had his hands on the tray when Van reached out and grabbed his wrist tightly.
"Leave it!" he snarled. "Just this once leave things as they are! I want to make a good first impression and stealing things right off the bat isn't the best way to do that! So, for once, just once in your life. Don't. Steal. Anything!"
The death glare Van was giving Jay was much like the one Vanitas gave on the Isle when someone irritated him a certain way. Reluctantly, very reluctantly, Jay let go of the stuff he took.
The driver opened the door for them, and they got out one by one. Van was the first to step out, and the moment he did, the entire student body, Ben, Audrey, and Fairy Godmother, greeted them with complete silence. They stared at Van with shocked eyes, and their bodies frozen stiff.
'What the hell!' Audrey thought.
'He… he looks just like,' Fairy Godmother realized.
'Vanitas is Ventus' dark half so I expected him to resemble Ventus. Then again, Roxas looks like Ventus even though he's Sora's Nobody so this kind of makes sense,' Ben thought surprised.
The silent stares did not go unnoticed. The Core Four could immediately tell that their attention was focused on Van because of the way they were facing.
Van was aware of it too, and it made him uncomfortable. He'd only been here five seconds and already they were scared of him. He wasn't that intimidating when he wasn't angry.
After about a minute of staring, Van got sick of it and spoke.
"Okay, what the hell is wrong with you people?!" he demanded.
That seemed to break a few people about of their shock.
"W-What?" Ben stammered.
Van groaned. "Are you deaf or something? I said what the hell is wrong with you people?! We've been here for barely two minutes, and already you're staring at us like we committed murder. If you have a got problem, like second thoughts, just say it and get it over with!"
Realizing what Van was talking about Ben quickly stepped forward to correct the misunderstanding.
"Sorry about that," Ben apologized. "People are a little surprised by your appearance. You look an awful lot like Sora."
That only served to confuse Van even more.
"So what? Isn't that expected? My father's Vanitas," Van said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
His statement, while meant to explain everything, only served to confuse people even more. If he was saying it was because of his father, did that mean Vanitas also resembled Sora?
"Welcome to Auradon Prep!" Fairy Godmother finally spoke up. "I'm Fairy Godmother, the headmistress."
"The Fairy Godmother," Mal perked up. She waved her hand around as if she was holding a wand. "As in bibbidi-bobbidi-boo?"
"Bibbidi-bobbidi you know it," she responded cheerfully.
"Yeah. You know I always wondered what it was like for Cinderella when you just appeared out of nowhere with that sparkly wand and that warm smile and that sparkling wand," Mal complimented.
Fairy Godmother seemed pleased to hear that.
'Oh for the love of Kingdom Hearts, Mal could anymore obvious?' Van internally raged.
Before anyone noticed he dampened the subject. "Until she was attacked by two Unversed in the same night. A Composer at the ball which Terra defeated and later a more sinister version of her carriage summoned by Lady Tremaine then defeated by Aqua. So, yeah. Tough night all things considered."
The others gave him a look which he promptly ignored.
"That was a long time ago," Fairy Godmother assured. "And as I always say, don't focus on the past or else you'll miss the future."
'Unfortunately, most people don't think that way,' Van thought sad. 'Like a certain archaic dragon.'
"It's so good to finally meet you all," Ben said stepping forward. "I'm Ben."
"Prince Benjamin!" Audrey chirped. "Soon to be King!"
Van eyed Ben with interest. So this was Belle and Beast's son, Auradons prince. He couldn't have been much older than Mal, yet he was still set to be King. That had to be tough.
"This is Audrey," Ben informed them.
"Princess Audrey," she said putting emphasis on 'Princess'. "His girlfriend. Right, Bennyboo?"
The five VK's all felt pity towards Ben.
'Bennyboo! Damn, I feel sorry for him!' Van thought.
Evie was the first to pick up on how uncomfortable Ben was with the name and the way he reacted towards Audrey's behavior. She wondered if this was normal, and if so, why didn't he just break up with her?
"Ben and Audrey are going to show you all around," the headmistress informed them. "And I'll see you all tomorrow. The doors of wisdom are never shut."
"Could they ever be?" Evie joked to which the headmistress laughed.
"No. Although the library hours are from eight to eleven and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews," Fairy Godmother said without missing a beat.
Once again, Van internally groaned. That meant they couldn't go out at night.
The headmistress didn't bother explaining anymore as she left the new arrivals with the Crown Prince and the Princess. With her departure, the marching band and students returned to their daily routines. Ben stepped forward again to give a proper greeting.
"It is so, so, so good to finally me… meet you all," he greeted as he attempted to shake Jay's hand only to be met with a light shoulder punch. Shaking Mal's hand the two locked eyes briefly, lost in each other's gaze. "This a momentous occasion, and one that I will hope goes in history. As the day our two peoples began to heal."
"Or the day you showed five people where the bathrooms are," Mal jokingly interrupted, making Ben laugh.
"A little bit over the top?" he asked.
"A little more than a little bit," Mal replied with a smirk.
"Well, so much for my first impression," Ben lamented.
Van honestly believed it could have been much worse. He didn't know how or why he just did.
"Hey, you're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?" Audrey cheerfully interrupted. "Yeah, you know what, I totally do not blame you for trying to kill my parents and stuff."
Van glared at the princess. He knew a false act when he saw one, and she wasn't even trying to hide it.
"Oh, my mom's Aurora," Audrey said. "Sleeping."
"Beauty!" Mal finished with a fake smile. "Yeah, I've heard the name. not as much as I've heard Sora or Xehanort, but yeah I've heard it." Aurora was but one of her mother's victims. While she did hate her, she hated Sora and Xehanort far more. "You know and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in Enchanted Dominion, but my mother, to their stupid christening."
'This isn't going to end well,' Jay decided.
Ben internally sighed at his girlfriend's behavior. He had hoped she would be mature enough not to bring up past events with Maleficent's daughter. Audrey didn't seem to understand that Mal had done nothing wrong. While he could understand her reasoning behind it, he still didn't agree with it.
"Water under the bridge," Audrey chirped.
"Totes," Mal chirped back.
The fake laughter between the two of them only served to skyrocket the awkwardness of the situation.
"I believe we were promised a tour of the campus," Evie piped up. "May we get started? It's been a long day so far, and we'd like to settle into our dorms as soon as possible."
"Yes, please, come this way," Ben exclaimed jumping at the opportunity to diffuse the tension.
The teens, and preteen, walked through the gardens as Ben began to explain the school's history.
"Auradon Prep was originally built three hundred years ago and it was converted into a boarding school by father when he became King," Ben clapped his hands at a statue of his father which transformed into a beast. Carlos screamed and jumped into Jay's arms. "Carlos, it's okay. My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man, to remind us that anything is possible."
"Does he shed much?" Mal asked.
"Yeah mom won't let him on the couch," Ben answered seriously.
Van started laughing. So far he was really liking Ben. He seemed like a good guy, and with a decent sense of humor.
The group continued on through the school, seeing where the classes, the cafeteria, the science labs, the computer room, the sports field, and the library are. Finally, they came back to the entrance.
"So, you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon? Like wands and things like that?" Mal questioned.
'Seriously Mal, why don't you just ask him for the wand while you're at it,' Van wanted to scream at her.
She was being way too obvious and was going to get them caught and sent back. While he did not like it here, Van was going to go through with his mission because his dad trusted him, and because he promised his friends.
Fortunately for him, Ben didn't pick up on it.
"Yeah, it exists of course, but it's pretty much retired. Most of us here are just ordinary mortals," Ben explained.
"Who happen to be Kings and Queens," Mal added.
"That's true," Audrey interjected wrapping Ben's arm around her shoulder. "Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years."
"That's not exactly true," Evie pointed out.
Everyone turned to look at her with intrigued (or in Audrey's case annoyed) expressions.
"Not every King or Queen was born a royal. My grandmother Cora was born a peasant until she learned magic and married into royal life," Evie explained. "There are a number of Auradon Royals who weren't into royalty either. Tiana, Aladdin, Kristoff, Eugene Fitzherbert, Cinderella, and even Queen Belle."
The others looked impressed at her knowledge, Ben especially. Even Audrey was surprised.
"That's true Evie, although, King Eugene was revealed to come from a Royal Family in the Dark Kingdom it wasn't until much later in his life that he discovered the truth. However, that's good insight nonetheless, my mother would be impressed," Ben complimented.
"Thank you, Prince Ben," she replied. "Growing up, my parents stressed knowledge and academics because they believed it would get me further in life. And I believe they were right."
"Please, just call me Ben," he requested. "Prince sounds so formal. Especially since we all go to the same school now."
That didn't sit well with Audrey.
"They should call you Prince as a sign of respect," she argued. "You're going the King soon, so they'll need to address you properly." She then turned her attention to Evie. "And you, while your family may have been Royals in the past, here the Evil Queen and the Queen of Hearts have no royal status, and neither do you."
Van glared at Audrey. How dare she speak to Evie that way! She didn't do anything wrong. For someone who was supposed to be the daughter of a Princess of Heart, she certainly didn't act like it. No, she acted more like a spoilt jealous brat who didn't want her prince to get close to the so-called villains.
Evie picked up on it as well, and she wasn't going to take it quietly. Just because she'd agreed to set a good example did not mean she was going to back down when insulted.
"Regina and Cora Mills," Evie said softly. Audrey blinked not quite understanding. "Those women you were just referring to are called Regina and Cora Mills. "Evil Queen", "Queen of Hearts", they haven't used those titles in years, and neither has anyone else on the Isle." It was then Evie's gaze and voice turned ice cold. "And I never referred to myself as a royal. When the barrier was brought up and everyone was banished there they were stripped of many things, their magic, their possessions, and their dignity. Considering Auradon was so determined to teach them a lesson, I figured that they must have stripped all royals on the Isle of their status for their past actions. Perhaps you should be a bit more observant Princess Audrey because unless someone claims to be something there should be no reason to challenge it. Which brings me to Ben here. If he wants us to call him by his name and nothing else then we will, until he says otherwise. Is that understood, Princess?"
Everyone but Mal and Van stared at Evie wide-eyed. While it was rare, Evie could extremely cold and ruthless when she wanted to be.
For Van, it took all his willpower not to laugh at Audrey. The girl looked like she had been slapped in the face. Before Audrey could retort, Ben called out someone.
"Doug," Ben called out. "Doug come down."
Van looked up and saw a boy in a marching band outfit and holding a clipboard.
"This is Doug. He's gonna help you with your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms," Ben informed them. "I'll see you later okay. And if there is anything you need feel free to."
"Ask Doug," Audrey rudely interrupted.
The princess escorted her prince away as far and quickly as possible.
"Ugh they are so rude," Audrey complained. "Especially the Evil Queens daughter. I mean who does she think she is. I told you this was a bad idea."
"Audrey," he addressed rather sternly. "You were rude to them first, and without good reason. Evie just explained something already true, nothing more. You didn't have to jump at her because I said they didn't have to call me prince. And let's talk about Mal. Why did you bring up her mother's past? That was completely unnecessary."
Audrey huffed in annoyance. "I just wanted to make sure they didn't get the wrong idea about anything. And they should call you 'Prince', it's your title after all."
"Others," Ben started.
"Others are either family or friends, which they aren't," she countered. "They're only going to cause you trouble Bennyboo, you'll see."
It was a credit that Ben didn't scowl at that moment. He really hated that nickname, along with Bennybear. When they were kids Audrey was a much nicer person, but as they started to grow up, she became vainer and clingier. She became so invested in her looks that she looked down on others for being less pretty than she was. Ben had wanted to end their relationship for some time now because he felt she never took him seriously and was more focused on herself, but he never found the courage to.
'That girl I've been dreaming about, could it have been Mal?' Ben wondered.
Recently Ben had been having these strange dreams about a certain girl. In his dreams, he was in an area with no plants, ruined buildings, and dirty streets. The residents wore clothes, unlike anything he had ever seen. What's more, they were angry, more like bitter, at their conditions. Usually, he wounded up in some sort of trouble only to be later saved by this beautiful girl with purple hair. Though he couldn't say for sure, he was positive he had been on the Isle of the Lost, and Mal was the girl that saved him.
His thoughts were interrupted by Audrey.
"And what's up with that kid? Why does he look like Sora?"
"I don't know," Ben lied. 'Though I have a pretty good idea.'
Back with the VK's
"Hi guys," he greeted. "I'm Dopeys son. As in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy…", His attention became focused on Evie as his heart stopped. "Heigh-Ho!"
'Looks like Evie's got an admirer,' Carlos thought.
He did feel slightly sorry for Doug though. There had been many boys on the Isle that tried to win Evie's heart only for them to fail. In her own words, none of them were her type.
"Evie Mills. Regina Mills daughter," she greeted with a smile.
Doug was obviously quite flustered at being in close proximity to a girl like Evie.
'She's so pretty,' he blushed. 'Prettier than Audrey. I wonder if she, wait no, that's not likely to happen. Why would someone like her want to be with someone like me?'
"Okay. About your classes, I already put in the requirements. History of other worlds, safety rules for the internet, and uh, remedial goodness 101."
"Let me guess, new class," Mal said. Doug nodded in confirmation. "Come on guys, let's go find our dorms."
"Uh guys, your dorms are that way," Doug pointed.
While the others started moving, Van stayed behind to speak with Doug.
"Hey, um, Doug right?" The son of Dopey nodded.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
"I was just wondering since the others are going to be sharing rooms will I sharing with anyone?" Van enquired.
Doug thought about it for a moment.
"Yeah, you do. I hope that's alright. Usually, each student has a roommate at the dorms," Doug explained.
"It's fine," Van cut him off. "I was just curious that's all." He turned to leave but stopped. "Hey since I'm here, mind if I ask you a few questions."
Doug brightened up at that. "Of course. Please ask and I'll answer to the best of my ability."
Wasting no time, Van asked what had been on his mind since the start of the day.
"This program that brings kids from the Isle over, how does it work?" he asked. "Who or what decides who is chosen and when they come?"
"That's a tricky one," Doug frowned. "The program is part of Ben's first proclamation when he becomes King. It's only really been around for two weeks so it's still pretty new. I don't know how people are chosen or when they come, sorry."
Van sighed. He was worried about receiving an answer like that. Still, he learned one thing from it. Ben was the one who arranged it and knowing that made him slightly more relaxed.
"This relates to the first one. If we wanted to give opinions or recommendations about who to come off, do you think they'd take them seriously?" he asked.
"Actually, yes," Doug said. "Since you're from the Isle, your opinion about whose there would be valued." Van felt a wave of relief wash over him. That was that issue solved. "Why? Is there anyone you'd recommend?"
"A few of my friends," he answered. "Some who I think would do well in Auradon."
Doug understood. Van was the only twelve-year-old in the group, so it made sense he'd want to bring people he was close with here.
"That's all for now," Van said as he turned to leave. "Thanks, Doug. See you later!"
"No problem," Doug said. "If you have any more questions feel free to ask."
As he walked away, Doug briefly considered asking Van why he looked like Sora but decided against it. The kid had just arrived, no need to overwhelm him.
With Van
After some walking, Van finally reached his dorm room. As he stood outside, he mentally prepared himself for who and what was on the other side.
'Whoever my roommate is, I seriously hope he's not an asshole. I had to deal with enough of them on the Isle. And I hope he's nothing like Audrey,' Van silently prayed.
Van stepped into his dorm and was stunned at the layout of the room. The room was large, with two beds close to each other, several bookshelves, a table, fridge, and tv. To add to it all, most of the room was covered in navy blue ranging from the curtains, duvets, carpets, sofa chairs, and lamps. The walls were made of wood from what he could see. The sun shone through the open windows as the wind blew lightly.
'Not really my color but it's nothing too bright so I can live with it,' he thought.
Van's attention was drawn to the other person in the room who was putting away some clothes. The moment Van entered his attention was drawn to him, and his eyes widened. The two studied each other briefly.
From what Van could see, the boy was around his age and height. Like Van, he had heterochromatic eyes, with the left being dark green, and the other being blue. He had spiky gold blonde hair with a few brown streaks where the front concentrated the spikes on the right side of his head as if windswept, while the back was smoother and flakier. The boy wore a green t-shirt, black and white hoodie, multicolored trousers that go green, black, grey, white, black from top to bottom, and grey and light green sneakers.
The boy looked somewhat startled to see Van.
'Ugh, this is just like when I arrived,' Van remembered. 'Seriously, what is up with people? I get it, I look like Sora. It's not that big of a deal.'
Despite appearing nervous, the boy approached him and held out his hand.
"Um, hi, I'm Ven," he greeted quietly. "Ventus' son."
Van couldn't believe what he was hearing. His roommate was none other than his cousin. He wondered whether this had been done deliberately or not but decided for the moment that he didn't care. Looks like this would be interesting.
Van shook Ven's hand and shook it. While he was at it, he let out a smirk.
"Nice to meet you. Names Van, Vanitas' son. Got it memorized?"
Hi there. Well, what did you think of that? I didn't plan for the chapter to be this long but it happened anyway. As you could see, everyone is surprised at Van's resemblance to Sora. Why is that I wonder?
As you saw, Evie is well aware she doesn't have royal status. She figured it out while living on the Isle.
And yes, Ven is Ventus' son. I thought he would be a good roommate for Van. I was initially going to have both his eyes dark green but I decided to make him heterochromatic like Van. I think it would help with them both bonding.
One thing about this story, I'm willing to take OC's suggestions. I've already thought of a few who will be Vans friends in the story. I'm having difficulty coming up with prejudiced characters. So far I've come up with the son of Riku and Xion, son of Sora and Kairi (for a very good reason which won't be revealed at this time), one of Ariel's nieces, and the child of Emperor Kuzco. I'm still having difficulty coming up with them.
The next chapter will involve the museum heist. Please review.