AN: Welcome back, one and all, to the next chapter of Kingdom Hearts Keyblade Legion!
[audience applause]
Yeah, I figured you would all be excited for this chapter, as its the big moment we've all been waiting for. The final conclusion of Roxas and Xion's summer vacation, Sora's awakening, and so much more. But before we get into any of that, we've got a review or two to answer.
Xigbar: Why not leave 'em guessing? I mean, that just makes things a lot more fun when you do answer it in the story. Like how you plan to have the first return trip to Twilight Town feature...
AN: DAH! SPOILER AND BAD GUY TRYING TO TELL ME HOW TO RUN STORY AND/OR AUTHOR'S NOTES! [hits the button]
Xigbar: Right. Like I'm really going to be scared of anything you might...[suddenly gets his butt chomped on by Tick Toc the crocodile] AHHHHH! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF! [actually manages to get the crocodile off, but soon starts running scared when Tic Toc goes in for another bite]
AN: Be honest, how many of you have wanted to do something like that to Xigbar just because his eyepatch makes him look like a wannabe pirate?
Xigbar: [somewhere in the distance as he's still being chased] I'M NOT A PIRATE!
AN: Nobody cares what you think, Xigbar! Ahem, anywho, I believe we were going to answer some reviews, so let's start with one from "NinjaFang1331". In answer to your question, yes, Sora will typically still need to use Drive Forms to be able to use two Keyblades, but if he finds himself in a desperate situation like that one again, there may be a chance that he could use two without the Drive Forms again. I wouldn't really count on that happening though. After all, it's gonna be hard for him to be backed into a corner that badly when there's so many members on the team right now.
Rolling on over to "Anonymaton", there may be a very likely chance that Aqua's gonna use Ven's new beard as a chance to get back at him for the haircut he forced her into back in Keyblades of Future Past, but I wouldn't go thinking that means the thing will be completely gone. At the moment, his beard is a little more bushy and wild, unlike the one you see him rocking in the cover art, so...yeah. Btw, you might want to do a little bit of work on that auto-spoiler upgrade, cause I didn't really understand that first question you asked. And as for the gag designer question, I actually do a lot of my own designs where those are concerned, and occasionally, I have the cast of the stories put in a few ideas here and there. Just ask Axel, he actually gave me one a little while back.
Roxas: Hey, are you gonna answer any of the questions that "Dragon Rider 66" asked?
AN: This time, I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to. Most of those questions will actually be answered by the next chapter, if not this one, or even as time goes on, and they're pretty big spoilers in the case of the latter. Though I have to agree, it is pretty cool that you've been able to do a review that big after so long.
Roxas: I'm mainly asking because Riku's been looking a little pale after he read that first part of the review.
AN: [looks over with Roxas to see Riku looking just as the blonde had described] Well, I know a good way to snap him out of it. Xion, kiss the brooding scardycat.
Xion: [blushes heavily]
Roxas: [looking mad] What?! You kiss the brooding scardycat!
AN: No way! I don't swing that way, for one, and two...wait for it.
Riku: [suddenly snaps out of it and is now sporting a blush that matches Xion's]
AN: There we go. Moving along to "Dcraus", as I told you last chapter, I'm not taking on any more new challenges at this time, so I can't accept yours. Sorry.
Moving right along, to "Ronin Warriors Fanatic", I wouldn't worry about the Land of Dragons too much in regards to Xion's presence. If anything, you should be more excited about how Xion's going to handle that world. It's going to be quite the adventure, and a good chance for character development for her when we get there.
Ventus: I don't think we can really answer any other questions right now.
Roxas: Really? We can't?
AN: Anything else would be giving away serious spoilers for the story. (Sorry "Monkey D. Conan" and everyone else who posted questions in their reviews for the previous chapter). But to everyone who has added more hate fuel to the growing fire that is the flames against DiZ...keep it up and we'll be able to have a nice little bonfire. Hehehehe.
DiZ: I cannot help but feel worried about how he's saying that, or how he's laughing.
AN: And you should be...But, you can leave it for later. We've got an adventure to continue. But before that, there's a little something that I think a lot of people are curious about, so let's not keep them waiting on that. Xion, play the track!
Xion: Here we go. [hits play on the music video device]
[cue opening theme music for Power Rangers Mega Force]
[0:00-0:10]: Shows Kairi dropping in with Keyblade in hand, Roxas and Xion dropping into battle stances, Ventus standing back-to-back with Aqua, before ending on Sora staring down an unseen enemy as he stands ready
"Key! Blade! Legion! Kingdom Hearts Keyblade Legion!"
[0:11-0:30]: Shows each character on the team introducing themselves while a clip of them in battle plays off to one side, as the lyrics play
"Go go Keyblade Masters!" {"Sora!", Kingdom Key wielder slashing bad guys left and right.}
"Go go Keyblade Masters!" {"Ventus!", Guardian Wind wielder spinning through the battlefield as he slashes away. "Xion!" Two Become One wielder slashes several monsters before blasting magic out of her free hand. "Roxas!" Dual Wielder is seen doing what he does best, fighting bad guys with two Keyblades at once.}
"Master forever! Keyblade Legion all together!" {"Kairi." Destiny's Embrace wielder charging in to slash through enemies or blast them with magic. "Aqua!" Bluenette blasts several enemies with Prism Rain and light chains}
"Key! Blade! Legion!"
[0:31-0:39] Displays the various wielders fighting Heartless and Nobodies in various different methods before Sora's seen with a bright light erupting from his person, and then going into a four-split screen to show Xion in Valor Form, Roxas in Wisdom Form, Kairi in Master Form, and Sora in Limit Form, and then returns to normal as it shows all four in each of their versions of Final Form.
"Keyblade Legion!"
[the rest of the video starts off with introducing Donald and Goofy at the same time, then Mickey and Riku, followed by showing displays of Maleficent and Organization XIII, ending with a little montage of the heroes in action]
"Go go Keyblade Masters!"
"Go go Keyblade Masters!"
"Master forever! Keyblade Legion all together!"
[very last bit shows the six member lead characters, Donald, and Goofy all standing in the midst of the Heartless army, summoning respective Keyblades in preparation for battle]
"Key! Blade! Legion!"
"Kingdom Hearts Keyblade Legion!"
[show various Keyblades spinning across the screen before Kingdom Key appears to seems to summon out the story title, and end song]
Xion: Wow, you've really got a bit too much of a thing when it comes to Power Rangers.
AN: Hey, it's a good series. Besides, who doesn't love Power Rangers these days? Am I right?
Anyways, you've now seen the little title sequence I've got in my head for this story, so with that out of the way, let's get on with the show, everyone!
I do not own anything from Kingdom Hearts or any other franchise mentioned in this story.
Chapter VII
The whole room was quiet, aside from one or two sounds from the egg-shaped pod, while not a single word was whispered between the three people inside of said room. On one side, stood Roxas and Xion, both gaping widely at the man before them who had only just now shown his face to them after hiding it behind the helmet of his armor for so long. On the other, stood one Keyblade Master Ventus, grinning happily at the two with his helmet tucked under one arm for a little bit before it finally vanished in a flash of light. Why they were all just standing around staring at one another, it was hard to say, but given how much fighting that two of them had been caught up in until a moment ago, there was little reason to complain about a peaceful silence. That did not keep it from turning a little awkward when Ventus started to find their staring a little uncomfortable, because there was something about their looks that made him a little nervous.
"What's wrong," Ven finally asked, but the siblings said nothing in reply. "Okay, I get it. You're freaked out about how I look so much like Roxas, right," the blonde master guessed. "Well, I would've figured you would have gotten over that by now, after seeing all of Sora's memories about me, but I suppose it is a little different seeing such a thing in person."
"N-no, it's not that," Roxas admitted, having finally found his voice again. "But if it is any indication, at least I don't have to worry about how I'll look when I get old."
"Hey, watch it! I'm still in my twenties, so don't go calling me old just yet," Ventus playfully warned, his smile not fading even a little. "So then, did you guys think that I couldn't take the armor off, or is it just weird seeing me with everything but the helmet on?"
"No, we never thought that," Roxas insisted. "It's just…well…uh…"
"You have a beard," Xion finally revealed, unable to keep silent any longer. In hindsight, she did not think that the first thing she would say to Ventus after seeing his face would be that, but given the shock of both this moment and all that had happened today, Xion was not really able to think of anything else.
"What? I don't have a…" Ventus started to say, even as he ran a hand along his face. He quickly stopped short when he felt the texture of said facial hair, and quickly started running both hands along the entire lower half of his face to confirm he was not imaging things. "I have a beard?! Seriously?!" His frantic freak out quickly paused though as he glanced around, asking, "Does it look bad? Where's a mirror? I need to know if it looks bad or not."
"It doesn't look…too bad," Roxas tried to reassure him, even though he was a little mystified on how the Keyblade master could not have known about this fact. "It's just…"
"It would probably look better if you trimmed it down to something a little simpler, or at least one that didn't cover your whole face," Xion filled in. "A full blown beard does make you look a lot older than you probably want to look."
Ventus nodded along to the two's words before finally catching sight of his reflection in the glass of the egg-shaped pod that was supposed to be housing his apprentice, and saw that the lower half of his face was in fact covered in facial hair. He ran his hand along the whiskers for a minute, apparently trying to smooth them out and make it a little less messy in appearance before he finally sighed, "Well, I guess that's what I get for wearing this armor practically nonstop for over a year now, save for the moments when it was most necessary."
"Uh…define 'most necessary'," Xion asked a disgusted look already on her face at the things she was imagining.
"Relax, kid. I did actually shower and stop to use the bathroom when I needed to," Ventus promised. "But enough about me. That's not why I'm here, or why either of you are here."
"And why do you think we're here? Because we're parts of Sora," Roxas demanded, his cross look from before slowly starting to return.
"Yes and no. It's true that the two of you were once part of Sora, but you're much more than that now," Ventus replied, surprising the two a little. "DiZ was too blinded by his anger and need for revenge to see the truth of the matter, but I could tell from the moment when I first saw you two that you were much more special than a typical Nobody, even in regards to the ones that lead the Organization."
"'Nobody,'" Xion whispered. "That's what Naminé, DiZ, and…that guy in the coat kept calling us and those creatures. Just what is a Nobody?"
Ventus paused for a moment, apparently thinking over how to reply to that question, and then explained, "A Nobody is a being that does not exist in the darkness or the light. Some would say that they do not truly exist, but that may be more because of the fact that they do not have hearts. Apparently, they were once people that had lost their heart to darkness, but the strong will they possessed allowed the bodies that remained to be given new life thanks in part to the souls that were practically abandoned. However, those with especially strong wills can retain a human shape, while others…well, you saw them for yourselves over the past few days."
"They become Dusks, right," Roxas asked, earning him a curious look from Ventus. "That's what Axel called them."
Ventus nodded in response, confirming Roxas's suspicion. "However, even among those special few Nobodies, you two were different. Most human-like Nobodies still retain the same appearance as their original human forms, but you two…or more specifically, Roxas and Naminé, do not look anything like the people they were created from."
"And Sora is the one that Roxas was created from, right," Xion asked just to make sure her guess was right.
"That's right," Ventus confirmed. "While he does look like me, Roxas is in fact Sora's Nobody. At least, he was originally, but since Sora did not remain a Heartless for too long, there was no chance of Roxas ever gaining any of Sora's memories. Not in the normal sense anyway."
"Then…what about Xion? How does she tie into all of this," Roxas asked.
"You already know that Xion's not a Nobody, but a Replica, don't you," Ventus asked. When the two said nothing in reply, Ventus knew that he had guessed right. "Well, let me fill in a few of the blanks that may still be there. Replicas are a type of artificial copy of another person, though the exact way on how they are created is not entirely known. The ones that I have encountered though, were created through the use of the original person's memories, and in your case, Xion, those memories were some of Sora's most precious."
"So then…I really don't exist, even as one of these…" Xion started to say in sorrow, only to stop short when Ventus interrupted.
"I'm not finished. Please don't say anything like that just yet, because it's just not true," Ventus insisted. "Despite being intended as a copy of someone else, there is a chance that Replicas can gain their own sense of self and personality. Tell me, in all of his memories that you've seen, have you ever really seen Sora acting in any way that was completely the same as you?" The girl just shook her head in the negative in response, prompting Ven to continue with a smile. "Well, there's another reason right there as to why you're more than just something that someone created. Did you know, Xion, that when you were first created, you didn't even have a face? That changed over time as you absorbed more of Sora's essence into yourself through Roxas, and thanks to the memories used to create you, you gained an appearance all your own. You could say that it's a mixture of Sora and Kairi's appearances, but do you think that?"
"No," Xion immediately replied, and she then thought of something that Ven had just said. "If all of that is just another reason why we're different, then what is the original reason?"
Ventus smiled a little more at that question before he revealed, "You just need to look inside of yourselves, reaching out with all of your senses, and you'll be able to find that answer right away." He let the two try and do so for a few minutes, but when their eyes just gained a confused look, he realized that he would probably have to spell it out for them. "The two of you have each gained hearts of your own. That's not something that Sora, Xion's creators, or that even I gave you. It's something that you gained all on your own, just because you continued to be who you two are."
Roxas and Xion both gasped in wide-eyed shock at this, and each were soon placing a hand on their chests to see if Ven was telling the truth. When they felt the soft pulse of a heartbeat coming from inside, they knew that he was telling the truth. Even so, it was still something that neither of them were expecting. "We have…We have hearts," Xion whispered, still unable to believe it, even as she clenched her hand over her chest where her heart was.
"How…When…" Roxas stuttered, unable to really say as much as his sister was right now.
"What? You think I know the answer to that," Ventus jokingly questioned. "I wasn't exactly able to hang around you guys all the time after you first came into being. If I had to guess, it happened at some point during your time with the Organization. I'm not sure if it's possible for all Nobodies to gain hearts of their own or not, but you two definitely have your own, and they're both as real as you two are, or as I am."
"But what makes you so sure of that," Roxas asked.
"Think back on what you can remember from your time with Organization," Ventus prompted, and the two were soon looking through the memories that they had regained up until now. "Each of them only acts like they have emotions because they remember what each emotion feels like, since they also remember when they were human. Neither of you could remember such a thing, so you had nothing to base your reactions off of when you needed to feel a certain way. As I watched you both from the shadows, I could see you both having fun, laughing together, and even getting upset, and even from a distance, it was easy to see that none of it was faked. It was all real. Many people have realized this by now, but it still bears repeating that the heart is a mysterious thing that we may never fully understand, but there is one thing that we all know for a fact. You have to have a heart in order to laugh, to get angry, to love, to hate, and even to cry."
Xion could not argue that last one, since she had done a fair bit of crying today, and Roxas was in the same boat considering how much anger he felt towards DiZ, but the thing that really cemented these facts for them was their last moment with Axel just a short while ago. They both felt a deep connection with the tall redhead, and they were both really upset about how they had to fight against him, and felt bad for him when they won. More than anything, they both felt like they understood why he did what he did. Axel just wanted his best friends to come back with him, and thinking about that made them wonder if they really were the only ones in the Organization to gain hearts of their own. What if Axel had gained his own heart as well, just from hanging out with the two of them? It did seem to line up with what Ventus was implying about them, but then again, Axel could remember what it was like when he was human, and he had clearly kept a lot of secrets from the two of them during their time with the Organization, so maybe they should not get their hopes up too high.
This was a lot to take in for the siblings, but at the same time, they found themselves handling it all quite well. If anything, it was like they were being reminded of something they already knew, and they were actually quite happy to remember it all. Still, they had a few questions left to ask, but out of all of them, only one really mattered at this point. "So, what's going to happen to us now," Roxas asked for the both of them. "Even we have our own hearts, does that really give us a right to stay awake while Sora's…"
"Hey, don't go talking like that. Sora's not dead you know. In fact, he's going to be waking up any minute now," Ventus revealed, surprising both kids. "Those last few memories of his that you saw in your dreams were the last pieces he needed in order to wake up, and while DiZ believes that you both need to rejoin with Sora so that he can be whole, what he doesn't know is that Sora did not need either of you to rejoin with him from the moment when you gained your own hearts."
"That's great," Xion cheered before she remembered something else. "Wait, how did you manage to reverse and remove whatever ability allowed me to absorb Sora's power through Roxas, though?"
"You'd have to ask Naminé for the specifics on that, but from what I could understand, since you were made from Sora's most precious memories, it was just a matter of her using her powers to separate those memories from your own, and placing them back into Sora, a process that was made easier since Roxas was close by and able to act as a kind of filter that helped her separate the two. As for canceling the absorption powers…well, that was something that DiZ and Naminé both worked together on, so I have no clue to how to simplify that explanation. All I can say is that it was the one thing that DiZ obviously did for something other than his own selfish desires for revenge," Ventus shrugged in admittance.
Even if it was just the most basic summary, it was enough to satisfy Roxas and Xion in that regard, but it still did not answer the big question that Roxas had asked, so he felt that it needed repeating. "And now? What's going to happen to us?"
"Well, that's up to the both of you," Ventus informed him.
"We have a choice," Xion questioned in surprise.
"Of course. You two have always had a choice. That's part of what brought you here to us: your decision to help Sora was yours alone, after all, and even now, you still have a choice," Ventus replied in a tone that made it seem like it was obvious. "In this case, you have two choices…Well, besides that one." As he said that last part, he nodded towards the digital representation of Sora, and no one needed further clarification on what choice he was talking about. "The two choices are this: on one hand, you can leave this place, and make a life for yourselves in the real Twilight Town. No virtual fabrications, no fancy little tricks. Just you two living peaceful lives, while forgetting about anything else that's going on in other worlds. Figuratively speaking, this time."
The two automatically knew what he meant by that. Ven was basically saying that they could start trying to build up to the lives they had led in the virtual world out in the real world, but at the same time, they would also need to carry on like they did not know anything about other worlds, the Organization, or Keyblades. They would just be going about their days like anyone else in the town, but there was still one small problem that they could see in that option. "What about the Organization? Would they really just leave us alone if we went with that option," Xion questioned, seeing that was a pretty big hole in the plan.
"Probably not. They would likely still try to come after you, but somehow I doubt it. After all, the Organization's going to be having their hands full dealing with something else the minute that Sora wakes up," Ventus reassured them. "Of course, that leads me to the other option for you guys." He then stepped closer to them, with his arm outstretched to offer a hand to them, and said, "You guys can come with me and Sora, help us to stop the Organization's plans, and learn to become true Keyblade masters by becoming my newest apprentices. Sure, you would be a little behind Sora, and he would be your senior sibling disciple, but you would still be getting a chance to learn more about what your now both capable of, and to really get to know Sora himself. You wouldn't just have the memories to go off of, but the actual boy whose life you've seen so much of now, and you would get to share in this new adventure of ours. Either way, you'll get to leave this virtual town and live your own lives. The only difference is where you'll want to go in those lives. So, what do you say?"
Both offers were very tempting. From what they had seen in their recovered memories and in the last few days, Roxas and Xion were not going to kid themselves into thinking that the Organization would really just leave them alone. The group had already sent some of their agents to try and destroy or capture them, so who's to say that they would not send someone else. If they did, then there was a good chance that it would not be someone as merciful as Axel had been, and that would likely mean that people would be in danger. It would be nice to just build a life without constant battles or monsters, but they both felt that they had already been sheltered quite enough as it was. They had spent a lot of time hiding from the Organization, and they felt that it was high time they stopped hiding. Besides, getting the chance to meet Sora for real and even join him on his adventures, and in his training was more than a little tempting for them. If anything, that was the most tempting part of the latter option that Ventus was giving.
It was not just the question of whether or not they wanted to keep the people of Twilight Town safe from the Organization, or even if they wanted to meet Sora for real though. Yes, Roxas and Xion were considering both of those things, but more than that, they wanted to see for themselves just what they could learn about their abilities with the Keyblade. They had already seen a lot of what Sora could accomplish as he studied under Ventus, so why not see if they were capable of the same feats, or even some that Sora was unable to achieve? They felt something inside that was just begging for them to find out, so why ignore it and let the chance slip away? This was probably going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them, but even if it was not, they were not too willing to let it pass them by when it was right there waiting and ready for them, and when they looked to one another to see if they were thinking the same thing, they both smiled in relief to see that they were in fact doing so.
When she looked back to Ventus, Xion answer for both herself and her brother, and did so with a determined smile on her face. "We're in. We want to go with you guys, meet Sora for real, and become Keyblade masters."
If it was possible, Ven's smile actually grew even bigger than it already was when he heard those words, and he immediately said, "Good. I was hoping you would say that, but before we do anything else, there are just two more matters that we need to take care of."
"What's that," Roxas asked, sounding a little worried by that statement.
"The first thing involves Xion more than anyone else," Ventus explained, directing his full attention onto said girl. "While Roxas's heart is fully developed, yours isn't. It's still in the process of being…finalized, for lack of a better word. I was honestly hoping that it would be fully formed by the time this process was over, but there are still some points that haven't filled in yet. I'm not sure if it's because of your nature as a Replica, or if it was some act of DiZ's in an attempt to piss one of us off, but it's still something that we can't just leave alone."
"Why? What's wrong with having a heart that's not fully formed," Xion nervously asked. She could not really help it. There was something about this whole thing that made her really worried, and it turned out that her concerns were well founded.
"You see, Xion, without a fully formed heart, you still retain some of your nature as a Replica, and the most dangerous facet of that involves what would follow should something ever happen that leads to your end," Ventus explained, his sorrowful expression showing just how little he enjoyed telling them this. "Since you were made using someone else's memories, those memories would return to their original source after you died, but at the same time, all memory of you as you are…Anything and everything that anyone ever learned about a girl named Xion, would be lost. You would be erased from the memories of everyone you ever encountered, and I don't know if there would be anyway to reverse that, assuming anyone could remember enough to know that it needed to be reversed."
"What," Roxas and Xion both gasped, horrified by that revelation. Someone dying was bad to be certain, but that same person being completely forgotten after they were gone…that was by far a much worse fate.
"If your heart was fully formed, you wouldn't have to worry about that, because it would allow you to escape such a fate," Ventus continued on, hoping to relieve them of at least a little worry. "Now I'm not saying that I intend to let either of you die on this journey that we'll be undertaking, but I most definitely don't want to take any chances either. Losing all memory of someone important to you, even if they are gone forever, is something that no one should have to suffer, because even if you don't remember them, there will still be a trace of their presence deep inside of you, and that will make you feel even worse for not remembering that they're gone."
Neither sibling needed that last part explained aloud, seeing as they had just thought that very thing themselves, but all the same, it was nice to know that Ventus shared their opinion. "Is there any way we can help her heart fully form a little faster," Roxas then asked, going right to the point of the problem. "I mean, can't you use the Keyblade or something to like…cast a healing spell or something that will fill in the gaps?"
"A healing spell? Kid, those things only work on physical injuries, and even if they didn't, filling in the missing pieces of a heart isn't that easy," Ventus immediately rebuffed, sounding like Roxas had just suggested something ridiculous. He quickly turned serious again as he revealed, "The only way to fill in the gaps of a heart that's damaged or the state that Xion's is in, is to fuse it together with the power of another heart."
"Another heart? Well, where the hell are we going to find another heart," Xion asked. When she heard a small cough from her brother, she turned to see him giving her a reproachful look, and then shrugged knowing that it was him silently scolding her for her use of certain language. "Sorry, but it's still a legitimate question."
Ventus merely smiled at the two, both because of their antics, and their question, before summoning his Keyblade, and saying, "Actually, the answer to that problem is actually a lot closer than you think."
What happened next was not something that Roxas or Xion would have expected, and it showed in the gaping expressions they gained after it happened. Just like that, before their eyes, they saw Ventus aim his Keyblade directly at Sora, the tip of the blade glowing a little for a moment, and then fire a beam right into Sora's chest, pulling out a small sphere of light that slowly floated over into Ventus's waiting hand. When the blonde master turned around, the two were still in complete disbelief of what they were seeing, almost to the point where they missed how the orb in his hand seemed to have a few, noticeable cracks running across it. You could not really blame them, since to Roxas and Xion, it looked like Ventus had just pulled Sora's heart out of him. Ventus must have realized this, because after dismissing his Keyblade, he raised his hand to signal for them remain calm. It was not exactly an easy request to fulfill at the moment.
"Did…Did you just…" Xion stuttered, practically on the verge of panicking. After all, they came here to help save Sora, and from where she was standing, Ventus just threw that down the drain.
"Relax. This isn't Sora's heart," Ventus calmly told her. That did serve to sooth the two's worries, but it also left them confused once again. Not that Ventus really needed much more reason to explain what was going on now. "You see, about eleven years ago, there was a very important battle between a group of Keyblade wielders, and some very dangerous people. This battle would have determined the very fate of the worlds and the future, and while the Keybearers were victorious, it did not come without a price. One particular piece of the aftermath was that a Keyblade wielder's heart was seriously damaged, and then sought out shelter where it could recover while the wielder's body was left in a comatose state. That shelter came from the heart of a much younger Sora, and that's where the heart had remained, slowly healing for all these years, while at the same time, providing a small influence in Sora's life. In a way, it's partially because of this heart that belonged to another Keyblade wielder that Sora is able to use the Keyblade."
It may have been a brief summary, but all the same, Roxas and Xion were both left in awe of the story that Ven had just told them, and now, they were gazing upon this fractured heart with eyes that shone like stars. They could not help but feel sad for whoever this heart belonged too, knowing that said person had likely spent years suffering in ways they could likely not comprehend, but they also felt a deep respect for that same wielder. After all, one's heart does not end up in such a state on its own, so they could only assume that the wielder's actions had led to his heart ending up this way, and he had likely taken those actions in order to stop those villains that Ventus mentioned. Of course, their respect for Sora grew as well, because even if he did not realize it, this was proof that the wielder of Kingdom Key was helping others well before he ever obtained the Keyblade. Still, that left one thing unexplained, and Roxas was the first to catch on to it.
"How do you know so much about this," Roxas questioned.
Ventus was silent for a moment, as if running his answer through his head before finding a good way to word it, until he finally revealed, "Because…this heart…was once mine. I was the Keyblade wielder whose heart had been so severely damaged that it had to take shelter inside of Sora's."
"What? But then…how are you…" Xion asked, hardly believing her ears any more than Roxas seemed to.
"Now that is a long story that will come at a much later time," Ventus informed her, hoping to keep them on track regarding the matter at hand. "For now, let's just say that I was lucky enough to receive a very special miracle, and in a way, I'm repeating that same miracle for your sake, Xion."
"What do you mean," Xion asked.
"Well, I'm sure you noticed the cracks here in this heart, right," Ventus asked, nodding to the fractured version of his heart. When the two nodded in reply, Ventus continued, "That's because it's still recovering, even after all this time. However, we don't necessarily need it to be whole for what we need it for right now. You see, Xion, using this fractured version of my heart, we can fill the holes in yours, making it complete. At least, that's the basic idea."
The two looked between the master and the fractured heart in his hand for a minute, before Xion asked the big question. "Would anything happen to me as a result of having this version of heart become a part of mine?"
Ventus furrowed his brow for a moment, thinking it over, before he finally shrugged and admitted, "I really don't know. It won't change anything about you physically or mentally, at least not to any extreme, but whether or not it changes something in a small way…well, that's just something we'll have to wait and see about."
"So there's absolutely no risk to Xion if you implant this into her," Roxas asked, wanting to be sure. After all, Ven was planning to put some strange thing into his sister, so you cannot blame him for being cautious.
"None that I know of," Ventus honestly replied. "In point of fact, she'll be facing a much greater risk without it than she would with it, as I have already mentioned."
Hearing that made things a little easier for Xion to decide on what she should do. Yes, she was not too fond of having someone else's heart inside of her, but like Ven said, it was just going to be filling a few holes in her own heart. Besides, if it was not going to change her in any huge way, then she did not really see any problem in letting Ven do what he intended to. There was just one last thing she needed to know. "What will happen when my heart is fully completed? Will these fragments move back into Sora or you, or will they just stay there?"
"That's also something I'm not so sure about. Like I said, we'll have to wait and see about it to know anything for sure," Ventus shrugged in response.
It may not have been an answer she was hoping to hear, but it was clearly the only one Xion would get for right now. She did not want to think that this fractured version of Ven's heart would be purged from her own when the time came that her heart was fully completed, but at the same time, she had to wonder if it would even matter if these fragments remained at all, given that Ventus was standing before them right as rain. Either way, it was something that they would only find out about in the future, so she simply nodded to let Ventus know she was onboard with his plan, and the Keyblade master then slowly approached her with the fragmented heart still held out towards her. Xion took a deep breath and closed her eyes the minute Ventus reached a certain distance from her, so she did not see what happened when he finally let the fractured heart drift inside of her, not that there was really that much to see, mind you.
From where Roxas was standing, it looked like a fairly simple process. The minute that Ventus was standing directly in front of Xion, he let the fractured heart float up out of his hand. The heart floated in the air for a little bit until it finally entered Xion's chest, and once it had, the girl briefly glowed with a faint light. It was not anything too spectacular or bright, but Roxas could have sworn that he heard a faint bell of some kind ring out when the glow surrounding his sister faded. When Xion opened her eyes again, she quickly looked down at herself, placing one hand over her chest again while she did, and eventually, she found herself smiling a little as an odd feeling washed over her. She was not really sure how to describe it, as no words really came to her mind on the matter. All she knew was that she felt like something inside of her had just come alive in a way that it had never been before, and it was giving her a sense of completion that she did not realize she was missing until now.
When the raven haired girl turned her smile up to Ventus, the Keyblade master smiled in return with a nod, and knew that the first matter they needed to deal with was addressed. That just left the other matter that he mentioned. "Now then, since Xion's now got a full heart at her disposal, let's see if we can persuade your real Keyblades to come out and play at will," the blonde master told the kids.
"Our real Keyblades," Roxas repeated in questioning.
This earned a sigh from Ventus before he commented, "I'd hate to use or even paraphrase words that Riku used when he wasn't himself, but they do still ring true. Two people can't wield the same Keyblade, and in case you hadn't noticed, Kingdom Key already has its own true wielder. The Keyblades that you two had been using so much until that battle with Axel, or even the moment when we were all fighting to get away from the world that the Organization calls home, are merely copies of Sora's Keyblade, something that filled the void until your true Keyblades were ready to be called upon."
"So then…how do you know that we'll be able to summon our real Keyblades now," Xion asked, still not quite over the good feeling she gained when her heart received its little patch up.
"You already are ready. You just need to look past anything and everything about you two that came from Sora, look deep within yourselves, and call out to that one piece of your hearts that determines the shape of your greatest powers," Ventus instructed. "Once you've found it, bring it to the surface, and then call out its true name."
The two then closed their eyes once again, searching for that very feeling that Ven had mentioned, and at first, they did not find anything. It remained that way for what felt like ages, but it was only a matter of minutes before Xion began to feel that very power inside of her, and it prompted her to hold her hand out to her side, like she was about to summon the Keyblade. After holding her arm outstretched for a few seconds, she heard the tell-tale sound of a Keyblade being summoned, and she looked to see the same, black and white blade that she had previously been using against Axel, much to her surprise. As she studied the magnificent blade, she felt as though something were being whispered into her ear, and while it was heard to understand at first, she was able to make sense of it soon enough, and repeated the very name she was hearing aloud for everyone to know. "Two Become One," Xion whispered. "My Keyblade is called Two Become One."
Ventus nodded in approval of this, and when he heard another Keyblade being summoned, he turned to Roxas to see what his fellow blonde's inner search had brought about. When he did lay eyes upon Roxas, it quickly became Ven's turn to be surprised, at least a little bit, as Roxas had summoned not one, but two Keyblades, and they were both Keyblades that Ventus recognized, having seen when the Keychains for those very blades were first created. Still, he did not intend to give Roxas the names, and he was not entirely sure if they were in fact those same Keyblades, so he kept silent, while waiting for Roxas to speak the names himself. When Roxas did speak up, Ventus's suspicion was quickly proven quite true.
"Oathkeeper…and Oblivion," Roxas muttered as he turned from the silver Keyblade to the black one in awe.
"Hey, hold on a minute. How come Roxas gets two," Xion demanded. She was not necessarily upset about the fact; she was glad that she had her own Keyblade, but she did not remember anyone ever saying that someone could wield two Keyblades at once.
"That's…actually a good question," Ventus admitted, surprising both kids with the fact that he did not seem to know. "It would seem that Roxas possess a natural talent for the Sync Blade ability."
"Sync Blade," Roxas asked.
"A very powerful Keyblade ability that most wielders are never able to truly master in their lifetimes. Even the greatest of masters have had difficulty harnessing its power," Ventus explained. "As you can probably guess, the ability allows one to wield two Keyblades at once, but dual wielding such a weapon is not an easy feat, as one must be able to perfectly balance the light and darkness inside of them. Some people have come close with special enchantments, but this is the first time I've ever seen someone being able to use it as naturally as this."
"Maybe it's because I did not have any light or darkness inside of me to balance," Roxas suggested, surprising the two a little. "I mean, I know it's not technically true now, but I did start out as a Nobody, and you said yourself that they belong to either the dark or the light. What if that's part of the reason why I'm able to dual wield Keyblades?"
"That does seem like a reasonable theory, and since your hearts are still relatively new, it would be hard for either side of that coin to be stronger than the other," Ventus nodded in agreement. He quickly shook the matter aside though, and said, "Either way, I don't think it matters too much. Your true Keyblades are now completely available to you both, and with this, you're both ready to finally leave this virtual world. Assuming that you don't have anything else that you wish to do here."
The two shook their heads in the negative with Roxas saying, "We're ready to go at any time."
"Good," Ventus nodded. "Head back to the lab where you saw the main computer. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of where the teleporter is in relation to that." The two confirmed that Ven was correct in his suspicion, and the blonde then said, "Well then, I'll see you both on the other side."
With that final piece said, the Keyblade master vanished in a flash of data, showing that the two had been talking to another virtual avatar. This time though, they were not too upset about it. If anything, they were actually happy about the fact, as it showed that they would not have to worry about whether or not they would be able to get out of this place. If Ventus had sent an avatar of himself to see them, then that most likely meant he was using the computer in the real Twilight Town, so they did not need to worry about whether or not they would need to use the one Roxas had destroyed to get out. Now that they knew this, the two quickly turned to return to the lab, so they finally get out of the virtual world, and meet Sora and his friends for real, along with everyone else in Twilight Town. To be honest, neither of them was sure which they were more excited or nervous about.
It did not take too long for Roxas and Xion to get back to the lab and step onto the pad that would transport them back to the real Twilight Town, and they quickly discovered that they did not need to give Ventus any kind of signal for him to bring them back, as the device quickly activated as soon as they were in position. A bright light filled their gazes when it did, so they closed their eyes in an effort to block it out until they heard the device go quiet again. Upon opening their eyes, they could not help but think that it did not work at first, seeing as they did not see any differences in their surroundings right away. At least not until they glanced over at the computer and saw that not only was it completely intact, like Roxas had never hit it with his Keyblade, but Ventus was actually getting up from the chair at the computer as well.
"Welcome back," Ventus greeted them with a smile, his helmet still the only piece of his armor that was removed.
The two gave him smiles of thanks in return, but Xion's smile quickly faded a bit when she noticed something. "You really might want to consider shaving or at least doing something to at least make your beard a little neater," the raven haired girl commented. "It may help you look a little more mature, but in the shaggy state you have it in right now…Yeah, it just makes you look like a slob."
"Hey, give me a break. I didn't even know I had grown the thing until just a moment ago, you know," Ventus pointed out in his defense. All the same, he did head Xion's advice and turned to go find a comb and a mirror so that he could straighten out his beard so that it at least did not look like a shaggy mess, telling his two newest apprentices to go and keep an eye on his three sleeping friends until he was finished.
To be quite honest, Roxas and Xion were getting a little tired of walking back and forth down the same corridor so much in such a short span of time. Sure, they knew none of this was just like the one in the virtual town, but given how much of it was a perfect match, they had a hard time really differentiating one from the other for the most part. The only comforting thing about their trip this time was that they knew what to expect this time around, and that there was going to be at least one difference that they could count on taking place in comparison to the first time they came down this corridor. When they arrived in the corridor where Donald and Goofy's pods were located, the two could not help but watch the sleeping cartoon characters in wonder, really feeling just how real they were this time even though they were still asleep, until the pods suddenly came to life and opened up.
The two sleeping occupants did not leave their pods with any grace at all. In point of fact, they both fell out quite unceremoniously. Thankfully, Xion managed to catch Donald before he face-planted on the cold floor, but when Roxas tried the same thing with Goofy, he ended up not being so lucky. No, when Goofy tumbled out, he landed right on top of Roxas and they both ended up on the floor, much to Xion's concern. She was about to rush over and ask if the two were okay, when Donald yawned quite loudly and stretched a bit once he was set down on his feet, apparently unaware of the girl who had caught him when he fell, or of his friend's most recent tumble. Then again, that last part was probably not too surprising, given the knight's name, but she still figured he would be at least a little concerned.
Xion's guess was accurate, because the minute that Donald was fully aware of his surroundings, the first thing he noticed was Goofy lying flat on his face. "Goofy! You okay," Donald quacked in concern.
"I think so," Goofy groaned in reply as he started to stand up. "I'm just glad that there was a pillow to keep me from hitting the floor, even it is pretty lumpy."
"I'm not a pillow! Please get off of me," Roxas shouted from beneath the tall cartoon character, startling Goofy right off of the blonde after he had spoken up.
"Oops! Sorry," Goofy immediately apologized while helping Roxas up again. The minute the blonde was standing though, Goofy's concern was quickly overcome by recognition, and he happily cried out, "Oh, hey there, Ven! Good morning!" The next thing Roxas knew, he was being pulled into a very tight hug by Goofy, and unable to really do anything to break free until Goofy released him. "Gawrsh, I sure hope you're not too upset about how we left you at the camp the other night," Goofy then remarked sheepishly, only stopping when he noticed a few things that were wrong with this picture. "Hey, did you shrink a little or something?"
"Uh…No," Roxas hesitantly replied. "Because I'm not Ventus."
"But you look just like him," Goofy pointed out.
"Yeah, back when he was still in training several years ago," Donald reasoned.
When Xion let out a small cough to get everyone's attention, the other three all turned to her as she said, "You might want to rethink that after you've actually seen Ven."
"Why's that? And who are you," Donald questioned, his eyes narrowing a little at her in suspicion.
"My name's Xion and you've already met my brother, Roxas," the girl replied with a smile. "We're friends of Ven."
"Oh, well it's nice to meet ya, Xion and Roxas," Goofy replied as friendly as ever. "My name's…"
"You're Goofy, and that's Donald," Roxas filled in before the knight could finish.
"Yeah, but how did you know that," Donald asked in surprise.
The two were a bit stuck now, not sure how to respond to that question. On the one hand, they could just say that Ventus told them about the two and Sora, but on the other hand, they did not want to lie to them after just meeting. Still, there was no telling how the two would react if they found out the truth about the siblings, and they were a little afraid of how Sora and Ven's friends would react upon learning who they were. Thankfully, they were saved from saying anything more when Ventus's voice called out, "It's a long story that can wait until later, you guys. I'm just glad you're both awake."
Turning to where the Keyblade master's voice had come from, they all saw that, while he had not seemed to cut off any of the beard, Ventus had in fact groomed it so that it was not a bushy mess, as Xion had described it earlier. Still, even with his new facial hair, Donald and Goofy would have recognized their old friend anywhere, as their excited cheers of joy and the hug they jumped on him indicated. Ventus happily returned said show of affection, but his smile quickly fell a little after Goofy noted, "Hey, how'd you grow a beard so fast, Ven?"
"Is everyone going to take notice of that," Ventus groaned under his breath. He did not expect an answer, and even if he was, he did not wait for one to come, as there were still more important things to think about. "I'll fill you guys in later. Right now, I can't help but notice how a certain apprentice of mine is still absent from this reunion."
The two quickly got the hint, and did not hesitate in rushing into the pod room where Sora was sleeping, with Ventus following at a much more sedated pace than them. Roxas and Xion were quick to bring up the rear, both suddenly feeling like a couple bundles of nerves as the big moment they were waiting for finally approached. You could not really blame them, because in a way, this would be the first time they had ever met Sora, the boy who was so pivotal in the reason behind each of their existences, so in their minds, it was like they were about to meet a long lost family member for the first time. It was only natural that they would feel anxious about the whole thing, but thankfully, the excitement that the other three were feeling managed to help them proceed into the room so that they could witness a hero's return.
"Sora," Donald finally shouted after watching the pod do nothing for a few more minutes.
"Sora, wake up," Goofy called out soon after.
"Come on, kid. You've been napping long enough. It's time to get up and greet the worlds," Ventus finished.
Roxas and Xion both looked on nervously, thinking that there was something wrong when the pod did not do anything in response to the three's calls, when suddenly, they heard machinery coming to life. Seconds later, the pod flashed for an instant, and then opened up like a flower setting into bloom, until it revealed a drowsy Sora rubbing the last fringes of sleep from his eyes before stretching with a yawn. When his eyes came to rest on some of the people in front of him, he immediately jumped out of the pod, stumbling into Donald and Goofy's arms when he landed, clearly not quite used to movement after sleeping for so long, and smiled brightly as he hugged the two who caught him. "Donald! Goofy," Sora cheered happily once he was upright again.
The three then danced about in a circle, all happy to see each other again, until Ventus interrupted, "Hey, what about me? Don't you have time to spare a hug for your master, kid?"
"Ven," Sora cheered once more, and he quickly raced over to grab Ven's hand so that the two could share a quick bro-hug, their smiles wide as can be.
A long yawn brought the celebration to a pause so they could all look to Sora's shoulder just in time to see none other than Jiminy Cricket climbing out of the hood on Sora's jacket. "That was some nap," the chronicler commented as he jumped down onto the floor.
"You mean, we were asleep," Sora questioned, clearly not remembering too well.
"I guess we musta been, or I don't think we'd be so drowsy," Jiminy reasoned with a shrug.
"When do ya think we went to sleep," Goofy asked, but he was only answered with silence from the three recently awakened sleepyheads.
"I think I can help answer that," Ventus revealed to them. "But first, let me ask you all this: what's the last thing you all remember?"
"Uhh…" Donald replied as he and Sora crossed their arms in thought.
"Let's see…" Sora muttered, recounting said things aloud. "We found Kairi…defeated Ansem, or Xehanort's Heartless…restored peace to the worlds…Oh yeah, and then we went to look for Riku, Master Aqua, and the king. Is that about right so far?"
"Yep, just about," Ventus confirmed. "And what about afterwards?"
The four were silent once again, each of them trying to remember but drawing up nothing but a blank, until Goofy looked to the one person who was most likely able to give them a few clues that would jog their memories. "What does your journal say, Jiminy?"
Eager to remember as well, the cricket immediately reached into his pocket so that he could retrieve the written text, and opened up to the last page he had been writing on, only to gasp in shock at what he found. "Gee, there's only one sentence…" he revealed. "But I don't understand how that could be. I'm always so careful with the journals."
"Some journal that is," Donald grumbled in annoyance. "Well what does it say?"
"'Thank Naminé,'" Jiminy read aloud, and as expected, that one piece of text did nothing to help any of the four's memories. "I wonder who that is," Jiminy wondered.
"A very good friend who was forced to do something she did not want to by a very bad group," Ventus informed them. "Although, part of it was because she wanted to find some real friends as well, but she knew that doing so in that way was wrong, so she made it a mission to reverse the process. It's taken about a year or so, but from the look of things, you guys are definitely back to your old selves again."
"A year?!" the four all shouted in shock.
"Afraid so," Ventus nodded in reply, his smile never faltering at all. "Which is why I'm saying that it's great to see you all again."
"Same here, even if it does include having to see that ridiculous beard of yours," Sora joked in response, his hands already resting behind his head as an extra show of his playfulness.
Ventus scowled a little at first, but he was soon smirking again when he delivered a little rib of his own in return. "Nice outfit by the way, Sora. I didn't know that it was in fashion to wear something that was several sizes too small."
Hearing that was what allowed Sora to finally realize that his outfit from their previous adventures no longer fit him like it should, and prompted Donald and Goofy to begin laughing at his expense over the fact when they realized this as well. Sora eventually joined in the laughter as well, though mostly to show that he did feel pretty silly wearing clothes that were too small for him now, before he finally mentioned, "So, how come we don't remember anything about meeting Naminé or how she helped us?"
"Now that is quite the long story, so for now, you'll have to settle for the short version," Ventus revealed. "You see, once we set up camp for the night after chasing Pluto for an entire day, you guys ended up landing yourselves in a trap set by that group I mentioned before. That trap being in a place called Castle Oblivion, and the longer you stayed there, the more memories of our previous adventure you lost. That was mainly because of what that group had forced Naminé to do to you, and by the end of things, you would've become an unwitting tool of the person running things in the castle at the time. Thankfully, Naminé managed to come and help save you all from that fate, and at a time when she would be able to reverse the damage, but there was a catch."
"A catch," Goofy asked.
"Yeah," Ven nodded. "In order to set things right again, Naminé ended up having to erase all memory of your time in Castle Oblivion, which meant that you would lose all the memories you had of her as well. That's why Jiminy made that note in his journal, so you would remember to thank her for what she did to help you."
"Aw phooey. Now I feel awful for not remembering any of that," Donald sighed sadly.
"Yeah, I know it isn't entirely out faults, but I do still wish that I could remember her doing all of that," Goofy agreed.
"Well then, I guess we'll just have to meet up with her so that we can become friends all over again," Sora decided, showing his optimistic nature in just that one sentence.
Ventus was glad to hear him say that. It had been far too long since he had been in the presence of Sora's optimism, and that made this whole reunion feel like a much needed breath of fresh air. "Glad to hear you say that, but that reunion will have to wait. Namine's actually not here right now," Ventus revealed. "She had to leave before something really bad happened to her, so it may be a while before you can talk with her again."
"Well so long as we know she's out there, and as long as we remember her in our hearts, we'll be sure to see her again really soon, just like we'll see all of our other friends again, too. I just know it," Goofy reassured him, not sounding the least bit worried.
"Yeah, Goofy's right. After all, you can't ever forget about your friends, no matter what," Donald agreed.
When Sora nodded in agreement with their sentiment, Ventus could not help but grin a little wider, glad to see that his friends and apprentice were all still themselves after what had happened. "Good, but there's one more thing that we need to talk about before we do anything else," the blonde then said, confusing the three a bit when he did. Their confusion quickly died though, but only because of what happened after Ventus clenched one hand into a fist.
"OW! Hey, what's the big idea," Donald snapped after getting socked in the head by Ventus.
"Ouch! That hurt," Goofy exclaimed after Ventus landed a blow to his head as well.
"OW! Hey, what did you do that for," Sora whined after Ventus slapped him upside the head. The only reason that Ven did not punch Sora was because the kid was the last of the group to wake up, and the only reason why he was not hitting Jiminy at all was because he did not want to send the little guy flying across the room as a result.
"That's for rushing off on your own without thinking again," Ventus snapped at all three of them. "Honestly, how many times do I have to tell you guys not to do that before it finally sinks into those thick skulls of yours?"
All three of the boys that were just hit had enough decency to look sheepish, knowing that Ven had a point in that regard. They did in fact do that, and that was what had ended up landing them in that trap, so they could not argue with the blonde master's words. Even Jiminy looked ashamed, as he had not really done anything to deter them from their chosen course of action. At least not as far as he could remember. In the end, they all hung their heads in shame while Sora said the only thing any of them could think of to say. "Sorry, Ven," Sora apologized.
Ven nodded in acceptance of the apology, before saying, "I just hope that this whole experience will have helped to teach you all better for the future. After all, Sora, I can't have you setting a bad example for your juniors."
"My juniors," Sora asked in curiosity.
At that point, Ventus turned around, allowing Sora to see the last two people in the room at last, and beckoned said two forward so that he could introduce them to his first apprentice. "Sora, I'd like you to meet Xion and Roxas," Ventus announced. "The two newest wielders of the Keyblade, and as of just recently, your sibling disciples, since I've just taken them on as my newest apprentices."
"Seriously," Sora asked in surprise, staring widely at the two after he heard that.
"Can you do that," Donald questioned Ventus, not really sure if his taking on two more apprentices was really a good idea.
"Of course I can. After all, Master Eraqus trained me, Aqua, and Terra together, and I was a pretty good ways behind Aqua and Terra when I first joined them," Ventus reassured him.
The three apprentices on the other hand, were all just staring at each other in silence, though this was more due to the nervousness and shyness that Roxas and Xion were feeling at the moment. Sora was not really sure what to say either, but he did feel like he needed to say something so that the new guys would know that he was happy to have them on board with them. He just was not sure what to say. The others had even decided to watch for how this confrontation would play out, upon realizing that neither side was really doing or saying anything to one another, and for a moment, Ventus was beginning to worry a little about how good of an idea this was. At least until one of them finally plucked up enough courage to at least say something.
"Um…H-hi Sora. It's nice to finally meet you," Xion stuttered with a shy wave.
Sora was a little confused about what she meant with her latter statement, but for the moment, he did not think it really mattered too much. So, he simply smiled and said, "Nice to meet you guys, too. Can't wait to see what you guys will be able to do with your Keyblades once Ven's started your training."
"Yeah, that makes two of us," Roxas admitted. "I just hope the three of us will be able to get along."
"Of course we will," Sora replied like it was obvious. "After all, we're practically like siblings now since we're all training under the same master."
"You don't know the half of it," Roxas and Xion both quietly thought while they smiled back at Sora in return.
"Well then, here's to working together and the fun times it will bring," Roxas decided.
"I can agree with that. It's gonna be a lot more fun now that there are more people closer to my age in this group, and now that there are more people training to become Keyblade masters along with me," Sora grinned in agreement.
"Well just promise you'll go easy on us in any sparring matches. We are kind of new at the whole Keyblade thing," Xion joked in response, earning a round of laughter from her brother and Sora, while the others all sighed in relief, glad to see that the three were already getting along so well.
None of them were happier about that fact than Ventus, and he likely would have let the three spend a bit more time getting to know one another, but there was something else that he wanted to do even more. "So, how about we all finally get out of here," the blonde master suggested. "I don't know about you guys, but I've had about enough of this place, and I'm ready to hit the road. You can all talk and get better acquainted as we head into the town."
Everyone agreed with that idea, and with that, they all turned to leave the mansion at last. Of course, only Roxas and Xion were able to fully agree with Ven's sentiment about having had enough of this place. Not that anyone could blame them. Those two had spent quite a long time cooped up in the building without ever really knowing it for certain.
The trip from the mansion and into town seemed rather short to most of the group, but no one missed how Roxas and Xion were looking every which way at their surroundings, as if they were taking everything in for the first time. In fairness, this was the first time that they had seen the real Twilight Town, but what was really leaving them so amazed was how much everything was like the virtual copy that they had been living in for such a long time, at least as far as Market Street went. The only difference was that one of the candy shops was in the midst of changing ownership at the moment, much to their dismay, but thankfully, McDuck's Tasty Treat Parlor was still around. Speaking of McDuck, Xion was especially glad to see that DuckTales was a real show as well, as evidenced by how she was grinning from ear to ear the minute she saw it playing on the television in a store window, and Roxas could not help but chuckle a little in amusement at his sister's little moment of fangirl-ing.
Sora on the other hand was not entirely sure what Xion was so excited about when he noticed her staring so intently at the screen, and as a result, he failed to see Roxas quietly warning him to not ask the question he did. "What's the big deal about this show," Sora had inquired of the girl.
Xion spun around so fast that Sora could not help but think she might have given herself whiplash just now, and he also could have sworn that her hair sounded like a whip being cracked when she fully faced him. Neither of those things was as shocking as the stunned look on her face, or the incredulous tone of her voice when she asked him, "You've never heard of DuckTales?!"
"Uh…Not that I can remember," Sora hesitantly admitted.
"Oh here we go," Roxas sighed in defeat, knowing that there was no stopping Xion's big rant about how great the show was now.
"It's only the greatest thing in all the worlds," Xion cheered. "It's basically a documentary about the founder of the Tasty Treat Parlor, who's also the greatest adventurer in all of the worlds! He's done everything from battling pirates, scaring off a lion by letting out a mighty roar of his own, bested numerous curses, and rediscovered lost treasure, and most of that's just from when he was younger and starting out as adventurer!"
"Wow! Sounds awesome," Sora grinned in equal awe. "What's this guy's name anyway?"
Xion was about to answer, when Donald suddenly interrupted as he shouted, "Hey, I think there's something back here down this alleyway!"
Turning to see where Donald was indicating, Roxas and Xion both quickly recognized the alley that the duck was talking about, and they had a good feeling that they knew who was likely going to be down there right now. With that in mind, the two both raced forward, taking the lead from Ventus and Goofy when they did, and they did not seem like they were going to stop until Sora suddenly said something that caught them off guard. "You know, I think I've been to this town before."
"Really? When," Goofy questioned, not noticing the looks that were exchanged between their two newest friends.
Sora crossed his arms in thought, trying to think of an answer to Goofy's question, but ultimately came up with nothing, so he simply shrugged and said, "Guess I must've imagined it."
Roxas and Xion were both about to say something to explain why Sora might have felt that way, but Ventus quickly caught onto that and shook his head to say that they should not. The two wanted to protest, feeling that Sora had a right to know the truth about them, but they ended up heeding Ven's advice when he quietly mouthed to them, "Not yet."
The two quickly gave Ven a discreet nod in return before turning to head into what they knew to be the usual spot, and upon walking inside, they were delighted and relieved to see that Hayner, Pence, and Olette were all there. It was really good to know that those three were real and not just some fantasy that was made up by DiZ or something, but they were quickly reminded of another fact of reality when the three turned towards them with confusion, while Hayner's gaze was a bit more suspicious. "What do you want," Hayner demanded, not sounding the least bit friendly.
"Uh, nothing. Just wondering what was back here," Sora quickly reassured him.
"Now you know. This is our spot," Hayner curtly informed them, but did not say much more when Pence suddenly stood up and gave the six an odd, confused look.
"You're…new around here, right," the heavy-weight boy finally asked.
"More or less," Roxas replied on the group's behalf, his smile not quite reaching his face all the way. He was glad to see his and Xion's friends, but it was still a hurtful reminder that to these three, they had never met before now. Still, it was comforting to know that they were pretty similar to the way they were in the virtual town.
"Cool. I'm Pence, by the way," the heavy-weight boy introduced.
"Hayner. Nice to meet you," the gang's leader greeted. He then paused for a minute as he looked at Roxas and Xion before he said, "You know, you two look kinda familiar. Have I seen you around before?"
"I don't think so," Xion shrugged, feeling the same way as her brother about this little reunion, but she was still doing an impressive job of keeping her composure so that they would not freak the three out.
Hayner shrugged at this and then turned to leave as he said, "Well, whatever. We've got stuff to do right now, so catch ya later."
The lone girl of the group gave Hayner a disapproving look for his attitude towards the newcomers before she directed a smile at the six and said, "Sorry about him. Hayner's really not a bad guy, but he does take some time to really warm up to people."
"Don't worry about it. My sister and I knew another guy just like that," Roxas reassured her.
She nodded in reply to that before she introduced herself to them, and figured she should move on to another topic to better break the ice. "My name's Olette. Hey, did you finish up the summer homework yet? Independent studies are the worst, huh?"
"Tell me about it," Xion agreed, while Sora, Donald, and Goofy just exchanged confused looks in an attempt to figure out what Olette was talking about.
"So, what're your names," Pence asked.
"I'm Roxas," the younger blonde of the six-person group replied. "This is my sister, Xion, and our friends, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Ventus."
"You can just call me Ven," the Keyblade master informed the two.
"Hey there," Sora waved, while Donald and Goofy silently nodded with a smile.
Olette and Pence suddenly exchanged a surprised look at that information, before the former informed them, "You know, we just met someone who was looking for all of you."
"For us," Xion inquired.
"Yeah, and he sure seemed in a hurry," Pence confirmed. "He had a black coat on so I couldn't see his face, but he had these big round ears."
Hearing that the person looking for them wore a black coat that hid his face had automatically made Roxas and Xion think of the Organization, but they quickly calmed down at the mention of the mystery person having big round ears. Even if their memories of that time were a little sketchy, at best, they knew for a fact that no one in the group had any distinctive features like that. Still, it left them wondering as to who else it could have been, until Donald thought of the one person it could have most likely been. "The king," the duck sorcerer exclaimed.
"Yep! It's gotta be him," Goofy agreed.
"Where'd you see him," Sora quickly asked.
"At the station," Pence replied.
"Got it. Thanks," Ventus nodded in reply, glad to hear that his old friend and former master was now apparently on this world. Though he was still remaining a little skeptical of the fact until they actually saw the person in question, so it was understandable that he was not jumping for joy like the rest of his friends just yet.
The two locals nodded in return before saying that they were going to get back to their assignment and moving to leave. Just before they were out of sight though, Xion called out, "You know, I've heard a few people around town talking about something called the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town. Maybe you could try investigating them for your assignment."
Pence and Olette both paused for a minute to think about that before they grinned in excitement as Pence cheered, "Hey, that's a great idea! Thanks Xion."
The raven haired girl nodded in response to the two and then watched as they took off to find Hayner so they could tell him about their new subject, leaving the other six free to discuss any matter that they wished. Not that they were really too picky on what they should talk about right now. "Oh boy," Donald cheered once again. "The king's trying to find us!"
"Yeah, so let's get to the station," Sora suggested.
"Hold on, you two. Let's not just to conclusions just yet," Ventus cautioned. "For all we know, it could be a trap that someone's setting up for us."
"Does that mean we're not gonna go," Goofy asked in dismay.
"I never said that. I'm just saying we should use caution when we get there, just to be safe. After all, I don't think any of you want to end up in a state where you'll have to be asleep for another year, do you," Ventus reminded them. The three in question shook their heads in the negative, and upon seeing that they were definitely going to be more cautious in their approach, Ventus turned to Roxas and Xion and said, "All right, you two know this town the best out of all of us, so we'll follow your lead up to the station."
"Right," Roxas and Xion both nodded in response, and they all quickly raced up to the station plaza.
Since the usual spot was not too far from the station, it did not take too long for the group to reach their destination, but they were all a little disappointed to see that there was no sign of the king anywhere. In fact, the whole area seemed to be completely void of any life, and as far as Roxas and Xion knew, that was not normal for this area. In the virtual version of Twilight Town, there was almost always someone coming to or from the station for one reason or another, especially when the underground tunnels were closed for whatever reason, which left the train as the only way to get to Sunset Terrace. Seeing the plaza so vacant was very disconcerting, and made them think that Ventus was right to assume that this whole thing may have been a trap. Their suspicions were only more reinforced when suddenly, several Dusks materialized up from the ground around them, surrounding the group in an instant, and shocking Sora, Donald, and Goofy at the sudden appearance of the strange creatures, while Ventus just summoned out Guardian Wind while glaring at them.
"Should've known that we wouldn't be able to shake these guys that easily," Ventus grumbled as he glanced around at the creatures, worry evident in his eyes. Roxas and Xion had only just gained their own Keyblades and left a very intense battle not that long ago, so he figured that they were probably tired, and after dealing so many Nobodies himself in the hopes of keeping the siblings and everyone else at the mansion safe until the other three had fully reawakened, Ventus was not feeling too well-rested either. Add in the fact that Sora, Donald, and Goofy had just woken up after being in those pods for a year, and were likely still feeling a little out of it and sluggish, and Ven was not really liking their odds at the moment. Still, that did not mean any of them were going to go down without a fight, and Sora proved that soon enough.
"Well if these guys are looking to cause trouble, then they picked the wrong team to mess with," Sora declared as he called Kingdom Key into his hand, while Donald and Goofy summoned forth their own weapons. There was just one problem, and he quickly noticed it and pointed it out to the two it would be affecting the most. "Uh guys…what happened to your weapons? I thought you two were still using your most powerful shield and staff."
When they heard Sora's question, Donald and Goofy both looked to their respective weapons, and let out gasps of shock at seeing that they were in fact using their usual, standard shield and staff. "Hey, what happened to Save the King and the Save the Queen," Goofy asked in a panicked tone.
"Oh yeah. I guess I forgot to mention that," Ventus sheepishly chuckled. "When you guys fell into that trap at Castle Oblivion, all the weapons you had on you at the time were completely disenchanted save for your regular ones and Sora's Keychains. I was able to retrieve both of them, but when I took them to Yen Sid and Merlin, they both told me the only way to get Save the King and Save the Queen back to what they once were, was to have the Moogles either reforge or repair them, and you know how Moogles can be."
Both Disney Town residents groaned in dismay when they heard that, going so far as to even hang their heads in sadness, despite the dangerous situation that they were caught in, while Sora pointed out, "But didn't you guys say that those weapons were made by the most powerful wizard that the king ever knew?"
"Yes, but that doesn't mean that said wizard did everything by himself," Ventus countered.
"Well either way, we can make do! We don't need no stinkin' super shield and mega staff to beat bad guys," Donald declared, and just to prove his point, he immediately let out a powerful blast of lightning bolts on the Dusks that were directly in front of him.
Donald's magical lightning strike wiped out its targets in an instant, and served as the signal for everyone to begin fighting, with Goofy making the next strike by slamming his shield into several different Dusks at once. After bashing a few more, Goofy then tossed his shield at a Dusk that was about to jump at Xion, and the enchanted metal disk immediately sliced through the silver monster before it could get within a hairs breath of the girl. Xion spared Goofy a quick nod of thanks before summoning out Two Become One and joining the battle as well, slashing and slicing through any Dusk that dared to get close to her. At one point, she used the momentum of one of her swings to spin around on one foot, and then let loose a quick ice spell from her free hand, much to Sora's surprise. It was understandable, as he had not even learned how to use magic until after he started training under Ventus, let alone casting spells without using the Keyblade as the method of directing those spells, so the fact that Xion was already able to do both of those things was definitely impressive.
Of course, that was not quite as impressive as what he saw when he turned to see how Roxas was doing, and saw the boy who looked so much like Ven using not one, but two Keyblades. It was not just the fact that Roxas was using two Keyblades though that had caught Sora's attention, but rather, it was the Keyblades that Roxas was using that had left Sora so surprised, as he recognized both of those blades. "You're the chosen wielder for Oathkeeper and Oblivion," Sora questioned Roxas aloud.
"And he can use two Keyblades at once, too," Goofy added on, while Donald just let out a simple wow at the sight of Roxas spinning around both Keyblades as he sliced through Dusk after Dusk in quick succession like a pro.
"Apparently," Roxas said in answer to Sora's question before moving on to Goofy's. "To be honest, the whole dual wielding thing was a surprise for me, too."
"Hey guys, we can compare abilities later. Fight now, talk later," Xion shouted as she spun around and slashed through three Dusks at once, before kicking another one away from her. She then leapt at the Dusk she kicked down and stabbed her Keyblade into it upon landing, and then aimed Two Become One at another Dusk so that she could fire off another blast of ice magic.
Everyone had to agree with Xion on that front, and quickly resumed fighting. In no time at all, Ventus had even gone so far as to try and summon out his Unique Tier Two Command Style, but unfortunately, he was only able to gather up enough energy to use his Tier One Command Style, Fever Pitch, and even then, one could tell by how faint the glow around him was that said ability was much weaker than it usually was. Ventus waved it off for now, feeling that he could still make do, and immediately used the speed boost that Fever Pitch provided him to make quick work of several Dusks that were still coming after them. Instead of using his finisher for said ability though, Ven directed his Keyblade over the various enemies so that he could fire off the Meteor Shower Shotlock, and blasted all of the recently arrived Dusks into oblivion as a result.
Ven was not the only one to unleash a Shotlock, as Sora was soon unloading his own, personal Shotlock, Typhoon Barrage, and many of the group were soon watching the Dusks get vaporized by a few pairs of energy projectiles, or getting blown away by the whirlwinds that said projectiles released upon impact with their targets. Having seen this ability several times before, Donald and Goofy did not hesitate to take advantage of when the whirlwinds blew an enemy closer to them, and quickly dealt a final blow to said Dusks. Roxas and Xion took a little bit longer in doing the same, but in their defense, they were seeing Sora use one of his own unique abilities in person for the first time, and it was a sight to behold, so you could probably forgive them for taking a moment to stop and watch for a minute or two. When Sora jumped back and began floating a little higher in the air, they were then treated to the sight of the spiky haired brunet spinning around rapidly while unleashing magic beams of light from his Keyblade, accompanied by an equally powerful barrage of strong winds.
"I wonder how long it'll be until me and Roxas will learn to do stuff like that," Xion could not help but think as she quickly parried a strike from a Dusk, having been nearly caught off guard because of how intently she was gaping at Sora's display of strength.
Unfortunately, said display ended up being a little more taxing for Sora than he realized, because when his feet met the ground again, he was panting quite heavily, and seemed to have trouble properly standing up. Ventus was no better off, because while using both a Shotlock and his Unique Command Style in quick succession may have been a feat he could normally pull off quite easily, he was normally much more well-rested when he did. Fighting against so many Nobodies at once like he had been earlier and then getting thrown into another fight so soon afterwards would have left anyone tired, and Ven was no exception. Add in the fact that the Dusks seemed to just keep coming in an endless number of waves, and the blonde master was just glad that he was able to remain standing a little more easily than his two old friends from Disney Town, because Donald and Goofy soon ended up dropping to the ground out of exhaustion. After slashing through a few more Dusks though, Sora ended up falling back on his butt as well, and Roxas and Xion were not too far behind, though they ended up dropping to one knee, while the former tried using Oblivion as a crutch for him to rest against.
Ventus likely would have moved to try and keep the other five safe from further attacks while continuing to fight, but at that point, he could feel any remaining adrenaline in his body begin to run dry, and he was soon falling down to one knee as well, too tired to really do more than cast some basic level magic spells or raise his Keyblade up in a feeble defense. When one, particular Dusk suddenly rushed at Sora, the young boy had immediately done the same as his master, at least in the case of the latter action, while his eyes snapped shut, not wanting to see what would happen in the next instant. He would soon be wishing that he had kept his eyes open, because they all were soon on the receiving end of not a finishing blow, but a miraculous rescue.
Just when the five Dusks that were now surrounding them were about to strike, a small figure in black dropped down from above, and made quick work of each Dusk. It was hard to really keep track of this figure's movements, even if some of the group had kept their eyes open so that they could watch, but it was still easy to see when he jumped and spun around the Dusks before ending them with each strike of his blade. The last two Dusks fell when the mystery figure jumped up into the air, and struck them both down before somersaulting around and landing on his feet again, with his back facing the group and his arms spread out like he was ready for another fight. Since their rescuer had finally stopped moving, and there did not seem to be any more enemies coming to attack them, the six finally managed to get a good look at said individual, and even though he was mostly obscured by the black coat he was wearing, they were still able to figure out who he was when they took notice of his more apparent features. The first was the fact that he was shorter than all of them, and the second was his rather large, round ears. While the second one would normally have been enough for most of them, it was the third and final thing they noticed that helped them to confirm who this was. This was the fact that he was wielding a Keyblade that looked almost exactly like the Kingdom Key, expect with the color scheme reversed.
"Your Majesty," Donald exclaimed as he and Goofy jumped on top of Sora in their haste to get a better look at the king of Disney Town.
Ventus was about to say said king's name aloud, when Mickey raised a hand to signal for quiet and said, "Shh! You gotta board the train and leave town. The train knows the way." He then jumped a little closer to the group, not once turning around so they could see his face, and held something out to Ventus. "Here, take this. A friend made sure to keep it safe, just like you asked him to."
When Ventus accepted the item in question, Roxas and Xion both let out silent gasps upon seeing that it was the same munny pouch that the man in the black coat had pickpocketed off of Roxas a few days ago, right down to the very last detail. "Where did…How did he get that," Roxas whispered, to which Xion could only shrug.
Ventus on the other hand let a discreet smile cross his face, until he and the others all turned to see Mickey running off towards the town. Donald was about to chase after him, but the king was already too far away for any of them to have caught up, and Ven knew that the minute Mickey was out of sight, they would never be able to find him, at least not without spending several hours looking at least. By that time, more Nobodies would arrive to attack them, and Mickey would likely be long gone, so the only thing they could do was let him go for now. Still, some of them were questioning whether or not that was actually Mickey that they just saw.
"The King…Was that really him," Sora asked.
"Yep, I know it was," Goofy confidently cheered.
"Now we know he's okay," Donald smiled widely, while Sora crossed his arms in thought, earning him the attention of Xion and Roxas.
"Is something wrong, Sora," Xion asked on behalf of herself and her brother. "You look like you've suddenly gotten a load of questions on your mind."
"Well I wouldn't say that. It's just that…," Sora reassured her before he stopped short and turned to Ventus and his other two friends. "The King was locked in the Realm of Darkness with Master Aqua and Riku, right?"
"Uh-huh," Goofy confirmed.
"But we just saw him," Sora continued. "And if the King is here, that means Riku's here, and maybe Master Aqua, too!"
"Yeah, they've gotta be," Donald agreed.
Ventus on the other hand actually paused for a minute in silence. Normally, one would think that he was trying to figure out how he had not thought of that before now, but in truth, he had come to a similar realization a long time ago when his path did in fact cross with Mickey's, if only for a brief moment. At the time, Mickey was alone and already wearing an Organization coat so that he could gather information on the group, much like Ventus was, and the minute he saw his old friend, Ventus wanted to know where Riku and Aqua were, the latter more so than the former. Before he could ask though, Mickey preempted his question and explained that he and Riku had gotten separated recently, while Aqua had gone her own way a short time before that, only saying that it was past time for her to take on an assignment that she had been forced to put off for far too long now. Ven did not really know what that could have meant, and Mickey seemed to be just as much in the dark on that answer as he was. Still, he did admit that it was good to know that their three missing friends were safe outside the Realm of Darkness, so he was not going to deny Sora the relief of knowing that information.
"Hey wait, did you know about that, Ven," Sora suddenly asked, making Ventus realize that he must have been a little too transparent in his thoughts on that matter than he wanted to be, and from the look his first apprentice was giving him, Ventus knew that Sora was not going to take anything but the truth for an answer, or at least something close to it. For the moment though, Ventus could only give him the latter.
"I had a hunch for a little while, but I couldn't act on it right away. I was a little busy keeping an eye out for all of you," Ventus revealed. "Besides, I made a promise that I wouldn't say anything before the time was right."
"Oh…" Sora nodded, looking a little sad at first, but he quickly perked up afterwards. "Well, I guess I can't blame you for keeping that a secret. After all, you didn't want us to blame ourselves for keeping you from trying to reunite with Aqua, right?"
Ventus did not say anything, but he did smile in return, and that proved to be enough for Sora. That just left one thing unanswered. "So, what are we going to do now," Roxas inquired.
"Well, I'm gonna go look for Riku. Then he and I can go back to the islands together. Kairi's there waiting for us," Sora explained in answer.
"More so in your case than Riku's," Ventus teased as he rubbed Sora's head in an affectionate noogie. "Don't think that you're going to be doing anything without me though. After all, I wouldn't be much of a good master if I let one of my apprentices go off on his own after he's just woken up after a year, and likely needs a few refresher courses."
"So does that mean that Roxas and I are tagging along as well," Xion eagerly asked, hoping that the answer was yes.
"Naturally," Ventus replied. "Like we're going to put off your training for any reason right after I just took you both on as my newest apprentices."
"Yes," Xion cheered, while Roxas grinned in equal excitement.
Sora then turned to the last two members of the group and asked, "What about you guys? What are you two gonna do?"
Donald and Goofy's both groaned a little in response, before the latter asked, "Gawrsh, Sora. Do ya have to ask?"
Normally, one of the others would have given a rather obvious answer or even just a joke in response, but at the moment, the only response that any of the Keyblade wielders could give was to uncontrollably laugh at the two. "Hey! What's so funny," Donald squawked, jumping up and down in anger a little.
"Sorry, it…it's just…" Xion tried to say through her giggles, but she could not get out much more than that.
"Your faces," Sora finished while clutching his chest in an attempt to control his chuckles.
"That's gotta be one of the silliest things I've ever seen," Roxas added as he too kept laughing.
That prompted Donald and Goofy to turn to look at each other, and while they did see that their expressions were meant to look a little indignant, they came out looking rather ridiculous, and like that, they were both joining the other four in laughing at the silly expressions. In a way, this actually reminded Ventus a little of when Sora first met him, Donald, and Goofy, and to be quite honest, he was glad that particular bit of history seemed to be repeating itself. After all, there was no better way to start a new adventure than by sharing a few laughs with some good friends, old or new. Eventually, the laughter did have to come to an end so the work could begin, but when it did, no one seemed to be too worried about anything, and Ventus hoped that would not change at any point too soon.
"Well guys, looks like we're all sticking together for one more journey," Ventus observed, looking at the assembled group as a whole. "And this time with even more friends."
"Yeah, and we wouldn't have it any other way," Sora grinned excitedly, the others all mirroring his expression with smiles of their own. At least until the boy asked his next question. "So…where are we going again?"
"We hafta board the train," Goofy reminded him.
"The King just told us two seconds ago," Roxas added on.
"Oh yeah," Sora remembered with a smile that did not seem the least bit sheepish, drawing a tired sigh from Donald while Roxas could not help but roll his eyes a little.
Xion stared at Sora in disbelief for a minute, before she looked to Ven and asked, "Is short-term memory loss a side-effect from their sleeping in those pods for so long, or is that just normal for him?"
"I'm pretty sure that it was the pods, but I'm not entirely certain," Ventus shrugged. "All I knew about the things was that they would put these guys' memories back to the way they were while they were sleeping in them. Everything else about how the things worked was just way over my head."
Whether Sora's sudden moment of short-term memory loss was a side-effect of his extensive nap in the pod or not would have to wait though, because they did still have a train to catch, and Sora had no problem leading the way into the station and up to the ticket counter. The minute the group walked inside, Roxas and Xion instantly caught sight of the ghost train from yesterday waiting at the platform, and somehow they just knew that it was waiting for all of them. A quick glance in Ven's direction confirmed that for the two, as he instantly smiled in response before going to purchase their tickets. Just as he was about to speak the teller, they all heard someone shouting for them to wait, and they turned to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette rushing to catch up with them.
"What're you guys doing here," Sora asked.
"We came to see you off," Pence told them, surprising the group of six a little. "It just seemed like something we oughta do."
"Oh…really? Thanks," Xion smiled in response, glad to see that the three had gone so far to do that even though they had all only just officially met a few minutes ago. It actually reminded her of just how good a group of people these guys were to her and Roxas while they were in the virtual Twilight Town, and it seemed like they were just as good here in reality as well. That did not distract her from the odd look Hayner was giving her and Roxas.
"Hey Roxas, Xion…" Hayner started to say, only find himself unable to finish for whatever reason.
"What's up," Roxas asked when Hayner did not say anything more after a few minutes.
Hayner did not say anything for a few more minutes, but eventually, he did answer by simply saying, "Nothing. Forget about it."
"If you're sure," Roxas shrugged in reply, knowing that whatever it was that Hayner had on his mind would come out eventually.
The sound of a boarding alarm coming from the platforms drew them out of their moment of contemplation, and reminded them that they needed to hurry if they wanted to get on the train in time. The ghost train may not have been one of the normal lines, but that did not mean it was going to wait around forever for them. At least, most of them did not think it would, but some were still a little unsure about that. Whatever the case, it did not change that they had to hurry, and Olette pointed that out when she said, "You all should hurry and get your tickets."
"Way ahead of you," Ventus informed the girl as he approached the ticket booth, pulling out the pouch that Mickey had given them as he went.
When she saw the pouch in Ven's hand, Olette let out a confused gasp, pulling everyone's attention over to her as she pulled out her own pouch, as if to make sure that it was still there. She was relieved to find that it was, but that did not help her confusion, nor did Goofy's comment when he saw Olette's bag. "They're the same," the knight said.
"Yeah," Olette confirmed. "But I made this one myself, so that shouldn't be possible."
"Maybe…whoever made that one…had a similar artistic vision," Roxas feebly offered up, not sure if anyone would believe him if he said that it came from a virtual world. Xion would have placed her hand to her head in disbelief at Roxas's half-baked lie, but for the moment, she just smiled with a shrug, hoping that it would help convince them at least a little bit.
In the end, hearing Ventus order six tickets for the mystery train was what ultimately brought the subject to a close, but somehow, the siblings knew that this would most likely not be the last time they heard about the virtual world that they had been living in until just recently. They shook that off though, as they were more than eager to put that time behind them, but when they looked up at the platform, they soon became overcome with a sense of foreboding that they did not expect. Apparently, Sora shared that same feeling, as he seemed to be just worried as they were and a bit sad about it as well, and when he explained why he was feeling that way, Roxas and Xion both had to admit that it was the very same reason for them.
"I can't help feeling like we won't see this town again," Sora admitted, frowning.
The Twilight Town kids all looked a bit confused by Sora's statement, but Roxas and Xion both nodded in agreement, as the former said, "Yeah…I'm getting the same feeling, too."
"So am I," Xion added sadly.
"Why not," Donald asked, only to be met with silence from all three.
Ventus had a small hunch as to why they were worried, and quickly decided that he needed to give them some reassurance that would ease their concerns at least a little bit. "Don't be too sad, you three. We'll be able to come back soon enough. You'll see, and even if we don't, what's important is that we remember all the good times we had here."
"If you say so," Roxas shrugged, not sure if he completely agreed with that. After all, most of the good memories he had of this town were all things he had been through in that virtual Twilight Town.
"I believe so," Ventus corrected. "As long as you keep those memories, and the people you've met here in your hearts, you'll never be apart."
"Yeah, Ven's right. Maybe you guys are just thinkin' too much," Goofy suggested.
At that point, all seriousness was washed away from Ven's person, and he let out a brief chuckle before his next comment. "Never thought we'd be saying something like that about Sora."
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean," Sora demanded, earning several rounds of laughter from everyone again. Eventually, he could not keep up the indignant façade he was trying to hold, and joined in on the laughter as well, and that laughter did not stop until they had all reached the platform that would admit the six adventurers onto their waiting train.
There was not really too much time to gather any supplies that they may need when they reached their destination, and even if there was, the team of six all thought that it would be best to get on their way as quickly as possible. Part of it was due to the King's insistence that they board the train as soon as they could, but the other part was due to how Ventus made it seem like it was so important that they get moving just as quickly. It was not so much with words as it was with how he was trying to keep everyone's mind on how they needed to get working as soon as they could, and Sora could have sworn that he saw Ventus fidgeting a little every now and then, like he was itching to get something underway that could not wait any longer. Not that he could blame his master; after sleeping in that pod for a year, Sora was eager to get back out into the worlds so that he could pick up where he left off in his search for their friends.
Since everyone was in such a rush to get moving, it came as no surprise that they all started boarding the mysterious train the minute they had climbed up to the platform, with Donald and Goofy rushing aboard first, and Ventus soon after. When he saw his three apprentices taking a few extra minutes to talk with Hayner, Pence, and Olette, Ventus advised them to try and be as quick as possible before disappearing into the train, and with that, the six kids were left to talk amongst themselves. Of course, most of that was for Roxas and Xion's sake, but for some reason, Sora felt like he really needed to bid the three local kids farewell as well. They kept things as brief as possible though, with Xion giving Olette a quick hug, Sora high-fiving Pence, and Roxas exchanging a fist-bump with Hayner, each saying something that went along the lines of "see you again soon", or some similar goodbye.
Just before the three Keyblade wielders boarded the train, Hayner called out, "Hey, Roxas, Xion. You sure we haven't met before?"
As much as the two wanted to say yes, Roxas and Xion both knew that it was not a good idea to give that answer, or explain the reasons behind it. They just had to hope they were not giving anything away when they told Hayner their small lie. "Pretty sure we haven't," Roxas said. "But if we did…I get the feeling we had probably been great friends."
"Yeah, same here," Xion said with a smile that just could not hide any of her sadness. Still, she managed to divert any suspicion when she asked, "Why do you ask, anyway?"
Hayner seemed like he needed to think about that before he eventually just shrugged with a smile and said, "I dunno."
That seemed like the end of it, until Pence noticed something that left him concerned. "Hey, Sora. Are you okay? You're…"
When Pence pointed to Sora's face, the spiky haired boy immediately raised one hand up and felt a tear that was slowly sliding down his cheek, much to his surprise. "Weird," Sora muttered. "Don't know where that came from. Guess I've just…gotten a bit emotional when it comes to certain moments after all that I've been through."
"Come on. Pull it together," Hayner told him in amusement.
"Yeah. We can't have you getting all teary-eyed before we've even got that far into our journey, can we," Xion teased with a smile.
"Right," Sora smiled back with a nod. He then turned to the Twilight Town trio as he started to board the train, and waved as he said, "Well…we'll see ya."
Roxas and Xion both spared one last wave to the three friends before they boarded the train as well, and they all watched on opposite sides as the door slid closed. With a faint hiss of steam, the train slowly departed from the station, and then began racing off down the tracks, leaving the station behind, along with the three kids who appeared to be very sorry to see their new friends leave so soon. Meanwhile on board the train, Donald and Goofy were watching through the windows as the city passed by, with Ventus sitting across from them with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. To Sora, it looked like his master was either napping or meditating, but he could not really tell which one was more likely at the moment. Considering how tired he had seemed during the fight earlier, it really could have gone either way for Ven right now. Sora probably would have joined Ven in napping, assuming that he was doing so, but he just did not feel tired enough to go back to sleep right now. Not only that, but there was just something else bothering him, and looking to Roxas and Xion, he had a pretty good idea what it was.
"You guys okay," Sora finally asked after a few minutes of silence. Neither of the siblings had said anything, and were both watching the town pass by with an air of sadness to them that Sora could only most closely relate to how he had probably looked when he decided to not go back to his home on the islands before finding Riku a year ago.
Neither sibling replied right away, as they felt that they should try to cover up their sorrow before they did say something. Only Roxas managed to do so quickly, for the most part, and simply said, "Yeah…I guess we're just nervous about this whole thing."
"That and…well, this town reminds us of a place we called home for a while, so it feels like we're leaving behind everything we know and loved for the first time," Xion explained, feeling that was as close to the truth as they could give Sora right now.
Sora nodded in reply to that, as he said, "Yeah, I get it. I felt the same way when I decided to stick with Ven and the others a year ago instead of going home myself." He then paused for a moment, gazing out the window at Twilight Town for a minute before he admitted, "You know…I'm kinda sad to be leaving this place, too."
That got the other three's attention, and they all knew right away that they had to say something in order to cheer the three kids up. "We'll be back," Donald reassured them, taking the lead in said attempts.
"Yeah. We can visit Hayner and those guys again," Goofy added on.
"Like I said before, true friends are never apart for too long, so long as they remain in your heart," Ventus reminded them. He then stood up, pulled out the munny pouch he had received earlier, and retrieved something from within said pouch that he immediately passed to Roxas and Xion. "Until then though, how about you two take these as a little reminder of home."
The siblings looked to see what Ventus had just handed them, and gasped a little at the sight of their blue and silver crystals that they had gotten from the Five Crystal Trophy a few days ago. Tentatively, they picked up the crystals, and held them gently between their fingers before gazing through the small orbs like they had when they first received them. When the light of the sun shined through the crystals in a manner similar to when they held them up the first time, a small smile crossed over Roxas and Xion's faces, which they immediately shared with each other and Ventus to show their thanks to the blonde master.
Sora smiled at the sight of this, too, glad to see that his newest friends were feeling a little better, when a bright light suddenly began to shine through the windows of the train. Looking out the window again, they all gasped at the sight of a vast sky of stars behind polar lights, while the train itself seemed to have started running along a glowing, green track. He almost did not notice when the train's whistle blew, almost as if to reassure its passengers that everything was right on track, but when he did, he felt that he had to say something about what this could likely mean in his eyes. "I guess that our new adventure is really getting started now."
"So does that mean our training begins now," Roxas then asked Ventus, mainly indicating himself and Xion when he asked that question.
"No. Your training begins later," Ventus instantly replied, earning disappointed sighs from the siblings. All the same, they were still just as curious and mystified as the others were with the next thing that Ventus said. "There's still someone we have to talk to before we can really get started."
"Guess that's that," Axel commented as he looked on after something far off in the distance from Sunset Hill. He was relieved that he had managed to quickly substitute himself for a data-clone that Ventus and Naminé had helped him to create in the virtual Twilight Town in order to throw off both DiZ and the Organization, but he did still want to say goodbye to his friends in person. All the same, he meant what he said when he had spoken to the two through said data-clone. Now all that was left for him to do was carry out the new mission that Ventus had given him. He just had to hope that one of his two current companions would let him go through with it.
"Let's go," Ansem told both the redhead and the blonde girl that was sitting in front of him, with a sketchpad resting on her lap.
"Go where, exactly," Axel asked. "It's not like some of us have home to return to. Two of us don't exist, remember?"
"Yes, it's true. We may not have homes…but there IS someplace I want to go," Naminé admitted. She then blushed a little bit as she added, "And…someone I want to see."
"Same here, but probably not for the same reasons as you, Naminé," Axel teased, making Naminé blush a little more. "Of course, that means that I've got to make sure I keep you safe for both Ventus and Roxas, so do me a favor or try not to run off without me, okay Naminé?" He then turned to their hooded friend and said, "That is assuming that you plan to let us go. I know you tended to be more of DiZ's lapdog, and he wanted to get rid of us, but…"
Ansem was not surprised that Axel knew about that, but he was not expecting Naminé to be so calm about the fact that DiZ wanted to get rid of her. In fact, she just looked at him with a calm expression, without even the slightest hint of worry or fear in her eyes, and in that moment, he knew that somehow, Naminé had found about this at some point earlier. He had a good idea on who told her, and to be quite honest, he was glad for that. After all, he was not too supportive of DiZ's endgame plans for those three, so that was why he had no problem with telling them what he did. "Go, and do what you feel you should do."
"Normally I'd correct you on the fact that we don't have hearts for feeling, but honestly, I'm a little more concerned whether or not you're sure about that," Axel remarked in caution.
"I owe you both," Ansem admitted in return. "You both helped each of us quite a bit at Castle Oblivion."
That was good enough for Axel, so he immediately opened a Dark Corridor that he and Naminé could leave through. The blonde slowly stood up from the bench she had been sitting on, before nodding a quick thanks to Ansem, and then rushed into the shadowy portal as quickly as she could. Just when the redhead was about to depart, Ansem called out for him to wait a moment, catching Axel's attention. "What's up," the redhead asked.
"When you get a break from guarding Naminé, you should go to Destiny Islands," Ansem informed him. "It may be the best time to help another friend join those six on their journey."
"Oh? And why should I do that," Axel asked. "I mean, if you're talking about who think you are, then I'm basically going to have to seem like I'm the bad guy again, and I doubt that would go over too well for certain people."
"Maybe, but it would be worth the risk. After all…Sora and Kairi have been apart from one another for too long as it is. They're definitely stronger when they are together," Ansem explained. "Besides, there may be someone there who will want to meet up with their group as well, and that reunion is even more overdue than Sora and Kairi's."
Axel was not really sure what to think about that, but he did not see any reason to doubt Ansem, especially since the guy was letting him and Naminé get away without any hassle, so he just accepted the job and headed out, grumbling under his breath about how he was constantly being given so many jobs by various different people lately as the corridor disappeared. Now that he was alone, Ansem allowed himself a small smile, before muttering, "Well, it may not be the way you would like for it to happen, but I do hope that you'll enjoy your reunions with Sora and Ventus. I just hope that the Organization doesn't try to get in your way, Kairi and Master Aqua."
Ventus's Journal Entry 2:
It's been a few weeks now since Naminé started on getting Sora's memories fixed, or whatever the technical term for the process is, and it seems like the process is slow going. Then again, considering some of that time was spent with her and DiZ moving Sora and the others to this old mansion on a world called Twilight Town, I guess I should've have expected a sudden drop in the process's speed. During that time, I could not help but notice how often members of Organization XIII seemed to come into Twilight Town. It's almost like they use the place as a training ground or something. Or maybe they come here because it's the closest world to wherever their stronghold is. Whatever the case may be, they definitely come here a lot, and that's got me a little worried. Why would DiZ decide to come to this world if he knows that the Organization is coming here so much? Does he think that they are hiding in plain sight by bringing Sora here or something? Either way, I can't help but feel it's a little risky, but then again, DiZ is something of an expert on these beings that he calls Nobodies. Doesn't mean I'm okay with how he constantly goes on about how they don't have the right to so much as exist.
Honestly, what really came as a surprise to me was the identities of two of the Organization's members that are normally coming into the town. Sure, I may have seen them once when I had traveled to the future almost ten years ago with Aqua and Terra (or alternate future. I'm not really sure how time travel stuff works), but it was still surprising to see them. A Nobody that was clearly Sora's, and yet looks so much like me when I was younger. That could only have been Roxas, and even though she's kept her hood up until now, there's no way that the girl who's with him could be anyone other than Xion. From the look of things, they've only recently discovered that they can both use the Keyblade, and they're becoming quite good friends. I'm not a big fan of that group having Keyblade wielders under their thumbs like this, but for the moment, it does not look like I can really do too much to get them away. At least not without a good reason, but I get the feeling that such a reason will come along in time.
Either way, I'm going to be keeping an eye on those two. There's something about them that seems rather promising in regards to their abilities with the Keyblade, and I'm not just saying that because of who they're connected to, or who they look like.
AN: And that's a wrap. I know a lot of you were expecting Sora to be more upset about Ven getting two new apprentices, but be honest, could really see Sora acting that way? It just seems a little too out of character for him. Besides, Roxas and Xion were already really nervous about meeting Sora at last, so why would I do that to them? It would be just cruel and mean.
Rolling right along...well, actually, I don't think I can really say to much in regards to deeper explanations this time. I will admit that I was going to have Sora's awakening and first meeting with Roxas and Xion happen in the last chapter, but that ended up being too long, and it just worked out better to have that happen here in the chapter where the group's leaving Twilight Town.
Speaking of which, I'm sure you all noticed how the Twilight Town gang mainly addressed Roxas and Xion, and why wouldn't they? After all, in canon, the main reason that they were directing their questions and such to Sora was because of the ties that they...somewhat shared with Roxas. I'm not entirely sure if it actually counts or not, since Roxas was only really friends with them in the virtual Twilight Town, and only knew them in passing during 358/2 Days.
Roxas: Hey, what about that scene at the end? With Naminé and the others?
AN: Oh that. Well, that's mainly to show what other mission Ventus had lined up for Axel, and to give everyone an idea on why Axel would be taking certain actions later on. I know, total spoiler if you can decipher the clues, but I just had to include that in there.
And with the latest entry from Ven's journal...yeah, that's pretty self-explanatory, but it's the moment when Ven, DiZ, and Naminé first arrived in Twilight Town, and when Ven first spotted Roxas and Xion, along with him just noting a few other things. Not much else to really say there.
Sora: I just have to ask. Did you really need to have Ven hit me, Donald, and Goofy upside the head like that?
AN: Honestly? Yes. He had good reason to do so, and let's be quite honest, you guys did kind of deserve it for just jumping into that trap without even really thinking about it too much. But look on the bright side, at least you're not completely clueless as to how you ended up there like you had in canon, so there's always that.
Sora: Yeah I guess.
AN: Sheesh, don't look so down. At least I'm not telling you to get back in the pod anymore. Besides, we've got another chapter's events to tease for everyone before the day's done. Onto the Preview!...
The mystery train's destination soon leads the adventurers to find out that the Nobodies are not the only enemies that they will have to worry about, because it soon becomes clear that the Heartless are still quite a bit of a problem for the worlds. More than that, Donald, Goofy, and Ventus all find themselves coming face-to-face with an old enemy that they had thought they would not be seeing again anytime soon, but that does little to quell the excitement that comes from the reunions that they are also find. A quick briefing on what they will face reveals a few truths, before leading some of them to get some new gear, and even a brand new look in at least one case. Just what will the team discover? What kind of magical powers will come with the new attire that some of them will acquire? And just how will they be able to really adventure out across the worlds without their faithful ship to transport them? Well, those answers will be easily given, next time.
Pretty obvious as to what's coming next, huh? And I guess it looks like the next chapter could be pretty short too, now that I think about it. Ah well. They can't all be very extensive. Anyways...
Please read and review, and see ya real soon!