Ventus was just about done dealing with abusive family right about now. Which was a shame, because there was only one person who could enlighten him about Xehanort's allegations. And it was of course far too late at night for Eraqus Enix to pick up his phone.
"No wonder the teenager under your care is able to sneak out like that," Ven muttered under his breath.
He went back to his room first. As he'd hoped, Terra and Aqua were here, using Ven's planned absence to have a date of their own. The two of them were startled by Ven's entrance, and Aqua quickly pulled a blanket over them, but her gaze was only one of concern.
"Ven? Are you okay? Where's—"
"It's com—" Ven started, then cut himself off. "Long story short, my brother and his boyfriend are in Vanitas's room next door. Sora got dosed with a date rape drug, and he hurt himself, and I need someone to look after him."
Aqua reached for her blouse where it lay discarded on the floor. "Anything you need."
"Can we at least ask—" Terra started, but Ven cut him off.
"Getting to it. Vanitas's anime villain brother found the perfect way to trigger him." It wasn't the whole truth, but he refused to repeat his claims out loud—that would make them seem almost real. So instead he shook his head. "He freaked out and ran on me."
"I can help you look for him," Terra offered immediately. Aqua tossed him his clothes and he started getting dressed as well.
"I'd—appreciate that, actually," Ven said. He hadn't had the time to think this far ahead. "But first, I have to go home and talk to my grandfather." He paused. "I—don't really want to get into it. But if you could at least watch over Sora for me—"
"I'll look for Vanitas while you're gone. Better get started quickly."
Ven paused, floored at the two of them. "You guys—"
Terra only smiled as he finished getting dressed. "Hey, that's what friends are for."
"You go on ahead," Aqua added. "Do what you have to. I'll watch over Sora, and Terra will get a lead on that boyfriend of yours. I promise."
Ven was pretty sure he was about to sob with gratitude, but he managed to keep it together. "Thanks. So much."
Coming home in the dead of night was an eerie experience. Ven had never had many reasons to stay out late during his time in Daybreak—no real friends to hang out with, no parties to go to. The closest thing to social events he'd gone to were company events, and he was always with his grandfather for those.
The house was dead silent. Eraqus and Roxas were both likely asleep, unaware of what was happening—of Sora, hurt and drugged and far from home, and of Ventus, deep in the midst of an existential crisis. Ven wasn't looking forward to telling them about any of it, but he had no time to waste with subtleties. Wherever Vanitas had gone, Ven had seen the look in his eyes as he left. He couldn't leave him alone any longer than necessary.
So Roxas ran up the staircase, straight to his grandfather's bedroom, calling as loudly as he could manage. "Grandfather!" he said. "We need to talk! It's urgent!"
By the time he reached Eraqus's bedroom door at the end of the hallway, it opened from the inside, and Eraqus stepped out, clad in a robe, hair tied back, eyes narrowed from sleep and annoyance both. "This had better be—"
"It is," Ven cut him off. He felt a surge of anger within him at his grandfather's reaction—that, when hearing Ven's words and his tone, he was still annoyed rather than concerned. "You might want to sit down for this, so I'll wait for you downstairs," he said. It was a waste of time, but he needed a moment to gather his own thoughts, lest he said something that would make Eraqus refuse to answer his actual questions.
He left Eraqus at his door, looking stunned. As he made his way back to the staircase, he saw Roxas peeking out of his room, and attempted a weary smile, though Roxas still looked worried. Quietly, Ven nodded at him, letting him know he was welcome to join them.
The minute he had by himself in the living room was what he needed to clear his mind. There was a part of him that was anxious to tell Eraqus that he'd gone to Brain to start suing for custody of the twins, just to see the look on his face, but he had to focus. Answers first, then making sure Sora would be safe once he woke up and came home. The rest could all wait.
Roxas was first downstairs, and he let out a timid "Do you know where Sora is?" when he saw their grandfather wasn't in the room yet. "He wasn't in his room."
Ven nodded. "My friends are looking after him. And he's with Riku, too."
"Is this why you're here? Is he—"
"It's—"
Before he could find the right words to say, Eraqus entered the room. He too must have taken a moment to calm himself, because all annoyance had faded from his features.
"All right," Eraqus said. "I'm listening." His eyes landed on Roxas, and the sharp look he turned to Ven again let him know he too was now aware of Sora's absence.
Ven wasn't about to let himself be distracted, though. "I ran into Xehanort Ansem earlier this evening," he said. Were this happening under other circumstances, he might have relished in the way Eraqus recoiled in his chair, eyes wide and face slack with dismay. "Junior," he finally added.
Eraqus's eyes narrowed again. "What about him?"
"Got any comment regarding the possibility that I have a long lost twin out there?"
"No," Eraqus let out immediately. "No. This is ridiculous."
"And about that picture I asked you for? Of Mom pregnant with me in the nursery? Because I have a feeling I already have that picture, and there are two beds on it."
Eraqus held his gaze for a second, hard and unmovable. Then, suddenly, his gaze softened; but it wasn't a sudden rush of emotion, rather, it was as if all energy drained out of him. Finally, he lowered his eyes. "He died."
Ven blinked. Of all the possibilities, this was not one he'd envisioned. "What?"
"Your twin. He died during the delivery. The umbilical cord choked him." There was a coldness in his tone, but Ven could sense the pain underneath.
This wasn't enough for Ven, though. "Are you certain about it? We're talking about a man who has the means to cure blindness. Who knows what else—"
"A man who—" Eraqus looked up. "Xehanort," he said, and in spite of everything, there was a familiarity in how he said the name—his ex-husband's name. Maybe even a hint of past love. "He claims he took the child." He studied Ven just a second longer, before adding, "Your boyfriend. So that's his play."
"His play? Can you cut it with the coyness and tell me if I slept with my brother already?"
Next to him, Roxas flinched from the outburst—or perhaps from the realization of what was plaguing him. Ven, however, was entirely focused on his grandfather. With each silent moment that stretched out between them, there was something that grew within Ven, a suspicion, a what if, after all—
"No." When he finally spoke, Eraqus's tone was final, definitive.
Ven blinked in surprise. "No?"
"No, Ventus. He is not your twin. Your twin can't be alive." He sighed, and weariness crept on his face, making him truly look his age in a way Ventus only rarely saw him. "I was in the room with your parents when you were born. Your father held you, and you were crying. I held him, and he was silent. It was already too late. We agreed that we would tell you when you were older, and I left the room with him. I—" He paused. "I am quite certain he was dead, and I know for sure that nobody got their hands on him."
"You mean you—"
"I set up the pyre myself, on the hospital roof. As per our people's traditions—under the sky. It goes against regulations, but—well." He let out a soft breath. "No one would stop me. Especially not on Destiny Islands. Your father wanted to come too, but he had to take care of you while your mother rested."
Ven felt empty, too drained by everything else that had happened today to deal with this as well. "So you never lost sight of him?"
"Not even once." He sighed. "My ex-husband knew. He was on the Islands too, and visited the hospital that same day. We ran into one another as I was headed to the roof. He must have realized what I was carrying."
"He visited the hospital?"
"I have to believe he picked the date on purpose. It's my understanding that he too walked away with a child that day. A living one." He tilted his head forward, looking at Ven with heavy eyes. "But not your brother. Xehanort may be capable of many things, but raising ashes is not one of those. Is that good enough for you?"
"I—" There was, of course, one last possibility—that Eraqus was lying. But he didn't know how to say that without getting thrown out by his grandfather.
Eraqus must have guessed at his thoughts, however. "If there was even a chance that he might be your brother, don't you think I would tell you as much? Do you think so poorly of me?"
"No." For every complaint he had about his grandfather, he didn't think him capable of something quite this vile. "I—Thank you. I think." His emotions were a jumbled mess of relief and betrayal, and he didn't know how to sort through them anymore. "I gotta find Vanitas."
"Not so fast." Eraqus's gaze had regained its usual, steely texture. "Your brother. Your actual brother."
Ven sighed. "Sora sneaked out," he said.
"I gathered as much. I find the timing curious."
"So do I," Ven said. He recalled what Vanitas had said—that Xehanort hadn't been to that party as a coincidence, and that the drugs had likely been given to Sora by an accomplice of his. "I think Sora was the bait to get me where Xehanort wanted me. Me and Vanitas." The choice of drug, too, wasn't innocent: it would have triggered Vanitas, made him easier to break down when Xehanort dropped the bomb. But that wasn't information Eraqus needed; what he needed to hear was altogether different. "Sora was dozed with a date rape drug. So let me be clear—"
"If you're going to demand I excuse—"
"You're damn right I am," Ven said. "If you were an actual parent to him, he wouldn't have been in that situation to begin with."
"You think you could control him better than I do?"
"The fact that you're trying to control him is exactly the problem," Ven said. At the sight of the angry flare in his grandfather's eyes, he realized they were getting nowhere. "I don't have time for this," he said. "Sora's safe now—he's sleeping it off. We'll talk about it tomorrow. Do I have to take Roxas with me too?"
Halfway through his question, he turned to Roxas, including him in the decision. Roxas glanced at his grandfather, then slowly nodded. "I'll be fine," he said.
Ven paused a moment longer, then turned back to Eraqus. "I'm going now."
Eraqus sighed. "If this truly is his work," he said, "then be careful. Xehanort has a way to use people's own hearts against them. Good luck."
Roxas rushed after him down the driveaway. "Ven! Hold on!"
Ven paused and whirled around, ready to take him along after all. But Roxas was still in his pajamas, and his phone was in his hands.
"What's—"
"I just saw a text from Xion. After what you said—I thought I'd call her. She said she wanted to talk to you."
Ven blinked at the phone, seeing it was already on a call as Roxas said. He took it in hand and slowly raised it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Ven? It's Xion. You gotta find my brother. I think he's gonna do something stupid."
Her concern, such a perfect match to Ven's, froze the blood in his veins. "Something stupid?" he repeated dumbly.
"He just stormed into my place, ranted for five minutes, and left again."
"Are you okay?" Vanitas's last words to him over the phone still rang in his mind.
"Yes, I'm fine, why—"
"N-never mind. So what did he say?"
"I gathered that young Xehanort showed up."
Ven couldn't make more than an angry noise in response, but it seemed to satisfy her.
"Vanitas said—" She cleared her throat nervously. "Something about you? It wasn't very clear, but—"
"Do you know where he went?"
"Not exactly. But—he was scary, Ven. Not like he was going to hurt me, but like he was going to hurt himself."
Ven couldn't help but glance at Roxas. "Do you think he'd—"
"Not directly. But—I'm worried, Ven. He said he was gonna do something for you, and it didn't sound like something you'd really want him to do."
Instantly, Ven's mind flashed back to their last conversation, and how it had opened. His, I'm going to kill them. And Vanitas's, Maybe I'll help you.
He wouldn't hurt himself directly, Xion said. But it didn't mean he couldn't get others to do it for him. Ven may not have seen him at his most self-destructive, but Vanitas had alluded to it enough that he knew it was in him. And it would be just his style to do it in the name of getting payback for Ven—same as working for his grandfather in the name of helping Xion stay afloat.
"How long ago did he leave?"
"I don't know—five minutes?"
Ven made a mental check. Chi Gamma Nu's party was likely still going at the Twilight, and both it and Xion's apartment were near one another—and near DSU—but Vanitas probably hadn't reached it yet. He couldn't get there fast enough, but—
"I think I know where he's headed," he said. "I'll try my best to make sure he's okay, but I'll need some time to get there myself. In the meantime, you try calling him, all right? And if he picks up, you try holding him. Tell him to wait for me. Tell him I've got evidence. He'll know what it means."
"Okay," Xion said. Then, "He was doing such a good job recovering." She had said the words softly, like she needed to commiserate with someone.
"You know it isn't simple," he said. "Not for that kind of abuse." He'd been through something that was nowhere near as bad, and he was just now starting to understand how deep the scars ran. But Xion knew what Vanitas had been through firsthand.
"Yeah, I know. But it sucks. Especially when this was done to him on purpose."
"I know," Ven said. "And we'll figure out a way to make sure it never happens. I promise."
A pause—as if to acknowledge his words. Then, "Hurry up, Ven."
Xion hung up then, and Ven handed the phone back to Roxas. "What're you gonna do now?" he asked.
"Going back into the city," Ven said. Another trip—was this night ever going to end? "Hopefully I'll stop him from getting himself killed."
"And after that? What if he doesn't take Grandfather's word for it?"
Ven shook his head. "I don't know. He probably will. Xehanort gave him DNA test results."
"But it has to be fake, right? Because you're not actually twins." Roxas shrugged. "Can't he just take another test? He's like, a genius scientist too, right? It'd clear everything up."
"Hopefully, yeah," Ven said. "If he agrees to do it."
"And what about his birth family? Maybe that could get him to listen to you?"
Ven's eyes lit up. "Maybe, but—"
"I'll see if I can get in touch with Claire," Roxas said. "You go on ahead. Don't waste any more time."
Ven called Terra as he was starting his car, telling him to check for Vanitas at Twilight. Then he was on the road, once again alone with his own thoughts.
It's other people who'd better beware.
He wondered what was going through Vanitas's mind. Mere payback, with the added benefit of punishing himself? He'd told Ventus—what they'd done, or what Xehanort claimed they'd done anyway, was worse than what Xehanort himself had done to him. But Ven doubted it was that simple; he had to be looking for more than pain, or retribution. If Ven was right, and this was like him working for Xehanort for Xion's sake, there had to be another angle.
The street outside Twilight was as busy as earlier, but Ven still had no trouble spotting Vanitas's car, hastily parked in front of the bar, askew and half covering the sidewalk. Though there was a part of Ven that wanted to do the same, leave his own car right there, he didn't dare go that far. Instead, he checked his phone, and saw a text from Terra.
Sounds like he's been here, but I can't find him.
While it was good to hear he'd been right, that Vanitas wasn't there anymore was a disappointment—and worrying to boot. Though considering the time window Vanitas must have had, he couldn't be very far.
He found a parking spot far down the street, and spent the entirety of the five-minute walk back to the bar glancing at his phone, hoping to receive some news from Terra or Xion. But when his phone buzzed with a new message, it was from Roxas.
Check your email
Frowning, Ven opened his email app, which soon pinged with a new message—from Claire. The text felt rushed, and a little curt—but then again, it was late at night, even on Destiny Islands. In any case, the sight of the attachment made Ven's heart soar.
He reached the Twilight just then, and put his phone away as he barreled into the bar. Instantly, the noise and lights assaulted him, but the party looked like it had just been brutally interrupted. Terra and a few of his football friends were here, and the rest of the partygoers looked at them like they were a pack of wild dogs ready to pounce.
Terra himself was near the entrance, talking to Peter and holding himself in a way that Ven couldn't help but read as threatening, so Ven headed his way. Peter held himself against Terra with surprising bravado—but when he spotted Ven, he immediately cowered, walking backwards and hitting the bar behind him. Terra acknowledged him with a nod, but kept his focus on Peter.
"Shit," he hissed. "You here to hit me too?"
"I'm here to find my boyfriend," Ven said. "Though that could be kinda fun, considering what you guys did to my little brother."
"Look—I had no idea he was underage, okay? I assumed he was older than you and came to visit! How was I supposed to know?"
Ven raised an eyebrow, unamused. Considering how promptly he'd made Ven aware of how much he knew about his family, Ven wasn't fooled. But he didn't have time to deal with this now. "Vanitas?"
"Yeah, he was here," Peter said. "Came in fucking feral, asking about the guy you left the bar with. Told him the guy left."
"And then?"
"He said he was gonna enjoy the party. But two minutes later, he starting beating up people at random! Guy's fucking crazy, I'm telling you!"
Ven bristled at the insult, but he pushed his rising anger down. "And where is he now?"
Peter shrugged. "He left. As I was telling your attack dog here."
Ven shook his head. "His car's still outside. He didn't just leave." He paused, trying to think about Vanitas's angle. About what he would have been looking for. "Has anyone else left the party since then?"
"Couple of guys, yeah." Peter shrugged.
"Any of them tied to my brother getting roofied at your party?"
"What the f—no! Roofied? Are you serious?"
"Oh, he's pretty fucking serious," Terra said.
"Shit, man. I just thought he got drunk or something!"
"So?" Ven pressed. "Anyone coming to mind?"
"Nah," Peter said, but his shrug was thoroughly unconvincing, and his face flashed with a sudden rush of emotion.
"He just left, didn't he," Ven guessed, deadpan. "Which way? I don't even need a name, I just need to know—"
A girl sidled up next to Peter, a brunette clad in a plain white dress. "Peter, what the fuck? Didn't you hear what this guy just told you?"
"I'm not a snitch," Peter retorted, glaring at the girl.
"Did you see the way that guy started beating people up? Yozora could be in danger."
Ven perked up at the sound of the name—not really because he had any fond memories with the guy from their one encounter, but because it meant she was more likely to help him. "Which way?"
"He was going back to his place. It's close by—go left when you leave, then it's two blocks away."
"I'll go check that out," Ven said—more to Terra's benefit than either of them. "Try to find out if anyone else has seen where Vanitas went."
"Be careful out there, Ven."
Ven couldn't help but chuckle. "I'm probably the only person who doesn't need to be careful out there right now."
