Alright I finished yet another chapter for this story! Now after that crazy last chapter we continue right where we left off!

Also thanks to everyone who has read this story so far! I am glad you all are liking it.

Ch.7

Roxas ran as fast as he could back towards his house, not once stopped to catch his breath. By the time he reached the front door, he felt completely exhausted and even a little dizzy. He wasn't just tired from the running… but what he had just witnessed was still burning in his mind. Every time he thought of it, he felt uneasy. It was a horrific sight he wished he had never witnessed.

Ventus's heart being ripped out by that demonic creature that apparently was Ansem.

Ventus was now trapped in the mansion.

And it was all Roxas's fault.

Roxas knew it was all his fault. If he hadn't been so curious about the mansion then Ventus wouldn't have gotten trapped there. Everything would be fine and Roxas would be able to enjoy the next several days with his friends. But now he had to find a way to break the curse of the mansion and save Ventus. Roxas hopped that destroying the curse would actually return everyone's hearts.

Roxas opened the front door and stumbled inside, his was head aching and his vision had become slightly blurry.

"Roxas?!" Kairi shouted with concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… I'm fine…" Roxas muttered as the room swirled around him. His legs no longer had the strength to support him and he began to fall to the floor. Just before he hit the ground though, he felt the hands of his friends grab hold of him. Sora and Riku now held onto him and they lead him over to the kitchen table to sit down.

"Roxas?" Kairi asked as she placed a hand on Roxas's cheek. "You look pale. What… happened?" Kairi looked worried as she waited for Roxas to answer.

Roxas tired to speak. He tried to tell them what had happened and what he learned, but barely any words came out. "I...I was...Ventus...he… he was…" Roxas's head started to hurt again as he tried to process everything. Roxas let out a frustrated sigh as he placed his hands on his head.

"Hey, take it easy," Riku said as he placed a hand on Roxas's back. "You seem pretty tired and it is late. How about we all try to sleep and you can tell us what happened in the morning."

"But Ventus… he's… he's still at the mansion," Roxas finally said. Then another thought occurred to him. "And I didn't tell Pence to close the gates…I need to tell him he can close them… for now."

"No I agree you need some sleep," Sora said. "You look like you really need it. One of us will call Pence for you okay?"

"But…" Roxas said and then sighed. "Fine… I'll give you his number."

Roxas slowly started to stand up, but the room began to spin again. Roxas fell back down into his sit and closed his eyes, hoping the dizziness would go away.

"Hmm. Kairi, you can call Pence. Sora and I will help Roxas upstairs," Riku said as he and Sora held Roxas stand up.

Roxas wanted to refuse their help, but he knew that they were being helpful and he did need it. Riku and Sora helped Roxas upstairs to his bedroom, which by that point he felt well enough to be on his own. He went to get dressed and ready for bed once he felt he wasn't as dizzy.

The rest of their time awake was fairly quiet. Kairi had called Pence to tell him to close the gates, but did not let him know what had happened at the mansion. Soon Roxas laid in his bed, with his friends in their sleeping bags on the floor of his room. Roxas stared off at the ceiling, thinking he would never get to fall asleep after what happened. But before he knew it his mind slowly became hazy and his eyes became heavy. He was fast asleep within minutes.

Meanwhile back at the mansion Vanitas still sat on the floor the mansion's lobby. He still had Ventus, who was still asleep, cradled in his arms. Namine sat next to him, checking over Ventus with her magic to make sure he was doing all right.

"How's...How's he doing?" Vanitas asked.

"He is doing fine. He should awake soon," Namine replied.

Vanitas sighed as he looked down at Ventus. His face was calm and relaxed looking as he slept. "I can't believe how peaceful he looks right now…"

"Isn't that how he is though? From what you've told me about him?" Namine asked.

Vanitas nodded as he made the sound of a small chuckle, though there was no smile on his face. "Yeah he's always been like that. He could be a scaredy-cat at times, but he was the friendliest little sunshine boy you could ever know. But now…" Vanitas trailed off as he closed his eyes.

Footsteps coming from the second floor were soon heard approaching. It sounded like it was more than one person heading down the stairs.

"What was with all the comotion earlier?" one voice asked. "We heard shouting and screaming from all the wall down the hall." There was a pause as the footsteps suddenly stopped right next to Vanitas. "Oh… That's why.

Vanitas looked up to see two adults now standing next to him. They were only a few years older than him, but he had known them ever since he had become trapped in the mansion. They were the first two friends he made at the mansion; a spiky haired redhead named Lea, and his best friend, a long-haired, blue-haired guy named Isa.

Both Isa and Lea looked at Vanitas holding Ventus for a moment before Lea decided to speak up. "I assume he… is your friend Ventus?"

Vanitas nodded. "Yeah… took him fourteen years to finally come to try and save me. He finally learned to stop being scared I guess."

"But now he is trapped like the rest of us. His heart and emotions taken away," Isa commented, his expression dull and completely deprived of any emotion.

Lea narrowed his eyes at Isa. "Not helpful."

Isa shrugged casual, as if what he said was nothing serious. "I am just stating what it is."

Lea continued to stare at Isa, contemplating what to say next when Ventus began to stir slightly.

Namine stood up. "We should get him to a room now...before he wakes up."

Vanitas also stood up, continuing to carry Ventus. "Yeah…The room next to mine, we'll put him there. But…" Vanitas paused for a moment. "I… I don't know I want to be there when he wakes up."

Lea placed a hand on Vanitas's shoulder and gave him a serious gaze. "You should be there though. He's your friend. He'll need someone he knows to be by his side… You know, to help him through understanding it all."

Isa rolled his eyes as he scoffed. "I never see the point in doing that. It's not like he will feel thankful for you just standing there pretending to be comforting."

Vanitas ignored Isa's bluntly cold comment, as he had done many times before and started to walk up the stairs. Namine followed closely behind Vanitas, leaving Lea and Isa to converse with each other.

"Can't you ever go one day without making some rude comment?" Lea asked.

Isa stared at Lea, with his emotionless eyes. "I don't see how I am really being rude since none of you actually feel hurt by my words."

Lea let out a long sigh as he crossed his arms. "Let's just head back already… The others will think we are slacking off again."

"Very well, though between us, you are the only one to really slack off."

"Well I can't say what we do is very fun or engaging," Lea muttered before the two walked back up the stairs and down the opposite hallway Vanitas and Namine had gone down.

Vanitas and Namine soon arrived at the empty room next to Vanitas's. They entered and placed Ventus down on the bed just as he was beginning to stir around more. Vanitas took his eyes off Ventus as he sat down at the end of the bed.

"I don't even know how to try to explain it all to him…" Vanitas said as he stared off at the wall.

"You can do it. Explain it to him like how you did it with me... " Namie started to say before her eyes shifted to the floor.

Vanitas shook his head. "That's different though. You were a child… Ven's an adult. It's still hard to understand either way. I guess I'll figure out something…"

"Do you want to be left alone with him?" Namine asked.

"No… Maybe. I'm still not sure."

"I'll stay for a little bit then. How about that? I do… need to make sure he awakes properly after all," Namine said as she cast a glance at Ventus before she sat down next to Vanitas.

"Thanks Namine," Vanitas said as he placed a hand on Namine's head and smiled a little. The smile didn't last very long and soon it faded away back to Vanitas's normal expression.

Ventus groaned as his eyes slowly started open. Namine jumped off the bed and went closer to Ventus. She held out a hand over him, her finger tips glowing with magic. She closed her eyes as she sensed how Ventus was doing as he woke up. She then lowered her hand and watched along with Vanitas as Ventus woke back up. A moment later he sat up, blinking his eyes as he looked around the room.

His eyes quickly glanced at Namine before they fell over to Vanitas. "Vani…? What… What happened?" Ventus asked, seeming a little spaced out.

"What do you last remember?" Vanitas asked.

"Last I remember was… I was at the doors and then… that creature showed up and… and…" Ventus trailed off as he placed his hand over his chest. He breathed deeply as he squeezed his shirt. He seemed to look like he was going to panic or be distressed, but no sign of those emotions ever came. Ventus just seemed to look a little confused but nothing else.

"He got you Ven…" Vanitas explained as he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. He tried to look as sympathetic as he could, though over the years he forgot what something like that could even look like. He tried his best though. He had to try his best… for Ventus. "Ansem… took away your heart… your emotions. You're... under the curse now."

Ventus's eyes widened as his mouth fell open slightly. "I'm...under the curse?" Ventus placed his hand over his chest again, right over where his heart was. "But if he took my heart… why do I…"

"It's not the physical heart he takes," Namine cut in. "It's the heart that is the embodiment of our...true emotions."

Ventus looked over at Namine, seeming to be trying to process her explanation. Finally he spoke up again. "You're… that girl."

"My name is Namine. It's nice to finally met you Ventus," Namine said as she held out her hand for Ventus to shake.

Ventus took her hand and greeted her back. "Nice to meet you too, but what do you mean by 'finally'?"

"Vanitas has told me a lot about you before," Namine said as she looked over at Vanitas, who was being rather quiet now.

Ventus's attention was drawn back to Vanitas. Vanitas also looked right back at Ventus, their eyes locking onto one another. Though neither of them said a word, the look in their eyes showed that they wanted to say something… they just didn't know what. Namine caught on to how the two were looking at each other so she stood up and headed towards the door.

"I'll let you two catch up with each other now," Namine said before she walked out of the room.

Vanitas opened his mouth to try to say something but he immediately closed it in the next second. He had no idea what he wanted to talk to Ventus about. It had been so many years there was a lot to say. But before he could think of something to say, Ventus spoke first.

"So you really have been trapped here for fourteen years?"

Vanitas slowly nodded as he lowered his head. "Yeah...I have."

Before Vanitas knew it he was embraced by Ventus again. Ventus held him tightly as he rested his head on Vanitas's shoulder. Vanitas stared for a moment, slightly confused by Ventus's action.

"Ven? What are you doing?" Vanitas asked.

"I wanted to give you another hug," Ventus muttered. "I'm sorry you've been trapped here so long. I'm sorry I didn't do anything to try to save you before.

"But Ven…" Vanitas sighed. "Hugs… They don't mean anything. I mean… We can't feel sympathy or anything like that. A hug won't help me felt better when I can't feel at all."

Ventus shifted slightly but did not pull away from the hug. "I know… I think I am beginning to understand now. But… just because neither of us feel anything from this hug… doesn't mean I can't give you one just 'cause."

Vanitas's eyes widened at Ventus statement. He couldn't believe he had never thought of it like that before. Well… he had, but it had been many years since he had ever thought something like that. Vanitas made a small smile as he brought up his hands to wrap around Ventus. Though there was no emotion in his heart that would letting him feel happy or comforted from the hug, he knew that it was nice just to have a hug like this. A hug from Ventus, his best friend from childhood, was the best kind of hug Vanitas thought he could have right now.

"So…" Vanitas started as they both continued their embrace. "How have you been all this time? Before… you know…"

"I was all right I guess. Though I never forgot about that night… " Ventus's hold seemed to loosen slightly.

"Neither did I… Something like that at the age I was… It was awful."

"I had nightmares for months. I was so scared… I was so terrified about what had happened to you. I never fully recovered from that night. Even to this day I felt like that if I thought about back then," Ventus explained. He didn't know why, but explaining everything now felt so much easier than it ever did before. He realized that probably had to do with having no emotions. With no emotions to cause him fear or distress, when thinking of the terrible memories, everything felt easier. There was now nothing holding him back from talking about it."But now I don't feel like that… I guess that is one upside to all of this."

"If you say so…" Vanitas muttered.

Finally Ventus pulled back from the hug and looked up at Vanitas. "What happened? I mean what have you been doing here since you were trapped? I assume you haven't just been sitting around all this time."

Vanitas looked at Ventus and then nodded. "Yeah...There have been things I've done around here. Not a whole lot of stuff...but enough to pass the time I guess."

Ventus sat up straighter as he sat closer to Vanitas. "Can you tell me about it? I guess I am a little curious. It has been fourteen years after all, we have a lot to catch up on."

Vanitas smiled slightly. "All right… I guess I can tell you about it. But it's not all that exciting."

"Just tell me Vani. I want to know."

"Okay… But I'll tell you in the morning. It's late now and we all need sleep."

Ventus sighed a little. "I don't know how I'll fall asleep after all this."

"Ah you'll be able to. You always could fall asleep rather quickly," Vanitas said.

"Heh… Yeah. Well…" Ventus's eyes waved off from Vanitas for a moment before he looked back at him. "Goodnight Vanitas. I know the circumstances aren't great… but I am glad to see you again."

Vanitas huffed as he stood up. "Glad. Very funny."

Ventus frowned a little, realizing Vanitas had spent a far longer time without his emotion than he had. Being like that for fourteen years seemed to have harden him a bit. Made him a bit colder and distance. But that didn't change Ventus's view.

"Even if I can't feel glad… I know that's what I want to feel right now."

Vanitas smiled a tiny bit again. "Yeah… Me too. Night Ven."

So I know this chapter was a bit shorter and calmer, but we needed a cool down after that crazy last chapter.

Now the next chapter may be a flashback arc for Vanitas. Not sure yet but I will figure out something.