Graves lined the landscape as far as the eye could see. Decrepit swords and keyblades alike stuck out of the ground: the soil fallow and dry. It was a cursed land as many called it. Only the followers of Xehanort dared walk through it. There was only the sound of wind, howling like the vengeful souls of the fallen, the spirits still tied to the land. For reasons unknown, the skies were always overcast with gray clouds blocking out the sun. Though Vanitas was quite used to the landscape outside Oblivion, the vibe of the graveyard still sent shivers down his spine. Even though he didn't have much to fear with the Unversed at his command, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of sorrow as he walked with only the wind whispering by his ear or at least he hoped it was just the wind. Far in the distance, beyond the rolling hills dotted with the weapons of fallen warriors, were the remnants of Scala ad Caelum: a place he had once thought of as home. He felt like he should feel something when seeing it, but all there was was a hollow hole in his chest where anything should be. He unconsciously clutched his shirt there as if that would awaken something.
"They'll pay..they'll all pay.."
It seemed his father had the others all busy with their own tasks. As he entered the castle, welcomed by the ear wrenching creak of the door, it was mostly empty with only a few servants around here or there. Entering the throne room, he knelt on one knee in front of Xehanort who seemed to be reading something before standing back up.
"Ah, welcome back, Vanitas. What have you learned?" he asked, putting the book aside for now.
"Prince Riku was successful in getting the once sleeping prince and princess to the new Elven Kingdom..if you even want to call it that. It's more like their hideout now so my Unversed tell me. I approached him on his way there, but it seems the seeds of doubt I planted didn't come to fruition." The taunting had always worked before, but perhaps Riku had grown more resilient through the years.
"They won't stay there for long. Riku isn't one to stay and hide away. They'll most likely go for one of the other slumbering kingdoms next. I have Xigbar and Marluxia waiting for them. After all, they want to save those half elf twins." He was always a step ahead..as usual.
"Ventus and Roxas. If I recall, our deserter, Axel, was headed towards there as well." Vanitas remembered him making a huge deal about it before storming off.
"Yes, we can kill two birds with one stone. And what of Xion? I recall sending her off to follow them."
"I haven't heard from her. As far as I know, she's missing." Rebellions breaking out all over as well as the slumbering kingdoms starting to wake up had kept him rather busy.
"Then it seems the traitors are finally starting to show their true colors. We have no need for turncoats, especially not now. Dispose of all who dare to betray me." Xehanort's voice turned cold, almost menacing, just barking out a simple order. Vanitas answered with a nod. He stared down at his own hand, watching the emblem blink visibly every now and then as it tended to do. Every now and then, he found his eyes wandering over to the large window where the old city could be seen.
"Hmm, you seem distracted again. Thinking of home again?" With a sigh, Xehanort stood up from the throne, taking his time with walking down to Vanitas.
"Sometimes. There aren't many good memories. Everyone looked at me like I was a monster. They all deserved their fate..besides..her." Sometimes he dreamed of a light..not a blinding one but one of comfort.
"If things had gone well, I could have saved her, but she was too aligned with the light. She never would have joined us. After all, her son is a child of light." Xehanort walked over to a table with an old chessboard that showed its misuse in the layer of dust upon it. He took a seat, inviting Vanitas to take the other chair. "Did I ever tell you about her and her lineage?"
Vanitas shook his head, taking a seat. "She was Riku's mother, and she was the only one that looked at me with kind eyes. There was a sadness to them, but she treated me as if I was family."
"This world, a long time ago, used to be populated by creatures steeped in magic. There are a few that remain, but nothing like what there was: dragons, chimaeras, basilisks. They say, when these beings left this world for whatever reason, they were reborn in the races we see here today. It mostly exists in lines of royalty, but there are a few exceptions. In my research, I found a line that originated with the unicorns. She was amongst that line. You must have noticed the strange birthmark on her forehead that looked like a star. That's a mark left behind from the unicorns, where a horn would've been. It's fainter on Riku, but it's there."
Vanitas' eyes widened at the new information. His father almost never shared his research like this. Is the power of old magical beings what he was after?
"No wonder she was so kind. Does that mean the princes and princesses of the slumbering kingdoms are like that too?"
"I believe so. They possess a great magic. I don't know all of the specific beings they're connected to, but I intend to find out. Since they've been kept shut away from the world, there is little I can do besides consult old texts, many that the wizards have taken," Xehanort sighed, rubbing his temples. They had done well to keep his plans at bay, but everything would come to fruition soon.
"Is there a way we could find out? Maybe some sort of magic?" Anyway that he could help, he'd do it.
"That's why I intended on using Riku. As a dream eater, he could enter dreams in his past life form, and in turn, reveal the past lives of whoever's dream he visits. But it seems he can only do that for one person." Xehanort's smirk grew. "Luckily, the one whom he's connected to happens to be Prince Sora. It's too bad I only realized this after he fled."
"I won't let him get away again. I promise. I went on easy on him when I should've done exactly as you ordered. It's my fault." Vanitas remembered seeing the frenzied look in his eyes after slicing off his hair to get free. It made him stumble, and before he could do anything else, he ran. "As for that goody little runt, I'll drag him along with Riku back here."
"You've always been successful with your missions, Vanitas. I have faith in you. The time you spent with Eraqus and the others has served you well enough to see that power over this world belongs to us."
"Yes, father. I'll rest for a while and head back out there." Standing up again, he bowed once more before quickly walking over to his chambers. Alone again in the gloomy halls, his thoughts felt tangible again. He hated thinking about his past. Why had his father left him to Eraqus? Why abandon him only to be scorned in a kingdom of light. To be a monster amongst them..a fate that only he knew.
Riku found himself pacing around again, something he tended to do when even the slightest bit apprehensive. For one, he was certain that him and Sora had nearly kissed until Kairi's interruption. Secondly, Xion was awake and seemingly okay with being on their side now, but he wasn't just about to buy that. He had to stay on edge as he always was. After that, things with Sora seemed to be mostly back to normal. He was still trying his best with being more open about how he was feeling, but he still found his thoughts circling back to that night. What would've happened if Kairi hadn't shown up? His face flared up at the mere thought. For now, he busied himself with packing up for their next journey. The Twilight Realm was far away, and it'd be a long voyage with Heartless, Unversed, and Xehanort's lackeys in the way. There was no doubt in his mind that there would be someone waiting there for them. After all, Ventus and Roxas should be there, and they were targets too.
Lastly, he strapped his keyblade in its scabbard to his back. They had all agreed to meet outside the citadel. Outside, it looked to be a sunny day with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see. The Lucid mountains towered ahead blue and hazy. He could already see the three of them waiting there. It was just a simple wave from Sora, but Riku felt his heart nearly skip a beat at seeing his smiling face. Riku managed to wave back, combing his fingers through his bangs in the process. He stared back at Sora when he noticed the staring.
"What? Something on my face?" He wiped his face a bit just in case. It didn't help that Kairi was giving him "that look."
"Oh, no. I just never noticed that mark on your forehead before. Maybe because of your bangs." Sora stared at it some more once Riku lifted up his bangs again. "It's cool looking, like a star."
"It's a birthmark or so I'm told. My mother had the same one." There was a sadness to Riku's eyes as his fingers brushed over the mark.
"Oh, you haven't told me about your mom. Is she..um.." Sora seemed apprehensive about asking given how sad Riku looked all of a sudden.
"She's not with us anymore, but it's okay. It happened a while ago. Guess I carry on her legacy now or whatever," Riku said with a shrug. He glanced over at Xion, noticing her hair looked a lot shorter. He might as well take the opportunity to be friendly given how her last interaction with him went. "Oh, uh, nice hair cut, Xion. It looks good." He hoped the thumbs up looked genuine. She glanced at him with icy eyes, staying behind Kairi slightly.
"..Thanks. Aerith cut it for me."
"Ah, yeah, she's pretty good at that kind of stuff." In fact, she had been the one to fix up his hair after he returned from Oblivion.
"She looks great with short hair, doesn't she? You look cute," Kairi said with a genuine grin. Riku and Sora cocked their heads to the side as they saw a hint of blush appear on her cheeks.
There was a bit more chatter before Riku finally decided they should head out while the sun was still high in the sky. They took on their usual group formation with Riku leading in the front and the others chattering away with each other behind him. There were times when Riku wished his hearing wasn't so sensitive, twitching them around as he tried to quiet his own mind.
"I didn't interrupt a private moment between you guys, did I?" Kairi asked. Riku almost froze in place.
"Oh! N-no. We were just happy to be talking again. Like I said, we were hugging and stuff," Sora blurted out, a little too suspiciously. He had been thinking about the moment endlessly as well, but..he couldn't admit that to Kairi or anyone else yet.
"Mm, suuure." Kairi chuckled to herself, making that conniving face again.
As they exited through the steep cliffs that protected the place again, Riku stopped when he noticed Cloud waiting for them along with another.
"You joining us or something? Not that I don't welcome more help or anything." They seemed to be waiting for something, both gazing up at the sky before they had arrived. The brown haired smiled as the others caught up.
"Hey, I'm Leon. I don't think you guys have met me yet."
"Hi! I'm Sora."
"Kairi. And this is Xion."
Cloud kept his eyes on the sky like he was searching for something. "A wizard is calling for you guys. We received a message last night. He said he'd send something to get you."
"A wizard, really? I thought those old bastards had all but hidden away, taking their vast knowledge with them." Riku made it a point to sound as sarcastic as possible. Please, the dwindling elf-human alliance that still existed was doing all the work.
"You gonna talk like that when you see him?" Leon chided with a disapproving shake of his head.
"Don't worry. I'll keep the boys in line." Kairi flexed her arm, and Riku had to admit she could be very intimidating when she wanted to be.
"So what exactly is he sending-" Riku paused when he heard the definite sound of wing beats, big ones. Gazing up, a large winged creature was descending down right where they were. It couldn't be a magical creature, could it? They were gone from this world. It could only mean the wizard had transformed himself or maybe it was an illusion. All of them backed off when the gigantic griffin touched down. A violent wind storm followed it for a brief moment, hitting the trees with gales of wind and tossing leaves around. As soon as the wind was there, it was gone, making it seem like time stood still. The leaves stayed in the air for a few seconds before continuing to fall to the ground. The griffin didn't speak, but they could all hear a strong voice in their heads: Get on.