A/N: Finally we start moving on with the story.
Apologies for the late chapter. I had a two-day drama exam this week, which meant I didn't get home until about 10 (but my internet switches off at 9 *sigh*). I also had a drama trip yesterday, so didn't get back until about 11. So...yeah. That's my excuse.
Disclaimer: I don't own it, though I have finally beaten one of the games (DDD)
It had been a little while since Ventus had randomly collapsed. When Keiko came home and heard about it, she'd been concerned, but after a thorough check over had been unable to determine anything which may have caused it. Ventus passed it off as a one-off dizzy spell, and in the end she agreed.
Almost a year later, Ventus had turned 13 and Sora turned 7. Nothing had happened since, and they were happily getting along with their lives. The four of them had also started going to the island they had first found Ventus alone, and happily played there. Few people actually came to the island, as it was small and mostly inhabitable, and so they spent their time making treehouses and adventure courses to race on.
Sora and Ventus were on the island after a day at school, Riku and Kairi having said they would come later after finishing their homework. Sora had homework too, but he preferred to put it off and Ventus didn't get the use of it enough to convince Sora to do it.
Sora happily ran on the sand, chasing the shadows of the birds circling above them, as Ventus watched from the path. He smiled, lifting his gaze to the sky and sighing happily. It was peaceful, nothing like the few nightmares he'd been having recently, and he felt himself relaxing a bit.
Suddenly Sora gave a cry, and Ventus looked back quickly, staring at the black blob staggering across the sand towards him. Sora backed away, turning and running towards Ventus, and the blob gave a loud chitter before leaping at him.
Before it could hit, Ventus threw himself between them, lifting an arm as the creature slashed at him. He cried out, stumbling back and hitting the floor as it moved back, gazing at them with glowing yellow eyes.
"Are you okay?" asked Sora, his voice shaking but obviously trying to remain calm.
"I'm fine," Ventus replied, pushing himself up and positioning himself infront of the younger boy. As the black blob started towards them again, more appeared, surrounding them as they gave high-pitched chatters. Ventus glanced around, trying to figure a way out or at least get Sora to safety.
Several of the blobs suddenly leapt at them, a few aiming for Sora, and he clutched at Ventus' shirt as he closed his eyes. Ventus growled then turned, acting on instinct. A second later a large key appeared in his hand, hitting the blobs and sending them flying back before they vanished. The other blobs backed away a little, eyes never leaving them.
"What's that?" mumbled Sora, staring at the blade.
"I'm not sure...I keep dreaming about it, though," Ventus replied, frowning. Glancing around, he noticed the blobs seemed to be keeping a wide berth from it, and blinked as he realised they were afraid of it. Plus, it seemed able to defeat them...
Reaching down, he lifted Sora with his uninjured arm, swapping hands with the blade so that it was positioned behind him. Sora glanced up at him, but he didn't look away from the blobs.
"Just hang onto me, okay? I'm going to try and get back to the boat," he said.
Sora nodded, clinging onto him, and he glanced around at the blobs, waiting. They shifted slightly, their movements erratic but eyes never leaving the two boys.
Suddenly Ventus rushed forward, cutting through a few of the blobs and breaking through the circle. The rest gave a loud cry, surging after them. Sora glanced back, feeling the rhythmic pounding as Ventus ran, and saw that the blobs seemed to be sinking into the floor, slipping even faster towards them.
"Ven!" he cried in panic, gripping at his shirt.
Ventus glanced back, eyes widening as he saw them, then gritted his teeth before holding Sora tighter and extending his stride. Sora ducked his head slightly, eyes trained on the blobs chasing after them.
They reached the docks just as Kairi and Riku docked their boat, looking up at them in confusion. "What's the matter?" asked Riku as they approached before blinking as he spotted the large wave of darkness following after them. Kairi backed away a little, fear in her eyes as it drew closer.
Ventus tried to think of a way to get out of this mess. He couldn't drag them all into it, but it didn't look like there was any way out of it either. Frankly, it looked like they were all going to be taken by the darkness.
Just like in his dream.
Instinct overrode him again, and he paused infront of the boats, lowering Sora and facing the darkness. Lifting his blade, he pointed it at the sky. Light gathered at it's tip, suddenly shooting up before a large keyhole appeared, shattering as it hit the light. The light drifted down, surrounding the four of them, before suddenly they vanished.
They landed with a bump on the ground, giving light groans as they pushed themselves up. Sora lifted his head, looking around, then turned as Riku and Kairi also sat up.
"Where are we?" asked Riku, confused.
Kairi blinked. "Hey...This is Radiant Gardens! This is where I lived before!"
"Really? Why are we here, Ven?" asked Sora, glancing back before blinking. He stood up, looking around, then his expression became worried. "Where's Ven?" he asked.
The other two also stood, glancing around. "Maybe he went down into town?" Riku suggested.
"But he wouldn't leave us alone in case that darkness attacked us again, would he?" Kairi pointed out, biting her lip.
"So Ven got split from us? We need to find him!" Sora cried.
"Sora, calm down. I'm sure he's safe. First, we need to figure out what to do," Riku replied.
"Yeah...After all, we don't have any munny, and our parents'll probably be worried for us soon," Kairi agreed.
"But how are we supposed to get back? We don't have that weird key thing," Sora said. The other two looked disheartened, glancing around.
"So...we're stuck here?" mumbled Kairi.
"No, I'm sure we can get back. I mean, how did you get to Destiny Islands in the first place?" asked Riku.
"Something called a Gummi Ship, I think. But we had to pay a lot of munny for it," Kairi replied.
"We could work for munny! There must be loads of jobs we can do!" Sora said suddenly, excited.
"I don't think they usually hire kids, Sora," Riku replied.
"Then what else are we supposed to do? Unless we can make some munny, we're stuck here! Or do you have a better idea?" demanded Sora.
Riku hesitated, then shook his head. "No, I don't," he said quietly.
Kairi stepped forward. "C'mon Sora, don't be mad. Riku has a point."
Sora glared at Riku a minute, then sighed. "Yeah, I know," he replied, sitting down. The other two joined him, trying to think of a way around their problem.
'Everything would be fine if we could use that weird key,' Sora thought to himself, glancing down at his hand.
'I'll show you how.'
Sora blinked then gasped as light burst from his hand, taking shape. Riku and Kairi jumped back, staring as slowly the light faded. Sora closed his hand around the large key, gazing at it in shock.
"What..."
"How did you do that?" gasped Kairi.
"I-I dunno, I just thought it would be good if we had it and suddenly it appeared in my hand," Sora replied.
"Then we can get home, right? Try it!"
Sora nodded, standing. He copied what Ventus had done, lifting it to the sky.
'Home...We want to go home!'
Light began to gather, suddenly shooting up. The three of them gasped, before suddenly it rebounded, crashing to the floor and sending them flying back. They pushed themselves up, flinching, then looked at the key now lying in the middle of the clearing.
"What happened? Why didn't it work?" asked Riku, glancing at Sora. He shook his head, confused. It had worked for Ventus, so shouldn't it have worked for him too?
"It means your world is unaccessible," a voice said, and they jumped before turning. A large mouse stood there, looking around at them.
"Who're you?" asked Kairi in surprise.
"I'm Mickey, Yen Sid's apprentice. I'm surprised you can use the Keyblade at such a young age," he said, smiling.
"Keyblade?" asked Sora.
"Yeah, the thing you just used. That's the Keyblade," he said.
They looked back at the key in surprise, then turned to Mickey again. "What did you mean our world is unaccessible?" asked Riku.
"A darkness has been starting to rise for a little while. If you can't get to a world, it means it's taken over the world. In other words, it doesn't exist at the minute," Mickey explained.
"Wait...so we can't go home?" Kairi asked, tears rising.
Mickey hesitated. "Not right now. If we can defeat the darkness, then you'll be able to though," he soothed.
Sora pushed himself up, walking over to the large key and picking it up. He glanced over it, remembering how Ventus had been able to fight the blobs back.
"I want to help," he said, turning to Mickey.
"You're too young-"
"I don't care. I can't go back home to Mum, and Ven's stuck out there somewhere! I've gotta help."
Mickey shook his head. "You aren't trained enough to be out fighting the Heartless. At least let me teach you a little bit," he offered.
"We want to help too!" Kairi said, standing. Riku quickly joined her, nodding, and Mickey glanced around at them before nodding.
"Alright. You all have really strong lights, so you can probably use it too." The three of them grinned at each other, then looked back as Mickey turned. "Follow me. I'll talk to Master Yen Sid and see if he can help train you," he decided, lifting his hand. A Keyblade appeared, light shooting from the end of it. As it hit the sky, the light shot back down, surrounding them again. The three of them instinctively grabbed hands, closing their eyes as the light grew blinding.
Ventus opened his eyes, grunting as he pushed himself up. His head was spinning a little, and he looked around blearily, trying to figure out where he was.
He suddenly realised none of the kids were with him and stood quickly, looking around. Fear gripped him as he didn't spot them. "Sora!" he shouted, biting his lip when no one replied.
"Who the hell're you?" demanded someone behind him, and he turned, blinking as he caught sight of another boy about his age. He looked like Sora, just older, with black hair and bright gold eyes. They were dark, angry almost, and he almost recoiled from them.
"I'm Ventus. Who're you?" he asked instead.
"You think I'd give my name to a random stranger? Idiot," the boy snorted.
Ventus frowned. "I gave you my name. You should give me yours!"
"Sorry pal, the world isn't that simple. Nice meeting ya, but I'm gonna go now."
As he brushed past, Ventus turned, grabbing his arm and pulling the boy to a halt. He looked back angrily, but Ventus interrupted him before he could shout.
"Why do you look like Sora?"
"Sora? Who the heck is that?"
"...You really don't know him?"
"I really think you're a fucking weirdo. Get off me," he snarled, pulling his arm from his grip and starting off again.
"Wait!" Ventus called, and the boy halted again, sighing irritatedly.
"What now?"
"Um...Where am I?"
The boy looked confused, turning back to him. "You're super weird, aren't you. Land of Departure, numbskull."
Ventus frowned. "Why did I come here?" he wondered, glancing up at the large building behind them.
"Whaddya mean? You came from a different world?"
Ventus turned back. "Yeah, Destiny Islands. I'm looking for my brother and his friends; we got separated when I transported us."
"'Transported'? I don't see a Gummi Ship anywhere."
"What's a Gummi Ship?"
The boy sighed. "Y'know, how normal people get between worlds?"
Ventus looked surprised. "Is that how? I just used this," he replied, the Keyblade suddenly appearing in his hand. The boy looked surprised, stepping forward and looking at it.
"The Keyblade?" he murmured, frowning.
"Vanitas!" a voice shouted, and the boy looked up, startled. Ventus glanced back, seeing a girl and boy running towards them.
"Fuck. Look, you said you want to find your brother right?"
"Right."
"Come with me. We'll probably bump into them eventually." Ventus hesitated, and the boy sighed. "Look, we don't have time to decide. I'm going now; are you coming with me?"
Ventus bit his lip then nodded. "Yeah," he replied.
The boy grinned before a Keyblade appeared in his hand. He lifted it, darkness shooting out instead. The two of them were quickly engulfed, vanishing just before the boy and girl could reach them.
A/N: So, I'm aware that they're all pretty self-taught. They will still be, a little bit, just with having some tuition too. (Obviously Ven does already sorta know how to use the Keyblade cause of Xehanort)
I also have a specific set-up for the chapters - though it's not always followed - of having one part of the kids and one part of Ven in each chapter (which is why this chapter is so long)
Review?