a/n: whoops, i forgot to update yesterday xD sorry about that!
a-far-off-memory
Things were quiet as Sora, Ven and Vanitas moved from room to room in search of the others. Sora was shuffling forward, eyes blank, and the other two watched him with worry. They'd never seen the bubbly brunet so...subdued.
"What are we gonna do?" Vanitas mouthed to Ven, concern in his golden eyes as he glanced at his little brother.
Ven's eyes were sad as he merely shrugged, just as much at a loss as the black-haired teen. He felt immense sorrow at Kairi's loss, of course, but...she'd been Sora's best friend. He couldn't blame him for taking it as hard as he was.
When Sora suddenly stopped, shoulders shaking, Vanitas reached out to turn him around. Tears were rolling down his cheeks nonstop, and the pain in his eyes was killing Vanitas. He hated seeing his brother upset—he took care to always make sure he was smiling, no matter what.
"I can't do this," he sobbed, burying his face in his big brother's chest. "We just...we just left her there! Alone! I broke a promise..."
Ven and Vanitas shared a look, both sighing. "Sora, we have to keep going. We need to find the others and focus on making it out of this place," Vanitas said softly, stroking his brother's spiky hair.
"Kairi would want us to keep going. She wouldn't want any of us to be killed," Ven added in a gentle voice.
Sora sobbed violently into his brother's chest, clutching his shirt tight. "My heart hurts..."
"I know, Sora, I know," Vanitas murmured, sighing. "But once we get out of here...we'll send people back for her. We won't leave her here, okay?"
Taking a few shaky breaths, the brunet nodded. "I just can't believe she's gone..." he whispered, clinging to his older brother more firmly.
"It was too sudden," Ven said in agreement, shaking his head sadly.
"Nami never even got to say goodbye," Sora continued, sniffling. "All because she stood up for me...it should have been me..."
Both Vanitas' and Ven's eyes widened. "Sora, don't ever say that," Vanitas growled softly, hugging him tighter. "I'm upset about what happened, of course, but when it comes down to you or her, I'm glad it wasn't you. You're my little brother, I never want to see anything like that happen to you!"
"But it shouldn't have happened to her, Vani...she didn't even want to be here," he pointed out, taking a deep breath. "She was a victim of our stupidity."
Vanitas fell silent at that. Ven, however, reached out to lay a hand on Sora's arm. "That may be true, Sora, but...she's gone now. Nothing we can do will ever bring her back...so giving up and wishing things were different than they are will do us no good. Kairi gave you a chance to live, Sora—so take it, and be grateful for it."
It was silent for a moment as Ven's words sunk in. And then, quiet as a whisper, Sora murmured, "You're right..." He pulled out of Vanitas' embrace, wiping his eyes. "Kairi would kill me herself if I didn't take this opportunity she's given me..." he added with a small chuckle. Some of his usual spark had returned to his eyes. "Let's get out of here...we can worry about everything else later."
"There's the Sora we know," Vanitas breathed with a relieved smile. "Let's get going before—"
Vanitas' words were cut off by the apparition of a dark portal appearing beside them. Golden eyes widening, he grabbed both Sora's and Ven's arms and exclaimed, "Run!"
They threw the door open and tore off down the hallway, glancing behind them as they went. They had no idea what they were running from—only that it could be nothing good.
A gasp left all three as they suddenly barrelled into someone. Sora and Ven both stumbled but Vanitas fell, having taken the brunt of the hit.
All three were stunned into silence as they regarded the person they'd run into. At first glance, they'd thought it was Ansem again, due to the golden eyes and silvery grey hair, but upon closer inspection...
"You're not Ansem," Sora blurted out, jaw agape. This person was younger than Ansem, with shorter silver hair and lighter golden eyes that looked almost yellow.
The youth chuckled. "No, I am not. Ansem is my oldest brother—I am Xehanort," he told them, smirking.
Vanitas pushed himself to his feet, grabbing Sora and Ven and shoving them behind him. "Get away from us," he said in a threatening tone, golden eyes narrowed.
Xehanort's smirk grew. "Ah, Vanitas...cocky, arrogant, self-centered, rude...you remind me very much of myself. Yet we are very different, because you have this...soft side...that you allow few to see. I have no such thing."
"I am nothing like you," the black-haired teen spat, fire burning in his eyes.
"You are more like me than you'd care to believe," Xehanort told him, eyes alight with dark glee. "But look at you, trying to play hero...you know you cannot save them, don't you? None of you are beyond my reach, or that of my brothers. We can end any one of you—poor Kairi is a prime example of that."
"Don't you dare talk about Kairi!" Sora snarled, starting to rush forward but being held back by Vanitas, who glared.
"Sora, let me handle this," he muttered.
Xehanort grinned. "Why not let him speak? I do so enjoy emotional outbursts...Riku himself had one when we first met."
Sora fought against Vanitas' hold, eyes wild. "If you so much as touched him—"
The silver-haired youth chuckled. "Don't you worry, dear Sora...Riku has immunity. As does dear Roxas and Naminé. No harm will come to them until after sunrise," he said, his tone sickly-sweet. "Your dear lover is safe."
At hearing the names of those with immunity, both Ven and Sora sighed with relief. But that relief was dampened by the fact that Axel, Demyx and Zexion would still be in danger...
"And the others? What about them?" Ven questioned, expression guarded. He didn't want Roxas to have to deal with losing Axel...
Xehanort quirked an eyebrow. "If you must know, everyone is together...you three are the only ones apart from the others. Your dear twin nearly lost his love to stupidity, but they are all fine...for now, that is," he replied with a cruel smile. "What a shame it would be if he lost his boyfriend and his brother..."
Ven's eyes widened. Both Sora and Vanitas moved in front of him, both with murderous expressions. "Don't you dare lay a fucking finger on my boyfriend, you fucking freak!" Vanitas exclaimed, eyes deadly.
Xehanort's smirk dropped, his expression turning steely. "I wasn't actually going to, but now you've offended me." Both Sora and Ven gasped as they were lifted into the air by an unseen force and floated over to either side of Vanitas. "So now, I'm giving you a choice. Your boyfriend's life...or your brother's. Your love, or your blood. Choose."
Vanitas looked down, clenching his fists. Ven and Sora were struggling to free themselves to no avail, and settled for looking over at each other and locking eyes. And then Ven turned his attention to Xehanort and whispered, "You're sick."
Xehanort ignored him, smirk returning as he watched Vanitas. "Tick tock, Vanitas. Time is running out."
The black-haired teen looked up then, dark gold eyes meeting lighter ones. "I choose neither. Kill me...let them be," he said firmly.
"Vanitas, no!" Sora and Ven chorused, beginning to struggle again.
Slowly, Xehanort began to laugh. "Oh, so we have a martyr...how rich. However, I very much enjoy toying with you, so I'm afraid your death will have to wait." A sharp-looking sword then appeared in his hand, and then Sora was flying through the air into a wall. He groaned when he hit the ground, coughing painfully at the intensified pain in his back. "That choice should have been easy, Vanitas. One is family, one is a boy you just want to fuck. It should have been easy to see what's more important."
"Don't listen to him," Sora wheezed, pushing himself up with the help of the wall.
Ven was deathly pale as he regarded the blade in Xehanort's hand. He swallowed hard as it was raised and pointed at him, feeling himself start to sweat. His expression, however, betrayed no emotion—his face was a mask of stone.
Vanitas wasted no time in diving at the silver-haired teen, intent on taking him down. Quick as a flash, Xehanort turned, and then pain blossomed through Vanitas' midsection as the blade sank in. Both Sora and Ven screamed as he fell backwards, hands moving to clutch his wound.
"Stupid pest," Xehanort muttered, turning his attention back to Ven. In a split second, he slashed it across the blond's stomach, spraying blood and causing him to let out a short shriek of pain.
"Ven," Vanitas coughed out, holding his wound more firmly. Sora was crawling toward him, wheezing slightly.
"I tire of you all," the silver-haired youth sighed as he stabbed the blade into Ventus' chest. A choked sound left him as blood bubbled up out of his mouth, and then Xehanort let him fall. "Goodbye for now, children." And then a portal opened up, and he was gone.
Both Vanitas and Sora struggled to move to Ven's side. Heedless of the blood on his hands, Vanitas pulled Ven onto his lap, tears slipping from his eyes.
"Vanitas..." Ven breathed weakly. "Sora..."
"Shh..." Sora whispered, eyes full of tears. "Don't talk, Ven..."
One of Ven's hands lifted to Vanitas' face. "Tell me..." He coughed, causing blood to spill from his mouth, before continuing. "Tell me about our date, Vanitas..."
A sob escaped the black-haired teen's hand as he took Ven's hand and kissed it. "I'll take you to the highest hill at night so that we can look at the stars...and I'll do something cheesy, like go to your window with a boombox over my head and blast old music. Maybe we'll get some dinner or something. Nothing fancy...but I know you'll love it, Ven..." He let out more sobs, gasps of pain escaping him. "And then I'll tell you just how much I love you, and that I've loved you for a while now..."
A bloody smile pulled at Ven's lips. "That sounds...wonderful, Vanitas. Maybe I'll...tell you I love you, too...if you im...press me enough." He coughed out a laugh, gasping for breath. "Tell Roxy...I love him."
"We will," Sora said softly, reaching out to smooth his honey-colored spikes back while wiping tears from his own face.
A serene smile appeared on Ven's face, even as his body started convulsing slightly. Within a moment, he went still.
"Oh god," Vanitas sobbed, squeezing the limp hand in his grip. "Ven, no..."
"He's gone," Sora whispered, head bowed. "And you're hurt, Vani...we can't stay, we need to get you out of here."
More tears slipping down his cheeks, Vanitas nodded. Slowly, he leaned down to kiss Ven's cheek, groaning in pain as he did so.
Sora forced himself to his feet, ignoring his aching back as he leaned down to help Vanitas. He took his brother's arm and wrapped it around his shoulder to keep him steady, both of them glancing down at Ven.
"He looks peaceful..." Vanitas whispered, sniffling and reaching up to wipe his tears. He knew he was getting blood on his face, but he didn't care.
"It's because he was with people who love him, and he knew it. It gave him peace..." replied Sora in a quiet voice as he gently started moving them forward. Vanitas' hand moved to his wound, which was bleeding steadily.
"I'm sorry I couldn't pick," he murmured shamefully, bowing his head.
Sora shook his head don't be. "If it had been you and Riku...I can't say I wouldn't have done the same."
"I don't know what I ever did to get a little brother like you...but thank you for being awesome, Sor," he said softly, leaning their heads together as they moved down the hall.
The brunet gave him a gentle squeeze. "Anytime, Vani."
No one spoke as Riku, Roxas and Naminé moved through the basement. An air of solemnity hung over them, now that they knew that Kairi was dead. Naminé was the most subdued of them all—her normally vibrant cobalt eyes were dull, and silent tears were making their descent down her cheeks.
Added to the sadness of knowing their friend was gone was the anxiety they felt from knowing that they'd have to discover another body. Possibly two more, judging by Xehanort's words. Their nerves were completely frayed, and all three of them were on edge.
It didn't help that the shadows around them seemed to shift and move. Occasionally, they'd see pairs of beady little yellow eyes in the blackness. They tried to ignore it as much as they could, but it was making them all nervous.
As they were moving down a long, dimly lit hallway, they spotted something on the floor ahead. Instantly, their guards went up as they prepared themselves for whatever they were about to see.
As they got closer, it was easy to tell that it was a body. It was a smaller body, meaning that it was either Sora or Ven...and it was made clear who when the face and hair became visible.
"No..." Roxas whispered, stumbling closer. His voice rose in volume as he exclaimed. "No! No, Ventus, oh my god, no...!"
Ventus was covered in blood. There was a slash across his stomach, with a stab wound in his chest. There was also blood on his face, but no more cuts or anything. But one thing stood out the most, more than the blood or the wounds:
Ven was smiling.
Naminé turned into Riku, burying her face in his arm. He held her to him, stroking her hair as his sad aqua eyes regarded the brothers on the floor.
"Ventus, don't do this to me, you can't leave me..." Roxas begged, shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry I left you behind, we were supposed to do everything together...Ven, come on..."
Riku leaned down slightly to lay a hand on Roxas' shoulder. "Rox...he's gone. I'm so sorry..." he said softly.
Roxas shook his head, starting to shake uncontrollably. "He can't be gone," he argued, sounding slightly hysterical. "Look at his smile! He's just sleeping, that's all...he'll wake up!"
Naminé let go of Riku, falling to her knees and pulling Roxas in for a hug. He clutched her immediately, burying his face in her neck and sobbing hard. She just rubbed his back, shushing him and doing her best to soothe him.
"Roxy, he isn't asleep," she whispered, tears of her own falling. "He's gone. And I know how you're feeling, I feel it too...but we have to keep moving. Sora and Vanitas still need us..."
Riku knelt down, joining the hug. "I'm so sorry, you two...I never imagined anything like this happening, and I'm sorry it did. But Naminé...you're right. We need to find them, because if what that bastard said is true, then one of them is severely injured. We need to get to them as soon as we possibly can."
Taking several shaky breaths, Roxas finally nodded. The other two let go of him, watching as he leaned down to kiss his twin's forehead.
"Love you, Venny..." he said quietly, sniffling. He stood with Riku's help, reluctantly looking away from his brother.
Riku wrapped one arm around both of his friends, giving them both a squeeze. He couldn't even begin to fathom their sorrow—they'd both lost what was basically their other half. He imagined their pain would be equivalent to his, multiplied a thousand times.
He made a promise to himself right then and there that he'd look out for the two of them after all this, no matter what.
"Come on," he said gently. "We gotta move."
Both nodding, Roxas and Naminé allowed themselves to be pulled along down the hallway, sparing a glance back at Ven before looking ahead resolutely. Whatever grief they felt, they knew they had to be strong until they found the others and made it out.
a/n: yeah, i'm upset too.
i wish i didn't have to kill venny :'( i literally cried for like 20 minutes when i wrote this...and i cried even more when writing the next chapter, so yeah.
we're almost at the end, just 4 more chapters! i may add the next one later tonight since it's on the shorter side, idk
afom out~