Chapter 37 Master
Ven is awakened by a pounding on his door. "Get up Ven or you aren't getting any breakfast!" Terra's voice calls and groaning Ven opens his eyes. Rolling over he checks his clock. 9:36. With another groan he gets out of bed and begins to get ready all the while trying to keep his mind only on what he is doing. However, that only works for a minute before he finds himself staring out the window lost in thoughts of the day before.
After he had returned with Terra and Aqua to MEKA, they had asked him to tell them what had happened with Zack. He hadn't wanted to of course and had tried to get away, but Aqua had cornered him in the kitchen and forced him to talk. It wasn't until he had finished reliving the break up that he looked up to find that Master Eraqus had silently entered the room and had heard the entire story.
When the many attempts by his friends to cheer him up had all failed, Ven had found himself lying on his bed staring miserably at the ceiling for the rest of the day. After a subdued dinner, Ven had returned to his room and tried to go to sleep. He found he couldn't and stayed up until after 2 in the morning with thoughts of Zack dancing through his mind. And thus, he had failed to get up on time, forcing Terra to come and wake him up.
Now dressed, Ven makes his way downstairs. As the last one up, Ven finds himself the center of attention as he walks into the kitchen. Master Eraqus quickly gets to his feet saying, "We're having waffles this morning Ventus. I'll make you one."
With a murmur of thanks, Ven plops down at the table with the other apprentices. "Can I have another waffle?" Sora asks hopefully.
"No, three's the limit," Master Eraqus replies. Ven's waffle finishes and he places it in front of him. Ven digs in right away while he listens to Master Eraqus explain their lesson for the day.
"Today I am going to be teaching you a new form of magic. Well, it's only totally new to you Ventus and Riku. Terra and Aqua, you have already dabbled in this, but there is still more you can learn. To put it simply they are abilities. The magic of your keyblade can be channeled by you to enhance your normal performance. You can run faster and jump higher as well as create specialized attacks. Now, the best way to learn abilities is to just try them out so let's move this discussion to the training room."
With haste, Ven stuffs the last of his waffle in his mouth and follows the others to the large room. Along the way, Sora asks, "Master Eraqus, can I learn abilities too?"
"No, you will not be able to do abilities," Master Eraqus replies and Sora pouts unhappily. "Don't worry, you can still be a great swordsman without such magic." Sora's face visible brightens as they enter the training room.
When they are all standing before him in the training room, Master Eraqus calls Aqua forward. "Please demonstrate the abilities you already know."
Aqua nods and moves a little ways away to give herself space. "Fire!" She calls as she does a cartwheel. To Ven's surprise, fire engulfs her for a brief instant before vanishing to leave her unharmed.
"That is called Firewheel," Master Eraqus says. "Now, I want you to remember that not everyone is able to perform the same abilities. However, there are two that every keyblade wielder is able to do. Terra if you would please." Terra moves to where Aqua had been standing. "One is called High Jump and, as it's name implies, it simply means you can jump higher than seems possible."
With a nod from Master Eraqus, Terra jumps and the three younger apprentices gasp as he goes twice as high as normal. When Terra lands Master Eraqus says, "The second one is called Air Slide." Master Eraqus gestures to Terra. He seems to run forward only his feet don't touch the ground and his movement is so fast Ven blinks in surprise seeing that Terra has crossed the room in only a second.
"Holy shit! How do you do that?" Ven asks impressed.
"Ventus," Master Eraqus says in a hard voice. He is staring pointedly and Ven follows his eyes to Sora and Riku standing beside him looking at him innocently.
"Sorry," Ven says to Master Eraqus.
With a sigh, Master Eraqus lets it drop. "Terra and Aqua you may practice the abilities you already know while I instruct Ventus and Riku on the basics. Sora, even though you will not be able to do the abilities you can still listen to the lesson."
Terra and Aqua move to opposite side of the training room to do as Master Eraqus asks while the younger apprentices gather around their teacher. "These abilities are easiest to learn with you keyblade in your hand, but once you master them you will be able to summon the magic without holding your keyblade." Ven and Riku both summon their keyblades in preparation and Master Eraqus nods. "Alright, High Jump is as simple as getting in touch with the magic and jumping as you normally would. It will be hard to control at first, but you'll adjust quickly."
Ven, having already learned to get in touch with the magic inside him, easily found it and took a deep breath before jumping. It is almost as if there is another force under him pushing him up and he finds himself twice as high in the air as he could normally get. He reaches the top of his jump and begins to fall back to the ground. For a moment he is afraid of hitting the ground hard, but the force under him slows his descent and he lands lightly.
Grinning with pride, Ven practices jumping as Riku struggles to perform the ability. After a couple more minutes and a few words of encouragement from Sora, Riku succeeds. "Alright," Master Eraqus says with a smile. "Next you can try Air Slide. This one is a little harder. I believe it is easiest to imagine that you are trying to skate across the ground. As before, get in touch with the magic and then attempt to move."
It takes both Ven and Riku several tries to succeed, but as soon as he does it right, Ven does it multiple times because it is just so much fun to move around like that. Master Eraqus leaves them to continue to practice while he moves over check on Terra and Aqua.
…
Half an hour later, Terra is practicing an attack called Ars Solum on three dummies in one corner while Aqua is standing in the middle of a crowd of dummies practicing a move called Magic Hour that she is currently struggling to master. Master Eraqus has just given Riku and Ven a break from their practicing and they are spending it questioning Sora who is doing a handstand against the wall.
"How long are you gonna do that Sora?" Ven asks craning his neck to look at Sora's face which is turning purple from all the blood rushing to his head.
"Forever," Sora replies stubbornly.
"You can't do that forever," Riku says challengingly.
"Maybe you can't but I can," Sora says confidently, but then winces slightly. "My head kinda hurts though."
"Sora, why are you doing that?" Master Eraqus asks as he comes over.
"I'm bored of watching the others practice," Sora says unhappily.
Master Eraqus nods in understanding. "What would you rather do?"
"I wanna go outside!" Sora says immediately coming down from his handstand.
"Alright," Master Eraqus says. "Just remember the rule of playing outside by yourself."
"Stay in sight of the castle!" Sora shouts before running off. On his way out he grabs his wooden sword. After going out the front doors, Sora races down the steps and goes to where the gold training rings are. He knows from experience that he isn't strong enough to move them so he instead starts fighting off imaginary enemies.
"Take that! And that!" He cries as he stabs the air. As imaginary enemy after enemy falls to Sora's wooden sword heavy footsteps come up behind him. Thinking it's one of his friends, Sora slew the final enemy before spinning around with his sword raised. His sword lowers as he breaks into a huge smile. "Hi!"
…
Deciding that Ven and Riku had become proficient enough at High Jump and Air Slide, Master Eraqus moved them on to something more challenging. As he had said, not every keyblade wielder is able to perform all the abilities, but both Ven and Riku succeeded in using Strike Raid. Now all they had to do was learn accuracy.
For what felt like the millionth time, Ven throws his keyblade end over end at the dummy positioned twenty feet in front of him. His keyblade spins through the air, glowing with magic, but it veers off course. It misses the dummy by inches. Ven sighs in annoyance as it turns like a boomerang and comes back to his hand.
Riku is struggling beside him with his brow furrowed in concentration. His throws are even more wild than Ven's and they are only getting worse as the young boy tires from the long work out. Master Eraqus notices this quickly and calls out in a loud voice, "I believe that is enough for today. We can resume this lesson tomorrow."
Ven and Riku both gratefully let their keyblades disappear from their hands as they make their way to the fridge full of bottles of water kept in the training room. Ven reaches in and pulls out four bottles. He hands one to Riku and the other two to Terra and Aqua when they come over as well. Ven takes a big gulp and sighs gratefully at the cool water.
"The four of you worked hard so rest and I will prepare lunch," Master Eraqus says as he moves towards the kitchen. Before he leaves the training room, he calls over his shoulder, "Oh, and someone needs to go get Sora."
"I got it," Ven says downing the rest of his water in a couple mouthfuls. The others nod and Ven heads outside to look for him.
As he walks outside, he glances to the brilliant blue sky. Is it just him or is it the exact same shade as Zack's eyes? Frowning, Ven forces himself to look at the ground under his feet instead shaking himself from those thoughts. He shouldn't be thinking about Zack. He broke up with him. He doesn't want to see him ever again...right? That is what he had said to Zack, but now a day later Ven would have given anything to take those words back.
Lost in his thoughts, Ven barely notices where he is going as he follows the path to the gold rings. It isn't until he accidently kicks something in the grass that he is shaken from his thoughts. Stooping, Ven picks up Sora's toy sword. Standing back up, Ven glances around. "Sora? Sora where are you?" Ven calls. Dropping the toy sword back in the grass, Ven hurries up the path into the mountains continuing to call for Sora.
"Sora! Where the hell are you little man?" Ven calls as he reaches the spot he had watched the sunrise from once. Sora is still nowhere to be found and Ven is trying his best not to panic. He walks to the edge of the plateau and looks out at the castle below him. Maybe Sora had snuck back inside unnoticed while they were practicing. He definitely isn't outside.
Ven hears heavy footsteps in the grass and turns with relief expecting to see Terra coming to tell him they had found Sora, but instead it was an old man with a bald head and an ugly grey goatee. Surprised Ven asks, "Who are you?"
"You don't remember me boy? I changed your life, I gave you purpose," the old man says his voice rasping. He continues to walk towards Ven with his hands clasped behind his back.
"What do you mean by that?" Ven asks feeling a hatred for this man blossom out of nowhere. His hands at his sides curl into fists and it takes all his self control not to summon his keyblade.
The old man cackles, "I mean exactly what I said. You owe every moment of your pitiful existence to me."
No longer able to keep his anger and fear of this strange and creepy man at bay, Ven's keyblade appears in small flash of light in his hand.
The man's lips curl into a smile and he stares with a hungry look at the keyblade in Ven's hand. "Yes, your keyblade and your heart are mine," he says.
"I don't know who the hell you are or what you're high on, but I don't belong to anyone. Especially not some old fucker like you," Ven says putting all his malice into his voice hoping to scare the man off but instead the old man cackles again.
"Boy, if only you knew who you were dealing with," he says still laughing but his eyes show no humor. "Is that anyway to speak to your master?"
"You are not my master!"
"Ignorant neophyte, I am Master Xehanort. I am the one who gave the gift of the keyblade to you. I was unfortunately delayed by that meddling Eraqus, but I have come to claim you as my apprentice and teach you the ways to gain unlimited power!" With the last words Xehanort lifted his arm up to his face curling his fingers in like he could feel the power he spoke of.
"Well I'm sorry you made the trip here for nothing, 'cause I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm happy here," Ven says pointing his keyblade at Xehanort to keep him from getting too close.
"What you want is of no importance. Your life and your remarkable heart have belonged to me since that day nearly ten years ago when I passed the power of the keyblade onto you. Don't you remember? You begged me then to let you come with me, Ventus."
Xehanort, speaking his name for the first time, triggers the memory Ven has been searching his brain for.
It was raining. Had been all day. The dark streets were hidden beneath puddles and a young boy, maybe five years old, jumped from puddle to puddle giggling as the water splashed his already soaked clothes. He made his way down the empty street in this fashion until he jumped into one puddle and a neoshadow jumped out.
The boy gasped in fear and fell back with a splash. Two more neoshadows rose out of the dark puddles and together they advanced on the helpless boy. But one after the another they vanished except for a small pink heart rising up and disappearing into the storm clouds. A man with gray hair stood in the spot where the heartless had been. He reached down to the boy and gently pulled his cowering arms away. He helped the boy to his feet and the child's big blue eyes stared at him in awe. "What is one so young with such a remarkable heart doing wandering these dangerous streets alone?" He mused and then said, "Go home boy." He turned his back to the boy and began to walk away.
"You're from another world aren't you mister."
The man froze and turned back to face the boy. "Where did you hear about other worlds? They are supposed to be a secret."
"Tay told me," the boy said like that explained all. "But don't worry I'm the bestest secret keeper."
The man stared at the young boy with an expression of intense interest. A sneer spread across his face. "Well if you are the best then I can let you in on another secret," the man said this as he watched the boy's eyes widen in excitement. He summoned his keyblade and crouched down letting the boy get a close look at it. "This is a keyblade. It lets me travel to other worlds."
The young boy reached out with his hand then pulled it back hesitantly. The man laughed ending on a dark note. "Go ahead. Feel its power."
The boy placed his hand on the hilt and the man said with a hint of misplaced glee, "In your hand take this key, and if you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder you will one day be. And you will find me friend, no ocean can contain you then. No borders around, or below, or above, as long as you champion the ones you love."
The large keyblade glowed slightly under the boy's small hand. Xehanort straightened up a twisted grin on his face. "What's your name boy?"
"Ventus," the child said staring down at his hand with a confused look. The man nodded and turned walking away once again. "Wait!" The boy shouted and ran in front of the man. "Take me with you! I want to see other worlds. Please let me come!"
The man laughed and ruffled the boy's spiky blond hair. "Not today," he said pushing the boy out of his way with the hand on his head. He continued to walk down the street and the boy watched him go with a frown. "But don't worry," he called back, "I'll be back, Ventus."
Ven opens his eyes as the memory fades away to see Xehanort sneering at him. "You see boy, I am your master. And it is time for you to become my apprentice."
Ven is silent, glancing between the keyblade in his hand and the man who had ruined his life. Xehanort had given him the keyblade and left him to defend himself. All the misery in Ven's life stemmed from the object in his hand. "I will never be your apprentice," Ven says quietly and then louder as his anger infuses into his voice, "You may have given me this power but you didn't teach me how to use it. I taught myself. Tay taught me, Eraqus, Terra, and Aqua taught me. They are the only ones fit to be my masters. You...you are nothing. Less than nothing. You have no control over me. Get out! I never want to see your ugly face again!"
A dangerous light entered Xehanort's eyes and without emotion he snapped his fingers. Armored knight heartless appeared behind him swords drawn. "Last chance boy, come quietly or face the consequences."
"Go to hell you bastard."
Xehanort sighs, but he isn't unhappy. He smiles and the knights charge forward as a group.
Ven shouts, "Thunder!" And forks of lightning spring out of his raised keyblade, striking the front two knights. They stumble but continue to run towards him. Ven swings his keyblade around taking the head of the first one off in a single well placed hit. Its comrade stabs at Ven who easily blocks its sword and knocks it back half a step. Before it can recover he slashes down on it and it disappears. He immediately jumps into the air as a claw slashes underneath him. He twists in the air to land facing the rest of the armored knights that have snuck around to attack him from behind.
Two rush at him and he uses Air Slide, moving between the two of them. Before they can turn around to face him, he dispatches them in a quick combo. The clanking of armor alerts him that there are still more and he turns shouting, "Fire!" A fireball explodes out of his keyblade and hits his nearest assailant like a homing missile. Ven leaps into the air once more coming down onto top of three more huddled together, no match for his aerial attack.
One of the remaining knights tries to imitate him by jumping into the air at him. Ven jumps back into the air meeting it with a powerful combo. As he falls back the final heartless follows its fallen comrade jumping at Ven as well. Ven throws his keyblade end over end with little hope of it hitting his target. Surprisingly, Ven watches as his Strike Raid cuts straight through the armored knight. He lands on the balls of his feet as his keyblade, acting like a boomerang, flies back into his hand. After a moment he relaxes seeing there are no more heartless to fight.
"Very impressive. I see I choose a worthy candidate."
Ven has his back to Xehanort but stiffens at his words. Without turning he replies, "Leave me alone old man. I don't want anything to do with you."
"You may want to reconsider my offer. I can be very persuasive if I have to be," Xehanort says in a cold voice.
"There is nothing you can do to make me go with you," Ven says confidently.
"Ven?"
The small voice makes Ven's heart stop. He spins around to see Xehanort holding Sora tightly by his right arm. Xehanort's smile is so large he is bearing his teeth. "Oh yes. You will do what I want or you will never see little Sora again."
Isn't Xehanort so evil?!
AquaTitaniaMiyuki: I was going for unexpected so I'm glad I succeeded.
Zephyr26: I'd say poor Ven is right, why am I so mean to him? Oh yeah, 'cause it makes a good story.
MLSoT: I know it was mean, but I'm glad you could see why they had to break up.
Mexi: The story goes on so don't die on me! And thanks for saving me from the fangirls and boys :)
robyn little: Nope I have no plans for anyone in this story to 'do it'.
CLIFFHANGER! :P If you're dying to know what happens next I'll give you a hint: Next chapter is going to be called X-blade.
Loving the all the reviews I'm getting so keep it up people! :)