bWhen I wrote this book, it felt very much like Chain of Memories due to how much I jumped around among characters. Still, I do think many of you will like the changes I have made, one of them is that a certain future organization member will be part of this storyline and I try and focus more on the friendship the three protagonists have with one another.
enjoy
He was from another world where the night would never fall upon the sky. That was his home, and even though he never wondered what was beyond the sky, he did often wonder why this entire world was called Twilight Town, for it wasn't a small town, but many towns intervening. His town was known as Sunrise Beach, although the ocean was only a train drive away. He and his fellow orphans weren't allowed to travel that far.
It was annoying, to say at least, more so when he was reaching the age where a child would try to find their own path and figure out where they belong in this wide world. But those running the orphanage wouldn't allow him to leave and told them they needed him to care for the younger children. He often objected and begged the boss of the building to let him at least try and get a job, but he was shut down every time.
"Your place is here, and you will help the others take care of the younger children." The boss told him hard, adding much to his frustration. "Be happy you have this, Terra. Otherwise, you would've been living on the streets. Becoming the very person who turned you into an orphan."
"I would never become like that person!" He retorted, but the boss was set in his view, and in defeat, he returned to his duties. He started to loathe the boss and the other workers, but never the children. Terra knew they never asked for this; none of them did. He took a lot of them under his wing, became their rock of security, and always told them that even if they won't be taken in by a new family, their path wasn't yet carved.
"But won't we be forced to stay like you?" One of the girls asked.
"I don't know." He admitted to her, but even though he was told to stay, Terra refused to do that. He wanted to see more of Twilight Town and be a part of the community and not just someone who is seeking pity from others. "But I am not planning on staying here, waiting for someone to adopt me." Terra knew he wasn't the smartest kid, but he knew enough that he had long reached the age where a couple would adopt him. Most people wanted children, not preteens, so it would be best for him to make his own life beyond these walls.
Against the boss's wishes, he left the orphanage, went to the market, and began asking for a place to work. It took some time, but a man allowed him to help at a small scrap yard. It wasn't the job he had been hoping for, but Terra had long learned that a boy like him really cannot be picky. Instead, he went to prove his worth by working extra hard. It impressed his new boss, while the one at the orphanage seemly got more annoyed. He wasn't sure why the boss of the orphanage wanted him to stay inside those walls, waiting for some miracle when he could make his own future.
Well, he got his answer a small year later. A man, very unlike those who came to this place in search of a child to adopt. This man was reaching the twilight years, yet Terra still sensed that this man could beat anyone up if messed with. Though he sensed this stranger wouldn't do that; he had this soothing calmness around him.
The boss welcomed this stranger like an honored guest, confusing Terra further as he had never seen that elderly man before.
"Did you see that guy's clothing? It's so weird." One of the boys said, and he could only nod in agreement. The boss and that stranger returned to the playground, where the boss called for him.
"Terra is in trouble~" another boy sing-sang; he gave that one a small push and went over to see what all of this was about and why the boss wanted him to approach this elderly, weirdly dressed, and scarred man.
"Terra, this is Eraqus," the boss introduced him, and to his utter surprise, "he will take care of you now."
"What?" he asked, unsure if he wanted to be adopted anymore. "I don't need someone to pity me." He added quickly to the frowning man, "No offense, sir."
This Eraqus chuckled. "None taken, young one. And it pleases me that you do not consider this an old man's pity. Instead," Terra blinked when this man put his hands on his shoulders, "consider it an opportunity. You have a lot of light in your heart, and with the right guidance, you will make a great guardian."
He tilted his head at this, not entirely sure what this Eraqus fully meant, but something told him that he should try and see what it was about. Better than staying and working in the scrap yard, he guesses. "Okay, I'll go with you." Eraqus smiled; this man exchanged a look with the boss and a nod from him; Eraqus gestured for him to follow. Terra did, not bothering to take anything with him as he really didn't own anything and figured the children could put his stuff to good use.
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She practiced magic with her fellow acolyte, gentle yet steadfast in making this raw power dance around the fountain in the shape of water. It took a lot out of her, but she wanted to complete this test. Waving the staff, she guided the water into the fountain and, with another spell, made the water flow upward.
"Well done, Aqua." Her teacher praised her; someone old, wise, and very powerful. She turned around, smiling, "You will make a great mage someday."
She bowed in a sign of respect to her teacher. "Thank you, but I still got a lot to learn."
"That you have." her teacher agreed. He took a sip of his tea and waved his hand to one of the younger students, stopping him from attempting the same spell. "You're not ready, Eros; magic is not a toy, but a force that may shape the world, but can just as easily tear you apart." the young student froze up, fear in his purple eyes. "Practice on the first level elemental spells when you have mastered them, then we can—"
A knock on the door, and one of the servants appeared, "Sorry for the interruption, sir, but the Master of the castle wishes to speak with you." this made the irritated look on her teacher's face disappear, and her curiosity peaked.
Aqua has heard tales about the people living in the castle up in the mountains. No one was allowed up there other than the Chosen.
Their teacher got up from his chair. "I want you all to study your spell books; no spells while I am gone." with those words, he left to meet up with this Master.
She and the others do as told; her reading was, however, interrupted when one of the other girls asked in a hushed voice. "Do you think this Master would pick one of us?"
"I don't know," Aqua admitted; she had heard that this Master would sometimes leave the castle and seek the valleys in search of a student. Only one student has ever returned from the castle, and according to the stories, the Master would train this chosen to become a great protector, but other than that, the student couldn't tell. Aqua often wondered if the students made some sort of oath that they never could reveal the castle's secrets, what would be so important that no student ever stayed if they returned to their home? It was honestly fascinating, more so when it seemed the tales were true. "But it will be interesting to see this Master in person." her fellow acolyte nodded in agreement.
It turned out that she got that wish; one of the servants called for her, and at first, wondering if she needed to tutor some other acolyte, got broken when the servant took her to the Archmage's quarters. She hesitated, never before stepping inside, but not wanting to make the archmage wait, she knocked on the door, and the moment the voice inside permitted, she walked inside. The room was to be expected, filled with all kinds of magical instruments and display of what great power this feeble man held in his hands. Her teacher signed her to approach, and she did, trying but unable to cast that other man, not near as old, but she sensed great magic coming from him.
"This is the best student in my school." The archmage introduced her.
This scarred man eyed her, "What is your name, young lady?"
"Aqua, sir," she introduced herself and was unsure as to why, but that man suddenly got very intrigued by her.
The man mused something to himself she didn't hear, but when he addressed her again, "Aqua, it would honor me if you would become my student up in the castle." That offer took her greatly by surprise; this man offered her— her of all people to become a student of the castle.
She knew it was a great honor, but all she could think about was all the people she would leave behind. "can… can I think about it, sir?" she asked him, and from the look her teacher sent, she knew it was very disrespectful of her. But this wasn't just leaving and going to another magical school. She might never see her fellow acolyte anymore.
Fortunately, this man was very understanding. "Of course." he smiled, the same way her old caretaker would've. "How long do you need?"
Both wanted some time but also not wishing to push this too long. "A week." She replied; the man nodded and left with the words that he would return in a week.
With the Master of the castle gone, the archmage pointed out to her: "Declining his offer would be highly disrespectful, Aqua." she was very aware of that, and if she chose to say no, most likely everyone in this valley would jeer her for turning such a great honor down.
That night, she told her fellow acolyte's what happened and wasn't entirely sure if she should be relieved or disappointed in how everyone told her to take the offer. "But… I might never see you guys again." She argued.
"I say that's a sacrifice worth this honor," she considered her closest friend said, and hearing those words coming from her of all people hurt a lot more than if it had been from anyone else. "You should never let others stop you from reaching the top."
"How can you say such a thing?" she demanded, hurt and angry by such a lack of empathy.
"Because it's the truth." her supposal friend pointed out, "You're just too naïve to see it, Aqua."
That week was a lot harder than she thought, everyone wanted her to leave, and although some did admit they would be sad to see her go, they still said that declining the Master of the castle would be a stupid idea. She was well aware of that and honestly wasn't planning on declining, but she still thought her fellow acolyte— her friends would put up more of a fight.
At the week's end, most of those she lived with were already acting as if she was gone and asked in surprise, "Haven't you left already?" when they noticed her. Which hurt a lot more than it already did.
The master came, and she took his offer and left everything she knew behind, but it wasn't as she thought it would be. She thought her fellow acolyte would throw her a small party or at least come and say goodbye. But no one came to send her off; they just carried on with their lives.
"I know this is hard on you." the master said as they left the village, her very home. "It was hard on me too when my master took me away from everything I knew." He looked at her with such a gentle gaze. "He never allowed us to visit our home, but I won't do that. If you ever feel homesick, you're welcome to pay your friends and family a visit."
That would've meant a lot to her, but from how her supposal family acted… "There's no use for me to go back." she replied while trying not to start sobbing at how they treated her. "They don't really care about me, only the honor I will bring them."
"I'm sorry to hear that." she can only nod. The rest of the walk happened in silence, and when they reached the castle, she was too upset about her friend's sendoff that she didn't take notice of this castle's grandeur. Only did when her new master suddenly addressed someone else. "Aqua, this is Terra." She blinked and realized that a rather tall for his age, preteen stood not far from them. "He will be a fellow student." This Terra stared at her as if she was a strange creature and not a fellow student.
Aqua found herself a bit offended but wanted to at least give a good first impression. "Pleasure to meet you, Terra." She bowed in greeting.
Terra stared at her with a face of confusion, and a thought struck her 'He's not from another magical school.' which only increased when he said uncertainly. "Uh, yeah, a pleasure to meet you too, uh, Aqua."
Her past offense was brushed aside, now replaced with curiosity about where the master found this awkward-standing boy.
The master of the castle introduced himself as Master Eraqus and was kind enough to allow her a day to adjust to her new settings. Not that she needed that, but the thought was appreciated. The next day, Master Eraqus brought her and Terra to a grand room with three throne-like chairs at the end of this magnificent room. Here, he summoned a key-shaped sword. Aqua noticed that Terra jumped in surprise, which made her wonder; 'Where has he lived if not seen a simple weapon summoning spell?' but did quickly ignore her fellow student when their master spoke: "This is a keyblade, a powerful weapon guardian have used to protect the worlds and the light against evil." Master Eraqus turned his keyblade so the handle was in front, and he went over to the very taken-aback Terra. "In your hand, take this Key. So long as you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, its wielder, you shall one day be." Both she and Terra stared at Master Eraqus, unsure and confused about what clearly felt like some sort of ceremony. Eraqus didn't explain, way busier completing these initiation words. "With the power I now grant you, use it for good and protection the light so none shall suffer from the darkness." Terra hesitated but slowly took hold of Master Eraqus's keyblade; for a moment, he just held it like that, only letting go when Master Eraqus said, "Your ceremony is complete." He then walked over to her and used the same words. Now knowing what was going on, Aqua didn't hesitate to take hold of the keyblade. She was surprised to sense a sort of mysterious power coming from this weapon, and a small part of it seemed to enter her. The moment she felt that, Master Eraqus spoke. "Your ceremony is complete." And this time, he dismissed the keyblade. "In time, you will be able to summon your own keyblade, but until then, we will use simple training swords."
The training began; they practiced wielding a sword most of the time. It was a struggle for her as the acolytes never wielded any weapon other than the magic staff. At least Terra was having issues wielding the training sword as well. He sure seemed annoyed not to be able to get the hang of how to swing it properly.
They hadn't spoken much since they got introduced to one another, and Terra seemed unsure of what to talk about. She dreaded she and Terra wouldn't connect about anything, and this loneliness would be a constant companion. At least it seemed he, too, dealt with that, as Aqua often found him sitting on a wall outside, watching the valleys below.
Unlike the acolytes, she wasn't sure how to talk with him. Terra knew nothing about magic and was much more on hand with things, something she was trained not to do.
One night, Aqua wanted something to drink and left her room to get some, but forgot briefly about it when she noticed that Terra still got the light turned on inside his room. Curious but also worried, she knocked gently on his door, but when she got no response, Aqua left him alone. It did nag her throughout their training session and when Master Eraqus allowed them to take a break. "Hey, I noticed your lights were still on last night."
Terra instantly avoided her eyes, not out of anger but more embarrassment. "Something has been bothering you?" She asked, truly wanting to find just some common ground with her fellow student.
Terra hesitated for a painfully long time "… I'm… I'm not used to nights." He spoke quietly. Aqua blinked, confused about what he meant by that, and fortunately, Terra did explain, "My world, it does not have nights. The sun never left the sky."
Oh, that explains a lot about Terra's at time strange behavior and knowing he's not just a day away from his home but worlds apart. "I'm sor—"
"Don't," Aqua blinks; Terra gives her a hard look as if she had just cursed at him. "I don't need anyone's pity." Oh… guess he's from a poor upbringing.
It's hard not to feel sorry, but she tries not to let it show as it only will grind his gear. Instead, she tries to make him see the beauty of the night. "I take you hadn't seen stars before you came here." his disproval tension eases up from his confusion. Aqua takes that as her opportunity. "It's quite beautiful" She didn't have more time to tell him as Master Eraqus called them to resume their training, but this did give her something to hopefully break the ice between her and Terra.
When darkness fell over the land, Aqua left her room and knocked on Terra's door; a moment later, the tall boy opened the door. Unlike during the training, where he stood tall, now he is hunched, possibly from how uncomfortable the night made him. Aqua hopes she can change his views on that. "Come, I want to show you something." She speaks and begins to leave; Terra hesitates but follows her. He did stop when they reached the doors leading outside. She stopped as well and gave him an assuring smile. "Don't worry; there's nothing to be afraid of." Adding, "I will be by your side all the way." He hesitated but fortunately followed her.
Aqua had a hard time imagining how it must've been to live in a place where the sun never sets and how scary the night must be for Terra. So seeing him go outside, even though it clearly makes him uncomfortable. "You're very brave."
"What makes you say that?" Terra asked.
"If it had been me, I wouldn't have dared go outside." Aqua admitted, figuring that he deserves that much after having revealed his own fears. "Wouldn't do anything unless accompanied by some other…." Terra gives her a look, "I don't like to be alone." so her nights are also hard on her. Aqua is used to a whole room full of acolytes, and not having the sounds of others sleeping around her was putting her on edge.
"I know the feeling." Terra said, but he didn't go into details of what he meant. Instead, he started to look around the dark training area. "Everything looks so different in darkness. Hard to know what is what…"
"Still the same." She pointed out, and after a quick check, good, there weren't any clouds. "Hey, Terra." He turned back to her and was kinda excited; Aqua looked up to the sky. "Look up."
He looked up, and the before nervous gaze turned wide from the awe he felt at seeing the countless stars meeting him. "Whoa…" he gasped lightly; Aqua let him take this new thing in, and when he was ready. "What are those lights?"
"They are called stars," Aqua explained, following his eyes to the starry sky as well. "Mages use them a lot when practicing magic."
"Why?"
Opening her mouth to answer but realizes that her teachers never explained why stars are often connected to magic. "I'm not sure." she admitted, and it made her wonder out loud, "Maybe they are the source of magic?"
"I wouldn't know." Terra mused while still keeping his wide eyes on the starry sky. "I didn't know about magic before coming here."
"I'm surprised you have taken everything this calmly." Aqua remarked; if it had been her, she would most likely have had a mental breakdown. Things are different from what she's used to, but not as much as it must've been for Terra. Her fellow student breaks his gaze from the night sky with a shrug. She's honestly impressed by his show of tolerance. They watched the night sky for a while longer before she suggested they better head to bed. "I rather not be tired during training."
"Right."
They each head into their rooms, Aqua has trouble sleeping due to this eerie silence, but it did make her hear someone approaching her door. Still jumped at the knock and was quite surprised to see Terra step inside, having a quilt over his shoulders. "Something wrong, Terra?"
"I was wondering if you wanted some company." Terra spoke quietly. He didn't avoid her eyes this time but was still obviously nervous about this.
At first, taken aback but quickly realized that Terra merely wanted to return the extended hand of friendship. Aqua smiled, hopeful that she and Terra might become friends after all. "Sure." She helped make a makeshift bed, and for once, her sleep was peaceful even though it was far from a quiet one. Terra snores quite loudly.
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The room was quiet other than the muffled sobbing coming from the bed. He tried not to let it show, but it was hard. He wanted to make his parents proud, to become a keyblade wielder, but Master Xehanort's training left him hurt in more ways than he liked to admit. If not for the Master's healing, his body would've been scarred from all the time the training left him with deep cuts and broken bones. But no magic could fix the cuts his Master left on his very psyche… he wanted to go home, leave everything behind, but… he couldn't. He couldn't make those black portals Master Xehanort could nor change his keyblade into a vehicle like his mother. He was trapped.
The sound of the door, but instead of Master Xehanort's calm yet harsh words. He heard the voiceless words of his only friend. Asking if he was all right?
He looked up from the pillow and was sort of happy that the chain his Master put on his pet didn't hold more than a couple of hours. Still well aware, the Master Xehanort wouldn't be happy by Draco's unfettered personality and how no one, not even he, could say what this mighty beast could and could not do. "You should've stayed." He told his pet. But like always, Draco didn't care about those rules; it only cared about him.
Draco jumped up in the bed, lying beside him like an odd big cat. It will protect him, the creature said, and he knew it would. Knowing his pet was here, it made things easier. Wrapping his arms around the neck of Draco and burying his face into the marine blue pelt, he fell asleep feeling a bit more at ease.
Master wasn't happy to see his pet had escaped the chain, and Draco, like always when Master Xehanort would lecture him like that, responded by roaring.
His Master didn't like his pet but, for some reason, never tried to harm the creature. "Control the beast boy."
"Behave, Draco." He tried lecturing his pet, but it was connected to his heart; he knew he didn't mean those words and went to lie to him. "Draco, no! Bad animal!" All the while trying not to laugh at his pet's goofy behavior.
Master Xehanort was not pleased. "Perhaps going without breakfast might teach you how to control your little pet." He instantly stopped, knowing how hard training would be on an empty stomach before he could try and make promises, he would try. His Master had already left. He tried not to cry, but it was hard not to of how frustrating his situation was.
Master brought him to the training grounds— according to him, an ancient battlefield for countless keyblade wielders. All who fought each other in an attempt to gain the greatest keyblade of all. He didn't like this place; he felt like the hatred and despair of the past still lingered even after so many years. But he knew that arguing wouldn't matter.
"Chain your pet." Master Xehanort commanded him, something he started when Draco jumped in to protect him during training. He did as told, and even though his pet made quite a fuss about it, he still chained Draco and went over to start training. He knew today's training would be miserable.
Mater Xehanort told him to warm up, and he did, trying his best to ignore how his stomach growled for food, aware he would only get some if he exceeded his training.
After the warm-up, "Now, I want you to embrace your frustrations, give into them and turn them into a weapon." He waved his hand, and black humanoid creatures with glowing yellow eyes appeared from the ground.
He prepared his weapon but was terrified, even though he had been trained mercilessly to fight; this was the first time he stood before a "live" target and looked into those glowing orbs. He froze up. More and more of these black creatures appeared, soon surrounding him. Draco roared at him, warning him that these are dark beings that won't hesitate to take his heart. It didn't make it better, but it did snap him out of the paralyzing terror and knowing the real danger he was in. "Please don't do this, Master!" he called up to his Master, afraid that he won't get away from this with only a few broken bones. One of the beings appeared a tad too close to him, he hit it with his keyblade, but the dark being barely reacted. Jumping away, he called up to Master, "I'm not strong enough!"
"No. It is because you are trying to hold it in." Master replies, not making any more to save him from this. Which only made his fear spike, and with no other option, he tried to keep an eye on all these dark beings, hoping Draco would get free in time. "Let the dark impulses waken in the pit of your heart."
Master did mention using his frustrations as a weapon, but how is he supposed to do that? It's only making him cry.
"Release them, here and now!" Master Xehanort beckons him, "Sharpen your fear into rage."
How? Anger comes very hard to him as it is, and now Master wants him to turn fear into rage? That's… that's impossible!
"I can't!" He cried back, turning to where his protector was, and Draco was doing a whole dance to get free from its chain. Roaring at him that it won't let him die. He knew it won't, but… looking at the approaching dark creatures, he did not think his pet could save him from this.
"You must!" Master Xehanort responded, "If you do not let the storm within you run its course," One of the dark beings jumped after him, and he only barely dodged. He whimpered from the scratch it left on his arm. "It will wipe from the face of the world, make no mistake!"
Draco roared. It wouldn't allow that to happen, it pulled harder against the chain, and it started to give in.
The dark beings got closer and closer, "Do it. embrace the darkness!" Master Xehanort called from his spot; right that moment, the dark beings attacked all at once. He screamed and could do nothing more than try and shield himself. They tore into his flesh; something cold and dark reached for his heart.
Draco broke the chain and ran full speed into the dark beings, throwing them left and right by just running into them. It stopped right above the Master and roared at the dark beings to leave, or it would tear them to pieces. They didn't listen, and Draco kept its word; teeth and claws tore into their bodies, shredded them into smaller blobs of darkness, which faded away shortly after. One of them got onto its back, claws scratching, but it quickly stopped them by throwing itself to the ground and then chomping on the head. With the last taken care of, Draco turned to their master, whimpering at how it could feel how this attack of darkness had seriously wounded its young master.
It gently licks the boy, calling through their connection to please wake up. The young master doesn't. Approaching footsteps, Draco snaps around, snarling loudly at the one who caused this. The Master was wise to stop a safe distance, for what little its master made it from attacking this obvious threat was now gone. And Draco would do the same to this man it did to the dark beings if he came any closer.
"You would rather die than use your true power?" The man spoke; Draco put its paws before the master, snarling that its master wasn't yet ready for the power within their bond. Of course, the man couldn't hear its voice. Only master could. "Feckless neophyte." A moment of silence that was only broken by Draco's sneering. "You have pushed my patience far enough. If I must…" The man summoned his keyblade and waved his hand before the eye; the Masterless came, charging Draco at the man's command. Draco jumped at Masterless's face, but its claws held little effect on the metal protecting this one, and before it could try and go for the neck, Masterless metal grabbed and threw it to the ground, restraining it from getting back to Master.
The man walked over to the Master, ignoring Draco's roars from staying away from the boy. "I will extract the power from within you myself." He aimed the keyblade at the unmoving Master, Draco fought against Masterless, but the other one wouldn't budge. "I will give your darkness form, and like through legends, your two sides will clash to create the X-blade." The power of the keyblade hit the Master's heart, separating light and darkness. The boy was too hurt to react much, but Draco screamed out the sheer agony of how it felt.
The connection it shared got broken, tainted by this unnatural separation, and the feral crawled into its mind. Draco knew that it needed to be corrupted like its Master if having any hope of continuing its First Master's command. So with no other option, it tore itself apart, and the specks latched onto what little connection the two sides now shared.
He landed on the ground, and the first emotion that struck him; was sadness. He was sad to be split from his light, sad that his beloved pet had to kill itself. He eyed his light and felt sad to see him like that. But soon that sadness got replaced with anger, for if his light had just fought, he wouldn't be here but still part of him.
The dark beings returned, and Master said, "Turn your fear into rage; strike them down, or you will perish." He was afraid, but this fear was more to let his family down but also to letting these dark beings take his current mortally wounded light. His fear didn't become the rage, but it did become his weapon to defend himself. He summoned a keyblade, like himself, twisted and wrong, yet still held a clue to the power he and his light held within. He fought the dark beings; each slash was to defend his light and to live. His light had lost his way and couldn't see, but he could and refused to die, not here, and not today.
With the last slain, Master approaches him, "Empty creature from Ventus riven…" which happened because of this old man, but the memories of his light, the fear his light felt, now becoming his. It kept him from pointing that fact out. "To you, the name Vanitas shall be given."
It felt wrong to have another name than the one his light carried, but he figured it would be unwise to confront Master about this, especially after what he did to them. The darkness, now named Vanitas, looked down to his light, which had become only a flicker from the trauma the separation caused. The sadness returned at watching this alive but just as empty as him, boy. "He's nothing but an empty shell." Well aware that his light was like this because he was missing from his heart. The sadness got replaced with anger, anger at Ventus. If he had just tried to fight, try and save his own life, this wouldn't have happened. "You fucking moron." He told his light and loathed how weak his light was. But he still wanted to keep it safe; Ventus was his light, after all.
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Master wanted them to fight; yeah, sure, he got his outburst on Ventus, hard not as his cowardice led to this painful separation. Every moment of his existence, the pain from his heart was a constant reminder of his Light's weakness. But even though he loathed Ventus's action and gave the comatose boy his share of beatings. Vanitas could never raise his keyblade at him, all from the simple fact that Ventus is his light, and it was in his very nature to keep it close and safe from direct harm.
Xehanort didn't care what he did to Ventus as long he didn't kill him. Vanitas hated this new form of existence, but at least Xehanort allowed him to be near the boy where he came from, gave just a small ease in the agony that was his heart, and kept the small monsters, the Unversed, from spawning from his essence. Taking care of Ventus, not entirely sure why, but it gave Vanitas a sort of role. He wanted to be strong, and with his perseverance instincts so high, it was quite obvious that he wanted to keep his other half alive and safe.
Of course, Vanitas hid his true feeling towards the Master. If Xehanort knew that being this close to Ventus eased his rage and pain, he would separate them, and Vanitas couldn't bear that thought.
His light eased his negative emotions, but being close to Ventus also reminded him of why he was suffering and why Ventus was nothing but a husk. It pissed him off, and sometimes he hurt Ventus, but it was never enough to draw blood.
When not taking care of his light or training, Vanitas preferred sitting right beside Ventus, figuring it was due to the fact that he's the shadow of Ventus's light.
While he sat like this, a Flood appeared, but unlike when he was out training, the Unversed created when he's near Ventus always lacked their usual negativity. Instead, they would become affectionate. Like the other times, this Flood nudged itself under Vanitas's hand and went to sleep under it. He eyed the monster of his creation and figured that he must be tired from how the Unversed reacted, and this was the only time he wouldn't kill the thing.
Ventus, ever so slowly, turned his empty gaze down to the sleeping Flood as well, but other than that, he wasn't moving.
Vanitas wondered if Ventus was aware of what was going around him and just too weak to do anything or if he was so far gone that only his body reacted to stimuli. He was not sure which one he preferred, only that if Ventus died, then there was no hope for him. "You better not die." He grabbed the sleeping Flood and shoved it against his light's chest. "Only if we clash and create the X-blade, all of this will end." Ventus slowly took the whistling Flood and, with it on the lap, met his eyes. Vanitas met them with his own glaring red. "You know this is all your fault. If you just had fought back instead of giving up, I would still have been with you."
Ventus didn't reply verbally, only put his hands on the again calm Flood. And focusing on it instead of Vanitas, but this darkness was pretty used to that sort of behavior. "Get better, idiot." He hit Ventus over the head before lying down but sleep never came easy. His heart hurt too much for such a thing; he was not sure he needed it, though. Hard to tell how much of the bodily need his artificial body required. He couldn't sleep, but the close proximity to Ventus did allow him a rare moment of relaxation. At least until he heard the sound of a dark portal, and he killed the friendly Unversed; he bit his teeth from the pain he felt as its body got torn apart by his keyblade. Did cause the creation of several Tornbites, didn't matter; they were acting normal, and thus, Xehanort wouldn't see anything wrong. He jumped on his feet and pretended to stand to watch for an inmate instead of his own light.
To his surprise, Ventus also got on his feet, though slow and wobbly.
Master Xehanort walked into the small cave he left them in, a faint smile on his lips "Ah, finally, a sign of recovery. In time, your clash will be at hand." Vanitas responded by pushing his light so Ventus fell back onto the ground, his way of saying that there was a long way before they could even attempt a simple spar.
Xehanort didn't seem to care; he wanted him to start forcing Ventus to move around more.
He did, and his light could walk, but Ventus only seemed to react on him and the Unversed; everything else was invisible to him. Vanitas found that strangely amusing and, when Master wasn't looking, made his light fetch the smaller Unversed for him.
Ventus tried to pick up a Scrapper, but it just kept scratching him since that particular one was created when he was extra frustrated at his light. Vanitas showed Ventus away from it and commanded the Scrapper to buzz off; with it gone, he went over to Ventus. "You're such an oblivious idiot." He told his light and healed the scratched-up hands; his healing magic wasn't that good, but it did the trick.
Vanitas noticed that Xehanort was approaching and quickly left Ventus. Instead, he went over to his Bruiser and jumped onto it, acting like he didn't care. Ventus, of course, followed and stared up at him like some sort of lost puppy.
Xehanort walked over to them; after watching Ventus for a moment, the old man asked: "How is his development?"
"So much a zombie now can." He replied offhand, "Walk, grab crap, and be overall stupid."
There was a moment of silence before Xehanort turned around, "Follow me, Ventus," and walked out; Vanitas watched his light and snorted, bemused that his light didn't react at all on the command. Master quickly noticed the lack of following students, turned back around, and after another moment of silence from the old man. "Vanitas, come." He jumped off the Bruiser, over Ventus, and walked over to the Master. Ventus stood for a moment before he turned and started walking over to where he was, only stopping right beside him.
"He is attracted to your darkness." Xehanort commented; Vanitas gave him a 'duh' look, though unsure if it came across as he didn't have a human face. "He desires for his heart to be mended." He left the cave; Vanitas knew he should follow, so he did.
Outside and among the rusty keyblades, "Through the clash of equal forces, the X-blade will be created, and your heart will be united once again." Xehanort stopped and turned to him, Vanitas stopped, and his light did as well. "Ventus's body might never recover, but you only need his heart. His essence of darkness, commend the battle with Ventus's heart and claim his light as your own!" Xehanort pointed at the comatose standing Ventus. He turned to his light, unsure, as something in the back of his mind said it was a bad idea.
But his desperation to be whole overruled that small dread; he grabbed Ventus and opened his heart, allowing his body to pulse with darkness. At first, Ventus didn't react other than his eyes widen ever so slightly. Then he felt it, the light, warm, and what would stop the pain. Vanitas heart reached for it, but instead, being a gentle shadow as he usually was to Ventus' light. He forced the light to clash with his darkness. Unlike darkness, which acted like a wave, Ventus's light reacted like fire, but instead of weakening, it just got stronger. The sense he got before returned, this time screaming at him of the danger, but he did not understand why he got that sense of dread. So he continued to force his heart to clash with Ventus, throwing more fuel to this fire the light had become. Only when the two forces neared equal grounds, Vanitas realized the grave mistake. Ventus's eyes faded out, the light in him had gotten out of control, having no darkness to quell it, and thus, it started to harm the already weak body. Vanitas felt the light harm Ventus in ways that never could be fixed; he didn't think, only reacted to what the darkness in him knew it had to do. He grabbed the boy, pulled him into a hug, and stopped hammering his darkness against the light, instead engulfing it like he does to the now limp body. It was brief, but his darkness got that light under control, and when Vanitas let go of Ventus… the other body dropped to the ground, lying unmoving. His eyes were open, but, Vanitas knew that his once body was much, much worse off than when he was sifted away and torn from him.
"He's not strong enough." He told Xehanort, refusing to accept that Ventus most likely wasn't going to survive this. Guilt was an emotion he felt a lot back when he was part of Ventus's heart, the first time he felt it without his other half.
Xehanort said no word, not even a question; he merely took Ventus's body and left. Vanitas stares at where the old man disappeared with what remained of his light, dreading that would be the last time he ever would see that boy.
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He felt it happen; another heart had touched Ventus's; he felt the mending and was so glad Xehanort wasn't around when it happened. He collapsed onto the ground, unable to move from the incredible sense of this bond formed between them. It was so strong that it even affected him; his body shifted in reaction to that other heart. It hurt, but not the same way as his heart hurt from separation. His fractured heart welcomed this light, but how that heart changed him. That was what hurt.
It only lasted about a minute, but it was all it took. Vanitas got back on his feet, knowing this other heart had changed him. If he hadn't already known by that connection formed, then the now raven-colored locks of hair covering partly his eyes would be a good indication. Hands shaking, Vanitas touched his face, skin met his fingers, no longer a humanoid looking Unversed he was, but a boy with a face given by whoever's heart saved the other part of his. "What the… What the hell did you do to me?" He asked in disbelief at how this new light changed his entire appearance. It was incredibly off-putting. "Who did you allow into your heart?" He pondered, and admittedly curious what made that other heart allow Ventus to touch theirs to this extent. It pisses him off that Ventus allowed some other heart in while his light had rejected him. Whatever the case, it saved his light from fading completely away and with the connection formed between him and his light. Hopefully, he can now keep the dangerous side of the light in check.
This chapter is more of a background view on the three major players of this story. I sought heavy inspiration from the Birth by Sleep novel when I wrote Ventus/Vanitas' background, but I am unsure if that novel is canon anymore after the release of Union X.
Not that it matters much to me. I have my own Lore going with this series, one of them being that Vanitas does in, reality wants the best for Ventus, as he is his darkness. But the training he went through twisted his emotions and thoughts, making him a giant threat to so many.
Aqua and Terra's backgrounds are entirely made up by me, but I long wanted to give an insight into their younger years, before they were given the keyblade, mostly to show why they are like they are.