Bitter truths
Naminé was looking at Ventus, who was still sound asleep. She took a deep breath and traced a new line in her most recent drawing. Yet again it had been a long day of work. Finding connections that were trying to unravel themselves and restoring them. Now and then she had sensed echoes of the darkness that Ventus was keeping locked up within himself. But she knew enough now to be cautious, always retreating at the first sign of it. For the time being she had managed to avoid any disastrous encounters with it.
Since it was starting to get late she supposed she should be taking a break and pass the watch to Chirithy until tomorrow. But there was always that one more thing to do that cropped up. One more thing she wanted to get done before he felt comfortable in stopping and taking time to rest. It was a pattern that had repeated itself constantly since she had started this project. And sadly she had been less than stellar in looking after herself independently. More than once one of the others residing here had had to stage an intervention to make sure she got enough food and rest.
She did not mean to be a bother to the others. She did not really intend to make others baby her. Especially not now that Kairi had come here to receive training. She knew enough to know how much work that effort was for everyone, and the others deserved better than to have her as an extra burden because of her carelessness. But it was so easy to get carried away with a task as important as this. It did not help things that there had been a handful of instances where Chirithy had woken her up in the middle of the night to come deal with some critical issue. It all highlighted just how necessary her work here was. At least the frequency of times she needed to repair unraveling connections had been decreasing in frequency. Maybe that meant she was making progress.
She could not let herself make a mistake with this. She had had quite enough of causing problems to others with her abilities. First it had been her messing with the memories of Sora and Riku Replica. She may have been forced to take the action, but Sora had lost an entire year of her life because of her. Riku Replica had ultimately lost far more than that. Then, trying to fix that mess she had made it worse for two others. Roxas had almost lost all chance of being his own person like he deserved. Xion had been on the brink of being annihilated from existence altogether. At the time there had been no good reason to think those outcomes might be reversible.
This endeavor would not be in that same category. She would not let it.
She yawned, then drew a few more lines. She did not really notice when her eyelids began to droop, or when she finally gave in to her tiredness and nodded off.
Ventus slept. And as he slept his mind was chaos. A swirl of different memories and emotions, moving in in and out of his focus. It was a maelstrom within which it was hard to even maintain a sense of self. His name, his identity, all lost in the flood of images. He spent an eternity in the middle of this storm, unsure of who and what he was. Eventually his sleeping mind began to realize there were two rough groups of memories. Two different lifetimes. But which one of those was the true one? He certainly had a hard time deciding. Every time he tried to focus on one set of memories and let the other slip into the mists of being forgotten… something… reached out and brought the parts slipping away back into focus. And so the confusion continued.
Little by little, as he dwelled on the memories he began to realize the truth. They both were true, as impossible as that might be. Then, somehow, he was able to recall a very specific memory, of how he had asked a friend of his, a girl in white, to help restore his memories. So the other set of memories had to be the ones he had lost. That understanding gave him a sense of calm, becoming his center, his focus. The starting piece in the puzzle he needed to assemble. Using that he was able to piece together other things. First his own name, Ventus. Then the name of the girl that had agreed to help him, Naminé. Then more and more. Places and people, their names and stories. The puzzle of his two lives was starting to come together into a stable whole.
He was very close to getting himself fully reassembled when a new voice spoke up. It was not his voice, but even so it was strangely familiar to him:
"Well, well. It looks like the little Witch has managed to work her magic rather well." Said the voice. "How very sad I won't get to see what follows. But it looks like I am still to remain imprisoned here, and will soon have to go back to sleep again. Well, no matter. My siblings are now here. They'll find me and set me free sooner or later. Count on it."
"Who… are…?" Ventus tried to ask weakly, still disoriented after having restored himself so recently.
"You ought to remember that by now, brother. I think you'll know me better than you ever wanted to now." Replied the voice with an audible sneer.
"Well, go ahead then. Remember it all. Everything that has happened. Remember your past friends. Remember Strelitzia. And suffer for the knowledge of it!" The voice declared.
The last thing Ventus remembered before his dream began fading away was the voice laughing…
Chirithy reemerged into the waking world and, standing on the bed, could see that Ven was moving restlessly. At first they thought Ven might be going through another unraveling of his memories, or even possibly that he was having a problem with the darkness bound into his heart. But after a few moments they realized that Ventus was in fact, at long last, waking up. Turning their head they saw Naminé slumped in her chair, having also fallen asleep.
"Hey…hey, wake up. Wake up!" Chirithy said to Naminé, prodding her arm.
"Hmmh… huh? Wha-?" Naminé mumbled groggily as she stirred.
"Oh! I just drifted off there." She then snapped back to full awareness. "Chirithy? Is something the matt-?" She asked before stopping mid-sentence. At that moment she had noticed that Ventus's eyes were open taking in his surroundings, looking remarkably bewildered.
She broke into a wide smile. "Ventus? At last, you're awake! Chirithy, quick, go get Aqua and Terra!"
Chirithy nodded and left the room in a hurry. Ven meanwhile had turned his eyes on Naminé.
"Ventus. Welcome back." She said, smiling at him.
"How are you feeling?" She asked.
"I… I remember everything now. Everything that happened before I came here. My friends back in… Daybreak Town."
"Lauriam… Ephemer… Skuld… Brain." He listed, a smile playing on his lips. But just as soon that smile disappeared, replaced by a look of intense sorrow.
"And I remember… S-Strelitzia. What happened to her… because of me." He continued, now beginning to cry.
Naminé shook her head. "Ven, no. That's not at all true. I have seen your memories, and I can say without a doubt you weren't the one who killed her. You were just being used."
"But I'm the one who was careless enough to let it in! And then it used me to strike her down and infiltrate the data world, and… and…" He snapped back.
"…The data world… it didn't make it did it?" He asked next.
"I'm sorry. Lauriam and Elrena tell us it fell shortly after your confrontation with the Darkness. The other Union Leaders were forced to flee, bringing you with them." Naminé explained, wringing her hands.
"But Lauriam and I were the only Union Leaders to make it here. Us and Elrena." He said glumly.
"Well… the only ones we know of for sure. Lauriam and Elrena recently found out that Brain or Ephemer might have been able to make it to this age as well. They're looking into it." Naminé said, trying her damnedest to find something positive to tell him.
"But if they were still around they would have found us by now. I know they would have. Which means… Lauriam, Elrena and I… we might be the last of the Dandelions. And either way…" He said.
"Skuld… so many others… all the other Dandelions… and all those lost in the War. So much lost… just completely gone!" He continued, his hands rising to his head.
"I…I can't… handle this. I was wrong. I can't bear these memories. Naminé, please, you have to help me. Make me forget again. Make this stop." He suddenly pleaded, looking straight into Naminé's eyes.
Naminé shook her head again. "I… I can't. I'm sorry… but I can't."
"You have to! Please, Naminé, I'm begging you!" Ven said, taking a hold of her arm.
"No!" She said, pulling herself free.
"I…I told you. There is no taking this back. Once done it can't be undone. I warned you it could hurt and let you choose. And you did. Now… you'll have to live with it. You'll have to survive." She told him firmly, though her voice was quivering.
Realizing there was no changing Naminé's mind, Ventus began to cry even more, almost wailing now. Naminé meanwhile visibly slumped.
Why? Why did it always have to end like this? With her abilities causing pain to someone else? Why was she always stuck playing the role of the Witch?
"I'm… very sorry, Ven…" She whispered, before closing her eyes and suppressing a sob.
When Aqua and Terra rushed into Ven's room they found him crying openly and Naminé curled up on her chair, also on the edge of tears.
"So this is Scala ad Caleum…" Elrena said in awe as she and Lauriam emerged from the portal.
"It's incredible…" Lauriam said, just as impressed. "And Ephemer is supposed to have founded this place? I don't meant to sell him short, but the fact that he was able to beggars the belief."
"Quite a trick to pull, I agree. Especially when the city in question looks like this. It's beautiful here." Elrena said.
"But how come there isn't anyone here? A city as big this should be absolutely bustling." She then pondered.
"Maybe on one of the other islands." Lauriam suggested.
"Maybe… but even then you'd expect to hear the sounds of a city. Especially in the middle of the day like this." She said.
"I wonder where the Mouse King is supposed to be? Didn't Yen Sid say he would be somewhere around here?" She then pondered.
"We should take a look around. Hopefully we'll run into him." Lauriam said.
And so they proceeded to wander in the streets, their eyes lingering on the buildings as they took in the sights. Elrena had to admit this place was beautiful. The mostly white walls of the buildings outright shone in the bright sun of the day, other colors sprinkled made everything lively and vibrant. But this beauty brought a second oddity in this place to the forefront. Everything here looked so clean, well maintained. If everyone had abandoned this place she would have expected to see at least some signs of decay. But this all looked like a moment frozen in time, waiting only for the addition of people to burst into life. Like everyone had just walked off an hour ago. The more she tried to think about it, the more bothered by it she became.
"First that armory full of gear for keyblade wielders that apparently aren't around anymore. And now this place. We have been running into too many ghost towns of late. There is something fishy about this. I don't like it." She thought to herself.
"Oh. Hiya there!" A voice came from overhead. They looked up and saw Mickey standing on one of the nearby rooftops, his silhouette familiar even to them. As soon as they had spotted him he jumped down, landing at their feet.
"Yen Sid did mention ya might be coming. I was wondering when that might be." He said.
"Well, wonder no more. Here we are." Elrena said.
Once more they beheld someone who had once been their enemy, and someone who they had in fact fought. Elrena remembered that clash quite well. The Mouse King did not look like much, but he had proven quite formidable in a fight, holding his own against no less than four of the Organization's members (though admittedly Xemnas's participation at that time had been limited and Sora had shortly joined the fight on the King's side). Fortunately from his relaxed stance the King did not seem to be holding a grudge towards them, unlike some of the other Guardians. Unexpected, but not inconsistent with what little she knew of him. He could get angry just like anyone, but he rarely held onto that anger for long.
"Did Master Yen Sid explain why we wished to come here?" Lauriam asked.
"Not really. But he did tell lotsa other things about you not too long ago. About why you're now on our side. The warnings you had to give. It's really troubling to be honest…" Replied the King.
"But maybe you can fill in the details as to why you are here in particular." He then added.
"Naturally. You see, we recently discovered that the Keyblade of Master Eraqus is the same weapon wielded by two of our friends, Brain and Ephemer. When we asked around, Yen Sid told us that Master Eraqus received his training in this city. And that this city was actually founded by Ephemer. So we came here in the hopes of finding out more." Lauriam explained.
Mickey became thoughtful. "Hmm… then it's best ya come with me. I've something to show you."
Together with Mickey Elrena and Lauriam proceeded down the streets once more.
"I understand that you were sent here to learn more about this strange new world that Riku left to investigate?" Lauriam asked as they were walking.
"Yup. Quadratum is the name of the place. I… haven't actually learned a whole lot about it. But I have found lotsa different records in this city. I just need to go through them all to find the ones that might talk about Quadratum."
"Do any of the records explain why this city is so empty but everything looks so clean and shiny? Because that is seriously starting to bug me." Elrena asked.
"Yeah, I noticed that too, actually. Ya see, Sora and Xehanort fought their final battle in this city. When the rest of us got there the place was pretty torn up." Mickey explained.
"Not surprised. There would have been a whole lot of firepower getting thrown around in a fight like that." She commented.
Mickey nodded. "Especially since Xehanort actually managed to get the X-blade and was able to open Kingdom Hearts for a bit. So I was just as confused to find the city completely fixed up and fine when I came back here. But I figure there has to be some sort of magic here that made that happen. It could explain why everything has remained so clean, even though no one lives here anymore."
"How long do you think it has been since there were people living in this city?" Lauriam asked.
"Well, based on what I've found out so far the other islands were gradually abandoned, until this main one was the only one with people still in it. And this final island was abandoned several decades ago." Mickey explained.
"That makes sense I think, since Master Eraqus was supposed to have been training here." Lauriam said. "But why were the other islands abandoned? And what finally made the residents leave this place entirely?"
"Haven't figured that out yet. But this final island must have been abandoned fairly quickly, since they left almost everything behind them." Mickey said.
"Too bad the one guy we know had trained here isn't around to tell us." Elrena said.
They arrived at a plaza right at the foot of the tower that dominated the island. Mickey led to the center of the plaza, where there was a pillar, and atop it a statue. Lauriam was about to ask why they had been brought here, until he took a closer look at the statue. With the sight of it his eyes widened in astonishment.
"E…Ephemer?" He uttered. Even recreated in stone, his friend's features were unmistakable. Whoever had carved this had done an excellent job of capturing Ephemer's likeness.
"So it's really true? This is the Ephemer that was your friend?" Mickey asked.
He had directed his question to Lauriam, but he was left too stunned to answer.
"Yeah. That's him, I saw him enough times to tell. And that is definitely the Keyblade we found back in the Land of Departure." Elrena replied instead.
As if dreamwalking, Lauriam slowly approached the statue, placing his hand on the pillar.
"The records you've uncovered… do they speak of him?" He asked quietly.
"Yeah, quite a lot actually. The city we're in now is apparently the second of two, built atop the first one. He was the founder of the original one. This statue is about the only things left of the first Scala ad Caelum." Mickey said.
"And the writings I've read so far… they say the earlier Scala was the first place to emerge after the world's collapse during the keyblade war. And… that this world is referred to as a Nexus, a place from which all other worlds spring." He then explained.
"Wait a sec… you're saying that Ephemer not only built this city, or some version of it… but also all the other worlds too?" Elrena asked.
"Or that in building this place he allowed them to start emerging. Either way… it's quite a discovery. I haven't… really wrapped my head around it yet to be honest. It's why I haven't told anyone else about this yet." He said.
"Yeah, no kidding. We have a pretty crazy story of our own, but this is just… I think someone turned the craziness settings up to eleven. Or like… twenty." She replied, made almost breathless by the revelations.
"The other worlds… spring from here? Ephemer… is the reason a new world was able to be born? That there still is a realm of light for us to inhabit?" Lauriam said, mostly to himself. He became lost in thought again.
Elrena gave Mickey a look, to which the King blinked and nodded.
"I'll, uh, give you two a moment. I have some more research to do after all. Come find me if you want to talk more later." He said before leaving.
As Elrena waited and watched on the background, Lauriam settled down to his knees, his hand still on the pillar, and bowed his head.
"My friend… so far you came. So much did you accomplish. This city, and all the worlds. You did what we Dandelions were called upon to do. You actually managed to do it. You gave us a second chance. I wish… that I had been there to help you. This should not have been left to you alone. I hope that Brain or Skuld made it here at some point to lend you a hand. Or that at least you found others, made some new friends. You deserve better than to be left alone."
Then he chuckled bitterly. "And to think that in the Organization I very nearly tore apart everything you had built. Such a fool I have been. Please forgive me if you can, wherever you have gone now."
"We will defend these worlds now, old friend. I promise it. What you have created, we will fight to preserve… against anything that would destroy it." He declared.
"Oh, Ven. I know the past hurts, but I'm so glad you're back with us." Aqua said, giving Ventus a tight hug. Along with Terra and Aqua, Kairi had also shown after hearing Ventus was awake, though she opted to remain on the sidelines with Naminé, thinking it best to leave the local trio this moment. Ventus had seemed surprised to see her, but for now had not asked for an explanation. Chirithy was standing on the bed at Ven's feet as well.
"Yeah. It's good to be back. It's just… rough you know. Knowing all these horrible things happened. That I lived through them." Ventus replied.
"I can only imagine." Terra said, giving him a sympathetic smile. "But those revelation's aside, are you feeling healthy at least?"
Ventus closed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Yeah. I think so, for the most part. My memories from before are linked with the ones from these days. It's all holding together." Then a look of concern on his face. "But there is something…"
He brought his hand to his chest. "In my heart… something is different. Or… not different exactly. More like I'm just aware of something that I did not notice before. I can sense… it's hard to describe… like a blemish? A shadow. Something alien…"
Those present exchanged glances.
"…There is something else you ought to know." Aqua said. "The darkness that you took into yourself… we discovered it's still there.
Ventus looked shaken. "Still there…?"
"Vanitas…" He whispered, glowering.
"Huh?" Aqua said, frowning.
"It's Vanitas. HE is the darkness we faced back then." He explained.
"What? Ven, there's no way. The Darkness in you can't be Vanitas. We destroyed him." She protested.
Ventus shook his head. "I can feel the darkness. And I know for certain it's the same feeling as with Vanitas."
"But how could that be?" Aqua continued to insist.
"Hold on. Weren't several of the Organization's members brought forward in time? And perhaps he ended up returning whence he came when he was defeated." Terra said.
"Because the likes of young Xehanort would still have needed to be there to take the actions that lead him to become the old version of himself. It would be a paradox otherwise. So it makes sense that destroying the ones who travelled forward just sends them back." Kairi supplied.
"But… wouldn't Vanitas still be gone? Like you said we defeated him. Long before the Keyblade War." Aqua asked.
"We did destroy him, didn't we? I know he managed to possess you for a bit but…" Aqua asked of Ventus.
"Well… we fought in my heart. And I did defeat him there." Ven said. "And then… oh no."
"So defeating him there didn't destroy him. That just allowed you to overpower him, sealing him back in." Aqua completed his train of thought.
"Vanitas. Unbelievable. So many fights against him, and it's still not enough. And now we find out he might be… something way worse than we thought." She muttered.
"And there is more. Just before I woke up… he spoke to me. Just for a moment before he went to sleep again. He mentioned… siblings that would come for him." Ventus said.
"Siblings? You mean other Darknesses?" Aqua gasped. "Do you know how many? Or where?"
Ventus shook his head. "He never said."
There was an uneasy silence.
"So that now?" Ven asked. "If Vanitas… if the Darkness is still in me… we need to do something. And if there are others we need to destroy them too."
"Lauriam and Elrena have told Yen Sid the story about the Dandelions. And we mentioned this Darkness within you to him. They asked that you be brought to Radiant Garden, so we can learn what we need to do with this thing. If you're okay with it, that it." Terra said. "And we'll warn the others that there could be more Darknesses running amok. They'll know to be on the lookout for them."
"…Okay. That's a start." Ven said as a pause, seemingly comforted that someone had a plan. Or the start of one.
"Where is Lauriam? I'd like to see him." He asked next.
"He and Elrena left to look for Strelitzia." Chirithy explained.
"Wait… he thinks she might be found? That she could still be alive? She is the one… that he hoped we would help him find?" Ven said, a sudden flash of hope in his eyes.
Chirithy nodded. "After you lost consciousness he found someone may have taken her away from the data world. He thinks she might be somewhere in this age."
"And there are other things we need to tell you about too. I'm glad we finally can." They added.
"Strelitzia could still be… I need to talk to him about this." Ven said.
"I'll give him a call. I expect they'll come back running when they hear you're back on your feet. And then we can bring you up to speed on everything that has happened while you were asleep." Aqua said.
"Thanks." Ven said, nodding.
Ventus then looked at Naminé, who was leaning against the wall in one of the corners, looking withdrawn.
"Could you give me a moment to speak with Naminé alone, please?" He asked.
The others nodded and left. Naminé was left standing awkwardly, unsure of what was to come.
"Naminé I… I'm sorry I tried to pressure you to reverse this. I was just so… overwhelmed. I wasn't thinking clearly. You're right. I need to learn to survive this. To bear these memories." He said.
Naminé blinked with surprise, then shook her head. "You don't need to apologize."
"You know, I seem to remember you said I might not thank you once you had finished. I just wanted to say… you were wrong about that. These memories you returned to me… they hurt. A lot. And they might never stop doing it. But you also gave me back memories of friends I had forgotten. There are good memories too. And remembering what happened in the past might help me keep my friends safe now. And that's very important to me. Despite everything I think this was the right thing to do in the end. So thank you, Naminé." He told her.
She smiled faintly. "Thanks, Ven. That means a lot."
