The sudden yell quickly caused the current residents of the training hall to freeze in shock. That was Ventus.
Eraqus was the first to break out of his shock and quickly rush out of the room, Terra and Aqua not too far behind. Ventus's yell didn't sound like he was hurt, but what could have happened that he would yell in the first place? They turned the corner into the hallway that led to their rooms and all of them stood frozen at the sight before them.
Ventus stood in the middle of the hallway but was surrounded by a small monopoly of creatures. Aqua didn't recognize these creatures but they looked eerily similar to heartless. Her instincts took over as she quickly summoned her keyblade, Terra not too far behind her, preparing to confront the creatures. She was shocked when Eraqus quickly stopped them.
"Do not attack the creatures!" He quickly cried. "They mean no harm!"
Aqua and Terra stared in shock at their Master. What were these creatures and where had they come from? Why were they so similar looking to Heartless?
Eraqus ignored the older students as he approached Ventus. The creatures looked up at the older man as they moved out of the way of his path, but not moving further from Ventus's side.
"Ventus, what happened here?" He asked, kneeling to be at eye level with the young blond. "Where is Vanitas?"
What? What did Vanitas have to do with this?
Before Aqua could question the Master, Ventus spoke up.
"I…" Ventus said, so softly that Aqua could barely hear him. "I messed up."
"What do you mean Ventus?" Eraqus said. "Ventus, what did you do?"
"I-I overheard you and Vani talking this morning. I confronted him, asking what I could do to help."
Ventus gripped his upper arms, his body shaking from trying to hold back tears.
"I just wanted to help. I didn't mean to scare Vani enough that he ran away."
Ventus wouldn't say any more than that. Eraqus sighed as he turned to look at Aqua and Terra.
"I'll explain more later, but we need to find Vanitas at the moment. What I will say though is that you are not to attack these creatures. They are called Unverse and Vanitas was theone that created them, and as a result, they are also connected to him as well. If you attack these creatures, he will feel the same pain."
Aqua and Terra nodded in response. Terra quickly turned and ran down the corridor to begin looking, with the bird creature following after as Aqua stepped closer to Ventus and Eraqus.
"It'll be alright." She said, placing a hand on Ventus's shoulder. "We'll find him and work this out."
The bunny Unverse moved closer to the group, waving its ears up at Ventus. The young boy looked down at it for a couple of seconds before bending down to take it into his arms. The creature curled up into Ventus's arms, rubbing its head underneath his chin. In response, Ventus hugged the small creature tightly to his chest.
Eraqus nodded at Aqua, silently saying that he would stay with Ventus while she went to help search for Vanitas. Aqua gave a nod in return and quickly left the hallway, thinking of all the places that Vanitas would have fled to. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Terra outside of one of the windows, most likely heading towards the training courtyard, the bird Unverse flying around him.
Aqua was about to head towards the library when a nose behind her caught her attention. She quickly turned to see that one of the three remaining Unverse, the one that resembled a floating vial, was following her. She resisted the urge to summon her keyblade. Although the Master had explained to them that the creatures mean them no harm, their resemblance to Heartless made her weary.
She chose to ignore it as it continued to follow her. Perhaps it would leave her alone if she did not give it attention. This did nothing to stop the creature as it continued to follow her as she made her way to the library. Why was it following her? Why did it and the other creatures seem so attached to them when they were only just created? They would have to ask Eraqus and Vanitas more when they found the youngest apprentice.
The library soon came into view as she approached, the creature continuing to follow above and around her head. Waving her hand at the creature she opened the door and stepped into the large room. Books filled the multitude of shelves within the room with a handful of tables and chairs spread throughout the room.
This room was one of Vanitas's favorites, the younger always had a stack of no less than five books next to him whenever he was found there. The room was also one of the places Vanitas was known to run to whenever he was caught in an argument.
"Vani?"
No answer, though she wasn't surprised. She moved further inside as her eyes scanned the room, hoping to find some sign that Vanitas had been there.
Nothing. Normally she would see some kind of sign that he had fled to this location, ranging from a knock-over chair to a bookshelf that was no longer flush against the wall. Unfortunately, a closer look proved that Vanitas hadn't fled there.
She began to think of other locations that could have run off to when the creature once again began to make noise. She turned to look at the creature as it moved towards her, bobbing up and down and twirling into the air around her.
"What do you want?"
The Unverse didn't answer, but instead seemed to continuously bounce around her before moving back towards the door. It continued to stare at her as she simply stood there in confusion. What did it want her to do? After a couple of seconds of just staring at one another the creature began to once again move around her before returning to the doorway. A thought quickly came to Aqua's mind.
"You want me to follow you?"
The Unverse moved up and down, almost like it was doing some form of a nod.
Aqua wasn't sure what to do at this point. She was still wary of the creature, but at the same time with its connection to Vanitas, it most likely would have a better chance of locating him than she did.
She followed the Unverse as it led her through the halls, bobbing up and down in the air, occasionally turning back to her to ensure that she was following it. After a handful of turns down different hallways did she recognize where she was being led.
"Are you saying that Vani headed outside?"
The small creature gave no other sign of confirmation except to give a quick twirl around her before continuing towards the castle entrance. With no sign that Vanitas was inside of the castle, she continued to follow the creature.
The two had finally made it towards the entrance when the sound of running feet caught her attention. Turning, she saw Ventus turning the corner, the bunny Unverse gently pulling him by the wrist wrapped in its ear. Upon reaching her and her own companion the small creature released its hold on Ventus's wrist before hopping around his feet. Ventus looked up at her before looking at the vial Unverse as it too began to move around them.
"Were you also encouraged to look outside?" He asked as he looked down at the white bunny hopping around him.
Aqua gave a nod. "It may be because of their connection to Vani, but they may be able to sense where Vanitas may be."
Ventus nodded, before looking back down at the feet. Aqua immediately knew where Ventus's mind was heading towards. Stepping towards the young blond she placed a hand on his shoulder, catching his attention.
"Hey, it'll be okay." She said, giving him an encouraging smile. "Vani's most likely just scared about this whole situation."
Ventus gave her a small smile before the small bunny Unverse gently wrapped its ear around his wrist, giving small tugs toward the door. Ventus moved, allowing the small creature to guide him to wherever Vanitas was most likely hiding. Aqua followed shortly after, her own Unverse companion twirling around her head.
