risingwinds | Twenty-Seventh Shooting Star

[It's been about four months now since he had his talk with Lea. Most of that time he's spent trying to keep his spirits high. Socializing with friends, going on with his day-to-day routines.

But a recent talk with Masaomi and the whole lantern ceremony a few weeks back smacked him in the face and brought those words back into the forefront of his mind. The fact is, his future's far from pleasant. All signs point to one massive failure for him and his friends.

So here he is, journal in his lap. Maybe it's time to finally air those thoughts.]

So, um... I know at least a couple of you guys have bumped into people from the past or the future, but have you ever been hit with some really bad news? Like, say you had this goal to save a friend. Keep 'em from losing themselves, but it turns out you failed. That friend doesn't just lose themselves: they become somebody else's vessel.

If something like that did happen, what'd you do? 'Cause for me, knowing really hasn't helped. I'm stuck with the fact that I couldn't save my two best friends, and when I get back, I'll probably forget that I ever found out.

I just hate feeling so helpless.

[There, he got that off his chest. That's the first step.]

But it got me thinking about something else, too. Say we find a way to get back home without forgetting everything. Do you think it'd be wrong to try and change that future? Because I feel like I should so that my friends don't end up suffering, but doing something like that means changing the futures for everyone else, doesn't it? And I dunno if that's really fair.

[Sigh. What a mess.]

I dunno. It's all way too complicated. Makes me wish they were here now so I could ask them about it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Hey, no problem. And it would sound kind of nuts, but I'm friends with Riku too and he's told me some crazier things. I'm getting to think this kind of stuff is par for the course if you know him from your own world.

Well, I dunno what Riku's told you, but I bet I could tell you some pretty weird stories, too. The whole thing about my heart's confused tons of people before.

[And despite being a pretty grim situation, at this point it's actually funny to see how people react.]

All right, I'll give it a go. Try me.

_{[ He settles in for a long story. And a crazy one. ]}

Okay, but you might wanna grab a pillow or something in cas you get a headache.

[Taking a deep breath, Ven takes a moment to consider how to explain this. While an unpleasant memory, he's reached a point where he can describe it without too much trouble.]

Basically, I used to be the apprentice of this creep named Xehanort. Xehanort wanted this super powerful weapon called the χ-blade-- spelled with a symbol that looks like an X, not "Keyblade".

But anyway, I guess he wanted me to give into the darkness, but I didn't. I think I was too scared, but the memory's really hazy. Point is, Xehanort didn't like that, so he forced all the darkness outta my heart and made this guy named Vanitas. So now I've only got half my heart, and Vanitas has the other half.

_{[ He listens, and while it does sound weird, he had dealt with
time-streams and the future, the past, Riku and his crazy stories and the
stuff that happened here. Frankly, anything was up for being real and he
was pretty much done judging what was and was not. Still sounded both
creepy and painful though. ]}

Well, that's a kind of serious spiritual crisis right there. You can't just go get the other half back?

[Ven flinches, falling silent for several seconds. When he finally speaks up again, he's got a slight, shaky tone to his voice.]

The last time that happened, Vanitas took control of my body, and we forged that χ-blade I mentioned. It happened right here in the village and everything.

[So, needless to say, the idea of merging doesn't sit well with this kid.]

_{[ Whoops. He had clearly hit something there, though he had not meant
to. He felt guilty for a second, and then... sad. A kid shouldn't have to
feel like that, talk about this stuff. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. He
was finding out a lot of worlds were like that though, making kids go
through this stuff and grow up fast. ]}

Right, so, meeting him, bad. But... have you hated your life, not having the other half a part of you?

Honestly? I didn't even know it was missing until I came here. When Xehanort split us apart, I lost all my memories, and I never really worried about it. I had friends, a Master, a home... Sure, I hated being treated like a kid, and I wanted to go out and see other worlds, but I never wondered if I was missing something.

And even if we did get back together, I'd have to shoulder all his negative feelings inside me. I dunno how I'd even handle that...

[It's a scary thought, knowing that Vanitas came from him. What could Xehanrot have done to him to turn him into such a monster? Granted, the last time he was in the village, Ven came close (he thinks) to pushing him on a better path. Whether or not he would've actually succeeded is up in the air. He left years ago, and if he returned, they'd get back on square one.]

_{[ He nods his head, listening. He couldn't really understand, because
as far as he knew he was still nice and whole. Some worlds were all sorts
of crazy, it seemed. But he felt for the kid. It was some heavy stuff, put
on him, for him to have to think about. ]}

Well, if you don't feel your life sucks and you like it and you're not really having problems functioning as a person - I wouldn't go looking for trouble.

Yeah... And besides, Vanitas isn't even here. If he was...

[There's a pause, as Ven shudders.]

Well, lemme put it this way. The last time Vanitas was here, he almost killed a bunch of my friends. I wouldn't want that to happen all over again.

I wouldn't either.

But I bet you helped stop him, right? I'll have faith even if he does show up, you'll be there to handle it again.

'Course I will! I just hope that it doesn't come to that...

[His tone is a bit uneven-- like he's not fully convinced. Truth is, Vanitas brings back... mixed feelings, given what happened during his last visit.]

I guess for now, I oughta just keep my chin up and not worry too much. This village has gotten a lot safer than it was three years ago, anyway.

I'll have to believe you on that one. I've only been here a year and a half - well... you know, let's just call it a year and a half and be done with it.

Lemme guess. You're one of those people who went home for a little while and came back.

[It's the easiest explanation he can think of, anyway. Why else would he need to clarify like that?]

Got it in one. To my mind, I was gone for a year. But to everyone else, I was gone for three days tops.

Sheesh, and did the memories hit you at once?

[Ven's face scrunches up at the mere thought. That'd be... interesting to go through. One moment, those memories are gone, the next they bubble up to the surface, clashing with those memories from home...]

No, they came on pretty slow, but I was also fairly out of it when I came here. I had just woken up from kind of a big medical procedure. Mostly they came as I talked to people.

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