risingwinds | Twenty-Eighth Shooting Star

[Late at night, those who dare venture the woods may hear a sharp snap. The rustling of leaves, and... a cough? Seems someone's in the neighborhood, though from a distance, it looks like nothing more than a disembodied flame.

Should one venture closer, they'll find Ven with his clothes smudged with dirt, twigs poking outta his hair, and big, baggy circles under his eyes. Quite a departure from his normal, tidier appearance.

He continues on his way towards the village, eventually stopping at the plaza and plopping down at the edge of the fountain. Briefly, he catches glimpses of familiar faces walking by. Fuuko. Terra. Aqua. Vanitas.

Minako...

And each time, he shouts out their names. Tries to get up, but his legs are about as sturdy as rubber, and he finds himself back where he started.

After a while, he finally opens his journal and speaks.]

So, uh... I guess I've been missing a lot, huh? [Cue some sheepish laughter.]

Guess that's what happens when you go to the beach before a big Shift! I couldn't even use the teleporters to get back, so I kinda had to... walk. A lot, and then I got kidnapped.

[Tsk. What a pain.]

I'd ask what was up with that Shift, but I'm honestly just glad it's over. Couldn't even summon my Keyblade while that was going on.

[After a long pause, he heaves a soft sigh.]

Anyway, all these weird ghosts showing up got me thinking... A lot of my friends are gone now. Some have been gone for years. So I guess what I'm trying to say is... well, does anyone wanna be friends? My name's Ventus, and I've been here for a really long time. So if any of you guys are still new, I'm more than happy to give pointers. Or talk about some of my adventures in other worlds, maybe. Just uh... I think I could use some company right now.

[Anything to keep his mind off of those images.]

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Well, you can't get much manlier than lava, right?

[...Okay, that sounded dumb. He's not even sure what really counts as manly, but you know what? He's going for it. He's jumping onto the next platform. To adventure!]

Got that right! Come on, let's go!

[ And Rin immediately leaps onto the next platform!

... And then those spherical guys with horns immediately show up and bump him. And he's pumped into the lava. Ow. When he's bumped in, he shoots up into the air, flailing about the heat, but then turns into pixels and vanishes, before ... he appears right back at where they started ]

[Well, that looked painful. Ven's eyes fly wide open when Rin hits the lava, and by the time he gets back, he scurries over to him.]

Hey, you're not hurt, ri--

[And now that Bully seems to have taken a shine to him, because now he's getting shoved towards the lava. His boots scrape across the platform, and he flails his arms, just barely managing to knock it back with a swing of his Keyblade. Too bad it's charging again.]

[ Rin blinks... oh. Did he reset...? ]

Hey! You okay?

[ He's making to catch up a little... ]

Uh, well--

[WHOA! Lunging to the side now and swinging that Keyblade against that Bully's back.]

Geez, these things sure are stubborn!

I'll say! Come on, take this back! [ And he makes to shove the bully himself, leaping up onto the platform and hitting him with a wave of solid fire. Which... only scoots him back. Ooops ]

Wait, I think I got an idea!

[FWOOSH! Between Rin and the Bully, he tries to set up a Mine Square, hoping to blast that thing into the air. He really isn't sure if that'll work here, but it's gotta be worth a try.]

What was that?!

[ ...!

Then the bully is sent back! ... Less far than you'd think. It's like these guys have knockback resistance. Still, it's enough to get him to teeter on the edge, and Rin takes this moment to leap up and punch him into the lava! ]

[Ven leaps into the air, throwing his fist over his head with a giant grin.]

Woohoo! That'll teach that jerk not to shove us around.

[...Right, he just asked what his spell was.]

Anyway, that was Mine Square. Just a little trick I picked up on my journey.

[ Mine...?! ] but that looked like bombs or something, not pickaxes?!

Not that kinda mining. I'm talking about land mines. Or, well. Magical land mines, anyway.

[But seeing how cap'n jerkface is gone, he's gonna go ahead and strut towards the end of the platform, waiting for Rin to join him. Then their epic adventure can continue!]

Twenty-Eighth Shooting Star - voice/action;

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