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“There’s a ghost at the Cornerstone, you know.”
There’s little else Sora could have said that would have gotten their attention faster.
The two blondes stop what they’re doing in the same moment. Roxas pauses… whatever it is he’s playing (some handheld puzzle game Sora would bet, Rox is both remarkably good at them and seems to prefer them) and Ventus looks up from the tome he was engrossed in (Sora’s unsure what it’s about, as it’s written entirely in Latin and only Yen Sid, Ven and Aqua, to his knowledge, understand and speak the dead language.) Twin pairs of cerulean eyes are on him now.
The triad had been left to their own devices at the Tower for a time. Aqua, Lea, and Riku had been assigned a mission together. Yen Sid had insisted on that combination- for as it stood, the three had interacted with one another personally a very minimal amount. “Teamwork will be most important, come this last battle,” he’d gravely cautioned, running a hand down his beard. “It is vital to our success that the bonds between you are strong, stronger than the darkness of Xehanort’s heart. These bonds must be forged and tested.”
Sora had been eager to have both Roxas and Ventus to himself for a spell. It wasn’t often he got them both at the same time. Roxas was introverted as always, and would recoil into himself after a period of being social. Ventus rarely left Aqua’s side, and she his- often absorbed into magical maps and old, tattered papers Sora recognized as Xehanort’s reports, looking for clues.
Sora was looking forward to getting to hang out with them both but there weren't very many places the two liked to visit. Twilight Town was a no, of course. Ventus nearly had a panic attack when Sora’d brought him to the Destiny Isles. Neither of the two seemed to be fond of Radiant Garden either. Sora had spent the better half of the morning thinking up something interesting for them all to do- when he abruptly remembered Disney Castle, the Cornerstone, and it’s secrets.
Ventus and Roxas regard the brunette in silence for quite the stretch, watching Sora warily- as if waiting for him at to any moment declare he was just joking to see their reactions so they can look away. But he doesn’t, so they don’t.
Roxas is the one to break the quiet.
“There’s a ghost….at the Cornerstone,” he parrots back slowly, an eyebrow raising; Ven beside him mimics the expression. The disbelief is obvious in their voices, but Sora seems to miss it. Sora nods firmly, and props his elbows up on the back of the couch so he can look at them both, a grin on his face.
“Yup! It appears in a gust of wind. It’s dressed in armor and has a Keyblade and everything.” He’s miming now; he’s always been quite vocal with his hands. A little ripple of interest passes through the two blondes at the word ‘Keyblade’, but it passes as soon as it came.
“And when you approach it, it starts talking- well, not really talking, it’s just armour- but you can hear what it wants to say in the wind. I don’t remember exactly what it said but…”
He pauses, to gauge their expressions. Roxas and Ven both give Sora matching glances- Ven’s laced with slight amusement, Roxas with slight annoyance- but spare him no more than that. Roxas scoffs lightly, and wastes no time resuming giving his game his full attention. Ven just buries his nose back into his book. Sora’s claim goes mostly ignored.
He blinks hard, surprised by the seeming utter lack of interest from what he’s seen to be two of the most curious creatures he’s ever known. The two he’s known to stick their nose into everything, the two who watched the world around them with a real thirst for knowing.
After a few seconds he deflates into a pout, and leans further over the back of the couch. He uses his elbow to gently nudge at Roxas’s shoulders to regain his attention. It doesn’t work. Roxas mumbles something and makes a ‘shoo’ motion with his hand.
“I’m serious!” He whines indignantly, puffing out a cheek. “There really is a ghost there- well not at the Cornerstone exactly. But there’s a portal at the Cornerstone, and it transports you to this rocky wasteland, and the ghost is there. It’s pretty damn tough too; I got really banged up taking it on.” Banged up. A rather gentle phrasing for “beat within an inch of my life.” Even that doesn’t seem to capture their interest.
“Ghosts aren’t real,” Roxas pipes up bluntly from his side of the couch without looking away from his handheld. Sora casts him a glare that goes entirely unnoticed and has to resist the childish “They do too.” Ven nods his agreement, looking up at Sora over the rim of his tome, and his voice sounds slightly apologetic.
“And I myself have trouble believing that’s there’s an armored ghost with a keyblade out in some wasteland.”
(Sora itches to mentions that Ventus also didn’t believe there was world that would turn one into a big cat- until he spent some time running about on spotted cheetah paws. )
But he would have better luck talking to the air as Ven’s already turned his attention back to his book. Sora simply can’t understand why they would refuse something so intriguing- he knows he himself wouldn’t. It wasn’t as if he intended to fight the armored figure a second time- just a quick peep at the knightly scepter and the trio would be on their way. It would be a fine conversation piece.
Sora purses his lips. He’s not giving up though- and he knows the two well enough to know how to bait them. He adopts a leisurely slump again the back of the couch.
“I get why you two wouldn’t want to go,” he says innocently, peering at Roxas from the corner of his eye first, and then at Ventus. He makes sure they aren’t interested for sure before continuing. “I mean. It is a ghost, and a good fighter, I’d get if you two wouldn’t wanna tussle with something strong like that.”
Roxas takes the bait first. He looks up with a raised eyebrow and scoffs. “Please. I’ve taken out things much more frightening than some ghost.” Sora bites back his grin and keeps going.
“And it IS pretty scary, the way it kneels there all silent, and it’s creepy hollow voice. I’m sure it’d spook anybody, not just you two.”
And like clockwork, Ven rises second. “Nobody’s scared of some ghost, Sora. We don’t feel like wasting our time on some specter.”
Bait taken, Sora rises up off the couch’s back going around it to stand in front of the two. He doesn’t miss Roxas’s soft annoyed grunt as he pauses his game- he simply chooses not to acknowledge it. “Then what are you two so afraid of? If I’m lying, the worst that happens is you waste 15 minutes of your day humoring me. But if I’m telling the truth…” He only raises his eyebrows. He doesn’t need to remind them of their reward.
The two blondes regard Sora for a few seconds, and then look to each other. A beat of silence passes- before Roxas just shrugs and Ven smiles. Their silent conversation over, they look up at Sora. Roxas rises, and tosses his game onto the couch behind him. Ven does the same, rolling his shoulders in an unnatural way (Sora still finds his flexibility unnerving) and beams at him, a smile he knows all too well.
“What do we have to lose?”
Sora can’t help the smug grin that spreads onto his face.
“Just follow me!”
———————————–
The wasteland is just as Sora remembers it. The cracked, rocky terrain spreads out wide beyond them in every direction, and the wind howls distantly. The air is hot and heavy, Sora feels the same hostility, the same force telling him he was not to be here, that he doesn’t belong here, that he should leave- despite there being no imminent threat. A few jagged pillars of rock are here and there, and appear off in the distance as well. He hears the crunch of Roxas’s boots and Ven’s armored shoes against the rock and sand as they approach, and the distant whorl of the still open portal behind them- but otherwise, it’s silent.
A beat passes, and Roxas speaks.
“I’m not seeing a ghost.” He sounds disgruntled.
Sora shushs him, and Roxas scowls, but makes no indication that he’ll retort. Ven just sniggers softly, shifting his weight to another foot. There’s something… off… about Ven’s energy, Sora notes. It’s nervous, uncomfortable, almost slightly fearful, the same energy he exerted his first time ‘returning’ to the Destiny Islands. Sora doesn’t give it much more thought. This place would make anybody uncomfortable.
“Give it a little,” Sora murmurs, voice low. “It didn’t appear at first when I came here the first time. When it shows, be ready to get moving back to the portal. You don’t wanna fight this thing, trust me.”
But he knows he won’t have to wait for long. Silence passes between the three again- but not for long.
Sure enough, the distant, low groan of the wind picks up. It pushes in, to swirl in front of them, kicking up dust and sand and small pebbles. Sora summons the Kingdom Key to hand- and two flashes in the corners of his eye let him know that Ven and Roxas have summoned their weapons as well. Sora notes that there’s no need to bring his arms up to shield against the debris this time- there’s another, more subtle wind, pushing back against it. Ventus, then. The wind continues to groan and kick up sand and rock- and as quickly as it’d begun the sand settled- and there was an entire person there.
It kneels, head bowed, hands resting on the hilt of it’s massive Keyblade. It’s as Sora said- clad entirely in mahogany colored armor, gold accenting it. Aside from the slight flutter of it’s cape, the figure doesn’t move. Sora hears Roxas gasp softly behind him.
“Holy shit. There’s actually a ghost,” he breathes softly- he’s still in a defensive stance, but he’s slackened just a bit. Sora nod nod nods, feeling only a little prideful-
He’s startled by the sharp clattering-klang! of metal against the rocky ground.
He turns sharply to his right. Ven has dropped his Keyblade.
Waywind Wind clatters against the rock a few time more before vanishing in a whorl of light, wind, and green stars. He’s staring, wide-eyed, at the knight before him- and Sora notices his hands are trembling. He moves a little closer.
“Ven?” he calls softly, but it doesn’t break Ventus from his reverie. The figure has yet to move, and Sora hears the hollowness of it’s voice, echoing out into the air.
A…ua… Ven….
Sora stills. It’s saying what it did the first time they’d met- the first time he’d encountered the knight with Donald and Goofy by his side. But now… now it means more, so much more-
He gapes slightly- doesn’t even think to stop Ven when he begins to take slow, shaky steps towards the empty armored figure. Roxas hisses for him to stop, but doesn’t dare go closer. Ven takes slow, almost careful steps, as if each is gauged. before coming to a stop in front of the armored knight. And slowly, so slowly, he sinks to his knees in front of it. He starts and stops, choking on the both the dry air and the knot in his throat- before he manages out words, in a voice so small and so broken Sora almost doesn’t recognize it as Ven’s.
“Terra?”
Silence. Sora and Roxas have tensed- both ready to surge forth and drag Ventus back if the knight decides to attack. But everything is still for a few seconds longer. Ventus raises his hands- they’re visibly shaking, and sets them atop the knights. Silence stretches long between them before that , strangely echoing voice speaks once more.
..ve..tus…
…ven….
A tremor rolls through Ventus then, and with a choked noise he throws his arms about the empty armou- no, Terra’s armour- and presses his face into it. It can’t be comfortable, but Ven doesn’t seem to notice or mind. Sora and Roxas lax, but don’t dismiss their Keyblades- and Sora notes how Roxas is staring hard at what’s before him. He turns his glance to Sora.
“That’s Terra.”
It’s not a question. Sora nods, still slightly dazed.
“Yeah.”
He can only blink, trying to process this. How long had it been, since he’d first crossed blades with the armoured knight? A year? Possibly two? He remembered when it first breathed those names - their names - and yet then, it’d meant nothing to him. Of course. It couldn’t have. But now, now it just made his heart clench. Terra’s armour, still here, still calling out to those who approach it. Perhaps hoping each time that maybe, just maybe, it was the ones he was looking for. His heart clenches again and he swallows thickly. Sometimes it was hard to grasp just how much Terra, Ventus, and Aqua had sacrificed- and lost.
Ven clings to Terra’s armor in silence, save for shuddering, shaking breaths that hitch here and there. Ever so slowly, a single, large hand moves from the top of the Keyblade- the first movement Terra’s armor has done yet- and gently lays on Ven’s back. It just that, a simple gesture, possibly the only one it can perform. But it’s enough. Ventus presses harder into it, and Roxas casts his glance away, a foreign expression on his face.
The distant wind picks up again. Dust and sand kicks up in a whorl, and before the sand and pebbles and the wind blows further, Sora distantly hears Ven’s voice.
“I’m sorry.”
They’re both caught in the whirl and spin of the rocks and dust and when it clears, Ven is there alone. His hands are limp by his sides, and his head is dropped.
The air is still for a few long seconds that feel like an eternity. Sora isn’t sure what to do with himself- if to leave Ven to himself, or to shuffle over and attempt to comfort him. As a result, he’s caught in sort of an awkward teetering back and forth on his heels, arm jutted out helplessly. He bites at his lip, and it cracks slightly.
He finds himself surprised when it’s Roxas who crossed the rocky wasteland to sink down at Ven’s side.
For a second, Roxas doesn’t do anything- just crouches near Ven, who’s still slumped on his knees. After a beat of silences, he mumbles something Sora can’t hear. Ven doesn’t react. Another beat passes, and Roxas quietly winds an arm around Ven’s shoulders. Silences stretches between them, before Sora notices Ven’s shoulders shudder and shake, and can hear him let out a chocked sob.
Sora can’t help just rush over himself now, crouching by Ven to throw his arms about him, hugging Ven tight to him.
He isn’t instead sure how long they spend there, simply wordlessly comforting Ventus. It could have been minutes, maybe hours- the time seems to stand still. Sora can almost feel the defeated air around Ven, can nearly taste his misery in the air around him, can feel the powerful, clenching sorrow around Ven’s heart as if it were his own. But soon enough, it seems to pass- or perhaps Ven has just cried himself out, Sora’s not sure- because after a spell, Ven breathes, deep and steady, and moves slightly. Roxas shuffles backwards to give him space, and Sora releases him from the powerful embrace. Ven stands, but both Roxas and Sora stay slightly kneeling, watching him carefully.
It’s Roxas who speaks first.
“You alright?”
“No.” Ven’s voice is measured, but also sounds tired, defeated. “I… I don’t- Can we just go back. Please.”
Roxas and Sora exchange glances, a wordless conversation- but Sora sees no harm in going back. It’s not as if they don’t know what’s wrong. They’d met what was wrong. Sora nods, slightly numb, and summons the Kingdom Key to hand as he pulls himself from his crouch. There’s a familiar collection of bright light, and it shoots out to release the Portal back to the Cornerstone. The triad passes through it in total silence.
As soon as Ven’s feet touch the ground back in the castle, he mumbles an apology to both boys (what for exactly they aren’t sure) before shuffling off into the recesses of the castle.
———————————–
It isn’t until well after midnight, well after they are both supposed to be in bed and asleep, that Sora sees Ventus again. He’s not too much surprised. As soon as Riku’s group had returned, Aqua and Riku had been whisked away by Yen Side for a ‘conversation’ that Sora knew had entirely to do with Terra’s armor at the Badlands. He himself had been brought into the room to recount his own encounter with Terra, the Lingering Will, they were calling it-,and he dazedly reported what it’d said and done when he’d first crossed blades with it.
He’s not surprised to find Ven on the roof of the Castle, staring absently off at the stars in the world’s eternal dusk. Sora has learned to come here when Ven is missing during the nighttime hours, which was frequently. Ven had picked up the habit of isolating himself at the highest point he could locate in whatever world they were residing in when upset- which often made getting to him a pain in the ass- but here, it’ easy enough to scale the rooftops and carefully make his way over to Ven.
Ven’s resting his head on his knees, which are drawn to his chest, arms wrapped protectively around them. He doesn’t speak when Sora takes a seat next to him, and doesn’t try to fill the stretch of silence that passes between them with his usual excitable chatter.
Sora glances over at Ven, before leaning back on his palms.
“It’ll be ok. Riku filled me in on what you all talked about. About how he and Aqua are gonna go back and see what they can do about the Lingering Will. Riku was Terra’s successor, right? Maybe he can do something. Help it. Figure something out that’ll lead us to where Terra is. It’s gonna be ok, Ven. You’ll see.”
“You and everybody else keeps saying that,” Ven laughs weakly, shaking his head. “Like if you say it enough, it’ll start being true.”
He looks moresly down at the ground below, at the single Heartless meandering about. Sora looks down at it as well, and discreetly lifts a finger. The Fire magic forms from seemingly nowhere to collide with the small monster, and with a keening cry it explodes into a shower of light and Munny. He makes a mental note to himself to go pick it up later.
“Because if we don’t beleive it’ll be ok, the only other option we have is to give up and stop trying because it’s not gonna be ok again, “ Sora responds. “And we’re never gonna do that.” He peers over at Ven.
“Are you?”
For a few seconds, Ven doesn’t respond. Finally he shakes his head. Slowly at first, carefully, before it picks up to a vigorous and violent shaking.
“No. Never. Not still we save Terra. And stop Xehanort.” Sora is pleased to hear the heated, spirited tone back in Ven’s voice, the tone that always comes about when he speaks about some he has a fierce belief in. “We…weare gonna save Terra and stop Xehanort.”
Sora beams at him, standing up. “Again!”
“We are gonna defeat Xehanort and save Terra!”
“Louder!”
“We are gonna defeat Xehanort and save Terra!”
“I don’t think I beleive you! Cmon, LOUDER!”
Sora’s always been an excellent cheerleader, his energy infectious. And it seems to rub off on Ven this time too, because he rises to his feet and shouts out, voice strong.
“We ARE gonna defeat Xehanort AND save Terra!”
He yells it loud enough that had it not been for the Castle’s soundproofing magic, Sora is quite sure Ven would have woken up half it’s residents. He beams at Ven, and finds Ven grinning back at him,- breathing a little hard, but no worse for wear. He claps a hand on Ven’s shoulder, meeting Ven’s cerulean eyes with his own bright sapphire.
“That’s the spirit! I know you’re really sad and upset about Terra, but moping around isn’t gonna help anybody! And we can’t do this without you! We’re gonna save him, and you gotta beleive that so we can help you make it come true! So cmon!”
“Could you two be any louder.”
The two turn sharply to look behind them. Sure enough, it’s Roxas, rubbing at his ear as if it’s been injured with a look of slight annoyance on his face- but Sora knows him well enough to know he’s taken no real offense to their volume. Sora casts Roxas his silly grin as well as the youngest blonde approaches and Ven does the same. Roxas gives them both a glance.
“You seem to be feeling better,” he says, addressing Ven, and Ven smiles.
“Still upset. But… Sora’s right. Wallowing in my own misery won’t help anything or anyone. There’s nowhere to go but forward now.” Sora makes an affirmative noise.
Roxas gives them both a glance, and nods slightly- a small smile on his own face. He jerks his head back towards the edges of the roof.
“Glad to see you’re in better spirits. Cmon. I heated up some leftovers. I didn’t see you at dinner so I saved you a plate.”
The mention of food has the intended reaction- Ven visibly perks. He smiles warmly at Roxas.
“Thanks.”
“Roooox, you just saved him a plate?” Sora whined playfully. “How mean!” He laughs, as does Ven, when Roxas cuffs him over the ear with a little annoyed noise.
“Oh shut up. There’s plenty leftovers. Make your own plate.” He grumbles, but there’s and obvious amused tone to his voice. He nods again to the edge of the roof, crossing over to it and scaling down. Sora is right at his heels, turning to Ven to ask him something- only to find Ven hasn’t moved, and is instead staring at the sky. He whistles sharply, and Ven jerks over to look at him.
“Hey, cmon, or I’m gonna eat your share!”
“Coming!” Ven chirps, before quickly making his way over and joining to other two down the roof.
———————————–
Away in the sky, in a cluster of three brightly colored stars, an orange star twinkles a little brighter among it’s blue and green companions.