#they weren’t a union leader or even a dandelion and no one knew who they were

[goldensunset]

sorry but if we’re bringing back the ‘sora is player3’ theory we NEED to acknowledge the insane implications of that. player2 raised xehanort as a baby. xehanort and sora fought each other. i think someone mentioned maybe player2 didn’t initially remember their old life but it came back to them later? if this idea is true then maybe once again sora wouldn’t have known who he was but it might happen to him later in life. that would mess him up absolutely horribly

[thatwitchrevan]

'we'll go together'

major KHUX ending spoilers!

warnings: death, injury, angst, referenced depression and trauma

x

Elias held onto Ephemer’s hand as long as they could.

They almost lost hold of him a few times in the rush, in looking around in shock and wonder as the very world glitch around them. The sky seemed to be falling apart at the seams. Elias still felt that gut-wrenching dread, a sickness that reminded them of facing off with old friends, of being attacked by their elders.

Funny how it all only seemed real now, when those memories were all but inaccessible and the entire world was once again on fire. How it only now occurred to them that they were very, very young to have experienced so much war and terror.

Ephemer’s hand on theirs was an anchor, keeping them from getting overwhelmed as he hauled them down the cobblestone roads to the center of town. Elias could see from here how much worse it was around the tower. There were Heartless crawling all over it, too - it could take hours to fight through that many.

There was a flash of movement in the corner of Elias’ vision, a blur of dark-blue and pink waving a keyblade at one of the stray Heartless on the roads. Elias’ spirits soared, partly because having Skuld at their side would make the coming fight that much easier, but mostly because they were very, very glad to see her alive.

Ephemer’s full-tilt run sputtered to a stop as he saw her as well, waving his keyblade-hand with a relieved smile. “Skuld! You’re okay!”

Skuld killed the Heartless and grinned back at the other two, looking just as grateful to see them. “I knew I’d run into you two. Come on, let’s get up there and check on the others.”

The others - the Union leaders. Elias wasn’t a part of their group, not even really part of the Dandelions at all. They were here because they were Ephemer and Skuld’s friend; not because they were a leader, or a hero, or even one of the team. Their Union was dead. Their friends were dead. They were a remnant, a leftover, a lost kid who was supposed to be killed alongside everyone else.

And yet here they were, running, their keyblade not even out yet as they just tagged along with their friends. They couldn’t stop running.

x

It was an easy decision, really. As soon as Elias really processed what the Darknesses had said - which they’d done quickly, hanging on to every word - they knew what to do. Only one thing mattered right now; making sure Ephemer and Skuld were safe.

Elias mimicked the Darknesses’ eerie chuckle as well as they could and raised their keyblade. The hard part would be not breaking character, but their friends wouldn’t risk killing them if they didn’t buy it.

And their friends would have to kill them - if there were time for hesitation, that would’ve been what stalled them, knowing they were about to put their friends through the same horror they’d been through. But they’d be alive, and there was no time for anything else.

Elias lashed at Skuld, trying their best to make it real without hurting her too much. She was too surprised to stop them, and the pain that flashed across her face was too much to bear.

Ephemer leaned forward on his knees, reaching for her, for them. “Elias, stop!” He had to know it was pointless, but Elias almost did stop; they’d do anything for him.

Right now, that meant pointing the end of their keyblade at him.

Ephemer was crying. Had they ever seen him cry before? If only they could pause this scene, run over and wipe his tears away, give Skuld a big hug, whisper to them that they were sorry and everything would be okay, and then take up their keyblade again for the finale.

But there was no time for goodbye. Ephemer saw that they weren’t going to stop, slowly stalking towards him (all emotion as buried as they could manage, hanging on by a thread) and tearfully raised his blade.

“I’m sorry.”

Elias raised their key as if to strike again.

“I’m so sorry, Elias.”

He sent a white-hot beam of light straight through their heart.

As they flew back, their limbs splaying, Elias caught a breath of relief, almost a laugh. It hurt - of course it hurt - but it hurt a lot less than pretending, than not being able to comfort their friends. They hoped this was love enough to repay them, that saving them now would even the score.

They got a last, blurry look at their friends - Skuld horrified, with her hands over her mouth and an angry welt across her arm that Elias would give anything to kiss, to apologize for. Ephemer - lost. He watched helplessly as Elias fell back into the portal he’d opened, flanked by eager columns of Darkness.

In the last second, Elias brought their hand to touch their chin and then moved it forward, though whether their friends saw it they couldn’t know. Emptiness swallowed them whole.

x

They woke in a tunnel, stiff and in pain, to the murmuring of Darkness. They sat up, laughing almost silently. Every one of the Darknesses stared at them, their blank confusion making Elias laugh harder. They stood, lifted their keyblade in both hands, and sealed themself and the Darkness in this tunnel for good.

What are you doing? the Darkness demanded in their mind.

“There.” They turned to the human-sized voids, now their only companions. “Now none of us are going anywhere.”

The Darknesses were silent for a moment, then began clamoring noisily again, arguing amongst themselves or demanding that Elias turn this wormhole around right now, young wielder! Elias managed one more dry chuckle as they half-sat, half-collapsed on the ground, their hands covering their ears and eyes closing until everything faded again.

x

Skuld sniffled. Her usually tough look was now blank and miserable as she settled into the pod. She wiped uselessly at her wet face as Ephemer helped her strap in, letting her rest her injured arm. “Thank you, Ephemer.”

Ephemer nodded but stayed silent as he climbed in next to her, his still-shaking hands having a hard time with his own security straps.

“Really, Eph, thank you. I’m... I’m glad I wasn’t alone.”

Ephemer froze. Everything around them was shaking, but for a moment all he could see was Elias. They were alone. When they needed him most, he’d let them down again.

Skuld reached over and grabbed his hand. When he looked at her, she gave him a small, watery smile, showing him once again why she was the bravest person he knew. “It’s okay,” she whispered.

They held hands for just another second, silently promising to see each other soon, and then they separated and lowered their glass shields.

x

Everything was light.

Elias didn’t know what they’d expected when they died. Maybe the Keyblade War on repeat. Maybe nothing. Certainly not a warm, empty, but somehow claustrophobic expanse of white light.

They couldn’t complain, though - the pain in their chest was gone, and instead their Chirithy was curled up in their arms, warm and purring against them. Elias squeezed them tight, crying. “I’m so sorry,” they whispered.

Chirithy snuggled their shoulder. “Don’t be sorry, Elias. What you did for your friends was brave. And now you can rest - the Darkness and pain can’t get you anymore.”

Knowing they’d saved their friends was comforting, and so was having Chirithy with them, but the idea of rest, of death, felt hollow. Elias had been so tired for so long, and yet now that they were here... all I want is more.

“I don’t want to go to sleep,” they said, their throat suddenly thick.

“Shh,” Chirithy soothed. “I’ll look after you. Sleep isn’t scary, I promise. It’s only right now that’s scary, but I’ll keep you safe.”

Elias buried their face in Chirithy’s fur, blocking out the light with unseeing darkness. They felt childish, but if ever there was a time they were allowed to be it was now. “I don’t wanna be alone.”

Chirithy was quiet for a second, just purring next to Elias’ heart, trying to keep them calm. After a moment, they sat up in Elias’ arms, gently coaxing them to meet Chirithy’s eyes. “You don’t have to go to sleep, Elias, but you can’t return to the world of the living from here.”

Elias wiped their face. “What’s the other option?”

The Chirithy’s ears twitched. “If you stay here and don’t sleep, you could dissolve into a new heart. You wouldn’t remember, but a part of you would be in a new life.”

The word ‘dissolve’ made Elias shudder, and as they contemplated this idea the emptiness around them seemed to shudder too. They got flashes of feelings and thoughts, a bit like their fragmented memories as they’d begun to come back, but even more distant. Curiosity, joy, love, anger - and most of all, terrible pain.

It was frightening, even without any sort of context to these feelings. But Elias had been through great pain before, and against all odds they’d survived till now. Maybe this was as close as they’d get to a third chance. Maybe this time they’d get to live past sixteen.

I just want more.

“Chirithy... are you ready for one more journey?”

[kuriboo]

taking root in the soil

Rating: General Audiences Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: Gen Fandom: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games) Relationships: Lauriam & Marluxia (Kingdom Hearts),Marluxia & Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Lauriam & Terra (Kingdom Hearts) Characters: Lauriam (Kingdom Hearts), Terra (Kingdom Hearts), Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Aqua (Kingdom Hearts), Marluxia (Kingdom Hearts) Additional Tags: Post-Kingdom Hearts III, Terrariam Week 2021, Hurt/Comfort, Marluxia Is Lauriam (Kingdom Hearts), spoilers for both kh3 and khux Word Count: 2,436

On twitter there was an event for Terrariam Week, focusing on the relationship between Terra & Lauriam/Marluxia. I wrote for a few prompts, I had to cut it off at 3 but it was a lot of fun to write! Khux really made me care a lot about Lauriam so this really gave me an excuse to write him lol but anyway, I’ll post all the days’ entries here with the prompts that go with them.This is also posted on ao3; the link to ao3 will be in the notes of this post! I’ll also post the link to the terrariam week account in the notes.

You can also keep reading below.

⁂

Day 1: Meet-Cute

Lauriam stared down at his black cloak. He was sick of this thing.

The cloak was supposed to protect his heart from darkness. It was also a symbol of his status as a former member of Organization 13. It was a symbol of the person he became without his memories, turning against everything he was supposed to be. Guardian of Light turned Seeker of Darkness. Keyblade wielder turned assassin.

He felt like a traitor. He didn’t just turn against the original Organization, he turned against everything he used to stand for. He forgot about his sister, his friends, everything, and he was only now just starting to remember.

Well, he started to remember as Sora defeated him. His memories were still coming back. He remembered being a Dandelion, he remembered being a Union leader, he remembered Strelitzia…

Strelitzia…

He forgot about his own sister.

Lauriam laughed, a single tear falling down his face. It landed with a small splash on a flower below him, the flower just one of many surrounding him in this field. It was so similar to the one where he appeared after leaving Daybreak Town, where he started his search for Strelitzia.

He’d have to look for Elrena. Had she begun to remember? If not, he would have to try to help her. He owed that to her, for standing beside him for so long, even after they lost their memories.

A step crunching the flowers behind him broke Lauriam’s thoughts. He whirled around to see who it was.

Oh, Lauriam recognized that face. His hair was a different color, brown instead of white, but Lauriam was no fool. This was one of Xehanort’s many forms back again. Lauriam summoned his Keyblade in his hands. Would he never be able to escape him?

Xehanort stopped. He appeared confused. “You’re… Marluxia, right?

“It’s Lauriam now,” Lauriam corrected. “And I’ll thank you to remember that. You won’t get me to join your schemes anymore, Xehanort.”

“Xehanort?” He blinked, still confused. “No, no, Xehanort doesn’t have control over me anymore. I’m free now. My name is Terra.”

“Terra.” Lauriam kept his stance. Xehanort wasn’t above playing tricks. “And why should I trust you, ‘Terra’?”

“You don’t have to.” Terra held his hands up in front of him, palms out. “We’re not here to look for you. This is an accident.”

“Who’s ‘we’?” Lauriam’s grip on his Keyblade tightened. The Organization? “And what are you looking for, then?”

“Two of my friends are here with me.” Terra hesitated. “We’ve been searching different worlds for… Sora.”

Sora? There was a name Lauriam felt like he could trust now. Lauriam could still remember trying to turn the boy into a puppet. How ironic.

“Terra!”

Lauriam turned as he heard another voice call out to Terra. The person it belonged to…

Memories came flooding back. The blonde hair, the clothes he was wearing. Lauriam knew this person. Not from the Organization, but before.

“I asked the dwarves about him,” he told Terra without preamble. “They said no one’s seen him or heard anything about him. I guess Sora isn’t—“ He broke off, staring at Lauriam. “…Who are you?”

Lauriam knew him. Ventus, another former Union leader. Well, Ven wasn’t originally chosen for the role, but Lauriam wasn’t angry at him about it anymore. It wasn’t Ven’s fault he was used by Darkness.

“Hey, are you crying?” Ven asked.

Lauriam reached up to touch his cheek. It was wet. He was crying again. His heart must be overwhelmed, feeling so many emotions already when he wasn’t used to it anymore. “You’re the first… Nevermind. We’ve met before, but you must not remember me.” The Divine Rose disappeared from Lauriam’s hand. “My name is Lauriam. It’s good to see you again, Ven.”

“…Oh. I’m sorry.” Ven looked down at the ground. “You’re not the first friend I’ve met who I’ve forgotten. I can’t remember anything before I met Terra and Aqua…”

Terra put his hand on Ven’s shoulder. “Hey, it’s not your fault.”

“He’s right.” Lauriam smiled, though it hurt. Why did hearts make things so difficult? “I only just remembered myself. I’m hardly in a position to judge.”

He wasn't upset. Lauriam was just… disappointed. Not with Ven himself. But just as he started to remember again, he finally found another Union leader, only for said Union leader to have also forgotten. Fate could be cruel.

“I never imagined the world you came from to be like this. It’s strange to see you again here, of all places,” Terra admitted.

“I’m not from this world. The world I’m from…” Lauriam sighed. “It was destroyed a long time ago. This is where I found myself after I left.”

“Then can you come with us? To our world?” Ven blurted out. “I mean, you don’t have to, but… It would be nice to get to know you again! And maybe you can help me remember again!”

“You want me to…come with you?” Lauriam asked.

“We’ve been looking for Sora, but we’ve had to take breaks back home. I think Aqua will agree it’s about time for another one,” Terra said. “It would be nice to get to know you better…outside of everything before.”

“I don’t think I’d mind that, if you all will have me,” Lauriam answered. “And if I could help you find Sora again as well, it’d be the least I could do to make amends with him.”

And maybe find Elrena as well, and even Strelitzia, if they were searching many different worlds. Besides, where else could he go?

⁂

Day 2: New Beginnings

“Welcome to the Land of Departure.”

Lauriam looked around as Terra, Aqua, and Ventus led him through this new world. (New to him, at least.) Most of what he could see was the large building in front of them. It almost felt familiar; it must be the size, since the Castle That Never Was and Castle Oblivion seemed about as big as this place was. There was some greenery around, but not many flowers or anything like that.

Lauriam was okay with that. He was sure he’d still see the last place he saw his sister in his dreams.

“Come on!” Aqua led the group inside.

He was soon brought into a huge room. There were a couple of chairs, and it was nicely decorated, but there was a lot of empty space. Was this room used for training, or something else?

“Well, it’s not much, but it’s home,” Terra joked.

It was amazing how big this place seemed to be compared to what Lauriam was used to. “So this is the kind of place Keyblade wielders train these days?”

“I’m sure it’s not much compared to what you used to have,” Aqua said.

Lauriam chuckled. “When I was training, we were sent to different worlds all the time doing different missions. So, the places we got to stay in were rather small, but we were rarely there when we weren’t sleeping. I got to stay in the tower as a Union leader, though, which was much bigger. Too big, actually, it was easy to get lost in.”

As for after that… “As part of the…Organization, it wasn’t much different from when I was training. We had small rooms, but were constantly in other worlds for different missions. So, for the most part, this is actually bigger than I’m used to.”

“So a lot has changed…” Ven had a contemplative look on his face. “Can you tell us more? About what it was like back then? I wish I could remember…”

“Of course I can,” Lauriam said. He could tell more about the good times, anyway. He’d rather not get into the bad times, especially those relating to Darkness and his sister. But there were plenty of good times to reflect back on. “But we should probably find somewhere to sit, first. This could get long.”

⁂

“I’m assuming you want to get out of that coat.”

It had gotten late. Ven had gone to bed not long ago, and Aqua had just done the same. Ventus had listened eagerly to Lauriam’s recollections happily, and threw in his questions constantly. Now it was just Terra and Lauriam left.

Lauriam knew what Terra was getting at. He was sick of this black coat. It was supposed to protect his heart from darkness, but had come to symbolize something much worse. A period of his life that was now past.

“If you have anything else I could try, I would appreciate it,” Lauriam responded. “I would rather avoid wearing this thing unless I absolutely need to.”

“We’ve got spare clothes around. Stuff that doesn’t fit anyone. I’ll try to find whatever I can for you to try on.”

Lauriam thanked Terra as Terra walked off, going off to find the clothes in question. Now Lauriam was left alone with his thoughts, but all he could think about was what he was missing now that his memory had returned. He was missing Strelitzia, of course he was missing her. He was also missing Brain, Skuld, and Ephemer. He missed the Ventus that remembered who he was. The only thing that he had left from those times was his Keyblade, back to him now that he’d regained his heart.

Ironic, considering how before he’d regained his memories, he’d yearned for a Keyblade of his own.

Soon, Terra was back with a pile of clothes in his arm, more than Lauriam had been expecting.

“I can take you to a room to try them on,” Terra told him. “Hopefully something in here will fit you.”

Once Lauriam was there and alone, he started going through the pile. Most of it didn’t fit him, which he expected. It wasn’t like all the clothes were magically going to fit him. But he was able to find enough for a new outfit. A black button-up shirt and beige pants. He could keep his Organization boots on for now, so he wasn’t pressed for new shoes. Once the outfit was on, Lauriam walked back to where Terra was waiting, carrying his Organization coat over his shoulder.

“Well, what do you think?” Lauriam asked. “It’s certainly not my outfit from the old days, but I think it’ll do.”

“It looks great,” Terra said, a smile forming on his face. “It’s a fresh start. A new beginning for you.”

A new beginning… Lauriam liked that.

⁂

Day 5: Big Brothers Dynamic (or Day 3: Hurt/Comfort)

“He really looks up to you.”

Terra paused in his training. He looked over and noticed Lauriam watching him. Truthfully, Lauriam had been watching for a while, but Terra seemed so into his training that he hadn’t noticed.

“Who?” Terra asked.

“Ven,” Lauriam clarified. “He admires you, both you and Aqua.” He chuckled. “Ironic, considering he’s been a wielder much longer than you two.”

Terra shook his head. “Aqua deserves all the admiration, not me. I admire her, too. But after all I did to push him away, I’m lucky he looks up to me at all.”

“You can’t blame yourself for the way Xehanort manipulated you.” Lauriam frowned. “You’re far from his only victim. He has a knack for pulling in people who are lost, or missing something. It’s not luck or a mistake that Ven admires you; you came out of it all and took back everything that was yours.”

“I can’t agree with you, but I appreciate it.” Terra’s keyblade disappeared. “You know, you’re one of the first people that knew Ven before he lost his memory. After Chirithy, I mean.”

“Am I?” Lauriam blinked. “I’m…surprised, though really I shouldn’t be. Only the Union leaders and Elrena made it out of our world, and I haven’t found any of the other leaders since. Only Elrena, and now Ven, but Ven and Elrena hardly knew each other.”

“What was he like? Before he lost his memory?”

“Not so different, as far as I can tell. He was equal to the rest of us but still felt inferior, and felt he had to prove himself. He was a good friend, almost like a younger brother to the rest of us. He…”

Marluxia’s expression darkened. “He has more in common with you than either of you know.”

“…What do you mean?”

“He deserves better than to remember. If the full story comes out, he should be the first to know. But… Ven is part of the reason my sister disappeared.”

“Your…sister? What happened?”

Lauriam held up a hand. “Ven is not the one at fault. I forgave him a long time ago. Still, one of the reasons I left our world was to look for her. She has to be out there somewhere, and I won’t give up looking until I find her.”

Terra remembered what it felt like, when he returned home to find Master Eraqus attacking Ven. At that moment, it didn’t matter why their master was attacking him. Nothing could have stopped Terra from protecting Ven. He felt horrified that anyone would attack Ven, but the idea that their master felt he had to made Terra feel sick.”

He tried to picture it. Coming back to the Land of Departure to learn that Ven was completely gone. It was the closest he could think of based on what little Lauriam had described. “I don’t know what I’d do if I found out Ven was gone.”

“I think I nearly lost myself to the darkness when I learned what happened,” Lauriam said. He looked away. “I’m not proud of that moment, but I’m glad my friends were able to keep me from…” He sighed. “Well, that wasn’t long before I lost my memory and let myself become a vessel of darkness anyway, so I’m behind on my search.”

“Better late than never, though, right?” Terra smiled. “We’ll help you find your sister. I know I’d never stop looking if it were Ven, and we’re still looking for Sora anyway. Besides, we owe it to you as one of Ven’s friends.”

“You owe me nothing,” Lauriam protested. “I’ve done nothing to deserve that.”

“Then think of it this way: we’ll be helping each other. We won’t take no for an answer. But first…” Terra summoned his Keyblade. “Get your Keyblade. You’re joining in on training.”

“I’m more than a bit rusty,” Lauriam admitted, though he summoned his own Keyblade anyway. “I suppose it’s more reason for me to train.”

“I want to see how you fight. How strong you are. I’m curious about how much has changed since you and Ven’s time,” Terra said. “You better be ready.”

“I’ll admit, I’m curious as well.” Lauriam smirked. “I’ve been ready for ages.”

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

[Kingdom Hearts] Pinkie Swear

Summary: Written for @khuxweek, in which a day before the War, Brain takes Sabrina (OC) someplace special.

Rating: K

Word Count: 1,931 words

If you liked this story, please reblog!

☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

There are very few times when I can look at a fellow Keyblade wielder and think 'Yes, this one has a heart so strong, they could move mountains one day.' I felt that way with each of my fellow Union leaders when I met them. Even Ventus who, even then, felt like an anomaly but still had promise of something greater. It was one of these few people I was actually close with before the Keyblade War. Her name was Sabrina- which apparently meant princess. Go figure.

. . .

The air was filled with electricity in the days leading up to the Keyblade War. After Ava gave her speech (one that no one had really expected, let alone how serious she was during it), the youngest of the Dandelions in both age and recruitment started to get antsy. Except for her. Brain wasn't able to see her during training much because Ava frequently helped the newer recruits than those who had been there for awhile. He wasn't one of the first Dandelions- but he could remember when he could recognize a face or two if they crossed paths during regular missions. Now there were so many Dandelions that he couldn't pick them out on a normal day without some help.

When Ava disappeared, the Dandelions were beside themselves. Should they still train? Should they go to the promised place to depart now too? Some still came to Fountain Square to train with each other. Others continued with their missions as already set by their Union leader, becoming invisible in crowds. If the line between who was and wasn't a Dandelion hadn't been blurred before, it was nonexistent then. Brain was one of the Dandelions that skipped out on coming to train in Fountain Square. Instead, he'd pester Sabrina into going somewhere else where they trained together. To say it caused a small conflict in the constantly disagreeable girl was a bit of an understatement.

“What if Master Ava comes back?” she once asked him as she attempted to side swipe him with her Keyblade. He dodged it without a problem. His hat was a bit askew, but she gave him time to adjust it. “She meets with the Dandelions like normal and finds that all of them ditched her.”

“Not going to happen.” Brain assured her with a shake of his head. He took his Keyblade with both hands before rushing at her. Sabrina leaped out of the way, then parried his attempt to get her from behind. “Master Ava would tell us to resume Dandelion training if she comes back.”

Sabrina raised an eyebrow. “If?”

Brain gave a soft chuckle. Of course Sabrina would be able to read between the lines. She was good at that. Master Invi couldn't have asked for a smarter member of her Union. Brain took firm hold of his Keyblade again to attempt a front attack. Sabrina also saw that coming- their Keyblades letting out a loud clang when they connected. Brain didn't let up. Instead he pressed their Keyblades close enough to each other that he could have tilted his head to touch her forehead.

“You're smart.” he told her. “Do you really think we'll see Master Ava again before the war?”

There was a small, subtle twitch in the corner of the girl's mouth that illustrated she did not. Seeing it, Brain finally let up. He even put away his Keyblade- an act that surprised Sabrina a good degree.

“I think we've had enough training for today,” he then told her, “How about we take a break and go for a walk. It's a nice day today.”

Sabrina recoiled. Brain was trying to make it less obvious that his mind was on something else. That constant fidgeting of his fedora was a dead giveaway. The girl had known the other boy for, what? A good six months? She could tell when he was hiding something from her, as little as it happened so far. Sabrina parted her lips a little to say something, but shook her head.

“Fine.” she agreed with a flick of her wrist. “It better not be someplace dumb like Fountain Square or Agrabah. I've had enough sand in my shoes to last a lifetime, thank you.”

Brain couldn't help it, but he gave her a wide smile.

. . .

As far as I knew, I was an only child. I always saw the younger wielders as equal peers than subconsciously channeling some kind of lost 'big brother' instinct. That was the funny thing about Sabrina- she was the first wielder to actually make me want to protect them more than just an equal partner. I'd tease her about wielders that seemed flustered by her growing beauty. We'd eat lunches together and promise to meet up after missions to relax. More than once we'd sit on a bench, watching the sunset, and that girl would lay on me to safely drift off to sleep. We had keys to each other's houses too. It wasn't until far later (and far too late) that I realized we weren't friends; we were family.

. . .

“You're going to hurt yourself.”

“Haven't yet. So if you'd like, let me just break my neck in peace.” There was a pause, then the prudent addition of, “You're not in charge of me.”

Brain let out another laugh. He tried to hide how much he was keeping an eye on her by adjusting his fedora every so often. Walking along the high stone fence was an act of defiance and proof of how balanced Sabrina thought herself to be. Did that stop Brain from being ready in case she tripped? Of course not. Why would it?

“Where are we going anyway?” Sabrina questioned as she looked at her own steps than Brain himself.

“How do you know we're not going to fight some Heartless?” Brain asked right back.

“Because you're usually more protective if we were. Fussing around with elixirs and potions and stuff. Especially if you think that it's going to be a big one.”

Brain was quick to hold the rim of his fedora a bit lower over his face. “I'm not that bad.”

“Sure, sure.” the girl shrugged off. And so she remained on the fence as they continued to walk along. It was quite awhile before they reached the end of it- while also being quite close to where Brain wanted to take them.

“I dare you to flip off.” Brain smirked as Sabrina stood with her toes to the end of the fence. For a moment, you could see the child consider doing just that.

“Nah.” Sabrina said with a shake of her head. Instead, she hopped down- making sure that she bent her knees to lessen the impact. Even if it wasn’t the flair Brain had teased her on, it was still a bit presumptuous in its own way.

“Come on,” he laughed, “We’re almost there.”

Sabrina gave a nod as she followed him. It was a silent walk for the rest of the way, not that either of them really minded. They finally reached their destination with ease; a field that overlooked most of Daybreak Town. This particular area having a cherry blossom tree growing near the ledge with its roots exposed on the cliffside. Sabrina was quick to lean against the tree before sliding down to sit. Brain took a spot next to her, but remained standing. A warm breeze kissed their skin as they relaxed in the tree’s shade. It was beautiful. Memorable, even. But it was here that Brain had to tell Sabrina something important.

“The war is going to happen soon.”

Sabrina blinked, then looked up at Brain with a look of displeasure. “How do you know?” she questioned.

“Master Ava told me.” he replied without looking at her.

“Liar.”

Brain looked down and smiled at her “It’s true! Swear on my life, Wabi-Sabi.”

He had expected her little grunt of doubt.

“Even if I believed you, what does that have to do with anything?” the child then spat as she crossed her arms.

“I want us to make a promise.” he then said, taking a seat next to her. “A blood pact, if you will.”

Sabrina gave him something that crossed a stink eye and a glare. “What are you talking about?” she questioned, even scrunching her nose up.

“Since I know the Keyblade War is coming, and you know the Keyblade War is coming, then let's promise to meet up after.” he offered. He nudged her a bit to say, “We'll meet up where we usually do. Assuming Daybreak Town made it through the end. Deal?”

“And where are we meeting if Daybreak Town doesn't survive, smarty pants?”

“Our Chirithy will figure it out.” Brain playfully shrugged. “They'll still be with us, and they can go pretty far without us too, so it shouldn't be a problem.”

The girl gave him a small raise of her eyebrow before considering his offer. As she thought it over though, the more her face started to fall into one of conflict.

“Are you really sure that it’s going to happen?”

“I would never lie about this, Sabrina. You know I wouldn’t.”

Sabrina looked up at Brain. His sincere, almost scared, face caused a lump to form in her throat. He wasn’t teasing this time. He meant every word that he was saying. Making up her mind, Sabrina sat a bit straighter before holding up her pinkie finger.

“Pinkie swear.” she told him- her voice filled with authority.

For a moment, Brain just stared at her. Then a smile started to form on his lips. He brought up his own pinkie to link with hers, and after the two gave each other an affirming nod, Sabrina launched herself at Brain to give him a tight hug. The gesture had been completely unexpected, but he didn’t oppose it. Instead, he held her tight as neither wanted to let go.

. . .

I never really read the Book of Prophecies that Master Ava gave me before Darkness started to meddle with our new world. Or rather, show itself while we tried to figure out why we were in a digital Daybreak Town than the real one. It took me a greater part of a day to read through it. At least, it took me a day to go through the pages that detailed various enemies from the past, future, and now present. Everything else in the Book? Well, I wouldn't call it useless. At the same time, I wouldn't call it helpful either. The Master of Masters had written the Book in ways that spoke of ambiguity and a less than set in stone mentality. One part of the Book could have changed, and the rest could be rendered moot.

She wasn't in there. Strelitzia was never brought up too. What will become of my fellow Union leaders -my friends- is just as uncertain. There are small sections where I believe they are mentioned, but the wording of the Book… It's not obvious. It would take another generation to decipher just who or what it is referencing to begin with. If that.

I just want to know where she is. I need to know if she, like Streltizia, met a poor fate before the war. We're just kids. We all were. I just… I just want her to be safe. She's my little sister. She's the only family I've known. At the same time, I fear giving in to the same heartbroken rage that Lauriam is struggling against. Just… let her be safe. That's all I ask… Please.

[kitsoa]

“There is no Traitor”

My Complete Speculation on the Happenings of KHUX

There is no traitor.

The thing we were thinking throughout all of Back Cover. It’s obvious. The Master made-up the Traitor in the book so that the Foretellers would go on a witch hunt and stumble into a civil war. It’s why he made arbitrary secrets and rules. Roles that the Foretellers were tasked to complete without a necessary rhyme or reason. Divided factions that the didn’t really have a purpose in separation. A breeding ground for power plays, competition, and tension. The War was inevitable because the blind faith in the Master wouldn’t allow anything else. It’s the one thing they all agreed on. The Master’s word is law. 

The War happens, everything is destroyed-- and the remaining Light escapes to form the inevitable rebirth. But by sowing the seeds of tension, the Master creates a traitor. He lays the pieces in such a way that someone learns the truth of his manipulation and tries to counter it. And the Master knows this will happen. He wants this to happen. 

That’s the premise of Ava’s betrayal. I believe that Luxu simply tells Ava the truth. “There is no Traitor.” The Master set everything up. The Master has been manipulating them the entire time. She responds with denial. Ava’s loyalty to the Master is palpable. She doesn’t want to believe that he would do this. 

But that leads to her striking Luxu’s blade. And the Prophecy comes true. The bell tolls and the War begins. 

(long post)

The prophecy is real and set in stone and everything is going to end and it will be Ava’s fault. But she doesn’t know this part of the prophecy. All she knows is that the Master has betrayed them. She misreads this truth, unable to tell that she herself is playing right into fate. Gula’s Lost Page narrates her following actions.

Because understanding the Master’s scheme, Ava realizes that the Foretellers weren’t the only pawns the Master orchestrated. Her Dandelions have all the makings of the Master’s design. He dictated the rules. He decreed the arbitrary Unions. He selected the union leaders. He scripted their meeting. He appoints the Book of Prophecies to one of them in the same fashion as the Lost Page. He promotes PvP for recreation. He removes the traumatic memories of the war to prevent them from learning anything. And he traps them in a confined, set, data-world. He sets the Dandelions up for another war so obviously that Ava had to see it. It had to hit her in the face hard that the Master made this War happen and he was going to make it happen again. 

But her Dandelions. This was wrong. The Master turned her into him. Made her an accomplice to an avoidable, endless tragedy. 

So... she plans a coup. A sabotage. It’s too late to stop the war and it’s too late to stop the retreat into the data world  but she can attempt to see if this inevitable fate can be change for her Dandelions. She can plant a virus in the Master’s program.

She already appointed the Union Leaders of the Master’s choosing. Ephemer, Skuld, Ventus, Lauriam, and Strelitzia. They are lying in wait for the war to finally ignite. The Master’s script has them unable to meet until after the war so she is the only one who knows all of the leaders. Just like how she never suspected the Master, her Dandelion leaders would never suspect her. 

And she takes her disguise and ventures forth in secrecy. (as the Lost Page decrees). Darkness is a fitting scapegoat for the actions she is about to do.

Because if she doesn’t do anything, her Dandelion’s will be walking right back into a doomed fate. And as such she is forced to create a vacancy in her Union Leaders. After the bell has tolled, the overwhelmed Strelitzia, frantically looking for the Player, is ambushed by the Darkness. Her rulebook is stolen and she is killed by the very person who entrusted her to live on.

And Ava moves to plant her virus. She chooses one of her Dandelions, the lazy but brilliant Brain. She knows he is smart enough to fight the program the Master created. She approaches him to tell him of this appoint, lying to him and saying he was chosen by the Master. This keeps him innocent of her deeds and only hints at her defiant conspiracy by gifting him the Book of Prophecies.

Brain is now a two-fold act of defiance. Not only was he not chosen to possess the book but he wasn’t chosen at all. When he is ready he will become wise to this and continue his fate defying mission but until then he is ignorant. The switcharoo is done and none of the Union Leaders are any wiser. They play along with the script the Master designed.

Ava follows them into the data world and, knowing of Maleficent’s arrival from the future, she intercepts the sorceress. She gives her the secret on how to return to her time, which happens to be the same method necessary in escaping the data world. She conditions this information on Maleficent’s cooperation, designing for her to give this information to Brain so they can leave the Master’s cage for good. 

----

But this is when things get complicated. Because... all up to this point, the Master knew that Ava would behave this way. He knew that she would misread the truth and venture forth in secrecy. He wrote it that way. 

He knew that she’d be driven to creating a vacancy and attempting to defy the book. None of this has actually worked thus far. 

And as it would happen, the death of Strelitzia lingers through the Union Leaders. Lauriam’s frantic search for his sister has him asking around until it reaches Brain’s ears. He doesn’t know that he’s a fraud but the circumstances don’t add up and he’s going to finally check the book and receive Ava’s message he thought he heard loud and clear. 

When he does read the note he’ll realize that he was the one that replaced her. That Strel was the Master’s intended Union Leader. 

In fact the Master saw this coming that he probably chose Strelitzia as a Union Leader to play the part of the perfect victim. The soft spoken, beloved sister of another leader-- a more surprising choice than the pacifistic Ventus. He probably circled her name for the Bop to ensure that Ava had to kill her out of the five. 

(For the record, There is an assumption that Ava would deliver the BoP to the chosen leader at the same time they were selected, but this isn’t necessarily true. Ava could have just as easily given the rulebooks out and refrained from giving the book for logistical reason or personal hesitation. This logic is what I’m following, meaning that at the time of her murder Strel was the circled recipient but had not yet received the BoP. But she was the targeted kill because whoever replaced her might misinterpret the note seeing neither their name on it and another alive leader graced with permission to read the BoP. They may see that skipped person as a part of the virus as well.) 

That the only person who could have killed her was Ava herself. But he’s got no way of defending himself. He appears as a perfect accomplice. He cannot tell Lauriam for his own sake, and for the sake of the mission. The mission he still probably believes in despite the methods. But even should he revolt against Ava, following the Master’s design would have him expose the book’s presence to unchosen Union Leaders. 

So he doesn’t. He hides the fact that he has the book and that he knows what happened. And Lauriam, who was consulting with Brain until now is left with a suspiciously unsatisfactory nonanswer to Brain’s efforts to help him. Lauriam probably doesn’t forget this and the suspicions rise. The tension grows. 

Eventually, this tension will spread. And the truth may come out. The Union Leaders will take their sides and the War will start again.

...at least. That’s what it looks like they are walking into. That’s what it looks like the Master is orchestrating. Ava’s act of defiance inadvertently causing the war again. 

In the recent update Ava wonders if giving the BoP to Brain will change what’s been written, if it’s possible. But I think she will be defeated by the idea that she is yet again, just a pawn in the Master’s game.

Conclusion

Now this is speculation based on the theory that Ava is Darkness, with the added theory that the BoP is not a book of prophecy but a hard script of things the Master plans to happen. This means that the Gazing Eye is not a tool to ensure the Book is written but a scope for the present MoM to witness his plan unfold. 

I do think there is more to the final unfolding of khux. I think the forces of darkness have a role to play in triggering and initiating the 2nd war (and that actually has something to do with Ventus). I think there will have to be some sort of understanding or united front with the union leaders and their ally’s to abandon to data world via the method Maleficent will relay. I also think that in this chaos, Luxu will chose to pass on the Gazing Eye to Brain who will form Scala ad Caelum. In this transpiring conflict, Ephemer is going to either get left behind, get killed, or sacrifice himself to achieve that escape. And of course, in that escape the Union Leaders will be scattered through time due to the nature of the technique.

Though it’s worth noting that a part of me see’s the scattering of the Union Leaders and friends through time to be an intentional move. Something either Brain or Ava designs so that there is only one single leader of Scala. To assure that the Unions are no more and the knowledge they harbor is not used against the Dandelion’s. A war preventative.

That’s what I think is going down folks. 

[bluerosesburnblue]

Yeah. I just like to give a benefit of a doubt (and like you said. KH doesn't always have the best writing). But I'd also say you're probably not wrong. There's a surprising amount of old people who have caused a lot of problems or have questionable worldviews (Yensid. Eraqus. Xehanort. Mickey. Ansem. MOM ect. Adults are shifty in KH. Except you Donald, Goofy, Leon, Cid, Tifa, Aerith, Sully and Mike ect. You guys are cool). What you said got me thinking. The MoM was really the one who created-

entire system for Keyblade weilders: Bequethings. Rigid traditions. Strict views. No questioning what has been passed down. This system has had quite the impact on Keyblade wielders. Not a lot of it good. Eraqus got easily manipulated into letting Xehanort rig the test to fail Terra. Then later tried to murder Ven and hurt Terra. All because of his inability to confront darkness in other people w/o resorting to violence. Aqua was also guilty of this when she was going to go after the evil -

family in Cinderella all because she sensed darkness in them. For all she knew they could have been good people struggling w/something like Terra (they weren’t but that’s not the point). She wasn’t trying to be malicious but I definitely believe she was acting in a way she thought Eraqus would. I also think they all relied so much on the system (instead of critical thinking and their hearts) that when it didn’t provide a good answer they failed each other and themselves until it was too late.-

the Keyblade wielders from the past don’t seem to be doing any better. They keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. Instead of forging their own path and trying to figure out what’s right, the Foretellers keep clinging to the MoM who abandoned them after giving them separate jobs in secrecy. Their devotion and inability to think for themselves or for the children who looked up to them caused so much death and destruction. I doubt the Dandelion leaders will even be able to fix things -

as much as they hope to (I guess nobody really learned my your heart be your guiding key back then except for the rare few). Basically we’ve seen how the MoM created system has either always been detrimental or got warped (not that he cared). Masters Mickey, Aqua and Riku aren’t anymore capable then Sora is. In fact I think they still have a lot of issues. Mickey’s guilt. Riku’s blindness. Aqua’s ptsd and loner streak. The only time the day has been completely saved was when the dull ordinary-

Keyblade weilder unlike any other (aka Sora) came rushing in to break all expectations and traditions of how things should go and instead does what needs to be done. Sora is the one big Keyblade players who doesn’t fall into the need to conform to the MoM system. Even Riku got a bit influence by it when he received the Master title. The Foretellers represent the old broken ways that have no mercy w/shallow views of worth. Sora represents the merciful loving way that can lead all into the light

Just to be clear, I don’t think that Yen Sid is actively malevolent at all. I just think that he’s not as smart or wise as everyone makes him out to be, is a horrible teacher, and is honestly kinda lazy. He’s not sitting there going “Haha! How can I ruin this child’s life!” but he is overestimated by pretty much all of the major protagonists because he’s an old, mysterious wizard who used to be pretty good with a key-sword

And yeah, that’s what I’ve been getting at with the MoM vs. Sora stuff! How MoM made the traditions that people have been using for at least a century but almost must be longer, and how Sora flies in the face of all of them

The Master set up a system designed for him to manipulate. A strict Light-Good-Darkness-Bad dogma, a chain of command where the apprentice must be completely subservient to the master, and a no-questions mentality. Now, maybe he just did it to make his plan for his own six apprentices work, but given how we see him talking to YMX in Re:Mind I get the sense that the longevity of these traditions is exactly what he intended. It would make manipulating further and further down the chain that much easier. He passed these ideas on to his apprentices, who passed it on to the millions of theirs, who would continue passing it on even when almost all of them were wiped out. The Union Leaders have a strict rulebook for crying out loud!

And I think even the mantra of “may your heart be your guiding key” could be designed to manipulate. After all, wouldn’t most people’s hearts tell them to do what their master asked of them? If you truly loved your master, wouldn’t your heart guide you into acting in a way that you believe would make them proud and please them? It certainly seemed that way with the Foretellers

And that’s where Sora gets interesting. He’s self-taught. He has no notion of any kind of structure among Keyblade Wielders because for a while he thought he was the last one left and even once he’s proven wrong… the last known people enforcing the structure are dead (Eraqus), literally trying to destroy the world (Xehanort), retired and scooting around the universe avoiding all human contact (Yen Sid), and zipping around the universe trying to find other ways to help (Mickey). When Sora hears “may your heart be your guiding key” he has no real master to impress. His desires are simple: protect those he loves. So that’s exactly where his heart leads

And you would expect Riku to break it as well given his Dark streak… until you remember that Riku’s been traveling in close contact with Mickey since Chain of Memories. Mickey’s practically Riku’s Master, even though it was Mickey’s Master who did their Mark of Mastery. Yen Sid passed the tradition onto Mickey, and Riku would probably be getting them from him. The only thing that they ever did was come to the joint conclusion that Actually Darkness Can Be Good Sometimes, but they never reevaluated the rest of the tradition

And I love His Royal Highness Michael Theodore Mouse as much as the next person, but he’s not immune to slipping back into the old ways. I mean, how could he with such a strict teacher anyway?

The tradition vs. innovation theme is one that I really hope they explore in the next arc and really treat with respect. Because the first seven Keyblade Wielders returning to face off against the Universe’s Biggest Unchosen One is just too good of a thread to ignore

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Early birthday gift for @bluerosesburnblue:)

“Sora vanishes, dims, fades at the end of Kingdom Hearts III--much like the Master of Masters did in Back Cover--and this is because Sora is him via a paradox. And when Sora disappears at the end of KHIII, he gets sent back to the Key era and lives out his time as the Master of Masters there--trying to get back to his beloved Kairi, all the while. But one of the things that becomes complicated for him, is the fact that one of his Foretellers, Ava, seems to be Kairi's original incarnation.”

Nothing really sketchy here guys. Despite how it seems and how it could've turned out. Don't worry.

insanity at its best

…It wasn’t- right, the way that he was treating the Foretellers. And Sora knew it.

And he hated himself for it… And maybe the darkness was seeping into him for that, ever so slightly, and making his Rage Form even stronger. But it was what it was.

He didn’t mean to be so ho-hum about the fate of the world, since he knew just how much it had sucked when Xehanort had done that to them.

If there was any way to stop it—and make sure that everything ended up as it was meant to, with his friends and him—Sora would have been the first trying to discover it…

But even before some strange paradox, that had led to his eye being on the Keyblade he had hated most of his life (and still did) and had allowed him to see the future (aside from having experienced it himself)… he had known it was impossible.

He also didn’t mean to be so upbeat about everything—as his pupils (gosh, that was still weird to think about) were falling apart at the seams. And who wouldn’t be?—but that was just always his personality, even when things were at their most dire. And Sora felt that if he tried to repress that now, he’d go even more insane than he was already becoming.

As for why he was secretly being mean to some of his apprentices… Sora had no idea. And this was what scared him more than anything, and made him think that maybe the darkness really was getting to him.

Because why would he do this? Was their youth and optimism such a funny thing to him now, because he’d seen where that got everyone?

Gods, if that was the case… what would Kairi ever see in him now?

…And there was the crux of a lot of this, wasn’t it? Sora had accepted so much of this—so he could finally get back to his beloved Kairi, who he never should have been separated from to begin with.

It made Sora… bitter, to think about that second chance he thought that had been given to them—when they’d been holding hands more intimately than ever before, on the paopu tree—just for it to be ripped away again.

And to imagine Xehanort ki-

No.

He wouldn’t go there.

He wouldn’t.

Sora would get back to her… they’d finally be happy and together, like they’d always deserved to be… and he wouldn’t become besotted to Ava in the process of getting there.

As it turned out—and how this had tortured Sora when he’d first discovered it, and still did now—Kairi was actually a reincarnation of one of the Foretellers: Of Ava.

And there had been a traitorous part of Sora, that had—at first—dreamed about telling Ava everything, and just being with this Kairi here.

…Except that she wasn’t exactly his Kairi yet—they certainly weren’t the same here (and, in fact, they had a bit of an age difference now, that Sora felt uncomfortable about)—…and it just wouldn’t work, and be disingenuous if he tried it…

And surely muck up timelines, so there was a chance neither one of them would even be born!

So as hard as it was, Sora made the wise and best decision to stay away from Ava—though he couldn’t help loving her all the same, even if she was simultaneously stronger and weaker than his Kairi—but he was still attracted to her more than he would have liked to say. (It wasn’t fair, since Kairi had just opened the door to him wanting romantic love… only for them to get pushed away from each other right after it had happened. So now he had all these feelings that he had no way of dealing with yet.)

And he despised that he now had to let Ava march to her death—as fate said she must—just so she could be reborn into Kairi.

Was he even letting it happen—if he could somehow stop it, with no ill effects—so she wouldbecome Kairi? Sora wasn’t sure.

But he did know that when he began telling her about the Union Leaders—and the person circled in red—that she’d argue with him… for a plethora of reasons.

And a part of him was glad for it. Because even though this was right(?), and it would lead them back to the way everything was supposed to be…

Sora wanted to die for the lives he was toying with, and going to destroy—even though they had already been that. This had already happened—and he wanted her to call him out on it, and the other reasons she shouldn’t trust him.

And she did.

Not as much as Sora had been hoping—not like his Kairi would have—but maybe enough (and he prayed she was doing more of it in her head), when she asked him if taking everyone’s memories away would just make them repeat the Keyblade War here.

…Sora didn’t really have an answer to that. He just knew, through Naminé, that having memories of dangerous things (like his false obsession with her) wasn’t a good thing, so he was banking on this being the right decision here.

And he gave some crazy explanation about it—that he could barely follow himself, and that he knew was the kind his enemies had used to use to string him along.

And it seemed to work.

Not long after that, Sora disappeared like he thought he would—the way he had from Kairi all those years in the future—as he slowly but surely was brought back to the present.

As that happened, he dreamed:

Of Kairi’s beauty and her full heart, that had saved him so many times—and how beautiful she’d looked as she’d cried for him and he angled his body closer to hers. Sora wondered if they might have kissed there, if fate hadn’t chosen that exact moment to intervene—but he also found himself imagining Ava more than he would have liked to: The sad goodbye he’d shared with her—playing it off like it was normal and natural, when he’d known it would be their last and his heart nearly broke for it—and how desperately he’d needed to comfort her that she was the only one to help the Dandelions carry out their mission, when she’d doubted herself. He’d needed to do it for Kairi’s sake (who also was way too hard on herself, and didn’t give herself enough credit), and hers.

And proving he wasn’t completely gone, he also thought of Riku, Donald, Goofy, the King, Roxas, Naminé, Ven, Aqua, Lea, Xion, Terra, and all his other friends.

He even thought of all of those he’d maybe damned, because he wasn’t sure of anything anymore.

And when Sora got back… Things weren’t as they should have been at all: He found he was somehow twisted, and still wanted to lash out a bit: like he had with the Foretellers.

And somehow, some way, another, younger version of himselfdid exist (the Master of Masters thought it was a trick at first) and wanted to fight him… until they realized that—unlike what had been done with Roxas—they neededto merge.

…Also, that Luxu had been Xigbar or vice versa (how Sora had missed this, he didn’t know), so that guy had been a thorn in his side of his own making.

And had still been when Sora came back, thinking he needed to bring the Master of Masters back (not knowing that this older Sora was him, and so he was already here), and that he needed to follow that half-baked persona Sora had made back in the day.

It was all a massive headache.

But nothing was as bad as Kairi—for whatever reason—somewhat acting like Ava now. (Or had she always, and he just hadn’t put two-and-two together until now?)

And while Sora knew he should have rejected that, and once had… he was now moved by it, and had no idea where his head was anymore.

Though maybe this was what he deserved… That someone who had played with fate—for the “greater good”, be damned—have his life be just as much a toy to some higher power.

They had finally gotten their happy ending… and mostly it was that: happiness and love: The day that he and Kairi had finally married on the beach—her just in a simple white dress, with paint brushes in her hair and still being the most beautiful vision Sora had ever seen—was the epitome of that.

But sometimes Sora bowed his head under the showerhead and cried, while his past self (did he still exist? yelled at him. Or was it just his conscience?

And Kairi (Ava), still so pure—something he would always love and protect her for—would never know any of this.

Sora promised himself.

Author’s Note: So... as fun as this story was, I don't believe any of it (of course). I thought I'd say that, since the summary might have made it seem like I do. I don't really think that either theory (Sora being the Master of Masters or Ava being Kairi or vice versa) is a thing. But either of them are, I highly doubt they are at the same time. And more likely than not... Kairi is Ava or has some sort of connection to her, over Sora being the Master of Masters. But it's still fun to play around with, all the same!

Also, this is for my best friend's birthday! Hope you liked it, dear!

[moonlights-shadow-warrior]

Who Killed Strelitzia?

Ava, Ven, Skuld, and Darkness. The four mostly likely to have killed Strelitzia based on the information we have now. The fandom seems to lean more towards the former two, while I believe it was one of the later two

First, to go over what we know

It’s recommended to use x2 speed for videos

Strelitzia's Chirithy spotted Player and Skuld walking into the house to meet with Gula (x)(x) and immediately ran to get their wielder (x), to the confusion of Elrena's Chirithy (x). While Player and Skuld were in the house, Ava's and Luxu's keyblades clashed (x) and the clock tower tolled, starting the war. This prompted Gula to tell them to head back as their "Union Leaders will probably call for an assembly", at which point Player and Skuld split up, the latter saying she was "going to go join the other Dandelions" (x)

Not long after, Strelitzia arrived at what at first seemed like an empty house (x). As the two are getting ready to leave, Strelitzia is stabbed. Her Chirithy asks "Why...?" and on the zoom out the killer has disappeared. Then you get Strelitzia's last wish as she walks to the doorway and then she dies.

I'll go down the list, giving for and against arguments for each character

Ava

For:

Knew that Strelitzia was chosen as a Union Leader. And--as far as we know--her, MoM, and Luxu were the only ones who knew. MoM and Luxu taking out a chosen wielder and inserting someone different, going against what was supposed to happen doesn't seem likely. Not unless Strelitzia wasn't supposed to be a Union Leader, which also doesn't seem likely

Has the ability to create illusions (x). Would give an explanation as to why the killer was shrouded in darkness, and possibly even giving her the ability to appear in two places at once. There is also a theory that Ava became Darkness, being able to do so because of this ability

Her wording when she gave Brain his role and the BoP seems odd and rather suspicious (x)(x). General consensus as of now is that she either gave Brain the BoP when she wasn't supposed to or straight up inserted him into the Union Leaders when he wasn't picked by MoM. This is supported by Luxu saying in Secret Report 11 "One of the Five is an impostor, someone the Master did not choose. They represent a virus in the program he so carefully wrote. The virus has begun a strange undertaking: a reckless plot to allow the Five to escape into another worldline" (x). In addition, Brain calls himself a virus (x) and is possibly named after the first computer virus (x)

Chirithy's "Why...?" possibly implies that they knew the killer. And as far as we know, the only suspects Chirithy had previously met or seen was Ava and Skuld. Chirithy has also probably met Lauriam before, but based on Lauriam's inner thoughts on his search to find Strelitzia as denoted by the parentheses (x)(x) he didn't know what had happened to her, much less that she'd been killed

She didn't notice Strelitzia wasn't with the Dandelions. While we don't know just how many Dandelions escaped the war, you'd think Ava would keep an eye out to make sure all the future Union Leaders were accounted for before taking them to the new world. However, Lauriam didn't notice Strelitzia wasn't there either so maybe there were too many to keep track of who all showed up (added 11 Dec 2019)

Against:

Brain was given his role as a Union Leader and the BoP 4 years ago (x). How long they've been in the simulation is unknown, but based on Ephemer's conversation with the player (x) it's been a while. However, with everyone being able to recall events that happened before the war with relative ease, I'd say it hasn't been years since the war. I'd venture a guess to say it's been months, maybe a year at most. In addition, given that Ava didn't say that the war would be happening soon unlike all the other times we've seen her tell the other chosen, he was probably one of, if not the first to be given his new role

She was fighting Luxu shortly before Strelitzia was killed (x)(x)(x)(x)(x). We don't know how long the fight lasted, but unless she was able to create an illusion or the fight ended extremely quickly, she wouldn't have been able to find Strelitzia and kill her in that time

The Dandelions were to meet up after the bells. Skuld said she was going to meet up with the other Dandelions (x), at which point Ava would send them to the outside world (x). So Ava would have had to given the role of Union Leader to a Dandelion that she had either pulled aside from where they were meeting or found them before they had met up with everyone. We don't know how quickly the Dandelions were sent off, but it had to have been in the span of the few days (x) between the bells and the war. However, Elrena's Chirithy says the new Union Leaders were introduced shortly after (x) Strelitzia's Chirithy ran off to find her

She gave Strelitzia her role what was probably only a day before she was killed. Ava says that the it wouldn't be long before the world ends (x) which immediately cuts away to Strelitzia in her room thinking about her being a Union Leader and what's going to happen. Upon her realizing that Player isn't a Dandelion she debates going out to find them (x) before saying she'll wait in Fountain Square for them early tomorrow (x) which is where Chirithy finds her and tells her that she spotted Player (x). This leads to her going to the house in which she dies. So unless during the cut away days pass or she waited at Fountain Square for multiple days, Strelitzia was killed the day after she received the book

Brain was given his book first, then Ephemer, then Strelitzia. As stated above, Brain was given his role 4 years ago. Ephemer was sent not long before the war to prepare everything as Ava would be sending the dandelions "soon" (x) and that there wasn't "much time left" (x), and Strelitzia what was mostly likely only a day before. Meaning Strelitzia could have very well been the last of them to receive the book, so why would she kill her when she only just informed her of her role? Unless what Luxu said really shook her to her core and she quickly tried to make a last minute change

Only one (1) member of the Union Leaders was someone MoM didn't choose, as stated in Secret Report 11. This means that if it is to be believe that Brain wasn't a chosen Union Leader, then whoever killed Strelitzia was meant to have been a Union Leader in the first place. So if Ava was trying to change things, why would she pick the person chosen by MoM that she had previously skipped over for the role of Union Leader?

Ven

For:

He was very young. Ven was ~16 (x) during BBS, and had been living with Master Eraqus, Terra, and Aqua for 4 years, making him ~12 when he trained under Xehanort. Which means that he was 12 or younger during his time as a Union Leader and selected my MoM when he was 8 or younger due to at least 4 years passing (x). Which means at the time MoM chose what was essentially a 2nd or 3rd grader to lead the others in 4 years time. So either MoM was being extra chaotic, or he never actually chose Ven

Xehanort was able to create Vanitas from his Darkness. We've never seen this tempted again, so it's unknown if it's possible to do this with everyone that has darkness in their hearts, or if Ventus had more darkness than what could be considered normal which was then used to give birth to Vanitas

He said he'd barely spoken to Ava (x). And based on previous interactions Ava's had when telling the new Union Leaders their roles (x)(x), she tends to talk a lot

His Keyblade. Claims he's not particularly good at anything and never at the top of the rankings (x), yet has a fully leveled Missing Ache (x). Not only is this Keyblade the fourth to last one you get when playing (x), it's also a Dark Speed Keyblade (x)

Against:

Only one of the new Union Leaders was an impostor. So unless Brain was chosen by MoM, Ventus was meant to be a leader in the first place which takes out the first and last points of For

As far as we know, he didn't know Strelitzia had the book

Skuld

For:

The new Union Leaders weren't supposed to come in contact with one another (x). While we don't know if that meant meeting each other knowing they were to be Union Leaders or meeting each other in general, we don't know. But Skuld had a feeling Ephemer would be there (x) which seems to go against what Ava wanted. In addition, this isn't outright confirmed by Ava, rather Brain speculating and Ava saying he's "always been a bright one"

Ephemer talked to her about the end of the world (x). Ephemer showed up in her dream (x), and even though she said he told her nothing except to meet up with Player and go with them, her story quickly changes. We don't actually know how much Ephemer told her either

Ava told her that she had chosen Ephemer to replace her and lead the Dandelions (x). This means that Skuld knew about Ephemer, which again contradicts the first point. In addition, while Ava talked about a war with the Dandelions, she never talked about others replacing her (x), possibly allowing Skuld and only Skuld to infer that there would be someone to replace each of the Union Leaders who had to take part in the war

She split up with Player right before Strelitzia was killed (x). We don't see her again after that until she and Ephemer go to get Player, so it's unknown if she went straight to where the other Dandelions were gathered or not

She's been compared to Ava quite a few times (x)(x)(x). So if you believe Ava might have killed Strelitzia then Skuld, who is quite similar, could have gone through with it as well

Her eyes. Yes, I'm using the fact that Skuld has golden brown eyes as a point because the only characters we've seen with eyes that aren't blue, purple, green, teal, or silver is Skuld and those possessed by Darkness. Even the reoccurring Dandelions seem to have one of the above eye colors. The only exception may be Brain and that's 'cause I can't tell what colors his eyes are since it's so dark

Again, Chirithy's "Why...?" possibly implies that they knew the killer. And they had previously seen Skuld going into that building with Player

Against:

To the first point of For, Lauriam and Strelitzia obviously knew each other being siblings. Lauriam claimed to have not seen her much after he convinced her to join the Dandelions (x) sometimes within the two years before her death (x), but that doesn't change the fact that they met beforehand. So unless Ava didn't know (which seems unlikely), the new Union Leaders were allowed to meet and know each other as long as they didn't know about the other being chosen.

Again, only one of the new Union Leaders was an impostor. Either Ava messed up big time when telling Skuld about Ephemer, Brain was chosen by MoM, or Ava decided after meeting her that Skuld wouldn't be included in the Union Leaders

As far as we know, she didn't know Strelitzia had the book

Darkness

For:

It's Darkness. Taking on the name of what they're fighting and helping Maleficient is all kinds of shady

The book could have been given to another. Just because Strelitzia was killed by someone, doesn't mean that person was the one to become the new Union Leader in her place. The killer could have easily passed the role onto another

We don't know anything about them. As with the Ava is Darkness Theory, Darkness could actually be anybody. We don't know their abilities, we don't know if that black blob is their true form or not, we don't know their motives. All we know is that they have knowledge of the future, know MoM's plans, and know how to travel forward in time (x)(x). Because of this they could even be someone already on this list

Against:

As far as we know, they didn't know Strelitzia had the book. This is excluding the Ava is Darkness Theory

And now for some honorable mentions I've seen

Lauriam - almost completely cleared of suspicion

Brain - almost completely cleared of suspicion

Strelitzia's Chirithy - doubted Strelitzia and would've been able to inform other's about her role

Gula - in the house where Strelitzia was killed

Luxu - could've known she was to be a Union Leader

MoM - would've known she was to be a Union Leader

Luxord's Somebody - there are claims that he's Darkness, plus we haven't seen him yet

Demyx's Somebody - there are claims that he's MoM, plus we haven't seen him yet

While going over this I did notice that some of the new Union Leaders are similar to the old ones and maybe MoM just picked those that could take over in both role and personality. Ava = Skuld (obviously) and Strelitzia = Invi with the whole watching thing. Kinda falls apart after that though with Aced, as grumpy as he can be

Obviously I'm biased but really I don't care too much on who it was; I just want this game of Clue to be over and to find out who killed my precious baby angel. Just think of all the possibilities for art and fics and photoshoots

Let me know if there are any tags I should add, if I missed anything, if any of the links or information are incorrect, if there are any typos, and feel free to comment any ideas or theories.

Crossposted from Pillowfort

[aliceslantern]

Beyond this Existence, chapter 16

Summary:  After Xehanort's death, Demyx finds himself unexpectedly human in Radiant Garden. With nothing but fragments of his past and a cryptic statement from Xemnas, he's left to figure out who he is. When Ienzo asks for his help with a project, the two find common ground, but the trauma and secrets in both of their pasts could tear it apart. Zemyx (Demyx/Ienzo), post-KH3 canon compliant

Read it on FF.net/ on AO3

----

Excerpt of an audio recording from device 5.875.32.852 (admin is registered as EVEN [surname REDACTED]. Transcription programs recognize the speaking voice of the admin as well as one other distinct voice. Transcription errors due to colloquialisms, slang, accent, muffled speech, etc. are acknowledged and will be used in further evolutions of this program.

Recording commences at 16:03.

--I hope you do not mind that I am recording this. I assure you any we can redact any exceedingly personal information. This is for my edification only. I would never dream of letting it fall into unsavory hands.

--Uh. Sure.

--Can you state your name and age in its entirety?

--Yeah. I’m [birth name and surname REDACTED]. I still go by Demyx. I’m twenty-two.

--That’s your name? That’s not what I thought.

--Yeah, well. It seems like I’m full of surprises. I don’t care who knows it, but it doesn’t seem to fit right anymore. You know?

--I suppose. So. Can you tell me what you remember, as far back as you can, as comfortably as you can?

--I’ll try.

----

These memories don’t feel like mine.

It’s weird. I guess it’s more like I’m reading a book, or watching a movie.

“It” started, if by it you mean all this Keyblade crap, when I was five. I was my parents’ only kid. We were broke. Like, squatting and going to soup kitchens broke. There were the early days, when the Foretellers--the five chosen ones or whatever--were just building their unions and preaching about their ideas in the plaza. I’m honestly not sure if they were the first wielders, but they were definitely the ones that made it a thing, That promised this as the way to seek the light.

Heartless started coming--from the future, or so they said in the square. We needed a way to defend ourselves. So they started testing people for worthiness. Kids were always easier. Less corrupt. More full of light.

More manipulable.

They said they would take the kids from more troubled circumstances, and give them what they needed to survive. In my parents’ eyes, food and a place to live. The luckier ones could stay at home. So that caused a big influx of poor people sending their kids in to be tested and trained. While some of the better off ones saw it as a sign of honor, everyone else wanted to keep their kids safe. Even the ones with Keyblades were dying.

My parents figured Heartless were better than me starving to death. So they sent me, by myself, for the test.

The older ones could pick their unions, but the real little ones like me they chose a more “organic” approach. They take you inside, and there the Foretellers are with a little table of five toys. Apparently picking one shows some intrinsic quality they’re looking for, or whatever. I got chosen to be in Ursus. And just like that, my mom and dad hugged me goodbye and left me there.

It was hard. Physically, mentally. I missed my parents. The training was grueling, and it hurt. But whenever I would cry or get upset either Master Aced or one of the older kids would tell me to be quiet. Because I was lucky. And I had a chance to be something.

But you see, Even, it doesn’t matter how lucky I was. I was still getting razzed by Heartless, getting thrown in and out of time to these worlds, getting reprimanded for bunging off quests or not getting enough lux. I got kicked out of a few parties for that. Making friends wasn’t so easy when I got a reputation for being a crybaby and a coward, even though I was six or seven.

I still tried to see my parents when I got a chance. They moved around a lot. Dad tried to get steady work a few times, but I think he had some kind of mental illness or something, and he could never be on time, or do what he was told, or get out of bed, so they lost their apartments a lot. Mom was a street musician, and she took in students sometimes, but it wasn’t enough money.

She taught me, too.

Compared to Keyblade stuff, music was so easy. I was so good at it. Knowing I wasn’t terrible at everything gave me strength to go on. I had a way to take all the bad feelings, all the nightmares, and make something beautiful out of it.

I tried to quit the union.

You wouldn’t believe the telling off Master Aced gave me. “Why was I ashamed of my heritage”. “Why wasn’t I doing my part.” “What did I think I would become otherwise, I came from the gutter.” It was devastating. Without the Keyblade, they said, I was worthless. I didn’t want to believe that was true.

As the years passed, and this all kept happening, I tried to study music on the side. That’s when I started keeping the diary. I wrote these weird avant-garde compositions, but that wasn’t enough to salve the pain. So I wrote how I felt, and if anybody found it, I’d just say it was nonsense. But nobody did, though. During that time the tensions between the unions started to grow, mostly over who was getting the most light. Kids were fighting in the streets. Killing each other’s Chirithys--that’s how I lost mine. Even the most legendary parties fell apart. People were still dying.

One of these days, when I was almost seventeen, I was going back to the dorms after another quest. Master Ava--Vulpes’s leader--stopped me. She said she’d heard about me, and I braced myself for another lecture like the ones Aced liked to give. But it was my focus on the bigger picture of my life she liked, she said. She wanted me to join a special union she was building.

The Dandelions.

The reason she built this union was because she feared there would soon be war between the others, and that war would escalate to apocalyptic proportions. Remember, we’d all been training for years at that point, we all had way overpowered magic--even me. But because we had no foresight as to anything other than collecting lux, nobody could see the consequences of fighting.

She was going to take this special union, and she was going to teach us how to escape this world altogether, just to make sure somebody survived.

I know you’re probably dying to know how we did it, but I honestly can’t remember. It was some kind of spell, for sure. I know that each of us cast it, and we were all supposed to go together. But it’s one of those things too slippery and powerful to hold onto for long. Not to mention, this travel was supposed to wipe our memories of the trauma and give us a fresh start. So she said.

The war started earlier than expected. The only reason I went to the battle was to find the other Dandelions so we could leave. But I’m not sure if I missed a memo or something. They were gone. Then again, there were so many bodies that had been just so completely fucking destroyed that they could have been some of these people.

…

…

…

[Audio muffled or indiscernible; external knowledge of social cues suggests emotional distress.]

People were just fucking killing each other. They… they tried to kill me, too. I remember Keyblades hitting my armor and I panicked. And I guess instinctively I cast the spell and got out. Got somewhere, or I guess some when is the better word. I ended up in the same place, just later, surrounded by all these rusting Keyblades, my memories completely cleaved and running through my fingers like sand. I remember that, feeling it all drain away like a dream.

That’s when Xemnas found me. When things started to hurt. The shock and the armor made it hard to tell, but someone had stabbed me clean through the chest.

He was nice to me, too. He said he’d been waiting for me and that I was going to be okay. He could give me purpose. My wounds would heal.

I died, and Demyx was born. Memory-free.

You know the rest.

End recording, duration--25:17.

----

“Goodness gracious. ” Like a child listening to their favorite story, he’d been leaning forward attentively. He’d even started recording it on his gummiphone, which Demyx initially felt was a violation of his privacy. But considering how close-lipped Vexen had always been about his experiments, he knew, if anything, his words would be safe in Even’s hands. “This is a window into our history.”

“Yours, maybe.”

“You simply must tell me more about these Foretellers. How is this organization structured? What was their training regimen like? Who was their leader--did they have a leader?”

“It's a lot to talk about." His throat was dry from talking for so long.

Even exhaled. He paused the recording. “I suppose you’re right. Of course you must be very tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I would say so.”

A beat of silence.

“Thank you for sharing this with me,” Even said. “I realize… it is not easy. Especially given our past relationship.”

“Like you said. Forgiveness.”

He nodded once, curtly. “Would you like something to help you sleep?”

“I think I’ll be okay. But thanks.”

“Well. Don’t get too used to it.”

Demyx looked at him. He didn’t know how else to be kind, Demyx realized. It must take immense effort. “Wake me up if anything changes with Ienzo,” he said. “Please.”

“You can be sure of it.”

----

The next several days, he felt utterly hollow. Demyx slept a lot. This was a sort of mental exhaustion. He was afraid to stray too far away from Ienzo’s side, but his condition remained unchanged. Guilt clung to him. He wasn’t really sure what to do with himself. He cleaned his room, which took all of ten minutes considering his lack of possessions. Did laundry. Found a couple books to read which weren’t half bad. It was a toxic combination of boredom and stagnation. At the end of the first week of this, Dilan asked him to come play cards.

“I figure you could use a bit of a diversion,” he said. He offered a smile.

“I guess I’m being pretty pathetic, huh,” Demyx said. He forced a laugh.

“Given the circumstances? No. But wallowing must be horrifically boring.”

Dilan’s quarters were even smaller than Even’s. He and Aeleus shared a sitting room and kitchenette. A faint smell of garlic lingered in the room, along with something like eucalyptus. He had a small herb garden, each one meticulously cared for. Near this was a pile of puzzle boxes.

Dilan took out a pack of cards. Demyx sat gingerly on the couch. It was less stern than the other furniture, a bit more comfortable, a soft velor that felt good to touch. He was becoming increasingly reliant on the tactile to stay grounded. He didn’t know if this was one of his myriad issues, or an effect of being overwhelmed.

Dilan crossed to a small glass cabinet. “Would you like a drink?”

“God. Yes.”

He poured them each a few fingers of whiskey into small crystal glasses. It burned when Demyx sipped it, but he liked it. “What shall we play? It’s a shame we’ve no third. I’d rather have liked to play Blackjack.”

“It’s not like I have anything to bet.”

“Too, too true.”

They settled on Hearts. Demyx didn’t know what to say to Dilan. After winning the first game, Dilan got them another drink.

“I’m not sure how I feel about your newfound reticence,” Dilan said. “It’s so odd, to see how humanity has changed you youth.”

“How so?”

“You were hardly ever so reserved. Ienzo was never so friendly. You should have heard him, chattering away to Sora. ...I’m sorry.”

“It doesn’t bother me. To hear his name. Either of them, I mean.” He felt only a shadow of the ping of anxiety he got when thinking about Sora. Of course, knowing what he knew now, it made sense that Sora’d had to strike him down. Psychically, there were bigger fish to fry.

“You’ve got a focus to you. An intensity. It’s like you’re more present.”

“I don’t feel very present.”

“Well. We’ve all received some shocks recently.”

The alcohol was making him warm and a little dizzy. Demyx wasn’t sure whether or not he liked the sensation. He slipped off his shoes and pulled his feet up under him. “Why did you become an apprentice?”

Dilan thought for a moment, shuffled his cards, and then drank down the remainder of his whiskey in one swallow. “Why indeed,” he muttered. “I was only a boy at the time, a bit younger than yourself. I needed something to do with my life. I’d always liked creating things. Building things. Ansem had passed some initiatives to make Radiant Garden a haven for the sciences. I applied to study engineering under him, and was accepted.”

“Just like that?”

“Just like that.” He chuckled. “Why did you choose to become a Keyblade wielder?”

“I didn’t,” Demyx said. “It chose me. I was poor. Being a wielder was pretty much the only way to survive.”

“I abhor such economies,” Dilan said sourly. “I cannot understand how some leaders will let their charges suffer for basic human rights.”

“I can’t really have a realized perspective of it. I was still a kid when I left.”

“What will you do now?”

“What will I… do?” Demyx repeated numbly. “Frankly, I didn’t think I’d get this far.”

“You and I both.”

He continued to pet the velor. He was feeling dizzier still, and heavy. “I want to be with Ienzo,” he said. “And I want to make friends. Real ones. But I don’t know where I’d fit.”

“What’s that old adage? “Be yourself?””

“Hasn’t exactly worked in the past.”

“It is a theory of mine that becoming a Nobody worsens one’s flaws and insecurities.” Dilan poured them another drink. “Our personalities devolved and repelled. Fed by darkness. Take your time. Be honest. That’s all.”

Demyx picked up the crystal cup and swirled the amber liquid around a little. “I guess.”

“What about that guitar of yours?”

“Sitar?”

“Yes. That.”

“I don’t know,” he said. “But I’ll find out.”

---

The next day, it sleeted. The echo of the splotches of snow piling up outside was audible within the confines of the castle. Demyx went to the library, armed with a cup of coffee. He lit a fire in the hearth. Once it was large enough to tend to itself, he sat down cross legged in front of it.

For some reason he was nervous. This was akin to stage fright. He’d much rather be worthy of Arpeggio than the stupid Keyblade.

Demyx held out his hands and pulled from within. The Keyblade appeared. He sighed. “I don’t want you,” he muttered. Let it disappear. He remembered the way the sitar had felt, the perfect weight of it, the smooth varnished wood.

Keyblade again. Demyx had to resist the urge to just toss the damn thing. He stared down at it. Traced the smooth shaft, twisted the links of the chain.

“Please,” he said to it. “I don’t want to fight. I just want--”

Not to be an idiot talking to an inanimate object?

Vanishing. Reappearing. It didn’t matter how long he thought about his Nobody memories, of all the music he’d ever made with Arpeggio. Of the fights or occasionally lack thereof.

“Are you mad at me?” Demyx asked out loud. “I didn’t ask for this to all happen.”

Hadn’t he?

Oh, we do too have hearts. Don’t be mad.

“Shut up,” he hissed at himself.

The fire popped as a log settled, startling him.

“Is it because I’m not him anymore?” he continued. “I’m still the sa-- no. I’m not.”

Demyx lay back on the plush carpet.

Remembering death was not easy. Doubly hard now that he knew it wasn’t the first time he’d been slain with Keyblades. Some of them were sharp, most blunt. You’d crush your ribs before you drew blood. Which was what happened. He rested his palm on the spot were the scars were.

Sora, Donald, Goofy. So much rage. Realization that this was a murder-suicide. He was able to pin Sora twice before the pain was too much. Before fading. Before waking up. Before Braig, with a soft smile, and a boy with silver hair, and a hot stab to the chest. What would have happened, really, if he hadn’t been turned into a vessel? What would he have done? Run away? Spent his life friendless, unloved and alone?

Without Ienzo?

He needed connections. Without them he could never hope to be whole--at least, figuratively. He had to do better. To be better. But how? Fancy displays of heroism were functionally worthless if there was no real intent behind them.

Demyx stood. Despite it all, he sort of had an idea.

----

The winter coat he had was warm enough, but it was not quite waterproof, and by the time he’d waded through the slop he was damp and chilly. When he reached the door of the committee’s headquarters, though, a knot of anxiety overrode his physical discomfort. Demyx stood for several moments at the door as wet snow piled on his hat, unsure of what to say. Several times he reached up to knock and withdrew his hand. He had barely placed his palm on the doorknob before it opened of its own accord.

“‘Could’ve finished War and Peace in the time it took you to make up your mind,” a middle-aged blond man said gruffly. “Come on in, kid.” He was smoking a cigarette, and its smell mixed with the ambient woodsmoke. “Don’t think we’ve formally met. I’m Cid.” He offered his hand. “Saw you unconscious, but I don’t think you remember that.”

“Not--exactly--” Demyx shook his hand.

“Let me take your jacket before you get snow everywhere.” He took the wet garments and hung them on a coat rack.

“It’s warm in here,” Demyx said, half in wonder. He was so used to the drafty castle that he’d forgotten what adequate heating felt like.

Cid raised an eyebrow. “‘Course it is.”

“It’s, um, the castle. Heating’s not very good.”

“I imagine it wouldn’t be.”

A beat passed. Demyx felt his anxiety rising and floundered for things to say.

“I’m guessing you’re here for Aerith?” Cid asked. He stubbed out the cigarette in an ashtray.

“Well. Sort of. I want to help.”

“With what,” he said blankly.

“Anything. I mean I--” Demyx could feel himself turning red.

“In the middle of winter?”

He bit his lip and looked down.

Cid chuckled. “I’m messing with you, kid. We’re always happy to have an extra pair of hands. Any of ya’ll got a sense of humor over there?”

“Let’s just say it’s been a tough week,” Demyx said.

“I’ll say. Weather’s been driving us mad. I finally kicked out Yuffie and Leon to get some peace and quiet.”

“...Er. Sorry about that.”

He shrugged. “I’m sure one or both of them will be back soon. They know a bit more about the operations stuff than I do. Why don’t you have a seat?”

Demyx perched in one of the folding chairs. Cid sat back down at a computer and began absently writing code. He wondered if he should say something. Anything. Ask questions. He kept his hands knotted in his lap.

A door he hadn’t noticed previously opened, and out came Aerith, drying her hands on a towel. “Demyx? What are you doing here? Is everything okay?”

“Fine--well, enough. I’m here to help.”

She crossed over a plant on the table and cut off a few of its leaves. “Can’t do a whole lot in the winter other than plan, unfortunately.”

“What are you doing with those?”

“Making medicine.” She nodded her head towards the other room. “Want to see?”

He followed her. It was a small, narrow room, with a cot up against one wall. The other wall was lined with cabinets and some counter space. A few different types of dried leaves and blooms were stuffed in the myriad little drawers. She took the leaves, scattered them into mortar. To Demyx, the mix looked like a salad more than a medicine. She crushed it down, whispered a spell, and then with an odd little device began packing it into capsules. “Pectin,” she explained. “Goes down easier than the raw leaves. And doesn’t get stuck in your throat.”  She held up the tiny pill so he could see.

“What does it do?” Demyx asked.

“Cold cure,” she said simply. “We need lots of it this time of year. And colds always change. I’m forever tweaking it.”

A memory he hadn’t fully process washed in. He’d never been the best fighter in any of his parties, often left to provide background support. The spells then he’d used had been barbaric in comparison, but at least it kept people alive.

“When did you learn how to do all this stuff?” he asked. He was feeling odd.

“Oh, ever since I was a kid,” she said. “My mom and grandma before me were healers. They sorta taught me what I know now. And I’m also teaching myself.”

“Do you think it’s possible for someone else to learn?”

She crushed more herbs. “I’m sure it is. It’s magic like anything else.”

“What about--say--me?”

Aerith turned slightly. She appraised him.

“I’ve been wanting to help people and I don’t know how. You saved me. You saved Ienzo. I can’t do science, and I’m not a good fighter. But I have a good memory.” He considered the irony of that statement. But he’d always been good at memorizing.

“It’s a long road. This isn’t something you can do halfway. People’s lives could be at stake. But you know that.” She smiled a little. Tapped her forehead. “You’ve been through a lot in your life. Seen a lot of suffering.”

“Haven’t we all,” he said dryly.

“That’s… right.” She dusted off her hands. “It’s not that I don’t trust you, or believe you can do it. But you’ve gotta have a certain kind of tenacity. An ingenuity. Tell you what. Why don’t you read some base healing theory? There’s no way Ansem doesn’t have books about it. If that doesn’t send you running for the hills, we can talk.” She winked.

Demyx nodded. “Okay. Sounds good.”

“Good luck.”

He stood.

“Was that the answer you needed?” she asked.

“I think it was.”

----

A week or so passed. He tried to do what Aerith said, and study. But Demyx had never been the most studious, and almost everything he learned sans the very basics he’d learned in the field. He spent these minutes and hours alternating between the text and the dictionary. Why were academics such bad writers?

Sometimes he studied near Ienzo, sometimes he didn’t. Ienzo slept and slept and slept. Demyx could feel the utter lack of presence like a missing tooth. Honestly, being around him and not being able to talk to him was nearly painful.

During one of these marathon reading sessions, Even came in to check Ienzo’s vitals, as he did several times each day. “EKG activity is still fairly limited. But improving. He must be dreaming.”

“About what?” Demyx asked.

“I’ve no idea. ...What is that?” He reached town and felt at Demyx’s temperature. “Are you quite alright?”

Demyx sighed, marked his place in the book, and shut it. “I’m studying. Sue me.”

“But why?”

He drummed his fingers on the desk. “You’re just going to make fun of me.”

“I will… not,” Even said with great restraint.

Demyx raised an eyebrow.

“I must admit I am still getting used to the new you. Tell me. I will withhold judgement.”

“I’m thinking of learning to heal. Like. The magic.” He braced himself.

Even didn’t laugh. “Really? Why is that?”

“I want to help people. And this seems like something I can actually do.” He sighed. “I hate feeling helpless. If I can help someone not feel that way, it’d be nice. You know.”

“I admit I never put much stock in such magic initially. But seeing how that woman has cared for the two of you, I’m starting to change my mind.”

“Do you think I can do it?”

Even considered this. “You had a fairly potent magical ability in the Organization. I don’t see why not.”

“You don’t think I’m too stupid?”

He scowled. “I find it stupid that you hold my opinion in such high esteem.” Then, softening. “As you said. You’re not a scientist. But that really has little to do with practical intelligence.” He picked up the tome. “I’d be glad to help you, should you so want it. These aren’t exactly light reading. It’d be convenient to have another pair of hands.” He picked up another bag of saline. “Well. If you’re so interested, I might as well teach you how to do this much.” He showed Demyx how to change the IV and how to take base vitals. “I’m hoping we won’t need to do this for too much longer. But that’s all up to him.” Even patted Ienzo’s head.

“I miss him.” He felt tears in his eyes.

“As do I,” Even said softly. “Come. Are you hungry?”

---

The more Demyx studied, the more his memories became clearer. In those first shocked days, it had been hard to focus on any memory for very long. Now, not so much.

He’d been a healer then, but not a very good one. He’d still been a coward. More than once someone had gotten egregiously hurt because he hadn’t been willing to step up. He’d been kicked out of multiple parties that way.

He didn’t want to be a coward. It was time to be mature; a grown up. Deal with grown up things in a grown up way. Don’t run. Face it. The hurt will be over that much faster.

For the first time, he tried to summon the Keyblade because he wanted to. But that wasn’t what happened. Instead of cool metal, there was warm, varnished wood. Familiar. Well-worn. He held the sitar tenderly. Cried a bit out of relief.

He was still, despite it all, himself.

[nyacat39]

KHUX: The Lost Ones Ch 1

Just a heads up before reading this, I’m calling the Player Character Avery for this, since it’s the closest gender neutral name I could get to the word “Avatar”, also “Brain” is called Blaine in this. Alright, head’s up over, hope you enjoy!

Next Chapter

Bad Memories, Bad Dreams:

Rain pelted the ground as the sound of blades clashing and battle cries echoed through the desolate valley. Bodies laid upon the ground with key shaped blades of varying shapes and sizes stuck up from the ground next to them. Blood pooled below them and many seemed to have holes in their chests from their missing hearts, hearts that seemed to take on a golden light and float off into the sky as more people fell after the final hits from the blades.

Despite all this a young teenage boy with hair as white as snow raced through the fields with crystal blue eyes scanning around for someone he knew. His long red scarf trailed behind him as his black boots kicked up puddles of water as he ran as fast as his legs could take him through this war field.

Please be okay. He thought, repeating it multiple times as he continued to scan the fields of battle. His breath shaky and his drenched clothes making him feel even more cold as he continued to miss what he was looking for… as well as seeing many of the ones falling around him were those close to his own age, give or take a couple years.

The white haired boy dodged and avoided as many of the battles as he could as he continued to run. Of course he had his own Keyblade, a long purple and gold colored one with a shooting star being the main design for the teeth of the blade,  out as well for protection from the occasional fireballs and ice shards that would pierce or burn their targets, but it had yet to be used on anyone… and Ephemer intended to keep it that way as long as he could.

Reaching a high point over a clearing, Ephemer stopped to catch his breath as he surveyed the land before him. The echoing screams of the fallen burning into his memory as he saw people fall below… but one figure stuck out to him as he watched a familiar form seem to slowly pull themselves into a safe area. Praying to whatever divine being he could, Ephemer slid down to the ground below and raced to the figures side.

“Avery!” he called out, hoping to everything that was light it was the person he was looking for.

“E...phe...mer?” They weakly questioned moving their head up to address the white haired boy, and showing a large bloody diagonal gash, that barely missed their left eye and cut across their nearly blue lips. Their normally tied back brown hair was stuck to their face and their eyes looked faded and unfocused. Ephemer’s heart stopped when he saw the pool of blood below their body… as well as the trail they made just dragging their self all this way.

“Avery hold on! I’m here…” The white haired boy sunk down to his knees and turned his friend over so he could better see the wounds they had. He had to hold back the bile that slowly tried to make its way up his throat from the long gashes across Avery’s chest and stomach. They were so deep and mud was caked around them from having been dragged in the substance for a while. Immediately he held his keyblade up and focused his magic into it, hopping the limited healing magic he knew would fix this. As he charged his magic up, Avery raised a shaking, weakened and up and touched his face. Their skin was as cold as death… and yet despite that and the pain they were in they smiled.

“You’re… really… here.” Tears seemed to start crawling down from their faded eyes as they looked up at the face of their friend.

“CURE!” Ephemer screamed with tears of his own rolling down his soaked face, as if hopping the louder he cast the spell the more effective it would be. A green light shined around Avery for a moment… yet none of the wounds seemed to close.

“I… waited for… for so… long…” Avery continued, still having a smile on their face despite the horrible amount of pain they were probably in. “I’m… I’m so happy… Ephem-” they began to cough violently, blood coming out and getting a bit onto Ephemer’s once white shirt.

“No…. nononononono NO!” Ephemer screamed and then rapidly began to cast as many cure spells as his own magical supply would allow. Despite that he only barely managed to close the worst of the injuries, and they looked like they would still rip open at the slightest of movements. Breathing heavily from magical fatigue and his own emotional distress as he watched Avery take many pain filled breaths, Ephemer found his vision blurring and distorting everything around him.

“Sorry… we couldn’t… meet at the… fountain again…” Avery barely whispered, their eyes slowly closing. “The sunsets… were always the best… I wish we… could see that together again.”

“We will, just hold on!” Ephemer pulled them up with difficulty as his own exhaustion was starting to kick in. He held them close while wrapping one of their arms over his shoulders and using one arm to hold onto their side as he dragged them forward. “I’m going to open a portal! I’m going to save you! Then we can see it again together! Just hold on a little longer!”

“Eph...emer?” Avery’s voice was so weak, so quiet even near his ear but he still heard the confusion in the voice and see the sightless eyes that stared right past him, almost desperately looking for something. “Where…. Did you go… don’t leave again… please…”

Ephemer sat up quickly in his bed as he felt his heart break all over again in his chest. His vision was blurred to the point he barely registered he was in the room he picked out nearly a year ago now in the clock tower. As his vision improved just a little bit, the white haired boy quickly flung himself out of his bed and raced out the door. Running as fast as his barely awake legs could take him, the boy raced through the halls down a path that he remembers by heart to the one room he visited more than his own.

Through the door he saw a lone pod, like many of the other pods that the other members of the Dandelions were in much deeper down in the tower, but unlike those this one was hooked up to large amounts of cables and medical equipment that the teen barely even knew how they worked. Hearing the familiar, slow beeping of the heart monitor Ephemer relaxed just a bit as he made his way to the pod’s side.

Inside rested the sleeping form of Avery, wrapped up in bandage under the provided blanket, attached to two wires inside, and breathing slowly through the breathing mask as they slept. Ephemer rested a hand on top of the pod and faintly traced the scar that had formed from the gash his friend had gotten across the face when he found them. Guilt filled his heart as his gaze went to where he knew the bandages were and went back to the scar on Avery’s face.

My fault… this is all my fault…

“Ephemer?” the familiar voice made the white haired boy jump nearly a foot in the air as he turned to the doorway. Standing there in her black nightdress with a sugar skull design on the chest and hem of the knee length sleepwear, was Skuld. Her long black hair a mess from having just gotten out of bed to investigate the sound of his panicked footfalls no doubt.

“Sorry for waking you…”

“Bad dreams again?”

“Memories… actually…” Ephemer slowly turned back to look at Avery’s pod, his hand was still resting on top of it.

“Why don’t you just go to Blaine? He’s got quite a few Spirits made now. Pretty sure he wouldn’t mind giving one to you like he did with Lauriam to help.” Skuld offered as he walked over to his side, looking into the pod with a saddened expression at the sleeping teen.

“I’m fine… besides this just reminds me to come and make sure they remain stable…”

“The attached alarms would alert us if they weren’t you know… Besides this is the sixth time this week alone Em. You’re getting as bad as Lauriam was when his problems started.” Skuld gently placed a worried hand on the white haired boy’s shoulder as her brown eyes stared off, remembering how a couple months ago the pink haired boy seemed to have nearly stopped sleeping all together from the constant nightmares he had from the Keyblade War.

“I know… I just… I want to move on from it, not lock it away.”

“The spirits don’t lock these things away Em.”

“She’s right on that one Ephemer.”

Not even needing to glance towards the door to know who it was that was there, Ephemer sighed.

“You going to go into the technicalities of how they work again Blaine?”

“Nah, I’m writing a book on it instead. But really, they’re here to just help with the nightmares.” The black haired teen waltzed right on in, hands in the pockets of his blue pajama pants with black star marks on them and loose tank top exposing a scar on the older teens left bicep… probably from one of his failed trick shot attempts of the past if Ephemer was guessing right.

It was quiet for a few beats, Skuld noticing how Blaine’s uncovered eye was looking down at Avery and how much more noticable the scar across his nose was now without his hat on.

“Besides… I don’t think your friend here would want you to worry yourself to death over them.” Blaine’s words caused Ephemer’s head to snap over in his direction, while Skuld’s face tried to keep a neutral look to it, despite the fact she was attempting to hold back a frown.

“You wouldn’t know Blaine. You didn’t see the state they were in or-”

“That’s true.” Blaine cut in. Skuld bit at her lower lip a little and backed out from between the two boys, just in case something happened, especially since she still had a hard time reading Blaine. “But what I do know is that if they really are your friend… They wouldn’t want you to be losing sleep over them. They’d probably want you to be taking care of yourself as well.”

Ephemer was quiet as he looked down a little, and let the other boy’s words sink in.

“Because as a fellow Union Leader,” Blaine turned to look Ephemer in the face, and even getting the white haired boy to look at him as well by speaking. “As well as your friend… I know I would want you to.”

“Blaine…”

“I mean, I hope I’m your friend by this point, but still.” The black haired boy shrugged and had his, by now, signature smirk on his face. Skuld found herself relaxing as she heard Ephemer sigh.

“Alright, I’ll head back to bed… Quick question though.”

“Go for it.”

“What are you doing up this early? I can get why Skuld’s awake, her room’s not far from here… but your rooms no where near here.” Skuld blinked as the strangeness of it finally registered in her tired mind. Ephemer was right, Blaine shouldn’t have been woken up by the white haired boy… let alone have been able to get here so fast.

“Oh that… Couldn’t sleep myself, so I went to the Workshop and began messing around with a couple new ideas I had brewing. Been there for a while, then I heard someone running in the halls so I thought I’d investigate.” Blaine shrugged like it was no big deal, while both Ephemer and Skuld stared at him like he was an idiot.

Hypocrite. Was the one word ringing through both Ephemer’s and Skuld’s minds as they continued to stare at the black haired teen. The steady beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound they heard, yet even then it was simply just apart of the background by this point.

[keytherapist]

Below is Quest’s full profile/bio!

Basic Information

NAME: Quest NICKNAME: N/A AGE: 16 GENDER: CisMale OCCUPATION: Party Leader in the Leopardus Union > Heart (Keyblade) Smith

Physical Traits

EYE COLOR: Orange/Yellow HAIR COLOR: Red HEIGHT: 5'5 BODY BUILD: Average, has some muscle but it’s barely noticeable NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: Eyes being more of a gradient than a normal color

Personality

INTELLIGENCE: Semi-Knowledgeable in most things, and isn’t afraid to ask questions when he doesn’t know something. TEMPERAMENT: Choleric ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good > Lawful Neutral HEAVENLY VIRTUE: Diligence  DEADLY SIN: Envy LIKES: capes, ribbons, being a leader DISLIKES: liars, spicy food, yelling DISPOSITION: Has motherly instincts whether you like it or not. Tends to not show emotion that much. EXTRAS: Is extremely blunt, but also extremely bad at lying.

Biography

Quest is a gifted keyblade wielder who is originally from the world of Beast’s castle - though did not hesitate to leave when his power presented itself. He took the power of the keyblade as a sign he could truly make a difference in the world. In many worlds, it would turn out. He didn’t have much left at home anyways - he had been living own his own for awhile. His parents had both died to the plague, but he had survived thanks to their love and careful precautions to make sure he did not catch it. However he did resent them a little bit, for always lying and saying they were fine. So when entering Daybreak town he vowed not to lie, or do as little lying as possible. He had never been good at it anyways.

Upon picking a union, he wasn’t sure what drew him to Leopardus Union. It just...felt right. He was a little awkward and his blunt nature kept most at a distance. However, a handful of wielders who wanted to help him managed to get him to join their small party and he slowly started to gain confidence. After this it was realized that he was a pretty powerful wielder and magic user - and this small group of friends decided to make him party leader. His confidence only grew after this, and he showed to be a good leader. He obviously cared for any and all of his party members, offering to help them no matter how he felt, healing their injuries after dangerous missions and raids, reminding them to get enough sleep and food - he was dubbed sort of the ‘mother’ of the group as well as its leader.

He was a careful wielder, which is probably why he didn’t visit the Heartsmiths very often. Truthfully, he didn’t even know such a thing existed until his keyblade finally did get damaged enough that one of his party members mentioned it. Going into the shop the first time was strange, and he had to wait because Wynter had stepped out for a moment and only Atlas and him were in the shop. His first words aside from asking for the smith were simply ‘your glasses are stupid’. His bluntness wasn’t always rude, and he covered his mouth a moment later - embarrassed and ashamed of himself. But Atlas laughed and that was the beginning of their friendship. Later he met Kei and while the two of them didn’t get along with eachother at first, he tried to be civil so that stress wouldn’t come to Atlas who had few friends - but there were times his blunt nature clashed with her attitude and Atlas was forced to play mediator.

During the build up to the war, Quest was deeply disturbed by the attitude of some of his party members and even went as far as to kick them out of the party if they showed to be too aggressive. Not long after, he was approached by the Dandelions to possibly become a member and he was torn. While he definitely didn’t want to be involved in the war and wanted to help the world after - he was worried about his party members and also people like Atlas who weren’t keyblade wielders. He was told that Atlas was actually considered to be a Dandelion because the world after could use a heartsmith, and he requested that he be the one to convince Atlas to join them, and then the two of them would join the Dandelions together. Of course he considered Kei during this time aswell - but she was one of the competitive keyblade wielders and he’s not sure how she would react. He decided that after getting Atlas on board, he would ask about Kei joining. If people had to be selected, he probably couldn’t just assume he could ask her to join and needed to consult the others.

However while he was speaking to Atlas about the Dandelions, Kei busted in and started yelling at him. An argument broke out and he ended up storming out before he could get Atlas’ answer. He spoke more with the Dandelions after this, them comforting him about his friend and telling him that he could take his time with convincing Atlas - though not too long. The war was upon them and he knew that. He still had to figure out how to tell his party that he was going to be disbanding. He spent time with them as it might be the last time he gets the chance to before the war started and wanted their last memories together to be happy. He was also considering how to talk to Kei during all of this - he had heard the rumors that she took over her party but wasn’t sure how true they were.

Eventually, he passed off the party to one of the original members and left - the same day he went in search of Kei. He managed to find her and apologize, and the two of them broke down- though Quest tried to keep it together for her sake and comforted her. After they had calmed down, they both went to the Heartsmith shop to speak to Wynter and Atlas, surprised to see Atlas passed out and Wynter obviously exhausted. While Kei watched the shop from the outside, Atlas got them both into bed and started healing them. It took a few hours before they both felt good enough to stand again, and that’s when Wynter gathered the three teens and told them of his plan. His plan to freeze Atlas in time.

Quest was hesitant, because he still remembered the Dandelion request. He agreed that the world after could use a heartsmith, and wanted to bring it up. But he feels as if he would have gotten the same reaction, with Atlas refusing to leave his master’s side. So he agreed with the plan, deciding he would tell the Dandelions of it and have them save Atlas in the future when he was needed or when they had the time. So he helped hold Atlas down with Kei while Wynter stabbed his keyblade through his friend’s heart.

After comforting Kei, and himself, he went to Master Gula to tell him that he was quitting the Union to become a heartsmith. It was a difficult decision - at least when he was becoming a Dandelion the union leaders knew about the group and its purpose. Now it just felt like he was running away, and he hated it. Gula accepted his wishes though and gave Quest his blessing to go become a heartsmith. With that done he joined Kei and got a crash course in how to be a heartsmith from Wynter - sitting in on his next few sessions.

Him and Kei would be the two that would go to the battlefield to help keyblade wielders though. They helped whoever they could, no matter which union they were from. This made them targets, though. The two of them desperately tried to stay together and watch eachother’s backs while still healing those who were attempting to do them harm. He couldn’t help but hope maybe they would see what they were doing and be moved, maybe they would stop fighting. But no, this wouldn’t be how it ended.

Kei gave her life to protect Quest from a fatal blow, and Quest held her in his arms during her last moments. He watched her heart fly into the distance, and almost lost his own a moment later as a wielder tried to take advantage of his moment of grief. He manages to flee, but not for long. While healing a wielder on the outreaches of the battlefield, a bombardment of magic came down on them - Quest threw himself over the wielder and took the hit for them, much like Kei had taken the hit for him earlier. His heart left his body and went to find Atlas’ and Keis in the Space Between. He joined Kei to protect and watch over Atlas, but it wouldn’t last forever. It wasn’t long after Kei had turned into a phantom that he did aswell.

After being defeated and Atlas was freed, he turned into a specter of light for just a few moments. Their job was done and Atlas was safe, that was enough to put his heart at ease and help him move on hand in hand with Kei.

[heartsmithed-moved]

Below is Quest’s full profile/bio!

Basic Information

NAME: Quest NICKNAME: N/A AGE: 16 GENDER: CisMale OCCUPATION: Party Leader in the Leopardus Union > Heart (Keyblade) Smith

Physical Traits

EYE COLOR: Orange/Yellow HAIR COLOR: Red HEIGHT: 5'5 BODY BUILD: Average, has some muscle but it’s barely noticeable NOTABLE PHYSICAL TRAITS: Eyes being more of a gradient than a normal color

Personality

INTELLIGENCE: Semi-Knowledgeable in most things, and isn’t afraid to ask questions when he doesn’t know something. TEMPERAMENT: Choleric ALIGNMENT: Lawful Good > Lawful Neutral HEAVENLY VIRTUE: Diligence DEADLY SIN: Envy LIKES: capes, ribbons, being a leader DISLIKES: liars, spicy food, yelling DISPOSITION: Has motherly instincts whether you like it or not. Tends to not show emotion that much. EXTRAS: Is extremely blunt, but also extremely bad at lying.

Biography

Quest is a gifted keyblade wielder who is originally from the world of Beast’s castle - though did not hesitate to leave when his power presented itself. He took the power of the keyblade as a sign he could truly make a difference in the world. In many worlds, it would turn out. He didn’t have much left at home anyways - he had been living own his own for awhile. His parents had both died to the plague, but he had survived thanks to their love and careful precautions to make sure he did not catch it. However he did resent them a little bit, for always lying and saying they were fine. So when entering Daybreak town he vowed not to lie, or do as little lying as possible. He had never been good at it anyways.

Upon picking a union, he wasn’t sure what drew him to Leopardus Union. It just...felt right. He was a little awkward and his blunt nature kept most at a distance. However, a handful of wielders who wanted to help him managed to get him to join their small party and he slowly started to gain confidence. After this it was realized that he was a pretty powerful wielder and magic user - and this small group of friends decided to make him party leader. His confidence only grew after this, and he showed to be a good leader. He obviously cared for any and all of his party members, offering to help them no matter how he felt, healing their injuries after dangerous missions and raids, reminding them to get enough sleep and food - he was dubbed sort of the ‘mother’ of the group as well as its leader.

He was a careful wielder, which is probably why he didn’t visit the Heartsmiths very often. Truthfully, he didn’t even know such a thing existed until his keyblade finally did get damaged enough that one of his party members mentioned it. Going into the shop the first time was strange, and he had to wait because Wynter had stepped out for a moment and only Atlas and him were in the shop. His first words aside from asking for the smith were simply ‘your glasses are stupid’. His bluntness wasn’t always rude, and he covered his mouth a moment later - embarrassed and ashamed of himself. But Atlas laughed and that was the beginning of their friendship. Later he met Kei and while the two of them didn’t get along with eachother at first, he tried to be civil so that stress wouldn’t come to Atlas who had few friends - but there were times his blunt nature clashed with her attitude and Atlas was forced to play mediator.

During the build up to the war, Quest was deeply disturbed by the attitude of some of his party members and even went as far as to kick them out of the party if they showed to be too aggressive. Not long after, he was approached by the Dandelions to possibly become a member and he was torn. While he definitely didn’t want to be involved in the war and wanted to help the world after - he was worried about his party members and also people like Atlas who weren’t keyblade wielders. He was told that Atlas was actually considered to be a Dandelion because the world after could use a heartsmith, and he requested that he be the one to convince Atlas to join them, and then the two of them would join the Dandelions together. Of course he considered Kei during this time aswell - but she was one of the competitive keyblade wielders and he’s not sure how she would react. He decided that after getting Atlas on board, he would ask about Kei joining. If people had to be selected, he probably couldn’t just assume he could ask her to join and needed to consult the others.

However while he was speaking to Atlas about the Dandelions, Kei busted in and started yelling at him. An argument broke out and he ended up storming out before he could get Atlas’ answer. He spoke more with the Dandelions after this, them comforting him about his friend and telling him that he could take his time with convincing Atlas - though not too long. The war was upon them and he knew that. He still had to figure out how to tell his party that he was going to be disbanding. He spent time with them as it might be the last time he gets the chance to before the war started and wanted their last memories together to be happy. He was also considering how to talk to Kei during all of this - he had heard the rumors that she took over her party but wasn’t sure how true they were.

Eventually, he passed off the party to one of the original members and left - the same day he went in search of Kei. He managed to find her and apologize, and the two of them broke down- though Quest tried to keep it together for her sake and comforted her. After they had calmed down, they both went to the Heartsmith shop to speak to Wynter and Atlas, surprised to see Atlas passed out and Wynter obviously exhausted. While Kei watched the shop from the outside, Atlas got them both into bed and started healing them. It took a few hours before they both felt good enough to stand again, and that’s when Wynter gathered the three teens and told them of his plan. His plan to freeze Atlas in time.

Quest was hesitant, because he still remembered the Dandelion request. He agreed that the world after could use a heartsmith, and wanted to bring it up. But he feels as if he would have gotten the same reaction, with Atlas refusing to leave his master’s side. So he agreed with the plan, deciding he would tell the Dandelions of it and have them save Atlas in the future when he was needed or when they had the time. So he helped hold Atlas down with Kei while Wynter stabbed his keyblade through his friend’s heart.

After comforting Kei, and himself, he went to Master Gula to tell him that he was quitting the Union to become a heartsmith. It was a difficult decision - at least when he was becoming a Dandelion the union leaders knew about the group and its purpose. Now it just felt like he was running away, and he hated it. Gula accepted his wishes though and gave Quest his blessing to go become a heartsmith. With that done he joined Kei and got a crash course in how to be a heartsmith from Wynter - sitting in on his next few sessions.

Him and Kei would be the two that would go to the battlefield to help keyblade wielders though. They helped whoever they could, no matter which union they were from. This made them targets, though. The two of them desperately tried to stay together and watch eachother’s backs while still healing those who were attempting to do them harm. He couldn’t help but hope maybe they would see what they were doing and be moved, maybe they would stop fighting. But no, this wouldn’t be how it ended.

Kei gave her life to protect Quest from a fatal blow, and Quest held her in his arms during her last moments. He watched her heart fly into the distance, and almost lost his own a moment later as a wielder tried to take advantage of his moment of grief. He manages to flee, but not for long. While healing a wielder on the outreaches of the battlefield, a bombardment of magic came down on them - Quest threw himself over the wielder and took the hit for them, much like Kei had taken the hit for him earlier. His heart left his body and went to find Atlas’ and Keis in the Space Between. He joined Kei to protect and watch over Atlas, but it wouldn’t last forever. It wasn’t long after Kei had turned into a phantom that he did aswell.

After being defeated and Atlas was freed, he turned into a specter of light for just a few moments. Their job was done and Atlas was safe, that was enough to put his heart at ease and help him move on hand in hand with Kei. Below is Quest’s full profile/bio!

[oveliagirlhaditright]

Okay, so my last attempt at this disappeared. I’m posting this again, then.

Birthday gift for my friend @bluerosesburnblue, that pairs Ephemer with her version of Player “Sanya”:

Summary: When Ephemer and Sanya have their first meeting and mission together in ages, things seem great… But this begins to unravel, when Sanya remembers everything, Brain contemplates many a thing, and more of the Master of Master’s plan is undone.

Breaking Glass Ceilings

Sanya looked at Ephemer, finding it hard to keep her crush on him in check.

She was aware that it was stupid—since she barely knew the guy—but what could she say? He had been one of her first friends, and that stuck.

Plus, the boy was beautiful. So, there was that.

But Sanya tried to put all of this on the backburner—as she always did—and instead tried to figure out the mystery that was Daybreak Town right now.

There was some sort of hologram of it appearing above the Foretellers’ Tower? Well, that didn’t bode well to Sanya.

It reminded her of a movie that had, ironically, been playing when the Master of Masters had still been around: one that had dealt with people thinking that the world they were in was the actual dream.

And while the light within Sanya didn’t want to believe that that was the case, she had to wonder. Wouldn’t it explain a lot of the things that were happening lately?

But until Sanya knew more—because in her eyes, she wasn’t wise—she was reserving judgement.

But when Brain began explaining things, in a sort of techno-babble that Sanya couldn’t keep up with at all…  from the few things she’d been able to understand, she thought her suspicion might have been correct.

And when Sanya and Ephemer entered the very data-esque world of Sugar Rush, she began praying that Fix-It Felix Junior would somehow fix her world back to the way it had been before.

Sanya ended up telling Ephemer as much… and about her other suspicions.

At night—while the two of them were in some sort of candy forest, and using candy canes as sticks for fire—Sanya asked the question that had been playing on her mind for so long. “I’m having… dreams about the Keyblade War. And that can’t be, because that didn’t happen. Right? So why am I dreaming these things so vividly? It actually happened... didn’t it, Ephemer? And if so… can we believe that our world exists?”

There it was: everything Sanya had been regretfully mulling over for ages.

She had been afraid to give voice to any of it—thinking it would make it real, and she hated herself for doing so now.

In a way… it was sort of liberating to finally have it all out in the open. But Sanya was taken aback to find just how much she just wanted to move on to the next issue. Was it her heart’s way of trying to endure the pain?

Ephemer’s silence and expression were the clear answer to all of this for Sanya: his mouth was now agape—as if he meant to say something—and his arms were outstretched to, perhaps, hug her.

And if that was his intent—Sanya didn’t know for sure—she knew she would have turned him down here. Even with her crush on him and love for this friend, she would have done that.

“Sanya… I’m so sorry. I wouldn’t have done it if Master Ava hadn’t insisted. Or I guess… I guess if I hadn’t seen what you’d been like after the Keyblade War.” And it was here, that Sanya really wanted to yell at him: that they were her memories, and no one had any right to take them or to make judgement calls for her. Weren’t those who didn’t know history doomed to repeat it? But Sanya just resisted saying so.

For one thing, Ephemer had just been a cog in the machine. Her outrage should have been at Lady Ava again.

But most of all… their main thing should be surviving the Cy-Bugs right now, which Calhoun was certain would get to this world at any moment. And if both Cy-Bugs and Heartless came to exist here, Sanya didn’t know how they’d survive it. But she and her Chirithy would sure try to fight!

Deciding to look at the positive for just a moment—because the negatives would certainly come back to haunt her in her dreams—Sanya recalled a certain memory of Ephemer’s hand in her own, and had to ask: “So… do I actually know you more than I think do?”

Ephemer laughed at this—something that was music to Sanya’s ears, because she didn’t want everything to be ruined between them forever—before saying with his hands up in the air again, “Not really. No? …’cept for the time Skuld and I came and rescued you in the Keyblade Graveyard. But you’ve actually spent more time with Skuld than me—maybe you remember that?—but you guys did spend a while looking for me, so maybe you were thinking of me then…. I’m sorry about that.”

Ephemer was scratching his head nervously now.

It was, despite everything, a lovely sight. And did not hint at how in a few hours’ time,  the cookie would crumble

Right now… Sanya just yawned—said she’d had enough of the heavy, and that they’d continue their search for Ralph in the morning—and stretched out and went to sleep.

As she dreamed, she saw that the only way to leave this world… might be to kill themselves in it.

…

When Sanya woke up, she felt some of the fury she’d stamped down the previous night rising back up.

And while Chirithy was a pleasant presence by her side—trying to convince her to let it go—she couldn’t get over just how she’d been betrayed.

And if she really had been closer to Skuld and knew her better than Ephemer… It hurt even more, to know that she had also done this. Not that Ephemer had said that, but it wasn’t hard to guess.

There was even a dark part of her (and a scared one), that thought maybe they all deserved to be stuck in this data structure or whatever it was.

Ava had meant for them to get out into the New World and to begin again… But if even they, the hope, behaved like this, why even curse the world with such humans again?

“Don’t dwell on it, Sanya,” Chirithy said sadly, as he crawled up onto her lap and put her face between his fuzzy paws. “Dwelling on the bad is what led to the Nightmare Chirithy last time,”  

Sanya frowned. She definitely didn’t want a situation like that to rear its ugly head again. Dark Chirithy’s “see you in another dream” echoed in her mind—and she still had nightmares about it.

It had been Sanya’s bottling up everything before that had led to the Nightmare Chirithy. So she didn’t want to keep it bottled up like that again and cause another disaster when it inevitably grew to be too much to bear. Hadn’t that been why she’d blown up at Master Ava, when she’d been disguised as Master Ira and saying she’d killed Ephemer? Hadn’t that led to darkness in her own heart?

She’d nearly wanted to her friendship with Ephemer just now, since he’d taken her memories of the war, and Sanya didn’t think that was right. Despite the Union Leaders’ best efforts,, bits and pieces of the horrors were coming back to her. And since she already recalled them, she wished she at least had the context to make sense of it all.

…The “Riku” medals also used darkness, and they were fine… As was everyone when they used Special Attack Bonus over Guilting now, so was it possible… that darkness maybe wasn’t as bad as they’d all come to believe?

That seemed hard to believe, as the two of them rested warily in the candy forest and only half-slept in fear of Heartless and Cy-Bugs… but it was what it was.

Sanya was even tempted to wake Ephemer, and to get his opinion on all of this… but she didn’t.

Suddenly possessed by the urge to go to the Foretellers’ Tower for the third time now—and to do it secretly, for she didn’t know what she’d do—Sanya decided to leave this mission unfinished for the moment (things seemed okay right now. And should the worst happen, Ephemer was there and she’d be right back), and to get back to the data version of Daybreak Town or whatever it really was.

She ran back through Game Central Station, through the circuit—battling a few more Darklings here and there as she did so, with her heart breaking for them now that she remembered what they really used to be—and was in the control room before she could blink.

And then Sanya saw Brain—she thought that was his name—with all the gears.

And as she eyed them… Sanya couldn’t help but feel even more suspicious.

Having a room like this—and choosing to spend all your time in it—just seemed devious to Sanya. She didn’t care if it was needed to survey the Keyblade wielders for their own safety or not…

The fact that Brain was in here all the time—when surely it could run on autopilot some of the time—made it seem like he saw the people he worked with as the very cogs here.

Breathing heavily, Sanya summoned Missing Ache to her hand—to which Chirithy objected with concern on his face—and she prepared to do battle with Brain if it came to it.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to think that her action was hostile—and truthfully, Sanya wasn’t yet sure if it was—and as he watched her from beneath the brim of his hat, he asked: “Sanya, what are you doing here? The mission that you and Ephemer were on isn’t complete yet.”

Sanya was tempted to quip that she only took orders from Master Ava, who he wasn’t—but she didn’t.

There was no need to be passive-aggressive, and to turn it into something truly aggressive just yet.

So, she just questioned softly, “If we really have been in the Virtual Daybreak Town—and have been since Master Ava created the Dandelions, without knowing that we were there—will we ever even know if we can get out of this place? And if we can… What awaits us outside of here? We were supposed to repopulate the world after the Keyblade War, weren’t we? And if we don’t… I mean, is there even anything out there? And if there issomehow… Who knows how long we’ve been in here? Will we get out just to find there’s nothing left? …Is any of this even worth it?”

Brain smiled at Sanya. Part of her felt that this was a good sign… but it made the rest of her feel uneasy in a way that she couldn’t place.

He tipped his hat to her once, then commended her intuition. “That’s very good. You know about the Book of Prophecies, and how we used to use it to project future versions of the worlds to go to. So as long as we could do that, surely it meant a future with those worlds still existed.

“However… you were here for my lecture towards Ephemer and Ventus. And you know that we’re now going to data versions of the formerly prophesized worlds… Those simulations can exist indefinitely—even if the worlds they’re based on don’t come to exist—should something go awry. So, no: there’s no way to tell just by going to the worlds whether they exist or not anymore. The fact that the Master has us going to data worlds now may even be a clue that he didn’t think there would be worlds left… But don’t you think it’s still best to try?”

Try… Sanya didn’t know what it was, but despite Brain’s simple outfit and laid-back personality, she got the sense that he’d try until his dying breath to see that very cause through. Which seemed like the right thing to do. But could there be too much of a good thing?

It was at that point that Ephemer joined them. And at first, Sanya looked at him ashamed: because with Ephemer gone… had Ralph’s world lost the best chance it had? …But at the same time, these things needed hammering out.

“I thought you two might be here,” Ephemer said pleasantly enough, though his smile seemed to disappear just when he took in their serious expressions. “…What’s going on?”

Forgetting the idea she’d had earlier about all of them dying to do this—had that been the darkness getting to her?.—Sanya spoke. It was an idea that appeared in her head just then… and something in her heart felt so strongly, that it must have been right.

“I think- I think we need to reenter the outside world again, and to do so- We should unplug Daybreak Town from Game Central Station and take it completely off the grid.”

Sanya hoped they got what she meant by taking Daybreak Town “off the grid”. She meant to have it lose all its power, and for everyone to stop doing missions for the time being. That way, whoever was observing them in the real world would notice the change, come check on them, and maybe they could follow them out that way.

“But that completely goes against the Master’s plans,” Ephemer answered with a depressed undertone to his voice. He was almost looking at Sanya as if he was seeing her for the first time, which stung.

And right away, she had wanted to retort that she didn’t exactly trust the Master of Masters—and if Sanya was gauging Brain’s silence correctly, he didn’t either—but she was also far from knowing all the answers, and from who she’d been when she’d undergone darkness training with Hades just so she could save Hercules: While there was a side of Sanya that was beginning to think that light and darkness needed to be kept in balance—didn’t plenty of the future medals have darkness to them?—she also still hated herself for the Nightmare Chirithy incident, and because so many friends of hers had died in the Keyblade War. Because the Foretellers just had to-

No. Sanya didn’t trust herself to not do something atrocious with this darkness eating away at her. So, for many a reason, she was thinking she should give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that the Master was right…

But on the off-chance he wasn’t, she also wanted to lay groundwork for someone else to begin what she started.

“Ephemer… you’re perhaps my dearest friend. And a leader—if I’m understanding things correctly—so whatever you choose I’ll follow no matter what… But if we are in a lie, don’t you think it’s best if we leave it? And I know you weren’t there when my own Nightmare Chirithy tried to kill me, but he said he’d see me in another dream and I’m sure he’s gonna follow through with it! So far, I haven’t seen him. And if I get out now, maybe we never will.”

To Sanya’s surprise, Brain came over to her and put a hand on her shoulder as he maybe, just maybe, let her see under his hat a bit more and smiled at her.

“Your friend has some good points, Leader. You should listen to her… I was really interested in Sugar Rush, but now I think we should drop it, too… What I know about ‘video games’ is very slim—since they only exist in the future, and what I do know is from skimming the medals and the Book of Prophecies—but I think Ralph’s world is exactly that. That would mean that we’re connected to whatever controls a video game… Makes me worry that someone may be playing our own lives. Or trying to find a way to do so. I think we should sever our connection to that world to be safe… And, just to be clear: none of that world was written in the Book of Prophecies.”

Ephemer was angry now, Sanya could see. He frowned and clenched his fists at his sides. And Sanya got why…

For so long, they’d helped any world they could to gather Lux. Why should this one be any different, when it desperately needed them?

“I don’t think I can agree to that, guys. At least not yet… Let the other Union Leaders wake up and then we’ll vote on it, okay?”

…And so they did.

But only between three of the Union Leaders. Ventus and Skuld were gone…

And no search through Daybreak Town, or any of the rest of the worlds, showed any sign of them. Not even Lauriam’s smart friend Elrena—who had also apparently been asked about Strelitzia—proved to be of any help.

And Sanya’s heart ached for Skuld. And so Chirithy gave Sanya many cuddles for that fact…

Until Sanya decided what she had to do.

Ventus and Skuld had gone missing the moment she’d talked about leaving, as if the outside world had listened in and punished her for the thought. So Sanya had started to work together with Brain to dismantle the digital Daybreak Town and get outside, when the pair received some unexpected help from the form of Master Gula.

Sanya didn’t care what the results of this would be; that Ephemer would disapprove and break her heart in doing so, that information for two who didn’t exist—a Dyme, and a Drulo—would show up in Daybreak Town when they were trying to destroy it, or that Sugar Rush would somehow be replaced with a “Verum Rex”.

All Sanya cared about was getting outside.

And, despite everything, making Master Ava’s dream come true.

There, she wouldn’t be subjected to this world’s laws… and should be able to get back all of her memories of her friends, as well as her missing ones.

Sanya reached out to the sky as glass flooded around her—and Gula came floating up beside her—and then she closed her eyes.

Author’s Note: So, I actually meant for this to be a cute shipping piece between Ephemer and Sanya–since I know you ship Ephemer and Player, Liz, especially your Player with him–but somehow it turned tragic, and my idea of what might happen next I guess. Oops.