Chapter Text
Ven turned around in confusion, noting the darkness around him and the circle of stained glass that was Sora's heart beneath him. Something was wrong-had been wrong for some time now, but he had no idea what. He knew Sora had gained his Keyblade, fought Riku and saved Kairi, but after that, things got super fuzzy. All he knew was something was wrong with Sora, and he'd been wishing with all his heart to help.
Then he'd ended up here. A small noise from the blackness drew his attention, but he couldn't tell what or where it was. Then he felt something bubbling in his chest as the glass below him began to glow like a beacon. When he finally recognized the sounds as soft crying, he looked up to see a golden-white orb descending. Instinctively, he cupped his hands, asking “What’s wrong?”
The soft crying has risen to almost wailing, but as the light approached him, it quieted down to sniffle.
“S-sorry…I-I’m just…” it erupted into hiccupping sobs. Ven’s own heart felt like it would break just from listening to it.
“You don’t need to apologize,” Ven smiled, even though it was a sad one, “I know you’re hurting-but it’s okay; I felt scared and hurt when I first came. You’re safe here.”
“Is-is this Sora? Is this what it’s like to disappear?” the voice trembled, but Ven couldn’t decide if it was in hope or fear-perhaps both, but he couldn't understand how that could be.
“We’re in Sora’s heart, yes,” Ven affirmed, “But we’re not going to disappear. He must have opened his heart to you-he’s super kind like that. We can stay here and rest until we’re strong enough to go home.”
Ven was surprised when the light began sobbing again, and he pulled back, wondering what he’d done wrong. Come on, Sora-can you help?
Something shifted in his mind, and he realized something; perhaps Sora couldn’t help. After all, Ven had known something was wrong for a while now, even though this last little bit of time had been fuzzy-he hadn’t been as aware of what was going on around Sora as he normally was. But the point was, something was wrong with Sora, and Ven had been asking how to fix it just before he’d been sent here. Could it be that Sora needed him to help this person? Was that why he was here-to welcome this heart when Sora couldn’t?
He'd give it a try, even though it looked like he’d already messed up.
“Hey, it’s okay,” Ven tried again, “Why are you crying?”
The light pulsed a little, as if trying to steady itself, “I-I’m sorry,” she repeated- Ven was now certain her voice was female, “I’m so sorry-I…wasn’t expecting to meet anyone else-I wasn’t expecting to exist anymore. Not when it was hurting Sora…and Roxas…and I-I shouldn’t exist and I don’t and…and I wanted to. I was so selfish and like you said Sora’s so kind and-”
“Woah, woah, woah,” Ven winced, scratching the back of his head with the information overload, “Calm down there.”
“S-sorry,” she repeated, and Ven found himself getting a little annoyed, especially since he didn’t see what she had to be sorry for.
“It’s alright,” he checked his annoyance, since she was clearly still upset, “Now, I’m not sure how you could be hurting Sora, or Roxas-whoever he is-but everyone should get to exist.”
“Roxas is…my best friend,” she said it with such love and yet so much sadness, too.
“Well, it seems like he’s lucky to have a friend like you,” Ven smiled, but the light sniffled again.
“I-he…doesn’t remember me,” she softly whispered, “That’s what Namine said-no one will remember me after I’m gone and Sora has his memories back. I was sad, but I thought if they didn’t remember me, at least Roxas and Axel won’t be hurting, right?”
Ven felt like he’d been punched in the stomach by Terra, repeatedly. This girl wouldn’t be remembered by her best friends? And the way she was talking-did she sacrifice herself for them? Ven’s resolve to welcome and calm her increased dramatically.
“They’ll remember you,” Ven vowed, touching his chest, “Trust me-I understand sacrificing for your friends. They’ll remember you, and I’m sure you’ll meet again. That’s why I’m here-Sora’s giving my heart a place to rest while it recovers.”
“I’m not here to recover,” she softly replied, “I-I’m not supposed to exist, I’m just a puppet made from Sora’s memories. I was stealing Roxas’ power and the memories Sora had, and he couldn’t wake up.”
“Sora’s asleep? He's missing memories?” Ven wondered, briefly distracted. Was that why all the weird stuff was happening?
“Yes, it’s my fault,” she sounded like she was about to start crying again, “I-I’m so sorry! You must have been hurt to-I just keep hurting people! I shouldn’t exi-”
“No.”
Ven cupped both hands around the light, drawing her closer to him, “No, you do have a right to exist, and I don’t think you have anything to be sorry for. It sounds like you’ve had a rough time, though. Do you want to rest?”
For a moment, it was like the light had finally found something she didn’t know she was looking for. Her voice burst from her, “Yes!”
The single word was spoken in such a broken, desperate, and relieved voice. Ven nodded, glancing down at the stained-glass image of Sora below him. He still didn’t fully understand what was going on, but he’d help this little light.
“Alright, let’s rest for a little bit, then,” he knelt down, lowering the light towards the stained glass, “It’s nice and warm, and you’re safe here. Though, it can get a little lonely.”
He hadn’t realized it until then, but he had been feeling the loneliness of not having anyone to talk to for some time now. He wondered if the idea of loneliness might scare her, so he added.
“Until you showed up, that is. Now we can rest together.”
The light was silent as he lay on the ground, letting the darkness creep over him. This wasn’t like when his heart had broken or when Vanitas had taken over. This darkness was comforting and like a familiar blanket.
“I-I think I’m going to fade away,” the light confessed, “I did before-or my body did. I didn’t think I’d exist beyond that. I’m sorry-I don’t think I can stay with you.”
Ven blinked, his vision filling with stained glass and the little light on the ground next to him, “Huh? No, you won’t fade, we’re just resting, our hearts sheltered inside Sora.”
“My…heart?” the voice sounded uncertain, “I-I don’t have one.”
Ven pushed himself up a little, “Of course you do-I’m talking to you right now! Trust me, this is what hearts look like when they’re searching for a place to be.”
An idea came to him, and he added, “But I’d love to see what you look like when you’re strong enough to show me.”
“Look…like our bodies,” the voice stumbled over her words, “I-I can see you! You look like Roxas-are you Sora?”
“No,” he shook his head, smiling at her, “I’m Ventus, call me Ven.”
A yawn suddenly overtook him, and he tried to stifle it as the voice giggled, “Okay, Ven…Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Ven lay down again, “Like I said, I know what it’s like. But you’ll feel better after some rest.”
“I’m glad I got to meet you,” she said, and Ven felt both of them fading into the sheltering embrace of Sora’s heart. Suddenly, with his last bit of wakefulness, he forced his eyes open.
“Wait!” he interjected, “What’s your name?”
“Xion,” the voice muttered, as if she were already half asleep like him, “My name…my own name…I’m Xion…”
Those were the last words he heard.
For what seemed a long time, Ven let himself sleep, floating in nothing and somehow lying on something firm and soft. He knew that he would be able to start dreaming again when he had strength-getting a physical form, even to dream with, took energy, and he didn’t always have enough. But as he slept, he felt gladdened by the thought that next time, there would be someone to dream with.
Xion. She seemed a nice girl, but there was clearly some great sorrow she’d been through. Ven was determined to help her-he’d find out what was going on and how she was related to Sora.
After some time, Ven found himself awake abruptly, pushing off the stained glass beneath him. Blinking, he looked around. He could feel whatever was happening with Sora was still going on-Xion had said he was sleeping, so he must still be asleep. But he could also feel another presence.
“Hey, Xion?” he called, looking around. He wondered what had caused him to awake. Then he remembered-he’d heard his name called.
“Ven?” there it was again!
“Xion?!” Ven whirled, looking for the orb of light he knew represented a heart. There was none; where was she?
“You…said my name,” Xion whispered, though Ven couldn’t tell where her voice was coming from.
“Yeah,” he blinked, scratching his head in confusion, “You called mine. We were looking for each other-weren’t we?”
“I-I’m still lost, but I feel stronger,” Xion sounded confused, “Ven?”
“Xion!” Ven called again, a desperate idea that if he kept calling her, she’d find him, “Xion! You didn’t fade-you’re real, Xion!”
He turned around and started. Before him stood a girl about his age, with short, black hair, and ocean blue eyes. Tears stained her cheeks, and a black robe hung from her body.
“Xion?” he reached out a hand, taking a step closer.
She blinked in confusion, reaching back for him, “Roxas-? No, Ven.”
“Yeah,” he nodded, “You-you look pretty.”
The words escaped him because he didn’t know what else to say. He saw Xion blush violently, turning away. He took another step closer, taking her hands.
“See? I told you, we’re safe here, and you’re not going to fade away. I won’t let you.”
Xion brushed tears from her eyes, even though more immediately replaced them, “Y-yes…you didn’t. I-I don’t understand it, though.”
“I don’t understand most of what’s going on, to be honest,” Ven scratched the back of his head again, “But I’m glad you’re here-I didn’t have to rest as much as I normally do after appearing like this. What about you?”
“I haven’t done this before,” Xion rubbed her arm apologetically, suddenly snapping her head up, “But what If I’m still stealing memories and strength? What if Roxas is still weak because of me?!”
“Hey, didn’t you hear what I just said?” Ven squeezed the hand he still had hold of, “I didn’t have to rest as much-I was so excited to meet you. I think you gave me strength, instead of taking it.”
After some quiet moments where she processed this and calmed down, Xion smiled shyly at Ven, “I think…you gave me strength, too.”
For a while, neither of them said anything, just held hands in the restful, peaceful, but solitary world around them. Ven realized just how lonely he’d been feeling-just how badly he’d wanted to talk to someone, to be seen and heard.
“Thank you,” Xion broke the silence, gently squeezing his hand.
“For what?” Ven blinked, his brain apparently not fully awake.
She blushed again, “For calling out my name, for welcoming and guiding me here. For…making me strong and just…helping me be okay. I was so hurt and afraid and I was worried I’d lost everything. But then you spoke to me, you saw me, and you helped me understand what was happening. So, thanks.”
“Well, you saw me, too,” Ven pointed out, “You called out my name and made me stronger just by looking for me, too.”
“You’ve been lonely,” Xion surmised, glancing around, “It is kind of empty here.”
“I’m not here all the time,” Ven smiled, “Sometimes I dream, and I go to other places there-I can see my home again sometimes!”
“Home…” Xion mumbled, but Ventus was getting excited now, before his mood suddenly deflated.
“Of course, there’s no one there, still… I’m sure one day, I’ll find my way back, and Terra and Aqua and I will be together again,” he pulled his wayfinder out of his pocket, “We have to…”
“Terra and Aqua,” Xion repeated the words as if tasting a new food, “Are they your best friends?”
“Yup!” Ven smiled, and was about to talk more about them, but he noticed there were still streaks on Xion’s face. Well, there’d be time for that later.
“I’m sure you’ll see Roxas and Axel again,” he touched her shoulder, even as Xion looked away again, shaking her head.
“It’s…I can’t,” she shook her head violently, “But I hope they’re doing okay.”
She glanced up into the blackness, and Ven felt a surge of anger. Why couldn’t she be with her best friends? But he again shoved his own emotion down for the moment, letting go of Xion.
“Why?”
“It’s…a long story,” Xion rubbed her arm again, biting her lip.
Ven made a decision, “Well, you can tell me when you’re ready.” He stretched out his hand, “In the meantime, we can keep seeing each other and making each other stronger. I’ll tell you about Terra and Aqua, and you can tell me anything you’d like. Maybe we’ll really see more of each other more then, know more of who we're seeing, and that’ll make us stronger than ever!”
Truthfully, Ven had no idea what he was talking about, but it seemed to lift her spirits, and he felt, deep in his technically still-sleeping heart, there was some truth to his words. Xion reached back, taking his hand and shaking it.
“Alright, that settles it,” he pointed at her with his trademark widest grin, “You and I are friends now.”
“Got it memorized,” Xion smiled, tapping her pointer finger to her temple. That stirred some memory in Ventus, but he shrugged it off.
A friend. He had a friend here now, and they needed each other. Not that Sora wasn’t amazing and Ventus wasn’t grateful he had a safe place to be, but even as his heart was growing stronger, he’d felt it growing a bit weaker, too, from the loneliness. But that was over now, for both of them.
He saw her yawn widely, trying to stifle it. He grinned again, gently tugging her hand, “Hey, if you’re up to it, I can show you how to dream in here.”
“Dream?” Xion blinked, “Like, when you see things when you’re sleeping?”
“Yeah,” Ven nodded, “But in here it’s a little different than normal.”
Xion chuckled a little, “Well, my ‘dreams’ always seem to only be Sora’s memories…I don’t know that I can dream myself…”
Ven tugged her forward, “Well, I’ll show you! Come on, there’s a place I want you to see.”
Xion followed with hesitant steps, glancing back at the stained-glass image of Sora behind her. Ven noticed, stopping and putting both hands on her shoulders.
“Hey, if it doesn’t upset you…why don’t you have dreams with your own memories?”
Xion bit her lip, “Well…I wasn’t supposed to exist. I-I’m a Replica made from Sora’s memories. That’s why I had to go back to him.”
“A person…made from memories,” Ven blinked, wondering. Well, Vanitas had been made from the darkness in his heart, so why couldn’t Xion be made from Sora’s memories? Still, Ven felt she still deserved to exist-she was clearly much nicer that Vanitas.
“Well,” Ven shrugged it off like being a construct of memories and developing your own self weren’t strange at all, “Like I said, I’ll show you how to dream, and then you can show me a nice place you remember. Sound good?”
“Yeah,” Xion nodded, smiling, “I-I’d like that. I have my own memories.”
Her eyes blinked rapidly as she gasped, a hand clutching her chest, “I-I have my own memories. My own being…”
“Yeah,” Ven was fighting back the confusion, “I mean, you’ve got a heart, and it sounds like you had a body, even if Sora needed you to come back. But, you’re still you-don’t you see?”
Xion looked like she didn’t, frowning and glancing away, “I…guess. But…it’s only here, in a dream-imaginary.”
“Hey, just cause it’s a dream doesn’t mean it’s not real!” Ven objected, “Come on, I’ll show you.”
He pulled her over the edge, jumping from stained glass into the darkness below, wind rippling his clothes. Xion screamed as she was dragged along, but Ven kept hold of her hand, closing his eyes and remembering the place he loved most of all.
“Just let yourself be carried into the dream,” Ven instructed her as she clutched him wildly, “It’s okay-you’re fine. Everything’s going to go dark for a minute, but there’ll be solid ground and light again soon. I know where I want to go, the memory I want to visit.”
Slowly, their fall came to a stop, and Ven gave Xion a minute to get her bearings. As she looked around, she gasped. Above them was a sea of sparkling stars, and around them, the Land of Departure. Ven took a seat on the cliff, gazing up as Xion sat next to him.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered, and turned to him, “Is this your home?”
“Yeah,” Ven breathed, frowning a little, “But my friends aren’t here-I’ll see them again, though; I know we will.”
“I’m sure you guys will be reunited,” Xion smiled at him, “It sounds like you existed before Sora, right? Then you could exist outside of him again-without hurting him.”
“Yeah,” Ven nodded, resting his hands behind him and leaning back, “This is mainly my memories, but it still exists, you know?”
“I’m not sure it does, not outside the dream, anyway,” she pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them, “Ven, you don’t have to do this. I already know what I am.”
“What you are is a person,” Ven insisted, turning to face her, “I know that!”
Xion shook her head, “No, you don’t! It’s not like that! I-I…”
She buried her head in her knees, and Ven saw her trembling. Realizing he’d upset her again, he turned to face the stars, not sure what to say. Aqua would know if she were here. Finally, he sighed, placing a hand on Xion’s shoulder and making her look up.
“Hey…I know I don’t know much about you,” he admitted, “But I’d like to know.”
“S-sorry, it’s just…hard,” Xion wiped tears from her eyes.
Ven nodded, “I know…my life hasn’t been easy, either. But I think now, I’m ready to talk about it, if you want to know-but you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to!” he rushed to add, “No matter what I tell you, okay? You only have to talk if you want to.”
“Thanks,” Xion smiled, and it felt genuine this time. After a moment more of looking at the stars, she turned her blue eyes to him and said, “You showed me a favorite place of yours. I guess you liked coming here with Terra and Aqua, right?”
“Definitely!” Ven affirmed, smiling, “It’s part of why this place is so special.”
“Well, there’s somewhere I liked to be, with my friends,” she admitted, “Would you…like to see it? I think those happy days, when nothing happened, I can talk about.”
“If you want to,” Ven nodded, “Let’s go.”
They stood up, joining hands again. After a moment, nothing happened, and Xion looked distressed. Ven gently placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Hey, it’s okay,” he assured her, “Don’t try to force us there. Just remember what it looked like, what it felt like, when you were happiest.”
“Okay,” Xion took a deep breath, “Just…remember. I can remember…”
The Land of Departure melted around them, and the next thing they knew, they were standing on top of a tall brick structure, a town stretching below them and a red-orange sky above them. Ven turned to face the setting sun; it was gorgeous.
“Wow,” he breathed as Xion’s eyes began to water. Trembling, she sat down on the edge, and Ven joined her as silent tears fell down her cheeks. He started, not knowing what to do.
Finally, she turned to him, a smile on her face despite her crying eyes, “Thank you, Ventus. I didn’t realize how much I missed this.”
“I said you could call me Ven,” he scratched the back of his head awkwardly, “And you did all the work. I’ve never been here before.”
She glanced down at her hand, flexing her fingers as if holding something, her face falling, shaking her head. At Ven’s look, she blushed, “Sorry, we just always had Sea-salt ice cream up here…but the last time…Roxas…”
Ven put a hand on her shoulder before she could start crying again. He smiled warmly, reminding her.
“We don’t have to talk about whatever bad thing happened. Right now, we can just remember that good things happened with our friends. We can face the darkness later.”
“Yes,” Xion wiped the remainder of the tears from her eyes, “I’d like that. We can just be here-no darkness, not until later, at least.”
“Yup,” Ven turned back to the sunset, “We’ll rest now, and remember the good times.”
And so the two of them sat as the sun set, a warm feeling growing in both of them. They simply sat there, resting. Though the sun disappeared, the darkness seemed farther and farther off as they watched it.
One day, they would face the darkness and sorrow they both carried, but not today, and not on this clock tower. For today, they were two children remembering happy times.