Uncomfortable at Best [Roxas/Vanitas]

There was a sense of magic in the air. If.. That was what one wanted to call it.

Roxas had been spending the majority of his time examining the worlds that had been opened up to him, seeing just what had been going on during his absence. The Enchanted Dominion was one of these said worlds, and the blond had to say that there was a strange aura that this place gave off that he couldn't even begin to attempt to explain. Although the woodland here was absolutely breathtaking gorgeous, there was a dark undertone to it all that couldn't be denied. It set the Nobody on edge, but he tried his best to deter his thoughts from such things.

There had been a few Heartless here, but also a few different foes that he hadn't recalled facing before. They resembled the pesky creatures, but they had managed to make themselves even more so. He hadn't any idea whatsoever on what to call these little vermin, but he had destroyed them at the will of the Kingdom Key all the same, just like the shadows. They didn't release captive hearts, thus causing the small boy to deduce that they were, in fact, a completely different creature altogether. Who he was supposed to ask about this strange finding was unbeknownst to him, but he figured that the answers would come in time - just like his missing pieces of memory.

Roxas had found himself in a small clearing, in the distance fading into view was a dark, scraggly-looking castle that gave him "the creeps," to put it lightly. He took a gulp of his own saliva and ran his fingers through the blond spikes atop his head nervously. He knew that if he was to find the origin of these new creatures, that would probably the best place to begin his search - it looked much too suspicious to not be involved.

"Jeez.." The teen mumbled to himself, hand falling limply back to his side. After this ordeal, he finally decided that he would take a trip to the World that Never Was and see.. See if his friends were still there. Xion had to have returned if he did.. Right? And Axel - Would he be there? The thought made his chest tighten although it still retained the same, unbearable emptiness. His feet began to move again, carrying him out of the small clearing and back into the treeline.

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Enchanted Dominion was one of the first places he'd infested. Maleficent became a veritable duke of darkness here, forging ties with those bearing hatred toward the light and those it represented. But now Maleficent seemed out of orbit and the Unversed were reduced to a fraction of their previous ranks. Vanitas was returning to a tranquil landscape...or so he thought.

As he descended into the forest, the dark-side was met with the roughest misunderstanding he'd ever encountered. There was a boy in black haunting the pathway who looked eerily like somebody he knew more than he knew himself. Vanitas considered himself a level creature, despite the contrary evidence of his creations (and sometimes his unhinged laugh), so he merely stood back and observed.

Ventus was supposed to come back any minute now; he'd gone to scout out the castle's perimeter. This particular presence felt substantially different than the energy normally assigned with the other blond. Vanitas didn’t think his first waking encounter with Ventus in the castle-debauchery was going to be rivaled in its confusion any time soon, but it seemed he was proven wrong...why wasn't anything making sense anymore?

When merely gawking failed to bring up any form of answer, Vanitas betrayed his concealment. “You. Are you from around here?”

Ventus hated doing scouting work, he had learned as he circled the castle's outer limits for anything that was related to the Darkness or Maleficent. He could see no signs of the dark witch, or anything else of danger. In fact if he really took the time to get a feel for the area again he could feel Light radiating from the wold once more, which could only mean that Aurora had woken from her heartless sleep at some point. Terra would be happy to hear that, he thought to himself. Happy to know he hadn't done any permanent damage to the beautiful Princess of Heart. 

In fact everything seemed normal until he started to get close to his darker half once more. And then he heard him speaking. Ventus had the mind to stay back a little, peering to see who Vanitas was talking to in case it was the wicked witch herself. Instead he found himself staring at.... himself? Confusion lanced through him and bright blue eyes widened in alarm for a moment, was this some kind of trick? If it was Vanitas wasn't fooled from the way he spoke, which was good because honestly if Ventus didn't know any better he would say they were twins. 

The second blonde hung back for a few moments, watching the two interact before he slowly walked onto the path himself, he was sure that Vanitas knew he was there already given he could sense his emotions. The real surprise would be for his apparent twin, who he couldn't take his eyes off of. This was just bizarre.

You. Are you from around here?

His whole world had ceased spinning at that very second, a nervous gulp visible upon his throat. The voice was achingly familiar, something that he wished he didn't have to hear. He was going through enough at the current time, was this really necessary? He had too much on his plate already as it was, this was not an ideal time for this to be happening - for his head to start hurting in the way it was. There were hollow memories flashing through his mind, trying to force him to remember something that had been forgotten for the longest time, Slowly, Roxas began to turn, and he was faced with nothing short of a demon spawn, staring into him and peering deep into the heart that he didn't have. The face that he was staring at, however, was...

"Sora-" He said without thinking, though it was obvious he wasn't saying the word in a state of recognition, but more of.. Opposite recognition. Those eyes that were supposed to be a brilliant blue that matched the blond's own were a defiant golden, one that showed mischief and maliciousness. The spikes that usually harbored a light brown color were a deep ebony, one that obviously wasn't supposed to be there at all. Roxas, for a moment, could only stare with his lips parted, jaws attempting to move in a way to where he could form words. What was he.. Supposed to say? In a situation like this?

As soon as he was about to ask just what was going on around him, someone else had entered the scene that was in the mist of this open clearing. What he saw next put that last moment of confusion to shame - there was no mirror here, why did it feel like he was looking into one?

"Wh-..." The Keyblade wielder brought a hand up to his head, those same hollow memories obtaining some sort of substance, as much as it cause his head to throb in agony. He saw.. A woman.. With blue hair and a gentle, paternal smile. A man.. With a tender gaze, though he seemed to harbor some sort of hurt within. The Nobody tried his best to snap out of it, looking at the two of them -- they resemble both he and Sora way too much for it to be comfortable.

"Who are you? Both of you?" He took a step back, shifting his trembling eyes back and forth, trying to figure out which one of them he was more disturbed by. Out of instinct, though he couldn't say that he felt as though he was in danger, he summoned the Kingdom Key into his right hand, gripping it a little too tightly for it to be considered comfortable.

"Tell me!"

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This went beyond the intricacies of double-vision. Vanitas wondered if he'd missed some cosmic memo somewhere.

The carbon copy panicking and appearing as confused as the situation allowed didn't help anybody involved, either. While Vanitas was beyond confounded, he had the discipline - and probably the intellect - to monitor himself. The cold but methodical Xehanort would have insisted on it.

That was why the open display of hostility was brushed off, the figment instead snorting in ridicule and glancing sidelong to the supposedly more authentic of the two beings. Ventus was mirroring the shock he was gaping at, which more or less wrote off the blond's knowledge of any if this.

"Your energies feel different - but he's just like you.” Vanitas remarked. “Reckless, suicidal, stupid - I wonder if that old dinosaur, Xehanort, has something to do with this. He didn’t seem to have a problem making us."

Since the imitation seemed happy with completely ignoring the question he'd been asked, even insisting with his holy grails of questions, Vanitas decided he'd take the bait and play along.

"My name is Vanitas. The one cowering over there is Ventus. He's nice; I'm not, so here's the thing,” Gloved fingers secured around the dark-shaded Keyblade that puffed into existence, though Vanitas didn't put his impulse to action just yet. “If you put down that toy nice and easy and cooperate with us, I will suppress my desire to break your face. "

Ventus was frozen in place as both of them moved, and he was the only one without a Keyblade in hand suddenly. Confusion melted quickly into shock and for a moment he was left gaping like a fish out of water. 

He forced his feet to move, catching up with Vanitas to grab his wrist," No... no fighting. Please," He looks toward his doppleganger with a pleading glance," We're not here to fight!" He keeps his grip on the other gentle, Wayward Wind already paused to summon if either of them made a move to bother with fighting. He didn't want to see anymore of it than he had to, and this wasn't neccesary. It was just an odd case, right? 

He finds his voice again after a moment of losing it as he stared at his double," We just want to know who you are, not a fight." He pulls at Vanitas again, as if trying to keep him close. It's hard to tell if it's anxiety caused or if he's really that afraid that Vanitas will attack the other, but the stricken look still in his eyes says it's probably the former. 

He wasn't afraid of the other exactly, even though it was clear he could weild a Keyblade, he was more afraid of what it meant that this kid had called Vanitas by another name, which meant that they both had dopplegangers but he knew they didn't have brothers themselves. It meant something was wrong, didn't it? Or at least implied that something, somewhere had gone wrong in a strange way. 

"Toy?" The young Nobody repeated, narrowing his azure gaze to look at the two of them. The one that mirrored his own image to perfection was sticking close to him, holding on to him for a multitude of possible reasons. Was he just afraid or was he attempting to hold him back? So many things were racing past his thoughts - how was he supposed to handle a situation like this? Axel wasn't here to help him through it or tell him what to do; he was completely.. On his own, now.

"And what do you mean cooperate?!" On cue, he lowered his body into his usual battle stance, as though he was facing two heartless that were threatening to rip him apart. Though he was trying to put up a front that made him look tough and fearless, the truth was, Roxas was terrified. He was brought back into existence only to come face to face with these two, people that completely mimicked all that he was and all that he had ever known. If only the poor boy was aware that he was the copy.

We just want to know who you are, not a fight.

That caused him to blink, his eyes shifting between the two in a confused stance. He pulled back from his battle-ready composure, though he still gripped at the Kingdom Key tightly, ready to use it to his will if necessary.

"My.. My name is Roxas." He knew that wouldn't be enough, and as much as he didn't want to admit it, he let the words fall from his lips, a hint of shame hiding behind his tone. "Sora's nobody." He wasn't even sure if these guys even knew about the Organization, or better yet, what a Nobody even was. If things were going the way he figured they were going, there was going to be a lot of explanations, and not only from his end, either.

He looked at the one he now knew as Ventus, simply staring at him with a look that could only be considered "dumbfounded." The more he stared into his eyes, the stronger the ache in his brain became, and eventually, he was having to bring a hand up to the side of his face, covering one of his eyes and visibly wincing. Two words then sounded from his very throat, though it definitely didn't feel like he was the one speaking.

"Terra... Aqua..." His chest screamed in agony, his stomach was clenched up uncomfortably, and the world around him was spinning. Memories inside of Roxas were being awakened at an alarming pace, not giving him time to adjust, overwhelming him in a physical and mental way. He fell back a few paces, a tree being the only thing to catch him from behind. His breathing was erratic, nails digging into the skin on his forehead due to the internal pain.

Put an end to me.

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Ventus was theatrical in his timely intervention as ever. At least it seemed to work. Satisfied at the safer turn of the situation, Vanitas agreeably stayed his weapon. He then pointedly stared at Ventus, then at the grip to his hand, then at Ventus again-

"Hn."

-and decidedly knocked him to the ground. That oughta wake him up, in case he was half-asleep.

Sora.

He'd heard the name the first time, but didn't see how to correlate it with anything to do with the imitation Ventus - or Roxas, as he called himself. But Terra and Aqua...? Sure, those seemed more plausible to that face, even if they made matters more complicated. Just...what was this thing?

uncomfortable at best, Vanitas took to the pacing, and therefore the thinking, as the blond named Roxas doubled over. Ventus was the one good at that nursey, softey stuff anyway.

"I might've heard of a Sora or two," he remarked, pausing to eye the lesser half. "I'm going to hazard a guess and say you didn't remember him. It wouldn't be the first time you forgot something. But...how would he know of Sora? And what the hell did he mean by Nobody?"

The Blonde wasn't expecting the shove, as a result he easily toppled to the ground. He didn't bother with the Keyblade though, no matter what Vanitas was still going to be Vanitas. And he knew that deep inside. His cruelty still felt foriegn which deep inside bothered him more than he wanted to admit, it also wasn't the problem at hand. He heard two names fall from the lips of his twin, and he looked up at him in shock before realizing how much pain he was in. Ventus was up and at his side as fast as he could move, worried about a complete stranger like the sweet fool he always had been. 

He was gently when he reached to touch Roxas' shoulder, gently squeezing in an attempt to help ground him in the here and now. Ventus didn't know what was wrong with him, or even what a Nobody was but he knew that he didn't like seeing anyone in this kind of agony. He had felt it before, after all. 

"Are you okay?" He cast Vanitas a worried look, afraid that maybe it was his presence here that was hurting the other. He had said their names after all... and he had the feeling that they weren't around to tell other's their names anymore. Which could only mean a few things.

"Can I help?" 

The only thing that could snap him out of that horrendous state that he was in was the physical contact to the one who looked so much like him. Or.. That he looked so much like. Roxas was so used to being the copy, to being second best to a greater good, to being no more than a shadow, so it only made sense that he was behind in this instance as well. He was always three steps behind Sora, and it seemed like he was now ten steps behind this "Ventus."

"I.." He tried to answer, his hand moving from his face to his side limply, taking in a few deep breaths, getting a handle on the situation again, his vision slightly blurry in the beginning. He was able to retain his composure, shaking his head quickly as though to deter the rest of the confusion and disturbance out of him for the time being. He needed to keep his head - this was important.

"I think I'm okay." The Nobody forced himself to push up to his full height, matching the mirror image in front of him. Roxas couldn't stop changing his gaze back and forth between the two, a perturbed look upon his face, though he was honestly attempting with all of his might to make it look like he was handling this perfectly okay. Well, he had already ruined that and threw the possibility out the window, but he could at least.. Okay, He didn't have a damn clue what he was doing. Not at all. He was just there.

He then took into account what Vanitas had said, all of it just now clicking since he had been in another world a few moments prior. So, his guess was, in fact, correct - they had never heard of a Nobody. "You guys.. Know about Heartless, yeah?" He figured they must have, considering that they had keyblades. "When a person has their heart stolen-" Explaining this out loud to someone was so odd - he always had this story shoved down his throat. He had never figured that someone else would seriously need this information. It was naive of him to think that everyone knew of the existence of these things, what he was; he was aware of this, now. "-and they were really strong, sometimes it'll leave behind.. This." He motioned to himself and gave an almost-dry-laugh. Yeah, he'd have to clarify.

"It's pretty much an empty shell. We don't have hearts." He pushed himself away from the tree, finding that getting his mind off of the pain was helping it fade away - thank God.

"Okay, so I told you my story. I'm Sora's nobody; mind telling me what you.. Who are you?"

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Oh, he definitely knew of the heartless. One of his last memories shared with Ventus involved the nasty beings. Like all the memories that had to do with Xehanort, it was a memory he wished he could forget.

“So, you’re a human husk,” Vanitas observed. Many things didn’t add up about the boy or his nature, mostly his appearance; this was Ventus’ face standing before them, not Sora’s…but was it possible that Sora and Ventus shared a connection deeper than heart-level? Possibly. Who was Vanitas to dismiss just another living syntax?

All he knew for sure was that this mess had Master Xehanort’s reek was all over it. That old coot couldn’t get near another life form without mucking, mutilating, or breaking it. And if it wasn’t him, it was people who associated with him...People like him. People like Vanitas.

The shadow curled his lips wryly as he mustered an explanation.

"One day, a looney old man had a midlife crisis. Where most people his age just bleached their teeth or exercised more, this guy wanted to live forever. So he decided his little apprentice would make a sweet new ride for his heart to live in.

“But since that didn't work out in the end, he decided to extract the darkness out of that kid's heart instead." Vanitas inclined his head almost sensibly. "I'm that darkness. You can say Ventus and I are incomplete halves.

"As for why I'm wearing Sora's face...who knows. Why are you wearing Ventus'? I don't think it matters right now. We just are."

He'd purposely left out all the events leading up to his and Ventus' demise. Ventus could air his lungs about it and he wouldn't really mind, but what was the point? Roxas didn't seem to need more conviction to know that Vanitas was an inconsolable asshole. Unlike Ventus, Roxas' emotional energy was wilder more prone to combustion. He shared nothing else with his counterpart besides that face.

"See, Ventus and I woke up from a little nap. Things seem different from the last time we were...awake. Me, I'm looking for my master, and also a very important memory that was robbed from me. I don't know about the airhead right here, though."

He didn't add that until then, he couldn't really do anything worthwhile. Bullying and threatening Ventus with physical violence was a given, and always welcome, but what about the grander scheme? What about the goal that meant keeping to one direction and feeling a sense of purpose pursuing it? The master wasn't around. The Unversed weren't as strong as they were before. There was no longer a visible solution with which he could amend his and Ventus' split.

Without that, Vanitas felt purposeless; a kite left indoors.

Ventus slowly takes a step back from his twin and nods a little as he speaks, staying mostly silent as Vanitas spoke too. He didn't want to add anything more. He didn't know how his reflection would take the information that they had been essentially dead and had just crawled out of the ruins of the home that he had grown up on not even a day ago. No, that information could stay secret for now. He decided, realizing after a few moments that he had let it peter into silence and that he was basically just staring at Vanitas as a result. 

"I'm looking for my friends.... You said there names. Do you know Terra and Aqua?" The blonde doubted it, he looked like he was experiencing the pain that Ventus had felt every time he had remembered something that his heart had blocked out to protect himself. 

"I...." He looked back at Vanitas, he still didn't think it was wise for him to seek out Xehanort again, it couldn't lead to any good for him to know that the fragments of the x-blade were sepperate and awake again, he didn't want to have that arguement in front of this stranger though. It could only lead to more people knowing what they were, and the x-blade had caused wars before. He didn't want to cause that to come to pass again. 

He didn't want to see more people hurt like he and his friends, and Vanitas too had been. 

Ventus looked back to Roxas again, hoping that maybe one of them could fill the silence he couldn't. 

It was now obvious that it wasn't just the Organization members that had been brought back due to this odd chain of events. The one that looked just like him was much more civil than the one that represented his somebody counterpart, his golden eyes were challenging and defiant, and his tone of voice wasn't exactly friendly, but there was something about him that spoke to Roxas on a level he couldn't even begin to understand. Apparently they had both stolen the faces of someone else, someone much more important than they could ever hope to be.

There was a pang of anger, then. Why was he destined to be that? Why was he born into the fate of consistently being second best without given the chance to prove himself? Being a Nobody was all about "not being worth anything," and now he had found out that not only was he an empty husk, but he was a carbon copy of someone else. He took a deep breath and stared at the ground for a few moments, regaining his composure.

"No.. I don't." His response was slightly cold, though it wasn't directed specifically towards Ventus - he didn't do anything wrong. Roxas was just a little disturbed by the whole situation. "I'm sorry. Their names came to mind and..." The blond boy trailed off, finally bringing himself to look up at the two again. This visit had begun in a simple scouting of the area, but now it had turned into one of the strangest moments Roxas had ever experienced in both of his chances at life. It was as if everything that he knew had been a lie, and all that he believed had been told to him falsely. Which wasn't beyond the realm of possibility - he had begun to wonder if the words given to the Organization by the Superior were legitimate.

"Who.. Is your master?" He was simply curious, wondering if the name would ring a bell to him whatsoever. It was becoming apparent to the Key of Destiny that he was connected to many more individuals that Sora alone - how much did he not know about? He couldn't help but recall when he and Namine held a conversation in the White Room back when he was attempting to remove himself from DiZ's simulation; what did she know about him that he did not? Roxas had been so sure at that moment that no one knew more about him than he did, but.. Now, as he was staring these two in the face, he was seriously beginning to doubt himself.

He was opening his mouth to speak again when something altered his concentration, his body instinctively turning to look back at the source of the noise. This world had seemed to be relatively free of any of the pests he was used to seeing - until now, of course. Crawling out of the trees, accompanied by the strong stench of darkness, was a multitude of those strange creatures he had seen beforehand. The Kingdom Key summoned itself into his hand at his will, the thirteenth member jumping back to give himself and the enemies a little more distance. These weren't Heartless, and they certainly weren't Nobodies.

"What are these things?!"

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Vanitas didn't stop to think about the consequences of disclosing such a perilous name as his master's. As he made to open his mouth, an omen greeted them in the form of several pointy heads that poked out from among the foliage. Even Vanitas, who didn't feel the Unversed coming, had to grunt unpleasantly at their untimely appearance...and their appearance in general. He hadn't hoped to see them again so soon.

He side-eyed the agitated copy. "I'm guessing you've already met," he remarked, amused, "but I'll be a sport and introduce you proper. Roxas, Unversed. Unversed, Roxas. They go for shins, by the way. Driven little fuckers."

He wondered if there were more Unversed in the other worlds. He also wondered for how long they could have been around collectively, and what it all meant for he himself. Also, what - or who else, for that matter - was around, during this lame excuse for an awakening? If revived could have been the term for his and Ventus' return, then anyone could easily be revived.

Oh, right. The Unversed were gonna attack. They tend to do that.

Vanitas sighed heavily. "I have taken into consideration that I could recall them, and I've decided fuck that."

He stepped to the side.

"This one's on the house."

The floods passed through Vanitas as if they hadn't seen him. Instead hey made toward the duo with tiny feet but great motivation.

Vanitas manifested a dark corridor. To Ventus, he said, "There's a geezer living in a tower somewhere who might help. I forget his name, but I remember how much he used to piss off the master with how much he knew. He Probably out-knew everything the master did. I'd look for him if I were you...If you want any hopes of knowing what happened your friends, or what's going on. You could use some false assurance."

Vanitas stepped into the corridor, and you can bet he did it smugly.

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FIN [[ooc: sorry for the late!]]