firstnothing

The afternoon before had been ... enlightening. And with the egg he'd acquired hatching just after dark, bringing his team to three (two and a half he supposed; a newborn pokemon wasn't terribly strong), things seemed to be going well. The dusky little fox was more than content to curl up with Sorrow and Regret and sleep there the entire night through, and he'd had no reason to disturb them. Come the morning, all three would be put to work.

That had been the plan anyway. Something seemed off as he set up breakfast; he's almost completely certain there had not been four pokemon sleeping there last night. And now there were. Regret's obvious black-and-white, Sorrow's vivid green, the little zorua's dusky gray, and ... orange, cream and black, all curled up.

Frown.

Ousting the doglike pokemon proved to be more troublesome than it was worth, and Xemnas quickly settled on simply ignoring it in favor of straightening out his own, handing out breakfast, checking for lingering injury from the day before, and heading on his way. Honestly he had intended to catch a growlithe sooner or later, preferably sooner, but this one was ... overaffectionate. And far too exuberant for his tastes, with the way it bounced in happy, barking circles around himself and his bewildered team.

Thus went the day. The constant energetic presence of the growlithe didn't really interrupt the hunting any, as wild pokemon seemed to ignore the noise and darting about for the most part, including one sleeping abra at the base of a tree. Abras, according to his pokedex after a quick scan, wouldn't ordinarily counterattack. And the little zorua was more than happy to test its small claws and sharp teeth on the sleeping psychic-type.

Repeatedly, given the thing kept teleporting. It was annoying enough to all of them (except the growlithe, who seemed impossible to annoy) that actual effective teamwork seemed to be rapidly forged between his three pokemon out of sheer determination to corner and catch the abra. It kept teleporting. How often could it do that?

Quite a bit it turned out. But eventually, with a lot of effort and a well-timed Grass Whistle, Xemnas had the little psychic-fox neatly trapped in one of those red-and-white pokeballs. The first one he'd ever bothered to catch, and that probably due to the frustration levels of chasing it around all day.

As sunset approached and he set out for the distant city again, the growlithe followed.

[Audio]

[From the sound of sharp little hooves on road, he's managed to find a proper route to follow.]

Is it ordinary that a pokemon might decide to join you, whether or not you wish it to be there?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

lastcharge

[He can only make guesses, and keep going with the idea that this man knows Xehanort.]

He connected his heart to a boy named Ventus. He is the reason I look this way. Xehanort was the man who trained me, and goes by Master Xehanort. The title comes from being a Keyblade Master.

[At least for how emotive his expressions usually are, he's doing fairly well at keeping himself passive; still, the name brings a mild scowl to his face.]

From:

firstnothing

[Ventus is a name he knew. There was a boy sleeping somewhere in Castle Oblivion, and Xemnas couldn't find him. He'd searched so long, driven by ...

It's shoved aside.]

I see.

[Xehanort, from previous to Radiant Garden. Before he'd acquired a new vessel, he'd had a student. But--]

What occurred, that you no longer have a body? You are not Heartless, it seems; in what state do you exist if at all, outside of this world?

[Did Ventus know that word? Did he know what they were? He was not a Nobody, they didn't exist - as much as any Nobody existed - before his own tampering with the heart.]

From:

lastcharge

You see, Master was looking to create a weapon, and Ventus was part of idea. However, Ven hardly had much darkness in his heart, not enough to be of use to his plans. So, he extracted the darkness out of Ventus' heart and created me with it.

I was to fight with Ventus, to cause a clash of a heart of pure light and one of pure dark, and it would create a powerful keyblade called the X-blade. Since it was made from the rejoining of our heart into one, Ventus destroyed it to defeat me. From what I understand, I've simply returned to being a piece of his heart again while he sleeps.

From:

firstnothing

[Once more, silence. It lasts a bit longer this time, nearly a minute before Xemnas speaks again, tone... thoughtful.]

I believe I ... know this weapon. It is unfortunate you did not succeed, much trouble would have been avoided afterwards. It can't be helped I suppose.

I presume you intend to avenge yourself should you encounter your Master again?

From:

lastcharge

It is unfortunate only in that I cease to exist as I am now. [Narrowing his eyes just the slightest bit, he thins his lips briefly before trying to create the passive illusion again.]

Less to avenge myself, and more to find out what he's doing. It's been a long time, after all. [If it's something he can disrupt, he will do it, this worlds lack of keyblades be damned.]

From:

firstnothing

As you say.

[This with a touch of amusement.]

It has been a very long time. However for the foreseeable future, he is dead.

['For the foreseeable future' and not simply dead. Which meant that could change.]

You may be waiting quite a long time. Are you patient enough? I can see the flickers of emotion you work to suppress. There is little reason to hide it.

From:

lastcharge

If there is even a hint with him still being alive, it is because he's stolen the body he was after. Master was getting up there in age, so he wanted a new vessel to carry his heart so that he could live long enough to see his plans bear fruit.

[Oh, he knows, in a way. Sora explained as much, when he woke from his memory coma. But the new voice, new person to have this amount of information, it's... interesting. Still, the mention of his emotions makes him almost laugh, chuckling low and even lifting a hand to half cover his mouth a moment.]

The irony, is that I've never been good at hiding my emotions. It doesn't happen here, but because of what I was, they manifested into creatures that were named Unversed.

From:

firstnothing

This is so.

[Xemnas knows quite a bit more about that than he does about what happened beforehand.]

'Unversed'. I should like to know more about these creatures.

[He'd asked for only a couple questions but he'll take advantage of as many as he can get until Vanitas remembers - or feels like returning fire.]

From:

lastcharge

Simply beings created out of darkness, controlled by me and only me. They were my emotions, literally given shape. I could also create Unversed out of someone elses negativity, their thoughts and feelings.

[But This is so makes him quiet after explaining so briefly.]

Who are you? Your name. What world would you say you came from?

From:

firstnothing

Truly? An ability I would much like to study save that ... here it seems all such powers are stripped away.

[And he means it, by the way curiosity threads itself delicately through his tone; he's not given to much emotion at all, even though he's now capable of it, but that's piqued his interest.]

My name is Xemnas. Perhaps you've been told of it since arriving here, depending on how chatty others have been.

[As he was 'born' after Vanitas died there would be no other way. It's musing.]

I come from no world. Or perhaps most accurately a world that never was.

[As much as this may not help AT ALL with the questions, there is the sense that they are also completely, utterly truthful. There's not even a trace of deception.]

From:

shadowdive

Unfortunate then, that it's unlikely to ever be studied. I think the only Master left around who would remember anything is Yen Sid.

No, I've been out of contact with most people for the last few months. So I suppose this is where I would say, it's.. interesting to finally speak with you. How long have you been here?

A world that never - [Vanitas snorts here, chuckling a bit at how ridiculous it sounds almost.] Did the entity known as Kingdom Hearts have anything to do with this world that never existed?

From:

firstnothing

True enough. How regretful. I wonder if memories are retained, should we return to our proper places. It might be worth the headache to confront Yen Sid over such a unique skill.

[A pause.] A handful of weeks. And it did, but only peripherally and by exclusion. As you may know, all 'proper' worlds have hearts, and thus a connection to Kingdom Hearts. This world ... does not, although Kingdom Hearts hung in the sky like a moon once placed there.

Edited (as you may no ) Date: 2013-08-24 02:49 am (UTC)

From:

shadowdive

I never met the old man myself for reasons, but Master always had a complaint for the very rare times he couldn't derive a straight answer from him.

A handful of weeks? Not bad. May this "vacation" last as long as you want it to, then. Heh, that's surprising, considering how it likes to roam around like it's untouchable. Perhaps it had pity for the world with no heart. [Really though, he's making a joke and it shows in his tone.]

My name is Vanitas.

From:

firstnothing

It will last until I am required elsewhere. I intend to 'enjoy' it while it lasts.

[There's that dry chuckle again, a slow rumble of amusement.]

It is there because I put it there. Hello, Vanitas.

From:

shadowdive

I have to ask how you managed to do that? Master even had to bait it to get it where he wanted it.

From:

firstnothing

It requires nothing more than controlling a small number of keyblade wielders, patience, and countless Heartless. As the latter did not exist to your Master's knowledge, or in the time he lived, it would have been impossible to pursue that goal through those means.

I wonder if it is still there, without someone to tend to it.

From:

shadowdive

Care to explain what a Heartless is then, and how many Keyblade wielders did you have?

I'm inclined to think it's moved on, unless someone else has been feeding it.

From:

firstnothing

[Xemnas' tone creeps towards amused again.]

For the simplest version, a Heartless is a creature of darkness, the disembodied manifestation of a heart. They seek out other hearts, and then make more of themselves by taking that heart, be it a world or a person. The victim falls to darkness, and a new Heartless often is born shortly after. As for keyblade wielders, as of right now on this world, not a single one. Perhaps they are still supplying Kingdom Hearts with new hearts, off this world.

From:

lastcharge

So it becomes something of a cycle. Take a new heart, create a new Heartless. [The amused tone doesn't put him off, no, it's interesting to him; the process. It somewhat reminds him of the Unversed, that it's just another cycle.]

Mm, who knows then. There weren't many left, in my time, from what I knew. Only three Masters, one perished, one old, the other too damn mysterious for his own good. Technically four, I guess, but I've no idea what happened with her.

From:

firstnothing

Yes. However a keyblade is capable of destroying them, releasing the heart to join Kingdom Hearts freely. If someone were to destroy one without a keyblade, it would simply reform somewhere else later on. Although I had a hand in their initial creation, time has proven that they likely existed in some form before our work.

[It interested Xemnas as well. If he had the leisure and ability to continue his studies here, now that he COULD be interested in it.. The thought is swiftly shaken off.]

There are no masters in my time. Only children using weapons they don't understand. ..Though. 'Her'?

From:

lastcharge

Probably. Darkness has it's ways of slipping through cracks into any world, whether one beckons it or not.

Ventus had two friends who he trained with for three years, they were Terra and Aqua. Both have been here at a point. Aqua and Terra were students who took the Mark of Mastery exam under Master Eraqus, and only Aqua passed, as Terra had too much untapped darkness for his liking. Honestly, for what I know, she could be the only one left of their group, if Masters plans of a new body really were successful.

From:

firstnothing

[It sounds familiar.

Xemnas didn't remember his life before waking at Radiant Garden, not completely. Fits and starts, brief flashes of familiarity or a short memory of something not quite grasped. Like the armor he kept safely locked away. That had been significant once.

The names Vanitas provides echoes the same way. Almost-familiar, like they should be important. The silence from Xemnas's end of the communication extends for several minutes.]

It is possible. A true master is often very adept at surviving under the radar if they must. These individuals were here when you were as well, or did you hear of them after their passing?

From:

lastcharge

They existed in my time, then have arrived here. I've fought with Aqua on numerous occasions, and Terra was sent on the wild goose chase of finding me, when I was following Ventus, who was to stay home but didn't, because he was following Terra. Really, they all kept missing each other until they reached a world called Radiant Garden, and by then no one was seeing eye to eye any longer.

[It was a plan that worked, as much as he dislikes it now.]

From:

firstnothing

Like ships in a fog. It seems for the best all things considered. When one is strong, three can be a nightmare to face. Presumably their friendship did not swiftly mend..

From:

lastcharge

No. Terra was too wrapped in the idea of becoming a Master, that Xehanort used him to his advantage. Aqua was too wrapped in trying to trust that Terra wouldn't veer from the light, and trying to catch up to Ventus. Ventus was convinced Terra would change, because I told him he would. Making him leave the safety of his Masters world was of my doing, so that I could test his strength to be sure the X-blade would be successful.

The last I recall, I knocked Aqua out before taking on Ventus. Master was beckoning Kingdom Hearts close to take Terra's body, and some guy he found, a Braig, was hanging around to potentially get a keyblade. I don't know what deal Master made with him, just that he was willing to work with him if that was his reward.