It's Kind Of A Long Story...

“Hinata, look out!” Velcia cried, sitting up in a rush.

Her vision spun around her as her head throbbed with pain. She blinked rapidly, slowly realizing that she was no longer surrounded by water. There was no facility, no whirlpool, or creature. She found herself instead on a forest floor. Impossibly tall trees towered around her, their tops disappearing into the misty sky. The branches were bare and blackened. Dead leaves covered the ground between the thick black roots protruding from the dirt. 

Velcia looked around and hesitantly stood up. “Hinata?” she asked, her voice disappearing into the mist. Her hands ran uncomfortably up and down her arms as she walked. “Why do I get the feeling I’m not in her dream anymore?”   

“Hmm clever,” Hinata’s voice muttered through the wind. 

The sound sent shivers up Velcia’s spine.

"You're not Hinata." A Keyblade flashed into Velcia’s hands. “Show yourself."

There was a pause, then a laugh that carried itself between the trees, echoing through the forest. Velcia turned in place, her blade at the ready. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a silhouette in the mist. Turning towards it, whatever it was disappeared. 

“Let’s see how clever you really are,” Hinata’s voice offered behind her. Velcia spun around, but no one was there. Against her ear, she felt a whisper, “Come and find us.”

The unsettling presence vanished and Velcia stumbled back, leaning against the trunk of a tree. Her heart pounded in her chest. Exhaustion ached in her muscles and her joints. She swallowed hard, attempting to coat her parched throat. Looking up towards the misty sky, she took a deep breath. 

“How will I get back?” she asked. Fear crept up in her chest, but she stamped it down with a sharp breath and shut her eyes. “Sam, if you’re somehow able to hear me, it might be up to you, like we talked about... I just hope the others really woke up.” She reluctantly opened her eyes and looked out into the forest. “I have to get moving.”

She stepped forward, careful not to trip on the thick roots. Every direction appeared the same— shrouded in mist and covered with trees. She walked aimlessly for a few minutes, before slowing to a stop with a soft huff of breath. Placing her hands over her heart, she shut her eyes and reached out to feel the magic around her. It was different from doing so in the outside world, where she could feel each and every individual element that made up the fabric of the world itself. Here, everything was fabricated and illusory. Reaching out with her mind felt empty and fuzzy, despite how real everything seemed around her. Taking a deep, steady breath, she reached out further and she sensed the pulse of darkness. It festered stronger the more she focused on it, causing her to draw back and open her eyes with a gasp. 

Even after detaching herself from it, her heart felt heavy and sick. Velcia looked in the direction she sensed the darkness and walked. Her feet crunched the dead leaves underfoot. Wind creaked the branches overhead. Everything else was silent and eerily so. Velcia continued onwards, her sash in her hands while she rubbed the fabric between her fingers. The texture, the stitching, it gave her a distraction while her mind struggled to wrap around what she was doing and where she was. 

Minutes passed, Velcia wasn’t sure how many. The mist gradually began to clear and the trees thinned out. The occasional sunflower stood in place of where a tree would normally be. Velcia ran her hands along a few of the petals as she passed. Orange sunlight peeked through the mist, though Velcia still couldn’t quite see the sky through the shroud. Then she reached the edge of a clearing. 

The mist abruptly disappeared. A perpetual sunset covered the sky. Hundreds of sunflowers covered the clearing. The only thing between them were thick black roots, each one leading towards a single colossal tree in the center of it all. Velcia stood at the edge of the clearing, already sensing the heavy darkness emanating off the tree. There was no doubt in her mind it was the exact source of the darkness she sensed when she was deep in the forest. Her heart lodged in her throat. She knew that was where Thaanix awaited her. 

A rustling sound caught her attention. She snapped her eyes over to see the same creature from the dreams scuttering out of the forest beside her. With a gasp, she jumped back and summoned her Keyblade, but the beast paid her no mind. It simply moved past her, disappearing in the field of sunflowers. She could see the sunflowers bending to the side as it made its way towards the tree. Her Keyblade flashed away and she looked around. Other various creatures of all different shapes and sizes were doing the same. Each of them emerged from the forest and ventured into the field of flowers to reach the tree. Velcia’s gaze once again settled on the tree. From where she stood, she couldn’t make out many details, but it didn’t appear natural; though, she supposed nothing in the dream would be. 

She looked over her shoulder at the misty forest behind her, but then back towards the clearing. With a deep breath, she moved forward. The sunflowers provided a comforting scent that masked the putrid scent of darkness. Velcia ran her hands along the petals of the ones that stood near her height, purposefully releasing the perfume. It did little to help the gradually growing stench, but Velcia did it nonetheless. She stared up at the tree as she went. It wasn’t made of any sort of recognizable wood, but instead black tendrils that twisted and weaved together. Between the tendrils, were creatures of all manner of shapes and sizes— many of which matched the types already scuttering towards the tree from the forest. They wriggled against their confinement and as Velcia approached she could hear their hisses and whines as the vines tightened over their remains. She felt sick. 

The creature from the previous dreams stopped at the base of the tree. It happily chittered, about to enter through an opening in the trunk before tendrils burst out and wrapped around its body. Velcia startled with a gasp. The creature thrashed in surprise, but the tendrils tightly constricted until it fell limp. Without any more fight, the beast was dragged up the side of the tree to become a part of it. 

Velcia stepped back, her face pale. “I need to leave,” she told herself, though she knew she had no idea how. She walked backwards several steps, watching as more and more of the approaching creatures were consumed. 

“Not yet,” Hinata’s voice muttered behind her. 

Velcia’s eyes widened and she spun around. Everything shifted. The sunflowers, the orange sunset, and the barren trees, were all replaced with a hollowed tree. Velcia frantically looked around at the towering, twisted walls, her breaths becoming heavy. 

“How did I—”

“Why are you helping them?” Hinata’s voice asked shakily from behind. It sounded different from before, causing Velcia to pause.  

She cautiously turned around, her grip tightening around her Keyblade. In the center of the hollowed tree she saw Thaanix kneeled on the ground. Her hands were folded in her lap, her eyes fixated on the floor with blackened tears stained against her cheeks. Velcia carefully stepped towards her. She looked to Thaanix’s hair. It was loose and long, much longer than she had ever seen Hinata’s. It fell all around her, cascading over the floor, until melding into black and forming the dark tendrils that made up the entire fortress around them.

“They’re my friends,” Velica told her honestly, noticing Thaanix’s hands tighten in her lap. “I’ll do everything I can to help them.”

“Good little Hinata knows how to make everyone loyal.” Another Thaanix formed out of darkness, her eyes black and skin grayed. “Even enough to convince others to kill us.”

“Such a clever addition to the team.” Yet another form appeared. “So much power. She reeks of magic.” The form laughed. “Imagine little Hinata’s surprise when we take it for ourselves.”

“You will get nothing from me.” Velcia’s Keyblade ignited and a shimmering shield surrounded her. She looked between each form, her heart pounding but her stare remained level and seemingly calm. 

“You have no idea how often we hear that,” the form told her. “And every time, without fail, they end up here. Just look for yourself.”

Velcia’s eyes darted around the tree’s walls. She had tried not to notice the bodies weaved in between the vines: past Organization Members she recognized from DiZ’s books, a being formed out of a burlap sack, and all forms of people she didn’t recognize. She swallowed hard, averting her gaze as her stomach flipped. 

The forms of darkness laughed and more of them appeared. In the center of it all, the real Thaanix remained silent, eyes still fixed on the floor, tears pooling beneath her. One of the forms walked up to Velcia’s shield and pressed her hand against the barrier. Darkness hissed and sizzled from the touch, but the form didn’t move away. 

“I can’t imagine you have much left,” she taunted Velcia with a sickly sweet voice. “It’s just a matter of time until every piece of strength you have left is gone and all of your precious magic will fizzle away.”

“My friends will wake me up well before then,” Velcia bit in return, but she couldn’t hide the tremble in her voice. 

“Hmm, maybe.” One of the other forms walked around Velcia, trailing her hand along the shield as her fingers sizzled away with wisps of darkness. “But imagine their panic right now. The guilt. All of the little what-ifs, wondering if there was a way they could have stopped this from happening. Completely helpless while you waste away, becoming our prey.”

Velcia’s chest twanged at the thought, but rather than focus on it, she took a deep even breath and looked towards Thaanix sitting in the center of everyone. “I know what the darkness wants,” she started, carefully walking forward. “It’s the same thing it always wants.” She knelt down in front of Thaanix and leaned forward to be in her line of sight. “But what do you want?”

Thaanix didn’t look up, but her brows knitted together. The dark forms around her snickered and whispered between themselves, their voices rumbling. She swallowed hard, her hands clenching until her knuckles were white. “What did she tell you about me?” she asked finally. 

Velcia blinked, surprised at the question. She considered her words carefully. “She told me that you are a Replica, created with an overabundance of darkness beyond your control.”

“She’s lying,” one of the forms hissed, making Thaanix wince.

“I’m not,” Velcia replied firmly, yet her voice remained gentle. 

“Do you know what I’ve done?” Thaanix asked. 

Velcia was silent for a moment, before nodding. “Yes, but—”

“Did you join them to kill me?” she interrupted. 

“I joined to help put a stop to the darkness inside you,” Velcia replied. “But I would still very much like an answer to my question. What do you want?”

“I…” Thannix’s voice started weak, then trailed off. Fresh tears spilled down her cheeks, much to the amusement of the dark forms around her. They mocked her while Velcia remained still, patiently awaiting her answer. “I want to be left alone.”

“Why is that?” Velcia asked, taken aback by her answer.

“I woke up with memories of a life I can never go back to,” Thaanix began to explain, tears straining her voice. “Memories of people that want nothing but to see me dead. They hunt me, relentlessly. Every moment I see Hinata, in the life I will never have, I-I’m overcome with—” she suddenly cried out, her fingers digging into her head. “I hate it!”

“If we can get the darkness out of you—”

“No!” Thaanix screamed. “The darkness is the only thing that understands! I-I fought it for a while. The pain it makes me feel when I don’t give in…” She held out her hands in front of her, her skin stained black. “But all of that changes when I listen and it only makes me stronger. It’s given me a new life, a new chance to be someone else. Everything I’ve done, everything it helps me do, no one will lay another hand on me.”

Velcia’s eyes darted around, seeing the dark forms watching and listening intently. Even without their mouths moving, she could hear their whispers affirming Thaanix’s words. Her shield remained strong, but she knew it wouldn’t for much longer. The Keyblade seemed heavier by the second, her hands were slicked with sweat around its hilt. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest, aching for a moment’s rest that she couldn’t give it. Closing her eyes for a moment, she steadied her breaths and focused on her magic reserves. There wasn’t much left, but she pushed forward. 

“The darkness makes promises it can’t keep,” Velcia finally replied, opening her eyes and noticing each of the dark forms bristling from her words. “It destroys everything it touches, including its user. Though… I have a feeling you already know that. Don’t you?”

Thaanix averted her gaze. 

“What are you truly after?” Velcia asked.

“Why does it matter?” Thaanix asked, the strain returning to her voice. “After everything I’ve done, the only thing that remains is a monster. For once, Hinata gets to see what happens when things don’t go her way. Except she gets the luxury of watching it, while I get to live every excruciating moment. But I won’t be the victim forever. No, I’m going to be stronger than her. I’m going to show her and every other person that wants to destroy me what I am capable of. If she doesn’t leave me alone, she’s not going to be on the other side of a window anymore, she’s going to be the one living it.” 

“You want to be left alone so you can protect her,” Velcia muttered in realization. “Part of you doesn’t want this.”

Thaanix looked up in surprise. For the first time, their eyes met. Velcia’s heart dropped. The fear in Thaanix’s eyes, the pain and the hopelessness, it all brought Velcia back to her childhood, watching helplessly as the darkness ripped everything away. Her family, her life, everything vanished in an instant. For a single moment, Velcia considered dissolving her barrier and protectively wrapping her arms around Thaanix. 

Instead, she let out a soft, shaking breath and told her, “You don’t have to do this. Any of this. You aren’t as alone as you think.” 

“She’s trying to deceive you,” one of the forms whispered. 

Velcia shook her head, a sheen of tears covering her eyes. “I’m not. We can stop this. You don’t need to listen to the darkness.” 

As she spoke, her barrier wavered. Velcia’s body ached, but she didn’t move her gaze away from Thaanix. The dark forms noticed her weakening state. Some of them laughed and taunted, while others surrounded the shield and pressed their hands against it to force its power to run out faster. 

One of the forms knelt beside Thaanix and caressed her face. “After everything you’ve done, do you really believe any of them would want to save you? The destruction, the chaos, the killing, it’s disgusting to them. That’s all you are in their eyes. A monster.”

“That’s not true,” Velcia countered, desperately trying to keep her barrier up. “We will do what we need to protect the worlds from darkness. If there’s a way to remove the darkness from Thaanix we—” “Oh their pet name for you,” the form interrupted with a chuckle. “How incredibly fitting. The name of a nobody.”

“What?” Velcia’s eyes widened. “No that’s not—”

“Kill her,” the darkness whispered. “Take what’s yours.”

Dark tendrils slowly wrapped around the outside of Velcia’s shield, tightening around it despite the magic sizzling the darkness away like smoke. The dark forms whispered to Thaanix, urging her to continue, to take what belonged to her. Thaanix remained silent, her gaze settled on Velcia as the black vines wrapped tighter and tighter around the shield. Velcia held her Keyblade above her head, her chest heaving as beads of sweat dripped down her neck. Her arms trembled, the shield cracked. 

“Please,” she pleaded. “You don’t have to do this.”

Thaanix’s eyes drifted back to the ground. “I’m sorry…”

The shield caved in and Velcia crumpled to the ground. She reached out for Thaanix, but the black vines forced her down. They wrapped around her, tightening with crushing weight. She cried out for help, but the tendrils constricted her neck. Little by little, her vision darkened and dulled. Velcia struggled, but there wasn’t much fight left inside of her. The very life inside of her drained, as if being sucked away. 

A flash of light surrounded her, followed by a surge of electrical current that caused the hairs on Velcia’s skin to stand on end. The vines disappeared. Darkness wisped away, immediately replaced with an overwhelming rush of magic that caused Velcia to suck in a sudden sharp breath as every inch of her was reinvigorated. 

Machines beeped, multiple voices talked over the other, but Velcia couldn’t see. She tried to lift her arms, but something held her down. “H-Hello?” she stammered, her voice hoarse.

“It worked!” Hinata’s voice exclaimed over the others. “Guys, I think she’s awake!” 

The room fell silent and multiple hurried footsteps rushed towards Velcia.

“Holy shit,” Sam breathed. “That actually worked.”

“I-I can’t see, is everything alright?” Velcia asked. 

“Of course, dear Velcia!” Skellington’s bony hand gripped Velcia’s shoulder, making her flinch. “Just allow us a moment to get the equipment off.”

“Scans show accelerated heart rate,” Ben informed the others. Velcia could hear his fingers clicking against a keyboard. “But vital signs are re-stabilized.”

“Get that damn thing off of her then!” Sam ordered. 

“Patience!” Dr. Finklestein scolded. “That Nia just unplugged the entire thing, we need to make sure her brain functions appear normal.”

“We’re here, Velcia.” Hinata gently grabbed her hand. “You’re safe now.”

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skipping to Dark Road's era, At this point time for Luxu has passed normally, he changed into another body already and decided to stay out of Roka's life, only to find her again casually when he switched to Bragi's body. Me and my wonderful friend Hinata brainstormed some headcanon for this process and she wrote a fic based on them for a fanzine. (roka is in the little cracked circle)

you can read it here. luxu approached a dying Bragi, offering him a deal. let him use his body in exchange of helping him achieving the thing he wants the most: spend as much time as possible with his friends. this aligns perfectly with Luxu's mission as he's keeping an eye on Xehanort, so the two of them have some sort of supportive collaboration going on. it's always easier for Luxu when his vessel doesn't fight him. his problem is discovering that Roka is now a student of Master Odin, classmate of xehanort and Bragi humself, and that bragi has some warm feelings for her.

They spend time together as just Bragi, but Roka can tell something about her friend is different now. she always had a talent for reading little signals from people and now bragi reminds her of someone else...

Luxu denied and they never talked about it, except that roka accepted what was clear to her continuing to call him luxu in private, and he never tried to correct her.

Roka passed from being a solitary kid in Daybreak Town, by choice, so that no one had to cry for her whe her time would have come, to have hope to heal and create connections. Dark Road is a healing point for her, in term of mental health, where she befriends all her classmates and creates her own found family.

because of her health (she still possesses Gula's recipe for her medicine) Master Odin doesn't allow her to leave for other worlds like the others, missing the end of most of her friends, but she was there for the final battle when Vor, who was the little sister Roka didn't know she needed, gave her final goodbye.

after the events of Dark Roads she decided to stick with Xehanort and Eraqus, both worried for the first one. she will live most of the story from the dark side, initially unaware, then delusional, trying to reason with Xehanort and feeling guilty because some of the inhuman experiments Xehanort performed as Seeker of Darkness rooted from the noble purpose to find a cure for her worsening situation, including a very early draft of a replica body, but that's another story.

- - - - - - - - - - -

Bonus picture, the two ocs she should have met in Missing Link, Aspis and Leonna

Kiu balanced at the edge of the fountain, arms outstretched to either side as she carefully walked along the brick surrounding the fountains pool. There was a fountain like this once, in the story. It was a place people gathered and told stories. A meeting place of sorts, both officially and unofficially. If she thought about it hard enough she could even remember what it looked like, the star pattern laid with brick. And the sloping rooftops surrounding the courtyard that sometimes the children of the town would jump along, or the leaders would settle to watch.

            “The light survived the fall of the that world, living on in the hearts of children,” her grandmother said, finishing the story the same way she always would. “But they say the true light still sleeps. And it will one day be awoken.”

            “What about the book, grandma?” Kiu asked, placing one foot in front of another. She heard the faint pause, and when she looked up one foot poised in the air before she put it down she was met with her grandmothers soft expression of confusion.

            “The book?” her grandmother echoed. Kiu nodded, letting her foot fall. She turned, tucking her hands behind her back. “What book is that dear?”

            “It’s the book,” Kiu answered. There was the book, the one that the children had hidden inside of to escape. That’s where most of them still were. Not many had actually escaped in the end. Only six had escaped the right way, and one very special heart had escaped another. The rest were all waiting still. “It’s the book that told that story, and all the other ones too.”

            “And where did you hear about this book?” her grandmother asked. She was watching Kiu with a sort of interest now, the polite confusion replaced with something that made it clear she wasn’t addled with age. Her eyes were sharp now, but not in a mean way. In a careful way. “Did someone in the castle tell you about it?”

            “No,” Kiu answered, shaking her head. “She told me about it. When I asked Her to tell me the story when you weren’t here.”

            “And who is she?” her grandmother asked. Kiu shrugged before jumping down off the edge of the fountain. The sound of flowing water was almost nostalgic. Though she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be remembering. Maybe it was just Her.

            “I don’t know,” Kiu admitted, as she turned to face her grandmother with hands behind her back. She had asked many times with no real answer. “But She talks to me lots. She told me about the world before. But She doesn’t say it’s a world of light.”

            “What does she say about the world then?” her grandmother asked. The older woman settled on the edge of the fountain, watching Kiu still with interest. She ran her hands over her white apron to smooth it, though there really wasn’t a need to.

            “She says that it was a world where light was coveted,” Kiu answered, stumbling over the final word. She still didn’t really understand what that meant, but She always used words Kiu didn’t really understand. “And to covet begets darkness, though it was always there. And darkness grew because people were afraid of it and because of the traitor. But I don’t know who they were betraying. She gets mad if I ask about them too much.”

            “What else does She say about the world?” her grandmother asked. Kiu hummed looking up at the sky. The bright blue was unbroken, even by clouds. The other world’s sky looked different. It was always streaked by the colors of early dawn.

            “She says it was so big,” Kiu said, trying to find the best words she could. There was so much. And a lot she didn’t understand. “And She had lot’s of warriors who all gathered together and made families of sorts. And that for a while, it was all so much fun. But then, She gets mad, and starts saying things I don’t understand. About people falling, and Nightmares destroying all he built. But he wanted it to go that way.”

            “She sounds very knowledgeable, to talk about a story so old,” her grandmother said. Kiu hummed and nodded, swaying slightly on her feet with the force of her movement.

            “She’s super smart,” she said. “And She says I get to know everything She does.”

            “Is She going to teach you?” her grandmother asked.

            “I think so, but She’s not a very good teacher I think,” Kiu said. “She doesn’t explain anything, just says stuff and makes my head hurt.”

            “You’ll have to tell me about what else she tells you,” her grandmother said. “So I can tell my story better.”

            “Yeah!” Kiu agreed, bouncing in place on the balls of her feet. A better story would be good. Maybe Kiu would be able to know where all her friends went. There was something about that part of the story She never wanted to tell Kiu. Or maybe She didn’t know. It would make sense, She said the story was very old.

            “Where do you usually meet Her?” her grandmother asked, pulling Kiu from her thoughts. It was probably a good idea, before Kiu got lost. Sometimes she had a hard time finding her way back.

            “Oh, I don’t see Her,” Kiu answered. She leaned over the edge of the fountain, looking into the reflection in the water. All that looked back at her was her own freckled face and messy red hair backed against the clear blue sky. “She says She doesn’t have a physical form. Not really. I’m the closest She gets. But She’s not me. She’s just my friend.”

            “How strange,” her grandmother said, Kiu could see her shift in the reflection, though it was hard to see her exact expression. “Are you Her only friend?”

            “No, She had other friends,” Kiu answered. She watched the water ripple at the edge of her reflection, a slight shimmer and warp. If she looked long enough maybe it would show her friends. “But they’re not around anymore. She misses them.”

            “Has She told you about them?” her grandmother asked. Kiu hummed and nodded.

            “She says one of them was there, in the world before,” she said, tilting her head from side to side. “He makes Her sad. She won’t tell me a lot more.”

            “Well, perhaps we’ll ask Her for more stories of Her friends,” her grandmother said, resting a hand on Kiu’s shoulder. Kiu looked up with wide eyes, finding her grandmother’s usual soft expression. “A story shared is grief shared. It must be so lonely, how She’s living.”

            “I think She’s lonely too,” Kiu agreed, nodding in understanding. “That’s why She chose me. I’ll tell you, the next time She talks. Maybe She’ll tell me more about that world!”

            “And I would love to hear it,” her grandmother said. “Now, let’s head in for the day. We’ve had quite the adventure.” Kiu hummed and nodded again, reaching out to take her grandmother’s hand before beginning the walk through town

***<3***

            Kiu let herself sprawl across the couch, watching as the older boy with purple hair moved in the kitchen. He usually needed something to do. Someway to keep himself busy. But she had never really liked being in silence the way he did.

            “What was it like?” Kiu asked. Her words hung in the silence for a moment. And if it weren’t for the way he froze she might have thought he hadn’t heard her. Aqua eyes looked up at her over the counter, the silent question posed through nothing but a raised brow. “The world before?”

            His gaze dropped, and Kiu was almost sure he was going to remain silent. He returned to the repetitive cleaning motions, wiping down a counter that didn’t need to be cleaned. It was already shining from the last time he had cleaned it.

            “Daybreak Town,” he said, just as Kiu looked away to the ceiling of the small apartment. Her breath caught, and part of her was afraid to look at him again. Like he might stop talking if she dared to observed him. “It was called Daybreak Town.”

            “What was it like?” Kiu asked again. She held her breath, waiting for his quiet voice.