#rockass

What you're asking for, my friend, is a SPOILER.

But you know what it'll be two years before I reach the scene actively based on exactly this in the story I'm thinking of, so... we're gonna. Do it now. A little differently. Why not? <3

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When Aqua said they needed a Heart specialist for their current project, he should’ve guessed. Should’ve known who that would be.

Still, Roxas fixates, the moment he steps through the doors. Welcomed in by Aqua, who smiles. Saying– something. Something nice, Roxas imagines. To his left, Xion glances across curiously as Axel stiffens with anger. Sora blinks, wide eyed, before he visibly swings his body towards his Other. Riku’s half out of his chair, clearly torn on the best way to resolve this.

There’s. Probably other reactions. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t really feel like he’s registered any of the ones he’s taken note of, just- clinical notes. Something he could– could tuck away into his–

His coat. 

His lab coat.

Roxas’ eyes flick up, and there’s no bandages there. The skin seems lighter. He didn’t know he was blond. He has– a beard. 

The eyes are the same. A light enough brown to appear almost orange, almost yellow. Almost golden. They stare back at him and Roxas is– he–

If he pinched himself right now, would he still be real? Is he–

“Oh!” Ventus bursts out, breathlessly. A flicker. Bright. Roxas’ eyes are drawn over. Ven’s on his feet, bouncing on his heels with a bright, friendly smile. A wide smile, that shows off the dimples in his cheeks. “I know you!”

He bounds forward, practically– vibrating. Blurring, a little. He’s right there, in front of him. Standing between the man and his line of sight with Roxas with his hand outstretched and a bright, bright smile. 

“Ansem the Wise, right?” No one else notices. Almost– no one else notices. But Xion’s going stiff in her chair and Sora’s leaping out of his, as that voice chuckles, just like– 

It did–

Back when he was–

A tool, at best.

His chest is burning, for some reason. His chest is burning, and Ventus is still holding out his hand. Ansem the– Ansem, takes it. Shakes it. Can’t see his expression anymore, just that voice, and words.

“That is what they have deemed to call me.”

“Oh yeah?” Ven says, and he’s. Talking through his teeth. “So, I should call you DiZ?”

A few things happen then, in rapid succession. Ven clutches the hand in his own, harder. Roxas exhales, loudly. Inhales, just as loudly. Sora’s chair falls to the ground with a clatter. Axel swears, uncouth and nasty.

Above all of them, all those sounds, is the smack of flesh against flesh. Ventus wrenches Ansem closer-

Decks him across the face. 

Anse– Di– a man in a lab coat hits the ground, and the world seems to explode.

Everyone’s shouting. Terra hauls Ventus into his arms, which might have been a good call on his part, because even held up and away, the blond is snatching down at that prone form, clawing at the air to get to him. Kicking furiously as Aqua shouts his name, as more chairs hit the ground, as Sora pulls Roxas out of his seat and backs them into a corner, saying something in his ear.

Riku’s kneeling by– checking that he’s still breathing, and Aqua is trying to gain control of this. Shouting at Ven. Asking him what’s wrong. Ven is.

Baring his teeth, eyes wild. Shouting over her, the only voice in the room that seems to make any sense.

“Monster!” Ventus screams, over and over again. “Monster. Murderer.”

Roxas heaves, on his breaths, on something else. The world tastes acrid, tilted on its side. Pitched two steps to the left. Except for Ven. Ven, who screams, and snarls, and doesn’t calm down, not when Riku assists Ansem out of the room, not when Aqua tells him to. Not when Terra falls back into a chair, still holding Ventus tightly against himself.

Restraining him from– hurting someone? Himself?

Both. Unclear.

Sora’s still talking at him. Murmuring now. Rubbing his hands up and down Roxas' arms as Axel and Xion hover. Kairi is, too. He’s never– felt this blind, before. To Sora. His Other is right there, but he’s just.

His Other is responding to him. Roxas is pretty sure he’s not responding to anyone. And Ven is–

Crackling. Little flickers of Light that dance behind his teeth and brighten his eyes in a way that speaks of how he’s not calming down, not a bit. He’s doing the opposite, maybe.

Maybe that’s why Roxas can hear him, right now.

Because Sora’s responding to him, sure. Axel’s angry. Xion’s concerned.

Ven just– knows. Ven knows. Roxas never- told anyone. But Ven knows.

He doesn’t. Know yet. The correct term for this.

laughs @mirphelia your legacy continues.

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"Are we really doing this again?"

Vanitas scowls before he even looks up, Roxas notes. It's kind of satisfying- he's not wanted here, which is great. He doesn't want to be here either.

This whole thing is a huge pain. Tracking Vanitas down? Only 40% of the problem. Maybe 30%. Less.

Thinking back on Ven's despondent moping, the last couple of days- less. Way less.

"Chili pepper," Vanitas says flatly. Ooh, he's getting the term of endearment as a threat today, is he? Ven's idiot side must be feeling the weight of his own bullshit. That's rare. "I didn't ask for your company."

"And I didn't want to give it, but here we are." Roxas shrugs, rolls his shoulders. Dumps his backpack off to the side- if he's lucky, Vanitas won't purposefully target it. If he does, well. Not the first time he's had to explain to his teacher that a dog ate his homework.

He can just ask Olette to photocopy it for him. She wouldn't help him cheat, of course, but she wouldn't discourage him from actively trying to do the work.

"So, how are we doing this? You ready to try just talking, for once, or-"

Void Gear almost cleaves his head off. Alright, fine. Fighting it is.

As per usual.

Roxas doesn't waste time between summoning Oblivion and summoning Oathkeeper. Vanitas can be fast, in a lot of ways, but his biggest strength is his strength; he comes at Roxas with all the force of a runaway tram, the ground rushing up at him that one time he did- or didn't- fall from the clock tower. Roxas needs both blades, because the times he needs to outright block Vanitas' attacks, he's only going to be successful if he uses both arms to match that power.

I reckon he programmed a mom who was a nurse. Nightshift mom working 12-16 hour shifts who Roxas never actually sees because she's always at work or asleep. They leave each other notes. She's always telling him to behave.

Because why not force Roxas to have another reason for why he is so very, very quiet and well behaved? He has to be quiet at home. He has to be good. His mom works so hard for him. He can't be ungrateful. He has to be well behaved and clean up after himself and walk on eggshells in his own home, all the time. Because he loves his mom, doesn't he? He knows she's exhausted.

Roxas who hasn’t been found by the organization yet, only a day or two old. Vanitas finds him first.

Would Vanitas be able to tell that something’s wrong?

If Roxas is with Vanitas where does that leave Sora?

You didn't sign this Bunny but that's okay I will tell the people it was you.

And oh. Man. It depends on a couple of things? Like, I'm going to actively say here I'm not touching on actions I intend him to take in So Much (For) Stardust or Little Lion Man because like, yeah. He's coming across Roxas in both of those.

If Roxas has Ven's Heart and I genuinely headcanon that he does, it seems altogether too likely that he is, in fact, carrying Ven's Heart, it could just end in straight up murder. Depending on where Vanitas is as person, murder is not off the table.

Would Vanitas rip apart a couple day old zombie to get his Light back? Yeah. Yeah, he would.

But if we give him the same sense of caution and self-restraint he has in Little Lion Man, it could get a lot more interesting. Because Ventus is there, but so is something else. Something undeveloped, but growing. Roxas looks like Ventus, but isn't. Vanitas knows, he knows-- that is not his body. It looks like his body, but it isn't.

Something that looks like Ven, holds Ven, isn't Ven. The how and why of it is lost to Vanitas entirely, and that's a reason to be cautious. Either way he's smuggling this kid off to someplace remote enough that no one finds him, and Roxas gets the fun of having Vanitas as his only constant as he comes into himself.

He'd raise Roxas to be a shield for his Light. Roxas would be fucking ruthless. He's already ruthless enough in canon when he's pushed to that, but he'd be pushed to that, immediately. And he'd know. He'd know about Ventus, and all those questions he has in canon, about why he has the Keyblade, why he exists?

The answer isn't Sora, it's Ven. He exists to house Ven. He exists to protect Ven. He exists to get Ven back to his own body, eventually. He exists up to the point where Ven doesn't need him anymore, where Vanitas gets to take over, and after that? Who fucking knows.

Either this would get very dark or Vanitas would trick himself into giving a shit and it'd eventually turn out okay.

Probably the latter if Vanitas finds out Roxas is a Nobody and gets exposed to the whole "Nobodies cannot feel/should not exist" garbage because, nah. Nah. This is his (and Ven's?) kid now. No one gets to tell him he shouldn't exist.

Hates it. Positively terrified of it. Imagine you're just idly kicking sand around someone's illusion island in bumheart nowhere and it's suddenly Swallowed By Darkness. Roxas would have absolutely no idea what was happening and probably thinks oh, this is it, now I'm actually about to die.

🐇Bunny

I think they'd both be gluttons for knowledge in different ways.

For Roxas, it's an anything and everything kind of deal. He'd go back to school, get really into pop culture, probably happily join Xion in going to like, the most random museums ever-- train museums, textile museums, cheese factories. He just wants to learn and live and know the world, curiosity is generally one of the defining traits I give his character (thanks to the Days manga).

Vanitas would be a bit more picky about what he wants to learn, mostly because he wouldn't necessarily want to be a normal person? He'd want to inhale things about magic and battles and tactics, strategies and histories of wars. And Keyblades, of course. So a much more fixed aim, a lot less interested in a wide variety of things.