Chapter Sixteen:

Ventus II

The masked boy suddenly jumped into the air, floating above her. Then, he fired some kind of cannon, spewing dark magic in a concentrated fire. Kiera threw her keyblade up, pushed back by the intensive force. Then, she cried. She was able to push it forward, and an incredible light beam burst from the Dreamseeker and pelt the masked big square in the chest. The masked boy fell to the ground with a loud thump!

.

Kiera stood, still wielding her keyblade, waiting for him to get up and attack her in surprise. However, when the masked boy stood up, he grunted:

“I suppose I don’t quite have the strength to defeat you” he grunted, “especially with Ventus’ sleeping heart, I no longer feel the connection with him. But clearly, you do” said the boy.

“Sleeping heart?” 

“Enough! Who are you? Who is Ventus? I need to know!”

The masked boy chuckled.

“Alright. You beat me. I guess there’s no reason to hide it from you. It won’t do you much good though. Memories leave nothing but pain” he said.

“Just tell me!”

The masked boy propped himself up with his keyblade.

“Ventus is my pathetic other-self you swore to protect,” he explained, “Oh, the times you got in my way…!”

“Protect?”

The boy scoffed. “You know, it’s a surprise you’re not a Princess of Heart. Not just anyone can perform the Bond of True Love. Your light, your confidence, your empathy, your determination, it makes me sick.”

“Bond of True love?”  

.

Kiera heard about such a concept on fairytale books. Either the princess or her lover would perform the Bond of True Love, as the ability to never leave each other, and always give each other strength. Some woke another up from deep slumber from True Love’s Kiss. Others enacted great physical healing. Others were given massive strength to fight demons and dragons. 

.

“Your unique powers were born from that Bond. The power to communicate with hearts in deep sleep,” the boy continued, “That’s how you were able to communicate with him all these years.”

“‘Him’? You mean my Light Friend?”

“Is that what you’ve been calling him? Dear Kiera, I can’t believe you can’t see how obvious it is! He’s been closed off with me since he lost his heart. But somehow you’ve been able to contact him all these years.”

Kiera’s heart raced.

“You mean…My Light Friend is actually…Ventus???”

The masked boy chuckled again. A portal composed of smoke and darkness appeared. He stood up, walked into it, then disappeared.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

Kiera floated in darkness. There was no control over her body in the empty space. She cupped her mouth with her hands.

    “VENTUS!”

.

A light appeared. It was the gleaming golden orb again, the one she saw every night. This time however, it slowly began to take form. It was the boy: Spiky blonde hair, blue eyes, standing just a little taller than her. 

    “So it’s true…”

The boy frowned.

    “Kiera…”

A lump formed in Kiera’s throat. Her heart soared and ached at the same time, forgetting to breathe. 

“Ven!” She cried, as if she had waited for him all her life.

She ran towards him instinctively and went to embrace him. But when she reached him, she ran right through him, like he was a ghost. Her heart sank. Slowly, she turned around. 

“Why? Why did you keep it from me!? You didn’t think I could handle it!? I was going to find you, Ven! I wanted to be there when you woke up!”

A tear rolled down her cheek. 

“I didn’t want you to be alone!” Kiera paused. 

.

Ventus hung his head in shame. He shuddered, a single tear falling down his cheek. He shook, folding his hands like the shame of a little child.

“I…didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”

Kiera bit her lip. Ventus fell to his knees in defeat, continuing to shake.

“But it didn’t matter, did it?”

.

Kiera bit her lip. She opened her mouth to speak but found nothing. She walked towards him. She knelt down, attempting to embrace him. Once again, she went straight through him.

“Ven…”
For a moment, Ventus stopped shaking, but he didn’t look up.
    “I don’t remember everything about our past, but I remember this-“
She put her hand on his, knowing she would go straight through it.
    “-We shared the bond of true love; and I know that, true love is the most powerful thing in the world; Our connection can never be broken.”
Ventus lifted his head, only slightly.

“I…I love you!”

She didn’t fully understand the significance of that statement, or remember how she and Ventus came to this point so long ago. But she believed it, with all her heart.

.

Finally, the boy raised his eyes to her. He stared at her for a moment, then smiled smally, remembering the promise they made.

“I love you too, Kiera.”

Kiera nodded, smiling a toothy grin. Then, light began to seep in, and the world around them grew brighter.

“It looks like I’m waking up now” she announced, sadly. She looked longingly at him.

“I’ll be back soon. I promise.”

Ventus’s smile turned to a grin.

“I’ll be waiting.”

And with that, her vision faded to white, and Ventus was gone. 

.

Kiera opened her eyes to discover she was still in the same city she had landed in. She took a deep breath.

“I have to find Sora,” she said aloud, “and Riku. I’m going to get him back, no matter what it takes. I’m not losing anyone else today.”