In the Land of Departure, Analia awoke with tired eyes, which was unnatural for her. Usually Analia woke with energy, but today, she didn't. Still, she wasn't too tired for the day, which meant she could still train to go beyond the stars. The lilac haired girl moved to sit up, doing so slowly and draping an arm over her knees. Her attention turned to her balcony doors after a moment, the girl humming with curiosity.
Analia carefully moved to get up off her bed, looking back at it afterwards. The thing that caught her attention first when she did was her cloud plush. She looked at it for a moment or two before turning around and picking it up slowly. She never truly understood that obsession with clouds, even to this day. Regardless of that, she smiled at the cloud plush before placing it down and continuing to her original destination.
The lilac haired girl moved for the doors for her balcony, moving to grab the curtains. She moved to slide them open slowly, the sun reflecting on the stained glass of her doors seemingly not effecting her. The girl only hummed, moving to open her balcony doors, walking slowly over to her balcony rail. When she made it over, the purple haired girl leaned over it, like she had done before, but, this time, she closed her eyes. She hummed to herself softly, seemingly traversing through her thoughts.
Again, knowing there were other worlds out there only made her want to find her destiny stronger. Knowing there were other worlds also made her belief she had her own destiny stronger. She wanted to believe she wasn't just here to burden everyone. She wanted to be able to defend her home and the worlds beyond. She wanted to show she was just as strong as everyone else in The Land of Departure.
Analia opened her eyes when she exited her thoughts, moving away from her balcony. She walked around the balcony for a moment or two before moving over to a pot full of flowers on one of the ends, picking it up and holding it up to the sun's light. She wondered if she could grow like a flower did, if her strength could bloom. Maybe it just took time, just like a flower. Maybe she just needed to wait until she really needed her strength, then her Keyblade would appear.
"Waiting might just be good enough..." Analia muttered as she put the pot of flowers back where it originally was before heading back over to the doors leading back into her room, stepping back through them. "It'll come to me someday." She smiled to herself upon saying those words.
Analia then turned back to her balcony doors, grabbing the curtains and sliding them closed quickly. When the sun was blocked from her room, Analia hummed, sounding a bit conflicted. That didn't last however because the girl simply walked back over to her bed and sat on the edge of it, grabbing her cloud plush. She held it close, humming a soft tune to herself as she rocked just a bit. While she still had her doubts about waiting, she figured it was the only thing she could do.
"Kinda weird for you to still be in your room around this time." Said a voice, sounding like it was nearby her doorway.
Analia turned her attention to her doorway, seeing another girl with short pink hair fading yellow, gold if you will, standing there. The girl's pink hair reached to her shoulders and a bit more past them, said pink hair holding a yellow streak while her bangs were swept to the right and she had a small bun like ponytail holding her hair up, her eyes were dullish purple blue. Atop her head was a yellow headband with a fern green circle in the center, a jewel like flower symbol in the middle which was black, the headband holding three fern colored gems in the center and on both sides. In both her ears were black cross like earrings and the girl was wearing a shirt which had a ruby red collar that reached all the way up her neck and had long sleeves that were rolled to reveal white ends beneath the ends of the sleeves themselves. The chest to stomach area of her shirt was a hot pink color and the girl was wearing a pair of fire orange fishnets on both her arms above pine green fingerless gloves that reached to her forearms, along with the fishnets. The girl had a ruby red cape which was tied to her neck by the hood of the cape, her cape reaching a bit past her knees, the cape torn in a few places. Around the girl's waist was a shaded pink belt which was locked with a golden loop, two camo hot pink triangular flaps on both the left and right side under the belt. Under that was a pair of tawny brown shorts which had black fabric tied at the legs, the girl wearing black stockings that looked like little cats, the girl was, lastly, wearing tangerine colored boots that had coral slits on the sides and in the front, the soles of the boots also being coral as they were also heeled boots.
"Liviana." Analia said when she saw the pink haired girl, greeting her.
"Greetings, Annabelle." 'Liviana' said to her friend, a smile making its way to her face.
"Ah-" Analia put her cloud plush down, moving to get off her bed and stand. "It's Analia." She corrected Liviana.
Liviana only gave a bow in response to that, humming thoughtfully. "If you say so." She replied before moving to stand straight again. "But you know, your main nicknames don't necessarily differ from either name."
Analia waved a hand dismissively. "I'm well aware." She also tilted her head. "And you really don't have to bow, Livi."
Liviana shrugged. "Eh." Was her only response. "Won't stop me from doing it."
Analia nodded slowly with her acknowledgement. "I forget that you told me you grew up in a Kingdom..." She muttered.
"So I am..?" Liviana confirmed her statement with confusion as she sat down on the bed."Why bring that up now?"
"Curiosity..." Analia answered as she thought. It was a moment or two before Analia looked back at Liviana, saying, "What was your Kingdom called?"
"Eldora." Liviana answered as she leaned forward on the bed a bit. "The Kingdom of Eldora. Back in Eldora, the Kingdom was hidden away in a valley, a meadow of sorts." She looked up toward the ceiling. "Um...my brother and I used to play outside of the meadow alot but..." She chuckled awkwardly as she scratched her head. "We weren't exactly supposed to leave the hidden meadow." She admitted.
Analia tilted her head, more curious now. "Why weren't you allowed to leave the meadow?" She asked. "Was there something wrong with the world outside your Kingdom?" She asked.
Liviana sighed, looking down at her hands. "Well, you see, Eldora was a very special Kingdom. It was founded by a group of people who had the ability to manipulate the elements and the worlds themselves, people even. Some even could manipulate elements like light and darkness." She looked back at Analia. "The founders described having these abilities as being linked to the Web of Magic." She explained before she turned her attention to the ceiling again. "Though, the Web of Magic isn't posted at the Kingdom of Eldora, it's somewhere else out there."
Analia gasped, her eyes wide with surprise. "'The Web of Magic'..." She repeated herself as she looked at the floor before looking back at Liviana. "That sounds incredible. So are you and your brother linked with The Web of Magic too?" She asked.
Liviana shook her head, despite a smile on her face. "I'm not, but Darwin is." She answered her friend. "He's one of the ones that can control the Darkness." She looked at her lap as she thought. "He's the...Shadow Captor I think that's what they called him..."
Analia smiled back, despite being confused as to why Liviana's brother could control Darkness. "That sounds awesome." She commented. Everything went quiet for a moment before she sighed. "But...Livi...don't you wish you had magical abilities?"
Liviana looked at Analia. "The girl who doesn't believe in magic is asking me that question?" She questioned the purplenette.
Analia blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Well, I mean, you're telling me all these amazing things about your world and your brother, and I can't help but wonder what it would be like to have those kinds of powers." She admitted. "Don't you ever feel like you're missing out on something?"
Liviana chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Not really." She answered before tilting her head to the side. "I mean, sure, sometimes I wish I could do some of the things Darwin can do, like create shadows or travel through them, but I don't feel like I'm less than him or anyone else in Eldora." She said. "I have other talents and skills that make me who I am, and I'm proud of them. Besides, magic isn't everything. It can also be dangerous and unpredictable, especially if you don't know how to use it properly or responsibly." She added.
Analia nodded, feeling reassured by her friend's words. She was glad to know that not having magic from The Web of Magic wouldn't drag Liviana down. "I see. That makes sense. You're right, Liv. You have so many wonderful qualities that make you special and unique, and you don't need magic to prove that." She said with sincerity, smiling. "You're kind, brave, smart, loyal, funny, and beautiful. That's all you really need." She pointed out.
Liviana nodded with her agreement before hopping up off the bed. "You better believe it!" She said with a snap of her fingers. A minute or two passed before Liviana made a gesture to the door with a glance at it. "So are we going to waste time talking or are we actually going to get going to training?" She asked her friend.
Analia gasped then, realizing what Liviana said. "Training! I almost forgot that was a thing!"
"Not very professional for the daughter of our Masters." Liviana said to her friend with a smirk before running off.
"Hey!" Analia called after her as she chased her out of the room, leaving her cloud plush on her bed.
{<><><><><><><><><><>}
Analia chased Liviana into the throne room, a growl coming from her as the pink haired girl continued to run. ""Liviana!"
Liviana giggled as she ran from the lilac haired girl who was chasing her. As Analia chased the girl however, a blonde boy took Analia's arms and locked them together behind her, above her head, chuckling.This caused Analia to start struggling, a hiss coming from her.
"Hey!" Analia screamed. "Umbra!"
The boy's blonde golden hair was held up in a ponytail by a ruby red bow with a few strands loose at the bottom of said ponytail, the boy's bangs also being swept to the side on the left. His eyes were mismatching, his right eye was a dark brown color and his left eye was the color of eminence purple, his bangs covering that eye for the most part. Atop his head was a red colored string that had four ruby gems which were at the top and the bottom, as well as on the left and the right. Around his neck was a red cowell which had a white button in the center, while he was wearing a dark grey shirt under a black turtleneck overshirt which was connected to a black piece of fabric which went into loops at his stomach area connected to his shirt, his overshirt had long sleeves that were rolled up, revealing a dark grey color beneath as they were rolled. On his wrists were bright yellow rings which held lemon yellow ribbons under them, the boy wearing ruby red fingerless gloves on his wrists as well. Connected to his cowell was a ruby red cape that reached to his ankles and he, around his waist, had silver shield like objects on both sides of the grey belt connected to black pieces of cloth torn at the bottom on both his left and right side, the boy also wearing black pants which were torn four times over on both legs, two tears hidden underneath his silver, laced, high heeled, folded at the top, boots.
"Hi, Annabelle." The boy had said as he chuckled once more.
Analia growled as she struggled to break free from his grasp. "Let go of me!" She continued to scream. "And I told you multiple times I don't go by Annabelle anymore!"
Umbra hummed as if he was thinking before sighing. "Sadly, I can't do that. Knowing you, you're just going to chase Liviana and waste your energy." He chuckled. "And a name is tomato-tamoto in your case."
Analia hissed, moving her leg to kick the boy only for the blonde to let go of her and move back. She turned around swiftly, raising a hand as she rolled it into a fist, throwing said hand straight in his direction. As she had done so, the other boy only moved back again, catching her hand above his head with his hand, not even flinching as he caught it. The lilac haired girl seemed to be unimpressed, as if this happened before. She tried again but she got the same result, which happened when she tried a few more times.
He chuckled as he watched the girl fail to punch him multiple times before saying, "Give up already." To her.
Analia huffed as she took her hand back, brushing a few strands of her bangs out of her face. "Fine." She had said. "But you owe me a sparring session."
Umbra tilted his head. "Seriously?" He crossed his arms. "You're kidding me, right?"
Analia seemed to have a deadpan expression at hearing the words exit the blonde's mouth. "No." She said with a matching tone.
"Are you two okay over here?" A female voice asked, a woman walking over to the duo.
The woman had brunette hair that reached a bit past her shoulders while her eyes were blue with a purple tint to them. She was wearing a grey collar around her neck, a long-red turtleneck sleeveless dress that reached her knees with a white leather jacket over it. She had dull purple shorts under said dress while she had black, fading see-through fabric wrapped around her waist and dull grey knee-high, low-heeled boots.
"Tessa." Analia had greeted. "Good morning." She smiled at her friend. "To answer your question, yes we're fine."
Umbra nodded in agreement to Analia's reply. "Yep. An's just being salty."
Analia looked in the boy's direction with a small groan. "I'm not being salty."
"Sure you aren't." Another voice said, this one belonging to a male.
Analia then looked over in the voice's direction of the origin. "Terra!" She shouted at the man.
Terra's brunette hair reached the base of his neck in the back and was styled into rather messy vertical spikes, his bangs framing his face his eyes were blue and he had tanned skin. He wore a skintight, grey and black high collared shirt with red belts intersecting over his chest. He had on an obi with an obi-sash around it, his Golden Keyblade Master Crest in the middle of it. He has on a hakama that was dark grey at the top, with several loops and two buttons that were undone. The rest of the pants were tan with a small, lighter tan on the bottom of them. He had a black plain wristband on his right arm. On his left arm he has a grey, gold and red armor piece reaching all the way to the bottom of his hand. He's also wearing a black fingerless glove on that arm along with a black gauntlet on his forearm. On his feet are brown and gold boots.
Umbra sighed, giving a yawn as he flicked his head to one side. "You think you can calm down, just a little bit?" He asked his sister.
Analia sighed. "Fine." She then twirled around, moving away as she had before turning back to him. "But hey, you're the one with temper issues."
Umbra scoffed in response to that. "I do not have temper issues."
Listening to the conversation, their blue haired friend, Aqua dispelled her Keyblade and walked over. "I'd have to agree with Umbra on this one." She told Analia.
Aqua's blue hair was short, touching her shoulders and her eyes were periwinkle. She was wearing a black and blue high collared halter-top, two pink intersecting pink belts over her chest, black shorts, a silver Keyblade Master Crest badge in the middle of the belt over her chest, white bell-sleeves, tan fingerless gloves. On her bell-sleeves she has a small segmented piece of armor on each of her upper arms. She has black stockings on her legs that leave enough room for the bare skin of her thighs. She wears two strips of blue cloth that drape over either side of her hips, along with two white cloths tied around her waist, draped like the blue ones. On her feet were silver armored boots with a sharp hook in the back of both of them.
Analia shrugged. "Well-"
"Alright." Analia's mother, Ayaka said as she walked over. "That's enough."
Umbra kneeled down in front of the woman. "My apologies, mama." He had said to her.
Analia found Umbra's actions weird for a moment before shrugging it off and groaning. "But mom, I'm not done with my argument yet."
Ayaka chuckled at her daughter's words. "Annabelle..."
"Can't you just let me have fun for once?" She asked her mother.
"I do. While we're training." Ayaka told her simply.
Analia groaned again. "But that's not-" They then heard the castle doors open and Analia tilted her head. "Who's that?" She asked. "Are we expecting someone?"
Ayaka blinked, looking around. "If we were..." She started walking over to the railing. "I'm pretty sure your father would have told me." She crossed her arms with a tilt of her own head. "Or at least he should have."
Umbra hummed with question. "Maybe...he forgot?"
Analia shook her head in response to her brother. "That might be unlikely."
Curious, Liviana walked over to the railing above the foyer, looking down to see who it was. Ayaka, Analia, Umbra, Terra, Tessa and Aqua followed, also looking down to see who was there. It was there the group noticed an old man with a young girl and a young boy. The old man approached Master Eraqus, talking with him before the two walk away to have a private chat leaving the boy and girl in the foyer.
"That's strange..." Umbra had said as he moved a hand to his chin, obviously thinking about something. "What in the worlds is Master Xehanort doing here?"
Analia nodded before she laid her head in her hands atop the railing. "And Tsuki?" She wondered as she looked around the area.
"That boy--is he okay?" Aqua said with question as her voice carried concern.
Ayaka hummed as she looked down herself. "All good questions." She told the group with her before she hummed. Her attention was drawn behind her before the woman let go of the railing. "I should go see what Eraqus and Xehanort are doing." She commented before she turned to leave, walking off.
Analia looked down again. That was strange. Why was her uncle here? It's not like she didn't enjoy a visit from the old guy but why had he brought a boy? Was this boy brought here for a reason? Well, of course he was. Still though, she was curious. And excited. She wondered why this boy seemed so down, maybe she could talk to him to figure it out.
She quickly made a decision to go check it out, saying, "I'm going to go see what's up." Before she began to walk.
"Annabelle." Ayaka said sternly with a turn back. "We don't know what's going on yet." She warned. "It'd be best for you to wait until I talk to your father and Master Xehanort."
"But mom-"Analia once again groaned as she threw her head back.
"Hey." Umbra called. "Li-Lei."
"Don't call me that." Analia said with a deadpan tone as she turned back.
"Listen, mama is right." He told her. "We don't know what's going on so it's probably not a good idea for you to run off."
Analia only gave him a scoff and a roll of her eyes before saying, ""Come on, you and Tess yourselves like a good mystery novel." She said before walking backwards looking at her brother. "Besides, how bad can this be?" She then turned to the stairs and ran.
"And she's gone." Tessa said with a pop of her lips. "Okay."
"Did you expect different?" Terra questioned his twin.
Tessa only shrugged. "Not really."
Ayaka herself just brought a hand to her face before pinching her nose. "What am I going to do with that girl?" She looked at Analia's brother and friend group. "Watch her. Make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble."
Umbra nodded with a small salute. "Will do, Mama."
Ayaka giggled with a nod back. "I know I can count on you." She then left and Liviana walked closer to Umbra.
"You need help?" Liviana asked the blonde with a small head tilt.
Umbra shook his head in response to her. "I'll do just fine watching everything on my own." He shrugged after a moment. "But you're welcome to help if you all want to."
Liviana sighed. "No thanks, I can introduce myself later." She then took off just like that.
Umbra hummed as he watched her run, humming as he turned around. "That girl is strange."
{<><><><><><><><><><>}
Down in the foyer, Analia ran over to the other girl who she seemed to know. "Tsukino!"
"Lucia." 'Tsukino' replied as she took a bow, kneeling down. After her bow, Tsukino got off the floor, and Analia gave her a hug. "What-"
"I missed you!" Analia said to her.
After a moment Tsukino seemed to sigh but it seemed she was more annoyed by the hug than the person giving it. "Me too." She said in reply to the other girl.
Analia hummed softly. "It has been a while, hasn't it?" She said with a soft voice before she let go of Tsukino, her attention moving to the boy with Tsukino. She walked over to him and bent down with a small smile, one she hoped would welcome the boy. "I'm Annabelle-" She paused for a moment, her thoughts and gaze drifting off for a moment before she continued. "You can call me Analia, and you?"
The boy looked up at her slightly. "Ventus." The boy told her, slowly.
Analia's smile widened then and she giggled. "Ah, It speaks." She locked her hands behind her back. "That's a good sign." She said, before turning to her friends and brother. "Hey, come here you four!" The others then come down the stairs aside from Umbra who jumped down from the railing. "Umbra!" Analia cried as she ran over to her brother.
Umbra chuckled as he waved her off. "I'm fine." He told her, standing up straight.
Analia nodded but still seemed a little concerned. "Okay..." She crossed her arms as she gave him a glare. "But that was really dangerous!"
Umbra nodded with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm fully aware." He told her.
"Hi, I'm Aqua." Aqua introduced herself to Ventus while Analia talked with Umbra. "That's Terra and Tessa."
Umbra hummed as he walked up to the other blonde. "And I'm Umbra."
"Analia...Aqua..." Ventus said before pausing. "Terra...Tessa...Umbra..."
"So, are you here to train with us?" Terra began to ask questions. "Where are you from? Why was Analia's uncle with you? You good with a Keyblade?"
Tsukino growled. "Hey!" She screamed, running over to Ventus, who fell to his knees holding his head and crying out.
"Whoa, what's the matter?" Terra asked. Analia frowned upon seeing the scene.
"Are you okay?" Aqua asked the boy.
Analia gasped as she whirled around, seeing Master Xehanort, her father and her mother standing there. "Father-"
"What did you do?" Master Eraqus asked.
Tsukino scoffed herself before saying underneath her breath, "Screwed things up, obviously."
"Nothing, I-- I just asked him some stuff." Terra answered his master.
Tessa nodded. "Yes, that's all he did, we swear." Tessa spoke in Terra's defense. Tsukino looked at her father as he knelt down next to her and Ventus.
"Tsukino." He said.
The girl only averted her eyes and shook her head. "Let me." She said, holding Ventus, as if to comfort him.
Eraqus looked at his pupils, son and daughter. "Ventus cannot tell you anything..." His gaze flicked away for only a moment. "Because he cannot remember anything." He explained. Analia gasped, looking back at the boy with a frown.
So that was why the boy looked so down and broken? Because he couldn't remember anything? He had no memories?