Chapter Text

Kingdom Hearts: Path of the Wayward

Book 1: The Familial Vagrant

Chapter 1: The Fall of Radiant Garden

As the sun rises on a new day, Radiant Garden looked as beautiful as ever; children playing with one another, adults going about their day and getting jobs done, all with smiles upon their faces. One young man and his dear family were prime examples of this: Vincent Wayward, aged 18, wearing a red and yellow outfit with headphones, was working with his father, Carl Wayward, who was wearing a yard working attire, and his brother, DJ West Wayward, wearing a green and blue outfit with bigger and clunkier headphones than his brother, mowing the lawns of their fellow citizens’ homes while the mother of the family, Rebecca Wayward, who was wearing a bright yellow sundress and white sneakers, was cleaning up their own yard of debris, the pay was good, the work was hard but not too hard, and it was well rewarding. Soon, all of their work was done, and they were beginning to head home and wash up for dinner as Mrs. Wayward went back inside their home to cook it.

”Hey, Vin.” DJ West got his brother’s attention. Only his friends and family were allowed to call Vincent by one of his few nicknames, one of them being ‘Vin’.

”Yeah, bro?” Vincent inquired.

”You think we might be able to get that game that just released on the Tendou Click?”

”You mean ‘Tower of Pizza’?”

”Yeah! You know we’ve been wanting that game for a while now!” DJ West looked rather excited.

Vincent chuckled, “Okay, okay. I’ll talk to our parents during dinner.”

DJ West fist-pumped, “Yessss!”

Once everyone had finished dinner, Vincent made good on his promise to his brother, the only downside is that they would have to wait until tomorrow to get their game. As the Wayward Family headed off to bed, Vincent began to sleep and fell into a strange dream; he was in a black void floating down onto a pillar made solely out of stained glass, which depicted a young woman with light brown hair, tan skin with blushed cheeks, and her attire was tribal-like, the only weird thing about her that Vincent couldn't make out was her eye color, seeing as how her eyes were closed.

So much to do...

So little time...

"Who's there...?" Vincent asked, feeling oddly out of place.

Take your time...

Don't be afraid...

"Um...okay...I guess...?"

Now, step forward.

Can you do it?

Vincent took that as his cue to move and walked to the center of the pillar, at that moment, three pedestals appeared in a triangular position from each other, and atop each one were a type of equipment: a sword, a rod, and a shield, all bearing a three circle mark that resembled a mouse of some kind.

Power sleeps within you...

If you give it form...

It will give you strength.

"Power...? Strength? I don't understand..."

Choose well.

The voice once again went silent.

With no other options, Vincent decided to play along for now and waltzed over to the sword, upon picking it up, the voice came back.

The power of the warrior.

Invincible courage.

A sword of terrible destruction.

Is this the power you seek?

Vincent immediately thought 'no', he didn't like to destroy things, and as if to respond to his thoughts, and sword disappeared and reappeared back above the pedestal. He then walked over to the rod and picked it up to see what would be said this time.

The power of the mystic.

Inner strength.

A staff of wonder and ruin.

Is this the power you seek?

Vincent thought about it for a moment, but eventually chose 'no' with the rod vanishing back above the pedestal. He had one choice left: the shield. Although it wasn't a proper weapon, it could be used for something. Vincent rushed to the shield and picked it up.

The power of the guardian.

Kindness to aid friends.

A shield to repel all.

Is this the power you seek?

Vincent went for 'yes' in his mind, this shield fit him perfectly. His choice disappeared in a flash of light as he felt a little more sturdy.

Your path is set.

Now, what will you give up in exchange?

Vincent knew as he approached the sword. It wasn't really a hard decision.

The power of the warrior.

Invincible courage.

A sword of terrible destruction.

You give up this power?

This time, Vincent spoke up, with confidence, "Yes."

With that, the sword vanished into light as well, and he felt his strength decline ever so slightly.

You've chosen the power of the guardian.

You've given up the power of the warrior.

Is this the form you choose?

"Absolutely." Vincent decided with no regrets.

The pedestals sunk into the pillar somewhat crooked, causing the stained glass surface to shatter and making Vincent fall, or rather float down, to the next stained glass pillar, which depicted three young boys as weirdly drawn cartoon characters; the tallest of them wore a green jacket with a red and white striped shirt underneath and blue pants while he appeared to have no chin, the second tallest wore an orange shirt, purple pants, and, oddly enough, a sock-like hat upon his head, and the shortest of the trio wore a yellow shirt with a single red stripe, light blue pants, and for some reason had only three long hairs on his head, but other than that he was bald. Upon landing on this new pillar, Vincent's shield appeared in his right hand from a flash of bright light.

You've gained the power to fight.

Vincent gave it a few test swings, and the shield felt natural in his hand.

All right! You've got it.

Use this power to protect yourself and others.

Vincent a little confident about himself now, but still felt he was missing something here. Suddenly, black masses came forming from the stained glass floor into little creatures.

"What the...?!"

There will be times you have to fight.

Keep your light burning strong.

Vincent readied himself into a fighting stance, and waited for the black monsters to come to him. The second one jumped into the air at him, he blocked the attack and swung his shield at it, destroying it almost instantly and making the rest retreat as green orbs dropped from the destroyed monster, Vincent walked up and the orbs just floated into his body, reinvigorating him, he also felt slightly stronger from fighting those monsters.

Behind you!

Vincent swung his head around and saw another black monster crawl out of its shadow on the floor, and swiftly struck it down as more began coming out of the floor, but Vincent didn't feel afraid, he fought off a few more before they retreated into the floor again, but something was different this time; the floor itself was merging with the monsters as a mass of shadows that began sucking him in. Vincent tried to fight it, but eventually found himself on another stained glass pillar that depicted a young man sitting on a small throne wearing a pure white fur coat and surrounded by beautiful young ladies. Vincent didn't know what to make of this one, but didn't focus too much on it as he saw a majestic pink, yet transparent, pair of double doors just across from where he was. He walked over to it and tried to open it, but his hand simply went right through it, then in a flash of light, a sort of treasure chest appeared before Vincent.

He went over to the chest, and opened it, but nothing was inside, the chest then disappeared. Then a large wooden crate materialized nearby, which Vincent proceeded to push around, but suddenly felt compelled to smash it, so he hit it with his shield a few times until it exploded into wooden pieces, leaving behind a small round chest. Vincent got close to it and it opened on its own, revealing a jar with a green star surrounded by liquid in it, and with that, the frame of the doors became solid.

In another flash of light, a wooden barrel appeared a certain distance away, which Vincent hit a few times as well, sending it flying and it breaking upon contact with the floor, and then the rest of the double doors turned solid. Vincent walked over to the doors and before he could grip the handles, they began to open by themselves, an amazing bright light began emanating from inside, making Vincent shield his eyes as the light grew brighter and brighter. As the light finally began to die down, Vincent somehow found himself in the center of Radiant Garden with his brother, mother, and father standing in different spots, all staring at him as if they were waiting for him.

Hold on.

The door won't open just yet.

First, tell me more about yourself.

Vincent first walked up to his mother and spoke with her, "Mom?"

"What is most important to you?" she asked.

Vincent thought for a moment, then said, "Family and friendship."

"Are friends and family such a big deal?"

Knowing that this is a dream and that his mom would never say such a thing, Vincent didn't respond, he just walked over to his brother next.

"Bro? You there?" he tried to strike a conversation.

"What are you so afraid of?" DJ West asked.

"...Losing everyone I care about." Vincent carefully admitted.

"Losing people? Is that really so scary?"

Vincent ignored that comment and lastly walked towards his father, noting how weird this dream is making his family.

"Dad...?"

"What do you want out of life?" his father asked.

"To keep things simple and peaceful."

"Simplicity and peace, huh?"

You want friends and family.

You're afraid of losing the people around you.

You want everything simple and peaceful.

Your adventure shall begin soon, sooner than you may expect.

Keep a steady pace and you'll come through fine.

"Um...okay." Vincent uttered.

The day you will open the door is both far off and very near.

In a brilliant shimmer of light, Vincent found himself in the void again, but on a different stained glass pillar; this one depicted a joyful, living snowman with happy children dancing with him. Not too long upon arrival, the black monsters appeared once again, but this time they swiftly surrounded him as he summoned his shield. Due to the amount of creatures, Vincent had no choice but to go on the offensive as he relentlessly attacked the monsters, dwindling them enough to where he can simply block and counterattack again.

Once they were all gone, Vincent saw a glowing circle on the floor and approached it, and the second he stood atop it, he felt any and all weakness and fatigue disappear as he regained his strength and stamina. Suddenly, a beam of light guided itself from the circle and to the edge of the pillar, creating a path made of stained glass leading to yet another pillar. Vincent felt the pull to that specific direction for reasons he didn't know, but that didn't stop his body from moving, and not long after he made his way across, he walked to the center of the new pillar, which had someone different on its surface again; it was a trio of kids, two boys and one girl, but they appeared to have baby, chibi-like dinosaurs by their side.

The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.

Vincent felt a sense of great danger behind him, but saw only his shadow, and before he could laugh at the absurdity of being scared of one's own shadow, it began to move on its own, even warping its form out of the floor like those black monsters and growing larger. Now feeling that his life was in mortal danger, he began to back up from the dark abomination.

But don't be afraid.

Vincent could now see its ominously glowing yellow eyes, looking down on him as if he were simply an annoying insect.

And don't forget...

Vincent tried to run away, but the edge of the pillar and his survival instincts made him stop, despite this being some kind of bad dream, he then turned to face the monstrosity and brought forth his shield, knowing full well that fighting was the only way out of here. The monstrosity raised its fist and slammed it into the floor, creating some kind of dark portal, calling more of the black monsters from before to the fight, Vincent didn't have time to make short work of them, and came up with an idea: run up the giant monster's arm and attack its head. Vincent did just that, making it stagger and close the vortex, which destroyed the smaller creatures, then the giant monster kneeled and a dark orb of energy charged up in the heart-shaped hole in its torso, it launched the orb as multiple orbs that homed in on Vincent, who had a little trouble dodging them all and got hit at least of couple times.

The giant monster began opening another portal with its fist, and Vincent went its head again to stop it, he then tried attacking its hands to try and wear it down as it began another torso orb attack, to which he again barely dodged, feeling his strength weaken, Vincent knew he had to end this fast. Just as the monstrosity began to open yet another portal in the floor, Vincent nailed a good hit on its head, somehow causing light to spill out of it. Suddenly, at the worst possible time, his shield disappeared as the giant monster tried to slam its hand on top of Vincent, who narrowly avoided being crushed, but then a small dark portal opened directly beneath Vincent and began to pull him in as the monstrosity just stared.

—But don't be afraid.

Vincent could feel his body slipping into an uncomfortable cold...

You hold the mightiest weapon of all.

Vincent tried to fight back against it, but it was futile...

So don't forget:

Vincent could only watch in horror as the darkness swallowed him whole...

You are the one who will open the door.

Vincent awoke with a start, taking a massive deep breath to regain any lost air, then he took a look around as he hyperventilated and saw that he was back in his bedroom, unscathed.

"Sweet merciful..." Vincent held his hand to his head and felt cold sweat on his forehead.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Vincent was startled by someone knocking on his bedroom door, "Yo, bro!" it was DJ West on the other side of the door, "Get up! We got another few yards we gotta mow today! Then the weekend is ours, and we can play Tower of Pizza!"

Vincent took a moment to process all of that with the nightmare he just had, then smiled at the normalcy he was familiar with, "Okay, bro. Let me just get dressed first."

"Don't take too long!" DJ West walked off.

Vincent got up and prepared himself for the day...

"Ahh, another day, another few dollars, eh, Vin?" DJ West said as he and Vincent blew away stray grass with hand blowers.

"Yeah, and I heard that lawn season will be slowing down soon, so we'll have all the time in the world to play with our family and friends."

"Uh, dude? The only friend you have is Patty Bluerain, remember?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So, you were shy throughout almost your entire school years and never worked up the courage to make more friends."

"I'm aware of that—"

"—And not only that, but Patty was the one to talk to you first before you could even consider it."

"Yes, I got that—"

"—And to make things even better, you developed a crush on her for giving you a chance despite being so shy—"

"BRO, I got it, I don't need a recap." Vincent tried to interrupt calmly.

"All I'm saying is, you really need to get out there and make some more friends, bro."

"I know you mean well, dude, but I'm perfectly happy with my best friend."

"I know you are, but—"

"Hey, boys, what are we talking about?" The two boys jumped when they heard a familiar girl's voice, Patty Bluerain, wearing a white t-shirt with blue denim shorts, and sandals, her long blonde hair and blue eyes shimmered in the morning sun while her pale skin perfectly accented her attire.

"Uh, nothing! Nothing real important!" Vincent quickly excused.

"Ha-ha! Oh, Vin, as nervous as ever, I see." Patty remarked with a sweet smile.

Vincent blushed as DJ West chuckled under his breath at him. The two brothers finished up blowing off the roads and they, along with Patty, made their way to the Wayward Residence for lunch after a job well done.

"So! I heard you guys got the new Tower of Pizza game recently." Patty pointed out.

"Man, news travels fast in this city!" DJ West exclaimed.

"Yeah, we did, but we haven't played it yet. We wanted to get the lawns done first and foremost." Vincent answered, despite his brother's outburst.

"Let me guess: one of your mottos?" Patty inquired.

"Yup! 'Work hard, then play hard'."

"Well, it's more common than your usual motto."

"Which I call, 'Don't quit, don't cry, improvise'."

"That one! That one's more unique."

"Still sounds kinda weird to me..." DJ West muttered to himself.

"I heard that!" Vincent scowled.

"Eep!"

"Boys! Patty! Lunch is ready! Come and get it!" Rebecca called out.

"Hey, you guys wanna race?" DJ West offered.

"You're on!" Patty accepted.

Vincent already rushed ahead of them, "Last one there's a rotten egg—"

BOOM!!!

"WHOA!! What was that?!" DJ West shouted in panic.

"Look!" Patty pointed at the castle, which appeared to be missing a decent sized chunk out of it, "Smoke, and lots of it!"

But when Vincent got a closer look, he saw that the smoke was solidifying into a clawed hand, "Wait a minute...that's not smoke!"

The shrieks of terror finally reached their ears as the black monsters from Vincent's nightmare came rushing into the streets in massive hordes.

"No way..." Vincent could only utter as he stood frozen with fear.

He was pulled out of his stupor, quite literally, when his brother yanked him by his arm, "Don't just stand there! We gotta go! NOW!"

Amidst the chaos, Patty was separated from the Wayward Brothers by the crowds of panicking citizens, much to Vincent's shock and horror.

"It's too late for her and everyone else! We can't stop now, C'MON!!" DJ West rallied his brother back to their parents.

"But, she's my best friend!!" Vincent's words went ignored as his brother practically dragged him away from the scene.

The brothers were able to make it back to the house just in time to see their parents fending off the monsters with hand-me-down kitchenware, such as knives and frying pans.

"Careful, boys!" Rebecca warned, "These are no ordinary monsters!"

"Let's hole up inside the house!" DJ West offered an idea.

"No, it's not safe here anymore," Carl shot down the plan, "we need to get as far away from this place as possible!"

"But where else can we go?!" Vincent desperately asked.

"Don't think, MOVE!" DJ West pulled Vincent out of the way just in time to dodge a swipe from one of the black monsters.

The Wayward Family then proceeded to run in a random direction, hoping to put some distance between them and the creatures. But luck was not on their side as some of the monsters took notice of their reckless escape and charged after them, forcing the family to pick up the pace. Just as they were speeding up, Rebecca shoved Vincent in one direction while Carl shoved DJ West in another, all to avoid them from becoming fodder for the monsters.

Vincent could only watch in horror as his parents, his own flesh and blood, the people who raised him and his brother, were pulled into the shadows, never to be seen again. Despite taking a few moments to process this, Vincent noticed that the monsters were coming for him next and he ran into a random alleyway, not realizing that DJ West did the same thing, but in the opposite direction...

Vincent ran through every alley he could see at complete random, hoping to throw his monstrous pursuers off-kilter and lose track of him, but sadly he only managed to escape most of them while a handful of the shadowy, floor-crawling ones kept up with him. In just mere moments, Vincent will find that on his turn, his luck will have run out; Vincent looked back to see a few of the black monsters were still on his tail, then suddenly stopped when he slammed into a wall, fear gripped his heart like an icy claw when he realized what he just ran into.

"No! A dead-end!"

Vincent looked back again to see the creatures slowly advancing, knowing that their prey can no longer run away from them.

"Hey, stay back! I'm warning you!" Vincent said with bluster and false bravery.

But the monsters paid him no heed as they continued to get closer, nearly ready to pounce.

Vincent put his hands together and began to pray, Dear lord, please, I beg of you, don't let me die here. My parents may be gone, but my brother is still out there somewhere, alone, trying to get away from these things. Please...

One of the black monsters leapt into the air, claws ready to strike.

GIVE ME STRENGTH!!

Just then, in a moment devoid of hope, a bright light shined from the palm of Vincent's right hand, stunning the midair creature as it landed and causing them all to run away in terror of the light. Vincent gazed at the light and saw that it materialized into some kind of weapon; it looked like a giant silver key, but the teeth were shaped like a "V", the handguards were red, and the keychain's token was a golden yellow "C".

"What...is this...?" Vincent muttered.

But he didn't have time to ponder on it much, since Radiant Garden was still in danger, so he sidled against the wall until he found his way out of the alley, and saw a horrifying sight: the streets of Radiant Garden had nothing but those black monsters roamed them, not a human soul was in sight, the only semblance to humanity to be found were crystalline hearts floating into the sky, then turning into more of those creatures.

"No...no...this is terrible..." Vincent uttered before ducking back down into the alleyway he was hiding in and began to shed tears, "Mom...dad...bro...please, someone help me..."

And as if to answer, the key-like weapon shot out a beam of light that turned into some sort of doorway of light, shocking Vincent greatly. But before he could consider going inside it, he heard the monsters heading towards him, and knowing that he couldn't outrun them forever, Vincent rushed into the doorway with reckless abandon, leaving behind his home and what little remained of his family...

He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

He didn't understand why this had to happen.

He didn't know what had changed.

All Vincent knew was that he had one member of his family left...

...He just needed to find him again, soon.

Chapter Text

Kingdom Hearts: Path of the Wayward

Book 1: The Familial Vagrant

Chapter 2: The New World

After entering the shining portal, Vincent felt himself falling forwards into an unknown place, of unknown origin, and of unknown customs, even if he tried to be brave, none of that stopped him from screaming as he continued to fall to who-knows-where the portal was taking him. When he finally hit solid ground, he stopped screaming, but he began hyperventilating, clearly freaking out that he was no longer in Radiant Garden, yet he was glad to be far away from the dangerous monsters. He didn't truly know what to feel. Once he regained his bearings, Vincent saw that he was surrounded by snow on the ground with a small schoolhouse in the near distance, but before he could make his way over, he heard the school bell ring, and saw many children piling out of the school to play in the snow.

Once he got close enough and took shelter behind a tree, Vincent saw the children making a snowman with a corncob pipe, a button nose, and two eyes made out of coal, also including the broomstick in his hand. They all began to determine what name to give him, making Vincent smile and reminding him of better days...before Radiant Garden was overrun.

Three Years Ago...

"Okay, Vin, you and DJ West better be back by dinner, got it?" Rebecca advised.

"We promise, mom! See ya!" Vincent answered before heading out with his brother.

Today was one of the few days Radiant Garden ever got snow, even in the winter, and all the kids were taking full advantage of it: having snowball fights, making snow angels, and building snowmen. Vincent and DJ West were meeting up with Patty for some fun and games of their own, not to mention Vincent has a plan set into place.

"So...still got, 'that', on the brain, bro?" DJ West asked.

"A little..." Vincent admitted.

"Well, let's go over it one more time."

"Okay..." Vincent took a deep breath, "We'll play with Patty for a while, head to her place for some hot cocoa, and when we do, once we're under the mistletoe, she and I will...k-k-k-k-k-k—"

”Kiss?” DJ West deadpanned.

”…Yeah that.”

”Bro, why can’t you just tell her how you really feel?”

”Because…I don’t have the courage.” Vincent pitifully admitted.

”You will, one day. Either way, you’ll have to tell her eventually. It’s not okay to keep your feelings bottled up like this.”

”Yeah…” Vincent said as he and his brother walked to Patty’s house, “…I know.”

Vincent never did reveal his true feelings to Patty, but his plan did work; he and Patty were under the mistletoe and Vincent got a simple peck on the lips, which he had treasured ever since that day…

Present Day

He was so lost in his reminiscing that Vincent almost missed the all the names that the kids were giving their snowman.

”Oatmeal.” A little girl suggested.

”Oatmeal?!” The rest exclaimed in surprise.

”Hmm…” a blonde girl in red thought of a name, “How about…Frosty?”

The rest of the kids agreed and cheered, then they began to sing a song about Frosty the Snowman, and how he was a jolly, happy soul. Vincent smiled at them, making him miss being a kid, then he noticed something.

”Hold on, Frosty’s missing something…”

Just then, a man in a stereotypical magician's outfit was running out of the schoolhouse and after a jumping top hat, which was revealed to have a white rabbit inside of it as the hat flew into the blonde girl's hand, and she placed it atop Frosty's head.

"Yup, that's what he was missing."

But something strange happened at that moment: Frosty the Snowman...came to life?!

"Happy birthday!" The now-alive Frosty declared.

"...Well...that just happened." Vincent uttered, wide-eyed.

Vincent was in so much shock that he barely registered what else was said by the group until the magician person swiped the hat as it blew off of Frosty's head.

"But that hat's not yours anymore! You threw it away!" The blonde girl pointed out.

"Don't talk back to your elders, you-you naughty, naughty little girl." he roughly picked up the white rabbit and forcefully stuffed him into the hat, "And you! Stay in there, or there'll be no carrots for Christmas!"

Vincent began to fume, "That wretched old coot..."

The magician then pretended not to see Frosty come to life and even whispered to his rabbit when he was chastising him that "his" hat will make him a "millionaire magician".

"Greedy too, huh...?" Vincent was really starting to hate this man.

The children began to rally and agree that they all saw Frosty come alive, but the magician told them when they get older they'll learn that snowmen can't come to life, he even told them they were silly as he took his leave with the kids circling Frosty. Vincent clenched his fist at the man's audacity towards the kids, in his eyes, it's one thing to say such things to adults, but little kids are a different matter altogether. Suddenly, the weapon that came to Vincent in his time of need appeared in his clenched hand once again, but this time the blade was much longer and very flexible.

"What the—"

"Whiplasso."

"Who's said that...?!" Vincent harshly whispered, almost shouting out loud. He looked at the new form of his weapon, then the retreating magician, then his weapon, then the magician's hat, doing all of which giving him quite a crazy idea, "Sure. Why not?"

Vincent spun his weapon around as if he was getting ready to lasso an animal, then swung overhand towards the magician, the blade circled the top of the hat and latched on with a Click and a Clunk, like a key opening or closing a lock, and with the right amount of force, yanked the hat off of his head and near the kids, where the rabbit took his opportunity to give them the hat back as the blade returned to Vincent and changing the weapon back to its original form with no one noticing anything.

"Look! The hat's back! Let's see if it'll make Frosty come alive again!" The blonde girl said, picking it up and scaring off the rabbit.

She put the hat back on top of Frosty's head, and a little slower than last time, he returned to life with his, apparently, signature catchphrase:

"Happy birthday!" Frosty then became self-aware, "Hey, I said my first words! But...but snowmen can't talk." Despite his confusion, Frosty's smile never left his face, not even when he was questioning if he was really alive, he even did a bunch of things that snowmen can't normally do...well, except count to ten, Frosty could only manage five.

"Ansem the Wise would have a field day with him..." Vincent chuckled.

When Frosty finally accepted he was alive, everyone cheered and he and the children began to dance around the schoolyard. But then, Frosty suddenly stopped, looking like he was sweating.

"Uh-oh..." Frosty groaned.

"'Uh-oh' is right, my dude." Vincent whispered to himself as he felt a slight temperature increase.

The blonde girl pointed out the thermometer on the wall, showing that the area was getting warmer, which made Frosty nervous as he explained that high temperature made him melt and get wishy-washy.

"Well, snow and heat don't mix, after all." Vincent uttered, before hearing that Frosty needs to go somewhere where he will never melt, and the only place he won't is the "North Pole".

"Then we've got to get you there!" The blonde girl said.

The kids began to rally together and say he can go by train at the railroad station, which Frosty agreed to, saying he'd always wanted to see the town. He even suggested parading through the town like a big party, an idea which the kids quickly agreed to, making Vincent nervous.

"Oh boy. If Frosty goes marching through the middle of town, he'll definitely start causing a scene and attract too much attention from the townsfolk. I have to do something!" Vincent charged after them as they began their mini-parade, only to be stopped by four red and orange creatures coming out of orbs of darkness and hovering over him with an X'ed out heart symbol on them, but the feature that stuck out the most was their eyes; small, beady yellow, all too similar to the eyes of the black creatures that attacked Radiant Garden, "So...you're in cahoots with THEM, huh...?" Vincent clutched the key-like weapon in his right hand and got into a mildly threatening battle stance as they approached him.

"Fine then! You asked for it!"

Chapter Text

Kingdom Hearts: Path of the Wayward

Book 1: The Familial Vagrant

Chapter 3: Onward To The North Pole!

As Vincent was preoccupied with the dark creatures, Frosty and his new friends were having barrels of fun marching through town, and creating quite a stir with the townsfolk, to which the group was completely oblivious to. They continued their mini-parade of joy, at least until they were stopped by the local traffic cop, who simply yelled:

"Stop! STOP! STOOOOP!!"

Despite their surprise at the sudden shouting, they all came to a screeching halt before the policeman, who was quite obviously none too pleased.

"Alright, didn't you see that traffic light?" he asked Frosty.

"What's a traffic light?" Frosty asked back, utterly clueless.

"Up there on the lamppost!" he replied, pointing at the traffic light above.

"What's a lamppost?" Frosty asked, still not comprehending.

The policeman smiled with his eyes furrowed, having enough of these "jokes", "Oh, you want a ticket, wise guy?"

"I'd love one, to the North Pole, please!"

The policeman became perplexed by Frosty's odd behavior.

Meanwhile, Vincent, after making short work of the dark monsters, hurried through town trying to catch up to Frosty and the kids before too much damage was done. Thankfully the townsfolk were stunned by Frosty, but unfortunately, just enough damage was indeed done, as many people were in certain states of disarray, even the policeman, who was surprised by the "living snowman" that he swallowed his whistle, and now he was whistling straight through his windpipe. Vincent tried asking many people where Frosty and the kids went, but the only one to answer was the policeman, who simply pointed down the road, to which Vincent thanked him and hurried on his way. But by the time he made it to the train station's ticket office...

"No money, no ticket!!"

The ticket master slammed the service door down just as Vincent caught up with everyone.

"Hey, pal!" Vincent yelled through the door, "You don't gotta be a jerk about it!"

Frosty, however, looked downtrodden at this event, "Now I'll never get to the North Pole..." he lamented.

"Oh, Frosty, you just can't melt...!" the blonde girl cries as she hugs Frosty.

"Aw, Karen, don't you get all slushy too." Frosty hugs her back before the white rabbit gets Karen's attention.

"What is it, Hocus?" the rabbit named Hocus made numerous motions that Karen seems to have understood, "Out the window?" they all looked and saw the train before it left the station, "A refrigerated boxcar! On a train headed north! You'll be safe there, Frosty! C'mon!" Frosty and the kids ran up to it.

"Huh. That could work." Vincent muttered, wide-eyed at Hocus's rather intelligent idea, then quickly joined the group.

Everyone opened the door and peered inside to see many sweet treats inside, but eating them in that weather probably wouldn't be a good idea.

"It's full of ice cream!" a brown-haired boy pointed out.

"And frozen Christmas cakes!" a red-headed boy added.

"What a neat way to travel!" Frosty said, joyfully.

Christmastime, already? Vincent thought to himself, This is more than a little odd...where am I anyway...?

The train's whistle began blaring, it was bound to take off and very soon.

"Hurry up, Frosty!" Karen urgently said, shoving Frosty into the train car, "The train is pulling out!"

Frosty stuck his head out, "Are you coming to the North Pole too?"

Karen began climbing into the boxcar as well, "I'm sure my mother won't mind, as long I'm home in time for supper."

Somehow, I doubt that... Vincent thought before jumping in with them, "I hope you don't mind, but I'm coming with you guys."

"Who are you?" Frosty asked him.

"Vincent. Vincent Wayward. But my friends and family call me Vin."

"Why are you coming with us?" Karen asked this time.

"I'm...trying to find my brother...he went missing not too long ago. And I'd like to think that going with you guys might help me find him."

Hocus hopped into the boxcar too, and whistled, imitating the train's whistle just as said train began to move. The kids waved goodbye to them as Vincent and his group did the same, but unbeknownst to any of them, the magician person caught on to them after noticing "his" hat disappeared and climbed underneath the train car to follow them.

"I must get that hat back! Think nasty, think nasty, think nasty, ha-ha-ha-ha!"

As the train continued on its course, Vincent and his merry group had no idea what they were all getting themselves into, but all they knew was that Frosty needed to get to the North Pole soon.

And that was enough for them...

...For now.

Chapter Text

Kingdom Hearts: Path of the Wayward

Book 1: The Familial Vagrant

Chapter 4: The Comfy Heat and The Piercing Chill

As the train continued on its course, a small blizzard began to whip up outside as Frosty and Hocus made themselves comfortable, since they were a living snowman and a furry rabbit respectively, they had no problem braving the cold outside the refrigerated box and inside as well. But as for Vincent and Karen, both human beings were shivering from the frigid air, complete with chattering teeth and sneezing. The difference between the two, however, is that Vincent felt something change after his first sneeze.

Obtained the power of ice.

Blizzard now available.

What was that?! That voice... Vincent thought to himself.

"Are you cold, you two?" Frosty asked them in concern, "Now that's a silly question, you guys wouldn't be sneezing if you weren't cold..."

Did no one else hear it? Or even notice it?

"Well..." Karen shivered as she spoke, "just...just a l-little...ah-choo!"

"Yeah...I-I don't do well with t-t-the c-cold...N-Never have..." Vincent added.

Suddenly, the train slowed to a stop, so Vincent, Hocus, and Frosty, the latter of whom was carrying the freezing Karen, immediately left the boxcar before the two humans could get any colder than they needed to be in there.

Man, out of the frying pan and into the fire. Or more like out of the freezer and into the snowstorm...

"Ohh, you tricked me! No fair!"

Vincent whirled his head around, looking for the source of the sudden voice's exclamation, "Did anyone else hear that?" when he received no response, he shrugged and they continued their trek into the unknown, almost ignoring the crashing sounds that gave off the impression of some idiot jumping directly off of a frozen mountain.

I don't know why I thought this was a good idea... Vincent bitterly thought and with good reason.

The cold outside soon became far worse than inside the boxcar, not only were Vincent and Karen sneezing more than before, but even Hocus was getting really cold.

"Hocus, I got to get Karen and Vincent all warmed up, or they're both goners!" Frosty said, his voice laced with concern.

Hocus began doing his motions again, indicating that they needed fire.

"But I can't make a fire. Oh boy, that's one thing I REALLY can't do...guess we better keep moving till we find someone who can."

Surprisingly, the animals nearby were prepping for Christmas similarly to humans who celebrate it, with Santa Claus soon to be expected.

Wow, even the critters here celebrate the holidays...neat. Vincent mentally said.

"Hocus, speak to the animals. See if they won't all pitch in and build a fire for Karen and Vincent." Frosty asked of his rabbit friend.

Hocus nodded and began conversing with the woodland creatures, saying that his human companions needed a warm fire, and the animals were delighted to help. They gathered some sticks and twigs away from all of the trees and started working on getting the fire lit, and soon it did, casting the area around it with its warmth and glow. Not long after that, Vincent and Karen were perched around the flames, trying to get warm before the weather got any more foul, with Frosty being very careful to steer clear of the fire's heat while talking with Hocus.

"Hocus, we gotta find someone to help Karen and Vincent get home before they freeze, and me to the North Pole before I melt." Frosty said with urgency, unaware of Vincent's tragic origins, "But who?"

Hocus got an idea and began imitating an army soldier.

"No, not the marines."

Hocus then imitated a high-ranked government official.

"No, not the president of the United States."

Hocus then looked annoyed at all of his ideas being shot down so easily.

"Oh, they were both swell ideas, but we got to find someone nearby."

Hocus had one, final idea: he put snow on his chin to look like a long white beard and walked around all merry.

"Yeah! Santa Claus! That's a great idea! Why didn't I think of that before?"

Hocus looked annoyed again, supposedly as to why he indeed didn't think of that earlier.

"Hocus, you go back with the animals, and when Santa comes, you bring him right here, understand?" Frosty ordered with Hocus nodding, "Hurry now!"

Hocus hopped off to rejoin the critters while Frosty waited patiently for the big man himself to show up. After a while, night finally fell and the moon and stars shone brightly in the sky, to which Vincent admired; he always enjoyed stargazing, even back in Radiant Garden, he enjoyed it so much that he didn't notice a stray ember from the fire touched his arm, ever so lightly burning him and made him jump a bit.

Obtained the power of flames.

Fire now available.

Again with that? Blizzard...and Fire...? But what do they mean?

Vincent was so preoccupied with his thoughts that almost missed the evil magician man leaping into their line of vision out of nowhere.

"You!" Vincent pointed at him, accusingly.

"Ohh, a campfire. Well, isn't that all snug and comfy?!" the magician man laughed and somehow blew out the strong flames with a single breath.

"Agh...you pain in the—!"

"No! Don't!" Frosty came rushing over.

The magician got in his way and pointed at him, "Now! Give me that hat or else!"

"Or else...what?" Frosty asked, curiously confused.

"Yeah! What's a scrawny, old coot like you gonna do about it?!" Vincent joined in, utterly defiant.

"Oh, well—don't bother me with details! GIVE ME THAT HAT!!" the magician leapt at Frosty, who jumped out of the way and near Karen.

"Get on my shoulders, Karen!" Frosty said to her, which she did so.

"You guys go on ahead! I'll slow him down!" Vincent called to them as they slid from the hill by Frosty's belly.

After the magician got up out of the snow, he glared at Frosty's retreating form until Vincent stood in his path.

"Don't even think about it!"

"Oh? And what's a young man like you gonna do to stop me?"

Vincent wasted no time call forth his weapon, readying a battle stance.

"W-What in the world?!!"

Just then, at the worst possible time, the dark monsters showed up again, but this time instead of the red and orange floating ones, there were blue and orange floating ones, five of them at least. The magician made good use of this distraction and ran after Frosty and Karen.

"Hey!" Vincent tried to go after the man, but the floating monsters got in his way, as if they were refusing to be ignored, "You little—get outta my way!"

One of them, with their head glowing blue, launched a blast of ice at Vincent, knocking him back and freezing his left shoulder.

"Grrr...if only that old geezer didn't put out the FIRE!—" Vincent began in frustration, only to see the tip of his weapon shot out a blast of flames and hit at least two of them, which seemed to make them burst into plumes of darkness, "Whoa! Did I do that?!" the remaining three began to get antsy and started glowing with icy energy, "Uh-Fire!" Vincent pointed his weapon at the monsters as he said that, launching a more controlled fireball at them, yet it still felt more powerful than it was intended to be and destroyed the rest of them.

Vincent, proud that he found a certain weakness with one type of these monsters and discovering what that voice was trying to tell him, realized that Frosty and Karen were still in danger, so he de-summoned his weapon to wherever it goes when he's not using it, and hustled to catch up with his new friends and their pursuer. After running in the direction Frosty slid for roughly five minutes, Vincent suddenly heard the sound of bells—sleigh bells, to be exact—over his head and landing nearby to Hocus, who relayed everything that was going on to none other than Santa Claus himself! Vincent was amazed to see THE Santa Claus in the flesh, but shook his head, remembering what he was doing just a second ago. Being starstruck can wait. He had friends who needed him.

As Vincent approached the two, Santa gave him a warm greeting, "Ho-ho-ho! Vincent Wayward, a pleasure to see such a good young man here!"

"Thank you, Mr. Claus, and I'm grateful, but I have a couple of friends who need some help." Vincent interjected, "There are things I want to ask you, but they can wait for now."

Santa nods, "Indeed. And you've certainly grown since the last time I delivered presents to Radiant Garden." Santa and Vincent began to walk and talk as Hocus was leading the way.

"Um, I think the last time you delivered to us was eight months ago...?" Vincent corrected, confused.

"No, no, no, not physically, I meant mentally; in your memory, you always had a hard time making new friends, but you made three more today. Frosty, Karen, and even Hocus Pocus."

Vincent pondered on Santa's words, and the more he thought about it, the more he realized Santa was right. In any other situation, Vincent would've never worked up the courage to even talk to new people, let alone make them his friends, and yet here he was, hopping in train cars and joining in adventures that he had no business being a part of, all to find his brother, bring back his parents, and maybe find his best friend and crush, Patty. By the time they finally caught up with Frosty's trail, Hocus pointed towards the greenhouse, which gave Vincent this unignorable feeling of dread.

"...Oh no."

He charged past Santa and even Hocus to slam the door open, but what awaited them was anything but uplifting: Frosty was no more than a puddle of water and Karen was sitting there, bawling her eyes out, her tears adding to the puddle.

"We were...too late..." Vincent uttered before subconsciously clenching his hands into fists and, unbeknownst to him, a black and purple aura began radiating from his body as his thoughts began to drift to how he was going to make the magician man pay—no, suffer—for what he did, knowing full well that Frosty would not have allowed this to happen to himself.

Thankfully, Santa had a response prepped, which seemed to snap Vincent out of his dark musings, "'Too late'? Why, nonsense." Santa went on a speech about how Frosty was made out of Christmas snow and that it can't truly disappear completely; it will take the form of spring and summer rain, then when the winter of December comes around, it'll be snow all over again.

He then opened the door to the greenhouse, letting in some winter wind mixed with magic to reform and rebuild Frosty outside the greenhouse, along with his eyes, nose, and everything he had as Hocus hopped over with his hat.

Wow...so this was what Santa meant...

"Wait a minute!"

The magician came out from behind a nearby tree, immediately provoking Vincent and making Karen guard the hat, "You again!"

"I want that hat and I want it now!" he began to approach her with Vincent summoning his weapon, ready to dish out some overdue payback until Santa stopped both of them.

"Don't you dare touch that!" Santa warned the magician.

"And just what are YOU going to do about it?!"

This fool has no idea who he's messing with... Vincent thought to himself.

"If you so much as lay a finger on the brim, I'll never bring you another Christmas present as long as you live." Santa answered, confidently resolute.

Vincent cringed, "Ooooh, that's serious."

The magician looked shocked, then upset, "...Never?"

"Never." Santa repeated.

"No more trick cards or...magic balls or...?"

"No more anything." Santa added with a wink.

"Ohh, that's not fair," the magician began, kicking a stray can in disappointment, "I mean...we evil magicians have to make a living too..."

Then get a real job, pal. Vincent thought while rolling his eyes.

Santa regained his attention, "Now you go home and write, 'I am very sorry for what I did to Frosty', a hundred-zillion times, and then maybe, just maybe mind you, you'll find something in your stocking tomorrow morning."

"A new hat, maybe?" the magician asked in excitement, "Oh, yes sir! Goodbye, everyone! Sorry to lose and run, but I got to get busy writing, busy, busy, bussssyyyyyyy!!!" he finally ran off back to town, eager to get started for his new present.

Santa chuckled while lightly shaking his head, then turned to Frosty, "Come on, Frosty, we're all waiting for you!" he replaced the magic hat upon his head and new life breathed into the jolly snowman.

"Happy birthday!" Frosty declared.

Karen instantly became overjoyed that her friend came back and everyone joined hands and danced around, even Vincent joined in the fun. Suddenly, Santa stopped dancing, making the group take notice.

"What's the matter, Santa?" Frosty asked him.

Santa's eyes lit up in recognition and turned to Vincent with a stern gaze. "Vincent." the young man tensed up when Santa addressed him, "Get your Keyblade ready."

"Huh?" Vincent uttered, confused by his change in demeanor.

 Santa looked into the distance, "It's close. I can feel it."

It took Vincent a few seconds to realize what Santa meant, but the message was clear: the monsters were coming back. With little time to spare, he whipped his hand to the side and summoned his Keyblade, ready for a brawl.

"Get them outta here." Vincent commanded.

"Wait! What's going on?" Frosty asked, confused.

Santa guided him and Karen to his sleigh, "There's no time to explain, quickly now!"

Before Hocus left with them, Vincent felt him slip something into his pocket, then hopped into the sleigh as it was taking off, leaving the young Keyblade wielder to fight by himself. Before Vincent could react, six extremely large pieces of dark purple armor fell from the sky, two gauntlets, two boots, a torso plate mail, and a helmet, and after they hit the ground, they began constructing themselves into a living suit of armor with no body to be housed in it. This utter monstrosity was ready for a fight and so was Vincent. With no further hesitation, the two foes charged at each other, dead set to eliminate the other.

Vincent tried to knock away its hands, but it spun them all around its body, launching him away. He tried to get close again, but its boots stomped really hard, creating miniature shockwaves that pushed Vincent back once again, frustrating him. Just then, he figured something out, if he couldn't get close, he'll attack from a distance! Vincent aimed the tip of his Keyblade towards the armor.

"Fire!" a fireball that again seemed a little more powerful than before ripped through both the armor's hands, leaving it with only half its defenses, but for long, "Guess now's a good a time as any to try this one out. Blizzard!" a small wisp of ice blasted through only one of boots, destroying it, "Okay, why is my fire powerful, but not my ice?"

The armor appeared to have had enough of Vincent's onslaught and charged forward, despite only having one boot left, knocking him even further away with a stronger shockwave.

"Urgh...I can't keep this up forever...gotta take out that last boot, then go for the head...!" after regaining his footing, Vincent aimed his Keyblade again, "Fire!" another fireball tore through the last boot, but Vincent began to feel the strain of using his newfound power, "I think, I'm gonna throw up...is this how mages feel when their magical energy runs out...? Wait...magic...this is magic...?!"

The armor, now reduced to simply a floating helmet and torso, began spinning wildly and launching itself into the air, crashing into the ground multiple times near Vincent and creating large craters from the impacts.

"There's no way I'll get in close like that..." Vincent uttered, knowing full well that his new magic, the stuff that's currently making him ill, is the only way to stop this thing before it does anymore damage, "I gotta risk it...!" the second the armor stopped spinning, Vincent got up and aimed for it one last time and shouted with all the determination he could mutter right now:

"FIRE!!!"

A fireball, much larger than he had made before, flew swiftly towards the remaining pieces of armor and exploded, making light leak out of its torso piece. Vincent thought it finally stopped moving, until it began to shake really violently, which knocked its helmet off of its nonexistent shoulders. The second it did, it stopped shaking and a big, crystalline heart hovered out of the torso into the sky, before the remains of the armor disappeared in a shimmering light.

The battle was over. Vincent had won.

Unfortunately, the dizziness from using his magic finally caught up with Vincent and he fell to the ground on his back, completely blacking out...

Vincent didn't know how long he was out, but he thought that he should be colder than this, but instead he feels warm. Turning his head he sees Santa sitting next to a fire that was warming them both up. He slowly began to sit up to face the jolly man, who now seemed to be rather worried.

"Using all that magic was indeed dangerous, you know." Santa started the conversation.

"In my defense, I didn't know that would happen, and I didn't see any other way to get close enough to beat that thing." Vincent said.

"That 'thing' was called a Heartless."

"A...Heartless?"

"A boss Heartless, to be precise, it's called Guard Armor."

"That...actually makes sense."

"Now I know you have many questions, but I can only answer so many right now; I had to hurry to get Karen home and Frosty to my workshop at the North Pole, so I could hurry back to help you. So please, ask your questions while you still can."

"Okay...is it possible to get my parents back?"

Santa looked hesitant, but nodded and reached into his gift sack, pulling out a piece of paper, which he handed to Vincent. He read its contents...and slowly became shocked.

"This is..."

"Impossible? Yes, and yet somehow it is possible. These 'Hidden Reports' are beyond my understanding, I'm afraid, but if you want to know more about this, you'll have to find more of these on your journey."

"...And my brother? And Patty?"

"...I can assure you that Patty Bluerain is indeed alive and well, and as for DJ West...he's alive too, but for where they both are...I'm sorry to say that, you'll have to find that out for yourself."

Vincent heaved a sigh, "...I understand. Thanks for at least telling me they're alive."

Santa nods, then stands up, "Well, I suppose it's time for me to return to the North Pole. Just remember, hold out hope. Hope is the only thing that can keep you going. Hope is the only way you will find them. Oh, and whenever you get a chance, Hocus left a gift for you in your pocket. May your heart be your guiding key, Vincent Wayward." he got back into his sleigh, and he exclaimed as he flew out of sight:

"Ho-ho-ho! Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"

Vincent just sat by the fire to keep warm for a bit longer, speaking his thoughts aloud, "Is there really a way to bring them back? Or maybe the Hidden Report is fake?" Vincent shook his head of such negative thoughts, "No. I have to keep hope. Maybe we're truly scattered, but our hearts will lead us back to each other."

After warming up for long enough, Vincent stood up, put out the fire with some of the snow around him, and used his Keyblade to open a new portal. And as he stepped inside, despite not knowing what the world had in store for him...

He had hope.

Chapter Text

Kingdom Hearts: Path of the Wayward

Book 1: The Familial Vagrant

Chapter 5: The Big Edventure

Once he finally made it to the other side of the portal, he took a look around, only to find a fenced-off, suburban alleyway that was decimated by some unknown force, it looked as if it was some elaborate prank gone horribly wrong.

Deciding that standing around pondering about the carnage wasn’t going to get him anywhere, Vincent followed his instincts and took a look around, he left the area looking for more clues when he came across a strange sight: a banged up red car with two legs pierced through the bottom frame running away from four children in varying states of serious injury, yet they still try to hunt down the vehicle.

”Yowzers! Whaddya think they did this time, Jimmy?”

”Whatever it was, it must be worser than ever!”

Vincent heard a girl’s and a boy’s voice respectively, almost like they were joyful at the chaos currently happening, despite not knowing why it’s happening in the first place. The girl appeared to be dressed casually with a pink shirt and blue pants, but half-appears to be some kind of movie director, while the boy was dressed to look like a pink pirate…for some reason.

”I guess those two aren’t the best people to ask what happened back there…” Vincent concluded.

He followed the chaos after those kids as they were chasing the car, but couldn’t keep the pace, and yet the kids were slowly but surely catching up to it, and they were riding on either a bike, on roller skates, or even a pig. Vincent had to stop at a local playground to rest and regain his stamina, and while he was doing so, he saw the car head his way as someone stretched out of the car’s passenger front window and latch onto a merry-go-round, launching all of the kids, except for two others, off of the vehicle. And yet…those three still in the car looked oddly familiar…

”You dorks ain’t seen the last of me!!!” The kid wearing a red ball cap backwards screamed before getting flown off the car.

For some reason, Vincent felt compelled to help them, but noticed the kid holding on to the playground ride was slowly losing his grip. With little time to spare, Vincent ran to the car, hopped in, and held on for dear life as the three-now-four of them were pretty much flung into the sky, far away from the angry mob of children, but the ball cap kid held a metal pole in his hand and yelled to the heavens as he threw it at them, with no success:

“DOOOORKS!!!!!”

After flying through the air for quite a while, Vincent and his new companions landed in a desert of some kind with cracks everywhere in the ground. The kid without a chin, who was basically powering the car’s movement with his legs, quickly went back to running as the kid with three hairs on his head checked the rear view mirror and even looked back for any signs of being followed, but there thankfully wasn’t any.

”Ha! We lost ‘em!” He victoriously declared.

But the kid wearing the sock-like hat looked back, not very convinced, “How can you be certain, Eddy?”

Well, that’s one of their names… Vincent thought, wondering why they hadn’t noticed him yet.

”Those chumps’ll never catch us now! From here on out, it’s nothing but smooth sailing!” The kid named Eddy tempted fate, making me brace myself.

It’s never a good idea to tick off Murphy’s Law.

It was then that they finally noticed him, “Hey, who’s the new gu—“

SLAM!!

And just like that, Eddy proved Vincent right, as the car crashed into a rather large boulder sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of the desert, making Vincent wonder how the kid without a chin didn’t notice it.

BOOM!!

The car then exploded into a hundred chunks and pieces, with each one of them being stuck in said chunks in some way, shape, and form, except for Vincent, who somehow managed to survive getting the “car part sarcophagus” treatment. When most of them were free, Eddy went off on the kid with no chin.

“Way to go, lummox! The only rock for miles, and YOU HAD to hit it!”

The kid with the sock hat was dangling from a different piece of the destroyed car by his seatbelt, "Seatbelts certainly are a trusted friend." but alas, the safety device gave way and made him fall to the desert ground, and for a moment, everything was silent, until he began a rage-induced rant, "I've followed all the rules! Lived a life of decency and principle! So why didn't I trust my instincts?! That one day these short-sighted sophomoric shell games WOULD GO TOO FAR!!"

The kid with no chin burst out of his car part piece and hid behind Eddy, "Double D's dark side makes my armpits sweat, Eddy." he said, terrified.

"What doesn't?" Eddy countered.

Double D? Guess now I know the hat kid's name, but...doesn't that sound more like a nickname? Vincent thought, waiting for them to notice him again.

"Lost souls are we, gentleman, doomed for eternity!" Double D lamented before collapsing to the ground.

"Lighten up, Sockhead." Eddy began as he pulled Double D up, "Hasn't Eddy always steered you right? Don't answer that."

Vincent sweatdropped with an annoyed look, Then why would you ask that if you didn't want it answered?

The kid with no chin then interrupted the conversation, suggesting that they join the circus, with Eddy as the world's shortest elephant and Double D being the clown. Double D was considering it, but Eddy picked now to butt in.

"Talk about stupid. If we're goin' anywhere, I know a place so out of the way, it's practically invisible."

Double D clutches his forehead as if he had a migraine coming on, "Dare I ask?..." he then faked a grin and asked, "And?"

The kid with no chin asked again, "Yeah, Eddy. And?"

"And..." Eddy hugs them close, "if any of those losers find us there, they'll be mailed back to Peach Creek in a body cast."

"Where we goin', Eddy?"

Eddy walked a few feet away from them, then leapt into the air, and declared, "My big bro's place!"

So Eddy's got an older brother too? Hmm...maybe I can work with this. Vincent thought to himself.

But Double D didn't seem so confident about Eddy grand plan, "Eddy, I have my doubts your brother would offer us sanctuary."

Uhh...isn't that what family does when times are tough...?

Eddy tried to reassure him, "What, are you kiddin' me? We're kinda connected! Like twins! Brainwave stuff! He's talkin' to me right now!"

I don't think that's how brothers work, dude...

"C'mon!"

"Oh boy, oh boy!" The kid with no chin was excited.

"Hey, uh, if I may interject?"

All three of the group leapt off the ground and yelped in surprise at Vincent's voice, finally noticing him again.

"Mind if I tag along? I'm looking for my brother too."

"Really?" Double D asked, intrigued, "What happened?"

"Our home was attacked, and we got separated, I've been trying to find him ever since."

The kid with no chin waved enthusiastically, "Hello! My name is Ed!"

Well, that saves me the trouble of asking. Vincent thought.

"Nice to meet you, all of you guys. I, kinda heard the rest of your names already, Eddy and Double D."

"Well, actually, my name is also Edd, but with two D's." Double D added.

"Huh. I never would've guessed."

"Alright, alright!" Eddy stood in between his friends and Vincent, "If you're comin' with us...uhh—"

"Vincent. Wayward. But my friends call me Vin."

"Right. If you're comin' with us, then we gotta get a move-on! Big Bro's waitin' for us!" Eddy then proceeded to run off in a random direction.

"Eddy's brother is so cool!" Ed declared as he followed Eddy.

Double D hesitated for a moment, then pulled some kind of label maker out of his hat, and proceeds to make a label.

"Aren't you going after them?" Vincent asked.

"Of course. Just gotta..." he finished and stuck it to the destroyed car's trunk lid, which said, "OUT OF ORDER", "There." he then runs off after his friends, "Wait for me, fellows!"

Vincent began to run with them as well, but then looked back at the car's trunk and had an odd feeling crawl up his spine, "I got a bad feeling Double D wasn't supposed to do that..."