This chapter was written with the assistance of Golden Flare. A Crossover with his story, Prince of the Everfree.

InFAMOUS Displaced
Chapter 14
Enter the Darkness

After I landed, the invisible started struggling in my arm. Seeing no other clear option of ending his resistance, I moved my chain into my hand and smashed it into his face. With a grunt, the unicorn dropped his invisibility. I then grabbed his mask and pulled it off. The unicorn then gasped loudly, as if he was welcoming the open air, and then proceeded to vomit on the stone floor of…

Oh great, once again, I'm inside that ancient castle that my fiancé once called home. I looked around to figure out as to where in the castle I was. As far as I could tell, I was inside the throne room. I sent out a radar pulse to find what Displaced summoned me. My pulse found two other life forms. One was the unicorn, retching and giving thanks to Mother Faust. He must be Akomish, only they refer to her as that. The other was standing near the ruined thrones of the two sisters. I turned to the thrones and saw what I never expected.

Vanitas.

My left arm started to generate smoke as my right came up to my face in a facepalm. “Crumb Cakes and Icing! I hope I wasn’t summoned by a psychopath! That crazy time god was bad enough!” I moved myself into a cautious stance, watching him and waiting for hostility.

“Ummm…may I ask what in Celestia's name is going on?” Vanitas asked, then pointed at the unicorn, “And who is that?”

“Answering your questions in order; you summoned me in the middle of a fight, and that guy,” I pointed to the unicorn, “Was an unwilling member of a crime gang that's bent on removing my fiancé from the throne.” I aimed my right hand at him, readying a cinder blast...just in case.

“Okay then, is he going to be a problem? Cause I need some answers.” He lifted his head briefly, as if he had a HUD he was checking. He then pointed his keyblade at the unicorn. “Stand clear. Freeze!” Vanitas then froze the Descendant in a solid block of ice, rendering him immobile.

“Okay, let’s talk,” I said, lowering my arm and canceling the flow of smoke. “What is it that you want to know?”

“Who are you and what’s going on here? That merchant tricked me and sent me to Equestria as Vanitas, but he agreed that I’d play some game of his.” He asked.

I sighed in annoyance, and answered, “The name's Delsin Rowe, and as far as I can tell, you are now a Displaced.”

“A Displaced? What’s that?”

“That’s short for Dimensionally Misplaced. The basics of a Displaced is this: you go to a convention, buy something high quality, yet cheap, from a certain merchant and POOF!” I set off a smoke grenade at my feet to add dramatics. “And now, you're here, in Equestria, with the powers and abilities of the character you dressed up as. Any further…” I then suddenly felt my head hurt. I grabbed at it and fell to my knees as another vision came to me.

In the vision, I saw Vanitas on the ground outside. His visor was cracked badly and Nisled was standing over him with a Diamond Sword in his hands. He then moved to stab Vanitas in his heart, but I suddenly pushed him out of the way and was struck in my shoulder. The Descendant (in his aura giant form) then appeared and knocked him into the ravine that was just down the path from the castle.

My vision ended and I was able to relax a bit. I turned to Vanitas as he rushed over to me. “Whoa, you alright?” He asked.

I shook my head, “I just got the worst headache from seeing you have a close encounter with death, with me and Frosty over there saving you, and you ask if I'm okay?” I stood up and drove my fist into a nearby wall. “I'd be okay if what death we saved you from didn't involve my Karmic Opposite!”

“Wait, what!? What do you mean, ‘Karmic Opposite’!? You mean an alter ego!?”

This is going to be a long conversation. I turned around, showing him the image on the back of my vest. “You see the image on my back?” I sensed him nodding. “Now imagine the vulture is killing the eagle instead and you have an evil version of me.”

“Ouch! Does he have any weaknesses?”

I nodded, “Yes. He's deathly afraid of individuals who are stronger than him in chaos magic usage,” I chuckled a bit, “Which is kind of funny, because when he met Screwball, he literally screamed like a girl.”

“Seriously?...Wait. All my abilities are level one! I'm a walking target for this guy!” Vanitas began to panic. I was going to fire off a smoke shot to get him briefly concerned about his lungs, but I felt something in my radar.

“I think we can worry about Nisled later,” I fired a cinder blast at the chunk of ice, freeing the unicorn inside, “Considering that you have visitors.”

“Visitors?” the sound of clanking metal filled the air, “The Royal Guard! Alright, let me do the talking, I know what I did was with good intentions, which I’ll explain to you later, but I still assaulted members of the Guard, so this burden’s mine.”

Suddenly, the main doors slammed open, revealing an entire legion of guards, ranging from unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, none of which looked very happy. “So...care to tell me what you did to piss these guys off now, or should I shut up?”

Then, the princesses came up from behind the guards, sporting battle armor of their own, “Oh, you’re about to find out, cause I’m pissed too.” Vanitas stormed up to the two and bellowed, “WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM!?”

“Um, what?” Luna asked, shocked, but confused.

“Your guards were trying to tie down and kill a Manticore! I don’t know what they told you about me, but I draw the line at animal abuse!”

Vanitas words startled the princesses greatly, the Royal Guard, attempting to murder a Manticore? It’s simply unheard of!

“H-He’s lying!” a familiar voice spoke, the guards moving to reveal one of their ranks, “H-He attacked us, for no reason!”

“Yeah!” another one said, “And he broke one of our spears!” he pointed a hoof at Vanitas, “Do you know how much those things cost to make!?”

“DOES IT LOOK LIKE I GIVE A FLYING ****!?” Vanitas roared.

Before any of the two guards could answer, I smoke dashed up to the first one, ending in a tackle and commanded some smoke to hold him down. I looked to the other one just in time to see him collapsing in pain from being struck...down there. The Descendant then dropped his invisibility and gave the guard a light smirk.

“Nice shot, dude.” Vanitas complemented.

“ENOUGH!” Luna shouted in her Royal Canterlot Voice, she clears her throat and speaks with a calmer voice now everyone in the vicinity have stopped, “Okay, now, start from the beginning...um…”

“Vanitas.”

“Vanitas, tell us what happened.”

“Okay, it went like this…”

Vanitas explained that he was in the Everfree Forest for personal reasons, probably not wanting to explain the whole Displaced concept to them, found the two guards tying up a Manticore, and them getting ready to spear it to death. Vanitas did what anybody would do and stopped them, but his methods were a little too violent for the Royal Guard. He freed the Manticore and found this abandoned castle for a place to live.

“...And so, here we are, just about ready to have it out for each other.”

Celestia and Luna’s expressions were unreadable as they turned to the two guards who reported Vanitas, “...Is this true?” Celestia asked.

“Umm…” the guards hummed.

Luna stomped a hoof, “My sister asked you a question!”

“Y-Y-Yes!” one of them said, “I-It’s true!”

“Who's side are you on!?” the other exclaimed.

“The princesses’, of course! You knew what we were doing was wrong, and you dragged me along for the ride!”

“Who cares if some dumb animal gets killed!? These things are dangerous anyway! It's better if put them down before they become a problem in the future!” he saw that everyone, even his buddy, was staring at him in shock, “...Oops.”

“Lieutenant Stone Sword,” Celestia speaks in a stern voice that chilled even the Royal Guard, “you are hereby dishonorably discharged. The guards will escort you to the dungeons. Seize him!”

Every guard leveled their spear toward Stone Sword’s neck, preventing him from escaping. He was about to be dragged out when he glowered at Vanitas.

“I'm going to remember you for this, Vanitas, this ain't over.”

With that said, he left willingly with about half of the entire battalion watching him in case he tried anything funny.

“Lieutenant Leather Armor,” Celestia turned to the partner in crime, “since you seem to be the regrettable one of this whole ordeal, but still an accessory to it, I'll let you off with a suspension, two weeks.” he breathed a sigh of relief, “After this is settled, spend time with your wife, okay?”

He nodded, “Thank you, Your Highness.”

After Leather Armor was escorted out, I looked from Vanitas to the Princesses and to the Descendant. I sighed and said, “Well, that was fun. What now?”

“This is probably the part where we either talk things out, or they slap the cuffs on me.” Vanitas commented.

“Knowing Tia, she'll try diplomatic methods before imprisonment,” I state, “Luna, on the other hand, she'd probably have more violent methods.”

“Okay...better choose my words carefully then.” Vanitas clears his throat and walks over to the princesses, “Your Highnesses, do not fear, I come in peace, while I possess dark magic, I mean no harm...well, except for the two guards who tried to kill that Manticore, but that's totally different.”

The princesses giggled, “It's fine, good sir,” Celestia said.

“That's good to hear, now how about we introduce ourselves formally? I'll start off,” Vanitas put a hand over his chest and bowed, like a Keyblade Wielder would do to show respect for his or her master, “my name is Vanitas.”

“I am Princess Celestia, raiser of the sun and ruler of Equestria.”

“I am Princess Luna, co-ruler of Equestria alongside my sister and bringer of the night.”

They turned to me and The Descendant, waiting for an introduction, “Delsin Rowe, the Equestrian Eagle, leader and founder of the Akomish tribe.”

“Jet Set the Second, Akomish outside of my father's wishes,” The former Descendant said with a bow.

Vanitas claps his hands once, “Okay! Glad that's taken care of! Now, before we talk more, Your Highnesses, I need to speak with these two privately.” the princesses raise an eyebrow, “Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere.”

Celestia sighs, “Very well.”

She, Luna, and the remainder of the Royal Guard step outside the door and close it, Vanitas turns to me, “Okay, two quick questions: what was that feather I used to call you here and how do I get one like that?”

“Oh, that was my token,” I pulled Sora’s keychain out for him to see. “Every Displaced has one.”

“Okay, how do I get my own?”

“Do you have something that you want to use for it?” I asked.

“Maybe…” Vanitas calls his Keyblade and removes his keychain, “How about this?”

I took the keychain and looked it over. “I think this will work. I'll see what can be done.” I held it above my head and mentally called out, ‘Screwball! Will you help with making a token?’ The keychain began to float in a yellow aura. A void portal then opened up and the keychain multiplied, with all but two going through it. The last two keychains landed in my hands as the portal closed.

‘I worked the token to allow those who possesses one to use the Portals of Darkness with no negative effects.’

I chuckled a bit. “Screwball went all out with this.” I tossed Vanitas one of the keychains, while I held the the other one up, thinking of a destination. Almost immediately, a Portal of Darkness opened up. I walked in and it closed behind me. I walked for a few seconds and I saw light in front of me. When I walked into the light, I saw that I was behind Vanitas and Jet. “Yo!” I called out, scaring the both of them.

“Okay then, now what do I do?” Vanitas asked, after catching his breath.

“Imprint a message that you would want other Displaced to hear, much like what you heard with my token.”

“Okay, here we go,” Vanitas took a deep breath, “I am Vanitas, if there is anyone in need of help, I’ll be there to answer the call.” Vanitas holds up the keychain, “Now what?”

“Now, when anyone finds your token, they'll hear that,” I hold up his chain, “From there, it is up to them if they summon you or not.”

“So, should I just toss it in the portal, or is this one yours?”

“I've got mine. Just reattach yours back onto your keyblade.”

“Okay.” Vanitas did just that, and returns his attention to me, “So what happens now?”

“I think that discussion can be discussed with the Princesses. They may have an idea of what you can do,” I cracked my neck, “As for me, I'll need to stay here until my doppelganger is blocked from reentering this world after being banished from it.”

“And I'll just stick with you,” Jet said to me, “After that mind gas, I'm going to need some help staying out of trouble.”

“Alright, guess we have a game plan.” Vanitas walks over to the double doors, “Okay! You can come back in now!”

The Princesses enter the throne room once more, skepticism etched on their faces.

“See? Told you I wasn't going anywhere,” Vanitas said, “Now do you trust me?”

“More or less,” Celestia said, “I believe you should come with us to Canterlot to test your dark magic to be sure that you are not a threat.”

“Fair enough, under one condition.”

“And that is?” Luna asked.

“Afterwards, I get to take up permanent residence in the Everfree Forest.”

“...Done.” Celestia reluctantly agreed.

“I hope you don’t mind if Jet Second and I tag along,” I say, “We may even help in Vanitas’ testing.”

“Okay then, shall we go, Vanitas?”

“Yup, let's go.” Celestia then lit her horn and we were teleported to the Canterlot throne room. Just barely after the teleport, I had a feeling of nausea. Urgh. Why? I then let my gut spill out of my mouth and onto the red carpet.

“Gross, dude!” Vanitas exclaimed, “Couldn't you find a bathroom before you did that!?”

“It's not his fault,” Luna said, “Teleportation leaves many non-unicorns nauseous.”

“Less chat, more electrocution!” I call out.

“Wait just a second here!” Vanitas objects, “Nobody said anything about electrocution! Plus, I have a fear of electrocution!”

“Not you!” I shout out, “I was talking about me! I can control more than just smoke, for your information!”

“Oh.” Vanitas chuckled, “I knew that...kinda.”

“Just...Somepony Shock Me!”

“Okay! Just let me get Dark Thundaga set into my Command Deck!” Vanitas glanced up at his HUD and back to me, then summoned his Keyblade and whipped into the air, “Show me anguish!”

A black lightning bolt came and shocked me down to the bone. After absorbing the electrical energy, my body felt nauseous again. I then floated in the air and my form glowed red for a moment. After landing on my feet, my eyes widened in shock (no pun intended).

“CRAP! I need to drain that Bad Karma out of me! Forgive me!” I then began to fire off red bolts of lightning at a random vase, hitting everything but the vase. It wasn’t until I managed to hit the vase with a blue bolt that I stopped. I looked to the gathered group and found them looking at me with shocked expressions (seriously, I’m not coming up with these on purpose).

“Dude...what the actual ****?” Vanitas said.

“I was not expecting that.” Celestia added.

“Neither was I, sister.” Luna agreed.

I gave the group a sheepish look. “Sorry. I guess I absorbed the Darkness from that shock unintentionally. I had to drain it out before I went down a rank.”

“Maybe I should’ve gone with plain Thundaga.” Vanitas said.

“Past mistakes aside, I’m itching to actually test out my electric powers,” I swung my arms down, generating Gigawatt blades on my arms. “That’s new.”

“What do you mean, ‘that’s new’? You DO know all of what you’re capable of, right?”

“Yes and no,” I answer, “Yes, involving what powers I have, I have the general idea. No, I don’t know everything about what I have and what I could get.”

“That worries me. What if you get something super powerful and dangerous, even to yourself?”

“It’s weaker than the original set,” I explain, “If I had more power with smoke, I could have unintentionally suffocated the discharged guard with the smoke restrainment.”

“I’ll take your word for it. So what now? More tests?”

“Yeah, THINK FAST!!!” I shot off a lightning hook, catching Vanitas in the chest and pulled him towards me, only for me to deliver a few electric jabs and a kick to his abdomen, sending him to his starting point.

“Oh, you wanna dance!? Fine, let’s dance!” Vanitas fired a slow fireball that split into three, speeding at me and catching me in the leg, arm, and chest.

“OW! What the Deuce!” Time to distract him. I telepathically retaliated, projecting this video from the dark recesses of my memory into his head. As he was distracted, I tossed a sticky grenade at him, with it landing on his foot. A few seconds after I tossed it, it detonated, sending Vanitas flying into the pillar next to the door. I then pulled up a polarity wall, just in case. But Vanitas disappeared in a puff of darkness and reappeared behind me, “Gotcha!” he said as he attacked me with a downward swing from above.

“Gah!” I was knocked forward, landing face first onto the floor. ‘Second! A little help!’ Second entered his aura giant form and took a swing at Vanitas, knocking him off of his feet. Vanitas stood back up, jumped up high, and dove into the ground, creating a red and black puddle of darkness lurking toward me. When he was directly under my feet, he flew out with his Keyblade pointed out, nailing me in the chest and knocking me back. While in midair, he dove back down into floor to repeat his attack, but I was ready for him and dodged the moment he resurfaced, but what I didn’t see coming was fireballs spewing from the tip of his blade and hitting me several times.

‘Grrr! Second! I need to change powers! I need a bright light!” Second charged his aura form to be extremely bright. Vanitas briefly shielded his face from the light, giving Second and I the time to come up with a plan without speaking or using telepathy. I absorbed the light from Second and he shrunk down and turned invisible. I then flashed my Oathkeeper and Oblivion constructs for intimidation purposes. I lightly saw him flinching, but he was then punched in the gut by an unseen hoof. I then rushed in and pulled off a combo with the blades.

“Darkness waits!” He quickly recovered and summoned several afterimages as he attacked me back and forth in rapid succession, his moves and appearances nearly unpredictable.

I flailed my arms and keyblade constructs around, hoping to get a lucky shot. Vanitas, however, knock the blades out of my hands. However, I managed to grab his arm and Darkness flowed down his arm onto my arm. Both of us began to struggle, him trying to pull me off, and me trying to fight blacking out. However, the blacking out happened, both Vanitas and I collapsing to the ground.

“It started when I first watched my brother play Kingdom Hearts; Sora’s skills and spells were good, great even, but something drew me to the enemies. They had unique abilities, weapons, battle styles, I studied them as much as I could, especially since I didn’t have the money to buy the other games. And so, I came to my first convention, cosplaying as Vanitas, he was the one I liked the most; his power, his ability to summon the Unversed, it made me want to be him, or at least pretend to be.

But then, the merchant tricked me and sent me to Equestria as Vanitas. I thought it was a dream come true, but I was scared out of my mind, never in all my life could I have the power of darkness. Darkness was portrayed as evil, but I can change that: darkness can be used for good purposes, and I’ll prove it. To everyone.

As I came to, I found that Second and the Princesses were looking down at us in concern. “Are you okay, brother?” Second asked in Akomish tradition. I nodded in response. I let Darkness flow over my arms and I sunk into the floor. After getting up in the Dark corridor, I rose from the floor, but my clothing was different.

It seemed to mirror Vanitas’ clothes, except that my helmet/visor had a shape reminiscent to a bird’s beak, the clothing was tinted blue rather than red, and the dress/skirt/kilt portion resembled blue eagle feathers. I looked up from my clothes and saw that Vanitas had gotten to his feet. I summoned a more blue version of his Void Gear keyblade and prepared to fight.

“Okay. I don’t know what the hell just happened, or why you look similar to me, but this little sparring match ends with me as the victor. Suffer!” Vanitas charged at me with his Void Gear pointed towards me, darkness trailing behind him, from what I learned from his memories, he just used Dark Haze.

However, despite my knowledge of what he can do and what he was doing, I wasn't able to stop the attack. I took it and I was sent flying. When I hit the throne, time seemed to slow to a crawl and my chest seemed to shoot out lightning, much like how when a boss is defeated. My vision was briefly filled with light as time resumed. I tumbled over the throne, landed head first on the ground and blacked out.

Author's Notes:

Points: +8 Rank: Champion

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The name of this chapter came from this song.