As Ven toured the stars, he found himself thinking back on all that had happened in the previous worlds. Master Xehanort had said he was to bring balance by using the darkness while his friends used the light but… he didn't like using that power. It was nice being able to express himself but it always led to some kind of trouble: Maleficent taking him over, hurting Dagrun, Hades trying to use him. It just wasn't safe and didn't really make him that happy. He couldn't give it up now though, not while Master Xehanort wished it for him. He was indebted to the man, after all. He was the only one who'd take him in after what he'd done…
He glanced down at his wayfinder sadly. Does this thing really have the power to keep us together? After what Terra did, spying and not trusting me or Aqua…Are we even still friends? And the way I left Aqua… That's probably the last time I'm ever going to see her if I go through with this… I've broken our connection as friends… I guess this thing is a fake…
Just then, he noticed a flash of light and recognized it as the sign he'd entered a new world but… nothing had changed, he was still amongst the stars. "Huh?"
There was no time to question though as around a hundred Unversed appeared before him. "Here too?!"
The boy hit the booster on his glider and rammed and swerved through the mushroom-like Unversed for quite some time, so long that Ven felt exhausted afterward. "Adar made all of these…? She must be getting stronger… I have to find her before these things can take over worlds all on their own!"
He was about to dart off, his resolve hardened, when a dark shadow came over him. He looked up to see the hull of a massive spaceship, probably twenty times bigger than his glider. Suddenly, the thing sucked him up and everything went black.
"Is he the one?"
"Yes, Grand Councilwoman. I've confined him until we can determine what he is."
Ven slowly awoke to find himself on a cold, hard bed, surrounded by metal. So he was in another world… He sat up wearily before rubbing his sore back. "Gnngh, where am I?"
"Take cover! Leave it to me to handle these fiends."
Just then, there was the sound of blasts not unlike the ones from his glider. He sprang up and pressed his face against the glass wall that held him there, seeing a large and muscled creature protecting an elegantly-dressed woman from the Unversed with a blaster gun. "Whatever you are, you're under arrest...eventually!"
The two ran off, sealing the door behind them.
"Unversed!" Ven gasped. He'd have to explain the good of his prison escape after the battle.
The boy unlocked the cell with his keyblade before springing into action.
Luckily, there weren't as many as last time, allowing him to make quick work of the monsters. Despite that, he was still quite winded. No matter the numbers, they were still strong.
"Very impressive display."
"Hm?" The boy turned to see a shorter creature than the one who'd faced the Unversed moments before, he was dressed in prison stripes and stood in a cell. He didn't have time to chat with criminals, he had to plead his case!
"Wait! You, help!" The prisoner yelled, seeing the giant key in his hand. "I have been imprisoned on ridiculous charges!"
The boy slid to a stop before turning around, crossing his arms in suspicion. Everyone else he'd first met in the worlds had been villains… "What charges…?"
"I am innocent scientist who created galaxy's most destru-constructive species of all times. Why, my experiment could annihilate creatures you fought so hard! He is bulletproof, fireproof, and can think faster than supercomputer. He can see in the dark and move objects 3,000 times his rather diminutive size. And for reasons preposterous, the Federation Council take him away from me and throw me here in small, stuffy, rather badly lit cell."
"Wha- Why'd they do that?" Ven asked. This creature could be a great help if he used his powers for good, he could even fight the Unversed! "With all those powers, he could help a lot of people."
"Help? Why would he-?" Seeing Ven's face change to suspicion, the creature quickly caught on. "Ah, I mean, yes, of course! Unfortunately, the council is so stuck up in their old ways, they can't even see his power as anything but monstrous."
"Sounds familiar." The boy whispered, thinking of his master. This creature was just like him, they'd locked him away just because he had the potential to be bad, and they didn't even give him a chance to prove himself!
"We must make to rescue him, or he'll be banished to far reaches of space!"
"Then we'd better get moving!" Ven gasped. The boy unlocked the cell as he did his own, allowing the man out.
"Experiment 626 is name I give to adorable, fluffy creature you are helping to rescue. And I am genius scientist who created him, Dr. Jumba Jookiba." The man said, giving him a firm shake of the hand.
"I'm Ventus, you can call me Ven." The boy smiled warmly.
"The pleasure is all ours. 626 is this way, hurry!"
The two slipped out of the prison block into a room with a strange device in the center. When they jogged up, the thing sprang to life, showing a large map of various worlds and then of the ship.
Ven watched with fascination as the doctor entered a few commands to find the exact room 626 was in. "So this ship can take you to other worlds? That's much more
"Eh, I suppose if you'd like to call it's that. We just says planets. Currently, we're on Planet Turo."
There was a chime and a nearby glass cylinder slid down, allowing them entrance.
"We take teleported down to Durgon prison transport ship and 626." The doctor explained, before entering it himself.
The glass field slurped back up and the chamber filled with steam before there was a flash and he was gone.
Ven follow after tentatively.
After fighting through another horde of Unversed, they finally made it to the containment cell.
Ven couldn't help but stare at the growling creature before him. This was 626?
He was a furry blue alien with long ears and big, black eyes. If it wasn't for the four arms and the antenna, Ven would've thought the creature was this world's equivalent to a little dog. He was kinda cute.
"Amazing, is he not? Such tremendous power in such itty-bitty package." Jumba chuckled, seeing the boy's somewhat bewildered face. "Truly, he is the one and the only—the mightiest creature in all of galaxy. And his only, singular instinct—to destroy everything he touches! See?"
"What?!" Ven cried in shock as the doctor released his experiment.
After it scanned the room, 626 met eyes with Ven before pouncing on him. The thing climbed over him like a spider before leaping up into the rafters.
Ven looked up to see his wayfinder in 626's claws. He needed it back, he needed something to remember Terra and Aqua with! "Hey, give that back!"
"Too late, already marked for destruction!" Juma announced with an unfeeling shrug.
"Please, don't! It represents my connection to my friends!" Ven yelled in desperation, surprising himself and the creature.
In his heart, it seemed their connection was unbroken after all…
626 looked at the trinket in confusion.
"Friends'?! Are you joking?!" Jumba fell to the ground in laughter. "Such a concept is lost on 626!"
The little alien looked closer at the object and then back at the boy. He dropped the treasure with a grunt before scampering away.
Ven breathed a sigh of relief before picking up the charm. I've been so wrapped up in the darkness and my mission, I forgot what mattered: Terra and Aqua, my friends.
He turned to the doctor after pocketing the charm, crossing his arising disbelief. "Are you sure about 626? Maybe deep down, he just wants some friends!"
"Impossible! Pshah! He has no actual feelings-only destructive instincts I have carefully chosen for him. Or perhaps you need another demonstration of my evil geniusness!"
At that, the doctor pulled out a small green orb and a flask of water before dropping the thing in. "Behold, one of 626's many predecessors, Experiment 212!"
The test tube shattered as the orb grew into another goblin-like creature with slightly different features than 626. It locked eyes on Ven at once before shooting out bolts of electricity in demented glee.
The boy guarded before running at it. Just like 626, 212 could quickly scuttle away from any attack and was always ready to give a shocking one of its own. When it realized Ven was able to block all of them, he swung into the containment area and the arms suddenly became blasters.
"You're kidding!" Ven breathed before he had to dive to the ground to avoid getting hit. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth, eying the blasters. "Guess I'll have to get rid of those first!"
The boy sprang up into the air, hammering the blasters over and over with quick but strong strikes until they were finished. 212 was quickly ejected from the controls.
"Sorry, little guy!" Ven called, pouncing into the air before hitting the creature with all his might.
212 gave a whine before poofing it back to its original form.
"Oh… you'll be alright, little one…" Jumba assured his experiment in clear dismay it had gotten hurt, giving Ven the idea that perhaps he wasn't so evil after all.
They heard a sudden pitter patter and Jumba turned to see 626 there waiting. "What is it? Why have you returned?"
The little creature babbled in his unique language for a moment or two and Ven somehow could feel what he meant, why he was here. He bent down to it. "I think I get it. You want to know what a friend is, don't you?"
"Ridiculous!" The scientist growled but Experiment 626 waited patiently for his answer.
"My name's Ven." Ven started with a gentle smile.
"Vennn…." The alien repeated slowly.
The boy nodded. "As for what friendship is, it's… well… Hm… I don't really know how to explain it but once you feel it, you'll know!"
"Not if I have anything to say in the matter!" Jumba bellowed, pushing the boy aside. "You are only meant to think about what it is you will destroy next. Now, I fix what is wrong with you!"
626 growled and snapped in anger at his creator, clearly not wanting to be 'fixed'.
Suddenly, an alert sounded off, surprising them all. "Red alert. Red alert. Experiment 626 and two prisoners have escaped from the cell bay. Security, locate the fugitives immediately…"
"Get out of here!" Ven called to 626 in worry. "Friendship is true power, don't let anybody tell you otherwise!"
The creature nodded before scampering away through the cell door.
"Come back here!" Jumba chased after him, leaving Ven alone.
Ven took out his wayfinder once more before clutching it to his heart. "Right… I don't need strength in the darkness or light… My friends are my power, and I'm theirs."
However mighty they were, his power was still in grave danger thanks to Adar and the Unversed. He had to protect them.
He wished the world and Experiment 626 farewell.
