With school done and out of the way, I have had quite a few ideas for my work in progress story, Exiled. But then, I had so many random ideas for stories and stuff, but I don't want to actually start these until I finish Exiled. So I am sharing another story idea here until I can get to work on them. I hope you enjoy the read.

Title: Back To The Source

Type: Story

Summary: Everything starts somewhere, and for Ventus, it's his past which he lost long ago. After Riku answers the question he asks, Ventus awakens into an unknown place. (Work On Summary)

Idea: There are many stories about characters waking up in the past knowing the outcome and trying to change it. But in this case, it will be an exploration into the past of Ven and the type of life he had in Daybreak Town.

Sub-Ideas:

- Ventus arrives in Daybreak Town sometime after Riku leaves Sora's dream island.

- Explores the lonely life Ventus has and his discovery of the darkness within himself.

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[Somewhere In Sora's Heart]

It was over, his armor had broken, Riku had saved Sora and left his heart. It was strange, appearing there to ask the very question that helped to set Sora off on his journey. Now it was time to sleep once more and await the day of his awakening. As he was about to fall back into rest, someone calls out his name.

"Ven... Ven...?" this voice that called out to him from deep within the dark seemed familiar. He recognized it. But who was it? Where was it coming from?

He turned around and saw a bright light shining in the distance. This light was mesmerizing and felt warm and comforting. As he drew closer to the light, a wave of nostalgia hit causing him to draw nearer. Closer and closer he moved toward the light until he was blinded by its shining brilliance. He shielded his eyes, but the light was just too bright and so it engulfed his vision completely.

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[Present(?)]

He opened his eyes slowly but had trouble since they felt heavy and stiff. Why was it so hard to get up? With a little more effort, his eyes opened wider to find an unfamiliar sight. This was not Sora's island, heart, or even just the dark, but a pale white ceiling. Blinking a few times, he decided to get up from his lying position and find out just where he ended up. As he did, the sight that greeted him was not one he expected, it reminded him of a bigger version of his bedroom back in The Land Of Departure. There wasn't much to look at in this place, but there were a few pieces of furniture and equipment that caught his eye. The bookshelves held his favorite books back just like in Land Of Departure, on other shelves looked like tools used for meteorology and astronomy, and the biggest tool was by the window, a telescope. He had always been fascinated with the stars and the beauty of the night skies. He also loved the day and often watched the patterns and colors the sky often made with the clouds. He even followed the direction of where the winds would blow, to see how it affected the weather and the movement of the clouds. But it still didn't beat his love for the night sky and stars that shown beautifully. As he was looking around taking in all that he was seeing, he failed to notice the little gray cat-like creature standing on the windowsill.

"Good morning Ventus." Ventus was startled and looked everywhere to find where the voice had come from. Seeing as there was no person, he looked around to see if maybe perhaps it was a talking animal like Jaq or creature like Experiment 626 who he had met in space. Now looking around carefully, his eyes finally found the little one who had just spoken.

"Oh um... Good morning." He replied unsure of what to say next. He also wondered how it knew his name.

"Is something the matter Ventus? Are you feeling alright?" The little cat pressed his arm against his chin showing concern and worry for Ventus.

He thought about what to say and decided to tread carefully with his answer. "Yeah... I'm just trying to shake the sleepiness I guess. When you spoke, I guess I was looking for a person and not a cat."

Apparently, that made the creature mad as they crossed their arms and puffed their cheeks. "Hey! I told you before, I'm not a cat. I'm your helper and guide Chirithy."

This cat-like creature now known as Chirithy was quite fascinating to him, for some reason he couldn't help but be awed by Chritihy's looks. But then he remembered, he needed to play it safe since this creature seemed to know him well. Maybe Chirithy could explain what was going on when he was ready to ask. But for now, he simply apologized, "Oh... Sorry Chirithy, I guess I am just sleepy still."

The little creature looked at him and sighed, "Still sleepy? Well, as your Chirithy it's my job to help you out. So while you try to wake up, I'll just prepare your clothes. You can start by heading to the bath to get ready for the day."

"Um... Okay, thanks." He got up from the bed and felt sore all over. What had happened before to make him feel so sore? Was he affected by his armor fighting Riku in Sora's heart? He would think about that later, for now, he would do as Chirithy told him.

The bathroom was quite simple, a little tub with a running pipe for hot and cold water, a toilet, and a little sink. He decided to wash up his face to help him wake up and get a better sense of where he was. While washing, he kept thinking about his situation and where he was and why the creature was familiar and friendly with him. Just exactly where was he?

After getting out of the bathroom, he walked over to the bed and found Chirithy had laid out his clothes. To his relief, they were the very clothes that he was oh so familiar with. A black undershirt, gray and white vest, topped with his half black half white jacket, black and gray pants with a hem of white at the bottom, silver metal plated shoes, and his white and black checked armband. After putting them on, he realized his keyblade armor piece was not attached on the shoulder as well as his undergarment armor. Also, his crossed sash with his keyblade master ranking pin. Where could they have gone? He decided to look for it, and as he did, he passed by a mirror on the wall. Doing a double take, Ven came back to the mirror to find both his body and hair were much shorter than he remembered it being. He looked a little different too, the best way he could describe it was he looked smaller?

He panicked. What was going on, and now that he paid attention to his voice, he realized it sounded higher and squeaker than what he remembered too. What exactly was going on?

"Hey, are you okay? I heard you squeak a little."

He took a deep breath and calmly asked, "Hey, Chirithy? How old am I?"

"Ventus? Are you still sleepy? Or... Did you hurt yourself in the last mission?" That last question was spoken more softly that it fell on deaf ears to Ventus who pleaded for an answer.

"Please Chirithy..."

"Well, you're 12 years old now."

12 years old!? He was 16 last he checked. How could he be 12 years old, unless... Did he travel back to the past? Back to the memories, he had long forgotten? Now the new question was, is this happening in the dream realm or is this really happening in real life? Did the interaction in Sora's heart trigger something for me to experience my lost memories?

Chirithy watched as Ventus began to get lost in his thoughts. What was going on for him to ask such odd questions? So Chirithy checked by asking, "Ventus... Are you okay?"

This jolted him out of his thoughts. "Please Chirithy, just call me Ven. Also, I'm okay, I'm just not feeling too well."

"I understand Ven. I guess it's from your last mission, I'll let the masters know that you're not feeling well. Please stay home today and recover. If you do go out, just do what you need to do while fighting the heartless. But don't overexert yourself, got it?"

This set of information made his head spin. The masters? A mission? Heartless? For now, he needed to rest his sore body and figure out just what was going on.

"I got it. Thanks!"

"If you need anything, just call my name and I'll be here."

Ventus smiled at Chirithy as the little grey cat disappeared in a puff of smoke. Now, it was time to gather info... Though his stomach made a loud rumbling noise. But first, it was time to eat.

TBC?

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I hope you enjoyed this little story idea. If you like it, feel free to expand on the idea, I just ask that you let me know and share your story. I'd love to read your take on it. Belated Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays all, and I hope you have a Happy New Year! Let's Go 2019! Yay! One more month left till KHIII! :D

OFF TOPIC/SPOILER FOR KHUX - Skip this if you don't want to know the current story:
Ever since the translations of KHUX Japan, people are beginning to let the idea of Lauriam being the culprit go. Now that I know what the translations say, it's possible the whole of the union leaders are red herrings, so perhaps Master Gula has something to do with Strelitzia's untimely demise? He was in that very same house hiding from the other masters for the safety of his life. Also, he could have transformed as any of the Leaders since Master Ava had the skill to transform too and given a book to someone to set off the chain of events while disguised as Master Ava. Ah, I'm just overthinking now, can't wait for official KHUX translations to confirm what's going on.