Jexel is an OC. There may be a few OCs in this story, but they're only minor characters who shouldn't bear too much on the plot. The core of this story will always be Xehanort and his apprentices (until such time as I say it isn't, but that's not likely).

Also, let me know if the story becomes too violent for a T rating and I'll change it to M.

Chapter Three: Ship of Corpses, Phase 1

Below the deck of the airborne Jolly Roger; that same, wintry night…

From the encroaching hordes of bloodthirsty pirates—most demi-Heartless, some full-blooded, some artificial, some darkened only by their wicked souls—leapt murderous Ventus high overhead, hardly the innocent soul he once was, unleashing every shred of carnage and malice he'd become intimate with in the recent past upon those pirates surrounding him, cutting down and blasting away all he could reach with a rusted Keyblade, Wayward Wind, held reverse-grip in his right hand and a tempered cutlass in the other. The young blonde garbed in attire not unlike his enemies was the focal target of the crew's fury, their ravenous craving for revenge. Already Ven had slaughtered an odd dozen of them in the lantern-lit confines of the ship's interior while they'd barely laid a scratch on him. For seven weeks, Ven had been one of them.

And now, I'm killing them.

Battling alongside the youth against the innumerable assailants was Xehanort himself, aged and withered, yet one of the most powerful Keyblade Masters alive. He bore no resemblance to silver-haired Terra, that youthful depiction Vanitas had deceived Hook with after weeks of interrogation and torture, and with no reference of Xehanort's true appearance, Ven smuggled the old man aboard with ease. Now the two, master and prodigal, mutinied side-by-side, slaughtering the dark crew of the Jolly Roger to save their imprisoned comrade and finally end Captain Hook's Heartless campaign.

As Ven was airborne, he repeatedly swung Wayward and his cutlass in separate arcs, releasing short bursts of lightning to scatter the enclosing enemies on his side. Battling the pirates at his back, Xehanort repelled every swing of sword and claw before quickly summoning a Zero Graviga field with his free hand, an attack which trapped every surrounding enemy on his side and sent them chaotically drifting into a concentrated point in the air. With the Heartless pirates trapped in the concentrated anti-gravity field, Xehanort charged and slung a massive ball of flame from his Keyblade and watched contently as his prisoners combusted in a fiery blaze, his features illuminated by the explosion.

But as Xehanort disposed of the nuisances on his side, a Novashadow hastened to strike him from behind as Ventus finished his aerial assault. Panicked, Ven called to warn the old man—"Master!"—and Xehanort turned in time to witness the youth descending upon the Heartless, sinking both blades into the beast's back and crushing it under his weight.

The old man smirked, "You called me 'master' just now. We're making some good progress."

"Wha—?" Ven glared as he rose to his feet, outraged at his mistake. "This changes nothi—!"

Xehanort clasped the boy's shoulder and moved him aside, firing three shots of Firaga from his Keyblade at a trio preparing to fire on them with their pistols. "Doesn't it?" the master retorted, "Who gave you this opportunity to reach your greatest potential and unlock talents you never knew you had?"

A duo of demi-Heartless crewmembers leapt in succession through the wall behind Ven in a dark portal, swords bared and ready for the kill. But Ven, seasoned by months of intensive training, hastily swung Wayward over his shoulder, parrying the a blade moments before impaling him, and with the first enemy blade deflected, he followed through—his back still turned—by backhandedly thrusting the cutlass into the pirate's gizzard and then fully turning to slash him across the collarbone and torso with an ice-charged Keyblade. And as he completed the fatal strike, Ven swung the retrieved cutlass upward to catch the second demi-Heartless' strike and countered with a skewering thrust of the Keyblade into the stomach. The brigand lurched over and Ven continued the execution with a stab through the neck with the cutlass. As he thrust-kicked the enemy from his blades, the dark pirate collapsed into fragmented clumps of corrupted flesh and was dust before he hit the ground.

Xehanort continued his lecture as he dispatched another unit with his magic and Keyblade. "Who granted you unlimited freedom to pursue your dreams and gave you a means to channel your ability? Were it not for my own benevolence, would you have ever harnessed such strength or known this life as a pirate?"

Outraged, Ven turned his anger to another gathering horde just beyond the unwanted master. He screamed his frustrations and dashed right past the old man and into the new crowd of enemies. Ven massacred them with such a speedy fury, ricocheting from target to target and obliterating them either with a crushing swing of his blades or a visceral assortment of magic. At one point, he merely cut a gash into a Soldier-type Heartless' throat, but near the end of his combo attack on the rest of the company, Ven spun back around and punted the short monster's head right off, smashing it into the pots and pans of the galley, near where other Heartless were gathering and lining up their shots for a volley of musket-fire. There was only one of the immediate group left, a disoriented Neoshadow that somehow survived Ven's wrath. Thinking quickly, Ven dashed behind the Neoshadow, slung his Keyblade around its throat, and used it as a humanoid shield for the gunfire. The body faded into black mist after catching the bullets and spiteful Ventus charged straight through the dark cloud before he catapulted through the air, blades raised, and landed as a predator among the ranks of Heartless gunmen.

Xehanort marveled at the boy's brutality, pleased at how young Ven was doing most of the work now. But he can't have all the fun—and so Xehanort teleported within the ranks of the pirates and joined the boy in cutting them down. "I encouraged your growth where Eraqus would have kept you locked away forever. And now look at you! You're a marvel of a Keyblade Master leagues beyond what you once imagined! So run from me all you want, boy. You need only look in the mirror to see the prodigy of my creation."

"You're wrong!" Ventus bludgeoned an Air Soldier's face against a wooden post with the guard of Wayward and then turned his hateful gaze to the old man. "This isn't what I wanted at all! Just look at me, Xehanort! Can't you see what your training has made me?!" At this, he caught the Air Soldier recuperating and so repeatedly bashed its face in further until it burst into waves of dark matter. "This isn't…" Ven was choking up, "…what Master Eraqus would've wanted."

Xehanort decapitated the last of them within arm's reach and blasted away the final enemy with a discharge of lightning from his palm moments before the demi-Heartless fired its pistol. Then the old man turned Ven back to face him, holding the boy steady with both hands on his shoulders. "And what would Eraqus have wanted? To keep you trapped in your prison in the Land of Departure, never to set foot on another world or unlock the vast troves of power buried within you? Your old master did everything he could for you, but you've been long since ready to take the next steps and you've advanced so much in such a short time. You're well on your way to claiming the Mark of Mastery."

Despite being trusted with such a deep-cover mission for his first assignment, the sensation of trust remained foreign to young Ventus. Maybe because I can't even trust myself. Xehanort didn't know—he can never know—what writhing anguish Ven suffered to bottle inside ever since they sprung the trap. Every crewmember slain by his or his master's blade in the last twenty minutes whom he spent the past seven weeks familiarizing with; every contorted gaze of betrayal as the crew watched in horror while one of their own turned on them…

Gentleman Starkey. Ed Teynte. Billy Jukes. Robert Mullins. Cecco. Cookson. Skylights. How can Xehanort ever know what it's like to betray your own family?

"I can see it in your eyes," the master said. "There is far more at work here than your hatred for me. But now isn't the time for it. We have to save Vanitas first, and then you may spurn the universe." He let go of the boy's shoulders and continued across the wooden floor, enemies cowering in his presence yet stupid enough to attack anyway. The hindrances were erased in seconds.

Ven ground his teeth, failing to hold back the brimming tears of frustration and smashed his forehead against the wooden pillar where he pummeled the Air Soldier not long ago. A small droplet of blood trickled from beneath his pirate headband, but Ven ignored it. He deserved far worse.

A pirate screamed at the top of his lungs: "Mr. Smee! Kill the prisoner—!"

Xehanort shattered the one giving the order into fractals of ice and called to the young Keyblade wielder while being further surrounded by Heartless, one of them a Guard Armor, "Ven, stop him!" The youth returned to the moment and bolted for the pirate fleeing to the brig to eliminate Vanitas. The encroaching crew and Heartless didn't matter anymore and Ven only dashed past them or leapt overhead, leaving them for Xehanort to finish off.

Mr. Smee was a rotund little creature and the Captain's right-hand man. Cowardly and inept in a fight, Mr. Smee retained far more of his humanity than most of the crew. He was split almost vertically in half by the Heartless curse, the right of him the spitting image of the human he once was and the left side a Shadow. And so the tubby pirate fled, the remains of his heart pulsating with terror knowing Ventus was hot on his trail and likely driven insane by bloodlust. Only by the interference and determination of various crewmembers confronting the Keybearer did they manage to slow him down. And with Ven falling behind, Mr. Smee arrived at Vanitas' cell near the far end of the wall, panting heavily and his heart still racing. Not wasting a moment to rest, the short pirate leveled the blunderbuss at the chained prisoner and prepared to fire, mumbling to himself in fear every moment of the way.

And just an instant before pulling the trigger, half-blooded Smee felt a shadow looming over him. He looked overhead and saw Ventus, airborne and teeming with fury, his arms outspread and their foreheads nearly touching. As if by some unorthodox will, Ven dropped his weapons and used his arms to trap Smee in a headlock as he vaulted above the target, and as his feet finally touched the floor, he threw the half-Shadow pirate and slammed him hard against the nearby wall. Smee lay unconscious on the floorboards and Ventus was panting to catch his breath now.

"Oh? Is it time to bust me out already?" Vanitas called sarcastically from his dim cell. He was the only one imprisoned in the otherwise empty brig. "Why don't you take another week or seven to chum around with these scumbags?"

Ven retrieved his weapons, small electric bursts from his palms attracting them back to his hands. "At least they appreciated me." There was a notable strain in his body when he gripped the rusted Wayward. Vanitas caught it.

"Not so easy anymore, is it? Your 'tattoo'—the mark on your back to mask yourself from the Heartless—it's resisting that Keyblade, am I right?"

Ventus said nothing but only grunted as he rose to inspect the cell. The bars were magically coated, making them almost impenetrable. And within, Vanitas sat chained and sorely wounded, scarcely able to move. And his appearance…Ven watched his pirate comrades torture Vanitas while undercover and couldn't bear to face him after doing nothing to lessen the pain. He was grateful for the heavy shadows in the cell that concealed the hideous scars.

Vanitas laughed as he imagined the pain Ven must've felt fighting all those pirates with unwilling Wayward. "And after all that time you spent basking in a life of darkness and corruption, I'll bet that toy barely recognizes you! So neglected and forgotten—just look at the rust on it!"

After a brief examination of the cell, Ven leveled his Keyblade to break the magic barrier, only to linger as he gathered urgent thoughts. Why am I doing this? Who's Vanitas to me?—just another of Xehanort's puppets, no doubt. Before I accepted this mission, I never even heard of the guy. And all he's done since I found him is mock and scorn me. Never thanked me for doing something so dangerous just for him.

"Yo, Venny-boy! Time to let me out!"

At least the crew respected me. They actually cared and made me one of their own. Showed me a life of adventure and ecstasies I never dared to dream of. And what happens when this is all over?—did I even think of that? Will Xehanort drag me back into some prison where he can always keep an eye on me just like Eraqus did? He granted me this freedom only because he needed Vanitas back, but what happens next? Was this really worth betraying the ones who called me family?

Vanitas began to worry. "Oh, no. You're doing this?! You're really having second thoughts?!"

But Terra and Aqua… I know they never approved of me running away and were reluctant to let me do this—hell, they even let Master Eraqus keep me trapped on our home-world…but they're the first family I can remember. But maybe I don't have to hurt them. So what if I don't help them from here on out? They've iced Hook and Xehanort can handle himself. If I run away right now and go back to Tortuga, find a new crew and start over, would that even affect them?

"Captain Hook is finished, Ven! The Jolly Roger is just a flying coffin! You have nothing to go back to, so just open this cell and get me the hell outta here!"

This really is my only chance to be free, to live my own life. My time on the Jolly Roger is over, but I still have so much to go back to. So that's what I'll do. I'll finish what I started here and then get out before Master Xehanort can stop me.

A light sparked from the tip of rusted Wayward, to Vanitas' relief, and a concentrated beam of energy shot from the Keyblade to destroy the cell's magic barrier. The brig was amply fortified and Ven knew this wouldn't be a simple lock-picking. But after a short time of the magic energies conflicting and blowing through Ventus' hair, the barrier's Keyhole gradually emerged in fragments. But seconds before completing it, a myriad of crystalized spikes streaked through the air from the side, all aimed for the blonde Keybearer. Alert, Ven instantly leapt leeward, the emerald weapons of impalement only narrowly missing him and unconscious Smee.

As he returned to his feet and halted against the cell behind, Ven turned to look down the opposite end of the brig's hall and beheld a very human-looking demi-Heartless almost a year older than he. His hair was median length and raven-brown, the bangs a mess and the back tied in a low ponytail reaching his upper back. His skin tan, build slim but toned, and missing right eye adorned by a black eye-patch, the young pirate stood before Ven with green crystallic blades protruding from his bared forearms and hands. Pure, unyielding hatred teemed from the teenager's face and remaining, tearstained emerald-green eye.

"I'm glad the others didn't kill you first," he said to Ven. "Now I can gut you all by myself."

"Jexel, listen to me!" Ventus pleaded urgently, "Hook is gone! The Jolly Roger is lost! Walk away now and I won't have to hurt you!"

"Fat chance, Ven. This crew was my family and I'll go to the end of the worlds to avenge them."

"But this doesn't have to be the end! …Come with me to Tortuga. We'll start a new crew, find a new ship, and go on so many more adventures. There'll be no one to stop us—just you, me, and a crew of our own sailing against it all, just like we always dreamed of."

Jexel scowled. "I considered you my brother once, but after seeing your true face, there's no way in hell I'd trust you not to turn on me as well."

"I didn't want to do this, Jexel! I'd never betray you!"

"So why'd you do it if not to take this ship and all its treasure for yourself?! Or have you already pledged your allegiance to another—that old man, perhaps?!"

"No, it's not like that!"

"Then why?! Does it have something to do with that whelp in the cell?! Who is he to you?!"

Ven opened his mouth to object but his words fell short. He honestly didn't have an answer and he hated himself all the more for it.

Jexel continued, noting the fatigue and heavy breathing his former friend suffered from the Keyblade. "Nothin' to say, eh? Guess that's all there is to it. Once I'm through with you, I'm going to kill the old man, and then I'll kill Vanitas. After that, I'm going to kill your other two friends and I'm going to do it nice and slow. Take that to your grave you treasonous bastard!"

Jexel hurtled the crystal pikes from his arms in blindingly fast motions and Ven deflected every one as he leapt forward to close the distance between them. There wasn't much room to maneuver within the walkway of the ship's brig, so all Ven could count on for victory was getting in close-range. Jexel understood this and quickly discharged another salvo of lethal shards, but even with so little space to maneuver, the blonde Keybearer kept his old friend guessing by scaling and ricocheting from cell gate to cell gate. As his namesake would suggest, Ventus was a master of using the air to enhance his own speed and agility. Airborne, Ven swung a mighty burst of Aeroga, blasting the crystalmancer off his feet and against the cell gate just beside him.

He was still on his feet. Ven needed him down. Not injured—just down. And so Ven touched the ground mere feet away from the young pirate, charged Wayward with just enough lightning to render him unconscious, and thrust the rusted Keyblade for Jexel's torso. But an instant before contact, the crystalmancer erected two meter-long javelins from his forearms, crossed them in x-formation to catch the Keyblade in its grasp, and thrust his arms upward to throw off Ven's aim. The lightning discharged harmlessly overhead, the erratic sparks illuminating Ven's shock and Jexel's rage. The Keybearer still held the cutlass in his other hand. The young pirate was soon aware of this and feared for his life. But when he caught his old friend's hesitation, he protruded a third pike from his knee and thrust for Ven's ribs. Panicked, Ven leapt backward in time to escape with only a shallow gash in his side. He clutched it with the cutlass hand as he backed into the parallel cell door just behind.

Jexel afforded a brief smile in the fleeting victory. See that, Jex? —he thought to himself—He bleeds like all the rest. Just like Ven here told you in the Etherium: "If it bleeds, it dies." Then Jexel caught Ventus muttering a spell as he passed his fingers over the wound and a radiant green light shone from the gash, healing it within seconds. Jexel frowned. Oh yeah. He can do that. $# %.

A brief stare-down—a lone green eye met a pair of blue—and then the Keybearer and the crystalmancer charged for each other, weapons blazing and sparks scattering as metal and crystal clashed and the two warriors sped to and fro. At a point, his back turned, Jexel sheathed a blade from his forearm and just as quickly drew it from the back of his elbow. The crystallic lance grazed a few hairs from Ven's head before he blocked with the cutlass. Jexel repeated the strike with the other elbow and again was caught, but by the Keyblade. The crystalmancer's back now completely exposed, Ven kicked him at the base of his spine, applying a strong gust of wind to throw him to the far end of the hall, out into a more open room. By the sight of how he tumbled and crashed through the alley, Ven initially feared the worst for his friend, but stood bitterly relieved to see him climb to his feet seconds later. There was bloodlust in the pirate's one eye.

Ven was growing noticeably wearier as the fight progressed. Vanitas was right; the pentacle inscribed on the Keybearer's back meant to cloak his presence in darkness, combined with having neglected Wayward for the last two months, was steadily burning away the boy's energy as the two forces conflicted over him. They were fighting each other for Ven—heart, mind, spirit, and body—manifesting in the boy's utter exhaustion. And though his muscles ached and his eyes grew heavy, young Ventus refused to be carved apart by the forces meant to serve him—not slay him—and he raised the Keyblade and cutlass once more as he used the wind to propel himself forward to Jexel's position.

Arms and blades drawn back in unison, Ven released an unexpectedly vigorous scream as he swung at Jexel while riding the airstream. At the speed he travelled, the impact from blocking the Keybearer's blades was enough to momentarily displace Jexel's footing. The current died and Ven skidded behind the young pirate, immediately turning and thrusting forth both weapons to his back.

"Thunder!" The surging bolts concentrated on Jexel's back, prompting a pained cry from him as he was knocked once again from his feet. Ventus doubled over in fatigue, catching himself with his blades against the floorboards. Sweat fell profusely from his body as he gasped for air. But he looked up again and saw Jexel using his own weapons to reclaim his foothold. Ventus clenched his teeth and fired again: "Thunder!"

But the searing bolts were obstructed by a crystal shield Jexel formed, affixed to his left forearm, where the javelin was once secured. After the failed attack, Ven collapsed to his knees, his weapons barely able to support him from being held by such shaky arms. He felt his insides drying, dying. Felt his own life being sapped from him with every passing motion he spent while both the light and darkness battled for control within him. The crystalmancer was gaining on him and Ven knew he had to demand this sacrifice from his body if he wished to live. Weakly, he stood as much as he could and raised Wayward and the cutlass once more.

"Thun—" but Jexel, now within arms' reach, swatted the two weapons to either side and out of Ven's grasp, formed a crystallic plate over his forehead, and head-butted Ventus with it. Hard. The exhausted Keybearer fell helplessly backward, his balance lost and the floor rising to meet him. But Jexel caught the boy by his collar before he could hit the ground and held him in place as he pummeled him further with a crystal-encased fist. Face—ribs—jaw—neck—in seconds, Ven was reduced to a broken sack of flesh and bone, bloodied and on the brink of eternity.

Jexel examined the half-corpse in his grasp, wondering just how conscious of pain it was. How he craved to make Ventus suffer every form of hell imaginable and destroy him by his own hand. But it's not the same…this was supposed to be my victory! Why did it have to be some other force that weakened him first?!

Whether it was pity or bitterness in defeat that inspired him, the young demi-Heartless decided it was time to end it. If I can't be the one to truly defeat him, I'll at least make this personal. —And so, Jexel converted the crystallic plate on his forehead into a straightened horn as he raised Ven to eye-level. He drew his head back and prepared for one final thrust forward. Goodbye, my first—and last—friend.

Ventus' eyes were near swollen shut, but he knew the end was upon him. Jexel…I'm sorry for the pain I caused you. And Terra…Aqua…I've been running from you for so long…I wish could've seen you both just one last time… The blonde Keybearer's eyelids closed, sealing off all light. The last sight was of heartbroken Jexel preparing to thrust his horned head forward.

Then, the sound of flesh splitting, bone crunching. Gore splashed and streamed down Ven's face.