Somehow it didn't surprise Ven that when he became aware of his surroundings, he was laying on a stained glass window depicting him. It had a soft, green color to it and he could see Aqua, Terra, Sora and even Roxas up in the corner. Huh, it had changed from last time.

He felt more than heard or saw something come whistling towards his head and instinct kicked in, causing him to dodge roll out of the way. He managed to turn around mid roll and came to his feet facing his enemy as his Keyblade appeared in his hand. The blond wasn't sure what to feel when he saw Vanitas, but it wasn't happiness. It wasn't surprise either, but more of a disgust maybe?

He didn't know, and he didn't really have time to think about it as Vanitas attacked again and he found himself on the defensive. Something was off about the other boy though. The Vanitas Ven remembered had been power personified, and his skill had proven masterful even. This Vanitas swung his Keyblade wildly, sloppily. Ven frowned. Was this what Sora meant when he said they would never be the same again? Never be whole? The person before him looked something more like a crazed animal than he did another side of his sentience. The change was...jarring.

At first Ven fought him off, considering it to be moderately difficult fight, if only because of the other's speed (the one aspect of Vanitas' fighting that didn't decrease). After a while, though, he started to realize the parallels between this and his last fight with the entity. They were tiring, and Ven's skill would help him win in the end, but then they'd be right back at square one. This couldn't end like that, with him destroying and scattering his other half's heart on the planes of the graveyard.

"Vanitas!" he called out as the boy came in for another attack. He still had Sora's face and seeing that expression on it wasn't pleasant. He focused on it anyway. "We need to stop this!"

"Why?!" the other snarled. "Why should I acknowledge your weakness?!"

At that Ven frowned and managed a mighty push back. "If I'm so weak, then why did I beat you last time?"

Vanitas growled. "Lucky shot." But his eyes didn't spark with recognition and his brow had furrowed in confusion. Ven's frowned deepened.

"You don't remember, do you?"

The other practically snarled. "I don't need to! All I know is that I need to destroy you!"

To say Ven was puzzled would be a rather large understatement. Just what was going on? Nothing made any sense at all, whatsoever.

"Wait," he called as he tried to wrap his head around that. Vanitas, of course didn't wait. Instead he attacked again. Ven tried to think around that anyway. "Why are you trying to kill me then?"

"Because I hate you!"

The blond shook his head. "Why?"

"I don't know! I just do!"

But that made no sense. Why would his other half hate him for no reason? Unless it was some sort of basal instinct? But Ven didn't get those kinds of instinct. Was that because he was a being of light...or was it something else. Ven often felt guilty, but it rarely went beyond that. Was Vanitas feeling, somehow...more?

"I defeated you," he commented as he swiped his own Keyblade, dodged and then parried again. "I proved I'm stronger...so why? We need to merge together to heal! That's the only way we can live on our own again."

"I don't need you!"

"Yes you do!"

Vanitas' mouth set in a disgusted grimace. "Your weakness almost got us killed!"

"And yours didn't?" he shot back, realizing and not caring how his own attacks had started to become more aggressive.

"I tried to save us!"

Ventus paused for just a moment, still managing to duck the next swing, but it was a near thing. "I thought you didn't remember."

"It's coming back," the other boy smirked. "If I would have succeeded, we would have been whole and you would have remained in our body. You wanted me gone! Even the thought of me disgusts you now!"

Ven flipped back and away, landing on his feet and holding the Keyblade in front of him, still in its reverse grip as he scrutinized his other self.

"You wanted the X-blade! You would have destroyed Aqua and Terra over it!"

"But not us."

"You tried to destroy me!" Ventus protested, although it sounded weaker than he'd realized. "Here in the Keyblade Graveyard even!" Well, the badlands outside of the graveyard, but still. Mickey had had to come and save him.

"Did I? Or was I just pushing you to become stronger?!"

The words took him back. Wasn't that what Sora had said? That overcoming the evil inside made someone stronger? Vanitas was his evil, wasn't he? For several seconds they just stared at each other, blinking, while they both thought about the implications of that.

"Why did you want me to get stronger?" Then he answered his own question. "So we could fight and you could get the X-blade!" This was really starting to frustrate Ventus. Was Sora even right? Had this really been the correct choice? They didn't seem to be getting anywhere. "Why did you even want it?"

"Because then no one could challenge us!" Vanitas screamed as he came charging again. "We would be safe from the pain the Master put us through!"

And suddenly, it all clicked in Ventus' mind.

He blocked Vanitas' Keyblade again but his heart wasn't really in it. "You never had any intention of giving it to him."

Vanitas grit his teeth and pushed Ven forward before taking another swing and retreating again. "Of course not! He destroyed us! Tore us apart! Caused us untold pain!"

"Why did you team up with him then?" Ventus asked, genuinely curious.

"Because he was stronger at the time. He was the smart choice."

Ventus' eyes widened. "Until you got what you wanted."

"And then you had to go and throw it all away!" Vanitas yelled again, coming in for yet another attack. This time, though, Ventus could see past the front. Every negative emotion—every dark thing about him as a whole human had been personified in Vanitas. That included anger and hate and rage, true, but it also included fear and insecurity and a myriad of other things that really Ven could only vaguely remember feeling. Yes he felt pain, but it had been mostly physical for a long time. Oh, he could still feel emotionally (like when he thought of Aqua and Terra and Master Eraqus and how many people could possibly get hurt because of him) but somehow, he knew that it was nothing compared to what the being before him felt.

For the first time, he really understood what Sora meant when he said he wasn't whole. And so he didn't raise his Keyblade as the other boy swung down.

Vanitas' yellow eyes rose in shock and Ventus found it funny that he didn't feel any pain at all as the blade slashed right through him, stopping about half way. The hilt stood out from his chest, blade buried firmly in it, and Vent realized for the first time that it was his own, old Wayward Wind. He didn't know who was more surprised by his actions at this point, himself or Vanitas—him or his other self.

And he really needed to say that aloud.

Reaching up, he put his hands on Vanitas' shoulders. "I am you and you are me," he said slowly. "I'm not perfect. I never claimed I was. But, together, we can get better. I despise darkness about as much as you despise the light," and that drew a snort from his black-haired counterpart, but he continued on. "But there has to be a balance, or neither one of us will ever be as strong as we need to be to keep living."

Vanitas didn't look too happy at that. "I don't need you. I can become strong without you."

That was a lie and they both knew it.

Ventus managed a smile—a real one even—and he leaned forward, ignoring the handle of the blade still inside him. Strangely enough, it didn't hurt.

"Please, come home."

Yellow eyes met blue and searched them for several seconds before he slumped down.

"You'd better not make me regret this," he said as he vanished into a haze of color. The resulting mist (or whatever it was supposed to be, aura maybe?) dissipated and streamed towards Ventus, who accepted it with all his being.

The pain returned not a moment later, and the next thing he knew he was waking up in the Keyblade Graveyard with Sora peering down at him worriedly. Instantly, Ven's hand went to his chest, rubbing at the echo of the pain that still lingered there. Then he noticed how his heart felt...different. Bigger somehow. Darker, most definitely, but better too. There was a lot of emotional pain, the likes of which he hadn't felt (had only felt) for decades. That wasn't a pleasant feeling, but there was also a stability there that hadn't been apart of him for almost twenty years.

"This...is going to take some getting used to," he muttered as he continued to rub at his chest. Then he glanced up at Sora. "There are a lot of issues I'm going to have to find a way to work through, aren't there." Betrayal by any figure in authority (Eraqus and Xehanort), his being manipulated and mutilated by someone he thought he could trust, watching his friends spiral down to their own personal prisons, seeing so many other people hurt because of him and the Unversed...

"Yes," Sora said, that strange thrumming from the Keyblades around them still accompanying him. "It won't be simple and it won't be easy, but now you have a chance if you decide to take it."

Ventus nodded. "Thanks, Sora."

The other boy grinned. "Don't mention it."

That reminded him of Sora and he couldn't help but relax a little at that. For a few moments he studied the boy in front of him. He didn't look any different, but there was still something about him that seemed to give off power and light. Really, he shouldn't be surprised. Such was always easy to see in Sora, even if it seemed more focused and intense now.

After a few minutes of silence while Ventus acclimatized himself to being more whole, he finally decided to ask the question rushing through his mind.

"Alright, so what do we do now? And what about Roxas and Xion?"

Sora cocked his head to the side in thought. "Roxas will return to you when this is over. Xion may as well. Neither one of them have the ability at the moment to construct a body. It is not just something anyone can do. I myself took the form of a child who would have otherwise died—who had died."

Roxas gulped uneasily. "You mean, the real Sora...died?"

The X-blade looked down sadly. "Yes."

"Wait, does that mean Xehanort was wrong? You do have parents here? At least of your physical body."

Sora nodded. "Yes. In a sense, because they raised me, and my spirit resides in a body created from their own, they are indeed my parents. I had difficulty remembering them because of who I am...of what I am. I inherently remember those I've formed connections with through their hearts more easily, so that's what stayed with me."

Ven frowned. "You haven't made connections with them through your heart?"

"Not like I did with Riku and Kairi—Kairi who is a Princess of Heart and Riku who inherited the power of the Keyblade."

"Oh," Ven replied. Then he thought about it for a minute. Sora let him, thankfully, not interrupting. "So they don't know...about you, I mean?"

Sora shook his head sadly. "No. I doubt they would even understand. Besides, I don't see them...often."

That still didn't seem quite...right to Ven for some reason. He didn't remember his parents, but if Aqua or Terra was hiding something like that from him... "You should still try and explain it to them."

It was Sora's turn to frown. "That...would hurt them, and I would like to avoid that, even if I got the original Sora's blessing to take this form before he moved on."

"Wait, you stole the original Sora's body? And he agreed to it?" Ven asked, surprised—and a little disgusted.

The X-blade looked offended. "I just said I stole nothing. Sora gave me permission. I would not have taken this form otherwise."

Ven supposed he could see that, even if it still made him uneasy. "Oh. You can touch souls like that?"

At that Sora nodded. "Special ones. Should his spirit ever return to this realm, then the body I have taken care of will be returned to him. Until such a time, I use it to try and save the worlds."

The blond tried to wrap his head around that and ended up shuddering. "I still think that's creepy."

"I had no other choice."

"There's always a choice."

The brunet raised one eyebrow dryly. "You're right, I could have let the worlds fall to darkness and become even more fractured than they already are due to the war Xehanort will create if he ever uses me and the power I represent."

Well, when he put it like that... Still didn't mean Ventus had to like it.

He decided to change the subject. "So what do we do about Xehanort then?"

Sora stayed silent for a moment and Ven shifted awkwardly. Then the X-blade seemed to come to a decision as he approached Ven and put a hand on his shoulder. "First, we return to Destiny Islands."

And that quickly, they reappeared in the midst of a rather large meeting between, well, everyone.

"Sora!" Riku, Kairi, Donald and Goofy shouted.

At the same time, Terra, Aqua and Mickey yelled, "Ven!" Everyone dived forward...which ended in a rather awkward tangle of limbs and aching heads because neither Sora nor Ven were corporeal at the moment.

"Hey, guys!" Sora said brightly as he leaned down over them. Secretly, Ven couldn't help but feel glad the other boy didn't talk in that strange voice anymore. Then Sora looked at Aqua. "Did you get Ven's body?"

"Yes," Aqua replied, allowing Riku to give her a hand back up to her feet and brushing herself off. Then she pointed off to the side where Ven's form lay against the tree. "Will he be alright?"

"He is right here, Aqua," Ven spoke up before anyone else could, rather annoyed. Really, she should be able to see him. She looked a little sheepish though, so he brushed it off and turned to Sora.

"Is there anything special I need to do?"

"Just come with me," Sora said floating over to Ven's body. Ven didn't know whether he was floating or walking like normal, and he didn't look down to find out. He'd had enough strange experiences thank you very much. Besides, he really didn't want to go all mystical and float too if he could help it.

"Alright," Ven said as he walked to stand next to the personification of the X-blade. "Now what?"

"Close your eyes," Sora said softly. "Feel for that connection you have with yourself. Once you find it—"

A bright flash had everyone looking away and then back. When they did, only the transparent Sora remained in front of Ven's body, looking down at the sleeping figure with a satisfied smirk. For several seconds no one moved as they all waited with baited breath, and for several seconds Ventus didn't move.

And then, finally, mercifully, a finger twitched. Then his arm rose and rubbed at his face.

"Muh...where am I?" he asked groggily.

"Ven!" Aqua almost squealed as she shot forward and wrapped her arms around her brother figure. Terra was right on her heels and enfolded them both in his large embrace.

"Terra? Aqua?" Ven asked in confusion. "Where...where are...? Wait...the island! Sora! The X-blade! Xehanort! Roxas! Xion! We have to help them!"

The blue-haired girl could only chuckle.

"Typical Ven," Terra murmured, a large smile on his own face. "You haven't changed a bit."

At that, Ven pulled away and looked them both squarely in the eyes, expression sombre. "Yes, I have. I'm not going to be the boy you remember. You have to know that."

The two older wielders exchanged glances. "Ven, what do you mean?" Aqua asked slowly, worriedly.

Ven glanced up at Sora. "With his help, I found what was left of Vanitas and I...merged with him."

Aqua gasped and put a hand over her mouth. "Ven, why would you do that?" Terra's eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement, but he didn't say anything so Ven answered Aqua.

"Vanitas came from me originally—was a part of me, whether I liked it or not. If I ever want to grow, I can't run from what he represents, I have to face it and overcome it and become stronger. How I am now is stable, or more stable in any case. I might even be able to live my own life after this."

"Wasn't it a risk, though?" Terra asked, his own voice quiet with worry.

Ventus snorted. "Of course it was a risk. It was also the right thing to do, no matter how I may not like it. Guys, I feel like I'm healing—really healing—for the first time since Xehanort's experiment. Besides, I'm going to have you two with me to straighten me out, right?"

The other two still didn't look too sure, but they did both smile.

"Right," they agreed simultaneously.

"Oh, Ventus," a new, high-pitched voice from off to the side drew his attention. He looked down to see King Mickey. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Ven returned the little king's smile. "Thanks, Your Majesty."

"Call me Mickey," he said with a grin and included the whole trio in that.

"This is all well and good," yet another voice cut in and everyone turned to the tall red-head that Ventus hadn't been introduced to yet, "but we do have a bad-guy to take out."

"It's great that Sora was able to help you," Riku said, "but I agree with Lea. We need to figure out how to stop Xehanort."

"Right!"

And, like the good little soldiers they were, Aqua and Terra practically snapped to attention. Ventus didn't like it in the least, but he did see the necessity of putting all that aside and working together. He didn't much care for the resentment he suddenly felt and decided he'd have to file that away for later. Somehow, he felt he had still underestimated how difficult this whole 'healing' process would take.

"Um, about that," Sora spoke up a little sheepishly.

"I know that look," Kairi said, putting her hands on her hips. "What's wrong?"

"Well, because it's the body I've been inhabiting, I kind of have to be part of whatever drives him out."

That got immediate responses from just about everyone.

"What?!"

"No way!"

"Are you crazy?!"

"Did you miss the part about the bad guy using you to take over the universe?"

"Guys!" Sora said as loudly as he could. Only then could Ven notice the slight echo in his voice. A mental projection of some sort? He wasn't actually using sounds, was he? He was a spirit at this point after all...

Ventus shook the thought from his mind. Focus. Unsurprisingly, his head felt like it was constantly being pulled in two different directions. It wasn't terrible, but it was rather...distracting.

"Guys, I have to be in there or no one will be able to drive him out," Sora insisted.

At that point, Lea broke in again. "Then how do we stop Mr. Tall-White-And-Jerky from using you?"

"Yeah, it's too risky, Sora," Riku agreed.

The brunet shook his head. "No, guys, it has to be that way. But, I think I have an answer. Look, we beat all of the Xehanorts, right?" Everyone nodded. "Right, so Lea, is Isa awake yet?"

Lea frowned. "No." He shot a worried look over to his friend.

"It's because Xehanort still has ties to them. Those links are considerably more fragile than they used to be but they're there. I can sense them. He's using their energy to anchor himself."

"He didn't need to do that when he took my body over," Terra protested. "Why does he need other energy now? And does that mean he still has some tie to me?" Ven could here the slight waver in his voice that most people would have missed. He realized that Terra was scared. That bothered him. He'd never seen Terra scared before.

Up until that point, Ven didn't think anyone else had really seen Sora like he had. After taking refuge in his heart and seeing him like he had in the Keyblade Graveyard, he had a unique perspective that no one else did. In the graveyard, he'd stopped speaking like Sora, and it wasn't just the crazy, multiple voice either. The actions had still been there, but the vocabulary and inflections had changed.

Once they'd gotten back to the island, Sora had reverted to his more familiar, simpler way of speaking, except for a slip up every now and then. 'Considerably more fragile'? Yeah, definitely not Sora-like. But it had just been a few words and phrases here and there, nothing overt or blaring.

But when he looked at Terra right then, it almost seemed as if it wasn't Sora at all. Again, his appearance hadn't changed, per se, but Ven didn't think anyone could deny the difference.

" In regards to his ties to you, Terra of the Earthshaker, they could very well exist, but they would be to your body if they are there at all. You have made your own mind and heart immune to him.

"As for why he needs more energy now, there are several reasons. First, this is not his original body nor is it a jump from his original body. Thus he requires more energy. Second, there are at least two separate entities opposing him. They will ultimately fail, but are currently holding him at bay and that will cost him. Third, even mental energy cannot last indefinitely and he needs replenishment until he can gain a solid hold in that body."

For several seconds on one spoke and everyone seemed to only be able to stare in shock at Sora. Then, everyone exchanged glances with everyone else. Ven felt a stab of vindication. At least he wasn't the only one creeped out by that.

"Right," Mickey spoke up, breaking the silence. "What do we do?"

And Sora was back again, smiling that goofy smile at the little king. "Sorry about that. Kind of gets the better of me sometimes. What I need you all to do is anchor me."

Kairi frowned and asked the question first. "What do you mean, anchor?"

"Well, I'm connected to everyone through their Keyblades, right?" More nods all around the circle. "Everyone needs to stand in a circle and point their Keyblades at the person who will dive into...er...well, me, and I'll show you how to anchor me to them."

"Dive? Y' mean like Riku did during the Mastery exam?" Goofy asked.

Sora nodded. "A lot like that, yeah. Anyone who's an anchor will reach through their Keyblade and I'll reach back. Then I need them to hold me to whoever is there fighting Xehanort. With at least six people and a wielder, that should be more than enough to keep me away from him, no matter what summoning spell he has."

"Wait," Aqua spoke this time, looking puzzled from her place under the tree and near Ven (he suspected she wanted to stay out of the sun because she'd been in the darkness for so long that her skin would burn to say the least). "So whoever dives into you will be using you—the X-blade—to fight Xehanort?"

Sora blinked for a moment as if that should have been obvious. "Yes."

"This is the real battle, isn't it?" Mickey asked quietly. Everyone turned to him. He seemed to be watching the sand in front of him as if it held all the secrets of the universe. "Seven hearts of light and thirteen of darkness."

The X-blade nodded slowly. "Yes. The only reason I can be here and whole as I am is because all of the hearts came into play. I had to bring Aqua here from the realm of darkness," he nodded towards her but kept his eyes on the mouse, "but I could only do that because Terra, Ven and you still had your connection to her. The connections are the key. All of the shards have been joined together, and I am once again reforged."

"I thought you already were," Ven said, unable to help himself. Somehow he doubted they'd be able to get more answers later, and having answers definitely appealed to him. Even if they could get answers later, he didn't see a point in not getting some now.

Sora frowned and the strange voice continued when he spoke. "To an extent. But, much like you, I had been shattered and could not be fully whole until all of the shards had been collected."

"I dunno," Lea said skeptically. "Everyone being here and connected and everything that's happened...it seems like an awful lot of coincidences."

Sora smiled at him, an old, knowing smile that wasn't Sora at all. "And yet, here we are, as it was destined to be."

Lea frowned but kept silent.

"Alright," Riku said, drawing attention back to the task at hand. "So someone will go and fight Xehanort in, more or less, the ultimate battle of light and dark while everyone else stays here and makes sure Xehanort can't get to Sora, right?"

"Right," Sora responded with a firm nod. Ven just wished he'd make up his mind about that strange, mystical voice.

"Then I volunteer to be the one to dive."

Instantly the entire group protested...loudly. Ven just sighed and shrank back a little. After so long with only himself, and then just Xion and Roxas for company, so many people felt overwhelming, especially when each one seemed determined to argue with someone else.

"Alright, now, that's enough!" King Mickey finally yelled and managed to get everyone's attention. When the beach had finally calmed down enough, he spoke again. "That's better. Now, I'm sure everyone wants to have a chance to take out Xehanort. Honestly, everyone here is more than qualified. Either you're Keyblade Masters," he nodded to Aqua and Riku, "or pretty doggone close." He gestured to Kairi, Lea, Ven and Terra. "But only one of us can dive, right Sora?"

The specter nodded. "More than one or two more people in my mind could destroy it. I'd...rather avoid that."

"Right," Mickey said with a firm nod of his head. "So, we'll go around the circle and have everyone say why they should be the one to wield the X-blade," he looked over at Sora who nodded back, "to fight him. Riku? Why don't you start."

The white-haired boy sitting next to Mickey nodded, jaw tight as he stood. "Xehanort, in one form or another, destroyed my island, tricked me into joining the darkness and turn against my best friends, tried to steal my body (actually succeeded for a while), haunted my mind and changed the form of my body. He then tried to imprison my best friend and has been terrorizing worlds and people I've become good friends with. Also, I've stopped his nobody before and that's why I should be the one to fight him." He looked around the circle of warriors, eyes hard, before he sat down and Kairi stood rigidly.

"He destroyed my island too, after he and Maleficent also destroyed the world I grew up in—the world I was supposed to lead in the future, which may or may not happen at this point. He then forced my heart to flee its body and take refuge simply so I wouldn't become a tool of the darkness. It didn't work and the keyhole had to be opened anyway. He or his lackeys," she shot a glare at Lea who looked rather offended, "have kidnapped me on at least three separate occasions and tormented my friends when all I could do was watch. I'm sick of watching and I've trained just as hard as anyone here to get the strength I need to take him on, so I would like to be the one to fight him."

She said that last part with more than a little fervor but sat down calmly as Lea, who happened to be sitting next to her, stood.

"Yeah, well, Radiant Garden was my home too. He ruined it and everyone who lived there either became heartless, died or fled. I couldn't flee and I didn't die. Might have been nicer. Ended up as a nobody and Xehanort had me and my best friend do his dirty work. Then he back-stabbed us, let my nobody die, imprisoned my first best friend after sending me to kill the second. Then he tried to turn Isa into one of his stinking darknesses! I know how he fights and I totally deserve this. Got it memorized?"

Aqua knelt next to Lea and stood as stoically as ever as he sat back down. "I don't remember much of the last decade because I've been stuck, unaging, in the dark realm. Before that, he made me watch as my brothers in arms—the people I accepted as my family—were systematically targeted and mutilated in body, spirit and heart. He also struck my master down on top of everything else. In all honesty, though, I feel I should be the one to fight Xehanort because I am a Keyblade Master. I would do this whether he had wronged me or not, if it becomes my duty. Going into a battle angry will not serve us and I know I have the discipline to fight and win. Thank you."

Ven sat next to Aqua. When everyone turned to him, he just shook his head. Everyone else had it so much worse than having to sleep inside a safe, sheltered heart for a few decades.

Terra looked Ven over worriedly before he stood. "Xehanort tore my heart and mind from my body before he used it to wreak his evil on the world. All of his experiments, the heartless and nobodies, were all done by these hands." He held them out and looked at them as if they disgusted him. "This body became a heartless and a nobody. These hands helped to tear the worlds apart and snuff out stars. These hands were the ones that tortured each and every one of you...and I am so sorry that I wasn't strong enough then. I would like the chance to prove that I am strong enough now."

A heavy silence fell as he seated himself next to Ven again. Donald and Goofy sat next, each of them looking rather put-out that they wouldn't be able to join. Neither one spoke, though, and that brought them back to Mickey.

"Gosh," he said sadly, "everyone has good reasons. Compared to everyone here, my life's been pretty tame. I've had to fight against Xehanort and his evil without knowing anything about him. I've seen the worlds that have been taken by the heartless and I've been inside the darkness of Kingdom Hearts, but that's about the worst that's happened to me."

With a slow shake of his head, he turned to look at Sora.

"What do you think, Sora?"

The X-blade glanced at everyone, eyes just as sad as the King's.

"You all have good reasons to want to fight Xehanort. But I think that Ven should do it."

The blond in question jumped and stared at Sora, flabbergasted. Why had he said that?

"What?!"

"Why?!" Several people yelled. Sora just raised a hand. After a few moments, it quieted down enough that he was able to keep talking.

"You're all forgetting a few things. Riku and Terra, you were both tricked into giving up your freedom. Kairi, you were taken again and again and used for your innate power. Aqua and Lea, you both spent far too much time in the realm of darkness, trapped inside a foreign place that you couldn't escape. But you are all sitting here, maybe not as happy or as carefree as you used to be, but still whole. Ven..." he shot an apologetic glance at the teen. "Will probably never be. That hole in your heart will always be something you have to work around. One day, it might heal, but it's more likely that it won't. You were his first pupil and by far his worst off. You have just as much skill as anyone else here, and you will be able to use me better because you've been with me since this all started."

Everyone just seemed to stare at either Sora or Ven.

"Well?" King Mickey asked as he walked up to Ven. "What do you think?"

Really Ven just wanted to bury himself under the sand at his feet. "I—I'm...how can I be the best choice?! I'm not even a Master!"

"Says who?" Sora asked, looking extremely amused.

"I was never given the mark of mastery!"

"By your master, no. But I've seen you fight and I know what you're capable of. As the representative of all Keyblades, I give you the mark of Mastery."

"Wait, you can't do that, Sora!" Riku protested. "You don't have the Mark yourself."

"As Sora, no. As the X-blade, why wouldn't I be qualified?"

Ven could tell that the proclamation made Riku and Kairi uneasy. It just served as a reminder that they didn't have any real knowledge as to how this would turn out—how it should turn out.

"B-but...what if I don't want to be the one to do it?" Ven heard himself ask and shrunk back when everyone turned their attention back to him.

Sora stepped (floated?) forward and knelt down in front of him, a soft smile on his transparent face. "Then you don't have to do it. Just know that I have every faith in you. You have the most motivation and the purest intentions."

"How can I?" Ven protested. "I hate him! I hate what he did to me!" It felt relieving somehow to say. He hadn't felt anything like this in...well, two decades if Sora was to be believed, and Ven most certainly was not used to it. Acknowledging it felt...freeing, even if it wasn't a hundred percent accurate, because Ven could still feel that part of him that cared for his old master. He didn't want to feel that. Not after everything that had happened, so he focused on the unfamiliar (totally familiar) negativity. "I want him to suffer the way I do!"

The look of sadness that crossed Sora's face stopped him from saying any more.

"He is."

Sora must have seen the look of surprise and disbelief on everyone's face because he went on, speaking in what Ven was quickly coming to term his "Keyblade Voice".

"He manifested a Keyblade. He was a good soul once. His desperate need to control everything around him—to hold and maintain the light—is what led him to this point. In pursuit of his goal, he mutilated his soul, heart and mind beyond repair. He gave up his body and now exists as little more than a parasite clinging to his original goal. I hope that in defeating him, he will be able to gain peace along with everyone else because he has suffered for his decisions far more than anyone else." His gaze didn't gain an ounce of accusation when he looked pointedly at Ven. "Including you."

Then the sides of his mouth turned up slightly although no mirth crept into the expression, it only made him look more grim. "And I know you know it."

Ven turned away because, well, it was true. He'd had a lot of time to think about everything that had happened, and hearing his suspicions confirmed didn't erase the pain from his own heart, but it did stop him from wanting to cause the man more.

"But...what if I don't succeed?" Ven managed to ask, feeling small and weak. He brought his hands together, wringing them simply because it gave him something to focus on other than their conversation.

"What do ya mean,'what if you don't succeed'?" Lea suddenly spoke up, exasperated. "That's what we're here for, to make sure you do."

"Don't think we'd let you do this alone," Terra affirmed.

"I believe in you," Aqua said with a smile.

"But..." Ven started, unsure of what to say after that.

"Oh, we're not happy about it," Terra assured him, frowning and crossing his arms. "I'd love to have a shot at the guy. But if Sora says you're the best person, then I believe it."

Aqua nodded. "It's one of the first lessons we learned, remember? Trust your Keyblade."

Ven did remember. He remembered Master Eraqus' drilling it into their heads over and over again. Ven had asked if that meant Keyblades were intelligent. Eraqus had responded that no one knew for sure, but they definitely had a will of their own, usually far more pure and true than their human counterparts.

"You cannot go into this unsure. If you still do not believe that you are the best candidate, then choose another."

The blond was sure the dread he felt was visible for all to see. "Wait, why me? Why not you?"

"I made my choice. I will comply with whatever you decide now."

He looked around at everyone there and they all stared back. After a few moments, he glanced over at Riku and Kairi. They hadn't said much the whole time.

"What about you guys?"

Kairi blinked and exchanged glances with Riku.

"Us?"

"Yeah," Ven said. "What do you think about me fighting Xehanort instead of you?"

Kairi sighed and deflated ever so slightly. Riku just shook his head.

"We trust Sora's judgment."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Donald asked, obviously trying to lighten the mood.

Sora, in all his maturity, stuck his tongue out. Donald, in equal measure, returned the gesture. Kairi giggled at the byplay and Riku rolled his eyes. Both looked better—lighter—for it.

"He may be an idiot—"

"Hey!" Well, at least the Sora voice was back.

"But," Riku continued, his features softening, "I don't know anyone who has a purer heart. If he says you can do it, I believe him."

Kairi nodded. "What he said. We've never been given any reason to doubt him...or you."

"So, what do you say, Ven?" Sora asked one final time.

Ven looked around, and while the uncertainty hadn't vanished, he really could see and feel everyone's support of him. For the first time he honestly and truly felt like he could do this, and that maybe if he did, he could really finish healing.

As if to banish his final, lingering doubts, he glanced up at Sora.

"You really think I can do this?"

The boy smiled. "Yes, Ven, I do."

Ven's eyes narrowed for a moment. Something in the other's expression was off. He almost seemed...triumphant in a way. After a moment, he realized what it must mean.

"You knew this was how it would be, didn't you? From the beginning."

Sora nodded once. "Some things are destined to be."

Ven sighed and shook his head. "Alright, I'll do it, but on one condition."

"What is it?" Sora asked, cocking his head to one side in puzzlement.

"Stop using that voice. If I'm going into that fight, I'm going in there with Sora—the Sora who freely gave his heart so I could live—the Sora I've come to know up until this point."

If anything, the brunet looked elated. "Anything you say, boss," he said and put out his hand. Ven eyed it for a moment, wondering if he could even touch it. Then he figured it didn't really matter in the end anyway, reached out and made as if to shake. He was surprised when he did feel something there, but he took it in stride and shook it firmly.

"Alright!" Sora said, turning around. "Let's beat Xehanort once and for all!"

Everyone heartily agreed.

xXx

Seriously, thank Lexik.