"Why do I look like you? Why do you look like me?" the man said arrogantly as he chuckled at his own remark. As he began to sit down, he placed the knife back on the table, and continued to drink his tea.

The awkwardness of the situation grew as no one said a word. Roxas was still trying to piece together what was happening while the gentleman tried to enjoy his tea peacefully. The man looked back at Roxas, amazed that he hadn't budged at all, and smiled at him. "Are you still standing?" he said jokingly.

"Huh?" Roxas replied unaware that he had zoned out for a while.

"Come on, Roxas, there's a seat next to me that practically has your name on it." The man gestured to a seat next to him signaling Roxas to sit down. Roxas walked over to his seat slowly wondering if this whole thing was a trap. As he got closer, he examined the chair and saw writing on it. It actually read "Roxas". The man wasn't lying. Roxas looked at the gentleman with a puzzled face. The man laughed at the look Roxas gave him. It was priceless. "What? You thought I was joking?."

Roxas sat down angrily on the chair, tired of the man's teasing. He clenched his fists, and banged on the table as hard as he could. "Stop laughing! Where am I? Why am I here? And why am I stuck here with you?" he screamed, implying that he had had enough.

The man grew silent almost immediately, but with a smile still intact. He placed his cup on the table and positioned his hands under his chin. "So many questions, which ones should you ask? If you ask the wrong questions, I will be of no help, but if you ask the right questions, you may find more than what you ask for."

Roxas looked at him, confused, but relieved that this man was finally taking all this seriously. "Who are you?" he asked since the question seemed to come to mind first.

The man put a grin on his face and disappeared in an instant, reappearing on a tree branch close to the table. He lay down on the branch and looked directly at Roxas with an even bigger grin. "My name is Ven V. Ventus, but you can call me Ven. Nice to make your acquaintance." He raised his arm up waving hello to Roxas, but Roxas was too astonished to speak a word, let alone wave back. "I see," Ven said, bringing his arm back, "You must be the roguish type, right Roxas?" He snickered as he stuck his tongue out at him.

Roxas took notice of this and finally asked Ven the million-dollar question. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

Ven laughed to himself quietly as he placed both hands on the sides of his head. He then gently removed his head, carrying it in one hand. "To tell him or not to tell him: is that the question?" Ven continued to juggle his head in one hand before finally putting it back intact. "Geez, I can't believe it took you this long to ask that. Well… let's just say... the roses sing your name in these parts."

Confused, Roxas decided to drop the subject, seeing that he would never get a straightforward answer from this person. Person. That reminded him of something. He looked at Ven closely and spotted his "wiggly friend" again.

"I see you've taken notice of my feline characteristics, but before you even think of ridiculing me, or my tail, maybe you should take a look at what you're wearing." Ven stated in a disapproving manner.

Roxas was surprised. He hadn't even thought of looking at what he was wearing. It never passed his mind. He looked at himself thoroughly. "A coat?"

"The most repulsive I've ever seen." Ven said with a giant smirk on his face.

Silence began to grow as the two kept to themselves for a moment. However, Roxas's mind seemed to be louder than ever. So many questions, yet so little answers. What was happening? Why was he wearing a long black coat? Who else…

"You know, when you asked why you were stuck with me, it really hurt." Ven admitted, sounding very insincere. "Anyways, that got me thinking, I'm sure you must be wondering if there are others here as well."

"Are there?" Roxas asked, hopeful that there were others.

"Well… I did see someone recently." Ven responded, teasing Roxas a bit. "A girl? No. A boy?" He vanishes only to reappear right next to Roxas who was still sitting on his seat. He put his lips close to Roxas's ear, forcing Ven to bring his voice to a whisper. "It all depends on how you view it."

Startled, Roxas jumped up from his seat and took a few steps away from this lunatic. What was this "cat" talking about, and why did this boy or girl sound so… important? Roxas put his hand on his head and closed his eyes, trying to subdue the pain that was starting to arise, but it was no use. "What's happening?" he thought to himself, trying to figure out why he felt this pain. He then started to remember someone. Someone who was wearing the same coat he was wearing. Someone who he spent a lot of time with; someone he referred to as… his best friend.

"Did I cause this?" Ven asked taking notice of the pain Roxas was in. "No of course not. It was that person. What was that name? Oh they nearly screamed it at me. Let's see… Neon? No, that can't be right. Xenon? Oh, I'm getting closer. I think it was…"

"Roxas…"

Roxas opened his eyes rapidly remembering who that someone was. "Xion!" He exclaimed. How could he have forgotten her? The one he cared for? The one he felt for? The one he treasured. His eyes began to tear up as he wondered where she was.

"Hey!" Ven said, rather disappointed. "I was going to say that! I mean her name came to my mind a little late, but I was going to…"

Roxas ran up to Ven and grabbed him by the shirt with his two hands, pinning him against the tree. "Where's Xion?" he screamed ferociously, saliva flying towards Ven's face.

"Where?" Ven inquired as he disappeared back to top of the tree branch. He lay on his back and turned his head to look at Roxas. "Where is such a big question for such a small problem." Ven turned his head to the other side and pointed to two pathways.

Roxas walked to the other side of the tree and saw the separated pathways. Where did each one lead? "Which one did she take?" Roxas asked rather impatiently wanting to find Xion to see if she was ok.

"This is your dilemma not mine, but therein lies my dilemma." Ven paused and then continued with a devilish grin. "If you prefer bravery, then that path will show you the way." He told him, pointing to the path on the left. "If you, however, favor repudiation," he said beginning to point to the path on the right, "then i assure you, it's that path." Ven began to sit on the branch looking down at Roxas. "No matter which you choose, you will find answers to the questions you seek." His body began to disappear leaving only his head visible. "The choices you make from hereon out will not only affect you, but those around you." He began to sway his head in a crazy manner with a big smirk on his face. "So many choices, which ones will you choose?" His head then disappeared, leaving no trace of him whatsoever.

Roxas looked at the branch where Ven was at and noticed that he had disappeared, "Hey wait!" he shouted expecting a reply. Sadly there was none. The only creature that could help him was now gone, leaving Roxas to wonder if he should even trust what Ven had said to him. "Should I even believe him?" He asked himself wondering what to do.

"Should you believe me?" Ven asked as his grin appeared in front of Roxas. "Or should you not believe me? I believe you'll make the right decision."

Roxas was somewhat happy that he had come back. "Ven!" he said sounding a little surprised. "Where do I go? What do I do? I don't know which path to take?" He stood there looking at the floor wanting answers. His once furious face turned gloomy and hopeless. All he wanted to do was find Xion. He wanted to hug her tightly and never let her go. He couldn't explain this feeling that came over him every time he thought of her. All he knew was that at that moment, he wanted to be with her, wherever she was.

"I can't help you there." Ven responded knowing fully that he could. "If I did, the crazy in me would not be having fun. Majority beats the minority." He laughs as his grin began to sway side to side again. His smirk began to fade away as he sang an eerie song, one that made Roxas feel very uneasy.

"Everyday for us,
Something is new,
Open mind,
For a different view,
And nothing else should matter,
To you."

By then, Ven's uncanny smile had faded away as well as his singing. He disappeared, once again, leaving Roxas alone to his thoughts. He looked at both pathways carefully. The answer was very obvious, but maybe the right answer isn't always right in these kinds of situations. "Bravery or repudiation? What did he mean by that?" Roxas pondered for a moment about his options. "Maybe... I'm supposed to go through the middle." He stood there thinking if that was the answer. "No, that's stupid. Only someone idiotic would think of that."

He looked at both pathways again, still trying to make up his mind. "Repudiation..." Roxas took his first steps towards his decision. He knew what was important, no matter what. "Repudiation... just causes problems." he said as he walked towards the left pathway. He was sure that this path would lead him to the right place because without bravery, he wouldn't be at the garden in the first place. He wouldn't have talked to Ven at all, but most importantly however, he would not have remembered the only light that ever lit his dark world. Xion.