The Boy Who Fell Through the World II
After leaving that strange castle, Ventus set off into the Lanes Between wandering for a bit before he came upon a familiar world.
The Keyblade Graveyard.
Deciding it was the best place to start, Ven entered the world where he had last seen his friends. The portal he emerged from was over the Badlands. He landed on a cliff, dismissing his armor and Keyblade a second later. Ventus took a moment to compose himself as the memories of what happened here ten years ago flashed in his mind.
While it may have actually been ten years ago, it was a mere day ago in his mind.
The memories of the fight, being frozen by Xehanort, watching as Aqua was struck down, fighting Vanitas before the dark being tried to forcefully merge back with him to forge the X-blade…
And after that, he remembered falling and hearing Aqua's voice.
Why did he hear her voice before fell asleep and again just before he woke up?
"What happened to us?" Ven wondered to himself as he made his way to the Graveyard.
Until he felt something…
He stopped and spun around, seeing a sphere of dark energy with a familiar symbol on it.
"An Unversed!" Ventus summoned his Keyblade and rushed towards it.
As he approached the sphere, it suddenly took shape, becoming a portal that was purple in coloration and has fragments of black rocklike material floating around it.
A very familiar shape.
"Vanitas!?" Ventus stopped, freezing in shock as the form of Vanitas landed before him.
Only it was different.
Vanitas' appearance was black and white instead of the familiar red and black Ven had remembered. It wore a black and white bodysuit, white boots with black soles, a white waist-flap that was torn, black tips and is held in place by three grey straps, and a smooth, black helmet that bears the Unversed insignia.
"Wait, you're not Vanitas. You're an Unversed." Ven realized before taking a fighting stance. "Whatever, you're still bad news."
With that, Ven and the Unversed prepared to fight.
Ventus held his Keyblade in a reverse grip, placing one foot forward with his Keyblade now facing behind him. As for the Unversed, it settled into the same fighting stance Vanitas took when they fought in the past, holding its Keyblade back in its hand hand, angled forward with its other arm held parallel to its right, its left hand open and pointed at Ven. Its right foot was positioned back while its left foot was extended forwards and to the side in a brace position.
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Unforgettable)
(Information: Defeat Vanitas' Lingering Spirit)
Not giving the Unversed a chance to react, Ventus ran and rolled forward, jumping up with a vertical slash at the Unversed who blocked and jumped back. Ven pursued it, knowing the best way to combat an opponent like Vanitas was to keep the pressure on them until their defenses broke. Ventus kept his Keyblade in a reverse grip, delivering a series of fast strikes at the opponent until his Keyblade suddenly passed through it.
An afterimage!
Ventus jumped back as ice spikes exploded from the ground and spun around, slashing at the Unversed as it tried to sneak up on him from behind. He slashed at it but it jumped over his strike and froze in mid-air. While Ventus was distracted by the image in the air, the real Unversed shot forward and delivered a surprising slash at Ven who rolled away several times before jumping up and casting a Cura on himself. As this happened, the Unversed unleashed Vanitas' signature Dark Cannon which Ven dodged by rolling out of the way.
Once he was back on his feet, the Dark Cannon attack ended, and Ventus immediately attacked before the Unversed could regain its bearings. He delivered slash after slash on the Unversed before it held up its Keyblade and released a shockwave from its body that knocked Ven back. Ventus recovered and immediately went back on the offense on the Unversed. His Keyblade past through its body, meaning it had left behind another afterimage, but Ven didn't stop or pause.
In a fight like this, he couldn't afford to freeze, or he would leave himself open.
He spun around, spotting the Unversed appearing a few yards away and shot at it, delivering a back-handed slash at the Unversed before it could react. He managed another slash before the Unversed warped away and acting on instinct Ventus jumped away as his opponent appeared in the air and swung its Keyblade down, making dark crystals sprout from the ground where Ven had previously stood. Ventus somersaulted and rolled away, jumping back up and watch as the Unversed jumped into the air and flew at him.
Ventus dashed away as the Unversed slammed its Keyblade into the ground, releasing a blast of fire and darkness. As Ventus dashed around the battlefield, he looked over his shoulder to see the Unversed jump back up into the air and release a barrage of fireballs down at him. Ven dropped and rolled out of the way just as the attack ended and launched himself at the Unversed as it landed on its feet. Jumping to his feet, Ven delivered a slash that knocked it back.
Ventus followed with three more slashes before the Unversed left behind another afterimage and delivered a strike from behind, creating dark crystals that caused pain to Ventus as he tried to get out of the way. Hastily casting Cura on himself again, Ven shot at the Unversed but it warped away again. He spotted it just as an orb of darkness surrounded it, sending out dark images of himself to attack Ventus. Ven hastily ran around the orb, dodging the clones who struck at him but froze after they attacked, meaning they were limited.
Somersaulting, rolling and dashing, Ventus didn't stop running until the finally the seventh clone froze. The orb broke and the Unversed shot out, delivering a strike to Ven's back before he could react. The Unversed followed up with releasing a crescent energy wave at Ven who dodged but it changed directions and followed after him. Ven continued to run as the Unversed dash after him, leaving a dark comet trail in its wake and attacking with dark lightning that Ven barely dodged.
Casting another Cura on himself, Ven faced the Unversed again, but it seemed his progress had made the Unversed more aggressive and desperate. He had to dodge shockwaves followed by the Unversed trying to cut him in half with a spinning slash. Just as he made it back to his feet, the Unversed cast Dark Firaga at him which he dodged by rolling out of the way and then dash at the Unversed who held its Keyblade up and summoned Dark Thundaga. Ven took the hit but ignored it as he hit the Unversed with his Keyblade.
This time it left an afterimage after he made one strike, but Ven was ready as he spun around and…
SLASH!
Delivered the final strike as the Unversed charged at him.
(Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep OST Unforgettable Ends)
The Unversed fell to its knees, still for a second before it dissolved back into the dark orb it had appeared from before which then vanished from sight. Ven dismissed his Keyblade, watching as it vanished.
There was a moment of silence…
And Ven exhaled in relief that it was over.
"That was intense…" He muttered to himself. "How did an Unversed looking exactly like Vanitas come into existence?"
"After I took down that Unversed looking like Vanitas, I wasn't sure where else to go."
Flash-Forward
The EverAfter
"I looked around the graveyard for any clues of what might have happened to you and Aqua but there was nothing." Ventus said, having finished his tale of his encounter with the Remnant of Vanitas.
Him, Neo and Terra were now sitting a shack conjured by Neo's Semblance, allowing them some shelter as they spoke.
"An Unversed resembling Vanitas?" Terra brought a hand to his chin. "I wonder if Aqua had anything to do with that too…"
"I don't think so." Ven shook his head. "I think it was made from the lingering remains of Vanitas' own darkness. I mean, the guy had years to feed off of the negativity from the worlds he unleashed Unversed on. Who knows how much he had by the time we fought in the graveyard. Still, it's shocking that Vanitas is still alive..."
Neo was simply resting a hand on her cheek, snacking on some cheese she had plucked out of the ground and watching with mild interest.
"So, what happened after that?" Terra asked.
"Well, after seeing I wouldn't learn anything in the graveyard, I took off again…"
Flashback
Lanes Between
After leaving the Keyblade Graveyard behind Ventus pondered where he should go now.
Where was there to go?
He couldn't return to the Land of Departure as it had been destroyed by Xehanort.
The Graveyard offered no clues as to where Terra and Aqua might be.
Where could he go now?
One of the worlds he had previously visited?
The problem with that idea was that he was not supposed to interfere in the affairs of other worlds if they were not in danger from darkness like Vanitas or Xehanort.
What could he do?
"Ventus."
A voice made him pause. "Huh?"
"Can you hear me, Ventus?"
"Who is there?" He looked around, trying to find the source of the voice but could only see the endless space of the Lanes.
"Do you seek your missing friends?"
Ventus froze, becoming silent for a moment. "You know where they are?"
"I do." The voice answered. "If you wish to know, come see me."
"Where are you?"
A small orb of light appeared in front of him, taking off and leaving a comet trail in its wake.
"Guess that's how I find him." Ventus muttered before following after the glowing orb.
After a few minutes, he finally reached the supposed destination.
A world that he was not familiar with but could see it was the orb's destination, so he followed it through a portal and arrived at this new world.
On the other side of the portal, he was hovering above what looked like a canyon leading towards a castle consisting of five towers with pipes twirling around them, rising from a pile of ruined masonry and machinery. A big Heartless emblem can be seen atop the tower in the middle.
"Welcome, Ventus."
He turned to see someone standing behind him near the edge of a cliff. They were odd, to say the least, wearing what seemed to be grey, segmented armor over his sides and abdomen. His legs were covered by a long, black cloth lined with yellow, which itself had several brown straps pinned onto the front, seemingly for no purpose other than to create yet another angular pattern. On a yellow sash that hung around the man's waist are three brown pouches, descending downward diagonally on his left hip.
These pouches are all identical, all sporting the same design on the top flap, and all closed by a darker brown strap that attaches to a silver button on the right side, a grey tassel hanging from each button. The man also a dark colored scarf around his neck and his face was partially covered in red bandages with only one eye visible. He also had light-colored sleeves.
"Who are you?" Ventus asked warily, keeping his armor on.
"I am DiZ." The man brought a hand to his chest and humbly bowed to Ven. "It seems you were awakened far ahead of schedule but when she warned me of the possibility of you awakening and looking for her and your other friend, I decided to keep an eye out for you."
"Her? You mean Aqua?" Ventus hovered down onto the roof, a few feet away from the man before dismissing his armor and Keyblade. "Where is she? Have you seen her?"
"The lady you know as Aqua is a dear friend of mine. I first met her during a time of exile into the Realm of Darkness." The man known as DiZ began. "She helped me a great deal and from that point on, I considered her a dear friend and promised I would help her when she needed it most. And what she needs the most is her friends with her."
"Is she in trouble?" Ven asked anxiously.
"In a manner of speaking." DiZ sighed. "I will be frank with you, Ventus. You have been asleep for a long time and in that time, both Aqua and Terra had been handling a heavy burden. In fact, that burden has taken them to a place beyond the known worlds."
"Beyond the known worlds?" Ventus repeated in confusion.
DiZ held up a hand and the projection of a galaxy shaped map was shown to Ventus. "Here is a full map of the known worlds in the Lanes Between. To the unknowing, it appears as an entirely different galaxy but in reality, this is the Other Universe which you call the Lanes Between, the realm that maps the worlds that are part of both the Realm of Light," DiZ then enlarged the map, showing a dark half next to the 'galaxy'. "And the Realm of Darkness."
Ventus looked at the Realm of Darkness. "There are worlds in the Realm of Darkness?"
"Surprisingly but of course. If Worlds exist in the Realm of Light than logically, they can also exist in the Realm of Darkness." DiZ stated, sounding amused.
"Wow." Ven muttered before shaking his head to get his mind back on track. "And that's where Terra and Aqua are?"
"Yes. I'm afraid after your injury, Aqua went looking for Terra and found him but because of what happened in the Graveyard, they both were in danger of falling into the Realm of Darkness. Aqua tried to save him but she fell into a world that was apparently at the bottom of the realm." DiZ explained, highlighting a part of the map that was at the literal bottom of the dark realm. "Connected to this realm is a series of other worlds that Aqua has been visiting during her…travels. Terra eventually found her but he can't bring her back."
"Why not?" Ven asked.
"I'm afraid you will have to ask Terra when you see him." DiZ changed the subject. "It is nearly impossible to reach these worlds located at the bottom of the Realm of Darkness because they are so isolated from the rest of the worlds."
"Then how do I reach them?" Ventus asked.
"Luckily, I have been studying the method of how reach these isolated worlds and how to create a safe way to travel between them. Just as the Heartless use the power of Darkness to travel through the worlds, it's possible to use that same power to reach isolated worlds your friends are at." DiZ stated.
Ven looked hesitant and for good reason. "I've already had a close encounter with the power of Darkness. Is it the only way?"
"Don't worry, I would not ask you to try and use this power, especially in the wake of your previous experience." DiZ stated with a smile. "I can forge the way myself but before you decide to go, I would like to ask a small favor."
"A favor?" Ventus questioned.
"Yes. There are three fairies who call themselves the Gullwings. They are treasure hunters and very good ones at that." DiZ began. "They do work for anyone for the promise of being awarded unique treasure but I don't just mean treasures like gold and jewelry. To them, the word 'treasure' means items that are unique and cannot be found on other worlds. I believe they will be of great help to you."
"Where do I find them?" Ventus asked.
"I sent them on a journey to find a unique world that you might remember." DiZ answered. "They've been working for me for some time."
Present
EverAfter
"I thought you said they found outside the temple." Terra cut in.
"We did. DiZ sent us there because he thought Ven would make his way out of the castle." Yuna cut in, sitting on Ven's shoulder. "We've been doing work for DiZ for years. He supplied us with a lot of stuff to make us even greater treasure hunters."
"Yeah." Rikku(Terra hoped that this one and the boy named Riku never because it would be a hard time trying say their names without a misunderstanding) nodded, sitting on the opposite shoulder. "We went to all sorts of worlds, stealing so much treasure."
"Do tell." Neo leaned forward with an intrigued smile on her face.
"Well, we picked up something called a miniature Arc Reactor from a planet called Earth." Yuna answered. "DiZ wanted that to make a new generation of Gummi Ship for world travel and for possibly a few other things."
"A something called a hyperdrive from a world that's a huge spanning galaxy." Paine brought up, sitting on Ven's head. "My favorite was the doubled bladed laser sword."
Neo raised an eyebrow but kept an intrigued look on her face. "A laser sword? Double bladed?"
"It's actually really cool." Ven said with a smile.
"We've been going to so many Worlds and picking up so much stuff for him." Paine shrugged.
"And then he asked us to pair up with Ven here…" Yuna gestured at Ven.
Flashback
Lanes Between
Ven couldn't believe what he had been told.
The world he had awakened had in fact been his old home.
The Land of Departure.
He thought it had been destroyed by Xehanort but according to DiZ it was still there, at least what remained of it was still there…
In Darkness.
Ven wondered why DiZ would send these fairies there of all places but apparently because he was tracking the movements of a mysterious group that had set up a base of operations in the temple. That was enough to make Ven mad and he decided to see what was going on there himself.
He followed the familiar route he knew by heart back to the world that had been his home with his friends.
What he found was heartbreaking.
Emerging into the world he first saw that there was no sunlight.
No sound of animals chirping.
No running streams of water.
Just a dark castle sitting atop where the temple he had once called home now stood.
How had this happened?
Ven landed at the bottom of the mountain, making his way to the courtyard where he along with Terra and Aqua used to train, the lamp lights somehow still on and providing a soft glow.
Then he froze…
He sensed something.
A presence even though he couldn't see anyone actually there.
Behind him, a dark coated figure appeared only for a second before vanishing. Ven took a few more steps before he sensed the presence and spun around to see the dark coated figure appear, fully solid now.
The figure glanced over its shoulder; its face covered completely by a dark hood.
"Who are you?" Ventus asked warily. "Are you with this Organization?"
The figure turned to fully face him and held out a hand…and in a surge of electricity conjured a blue glowing blade, followed quickly by another one appearing in the other hand.
(Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST Dark Impetus Starts)
Ven immediately summoned his Keyblade, holding it in reverse grip as always and glared at the dark coated figure. After a few seconds of staring, Ven dashed at the figure to make a quick slash. However, the dark coated figure dashed to the right with such speed, it was almost like a blur. It appeared behind Ven, slashing at his back but Ven unleashed a Thunder Surge, causing electricity to surge around him that protected him from the sneak attack.
"Come on!" Ven called out to the figure as they slashed their ethereal blades at him.
The two traded strikes for a few seconds before the figure leapt up into the air and crossed its blades into an 'X' before swinging them down and unleashing a fiery x-shaped energy wave at Ven who rolled out of the way and dashed at the figure. Ven preformed another Thunder Surge that met the figure's ethereal blades, both fighters shooting past each other and landing a few feet away.
'Command Style: 'Ven closed his eyes as a green and yellow aura surrounded him, with electricity covering his body. 'Thunder Bolt!'
He turned around and dodged another x-shaped energy wave from the figure, the Thunder Bolt Command Style increasing his speed, defense and offensive strength all at once. He easily covered the distance between him and the Mysterious Figure and let loose with a blast of fire, courtesy of a Fire Surge. The flames hit the dark figure, making them stumble back but curiously it made no sound of pain and moved as if it hadn't been hit at all. Ven had been expecting it go down and thus was unable to react as the Mysterious Figure slashed at him with its ethereal blades several times, pushing him back against the courtyard.
The figure didn't just slash at him but even combined their ethereal blades into a single double-bladed weapon that it then threw at Ven, earning a cry of pain as Ven flew back.
As the Mysterious Figure regained its weapons, fire exploded from Ven as he cast Fire Surge once again, knocking the figure back.
"Heal!" Ven then held his Keyblade up and hastily healed himself.
The Mysterious Figure made a slashing motion and sent what could only be a whirlwind at Ven who quickly jumped out of the way. As the figure moved to attack again, Ven met it in mid-air, releasing another blast of lightning with Thunder Surge, stunning the figure. Ven spun, following up with a slash but the Mysterious Figure held up a singe blade, reinforced by a barrier that repelled Ven's Keyblade in a similar manner to how Aqua fought. The figure leapt up into the air and to Ven's surprise, one of its ethereal blades extended, becoming more like a whip with a very pointed end.
Ven dodged the whip before it hit him, preferring not to be on the receiving end. Ven then dashed at the Mysterious Figure as it landed, releasing another blast of electricity as he and the figure clashed again.
'Command Style:' Ven closed his eyes, everything around him slowing down, including the figure. 'Rhythm Mixer!'
An electric blue aura shrouded Ven now with two pulsing cubes of energy surrounding him. The Rhythm Mixer Command Style increased the speed of his attacks and used rhythmic sounds to damage his opponents. As the figure attacked, Ven dashed and rolled out of the way, dodging his opponent's strikes now as he realized this strange fighter was absolutely lethal when fought head on. Ven knew and eas experienced enough to know it wasn't always best to fight an enemy head on so he used his speed and agility to dodge the incoming attacks, hoping that he would trick his enemy into using up most of their strength and stamina.
Turns out his opponent figured out his plan.
The Mysterious Figure suddenly shot forward like a rocket, an aura surrounding its weapons as it rocketed around the courtyard. Ven ducked, jumped and rolled, not stopping in all the times he saw the Mysterious Figure moving. Then when it landed he dashed at it, releasing another Thunder blast while its back was turned.
Only it had managed to block with a barrier around its blades like before.
The dark coated figure slashed at him, but Ven ducked and rolled forward. He turned around to strike but the Mysterious Figure was faster and struck Ven with its blades several times, knocking him back with a spinning double ethereal blade again. Ven let loose with another Thunder Surge but the figure sidestepped the attack. Ven spun around to slash, but the figure blocked his attack again. Ven fell back, dodging the figure's attacks as it pursued him.
"Heal!" Ven called out, healing his injuries from the figure's onslaught.
Seeing Ven was keeping his distance, the figure jumped up and unleashed another x-shaped energy wave at Ven who dashed and rolled out of the way. Taking advantage of the few seconds the Mysterious Figure would be vulnerable when it landed Van dashed at figure and let loose Thunder Surge again, the electricity striking the figure at close range.
Only the figure blocked with another barrier.
Okay, this guy was becoming more annoying than Aqua when Ven sparred with her. As the figure attacked him again, Ven fell back to his tactic of ducking and rolling to avoid being hit. When the figure shot past him Ven aimed to attack while its back was turned but figure continued to block his strikes easily. The figure managed to land a slash on Ven's shoulder and then jumped up and lashed its ethereal blade/whip at Ven again.
The figure landed back on the ground and shot at Ven, slashing at his head. Ven jumped to the side but the Mysterious Figure continued past him and spun around, slashing at Ven's back that caused him to grunt in pain. The figure followed up with several more slashes at Ven before he finally spun around and shot at it with another Thunder Surge, stunning the figure again.
"Heal!" Ven shouted, healing himself of his injuries.
He turned to face the figure…only to find it was gone.
Ven didn't believe the fight was over, especially when he saw two blades coming at him, floating in the air, as if they were held by someone who was invisible…
Invisible?!
'You gotta be kidding me!' Ven thought as the blades managed to hit him before he took off running.
Even if he could see his enemy's weapons, if they were now invisible then he dared not fight at close range if he couldn't see their whole body.
He took off running, trying to confuse his opponent by moving randomly all over the courtyard and make them guess which direction he might run. He rolled out of the way of an X energy blast and heard an explosion behind him.
Must be some kind of fire spell because he could literally feel the heat behind him as the brightness of the explosion temporarily blinded him.
'A Mega-Flare? Who is this guy?' Ven wondered as he ran.
Unfortunately, due to the Mega-Flare causing him to lose sight for just a few seconds, the still invisible Mysterious Figure was now in front of him and let him know by striking him with its blades. Ven grunted as he felt blades slashing across his body relentlessly. Ven didn't try to fight and ran the first chance he had.
"Heal!" He cast Cura on himself to heal his injuries before running again.
And just in time as another energy X nearly hit him.
Followed by another whirlwind.
A dark portal opening in front of him that he barely managed to dodge.
Another whirlwind.
'Does this guy ever quit?!' Ven thought, glancing over his shoulder and could see the ethereal blades missing the back of his head by mere inches.
The blades were suddenly retracted and reappeared on the other end of the courtyard, their own finally reappearing.
'Finally!' Ven thought, having had enough of this.
As the figure shot at him again, Ven charged as well, fire exploding from him. The figure actually paused and somersaulted back to avoid being burned.
"Come on!" Ven shouted, Fire Surge being cast once again and that hit the figure.
The Mysterious Figure leapt away as it was burned again.
'Command Style: Firestorm!' Ven's form was surrounded by a fiery aura with literal flames burning around him.
Now dashing at the figure, Ven summoned fire and lightning all around him, forcing the figure back as it tired to fend him off.
However, Ven was fed up with this fight and he didn't stop until he gave one final hit that knocked the figure back.
(Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep OST Dark Impetus Ends)
Then it was gone.
Ven paused, looking around for any sign of his opponent but they were gone. He dismissed his Keyblade, looking around one more time before he turned to resume his walk. He only took a few steps before gasping.
There it was again!
The Mysterious Figure appeared again, standing before him.
Ventus summoned his Keyblade again but noticed a strange blurriness from the figure. However the figure didn't try to attack again.
Strangely it didn't do anything.
It only stared at him for a few seconds before turning around, taking a few steps and then vanishing once again.
Ventus only watched with a confused look on his face, wondering what that was all about.
Were they with the Organization DiZ had told him about?
Ven waited several minutes for something to happen before deciding to continue his journey up to the castle at the top of the mountain.
Formerly the Land of Departure
Castle Oblivion
In the solitude she had been forcefully put in, she drew. She had done that ever since she had been found and brought to this castle.
She didn't remember where she had come from.
She didn't remember if she had any family.
Only that she was now here and could not leave.
So, she did the only thing that could help her deal with the solitude.
She drew.
And then paused…
A boy with blond hair and blue eyes…in armor of silver and gold.
Something…
The boy smiled…
Something flashed in her mind.
A boy…
She didn't know him but somehow felt like she did know him.
Why?
Who was he?
And did she really know him?
She began to draw again, this time drawing the boy that for some reason had appeared in her mind