The Boy Who Fell Through The World VII

Just as Terra left Ventus arrived in Radiant Garden, coming upon the exact same place Terra had been when he first arrived. He stopped in the center of the circular paved ground, looking around for a second.

The peaceful place made Ventus smile for a second as he took it all in…

It truly was awe-inspiring and looked so peaceful. He stopped at what appeared to be the town gate that was decorated with trees, gardens of multiple-colored flowers and small water springs. To the right he thought he saw an anthropomorphized duck with white plumage, four-fingered hands, light blue eyes, yellow-orange feet, and a bill of the same color. He had a thick, half-ring of ruffled feathers going around the back of his head, creating the image of an old, balding man.

He wears a blue jacket with a folded-down, red collar, red cuffs, and a yellow button near the neck. The jacket was kept shut with a red belt. A black top hat with a red band near the brim sat on his head, and he wore pince-nez glasses. He also wore red spats on his feet.

Completing his image as an old, rich man, the duck walked around with a brown cane with a gold tip.

Then the Unversed appeared, seemingly here to ruin it.

"Oh no you don't! Gather!" Ventus pointed his Keyblade up as the spell caught the surrounding Unversed and trapped them in the vortex. "Thunder!"

A bolt of lightning was all that was needed to finish them off but that was not the end as even more Unversed appeared.

"Thunder Bolt!" Ventus shouted, creating an aura of lightning that surrounded his body as he lunged at the Unversed, becoming a literal whirlwind of lightning.

Several Unversed fired energy disks at him and he quickly dodged before casting another Magnega spell that trapped them like the first bunch.

"Thunder!" Quickly like before Ventus dispatched them with a Thunder spell that destroyed them just as quickly as before.

Turning around Ventus spotting a large Unversed rolling towards him, and he quickly rolled to the side.

"See ya!" Ventus called out as he cast another Thunder spell, destroying it and ran for the stairs.

Unfortunately, there were even more Unversed waiting for him on the next level and he quickly activated the Thunder Bolt spell again, becoming covered in electricity just before casting Magnega and followed up with a Thunder spell, dispatching them quickly. Seeing that they were gone Ventus proceeded up the stairs that led to the main entrance of the castle. Ventus spotted two guards, both of them dark double breasted trench coats with a heart symbol just beneath the collar while wearing white gloves, darks pants and boots. The one on the right had long dark hair and sideburns and carried a blue and silver decorated lance while the other had red hair in a Mohawk and carried a red and black claymore.

Both guards held up their weapons in front of Ventus, stopping him from passing.

"Hold on." The dark-haired man spoke first.

The red-haired man said next. "The castle is presently closed."

"But somebody just came this way! He's a friend of mine." Ventus protested.

The guards shared a look before the dark-haired man spoke. "We aren't aware of any visitors. Now run along home, boy, before the monsters get you."

Ventus sighed, seeing it was no use. "I could have sworn it was him."

Ventus turned around to leave but stopped and gasped as something appeared from the top of the stairs. It had the same red eyes as the Unversed but was bigger and looked armored.

"They're here!" The two guards stepped forward, brandishing their weapons.

"Radiant Garden shall not fall under the likes of you!"

Ventus quickly rushed past them. "Leave this to me!"

"Stop!" The red-haired man called out.

"But you're just a child!" The dark-haired man protested.

Seeing that Ventus was not going to listen to them both guards nodded and moved to go after them when a voice stopped them. "Now who do you think will defend the castle if you two go skipping off?"

The man who spoke had long dirty blond hair and wore a white lab coat and a condescending look on his face as he stepped forward.

"But, that boy…"

"Never you worry about him. He's a special case."

"A what?"

"Even is right." The dark-haired man said. "Lord and castle come first. The boy will have to fend for himself."

"Which reminds me, His Lordship was asking for you." Even said, paying no attention to the guards as they walked past him. "A heart devoid of Darkness? Stripped clean of it, at that…Very questionable."

Smirking slightly Even turned around and followed the guards back into the castle.

The muscular man grunted, crossing his arms. "You've done well to make it this far, boy. But this is where it ends."

"Wait a minute…I know you!" Ven pointed at the man. "You were in Radiant Garden! You were one of the guards at the castle!"

Lexaeus paused, looking surprised. "How…How do you know me?"

"It's me, Ven. We met in Radiant Garden." Ven pointed to himself.

Ven?

Radi-

Lexaeus's eyes widened as he suddenly recalled what Ven was saying. "Yes, I do remember now. It was ten years ago in Radiant Garden. There was a monster, and you ran to face it…A heart devoid of darkness, stripped clean of it. That's what he said that day."

"Huh?" Ven asked, not knowing what had been said after he left to face the Unversed.

"How are you here now and why do you look the same after ten years?" Lexaeus brandished his tomahawk, Skysplitter and pointed it right at Ven. "Answer me!"

As Lexaeus confronted the boy Zexion was nearby and he paused, hearing the boy speak and a memory flashed in his mind.

Flashback
Radiant Garden
10 Years Ago

Ventus hoped he would find Terra but he was nowhere in sight as Ventus looked through the town. He just came upon the courtyard he arrived in when he spotted someone, not Terra, in trouble. A small boy by the looks of it, surrounded by four Unversed.

"Run!" Ventus shouted, rushing past the boy and summoning his Keyblade.

The boy turned around and started running just as Ventus slashed at the first Unversed, taking it out with just a few hits.

"Wind!" Ventus shouted, releasing a gust that destroyed two more and leaving one left which Ventus took out quickly.

Once all of them were gone Ventus turned to the boy who stood back and watched the fight. He looked to be about ten and wore a white lab coat which was odd.

"Ienzo, where are you?" Ventus turned around, seeing another man wearing the same white coat as the boy enter the courtyard with a young woman next to him with orange hair tied in a bun. "Answer me."

The boy walked up beside Ventus, earning the other man's attention.

"Ah, there you are. Didn't I warn you not to wander off, child?" The man asked, walking past Ventus, seemingly noticing him a second later. "I see we owe you our thanks. We have done our best to raise the boy…since his poor parents are not here to do it."

"Oh. You're on your own huh?" Ventus asked but got no answer. "Sir, I'm looking for a friend of mine. He's a tall guy dressed kinda like me. Have you seen him?"

"Hmm…Perhaps I did see him in the Outer Gardens." The man answered thoughtfully. "Just follow this road."

Ventus looked in the direction the man was pointing. "Thank you."

"No, thank you, for keeping Ienzo out of harm's way." The man said, the condescending look never leaving his face. "And…Well, let's say I have a feeling we are destined to cross again."

"That's right. I do remember him." Zexion's only visible eye narrowed. "But that was over ten years ago and he hasn't aged a day. How is that possible? And the scent…"

The scent of the boy matched the one he had picked up not too long ago.

It was the same!

"He was the presence I had detected!" Zexion exclaimed, his eye widening at the implications.

His conversation with Xigbar flashed in his mind.

Flashback

"What about you, Zexion? What do you think?" The man called down with a wave.

"I think eavesdropping is intrusive." Zexion answered stoically. "Why are you even here? You and Xaldin were tasked to recruit new members."

The man jumped and landed down a few feet from Zexion.

"Have you forgotten, or were you procrastinating?"

"As if! I'm doing my job." The man answered with a shrug, placing a hand on a hip. "I'll have you know, I found one just yesterday. 'Mar' something." He brought a hand close to the chin that was still covered by the hood. "That puts the Organization count at 11. And since I've been working so hard, I had Lexaeus take my place for the day. I want to rest up for tomorrow, so I can wake up feeling nice and refreshed."

"Is that so?" Zexion asked, hand on his own hip as he made a sweeping gesture with his other arm in a sarcastic manner. "Well, then, I will leave you to it. I have work to catch up on. Good day."

He turned away to continue his walk, but the man rushed up behind him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, stopping him again. "Oh, don't be like that. Come on, stay and talk."

Zexion preferred to glare at the hand on his shoulder without permission.

"Isn't it time you told me about Xemnas's secret?" The man asked in a low tone, making Zexion pause.

The man removed his arm from around Zexion, taking a few steps forward up the stairs.

"How long ago was it? When a bunch of warriors wielding key-shaped swords appeared and unleashed a spectacular battle?" He spread his arms out grandly, trying to give a bit of drama to his tale. "And when it was all over, all that was left was a man lying unconscious without his memories."

He held up on finger and took a few steps up, arriving at the top of the staircase.

"Xemnas…er, I mean Xehanort was found by Ansem right around then, wasn't he?"

"Your point?" Zexion asked tiredly.

"The Chamber of Repose. If you recall, that's where we spent our time researching the darkness that resides within people's hearts. It's a graveyard that was sealed by order of Ansem the Wise. The first thing Xemnas did once he got rid of him was to undo the seal and build a room in the back." The man recalled. "Ever since then, he holes himself up in that room when he can, and he talks to someone."

He turned around, facing Zexion with a shrug.

"But who? For all I know, he's the only one in that room."

"Need I repeat myself about eavesdropping?" Zexion asked as the man walked back down the stairs towards him.

"Not eavesdropping." The man held up both hands in a placating manner but lowered them when he in front of Zexion. "Couldn't hear what they were saying. Dying to find out what it was, though. You wouldn't happen to know anything about it, would you?"

"I know I would very much like to focus on my own duties." Zexion asked, feeling tired from everyone interrupting him from preforming said duties, and walked past the man, stopping when they were side to side. "As you should with yours. For we need to prepare the new facility immediately but there are only 11 of us in the organization. We're going to need a few more hands on deck."

"What new facility?" The man wondered as Zexion resumed walking. "Oh, you mean Castle Oblivion? What does Xemnas plan on doing with that place, anyway?"

"He already shared his intentions with us." Zexion answered, not stopping, or looking back as he walked up the stairs.

"But did you know there's something he DIDN'T share?" The man asked, turning around, and seeing Zexion stop.

There was a moment of silence between the two.

"The Chamber of Repose is part of a pair. The Chamber of Awakening is the other." The man said, all humor gone now. "Another graveyard if you want to call it that. It was constructed by someone other than Xemnas himself. And that's where he'll find it."

Zexion finally turned and face the man, saying nothing.

"That's where he'll find his other 'friend'."

End Flashback

"He's the other 'friend'!" Zexion realized, taking a few steps back in realization.

This…

This changed everything!

"If the Superior finds out we withheld this from him…" Zexion muttered in horrified realization. "We'll all receive the maximum punishment…"

That thought…

Terrified Zexion beyond anything else he could have considered.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The man's body was engulfed in black and red aura as he rushed forward with blinding speed, too fast for Ventus to see. Ven blocked but the sheer force the man's strike sent Ven flying back.

"GAH!" Ven hit the wall and slid down onto the ground.

"Ven!" Yuna and Rikku cried out.

Ven however was not knocked out, but he was hurting. "Heal."

A green aura surrounded him, healing his wounds as he slowly stood up while Lexaeus watched.

"So, you are not down. Impressive." Lexaeus noted, sounding pleased. "I would have been disappointed if it already been over."

"Don't worry. I'm just getting started." Lightning blocked Ventus's first strike and tried to kick Ventus in the chest but Ventus spun out of the way and stepped back. Lightning lashed his blade at Ventus, attacking with heavy aggressive strikes but Ventus was too fast as he spun, ducked, and actually danced out of the way of each strike while moving with a few quick strikes before retreating.

CLASH!

Ventus countered another strike.

"SWISH!

Ventus ducked under sideway slash.

CLASH!

Ventus whirled around and brought his Keyblade up only for it to meet with Lexaeus launched three quick strikes that Ventus dodged and jumped backwards. Lexaeus was obviously stronger and utilized his strength in his attacks to overwhelm his opponent while Ventus used his speed and he had most of the advantage in the fight.

Ventus jumped back but pointed his Keyblade at Lexaeus. "Tornado!"

A whirlwind appeared in front of Lexaeus, pulling him into it and spinning him around at high speed. "WWWWWWWWWWWHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Ventus took a step back, now more wary of his opponent. Letting out a roar Lexaeus charged forward, the red and black battle aura enhancing his speed as he shot at Ventus with the intent to kill him. Ventus cart-wheeled to the side while Lexaeus shot past him, slashing at the wall but surprisingly leavening no cracks at all before turning and chasing after Ventus.

Ven hastily blocked and then retreated as Lexaeus chased after him, slashing and swinging his Axe-Sword at him which he barely dodged or blocked.

"Come on! Fight back!" Leaxeaus shouted, annoyed already.

However, Ventus decided that against an opponent as aggressive as Lexaeus defense and speed were the best options to go as he dodged his opponent's slashes and strikes.

"Why won't you FIGHT BACK?!" Lexaeus shouted, seemingly losing his composure, and allowing her strikes to become wilder and more unfocused.

It was then Ven went on the offensive, launching a few slash combos then retreating as Jo attacked again and then waited for the right time as Lexaeus became more and more angry. Finally, Mike spun forward until he was right in front of Jo and pointed his Keyblade at her chest.

"Wind!"

A gust of wind slammed Lexaeus, knocking him back but he slammed his Axe-Sword into the ground, plunging it down into the floor and slowing his flight back.

"I see." Lexaeus calmed down, lifting his head to glare at Ven. "You thought you could get in close to make me lose my focus. Unfortunately, I had anticipated your plan and only played along so I could do this."

He then lifted his Axe-Sword back up before slamming it straight into the ground, causing pillars of rock to shoot up right at Ven.

"Ven!" The three fairies cried out.

"GAH!" Ventus was slammed into the wall by the attack, collapsing once the attack had ended.

He groaned, feeling his entire body aching from the hit but slowly struggled to stand back up.

"It's useless. Even if you get by me, the master of the castle will be waiting on the top floor." Lexaeus stated as he slowly approached.

"Stop right there!" Yuna shouted, flying in front of Lexaeus. "Fire!"

There was a fiery blast that caused Lexaeus to stop but he raised one hand and easily blocked the Fire spell cast by Yuna. Grunting in annoyance, Lexaeus bat Yuna away like an annoying house fly.

"Yuna!" Paine and Rikku cried out.

"Annoying fairies." Lexaeus grunted.

"Hey!" Lexaeus looked forward to see Ven standing back up. "Eyes on me! Heal!"

A green aura covered him, healing him of his injuries. He settled back into a fighting stance, ready to continue the fight.

"Did you not hear what I said? Even if you win, you will not be able to defeat the master of the castle, given you already spent your energy fighting me and Larxene." Lexaeus stated.

"Doesn't matter." Ven retorted. "I'll fight my way to reach the top. This place is my home! I don't know what you did to it but no matter what you throw at me I'll take you all down."

Lexaeus scoffed and cracked his next. "Very well."

He let out another roar, the red and black aura surrounding him again and he charged right at Ventus. The young Keyblade wielder spun out of the way of the Aex-Sword aimed his head, impacting the wall with enough force to make the room shake.

"This is not good." Ventus muttered as he looked over his shoulder and ducked as Lexaeus swung at his head. Ventus rolled to the side and jumped to his feet. 'I can't fight him like this and I can't outrun him. This is not good.'

Lexaeus turned and growled at Ventus as he raised his Axe-Sword to attack. The surrounded his Keyblade as he prepared to attack.

A bright light surrounded Ventus as Lightning prepared to attack.

'Command Style…' Ventus whispered. "Fever Pitch!"

Lexaeus roared as he shot at Ventus. The light around Ventus exploded as he dodged Lightning's attack and then launched rapid four hit combo that Lexaeus had no time to defend and staggered back. Ventus followed up by thrusting forward, moving like a golden bullet that sent Lexaeus flying back. He managed to stay on his feet, but Ventus was not done as he charged forward, launching another four hit combo, cutting five slash marks of light into the ground that sent Lexaeus crashing into the wall.

"Take that!" Ventus smiled in victory as stood over Lexaeus. "Now who are you and why are you attacking me?"

A pillar of Darkness sprouted from the ground around Lexaeus and swallowed him up, all the while Ventus jumped back when the Darkness appeared and could only watch as Lexaeus vanished.

"Oh, come on. Not again." Ventus groaned as his Keyblade vanished. "They keep on vanishing…Who are these guys?"

He had no idea who these guys were but the fact that they were targeting him made him very suspicious.

"These guys keep popping up." Paine muttered as she and the other fairies hovered around Ven. "I'm starting to think there is no treasure. We should cut our losses and leave."

"We've come this far." Yuna argued. "We can't just leave."

"Yeah, Paine." Rikku agreed.

"And what if there is no treasure? What if that red robed guy sent us on a wild goose chase?" Paine asked. "We could be rushing into more danger the deeper we go into this castle."

"But what about Ven?" Yuna asked.

Paine leaned and whispered. "We only hung out with him because we thought having a Keyblade wielder would make things easy for us, remember? Well, we just got caught up in two crazy fights and you know there is going to be more."

"Yeah, but Ven handled himself just fine." Rikku replied.

"For now." Paine shook her head. "But next time we might not be so lucky because if Ven goes down we'll surely be next."

"If I may say something?" Ven cut in, surprising the three. "Look, I get you might be nervous and maybe Paine is right. This is getting too dangerous."

"See?" Paine gestured at Ven.

"Which is why maybe I should go on alone." Ven continued.

"What?" The three fairies looked at him now.

"I got to see this through. This place used to be my home. I need to find out what happened here and if there is any clue to finding my friends." Ven reasoned.

"And what about us?" Yuna asked. "We're so far inside this castle, how can you be sure they'll let us leave?"

"And what happens if they beat you?" Rikku asked.

Paine said nothing but despite her previous statements, she looked as concerned as Yuna and Rikku.

"It's okay. I know it's me they want so they won't think twice if you three decide to slip away." Ven answered with a smile. "Just go back the way you came and you'll be okay."

"Ven…" Yuna could barely say another word.

"Besides, I can't ask you three to help me. You're treasure hunters, not fighters." Ven turned away. "It wouldn't be fair."

The three fairies could only watch as he walked to the next door.

"You three just wait outside the castle and when I get back, we'll talk about any treasures that might be here." Ven opened the door.

The three fairies watched as he walked through the next door and closed it a second later.

They just stared at the door, hovering in mid-air.

"Ven…"