The Boy Who Fell Through The World V

"So, you lived here?" Yuna questioned, noticing the look on Ven's face as she hovered next to him. "You don't strike me as someone into the gothic architecture."

"I like it." Paine admitted.

"It used to be a lot different." Ven sighed. "I really don't know how it all happened."

The last time he had been here…

…. was the day he had left.

It only felt like yesterday to him, but an entire decade had gone by. Had the darkness now surrounding this world caused the temple to become like this?

Shaking his head, he approached the doors and slowly pushed them open.

Ven peeked his head inside, making sure everything was all clear before he stepped, followed quickly by the Gullwing fairies. The first thing for Ven to note of his old home was that it was completely white on the inside, with a little mixture of blue. This room wasn't here the last time Ven had been here. The doors would have led into the grand hall of the monastery with the three chairs at the back for the three masters meant to watch over this castle and the rest of the Land of Departure.

Not only was the temple different on the outside, but it had also been completely redone on the inside.

'But why all the white?' Ven wondered as he walked into the middle of the room.

"Seems kind of bland." Paine commented as the doors behind them closed. "How did you handle all the white?"

"It wasn't like this before." Ven replied quietly. "This…This is all different."

He spied a small stairway at the other end of the of the room leading up to a doorway. The doors actually resembled a golden gate and a white light seemed to come from it.

"So, are we going?" Yuna asked, leaning to whisper into Ven's ear.

Ven carefully looked around the room before walking forward…

And then jumped back as something in the center of the room exploded out in front of him.

"Whoa!" Yuna, Rikku and Paine flew back, hovering behind Ven.

"Well, well, well, lookie what we got here?" From the dark portal came what sounded like a woman wearing a dark coat.

The same dark coat as the Mysterious Figure he had fought outside. Only it was a girl, with blond hair with two long strands styled into distinctive antennae-like strands and green eyes.

"Got to admit, we weren't expecting any visitors." The woman greeted with a condescending smile on her face.

Ven's eyes narrowed, and he summoned his Keyblade. "Who are you?"

"That's a rather rude question to ask a lady." The woman held up a finger and waved it at Ven in mock scolding manner. "Shouldn't you be the one introducing yourself? You're the one walking into someone else's home uninvited."

"This place is my home. You're the intruder here." Ven barked back. "And you're wearing the same coat as that guy that attacked me outside."

"Yeah, that guy…" The woman brought a hand to her hair, twirling one of the antenna strands. "Got to admit, not sure who that guy was. I think I would have remembered someone with those kinds of weapons and powers."

Ven kept a wary look on his face, saying nothing to the strange woman who brought a hand to her chin.

"Come to think of it, you look very familiar yourself. You sure we haven't met before?" She asked, a contemplative look on her face now as she looked Ven over.

"I would have remembered someone like you…" Ven said and then trailed off as something flashed in his mind.

A young girl with a slender build and aquamarine eyes…

Her hair, blonde and unkempt, with two spikes at the front that resemble antennae…

"…Elrena." Ven suddenly spoke, bringing a hand to his head.

Larxene froze upon hearing what Ven said, her eyes widening and her jew nearly dropping. "…What did you just say?"

"I-"

Larxene didn't given him a chance to speak as she shot forward with amazing speed, kneeing Ven in the stomach before he could react. She then grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and slammed him into the wall.

"How?" She snarled, electricity now circling around her hair. "How do you know that name?"

"I-AH!" Ven cried as Larxene slammed him into the wall.

"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME?!" Larxene roared.

In her mind, she remembered the day the Superior found her and brought her into the Organization.

E-L-R-E-N-A

And then an 'X' appeared before the letters were switched around to spell her new name.

L-A-R-X-E-N-E

The Naming Ceremony.

The name of the Nobody's 'Other' appears before them and then an 'X' is added before the letters are rearranged until they form a new name.

This boy knew the name of her Other self.

How?

"Let him go!" Larxene felt something slam into her head, disorientating her enough to Ven the chance to kick her off of him.

Larxene grunted as Ven rushed at her, swinging his Keyblade at her head but she ducked and somersaulted back, gaining some distance before landing perfectly on her feet. She held up her hand as it crackled with electricity. In between her fingers appeared yellow knives, each having a cross shape and designed to look like the top half of the Nobody logo. One of the spikes is elongated and acts as the blade of the knife, while the other three act as the grip.

The base of the blade was cyan and had a clear separation from the blade itself, which was bright yellow. The other three spikes were a slightly paler shade of yellow and each had a cyan tip (again, a bit paler than the cyan in the blade). These two colors faded into each other, unlike the clear color separation present in the blade.

(Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories OST The 13th Struggle Starts)

(Information: Defeat the Strange Woman)

Ven glanced at the Gullwing fairies. "You three stay back. I'll handle her!"

"Handle me?" Larxene scoffed. "You'll handle me? You know, you're look alike is a lot more respectful!"

With that, she shot at Ven, aiming her knives forward to stab him right in the chest. Ven quickly ducked and rolled out of the way, jumping back to his feet and spun around as Larxene flew past him. She turned and spotted him as he launched a spinning slash at her which she ducked under and lashed out with a kick to the ribs, sending Ven flying back. Ven grunted, landing on his back and rolled back onto his feet, keeping Larxene in his sight all the while.

"Thunder!" Larxene called out.

Ven already knew what was coming and jumped out of the way just as bolt of lightning shot down and hit where he had stood. Larxene shot at him again and this time he used his Keyblade to bat her knives away before following with a series of quick slashes. However, Larxene was able to dodge, duck, and side-step each time, sporting a look of mocking surprise or a taunting smile with each dodge. She launched a quick jab at Ven that also came with a jolt of electricity that knocked him back.

As Ven flew back he actually threw his Keyblade at Larxene, hitting her straight in the face which sent her flying in the opposite direction.

"Gah!" Larxene landed on the other end of the room, bringing a hand to her face. "Why you-?!"

"Pulse Bomb!" Ven called out and from the tip of his Keyblade came a barrage of energy blasts.

Larxene grunted as she started dodging the first few but was hit by several more that came with small explosions. "AH!"

"Wow!" Yuna remarked as Larxene hit the wall and slid down. "He's good."

"Very good." Rikku commented with an excited smile.

"Meh." Paine simply shrugged.

Larxene got up, electricity sparkling around her as she glared at Ven, her teeth grit and eyes narrowed in anger. "Make a fool out me, will you?!"

She shot right at Ven again, her knives blazing with electricity. Even when Ven blocked, he ended up getting shocked by the knives making contact with his Keyblade.

"AH!" Ven stumbled, hastily trying to fend of Larxene's onslaught.

"I'm gonna break you!"

Ven jumped back, avoiding Larxene's slashes and threw his Keyblade at her again. Larxene however dodged and pursued Ven with a savage grin on her face. Ven summoned back his Keyblade as Larxene threw her knives at him, quickly blocking them but Larxene had more as she attempted to stab Ven in the chest.

"I got you!"

'Salvation!' Ven thought to him as he spun out of the way and to Larxene's surprise, summoned columns of light around both of them.

"Gah!" Larxene had no time to react as the columns hit her all at once and blasted her back.

As this happened, a green light surrounded Ven, healing him of any wounds he had suffered. He spotted Larxene land back on the ground, even more furious as lightning literally danced around her.

'Command Style:' Ven closed his eyes as his form was cloaked in a light green aura. 'Fever Pitch!'

Ven and Larxene shot at each other again, wind and lightning dancing around the pair as they fought.

"Whoa!" The Gullwing fairies found themselves being flung back as the fight raged on.

Larxene and Ventus were moving so fast, they were nothing but blurs to the human eye. Lightning clashed against wind as Larxene's knives made contact with Ven's Keyblade.

'What is this kid?!' Larxene thought furiously to herself as she managed to kick Ven away and threw knives at him.

However, Ven managed to easily deflect them with his Keyblade as he landed perfectly on the ground.

'He's stronger and more experienced than Roxas!' Larxene through furiously but then grinned. 'Guess I'll have to kick it up a notch!'

Then to Ven's surprise, Larxene split herself into three identical copies that all charged at him. 'She can use clones?!'

Larxene and her clones dashed in and repeatedly slashed at Ven, slashing mainly at his chest and stomach before kicking him away. Ven grunted, quickly casting a Cura on himself and prepared himself as Larxene and her clones rushed at him again.

'Command Style: Cyclone!' Ven thought as a bright aura surrounded him.

Just as Larxene and her clones were about to attack again, Ven started spinning around like a top, rapidly moving around the room and shot at them. He met Larxene and her clones head on with wide-ranged spinning slashes that hit and dispersed all the clones while knocking the real Larxene away. Larxene got back up and called down another Thunder spell on Ventus, blasting him to the other side of the room.

Ven hit the wall and slid down but managed to get back up on his feet and quickly cast Cura again. "Heal!"

As soon as he healed, Ven ducked as Larxene threw her knives again. 'How does she have so many knives?!'

"What's the matter?!" Larxene taunted, holding a new set of knives in her hands. "Getting tired out?"

Ven answered by disappearing in a flash of green, reappearing in front of Larxene and slamming the blunt end of his Keyblade into her face. Larxene stumbled back but dodged the next strike. Ventus was fast but Larxene was even faster and more agile as she blocked or dodged Ven's strikes.

"Not bad, kid." Larxene admitted as she jumped back, landing several feet away. "Maybe we won't need any of the others, after all."

"Others?" Ven questioned. "As in people like me? People who have Keyblades?"

"Maybe." Larxene answered cryptically, finger on her chin as she looked thoughtful.

In a very mocking way.

"Who are you talking about?" Ven questioned, keeping his Keyblade raised while in his signature reverse grip.

Larxene grinned. "So eager to find out…Maybe if you roll over and act like a good boy I might consider telling you."

Ven scowled. "I'm not doing anything for you."

"Hmph." Larxene smirked. "Guess it's the hard way then."

She shot at Ven again, aiming her knives right at his face. Ven spun back, catching Larxene's knives with his Keyblade over his shoulder and spun again, forcefully pushing Larxene's arm away and swung his foot at Larxene's legs. Larxene jumped over Ven's sweeping and tried stabbing Ven's head but ducked and kicked Larxene away. Larxene landed a few feet away and readied another attack with her Limit Break, but Ven had enough.

"Command Style:" Ven called out and a light blue glow began to surround him and his Keyblade vanished. "Wingblade!"

Six ethereal swords appeared behind him, almost looking like wings. He dashed forward, almost flying at Larxene met him head on, her knives glowing and crackling with electricity. The knives and first two ethereal swords met and caused sparks to fly in all directions.

CLASH!

"Thunder!" Larxene shouted, summoning another bolt of lightning from above.

Only Ven didn't need to dodge as he used another ethereal sword to block the lightning. He then grabbed two more swords and slashed them at Larxene who couldn't react in time. Larxene fell back but Ven continued attacking, teleporting and slashing at Larxene in mid-air and all six swords vanished, becoming one big sword that Ven swung down and sent Larxene crashing into the ground in the center of the room.

(Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories OST The 13th Struggle Ends)

Larxene grunted, staggering to her feet and managing to stand up but found herself stumbling. "No way…A mere kid…This strong?"

Ven landed back in front of her, dismissing his Keyblade. "Now tell me what you mean by the others?"

Larxene grunted, glaring but smiled as a portal appeared behind her. "I didn't say I'd talk if you beat me."

She stumbled into the portal and vanished before Ven could stop her. "Wait!"

Present
EverAfter

"So, after I beat her, I tried looking around the castle some more." Ven finished the latest part of his tale.

"Hm…" Terra carefully considered what Ven had told him. "Elrena. You say you felt like you knew her?"

"I felt like I know her from…somewhere." Ven sighed deeply. "I mean, from before I met you and Aqua."

"Sounds like my kind of girl." Neo sat up. "Really fun gal."

"What about her sounds fun? She tried to kill me. Well, she tried to electrocute me, beat me up and when I said her name, then she tried to kill me." Ven recalled and admitted.

"Like I said, she sounds fun." Neo said chirpily.

Ven looked at Terra. "Where did Aqua find her?"

"Here, with a lot of people angry at her." Terra answered to which Neo shrugged. "So, what did you find in the castle?"

"Nothing." Ven sighed.

"Well, he did find her." Yuna cut in with a cute smile.

"Her?" Terra asked, glancing at Ven who shifted a bit.

Flashback
Castle Oblivion

"The castle doesn't seem to be affecting his memories. How can that be?" Vexen pondered, having heard that the mysterious boy named Ven had already cleared the first three floors of the castle without much resistance. "It's almost as if the castle doesn't recognize him as an intruder."

"How is that possible?" Zexion asked.

Lexeaus kept his arms crossed, eyes closed, and he remained silent through the conversation. Larxene was resting on a chair nearby, exhausted from her fight with Ventus. Marluxia was close by, his mind considering what had happened.

"It was a sacrifice that needed to be made."

His eyes slowly opened, hearing a strange…voice.

"So…Ven didn't attack Strelitzia. You did. Is that right?"

"Lauriam!"

I figured you guys could use some help." He approached some sort of dark misty figure.

"One more ally will make no difference."

"Then how about two?"

Someone else arrived, someone he should have recognized.

Their name was muffled for some reason.

"It's useless. Even if you do manage to defeat us, you will still lose."

"I don't think so." He pointed his Keyblade at the strange entity. "We're taking you down and going back to the real world."

"And how do you plan on doing that? With the lifeboat?"

"Yeah. Just like the evil fairy, right?"

"You know nothing."

"How do you figure?"

"If you return, Daybreak Town will still succumb to darkness."

"What have you done to the real world?"

"Nothing. It was decided long ago. When the lifeboat is activated, this world falls to darkness. It is already in motion.

The beginning of the end."

"But why?"

"The lifeboat is the last line of defense to be relied upon in the event we cannot be defeated. Its use initiates the process to seal this world and us along with it. The evil fairy's departure was the trigger. It cannot be stopped."

"But…that means…"

"We're just a bunch of pawns?" He asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.

"No, I don't believe it. Master Ava is the one that brought us together. I don't know about the other Masters, but I know for sure Master Ava wouldn't throw us away like that!"

"Besides, it doesn't matter what the Masters have planned for us. We believe in our leader!"

"Let's do this."

They fought, trying to destroy the entity…

"Did we win?"

The entity appeared again. "I am formless. You cannot destroy me."

Creatures of darkness appeared, surprising them.

"You…"

"You…"

"You…"

"The Darklings…They're after Ven?"

"But why?"

The boy, Ven opened his eyes and slowly stood up. A bright light came from his chest, repelling the Darklings and the Darkness.

"Ven…"

Ven walked past them and stared up at the Darkness. "If you're pure darkness, that makes me pure light. If you used me to reshape yourself, then I can reshape you again. I'll give you a new form…that we can defeat!"

"Ven!"

"Ven!" He rushed up to the boy.

"Lauriam…"

"I can't lose you too." He said.

"Everything's going to be all right." Ven said softly.

He jumped at the Darkness.

"VEN!"

There was a flash of light…

"I'm sorry, Ventus. I know it wasn't your fault. I just needed someone to blame. Darkness is so...abstract.

My anger needed a simple, tangible target. Selfish of me, I know. But some emotions are too much to bear. Tell me. Is darkness really gone? Or has it become a part of you, just like you said? If it has, then I—"

"Hey, Marluxia!"

Marluxia blinked, returning to the present and took a deep breath.

"You okay?" Larxene asked with a curious look on her face. "We were just asking you what to do next."

Marluxia noticed everyone in the room was looking at him and quickly regained his bearings. "How long before the boy gets up here?"

"Not too long." Vexen answered.

"We should restrain him and bring him to the Superior." Lexeaus stated. "We've held off informing him long enough."

"Agreed." Marluxia stated, to the surprise of everyone. "Leave that to me. Lexeaus, you and Zexion go and capture the boy. We'll handle informing the Superior."

Lexeaus and Zexion shared a look, staring at Marluxia for a moment who glared back at them and they headed for the door.

"If the Superior is not informed when we get back, Marluxia. I will inform him myself and of your insubordination." Lexeaus promised before walking out the door.