Kingdom Hearts; The Light's Keeper

Chapter XXVIII; Catch a Falling Star

X sat on a rock looking down on the dusty wasteland. At his feet was the same humanoid mouse he had fought with the last time he was in the Badlands. The mouse was unconscious this time. Without Ventus in the area X had found it too easy to take down the mouse. He didn't put up nearly as much of a fight. But that might have been due to the hoard of Heartless X had summoned to fight for him.

A keyblade glider landed on the other side of the area. X looked up slowly as the armor was dispelled. Ventus looked around frantically. When he saw Mickey he sprinted toward the mouse. X was amused at the display of worry. Ventus had only met the mouse once, that wasn't really enough to make a friendship. Or X didn't think it was.

"Mickey!" Ventus yelled. He skidded to a stop his eyes finally landing on the young Heartless. X smirked at Ventus and motioned to the mouse. Ventus looked at X with mistrust before he finished running to Mickey. He rolled Mickey onto his back and shook him slightly. Mickey didn't react to the stimulus. He was too out of it. Too close to dead.

"We meet again boy." X looked up to see Master Xehanort looking at Ventus with his hands behind his back. X sighed heavily and leaned back. This wasn't going to end well. Ventus laid down Mickey gently. He glared up at X before turning to face Master Xehanort.

"Master Xehanort." Ventus said. He took a step forward, but stopped suddenly and cried out in pain. He dropped to his knees and held his head in his hands. X smirked, it seemed that some of his memories were returning.

"Ah yes, so you are starting to realize what you lost, oh, but not for good. You had to lose in order to find. Now it can all be yours again, if you only reach out and take it. Reclaim the part that left you. Clash with him! Pure light against pure darkness, to forge the ultimate key. The all-powerful X-blade." Master Xehanort said calmly. Ventus screamed falling to the ground. X held back a snicker.

"Key...blade?" Ven muttered. X flinched a little at the name. He didn't know why that was his goal. They couldn't control Kingdom Hearts without it.

"Not the keyblades you and I carry." Master Xehanort said holding out his hand. A stylized X appeared in the air. "'X' a most ancient letter. Some say 'kye', but the meaning is the same." He closed his fist letting the X disappear. "Death. A letter that spells endings." X held in a laugh at that. He had never known that, Master Xehanort had forgotten to teach him that. It was amusing. Even his name was cursed. Master Xehanort held his hand in the air and summoned a dark portal in the sky above Ventus.

"And I have the power to make it." Ventus said softly from where he lay. X laughed from behind Ventus. He jumped down off the rock and paced around to be in front of Ventus.

"You bet. You and your dark counterpart." X said with a wicked grin. Things were finally coming to a head. They were winning.

"And Eraqus knows it, too. He knows exactly what you are. And your beloved Y." Master Xehanort said. X looked over his shoulder at him with a glare. Ventus didn't need to know about Y's roll in all of this. No one did.

"The Master?" Ventus asked. He pushed himself to his knees looking up at them with a forwn. "And what about Y?" He asked. Despite X's disapproval Master Xehanort continued his explanation.

"Haven't you ever wondered? Why he never granted you or that girl permission to leave his side, to grow stronger? Eraqus was frightened of you. If you were to learn the truth, realize what you are. He never trusted you. Why else would he keep you within his sight at all times?" Master Xehanort said. Ventus narrowed his eyes looking down in confusion. Master Xehanort wasn't wrong. Master Eraqus had to have known.

"Yeah. He never let us see other worlds, no matter how much we asked. But what does Y have to do with any of this?" Ventus asked as he stood up. His blue eyes were demanding, a look that really didn't suite the poor boy.