Lauriam still can't find what he's looking for. He mentioned that he was searching for something back when all the new Union leaders first met and that this endeavor was the reason he was so late in joining them. Quite a bit of time has passed since then, and Lauriam's still on the hunt for whatever it was that kept him that day. Luckily, maybe even unfortunately, he's about to stumble on his first real lead.

Kingdom Hearts Union Cross quests 842 through 860 finally reveal what Lauriam has been looking for. Through this reveal, these quests also act as the first to clear a Union leader of Strelitzia's murder. This writing will serve as a recap and interpretation of these events to provide a better understanding of what's going on in Kingdom Hearts Union Cross. So expect spoilers ahead.

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Shift Pride

kingdom hearts union x cross shift pride

Ephemer has called a meeting to discuss implementing the next regulation in Master Ava's rulebook, but Lauriam didn't show up. Despite this, Brain relays that Lauriam will back Ephemer on whatever he decides because he believes in him as the group leader. While Ephemer would rather have Lauriam in attendance, he knows that he's dealing with a personal matter, so he decides to press forward without him and ask the rest of the group their opinion on something called "Shift Pride."

Skuld's anxious and Brain's nonchalant reactions to the topic are ones Ephemer expected. It's Ven's that catches everyone off-guard. When Brain, in his casualness, acknowledges Shift Pride by describing it: a regulation telling them, the Union leaders, to prepare a stage for Keyblade wielders to battle each other in — Ventus acts shocked, as though he was unaware of the rule despite having read the rule book. He claims he must not have understood that section.

Regardless, Ventus stands against the rule with a rare showing of his aggressive side, and Skuld agrees with him, as she remembers the haunting first battle with Master Aced. Brain, on the other hand, views the rule as friendly competition and consequently thrust the decision of its implementation onto Ephemer, as he has the tie-breaker vote with Lauriam. To Ven and Skuld's surprise, Ephemer thinks the group should go through with it.

However, Ephemer suggests a twist that makes everyone happy. He wants to have wielders fight their data counterparts instead of each other, something that's possible because the inhabitants of every world, including Daybreak Town, were recreated as data when the worlds themselves were. By performing Shift Pride in this way, the leaders can both follow the rule book and avoid unnecessary conflict.

It's an idea, Ephemer admits, was inspired by Lauriam, who reminded Ephemer of their data-counterparts when he told him a few days ago that he was going to ask them for clues concerning someone he's looking for. Ven and Skuld wonder who said person could be, but Brain suggests that the group stay out of it for now, as it sounds like a private matter. They'll get involved only if Lauriam personally asks them to.

Elrena

kingdom hearts union x cross elrena

Lauriam failed to learn anything from the data, but he has one last lead to follow, and it results in two surprising reveals. The first is the lead herself, whom Lauriam finds outside of Master Gula's old favorite storage house. Her name is Elrena, and she's the Somebody of Larxene — Organization 13's Savage Nymph and Lauriam's future partner in crime. The second is why Lauriam sought Elrena out: She's the only Dandelion he's aware of that knew his sister, Strelitzia.

After understanding Lauriam's predicament, Elrena admits that she didn't know Strelitzia that well. The two of them were in the same Party a few times, but they didn't interact much because Strelitzia mostly kept to herself. From Elrena's perspective, they were associates, not friends. All of that said, Elrena did notice Strelitzia waiting on someone every day at her usual spot on a roof in Fountain Square. She last saw her there just after Master Ava spoke to them all about a war that never happened.

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After seeing Lauriam's anxiety, Elrena remembers her Chirithy and Strelitzia's were friends, so she summons it to see if it knows anything. According to Chirithy, it last talked with Strelitzia's here, at Gula's storage, just before the bells signaling the Keyblade War tolled. Strelitzia apparently wanted to turn a particularly quiet someone into a Dandelion. She didn't even know this individual's name, but she was set on it.

Before Chirithy could learn more, though, Strelitzia's freaked out upon seeing a boy, a girl, and another Chirithy approach the warehouse. Then it teleported away somewhere. To Lauriam's surprise, Elrena's Chirithy later learned that the girl it saw was a Union leader like himself: Skuld.

"Someone"

kingdom hearts union x cross lauriam protagonist

Skuld has no idea who Strelitzia is. After thanking Elrena and her Chirithy, Lauriam explained his situation to Skuld and the other leaders, catching them just after their Shift Pride discussion. Sadly, Skuld doesn't know anything, and now Lauriam's worried that his sister really did get caught up in the Keyblade War looking for this mysterious "someone."

Luckily, Ephemer has an idea of who the mystery individual is, and as a result, gives Skuld a clue too. After all, she also has experience trying to get a particularly quiet person to join the Dandelions: the Union Cross protagonist.

Unfortunately, the protagonist doesn't know anything either. Ephemer set up a meeting with them so Lauriam could ask questions, but they've never met Strelitzia before. That said, Lauriam at least knows who his sister was chasing now, so the visit helped. Thus, before he leaves Ephemer and the protagonist to hang out for the rest of the day, he asks the protagonist to keep Strelitzia in their heart, and the protagonist agrees.

Strelitzia's Whereabouts

kingdom hearts union cross strelitizia death gllitch

Elrena and her Chirithy have new information for Lauriam when he returns to them. After he left, the duo checked out the warehouse, thinking it would have clues, and lo and behold, it did. The two actually saw Strelitzia. At the very least, they saw something that looked like her: an apparition akin to something like a glitch. They witnessed her limping toward the house entrance while cradling her Chirithy. She was mumbling something and flickering in and out of existence. Then she just disappeared.

Without hesitation, Lauriam bursts into the warehouse and calls out for Strelitzia, but he receives no answer. Elrena explains that they came back a few times after the initial occurrence, but it never happened again. Even so, they have more information. Elrena's Chirithy remembered that Strelitzia's definitely mentioned a war just before vanishing.

This gets Lauriam thinking about something Brain said just after Lauriam informed the other leaders of his situation. Brain thought it was odd that despite Lauriam having struggled to convince Strelitzia to join the Dandelions, she not only did but wanted desperately to bring the protagonist too. It's almost as if something made Strelitzia certain the end of the world was coming, and Lauriam decides he needs to figure out what exactly that was if he wants to know what happened to her.

Kingdom Hearts Union Cross is on IOS and Android.

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