11/19/17
Xion: A Fragmented Soul
(The characters and locations of this story are the property of Squaresoft/Square Enix and Disney, and they are not of my own creation.)
(Welcome to Xion: A Fragmented Soul! This story is an alternate universe that is parallel to the universe of Kingdom Hearts. Though the story is largely the same as the canon storyline, there are a few small differences between this story and the pre-established canon.
"Xion….Who will I have ice cream with?"
"I'm only doing this to protect you…"
Every single word they uttered struck my heart with a new sharp feeling. At first, I couldn't tell what it was…
After all, I am a Nobody. I'm a being who has no grounds to exist in the physical realm...an anomaly.
The husk left after one's heart is extinguished….and a being that has no capacity to feel any emotion.
That is what I thought during those days spent with them….Organization XIII…
The laughs we shared….The smiles we had on our faces as we ran about doing mission after Saix…
The afternoon sessions after work that Demyx would spend trying to teach me and Roxas to play guitar… He called us something called a roadie, and me and Roxas readily agreed. Saix would always complain about how we were too loud, and we'd only play louder after hearing semi-book club we had with Xexion….
All he wanted to do was pour his heart into his poetry, but his dark lyrics always seemed to fly over our heads..
The nights we spent at the local bar with Luxord. I remember Roxas had always stayed hell-bent on beating him at his own game, and every time Roxas lost more of his earnings. The face he always made when he lost was the best too! It always….it always cracked me and Axel up…
Or when Larxene and I would have a Girl's Night Out...After my constant begging. I learned a lot more about being a girl than I'd ever hoped for, but it was fun nonetheless.
And then the moments up on the tower, in Twilight Town. Roxas, Axel, and I would sit up on that tower, overlooking the city. The orange glow of the sunset set the city ablaze with beauty, and the distant sound of the commerce train chugging going against the sounds of the beach truly made the place feel alive.
And who better to spend it with than the two people who had brought me out of my shell when I first got here.
Roxas and Axel had always been there for me, always steering me and guiding me as I collected missions from Saix.
Axel was like...how would you call it…?
Ah yes! A big brother!
All I do know is that he...took care of me. He always looked out for the two of us and made sure we were okay. And not to mention all the times he took the fall for us when we didn't completely finish the mission, or went back empty-handed. Saix always threatened him that he was going to turn him into a Dusk, but he still seemed adamant in defending us.
And then there was Roxas…
I had so many questions when I came here….like what I was or where I came from…
Of course, none of the Organization members could really answer them. How could they?
I was something completely new...Something unlike anything they had seen before.
So they stuck me with Roxas, the first anomaly to join the crew.
And sure enough, he couldn't answer much either….He was just as bad as me.
But he was always there, always offering to listen to me about every fear and doubt I had.
Where did I come from? Who was I? After all….every Nobody retains the memories from their original body.
Why was I here? I'm sure there were other Nobody's they could have chosen…
But he always assured me that I was there for a reason, and that we'd figure it all out, together.
He was so...kind. So caring…
Just like you.
Which made it all the more hard to make the decision I did.
*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*
As time went on, I began to uncover more things about me...and I saw the flaws in what the Organization had said about me…
And the dreams I had...the dreams I had about you.
Every single night, I would be afraid to sleep at night. After all, isn't it scary to keep dreaming about someone who looks exactly like you, but isn't you? To keep having those dreams like they actually happened to you?
I had begun to lose sleep and my trust for the Organization, and my dream had become more vivid and life-like.
The others slowly started to avoid me like the plague, and I became an outcast among the group once again. All of them pretended that it was okay...but the things they whispered behind their back…
"She has rebelled far too much….She has shown too many emotions…"
"I worry for her. No Nobody should express emotion like that…."
"She has become too powerful….She must be eradicated. We only need one form of Sora."
Rumor after rumor, they all spoke of me as if I was some deviant….some demon among them…
I even began to notice Roxas and Axel had begun to act strange. Axel almost seemed to avoid me as well, and Roxas end up becoming more and more confused as every day went by and came.
Everything that I had lived for the past year had been crumbling to dust, and all because of my unknown past. Or rather, I could say it was very known.
I could bet you my life on whether Xemnas and Saix had known all along. Perhaps everyone did, which is why they decided to ultimately control me.
When I figured that out….I ran. I ran from my destiny and truth, hoping that I could find any answer. Some answer about me...and about you.
And I finally found it in the form of your friend, Riku…
He told me many things that day as the rain poured down on my face.
Like how useless I was….Like how I was just a copy of his dear friend…
I was just a fragment of you. Just a lonely piece of your already fractured heart.
Do you know what it feels like? To have your life's meaning stripped from you? To be reduced to nothing more than a shamble of what you thought you were? To know that you were just living some lie?
No….you wouldn't….I never expected you to.
You always did live a life of comfort, knowing what you are...Where you were going...Why you were the way you were…
Always surrounded by people who lived with you, and no matter what...You'd find them at your side no matter how you were separated.
Always so….happy. Every single moment of every single day.
It makes me sick.
*xxxxxxxxxxxxxx*
Sora had been lying awake at night, tossing and turning. He was finding it incredibly hard to get to sleep that night, due to him having that same dream. About some girl with black hair, wearing one of the Organization cloak. She had blue eyes like Roxas and I, and she was even wielding a Kingdom Key.
But who even was she?
Every single time he thought of her, it made him feel weird in his heart, like in Twilight Town when he said goodbye to Hayner and the gang. Sora didn't feel like crying, but his body just did it on it's own, and it was the exact same thing here.
The thoughts had become more vivid and apparent every single day, and he swore he could hear and see a girl in the corner of his room.
When he was alone at night, he heard a ghostly whisper that would sound like:
"Why did they pick you?"
"Why can't you be the one forgotten?"
"Why was I the sham?"
He didn't know who or what the voice spoke of, and he decided to leave it be. After all, it was probably just the lack of sleep he'd gotten over the last few days. It was best left ignored and forgotten.
But then...sometimes those memories almost felt like they were too real...too close to comfort.
After a few more moments, he eventually opened his eyes, looking around his bedroom.
It was still pitch dark outside, and the sun had just started to rise in the horizon.
Waking up early wasn't his intention at all, and this only served to irritate him even more.
"Ugh...Can't I just get one good night's sleep around here?" Sora whined as he rubbed his eyes and opened his nearby window.
He looked out to the waves, the sound almost soothing Sora back into his sleep. They were now a dull pink due to the sunrise's glow as a gentle breeze flittered through.
"Well, no use sitting around here. Might as well make breakfast." Sora said as he jumped off the bed, heading down to the bathroom to take care of his appearance.
After a minute of walking, he finally reached the downstairs bathroom and grabbed the toothpaste and his toothbrush….or what he thought was his toothbrush.
As he started to brush his teeth, he noticed it had a blue color rather than his favorite color of red, and he immediately flung it back into the drawer.
"Oh man! Come on!" Sora complained as he groaned, grabbing his toothbrush.
The last thing he needed was for someone else to find out.
This very same thing happened before his first adventure as well. It took him a week to explain to people that it was just an accident and not something more sinister.
Tidus and Wakka had never seemed to let go of that, and it was always a subject of a joke when Riku and I were hanging out with one another.
"Another great start to the morning…" Sora said under his breath as he started to fix his hair, looking into the mirror. Only...it wasn't his reflection behind him.
It was, of that girl. The girl in his dreams….
But something was different.
Her arms and limbs had these white gashes in them, as if someone took an eraser and tried to erase her away. Her expression was well….nothing. Her face was almost like a stone wall.
"Give it back…." She whispered.
I stood there, completely flabbergasted at what the mirror image was asking me.
Did I take something from her? And who even was she?
And just like that, she was gone from my sight…
All this week, Sora has seen these flashes, these...visions of the girl. Normally, he'd dismiss it as some kind of crush, but he'd never seen nor heard of the girl before he started having these visions.
Maybe they were some kind of side effect from when he finally merged with Roxas? But even then, it made absolutely no sense at all.
Nothing made sense at the moment to him, but he disregarded it nonetheless.
He then walked to the kitchen, only to see a strange woman sitting at the counter, cooking him breakfast.
She had yellow hair and green eyes, wearing the cloak the Organization had.
He had thought that all of the Organization members had faded away after him and Riku had dealt with them. Were there still more of them left after everything that happened?
"What the…? How did you get in here!?" Sora demanded, only for the woman to look at him strangely.
"I'm...your mother? Sora, are you feeling alright?" She asked as Sora then summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the woman.
"I don't know who you are, but you need to get out….NOW!" Sora said angrily.
The memory of what the Organization had done to him and Kairi, how they had held her as some bargaining chip so that he would be their faithful dog.
The woman yelped as she backed up, and her eyes were wide with fear.
"Sora, what are you doing…? It's just me honey!" she said frantically as Sora then narrowed his eyes.
"Look, I gave you a warning, okay? I don't know if you're having some kind of illusion, but I'm not your kid. Now go on back to wherever you came from, and leave me alone!" Sora said with an angry sigh.
"Stop this Sora! You are my child, and i would know that after the 9 months of pain I went through trying to get you into this world! Now put the Keyblade away, right now young man. Because if this is some practical joke, then it is NOT funny!" The woman shouted, as Sora then slowly lowered his Keyblade.
He then felt a sharp pain in his head as he clutched it and grunted.
It felt like a million needles being pierced into his brain, and he slowly started to feel his strength failing him. His limbs felt week and loopy, his legs almost like noodles.
All the while, he could hear that voice in his head again.
"Why do you have to keep it to yourself? How come you get to live?"
That question made Sora a bit confused, though he obviously wasn't in the right mind to process the answer.
He eventually collapsed before the woman, his head landing with the sound of a thud.
*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*
Sora awoke in a completely different place. It seemed to be some kind of dream world, it obviously being so due to the pitch black sky. It seemed to stretch on for miles, like some kind of bottomless hole that you could never escape from.
His only saving grace was the platform he was standing on, which was providing the only source of light he had.
He looked down to see that it reminded him of the panels you would often see in a church of some kind.
It was adorned beautifully with roses, and in the center of the roses lay 3 people, all wrapped around me.
There was first Roxas, and it was obvious to tell what this picture was. It was depicting all of the people connected to his heart, though most seemed unrecognizable.
Roxas was easy to spot, due to him being his Nobody after all. But the others were a bit harder to pinpoint.
"There's a guy who looks like Roxas, but his clothes are different…." Sora said as he crossed his arms. There seemed to be an odd sort of familiarity with him, as if he had met him before...
"And...is that the vision I saw when Xehanort's younger copy talked to me in Quasi's world? Why is he connected to me of all people? And why does he look...exactly like me?" Sora asked as a frown appeared on his face.
"But there was another person...another hopeless imitation…" A voice spoke from behind Sora with a ghostly sound.
"A girl who wanted to be free of her fate...Her fate to be nothing but a sham…"
"But how does that tie with me? Did I do something wrong? Come on, I just want to make it right!" Sora said as he turned around, only to not see anything.
"Then are you willing to pay the price then….?" The voice asked as Sora felt a chill go up his spine.
There was an audible gulp in the room as Sora narrowed his eyes at where he thought the voice was located.
"If it means helping you out." Sora said as the voice simply laughed. It's voice sounded feminine, but it was laced with venom and hate.
"Oh...I don't think you realize the price….For if you did, you would have surely denied. Just as you've done to us before.
"What….Do you mean?" Sora asked before a sharp pain hit his heart. He clutched his chest as he fell to the floor, doubling over in the pain.
Sora sat there, screaming out in pain as he wriggled on the floor, his very chest feeling like it was going to explode. He found it impossible to breathe, and his limbs only seemed to writhe in pain.
As he suffered on the platform, he only heard a few approaching footsteps as a black boot appeared next to him.
He then looked up at whoever the boot belonged to, and his eye's widened at the sight.
It was the girl from his dreams….but something was much different than the last time he saw her…
Her clothes were in tatters, her face pale as if she was sick. And her eyes…
Her eyes seemed lifeless and cold to be sure, but they looked exactly like...his.
She had the very image of some apparition, and her actions supported every bit of Sora's guess.
"This...is what REAL PAIN feels like...And this is only a fraction of what I felt when I was forgotten by everyone!" She screamed down at him.
Sora continued to writhe in pain, it now becoming too much for the Keyblade wielder.
As he slowly lost his consciousness, she bent down and whispered something in his ear.
"I wonder how it feels….to know that you've held back so many people….And for what reason?" Xion asked as then slammed her boot down on Sora's head, and a demeaning crack was heard.
*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*
Sora suddenly woke up again, as he wildly looked out to his surroundings, now seeing that they too, were back to normal. He was back in his bedroom, thank the light...Though...it seemed off somehow. Though the pain had somehow accompanied him through the nightmare, as he still found himself clutching his heart.
"What...was that?" He asked himself as he stared back at his hands in a mixture of horror.
It was if he was still in a dream about his own life, which definitely out of the ordinary. After all, who's to say that this wasn't some sort of dream in a dream? He'd had too many of those to dismiss the possibility of something like that happening.
The door then suddenly opened, revealing a girl with red hair to her shoulders, and a young man with silver hair running down his back.
They were his two best friends, Riku and Kairi.
"Oh right...The girl I manage to look like..And the man who told me everything…" A voice whispered, it sounding exactly like that girl from his dreams.
"Sora...you feeling any better?" Kairi asked with a concerned expression, managing to shake Sora out of his brief trance.
"Oh, yeah! I'm fine! Trust me, there's nothing to worry about." Sora said as he tried to put on his best smile for them, though they seemed to find a little less than convincing.
The frown on their faces told it all.
"Come on Sora. There's no need to act macho for Kairi right now. If something's up, then you should probably let us know." Riku said as he put a hand on Sora's shoulder.
Though it had been a bellied comment on his and Kairi's relationship, it was an unappreciated one nonetheless. And the blush on Sora's cheeks proved that statement completely.
"Riku!" Sora whined as Riku and Kairi both giggled at him.
"Look Sora, just make sure you don't push yourself. After all, I can only deal with one super selfless guy around here." Kairi said as she crossed her arms and looked at Riku whom had simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Yeah...I guess you guys are-" Sora began to say before their was a bright flash as he quickly tried to cover his eyes.
A few moments passed before he felt that the light simmered down, and he slowly lowered his hands.
"What the heck was that…?" Sora asked out loud as he rubbed his eyes, only for him to hear a voice he hadn't expected to hear at all.
"What the heck was what…? Did you see something?"
It was the voice of his counterpart, his Nobody...Roxas.
Sora simply jumped up from his bed as his eyes jolted open.
The sound of their voices were completely true as he gazed upon none other than Axel and Roxas. Both of them still wearing their Organization cloaks, and both with concerned expressions on their faces.
"Roxas!? Axel!? What are you doing here?!" Sora screamed at the two of them.
Axel and Roxas simply looked at each other and shrugged, only for Axel to place hand on his shoulder.
"Look Xion, it's just us, your friends Axel and Roxas." Axel said calmly as Sora swatted away his hand.
Sora simply froze up as he looked up at the two, who seemed to be just as baffled as he was.
"Look, we're away from that guy with the blindfold. Everything will be fine. Just calm down...and relax." Roxas said slowly.
Guy with a blindfold….? Xion….?
"Just what the heck is going on here?" Sora thought to himself as he looked around him.
The walls around him were a bare white, with nothing to look at other than a window. These designs, they all looked so familiar…
They were the ones from the World that Never Was. He was here somehow, and Roxas and Axel think he's some kind of...Xion.
His own bed felt cold, and he had no blankets. As he slowly looked down, he could see that his hands seemed smaller, feminine even. They were covered by dark gloves, obscuring them from sight.
He had a dark cloak wrapping his body, one that seemed eerily similar to the ones the others wore.
"This….can't be real….No.." Sora said as his eyes widened in surprise.
He couldn't be part of the Organization! This had to be some kind of twisted dream! Or at least, that's what Sora thought as he backed away from the two.
"But it is Sora...These are my- No….they're YOUR memories now." A voice said from the back of his mind as a bright flash began to light up the room.
Roxas and Axel seemed unaffected by at as they both seemed to turn to Sora and give him a look that sent chills down his spine. As the light seemed to get nearly as bright as the sun, Roxas whispered.
"Come on Xion….I thought you were smarter than that…" He said as Sora finally covered his eyes once more.
*xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx*
Sora eventually woke up, now finding himself on the beaches of Destiny Islands. The calming sound of the waves and seagulls did nothing to soothe his frayed nerves.
What was that dream?
Why were Roxas and Axel there?
Why did they call him Zion?
And why was he at the beach? He was in his own bedroom earlier anyway, and Riku and Kairi probably wouldn't bother dragging his unconscious body here….
Once again, nothing seemed to make sense for Sora. All the facts seemed to fly around in a tempest of confusion, and he was merely reaching out in vain to see if he could get any inkling of what was going on.
Who was Xion…?
He then looked out to the ocean, only to see that it now glowed a vibrant pink and orange, signaling that it was turning to evening rather quickly.
"How did I miss so much of the day…? And it seemed Kairi and Riku were back at their own homes….So why am I here?" Sora asked himself as he crossed his arms, only for him to hear that voice again.
"Don't you see what's happening here?"
Sora whipped around, and he saw her. The girl that had appeared in his nightmare.
"You're body is realizing it doesn't belong to you. It's accepting it's true master…" The girl said with a smirk as she then stepped towards Sora.
Their was a deadly smile on her face as she stared at him. It was twisted in some demonic way as she studied me up and down.
Her demeanor seemed to be controlled, but it felt like at any moment….she could pounce on him.
"My...body?" Sora asked as he stepped backwards a bit, only for the girl to laugh a bit.
"Well….Our body really…" She said as she stepped even closer to Sora and raised her hand at him.
"Our body….but how? Just who is she?" Sora thought to himself as he jumped back and instinctively drew his Keyblade. There was no way he was taking a chance with this girl...He could just feel his skin start to crawl when she was close.
"You know...I always admired something about you...How you'd save your friends, how deeply you cared about them….
And how even despite everything, you forgave Riku." The girl said as her face then turned back to him, her eyes piercing through his.
"And yet….you're horribly selfish Sora. Todas wanted to live his own life...but he was forced to become subservient and give up his own identity…." The girl said as she now got in Sora's face, not caring that he could draw his Keyblade once more and strike at any moment.
"Roxas wasn't forced. DiZ just told him the truth, and he decided then and there." Sora said before Zion simply giggled once again.
That laugh seemed devoid of feeling. Rather than putting relief in Sora's heart, it seemed to only instill more fear.
"What lies have they fed you Sora? I wonder...how much do you truly know about us...about me?"The girl asked as she then closed her hand.
At that moment, reality itself seemed to shatter as the images of the islands cracked. Soon, he was no longer surrounded with the calming sounds of the beach, nor was he basking in the gentle sunlight.
He was surrounded in a thick miasma of shadow, which seemed to drain him of his strength by the minute.
"Who are you!? Why are you doing this!?" Sora yelled at the girl, though her lack of response seemed to indicate that she was ignoring him.
The girl then raised her arm once again as a white and black vine-like energy surrounded her hand. She then closed her fist again as the energy was sent Sora's way.
He himself had managed to barely dodge it, being able to recount the time where he used a reversal to evade the attack.
"Fine...If you won't tell me, then there's only one way." Sora said with a sigh as he took his battle stance and ran towards the girl.
Sora took a slice in her direction, which the girl only seemed to dodge effortlessly. She then jumped over Sora, landing a kick to his back.
This knocked him forward a bit, only for him to narrowly dodge another Fira sent his way.
He then retaliated by ducking under one of her strikes and managing to use the broad side of his Keyblade to apply a blunt force to her chest.
This had partially knocked her up in the air, which left him the opportunity to strike at her for another combo.
This fight though...it seemed too easy. Too winnable. Something was up.
As he fought her, he felt his mind start to cloud up, like he was forgetting something important….But why would that be the case?
Of course, he disregarded it as something not to worry about. After all, he was fighting for his life at this point, and against someone who might have had ties with Organization XIII.
After a series of hits, he managed to knock her back to the floor. A few moments later, he landed as well.
"Give this up! I don't know what this is, but it's obvious you can't beat me. I don't want to fight." Sora said as she simply laughed again while laying on the ground.
"You honestly don't know what's happening here….do you?" The girl asked as she jumped onto her feet, though her eyes seemed to sparkle now with a mixture of insanity and amusement.
Sora merely chose to stay silent as he readied his Keyblade to block any incoming attacks that she might have had.
"You think that you're still in control...That you still have dominion over this…" She laughed as she started to walk towards Sora, only for her to raise her hand again.
Sora pre-emptively used Reflectga in order to bounce the spell back, encasing him a circular mirror that absorbed the Fira. However, he looked back towards the girl, only to see that she was completely gone.
"Where'd she go…?" Sora asked before he heard another voice behind him, and one that made him stop in his tracks.
"Don't pretend something that isn't yours is yours Sora…..Weren't those words advice from OUR Mom?" She asked as Sora backed away hesitantly.
"I don't remember her ever saying that….But if it was that important, wouldn't I have remembered it?" Sora thought to himself.
"Our Mom….said that?" Sora asked quizzingly as he looked at her, his eyebrows furrowed in deep thought.
"Are you having trouble remembering? Oh no...It's as if you were the real puppet now…" The girl said once again as she walked towards Sora ever so slowly.
For a few moments, Sora was frozen.
After all, her words seemed to be growing ever more true. But just...what was happening to him? His body was getting sluggish, his mind even more clouded. He was beginning to forget small things, and it only seemed to accentuate his panic.
"My body is mine to control, and you're not getting it! Whoever you are!" Sora said as he raised his Keyblade again.
"And there we go with that selfishness again….Not even willing to talk about it…." The girl said as she smirked at Sora.
"I wonder what your friends would say about it? Donald….? Goofy…? Or perhaps even Kairi or Riku?" She taunted.
For Soar though, he knew that he remembered these names before, but he seemed to only draw blanks when he tried to remember them now.
He couldn't remember the very people he set out on his quests to save….
"Shut up!" Sora yelled angrily as she charged at her, raising his Keyblade once more, only to find that it dissipated out of his hands.
The girl could only smirk wider at this as she then raised her hand, opening it wide. In a few moments, a small light came from her hands, and moments later….his keyblade.
His Kingdom Key.
Sora had immediately stopped at the sight of how his own blade had went into the hands of this deranged girl. Her expression was one filled with pure malice and contempt as she slowly looked down at the Keyblade, and then him.
He slumped to the floor, the shame and realization hitting him like a freight train.
"Oh...now this certainly reminds me of when Riku and us were at Hollow Bastion…. I suppose it feels rather gut-wrenching, Sora...To know that you were never deemed to wield this blade." The black haired girl said as she now closed the difference between her and Sora, raising the blade to his chest.
"H-how…? I thought-" Sora began to say before she then kicked him to the ground.
"That you were the only reason you could wield the blade? Hah! We truly always were funny ones, weren't we?" Xion giggled.
Sora had thought of struggling away from her, but with the Keyblade in her hands and none in his…
He didn't like his odds very much.
At this rate, he would have to rely on luck to get out of this situation.
"You should have known this was going to happen Sora. After all, didn't Riku say that you were just a 'delivery boy'? He obviously wasn't wrong at all…" The girl said as Sora didn't move a muscle.
"Tell me who you are!? And why do you keep saying stuff like, we?" Sora demanded as the girl then stopped for a moment as she leaned down until she was face to face with him.
"Because I was created, to be you. I am you…" Xion said as her blue eyes looked into Sora's own blue eyes.
Sora simply couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure, a Nobody would make some sense, but she seemed to say that she was something else entirely. Something different than a Nobody, and yet she could still be me?
"You may be my copy...or whatever you are. But this is wrong! You need to stop this!" Sora said as her expression morphed into an expression of pure fury. She then raised the Keyblade and took a slice, creating a large gash on Sora's face.
A small trickle of blood sprayed out as Sora covered his, now destroyed, left eye to hopefully slow down the bleeding.
"Do...you know? How it feels to be abandoned? To be forgotten?" The girl asked as she stared Sora in the face, only for him to look away.
She then forcefully grabbed his chin and forced him to look her directly in the eyes, which now seemed more inhumane than humane at this point.
"How it felt to be forgotten by the very universe you live in? The people you cherished now completely ignoring your very existence. Do you know how THAT feels?" She asked as she kicked Sora in the stomach, still holding the Keyblade at his chest.
Sora doubled over in pain as he struggled for a moment to get up, only for the girl to pin him down to the ground with a Keyblade going through his hand.
Once again, blood seeped from his new wound freely, painting the stained glass floor a dull red.
"Do you know how it feels Sora?! No, you don't! Because you think you're helping your friends when you're only dooming others. Roxas might have a chance to be reborn naturally, but for me…." She trailed off before she slowly looked up at the sky.
"You can't bring back what doesn't exist…" She said as she then looked back to Sora.
Sora was merely just….shocked at what she was saying. He had seen the other Organization Member's files, even after their untimely demise. And yet, she claimed that she had been erased from history.
Though he had never asked Roxas about it, it was odd that Roxas had never brought her up. If they were as close as the vision detailed, then surely he would have spoken off her at least once.
"She said herself was erased from history….To be forgotten…" Sora thought to himself before he looked back up at her.
At that moment, he drew all the dots together. This girl...this girl was Xion.
"You're….you're Xion. Right?" Sora asked, his voice weak and gruff due to his previous injuries.
Xion merely looked away from Sora as she clutched the handguard of his Keyblade tightly. Her eyes seemed to not meet his as her expression turned to one of anger once again.
"You don't know anything! Don't you dare try to pretend like you aren't at fault!" Xion yelled as she kicked him again, only for him to roll back a bit, clutching his chest.
She summoned his Keyblade into her hands, her intent now quite obvious.
Sora slowly stood up as he glared at Xion, his eyes fierce and determined.
"I do know! After all, aren't we the same?" Sora asked as Xion then looked up at him, her eyes widened in surprise.
"We are the same person….So I do get what you're going through. Even now, I can feel you still suffering today, still holding this all in. I didn't get any of it until now….But now I do." Sora said as he walked slightly closer to Xion, who had raised her Keyblade at him once again.
"Shut up! How could you know anything!?" Xion yelled as she ran at him, swinging his Keyblade in an arc-like manner, most likely trying to take off his head.
Sora, however, dodged the attack, managing to find a bit of a second wind. He deftly turned around, jumping in the air as he looked back at Xion.
"Because just like you stole my memories...I have yours. Every night, I've had visions of your past, and up until now….I never knew what they meant. But now…." Sora said as he placed a hand on his heart.
"I know. I know how you feel Xion. And….I'm sorry." Sora said as he looked down, only for a few tears to slowly go down her face.
A few moments later, Sora heard the sound of her crying, it echoing across the dark plain.
"Why….? Why wasn't I the one?" Xion wailed before she then gripped her Keyblade harder.
"How come you were the one!?" Xion yelled as she rushed at Sora one time, only for him to raise his hand in response.
The next few moments had happened so fast, that it was difficult to keep track of what just happened.
Out of her arms and into his own appeared his Keyblade, which had found its mark through Xion's chest.
She gasped for breath, the wind being knocked out of her. Her eyes were wide with a mixture of surprise and fear as she slowly looked down to see Sora's Keyblade piercing her chest.
Sora then moved his hands from his Keyblade as he looked at Xion, his eyes heavy with grief.
"I'm sorry Xion. I'm sorry for having both of you give up your lives for me...But I promise...I WILL bring you back." Sora said as he looked at Xion's now tear-filled eyes.
"I have to do this….If this is what Master Yen Sid meant by bringing people who were connected to me, back to life...then I would do whatever it took to do just that. No matter what. Not just to oppose the growing threat of Xehanort, but to allow them the chance to exist on their own...Just one more time. It's the least I could do." Sora thought to himself.
"And how do you know that you won't forget…?" Xion asked quietly before Sora moved in to gently hug her.
He looked into her eyes, which now seemed so helpless...almost like a child who had just seen something horrific. Tear marks were present on her cheeks, and she seemed to be whimpering a bit.
"How could I forget a flavor as good as sea salt ice cream?" Sora said with a slight smirk as Soon looked back up at Roxas.
Her frown slowly turned into a small smile as her body began to slowly fade away, bits and pieces of her floating forward.
For a split second, she thought she could Roxas talking to her again, which only made her widen her smile.
"I sure hope you do...both of you." Xion whispered with a small smile as the rest of her body had finally dissipated into the air.
The now fear-inspiring aura surrounding the two of them began to slowly dissipate as a gentle light had filled the area.
Sora then looked up at the sky, only to see that it had slowly changed back to the orangish-pink color of the beaches of Destiny Islands.
The distant cry of seagulls had once again reassured him that whatever just happened was now finally over, and the ocean waves seemed to wash away any doubts he had in his mind at the moment.
"Was it all a dream?" Sora asked himself as he then looked at the waves, seeing his own reflection within them.
"No...I think I was supposed to see that. To remember what she said, something i wouldn't forget for a long time." Sora said as he then looked up to hear the sounds of Kairi and Riku running up to him.
"Sora!" Kairi said as she came running over, taking a few moments to catch her breath as Riku slowed his pace as well.
"Woah you two. What's the rush?" Sora asked quizzingly as Kairi and Riku both looked at him strangely.
"We're glad you're back to normal. You were acting kind of strange back there." Riku said as he then crossed his arms.
"You didn't say one peep to us for the last few hours, and we thought that maybe something was up. Though I guess you're doing okay, for now, right?" Riku asked as Sora nodded.
"Yeah! Sorry about that, I guess I just...wasn't me for a little bit back there." Sora said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Well...It's good to have you back..?" Kairi asked with a curious expression which Riku seemed to match perfectly.
"I'm fine guys, trust me." Sora said as Riku and Kairi merely shrugged.
"Well, if you say so." Riku said as he then stretched a bit before looking at the now setting sun. The sky had now started to turn to a dark blue and black color, signifying that night was soon to come for the trio.
"Well, I have to go check on Tidus and Wakka. No doubt Selphie's probably at her wit's end after trying to deal with them today." Riku sighed as he then waved to Sora and Kairi.
"Well, stay safe you two. And Sora….Try not to pass out again, okay?" Riku said as Sora smirked back at him.
"I can't make any promises Riku!" Sora said as he waved back, only for Kairi to giggle in response.
Riku only sighed as he walked off, leaving Sora and Kairi all by themselves.
After a few moments, Sora looked away from Kairi as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Kairi….I need to ask you something." Sora said as Kairi then turned to him.
"Sure Sora. What's up?" Kairi asked as she placed her hands behind her back.
"Kairi….What was I doing while I was "out of it"?" Sora asked as he turned back to Kairi, his tone becoming serious for once.
Kairi was a bit shocked by his question as she put a hand to her chin in thought.
"I guess you were just staring at the ocean a lot. Sometimes you would just sit out there for an hour at a time, and then you would cry." Kairi said with a frown as Sora then looked down at the ground.
"Xion…." Sora thought to himself as he looked back at the ground.
"Thanks...for telling me Kairi." Sora said as he crossed his arms as well, seeming to be in deep thought.
"You thinking about something Sora?" Kairi asked as she looked at Sora, who nodded yes.
"Just about the future, that's all. It's just….So much has happened over these last few years, and it looks like this might be our final chance to stop and rest for a bit." Sora said as Kairi then slowly nodded her head in agreement.
"You're right about that. We're going to be pretty far from home, aren't we?" Kairi asked.
"You scared?" Sora asked with a slight smirk, only for Kairi to nod "no."
"Why would I? I'm surrounded by you three, and by a lot more people that want to keep me and the worlds safe. Even if you aren't next to me, I know that we're all connected by the same cause. So there's no need to be afraid." Kairi said with a slight smile as Sora then smiled softly at Kairi.
"Yeah…." Sora said as a few visions appeared in his head.
Roxas…..Xion...And any others he could bring back.
Sora swore that he would bring them back….
"You're right….We're never alone." Sora said with a smile as he and Kairi looked back up at the sky.
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Dear King Mickey,
Glad you wrote to us today! I'm doing okay so far, and the island's been the same old, same old. Tidus and Wakka are still horsing around, and still can't beat Riku and me during our little spars. They keep talking about playing some kind of thing called, blitzball, and it sounds kind of cool. I might be more up for it if it wasn't for the fact that Wakka's blitzball was the main ball. Do you know how many times he hits me with it?
Selphie seems to be getting more popular with the other girls at school, but it's nice that she still finds the time to hang out with the rest of us….even if her using an actual whip hurts a lot more than Wakka could ever try.
As for Kairi and Riku...well...We've been doing our best to show Kairi the ropes of being a Keyblade wielder, but I bet you'll probably be a much better teacher than the both of us.
And I guess that leaves me then. Well, I've been doing okay myself. Nothing special here though. Well...except for one thing.
Thanks for your letter the other day. I guess it really got me thinking about the worlds and stuff like that. I might not be the smartest guy or Keyblade wielder, but what you said about how we're all connected….You're right.
I know that even though some of us might be lost to the darkness, or some of us might be forgotten by history...But that doesn't mean that person is gone forever. There's still a chance to bring them back. And I guess I'm thanking you for helping me see that.
Well, guess I'll see you in a week at Master Yen Sid's tower! :)
-Sora
PS: Master Yen Sid was kidding when he said he would have me clean the entire tower before I left….right?