It is time for the fourth riveting chapter of Invader, the most suspenseful KH fanfic ever to grace the internet. …What's that? What do you mean, I can't make that claim? OK, possibly the most suspenseful KH fanfic ever to grace the internet. Happy? :)

Yes, here we are again, with more chills and thrills for the people of the KH fandom. I just want to take a moment to thank you all for all the praise that you've given my various fics. It means a lot to me. You guys are great. :)

And without further ado, let's get to Chapter 4, where the action ramps up a notch…

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Invader, Part Four—Harmonious Chaos

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The gathered Nobodies were the largest mission group ever assembled. Three, even four people on one mission was rare, but not unprecedented. But six, nearly half of the entire Organization, was unheard of. Xemnas had chosen the best of the best, the most skilled people in a group of fourteen very skilled people.

Actual mission strategy meetings were also new. For the most part, threats could not be anticipated, and if they could, it was up to the individual member to come up with a plan of attack. In this case, though, it was necessary. This man was bred for combat. If he could take down a master of time without breaking a sweat, then a new strategy was needed.

Saix stood over the map. "I have chosen a new world for this operation. It's called Destiny Islands. It's a large, open area with lots of environmental objects we can use to our advantage. I believe Number XIV has made pleasure visits there before, correct?"
Xion nodded her head. "Yeah, I love that place."
Saix looked her in the eye. "In that case, you should know the lay of the land. Do you have any ideas on where we can catch our man?"

Xion widened her eyes, taken completely by surprise. Sure, Saix was getting nicer, but letting her participate in strategy? She was not used to this at all. Everyone else looked surprised, as well—they thought Saix had made the whole plan already and he was just there to explain it to them.

She studied the map carefully. "Um, I think we can corner him here." She pointed to a small shack. "I went in there once—there's nothing in there and it's small. If we can get him inside and cover the exits, it'll make our job a lot easier."
Saix was looking at where Xion was pointing, nodding his head. "Good plan. Even I didn't think of that."

Xion smiled, pleased with the idea that she had just been a better strategist than Saix. Marluxia looked skeptical. "It works in theory, if we can get him inside. But getting him inside will be the tricky part—certainly, he wouldn't be stupid enough to just let us corner him like that.
Xigbar snorted. "That's easy. I'll just suppress him with my arrowgun. He'll go running in there with his tail tucked between his legs."
Roxas looked confused. "But he doesn't have a tail…"
Axel pretended to write something, elbowing Roxas. Then he thought of something. "He's used to close-quarters combat, though. The small space will be just as much a disadvantage to us as it will be for him."

Xion frowned and went back to searching the map. "Then how about here?" she said, pointing towards a smaller island just off the main one. "It's large enough for us to keep the space advantage, and unless he wants to swim, it only has one entrance. And Xigbar could keep shooting at him from the big island, too."
Axel beamed. "Xi, you're a genius."

Saix clapped his hands together and pulled out some figurines. They were miniature models of everyone on the mission, plus an extra one of the Figure, hastily made based on Xion's photograph. They weren't just standing, either—they were all making signature poses with their weapons, with the Figure in a dramatic crouch, as if he had just fallen from the sky, his robes flying up, just as in the photograph.

Xigbar smirked. "Saix! I had no idea you made us all action figures."
Axel held his figurine for a moment. "That's just creepy."
The Keybearers were mesmerized by their likenesses, either in we've-got-action-figures bliss, or in what-the-fudge horror—it was a little hard to tell. Saix sighed. "They're really not that special. I use them when I set up missions for you. They help me think."
Xigbar was still smirking. "I bet you use them to play House, too." He picked up his figurine and moved it up and down in front of the Saix figurine, as if it were bowing. "I am your humble servant, Luna Diviner…"
Saix did his usual deadpan expression and turned to Axel. "Remind me to send him against an Infernal Engine solo when this is all sorted out."
"Oh, I will, Sai, I will…"

Saix grabbed the figurines and placed them around the map. "Xigbar will force the Figure onto the island with his arrowgun. Then, Axel, Marluxia and I will apprehend him. The Keybearers are to provide support."
Roxas had an offended expression on his face. "Why do we have to be 'support'?"
Axel patted his head. "Because if that guy can take down Luxord, he's certainly able to eat you and Xi for lunch. Don't worry—you'll have plenty of work to do." He looked back up at Saix. "Sounds like a plan to me. When do we start?"

Saix made some notes on his clipboard. "We set out tomorrow. We'll be up at six o'clock sharp, have a good breakfast, go through usual pre-mission preparation and leave for Destiny Islands at nine. For now, we sleep. Get as much sleep as you can."
Axel laughed through his nose. "Never thought I'd hear those seven wonderful words out of your mouth."
"I need you fully rested for the mission. It could be our greatest challenge yet…

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"Axel?"

The red-haired Nobody looked at his friend. "Xion, Saix said to get lots of sleep."
"I know, it's just… I can't sleep. I'm a little scared about tomorrow."
"Xi, I'd never let that guy hurt you. And here's a well-kept secret, known only to awesome people like you and me. Bravery isn't not being afraid. It's being afraid, but doing it anyway."
It was so cheesy that Axel cringed a little inside, but it seemed to do the trick. "Thank you," Xion said, smiling.
"Any time, Xion, forever and always."
She looked at him innocently. "Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

Axel was taken aback for a moment. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, thinking. Then he sighed and turned back to Xion. "All right. Just sleep on the floor, otherwise… well, let's just say people might get the wrong idea."

Without another word, Xion curled up on the floor. A few minutes later, she was making that cute little snore that sounded a bit like a bird. Axel stared at her for a moment—why does she have to be so darn cute like that—and then set to the task of convincing himself of the truth in his own cheesy lines.

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Xion didn't like that half the Organization was coming to the island. She had always thought of it as her own personal space, known only to herself. Of course, she realized that she should have known everyone else would find out eventually, but she didn't know that they Saix had already known, and hadn't said anything. In Xion's mind, that spoke volumes about how nice he had been getting since the decluttering job.

As she knew the island best, she was to be the first in. The six stood around her, waiting for the dark corridor to be opened by her. Xion did like the idea that they were waiting on her—even petty power was more than she usually had, and she allowed herself a brief moment to bask in it.

Almost as an afterthought, Saix quickly stuck a note on the wall: DAY OFF TODAY. When he noticed Xion's puzzled look, he looked her in the eye. "So that our mission stays a secret until the Figure is captured. We don't want outside interference."

With a final sigh, she opened the dark corridor, and six Nobodies passed through, ready for the fight of their lives.

…Which they did not find when they stepped through. Destiny Islands in the morning was actually pretty peaceful, as far as mornings in the multiverse went. A soft breeze blew through the trees, and the sunrise looked just as pretty as the Twilight Town sunset. It suddenly occurred to Xion that the trio could spend a day off here at some point. The idea made her happy, but first she had to get the Figure. Of all possible things, it was the idea of eating ice cream here with Roxas and Axel that motivated her for the battle.

Saix turned to the Organization members, his carefully selected team of experts (and, if Axel's mutterings were to be believed, bait). "Get to positions, people. We have a job to do."

Xigbar drew his arrowgun, ready to blast anything that moved. Marluxia walked along the beach toward the smaller island, scythe in hand, as if out on a casual stroll. Axel and Saix drew their weapons and ran to their positions near the island. The Keybearers stood back to back, Keyblades drawn, ready for anything.

For a moment, no one moved. The breeze stopped. Everything was still.

Roxas looked around. "Do you think he's coming?" he whispered.
Xion gritted her teeth. "I know he is."

For a few more seconds, Destiny Islands was in perfect harmony. Too bad that moment was so brief.

Someone jumped out of a window on the cliff, falling an incredible distance, but still managing to land as soft as a cat. He stood near the waterfall for a moment, waiting for provocation from the assembled Nobodies.

Saix called. "We have you surrounded. This is your last chance to surrender before we are forced to capture you by force."

The Figure did not respond for a moment. Then, he ran at the Keybearers at full speed.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!

Xion wasn't the biggest fan of loud noise. It scared her a lot, actually. Gunfire, however, was usually accompanied by a bigger threat—in this case, the man who had taken down the Gambler of Fate unarmed running straight for her. Thus, she successfully managed to focus on the Figure rather than the continuous sonic boom going on just to her left. She still flinched, though, and that was all the Figure needed, for they did not account for the fact that he was possibly the most agile person outside Organization XIII.

The Figure rolled under the arrows, grabbed Xion's Keyblade and tore it from her hands—she let go by instinct, since the pull was so great it felt like her arms would have come out of their sockets otherwise. With amazing skill, he slammed it into Roxas' belly, knocking him down, then followed up on Xigbar by using the Keyblade to knock the gun out of his hands.

Grabbing the gun in midair, he opened up on the three Nobodies near the island, who were already running. Luckily, he did not seem adept with the weapon, missing a lot of shots a skilled marksman would have made with ease. Axel was on him in seconds, spinning his chakrams almost wildly. The Figure dodged again, causing Axel to hit the sand and make a small dust cloud.

He swung the Keyblade—Xion's Keyblade, she kept thinking—at Saix repeatedly. The Luna Diviner parried multiple blows with his claymore before going on the aggressive, pushing the Figure toward Marluxia. The Figure jumped over Marluxia's swinging scythe, hitting the Graceful Assassin upside the head with the Keyblade as he did.

As Marluxia fell to the ground, Xion ran at the Figure. That was her Keyblade he was using, and she wanted it back now. She tackled him from the side, taking him completely by surprise and knocking him down. She grabbed the Keyblade he had dropped and slammed the ground over and over, trying to hit him. Adrenaline and anger fueled her. Wham! Wham! Wham!

He tripped Xion, giving himself enough time to roll backwards and bounce back up. He roundhouse kicked Saix, who was coming around from behind, and took his claymore. He swung just as he had swung the Keyblade. Xion and the Figure were now engaged in a duel. Metal clanged against metal, and Xion could hear a strange sound in her ears, like rushing water.

Roxas ran at the Figure and swung at him from behind. Apparently detecting the swing, the Figure ducked, causing Roxas' Keyblade to slam into Xion's face by accident. He cringed as she went down. "Sorry!" he yelled, before casting Cure on her.

Xion was very miffed—that had hurt—but luckily, she blamed the Figure rather than Roxas. She kicked the Figure, causing him to stumble. Axel had gotten up by this point, and threw one of his chakrams at the Figure. He knocked it back with the claymore, but the distraction gave Saix enough time to grab his arm from behind and twist it tight.

The Figure kicked Saix, breaking the hold, and opened a dark corridor. But wait—it wasn't a dark corridor. Dark corridors were black, while this portal was the same shade of blue as sea-salt ice cream. He jumped through just as Xion tried to stab him from behind with the Keyblade.

Everyone stood for a moment, catching their breath. As the adrenaline wore off, Xion felt the pain of her injuries. Roxas' Cure spell meant that she had no broken bones or other serious injuries, but the pain was still there, and it was immense.

Xigbar dusted himself off. "That went well…"
Xion whipped around to face him. "Shut. Up. For once in your life, shut your mouth!"

The Freeshooter put his arms in the air in a defensive position, but didn't say another word. The five Nobodies kept their eye on Xion as she watched the sun finally finish its ascension over the horizon.

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Now, try to look me in the eye and tell me that didn't look awesome in your head. Come on, look me in the eye. Can't do it? That's what I was hoping for. :)

I'm pretty proud of that little fight scene. I daresay it's my best yet. The pace was fast, the action was intense and it would all look really cool as a cutscene. Of course, that's my personal assessment, which might be a bit biased. :) I'm certainly interested to see what you guys think.

Credit where credit is due: The idea of Xion being scared of loud noises came from Raberba Girl's fic Raindrops and Whiskers. She's specifically scared of thunder in that one, and I decided to broaden the idea a bit. Yes, battle is loud, but she can hit back in battle, which helps her deal with it. Word of Cloudhead decrees! Though of course, Cloudhead!Xion would probably try to hit back whether she could or not… :)

Begin rambling. So, I looked it up, and as it turns out, there are only three SorShi fics (though one of them is written by good old Raberba Girl) and one VenShi fic. Even RokuShi only has 47 or something, which really surprised me. So, as it turns out, people don't ship Xion with the Soras nearly as much as I thought. The big pairing appears to be RikuShi, which made me sigh—Riku is an egocentric jerk, and I don't care how nice he gets later in the game, the whole 'Keyblade is sham' thing was really unnecessary. You deserve better, Xion! :) I'll have to remedy this on Valentine's Day. Say it with me: Foreshadowing… End rambling.

I hope you enjoyed this action-packed chapter. Remember, reviews are always appreciated. Again, any reviewer who can give a good, detailed critique on my action scenes will get a giftfic and my eternal gratitude.

Thanks for reading, and be sure to tune in for chapter five of Invader, a tale well calculated to keep you in… Oh, it's only 2:37 AM. Heck, I have time to write a little more! :)