Keys of Destiny
Chapter 9: Predetermined Fate
"That was your doing?" Roxas asked through gritted teeth. In a way he was glad that Kurix came to him; it meant he wasn't going after the others.
"Those NeoNobody? They just happened to help me out," the dark-hair youth shrugged. "I hope you've made up your mind about what I asked you before. When you and Sora fought the NeoNobody up there, I had a chance to witnessed Sora's strength."
Roxas frowned distastefully. So Kurix had used Octer to test out their strength.
Kurix continued. "If we are on the same side, we can defeat Sora and his friends easily. Once we become complete existence, we don't have to worry about disappearing one day. What do you say?"
Roxas stared into those aqua eyes, searching for any signs of emotion. Sometimes looking to somebody's eyes could uncover something of that person. The depth of those eyes was incredible. He couldn't guess what Kurix was thinking. At last Roxas replied, "Us Nobody were never meant to be."
"…So that's your answer?" asked Kurix with an unreadable expression.
"If you have pen and paper, I don't mind writing it out for you," answered Roxas sarcastically.
"Then I guess I'll just have to eliminate you."
As soon as he finished that sentence, Kurix became a blur. Having foreseen the outcome, Roxas was already prepared for the moment. He barely blocked Kurix's strike when he suddenly reappeared facing him. The taller youth was pushing him with a keyblade Roxas had never seen before. Steadying himself with a foot, Roxas pushed back with both his keyblades. Before Roxas could see what keyblade Kurix was carrying, his opponent held up a hand in the air. Remembering what Namine recalled in the flashback, Roxas bolted out of the way.
A loud cracking sound was heard, followed by a shower of gravel and sand from above. It felt like one of those demolish iron balls used to knock down old buildings hit there. Roxas dashed to a corner and jumped up, running horizontally across the wall, using his speed to defy gravity. He ran until he faced the opening of Kurix's back. Crossing his keyblades in front of him, Roxas sprung up, directing himself there. His keyblades clashed into a shield-like round barrier. It felt as though he hit on solid metal. He landed on his knees as he recoiled at the impact. Kurix had already turned around; his left arm became a blur of movement. Roxas jumped back with his keen reflexes to avoid the slash.
Roxas tried to think back the last time he fought Riku. He didn't recall Riku as a left-hander. Prior the fight, Roxas worried about how he should fight Kurix, since he couldn't "kill" him. Now it seemed he should worry more about himself.
"Why don't you want a heart, Roxas?" Kurix suddenly asked, lowering his keyblade. "Why do you help Sora? Don't you want to live? You don't want to disappear, do you?"
"Hearts are not meant for Nobody…they're for people," Roxas said, his expression softened a little. "We can only ever wish to have hearts of our own. But we never will at the end. Our only true heart lies inside our true selves. Mine in Sora and yours in Riku. Sora's heart is the only one I can ever have; likewise to you. If we gain hearts, that would mean they would lose theirs."
"You're wrong, Roxas. Who cares what happens to them? Getting our hearts is the only way we can live," said Kurix. In his left hand was a black keyblade with a beautifully decorated hilt.
For another time, the raven hair youth turned into a blur. Roxas was watching Kurix's every movements intently, yet he still couldn't catch more than a glimpse the moment before Kurix struck. At the same moment Oblivion clashed with the black keyblade, Roxas felt a sharp pain on his left shoulder. Feeling confused, Roxas saw a wicked smile on Kurix face. Roxas was certain that he blocked it well, so why was he still getting hurt?
Then he saw it. In Kurix's right hand held a second keyblade. It was vivid red in colour and measured approximately a foot longer than the usual keyblade. Roxas saw an opening and swung Oathkeeper at Kurix, forcing him step back to avoid it.
"You're the one who's wrong, Kurix. We can only ever be somebody when we are one with our true selves. We are not suppose to exist," Roxas grimaced, remembering back when Namine said the same thing to him. It was the truth he was nearly unable to bear.
Wielding his dual keyblades, Kurix strode forward and struck down at Roxas, using his height as an advantage. Almost simultaneously, Roxas blocked the black keyblade with Oblivion and the red keyblade with Oathkeeper. Kurix raised his keyblades and started hacking on Roxas' continuously, generating bright sparks with each hit. The shorter youth winced as he took the crushing impact of the keyblades.
"They don't care about us. Why should we care about what happen to them?" asked Kurix as he put more pressure on the keyblades, his eyes cold and piercing.
Each forceful hack from Kurix's keyblades sent a stinging vibration up his hands travelling all the way to his arm. Roxas felt his arms gradually going numb. It was a matter of time for Kurix to break through his defence. If he tried to do anything else, Kurix would kill him before he could get to it. Roxas couldn't believe the difference in strength between Kurix and him was so great. It hurt his pride a little since he was rank one of the strongest within the organisation. Riku proved to be a challenge the first time Roxas defeated him. If he was in Roxas' place, Kurix would've beaten Riku in much lesser time.
Roxas remembered someone from the organisation said to him: whenever one was stuck in battle, he should always listen for the rhythm of the enemy. It was based on a theory that all fighting styles had their own unique pace. Once figured out, there was not one who could not be beaten. Roxas had never tried it. He never had to. But at that moment, he could hear nothing except the ear-ringing sound of the clashing keyblades.
Before he could react to it, Roxas' keyblades flew out of his hands as though someone tore them away from his fingers. The blood red keyblade was coming down on him, inches from his face. Thoughts flashed through his mind. His companions should have found each other by now. They had the communication devices after all. Sora would manage without him. He could drive into his powerful forms with the help of Donald and Goofy.
At that precise moment, keyblade slipped in between Roxas and Kurix' keyblade, just before it hit Roxas.
"King Mickey!" exclaimed Roxas.
Before Kurix recovered the same surprise, King Mickey stuck multiple times at the raven-hair teenager, forcing him away from Roxas. Kurix defended himself without delay. Once the King considered they had enough distance from each other, he retreated back to where Roxas was. Holding his shoulder, Roxas stood up to face Kurix with the King. It surprised him that neither him nor Kurix noticed the King's arrival as they were distracted by their fight. He looked at his right hand. There was no blood. Bleeding wasn't something programmed in the Nobody. Pain was.
"Young man, are you Riku's Nobody?" King Mickey chided, frowning at Kurix.
"Well, well, I was wondering who it was." Kurix lowered his weapons. "Saved me time looking for you, my King." He reached into his pocket and took out a piece of paper no larger than letter-size. "I think this may interest you. It was stuck on Omega."
King Mickey's face ashened. It seemed to take him a while to find his voice. "Is that the last page?" he choked out. His expression was a mixture of fascination and fear. Roxas saw the King's hand trembled.
Holding up the note, Kurix skimmed the first line. "Hm, let's see. It says it here, 'This last page is for…'" He smirked. "If you want it, bring Sora to the bottom floor. I'll be waiting with Omega. Until then." Having said that, he opened up a dark portal and walked into it. Then he was gone.
"What was he talking about? What last page?" Roxas asked. He realised there was something he forgot to ask Kurix. Why did he want Sora's keyblade? As a keyblade wielder himself, Kurix should know the weapon couldn't possibly be taken away by force.
King Mickey looked up to him miserably. "The file of Omega project I read isn't complete, Roxas. The last page is missing. It is said in the content that on the last page, there is a method to trigger all NeoNobody to self-destroy. Xehanort and Xemnas might have twisted thoughts, but they were truly geniuses. He planned everything thoroughly by including a back up for his back up plan. In case the NeoNobody become rebellious, he left himself a way to destroy them," explained King Mickey. For a split second, he thought he saw Roxas flickering like a malfunctioning television. "Roxas, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, let's hurry to where Sora and the others are," Roxas lied. He didn't want to add another item to the King's list-of-things-to-worry-about. He was well aware the deep cut on his shoulder made a distortion in his temporary body. Like a small crack on the windscreen, it would eventually spread across the entire surface. Then another hit was all it would take to shatter the glass.
The King gave Roxas a doubtful look. Roxas decided to change the topic. "King Mickey, I don't want to sound suspecting and all. I really don't know how believable Namine's story is. There is no proof that any of what she said was true. She could be leading us to a trap." He felt guilty of suspecting Namine. He wasn't entirely sorry though; another betrayal could lead to destruction of them all. Besides, the defensible look that Namine gave him earlier was bugging him. She looked like someone who had been accused for doing the right thing.
"You are right, Roxas. We can never tell when someone is being truthful or not. Just like you and me. I cannot tell whether your words are honest. At the same time, you cannot tell whether my words are lies. But, we shall have faith in our friends."
Realising they were short on time, the two headed down. The King told Roxas that Sora, Donald and Goofy already found each other on one of the lower floors. The three of them were fighting against the Mirrors at that very moment. Odds did not look good for them. King Mickey and Roxas descended down the floors as fast as they could to avoid further delay.
They knew they were near when they heard the thundery strikes of lightning bolts, called upon by magic. The door was left wide opened. Yellowish flashes were strong enough to brighten the neighbouring room. Roxas groaned. King Mickey rolled his eyes. Donald was overdoing it again. Their worry ceased. With that amount of racket, their friends sounded like anything but dead. The King and Roxas looked at each other, thinking about the same question. How could they fight if they couldn't look at the their enemies at all?
They tiptoed and peeked into the room, showing only half their heads. Sora, Goofy and Donald were surrounded by the six Mirrors that assaulted them previously. The Mirrors were no longer disguised as ordinary mirrors. They changed their bodies and grew short arms and legs, though their reflective surface remained. Each was armed with a long fragment of razor-sharp mirror piece.
Their friends all had their eyes squeezed shut. Goofy was turning rapidly like a spinning top while holding out his shield to crash the enemies. He wasn't having much success, but at least he couldn't be hit. Sora was waving his keyblade aimlessly, covering as many directions as possible. Donald, as they thought, was shooting out thunder madly from his wand. Unfortunately, he missed more than he hit, and he hit his friends more than the enemies. Goofy and Sora were yelling at him to cut it out. To their relief, no one fainted or seriously hurt. However they had sustained a handful of mild cuts on their arms and face. Goofy became dizzy from spinning too much, toppling over Sora, who fell on Donald. The three went down like dominoes.
As the three scrambled up, Roxas sneaked a smile at the King. King Mickey smiled back in amusement.
"Roxas? You're there, aren't you?" said Sora suddenly, surprising both Roxas and King Mickey. His eyes were closed and he wasn't looking at their way either. "I hope the King is with you. But whatever you do, don't look into those mirror NeoNobody."
Roxas wondered how Sora knew he was there. Then he thought about the fighting rhythm. "Donald, Goofy and King Mickey, can you all step back? Sora and I will handle them," Roxas said. The Mirrors twitched when they heard him. Roxas quickly shut his eyes. Now he definitely had their attention.
"How can only you two handle all of them?" Donald asked incredulously.
"Donald is right. There are too many of them." Goofy agreed.
KingMickey interjected. "Goofy and Donald, leave it to Sora and Roxas." Immediately his general and magician began to protest. "It is an order," said the King resolutely. Reluctantly, Donald and Goofy retreated to the room where King Mickey waited.
"What are you thinking, Roxas? You won't like this, but I haven't managed to hit any of them," said Sora, fanning off any nearby Mirrors by waving his keyblade blindly.
Swapping places with Donald and Goofy, Roxas boldly walked into the centre of the room where Sora was. "We can listen to their movements. There are only six of them, a number we should be able to handle."
"Listen to their movements! But I can't do that!" yelled Sora impotently. He winced in pain as he received a cut under his eye.
"I can," replied Roxas. "I'll warn you when they are about to make a move. That way you should be able to avoid their attacks." He jumped up to avoid a Mirror that charged towards him.
"But I may hit you," Sora argued.
Roxas' mouth curled to a small smile. "No, Sora, you shouldn't hit me at all. You know where I am, even with your eyes closed. I am you. You can't hit yourself, but you need to concentrate. Clear everything from your mind and feel my presence. Sora, one coming to your right."
Having a rough idea on where the Mirror come, Sora stepped away from its path. He had no idea how to feel Roxas' presence. He tried to concentrate but nothing came to him. "Roxas, I can't," said Sora helplessly.
"Stand still and try again," persisted Roxas. Sora stopped on his spot and lowered his keyblade. Meanwhile, the Mirror didn't slack on their assaults. Roxas barely managed to protect Sora, getting by with a few shallow cuts. He understood he wouldn't last long. That's why he needed Sora, just as much as Sora needed him. Something he didn't tell the others was that he couldn't be sure if his idea would really work. It was theoretically possible, but theories were only theories. They didn't always reflect on reality. Roxas strongly felt the distortion rippling inside him, breaking him apart slowly. It only started a while ago and was already becoming more frequent. Roxas hoped he wouldn't turn out to be a fool by gambling on the likelihood that Sora could sense the fragment of his soul.
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Kairi decided to check on Riku while his Nobody wasn't there to keep an eye on her. She headed to the floor above, walking through the dark rooms and corridors towards the place Riku was held. Before he left, Kurix took some measures to ensure Riku would stay in one place. With thin chains bounding his feet and his hands behind his back, Riku wasn't going anywhere. Ironically, he seemed angrier at Kairi's decision than being tied up. Whenever Kairi tried to talk to him, Riku just ignored her.
Frustrated at the thought, Kairi kicked away a stone in her path. Why couldn't he understand? She was doing it for him. She wasn't going to wait helplessly again, just like she did for the past year for Sora and Riku to return. She had sworn to herself she would do anything for those two. No matter what happened, she had to protect Riku.
When she reached the room, Kairi paused before turning the doorknob. Last time she used the pleading tactic; this time perhaps she'd try yelling at him until he responded. "Riku-" Kairi froze. The room was empty. The chains that tied Riku were abandoned on the floor. There was blood on them. A trail of red lead out of the room. Kairi couldn't believe she didn't notice it on her way there, especially when it was so continuous. It would have taken considerable amount of bleeding to leave such a clear trail. Kairi followed it, hoping she would find him before his Nobody did.
Author's rambling: This is probably the longest chapter so far. I've spent quite some time writing, editing and proofreading. I hope I've done justice to it. From now on, this story will also be available at KH Fanfic Archive. For some reason I can't post url here so see my profile for the link. I go by the same penname. If this site happens to be down for a few days and cause me unable to update, I'll post new chapters there. However, I'll still be updating this story here. If you prefer to read over there or review there feel free to do so.
Edit note: In the first post of this chapter, I put in the names for Kurix's keyblades. But then I didn't really explain how Roxas knew the names. I'll introduce properly in the next chapter.
Review please, pretty please?
