Hey everyone. This chapter didn't take as long. Are you proud?
Anyways, remember when I mentioned that modern day AU I wanted to do? Well, I'm doing it. But don't worry. I don't plan on posting it until after this story is near completion or at completion.
That's all I've got for now. So, let's hop into the next world.
Enjoy.
Xion's eyes opened up in a rush.
The area she was in was blue. No literally. It was all blue, with some areas being lit up with white lights.
"What world is this? It's so...different."
Play: Access the Grid - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
She crossed her arms, only to see pieces of metal attached to both of them.
"Hey! What happened to my outfit?"
She was wearing some kind of exoskeleton, which was connected to her arms, legs, and went up her back to her neck. The white stripes that were once her coat (now her outfit was one solid piece) were now pulsing, as if they were lights.
Xion also had a helmet on her head, a blue visor covering her eyes.
"This can't be Master Yen Sid's doing."
...
"What is with this place?"
Above her, a flying machine flew away.
"Whoa!" She said, "What is that?"
"I've got to go see that!"
...
She ran off, after the machine.
Entered New World: The Grid
The machine continued to fly away from her, above the high walls.
Xion grinded up and down on the rails, after the machine.
As she chased after it, her mind wandered.
...
'Okay, so I've gotten two out of the seven Keyholes now.'
'All I have to do is find the one here, I should be sent to the next world.'
'But, am I just going to get through into the unknown again?'
'Because as soon as I lose my vision, I just end up appearing in a new place everytime.'
...
'I guess...if that's what needs to be done to get through this journey, then I don't really have a choice.'
She was walking now into a new area.
...
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She finally found the machine in the next area. As she approached, she noticed men in black and orange suits nearby. They were carrying long, orange staves.
"Wow!" She said as she approached.
The men noticed her as she approached.
...
"Identify," one of them said, "State your handle, program."
"I...don't have any handles. But, my name is Xion."
"Verifying handle "Xion"..."
...
One of them grabbed her shoulder.
"Handle not found. Stray program recognized."
Xion spoke up, "Hey, wait..."
"Isolating for quarantine."
"Quarantine?"
...
They began to pull her towards the ship. Xion struggled to break free from their grasp.
Eventually, she did and ran away.
Stop: Access the Grid - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
Play: Digital Domination - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
As she ran, two of those men jumped in front of her and blocked her path.
Her Keyblade appeared almost instantly.
The men were no match for her, no matter what attacks they threw at her.
...
Combos? She'd just block them.
Grenades? She'd roll away or jump over them.
Jump into the air and attack from above? She'd just use Flowmotion to knock them back down.
In only a few seconds, she had defeated them all and was running again.
...
...
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She found her way onto a long bridge, where another one of those men stood in her way. The lights on his outfit were a different shade of orange.
He reached towards his back, and pull out a disk. He separated it into two, and looked as if he was going to fight.
Xion's Keyblade appeared in her hands again.
...
...
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"Tron...He's alive."
Her eyes went towards what the girl was holding, "Look at that girl's weapon. It's different."
"But it's something you programmed, right, Dad?"
"Huh? No, Sam...No, I've never seen it."
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...
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Xion and the guy continued to stand there.
'Are we just gonna sit here all day, or are we gonna fight?'
Eventually, the man put his disks back on his back. His hand went towards his ear, as if there was a radio or something.
Xion stood down.
...
The man then flipped over her and ran away.
Xion was incredibly confused, "What was that about?"
Stop: Digital Domination - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
"Hey. That weapon. Can I see it?"
When she turned around, three people were walking towards her. One woman, two men.
...
When they got close, Xion held the Keyblade out before her.
The woman looked over it, "This is just incredible. What a program - the weapon and the wielder."
"Program? Not me. This is a Keyblade, and my name's Xion."
"I'm Sam."
...
"So, what is this place? I've...never seen anything like it."
The older man stepped forward, "This place?"
"Yeah."
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"This right here is The Grid. I created it with the help of a program named Tron."
He frowned then, "In fact, that program you encountered was Tron."
Xion gasped, but let him continue, "Tron used to be a good friend. Together, we created this place, The Grid. It was something else, man. But then CLU staged a coup. I was exiled, and...Tron ended up getting derezzed, or so I thought."
"CLU turned him into a new program, called "Rinzler." That's the things about programs. Mess with the code just a little, and their whole nature and memory can change."
...
"That's...awful." Xion said.
"Listen," she continued, "Most of this may be over my head, but if that Tron guy is your friend, then...why don't we try and change him back?"
The man smiled, "Bingo. And now you're up to speed."
...
"If we're lucky," he continued, turning back to Xion, "CLU kept a backup of Tron's source code. He's a program, after all. He'd be methodical like that."
He chuckled.
"So, if we get Tron's "source code" back from CLU, we can put him back to normal, right?"
"That's the idea."
"Great! Thank you, sir."
...
She turned around, the man saying, "Where are you going?"
"I'm gonna go after CLU."
"Do you even know where he is?"
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She looked down, "No. I've got no idea."
"What a strange User. You're nothing like Flynn or Sam." The woman said.
...
"Come on, Xion. I'll show you the way."
She began to walk towards Xion.
"Quorra, we have to keep moving."
"Yeah. What are you gonna do if Rinzler attacks again?"
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Quorra turned around, "If we're in a hurry, then we have to take care of Rinzler first."
Xion spoke up, "We can both handle him."
She nodded towards Quorra, who then smiled and nodded towards Flynn.
...
Flynn considered it, then spoke, "Alright. Do what you can. Maybe you and Xion can help Tron."
"Dad. No."
Play: Access the Grid - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
"Relax, Sam. I have a feeling that Xion is someone we can trust. Now you and me need to press on."
"Okay."
...
They both walked past Xion and Quorra. Sam spoke to Quorra as he did.
"Quorra, be careful."
"You too."
...
Xion smiled at the two of them.
Again, it reminded her of her and Kirux a little bit.
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"Alright," Quorra said to her, "It's you and me. You ready, Xion?"
"Yeah! Let's do this, Quorra!"
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"CLU should be at the helm of his battleship, the Rectifier. We can get there with a Solar Sailer from the underground docks."
"Alright then. Lead the way."
The two of them walked off.
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CLU held the disk before him, the images showing in a digital projection.
Xion standing there, her holding her Keyblade ready to fight, and her opening up a chest.
"What's this? A "Keyblade"..."
He held the disk in one hand before tossing it back to Rinzler.
Rinzler nodded, then walked out of the room.
Spirits Acquired: Cyber Yog, KO Kabuto
Xion's Keyblade faded away as Quorra put her disk back.
"What even are these things anyway? They're nothing like CLU's soldiers.
She was talking about Xion's Spirits, who walked back up the the two of them.
...
"The Dream Eaters. They're monsters that feed off of happy dreams. At least, the Nightmares are. These guys are the good ones, Spirits."
She pet the ram behind its horn, "They're hear to help us whenever we need them."
Quorra didn't seem fully convinced, "How can you tell the difference between the two?"
"Well, their colors do look a lot different. The Nightmares are usually darker, like black and purple. The Spirits are a lot lighter, like these two."
...
"I see. And you can control them?"
Xion nodded.
"You really are a lot different than Flynn and Sam." She said, continuing to walk.
...
They entered an elevator, "This should take us down to the docks."
The elevator started going down.
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"So, what is it between you and Sam?"
"Huh?"
Xion smiled, "I can tell he cares about you, and you clearly care about him too. So, are you two just friends or..?"
Quorra shook her head, "I don't know. It's...complicated."
"Trust me. I know the feeling. I...get the same feeling with my friend Kirux."
"So, you care about him a lot?"
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Xion's hands went over her chest, "It's...more than that. Kirux and I...we've been through a lot together. He's given me so much, filled my heart with so much joy and happiness, that I..."
"...I can't imagine living in a world without him."
Quorra smiled, "You two seem like such great friends."
"He's a lot more than my friend. Like, a whole lot more."
"I see," she laughed.
...
'That's...really the first time I've ever opened up to somebody about Kirux and I.'
'Man. I miss him so much. I hope I can see him again soon.'
'I mean it. Once this is over, he's mine for a long time.'
...
The elevator stopped, and they were at the docks.
Luckily for the two of them, there was a Solar Sailer docked there.
"Thank goodness." Quorra said, running over.
"I can get this started up, and we can head for CLU's ship."
"Okay."
Stop: Access the Grid - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
Xion and Quorra walked into CLU's battleship.
"So," Xion started, "Tron's source code should be in here?"
"It should be."
"Alright."
She ran over to the shelves to look around.
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...
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The two of them found nothing.
"It's not here," Quorra started, "Maybe CLU has it with him."
She turned to Xion, "Xion. Let's look elsewhere."
"Okay."
Play: Shaded Truths - KH Birth by Sleep
They were about to leave the ship, but the door opened.
Rinzler was standing there.
...
Quorra instinctively took out her disk, but Xion stopped her.
"Wait Quorra! Let me try and talk to Rinzler. Maybe...I can try jog his memory a little."
"He's a program, Xion. It won't work like that."
"That's not true. I've done this before, I can do it again."
...
She walked towards Rinzler.
"Hey! You...used be called "Tron," right? CLU did something with you to mess with your memory. You may be confused, but it's okay. We can fix you."
Rinzler did nothing as she continued, "Tron, you have to remember!"
...
Rinzler pulled his disks out in response.
Xion frowned at him.
He threw the disks at Xion and Quorra, knocking them both onto the ground.
Quorra threw her disk at him.
She caught it as it flew back, "I don't think Rinzler...is going to remember anytime soon."
She ran at him.
"He will. I know he will."
...
She looked up to see Quorra falling to the ground.
"No! Quorra!"
Rinzler brought one of his disks up, "Tron! Don't!
...
The door shut right in her face.
Stop: Shaded Truths - KH Birth by Sleep
Play: The Nightmare - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
"That's what people do. Put the most precious memories in the back of our minds where they're safe."
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Vanitas walked up from behind her.
"In your case, I would probably say...hearts. But, we both know you don't have a true heart."
"Not you again!"
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"The memory and heart are tightly linked."
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Xion recognized that voice from a long time ago.
He appeared in front of her, next to Vanitas.
"X-Xemnas?! How is this possible?"
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"Rub a few memories together," he started, "and you get a spark of emotion, a feeling. But in a digital world like this, memory does not work like that. Nothing is ever felt."
"You can have a thousand, a million times the information, but there is still not heart with which to parse it."
"A outside world example of this...would be you, Xion."
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"Me?"
"Yes. "The Imperfect Replica." No. XIV. You simply were made up of other people's memories, a puppet of Kairi."
"The heart that Kirux caused you to grow, is merely just a figment of data, I'm afraid."
"That's not true!"
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"Oh, but it is. Answer this one question, Xion. Can you say for sure that that the memories and data that have made up your short life?"
"Yes! My heart and my memories belong to me!"
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Xemnas turned around, "You'd better check. Make sure the contents of the box match what's on the label..."
"For you are the fallback."
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Xemnas walked into a dark portal.
"What does he mean by "fallback"?"
"Forget about it."
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Xion completely forgot about Vanitas.
He spoke again, "Tell me, Xion. Puppet. Is this really a Sleeping World?"
She nodded, not backing down.
"That's where you are mistaken. A digital world like this does not dream. It cannot dream."
The door opened behind her, "This world is real. You have no idea where you are, and you have already wandered off of your appointed path."
"What do you mean?"
...
He just smiled, and walked away.
Xion lost her consciousness.
Stop: The Nightmare - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
When she opened her eyes, she was in a massive arena.
...
"What?"
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An voice boomed around the arena, "Combatant 14 versus Rinzler."
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"Greetings, Xion. I've been waiting."
"Who are you?"
"I am CLU."
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She gasped, "So it was you. You're the guy who turned Tron into Rinzler!"
"Correct. I had to repurpose his code."
"Well, change him back!"
"Yes, under the right parameters, I might."
"Huh?"
...
"You have a little item called a Keyblade. It can open any lock, is that right? Hand it over, and I'll change Rinzler back into Tron."
Her Keyblade appeared in her hand, "The Keyblade? I - I can't."
She looked back up at CLU, "This what will light the darkness. The thing that makes everyone happy!"
"Ha! Flawed reasoning. I'll have to take it by force."
...
CLU sank into the ground, while Rinzler ran towards her.
Play: Rinzler Recompiled - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
Rinzler pulled his two disks out. He threw them both at Xion.
She deflected them both with her Keyblade.
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"Tron, why can't I get through to you?"
"Fight, Xion!"
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"Quorra! You're okay!"
"Yes. I think Tron heard you, long enough for me to escape. You can do it! You can get through to him."
The ship she was standing on began to fly around, "Xion, you have to fight him!"
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"But Quorra, how will that work?"
"You have that key! It will bring him to his senses!"
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Rinzler jumped at her, one of his disks colliding with her Keyblade.
She held him back, then threw him off.
"I'll try!"
Rinzler landed on his feet.
She readied herself, "Let's go, Tron!"
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She hunched over, breathing heavily.
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An faded image of Sora appeared around her.
...
The fight between her (with her Spirits of course) and Rinzler wasn't very eventful.
He most kept his distance, and threw his disks at her constantly. At one point, the arena even went upside down.
It was kind of annoying, but she pulled through and had knocked him out.
...
She raised her Keyblade, a large button appearing above Rinzler.
She hit it, and he was lowered to the ground.
Xion's Keyblade faded away.
Stop: Rinzler Recompiled - KH 3D Dream Drop Distance
CLU resurfaced behind her. He pulled out his disk, and threw it at Xion.
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Tron noticed this.
Tron jumped up, pushed her out of the way, and blocked it with his disk.
It bounced around the arena, and hit the ground underneath him.
It shattered, and Tron now began to fall.
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Xion reached out, "Tron!"
He reached for her hand.
He was just out of reach.
Tron fell.
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Quorra walked up behind her.
"He reached for my hand." She said, "But...why?"
"Is it because I saved him?"
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Quorra didn't have an answer.
"You and that key have a special power."
Xion stood up, "So do you, power that made me see it."
"So, does that mean we're friends?"
"Of course."
They both laughed.
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...
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Xion was still standing there.
"What did they mean by my memories not belonging to me?"
"Did I...never really grow a heart at all? Am I still just...a puppet of Sora's memory?"
...
The Keyhole appeared above her.
She locked it, the light blinding her.
There we go.
Thanks for reading. I'll see you next time.
-Broncozfan623