Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun or Kingdom Hearts.
Chapter XI
And All That Could Have Been
Something was in his mind.
It had been there for a while, but he'd only just now noticed. He'd realized it when his forehead had started bleeding from him unconsciously scratching it too much. Someone... or something was trying to enter his mind.
Luxord shuffled his deck of cards. He couldn't stay in this world much longer. Hopefully his trap would work, and he could kill the Adepts and return with Xion.
But it was such a long shot. He couldn't fight three Adepts and Xion, even with the stronger panels he'd equiped.
It's not hopeless. You can do it. You can kill them.
What was this he felt...? Was it fear? How could he feel anything? He was a Nobody! His existence was nothing. He was nothing!
But he didn't want to die...
You can do this. You're stronger now. They will beg for mercy at your feet. They will die.
He wanted to preserve his life. He wanted to go back to the castle, and return with help. He didn't want to die like this.
Life truly was like a game of cards, he realized with a dark laugh. You could win, and you could lose.
All the cards are in your favor this time. Play them! You will win!
He didn't want to be forgotten. Perhaps this is why Xion had fled, why Roxas had defied them... Perhaps they had a similar epiphany. Perhaps they wanted to live.
But what was the point? He was nothing more than a tool. That's why Xemnas had send him and the others out to these towers, to stand guard until she showed up. Xion was a more important tool to him. He and the other three... they were disposable.
Maybe this is what was entering his mind. The sobering truth. It was truly ironic that it came to him when it was too late. He didn't want to think about how he was trapped here. He didn't understand why he couldn't summon Dark Corridors, but he did understand what it meant.
Even if he succeeded, he would fail.
When he closed his eyes, he could almost see a face. And a name was on the tip of his tongue. He was trying to remember something... something he hadn't thought about since long ago, when he had been a Somebody. Before a Heartless had taken his life, and turned him into this emotionless shell.
They know!
It hit him in an instant. The key... someone had put the key in the device! They'd done it wrong, but he could still sense it!
They know you're here! Find them! Kill them!
Luxord looked back at his trap. A false floor, which gave out when you stepped over it. Not much, but at least it would have divided them, giving him more of a chance. Now it was for nothing. They knew he was here, and they would kill him.
No! You kill them! You make them die! You will survive this day, and the Adepts will die! Garet, Mia, Felix! Kill them all!
Felix... he was the dark one in green... how did he know his name?
What was in his head?
Luxord clenched his fists. These damn Adepts! They had to die! Die! Die!
He took off for the stairs. He knew where they would be. In the room where the water began. Where he'd set up the device for Xemnas.
It was time to kill.
Felix looked across the aerie. Saturos and Alex were preparing to light the beacon. Alex was keeping a watchful eye on the elevator opposite of the one Felix was about to board. He was no doubt awaiting the arrival of Isaac and his group.
Jenna stood beside him. It had been a hard truth for his sister to accept, but lighting the Lighthouses was the only way for their parents to be freed. She had fought them along the way, but her resistance had waned. She was now resigned to the quest, just as he was. In the end, it had been their parents that had convinced her, and not saving the world.
The scholar Kraden had gone along quicker. As soon as he'd learned about the erosion of the world, he accepted that the Lighthouses had to be lit. He'd pestered Alex with questions about the Lighthouses and Alchemy, but the Mercury Adept only gave him bits and pieces, as he did with everyone.
Felix had recognized Alex the moment he'd seen him. He was the blue-haired man Felix had bumped into, mistaking him for that girl he'd been with. It hadn't taken him very long to figure out that Alex was the mysterious contact from Imil when he'd showed up in Prox with scrolls and maps. It was he who had set everything in motion. The Proxians wouldn't even know there were other lighthouses if it hadn't been for him.
When they'd returned to Imil after raiding the sanctum, he'd also figured out that Alex was the cousin of the pretty girl he'd spent his time with while he'd been there. It was little wonder, considering how alike they were in appearance. As far as personality, they were total opposites. The girl had been kind and caring, as compassionate as a human could be. Alex, on the other hand was little more than a blank face and a condescending attitude. And he flirted with Jenna.
Felix didn't like him.
It was strange to him how two people could be so similar in both blood and body, and yet have utterly opposite hearts. Alex's cousin had been one of the most kind and beautiful people Felix had ever met. Even though it had been over a year and a half ago, he could still remember how much he enjoyed his time with her...
That's why he hated himself for forgetting her name.
From the elevator, Felix watched as Alex noticed something, and went to Saturos' side, whispering something in his ear. Alex casually strolled behind the unlit beacon, and Saturos threw the star in. Why was Alex hiding behind the beacon?
"It's time to go." Menardi said. "Things here are about to get ugly."
Jenna turned and stepped first onto the elevator, sighing as she did so. Though she wanted nothing more than to simply sit down and talk with Isaac, she'd already argued her point to the two Proxians, and they could have cared less. In their eyes Isaac was a threat, and Saturos had chosen to stay behind to eliminate it.
Felix didn't like it anymore than she did, but he knew better than to argue with Saturos. Once his mind was made up, nothing could be said or done to change it.
Isaac and Garet were already dead.
The lighthouse roared to life as Kraden and Menardi joined Felix's sister on the elevator. Felix waited for a moment to watch the beacon emerge from within the lighthouse. Truly a breathtaking sight.
"They're here. Let's go, Felix." Menardi said.
Felix glanced back at the other side where four figures had just arrived, shocked to find the beacon already lit. He quickly made out the shapes of his two friends, Isaac and Garet. It pained him to see them go, but he couldn't save them. He just wasn't strong enough. All he could do was see them one last time, and remember them.
He spotted a small boy with them, garbed in finer cloth than what they were wearing. He had to be Ivan, Master Hammet's servant. They'd heard about him when they'd passed through Vault. There was a fourth Adept among them, in the back... Who was...
No...
His heart stopped. It was her! Alex's cousin!
Saturos was going to kill them...
The elevator started moving before Felix could jump off it. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair that someone so kind and perfect be ripped from the world for nothing. And yet, what could he do? Even if he could somehow get back up to the aerie, how could he stop Saturos? He'd just get killed, too.
Alex... He'd hidden behind the beacon...
So he could watch Saturos kill his cousin. His only surviving family. The man truly was heartless.
Felix simply stared at the walls of the lighthouse rushing past them as they fell. He had failed so utterly... He'd never felt so weak. They didn't have to kill anybody to complete this quest, much less their friends and family. And now, Felix would lose his friends, Jenna would lose the man she loved, and the girl...
All for nothing.
Her name... he wished he could remember her name.
Menardi's presence was the only thing that held back his tears.
Xion stopped for a second, glancing down a long hallway.
"I hear footsteps." She said to Felix.
Felix stopped and went to her side, also looking down the hallway. "We're two rooms away from where Mia and Garet are. Maybe it's one of them?"
Xion shook her head. "No..."
From the darkness burst the image of Luxord charging at them full-speed, with a fury in his eyes he should not possess.
"It's Luxord!" Xion exclaimed, drawing her katana. Felix's sword quickly joined her.
"So you survived!" Felix called out to him.
Luxord did not reply. Instead he threw one of his hands in the air.
Xion gasped as she saw a flash of light, and pain shot through her body. She quickly shook it off, and noticed she'd been thrown back, along with Felix.
"Lightning!" She exclaimed, climbing to her feet as quickly as she could. "He's got magic panels!"
"You call that a spell?" Felix demanded, drawing his psynergy power. All the while, Luxord still had not stopped or even slowed down.
The Nobody's progress towards them was cut short, as the ground below his feet exploded from Felix's Psynergy. He flew up, hitting the roof, before falling back to the ground.
Felix turned to Xion. "Move out! We can't fight in this narrow hallway!"
She nodded in reply, and they raced out in the direction of the Lighthouse's center, where Mia and Garet were.
"Something's off about him..." Felix said as they ran.
"Yeah..." Xion agreed. "He's never like that. He usually gloats before a battle. I've never seen him... attack his enemy like that before. Even when we were fighting Heartless, he'd always say some stupid crap about cards or gambling before we fought."
They reached the room that led to the center. Felix ran to the door, and attempted to open it.
It didn't work.
"What the hell is this? It's locked!" He exclaimed.
Xion spun around, looking the new room over. It was larger than the hallway had been, but not nearly cozy enough for a comfortable battle. Of course, with Felix's earth Psynergy being as chaotic as it was, they would have to stick to swordplay.
But that didn't mean Luxord would.
Xion turned to Felix. "Is there anywhere else we can fight? He has an advantage in tight spaces, especially if he's using magic."
Felix turned back to answer her, but he was interrupted by a fireball that he narrowly dodged. Felix turned, sword raised, to find Luxord standing in the hallway. Something was definitely wrong with him. He was breathing heavily, his veins were popping out of his skin, and his eyes were so bloodshot it was a wonder he could see.
Luxord's breathing got more ragged and labored as he raised his deck of cards before them.
"Look out!" Xion warned him.
Luxord opened his hand, and the cards collapsed, falling uselessly to the floor. His lips twisted into a sick grin, and his arm fell to his side.
"He'd up to something..." Felix muttered. "Be ready."
Luxord closed his eyes, and when he opened them, red blood dripped from his eyes, running down his face. He shakily raised his right arm again, stretched out to his side. There was a flash of light, and he wrapped his fingers around an object that appeared: a strange rod-like weapon that resembled a large key.
"My keyblade!" Xion nearly screamed.
Luxord stepped towards Felix, eerily calm. The Venus Adept raised his sword to fight.
The fire before them crackled softly, it's light just barely illuminating the small clearing in which they'd made camp. Felix, Jenna, and Kraden sat, staring silently at the flames, their minds on the events of the Lighthouse. Menardi was nearby, seated upon a large rock by the road, watching for Saturos and Alex's return.
"Would he really kill them?" Jenna asked, hesitantly breaking the silence. Though the question had been on each of their minds, none of them had dared to bring it to focus by asking it aloud.
Jenna and Kraden exchanged glances, then turned to face Felix. He knew why. The question was for him. He had spent much more time with Saturos than anybody in their group, save Menardi. They were asking Felix if their 'leader' would kill four teenagers when it was completely unnecessary to complete their quest.
Felix sighed. He didn't want to say it, but he had to. "Yes. He would."
Jenna turned back to the fire. She loved Isaac. Felix had not no doubt of that. The night's events must have been harder on her than any of them. Isaac and Garet were Felix's friends, and Kraden had tutored the boys, but Jenna was much closer to them than they were.
Felix almost felt guilty that he was more concerned for the girl than his friends.
They waited for long minutes. Felix's only shadow of hope was that Isaac and his friends had managed to defeat Saturos. He couldn't say that he would miss the man if they had. But he knew better.
And those thin hopes were dashed by the sound of labored footsteps dragging through the leaves towards them. They turned to face the newcomers. Menardi returned to the fire, supporting a wounded Saturos. The Mars warrior had a dark look upon his features.
Characteristically of Alex, he was nowhere in sight.
Though Felix and the others were sent back to the tents so the Proxians could talk, it wouldn't have been the first time Felix had eavesdropped on their conversations. He didn't hear much, as his tent was far from them and they spoke in hushed voices, but he did manage to pick up that Isaac and his group had actually beaten him. His face split into a wide grin at that.
So they were alive, after all.
Garet was about to suggest they leave to find Felix and Xion when the wall at the far end of the room simply exploded. Garet and Mia spun around in shock.
Felix and Xion came flying out of the explosion like tossed dolls, landing unpleasantly on the stone floor just before the stunned pair.
"W-what the hell...?" Garet said in disbelief.
Mia quickly ran to Felix and Xion, casting healing Psynergy on them before she even reached their sides.
Felix rolled over, rubbing his forehead and groaning. Xion sat up, looking about wildly.
"What just happened?" Mia demanded.
Felix leaped to his feet, raising his sword in battle stance. Xion did the same, though her blade had fallen a few yards from her, as she did not have Felix's experience with actually having to hold onto your weapon.
"Guys, what just... oh..." Garet noticed the cause of their arrival.
Luxord stepped through the rubble that had once been rooms, far end wall. Blood continued to drip from his eyes, and thin black smoke seemed to be radiating off his body. Every step he took left an imprint in the shape of his boot.
"Ahhhhhhmmmmmnnnngggg... thiiiiisss bbbbooooooodddddyyyyyyy..." He said in a voice that was deeper than his usual, and lacked his accent. "Iiiiiisssss ..."
He tilted his head to the side and cracked his neck so loudly it reverberated through the room. Mia gasped, having thought he'd just broken his own neck, but he still lived.
Luxord's hair was no longer the short cut it had been, but now it stuck up in all ends as though he'd just been electrocuted. There were blue marks under his eyes, which still had blood dripping from them.
"Guys." Garet said, as they silently observed all this. "When we get back to Kalay... I'm done adventuring. This is just getting way too weird."
He took a few steps towards them, before bending over and screaming in agony. As he hunched over, they could see the bones of his spine bursting from his skin, having grown spikes at each vertebrae. They also noticed his fingernails were longer.
"My goodness..." Xion gasped. "What's happening to him...?"
"Ddddyyyyiiiiiinnnnnngggggg,,," He growled, rising to face them. "Mmmmmmuuuuuussssssttttttt qqqquuuuiiiiiccckkklllllyyyy y..."
Luxord then charged at them with inhuman speed, Xion's keyblade appearing in his hand. Felix reacted the first, his own sword blocking Luxord's in a parry. However, the impact of Luxord landing sent out a shockwave that sent the other three flying back. The ground below him had turned into a crater.
"YOU INTERFERE!" Luxord screamed at Felix in a voice that resembled shattering glass. "MY VESSELS!" He hissed at Felix, revealing rows of sharp teeth.
Felix jumped back from Luxord, summoning Ragnarok. The massive blade of Psynergy penetrated Luxord, who did not even attempt to dodge it. The blade exploded, temporarily blinding the group.
Before Felix could even see the damage he caused, Luxord's clawed hands were around throat, squeezing with a grip like iron. Reacting solely out of instinct, Felix plunged his blade into his attacker's chest where the heart would have been.
Precious seconds passed before the others realized that the rapidly-transforming Luxord was strangling Felix. In fact, due to his legs having grown longer, and massive strength, he was actually holding Felix several feet up in the air. Felix's sword was sticking out of his chest, though he didn't seem to notice it.
"DIE!" The creature that used to be Luxord hissed.
"Felix!" Xion exclaimed. She leaped to her feet, racing to Luxord, and swinging her katana through his left leg, cutting straight through.
Luxord dropped Felix, who stumbled away coughing. He fell to the ground, unable to stand on a single leg from his increased height.
Garet and Mia had recovered from the blast, and were drawing their weapons. Xion ran to Felix's side, to make sure he was okay.
In the minute of so that had passed, Luxord's body had already morphed further away from humanity. His skin looked milky and unnaturally pale. His remaining leg was now a foot longer than it had been. His boots were gone, clawed feet having burst through them. His black coat was torn to shreds, bones having grown into long spikes that protruded from his body. Blood was flowing freely from his eyes, which were colored over in red. His eyebrows were gone, and his ears had grown long and pointed. His hair was now pure white and drifed down past his shoulders. His teeth were fangs.
Whatever was happening to him, he looked atrocious.
"What the hell is up with this guy?" Garet demanded. Mia simply shook her head, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Felix's sword slid out of it's chest, covered in some sort of thick, white pus. He grabbed the blade and returned to his feet, rubbing his red throat. "I don't know." He rasped. "But we have to kill it, and now!"
They all raised their weapons and charged the creature at once, swinging their blades down on it. They never hit it, as a force field of black energy surrounded the creature, knocking them all back.
Before their horrified eyes, the bones in the creature's severed limb began to grown outwards, forming the skeleton of a lower leg and foot. A layer of muscle followed that, with veins and arteries wrapping around it. Then, white flesh grew out over that, and the creature rose to stand as though it had never lost it's leg.
"Unbelievable..." Mia gasped. "Gods help us..."
The creature's transformation appeared to be more-or-less complete. It's skin was so pale, it was see-through. Thick spikes stood out of the vertebrae in it's spine, and it stood over two heads taller than Felix. It spung around to face the Venus Adept. It's eyes were no longer bleeding. It didn't even have eyes anymore, just blank, black sockets.
"Hit it with Psynergy!" Felix ordered.
The area around the monster erupted into chaos. It was simultaneously pierced by spires of earth, crushed by frozen blocks of ice, and drowned in lava. All the while, the creature flailed it's arms about and shrieked in agony. Xion, unable to do anything, just stepped back.
"Don't let up!" Felix cried. "Keep hitting it!"
And they didn't. The three Adepts attacked the creature before them with a ferocity unlike any they had before. Not even the three-headed dragon atop Mars Lighthouse had taken such a beating.
At last, unable to keep it up any longer, the Adepts stepped back. As the remnants of their last attacks faded, they were greeted with a horrible sight.
The creature wasn't even scratched.
But it was now very angry. It turned to Felix, singling him out once again, and shrieked in pure, blood-curling rage. It appeared before him in the blink of an eye, and struck him with the force of a moving truck, sending him flying across the room.
"Felix!" Xion screamed. She charged at the creature, her katana in the air.
It spun around to face her as if annoyed. It pointed the keyblade at her, and a spark of white energy shot out and hit her in the chest.
"Oh..." Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she collapsed to the floor.
Garet and Mia went after it, but it merely waved it's hand in response. Wispy, black tendrils emerged from the floor, wrapping around the two Adepts like rope. The smoke drifted into their nostrils and mouths, and their heads bobbed.
"NO DISTRACTIONS." It growled, turning it's attention back to Felix.
It was surprised then, when the first thing it saw was Felix's enraged face flying towards it before his sword sliced right through the creature's right arm.
The severed arm hit the floor, melting into white pus. The keyblade vanished in a flash of light.
The creature roared in agony, but Felix wasn't done yet. He then swung his blade through the monster's legs, severing them both at the knee. Unable to stand, the creature collapsed.
"That's your weakness, isn't it?" Felix exclaimed. "You resist Psynergy like it's nothing, but your body is thinner than butter!"
The creature screamed as Felix then severed it's left arm, leaving it with no limbs. Already it's right arm was growing back, but Felix ignored it as he stepped on top of the defenseless creature's chest and pointed his blade at it's forehead.
"You'd better hope my friends are okay, or I'll find you in the next world, and we'll do this everyday, you filthy Nobody."
"YOU WILL PERISH WHEN I-"
The sentence was cut short as Felix's sword plunged into the creature's forehead, emerging on the other side. Felix pulled the blade out, white pus going everywhere, then swung it through the neck, cutting the head clean off.
"If that doesn't kill it, I don't know what will."
Felix hopped off the headless, limbless torso. As he stepped off, the body began liquifying, and started to melt. The various severed limbs, including the arm Xion had cut off, followed this process. The pasty, white flesh of the deformed creature melting into the thick pus it bled, before vanishing altogether.
All that was left behind was the naked, lifeless body of Luxord, which emerged from the melting torso.
Felix turned away from this and ran to Xion. She was already rising and holding her forehead when he reached her side.
"Oh, man... What happened...?" She groaned.
Felix didn't answer, simply embracing the small girl. He tried to hold back tears. For a moment there, he'd thought she was dead.
"Hey now, not so tight..." Xion laughed softly.
As Felix held her, Garet and Mia rose, the black smoke that had held them having vanished. They looked around, and spotted Felix and Xion. Garet grinned, and opened his mouth as though to say something, but Mia shook her head and silenced him.
Finally, Felix released her. "I killed it."
"You mean Luxord?"
He nodded, pointing to the Nobody's body.
Xion rose, shaking her head. "Nobodies don't leave corpses." She explained, as they all sheathed their weapons. "They fade away when they die, leaving nothing behind."
She turned the body over. Luxord met her gaze. His breathing was thin and shallow, and he was covered in wounds from the transformation.
"That's him, all right." Garet said, joining them. "That's the bastard who..."
"Quiet!" Xion said. "He's trying to say something."
"...so sorry... Xion..." Luxord whispered. "You... just wanted... to live..."
She nodded.
"Find it... what you... came here for... H-help me... Help me up... I have to tell you..."
Xion gently helped the dying Nobody rise to a seated position. The three Adepts gathered around, listening intently.
"It was a... being... in my... body..." Luxord struggled. "Ancient... very powerful... he wants... something... he... he... OH, PLEASE NO!"
Xion jumped back. Luxord clenched his temples, screaming. Blood started pouring out of his ears.
"HE'S IN MY HEAD! GET IT OUT! GET HIM OUT OF MY HEAD! LUNOS! STOP THE PAIN!"
"Guys, get away from him." Felix said. They started backing away.
Luxord's eyes started bulging out of his skull. The temples in his forehead were popping out of his skin. He was screaming.
"Guys, MOVE!" Felix yelled. They took off running in the opposite direction.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Luxord's head burst open like a crushed watermelon, pieces of red matter flying in every direction. Xion and the Adepts jumped, avoiding the explosion. The headless body slid back down to the floor for a moment, before vanishing. All the splattered brain matter on the floor vanished as well.
Xion and the Adepts looked on at this with varied expressions. Mia seemed on the verge of tears, Garet was holding back a laugh, and Felix simply looked confused.
"And that, my friends... is why I never took Algebra." Garet muttered.
The others stared at him. "You think that was funny?" Mia exclaimed. "That poor man's head just exploded! Can you imagine how much that must have hurt?"
"Like a migraine, only a thousand times worse." Felix muttered.
"Poor Luxord." Xion sighed. "He was never really a bad person, he just didn't understand the difference between good and evil. Nobodies aren't able to make choices like that. He never realized he could be more than just a tool for Xemnas."
"You did." Felix said.
Xion sighed again. "But I'm a special case. Luxord was just an ordinary Nobody. I wonder what he was like before he turned? He wasn't exactly mean, like Saix or Xaldin were, but I couldn't say he was nice either. He was just... indifferent."
"Like a man at the card table, just dealt a fresh hand." Garet mused. "Life was never anything more than a game to him. Good or evil was a choice just like blackjack or poker, white pieces or black pieces, holding the ace or throwing it back in. In the end, it didn't matter to him what the game was or how he played it, so long as he played it well."
The others turned to Garet again, this time surprised by his accurate sum-up of Luxord's life. Garet laughed and stretched.
"Well, I'm beat after that crazy battle. What do you say we fix the flow of the water and get out of here?"
Jupiter Lighthouse had been a tough climb, but what he saw at the end had nearly send Felix over the edge. He knew Karst and Agatio were after Isaac, but he hadn't expected them to go after the others.
So when he found Mia caught in their trap, along with Garet, who was struggling to hold on to the edge of the Lighthouse with one hand, he had been ready to go after the two Proxians himself.
Felix had only seen Mia a single time after Mercury Lighthouse, ironically at the top of the next Lighthouse. It seemed these towers were the only place the two parties would ever meet. It has been at Venus Lighthouse that Felix had finally remembered her name, though the reunion had been for naught, as she didn't seem to remember him at all.
He had been their to protect his new companion, Sheba. And so he had, the two of them watching from afar as Isaac's party and Saturos and Menardi engaged in a ferocious battle. And in the end, it had been Isaac's group that had one. The defeated Proxians falling dead into the Lighthouse beacon.
Mia had actually been the last thing on his mind during that time. Between fearing he would have to battle Isaac's group, to leaping off the Lighthouse to save Sheba, to awakening on a drifting island, it had been a wild afternoon for him.
But Felix had thought fondly of Mia from time to time during their quest. Although he had been forced to accept that she was with Isaac's party, and that they were enemies, he still could not deny that he had at least a crush on the girl. Which was even more strange, as he only saw her a few short times.
So he had been ready to go at the Proxian's throats when they had endangered her life. It made sense that they would go after the healer first, a fact their cold, calculating minds had not doubt realized.
But his duty came first. They reached something of an uneasy alliance, and the Proxians rushed off to the aerie. Felix took the Mars Star from Isaac, and went after them with Piers. He was as concerned about Mia as he was about Isaac, but he knew they were in safe hands with Jenna, Sheba, and Kraden.
The betrayal that took place after the beacon was lit did not surprise Felix in the slightest. Any hint of Karst's previous kindness to him had vanished long ago.
The night had been a dark one, but everything worked out more-or-less. The two parties met the next day in a house in Contigo, and united to light Mars Lighthouse. The alliance was shaky at first, but they eventually came to trust one-another.
But Felix was disappointed to find that Mia still did not remember him.
The four teenagers stood resting, relaxing in the aftermath of the battle with the possessed Luxord. Though Felix was interested in exactly what the ancient being Luxord had mentioned was, the relaxed and light atmosphere quickly drove it from his mind. Mia was laughing for the first time since he'd returned to Imil, and he couldn't deny that it was infectious.
"C'mon, guys." Garet groaned, though he struggled to hide a grin. "Let's get rid of that eyesore!" He pointed at the massive cube device.
Mia laughed, playfully elbowing Garet. "That's all you, knucklehead. You're the one that put the key in wrong in the first place."
Xion grinned to Felix. She had been worried at first, but things had ended well after all. Remembering her keyblade, she extended her hand to summon it, but it did not appear. It had vanished, along with the extra matter the being that possessed Luxord had summoned. She was disappointed, but there was time to worry about that later. At least she still had her katana.
In response to Mia's words, Garet stared open-mouthed at the massive cube at the other end of the room. "But that's so far! And Luxord hurt my legs when we fought!"
Mia waved her hand. "Already took care of that. I can Ply without you even realizing it."
Garet groaned. "Fine, I'll do it..." He stood up and started walking for the device.
Mia flashed Felix a smile. The first one since they had broken up. He smiled back. It was great. It was like everything was back to the way it had been before Mars Lighthouse. Back when they were just a bunch of kids on a quest, enjoying every minute of it.
Mia caught Garet's ear and pulled him back. "I changed my mind." She said. "You just stay here. I'll take care of it. I wouldn't want you messing it up more."
Garet groaned, though once Mia had passed him, he winked to Felix. The Venus Adept chuckled and shook his head. Xion laughed.
Felix felt good. He felt better than he had in months. Maybe... maybe he didn't need to kill Alex after all. Maybe all he needed was his friends.
Mia reached the device at the far end of the room. She gave Garet a thumbs up, and he returned it.
From where they were sitting, they could see Mia pull Garet's stone key out of the device and dramatically turn it around so the emblem was facing outwards. Mia emphasized that it was the right way to face, which had Garet chuckling.
Mia was certainly beautiful, Felix realized. Maybe once this was all over, he could patch things up with her. Maybe he could get the old gang together, and help him get Xion's Essences. Gather everyone together for one more adventure. And maybe, just maybe... he and Mia could fall in love all over again.
Mia, having turned the cube the right way, slid it back into place. There was a flash of light...
He was so glad to have her...
Despite the initial shakiness, each of the two groups had quickly figured out what the other was: a bunch of friendly teenagers stuck traveling the world. There were many reunions and introductions. Felix eagerly anticipated having a conversation alone with Mia, but the return to the ship had been hectic (no doubt assisted by the appearance of flying wings on the sides of Piers' ship, much to his dismay).
After night had fallen, he at last located her in the kitchen, getting a drink of water. He stepped inside, and she turned around.
"Oh, hello." She said, smiling and offering her hand. "I'm Mia. I don't think we've properly met."
Felix forced a smile, though he felt crushed. He had been hoping she would remember him, but it made sense that she didn't. It had been over three years ago that they'd spend that time in Imil. His hair was longer, too.
He himself had forgotten her name for months, so he couldn't blame her.
"I don't think we have." He replied, taking her hand. "I'm Felix."
Something in her eye caught his attention. A flicker of doubt? Hesitation?
She laughed anyway. "I've heard a lot about you. Garet loves to tell stories."
"Nothing too personal, I hope."
"I suspect the legitimacy of some..."
"Really?" He said, unable to help but grin. "Do tell."
She scratched the back of her head. "Well, when Garet claims to saving your life from wild monsters and winning an award from the village, I kind of doubt it's not exaggerated. Especially when Isaac rolls his eyes and facepalms throughout the entire tale."
Felix chuckled. "At least he left out the dragons. He used to love slaying dragon."
They both laughed. An awkward silence settled, neither of them sure what to say next. Mia took a sip of water.
"Jenna seems nice..." She said, searching for something to say.
"She is..." Felix replied. "When she's not angry at you. As her brother, I get headaches from it a lot."
Mia laughed softly. "Yeah..." There was something wrong. Mia seemed hesitant, disappointed. It was almost like...
"Hey..." He began, not sure how to approach it. It was a weird thing to talk about, but he felt he needed to. "I don't know if you remember, but three years ago I was traveling, and I stopped in your hometown, and..."
Mia's eyes lit up. "That was you! I though it might have been someone else, or you might have forgotten, but you remembered! Why didn't you bring it up sooner."
She did remember! "I just... I thought it was you who didn't remember."
Mia was beaming. "I'm so glad you remembered. I thought it was going to make things really awkward."
Felix grinned. "Well, at least that's over with."
Mia stepped over to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "That's for remembering me." She said, trying not to blush.
"How could I forget someone like you?" He asked, also trying not to blush. Neither of them were doing very well.
"Um..." Mia said, suddenly embarrassed by her impulsive act. "I'd better get going... It's pretty late..."
"Yes, certainly." Felix said.
Mia finished her water, and all but ran to the door. Her face was all red, and she was grinning. "Uh... I guess I'll see you tomorrow."
He nodded.
"Goodnight." She said as she stepped outside. After she'd left, Felix found himself gently touching the spot on his cheek where she'd kissed him.
He smiled. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.
Xion's head broke the surface of the water, and she struggled to breathe. She couldn't see anything, the was just so much chaos. She struggled to think, trying to figure out what had just happened.
The room had flooded. Water had burst out of the device, along with something else... something purple. She hadn't been able to see what it had been, because in seconds, she'd been thrown off her feet by the massive wave of water. She couldn't see Felix or the others.
The device hadn't been absorbing the water... it had been holding it. How that was even possible was beyond Xion, but several week's worth of water had burst into the room the instant the device had been triggered. The huge cube was gone now, that much she could see.
She hoped everyone was alright.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of red break the surface of the water near her. Garet was okay, at least.
She swam towards the Mars Adept as well as she could, but the water was still moving. The missing wall on the other end from the battle earlier was draining the flood out of the room, but not very fast.
She reached Garet, and grabbed onto his shoulders.
"Where's Felix and Mia?" She shouted over the waterfall-like sound of the rushing water.
Garet simply shook his head.
The water continued to drain, until it was only about knee-high. Xion and Garet collapsed, gasping for air.
An inhuman shriek of pain drew her attention to the other side of the room. She spun around and saw the last thing she had expected to see.
A massive Behemoth Heartless. A purple, four-legged beast with a horn atop it's head. Normally this would be cause for alarm, but Xion quickly saw that the beast was incapacitated. A huge stone spire had piece it from below, severely wounding the beast and immobilizing it.
Felix stood at the base of the impaled monster, his sword at his side. Xion flinched as the shriek filled her ears again, but it wasn't the impaled Behemoth making that sound.
It was Felix.
The Venus Adept leaped into the air, landing on the Heartless' head. He savagely thrust his sword into it's head, ripping it back out and stabbing it again. He stabbed the beast again, until it's black eyes glazed over and it vanished in a poof of black smoke.
Not expecting the beast to vanish, Felix fell, bouncing off his stone spire and landing in the shallow water. He did not move.
"Felix!" Xion leaped to her feet and ran to him, water splashing at her feet. As she closed the distance between them, she saw him shakily climbing back to him feet. But what she saw after that stopped her in her tracks.
Mia. The blue-haired healer lay motionless in the shallow water, her blue hair floating on the surface. Aside from the tiny trickle of blood at the edge of her mouth, she appeared unharmed. But the look in her eyes was unmistakable.
Even in death, she was beautiful.
Felix wasn't standing. He wasn't able to, as his body was shaking fiercely. His gaze was locked on Mia's body. He wasn't crying. His initial anger had already worn off, having slain the beast that had killed her. Now he just looked... empty.
Garet slowly reached Xion's side. She turned to him. He looked just as bad as Felix. His bottom lip trembled, and his hands shook.
"No..." Garet said, barely more than a whisper. "It should have been me... I was supposed to go..."
Xion turned back to Mia's body, but it was gone. Felix hadn't moved. For a second Xion was confused, looking around to find her. Then she remembered. It was a Heartless that had killed her. People slain by Heartless didn't leave behind bodies, as she'd seen many times during her stay with the Organization.
Nobody moved or spoke. It was as though time was suspended. The water at before Felix was as still and untouched as he appeared to be. Until a single drop fell and sent ripples out. Whether it was water dripping from Felix's soaked hair, or a quietly shed tear, Xion would never know.
She didn't have a heart, at least not truly like Felix and Garet did. But she did have empathy enough to sense that they had been greatly struck by this. And Felix...
He had loved her.
Xion needed to do something. She couldn't just stand here, and watch this. She slowly went to Felix's side, and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" He screamed. He leaped to his feet, pushing Xion back. The small girl fell backwards, falling down and staring up at him. Garet didn't even react, just staring at the spot where Mia had been.
Felix stood there, watching her. And she sat there on the floor before him, staring back at him with her blue eyes. It was the same moment as before, when they'd first met. And yet, so much was different.
Felix's eyes went wide suddenly. He looked straight up at the balcony, where Garet and Mia had entered from the aerie.
"YOU!" Felix screamed.
Xion and Garet turned to see what Felix was screaming at. At the edge of the balcony, watching the entire scene, stood a man in a white cloak, wrapped in bandages.
"Alex..." Garet whispered.
The man turned and ran, disappearing from view. Felix grabbed his sword out of the water and ran after him, leaping up onto the balcony with a single jump.
"Felix!" Xion exclaimed, running after him. Garet simply stood there, not reacting to any of it. He just looked down.
"It should have been me."
Alex couldn't move very fast. He stumbled along, just barely keeping ahead of Felix.
"Get back here, you coward!" Felix roared.
Felix chased Alex through the same long hallway Luxord had appeared in. Alex stumbled along as fast as he could, but Felix was quickly gaining on him.
"I'm gonna kill you!"
Alex waved his hand casually as he ran. The floor below Felix instantly turned to ice. Felix slipped, and collapsed.
Alex waved his hand again, and Felix's feet were surrounded with ice, locking him in place. The Mercury Adept just continued running.
"You cowardly bastard!" Felix screamed as Alex vanished behind the corner.
Alex emerged outside the lighthouse, breathing heavily. He reached in his pocket, pulling out a bottle. He got down on one knee shakily next to the now-flowing water, and scooped some up in his bottle.
"There you are!" Felix said, emerging from the door. "I'm going to kill you slowly, you traitorous piece of filth!"
Alex waved his hand without even turning around. The shallow water Felix stood in exploded at his feet, sending him flying backwards.
With shaky hands, Alex lifted the bottle to his lips and drank. The water dripped down from his mouth, soaking the bandages covering his chin and neck. Alex emptied the bottle and dropped it, the healing energies of the lighthouse working quickly and effectively. He rose, the shaking gone, and stood up straight.
Felix, now back in the hallway, climbed back to his feet. "Mia is dead, you bastard! She was your cousin! Don't you even care?"
Alex responded by summoning a spear of ice. He threw the spear at Felix with deadly aim and accuracy, the blade penetrating Felix's shoulder. The Venus Adept groaned in pain and fell to his knees.
Alex removed his white hood, freeing his long blue hair. He grabbed the bandages around his hands and unwrapped them, exposing his now-healed flesh. He continued unwrapped himself, exposing his chest, neck, and finally his face.
His healed face was still as pale and handsome as before, but his right eye was gone, an empty socket where it had been. In addition to that, scars still covered the flesh around his missing eye, as well as his forehead.
"Damn." He muttered, inspecting the damage in his reflection in the water. "I was hoping the water would heal that. I suppose it's irreversible..."
Despite the ice spear in his shoulder, which was bleeding profusely, Felix struggled back to his feet. "Mia is dead!" He repeated. "And all you care about is your damn appearance!"
Alex turned back to him, a glare in his remaining eye. "I'm not in the mood for this, Felix. The only person I cared at all about is dead because of you, and I no longer have my right eye. Be glad I pity you."
"You? Pity me?" Felix spat. "I don't want your pity!"
Alex narrowed his eye. The ice spear in Felix's shoulder exploded, sending shrapnel and blood flying in every direction. Felix screaming in pain, clutching his shoulder. Blood ran down his side.
"I know you want to fight me, but you're too pathetic right now for it to be worth it." Alex said, his face a blank slate. "And I'm too angry. Clean yourself up, and come see me after I get back what's mine. Then we can do this for real."
Alex flashed white, and vanished.
Felix screamed in frustration. Rage filled every bone in his body. But he was also in extreme pain. He glanced at the flowing fountain, which would heal his wounds in seconds. The fountain Mia had died to bring back.
No. It wasn't fair for him to use that water, not when it was laced with Mia's blood. If he was too weak to kill Alex or save Mia, then it was best he just die out here in the cold.
The winds picked up. A snowstorm was coming.
Felix closed his eyes. He collapsed, dizzy from the blood-loss. He hadn't even been able to save Mia from the trap that Organization had put on their device. He was utterly useless.
He deserved to die alone in the cold.
Felix stood alone, on the edge of a massive abyss. His hair was undone, freed from it's usual ponytail. A bottle of cheap ale was in his hand, clenched tightly. His sword was unbuckled from his belt, lying in the grass beside him.
She'd left him. She'd left him when he had needed her most. He had nothing. His friends were gone. His parents had turned their backs on him. His villagers hated him, and had banished him from their company. His sister was too busy with a wedding and a pregnancy to care about him.
She had been the only reason he woke up every morning. The only thing he looked forward to throughout those long days at the edge of the chasm. The times they had spent together in his tiny tent had been some of the best in his memory. After everything he'd been through: the cold nights in Prox, the abuse from Saturos, the mask he had been forced to wear when he returned to his village, the kidnapping of his sister, the long journey...
He had been through so much. Endured so much... For what?
Nothing.
He had been happy with her. She had completed him. She had been the one ray of light in the otherwise black abyss that was his life.
The last thing she'd said to him...
"I never loved you, Felix. I only pitied you."
All that time... It had been an act.
But of course. It all made sense. She had simply been the healer that she was, caring for the pathetic, injured person who had found his way to her. That had been it all along. She'd only been a lover to him because he had been so deprived of love.
The very first time she had met him, years ago when Saturos had dragged his pathetic, half-dead ass along with them. She had bumped into him on his way to a warm bed and rest. He had looked awful, she'd said it herself.
She bought him that coffee because she had felt bad for him. Because she had pitied him. And every moment after that, even the awkward flirting and the kiss on the cheek when they had reunited on Piers' ship.
She had been caring for a weak, pathetic being.
And she had left because she simply could not take it anymore. How could he blame her? His life was so awful, who would want what he had? The whole time, she had just wanted to go home, and be done with him.
And now he had absolutely nothing.
He looked down at the endless abyss. It would be so easy to take that final step, to hurl himself into that chasm.
To end his pain.
He closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.
He began to step forward...
Something stopped him. A thought. A possibility. Something they had discussed before she had left him. They had made plans for it, but they had abandoned it before it got too far.
The chance that Alex still lived.
As an Adept, Alex could survive damage that would kill an ordinary human. And if he truly had absorbed the Golden Sun energy before Mt. Aleph collapsed, then he would be stronger then.
It had been Alex who had first contacted the Proxians five years ago, and told them about Alchemy and the other Lighthouses. It had been Alex who had urged them to raid Sol Sanctum four years ago, triggering the storm that got him involved. It had been Alex who had had suggested that they abduct Jenna one year ago, the act which had solidified Felix as a traitor in the minds of the people of Vale.
If it had not been for Alex, he would have grown up with his parents and sister in the village. He would have lived a normal life.
Everything that had happened to him was because of Alex. All his pain stemmed from Alex.
They had discussed ways to get into the chasm, to find Alex if he still lived. It hadn't gone far, but the basis was still there.
Felix stepped back. His life was not empty yet. It was close, but not fully there. There was still one thing left to do. He had to find the one who had caused all this, and bring him what he had coming. He could not die yet, it would not be right to let Alex go free.
Felix dropped the bottle and picked up his sword. He slowly slid the blade from its sheath, examining it's edge. The blade reflected the silver moonlight.
"Soon, I will wash this blade in his blood."
And then, he could finally embrace death himself.
"Felix!"
Xion raced to Felix, who was collapsed just outside the lighthouse in a pool of blood. She turned him over, instantly noticing the nasty wound in his shoulder. His face was pale, and his breathing was shallow. He was dying from blood-loss.
"Felix, you have to survive." She whispered to him. "You can't die, too. Not now..."
His eyelids fluttered. He took one quick glance at her, before closing his eyes again. She didn't know if he had actually seen her or not, but she did know one thing...
He was giving up.
"C'mon, Felix..." Xion pleaded. "Don't leave me now..." A single tear fell from her eye. Had she ever cried before?
He wasn't going to save himself. He couldn't do this on his own. She had to save him, just like she had saved him when they'd first met.
Xion glanced at the fountain. According to what Mia had told her, that water would heal any injury. But how would she get Felix to drink it? She didn't have any bottles, and she couldn't just dunk his head in the water. And even if she could offer it to him, he would just refuse it. She had to force him to drink it.
An idea came to her. It was crazy, but she didn't have any other choice.
Xion raced over to the fountain. She cupped her hands and filled them with the healing water. She drank from her hands, but she did not swallow the water.
Praying this would work, she ran back to Felix's side. Her heart was pounding with the thought of what she was about to do. She pinched Felix's nose and pressed her lips up against his.
Felix's eyes opened. Xion used her tongue to force his mouth open, and transferred the water from her mouth to his. His eyes went wide, and he struggled, trying to force her off him. With his mouth filled with the Hermes's Water, and his nose pinched shut, he could not breathe.
At last, realizing what she was doing, he swallowed the water. Xion released him and he sat up, coughing. Xion's pulse was running from what she had just done. She continued telling herself it hadn't been a kiss. It had been an emergency transfer of fluid. Somehow that didn't make it any better.
Despite her blush, Xion watched with satisfaction as the ghastly wound in Felix's shoulder stopped bleeding and closed itself. It was amazing how quickly it worked, and how well. Already, the wound was gone, only a thin, white scar remaining.
Felix stared at her for a second, a look between gratitude and contempt in his features. Then he closed his eyes and collapsed.
Xion panicked for a second, thinking he was still in danger, but after a quick inspection found he was okay. He was still missing a lot of blood, and would have to rest for a while to recover.
And he had more than physical wounds to recover from, she realized. Mia's death...
She sighed, half-lifting Felix and dragging him back inside the lighthouse where it was warm. Why had the Organization set up a machine to block the fountain here? Who was that man Felix had chased after? The man would have had to be powerful to have wounded Felix so severely. And what was the being that had possessed Luxord? How had it gotten it's hands on her keyblade, and where had it gone now?
So many unanswered questions. It made Xion's head hurt.
She set Felix down in the hallway and sat down, resting herself. She would have to go back to the center to find Garet and her katana. And then they could return to Imil.
Without Mia...
For whatever reason Xemnas had ordered that machine set up there, the Behemoth Heartless it had contained had been an obvious trap to take out anyone who disabled it. It was so like them, to use cheap tactics like that to get back at their enemies. And it had worked, robbing them of a skilled healer, and a wonderful person.
Xion stared at a small puddle of water across the room from her. It was strange, but the longer she stared, the more her head hurt. Why was her head hurting form focusing on a bit of water? It didn't make any sense...
Xion jumped in surprise. Something had just happened. And she'd just done it. It wasn't magic... It had come from her mind.
The puddle was now a small block of ice.