(AN: Hey everyone! As usual, I still own nothing but the plot. So, as always, enjoy the chapter!)
"Luxord has fallen to the keyblade master." Zexion said. Demyx, Larxene, and the keybearers had gathered in the meeting room.
"Well, that's another member down. I wonder who is next…" Larxene wondered aloud.
"I do not know. Perhaps Marluxia. I would say Axel… But he may be too cunning to really die. I suppose that we'll know soon enough." Zexion answered.
"I still think we can eliminate Sora now. With him out of the way, Marluxia will be eliminated by Axel. Then we can all go home." Roxas sulked in his chair.
"Yeah, Roxas and I could take him together!" Xion added. She held out her arm. "Wait…" She grasped at the air. Again. After a minute or so, Xion threw her hands up. "Why won't my keyblade come?! Roxas, does yours?"
Roxas grasped at the air with his hand. His keyblade did come… But so did Xion's, to his other hand. Everyone's reactions were different. Xion gasped and shouted "What?!" In unison with Roxas. Larxene growled.
"Just what the heck is going on here?!"
"Um… Roxas… Did you learn how to do that recently…" Demyx asked
"Silence." Zexion only slightly raised his voice to calm everyone.
"Why do I have Xion's keyblade?!" Roxas demanded.
"Namine. Her powers over Sora are strong. Those powers are affecting you both. I was wrong. The two of you didn't absorb each other… Rather, you merely slowed down the process." Roxas growled at this.
"Sora, Sora, enough about Sora! I hate Sora! This is all his fault that any of us are in danger… I'LL KILL HIM!" Roxas screamed, and dark corridored out of the room, both keyblades in hand, before anyone could stop him. Xion collapsed as he did so, and Zexion caught her as she fell.
"Larxene! Demyx! Stop Roxas from doing anything too reckless. We need him to survive this!" Zexion ordered. "I'll take care of Xion." The two others left the room, nodding, as Zexion held Xion.
"R...Roxas…." She mumbled deliriously. "Please… I…. Love… You…." She spoke to Roxas, Zexion knew. Zexion only hoped Larxene and Demyx could help bring Roxas back.
**********************WITH SORA AND HIS FRIENDS********************
Sora was getting close now, he knew. Close to Namine. Maybe Roxas and Xion too. He'd help them get their memories back. Donald and Goofy followed close behind Sora, as he charged out of the world door. He paused, catching his breath. "One more card." Sora said. "We'll be there soon, Namine."
"Be there soon, huh? I think not." Came a voice. Sora gasped as Roxas appeared out of nowhere as usual.
"Roxas! I'm so glad to see you!" Sora said, charging forward. But he stopped as Roxas brandished not one, but two keyblades.
"What? Two? And where's Xion?" Sora asked.
"Shouldn't you know that?!" Roxas growled, as he leaped at Sora, who dodged out of the way. "I have two because of what you've done! Xion's power, and even herself! They're being drained away by YOU!" He screamed.
"Roxas, please! It's the organization! They took you from the islands when you were young! Namine and Xion too! They filled you with false memories. Please, come with me! I can help you get them back!" Sora cried.
"Ever the fool, Sora! I never knew you before this castle! All those memories from this castle that you've been 'remembering?' All of them are lies crafts by Namine!" Roxas shouted.
"I see." Sora said. "The organization had done that much to damage your memory?" He summoned his keyblade. "Then I guess I'll need to try and knock the real memories back into you!"
"I'd like to see you try! I'm going to eliminate you, and make everything go back to the way it was!" Roxas shouted.
Appearing in the arena, Sora readied himself for Roxas's attack. He hated fighting his friend, but he had no choice. Sora was astonished by Roxas's speed, as he attacked first.
Roxas leaped forward, swinging both keyblades with surprising accuracy. Sora felt the blows with power hitting him, and he jumped away. Roxas relentlessly pursued him however. Each time Sora would try to attack, he might get a few hits in, a combo if he was lucky, but Roxas kept on him.
The hardest part for Sora was seeing Roxas's face. Back on the island, Roxas had never quite been part of his rivalry with Riku, but rather would side with both of them, depending on the situation. He had always been friendly. But now, Roxas's rage, etched into his face was hard to bear. Even harder than the replica of Riku he had fought. Sora ran out of cards at last, and he recharged them, as Roxas prepared a sleight.
Sora quickly tried to throw one of his own together to counteract it, but Roxas had already begun. "BURN IN THE LIGHT!" He screamed, and pillars of light began flying in all directions from him. Wherever he pointed his keyblades, light pillars would form too.
Sora was a guardian of light. He was used to light. But not this burning kind. Each time he was hit, he saw one of Roxas's memories. Meeting Xion. Training with the organization. Eating ice cream on the clock tower. Working with Xion. Axel's return. Sora wondered if he could try and reverse the process to help Roxas remember the truth.
Now, as Sora attacked, he tried focusing on all the memories he had of Roxas, and sending them over to him. It seemed to be working, for when Roxas paused, across the arena, he growled.
"What are you doing?" Roxas demanded.
"Trying to restore your true memories!" Sora retorted.
"Shut up!" Roxas yelled. He leaped forward, raising Oathkeeper, and lowering Oblivion. He brought both keyblades toward each other, knocking Sora's keyblade from his grasp.
Sora gasped, and ran toward the keyblade, but Roxas reached it first. He kicked the weapon upwards, and caught it, with his two other weapons floating behind him. Sora ran forward, trying to wrestle it from Roxas's grasp, but Roxas kicked him backwards. Roxas advanced, with Sora's weapon, and slashed him, over and over again. Sora felt the blows, and was unable to fight back or even move. The fight finished with Roxas stabbing Sora with his own keyblade.
Back in Castle Oblivion, Sora fell to his knees, as Roxas retracted the keyblade. Donald and Goofy rushed to his side. Trying to cast cure, Roxas kicked Donald back, and then pushed Goofy into him, and they both collapsed.
"P-please… Roxas… Come to… Your senses…." Sora begged. He was badly hurt, but he still wanted to try to reach Roxas. "I… I'm still your… Friend." Sora managed.
Roxas raised the Kingdom Key. "Give up your heart!" He growled. "Give it up if you want Xion and I to live."
"STOP!" Came a voice, and Roxas turned around to receive a massive blow to the face, knocking him to the floor, and he released Sora's blade. Standing there, was Namine, clutching a keyblade of her own.
Namine's keyblade was a comforting whitish blue. It had a simplistic design, and all the parts seemed to fade together, yet all were connected by small bonds. This keyblade was called True Memory. "Don't hurt Sora any more!" Namine cried, rushing over to Sora. She cast Curaga on him, and handed him back the Kingdom Key.
"Namine?" Sora asked in confusion. But he got up, and embraced her. "Namine, I'm so glad that we're back together…"
"Me too." She said. "I wish we could all be together though…" She said. As she did, Roxas slowly struggled to his feet, using Oathkeeper and Oblivion as crutches. He then grasped them again.
"Namine! Don't lie to Sora! Stop messing with his memories! You're endangering Xion and me!" Roxas shouted.
"Roxas… Please… Believe us. Please accept the memories that Sora was trying to remind you of. Everything will be better once you do." Namine begged.
"Yeah! We can go rescue Xion! And Riku! We'll all be reunited, and can stop this organization from hurting any of us!" Sora added.
"When will you start listening?!" Roxas spat. "All your memories are fake Sora! And if I need to eliminate Namine to show you that… THEN SO BE IT!"
This time, they didn't go back to the arena. Rather, the stayed in the room that they were in. Roxas still looked angry, and Namine and Sora had grimly determined expressions on their faces.
"I'll get you both." Roxas growled. He immediately leaped forward to attack Namine, but a blast of blue fire stopped him. It was the Riku Replica.
"Riku?" Sora asked.
"No. Not Riku. Just a copy. But it's all right. I'll help fight with you and Namine. I may not be the real Riku… But I may as well try to do what he would for his friends." The replica said. "Which means that you aren't going to harm Namine! Not on my watch!" He shouted, glaring at Roxas.
"You think this changes anything?!" Roxas demanded. "You're wrong!" He leaped into battle once more, but the replica blocked it with his barrier. Namine and Sora together charged Roxas, and engaged him together. Despite being new to the keyblade, Namine seemed pretty good at fighting with it. Roxas seemed to hold out on his own against his two opponents just fine, but the replica was causing him serious issues, blasting him with Dark Firaga, and other attacks.
"Drop!" The replica cried, and blasted him again. It certainly did make Roxas drop to his knees. Roxas rolled forward, to avoid any additional damage, but backed away, breathing heavily. He attacked, but was blocked again by the replica. Growling, Roxas charged the replica, trying to drain his health. But Namine healed him before Roxas could finish him. Backing away once more, Roxas tried to formulate a new strategy.
"You're finished!" The replica cried. "Give it up, and join your friends!" Roxas panted heavily. The words sounded alluring… Maybe Namine was trying to influence him. Based on her concentrating face, she probably was. But Roxas almost didn't care. He began walking toward them.
" WATER!" Came a loud shout, as Demyx dashed into the room, blasting water in the direction of the heroes. This was followed by another voice.
"LIGHTNING!" Larxene dropped from above blasting them with Lightning. The three heroes looked shocked as Larxene and Demyx stood by Sora. "Come on, you twerp! You haven't survived this long to give up now!" She growled.
"Yeah, come on! Remember what I said? No stopping the beat until I say so. And I haven't." Demyx said.
"Thanks… Let's get them!" Roxas said, smiling at the two. They nodded in agreement.
"Prepare to lose, and give us back Roxas!" Sora shouted.
"We'll save you, don't worry!" Namine added.
"Scum like you are meant to be eradicated, especially when stealing friends!" the replica agreed.
Demyx, of course, kicked off the battle by shouting "DANCE WATER DANCE!" All three heroes now had a timer above their heads, counting down, as forms of Demyx made from water spread from him in many directions. Roxas immediately engaged the replica, to stop him from helping Namine and Sora from defeating the forms.
Larxene slashed at Namine, and kicked her to the side, but Sora managed to defeat Demyx's last form, with just a few seconds remaining. But Demyx could do that more than once. "DANCE WATER DANCE!"
Less forms to defeat, but far less time. The heroes almost didn't make it again, but the replica burned the last one when it got too close. "DANCE WATER D-" but Demyx was cut off by Sora, who dashed forward to interrupt him, leaving Namine to face Larxene.
"You dirty little traitor, I'll kill you twice!" Larxene threatened.
"No! I won't let you hurt my friends!" She objected, bashing her keyblade at Larxene.
"I want to hear you cry!" Larxene screeched. "Lightning!" And bolts of lightning came crashing down around her, and Namine tried to dodge, but was hit. The Riku replica, (Let's just call him Repliku like the majority of the fans do.) heard Namine cry out. He blasted Roxas with Dark Firaga, and dashed to her side.
Roxas turned to see Demyx ha being a difficult time with Sora's attacks, but he would occasionally blast with water pillars, shouting "Like it?" Roxas jumped to Demyx's side and helped engage Sora. Roxas with his two keyblades, slowly pushed Sora back, as Demyx shot balls of water at him. "DANCE WATER DANCE!" Demyx yelled again, but this time, he targeted Repliku only. Sora tried to slash through the clones, but was unable. Repliku tried to defeat them all, but Demyx's timer ran down, and he fell, defeated.
Namine hit Larxene back, and Sora, forced to retreat so far because of Roxas swept out Larxene's legs, and she fell to the ground. Namine advanced, her keyblade held high, and brought it down to be met by Larxene's knives. The two began to struggle for dominance.
Meanwhile, Sora had finally managed to score a few hits on Roxas, despite his dual wielding, and they were now exchanging blows. "Come on, keep to the beat!" Demyx taunted, blasting more water at Sora. Sora, growling, ducked and rolled under Roxas, and kicked him away. As Roxas slowly turned to get up, Sora turned to finish Demyx. "DANCE W-" Demyx began again, before Sora punched him in the face. "Ow!" Demyx screeched. Sora then tried to grab Demyx's sitar from his grasp, but his grip was too strong. Fortunately for Sora, he brought his keyblade up, and smashed it over Demyx's head, silencing the Melodious Nocturne.
Sora turned to see Namine, encased in a ball of electricity, while Larxene teleported in mid air, slashing her while dashing past. "No escape!" She yelled, but didn't see Sora leap up, and block her from hitting Namine. Larxene crashed into the ground, and Roxas, struggling back to his feet, waited for his two opponents to advance. Larxene got to her feet about the same time that they arrived, and this time, Roxas engaged Namine.
Fighting Namine was strange, because she could control memories, she mixed the styles of all she had seen to try and counteract him. But Roxas was better still. Roxas used the same trick on her that he had used to disarm Sora earlier, but this time, instead of grabbing the keyblade for himself, he tossed it to Larxene. "Larxene! Catch!" She turned around, caught it, and attacked Sora all in one fluid motion.
Weaponless now, Namine tried to run from Roxas. Roxas advanced slowly but surely, as she tried casting magic to defend herself. Roxas deflected all of her attacks, until he pinned her up against a wall, and knocked her out with his keyblades.
Meanwhile, Larxene was struggling against Sora. Despite having a keyblade, temporarily, Sora was clearly her better. She tried to remember how Roxas fought, but she couldn't quite figure it out fast enough, as Sora jumped, and slammed his keyblade into her head. Sora turned to face Roxas. He glared around, at the downed Namine and Repliku.
"It's just you and me again!" Roxas shouted. "Prepare to lose again!"
"Wrong!" Sora shouted. "Because I still have my friends. And your friends."
"What are you talking about?" Roxas demanded.
Without any warning, Donald and Goofy, summoned earlier by Sora, crashed into Roxas from both sides, throwing him up into the air. Roxas tried to recover, but Sora finished him, by smashing him back down. The battle was over.
Sora and his two friends stood over the three defeated organization members. "Give me back Roxas!" Sora yelled. But all three were beginning to fade.
"Sorry… But it looks like you weren't quite fast enough…" Larxene said with a smile.
"My number is up, I guess. Maybe they'll be better stages… On the other side…" Demyx wondered.
"Sorry… Sora. I guess… You'll see soon…" Roxas apologized.
"Wait! No!" Sora shouted, but his words fell upon the deaf ears of three people who were swallowed by the darkness that had taken Luxord.
"Come on, Sora." Namine said. "The one responsible for all this… He's not far ahead now."
"We'll make that jerk pay!" Repliku growled.
"Yeah. And maybe… We can find a way to bring him back." Roxas added. With that. The three, along with Donald and Goofy, left the room, going to the final floor. But after they left, a shimmering in the corner began. Zexion appeared there, his illusion gone.
"You can come out now." He said, and at these words, the three 'dead' members reappeared. "We have nothing left here. We must all flee the castle. We cannot go back to the World That Never Was. Saix wants us all dead by now. Go, grab your things. We leave soon." The other three members nodded in silence, and exited the room. Zexion sighed to himself. "I have one last task ahead of me now… Axel… Your crimes will not be forgotten."
(AN: Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Illusions of Hope! If you did, please favorite, follow, and share it with everyone you know and love! Also, if you have questions, comments, criticisms, ideas, or anything else you'd like me to see, please leave it in a review, or send me a PM. Until the next chapter everyone!)