A/N: Here it is! THe last Chapter. It is really long but that's because I wanted it all to fit. It was pointed out to me that the 14th chapter shold be the last because Xion's number in the organization is 14 and I thought that was really cool! ^_^ I hope you guys aren't disappointed by this and I would like to thank you all for all the love and support you guys have given me. Hope you guys enjoy.
Xion stumbled behind Axel with her hand in his. The others were much farther ahead of them and Xion couldn't bring herself to quicken her pace. There was a pain in her chest where her heart would be that she couldn't ignore. She just felt so guilty. She glanced behind her and finally allowed her legs to stop. Axel noticed the tug on his arm that told him Xion had stopped. He stopped as well and turned back to her.
"What is it?" Axel's voice broke the silence that had been in place since the group entered the betwixt and between. The three teens ahead of the nobodies turned back to see what was going on.
"I feel like I need to go back." Xion whispered. Axel sighed and pulled her into a hug. "We have to fix things first, and then we can come back." Axel told her as he kissed the top of her head.
"No…" Xion pushed Axel back to arms length and stared into his eyes. "I have this really strong feeling, Axel. It doesn't seem right. Why are we heading to Travers Town?" Xion asked the last question suddenly as if she had reached some conclusion.
Sora, Kairi and Riku stared at Xion while Axel tried to think.
"Because Spade told us to." Axel replied unconvincingly. Xion nodded. "Why should we trust him? If he was as powerful as he said he was why didn't he fight us then and there?" Xion asked staring past Axel and meeting Sora's eyes.
"I think you have a point." Riku replied. "Yeah but if Spade isn't in Travers Town, where is he?" Kairi asked. "Where we found him." Sora announced. Xion nodded.
Xion was the first person through the portal into Titan City. It didn't take long for her to notice the difference in the city's atmosphere. The bright buildings were gray and dull and the streets were completely abandoned. Axel followed her and the other three teens as they stepped out of the portal and onto the darkened streets.
"What happened to this place?" The words had hardly left Sora's lips before he collapsed. Kairi fell beside him and when Riku kneeled to help them, weakness came over him as well.
Axel tried to help the silver haired boy up but Riku was just too weak. "What's wrong with them?" Xion asked as she knelt down next to Kairi and Sora. Axel shook his head and had no answer for her. He felt just fine and he could guess that Xion was fine as well. What was wrong with the others was beyond him.
"XION! AXEL!" The two looked up and found the face to the voice. Naminѐ stood on the roof top of one of the tall buildings. She held onto the railing so tightly her knuckles turned white and her face was a mixture of terror and worry.
"NAMINE!" Xion and Axel called back in relief.
"You have to get them out of here!" She shouted releasing the railing to point at the three figures in pain beside Axel and Xion. "This world is falling apart! Spade took all of the sorrow, pain and anger that the people had in their hearts after your funeral and turned it into power! He took their hearts and if you don't hurry the same thing will happen to Sora, Kairi, and Riku!" Naminѐ opened her mouth to say more but she disappeared into thin air before she could.
Xion glanced down at her friends and gasped in surprise. Kairi's hand was almost transparent and her face was becoming pale with every second that passed. Axel threw his hand up quickly to summon a portal. "Come on!" He ordered, pulling Riku to his feet.
Xion nodded and started to lift Kairi when a hand grabbed her wrist. Xion's eyes followed the arm and meet two blue eyes that she only dreamed of seeing again.
"Roxas?" Axel turned back when he heard Xion's whisper. His eyes grew in shook as they spotted his old friend kneeling beside Xion on his hands and knees.
The boy took some deep breaths and lifted himself to his feet. "Sora's heart is fading and so is Kairi's. We have to get them out of here." Roxas said as he lifted Sora to his feet.
"But we can't just let Spade win." Xion shouted as panic began to settle in her chest. Roxas nodded slowly.
"I'll take them." Axel stated abruptly. Roxas and Xion turned to him.
"Riku, get yourself together and carry Kairi. You two take care of Spade and bring Naminѐ back, got it?" Roxas and Xion nodded.
"Drop them off at the first safe world you can find and meet us back here ok." Roxas and Axel exchanged a smile before Roxas took Xion's hand and lead her down the first street.
After Axel took care of the others he promised he would be back but Xion was still worried. "Roxas… I've missed you." Xion whispered as she followed him through the streets. He smiled back at her.
"I've missed you too Xion." He replied.
"Roxas, why is it that Naminѐ can exist outside of Kairi but you can't exist outside of Sora?" Xion asked. The question had bugged her since he got her memory back. Roxas continued to stare ahead as he pulled Xion along.
"When Naminѐ woke up on the beach back home I was with her. Spade may have given us the strength to come back but he had nothing to do with you coming back. That was me. When I saw Naminѐ next to me I remembered you and the sacrifice you made for me. It just seemed right to repay the favor. So I thought of you and I'm not sure how I did it but my strength left me and I returned to Sora. I guess it worked because here you are."
He smiled at her again and Xion felt tears come to her eyes. She truly had the best friends. With her free hand Xion whipped the tears from her eyes and placed a look of determination on her face.
"When this is over the three of us are going to eat ice cream again." Xion announced. Roxas glanced back at her in surprised but nodded in agreement. Xion forced her legs to go faster and began to pull Roxas along. She had a pretty good idea of where she would find Spade.
Axel had Sora's arm resting around his neck and held the kid up to the best of his ability. Riku was barely able to keep up as he carried Kairi bridal style.
The first world he came to was thankfully a familiar one. The three somebodies would be safe there as long as they found that restoration committee. "Who would have thought Hallow Bastion was so close." Axel muttered as he lifted Sora over his shoulder after the kid lost enough strength to stand. Axel paused in order to help Riku stay on his feet.
"Go right." Riku said, showing Axel the way passed all of the rubble and ruins of the older part of town. He rested just once in the same place that Demyx had faded and couldn't help but feel some guilt for not at least trying to save the water boy. When they finally reached the safe house Riku collapsed, taking Kairi with him.
"HEY!" Axel shouted at the door and slammed his fist into it repeatedly. He pulled his fist back to pound it again when it opened. The blond guy standing at the door seemed agitated but the sight of Sora changed his attitude. "Arieth!" He shouted into the house.
"I got two more where this came from." Axel commented as he made his way into the building. Sure enough when Cloud glanced outside he found Riku and Kairi resting up against the side of the building. Leon appeared by Cloud's side and helped him bring Sora's friends into the house.
"What happened?" Leon demanded as he glared at the red head. "Their hearts were invaded with darkness but I think they'll recover. I have to get back because my friends are about to take out the big bad guy and I don't want to miss that." Axel raised his hand to open a portal but Riku grabbed his wrist.
"I know you lost your friends to save mine but please Axel, I can't make the same sacrifice." Riku's eyes showed the seriousness of his words. Axel wasn't sure how to respond to that but he did his best to smirk and removed his wrist from Riku's grasp. A portal opened and Axel stepped inside. The red head turned back at the last second to give Riku a confident smile.
"Don't worry about it."
"What makes you think he'll be at the beach?" Roxas asked as he tightened his grip on Xion's hand.
"That's where I woke up when I first showed up here. It's also the only large open space for him to do whatever it is he's going to do." Xion explained. Roxas trusted her judgment and followed her until they reached the boardwalk of the beach. The sun began to rise over the ocean but it brought no light to revive the city.
"What did he do?" Xion asked in horror. Roxas shook his head. The keyblade wielders continued to stare at the sun that had transformed into a large ball of darkness. They didn't even notice the keyblade that flew towards them with incredible speed until it was too late.
Roxas spotted it first and stepped in front of Xion, bracing himself. The shock of impact didn't come but he felt the atmosphere around him heat up as if a fire had been lit in front of him. Roxas cracked an eye open and found himself staring at the back of a black coat.
"Man can't you guys stay out of trouble for two seconds?"
Axel's voice was strained because of the force he was holding back but the smirk was still evident on his face. Xion smiled at him and Roxas sighed in relief. "How sweet?" Spade growled as he tried to remove his keyblade from its place in between Axel's chakrams.
"You think so? Well you're going to think this is even sweeter." Axel removed one chakram from Spade's blade and brought it down on the man's shoulder. He cried out in pain but took the opportunity to use his freed keyblade to attack Axel. Roxas meet the other man's blade with his own and shoved Spade backwards. Axel held onto the chakram and ripped it free as Roxas shoved Spade leaving the man's shoulder mangled.
"Where's Naminѐ?" Roxas asked holding his keyblade out in front of him. "In there." Spade replied pointing to the burning darkness that had once been the sun. Roxas stared at the Sun in horror that was soon replaced with rage. Axe; held the boy back but Xion could see that he was just as frustrated. How the hell were they going to get up there? An idea hit Xion the minute she thought the question.
"Spade!" The evil grin on his face hid his pain and Xion returned his grin with one of her own. "I have a proposition for you." Xion said taking a few steps to stand by Axel and Roxas. Her friends stared down at her wondering what it was she was thinking.
"Really? And why should I take any propositions from you? I have all the cards." Spade's word play reminded her somewhat of Luxord and she prayed that her experience with the old drunk would give her the gambling advantage she needed.
"Because you don't have all the cards." Xion stated making sure to keep her smile in place. Spade seemed to be curious as to where this was going and Roxas and Axel felt the same way.
"What is it that I don't have?" Spade asked, straightening out of his fighting stance.
"Roxas and Axel." Xion stated as she pointed an accusing finger at her friends. "What!" Axel and Roxas shouted in unison but Xion ignored them. Spade narrowed his eyes at her.
"What makes you think I need them?" Spade asked. "Why else would you bring them back?" Xion countered. "It was a game."Spade tried to laugh but his composure was slipping. "A game you don't know how to play." Xion replied mockingly.
"What is this proposition of yours?" Spade finally asked.
"Just this, I'll let you have Roxas, Axel, Naminѐ, and myself…"
"I like where this is going."
"If…"
"If what?"
"If you beat me in a fight." Xion finished. Axel and Roxas began to protest and argue but Xion waved them away. "And if you win?" Spade asked.
"You have to release Naminѐ and return all the hearts you stole from this city." Xion said.
"No." Spade replied. Xion's eyes widened in surprise and she took a step forward to argue but he stopped her with a cruel smile and a raise of his hand.
"If you win I'll give you all those things you asked for. BUT, if I win I get you and I couldn't care less about your friends."
Xion gulped and nodded. "The catch?" She asked. "We fight up there and Axel and Roxas have to stay here." The minute the words his mouth Xion's friends began to argue. Xion simply nodded and reached forward a hand to shake on it Spade laughed and shook his head.
"When you're ready to die you can shake my hand. Enjoy your last few minutes of life and prepare to lose."
Xion felt cold chills run up and down her spine. She turned back to her friends and they could see the fear in her eyes. "Xion let me fight him." Axel whispered as he brushed her cheek with his hand.
"No it has to be me. Listen you two; I need you guys to take care of each other. Get out of here as soon as you can." Roxas shook his head and took one of her hands n his. "Xion we can't do that. Remember what you told me, about the ice cream." Axel nodded.
"We have to stay together, we'll be waiting right here." Xion nodded and hugged each of them before turning back to Spade. She whispered one last 'I love you' to Axel before making her way to Spade and placing her hand out for him to shake.
"Same rules apply." Spade stated before taking Xion's hand in his and engulfing her in black flames.
The minute the darkness disappeared Xion felt herself go numb. Spade was gone and she stood in the center of a large dark empty space. The only light in the room came from a figure lying on the ground a few yards away. Xion recognized the figure and took off towards it. Without pausing to think about Spade, Xion slid to her knees beside the figure.
"Naminѐ, Naminѐ wake up." Xion could have cried when her friend opened her eyes and stared up at her. "Xion?" Her voice was weak but the blond girl was still able to smile when Xion nodded.
"We have to get you out of here." Xion helped Naminѐ to her feet but before they could go anywhere the floor erupted from underneath them. Light began to appear in specks around the floor and before either of the girls could tell what was happening they found themselves on a stained glass arena.
Xion could identify a few objects in the picture that they stood on such as the nobody insignia as well as the heartless insignia.
"What's happening?" Naminѐ asked as she held onto the sleeve of Xion's jacket. "I have to fight Spade." Naminѐ gasped and tightened her grip on Xion's arm.
"That's right…" The booming voice shook the ground and Xion could have sworn she'd been through this before. "Try not to die to quickly Xion I'll let you keep Naminѐ as an ally but I don't think it's going to help much." Spade's laughter faded into the distance before his figure appeared on the opposite side of the arena. Behind him was the most terrifying Darkside that Xion had ever seen.
"Let's do this." Xion glared at Spade before giving Naminѐ a confident smile. The blond nodded and readied herself for the battle of a life time.
"I'm worried about her." Roxas said as he watched Axel pace back and forth on the beach. The older nobody was just as worried but he needed to focus. How were they going to help? There had to be something they could do.
Axel didn't get a chance to come up with an answer because Roxas shoved him to the ground. "Hey! What the hell?" Roxas jumped to his feet and took out one of the dusks that had appeared. There were more where that came from. Axel pushed himself of the ground and watched as nobodies of every kind appeared out of nowhere.
"We can worry about Xion later!" Axel shouted over the loud sound the nobodies were making. Roxas nodded. "Try not to fad this time Axel." Axel smirked at his friend and brandished his weapons.
"Move!" Xion's warning was almost too late as Naminѐ jumped out of the way of the darkside's fist. Xion found a second to breathe and tried to assess the situation. Spade was controlling the Darkside while standing on its shoulder. If they could get rid of the heartless they could finally destroy Spade but Xion had little confidence that they could do this quickly. Every second they wasted here would be another second that the others had to spend in Titan city fighting whatever was creeping around down there.
"Xion!" Xion glanced up in time to avoid the hand that flew towards her. "Now or never." Xion whispered. When the heartless stopped moving she charged towards it. The monster tried to defend itself but Xion only used the arms to jump up to where the face of the heartless was.
The final blow she delivered sent the thing crashing to the floor and sent Xion and spade flying across the arena. AS the dust cleared Xion pushed herself to her feet with some help from Naminѐ. Spade knelt on his hands and knees and glared at the two girls with a hatred that seemed to make the atmosphere thicker.
Slowly he rose to his feet and took a few steps towards Xion. In response the girl took a step back. "We going to finish this or not?" He asked with a hint of insanity in his eyes. Xion nodded and gave Naminѐ a look that told her to stay put.
Xion tightened her grip on her keyblade and paused only for a second before charging towards Spade. He held his ground and blocked her blow. He was already so wounded but he managed to have the strength to stop the blade with his own. He smiled down at her and she could tell he had already lost hope. This was suicide and he was taking her down with him.
Xion took a step back and almost wasn't able to block the blows that came towards her. He brought down one last blow before Xion's keyblade vanished and he kicked her in the stomach, knocking her backwards. He placed his boot on her chest and applied some pressure causing her to gasp in pain. He could feel her bones under his foot and couldn't wait to break them. Xion tried to look up but the tip of Spade's keyblade pressed into her throat.
"Well, well, well. Looks like I win kid." Xion winced as more pressure was added to her chest. "I. don't. think. so." Xion struggled to breath let alone talk. She attempted to shove Spade off of her even though his blade bit into her neck. A snapping sound came from Xion's chest and she cried out in agony. Naminѐ screamed from her place on the floor only a couple feet away.
"What do you think now?" Spade asked with a cool smile. Xion sat still for a few seconds and tried to keep herself from thinking. The thoughts didn't stay away though. She still wished she could eat that ice cream with Axel and Roxas. She wished she could make Riku smile again by bringing Naminѐ back to him. She wished Sora would stop being such an idiot even if he did make Kairi laugh. More pressure to her chest and another snap brought Xion back to reality. She was going to save Naminѐ even if she did die.
"Well?" Spade's voice was starting to get annoying. Xion took a deep breath without causing too much pain and summoned her keyblade. She knocked Spade's keyblade aside and hit his leg with as much power as she could muster.
Spade didn't have time to block the blow that Xion dealt to his head. He did have a chance to hit her though. The minute she lowered her guard, thinking it was over, he knocked her legs out from under her and dug his blade into her side. She didn't waste time crying over the pain she simply propped herself up on her keyblade before swinging it at him and catching him in the chest. He stumbled backwards but kept himself from falling. He took a step towards her to attack and she pointed her keyblade at his chest.
"Fira!" She hit him point blank and he fell to his knees before hitting the ground. "You cheated." He whispered as his body started to fade. "You never said I couldn't use magic." Her voice was almost as weak as his. He smiled at her and laughed. "I won you have to keep your end of the deal." Spade laughed at her on last time before he was gone for good.
The minute she was sure he was gone Xion collapsed. Naminѐ hurried to her side and cast a cure spell. "We have to get out of here." Naminѐ cried as she tried to help her friend to her feet. Xion nodded, not trusting her voice, and let Naminѐ pull her into a portal.
Axle and Roxas stood back to back using each other to keep themselves up right. They were exhausted and they had lost hope of surviving once or twice. When they finally hit their limit and were sure they were goners, every one of the nobodies disappeared. It was as if they had never even been there. The two boys collapsed on the sand and silently thanked whatever had called back the nobodies.
Roxas lifted his head and watched the floating darkness as small explosions covered the exterior. The darkness was caving in on itself.
"Axel!" Roxas turned to his friend to get his attention but the other nobody had already spotted the floating mass. "Xion's still in there." He whispered. Roxas shook his head in denial. "No way. She probably beat him. That's why…" Roxas trailed off. "She beat him but how is she going to get out?" Axel asked without removing his eyes from the imploding sun. Roxas didn't know what to say he just stared at the darkness.
"Naminѐ…" Naminѐ looked down at Xion who was leaning against the blonds' side with her arm over Naminѐ's shoulder. "Yeah?" Xion glanced up at her. "I'm sorry I hurt you." Xion whispered. Naminѐ stared at Xion in surprise. It seemed like forever ago that she was in Travers Town with Riku and Xion. "Don't worry about Xion. I forgive you. You did save me after all." Xion smiled up at her friend.
Roxas and Axel sat in the sand watching the phenomenon in the sky. They didn't remove their eyes until they felt the familiar presence of a portal being opened. "Wow." The two boys turned their heads to see Naminѐ staring up at the sky in wonder. Hanging from her side was a wounded girl with raven hair and blue sapphire eyes.
"Xion!" Roxas and Axel cried in unison and jumped to their feet. Axle reached the girls first and took Xion from Naminѐ. Roxas hugged Naminѐ and then knelt down beside Xion and Axel. "Hey." Xion smiled up at her friends. They smiled back at her and she wished her ribs weren't broken so that she could hug them.
Axel kissed her forehead and she felt tears come to her eyes. Everyone was safe and she still got to be with her friends. Xion snuggled into Axel's chest and let him carry her back to Hallow Bastion.
Sora wasn't happy that he had missed the fight and neither was Riku. Kairi on the other hand was just fine with it and she was very happy to see Naminѐ again. Riku was too and he held Naminѐ's hand for hours before he let her forgive him. Xion's ribs healed pretty well with help from that wizard Merlin who was able to find a few powerful potions for the girl.
It had only been about three weeks since Xion had been abducted from Titan City, one week since she had defeated Spade. If you had asked her three weeks ago she wouldn't have believed that she could every get her life back. But here she was, sitting on a clock tower, with her best friend and her new boyfriend, eating sea-salt ice cream.
Sora and the other's had returned to Destiny island. Riku wasn't thrilled with the idea of Roxas existing away from Sora but the bouncing brunette refused to take Roxas away from his friends saying they deserves it after all they've been through.
Xion smiled at the memory. Everyone in Titan City had been returned to their home but none of them remembered Xion or Noi and they never would.
"Hey guys…" Xion said turning to look at Axel and Roxas. They stared at her with their ice cream in their mouths.
"You guys are my best friends."
Roxas smiled and Axel smirked.
"Shut up and eat your ice cream."
A/N: It's over! I hope you guys aren't disappointed I smooshed things in some places o make it shorter. Review and tell me what you think. I want to hear from all of you even the ones that have never reviewed before. I really and thankfull to all of you for all th support. You're all the best and I'm glad that you all like my story. I liked the idea of putting Roxas back into the character's lives. It was last minute and it just seemed right. Happy ending! Well I guess I'll catch you guys later. Again thank you, Review and Peace!
*The Missing Nobodies Journey*