A/N: Hello there! Long time, no write. But that's okay. We're all enjoying our winter break, anyway. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. Also, Happy New Year and Happy Valentine's Day.
Lies Bring Us Closer
Chapter 14: Raging Waves
"Now you see, Kairi. You can't be with him. You belong with us," Sora broke the silence. His eyes were directed toward the ground as if he couldn't bear to look Kairi in the eyes.
Kairi clenched her fist. "So what if he's not real? He took more care of me than you ever did!" she yelled. She turned and glared at the brunette man. "Roxas is more of a man than you'll ever be, Sora! He understands me and loves me in ways you never could, because you don't care enough to try. I'm done with you!"
Sora was silent. He turned to Riku, but he only shook his head and turned away. Kairi's mind wasn't going to be changed.
Kairi turned to Roxas and gave him a smile. "Let's get out of here," she said gently. She happily slipped her hand into his loving the feeling.
Roxas returned her smile. "Right, the entrance isn't too far away from here. It'll take less than five minutes," he explained as they began to walk away.
Sora clenched his fists as he watched the two leave. He couldn't believe this was happening. "Riku, we can't just let her go!" Sora cried in outrage.
Riku sighed. "I know, but she won't come with us no matter what we do," Riku answered with a frown, "The only way to get her would be to take her unwillingly and I don't think the King would be too supportive of that idea."
"Then what are we supposed to do? Let her go off with that nobody?" Sora asked disapprovingly.
Riku let out another long sigh. He didn't think 'saving' Kairi would be so complicated. "We'll have to make do with the situation. We'll have to fight off Roxas and snatch up Kairi. I'll hold him off while you handle Kairi, got it?" Riku instructed. Sora gave a nod and the two began charging after the couple. Nothing else needed to be said.
Roxas was the first to notice the sounds of their footsteps quickly approaching. He quickly pushed Kairi behind him and launched one of his keyblades toward Sora and Riku. They easily dodged and the keyblade re-appeared in Roxas's hand. He growled in frustration; his eyes seemed to shine with anger. "They're going to try and take you away, Kairi. Run and get somewhere safe. I'll come find you once this is over," Roxas instructed quickly. He knew there wasn't much time for her to get away.
Kairi nodded. "I love you, Roxas. Don't get hurt," she whispered before she turned and ran as fast as she could. She didn't know where she could hide, but she had to find somewhere quick before they caught up to her. She couldn't help but think that if Sora had come chasing after her a year ago she would've happily ran into his arms. She shook her head. 'Time to forget about him,' she thought as she quickly exited.
"Hey! Kairi!" Sora cried as he began to chase after her, but Roxas quickly jumped in front of him. "Get out of the way!" Sora shouted as he tried to maneuver past Roxas, but his efforts were futile.
"If you want Kairi you're going to have to go through me," Roxas hissed. He lowered himself into battle stance with both of his keyblades at his side. He let out a low growl as he shifted his glance between Riku and Sora.
Sora drew his weapon. "If that's the way it has to be. You know this isn't right. She's a Princess of Heart, she can't be with a nobody like you," Sora reasoned as they began to circle each other, "You can't even really love. You just want her for her heart. That's all that draws you to her; her heart!"
"Lies!" Roxas shouted.
"You don't have emotions, Roxas. You're just an empty vessel," Riku added curtly. He also had his keyblade in hand; The Way to Dawn. "Just leave her in our capable hands. We can save her from whatever plot Xemnas has in store. Just leave her with us," he commanded as gently as he could. He really didn't feel like wasting time fighting with Roxas.
"She doesn't belong with you. She deserves to be among people who care about her," Roxas spat.
"Hey! We had to be away. It wasn't our fault. We were chosen; we didn't choose to be this way," Sora explained with a frown, "I would've given anything to return to Kairi, but I couldn't. I had a higher duty that required my attention."
"She should be your first priority!" Roxas shouted angrily. He tightened his grip on his blades. His knuckles were white underneath his black gloves.
"I can't be with her if the worlds are destroyed!" Sora cried back just as fiercely.
She ran and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. She didn't know where she was going, but she continued to follow what appeared to be a transparent bridge. In front of her she could see she was quickly approaching what appeared to be some sort of city. It was dark and rainy, but it seemed to be like a good place to hide.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Kairi halted and turned around. A cloaked man was standing behind her; she couldn't see his face, but she didn't care to find out who it was. It didn't matter to her anymore. "I'm leaving!" she curtly answered. Before she could run, the man snatched her arm and pulled her back. "Let me go!" she cried angrily, "I won't be a part of your plot!"
The man cackled. "It's not your decision, princess," he hissed, "Come quietly and we won't hurt Roxas."
"Ha! You couldn't lay a finger on him if you tried. He's stronger than you'll ever be!" Kairi replied confidently, "It'll be you that's hurt! Not Roxas!" She continued to try and struggle her way out of his grip.
"You're so naïve, such is the nature of a heart of pure light," the man scoffed as his grip tightened, "But if you need convincing I will show you what I say is true." With a wave of his free gloved hand, a portal opened to reveal Roxas, Sora, and Riku. She paused. "Take notice of their battle. You can tell Roxas is already struggling to fend off two measly keyblade masters. You see, without a heart Roxas cannot be a true master and is easily defeated. If it wasn't for the keyblade he wouldn't have any use at all," the man explained. Kairi watched fearfully as the battle ensued. She didn't want to believe what she was hearing, but it was playing out right in front of her.
'Please Roxas, you have to win. I know you can do it,' Kairi prayed. She bit down on her bottom lip. She watched as Sora and Riku teamed up and ran toward Roxas. Her heart began to beat rapidly. She could feel her hopes drop. Roxas was knocked to the ground and his keyblades were sent flying across the floor. "Roxas!" she cried. The man closed the portal.
She glared at him. "Once we escape we won't have to worry about Roxas's lack of heart. He's fine the way he is," she growled defensively.
"For how long? We'll never stop chasing you until you give us what we want. You can't live peacefully unless you help us to complete Kingdom Hearts. If that isn't enough incentive, think of it this way: once Kingdom Hearts is completed Roxas will have a heart. The two of you can be together permanently," the man explained sinisterly.
Kairi paused. "You'll leave us alone if I go through with this?" she asked.
"Of course."
"And Roxas will have a heart of his own?" she asked again. The man only nodded. Kairi paused again. Surely it wouldn't do too much damage if she helped them open Kingdom Hearts. All she could see were the good consequences. She looked away. How could she resist such an offer? But what would Roxas think if she agreed to do this? And what would happen to her? 'No, I won't be like Sora. I'm going to make this relationship work. Roxas will have a heart and then we can really be together. I have to do this for us,' she mentally convinced herself. "Fine, I'll do it," Kairi almost hesitantly agreed.
Before she could say anymore she felt an immense pressure begin to build up inside of her. The cloaked man grew closer to her and she could see the golden, glowing malice in his eyes. She gasped as she began to lose consciousness. All she could hear were the sounds of cackling laughter. She suddenly felt as if she were suffocating from the inside. She gasped for air as she felt to her knees while struggling to remain conscious. Her heart began pounding harder and harder. Each beat seemed to pierce through her being. She let out cries of pain as she felt internal detachment. "R-Roxas," she sputtered out before she collapsed completely.
"Do you give up, Roxas?" Riku asked as he pointed his blade to Roxas's neck. The blonde nobody only shook his head. "Why're you such a fool? Don't you see you've lost!" Riku cried in frustration.
Roxas scowled and pushed the blade away with his hand. "Of course I see that! I just won't give up on her, not like you did. I know it's unnatural and I know it'll be hard, but I want her more than I want air to breathe. I love her and I can't exist without her," Roxas explained, "I can't let you take her from me."
Sora frowned. "You talk big for a guy with no emotion," he stated, "But if you care about her that much…come with us. We can talk more once she's safe." He offered a hand to help Roxas up, which he cautiously accepted. Sora grinned. Once he was standing he began dusting himself off. "Now, where did she go?" Sora called as he scanned the area. There was no sign of red hair anywhere.
"She probably left to the outside," Roxas suggested, "I told her to hide."
The unlikely team quickly ran out of the exit and began their descent down the transparent bridge. As they came closer to the city they noticed the cloaked figure in the distance. "Oh no," Roxas whispered as his speed increased. His keyblades returned to his hands as he rushed toward the figure. Sora and Riku followed suit. They had an idea of what was going on.
Roxas growled. "Let her go!" he cried before he launched one of his keyblades toward the enemy.
The cloaked figure removed his hood and revealed his tanned face and golden eyes. He easily blocked the measly attack and revealed what was behind him, Kairi lying on the ground. He chuckled.
"Kairi!" Roxas cried as he quickly ran to her side, "Kairi, wake up!" He gave her a shake, but she didn't stir.
"It's no use, in only a few moments her heart will belong to Kingdom Hearts and the door will finally be open!" the man cackled heartlessly.
"Xemnas! I'll kill you!" Roxas hissed as he jumped to his feet.
"Heh, you won't be around much longer to get your chance," he answered gravely. Kairi let out a final scream as her heart finally left her body. It floated into the air toward the heart-shaped moon. "Yes, join Kingdom Hearts! Open the door! Give me a heart!" Xemnas cried.
"No!" Sora cried as he watched the moon transform in blinding lights. He reached for Kairi's heart as if he could get it back, but it was gone. The moon transformed into an tall, ethereal looking door.
Xemnas faced the door as he continued to cackle. "Now to complete my Kingdom Hearts!" he declared evilly.
"What do you mean complete? You said the heart of pure light would do that!" Roxas cried angrily. He tightly gripped his keyblades as his gritted his teeth together.
Xemnas laughed. "Fulfill your destiny, you pawn," he ordered. Within a flash, his glowing, red ethereal blades appeared in his grasp. With one large swoop he brought them down on Roxas pinning him to the ground as they continued to burn through his clothing. Roxas cried in pain. "Use your keyblade and open the door, Roxas," Xemnas commanded, "Return to whence you came!"
"Never!" he growled through gritted teeth.
"Do it!" Xemnas screamed. Roxas looked around for some form of help, but Sora and Riku were both overwhelmed by the mass amount of nobodies that had suddenly appeared. Dusks were everywhere. They had already thrown themselves over Kairi's empty vessel. Roxas gasped from both shock and pain. "Do it before she's lost to you forever, Roxas!" Xemnas threatened.
Roxas closed his eyes tightly. He had no choice. He pointed his keyblade toward the sky and a light emitted from its tip. "I'm sorry, Kairi," he whispered. He heard the door unlock and suddenly felt faint. He could see the light blasting through from the doors. He looked to his sides and was at a loss. He didn't understand why he was beginning to fade away. "Xemnas!" he shouted with all his might.
Xemnas smirked. "You don't have a heart, thus it took all of your being to open the door. You will never have a heart," he laughed. Roxas screamed in frustration as the fragments of him began to disappear.
"Roxas!" Sora cried as he hurried over to his side, "What's happening to you?"
Roxas shook his head. He knew there was no time to explain. "Just take care of Kairi," he replied quietly before his entire being disappeared. All that was left was a black mark on the ground where Roxas once was.