Ok, so shortly after I started editing chapter 20 and finishing editing chapter 19, I found my 358/2 Days game, which is fortunate, since it will be useful in writing the last few chapters. I can also look at the manga again (Admittedly, I've mostly been using one source at the moment as a reference, and also a reference of the missions and also the characters) and since I also have the game at hand, I can better describe scenes with it and the manga.
I can also better create dialogue too as a result and shape it to be more unique rather than more based from a reference. Also noting that I'm on Summer Break now, I can finally finish this up.
Other than that, I own nothing like usual, excluding my OCs.
Here's chapter 21!
-o-o-o-o-
Chapter 21: Rising Conflict
(Day 322)
As Roxas was assigned to do more missions (like usual), and put his focus on searching for Xaldin (which was an option as he suddenly went missing) and other missions, another thing went on that day, being a discussion amongst three of the current members that remained of the Organization. Two of them were obviously there, being Saïx and Xemnas, but the third happened to be Xigbar.
The discussion involved Roxas and Xion (noting that had been the point of interest as of recent), but it also implied and clarified some details that the Guardian had a hunch on.
Though it was a shame (yet a wise decision) she didn't decide to eavesdrop just in case. It would've been quite beneficial to her.
But now wasn't the time to cry over spilled milk now, was it?
Anyway, the discussion at hand.
"Sora having a pretty powerful effect on her is all I'm saying." stated Xigbar, after some kind of explanation.
"Yes, it was not supposed to gain a mind of its own-nor become the person we see. But in the end, it only proves that the puppet is the more worthy vessel," began Xemnas. Looking over more at Saïx, he added, "The time has come. Saïx, are the devices ready?"
"In a matter of days." Replied Saïx calmly, with a nod at first to begin his reply.
"Good."
"And what of Roxas?" asked Saïx to Xemnas.
"Both of them have connections to Sora, but we only need one of them under our thumb. Whether Xion takes from Roxas the rest of what he has to give…or, whether he destroys her first and takes back what is his, there is no change to our plans. No matter how, Sora's power will belong to us." replied the Superior.
XxXxX
(Day 323)
Roxas had begun to gain more and more apathy each day as he kept getting missions and doing missions from the Organization. It was starting to become more and more pointless by the day, since Roxas wasn't getting why he was even doing it.
He still did them anyway, since there wasn't much for him to do. All he wanted now was to have ice cream with Axel and Xion again.
Though of course, he was unsure if that would happen anytime soon.
XxXxX
(Day 352)
Before her mission, Xion was in her room, curled up in her bed with uncertainty. Everything only seemed to be getting worse and she didn't know what to do.
"The way things are… I'm going to wreck everything…" she said worriedly, her blue eyes filled with even more uncertainty. She turned her head to look outside.
Her eyes focused on the moon outside of her window. With a sigh to herself, she asked, still staring at the heart-shaped moon, "What should I do, Riku?"
She thought back to when Riku found her in Destiny Islands, and when he held her in his arms. And also when she met Penelope again before she blacked out.
-Flashback-
"Are you…?" asked Xion, as she stared up at Riku confusedly.
"Riku. Sora's friend." answered the silver-haired boy. Xion remembered him. He was the one who had taken her down oh-so long ago. And now, here he was, helping her.
But, upon him mentioning Sora, Xion was curious, moving to the side to support herself. "Sora? You know Sora?" questioned the ravenette. Her tired, yet bright blue eyes were now filled with intrigue.
"Yeah. I do." Answered Riku. He then stood up, and offered a hand to help Xion up. She took his hand, almost hesitantly, but he helped her up.
"Thank you. You saved me…" began Xion, with a smile on her face, though it shifted into one of confusion again. "But… I don't know why you did…" She didn't understand his intentions.
Riku shrugged in response. "I guess… I just felt like it." He responded.
Now that Riku was here, and he knew about Sora, Xion wanted to know more about Sora. Riku had his back turned to Xion. Moving her hands to near her "heart" was, she looked at Riku. "Riku, please… Tell me more—about Sora and that girl he's always with."
"You mean Kairi." replied Riku, who turned around to face Xion. The both of them heard a huff, but Xion couldn't identify just where it came from. Riku sighed and shook his head at whoever huffed.
Xion continued the conversation. "Kairi… that's right," began Xion, as she put a hand on head. "She's the one who looks so much like me."
"Yeah, but without red hair and a reversed hairstyle." said another voice. It sounded familiar, but Xion didn't focus on it.
Riku continued speaking. "To Sora, she's someone very special." He explained, getting closer.
Xion moved away from him, putting a hand on her head. "It's just… I remember things about the two of them. But I'm just a puppet—something that somebody else created."
Now, Xion had her hand up on a tree, her back still turned to Riku. "So why… why would I have their memories?" she asked, before looking back at Riku, worriedly. "Do you know where Sora is now?"
"That secret stays with me." replied Riku. The other person that was still unseen huffed again, much to Riku's annoyance. He shook his head before Xion continued to ask questions.
"Why's that?"
"Xion… your memories… They really belong to Sora." He stated, only for the voice to comment.
"Not ALL of her memories. Be specific." They stated rather rudely. Riku looked in their direction, starting to get annoyed.
"Stay out of this! You're making it harder to explain!" Riku shouted. The person huffed again.
"Well, if I'm here, I'm gonna commentate. It's my job." The other person stated rather nonchalantly. Riku shook his head.
"Be quiet then. You're ruining the moment." He said, before sighing and apologizing to Xion. "Sorry about her. She has a habit of doing that."
Xion frowned before shrugging, dismissing the awkwardness. She proceeded to go back to the previous topic at hand before Riku and the other person started bickering. "So you mean… I'm like a part of Sora?"
"When his memories were scattered, some of them found their way inside you. Now, Sora has been put to sleep so that we can piece together his memory." Explained Riku. However, he then frowned, starting to get to a catch. "Except…"
Xion understood, and continued from where he was going off from. "You can't, because a part of it is inside me. That means… he can't wake up."
"Yeah. You got it." said Riku, before he moved closer to Xion. "But, if you go with me to Sora right now, we could give the memories inside you back to him."
The other voice said nothing, but they only scoffed at Riku's comment.
Xion looked away, still balancing herself up against the tree. With a chuckle, she turned around, boldly asking, "So, do you hate me for taking your friend away from you?"
The silver-haired boy shook his head. "Nah. I guess… I'm just sad."
"I'm sorry, but… I can't go with you. It's my friends—they need me. And I need them, too." Riku came over and put his hand on her shoulder.
"Maybe…you should take some time and think about it. Figure out who really needs you more: and where you belong."
She was uncertain how to respond at first. But she then spoke, still unsure. "But… but how will I know where I belong truly? I'm not sure I can promise you I can come up with the right answer."
"Well, the answer you come up with can't just be right for you." Riku began to explain to her, hoping that it would maybe help her decide a little. "It has to be the one that works best for everybody—for you and for everyone else."
Xion nodded and understood as he left. "I'll try. Thank you… Riku."
"As great of advice he gave, he should've had a closing." said that one voice again, before they finally revealed themselves to Xion. It was that one girl—the one that Roxas and she had fought beside one time. Flipping her brown hair, she approached Xion.
Xion noticed that she was still a little tired. The girl looked worried. "Hey…uh… you look tired. Are you ok?" she asked.
Xion nodded, before her head started to pound a little. She knew she recognized this girl elsewhere from before, but…
"I mean, he told me to look after you and stuff just in case but… Ah, whatever." sighed the brunette. She frowned, noticing Xion was a bit wobbly. Her brown eyes lit up and she caught Xion when she was about to fall. "Shit… this wasn't supposed to happen!"
Xion rubbed her head. "No… I think I'll be ok…"
"No, you won't. You look like you're going to pass out because of me!"
Xion's head pounded again and she put a hand on it, only for the girl to panic again. "Ok, ok. Riku may not exactly agree with me, but he dragged me into this! And I'm not going to just let you pass out. Here—come with me, please."
The girl opened up a strange corridor filled with light (much to her dismay) before she passed out, with the girl tenderly guiding her along and appearing to freak when she finally blacked out.
While Xion was in her bed, after thinking about it, still gazing at the moon, she held a seashell in her fingers. Her fair face filled with determination, she got up. "I have to make the most of the time Riku's given me so I can make my decision. And I can't waste it, either."
With nod, Xion held the seashell to her chest. She then turned around and left the room, noting the mission she had to accomplish today—which was to defeat a powerful heartless. She couldn't mess up on it like missions she had done before.
XxXxX
(Halloween Town)
Roxas had a mission to defeat a powerful "heartless" in Halloween Town today, though it was really quiet. There were no Heartless about and it was incredibly foggy. Wandering through the town, he tried to search for it, though all his wandering ended up taking him to the forest.
There, this fog was incredibly thick. He didn't know where the "heartless" was, but it had to be here. He hid behind a tree, catching his breath. However, he began to hear the cracking of sticks behind him and he summoned his Keyblade. Thoughts rushed through his head of what it was about to do, like if it was waiting to attack or not.
Roxas peeked out to see what was happening, and the dark figure rushed at him. This "heartless"—the Orcus, attacked Roxas and the two began to engage.
But here's the thing about this mission. Both Roxas and Xion were sent to Halloween Town to defeat this same "heartless", but neither knew it. Xion was sent out before Roxas, and from Roxas' intel, he got little information.
The Organization knew that they didn't need the both of them though, as mentioned previously. They just needed one of them. And with one of them exterminated by the other, they would take their power and become "complete" for the Organization to fully complete its goal.
So, why is this being brought up? Well, while Saïx and Xemnas had talked of this "elimination" mission to one another, a specific Flurry of Dancing Flames had overheard it.
And he quickly realized that this was all set up, and if Roxas and Xion weren't stopped, one of them would kill the other (and basically, if it were to end the way it was intended, one of the two friends would be dead, and Axel definitely didn't want that).
As Roxas and Xion were about to finish each other from a long battle, with both of them knowing they wouldn't survive (especially Roxas, who was already weakened), just as they were going to strike the finishing blow, the fog seemed to vanish with the sound of clashing metal.
"Stop, both of you!" yelled Axel, using his chakrams to stop the blows from connecting.
"Axel?!" cried Roxas in confusion, as he stopped and moved back. Axel breathed somewhat heavily, slightly injured (noting that it did hurt to block those strikes from both Roxas and the "heartless" at the same time).
Except then, Roxas found out that the "heartless" wasn't actually a "heartless". In fact, it was Xion, which Roxas soon found out. The both of them were equally surprised to see each other.
"Huh? R-Roxas…? What are you doing here? I thought you were a heartless!" explained Xion, her vivid blue eyes widened in shock.
"I… Me too! I had no idea I was fighting you, Xion…"
"This mission was set up." Axel said to the both of them with all seriousness.
The both of them were currently in a state of disbelief, as Axel tried to explain, since they didn't understand what just happened. "They must've rigged the fog to make it show you illusions."
"But… why would they do that?" asked Roxas. "Saïx… he tricked us?!"
Xion said nothing, and Axel remained silent. However, the redhead eventually spoke. "Roxas, don't tell anyone about this. It's better to not make waves."
"But… but he…" Roxas stuttered. His eyes flashed before he asked, "How can I not keep quiet about this?!"
"Roxas, please. Do it for me too." begged Xion. Roxas worriedly looked at Xion before looking at Axel. Looking back at Xion, he sighed and nodded. His arm then pained up, causing him to clutch it, with him slightly gritting his teeth in some pain.
"Still… you're really tough, Xion." He said. "If Axel hadn't stopped us, I would've been in big trouble."
Xion worriedly gazed at Roxas. She saw how beaten and slightly bruised he was from the painful duel they just had. If… if they had kept fighting, Xion realized she would've…
Roxas panicked upon seeing his friend's concerned stares. Frantically waving his hands, he exclaimed, "Hey, don't take it so seriously, Xion! I'm fine, really!"
The only one who still looked incredibly concerned was Axel.
Roxas turned to look at him. "Thanks… thanks for helping us Axel. And um… I'm sorry for being mad at you."
Axel frowned, appearing somewhat confused. After the mission though, the three of them had ice cream together before going back to the castle—being the first in the longest time. While they were there, Xion admired the sunset, deeming it as unforgettable (though they saw the sunset like this almost every single day).
From there, they decided to go to the beach on their next day off. But Axel and Xion were still worried knowing what would happen, and what would eventually happen next.
When they finally came back to the castle, Xion gazed out the window worriedly. And then, she made her decision. "I'm so sorry…"
XxXxX
(Old Mansion- Pod Room)
Naminé stood silently in the Pod Room, watching Sora sadly. Unfortunately, unlike what she hoped, Sora's memories had truly stopped recovering—going into a complete standstill. She let out a heavy sigh, twirling her pale blonde hair. "Sora…"
DiZ came into the room, frowning at this occurrence. "It appears we've come to a standstill."
Naminé sadly nodded. "Yes."
"This has gone on long enough. Riku..."
DiZ then turned to Riku, who was present in the room. "I think you know what needs to be done."
"Right." Riku then left the room.
Penelope was outside of the Pod Room in the Computer Room, and she had overheard everything in silence. Her expression was stern, but there was a hint of sadness. But her tone of voice caused her to change her expression. "You're going to do what I think you will, aren't you, Riku?"
Riku almost walked out of the room, but paused before looking back at her. "Does it matter? I'm pretty sure whatever I'm doing doesn't concern you."
"Oh no, it very much does." Penelope answered, as she walked over to the chair and sat down in it, spinning it around for her to face him. The look in her eyes was off.
"Well, you seem to know more than you let on, Penelope."
"Do I now, Riku? That's funny."
"I just don't understand what you're after. Why do you persist on staying here when you don't seem to help? It's like you have your own agenda."
"That, I do." She coolly replied, putting her hands on her lap. "Though we share a common goal, don't we?"
"Penelope…"
The Guardian sighed before turning her chair away. "I fear what will happen next. And if you're doing what I think you are… well… you'll have to get through me first."
Riku frowned, and looked away. Penelope chuckled to herself. "Y'know… despite you're blindfolded, I can still tell that you don't want to hurt me."
"Well, you've already messed with my heart before. But I don't plan on hurting you."
"Oh really? Yet you haven't 'tried' doing so, when you've hurt me before?"
"Hmph. You were the one who usually started it."
"Don't I have a habit of being a fighter though?" Penelope asked, seeming to tease him.
"Penelope, stop distracting me." Riku ordered before leaving the room. Penelope frowned and sighed.
She stared up at the ceiling. "Oh man… do I have a bad feeling about this."
XxXxX
(Day 353)
When Axel walked through Twilight's View, he saw Saïx, who appeared to be relatively unimpressed with Axel and his effort to stop the Organization's goals. "Looks like you've meddled again."
"Sorry, did you say something?"
"The Organization doesn't need the both of them," said Saïx. "Just one will suffice. Stop pretending."
Axel looked away from Saïx, only for him to approach. "Think about that."
Then, Axel and Saïx both walked away.
Later, when Roxas came into the lobby, he saw Axel, Xion and…Xigbar? They appeared to be conversing with Saïx before going off on their mission, though Roxas didn't get why it was them.
So, Roxas approached and asked if he could take Xigbar's place. Though, that didn't work. When his friends left, Roxas noticed a sense of unease; from him and from his friends, who both looked uncomfortable.
While Roxas was on his mission though, good things didn't happen during Axel, Xigbar and Xion's mission.
In fact, Xion attacked Xigbar.
As they were in the Tea Party Garden in Wonderland, the both of them were currently fighting (which was a horrible, horrible thing to happen at this time).
Xigbar jumped back, laughing, "What a blast from the past!"
Xion was in her fighting pose, her Keyblade out. She was ready to strike, and Xigbar summoned his arrowguns.
"Xion, stop!" Axel cried, trying to stop the fighting. It didn't work.
"Out of all the faces… Why do I look at her and see yours?" Xigbar asked Xion (and somewhat himself).
When he saw Xion, Xion looked very similarly to Roxas. But, she also didn't look like Roxas. She appeared to be wearing an entirely different outfit in Xigbar's eye. She looked to be a figure from his past. As Xion glared at him, Xigbar shook his head.
"Why is it always that you have to glare at me like that?"
"Shut up!" yelled Xion before she charged at Xigbar. Axel watched, doing nothing to stop her. However, Xion appeared to go invisible, much to the confusion of the other two at the scene.
Xigbar looked around, trying to find Xion, but he was hit by a flurry of attacks with Xion's swift appearance. She managed to make Xigbar fall to the ground, though Xion was out of breath. She panted and dispelled her Keyblade, approaching Axel.
"I'm sorry, Axel. I can't stay in the Organization any longer."
"What are you doing?" asked Axel, not getting it. Xion pulled off her hood, and Axel gasped when he saw a different face from her normal one, and she pulled her hood back up.
"I have to do this. I can't be around Roxas any longer."
"But…"
"Please, Axel. You have to take care of Roxas." She pleaded.
Axel thought for a moment and sighed, hesitantly nodding. He then signaled for Xion to leave, and she opened a Corridor of Darkness. She then ran into a Corridor of Darkness.
Her corridor led her to Destiny Islands, where she saw Riku once more.
"Riku…"
"Did you find your answer?" He asked. Xion approached him, her eyes filled with determination.
"I did. Please, tell me what I need to do."
XxXxX
(The Castle That Never Was)
Roxas walked into the Grey Area later in the day to see Axel and Xigbar… but Xion wasn't present with them. They looked to be talking to Saïx.
"Explain yourself, Axel."
"The old man needs to get his eye checked. She just got away."
Xigbar huffed. "Well, I'll give him that. You can't toss the blame around."
Roxas, confused and concerned, walked over. Saïx sighed. "And now we're left with the one we can't use."
"Huh? Did something happen?"
Saïx simply left, leaving Axel and Xigbar. Axel only turned away from Roxas and refused to look at him. "Where's Xion?"
"She flew the coop. Flamesilocks here couldn't trouble himself to clip her wings."
The boy furrowed his eyebrows together and looked at Axel. He refused to utter a word. "Axel, what is he talking about?"
Xigbar pointed his hand at Axel. "Your friends sat there sucking his thumb while Xion walked off." He replied. Xigbar turned away. "I'm going back to my room."
He walked off, and Roxas was beginning to get upset from a lack of answers. "What happened out there?"
"Nothing, really."
"'Nothing'? Xion's gone! How can that be nothing?"
"It's just like Xigbar said. I sat there, sucking my thumb watching Xion run away."
Roxas shook his head and crossed his arms, moving in front of Axel to directly face him. "I'm asking you WHY you did that, and you know it!" exclaimed Roxas.
Axel crossed his arms and stared at Roxas. "Xion is like a mirror that reflects you."
"You're not making any sense."
"Xion is a puppet, created to duplicate your powers." Axel finally confessed. Roxas stopped, not getting it.
"Are you nuts? Xion's a person, not a puppet."
"She's a mirror that reflects you, Roxas. But when I looked in the mirror…" Axel remembered when he looked at Xion earlier when she pulled down her hood to show him her current face. "It wasn't you I saw."
"You mean… they have to destroy her?" Axel looked down and didn't reply.
"Answer me!"
"Roxas, if somebody doesn't- you won't be you anymore."
The blonde pointed at himself, in disbelief and in anger. "I'll always be me! You're my best friend—and so is Xion!"
"That's not it. You're missing the whole point, Roxas."
Roxas was done. Waving his hands and turning away, he growled, "Forget this." He ran off, leaving Axel behind.
Sighing, Axel looked up and away, staring outside. "I wish you'd understand, Roxas…"
XxXxX
(Day 354)
The next day, in the Round Room, the few Organization XIII members assembled upon request of the Superior. Everyone was unsure why, but it was important enough to be considered an emergency, so they listened.
Xemnas adjusted himself in his chair and spoke. "Xion has vanished once again."
"Do we know where she has headed?" asked Xaldin.
"'It'—not 'she'—is a replica, merely a puppet." Xemnas corrected.
"A puppet? What does that mean exactly?" questioned Luxord.
So, Xemnas, Xigbar and Saïx started to mention the Replica Program, when Saïx first replied, "A puppet is a puppet."
"Talking about the Replica Program, isn't it obvious?" asked Xigbar back to Saïx.
Demyx frowned, not really getting what they were talking about. "The what-ca?"
"Perhaps you'd care to enlighten us on this pet project of yours." Xaldin stated, crossing his arms.
Xemnas was the one who ended up explaining it. "The purpose was to take a piece of the Keyblade Wielder's memory and copy it, thus making his powers our own. This was one of several projects of ours being undertaken at Castle Oblivion. However, our efforts were severely derailed by Vexen's untimely demise. Needless to say, losing Vexen was not a part of our plans. We were also caught off guard when this particular replica called Xion formed an identity of its own."
Saïx looked at Axel. "No one at Castle Oblivion ever reported any instance where a replica formed an identity of its own. Do you concur, Axel?"
Axel looked away and remained silent.
Xemnas went back to talking (since monologue seemed to be a part of his job, or rather the way he was). "Whatever the puppet may decide to do, we can be certain it will no longer have an impact on our plans. Still, it knows our secrets. We may need to shorten the leash. Perhaps even tighten it."
Roxas's eyes lit up in alarm. "What exactly do you…"
"Axel. The onus is on you to capture and bring back Xion. The escape was on your watch. I will overlook any nicks and scratches. Just ensure she still functions on arrival."
Xaldin didn't get why they even bothered. "Why would you allow a deserter back? We should simply eradicate her!"
"It is not a 'deserter'." Saïx replied. "It is just a flawed specimen that wandered out."
"Are we clear, Axel? Dismissed."
Xemnas was the first to leave, vanishing from his chair. Xaldin was next, after saying (still fairly annoyed at the ultimate decision), "Bring her back alive? It's sheer madness."
"All this time, I've been talking to a puppet…" said Demyx with a sigh of disbelief. Afterwards, he left. Xigbar and Luxord left after their comments, simply leaving Axel, Roxas and Saïx.
Saïx stared at Axel, addressing him and making him look up. "Those orders were absolute."
Snickering, Axel left, now making the count of nobodies in the Round Room down to two. Roxas was uncertain of what just happened.
"Still here, Roxas? Proceed with your mission." Ordered Saïx.
Roxas sadly shook his head. "Xion is… she's not a puppet…"
"A puppet couldn't be a part of the Organization. Just count the seats here. We have and always will be thirteen." Saïx left afterwards, just leaving Roxas.
Still in disbelief, and refusing to accept it, he left.
XxXxX
In the Grey Area, as Axel opened up a corridor, Roxas saw him and walked over. He thought he could maybe convince his friend to ignore what the Organization said to preserve Xion and let her do what she wanted. "Maybe it's best if Xion never comes back to the Organization. Do you really have to do what Xemnas says?"
"If I don't, they'll eradicate me next." Roxas gasped, and worriedly got closer.
"In that case… can you at least try not to harm her?"
Axel shook his head. "That's up to her. Roxas… Xion is dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"Have you got all your strength back?"
"Not yet…"
Axel looked away from Roxas and back at the corridor. When he tried to leave again, Roxas asked, "How long have you known about her? Could it be… that you've known about her for a long time, and not told me anything?"
Remaining silent, Axel left, going through the corridor, and only giving Roxas a further feeling of distrust.
He didn't know whom to turn to anymore.
-o-o-o-o-
Ok, so I was initially going to make the next chapter the finale and this the semi-final. However, I noticed that it would only make this chapter even longer.
Like, this chapter has been really really long.
Still, consider this part one of the semi-finale. Once again, the finale won't be a two parter. But, knowing the way 358/2 Days ends, the next chapter is going to have a lot of conflict in it.
Though I'm slightly annoyed I've given Penelope a lot of attention in this story. I mean, it's a good thing I guess, but sometimes she seems to overtake the plot…? Or doesn't?
I'm uncertain about it, but then again, these last few chapters give her a pretty big role at times.
So, like usual, review if you'd like, please refrain from flaming and please tell me how I can improve.
I will see you all in the next chapter.
Ciao!