Sora fell into the line along with everyone else looking up at the menacing building that was before them, a pit of fear forming like a lump in the middle of his stomach at the very sight of it.
All that had happened in the past few days had been a blur as he had been forced with everyone else into the vans waiting outside of Southern Lights by the Military Goons who had appeared as if out of nowhere with their guns a blazing and their faces hidden behind black tinted helmets. At first it seemed as if it was something of a miracle seeing how the people in Southern Lights had turned on them so readily, the lust for sacrifice in the name of New Yevon driving them onward.
It made Sora feel sick just thinking about it as the sight of so many people he had trusting betraying him and the others so easily, he was only grateful Selphie had tried to stop it despite the danger to herself for trying. Unfortunately it had not been a rescue and instead they had been hustled off to here. Where here was he didn't exactly know but he knew enough that this at one time had been a prison from the looks of the cement walls that were decked with barbed wire.
This thought did little to waylay his panic as in the guard towers there were Military men looking down at them as if they were little more than ants to be killed with a magnify glass. As for the city that this said prison seemed to be located in from the high towers that reminded him gut wrenchingly of Normandy City mired the skyline with their peaks made him, if it was possible, even more uneasy.
"Keep it the line moving!" One of the Military men that had been issued to walk along the line shouted out with no deviation in his tone making him sound more like a robot than a person. As he passed by a women walking along a fraction to slow for him he didn't hesitate to ram his assault rifle into her head to encourage her along in his own special way.
Sora winced hearing the crack ring out upon impact. He had to look away at the last moment not wanting to see it but felt his heart go out to the women who he realized was Yuna just as he turned away. It felt as if he had been the one that had been hit though as the terror made his heart beat faster.
With the straps of metal that were strapped on all their ankles to inhibit their abilities it made it all but impossible for anyone to fight back properly. A few had tried in the beginning as well as one or two as they lined up but as time went by the fight was leaving them after seeing what happened to the first few. Sora was only thankful for the fact that Cloud or Roxas hadn't been any of them considering their personalities and their will to fight.
They were herded closer to the building as more people were pushed inside to meet their fate inside it.
Sora balked a bit as he wanted nothing else but to stay out in the yard with the people who had no abilities to speak of aside from the gene saving them from the Heartless virus. With each minute that passed they were getting closer and Sora felt itching panic rise up once again as he ran into the back of the person in front of him.
Riku had been separated from him at Southern Lights and since then there had been no sign of him. The same could be said for Roxas and Cloud. It made things even worse than they were with the not knowing and there was nothing he could do in the face of everything just like he had been able to do nothing all those times before.
It made him angry but it was pushed aside when the shadow of the cold grey building fell over him and the people near him who shivered with the sudden coldness that engulfed them that wasn't necessarily from the drop in temperature.
"Might as well kill us now, can't be worse than what their planning for us in there." A panicked voice commented nervously as they were shuffled along as if they were on a conveyer belt leading them into Hell.
"Keep quiet and keep focused, we'll figure something out but that won't happen if we freak out like a bunch of animals." Another person said sternly but this time Sora turned, he knew that voice.
"Squall!" Sora half whispered, half yelled, the pure relief flowing from his voice. Looking to make sure the guards that patrolled along the side of the crowd, h squeezed toward the scar faced man with a hug smile on his face despite of everything.
Squall didn't smile back though he did shift his body to allow Sora to fall into step next to him. The relief as still there but was ebbing a little as saw more people were shuffled into the wide doors ahead.
"Is there any plan in the works?" Sora couldn't help the tone of hopelessness that was raised in his voice.
They were at the doors now and the people in front were forced to enter the dark hallway as the Guard at the door eyed each and everyone that passed, the gun in his arms threatening.
"Try and survive until we find Cloud."
Before Sora could respond to the blunt statement, they were forced in.
The night had settled over them as they hunkered down in an area that was just off the highway they had been following and prepared for the next day to come, the day their plan would come into play. The plan that would hopefully set things right.
A fire crackled, thanks to Axel, casting shadows on their faces as Roxas and Axel sat on one end with Xion on the other. It was because of her they didn't have to worry about Heartless attacking though it didn't make Roxas any less fidgety as the sliver of a moon hung over head casting off hardly any light.
He had seen her as the night had descended seemingly talking to them as they had initially come close to their camp intrigued by the light and the sound of thumping hearts. Her eyes had blazed red as she knelt down next to them and rubbed their heads whisperings unknown things as their eyes shown yellow but soon they walked away only looking back once or twice before they were swallowed up in the darkness.
The thought that she might be telling them to attack later that night had not been far from his thoughts but as the night progressed he hadn't seen a hide or hair of them partially lulling him but like always, he would be ready if things went wrong.
Silence had descended over them and only the sound of the wood snapping in the heat of the fire was heard but even that couldn't lift the air of tension that had fallen over though they all tried to ignore it.
Roxas glanced up at the girl who he had such a skewed outlook on, never fully knowing if he could trust her and after that night he knew he couldn't but yet something had changed. She sat differently and looked into the flames not flinching or blinking as if escaping into her own world away from the cruel one she had been forced into just like everyone else. It was a practiced gaze showing more then she would probably like of her history of the act.
Before he knew it, he was asking her the question he had wanted to know for a long time and it was only till recently that he had the information to ask.
Her eyes turned to slits as she was brutally ripped from her day dream and back to the present. He felt Axels gaze turn on him as Xion sat straighter like she had something to prove and asked, "What did you say?" Her calculating tone was back as she tried to see why on earth he would ask that if not to unnerve her.
"You were at that Military Building the day I saved my brother, weren't you?"
If the silence before was bad, the silence that hit them after that question was dropped a second time was ten times worse. Now Xion was glaring full tilt in the direction of Roxas as if they were back at Southern Lights that fateful night causing Axel to glare back at her. Roxas though just sat there, the highway thing and what she had said had hit a chord within him and had made him remember something.
"Save them?" Roxas said quietly to himself as he remembered the dead man's words. He brought his hand up and opened it slowly to reveal a very crumpled up piece of lined paper. On it was a coordinates and a list of names. Roxas read through the said names quickly seeing random ones such as Terra, Xion, and then…and then Sora's.
The memory of being in the store called, 'Onion Knights Food' and finding that fated piece of paper that held his brother's name. He had ignored everyone else's name on there and instead focused on his brothers not caring about anything else besides that.
And then, when he had finally gotten to the building that held his brother he finally realized the last clue. She had been there, staring at him with eyes that held so much hope and fear but he had ignored her, ignored all of them in favor of Sora. All he remembered acknowledging though was the fact she had black hair and anything more than that had he brushed aside in his moment of pure desperation to reach his brother.
Hell, he didn't even know if the Blue Moons had attempted to help her out or had left her to rot favoring their own comrades.
Finally the silence was broken as Xion said with more ice to her voice than Roxas could have fully appreciated until now, "Yes, I was there."
Roxas felt a mixture of emotions bubble up despite all his training to keep them under control. It seemed as time went by they were getting more of a hold on him even as he fought against them. The faces of the people he knew swam in his head as he tried in vain for him to hate her, to loathe her even, but as he sat in front of that fire all he could see when he looked across it was himself.
She was what he could have become if he had remained in the clutches of those people and because of that he could never truly hate her unless he wanted to hate himself.
Looking down at his feet for a moment, Roxas pulled himself up straighter before looking up to look her in the eyes as he said the words he knew he owed her, the only thing he would ever owe her, "I'm sorry."
He could feel Axel's confusion as those words left his mouth as his own confusion fell over him but something twitched in his chest where his heart thumped. Maybe he was saying them not only for Xion but for all the people he couldn't save like the Blue Moons, Hayner, and Naminé. The least he could do was acknowledge it even if he couldn't change any of it despite how much he tried.
There could never be a full atonement for the likes of him.
Xion seemed at a loss for words as those words hit her, the words that maybe this whole time she was wanted but never getting as she let the hate and anger fester within her. Looking at both of them with a mixture of emotions on her face she suddenly stood up and began to back as thoughts undoubtedly were flooding into her head. Without warning she turned around to run into the dark leaving Axel and him alone with the fire.
It took a moment before either of them said anything.
"Is that true?" He heard Axel ask softly as those green eyes that could tear him apart with glance fell over him.
Roxas didn't look at him right away preferring to stare at the embers flying off of the fire but in the end he did look up, his blue eyes looking worn and tired by the very act of what he had just done. Axel's eyes held no hostility, instead only warmth as if the fire inside of him lay in their depths.
He saw Axels eyes flicker on the bandage over his arm, the one that withheld the terrible secret of what he had bled. No red had been seen, only blackness leaving the two them with more problems floating overhead but Roxas kept his gaze steady with the red heads willing the man's eyes away from the wound.
"Yeah it is, I saw her and did nothing and now I guess I'm paying for it." Axel said nothing but Roxas looked away feeling as he was being consumed by everything around him. He could never get things right no matter how hard he tried to do the right thing, someone always got hurt in the end. It made him angry, he didn't want to feel like that and yet there was nothing he could do but try and fight.
Karma really was a bitch.
It felt as if all the guilt and anger was all around him closing in on him like a vice. He bit down on his lower lip but it did nothing to reduce it or help his control over the situation. Instead, it just felt as if he was a child back at the institute with no way out and waiting for the new horror that would enfold in the next 24 hours.
"Why now?" Axel's voice was blank as he carefully hid the emotions he must have been feeling."
Roxas turned back to him and without hesitation answered, "I finally remembered, after all this time she must have had my face scorched into her memory and I just forgot hers like it was nothing. Like her life hadn't meant anything just like all those other people I saw and ignored."
Axel rubbed his head as the answer fell over him shifting in his seat before standing up in apparent agitation. "You don't owe her anything especially not an apology."
This took Roxas aback for a moment before he was able to retort back, "Somebody needed to…" He shifted in his seat suddenly feeling uncomfortable, "Somebody needed to." He repeated softly feeling it sink in.
Axel looked torn when he finally looked back up before he said, "You shouldn't have been the one to."
Roxas didn't know if he agreed with that but nodded back. "I know but I had to say something."
Axel made an exasperated sound, "You need to give yourself a break Roxas. You think you have the weight of the world on your shoulders and have to do everything but you keep forgetting that there is someone nearby to help take some of the load off." His words sounded a little strained as if he knew Roxas wouldn't believe it and nothing would change.
Pushing past the problems that the night had witnessed, Roxas smiled softly, the curve barely there on his mouth as he stood up next to Axel.
"You're right," Roxas finally said causing a surprised look to cross Axels face for a split second, "Everything is just so messed up. Sometimes I don't know how we even got here."
Recovering fast, Axel put a hand on Roxas' shoulder and said, "I feel you there Roxas."
They stood there a second just breathing looking down at the fire allowing the moment to settle. Roxas wanted to turn to the man and put into words how he really felt just in case tomorrow didn't work out. And yet, when he turned back and caught Axel's eyes he couldn't help but feel Axel already knew as he was pulled into a kiss that filled his body with the light he had lost washing away the darkness that seemed to be everywhere just for a perfect moment in time.
They pulled away slowly savoring the moment but Roxas knew it had to end soon. He had to go and make sure Xion was ok if their plan had any chance of succeeding.
"I'll be right back." Roxas took a step back intending to leave but a hard hand caught him stopping him in his tracks.
"No." His voice was calm but held a warning tone.
"I have to, I just need to check and then I'll be back. Without her we have no chance." It was that logical point that cracked Axels' argument. He could see the man's gears churning but before he could say something back, "If you come it won't work out, I just need to talk to her." The truth was that he didn't say was he needed some answers from the girl who had an eerily similar past.
Axel's hand fell from Roxas' arm as if he could see what Roxas needed to know before he pulled Roxas into a crushing hug that literally took Roxas' breath away for a second as he whispered, "Stay close by and if you don't come back in fifteen minutes I'm coming in after ok?"
Roxas nodded knowing full well that if Xion suddenly made a turn back into crazy town Axel would be at his side in less than a second.
Leaving the warmth of the fire and Axel wasn't easy but it needed to be done. The heat from the fire slowly became cold but the fire from Axels gaze didn't leave him until he was deep into the forest.
The darkness wasn't too bad with the moon overhead but that didn't stop the trepidation he felt from rising.
He luckily didn't have to go far but when he saw the group of heartless that surrounded her he couldn't help but feel off balance to some degree. He came to a stop when the yellow eyes turned towards him in sync. It was a moment later that he realized he had summoned his keyblade to his hand. It was as if it had a mind of its own.
He let it go away but the yellow eyes remained fixed on him until some unspoken command sent them slinking away to prowl around the surrounding woods to watch from a distance.
"Making sure I didn't ditch you?" She didn't sound angry but she didn't sound happy either, more like indifferent. From what little light he had, he could see she was sitting on the base of a tree, one of the few in the area. She had her knees up to her chest and had her head leaning against the tree as she eyed him like one of the heartless.
"No, I figured since we always seem to find excitement you would stick around." Roxas replied dryly but he saw a hint of a smirk before she looked away.
She drew her knees in closer to her chest and for the first time Roxas saw the layers of armor peeled away to reveal maybe the girl she had been before everything had happened to her.
"I used to be a part of the Blue Moons." Her voice was quiet and sounded detached as she dropped this sudden fact. "After the explosion happened I kind of just fell in with them, was probably lucky someone else didn't find me first considering I had no powers or weapon to speak of."
Roxas felt taken aback as she started talking but he didn't say anything, he wanted to know what she used to be, to know what had happened to make her try and kill him.
"Couldn't even do that much considering, but somehow I ended up in scouting parties, it was during one of these that I was in a party to check out the third district to see if the military or the other gangs were hanging around." Her eyes avoided his as she continued her train of thought. "Saint Peters hospital was where we were heading at the time because we needed supplies badly after the Wood Crows attacked us. We thought we were being careful, just in and out job really, but it turned out to be an ambush."
She rubbed her head and for a second Roxas thought she was having an attack but she dropped it a second later merely looking tired.
"The military had been waiting in the surrounding buildings. They didn't give us warning, just opened fire and only when half of us were dead they stopped." Her voice suddenly was filled with bitterness, "Only me and a few others were left standing and we were in such shock at the attack they were able to rush us and take us before we could even react."
She laughed bitterly as she finally glanced up at him as she shifted her hands around, "You probably can guess what happened next."
Roxas could guess but he didn't want to say it. Acknowledging it would only make it worse but the way she drilled her gaze into him he knew she wanted him to say it forcing him to finally say, "Yeah…I know what happened next."
"Of course you do." She dipped her eyes to where his wings barely showed before shifting her shoulders silently acknowledging what she had lost and what he still had. "It changed me, the constant fear and pain was too much for me and after what had happened it kind of broke me." She glanced back up at him, "That was until I saw you."
It felt like a pail of cold water fell over him as she said that last line finally revealing where it had all began.
"With a face to go with the infamous Subject Seven I used that as a driving force as they injected me and mutilated me from the inside. You were the reason I was there but the killing point for me was I was just the failure that no one even acknowledged. The pancake that got messed up after the creator got to cocky with the first one, I was reminded of that every minute of my pathetic existence in those walls."
"You don't have to Xion, to tell me this." Roxas suddenly interjected feeling as if shouldn't be hearing this, it all felt to personal like he was reading her diary that she had carefully hidden away.
Her eyes turned fierce, "No, someone has to know, someone needs to know before I die. I can't just have come and gone without anyone knowing."
There it was, the statement they had all danced around.
"Now let me finish before Axel starts to freak out and find us," She tried to smile mockingly but it came out more pathetic and needy that she probably wanted, "After Normandy City was destroyed the military was in an uproar. You changed the plans that had been so carefully crafted in a second and they didn't know what way was left. I just watched hoping they would fall in on themselves like a deck of cards but they were stronger than that especially with Xehanort in control. That's when they sent me after you but I didn't go after you right away," She sighed before continuing, "I went back to the Blue Moons."
Roxas kept his eyes locked with hers but he had to force them to stay put after that last statement was said. This couldn't end well.
"I was trying to run away but when I got back to Normandy City…" She trailed off lost in the wave of the memory for a second before she was able to recollect herself. What she next was barely above a whisper, "It wasn't Normandy City anymore."
A feeling of cold water rushed through his body at the statement. "What do you mean, it wasn't Normandy City anymore?"
She didn't answer right away as the feeling of tension emanated between them. When she finally answered it was still unclear, "They military had been there." She fell silent once more ending that part of the conversation moot.
The vague answer rubbed Roxas the wrong way, of course the Military had been there, they had been there the entire time apparently but Roxas knew if he asked again he wouldn't get the answer he wanted so even as frustration built up he kept quiet hoping she would continue. He would question her later.
Her eyes had a dim glow of red light as she said, "I was so angry, it was unlike anything I had experienced in my days with the scientists." Her eyes looked downcast no longer meeting his own. "I blamed you and focused on the only goal that seemed sane at the time, to hunt you down and kill you. I thought that if I did that than somehow everything would be ok." She looked back up at him with now clear eyes, "It was stupid, naïve and wrong but it was my pillar in a storm, with that one goal in mind I became stone and was able to forget what happened, that was, until you beat me and reminded me I was dying."
Roxas remembered, the scene was etched into his mind, when she had confronted him in the burning of Southern Lights. Was that why she had come back and helped him escaped?
"That's when it partially clicked that I was fighting against the wrong side but there was still so much of me filled with hate," She paused before adding, "There still is a lot of me filled with hate but at least now I can see who I should be hating so I came back and after I didn't die when the Organization came after me I knew what had to be done."
She blew out a wad of air as she seemed to finally relax, her shoulders going slack and her eyes softening, "That's my sad excuse, and for what it's worth Roxas, I am sorry for what has happened but I know there is no forgiveness for what I've done."
For the first time in a while, Roxas had no words. The wealth of information that had been presented to him was almost too much as he tried to process it all. When he looked back up to see Xion staring at the edges of the area where the Heartless no doubt were still prowling around in he felt that he finally was seeing the real Xion.
The girl that she might have been before all this.
Anger still festered inside him at everything that had happened and the unfairness but in this one area he thought dimly that maybe, if he lived long enough, he would be able to forgive the girl who sat across from him who was what he could have become and still could.
Thinking of the best thing to say he caught her eyes and began to say, "We should get-" He stopped mid sentence as the world seemed to tilt and his vision narrowed. A second later his head seemed to split open as a rush of agony engulfed him.
Argh, chapter why must you suck! I tried my hardest to make you good but you refuse to cooperate.
Hopefully the ending makes up for some of these dismal chapters.
You have no idea how long I've been waiting to drop those foreshadows though. Had them all prepared in Outbreak thinking I would never use them but BAM I finally did so that made me happy.