Author's Note:
I'm so sorry this chapter took so long! I've been super busy with school and stuff, and I don't have nearly as much time to write anymore. :( I also thought this chapter would be a lot longer, but apparently it's less than 4,400 words? Oh well, hopefully it's still a good length! I really hope y'all like it!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR OVER 8,300 VIEWS SO FAR! Y'all are awesome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of the dialogue, worlds, characters, or ANYTHING from the games/mangas/novels. Got it memorized?
Chapter Twenty-Five: Fracture
Today was truly the beginning of the end.
Panic flooded through me as I thought of what the day ahead would bring- Xion threatening Roxas, Axel attacking our dark-haired friend, my friends' trust in each other being ripped to shreds.
I had to stop it. I had to figure out a way to prevent all that from happening. And I had to figure out how to do so fast.
Saïx and my friends were still talking, but I couldn't make sense of their words. Everything sounded so far away and distorted, except for my own breathing which was almost deafening in volume. My throat felt so tight it was amazing I could breath at all.
"Alexa? Alexa! Are you ready to go?" Roxas's voice jolted me out of my panicked state. Saïx had walked off, and Axel was leaving through a Dark Corridor. I had missed the rest of their conversation.
"I..." Was I ready to face the horrible day ahead? Then again, it wasn't going to be horrible, because I'd think of something! I'd come up with some way to prevent the awful events that were destined to happened.
Only problem... I had no idea how.
"Let's go," I told my blond friend. If only I'd had a chance to talk with Axel before he left, I thought. Too late now. Always too late. Why am I so hesitant to do anything?!
Roxas summoned a Dark Corridor, frowning as he glanced over at me. "You okay? You're really pale."
"I'm fine," I assured him, stepping into the shadows of the Corridor. My friend followed, and we made our way toward Twilight Town in silence.
As we stepped out into the Side Street, Roxas stopped just before the long flight of stairs that led down to the Sandlot. "Which way?"
And then I came up with a plan. It just popped into my head, without me having to really even think about it. It just... appeared.
"Let's split up," I told him. "You head toward Station Heights, and I'll go down to the Sandlot. Meet ya at Station Plaza."
Roxas frowned. "Are you sure splitting up is a good idea? The imposter guy seems pretty strong..."
"I'll be fine," I told him, summoning my Keyblade as proof. "Unless you're the one who you think isn't strong enough...?"
"No way. I could take care of that guy blindfolded," my friend shot back, summoning his weapon as well.
"Good. Then splitting up it is."
I started down the steps, but Roxas's voice made me pause two steps down. "Alexa..."
I turned around to face him. "Yeah?" Please don't let him have changed his mind about splitting up, I silently begged the universe.
"Just... be careful. I have a bad feeling about this."
So do I, I wanted to tell him. Instead, I simply forced a smile. "I will. You be careful, too."
"Hey, I'm always careful!"
"Yeah, right!" I retorted before turning around and continuing down the stairs. I had to hurry if I wanted to find Xion before Roxas did.
That was my plan, or part of it anyway- to find Xion and keep her away from Axel. Hopefully Roxas would take long enough in his search for the imposter that he wouldn't run into Xion, and the whole 'Xion-points-her-Keyblade-at-Roxas' scene would be avoided. Maybe this simple change would be enough to completely alter the timeline!
... I really doubted it, though. My plan wasn't that great, but I had to do something!
As I hopped off the last step down into the sandlot, at least a dozen unnaturally dark shadows formed on the ground. Large blue-black creatures rose from the darkness, several pairs of glowing yellow eyes locked onto me. Shadows! I quickly lunged at the ones closest to me before they could attack. Unfortunately, this left me open to attacks from the other Shadows. I let out a small hiss of pain as claws scratched my arms and back, quickly switching to defensive instead of offensive. Maybe splitting up was a bad idea after all, I thought as I struggled to block attack after attack from every direction. I was hopelessly outnumbered, unable to even get an attack in without getting scratched by the dark Heartless surrounding me.
I didn't know what to do. I could only fend the Shadows off for so long before my strength wore out. I was surrounded, with no way to escape.
It was hopeless.
Panic flooded through me as I tried to see through the mob of Shadows and figure out an escape route, but these were Megashadows and there were too many of them. All I could see was the blue-black Heartless and their beady glowing eyes. They were a wall between me and freedom. Between me and a possible change in the timeline. Between me and my hope for a happy ending for my friends.
Apparently, this was my ending. There was no way I could defeat all these Shadows by myself. If I defeated one and made a slight, small opening in their wall, they immediately shifted so the gap was filled. It was almost like I was fighting one giant Heartless instead of a few dozen smaller ones.
I didn't know what to do. I couldn't keep blocking attacks forever. Was this game over? After everything I had been through, all the giant Heartless I had fought and survived, was I seriously going to be killed by Shadows?
"Help," I muttered quietly, the word slipping out by itself. "Please, help." I didn't know who I expected to come save me, but I wasn't really thinking rationally. I was scared.
And then the Heartless suddenly burst into flames.
Seriously, just like that. One second I was hopelessly surrounded, and the next thing I knew, the Shadows burst into flames in large groups. After a few seconds, the fire died down and faded into nothing, leaving behind faint wisps of smoke that floated up and disappeared. Through the smokey air, I could see a figure in a black cloak identical to my own fleeing toward the Tram Common.
Xion. It had to be my dark-haired friend. She had saved me. Had she been watching me since I arrived here at Twilight Town? Or had she simply accidentally run into me and decided to help out? The fire that had engulfed the Heartless had to be from her.
"Hey, wait!" I cried, dismissing my weapon and running after my friend. Unfortunately, I was already out-of-breath from the fight against the Shadows, and I couldn't run very fast. I was gasping for air, barely managing to keep sight of Xion as she ran through the Common. "Come back!"
The black-cloaked figure turned a corner up ahead, and I knew they had just run into a dead end. Actually, it was the same exact dead end where Xion had threateningly held her Keyblade toward Roxas in the video game. I nervously kept my distance from my friend as I followed, not wanting her to do the same to me.
I was too out-of-breath to talk for several moments, but as soon as I could speak I gasped out "Xi-Xion?"
My friend had her back to me, facing the corner of the small dead-end section of the street. Slowly, she reached up and lowered her hood, revealing familiar short dark hair. As she hesitantly turned toward me, I saw sadness and confusion in her eyes. I hated seeing her look so depressed. I had to do something to save her!
"Xion, you've gotta stay away from Axel," I warned. "He'll bring you back to the Organization, and-" I broke off, unable to remember exactly why that was bad. Maybe it would be worse if she stayed with Riku, I wondered. I wish I could remember the video game better! What was I supposed to do?!
My dark-haired friend's frown deepened. "You... you don't want me to come back?" Her voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear as she looked down, avoiding eye contact.
"No, that's not it! I'd love for you to come back, but-" I broke off, not sure how to finish without telling Xion something she shouldn't know. "Xion, how much do you kn- I mean, what did you mean yesterday? In the tunnels. Please, I need to know!"
My friend shook her head slightly. "I know you're the only one who can change Roxas's fate. Mine is set in stone, but Alexa- you can save him. He doesn't have to fade away."
Her words shocked me. "How? How do you know? Please, tell me!" I knew I was begging, but I was desperate to learn how to save my friend.
To my disappointment, Xion shook her head again. "I don't know. Only you can figure that out."
"But who told you this?" I was growing frustrated at my friend's vague answers. Why couldn't she just tell me?!
Xion hesitated, still not looking up. "I-"
"Xion? Alexa?"
I jumped in surprise, my Keyblade appearing in my hand as I spun toward the voice that had spoken from behind me. I already knew who it was. Horror and fear shot through me as I met the shocked gaze of the newcomer. How long had he been there...?
"Ro-Roxas?"
My blond friend held my gaze briefly before looking past me toward Xion. "Xion, we've been looking everywhere for you."
"You have? Sorry," our dark-haired friend said softly, staring down at the stony ground.
"It's okay. I'm just glad Alexa found you. Now you can come home. If you come back voluntarily, I'm sure Saïx will let all this drop. He has to." Roxas's kind smile was unnoticed by Xion, who refused to look up at him. Panic started to flood through me as I desperately tried to think of a way to avoid the scene I knew was about to happen.
Xion shook her head. "I really can't."
Roxas's relieved, happy expression was replaced by a frown. "What do you mean? Of course you can. You can always come back."
THINK ALEXA, THINK! I mentally urged myself, knowing time was running out. Any second now...
"I don't care what Saïx said to you," Roxas continued, his kind smile returning. "Axel, Alexa, and I- we're your friends. We'll be there for you." He reached out to take Xion's hand, and I quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. He shot me a surprised glance.
"Just give her some space," I told him, noticing Xion take a couple of steps backward. "She obviously doesn't want to come back to the Organization." Not like I could blame her for that.
"That's not true!" my blonde friend protested, pulling his arm free from my grasp. He turned to face me, frowning. "Of course she wants to come back. She just thinks she can't, because of stupid Saïx! Right, Xion?"
She didn't reply, still looking down. Her hair hid her face, making her expression unreadable. "Roxas... Don't come any closer," she warned, her voice still barely above a whisper.
"Huh?" Our blond-haired friend's frown deepened at Xion's command. "Xion, what's-"
"Roxas, she wants to be left alone. Let her be," I told him gently. I hated this. I hated seeing Roxas so upset and confused, and Xion so depressed and shy.
He shook his head. "I don't get it. Why won't you come back? We've been worried about you. We've searched all the worlds over and over again looking for you. I'm not going to just let you run off again!"
I could tell Xion was getting nervous. I had to get Roxas out of there before she-
My blond friend took a step closer toward Xion, reaching out for her hand. "Xion-"
"Roxas, no!" I cried, but it was too late. Xion summoned her Keyblade, holding it at her side. I felt my own weapon appear in my hand as if it had willed itself there. Without thinking I stood between my two friends, holding up my Keyblade to block any attack Xion might make. The situation I had so desperately tried to avoid had somehow managed to happen anyway. I was worried Roxas and Xion would fight right then and there. "Xion, you don't have to do this! You don't have to come back with us if you don't want to!" It was too late. The damage had been done. Xion hadn't actually pointed her weapon at Roxas, but she had summoned it, and that was bad enough.
Our friend finally looked up, her ocean-blue gaze meeting my own. "I-"
Suddenly a flaming object sailed through the air, landing dangerously close to Xion's right foot. My friend jumped back, her Keyblade held up defensively. I did the same, while Roxas jumped back in surprise. As the fire surrounding the object faded away, I recognized it as one of Axel's weapons. Oh no. This was bad.
Sure enough, the tall redhead appeared from around the corner. "Hello there, Xion," he greeted our dark-haired friend. His tone was the exact opposite of friendly, and his mouth was curved down into a frown. The look in his eyes scared me- they were so bright, so intense.
"Axel?" Roxas glanced between Xion and the newcomer, confused. "What are you doing-"
"You heard my orders earlier, Roxas," Axel interrupted. To my horror, the weapon lying on the ground vanished, only to reappear in Axel's hand. I stepped in front of Xion, terrified but knowing that I just couldn't let Axel hurt her! I know he wouldn't kill her or anything, but still! Hurting your friends is not okay.
"Alexa, move out of the way," Axel warned.
I tried to stop my arms from shaking as I held my Keyblade defensively. "I'm not going to let you hurt Xion!" I didn't want to fight Axel, knowing he could easily defeat me without even trying, but at that moment I was willing to do nearly anything to protect my friends. No idea where that sudden bravery came from.
Our dark-haired friend ran toward the exit of the dead end, passing right by Axel. As he turned to follow, I hurried to block him. "Axel, let her go!"
The tall redhead's eyes narrowed as he met my gaze. "Sorry, kid. I have orders."
"Ignore the orders!" I begged. I desperately looked over toward Roxas, who was watching in stunned silence. I couldn't really blame him. To him, it must have appeared like all his best friends had suddenly turned on each other.
Axel shook his head slightly, drawing my attention back to him. "I can't do that. Get out of the way."
"No!"
"You're making this way harder than it has to be!" The redhead raised his weapons, and although my instincts were screaming at me to MOVE OUT OF THE WAY, I stood my ground. I had a feeling that it wouldn't be good if Axel caught up with Xion. "Look, I don't want to hurt you, so just move!"
"Leave Xion alone!"
I could see the uncertainty flickering in my friend's mint-green gaze, and hope rose up within me.
However, that hope was short-lived. My tall friend moved to attack, and I desperately held up my Keyblade to block him, my eyes closing as I braced myself against the blow I knew was coming.
"Axel, no!" Roxas's cry echoed off of the buildings surrounding us, but he was too late. I heard the strike of metal against metal...
Wait a second. There was no weight pressing against my Keyblade.
I opened my eyes, gasping in shock as I saw Xion standing in front of me, her Keyblade blocking Axel's attack. "Xion!" She must have appeared through a Dark Corridor. But how had she known Axel was about to strike? Had she been watching us from somewhere? "Xion, run!"
But my friend didn't seem to hear me, as she was busy dodging another attack from the tall redhead. "Axel, stop!" I begged, rushing over to defend Xion.
"What is going ON?!" Roxas yelled in frustration, glancing between his three fighting friends.
I tried to get between Axel and our dark-haired friend, but they were moving so fast it was nearly impossible. "Stop, please!" I begged again, but my plea was ignored.
"I don't get it! Why are you all fighting?!" Roxas looked so confused and... scared. I had never really seen a trace of fear in my blond friend's huge blue eyes until now, and I felt sick as I realized that we, his best friends, were the cause of that fear.
"Axel, LISTEN TO ME! You don't want to do this!" I cried, trying to get the tall redhead's attention. I noticed he hesitated slightly with his next attack and felt a flicker of hope again.
Unfortunately, like before, that hope turned out to be misleading.
"STOP!" Roxas shouted suddenly, the echo of his words ringing through the small dead-end. To my horror, Xion paused and glanced over toward him.
Oh no, it's just like in the video game! I thought as I yelled "Xion, look out!"
But I was too late. Always too late. Axel struck our dark-haired friend in the back of the neck while she was distracted, knocking her out instantly. I could only watch in horror as he caught Xion and met my gaze as the wispy shadows of a Dark Corridor began to form behind him.
"You shouldn't have done that," I muttered angrily as I returned his stare. To my surprise, the look in his icy mint eyes was almost an apology- not a challenge, like I had expected. "You really shouldn't have done that!" But even as I spoke those words, I knew the opposite was actually true. He was only doing what he was supposed to do, what should have happened. The timeline was still determined to happen even with a new character in the story.
The tall redhead looked away and walked into the now fully-forned corridor, disappearing as it closed behind him.
"Axel... Why?" Roxas muttered, a look of betrayal and and confusion on his face as he stared at the space where our two friends had been a moment ago."Why were you all fighting? Why was Xion acting so... weird? How could Axel have done that her?!" I noticed a note of anger in his voice, and knew I needed to calm him down before he decided to find Axel and attack him or something.
"She just didn't want to come back with us," I told him gently. I felt so horrible and guilty about everything that had happened. I had tried to change the timeline so Roxas wouldn't have to watch two of his best friends fight, but instead he ended up having to watch all three of us. I had been unable to change anything.
So what was the point of me even being there?!
"I don't get it," my blond friend muttered, his eyes shining brightly as he turned toward me. It almost looked as if his eyes were filled with unshed tears- but Roxas didn't cry until later in the video game, so that was impossible. "We're her friends. Why didn't she want to come with us?"
I wasn't really sure how to reply to that, so I simply said "I'm sure she has her reasons."
Roxas sighed and shook his head slightly. "I... I never thought I'd have to watch you guys fight each other. You're my best friends." The brightness in his eyes faded as he narrowed them. "I'm gonna go look for Axel. He must have taken Xion back to the castle."
I hesitated, unsure if I should let Roxas go or offer to go with him. Hadn't he gone looking for Axel in the video game? I was pretty sure he had. "Can I go with you?"
Roxas glanced over at me as he summoned a Corridor, a surprised expression on his face. "Sure."
So I followed him into the Dark Corridor and we headed toward the Castle that Never Was in silence, Roxas walking so fast I practically had to run to keep up with him. He seemed to be a mix of angry, betrayed, and confused- an awful lot of strong emotions for someone who wasn't even supposed to be able to feel anything. As for me, my emotions were such a confusing mess inside of me that I wasn't really sure how I felt.
Eventually we burst out of the Corridor into the Grey Area. Sure enough, our tall friend was walking toward the doorway. He didn't seem in any hurry.
"AXEL!" Roxas shouted, his cry echoing through the metal room so strongly I winced.
The tall redhead stopped walking and casually turned around. "Oh, hey, Roxas. And Alexa." He grinned like nothing was wrong, and I wondered why he even bothered with the act. Surely he knew that Roxas was upset with him? And me... I felt kind of betrayed. Axel hadn't listened to me when I'd begged him to stop.
"Where's Xion?" Roxas demanded, glaring up at Axel.
Axel's grin faded into a tight smile. "She's safe."
Roxas sighed in frustration and shook his head. "How could you do that to her?"
Now Axel was frowning. "Do what?"
Roxas's shoulders slumped. "You know. Fight her. Hurt her. You didn't have to use force."
"Didn't I? She had her weapon, Roxas. She was going to attack you."
"She wouldn't have hurt me! She's my friend. Our friend! Friends don't hurt each other."
"You sure Xion's a friend, then?"
I had been watching their conversation in silence, but now I had to interrupt. "Don't say that! Of course Xion's our friend. She was just..." I trailed off, suddenly unsure what to say. Axel and Roxas's stares made me nervous.
"Well?" Axel prompted, and I felt my throat tighten. I couldn't speak.
"Thought so. Well, if that's all, I gotta go." Before either Roxas or I could say anything, Axel had turned around and exited the room.
"'If that's all?'" Roxas quoted through gritted teeth. "He doesn't care at all, does he?"
The tightness in my throat had vanished now. "Of course he does!" I protested, knowing it was true. Axel did care. He was just following orders...
...right?
Today might have ended up becoming one giant mess, but I know I'll come up with a way to fix things. I'm so close to the end, I have to do everything I can, I told myself silently. I messed everything up today. It's my job to fix it.
After all, the end has begun.
"Don't worry, Roxas," I told my friend gently. "Axel said he had orders, remember? He was just doing what he was told. Xion's fine, I'm sure of it."
"But why is he acting like nothing's wrong?" Roxas muttered, shoulders slumped and head hanging down. "And why was Xion acting so weird in the first place? I don't get it. Why can't things just stay the same?" My friend looked up, his blue gaze meeting my own. I was shocked by the deep sadness in his normally bright eyes. It hurt me to see him so depressed. For a moment, a tiny little moment, I was upset with Axel for causing this. But then I remembered that it wasn't really his fault- it was mine. I was the only one who could change things, and I hadn't been doing a very good job of it so far.
The person I really needed to be angry at was myself.
"I'm sorry," I told Roxas, my voice barely above a whisper. "I am so, so sorry."
Confusion flickered in my friend's gaze. "Alexa, you haven't done anything."
Exactly, I thought. I've been too scared and unsure to do anything to change your fate. I tried today, but look how that turned out. Is it too late? Xion said her fate was unchangeable, but I refuse to believe that. I'll save both of you, Roxas. I promise.
I shook my head slightly, forcing a small smile. "Thanks."
"See you tomorrow, I guess," Roxas told me as he turned toward the doorway.
"Yeah... See ya," I replied, deciding to stay behind for a few minutes. I needed to think.
The large room was completely empty now. Not even Saïx was there. I was alone. Yet it didn't feel that way I as I gazed out the huge window at the stars that shone in the sky surrounding the castle. I never felt alone when I looked at the night sky, unless it was a cloudy starless night. In the Kingdom Hearts universe, stars represented worlds, right? So maybe one of those stars out there was my home. That was a comforting thought. I choose the brightest star and imagined it was where I had come from. It was weird- back home, I had dreamed of going on an adventure. I wanted nothing more than to travel to a fictional land and escape my dull reality. My wish had come true, and now I longed to return to my old life.
I held my left hand against the cold window, the closest I could come to touching the stars. The scene from earlier kept replaying in my mind- Roxas confronting Xion, Axel chasing after her, Xion coming back and blocking Axel's attack.
"You're the only one who can change Roxas's fate," Xion had told me. "Mine is set in stone, but Alexa- you can save him. He doesn't have to fade away." How did she know about her fate? Had she... could she have possibly read my diary? Or maybe Axel had told her.
Poor Xion- if she really did know her canon destiny, she must be terrified. She didn't deserve so much fear, or such a horrible end!
"I'm not giving up on you," I whispered to the stars. "I must be here for a reason, and I'm determined to find out what that is. But I think I already know. I just want a happy ending for you guys, and I think it's my job to make that happen. What other reason could I be here for?"
With a small sigh, I lowered my hand from the window. Tomorrow was another day, another chance.
Only 60 more days until the end of the game. 60 more chances to make things right. 60 more sunsets.
I was determined now to save my friends. I knew I'd think of some way to get them a happy ending. I had to.
I had 60 more days, after all. That was plenty of time.
All the time in the world.
Author's Note:
I'M SORRY THAT CHAPTER WAS SO DEPRESSING! I feel like I did a horrible job describing things this chapter. Hopefully it wasn't too bad! What did you think? Please leave a review! Thank you so much for reading!
Due to school and stuff, the next chapter won't be finished for awhile... Probably at least three weeks. I'm sorry! D: The next few chapters are going to be pretty long, though, so hopefully they'll be worth the wait!