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Chapter XXV

Soft Trees Break the Fall

Felix paced back and forth, as impatient as always. He would often glance up at the lighthouse's beacon, frowning as he did so. The others watched him silently, well aware of what was on his mind.

"I think we've waited long enough," he said suddenly. "We should go help her."

"You're awfully eager," Axel said. "Why are you so determined to save her all the time? Do you not think she can take care of herself?"

Felix glared at Axel. "I do. But I can't just stand here without knowing if she's alright."

Axel shrugged.

"Are you trying to say something?" Felix demanded.

"I think we should let Xion do this herself," Axel said. "This Riku guy... this is a personal battle between them. You should let her settle her own business."

"I'm the leader," Felix said. "If I say we go, then we go. I'm not about to abandon her. I trust in her abilites, but she herself has expressed awe at Riku's abilities. She may need help."

"You certainly 'helped' a lot in the last battle," Axel sneered.

Felix clenched his fists. He stood before Axel, staring the tall man right in his eyes. Neither moved.

Garet and Piers watched silently, anxious and ready to move if something happened.

"Say that again," Felix said through clenched teeth.

"Your foolish decision to go after Riku accomplished nothing," Axel said. He did not bat at eyelash as Felix glared him down. "You were captured, and Xion risked not only her life, but the lives of everyone here to save you. And you were useless. You just lay there the entire time as we fought. You were as weak as a kitten. So I don't think you have any right to claim that Xion might need your help."

Felix's glare intensified. Axel stood, as motionless as a statue.

Piers cautiously went to Felix and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Take a deep breath," Piers said softly. "Infighting is the last thing we need right now."

"You wouldn't be alive right now if I hadn't spared you," Felix said to Axel. "Don't forget that."

Felix turned to walk away, but Axel spoke again.

"It was Xion's pleading and my offering to help you stop the Organization that spared me, not any mercy of yours," Axel laughed. "And if it hadn't been for my immunity to those grenades Blados used, you would have had only Xion to protect you. The battle might not have ended so peachy if that had been the case."

Felix stopped for a moment, trembling very slightly in rage, but he said nothing and continued walking away, disappearing behind the treeline.

"And now he runs away," Axel chuckled.

"He's just walking it off, man," Garet said. "What's with you? Why are you provoking him? Do you want a stalagmite up your ass or something? Cause I've seen him do that to people who piss him off."

"Xion deserves better than someone like him," Axel said. The Nobody walked over to the entrance and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms and looking down.

"I understand that you have faith in Xion's abilites and everything," Garet said. "But aren't you at least concerned? The way you speak, it seems like you couldn't care less if she's okay or not, so long as we respect her wishes."

"I am concerned," Axel said. "But I know she'll do the smart thing if things get too bad. She isn't proud enough to not ask for help when she needs it. She wouldn't fight to the death. Not like he would." Axel tilted his chin towards the forest, where Felix had vanished.

"I must concede, Felix is something of a reckless fighter," Piers said with a sigh. "But I must disagree with you elsewhere. I'm also on edge. I don't feel that we should be standing here, doing nothing, when a dangerous enemy is waiting at the aerie."

Axel's eyes found the ground at his feet.

They stood there in silence, waiting for Felix's return. Several minutes passed.

"What's taking him so long?" Garet asked aloud.

As if in response to his question, there was the sound of an explosion, and the image of earth being torn asunder from the direction where Felix had vanished. Trees were tossed away like mere branches in the wind. A boulder landed and split apart not far from where Garet stood.

"I'm guessing that was Felix," Garet muttered, eying the rock that had nearly struck his skull.

"Is that his way of blowing off steam?" Axel asked.

"No," Piers said. "Something's wrong..."

The Lemurian took off in the direction of the explosion. After a brief exchange of glances, Garet and Axel followed him.

Once around the corner they found Felix standing before a massive wall of brown clay, recently erected by his Psynergy. The earthen shield filled the narrow space of the Suhalla Pass, from wall-to-wall, completely separated them from the road back to Lalivero. On the other side, they could hear unintelligible shouting.

The Venus Adept stood with his fists clenched, glaring down the wall as though he hated it. "They followed us all the way here," he said without turning.

"Blados?" Piers asked.

Felix shook his head. "Not just him. The entire damn army."

Garet groaned in frustration. "You've got to be kidding me!"

"How many?" Piers asked.

"It was hard to judge," Felix said. "The pass was narrow and I only had a few moments to react. At least a thousand. Perhaps more."

The Lemurian let out a rare curse under his breath. It wasn't hard to see why. Normally, such a situation would be difficult, but not impossible for the Adepts. But against even a small team of soldiers who fought with those Psy Grenades... They were as helpless as kittens before those things. And now they were up against an entire army who fought with them. Axel wouldn't be affected, but he couldn't take an entire army. His fire magic was good for fighting groups of enemies. But it wasn't unlimited.

With that thought in mind, Felix took command. "We retreat to the Lighthouse. Axel, you take the rear. Use your magic to hold them off. Our abilities are useless against them, so we'll be relying on you completely if they break through."

Axel nodded. He had regained a modicum of respect for Felix. The Adept was able to put aside personal issues and admit that he needed Axel, even if if they were incapable of getting along.

"We have only one chance of getting out of this situation," Felix explained. "We have to get the Teleport Lapis back from Riku. Xion's pride can come later. Do you still object, Axel?"

"I stand by my previous opinion, but the situation has changed," Axel conceded. "Riku is powerful, but he should be no match against all of us. We can defeat him quickly and retreat before the Tolbians penetrate the Lighthouse." Felix was willing to extend the branch to Axel to a degree, so he would return the favor.

"Let us hope that is the case," Felix said ominously.

They turned and fled to the Lighthouse entrance. As they did, the base of Felix's stone wall began to crack.

They were dancing.

Any competent swordsman would admit that a battle between two skilled fighters was more like a dance than true, raw, fist-fighting. True combat between two people is usually short, brutal, and bloody. It is nothing like the way it was portrayed in stories. It was over in thirty seconds.

But swordplay was an exception, if it is between two masters. A battle between a master and an amateur was no different than any other such battle. The master would slay the amateur in a few seconds, unless some miracle were to occur.

There was no doubt that Riku was a master. Even with his meager self-training, he was a prodigal swordsman. Riku was the sort of swordsman that would come to be retold in legends centuries later.

And Xion... she was an abnormality. An anomaly. She should never have existed, and the fact that she did was a miracle in itself. So it was fair that she was able to match this living legend.

Their blades clashed, and they danced.

But it was a dance that would end in a moment if either were to make a mistake.

Xion was matching Riku. That was the first thing he noticed. He broke apart their swords and leaped back, putting some distance between them. He needed to rethink his strategy.

Xion stood unmoving, watching him warily. The Sol Blade in the corner of the aerie was a focus of attention between them both. Riku was trying his best to get to it, and Xion was doing her best to keep it from him. She was doing well, he had to admit. The death of Demyx must have motivated her.

Riku allowed himself the rare luxury of true sight for a moment, pulling back his blindfold and watching the small girl with a single eye. He saw in her many things. Determination. Sorrow. Hatred. An unbending will.

He saw her eyes. They were Sora's eyes.

He could not stop the regret from filling him. He'd felt a connection with the girl from the moment he had met her. Under different circumstances, they could likely have become quite close. No doubt he was drawn to her because, in a strange way, she was Sora. And he had always loved Sora. So it would only make sense that he would feel affection for this girl.

But ultimately, that meant nothing. She wasn't Sora. She was, at best, a pale imitation of his friend. The true Sora was comatose. And he would remain so until Xion was gone.

Riku could not have both. And he loved Sora far more than Xion.

So he was resolute. He released the blindfold, letting it fall back in place, blinding his true sight once more to the world. That was his final moment of kindness. From that moment on, Riku would kill his emotions and become a machine. The machine that would be needed to be to save Sora. The machine that could kill this girl in front of him.

Xion said nothing as Riku watched her for a moment with his true eye. She wondered what was going through his mind, but ultimately concluded that it didn't matter. With the death of Demyx, she had given up on the possibility of Riku becoming an ally to her cause. He was an enemy now, and every action he took was under suspicion.

Xion decided that Riku was likely rethinking his course of action. Under normal circumstances, she would give her enemy the courtesy of decided what to do before they fought. But Riku had just killed Demyx. He didn't deserve such treatment anymore.

So she moved in, her katana raised for the attack. Riku quickly raised the Soul Eater to parry. Their battle resumed, and Xion forced Riku farther away from the Sol Blade. He was on the defensive now, with no plan beyond simply defeating his opponent. Their blades clashed as they danced with the distinct sound of steel meeting steel.

And Xion became aware of something with that sound. Her katana was breaking. The blade was chipped and slightly bent. It was making sounds it should not have with each clash. In contrast, Riku's Soul Eater was unmarred and perfect. Of course. Riku's was a magic sword, while Xion was fighting with a mere blade of steel. After several months of service, the sword was nearing the end of its life.

Riku took advantage of her momentary distraction to push her back. Surprised by the amount of force he shoved her with, Xion stumbled at the rim of the beacon. Her arms swung back of their own volition, to keep her from falling back into the well, and her hand connected with the golden sphere of Venus energy.

She saw white. While the transfer of energy at Mercury Lighthouse had been swift and graceful, this was different. Pain shot through her arm as the Venus Essence traveled through her body, coming to rest in her bosom. She grit her teeth, trying to maintain her composure.

Ideally, she would have absorbed the Essence after the battle with Riku, when she had the luxury of time to prepare for the new sensations. But she had touched the beacon by accident. Riku did not mistake his opportunity. He moved in to strike.

Xion deflected the strike, but her movement was slow and awkward. Something was wrong. Her body felt heavy. She felt dizzy. This was different from when she absorbed the Mercury Essence. Her body was shutting down on her.

"Xion!"

Despite her previous words against them, she blessed her luck that her friends were here to help her. But they were just arriving. In the time it would take them to get to her, Riku would have already finished her off. Already he was raising his blade...

In any other circumstance, Xion would not have resorted to dirty tactics in a fight. But it was a matter of life or death, so she felt no guilt when she brutally kneed Riku in the crotch. She must have overdone it though, as he cried out and coughed up a mouthful of crimson blood as she jumped away.

Whatever, she told herself. He killed Demyx.

The colors were too bright. She was losing focus of the world around her. She didn't see Felix rush to her, all she felt was his reassuring hands on her shoulder.

"...ght?"

She wasn't hearing anything now. All she could perceive was the sound of her own pulse. The world around her was swooshing by.

She felt Felix holding her and she collapsed.

"Xion! Xion!"

Felix held the unconscious girl in his arms on the far end of the aerie. Riku stood impassively, watching them without a word. The others – Garet, Piers, and Axel – had surrounded Riku with their weapons drawn.

"What happened?!" Felix demanded of the blindfolded swordsman.

"She touched that," he replied in a level voice, indicating the glowing beacon. "I do not know why she reacted in such a way."

Felix carried Xion as far away from the center of the aerie, where the battle would be, as he could. He lay her down on the floor, and tenderly brushed her ebony bangs away from her eyes.

Then he rose and turned to Riku.

"I'll give you one chance," he said to the swordsman. "Give me the Teleport Lapis. We will kill you if you do not."

Riku's silence was his answer.

Felix noticed the Sol Blade nearby. He went to it and picked it up. Riku watched him, but did not move.

"This is mine," he said. He felt the hilt in his hands, reassured that his weapon was back in his hands.

"You don't even know how to use that blade," Riku said. "It is no better than a child's toy in your hands. You have no clue the potential that blade would have if wielded by its proper owner."

"We'll see how little I know when I slay you with it."

Felix went back to Riku. "Xion is unconscious. Can I at least have your word that you will not attack a defenseless girl?"

"I make no such promise," Riku said. "I am here to do only one thing, and that is end her life. If you hand her over to me, I will give you back your Teleport Lapis, and you can escape from the Tolbi army."

"You already know my answer to that, so do not even waste my time with the proposition," Felix growled. "Rethink your situation. It's four against one. You have no chance. If you want to save your friend, then leave here and live. You can't help Sora if you're dead."

Riku said nothing. Instead, he raised his sword. The others tensed. The atmosphere was filled with murderous intent. As soon as Riku moved, the battle would begin.

"Greetings, whelps."

They all turned. Blados stood at the entrance, his massive katana held over his shoulder. He strode over to where they were gathered, as though oblivious to the battle about to take place.

Blados placed his hand on Felix's shoulder like he was greeting a friend. "You've recovered. Good for you." He noticed Xion's unconscious form and smirked.

Felix shoved Blados' hand away. The strange man laughed.

"Why the hostility? You've all made my life considerably better. I've been waiting for the chance to gut that pig Iodem for ages now. You all took care of that for me. Now I'm the acting leader of Tolbi."

Blados took notice of Riku for the first time. "I don't know you, but whatever."

Riku said nothing, as usual.

"I don't like Adepts," Blados said with his arms spread wide. "I kill Adepts. That's why I was going to kill you guys. So nothing personal, alright? I was just trying to cause a genocide. But as it turns out, the events of that day worked out in my favor. So I'll make an exception for you four. However..."

Blados pointed at Xion. "She fucked everything up. She killed Iodem. She killed Babi. And she made me bleed my own blood. I want her. I need her to be dead, or I cannot rest. My men need to see the head of the one who slayed their emperor. So here's my offer. Turn her over to me. If you do that, I won't have my men swarm this place and murder you deader than dead. Either way, the bitch dies, but if you cooperate with me, you guys can save your own skins. How about it?"

Felix spat at Blados' feet.

His grin vanished. "About what I expected from you scum. Well, at least I gave you a chance. My men will swarm this place in five minutes when they do not receive my signal. So lets finish this before that happens."

Blados drew his sword in a single movement and swung. Everyone was force to leap away to avoid the massive arc of the blade. All except Riku who merely ducked.

"May I make a proposition?" Riku asked Blados in mid-swing.

Felix and the others landed some distance away from Blados. The four fighters stood in different corners of the aerie, still surrounding the two swordsmen.

"Speak fast," Blados said.

"We both want the girl dead," Riku told Blados as he straightened and stood back up. "So why not work together? I can help you fight them."

"Works for me," Blados said. "But I won't be needing your aid." The swordsman dropped his lengthy blade and removed his belt. Half a dozen Psy Grenades were attached to the belt.

"No!" Felix exclaimed.

Blados pulled a pin from the belt and held it above his head. "This will take care of them. The redhead is the only one who will still be standing after the explosion, but he won't be a problem."

"Attack him!" Felix shouted at Piers and Garet, who stood behind Blados. "Throw it over the edge of the-!"

But he didn't have enough time to finish. The grenade belt exploded above Blados' head, the blast passing through him harmlessly. The explosion momentarily blinded everyone.

"Fools. Falling for the same thing twice..." Blados' voice trailed off. He was genuinly shocked, because the Adepts were still standing.

"Your attack was ineffective," Riku noted without humor.

"How the...?!" Blados was flabbergasted. "That was six grenades! They should be down! What happened to the...?"

Blados trailed off again. Because he'd noticed it. Everyone had, at that point.

The beacon. The normally golden sphere of energy was different. It was swelling, pulsating, breathing. It must have absorbed the energy of the blast.

The atmosphere was changed. A sinister premonition had gripped everyone present. The beacon was growing dark, its previous radiance fading. Everyone was backing away from it. They knew something bad was about to happen.

"We have to get out of here," Piers said quietly.

Felix turned, remembering that Xion was unconscious and could not protect herself. He jumped, landing on top of her to shield her from it.

And just in time, too.

The beacon exploded, taking half of the aerie with it.

It was a sound like many angels singing in harmony.

It echoed through Xion's ears and her mind. Naturally, it was beautiful. She couldn't help but smile. Such sounds were always so pleasant when one was sleeping.

Then her bliss was broken by the onset of sharp pain.

The beautiful sound was not angels singing, but a massive explosion.

Her body was in agonizing pain. She had no idea what was happened, but she felt strong arms holding her close, trying in vain to shield her from the brunt of the damage. It wasn't working, because she was in so much pain she couldn't think.

Some kind of primal fear had gripped Xion. There was something very terrible nearby, and every instinct she had was telling her to get away from it.

And then, there was the sensation of falling. It was a welcome relief from the fear. It meant she was being taken away from the terrible, unspeakable thing. Some degree of lucidity came back to her. She realized it was Felix who was holding her. And they were falling. Strange, she could have sworn they had been in a similar situation before...

Of course. When they'd first met.

So Xion expected there to be water when they landed. She braced herself for the feeling. They would break the surface of the water, and she would have to escape his unconscious death-grip.

But they landed in a waterfall of sand instead.

She closed her eyes and held her breath as she was buried under the sand. The powerful current ripped Felix away from her. She didn't know which direction the waterfall of sand was taking her, for she'd lost her sense of direction after the fall. The sand-waterfall was merciless in the way only nature could be, pulling her with it. She fought to keep from being suffocated by it, but it was hopeless. She didn't even know which direction up was. Already, her lungs were screaming for oxygen. She felt like the pressure would crush her body. If she didn't get out soon...

And then she burst free, tumbling away across a dune of sand. Her eyes opened up, but she saw only sand before her. She coughed, spitting out sand. Everything was aching. Her head was still spinning. She felt like throwing up.

What a way to be woken up, she thought with no small amount of cynicism.

She tried to stand up, but she was so dizzy that she tumbled back onto the hard sand below her.

She tried to remember what was happening. Things gradually returned to her. Venus Lighthouse, Riku, Demyx's death...

She fought down the wave of emotion. There was time for grieving later.

She tried to rise once more, and this time she was able to stand.

The last thing Xion remembered was accidentally touching the Venus beacon during the battle with Riku. Felix and the others had arrived after that, but she hadn't stayed awake to see what happened.

She looked around. She was in a large chamber, some kind of room within the Lighthouse. She recognized the architecture from Mercury Lighthouse, though it was orange and gold instead of white and blue.

In normal circumstances, she could see that sand would flow freely through this room and into the next. However, the wall had collapsed, causing the sand to pile up and slowly fill this room.

The dune of sand she was standing on was actually halfway to the ceiling.

She heard a groan behind her and realized she had forgotten something.

"Oh! Felix!" She turned and saw him, collapsed and half-buried in a pile of sand. She ran to his side, pulled him out of the sand, and checked his injuries.

He had a few mild burn marks on his back, but otherwise he was untouched. However, when he stirred and tried to turn, he hissed in pain and fell flat.

"Ow..." he mumbled.

"Felix, how do you feel?" She said, unsure exactly what to ask.

He smirked. "Everything aches. But otherwise, I'm fine." Felix forced himself to a sitting position, wincing as he did so. He looked around, confused by the alien surroundings.

"I think we ended up inside the lighthouse somehow," Xion explained. Felix closed his eyes and nodded.

"That bastard Blados showed up," Felix explained. "Something weird happened... There was an explosion."

"Something weird?"

"I don't know. He tried to use those grenade things. The beacon... It got all dark and veiny."

"Veiny?"

"Yeah. And then it blew up. I think it blew a hole right in the floor of the aerie. We must have fallen in."

Xion wondered how accurate Felix'x recollection of the event was. What he was saying wasn't making much sense, but it was all she had to go on. Strange things had been happening recently.

Xion noticed the burn marks on Felix's back. "You shielded me?"

"You were completely defenseless. You may have died if I hadn't."

She smiled. "Thank you." She knew it wasn't just that. "Even though I told you not to come and help me, you still did. I guess I was counting on you not to listen to me."

Felix looked like me wanted to say something, but he bit his tongue and said nothing.

They fell into silence. Xion was exhausted. The past few days had been quite tiring, and Xion was finding it taxing to keep up. She just wanted to relax for a while. But while Xion was content with the gentle silence, interrupted only by the soft sound of the flowing sand, but there were more questions that needed asked.

"Uh..." she muttered, scratching her head. "Oh! What happened to Garet and Piers?"

"I dunno," Felix said, frowning. "They were with me at the aerie. Either they're still there, or they might have fallen to a different part of the lighthouse. I think the sand flows branch off. It's been a while since I've been here."

"That's right, you've been here before. Was this room like this before?" She pointed out the congested flow of the sand.

Felix stared for a moment, not seeming to understand her question. Then his jaw dropped. "Whoa, wait a minute... The sand is blocked! This room is half filled!"

"I know, right? Any idea what might be causing it?"

"Hmm... The Organization, perhaps? Would they have any reason to do something like this, like how they were blocking the Hermes' Water at Mercury Lighthouse?"

"I couldn't imagine. I don't even know what they were trying to accomplish by drying up the fountain at the last lighthouse. And it was Demyx who was stationed here, remember? He would have told us if they ordered him to do something."

Felix scoffed. "Yes, like he told us about Riku."

"Good point," Xion said, suddenly downcast. "Felix, Demyx was-" She considered telling Felix about Demyx's death, but she realized that she would choke up if she started talking about it. "Nevermind," She said softly.

"Well, I don't know what's going on right now, but I'm feeling better," Felix rose, only trembling slightly. "I can use my Psynergy to see if something is blocking the passage down there."

Felix raised his hand and closed his eyes, using his Psynergy to probe the sand at their feet. As sand was merely a sparser form of earth, he could easily check to see if there was some sort of foreign substance blocking the flow.

Xion watched him silently. In the past, she had been aware of Felix's use of Psynergy only by the after-effects. The ruptured earth or the wounds he healed were all she would see. But after Mercury Lighthouse, she had begun to percieve a ghostly light around Felix when he used Psynergy, and a strange sort of heaviness in the air. Occasionally she would glimpse a faint orange or golden light when he cast his spells.

But now, she could see Felix's Psynergy in a way she hadn't before. She could feel it immensely, and sense the weight radiating off of his body. Felix was a very powerful Adept, and it was only then that she could feel the immense Psynergy that he carried around at all times. It was overwhelming, to suddenly be aware of such a force in the air. And all he was doing was checking the ground beneath them! If Felix were to attack an enemy with one of his more powerful spells, would the energy be too much for her to handle? Were all Adepts so sensitive to each-others energy?

Felix opened his eyes, and he began to chuckle. She watched him curiously, as he laughed at some sort of private joke.

"What?"

"What are the odd...?" he wondered aloud. "Yeah, I know what's down there, blocking the sand. The dead body of a dragon, missing two heads."

Xion blinked. "I don't get it. What's so funny about that?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Xion!"

They turned around, startled by the sudden intrusion. At the far side of the room, where they had fallen out of the sand-waterfall, Riku rose, his black coat torn and frayed, either from the rough fall or the earlier explosion. His blindfold remained over his eyes, but she could sense the enraged glare he was giving here.

"Did you think I was finished already?" Riku demanded.

It wasn't like Riku to be so angry.

Felix rose and drew his sword. His eyes were locked upon Riku, prepared to strike if his enemy moved even an inch.

"Xion, this has gone on long enough," Riku said through his teeth. "I have given the chance to turn yourself in again and again. I'm done. Your chance to go back peacefully is gone. Now I will end you here."

"You won't touch her," Felix said in a surprisingly soft voice, but with no lack of conviction.

Riku did not even acknowledge Felix's presence. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

Xion took a deep breath before answering, "You killed Demyx. I can never forgive you for that. I am willing to let you live, because you mean so much to Sora and it would devastate him if you were gone when he wakes up. And he will wake up, as I've explained to you already. I'm not going to waste another breath trying to convince you that my plan will work. You don't seem to realize that I have already made my decision. Even at the cost of Sora, I will not surrender my existence. So if you try to take my life from me again, I will not hesitate to take yours."

The young swordsman's expression changed from that of rage to emptiness. There was no more emotion in him. "So be it. Then this next fight will be the last. There will be no more pretenses between us. You will hold nothing back. And neither will I."

Then Riku removed his blindfold.

Blados was struck down on his back, staring in awe at the phenomenon before him. He was unable to move, unable to think, unable to breathe.

"What is this thing...?!"

The previously golden beacon of Venus Lighthouse had reacted to his Psy Grenades, absorbing them somehow and morphing into something else.

It was a vortex. A black hole. An unnatural thing. It should not have existed. Only the unholy actions of man could have brought such a thing to be. They had created something that would destroy the entire world.

Blados tried to crawl away from it, but his body was frozen. There was so much noise. The winds were raging around him. He could hear the two remaining Adepts and the red-haired man screaming over the winds. He couldn't understand their words. He didn't care, either. He couldn't think about anything other than the black hole in front of him.

It was growing. It was breathing. Everything near it was pulled inside, never to be seen again. Already it had eaten a large portion of the aerie floor. Felix, the blindfolded kid, and the girl had fallen into the lighthouse already. He had been angry at first. He wanted to kill the girl. He wanted to feel her throat smothered in his grip. But he didn't really care about that anymore. There was something much more important before him.

It seemed like it was alive. Part of him, the animal part, wanted to to jump inside it and see what happened. But his human instincts were refined, and even in his bewitched state he knew such an act would kill him.

Only death awaited within the vortex.

It was beautiful. That such a thing could exist... such a contradiction... The vortex should not be, and yet it was. The universe wanted it gone. He could hear all of reality protesting against it. And yet it continued to be.

He knew what it was about the vortex that fascinated him. It was the power. The vortex dominated everything around it. Existence would be on its terms. Even if it was no sentient, it still had a will.

Psynergy... It wanted to consume Psynergy. All the Psynergy in the world. It had an unspeakable hunger. The Lighthouse floor was soaked in Venus energy, so it only made sense that the stones beneath it would be vaporized. The Vortex wanted more Psynergy than it could have, so it would take form anything that it could.

They were alike in that way. Blados sought the elimination of all Adepts. The Vortex wanted to consume the world's Psynergy. Their means and methods were different, but they had to same goal.

To reset the beautiful world to its natural state.

"I will help you," Blados whispered to it.

And then, ignoring the raging winds and the crumbling floor behind him, Blados rose and drew his long sword – his nodachi.

He would help in the one way he could, the one thing he had always known.

The first one he saw was the large blue-haired man. His back was to Blados, and he was shouting something to his red-haired companions. They must have warned him of Blados, for he turned and drew a large broadsword. He shouted something, but Blados couldn't hear anything.

"Die and let your energy feed the Vortex!" Blados screamed in a berserk rage. He attacked with reckless abandon, battering the man before him with frenzied strikes. The Adept fought back as well as he could. But it wasn't enough.

Blados knew why. The Vortex was draining him. He could see it in the pale face and sluggish movements of his opponent. The man wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

But Blados was denied the satisfaction of a slain enemy. He paid for his previous recklessness when he felt the heavy battleaxe of the red-haired boy enter his back. Blados' heavy armor prevented a fatal blow, but he was done fighting. He could hear bones breaking. He could feel internal bleeding. He collapsed.

Several minutes passed, and Blados lay on his chest and watched, unable to move. The three fighters talked amongst themselves, occasionally glancing at the fallen swordsman at their feet. Perhaps they were deciding whether or not to kill him. Eventually, they came to a decision. They turned away from Blados, leaving him for dead where he was. Only the man with the spiky hair seemed to regret leaving him.

The Adepts vanished from his sight. They had left, most likely to find a way to locate their friends. The minutes passed. The Vortex began to recede, and it eventually faded, leaving only the old Venus beacon behind, and a massive scar across the aerie floor from where the Vortex had consumed the matter below.

Blados waited patiently for his men to arrive and assist him. The Adepts would get away in the meantime. He had accepted it. It didn't matter anyway. The girl could run all she wanted. The people of Tolbi would be easier to control if he held the promise of vengeance over them yet.

He now knew that there were greater goals to aim for than petty vengeance. That Vortex... He would reproduce it. He would study it. There was some great secret hidden in that power.

He would find the answer, and use it to bring painful death to all the Adepts in the world.

"I have accepted it."

The voice that spoke was not Riku's. It was far deeper. It was the voice of another.

"X-Xemnas...?!" Xion stammered.

No, that wasn't right. He had the same face, the same voice, and the same build as her former master. But there were slight differences, such as the hair. Whoever Riku had changed into, he was close to Xemnas. His Somebody, most likely.

His appearance didn't matter. The man in front of Xion, who had been Riku just moments earlier, was a threat to her. That's what mattered.

He was levitating above the sand. Some kind of creature was floating behind him, a dark humanoid demon. It was clearly an extension of his own will. Therefore, Xion didn't need to consider it a separate being. But it was obviously dangerous.

The situation had changed completely. Riku was no longer holding his sword. It lay in the sand at his feet. He simply floated before her, his large arms crossed. Did he no longer need a weapon?

"Xion, do you have any idea what's happening?" Felix demanded from across the room.

Of course, she realized. It only made sense that Felix would be confused. Riku had transformed before him.

"I'm not sure, but he's much more powerful now!" Xion replied. "Be very careful!"

"No," Riku said in his new voice, as he snapped his fingers.

Black thorns rose from the sand around them, rising towards the ceiling. They split and crossed paths, weaving together to form an impenetrable wall. A wall separating her from Felix.

"Xion!" Felix screamed. She could see he was slashing in vain at the black thorns, trying to get through to her. It was useless. They grew back faster than he could cut them down.

"This is our battle," Riku said. "We fight it alone."

There was no getting out of this, she realized. She would have to fight Riku alone.

She raised her katana, and stood, waiting for Riku to make the first move. He stared back at her with cold eyes. Emotionless eyes. Xemnas' eyes.

"Is this how you're going to greet Sora when he wakes up?" she jeered. "With the face of his enemy?"

Riku did not answer her. They were no longer communicating as people. Riku was no longer seeing her as a person, but as an obstacle that had to be eliminated.

"Fine, then," she said. "I'll attack first, then!"

She kicked off the ground, leaping towards the hovering Riku with her katana raised. He did not react in any way, simply watching her fly towards him. Not giving herself the luxury of questioning his lack of defense, Xion merely brought the blade down in a fierce slash.

And swung through empty air.

Xion blinked. Momentarily caught off-guard, she almost screwed up the landing. She hit the hard sand awkwardly, maintaining her balance, but being forced to run painfully to avoid breaking her legs.

She turned as soon as she was able. Riku hovered in another place, still watching her with no expression.

He warped out of the way. She had seen such techniques before. Spatial manipulation was Xigbar's specialty. He used his abilities to warp around the battlefield, firing his little arrow-things at his enemy. She had never actually fought Xigbar before, so she wasn't sure how to deal with an enemy that could travel instantly.

But she didn't have time to form a new plan. Riku warped again, appearing right in front of her. Before she could jump away, she felt an iron grip tighten around her chest.

"Agh!"

She was pulled up off the ground by the demonic guardian hovering behind Riku. The pain was agonizing. She tensed her body as much as she could. It was her only defense. The grip was simply too strong to break free.

She could still hear Felix screaming her name. She thought she heard other voices, too. Axel's voice. Garet and Piers. The others must have caught up with them.

She gasped in her distraction and the grip tightened. It tightened every time she inhaled. It was going to suffocate her. It was going to crush her if she breathed too much. Either she would suffocate, or she would exhale too much and be crushed.

Riku said nothing. He simply watched her struggle and die slowly, with emotionless eyes. Xemnas' eyes.

He could end it in a second if he wanted to. But he wasn't. He was torturing her.

"Guh... it... agh... it hurts..."

She didn't know why she was talking. It was a mistake to breathe in any way. But she couldn't think right. Her eyeballs were going to pop out of her head. Her skull was going to explode. Her ribcage had to be powder by now. She couldn't feel her legs anymore.

Everything hurt so much she couldn't think.

"Riku... it... hurts..."

The grip relaxed for a split second.

She pushed out with every ounce of strength she had. The demon's hand was pushed open, and she fell. She landed on the hard sand, and she felt her body turning inside-out. But now wasn't the time. She had to strike.

She swung her katana, not even taking the time to see what she was attacking. The blade sliced right through the demon's fingers. It did not bleed. It did not cry out. It probably wasn't even alive. But she had cut off three of its fingers. It couldn't grab her again.

Xion kicked the ground again, leaping into the air. Riku was right in front of her. She swung...!

Crimson blood spilled. Riku fell back, a diagonal slash across his chest. He gasped painfully, just as she had a moment ago. It was a moment of weakness. A sign of humanity in him. It gave her hope.

Xion attacked again. Riku must have panicked, because he awkwardly shielded himself with his hands. Her katana sliced his arm, drawing out yet more blood. She had turned the tide of the battle. She was winning!

That is, until she felt Riku's boot strike her in the stomach.

She hit the hard sand. Everything hurt now. She had somehow blocked out the pain once she'd broken free of the demon's grip. But now it caught up with her. She couldn't breathe. She was wheezing. Her mind was a red haze of pain.

She was fighting. She didn't have time to be in pain.

Xion forced herself up. Her legs were shaking. She was dizzy. It hurt to breathe. Everything was sore. But she was still alive. She could still fight.

Riku was still floating in the air, his face as empty as before. No – there was a look of regret in his eyes. It was obvious was he was thinking about. The demon's grip had slacked for just a moment.

He had hesitated.

No matter how often he continued to say that he was killing his emotions, it seemed that he couldn't fully do it. The sight of a suffering girl had been too much for him.

The demon held her katana. She was forced to watch as the creature tightened its iron grip and crushed her weapon. It dropped what had been her sword, now only a pile of shattered steel.

She gave her katana a silent farewell, thanking it for its service.

Her hope spot was gone, and now things were bleaker than ever. She was half-crushed and exhausted, with no weapon, no help, and no hope of escape, up against an opponent she could never beat on her own who was charged up with dark energy.

Xion almost laughed, when she realized how hopeless her situation was.

She couldn't dodge when Riku and the demon reappeared in front of her, and the creature grabbed her again just as it had before. She wondered how it could hold her when she had cut off its fingers. Then she remembered it had another hand.

She had forgotten about that.

Xion's body tensed, not from any resistance on her part, but from instinct. It was only natural for the body to tighten up when something was trying to crush it. She was fighting back only by reaction at that point.

Xion didn't want to die. Everything she was doing now was for one goal: to live.

But she just didn't have the will. She just didn't have the energy. She had no weapons, no options. She wouldn't even know how to fight back anymore, even if she had the means to do so.

It was truly hopeless. Riku was just too powerful.

All she could do now was tense up. It was token resistance. It would actually be wiser to simply relax and let the demon crush her quickly. By fighting back, she was only prolonging her own agony.

Some part of her was still defiant. Some little part of her mind was refusing to give in until the very end.

But the rest was just too beaten to care.

"What are you doing? Why are you giving up?"

Xion opened her eyes. Riku had spoken to her. The voice was different – Xemnas' voice – but the words were from Riku himself.

She looked Riku in the eyes – Xemnas' eyes – and he was watching her with a strange look. A look between anger, disappointment, and amusement. And regret.

"Look at me. Do you see how far I've gone? Do you see the person I've become? I could have given up at many points, taken an easier road. But I'm here, still fighting... even in a body that isn't even mine anymore. And you're about to give up?"

She couldn't answer him. Her windpipe was probably too crushed to make sounds anymore. And even if she could... what would she say?

"I see a part of Sora when I look at you. So I refuse to believe that you would give up. Even in the most hopeless situation. Because I know..."

Xion closed her eyes.

"...that Sora never would."

An eternity passed.

In a town where the sun never set, there was a clocktower.

And atop this tower, three people were sitting silently and watching the sun that would never set.

A boy with blonde hair.

A man with spiky red hair.

And a girl with black hair.

As they watched the sun that would never set, something started to happen.

The girl flickered. Like film that had been damaged, she started to break down.

It only took a few seconds. The girl flickered and vanished. Her smile never fell. She vanished without a word or action.

The boy and the man continued to watch the sun that would never set.

They never spoke again of the black-haired girl.

An eternity passed, but the black-haired girl was never seen again.

Xion opened her eyes.

She didn't know what was happening. Information was filling her brain. Words she had never seen before. Actions. Instructions. New possibilities.

There was an overflow of energy. She felt something awaken inside her. Something was suddenly changed. She gained five years of experience in a single second. So much information was rushing into her brain, she was worried that her head might explode.

She was Riku's eyes – Xemnas' eyes – change. Something had definitely happened. She was different before him. Maybe the look in her eyes was scaring him. Or maybe he could feel the massive energy filling her.

She prepared her attack. The energy release would be massive. She didn't know what the word meant, but she knew what it would do. So she spoke–

"Odyssey!"

Felix took a step back.

It wasn't that he had given up. He wouldn't. He refused to. He had tried everything he could think of. Every attack he had. But nothing would break through the pitch-black wall of thorns separating him from Riku and Xion.

Axel, Garet, and Piers were all doing the same. They attacked again and again, but nothing was breaking through. The thorns continued to regenerate. It was hopeless, but the refused to give up.

It wasn't the futility of the situation that ceased their actions.

It was that they could all feel it. Even Axel, who was no Adept.

They could all feel it.

The overwhelming wave of Psynergetic power radiating from the other side of the thorns.

They exchanged amazed glances. None of them had ever felt such a force. Not even Dullahan or the Doom Dragon had had so much Psynergy.

"Is that... Xion?" Garet asked.

Then they were all blown back by the explosion.

It was the most powerful Venus Psynergy. Odyssey.

Riku was pierced by massive two swords of energy through both sides. But that wasn't the true attack of Odyssey. All they did was pin the target in place. The real blast was the third sword, which came down from above, crashing over the head of the target with a great explosion.

Xion was the only thing in the room not affected by the blast. The thorns were destroyed, and sand was vaporized, and the headless dragon corpse underneath was obliterated. Even the others, far from the blast, were thrown back to the other side of the room.

Riku of couse, took the full blast of the attack.

Once the flash had faded, and the dust had cleared, the damage could be seen. Riku lay in the center of the room, in the middle of a smoking crater. The demonic guardian was nowhere to be seen.

She walked over to the collapsed Riku. He was still alive. His clothes were shredded, and his body was covered in burns and slash marks. There was a lot of blood.

Xion's feet hit something on the ground. Riku's Soul Eater. She picked the sword up and went to his side. She pointed the blade at Riku's heart.

Riku said nothing. He was still alive. His wounds were even healing. The dark power that had transformed Riku's body was incredible. In half a minute, Riku would be recovered enough to continue the fight.

It went without saying that Xion did not have nearly enough power left for another attack like that Odyssey. The near-limitless Psynergy she had cast the attack from was fading away, going back to wherever it had come from. It was not her energy. So she could not execute such an attack again.

Riku, however, would be back to fighting form in mere moments. Xion would not get another chance.

His eyes were as cold as before. He would finish her once he was back up.

Xion only had one chance.

She raised the Soul Eater...

It was as sunny a day as any on the Destiny Islands.

Two boys were sparring with wooden swords. A girl with red hair was watching from atop a palm tree.

It was their favorite activity. There was no hostility in their fight. Friendly rivalry, or course, but never hostility.

The silver-haired boy usually won. He was just the superior swordsman. But the brown-haired boy had a pure spirit. He never gave up, not until he was beaten completely and absolutely. He often pulled through and won a surprising victory in spite of his awkward attacks.

Today was such a day. The brown-haired boy had managed to knock down his opponent, who had been disarmed just a moment before. The silver-haired boy was now on his back, and the winner stood over him, pointing his wooden sword at the loser's chest.

In spite of the embarrassing loss, the silver-haired boy smiled.

"Okay, Sora. You won this time."

...and pieced Riku's heart.

Felix found Xion kneeling before the slain body of Riku.

She was crying.

But that wasn't why Felix gasped and stopped in his tracks. That wasn't why Garet, Piers, and Axel all froze as well. They had no words for the situation.

Riku wasn't the only one who had changed.

Xion realized her friends were there and she rose. She ran into Felix's arms, and cried in his chest. He hesitantly touched her back. He was uncertain. He knew for sure the girl he was holding was Xion. But...

She was different.

He was hesitant to comfort her at first, but her quiet words and sobs reassured him that, despite her appearance, she was still the same Xion he knew. So he held her close to his heart, even after she passed unconscious, from either fatigue or emotion.

Axel wordlessly went to the body of Riku. He removed the Soul Eater and found the Teleport Lapis in the pocket. The Nobody had never felt any connection with Riku, but he knew that the boy had been important to Sora, and so he had been important to Xion. That was why she wept for him.

Strangely, despite the fact that Riku now had Xemnas' face, he looked at peace.

Axel carried Riku's body back to Felix. He handed him the Teleport Lapis, and said that he would bury Riku once they got to the next town. Felix accepted without complaint.

They warped away from the Venus Lighthouse, carrying two children with them. Both had been changed by that day, both in appearance and heart.

DiZ sat alone in his study.

The room was not lit. There were many books, but he had never touched a single one. The room was covered in a layer of dust, but he had never bothered to clean it.

He merely say there, staring at the wall and waiting.

As he always did.

He turn not turn to greet Namine as she hesitantly entered, the door meekly opening with a loud creak. It was no secret what he thought of the girl. She was a Nobody, and so, to him, she was less than human.

Still, he acknowledged her presence, if only for his own sake. "Yes?"

"S-something happened..." she said hesitantly.

"And what would that be?" he asked her, the slightest of impatience slipping through his voice. Conversations with her were a chore to him. He had to coax even the vaguest of answers out of her.

It was his fault, he figured. She would be more comfortable speaking to him were she not so afraid of him.

"It's Riku..." she said, emotion in her voice. DiZ would have scoffed at her attempts at feeling were he not interested in her words. "Something happened in that outer world he was sent to... That Weyard place... He... I can't feel his life force anymore..."

"So he's dead, then?" DiZ asked, not allowing his brief surprise to touch his voice. He hadn't expected Riku to be beaten.

Namine's lip trembled. If DiZ didn't know any better, he'd say she was trying not to cry. "I told him not to go there. I told him that... thing... The one eye... I told him he couldn't fight it... I... He was..." She trailed off into incoherent sobs.

DiZ resisted the urge to go smack the girl. Her facade of emotion sickened him. "Very well. Thank you, Namine. You may go." He didn't really appreciate her, but he was glad to know.

She stared at him in surprise for a moment, looking like she wanted to say something. Then she turned and closed the door just as meekly as she had opened it.

The crimson figure sat alone, and ruminated on the recent turn of events. So Riku had gotten himself killed... What a shame. It meant the end of this plan. Without a man on the outside to manipulate events, there was no point in trying to awaken Sora anymore. That meant that there was no point in him staying at the mansion anymore.

Other plans for other days. Namine could deal with the rest.

DiZ rose and departed from the study, never to return.