Ahhh, aren't breaks wonderful? I feel so much better and have actually been getting more than enough sleep. My ankle is more or less completely healed and I've got a new years party tonight that I'm excited about. Can you believe it's almost 2008? Crazy! Time really does fly, but rather than rant about my beliefs on time I'll bid you all a fine 'hello.' Hello! Yes, it's a new chapter and it's a big one too (both in length and in concept) so I really hope you enjoy it. This chapter gets a bit gory and that's the only warning I have this time! Enjoy!

Chapter 25

Out of Time

Ring

Sora heard the phone from the bathroom and knew there was only one reason a call would come in this late at night.

Ring

He tried to ignore it, continuing to dry off and forcing himself not to eavesdrop on the conversation outside. This was it. Wiping the steam off the mirror he stared at his reflection for quite some time without a single thought on his mind. He knew it was only a matter of time before this call came in and he'd prepared himself for it. His watch was emitting a soft tick-tock in the pocket of his pants, discarded on a pile of dirty laundry on the floor, but he didn't check the time. It was late Saturday night and an enemy ship had just appeared on the horizon. Before the sun came up the kingdom, his people, the pirates, and he himself would be faced with the greatest threat in any of their lifetimes and the final result was still unknown. As king though Sora was responsible for all of their lives and safety and now all he could do was hope he hadn't made a mistake in agreeing to aid the pirates.

Luxord stared into the empty bottle of pills, wondering how many he'd consumed since the week started. "You should find better ways to deal with stress," Namine said quietly as she sat opposite him at the diner table. Luxord's drugs were starting to wear off and she'd volunteered to stay up with him to make sure he made it back to bed, "Too many of those could kill you."

"We're going to die eventually, may as well go out with an feeling of euphoria," Luxord's logic was morbid but he didn't care. He was the least convinced about their success in battle but rather than fearing it he seemed to be at peace. Never once in his life had he feared death and even now as it loomed just around the corner he didn't feel a tinge of fear.

Namine sighed and looked past him and out the window. Unlike Luxord, she was terrified but as usual seemed calm and composed. Luxord spun the bottle on his finger for a few seconds before it slipped, clanged against the table and fell to the floor, rolling a half circle before finally coming to a stop. He didn't pick it up, instead fumbling through his uniform's pocket and pulling out a deck of cards which he proceeded to shuffle elaborately with ease, "What about you? You seem fine." But he knew better.

Namine knew he wanted to know what was on her mind, he always did but that was because he'd pretty much been her surrogate father since she'd joined the crew and since Kairi's death he was one of the few people she'd speak to. She didn't say anything and instead picked up the two cards he dealt her. One was the blank divider card and the other was the instruction card, "You've got to play with whatever cards you get," she said with a heavy sigh before flipping the cards and giving up.

"Aw Xiggy that was fun," Demyx said with a content smile, tracing shapes on the scarred chest, "Lets do it again."

Xigbar looked at him as if he were out of his mind, "Aren't you tired?"

"Three times can't wear me out," Demyx cheered, punching his fist up into the air but his muscles were stiff and tired, making him cringe and slump back into Xigbar's arms.

"Just go to sleep," Xigbar said, rolling his eye and ruffling a hand through the messy blonde Mohawk.

"Nah, come on, let's do it again," Demyx said as he started to sit up, but Xigbar clenched his hand in the Mohawk to keep him from doing so, "Come on, the night's still young unlike you."

"You're tired," Xigbar knew it and he wanted to sleep, "And don't mock my age. You're supposed to respect your elders." Demyx didn't give up though and he nuzzled his head against Xigbar's neck, the one place where he knew he was ticklish. Xigbar chuckled and pushed him away but Demyx clung back almost immediately, "Hey, take it easy." Demyx didn't say anything but he held on tightly to him and kept his face hidden in his neck, "Look there's always tomorrow."

"Is there?"

Demyx's question came as a bit of a surprise but Xigbar understood and he sighed, "Ofcourse there is."

"How do you know?" Demyx asked, still not looking at him and refusing to loosen his grip, "If this is the last night we have together Xigbar I-"

"It's not the last night," Xigbar interrupted loudly, sitting up and scaring Demyx who quickly let go and stared up at him. It was an unexpected outburst and neither one of them said anything for several minutes. Finally Xigbar lay back down and rolled onto his side so he faced the wall, "Go to sleep."

Demyx stared at him for a while longer, feeling like this was his fault and wishing he hadn't said anything, "…Not like this…Xigbar I don't want our last night to be like this, please." Xigbar didn't move and Demyx felt a stinging behind his eyes as a heavy sadness took over. He wouldn't cry though, he didn't want their last night to involve tears, so he shut his eyes and pulled the blankets tighter around his body. In only a matter of moments though he felt the bed shift as Xigbar rolled back over to face him, wrapping his arms around him and pulling him close. Demyx immediately held onto him and rested his head against his chest, "Like this…This is how I want to remember it."

"Something isn't right…" Zexion said to himself, looking up from his book and to the closed curtains. It was just a feeling but his feelings had never failed him before and he knew something was wrong. Even though he knew something was happening, something that meant them ill, he didn't go to the curtains to see. He didn't need to see it to know it was there.

He quickly shut his book and hugged his knees to his chest, clasping his hands together and bowing his head. Everyone had different ways of coping with the stress they felt knowing Xemnas was coming. Luxord drugged himself, Demyx sought solace through sex, and Riku just got angry; which wasn't helping his recovery. Zexion however found his relief through a very unexpected fashion which he kept secret from the rest of the world.

"This is it…he'll be here by tomorrow and Roxas still isn't back. We can't win without him but…please help us." A necromancer's soul and the practitioner of the dark art them self belonged to the Satan, but Zexion had been spared his seal of hell when Xemnas took control over him and his power. Shortly after he was freed from his sentence in hell, Zexion took a much greater respect and devotion to religion which would keep him in heaven's favor even if they were all freed from Xemnas. He was somewhat the perfect persona of an oxymoron; he was a heaven bound master of hell's art.

"There isn't much time left and no matter how much we want to believe, we know that neither Roxas nor Axel will be back in time," Zexion continued to speak, not to himself but to a higher and supreme being he believed was watching him, "I know there's some reason you're doing this but …Please have mercy. We plan to fight for all we're worth, no matter how futile it is and we're not going to give up so please don't give up on us either."

Zexion opened his eyes as he finished his quiet prayer, wrapping his arms further around his legs and putting his chin atop his knees. He knew that in less than a day he would be speaking to their sovereign ruler in the heavens face-to-face rather than through his prayers. He could only sit in bed quietly for so long though. Soon the phone across the room would ring or a knock would be at his door, informing him of the forthcoming evil and he would have to prepare. Until then he would try to sleep and in his sleep oh how he hoped to dream of a better life, not just for him but for all the others he cared about who were also in the same threat as he was.

Riku was sitting on the balcony staring out at the three ships on the horizon, his phone still held tight in his fist. It felt like hours since he'd gotten the call when in actuality it was only minutes. Xemnas was on one of those ships, likely the one in the middle knowing his ego, and he'd bet anything that Xaldin and Saix were leading the other two. For some reason it came as a relief and disappointment to see three ships. Honestly he'd expected at least a dozen, as illogical as that may have been, but losing to three ships rather than twelve seemed more disgraceful.

The search team for Roxas and Axel still hadn't found a trace of the couple and they were out of time. If it was a fight to the death Xemnas expected then he'd get what he wanted, but it wouldn't be easy. Even if the others backed out now Riku planned to give Xemnas hell until he stole his last inch of life away. He'd gotten them all into this and, as Zexion reminded him, he was their captain.

"Riku?"

He looked over as Sora came out onto the balcony, pausing in the doorway to see if he wanted to be alone. When he didn't get a reply Sora assumed it was okay and stepped outside, pulling his jacket tighter both to shut out the slight chill and also to give his shaky hands a purpose. Neither one of them said anything, just staring out at the huge ships that glided silently over the waters but never seemed to get closer.

Sora could only stay silent for so long though, his nerves weakening quickly, "What are you going to do?"

"Kill Xemnas," regardless of whether or not they had Roxas, Riku's goal wouldn't change.

Sora exhaled a nervous break shakily, his fingers wringing the fabric of his jacket they held between them. He was almost sickeningly confident and that confidence made Sora mad. They were going to die, not just the pirates but him and the island itself for helping them, and he had the nerve to be confident, "You…bastard," Sora said quietly but Riku deserved it, "You're going to die. How dare you avoid a fact you yourself caused?"

Riku didn't say anything at first but he didn't react either to Sora's comment. He had indeed brought the pirates to the island, and they'd asked for Sora's and the navy's help in their mutiny but he knew now that none of this was his fault, "I'm not avoiding it; I'm simply refusing to accept it."

Sora couldn't contain his nerves any longer and to both of their surprise he smacked Riku right across the face, only to immediately afterwards lunge out and hold onto him tightly, "…Consider this a definitive order: come back to me alive," he said aggressively through a sob. Riku didn't say anything and Sora looked up at him with a mixture of anger and sadness unmatched on his face, "Do you hear me? Come back to me alive! That's an order!" When Riku still didn't say anything Sora looked away and held onto him tighter, "…Come back to me alive." The fact that Riku didn't say anything meant there were no promises this time and Sora cried silently into his chest as he felt Riku's arms wrap around him, "Come back to me alive Riku…"

A heavy atmosphere weighed down on the ship and it wasn't just from the moisture in the air. The sun wasn't up but the island was warm and a dim orange for some strange unknown reason that none of the pirates questioned. Zexion watched from the wheel as the others waited in orderly silence, all eyes trying to avoid the ships on the horizon that were drawing nearer and nearer. Three dozen naval soldiers stood perfectly in line behind the 'privateers,' as the pirates continued to masquerade as, waiting to follow them into battle along with two other ships carrying four dozen soldiers apiece. Members of the court had just arrived on the dock and had come to wish them luck and see them off, a display to the island and the enemy that Destiny Island supported the pirates.

It was a foolish and unnecessary ritual in Zexion's opinion, only wasting time that allowed the enemy ships to get closer, but it was a big deal for the soldiers who were placing their lives on the line. Each looked identical to the next and the uniforms only emphasized their lack of individuality, but they were brave souls and Zexion respected them for taking such a risk as helping them fight. He wondered how many would return to their families alive, but that was like asking Xemnas who he would spare.

Zexion clutched the cross in his hand as he shook his head, trying to shake the thought of the bloodshed that would soon ensue. Instead he tried to divert his attention, looking to the court members who approached the privateers, led by the king himself. Sora didn't look well. His eyes were heavy and he just looked unpolished, a fashion that he'd never donned before. Zexion only noticed it more when he stopped in front of the leader of the privateers and he couldn't help but worry that Sora's expression would give away the secret the couple had worked so hard to keep from the public.

"…We have faith in you," Sora said after clearing his throat and attempting to recompose himself, a failed attempt, "May the heavens and good fortune watch over you."

Riku looked the same as he had this past week: stressed and fatigued and the normal eye couldn't tell if he was housing any regrets or unease. Zexion however knew better and he instead looked at the others he cared about. Each face housed a different emotion, whether it was fear, daze, readiness, or attentiveness Zexion could read deeper into their souls.

"We won't let you down," Riku said with a confidence that gave not only the pirates a warm reassurance, but the rest of the soldiers and Sora as well. Zexion couldn't help but smile a little, fiddling with the cross in his hand and having faith in those words.

Once he'd given his blessings Sora was through and after that it was time to go. A simple handshake was all the two leaders and lovers exchanged, just as policy entitled, but as Sora turned to leave with the rest of the court Zexion could see tears beginning to fall from his eyes. He couldn't even begin to wonder what Sora was feeling, let alone Riku despite his composure. This was more than likely the last time they'd get to see each other and yet they upheld that façade they always had in public. As if he knew what he was thinking, and wanting the thoughts to stop, Riku looked up at Zexion, "Signal to the other ships we're ready to leave."

"I don't see why we're going back. Nothings wrong Roxas," Axel complained with a sigh as the little boat they'd traveled to the other side of the island in was now taking them back.

Roxas seemed to think otherwise though as he stared straight ahead, "We can both hear the cannon fire Axel. It's been going on for hours and that's far too long for any ceremony."

"I'm telling you it's nothing," Axel said, still annoyed that they were cutting their alone time short, "You'll see soon enough." He wasn't worried at all, convinced that if there was something wrong the others would have contacted them by now. The sun had just barely cleared the horizon now and they were rudely awoken about an hour ago by cannons in the distance. At first it seemed just like a navy routine but after an hour Roxas began to worry and finally Axel agreed to go with him to see what was going on. Before Roxas could reply though Axel let go of the steering stick on the boat with a horrible howl of agony that made Roxas panic, "Axel?!" He was hunched over with both hands over his heart, his howl lowering to a growl in his throat.

Roxas knew what he was clutching and looked ahead again, knowing now what was happening, "It's Xemnas…" He gasped as the boat moved forward, much faster now, and he looked back at Axel who was obviously still in a huge amount of pain but he used one hand to steer while the other remained on his chest. Roxas couldn't say anything, the look on Axel's face making him feel horrible. Xemnas must have just realized that the pirates weren't protected, but rather than control them he was just causing them as much pain as possible it seemed. The others were in battle now though, Roxas knew that for a fact, and he could only pray they held on until he hand the other half of Pangaea's power in his hands.

The boat couldn't move fast enough but it couldn't move any faster, the wait only making Roxas feel more and more responsible for all of this, "We never should have left," he said, fumbling with his hands as he held his breath. He couldn't look at Axel, knowing he was in pain because he wasn't protecting him.

Minutes turned to an hour and the sun was almost at its highest point in the sky when the dock came into view along with the ongoing battle at sea. A naval ship was in ruins and nearly completely underwater, another navy vessel in rather good condition still firing upon a foreign ship while another of the foreign ships was approaching it quickly for close range combat. Then there was the pirate ship right alongside the largest brig, a fierce battle going on and from their distance Roxas could see blood on both sides and in the water.

"Roxas," Axel said with a note of urgency, "Jump off when we get close enough for you to swim, I'm going on ahead. Get the jewel as fast as you can and don't let go." Roxas understood and nodded firmly, waiting for the perfect moment to jump out and trying hard not to look at the battle that Axel was heading into.

"Roxas," Axel sounded less urgent this time and Roxas looked back to him, reading it all in his eyes, "I will come back." Everything seemed to freeze when he said that and Roxas could feel a lump forming in his throat. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could he heard Axel say, "Go," and without even realizing it he leapt into the water and swam for shore, Axel's words weighing on his mind. The way he said it made it sound like a goodbye but…it wasn't. It couldn't be a goodbye. Roxas tried not to think about the words, instead focusing solely on protecting the pirates, the people who had become more than a family to him and now relied on him just as much as he relied on them.

"Man down! Medic!" Luxord shouted as he rushed to Demyx's defense, the newest pirate bleeding heavily from both the mark on his neck and a new rip in his chest that left him on his knees. Luxord covered his mouth with a piece of fabric before jumping over Demyx and throwing a powder into the faces of the three enemies that had attacked him. In less than a second the pure anthrax had them all choking. Backup was taking too long and he crouched down beside Demyx, shaking the cloth out before wrapping it around his neck securely in an attempt to slow the bleeding from the curse.

They were all feeling the same pain from the same marking, but Demyx was still relatively new to the feeling and was having more difficulty managing than the others. "I'm fine," he insisted, trying to get to his feet but that was when Luxord took notice of a deep cut right across Demyx's right Achilles tendon. There was no way he'd be walking on it unless it was treated surgically, "We need a medic damn it!" Luxord shouted, furious that aid was taking so much time and there was no way he could treat something this serious in the middle of a fight, especially since he himself had sustained an injury to his right arm that made use of it difficult and the curse on his side was also bleeding from the same pain Demyx felt in his neck.

He heard a battle cry and looked over his shoulder at the steel wearing giant of a man charging at them, an axe raised and his intentions clear. Luxord panicked and quickly hunched over Demyx to shield him but heard several rounds of fire clang through the armor of the giant, both pirates looking up at Xigbar as he ran past continuing to fire and pierce through the armor. The giant wasn't going to go down easily and Xigbar ordered over his shoulder as he fought, "Get him out of here!" Half of Xigbar's face was covered in blood from where the curse over his left eye burned through and the patch did little to keep it under control.

Despite Demyx's protesting Luxord nodded and picked up Demyx, fleeing back to their ship where he could leave the boy in a medic's care. Xigbar finally took down the giant after three shots to the head. The beast fell over the guardrail with one solid kick but it had taken the remainder of both gun casings to eliminate him, leaving Xigbar without ammo. He reached for the several extras in a pouch tied to his belt, alarmed to realize it was gone. As soon as he looked around for it he was charged by another pair of armed enemies, recognizing the brother and sister vampires. He winced as one of the three daggers Seifer threw caught him in the arm, quickly sheathing one of his guns and pulling out the dagger to block a slash from Larxene's sword though the little blade wouldn't withstand many attacks.

It became clear very quickly that Larxene was just a distraction and Seifer ducked under her blade with one of the recovered daggers in hand. Before he could stab him though three bullets went right into the side of his throat. With a horrible cry he staggered away and Larxene faltered from her attack to see if he was okay, leaving an opening for Xigbar to stab her through the chest. Xigbar looked over only to see that Namine was still going after Seifer, her shooting hand rock solid even though she didn't look like much of a threat, "Xigbar!" she called, throwing him the pouch she'd recovered from across deck.

Keeping one hand on the dagger in Larxene's chest Xigbar held his gun between his teeth to free up his other hand, catching the bag and reloading in a split second with only one hand. He took the gun out of his mouth and fired a fatal shot right through Larxene's chest where the knife was.

With her out of the way and a few seconds to catch his breath Xigbar looked around to see how things were fairing. The strong soldiers had become easy to spot from the three dozen since only twelve or so remained now and were fighting fearlessly. Namine was making quick work out of Seifer and another unknown enemy that tried to interfere, the bleeding curse on her back staining through her shirt but not slowing her down. Luxord was hurrying back to fight, cutlass brandished and a cloth around his neck to pull up in case he used one of his lethal powder drugs. Demyx was being treated somewhere on the pirate ship, but he tried not to think about the condition of his wounded lover. Zexion was on the other side of the ship fighting with a caped man who had a golden claw in place of a hand. A clawed hand. That must have been the man who wounded Riku back in the prison, and as Xigbar rushed over to help a losing Zexion he wondered where their captain had gotten to. As he ascended the stairs to the upper level though he saw him back on the pirate ship in the midst of a fight that would determine their fate.

"You should have made this more difficult," Xemnas said with a laugh but he was struggling to fend off Riku's dagger attacks with a sword half his body's length, "You know I can kill you right now if I wanted."

"Stop talking!" his voice was annoying. Even though he'd slit Xemnas' throat, gutted and stabbed the bastard, and pierced right through his shoulder it was still clear that under this curse he couldn't kill him. All he could hope for in this fight was to finish him with blood loss, a death he hadn't technically caused, but at this rate that would be difficult. The curse on his wrist had been seared right through with pain and was bleeding heavily, just like the reopened wound in his stomach that Xemnas still hadn't noticed due to Riku's careful cover-up. If it looked like Xemnas was doing less damage he could bide time and stand a better chance.

The clangs of metal and slashes of air echoed across the ship almost overpoweringly so, but nobody dared to interfere from either side of the battle. Ducking a slash that was far too close to his throat, Riku grabbed the wrist and ducked under his arm, twisting it around behind his back. Just as he was about to deepen the slit across Xemnas' neck he grabbed Riku's shirt with the hand he had restrained and threw him easily and with as much force possible for the wall. Riku turned though and hit the wall with his feet, springing back for Xemnas.

Xemnas expected his rebound and was ready. Before Riku, or anyone watching the fight at a glance realized what happened Xemnas ran at him and ran him through the reopened wound, burying the sword all the way to the guard. What he hadn't expected though was for Riku to do the same, leaving them both at the other's blade. For a moment neither one of them moved but when Riku felt all the pain in his wrist lifted he jerked his dagger to the side, ripping apart their former captain.

Xemnas' eye grew large, realizing what just happened and feeling all the damage finally. He staggered away from Riku, letting go of the sword and just gawking like a fish for several minutes. Before Xemnas could get in any last words to mock or haunt the pirates Riku pulled out the sword, snarling from the pain but immediately slashing the blade at Xemnas' throat.

At once every soul in battle stopped fighting and looked over to the pirate ship, staring in shock at the final outcome: Xemnas lie practically in pieces at Riku's feet. Unsteady and clearly in just as poor shape, Riku laughed. Unnoticeable at first but it grew quickly into a maniacal one that made even the pirates uneasy as he stabbed the sword right through Xemnas' back.

Axel had just reached the battle and climbed up to the pirate ship, the bloody sight enough to make him a bit queasy. Riku continued to laugh, supporting himself with one hand on the hilt of the sword through Xemnas' corpse, his other hand over his face. Not bothering to celebrate Xemnas' death, Axel quickly picked up a blade lying in another corpse's hand and ran it across his wrist. He'd seen this before and knew it meant trouble for not only Riku but also for anyone with a fresh supply of blood. When he lost enough blood from a wound he grew weak but crazy, losing all his senses and creating an uncontrollable need for what kept him alive similar to when around a fire. Axel had seen this on a few occasions and understood that this was sort of his body's defense mechanism, "Riku."

He looked over at Axel when he heard his name, blood on his face where his hand had been but a grin showing off his fangs, "You're late."

Axel just held out his wrist, "Drink." As soon as he saw the blood Riku rushed over to him, grabbing his hand and biting almost bone-crushingly hard into the wrist. Axel couldn't contain a yelp, gritting his teeth and bearing the pain though. The pirates and soldiers returned to fighting, quickly finishing the enemies that had lost their will to battle after their leader was killed. By the time Riku finished enough to regain his senses the battle was practically over and the pirates were returning. Axel was extremely light-headed and woozy when he finally let go, drained of almost too much blood but he didn't complain since he was more than willing to sacrifice it for Riku.

"It's over…he's dead," Zexion said, in almost disbelief at the sight, "We're free."

Before anyone could rejoice Riku shook his head, "Don't count on it. You all must have noticed that Xaldin wasn't here. A precautionary measure of Xemnas no doubt."

"So we're free of Xemnas, but there's still the problem that he gave Xaldin half his control of power six years ago. It wouldn't just fade, even after he was brought back to life," Luxord grumbled, finding it almost cruel irony.

There was a lengthy period of tension where the pirates questioned if their battle today had done any good, whether or not they'd ever be free of the curse entirely, how they would find Xaldin, and what they would do next. Finally Xigbar laughed, "Hey, we did it though! We beat him!" It was true. They'd finally beaten the one person who had made all of their lives hell and slowly everyone joined in Xigbar's laughter.

Riku reached down and took back what was his, more than ready to have his eye back, "So…Let's go back and get the celebration we deserve. We'll worry about finding Xaldin another day." Everyone cheered an agreement and took part in pushing their former captain's corpse overboard, more than happy with their new leader and Riku couldn't be happier in that position.

Ding, dong, the witch is dead! So Xemnas is out of the way but the rotten bastard has a safety net (Xaldin) so the pirates still aren't free. Sad, I know, but I've still got a few more things I want to do before ending this story…though I will admit that I almost made this the last chapter. I reread the entire story though during a really nasty bout of insomnia that had me up until 8AM and rewrote this chapter almost entirely.

Surprised by the outcome of the fight? Hah! Did you think I'd kill them? Ofcourse not…not yet at least. Kidding!...Or am I? Well let me know what you thought of this chapter please. I'm working as quickly as I can and I'll have a new chapter up as soon as possible, but any comments you have would be much appreciated! As always I thank you for reading and I wish you all the best in all the world!

Your loving bohemian, Mad-TopHat-Ter

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!