Hinata Chronicles Chapter 51: The Chilly Alchemists, Creator Versus Creation


Xion stood on the icy floor inside a dome made of frozen water, eyes closed and keyblades in her hands. In front of her was someone she wasn't regretting on wanting to fight, the shield-wielding member of the Organization, Vexen. Outside the dome were Shikamaru and Shino, trying to see past the foggy ice.

She then opened her eyes and glared at the scientist. A kick to a nearby dent in the ice and she started sliding towards Vexen. "It's time to end this. . .father. . ." she said.

Earlier. . .

As everyone congratulated on the team's victory, Xion began to gather her magic. Luckily for her, she was behind the group so no one noticed when she summoned her keyblades.

"Stopga. . ." Xion whispered as she thrust one of her Keyblades into the air. The magic pulsed over the area, stopping everyone as they were about to turn to her for the next battle.

She took deep breaths, feeling her magic energy weaken from having used a powerful spell. Reaching into her pocket, Xion pulled out an ether she had saved from the battle with Maleficent and consumed its bland-tasting contents, feeling her energy being restored. She then walked passed them and placed a note in Hinata's hand.

"Sorry, there's something I gotta. . .no, something I have to do," Turning back around, she then glared at the portal with the silhouette of a shield on it. "Vexen. . .I'm coming for you. . ." She muttered as she jumped into it.


Back outside, the world was frozen as though somebody pressed the 'Pause' button to a movie. After a couple of minutes, time resumed, the rising falls resuming their mysterious defiance to gravity and everyone began moving again.

Naruto blinked a couple of times before shaking his head for a moment. "What. . .just happened?"

"I don't know. . .it was really weird," Sakura said, shivering as she held herself.

"It was like time was frozen for a moment," Ino said. Nearby, Tenten, Kiba and Akamaru nodded in agreement.

Lee looked around for a moment when he realized something. "Where is Xion?" Everyone started to look around, but they couldn't find her.

"I think I know. . ." Hinata declared, getting everyone's attention. In her hand was a folded piece of paper with her name on it. She then walked over to the computer seat and sat down. Opening it, she began to read the note out loud.

"Everyone, by the time you read this, the Stopga spell had worn off and I had entered the portal with the next Organization member."


The grass crunched beneath her feet and there was a slight breeze in the air. Xion looked around, feeling a pang of nostalgia and sadness at the setting before her. The sky was painted in orange, yellow, red, and pink, the colors mixing and fading towards blue-violet. In front of her stood a tall and imposing iron gate, a large lock keeping it shut, and on either side of it were the tan brick walls, that surrounded the courtyard and the mansion in the back, topped in steel spikes to ward off intruders. The two-story mansion looked abandoned, covered in leafy vines and two rows of broken pillars leading up to the front door. One of the rooms on the second floor looked to be new, the curtains clean and white, casting shadows and illusions of ghosts as the open window let the breeze in. Behind her and all around, there was a forest thick in foliage and a deep darkness softened only by the sunlight shining through breaks in the treetops.

Old and out-of-use, the entire estate was rather unattractive unless one was a ghost hunter. "And who would've thought that there would be an elaborate laboratory under it?" Xion thought.

She gripped her keyblades, readying herself for her opponent.


"She's already in there!? But why!?" Naruto asked, but was shushed by Sakura.

Hinata continued to read out loud the letter, ignoring her boyfriend's outburst. "I know you are all wondering why I did what I did. All of you already know that originally I was a replica that was made to absorb Sora's memories and become another Sora, used for the Organization."

"Throughout my time having fun with Roxas and Axel in the Organization, I unintentionally started absorbing Roxas, growing stronger while Roxas got weaker. Soon, I left the Organization after realizing that they were just using us; Roxas left afterwards. My last encounter with him was back in Twilight Town where we had a massive battle. I lost and was reabsorbed into Roxas, who then went back to Sora."


She took a deep breath and glanced at the sky, eyes watering in sadness as memories flew through her mind. Though she cannot see it because of the forest, she knew without a doubt that the sunset, gazed at by many and witness to many meetings with friends and ice-cream, still shone in its own frozen beauty. A lone tear glistened in the cool crimson light, twinkling and reflecting the sky, as it ran down her face.

A sad smile graced her features before she reached up to wipe her eyes and anymore tears. "It was nice while it lasted," she thought, remembering the good times she had with her two best friends.


"Xion…" Hinata thought sadly. Despite the sadness, she continued.

"Soon, I came back because of an accident that let me returned. Unfortunately, this included Anse-I mean, Xehanort's Heartless. You all know what happened from then on."

Hinata paused for a moment and glanced up from the letter to see everyone nod.

"The point is, I had fun during my time in Konoha. The friends I made, the secrets I learned, and finally my redemption for what I did in the past."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Shino quietly commented, voicing everyone's inner thoughts.

"Now. . .this is the last trial that I'm going through. . .a creation fighting it's creator as I break the last chain from the man that made my original replica body. Organization member IV, Vexen, the Chilly Alchemist. When you finish reading this, I want you to send Shikamaru and Shino in with me. We'll need a good strategy against this guy."


As Xion calmed herself down, data began to appear. She quickly readied herself, gripping her keyblades. "This is it. . ." she thought.

The data gathered and swirled. Swirling tighter and tighter, the temperature in the entire area dropped lower and lower. So focused were she that she didn't notice that frost began to cover the foliage and ice swept over the land like a pale shadow. Green turned to white, rusted tan became frosty blue, and the once colorful sky was now a dead grey like the color of old bones.

Breaths puffing out in miniature clouds, Xion glanced around. Her eyes widened when she saw that the ice around her and the swirling data began to rise to form a solid, thick dome. She glanced behind her and saw that the frozen dome had cut her off from the exit.

"I guess if anyone else comes. . .they'll only be able to watch," She muttered.


Though, Hinata didn't see it, the two ninja mentioned nodded in acceptance.

"His portal is the one with the shield on it. I'll be waiting. . .your friend, Xion," Hinata finished.

There was a brief silence before Sakura spoke up. "So what should we do now?"

Hinata sighed as she folded up the letter and pocketed it. "Well, there's one thing we can do." She then turned to Shikamaru and Shino. "Do you two think you can handle it?"

Shikamaru rubbed his head in annoyance. "As troublesome as it is. . .Yeah, we think we can handle it."

"I concur," Shino responded.

Hinata then bowed to the two. "Thanks guys. . .Help Xion through this," she said with a grateful smile and pointed to Vexen's portal. "There it is. Good luck."

The two nodded and headed into the portal. Everyone then went to the computer, Hinata sitting down onto the computer seat and opening the inside footage, only for everyone to go as pale as a sheet at what they saw.

"Oh boy. . ." Kakashi sighed, rubbing his head all the while.

"The hell man!?" Naruto yelled.

"I don't think Shikamaru and Shino will be much help during this fight. . ." Hinata said, everyone else nodding in agreement. "I guess this is Xion's last battle," She thought as she and her friends continued to look on.


The Chilly Academic stood there, eyes gleaning at Xion as though she were a dissected frog or other unlucky specimen. She only gave him a cold stare in return.

It was very cold in the dome, but because of the magic from Yen Sid and the three good fairies, her clothes protected her from most of the biting-cold temperature. And because of the mysterious magical properties of the keyblade, her fingers weren't frozen to the handles. But she held a tight grip on them, keeping her guard up even though Vexen hadn't summoned his shield yet.

A smirk on his bony face, Vexen began to chuckle, his bright green eyes still on Xion with malicious intent. "Well, well. It seems that you are one of the last of the Organization to still be alive, including Number XIII. Though I wouldn't call it being 'alive' considering that you're even less than a Nobody," he sneered.

"Unlike you," Xion retorted. "I have my own heart, making me my own Somebody."

Vexen's eyes narrowed at that. "Humph. As expected," he said. "You would dare insult your superiors after disobeying orders to absorb Number XIII and become Sora."

"I'm not a part of the Organization anymore!" Xion shouted angrily. "So you're no superior of mine!"

"How troublesome. . ." a muffled voice muttered, interrupting the two.

They both looked over to see Shikamaru and Shino exit from the portal, but outside of the dome. Their forms were distorted by the ice and slightly blurry.

"Good, they're here," Xion thought as she turned back to Vexen. "But they can't get in. . .Guess this is my final battle with the Organization."

Vexen had an eyebrow slightly raised before he smirked. "Well this is intriguing. . . One who can manipulate his own shadow and another who commands insects." He chuckled darkly at Xion's surprised expression. "Yes, I've been observing all the past battles you and your friends have done in the cavern. Certainly you remember that we're technically in a holographic field created by the computer?"

Then he frowned, slight frustration on his face. "Unfortunately, the computer's range is limited to the edges of the cavern. So, after reviewing the data, I've decided that yours is insufficient and removed the variables of your teammates. Though I prefer to have the Demon Fox container here so I may actually create a profile of him, I guess I'll have to settle for those two specimens."

"Don't talk about my friends like that!" Xion protested, incensed.

"Hmph," Vexen scoffed. "Very well then. Since you're so insistent. . ."

A flick of his wrist and Xion had to jump out of the way from an ice shard flying her way. She leaped back further as icicles suddenly rose towards her. She was reminded of Lexaeus' stalagmites of rock and stone.

She landed with her back to the frozen barrier and raised her keyblades. "Reflect!" Xion shouted as the magical shield protected her from the barrage of ice shards. Crashing against the spell, they shattered into tiny pieces and a cold mist, obscuring the views of her and the two ninjas behind her.

Before the mist could dissipate, Xion quickly aimed one of her keyblades. "Firaga!" she chanted and shot a fireball at the scientist. She heard an explosion and when the mist faded away, she saw that a wall of ice had blocked her attack.

The wall melted, revealing the Chilly Academic with his shield summoned. It was blue outlined in cold silver, shaped like a broad upside-down Nobody symbol ending in a sharp point. Five spikes of the same shade of blue protruded from the round top, the middle one larger and more menacing than the others.

"So you have improved. Interesting. . . ." Vexen said with intrigue.

With his freehand, he placed his forefinger and thumb on his temple, looking as though he had a headache. He then seemed to have thrown his shield away and behind him, but instead of hitting the icy ground, it floated and circled around him. It suddenly stopped point down in front of the scientist, ready to defend him. His other hand now empty, he shot it forward and the shield floating in front of him flashed a pale of blue, accompanied by an icy fog. The temperature around the two combatants seemed to have dropped further at this, cold enough to freeze the ground into sleek ice.

Xion raised her keyblades but instead, the ground underneath her flashed. She looked down to see a dark blue Nobody symbol outlined in white under her feet, the patch of ice it was glowing on a shade or two darker than the rest of the area. Then a ring of digital coding quickly rose and circled her before fading away.

She was confused but decided to play it safe and run towards Vexen, keyblades at the ready. But the moment she took a step forwards, she slipped on the ice. "Ahh!" she yelled in surprise, arms waving around in an attempt to regain her balance. She found herself sliding forwards quickly, escaping that strange Nobody symbol and passing Vexen before colliding with the ice wall on the other side. It was rather comical.


Outside of the dome and in the cavern, everyone either sweat-dropped or face-palmed at the scene.


Xion fell backwards with a yelp, hurting her tailbone and back in the process. With a small groan of pain, she got back up to her feet, using her keyblades to steady herself. She noticed that the Nobody symbol was slowly moving towards her. She didn't have much time to ponder it as icicles were flying towards her.

"Reflect!" she cried with a raised keyblade, using the other one to steady herself on the thin ice. The spell released a rebounding pulse of energy but was thwarted by Vexen's shield. The pulse dispersed when it hit the shield, damaging the immediate area around him.

Seeing the slight dents in the ice field gave Xion an idea. Raising a keyblade to the sky she shouted, "Thundaga!"

Dozens of lightning bolts rained down, most of them heading for the scientist. Vexen quickly created an ice barrier around himself, protecting him further. Some of the bolts were reflected off the ice barrier, further damaging the field. Soon the spell ended and Xion saw cracks and dents littered the ground. Chunks of ice were also scattered around the area, thrown up from the thunder spell. There were still patches of slick, undamaged ice, though, and the immediate area around the Chilly Academic was also untouched from the attack. Unfortunately, the ice barrier around the two combatants was also undamaged.

The glacier-like barrier soon melted away, leaving behind a smirking Vexen. "So you've managed to solve the problem. Your mental capacity has grown; unfortunately, it seems you still have too much freewill. It will have to be adjusted among future projects. Thank you for the data, Replica."

Getting back into her fighting stance, Xion closed her eyes, calming herself down from the insult (even though it was technically true). 'This is it . . . ,' she thought.

~* end flashback*~
Snapping open her eyes, she glared at the scientist. Kicking off from a nearby dent, she launched herself, sliding and using the stray chunks of ice as leverage. "It's time to end this . . . father . . ." she said.


Back outside the dome and in the cavern, everyone froze at the statement, muffled by the ice.

"WHA . . . ?!" Naruto and Kiba shouted. With Akamaru, their jaws dropped at what they just heard.

Hinata looked concernedly at the screen. "Xion . . ."

"The hell?" Tenten shouted.

"I don't get it!" Ino shouted in confusion. "How can this creepy guy be Xion's father?"

"Or even related at all?" Sakura added.

"It's actually pretty simple Banshees." Sai said with a smile. He was severely punched in the head by all three women, resulting in three big bruises and a few cracks on the ground from his fallen body.

"He has a point, though," Kakashi said, sighing at Sai's predicament. Everyone turned to look at him in confusion. "Think about it. Even though we don't really like it, Xion's a Replica. And Vexen is the 'Chilly Academic;' a scientist, no doubt."

Hinata's pale eyes widened in realization. "Oh!" she said, turning back to the screen. "I understand, Xion. This man . . . To you, he's your creator."

"It's going to be really awkward after this . . ." Choji said after swallowing a mouthful of chips.

"This man looks most un-youthful!" Lee said, glaring at the screen.


Directly outside the dome, Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his forehead in agitation. "Troublesome . . ." he said.

"At least she regained her footing now," Shino said before turning to the genius. "Do you have a plan to help her?"

Shikamaru was silent of a moment, narrowing his eyes at the dome and the two figures within it. ". . . Sort of . . . But let's wait for when things get out of hand," he replied.


Swiping downwards, Xion's first strike was immediately blocked by the shield. Her second keyblade rose to reach around it, but the shield moved, locking the teeth of her first keyblade into the spikes, and twisted the arm away to catch the other weapon with one of the holes near its pointed end.

"No good," Vexen smirked. The shield surged forward, flinging her away. She twisted in the air until she landed back on her feet, stumbling only a little bit on the ice. She pulled one of her keyblades back and threw it in a Strike Raid. It spun through the air like a saw blade before an icicle quickly rose from the ground, intercepting it. The keyblade's trajectory was changed off-course, but soon a fireball burned through the ice and continued its path for the scientist. Vexen's shield blocked the spell and it burst into fiery smoke when it hit.

It was enough of a distraction, however, for Xion to slide to his unprotected back. Vexen cried out in surprise and pain at the unexpected attack before spinning around, grabbing his shield in the process, and slashed at the ex-member. Xion ducked, calling back her keyblade and raising the other one to strike again, but was thrown away as an icicle rose from right under her feet. Her vision burst into stars and pain as the back of her head brutally smacked into a particularly large chunk of frozen rock.

With a hiss of pain, she sat up. She immediately swallowed back the bile in the back of her throat, her head swarming in dizziness and pain. "Dammit, that hurt," she thought as she got back to her feet. "I hope I don't have a concussion or something."

"Reflect!" she shouted, the semi-transparent barrier forming around her. The two spinning snowflakes, large and made out of light blue ice, struck the barrier before dissipating into a light mist. The barrier shattered, sending out a pulse of energy that was blocked by Vexen's shield.

Xion wasted no time and kicked off the large rock, rushing towards the Chilly Academic. She halted midway and raised her keyblades to defend herself from the shield that suddenly appeared before her, Vexen behind it. Like a two-ton elephant, the shield rammed into her, making her slide back about a meter or two, before twisting. The teeth of her keyblades became caught in the spikes and her left arm overlapped her right, impeding her movement. But she stood her ground as Vexen continued to push against her, digging her heels into the ice until she stopped at a large crack on the floor.

Vexen started to laugh wildly as his shield and Xion's keyblades were locked in place. "Most interesting. Who would have thought that one of my replicas would become this skilled at the keyblade; and even able to dual-wield them."

"Well, I guess actually having a heart can do that for a person," Xion said sarcastically. "Now let's try one of the moves I made from watching Hinata fight. . .even though it made me dizzy last time I used it." she thought.

She suddenly released her keyblades and spun gracefully away as Vexen stumbled forward, the opposing force previously pushing against him suddenly missing. Before he could regain his balance, Xion had re-summoned her keyblades back into her hands and rushed forward. The fourth member cried out in pain as Xion rapidly delivered blows to his exposed back before he spun around, shield up to defend himself.

Xion, however, was undeterred by the very defensive shield, switching one of her keyblades into a reverse-grip and she began to spin. Like a whirlwind, she attacked Vexen, always quickly spinning around Frozen Pride when he tried to defend himself. Using the ice to her advantage, her rotation started to accelerate, continuously slashing at the scientist like a buzz saw.


Outside the dome, Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his head. Shino was silent beside him (like usual). They both watched the fight intently, watching for any openings in case of trouble and they would have to intervene. Although they didn't doubt that Xion was strong, they couldn't help but worry.

'She must've learned it from watching the Hyuga clan's rotation attacks,' Shino thought as Xion began her spinning attack.

Suddenly, they tensed as they saw something suspicious on the scientist's face. Even though he grunted and cried out in pain during the attack, there was a smirk on his lips and a strange glint in his bright green eyes.

What happened next made both of them curse and Shikamaru turned to his scarfed friend. "Get ready," was all he said. Shino nodded and lifted his arms slightly, insects crawling under his skin in anticipation, before beginning the plan.


The teeth of one of her keyblades caught onto the edge of Vexen's shield, hooking and flinging it far away, where it dug itself deep into the frozen ground. Now that the shield was gone, Xion pulled her previously outstretched arms into herself, increasing her rotation speed further, and attacked Vexen head-on. This was short-lived, however, as Vexen raised a hand to the air and encased himself in a pillar of ice, icicles protruding outwards like spikes.

Unable to stop herself, Xion tripped on one of the icicles near the floor. She rolled sideways into the large pillar of ice, her clothes and skin getting cut up by the other icicles in the process. Luckily, she missed the bigger ones that would have run straight through her, but it still didn't mean that the other, smaller icicles weren't painful at all. It also didn't help that she was feeling utterly sick to her stomach from having spun around so much.

The pillar of ice suddenly exploded, sharp shards and icicles flying everywhere. Xion was blown away, getting further cut up in the process. She landed painfully on her back, tucking in instinctively and rolling a few times before coming to a complete stop by the round wall of the ice dome. Again, the back of her head slammed brutally, adding stars to the shifting world around her.

Disoriented, she didn't see the rapidly approaching danger, but she did feel it. She cried out in a short scream as something pierced her right shoulder, something so cold that it burned. Quickly dropping the keyblade in her left hand, she laid a hand on the object, flinching not only from how cold it was, but also from how it sent a painful jolt through her nerves when she touched it. She turned her head to look, but had to stop as her head swam and her stomach churned, bile rising to the back of her throat. She closed her eyes and swallowed it back down. Eyes closed, Xion no longer saw the rolling, rocking world around her, but she also didn't see the ice pillar disappear, revealing the mad scientist.

In Vexen's hand was a small potion and he consumed it before throwing the bottle away, where it disappeared in a blue-white cloud of smoke. What wounds were visible glowed a faint green as they healed. Brushing dust off his shoulders, he made his way to his embedded shield.

"I admit; that was rather surprising," he said as he pulled on the shield's handle. A few tugs later and it was once more in his hold, resting against his arm lazily.

"Although, it seems that you have not fully . . . mastered such a maneuver. Your strength and defense have most definitely increased. Your speed has especially improved. However, by my calculations, you are still relatively weak compared to the original. But then again, you are just a prototype," Vexen sneered, stepping menacingly over to Xion.

For her part, she was still sitting up against the round, cold wall, a hand to her head and the other on her middle in an attempt quell her churning stomach and the pounding headache. The sound of crunching ice as Vexen stepped on a small, stray icicle had her looking up. Squinting her eyes as the world seemed to have tilted from the motion, she saw her creator raise his shield up. The pale light of the setting sun glinted off of Frozen Pride's blue spikes menacingly.

"My research has greatly improved," Vexen continued. "Future Replicas will be near-perfect copies. I say near perfect for they will be far better, more advanced than their originals. And unlike you and your rebellion, they will be completely obedient and shall fulfill their objectives. You are no longer needed, you obsolete specimen!" He swiped down, aiming to end her life. Xion closed her eyes in fear, instinctively raising her hands in a futile attempt to block the blow.

"What?!" she heard Vexen shout. She slowly opened her eyes and lowered her arms, finding that her dizziness was lessening, only to snap them wide in shock at how close the big, middle spike of Frozen Pride was. Looking over the shield, she saw that the mad scientist was still, like someone had pressed the 'pause' button. He appeared to be struggling against the invisible binds and he was glaring at something behind her. That's when she noticed that, strangely enough, the inside of the ice dome wasn't as bright as before.

"Troublesome," she heard and she immediately looked behind her, pausing slightly midway at the small throb in her head.

Her eyes widened a bit at the sight and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. "Guys," Xion muttered, relieved. Though their forms were blurry because of the ice, she saw that Shikamaru was positioned the same way as Vexen was. Beside him, Shino had his arms raised towards the dome and she looked up to see that a cloud of bugs was covering part of the dome; the reason for the slight darkness.

"Xion," Shino said. "Though we respect that this is your fight, we couldn't just let him kill you."

"Yeah, sorry for interfering," Shikamaru said. "You feeling okay, though?"

A heartbeat pause before Xion nodded. "Yeah," she answered. She got back to her feet, slower than usual. "Thanks guys."

"Insolent pests!" Vexen hissed from his locked state. He was struggling against the jutsu and seemed to be winning; the Nara genius was starting to sweat in the effort to keep the scientist immovable.

Xion got back up to her feet and ignored the throb in her head, raising a keyblade to cast a Cure spell. She immediately felt relieved, most of the wounds healing and her headache lessening significantly. She looked to her former creator with determination in her eyes. Rushing to him, she shouted, "You're finished!" and raised a keyblade to end the battle.

"I think not!" Vexen sneered, eyes narrowing to slits. He was suddenly encased in ice, looking like a frozen statue. Even though Shino's bugs blocked off most of the light entering the dome, some rays still managed to shine through. The light hit Vexen's frozen form, reflecting from it to the rest of the dome, scattering further because of the multitude of angles from the stray icicles and frozen rocks littering the ground. It wasn't as bright in the dome as before Shino's bugs covered the field, but it was enough to break Shikamaru's binding shadow.

Xion's keyblade was less than an inch away from Vexen when icicles burst forth, stopping her attack and throwing her back. The Chilly Academic was still in his frozen form, preventing Shikamaru from locking onto his shadow again. A strange, creaking noise came from above and she looked up to see that icicles were growing rapidly from the dome itself. Some managed to pierce Shino's bugs, but most of the flying insects flew away. Having to dodge the icicles, the cloud of bugs constantly shrunk and expanded, allowing more light to filter into the ice dome at times.

CRACK!

That was the only warning she had before Vexen's ice form suddenly exploded. She managed to cast a Reflect spell, but some shards of ice had already managed to cut into her skin. The rebounding force of the spell after shattering blew away the mist that resulted from the breaking ice. Vexen, freed, was glaring angrily at her, shield once more levitating in front of him.

"Firaga!" Xion shouted, a fireball flying from one of her keyblades. Vexen blocked with his shield, a burst of smoke engulfing him for a moment before an icicle shot towards her. Xion smacked it away with her keyblades and reeled her arm back before throwing her keyblade in a Strike Raid. She rushed after it, sliding on the ice.

Vexen's shield blocked the spinning Keyblade, but he was left exposed as Xion slid in and slashed his side. He cried out in pain before he swept a hand out and Xion leaped away just as two large snowflakes spun around him.

"You're pushing the last of my patience, Replica!" Vexen said angrily and waved his hand again.

His shield dug itself into the ground and a line of clusters of needle-thin icicles sprouted from the ground, heading in her direction. Xion slid away, but the icicles followed her. She jumped over frozen rocks and slid on clean patches of ice, trying to get away from the icicles. She couldn't even get close to the fourth member because he had surrounded himself in more sharp frozen needles. He was wielding his shield again and a hand was up to the sky, a grey mist gathering in it.


Outside of the dome, Shikamaru and Shino were having trouble of their own. When Vexen encased himself in ice, Shino quickly commanded his bugs to spread themselves over the entire area, but it was too late and the reflecting light destroyed Shikamaru's shadow hold. They had to jump out of the way as large icicles rapidly rose from the ice dome. Shino's bugs scrambled in a shifting cloud as they, too, dodged the icicles.

"Damn troublesome," Shikamaru cursed and Shino didn't need to look to see that the bugs close to the needles were suddenly freezing, dropping from the sky. Though he was confident that his insects were still alive, frozen but alive, the rate at which they were dropping like hail was pricking his concern. It didn't help that the atmosphere around them was getting colder.

The icicles covering the dome suddenly shot towards them, forcing them to dodge again and split up in the process. One pierced Shino, but his form dispersed into more bugs, revealing that it was a bug clone. On the other side of the field, Shikamaru pulled out a kunai, an explosive tag attached to it, and threw it at the dome. It buried itself at the base of one of the icicles and then exploded, smoke and ice flying everywhere on his side of the field.

When it cleared, he let out a small breath of frustration. Before him, where the kunai had detonated, there was only a shallow dip in the ice, a radial area of smooth ice surrounding it. Worse yet, that dip was already freezing over. Icicles quickly grew from the recently recovered ice and soon there was no evidence that he attacked that damn ice dome at all.

He leaped away, dodging another icicle. Shikamaru ran around the field, hopping onto the edges of the brick wall beside him. As he drew nearer to where Shino was, he kept an eye out for any break in the barrier and the battle within it.


"Reflect!" Xion cried and the magical barrier appeared around her, protecting her from the ice needles. It glowed white for a brief moment then it exploded, clearing away the rest of the ice needles and cold mist.

A loud cackle made her turn towards its source, stumbling a little from the slippery ice. Vexen had his head thrown back, laughing as the mad scientist he was. His shield was wielded in one hand and the other was covered in a dark grey fog. He soon finished his bout of insanity and looked back to the ex-Organization member with a smirk.

"The research is complete," Vexen said cryptically. "I have enough data for a test run. Now it is time to perfect it. And why not kill two birds with one stone, as they say?"

"What are you talking about?" Xion asked, confused, but nevertheless prepared herself as her former creator raised his hand towards her.

Only, it wasn't towards her, exactly; it looked more like he was aiming for something over her shoulder and to the side. Her eyes widened in realization and she looked behind her. Through the thick ice she saw someone, Shino from the fluttering of his scarf, dodge an icicle that was aimed at him. Another form, Shikamaru, leaped in to deflect another ice shard that was about to pierce Shino's exposed side. They stood back-to-back, defending each other as more icicles flew towards them. They didn't see the dark grey mist that was seeping from beneath the dome, concealed by the icicles.

Xion turned back to the Chilly Academic and charged with keyblades raised. "I don't think so!" she shouted as she got closer, aiming to stop whatever he was doing.

Vexen merely cackled as they were once more locked in place, the other arm still raised towards her friends. "No good!" he exclaimed. Ice began to form over his shield and Xion immediately pushed away. Unfortunately, she didn't notice that the soles of her feet were frozen to the ground, making her stumble until her back hit the floor. As she fell, one of her keyblades was ripped out of her hands, frozen to the shield that jerked away. The ice grew steadily, covering her calves and immobilizing her further. She was left to hold herself up by her arms, the ice growing and pinning her legs down.

"Even though you solved the problem of the clean ice field, you have failed in solving the real problem," Vexen said disdainfully before smirking.

He redirected the shield-less arm towards the sky and Xion felt the ground beneath her grow colder. She looked down only to gasp in surprise. Below her was the dark circle with the Nobody symbol glowing on it; it was even darker now and had tints of dark blue and purple. She'd forgotten about it.


"Dammit, I forgot about that thing," Naruto cursed glaring at the screen.

He and everyone else in the Cavern had been silent for a while, too concentrated on the battle to converse with each other. It didn't stop them from cursing the Chilly Academic, though.

"Bastard," Kiba growled at the man on the screen, echoed by Akamaru.

Kakashi's visible eye narrowed. "It's been following her all this time," he said. "I thought it was some sort of tracker, especially for those ice needles. But it's too slow for that."

"He mentioned something about gathering data," Hinata pointed out. "But I don't understand what he means about that."

Kakashi was silent for a moment before replying, "Looks like we're about to find out."


"What the -!?" Xion exclaimed before the Nobody symbol flashed and disappeared, cutting her off. The dark circle expanded beneath her before suddenly shrinking and flying towards Vexen like a meteor. The fourth member caught it in his free hand, the grey mist mixing with the dark vapors that were escaping it. He then outstretched it towards her friends outside of the dome.

The dark grey mist that was seeping out of the edges of the dome suddenly turned the same mix of tinted black and swirling grey. It pooled in front of Shikamaru and Shino before it bloomed upwards like a balloon. It continued to grow bigger, surpassing the top of the ice dome.


"Wall of Insects Jutsu," Shino said. Bugs seeped from his body and began to rotate around him and Shikamaru, guarding them against the onslaught of icicles.

When the swirling cloud of insects stopped and dispersed, they were surprised to see a dark grey mist on the ground in front of them. They tensed, preparing themselves for an attack. The mist expanded out of the floor, growing larger and larger until it was taller than the mansion in the back. Then it shifted, shaping into something that looked human.

The mist dissolved, leaving behind a humanoid figure, wielding two swords that looked like a weird combination of silver/pink Nobody symbols and red/gold keyblades without the key chains. It wore strange black and silver clothing with dull red armor near the waist. Golden arrows covered its 'feet' and fluttering from its shoulders in an invisible wind were two golden ribbons. Its collar stuck out to the back and separated into two sharp silver and pink wing-like structures. The most interesting feature was the monster's head and helmet; it almost looked like a triangle with two big dark brown spikes sticking out of the sides and the red faceplate was shaped into the Nobody symbol with the topmost spike jutting out like a large horn. With two the other two spikes angling across and over the forehead area, it almost looked like a crown with three spikes.

All in all, it looked very familiar. . . .


Wide blue eyes could only stare in horror at what had appeared on the other side of the ice dome. "No. . . ." she thought.

Cackling ripped her attention away and she turned back to the maniacal scientist. "You do remember this, don't you?" Vexen said after his laughter had died down. "Number XIII may have been able to defeat it last time, but now it is far greater than it once was! I have improved it and brought it to its fullest potential! And it's all thanks to you and your data, No. i."


Shikamaru and Shino were shocked still at the sight of the monster. They were forcibly snapped out of it to reach up and cover their ears when the monster, though it didn't appear to have a mouth, let out a loud roar. The sound grated against their ears, sounding empty and like screeching metal.

Their ears were still ringing after it was over and they quickly leapt away when it swung its swords down. Shikamaru threw a few kunai at it, each one with an explosive tag attached to them, and they landed on various places on its body. A heartbeat later, they all exploded. After the dust clear, the only damage he could see appeared to be on the silver Nobody symbol on its chest.

"There!" Shikamaru thought. The monster swung at them again, also slamming its blades onto the floor, creating shockwaves that blew them back.

Shino helped Shikamaru up from where they landed at the edge of the clearing. "That symbol on its chest is the weak point," Shikamaru told Shino.

Shino nodded. "It has a long range so we need to stop its movements," he informed.

"Yeah, yeah," the lazy genius replied. "This is just too troublesome."

They tensed as the monster raised its blades again. But instead of slashing at them, it crossed its blades in front of its chest and the two ninjas were suddenly blasted away. At the same time, a silver vortex appeared on the ground in front of it. The two were immediately pulled towards it and the moment they their feet touched the center, ice began to form on their legs and freeze them to the spot.

The blades became outlined in a pale blue white and the tips of its ribbons started to flash brightly. It then joined the two blades together, pointing straight up. With another metallic screech, it sent bright beams of light towards the sky from each point. They watched as the beams became a single speck of light in the flaming sky for a moment before they came back down; but they seemed to have multiplied.

Many missed them, flashing a brilliant white with each impact. Unfortunately, the ones that did manage to hit burned and nearly blinded them, making them cry out in pain. After the attack was over, the vortex beneath them disappeared and the ice had melted because of the beams.

Shino and Shikamaru staggered back to their feet, having fallen over after the ice melted away. They looked up to see the monster just standing there with its now-separated blades slightly raised; like it was waiting for them.


"Fascinating," Xion heard Vexen mutter. "Most fascinating. The addition of some of my own power has increased its own, adding a more deadly factor to the attacks."

"You bastard!" Xion shouted, wincing when she heard her friends cry out in pain to another of the monster's attacks.

Vexen had had enough. Turning his attention back to the immobilized keyblade wielder, he dismissed his shield with a flick of his wrist. At the same moment, Xion felt the ice around her legs melt away to just her feet and she scrambled up to stand again. She was halfway back up when Vexen was suddenly in front of her.

SLAP!

Xion let out a gasp as her head was forcibly jerked to the side. She fell back to the floor, feet still frozen, but that was nothing to the stinging pain that was blossoming on her cheek. One hand lifted to touch that same cheek, already reddening from the hit, and her other hand curled tightly, digging into the ice.

"You will respect your elders!" Vexen shouted down at her, scowling fiercely. "I am your creator! You are my experiment; a mere specimen!"


"Dammit all!" Naruto shouted at the screen.

He was literally shaking in fury, barely able to contain himself from attacking just the image of the Chilly Academic. Behind and beside him, everyone else in the cavern was in a slightly similar state of anger. Fists were clenched so hard that their nails almost drew blood. Eyes narrowed and became filled with either a sharp coldness or an intense blaze.

"How dare he-!" Ino screeched.

"What an un-youthful fiend!" Lee declared.

"That bastard!" Kiba shouted and Akamaru snarled beside him, both of their hackles were raised.

"Xion doesn't belong to you anymore you Orochimaru look alike!" Sakura ranted angrily.

Kakashi's gaze was narrowed and cold. At Sakura's comment, he took a closer look and internally shivered; a momentary relief from the fury. "Kami. . .he does look a bit like Orochimaru." he thought.


The world blurred; pools of blue rippling as they watered and droplets managed to leak out into their corners. Xion had to bite her lip to keep the tears from falling. Each word, each insult, felt like a blow to her chest and poisoned daggers to her ears as she continued listening to Vexen, her creator. Her heart, so new and foreign to her after so long believing that she did not have one at all, clenched painfully and the heartbeats were pitiful at best.

"Your skills are impressive," Vexen continued. "But without me, you would not have ever been created in the first place! You should be grateful to me and my genius!"

He then waved a hand to the outside of the ice barrier, to where Shikamaru was hit by one of the monster's blades. "As proof of my intellect, look at my latest creation!" he stated. "This is a grand achievement; success amongst many failures. I shall label it as No. -1, the greater Replica."

"And to continue what I was doing before those two barbaric ruffians interrupted," Vexen said and raised a hand towards her.

The ice around Xion grew to around her shoulders, effectively incasing her. Her neck and head were left exposed, vulnerable. Vexen re-summoned his shield and ice began to form on the sharp point, increasing its range and lethality.

"After I have disposed of you, I shall reset the data circle and update the profiles of those two fools. Not only that, I shall add their data sets to No. -1 before releasing it to the rest of your pathetic friends waiting in the cavern," Vexen continued. He raised Frozen Pride and as he swung down, aiming for her throat, he shouted, "Say goodbye to your pathetic friends and your non-existence, No. i!"

The scream that followed echoed in the cold air.


Shikamaru dove away from another of the monster's thrusts. He then rolled away from the follow up slash from the other blade, pulling out a kunai in the process and quickly getting back to his feet. Attaching an explosive tag to it, he saw that the monster had its attention focused on Shino. He took careful aim and then threw the kunai, tag sizzling, at its chest; specifically, the Nobody symbol on it.

When the kunai embedded itself into the silver symbol, the monster stopped mid-swing and stumbled slightly. A few heartbeats later, the kunai detonated and it let out a loud metallic screech that grated against the shinobi's ears.

Seizing the opportunity, Shino brought his arms up and called forth most of his remaining insects. "Hidden Jutsu," he panted, fatigue draining him. "Beetle Sphere."

At his command, his bugs swarmed up to the stunned foe; a dark, creeping fog. They covered its Nobody symbol and most of its chest area. They nipped and bit into the insignia and the monster let loose another rusty screech. The ribbons flowing from its shoulders tried to swipe them away, but the insects only flowed back to the symbol like water. Suddenly, the cloud of bugs thinned out, leaving the symbol exposed. They began to swarm the monster's joints; shoulders, elbows, knees, etc. Soon it was left mostly immobilized, trying to get free.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had position himself in front and to the left of the monster. The half-sun's rays reflected off the ice dome, making their opponent cast a long, slightly angled shadowed. "Shadow Possession Jutsu," the Nara genius muttered.

His own shadow extended and joined with the monster's, freezing it in place. Sweat dripped down his neck as he struggled to keep it still. "Ninja Art," he grit out through clenched teeth. "Shadow Strangle Jutsu."

He felt more of his energy drain away as the shadow underneath the monster began to climb up its body. Shaped like a two-dimensional arm and hand, it snaked its way up until it covered the Nobody symbol on the monster's chest. It then seemed to clench around the silver insignia and the monster let out another metallic screech as its insignia began to crack.

The seconds ticked by and Shikamaru struggled to maintain his shadow's hold. The silver symbol now sported numerous, looking fragile and about to break any second. But this thing might as well have been made out of diamond with how hard it was to break it.

Suddenly, the ribbons on its shoulders and the tips of its blades began to glow. In a bright, white flash, Shikamaru's hold was broken and he was flung away by a blade to the side. His back slammed into a tree and he coughed up some blood at the impact. Shino, having ducked to avoid the other blade, was immediately at his side. Kunai in hand, he stood protectively in front of the lazy genius, who was struggling to get back to his feet.

But Shino needn't worry, for the monster looked to be almost down for the count. The Nobody symbol on its chest looked so brittle, a small breeze could just blow it all away into dust. Most of his bugs were gone, destroyed by that flash, but there were small clumps still clinging to the chest area. He raised his arms, calling out the last of his insects.

"Hidden Jutsu," Shino muttered. "Beetle Tornado."

At his command, what was left of his insects gathered around the fragile symbol. They flew around it like a whirlwind, nipping and attacking it. The monster reacted to this by raising its blades to attack the two shinobi, but black threads rose from its shadow.

"Ninja Art," Shikamaru said beside him. "Shadow Stitching Jutsu."

The dark threads weaved their way around the monster's limbs, locking them in place. Now that it was fully immobilized, Shino turned his attention back to the Nobody symbol. The small tornado of insects gained torque and spun faster. When it stopped and the bugs dispersed, the silver insignia was gone.

Shikamaru released his hold and the shadow strands sunk back into the monster's shadow. The bugs retreated back into Shino's body and began to work to replenish their numbers. With a metallic groan, the monster toppled backwards. It shattered the ice dome, mist and ice shards flying everywhere. The two shinobi hopped back to avoid the debris, using a kunai to deflect some of them. Through the pale mist, they saw the monster dissolve into darkness, almost like the Heartless, until it disappeared.

Shikamaru and Shino began to relax, believing the battle to be over. Then Shikamaru tensed, his eyes widening as though he just realized something. "Crap, Xion!" Shikamaru shouted and took off running to the remains of the ice dome. Cursing under his breath, Shino followed after him to rescue the friend that they forgot was in the ice dome.

They were halfway there when suddenly icicles flew through the mist. They dodged it, but Shikamaru cringed and placed a hand to his side, feeling it twinge in pain. He didn't stop though; they needed to check on their friend. He hoped she was alright; he vaguely remembered hearing a scream when the monster broke the dome.

"That. Is. IT!" a loud and familiar voice shouted.

The two ninjas froze, though not of their own will. Their feet were frozen to the floor and a cold wind began to blow. Soon, the entire battlefield was covered in more ice and snow, turning the forest behind them white and the painted sky disappeared behind grey clouds. The temperature dropped further and further and the ice on their feet started to creep up their bodies until just their necks and heads were left unfrozen. The mist was gone, but the ice storm whipped the snow up and around into a flurry.

Vexen walked out of the ruined remains of the ice dome, shield in hand and an angry scowl marring his face. "I've had enough of you children," he hissed, green eyes glinting in frozen fury. As he walked closer to them, they could barely see that Xion was in a similar state as them and she appeared to be struggling with all her might to break free of her frozen prison. They turned back to glare at the Chilly Academic as he stopped in front of them.

"You're all simply too much trouble!" Vexen continued and raised his shield. Ice formed at the end of the sharp point, extending its length and making it deadlier. The two shinobi glared defiantly at him and in a rage, the scientist swiped his frozen shield down to end their lives.

"NO!"

A blinding flash and the sound of glass breaking invaded their senses. A giant gust, a comfortable warmth instead of a biting cold, blew across the field. The ice turned to snow in the air and everything else melted; grass and trees were unlocked from their icy prisons and the grey clouds vanished.

Shikamaru and Shino were still frozen in place, but Vexen's strike was blocked by a familiar silver and black keyblade. There was no one wielding it. There was another flash and Vexen was sent flying away. The two ninjas gawked at the sight before them.

Xion was in front of them protectively. Behind her, crossed in an 'X' formation, were her keyblades; floating and twirling in the air. Her outfit had changed, as well; the colors inversed from black to white and from white to black. The straps, ends of her shorts, and the sleeves of her coat were an aquatic blue with black markings that look like spiked wisps or flames. Her fingerless gloves, once checker-patterned, were now white with the same black, wispy patterns and an 'X' over the back of her hands. But her change in appearance wasn't the reason that their jaws have dropped to the floor.

Xion was floating.


Utter silence filled the cavern. Everyone stared at the monitor in complete shock and awe. Jaws were dropped and eyes were widened at the image.

"Holy Kami . . ." Sakura whispered, breaking the silence.

"That is so cool!" Naruto shouted in excitement.

"Alright, Xion!" Kiba exclaimed and Akamaru barked happily beside him.

Everyone else was also excited at this change of events. They were worried before when it looked like all hope was lost, but now they could see that the tables have turned.

"Beat his ass, Xion!" Ino shouted encouragingly, a fist pumped in the air.

"Yeah," Tenten added with fire in her eyes. "Make him pay for what he said and did to ya!"

"YOSH!" Lee shouted, a fist clenched in front of him. Under his fuzzy eyebrows, stars shined in his eyes and tears leaked down his cheeks in awe. "USE YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH TO DEFEAT THIS UNYOUTHFUL FIEND, XION!"

Kakashi sweat-dropped at that sight but, turning back to the monitor, couldn't keep the smile from his lips, even from behind the mask. Choji sped up the pace of his chip-eating beside him and Sai watched the screen with an interested gleam in his eyes.

Hinata looked at her friend in awe before smiling in glee. "Go get him, Xion," she said in encouragement. She wondered, briefly, if she could ever do something like that, but dismissed that to the back of her mind for now. She'll ask later when they came back.


Xion floated above the restored ground in front of her ice-trapped friends, keyblades crossed and twirling behind her. An invisible and unfelt breeze made her dark hair and recolored clothes flutter. Her hands emitted a soft, silver glow and her floating keyblades were outlined in the same color.

"Forget it, Vexen," Xion said, blue eyes shining in determination. "I'm not letting you hurt my friends. You may have been the one that created me. But you're not my father; never was and never will be. And I'm the one that's had enough of your experimenting and how I was supposed to be Sora! I'm my own person!"

With that declaration, she swiped a hand in the air while the other went behind her, palm facing her still-frozen friends. Her floating keyblades followed the movements, one flying towards Vexen and the other pointing at a spot between the two ninjas. The Chilly Academic encased himself in an ice dome, protecting himself from the keyblade. The tip of the other one radiated a warm light and in a flash, Shino and Shikamaru were free.

"That was just troublesome," Shikamaru sighed. He cringed and quickly brought up a hand to his side as it began to twinge in pain.

"Are you two alright?" Xion asked levitating closer to them, but keeping her eyes on the dome Vexen had erected around himself. Her keyblades had returned to their crossed positions behind her back.

"We're fine for the most part," Shino answered, flexing his fingers. They had grown numb from being frozen.

Xion took a glance behind her at that and saw Shikamaru holding his side with Shino frowning in concern at him. She waved a hand and a keyblade rose to point straight up into the air. "Curaga," she muttered and the tip flashed green in healing magic.

Shino suddenly grabbed both of their wrists and pulled them away. Where they were once standing, or floating in Xion's case, a large icicle had appeared and would have impaled them if not for Shino's quick save. They gave him a quick 'thanks' before focusing their attention on Vexen's protective ice dome.

"Reflect!" Xion shouted and the magical barrier appeared just in time to block the ice shards that were flying towards them. Mist briefly obscured their vision as ice collided with the barrier, but it was quickly blown away by the rebounding magic.

The ice dome the fourth member was in suddenly exploded and Xion had to erect another 'Reflect' barrier to protect her and her friends. Vexen stood there looking as angry as ever, a deep scowl on his face and cold eyes glittering in rage and frustration. He was holding his shield once more and it was covered in so much ice, it looked like a crystalline long sword. He was also levitating, feet inches from the grass.

"You have beleaguered me for the last time, No. i!" the mad scientist shouted.

He swiped the air in front of him with his elongated shield and icicles flew towards the three. Xion countered by swinging and crossing her arms in front of her. Her keyblades obeyed her command and flew to the front. Flicking her wrists, Xion commanded her keyblades to swipe and parry the icicles away from her and her friends.

Mist obscured vision for a while and the two ninjas could barely see their female friend. There was a sudden 'clang' of metal against metal and the mist dissolved in the sunlight. They saw that Xion had her keyblades crossed in front of her, locking the tip of Frozen Pride in place. Vexen sneered behind his shield before large chunks of ice surrounded the two. They floated in the air and revolved around them. Xion spread her arms and her keyblades mimicked the action, unlocking and pushing Vexen away. She then quickly flew upwards to avoid the ice chunks as they smashed into the spot where she once was. But then a large icicle burst from the pile of ice and the ex-Organization member yelped in pain as she was hit, luckily dodging the deadly tip. She twisted and regained stability then shot off towards where Vexen had landed.

Behind and below her, Shikamaru and Shino passively watched as Xion clashed with the Chilly Academic. They had agreed with each other to let Xion finish her fight with Vexen, respecting her unspoken request to fight her former creator. But, like before, they would not hesitate to jump in to help if the situation goes out of hand.

"You are just an experiment!" Vexen yelled in frustration. Xion was literally doing circles around him, commanding a keyblade to block a shield blow and the other to fly in to strike his exposed back as she dodged icicles.

"No," she retorted. Her keyblades began to glow a bright, blue-tinted light. "I'm Xion; a Keyblade Master!"

She shot towards Vexen and began to wail on him, keyblades striking him over and over. The Chilly Academic cried out in pain and was thrown sideways, forwards, backwards, up, and down at each hit. At the end of the series of attacks, she leaped back and grasped her keyblades from their levitating positions. She clasped them together and straight into the air, similar to the monster No. -1 from before.

"Event Horizon!" Xion shouted.

She became engulfed in the same light as her keyblades, the light compressing into a beam that shot into the sky. Quicker than Vexen's monster, four bright vectors fell from the heavens around Vexen, who screamed at their intensity. They became solid as they suddenly moved inward, encompassing the fourth member until they converged into a single bright pillar of light.

Vexen's screams echoed across the battlefield. The light faded away and everyone present, both on the field and within the cavern, blinked the spots away. Once their eyes had readjusted, they saw that Vexen was kneeling in front of them, shoulders hunched in fatigue. He still grasped his shield in his hand, but now it was only just a small piece with the handle. The rest of the shield was scattered around him, covered in burnt marks and soot.

Xion floated back down until she was inches from the ground, keyblades still held in her hands. Shikamaru and Shino walked up to stand behind her, deeming the battle over.

Suddenly, laughter filled the still air. So filled with madness, the sound made the hairs on the back of their necks tingle and stand up. Vexen continued to laugh as he looked back up to his enemies. Green eyes glittered in utter knowing and there lurked secrets behind the ice.

"Crow while you still can!" He shouted, his laughter dying down. Glowing, green digital numbers began to escape from his form. He was at the end of his rope, but apparently his mind had already gone off the deep end.

"This is but another point in the data," the very mad scientist continued. "You have overcome this stepping stone, but it has been recorded and analyzed! There is always room for improvement; do not think that you are the only ones to have learned. This computer is always watching and updating the files; your future opponents now know your every move!"

In a final burst of cackling mad laughter, Vexen, the Chilly Academic, dispersed into streams of data.


Everything was silent in the garden for a moment when the more active members of the group started cheering wildly.

"ALRIGHT! XION DID IT! SHE BEAT THE BASTARD!" Naruto yelled out in happiness as he punched the air.

"HELL YEAH! PAYBACK IS A BITCH!" Kiba cheered as Akamaru howled happily.

"SHE DID IT! AWESOME WORK ON BEATING THE OROCHIMARU LOOK ALIKE!" Sakura cheered along with Ino and Tenten

"INDEED XION! YOU HAVE INDEED IMPROVED YOURSELF AS A WARRIOR AND A COMRADE! I AM INDEED PROUD TO HAVE A YOUTHFUL FRIEND LIKE YOU!" Lee wailed out as anime tears running down his eyes.

Kakashi nodded as he looked on as Xion smiled at the sky. "Good job Xion. . .you did good." He said as Sai nodded in agreement, showing either a real or fake smile, which was hard to tell.

Hinata gave a warm smile as she knew that the next memory would be shown soon. "Xion. . .great job. You beat your final past memory that gave you pain in your heart. Your finally free of it." She thought as the light arrive, engulfing her, and the group, both in and out of the arena.


The light dimmed down as everyone reappeared with a frozen Ventus and Aqua protecting him. Soon the dialogue between them and Xigbar's somebody started as everyone looked at Xion.

"Everyone. . .I. . ." Xion started before she was greeted with a hug from Hinata.

"It's alright. . .we understand. . ." Hinata replied, embracing the hug.

"It's no big deal," Naruto said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You had to face this and you did Xion. We're all happy for you. . .except Sai since. . .well you know. . ." He said as everyone except Sai started to chuckle.

Xion soon broke away from the hug as she looked at everyone. "Thank you. . .everyone. . ." She didn't realize it, but tears started running down her eyes, not of sadness, but joy as they all watched as this time they showed the fight between Aqua and Xigbar's somebody.

"Uh. . .how the hell is he standing upside down like that!?" Naruto asked.

"Beats me," Sakura said, shrugging her shoulders as she turned to Xion. "You know?"

Xion sweat-dropped as she looked as Xigbar's somebody started firing energy arrows. "Well. . .his nobody Xigbar, he had the ability to control Space, and I mean like the Time Space theory. Maybe that has something to do with it. That or it's his way of using the powers of darkness." She explained as she got nods from everyone, knowing that most of the members of the Organization were crazy. . .except Roxas, Axel and Xion herself.

They all watched as Aqua continued fighting the somebody of Xigbar, avoid his moves as he avoided hers.

"They are both indeed agile." Lee muttered, wanting to be able to walk on air. "Although I wouldn't want to use the powers of darkness."

Soon, a dark aura appeared around Xigbar's somebody as he started moving faster, warping more and firing more then usual.

Kakashi looked on with the rest of the group as they saw the dark aura. "Hmm. . .He's gotten stronger."

Xion nodded. "He has. . .but I'm sure Aqua can beat him." They then watched as Aqua delivered the final blow, a Triple Firaga. "And now I feel like an idiot for never firing three Firagas at once." She said, dropping her head in shame a little causing everyone to chuckle a little until Hinata patted her on the back as they all then watched Xigbar's somebody run off as Aqua went to check on Ventus.

Naruto looked away, knowing what was coming. "Damn it. . ."

Hinata looked at him and pecked him on the lips. "It's alright Naruto. . .we all feel the same about what happened. . ." Everyone except Sai nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. . ." Naruto said with a sigh as they watched on, only difference was that when Aqua looked up, everything went black.

"So we are seeing from Aqua's point of view." Sakura muttered, Ino and Tenten nodding in agreement.

"I'm asking you, as a friend. . .Just. . .put an end to me." The group heard Ventus say.

"Ven. . ." Xion muttered in depression.

Everyone then returned to somewhat normal as Aqua woke up with a gasp.

"Gosh, I'm glad your okay." Everyone turned to see Mickey as he was watching Aqua.

Aqua slowly got up as she shook her head to get rid of the pain before gasping. "Ven!" She then got to her feet as she looked around before seeing him back where he originally was, but. . .

"Wait a minute. . ." Naruto said as he squinted his eyes, noticing something in his hands.

"Oh thank goodness. Ven!" Aqua said as she ran up to him, Mickey following behind her. "Your safe!" She then started to lean down a little to try and see his face. "Ven?"

As the group got closer they saw a complete version of a familiar weapon.

"Uh oh. . ." Tenten said as she saw the weapon in his hand.

"How?. . .I mean I thought." Kiba asked in surprise.

"I think I get it." Everyone turned to see Sai with his usual fake smile.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"During the vision we saw with the boy Ventus, we saw what happened to him in his mind," Everyone nodded at this. "That mean. . ."

"We never saw what happened outside, of course!" Ino said. "So Ven is battling in his mind right now!"

"So. . ." Sakura started before turning back to Aqua. "Now we're seeing what's happening outside."

"Correct ugly." Sai said as he wasn't shown mercy from Sakura as she beat him up.

'Ventus' then started to look up as everyone saw Vanitas's yellow eye and smirked.

"Shit! Aqua!" Naruto yelled out as they saw 'Ventus' raised the χ-blade to stab Aqua.

But it was futile as Mickey blocked the attack, pushing the two away from him. "That's not Ven!"

"Yeah of course not." Naruto muttered as they watched Ventus's armor turn into the outfit that Vanitas wore.

"Correct." 'Ventus' started in a warped voice sounding like his and Vanitas's voice were overlapping each other. "I am not Ventus. His heart has become a part of mine now."

The group noticed Aqua and Mickey gasping as they all started glaring at him. "Not for long you bastard. . .not for long. . ." Naruto muttered.

Ventus-Vanitas started to raise the χ-blade as he started explaining. "This χ-blade will open a door-" The group gave a confused look before he continued. "One that leads to all worlds! Then Keyblade-bearing warriors will flock here from each and every one of them, to battle for the light within Kingdom Hearts!"

"But why?" Hinata thought along with mostly everyone else.

"And just like the legend says, the Keyblade War will begin!" Ventus-Vanitas said with a wicked smile on his face.

"SHUT UP!" Naruto and Aqua yelled out at him.

"I'm sick of your nonsense! Give Ven his heart back!" Aqua demanded as she and Mickey started to fight Ventus-Vanitas.

Soon then battle raged as Ventus-Vanitas rushed around the battle field as Aqua and Mickey fought using their keyblades and magic as Ventus-Vanitas also used the dark version of some of the spells Aqua used. He also started going into the ground by using dark portals, only when he came out, fire came out from the holes causing damage to the two. The group was speechless during the entire fight from the amazement of it all as they held their breath. The three continued clashing and as it seemed like Aqua and Mickey were gonna defeat Ventus-Vanitas. . .

Aqua and Mickey started to charge Ventus-Vanitas as he smirked and got ready to swing the χ-blade.

"This doesn't look good." Kakashi said, breaking the silence.

Ventus-Vanitas then swung it as it sent out some wind, sending the two back, Aqua into a boulder and Mickey further back. He then walked forward as he saw Aqua breathing heavily after falling to the ground. "What's wrong? Giving up already?" He tauntingly asked.

"That's Vanitas's personality alright. A smug bastard." Naruto said as everyone except Sai nodded in agreement.

Aqua breathed heavily some more as she took out her charm and looked at it. "Terra, Ven, lend me strength." Suddenly, the charm started to glow as a powerful blue light covered her keyblade.

"Get him Aqua." Xion muttered as they all watched her rush into Ventus-Vanitas.

"Your just wasting your energy." Ventus-Vanitas said as the two blades clashed, sending out a shockwave.

"Come on. . .come on. . ." Sakura muttered along with Ino and Kiba. Choji sped up the eating of his chips as Shikamaru looked on with a smirk. Kakashi and Sai looked on with interest on how Aqua gained the power to clash her blade with a weapon like the χ-blade. Hinata was gripping Naruto's hand as she had her other hand on Xion. "Win!" Everyone muttered.

Aqua forced enough energy into her blade and with a mighty yell, she broke the χ-blade.

"What?" Ventus-Vanitas said in shock.

Aqua then swung harder as it knocked the χ-blade out of Ventus-Vanitas's hands as it exploded, releasing energy in all directions.

"This must've been when. . ." Hinata said, shielding her eyes.

"When Ventus destroyed the χ-blade in his mind!" Xion said, shielding her eyes as well along with everyone else.

"Shit! It must've became unstable during the fight!" Kakashi said.

Naruto then noticed that Mickey was waking up. "Now what!?"

Mickey saw what was happening as he got to his feet. "Oh no! It. . .it's gone all haywire!" He then start run towards the blade.

"Ven!" Aqua called out as Ventus-Vanitas returned to normal and went back to his armor.

Soon the χ-blade disintegrated as a blinding light forced everyone to shield their eyes. The last thing everyone heard before blacking out was two screams from Aqua and Mickey.

Hinata and Xion groaned as the struggled to open their eyes. . .to find themselves back at the garden. "Seems we were forced back. . ." Hinata said as they got to their feet.

"Yeah. . ." Xion said as she brushed herself off. The two then saw the rest of the group get up as Naruto and Lee started to ask her about the white form she went into as she started explaining Final Form to them all, a smile not leaving her face.


A/N: I AM VERY SORRY! MAINLY FOR DELAYING HINATA CHRONICLES! I just been in a real slump for it and busy with college work, but now I'm back and this chapter it finished. You know, this is also my first Author's Note for this story, so after 51 chapters, it finally got one. Well, see you next time when Naruto fights Xaldin, later!

-JG