Chapter 18 Xion's Gone
Day 255
"That was a nice nap." Roxas sang. He had dreamed that him, Axel, and Xion finally got to go to the beach. As he approached the round room, he saw Axel talking to Saix. As soon as they were done. Axel immediately left much to Roxas's confusion.
"Must have been a big mission if he couldn't wait to say hi." Roxas said a bit disappointed as Demyx approached him with his arm around his shoulder.
"Hey Roxas. You and me are teaming up today!" Demyx sang as Roxas groaned
'Why do I feel like I am going to do a lot of work?' Roxas sighed
"Work hard out there for us." Demyx said with a smile.
"This will be a long day." Roxas groaned
"You two." Saix said approaching the two. "I am sending you both to the Colosseum there to get some training in."
"Training?" Roxas asked
"We can't have our only Keyblade Wielder always relying on others. So I want you to go there and raise your level for future missions." Saix explained as Roxas frowned at that 'Only Keyblade Wielder' comment, but kept his mouth shut.
"Why do I have to go through?" Demyx cried
"Because at your current level, I can't rely on you for anything difficult." Saix growled
"I'm fine with that!" Demyx cried
"Idiot." Saix growled before calming down. "Let me make you both a deal. If you two can bring your levels up to a satisfactory growth, I'll schedule a day off in the upcoming days. Deal?"
"Deal!" Roxas declared as he dragged Demyx through a portal.
"I will be checking in on you two later." Saix called out as the portal closed
"Day off! Day off!" Roxas sang as they walked towards the Colosseum.
"You seem happy. You have vacation plans already?" Demyx asked
"Yep. Me Axel, and Xion are all going to the beach." Roxas said
"Wow. You three sure are close." Demyx commented
"Yeah. We're best friends." Roxas said much to Demyx's surprise.
"Is that weird?" Roxas asked
"No. It's great." Demyx said with a smile. "Maybe for once, I'll put in some effort."
When the two went to Phil for training, that confidence in Demyx immediately left.
"I CAN'T DO ALL OF THAT!" Demyx cried looking at the long list of stuff Phil wanted them to do. It starts with a bunch of body building training with nearly every type listed.
"Hey, you two came begging me for training. Don't like it? The door is over there." Phil said pointing to the exit.
"All this body building is utterly ridiculous!" Demyx cried as Roxas tried to lift a barbell with little success.
"We have to do it to get stronger." Roxas gasped as he struggled to lift the medium sized barbell.
"This would turn us into Lexaeus!" Demyx cried before calming down. "Alright then. Let's settle this with a contest!"
"A contest?" Phil asked
"If I win, we skip the body building parts," Demyx declared
"There is no way he would agree to this." Roxas said
"Alright." Phil agreed
"Seriously?" Roxas asked surprised
"I have never seen someone want to get stronger, yet slack off so much." Phil sighed
"Aw, thank you." Demyx smiled
"That wasn't a compliment." Roxas said flatly
"We do a wrestling match in one hour out in the arena. Be there." Phil said as he left.
At the arena, Demyx was getting ready.
"No offense Demyx, but how do you plan on winning this?" Roxas asked
"With this I bought this morning." Roxas said holding up a bottle that read 'Berserk Mild' on it.
"What's that?" Roxas asked
"There is a condition known as Berserk that increases one's speed and attack for a short period of time, though does have the extra affect of gaining a stronger urge to attack foes. This drink will automatically put me into a mild form of that state." Demyx said
"Isn't that cheating?" Roxas asked
"The only rule, is to win!" Demyx said drinking the bottle. "Alright goat man. I am ready to go!" He said as his muscles pumped up a bit as Phil entered
"Huh. You're more pumped up than I thought, but I'm not wrestling you." Phil said as he stood aside with Hercules entering. "He is."
"Wrestling? Sure! I'm down for that." Herc said getting into position. Demyx was freaking out. Hercules was massive in muscles. Berserk or not, there was no bloody way that he was going to win. And that meant doing even more work.
"What are you going to do now Demyx?" Roxas asked
"I don't know!" Demyx cried as he sweated nervously getting into position.
'Time for my secret weapon.' Demyx thought.
"And begin!" Phil declared.
"Water!" Demyx called out splashing water in both Herc and Phil's face blinding them. Demyx got behind Herc to push him down while his guard was down, but he couldn't even make him budge causing Herc to recover, and knock Demyx down, winning the match.
"So, as per my original plan, we start with the bodybuilding." Phil said
"I am not surprised in the slightest." Roxas said flatly.
Meanwhile at Destiny Island:
Axel was looking all over the place for Xion.
"This is where Sora was from. I was hoping to find Xion here, but it doesn't seem to be the case." Axel said to himself.
Saix gave him 24 hours to find Xion. If he couldn't, then Xemnas would have to be informed. And if he was informed, it would only get worse for Xion.
"Where are you Xion?" Axel asked
After doing a decent number of bodybuilding, Phil had the two stop, as they panted out of breath. Both Roxas and Demyx were laying flat on the ground completely exhausted.
"Alright then. I need to see where you two are in fighting. So, I want you both to spar against each other." Phil ordered handing the two a pair of wooden swords as the two took their positions.
"Give this everything you got. Begin." Phil said
Roxas charged at Demyx and struck which Demyx blocked landing them in a blade lock.
"Hey Roxas. I know how to get out of this." Demyx whispered
"Huh?" Roxas asked
"I want you to hit me." Demyx whispered
"Uh, okay?" Roxas said as he tapped Demyx in the head.
"OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!" Demyx cried as he rolled on the ground in pain holding his forehead where Roxas tapped him.
"What a drama queen." Roxas groaned as he felt a hand on his shoulder gesturing him to the side.
Ow. That hurt. You win Roxas good game." Demyx said getting up from his little stunt, but to his horror, it wasn't Roxas that was in front of him, it was Saix. And he looked angry.
"What a performance there." Saix said. His glare was present on his face like he was ready to murder someone.
"Who's he?" Herc asked
"No clue." Phil said as they decided to keep watching.
"Saix? What are you doing here?" Demyx asked freaked out.
"I told you I would check in on you two did I not?" Saix asked as he summoned his Claymore. " I am here to see how you've progressed. Now come at me."
"Uh Saix? Are you mad?" Demyx asked scared
"Do I look mad?" Saix asked
"Uh, yes?" Demyx said
"If I look mad, it is only because of your own guilty conscience." Saix said
"Hey, I didn't slack off today. Right Roxas?" Demyx asked Roxas who slowly nodded, not wanting to get any more involved in this.
"By the way. I changed the password on my computer." Saix said causing Demyx to turn pale white.
"I-I have no idea what you are talking about." Demyx stuttered trying to play innocent.
"I am talking about your unauthorized use of my computer to copy other's reports. Do you need a memory jog?" Saix asked lifting his weapon much to Demyx's horror.
"Uh, no I'm good…Oh wait, you mean that poem you wrote?" Demyx asked causing Saix to twitch as an aura of anger erupted around his body.
'He's dead.' Roxas cried.
"I mean, that poem was really good!" Demyx tried hoping a compliment would calm Saix down. "How did it go? 'Our Hollow Hearts become Kingdom Hearts' or something? It was so good I couldn't help but laugh…I mean…"
"YOU...WORTHLESS...IDIOT!" Saix roared as he raised his Claymore entering a real Berserk state.
Demyx's screams would haunt Roxas's nightmares for a long time…
One pounding later:
"Well, you lasted longer than I thought. I guess you did raise your levels a bit." Saix admitted once he finally calmed down and dismissed his weapon. Roxas went up to check on the bloody beaten Demyx.
"Look, I know what he did was wrong, but wasn't that overdoing it? He is one of us, isn't he?" Roxas asked. He could fully understand Saix's urge to punish Demyx, but here, he nearly killed him.
"One of us? Let me tell you this now Roxas. We are only joined together by our goal of completing Kingdom Hearts. Anyone who gets in the way of that goal is to be eliminated, regardless of who they are." Saix said much to Roxas's shock. "Either way, you both did what you were told, so I will keep my end of the bargain. There will be a day off coming soon." Saix said as he left.
"Did you get any of what just happened?" Herc asked
"Not a clue." Phil admitted
At the clock tower:
"Hey, you're here early." Axel said
"No. You're just late." Roxas said as Axel sat down eating there Sea-salt Ice cream.
Today marks 255." Roxas said as he took a bite causing Axel to look at him.
" 55?" Axel asked
"It's been that many days since I first joined the Organization. Man, time flies." Roxas said
"So, you've got the number memorized, don't you?" Axel asked with a smirk
"Yeah. Have to hang on to something, right? It's not like I have memories from before I joined the Organization. Don't you remember? At first I acted like a zombie." Roxas said
"Right. That first week you could barely form a sentence. But you still are kind of a zombie." Axel joked patting Roxas's back.
"Gee thanks." Roxas laughed as Axel joined him.
"Hey Roxas. I bet you don't know why the sunset is red. You see, light is made up of all sorts of color. And out of all of them, red is the one that travels the farthest." Axel said
"Like I asked, know-it-all!" Roxas teased
The two laughed as they finished their ice creams.
"Seriously though. Where is she?" Roxas asked as Xion never showed up. Axel frowned. He couldn't find Xion today. That means Saix will have to tell Xemnas. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.
That night:
"Did you find Xion?" Saix asked as Axel passed by in the halls.
"No…" Axel admitted
"I see. I will have to inform Lord Xemnas." Saix said
"I know." Axel said as he left.
In Twilight Town:
"Thank you for coming Riku." Namine said as Riku took a seat at the table in Namine's room.
"It has been a while since we've been able to talk." Riku admitted
"Yes. We have both been busy, and now Silas will be gone for who knows how long." Namine said. "I'm sorry I haven't been keeping my promise well."
"Why don't you tell me what exactly is going on." Riku said
"Some of Sora's memories are missing." Namine said
"How could that be?" Riku asked
"Some of his memories are escaping from Sora's nobody, and into a third person." Namine said
"Would that be Xion?" Riku asked and Namine nodded.
"Now those memories have become a part of her. That is why she looks the way she dose. When she was first born, she didn't have a face. But once Sora's memories entered her body, she took the form you see her as." Namine explained
'I see. That's why she looked like Kairi. It's Sora's memories of Kairi that he's missing.' Riku thought starting to put things together.
"Is there a way to just take out Sora's memories?" Riku asked
"If they were still separated, then yes. But as of now, they have become jumbled together. I could possibly jump inside her head and mess with her memories to possibly awaken Sora, but if that did work, he would awaken to a world where no one but us remembers him. And I've hurt him enough already." Namine said bitterly
"So then…" Riku began.
"Sora's memories, Sora's nobody's memories, and her memories have now become a jumbled mess due to their wills to become their own person. Unfortunately, as it is now, the only way to allow Sora to be restored, is for both her and Sora's Nobody to…vanish." Namine said sadly
"And there is no other way?" Riku asked
"If there was another way, you know full well that I would have told you Riku." Namine said
"You're right." Riku admitted. Namine was a nobody as well. She did feel regret for doing this even more than he did. Despite Nobodies supposedly not being able to feel anything. "I guess then we have no choice."
"Say Riku. Did you use…that?" Namine asked
"You can tell?" Riku asked and Namine nodded.
"You need to be careful. You may have won control over the darkness, but your body is not adapted to handle that level of darkness in its current form. If you use too much Darkness like that again, you may lose yourself permanently. Please be careful." Namine warned
"We are all making sacrifices here Namine. I will try, but I can make no promise." Riku said as he left.
"Riku..." Namine said sadly.
Day 256:
The day began with an emergency meeting. Every remaining member of the Organization arrived and got seated in their respective seats as Xemnas began his announcement.
"Xion is gone." Xemnas said much to Roxas's shock.
"Gone?" He asked
"She flew the coop?" Demyx asked confused
"Ridiculous. What was drive her to do something so mad?" Xaldin asked with a shake of the head.
"We are unsure of that at the moment." Saix said
"Maybe she was just hurt or something. We don't know that she abandoned us!" Roxas demanded
"Enough. No one is to look for Xion without my permission." Xemnas ordered
"What?" Roxas asked shocked
"Shouldn't you be happy that we are leaving your 'friend' alone?" Saix asked
"All will be explained in due time. For the time being, carry out your missions like normal. That is all." Xemnas said
"Lord Xemnas has spoken. Obey or be destroyed." Saix said. "You are all dismissed." Everyone but Roxas and Axel left the room via corridor of darkness.
"Hey Axel. What is going on here?" Roxas asked as Axel was getting ready to leave.
"Just do your missions Roxas." Axel said as he left.
"What?" Roxas asked confused
Several days have gone by and Xion is still nowhere to be seen.
Day 276
"Oww." Demyx cried all bruised up
"What happened to him?" Roxas asked
"Demyx ran into one of the imposters. He got clobbered." Xigbar said casually.
"I thought I could take him with the strength I got from training, but he completely destroyed me. He's too strong." Demyx whined
"Or you're too weak. You trained for one day. From a guy who usually slacks off." Xigbar commented
"Like you could do better!" Demyx shouted
"Want to bet?" Xigbar asked pointing one of his arrow guns at Demyx.
"No, I'm good!" Demyx cried.
"Regardless, we are going to need to do something about these imposters and soon." Xaldin said irritated.
"According to the reports, one of them hasn't been seen for quite some time. I wonder where he vanished to." Luxord asked
"If he was smart, he'd stay hidden." Xigbar laughed
Roxas saw Axel walk by, but he said nothing.
Later at the Clock Tower:
"Xion is gone, and Axel seems to be avoiding me." Roxas groaned sitting alone on the clock tower.
"Hey." Axel said arriving with some Ice Cream.
"You came." Roxas said suprised
"You surprised?" Axel asked
"You haven't lately." Roxas admitted
"Sorry about that." Axel said as he handed Roxas an Ice cream bar and sat down.
"Still, I can't believe Xion's been gone for weeks now. Why did she leave?" Roxas asked
"Do you want to look for her?" Axel asked
"Really?" Roxas asked surprised. Was Axel really telling Roxas to go against Xemnas's orders?
"There is a day off coming up soon. We can use that day to go looking for her. So for now, just do your missions like normal." Axel said
"Right!" Roxas agreed.
'Hang on Xion. We'll find you. And then things can go back to normal.' Roxas thought happily. They had a plan to find Xion. ANd they were going to find their missing friend. No matter what it takes.
And that's a wrap!
Poor Roxas. Things won't truly go back to normal for him for a long time XD
Anyway, The drink Demyx took in the manga was probably a steroid joke (Don't do drugs kids) but I did like the attention to detail of it being a Berserk state. That actually is a condition in Final Fantasy.
But with that finally done, we will now be taking a break from Roxas and heading back to the world where this fanfiction began. And not just for a one off like I did at the end of Kingdom Hearts and Chain of Memories.
Next time, Kamui's journey begins.
