AN: So y'all been wondering what's up with Xion and Roxas, so here's a non-beta'd extra chapter for the Holidays!
Roxas definitely wasn't expecting it the first time. He'd been talking with Xion within Sora's heart, walking along the beach that Sora called his home.
"Hey Xion, what do you think Axel would've gotten ya for Christmas this year?" Roxas asked. His arms were crossed behind his head.
"Hmm, that's tricky. Probably just more ice cream." Xion chuckled, remembering their days off fondly. "I don't know what I'd get him."
"I'd probably get him a sleeping mask, although, dunno where I'd find one." Roxas purposed. It was hard to get presents for every organization member.
Zexion was both easy and hard at the same time: he liked books, but Roxas didn't know what type of books. Last year, Roxas had bought a book at random and gotten him something called "yaoi"? It was apparently such a bad gift Zexion didn't talk to him until after New Years. His face was so red.
Larxene was a girl and Roxas didn't know what girls liked. Roxas supposed Xion was a girl, but, like, she was Xion? That meant she wasn't so foreign to him like the sharp-tongued lightning Master was. He'd gotten her a mirror from that undersea world and Roxas never found it in the trash, so he assumed she kept it.
Demyx… Demyx's gift was a disaster. Roxas has been in a stump for the longest time until one day, he happened to overhear an exasperated Axel arrive after going out on a mission with the amusing musician.
"Geez, you need to the quit running off like that. I should get you a collar or something." Axel complained. Roxas slammed his fist on his open palm.
That's it!
So, Roxas went looking throughout the worlds to find one, and after some careful searching, he acquired one. Like everything else he bought, it was roughly wrapped and put under the tree.
Come christmas morning, Roxas watched with pride as Demyx opened his gift. The collar was met with confusion.
"Uh, Roxas, what is this?" Demyx asked, a nervous smile on his face as he held up the blue dog collar.
"A collar," Roxas said happily.
"Um, I see that. What I mean to say is that I'm not into any of that sort of stuff," Demyx answered, pulling on the collar of his hood.
"What stuff?" Roxas tilted his head.
"Well, that's not really one of my kin-" Demyx was abruptly cut off by Xigbar coming up behind and putting a hand over his mouth.
"Whoa, cool it there. Let's keep that 'Christ' in Christmas for the little tiger, alright?" Xigbar warned. Demyx nodded as Xigbar slowly pulled away.
Roxas pouted.
"So you don't like it, then?" Roxas asked, crossing his arms.
"Yo, what's causing all the fuss?" Axel walked up with a newly acquired scarf around his neck and Saïx at his side.
"I got Demyx a gift, and he doesn't like it," Roxas explained, a little salty.
"What is it?" Axel asked, turning his attention to Demyx and crossing his arms defensively. Demyx narrowed his eyes.
"This collar," Demyx answered with a sigh. Axel burst out laughing, while Saïx merely rolled his eyes at said childish behavior.
"What? Where the heck did you get that wonderful idea, Roxas?" Axel asked between laughs. He wiped away a tear and stood up straight.
"You." Roxas answered. Nobody was especially happy with that answer, most of all Axel, whom now had several superhuman nobody's eyes piercing at his throat.
Xion's glare pulled him from his thoughts, blinking away the memories.
"Wait, did you say something?" Roxas asked. Xion crossed her arms and smiled.
"Huh, maybe, what's it to you? Perhaps you'll never find out." Xion teased. Roxas groaned.
"Oh come on, I'm sorry! Tell me, please." Roxas begged, putting his hands together in a prayer position. Xion was enjoying this.
"I guess maybe I should-" Xion was cut off. She disappeared into thin air, fading into the world around her.
"Xion?!" Roxas exclaimed, going on guard and surveying the scene. All of a sudden, the ground shook, Roxas trying to balance himself within the chaos. The beach's diameter grew wider and a huge castle started to rise in the center of the island, high up towards the sky.
"What the heck?" Roxas exclaimed. When the ground stabilized, the blonde blinked so he could take a second to process everything. Xion was gone. A castle was now here.
What had happened?
That's exactly what Xion wanted to figure out. Roxas was just beside her on this beach, but then he had disappeared right before her eyes.
She heard a clunk in the sand behind her. Another clink of metal not too far away. Xion looked up, and hundreds of keyblades were coming down from the sky like meteorites.
"What? Is this some type of rain I haven't heard about?!" Xion said, exasperated as the many keyblades. crashed into the ground, upright around her.
She began to run and try to dodge them, but one managed to evade her sight. She put her arms defensively over her face and braced herself, only to hear a "plonk" sound. Opening her eyes, a weird creature had sacrificed itself for her. It had large wings and red narrowed eyes, with the weirdest symbol on its back.
"Huh?" Xion wondered, running over to the creature lying on the ground. It seemed like the shower had finished so she was safe; at least for now, anyways.
The weird creature was like a raven, getting up on its two claws to groom its wings with its beak. It paid her no mind as she knelt before it.
"Hey little guy…" Xion whispered. She slowly reached her hand out to it. After a moment's hesitation, she petted the creature's head. It felt like leather underneath her gloves, and seemed to enjoy the treatment. That's when she felt it, in her chest.
Sora. This creature had been created by Sora's heart to save her. She felt an immense emotion from this being, a desire to help others. It was warm within her, like a precious secret she wanted to keep safe. And she would.
But, it felt somewhat different than Sora. She couldn't describe it, maybe it was darker, yet it was still Sora.
"Would you happen to know why there are all these keyblades here?" Xion started slowly. The raven tilted its head at her. Xion tapped her chin and tilted her head in the same way, mirroring its pose.
"Maybe you know where Roxas is?" Xion suggested. The raven seemed to recognize the name and chirped happily. Hope filled her eyes. "Can you lead me to him?"
The raven shuffled its feathers and took to the sky, circling around the amalgamation of a boy's ties to an empty graveyard and an island home filled with lush light and life. Xion cupped her hand over her eyes to hide the glare as her gaze watched it search through the sky. He had to be here somewhere, right?
After getting over the initial shock of losing Xion, Roxas ran up and down the beach calling out her name, to no avail. Next, Roxas turned his attention to the huge manor that had appeared smack dab in the centre of the island. There were pillars of rock that had risen out of the sand around the edge of the beach, connected to the main house through large linked chains. Roxas had never seen anything like it.
Curiosity drew Roxas towards it. He slashed at the palm trees and tropical plant life in his path - they'd just grow back later, Roxas had learned from a once rage filled experience - and made it to the steps of the castle. With each step closer to the doors, the anticipation was killing him. Nothing changed here within Sora's heart. It was reliable, knowing that the sun would always rise and set in the same course, gave him an ounce of stability for once in his life. He found solace in the fact that he could count on Sora to get the job done and carry out his promise.
Yet things had changed here, shifted might be a better word. Sora was still the same, but different.
The doors gave surprisingly easily. Taking in the large hallway with polished floor and warm glow startled Roxas. His life had been filled with so much white, it was noteworthy this place seemed to be full of colour. The hallway stretched high above him and out in front. Wait a minute…
Roxas ran out the staircase and leaned over it, peeking behind the structure. He squinted his eyes and swung his upper body back and forth comparing the interior and exterior. It was bigger on the inside? Perhaps the laws of the universe didn't apply within Sora's heart. Yeah. That's it.
Heading back inside, Roxas went inside the first room he could see. It was a large open room with blue and white paint on the walls, large open windows that let the light in. There were three wooden thrones placed at the back of the room. What Roxas didn't expect was to find someone sitting in the middle chair.
"Who are you?" Roxas asked, immediately summoning kingdom key and readying himself. The armoured figure did not move. Roxas had spent so long with his guard down, he was surprised at how easily those walls rose up again. He cautiously stalked towards the figure. What was this guy planning? Roxas couldn't let them get the jump on him.
"Say something!" Roxas ordered, rushing forward. The moment he sliced down on the figure, he experienced immediate regret. The armour fell apart like whomever inhibiting it was a ghost and scattered on the floor with a crash. Roxas startled even himself.
After steadying himself, he kicked at some of the armour at his feet. Moving apart some of it, he found a green star shaped trinket. He bent over and picked it up. Once he was standing upright, he inspected it, challenging his own reflection in its smooth glass surface.
Then everything shifted again.
Suddenly he was back on the beach and the castle was nowhere to be seen. Xion was there too, equally as shaken as he was. He quickly put the wayfinder away in his pocket, thinking nothing of it now that Xion was here!
"Roxas!" Xion exclaimed, taking him within her arms. Roxas hugged her back.
"Xion, where did you go? There was this castle and…" Roxas shook his head. Xion pulled away from him and put her hands on her hips.
"Where did you go off to? I've been here in Sora's heart this whole time," Xion said.
"Me too! I didn't leave Sora's heart either. I would've felt it." He said, putting a hand on his chest. He then squeezed the fabric there. "But something changed about it."
"Yes, exactly, and there were all these different keyblades and there's this small animal thing…" She scanned the ground, looking for the creature. She pouted. "Well, there was one."
Roxas frowned. Something had to be up with Sora. It was impossible for them to both exist within Sora's heart and yet not exist within the same place. A sudden appearance of keyblades and castles for them to only disappear just as easily was also a strange occurrence.
"I'll tell you about it later. I'm glad to have you back." Xion smiled, taking his hand. Roxas returned it with his own smile.
"Yeah, me too," Roxas said. He didn't want to think about living within this heart all alone without Xion there to keep him company. He didn't want to leave Xion all alone, either. Both of them had been out for some time while the other continued traveling across worlds. Axel was there, but it just wasn't the same.
Then everything shifted again. Xion was pulled from his grasp and Roxas was left all alone with his empty hand in the air. He crumpled it up and took a sharp turn towards the castle, knowing if there were answers, they would be in there.
He opened up the door and side stepped into the first room where the armour still lay crumpled up on the floor. He sighed and looked around for another room to investigate. Halfway down the hallway, he stopped, realizing something that unsettled him.
It was silent in here.
No ocean waves, no distant seagulls, no Xion laughing, no sound shifting under his feet. Besides the tapping of his feet against the floor, there was a small crackling sound. Everything felt empty, still. The cracks in the walls grew darker, the quiet echo smothered into nothingness.
Roxas didn't like it.
He made his way into the only other room in this building, a large library filled to the brim with books of all kinds and sorts. The fireplace in the center drew him in, a bit of liveliness amidst a moment that felt frozen in time. Roxas felt like a stranger intruding on someone else's boundaries. A memory someone was gripping onto with all their might in order to maintain some sense of stability within the whirlwinds of life.
Something was off. There just wasn't something right about this too perfect peace. A house unlived in was not a home.
There was a huge armoire next to the fireplace, which Roxas gratefully slouched into. He took in the room one last time, the bookshelves that raced above to a high rise ceiling, a chess set waiting on the windowsill and the fire barely illuminating the already sunlight filled room.
Well, perhaps he should get reading. Nothing better to do.
An: I love this fic, it can go from Roxas accidentally buying Zexion yaoi to seperation anxiety about losing your best friend forever. Nice!