Wings of Avalon: Yeah, Xigbar's a little cocky about how well his plan is gonna work. Doesn't think he'll need to worry about retribution from Riku and the gang. But we know better, right?

coolmegan123: See above, haha! Yeah, I don't usually like to rehash the same events, but sometimes I feel the need to see them from both perspectives.

Okay, I have excuses for why it's taken me so long this time, but let's just stop pretending that I have any kind of schedule for my life anymore. Thank you for your patience with me.

Chapter 27

Perspective – Meli

I'd have liked to say that yanking on the chains holding me to the chair over and over and over again actually did me some good. In a way, I guess it kind of did, because when I was focused on that I wasn't thinking about Riku and the band and the fact that I had been kidnapped again and we were both trapped and nobody knew and Xigbar was prepared to torture both of us and he was going to plunge the universes into darkness and...

I pulled up on the chains around my arms again, shifting back and forth the minute amount I was allowed in an effort to loosen something. It worked just as well as it had the fifty other times I had tried it. So did attempting to jerk my torso forward, except that this time one of the raw red spots I had rubbed into my bare arms finally had enough and split open, leaking out a trickle of blood.

My eyes filled up with tears, as if that tiny wound was the worst thing that had happened to me that day. Come on, Meli. Get a grip. The chains were horrible and terrifying, yes, but clearly I wasn't getting out of them on my own anytime soon. But if I could, I would be able to make a dark corridor and get to the others...or would I? My last experience as a human had been being overtaken by darkness...twice. Traveling through a dark corridor might be the worst possible thing that I could do to myself right now. It might be worth it, though, to warn everybody about Xigbar and get Grim out of here. Nobody else would agree with me on that. I had at least learned that part of the lesson.

It was a moot point, anyway, because, "These stupid chain!" Screaming and growling, I lunged against them again with all my might before giving up and collapsing, letting my head fall back onto the back of the chair and staring at the blank white ceiling.

My fingers flexed, one of the only parts of me that was free, creaking against the leather of my gauntlets. Wonder if I could manage to make a corridor without getting free? I had already tried summoning my Keyblade, but couldn't move my wrist enough. At least that was what I was blaming it on, trying not to worry that I was never getting it back after going so long without it. But corridors didn't require much in the way of hand movement. The thought of showing up randomly in front of my friends still chained to a chair would have been amusing if it hadn't also been humiliating.

Which brought me back to the point that my heart might or might not survive a long trip through the darkness. Groaning, I squeezed my eyes shut. I needed another way to get out of here...or a way to bring somebody to me. My head shot back up straight. Xigbar had done that with Riku. Saix had done it with me. I had never tried it, but I knew it was possible if I could just figure it out. Surely using a bit of darkness that way would be less dangerous than traveling through it myself.

Shutting my eyes again, I reached out into the darkness with my heart, the same way I would if I had been inside a corridor looking for someone to travel to. I could feel Riku nearby, his presence a relief, but bringing him to me wouldn't do either of us much good other than psychologically, and was likely to get us caught. Reaching out further, I easily found Kairi. My brow furrowed, and I immediately moved away from her. No way was I bringing a Princess of Heart through a dark corridor if I could help it. Same with Sora, who was nearby. I needed somebody who was more attuned with the darkness...like...Axel? He certainly wasn't my first choice of people to beg for help, but I couldn't afford to be too picky.

Unfortunately, the more I tried to reach for him, the more the connection seemed to fizzle out. I let out a huff of frustration through my lips. Maybe if I had more experience at this, I'd be able to grab whoever I wanted, but it seemed that for now I was going to need someone with a stronger link to my heart. The connection lurched at that thought, locking onto someone else. When I realized who it was I almost laughed incredulously.

"Nope, nope, no no no, no no, nope, nuh-uh, not doing it, not gonna do it." Surely there was someone else who would fit the bill. Kaj, maybe, or Xion. Oh wait, Roxas! But try as I might I couldn't seem to shake this new link. There was no denying that it was strong, though for all the wrong reasons.

Opening my eyes, I ground my teeth together and took a few deep, calming breaths, and tried to imagine what it would be like for Saix to appear in front of me. Terrifying. The last thing in the world that I want to happen. But no, the last thing in the world I wanted to happen was actually Riku getting tortured, and light being sucked out of the universe. Compared to that, having to have a conversation with Saix suddenly didn't seem quite as daunting.

I screwed my face up and let out a long whine. "Fine. I'll do it."

Wanting to get this over with quickly, I reached back out, found Saix, and was pretty easily able to perform the dark magic equivalent of hooking him and reeling him toward me. My eyes opened once more just in time to see him appear through the smoke, a thoroughly bewildered look on his face. I wasn't sure that I would ever get used to seeing him actually have emotions. Swallowing my heart back down to where it belonged, I forced my voice to work.

"Sucks, doesn't it? Being randomly yanked through the darkness with no warning."

His green eyes – green, not yellow – stopped flitting around the empty room to land on me, widening in a way that might have been comical on anyone else. "Meli."

He stepped forward, both hands stretching out toward me, and I flinched backwards as well as I could. Immediately his arms folded in to his chest and he froze in place. "I'm sorry." The words were barely over a whisper. "I...I was trying to...help."

He saw me in trouble, and his first reaction was to try to help. I didn't know if I should be surprised by that or not, since his first reaction to seeing me after he was recompleted was to have a panic attack. It wasn't surprising, not really, not after having listened to his apology and having seen how different he was acting these days. It was just...going to take a while to fully comprehend.

"Best not." My voice cracked, and I stopped to clear my throat. "I don't know if I can go through a corridor to get out of here, so...you probably should leave it. So we don't raise suspicion."

His arms didn't leave their spot at his chest. "You're scared."

"No," I automatically protested, cutting my eyes to the side. "No, I'm...I'm not scared."

"You were recompleted...weren't you?"

I took in a deep breath. "Yeah. That would be...what all the blood is from." I indicated the front of my shirt with my eyes.

"Right. What's...? Who did this to you?" The concern in his voice was baffling. "I thought you and Riku were on a mission of some sort."

"No. That's just what the doppelgangers told you because they're secretly working for Xigbar."

"Xigbar?" His face darkened, and I had to look away, my pulse causing an ache in my still tender ribs.

"Yeah. 'cept he's going by another name now, I guess...Loose...something. I don't remember. The important thing is, none of them are up to any good – they're planning to like, use Kingdom Hearts or something to steal all the light from every universe." I chanced a glance back up at him, then returned to staring at my lap. He had finally dropped his arms, but the look on his face was still too stern for my liking. "I need you to warn the others."

"The others...right. However, they've...already left."

My gaze snapped back up. "Already left? What do you mean?"

"On the Gummiship. The...new doppelgangers, I suppose, told them that it was time to join them. They might be on their way here, though I don't know for sure where 'here' is."

"Yeah, me neither." My mind was racing, trying to catch up to this wrench in my plans. Making a dark corridor to a moving ship was dangerous and nearly impossible. It was a good thing I hadn't tried to bring Sora or Kairi in. "So...Axel has a Gummiphone, right? You can just call them. And then you can tell everybody else, everyone who hasn't left. Roxas, Xion...Kaj...anybody you can get in touch with. I have a feeling we're going to need all the help we can get."

He gave a nod. "Right. Yes. I can do that. I'm...not sure why you picked me, but..."

I looked away again. "You were...the easiest. To get here. So...yeah. Don't think too much of it."

"No. No, I..." He blew out a breath, then nodded again. "Alright. I will warn the others. Do you...is there anything else I can do? To...help?"

I shook my head without making eye contact. "No. Like I said, anything else would raise suspicion, so..."

"Alright. I'll...go then. You...hang in there. We'll get you back home soon."

I wished he would stop sounding so...so...sympathetic, and...nice. It was messing with my brain, especially the part that wanted to keep hating him forever. I knew what I needed to say in reply, but it took a ton of effort to force it up my throat and out my mouth.

"Thanks."

He was gone a moment later. I sucked in a deep, shaking breath, squeezed my eyes shut, and held it for as long as I could before I had to blow it out and gulp in another. I did it. I had faced Saix...Isa...whoever he was now, and done what I needed to do. Help was coming. Help is coming. I wished I could tell Riku, so that he could have this seed of hope, too, but for now I would have to be content with the confidence it would hopefully give me if we were brought together again.

Not five minutes had passed before another corridor opened up. I half expected Saix to walk through, but it was Xigbar, instead. My immediate response, as usual, was to glare at him.

He chuckled. "Looks like your mood has improved plenty since I left."

"Well, my situation hasn't improved, so why would it?" I shot back. "Maybe try unchaining me, and see what that does for my mood."

"Funny." His Keyblade flashed into his hand, the Keyblade that had killed me, hurtling down toward my chest, plunging into me, leaving pain pain pain, and I couldn't help but cringe. "That's actually exactly what I came in here to do."

I watched warily as the weapon swung toward me, but Xigbar merely tapped it twice against the chains on my right arm, releasing them to clatter to the floor. An involuntary groan of relief escaped me as I slumped over forward. Slowly, painstakingly, I drew my hands into my lap, grimacing as the blood flow rushed to get back to normal.

"I never intended to keep you chained up for long. I just wasn't sure what you'd be like when you first woke up, didn't want to take any chances. Besides, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to make your boyfriend extra nervous about the state you were in."

I lifted my head to retort, but he was bending down over me and snapped something around my wrist before I could. "You'll need one of these now. Pretty sure you know how that works."

I didn't even need to look down to know I would find a black cuff staring up at me. Gritting my teeth and holding my breath against the onslaught of memories, I tried my best to turn the anxiety into anger and glared again.

"What, did ya think I was just gonna let you run around summoning whatever magic you wanted?" He planted his hands on his hips. "As if. You've gotta stay here and behave yourself until it's your time to shine. Then, and only then, I'll take that thing off."

"I don't get it." Bracing my hands against the arms of the chair, I pushed myself up to my feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness and nausea that washed over me as best I could. My legs felt a bit like jello beneath me, but I was tired of being talked down to, literally and figuratively.

"Why do you even need me? You already have Ava and Kairi. I'm the only 'third' doppelganger, assuming we're still ignoring the existence of Kaj. And if I'm right, you're the 'friend' that brought the others to this universe, which means you're a –" I almost said portal-maker, but I hated that title with a seething passion. What was it the others had called me? "A Traveler." It was a much better name, even if it had come from people I didn't like. "So why would you need me?"

"Ah, little poppet." He stepped forward, hand outstretched as if he was going to caress my face.

I stumbled back, tripping over the chair behind me in my haste to get away from him, spinning around clumsily until the chair and a few yards were between us. Tears of anger and fear burned in my eyes as I pointed a stiff, shaking finger at him. "Don't. Don't you dare. You don't touch me. You don't...just stay away."

Again, he only looked amused by my struggle, lifting his hands in mock surrender. "Got it. No touching." Crossing his arms, he gazed down at the floor. "Guess I got a little caught up in the moment there. You just...remind me so much of myself, ages ago."

Somewhere inside, I knew I shouldn't take the bait, but the word was out my mouth before I could stop it. "What?"

A small smile played over his lips. "Let me tell you a little story." Pacing a few steps to the wall, he leaned up against it with one shoulder, arms still folded across his chest. "My Master had six apprentices. Five of them rose to be Keyblade Masters themselves, were each put in charge of their own unions with hundreds of new wielders under their care. They were...amazing. Fierce, strong, smart...and they deserved the titles and responsibility that our Master gave them.

"Then there was me." He huffed a little laugh. "I didn't even have a Keyblade. For the longest time, I had no idea why I was even there. Why would a Keyblade Master choose an apprentice who didn't have a Keyblade?"

My brow furrowed, and I only fought against myself for a moment before blurting out, "But you do have a Keyblade now."

"Yeah. I do." His smile grew a little bigger, a little more genuine, or so it seemed. "Eventually, the Master gave me his own Keyblade. See, he knew all along that I was worthy of bearing one, but carrying his was so much more of an honor than summoning my own. He also gave me the most important task to carry out when he went away. In the end, I became just as great or greater than my peers."

"What is your point?"

Xigbar shoved off the wall and slowly walked toward me, using his hands to emphasize his words. "My point, little poppet, is that you're where I was before I was given the Keyblade. Everybody around you is doing great, important things. They're becoming Masters, and being chosen for tasks that you feel like you could do if somebody would just give you a chance. But you're in the background. You're overlooked. You're not as qualified as they are. You're torn between feeling like you deserve some attention and feeling like you have no business being in their company at all."

He was right in front of me by then, hovering over me, and I couldn't breathe and I didn't know if it was from fear or from the truth of his words, rooting down into my soul and finding out all of those deep, dark places that I never could tell anybody about.

His voice softened, and his one eye bore into mine. "But that's not the end of your story, just like it wasn't the end of mine. You've got greatness in you, poppet, and you don't even realize it. I've got all those other doppelgangers, yeah. But their role is minuscule compared to yours. Pretty soon, you're gonna rise up and outshine them all, and everyone's gonna realize just how much they underestimated you and your strength."

I was completely entranced. His words were music, pouring over me, telling me all of the things I had longed to hear for so long. I wanted it. I wanted it so bad it hurt. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his hand come up again, lingering in the air beside my face as if his knuckles ached to brush against my cheek.

"You're so special, poppet." He was almost whispering. "They'll all see it soon. You'll see."

The gloved hand came closer, so close that I could nearly feel it, and I knew in that moment that I would have allowed it, would have welcomed it, even, might have gone so far as to let my eyes drift shut and lean into the touch. But instead, it dropped, and Xigbar stepped backward with the smirk that I was so much more used to seeing on him than whatever this softness was. He snapped his fingers, and a table with a plate of food on it appeared in the corner from a puff of smoke.

"Eat up, little poppet. You'll need your strength."

He was gone as suddenly as he had appeared. As soon as the room was empty again, I gasped in air as if I hadn't breathed at all for the past few minutes, and for all I could tell, I hadn't.

What...was that?

A/N: Please don't come after me if anything I say in this chapter or any in the future doesn't line up with stuff in the mobile games or whatever all the prequels are now. I had a hard enough time trying to make all the bits of info we have work together to make sense, I did not have the mental energy to try to make sure every single thing was perfectly canon, especially with games that I haven't played and don't really want to.

So, what do you think? I would ask if anybody has figured out what Xigbar was doing there at the end, but I'd be really, really surprised if anyone ever did without being told since it's something I totally made up with no base in canon haha.