Kingdom of Chaos

Chapter 18: Perceptional Paradox

Author: Sketchy Sunshine of OSTOCOM

Rating: PG-13, just to be on the safe side

See chapter one for summary, disclaimer and other goodness. Otherwise, here's chapter eighteen! XD

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Marluxia overheard all of Axel's explanations to the group of heroes. With each word, his grip on the scythe tightened. Marluxia's hatred for Axel burned strong since Castle Oblivion…it was the drive that brought him back from the void. And now, this proved what he had suspected all along. Axel was a far greater traitor than he ever was…and he had gotten away with it.

Axel did not notice Marluxia's slow approach…and if he did, he made no indication he was aware. He merely awaited the response of the people he had brought together. Naminé looked between Sora and Kairi, suddenly torn between something only she knew. In Sora's eyes she could see her brother's spirit. She couldn't remember the last time she had seen him in person…but now he appeared as the only other boy she had ever cared for.

"Naminé!" Toshi spoke through Sora, his voice hesitant but hopeful. Sora wanted to speak to Naminé as well, but it was for entirely different reasons. "I…we've been looking for you for so long."

"I know you have…" Naminé sounded apologetic. Toshi recoiled slightly within Sora…this wasn't the bright and cheerful younger sister he remembered. What did the Organization do to her?

Naminé glanced back at Axel, who appeared to be waiting for her. She cast her eyes towards the ground. "Sora, Toshi…I guess this is for the best."

"Wait, what do you—"

Kairi did not expect Naminé's sudden dive into her person. Sora and Riku immediately backed away as Naminé's image disappeared into Kairi's. At first, she felt the normal cold and numbness of a merge…but this time was different. Instead of a balancing between her consciousness and Naminé's, she felt Naminé's consciousness being absorbed into her own. Kairi couldn't seem to stop the sudden integration of memories into her mind, or the steady disappearance of Naminé's own persona.

Why are you doing this? Kairi asked her other half.

I'm sorry… Naminé's voice was growing fainter, disappearing into a great distance. I'm not strong enough.

Kairi heard her no more. They completed the merge…but it didn't end as before. Her mind was completely reworked, filled with a series of experiences that had suddenly become her own.

Sora and Riku's eyes widened in shock. Kairi had changed not only mentally, but physically. Her hair was slightly longer with blondish streaks, and her eyes were a lighter shade of blue. She reached down and carefully picked up Naminé's dropped sketchbook.

"Naminé?..." Sora asked hesitantly.

"No…" Kairi struggled to make sense of what had happened inside her. "It's just me."

"It's just as Zexion said," Axel said with some interest. "Naminé's surrendered her identity to Kairi. She's become a part of Kairi's heart…they've merged permanently."

"Permanently?" Riku wasn't sure what to think of this…especially since it was the first he had seen of Kairi in what felt like an eternity.

"Together, they encompass the four Kingdoms," Axel explained. "Naminé can create or destroy memories…existence and nonexistence. Kairi can give or take hearts…light and darkness." He locked eyes with a slightly frightened Kairi. "And what I need is to exist with a heart. I, like the other members of the Organization, have originated from Chaos itself…we have no existent selves to merge with. The only way to live outside of the Borderlands is to either turn all Kingdoms into chaos…or else to become existent ourselves. And Kairi is the only one who can do that."

"…Kairi can give or take hearts?" Sora gasped. "But we've never…"

"Don't you remember?" Axel sounded surprised. "In Hollow Bastion, when you lost your heart and became a Heartless, she gave it back to you. Whether or not she realized it, she used that power."

Sora put a hand to his forehead. "Kairi…and now Naminé…"

No! Naminé can't be gone…not when I just found her… Toshi cried in Sora's head. Sora flinched, feeling Toshi squirm inside him. Their bond was beginning to break down…Sora wasn't sure how much longer they could hold the merge.

It's Kairi! I can't let go of her now… Sora protested.

No, it's my sister…

Sora was suddenly at war with himself. He couldn't figure out how he was supposed to respond to the girl before him: part of him saw his friend, part of him saw his sister, and part of him saw someone entirely new. The tension caused the frozen numbness of discord to return.

Axel immediately caught on, his eyebrows rising in panic. "Hey wait, Sora! Hold yourself together—"

The connection was suddenly severed. Kairi gave a short cry of surprise as Toshi seemed to step outside of Sora, and collapse onto his knees. Sora fell next to him, both of them gasping for breath. Sora clutched at his head with some unseen pain…he felt as if his mind has been split in two, leaving him hollow.

Toshi sucked in a few short breaths, then turned to Axel with fury in his eyes. "You used us! You used and Naminé and Kairi for your own needs! And now my sister's gone because of you!"

"She's not gone," Axel said, hiding any sympathy he might have had. "She's a complete being now, just like Riku. That's more than you could ever offer her."

"Please, Toshi! I agreed to help…I wanted to find Sora and Riku!" Kairi added in quickly.

"If I were you, I'd merge again now," Axel warned. "The sooner Sora becomes a complete being, the better off we'll all be."

Sora glared at Axel with equal disdain. "What if we don't want to merge permanently?"

The ground rumbled violently, causing all present to stagger a bit. The walls of the castle that weren't broken before now cracked, with pieces of Hollow Bastion's architecture showing through. "Because the Keyblade is linked to Kingdom Hearts, and so is this castle." Axel looked nervous for the first time, and reached his hands out as if to steady himself. "This whole place is going to cave in on itself if you don't do one of two things."

"What two things?" Riku asked.

"Either merge permanently…or else open the Door to Darkness."

Donald and Goofy, who had watched the entire ordeal from a fair distance, finally caught on to what happened with the rest of the Organization. Donald shouted out a warning: "Look out!"

Axel didn't even need to be told once. The five dodged out of the way as Marluxia's scythe sliced the air in two. He ignored the younger heroes, focusing his fury directly on Axel. "You filthy bastard! You've used both us and our enemies to destroy our Kingdom!"

Axel summoned his two axel-shaped weapons to his hands. "I'm doing the same thing we're all doing, Marluxia. I'm getting out of this hellhole and becoming existent. The only difference between us is I'm doing it the right way."

"By destroying us all!" Marluxia roared. He swung his scythe, and Axel blocked it with one of his rings. However, the force of the blow still sent shockwaves up Axel's arms. "You dared betray not just the Superior, but the entire Organization!"

"The Organization formed because we all wanted the same thing," Axel said coldly. "There was never any pact between friends."

Marluxia struck again, this time sending a spinning gale of sakura petals at Axel. The red-haired man threw a fireball, burning away many of the petals on contact. However, a few of the tiny razor blades got through, and cut away at his skin. Axel flinched, and Marluxia sent a second wave at him.

Riku, Sora, Toshi and Kairi moved out of the way of the personal battle. They tried to keep track of what was happening, but the deteriorating castle was a large distraction. Donald and Goofy joined them, and even Zexion watched from the other end of the room.

"What did he mean by we either need to merge or open the Door to Darkness?" Sora asked, the anxiety in his voice obvious.

It wasn't clear whether Sora would get his answer. While Axel wasn't letting on, he was beginning to weaken under Marluxia's onslaught. The scythe-wielding Organization member dodged Axel's fireballs easily, while Axel couldn't avoid the razor petals and pounding wind.

"Kairi!" She looked up in shock as Axel suddenly shouted her name. "Give me a heart!"

Kairi stumbled over her reply. "I…I don't know how…"

Axel was about to reply, when something else caught his attention. As Castle Oblivion crumbled more and more under the weight of its other half, three figures appeared out of the mist: two were men, tall and of a similar build, and the third was extraordinarily short with large round ears. They were locked in combat, but stopped at the realization that they were not alone.

Marluxia used the distraction to his advantage. He raised the scythe above his head, prepared to deliver the final blow. A sudden pop and displacement of air blinded him mid-swing.

When he opened his eyes again, he found Larxene standing between him and Axel…with his scythe embedded in her chest.

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The end again for this! Haven't started writing the next chapter yet, but I should today, if not tomorrow. We're approaching the finishing stretch… oO

Reviews are greatly appreciated! XD