Sorry this update was late, I had a lot of things going on last week that I didn't get the chance to write at all. I hope that this chapter makes up for it.
Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days
Chapter 8: Hollow Bastion part I
Xion's Log: Day 130
I've finally done it. I've left the Organization.
It's oddly even more freeing than I was expecting it to be. It honestly felt as though I just escaped prison or something. Not that I would ever do something to be imprisoned in the first place.
Anyway...I've managed to give everyone the slip so far. Hiding out in multiple different worlds for the past few days, just to be on the safe side. But now, I'll be making contact with the people I know to have a deep connection to Sora. While I've met some who are friends with her, none of them seem to know where she is. From what I've noticed however, the ones I've followed are the only people to address Sora in a present tense. So if nothing else, they should be able to point me in the right direction.
Taking in a deep breath, Xion looked at the door that lead into Merlin's home. It seemed a bit out of place compared to the buildings surrounding it, yet it felt strangely welcoming. After solidifying her determination, the raven-haired girl knocked on the door. Despite a brief delay, footsteps could be heard from the other side, slowly approaching the entrance. Just before it swung open, Xion swiftly lifted her hood up to hide her face.
The teen having forgot to do so in her rush to get here, but she managed to pull it up just before Merlin looked out through the doorway. "Um...yes? May I help you?" he questioned, looking Xion over curiously.
Though the girl appeared exactly like how the Organization members had been described, the wizard could almost sense something different about her. Xion herself offered a slow nod in greeting while clearing her throat; "Yes...I was hoping you could help me find someone." she started, trying to make her voice sound a little different in order to avoid the possibility of being identified as Sora.
This didn't seem to help though, as the old man just gazed at the girl with a blinking stare. "Sora?" he uttered out, almost unconsciously.
"Actually yeah...that is who I'm looking for." Xion responded with a nod, not catching onto the fact that he was questioning her if she was Sora.
Merlin simply went silent for a moment, his eyes seeming inquisitive more so than anything else. He could tell there wasn't any ill intent in the teen, but there was still something strange about her. "And you are?" he asked curiously, clearing his throat softly afterwards.
"My name is Xion." she responded, feeling an odd and almost innate sense of trusting the man.
Said wizard looked down in thought for a moment, this name not ringing any bells from the information he received. The one called DiZ having offered twelve names for the Organization members he knew about, and none of them were 'Xion'. But he couldn't let down his guard just yet, as there was always a possibility that she was a new addition. "And what is it you need from Sora?" he questioned a bit more carefully, his gaze slightly narrowed.
Despite opening her mouth to respond, Xion simply paused for a few seconds. While her bewildered expression was hidden behind her hood, it was practically visible in the fact that she took a moment to truly consider her answer. She had wanted to know and understand who Sora was, but what would she actually do, or even ask her? 'I guess I hadn't really thought about it until now. I'd been so focused on the 'how', that I forgot about the 'why'.' she mused to herself, yet quickly cleared her throat once more.
"Mainly...just to meet her." Xion answered, her voice being soft and unaltered as she spoke.
Hearing this, the old mage's gaze seemed to become one of understanding, as though he pieced together at least a portion of what was going on. "I see...in that case, you should go to-" he started, yet his eyes slowly drifted beyond Xion and to a point behind her.
As the girl turned to see what caught Merlin's attention, she saw an individual standing not far away, wearing an Organization coat. But while Xion tensed in the thought that she had been found already, she could tell that this person wasn't anyone she knew from the Organization. 'Which means, this is either someone entirely new to fill my spot...or it's someone who managed to get one of these coats themselves. I don't know where they came from, so I guess it's possible that people outside the Organization could have them." the teen thought quickly to herself.
Yet as Xion narrowed her eyes on this individual, Merlin spoke up once more while offering them a wave. "Ah, Riku...I'm glad you could stop by." he hummed out as a smile formed on his elder features.
A few seconds passed before Riku himself spoke, as he kept both eyes locked on the girl from beneath his own hood. "Well, you mentioned it was important." he muttered silently, taking a few steps forward while removing this hood.
The moment Xion saw the boy's silver locks and bright blue-green eyes, she just locked her gaze on him in shock. She knew this person. She wasn't sure how or why, but this Riku was familiar to her. 'Even his name sounds like something I've heard my whole life...despite this being the first time I've heard it.' she mused to herself, all as the boy simply glared at her in suspicion.
"And who is this?" Riku continued, seeming to be ready for a fight at any moment.
"Ah...she was asking about Sora." Merlin started with a small smile, gesturing to Xion as he did.
But before he could continue, Riku instantly summoned his Keyblade and held it out in a threatening manner. "Then she must be with the Organization!" he declared firmly, moving himself between the elder wizard and the teen girl.
"Still as headstrong as ever." Xion uttered unconsciously, to which she blinked many times in surprise.
This was the same feeling as what she experienced not long after waking up for the first time. The sense of someone else talking through her. It was something she hadn't experienced since that day, and it was just as confusing now, as it was back then. Which led for Xion to shake her head, as though in an attempt to block out whom ever's voice had spoke through her. Though, she immediately had to dodge away from Riku's upward slash toward her face. Doing so however, caused Xion's hood to fall back and reveal her face to the pair.
Both of whom just stared in utter shock and surprise, as they were basically looking at a black-haired Sora. Despite one of her eyes being gold in color, this girl's appearance was indeed just like that of their sleeping friend. Yet while Merlin seemed to show signs of realizing more of who and what Xion was, Riku simply hardened his features and readied for battle. "I knew it! They must have sent you here to try and trick us into believing you're Sora!" he claimed with heavily narrowed eyes.
"Oh! No Riku, she's-" Merlin began in an attempt to correct him, but the silver-haired teen just rushed forward to attack Xion again.
Whom leapt away just out of Riku's reach, all while looking at the boy silently. Her thoughts were racing, all as both eyes remained focused and examining. The pair moving further and further away from the house until Xion finally stopped. Them being inside the carved tunnel that lead into the ravine path, to which the girl merely smiled lightly. 'Somehow...this feels really familiar.' she mused before finally summoning her weapon.
While Riku was about to press his attack, he immediately paused a few steps away upon seeing this. His eyes briefly widening before they narrowed once more, him looking over the blade quickly. "That's...a Keyblade." Riku whispered out silently, genuinely startled from this.
"No...it's gotta be a fake." he continued in a huff, shaking his head and moving into a fighting pose.
Blinking a few times, Xion shrugged her shoulders and readied to fight as well. "Oh yeah? Let me show you how fake it is." she declared, no longer feeling it necessary to alter her voice.
As Riku glared at his foe, he couldn't help but start hesitating. Despite believing that this was nothing but a trick, he found himself having to fight the urge to not view this 'impostor' as real. Though, it wasn't for the reasons he was expecting. After turning on Sora previously, and causing her so much strife out of jealousy, Riku found himself being held back by these memories. For a few moments, he just stood there silently, but he swiftly steeled his resolve and simply rushed forward to attack.
Xion simply watched all this curiously, as she noticed his moment of hesitation. But as she saw Riku charge at her, she swiftly brought up a Reflega spell to block his slash toward her midsection. All the while, the girl's eyes just kept scanning her opponent. Reading his every move and being careful to differentiate between intentional, and actual fighting habits. Though she was a bit surprised to see Riku's follow up attack being a sudden blast of darkness from his free hand.
"Interesting..." she whispered silently with a nod, believing she had seen everything she needed to.
As the black energy pressed against the barrier surrounding the girl, said shielding seemed to shatter from the force. This resulted in an explosion of white and black, which then defused into a grey haze that rapidly disbursed. Once it had though, Xion was no longer where she had been. Yet Riku knew she wasn't gone. If she was anything like Sora, she would still be around somewhere. For this reason, the silver-haired boy began to swiftly scan the area with a narrowed eyes.
"Quite impressive that you can wield the power of darkness, and to that extent no less." Xion muttered out from seemingly all directions, obviously using magic to throw her voice.
"You can't hide forever." Riku claimed as his eyes shifted from side to side.
"I don't intend to, I actually just want to talk. But I get the feeling you won't listen until I've beaten you." the raven-haired girl responded, her shrugging shoulders practically being audible in her tone.
"Which has already happened unfortunately." she added with absolute confidence, as if stating a fact.
Hearing this declaration, Riku's eyes narrowed a bit further while gathering darkness around his form in an aura. "Is that right? And how do you figure that? Our fight has only just started." he stated while taking a few steps forward, him thinking that his foe must be just around the corner.
"I've spent a long time watching other people fight...so I developed a habit of understanding their quirks and habits in their fighting style. Which, depending on the individual, can still come out in the first few moments of a battle." Xion explained, stepping out from behind the wall Riku had been watching.
The moment she had, the boy smirked lightly and stepped forward. "You lead with your left foot." the girl whispered at the same time as when the silver-haired boy's left leg was suddenly encased in ice.
It springing up from a magic circle that flashed just under his foot, making it impossible to move until he took time to break it. But the moment he wasn't able to move forward, Riku simply shifted himself slightly so that he could thrust his Keyblade toward the now approaching girl. "You overextend your thrusts in order to hit with more force." Xion continued silently, her smile still visible as the weapon went right through the image of her.
This showing that she had been an illusion, and lead for Riku to swiftly turn his head to look behind him. The real Xion being just a few steps away with her own weapon coming down at him. "And you utilize darkness in an offensive manner..." the raven-haired girl added, just before Riku released the aura he created around him.
Which formed into a dome of destructive darkness that echoed outward, yet Xion seemed to slash right through it with her Keyblade. "...rather than defensively." she finished with a shrug while pointing her weapon at the boy's throat.
Though she made no threatening move, it was obvious that she had already gotten through his defenses. Even the smallest attack would hurt him a great deal, yet Xion simply watched Riku slowly turn around. With the ice having shattered from his burst of dark energy, the boy was able to face his opponent. His eyes narrowed heavily, as the desire to continue fighting burned even stronger in his blue-green orbs. "You're pretty good, I'll give you that. But I can overcome whatever tricks you've got." he declared firmly, gripping his Keyblade a bit tighter.
Hearing these words, Xion actually gained a soft smile as a result. "You must really care about Sora, huh?" she asked, actually lowering her Keyblade.
With a raised brow and mildly confused gaze, Riku looked the girl over before nodding in response. "Of course I do, she's one of my best friends. Which is why you can forget about trying to impersonate her. No one ever could be as down right annoying, impatient, kind, and stupidly fun to be around as her." he stated, unable to help the faint smile he gained while talking about his friend.
A few seconds passed without the raven-haired teen speaking, yet her own smile widened slowly. "So 'that's' what she's like." she murmured, a hopeful look being visible in her eyes as she seemed to have fully dropped her guard.
As he heard and saw this, the determination to fight instantly began to falter. His own stance slacking as he just looked at the girl with a tilt of his head. "You're not here to trick us into believing you're Sora...are you?" he uttered out in a silent breath, actually feeling bad that he attacked her.
Xion let out a light chuckle and shook her head in response; "No...I wanna talk to her, and see just what sort of person she is." she hummed softly, almost sounding like a long lost relative eager to meet their family for the first time.
And there you have it, Xion and Riku still had a small fight, but not quite as full on as before. I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and look forward to how things will progress from here on out. Let me know what you thought, and until next time.