Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days
Chapter 16: Traverse Town
Xion's Log: Day 171
I think I've finally found him.
After taking into account the sort of research he would want to conduct here, as well as figuring out where the most optimal area would be to do so...I think I found where Vexen would 'station' himself.
It was oddly simple to put everything together, once I had all the pieces. Though, that is a little worrying, as I definitely can't be the only one to figure it out. But with any luck, I'll be the first.
As Xion stood in front of an oddly familiar door, she held out a hand slowly. The runic engravings across its surface shimmered ever so slightly with magical power, to which the flame design in the center began to glow red. After a quick burst of fire shot from the girl's palm and into the door, the wooden gateway slowly slid upward. While it almost instantly slammed back down, it was still just enough time for the teen to roll under it.
"Decent security for getting in." she uttered to herself before standing up and brushing off her coat.
The other side was a large underground pond, with a small island in the middle. The air was damp, musty, and somewhat sticky from the humidity. But as Xion glanced around, there was no sign of any sort of living area in the cave. The longer she looked though, the more everything felt familiar. More than that however, there was a sense of something missing on the small island. 'I feel like there should be a house there.' she thought to herself curiously, tilting her head to the side slightly.
A flashing memory passed through her mind, showing a small hut that would normally be there. Yet not only was there nothing, there wasn't even a semblance of a house being there previously. 'An illusion, I assume. Even better security to keep people from finding you.' Xion continued with a slow nod, to which she then lept across the water.
'Although...I feel like there should have been rock platforms that led up to the island.' the girl added in a silent huff before landing on the island.
While there was visually nothing on it, Xion could still sense something there. The sound of her breath didn't echo nearly as much, as if something large was very close to where she was standing. 'It's still here...I just need to find the entrance.' she mused, slowly reaching out and placing her hand upon the surface of something invisible.
The surface was rough like stone bricks, yet it also seemed to curve slightly as the house seemed to be circular in its shape. After walking along the left side of the island, the raven-haired girl's hand eventually passed through what seemed to be an opening. Upon which, it too became invisible together with the rest of the hut. 'Here it is.' she thought quickly, pulling her hand back slowly as it reappeared.
Briefly taking a deep breath, Xion stepped forward and through the illusion. Once she was beyond the threshold, she instantly saw a warmly lit interior of the small house. Though the area on the far end contained a series of scientific tools and instruments, the rest seemed more like a normal home. Multiple stacks of books lining the walls, two reading chairs across from one another in the center, and a bed off to one side. Sitting within one of the chairs with his hands folded, and his gaze fixed on Xion, was Vexen.
The man's eyes narrowed slightly as he merely sighed and shook his head; "I'm disappointed it took you so long, but...better late than never I suppose." he claimed in a slight huff.
Xion blinked a few times to his words, yet chuckled softly in response and shrugged. "I had a lot on my plate." was all she commented, no longer feeling the need to censor herself.
Vexen arched a brow slowly, but simply smirked and shook his head. "I see that you've become more accustomed to being yourself." he commented while making a gesture to the seat across from his.
After teen moved slowly to this chair and sat down, she tilted her head to the side curiously. "I assume you've guessed why I'm here?" she asked, yet it sounded more like a statement than an inquiry.
"I have a few ideas." the platinum-blond answered with a brief shrug of his own.
"Firstly, tell me...how far have you gotten in your investigation?" he questioned back, unfolding both hands and resting his cheek in one of them.
The girl took in and let out a silent breath as she simply leaned back in her seat; "I know what I am, and what that means for Sora." she claimed, to which Vexen actually blinked a few times in mild surprise.
"Oh? So you've reached the end then...interesting." he muttered quietly, almost as though it was to himself.
"I was hoping you would know of a means of canceling out the connection between me and Sora. Make it so that her memories can't go into me." Xion stated in a rather hopeful tone, showing that he was her best, and possibly only chance.
Vexen took in and let out a long breath, tilting his head up while seeming to think this over. "It was part of my job to make it so that such a connection couldn't be broken without the destruction of either one of you." he declared firmly, clearly taking great pride in his work.
However, it simply led for Xion's gaze and head to drop, a wave of dread filling her. While she had a feeling this could be the case, she still thought there was a small chance of escaping such a fate. "I suppose then..." Vexen continued, gaining the teen's attention once more.
"...it's a good thing that you were a failure." he finished with a slight huff, despite this being good news for the girl.
"While I dislike the idea that my failure is what might help, I will accept it nonetheless." the man said as he turned to the side briefly.
Picking up the top book from the stack of tomes closest to his seat, he swiftly tossed it to the teen sitting across from him. The book itself appeared more like a journal, as there was no title nor author on the front or spine. As Xion opened it, she saw all manner of notes that detailed the work he did in creating her. Though briefly hesitant, the girl began to read through it, her eyes narrowing in the process.
Day 1
Vexen let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, Xion's sleeping form on the table behind him. The teen had lost consciousness within moments after laying back down, which led for the man to run many tests and diagnostics on her. 'I have to know just what happened.' he thought to himself in a huff while gazing at the computer screen ahead.
Text filled the monitor for a few moments as it scrolled upward, yet swiftly stopped as multiple red boxes popped up. Each one exclaiming a failure of some sort, making Vexen frown heavily. "They were all successes just minutes ago...what changed? Was it that strange black liquid that came out of her eye?" he questioned to himself in a heavily annoyed tone.
"If only I had managed to take a sample." the man continued, looking down with a shake of his head in disappointment.
"Another failure...I'll have to start again." Vexen stated while turning around toward the teen.
However, his eyes shifted toward the still summoned Keyblade resting against the side of the table. "Although, if she can wield the Keyblade...then perhaps it's just enough of a success to not be a total failure." he whispered curiously, tapping his chin a few times.
'Her form is stable, if only just. So now, I merely need to figure out what had caused it to briefly lose stability. Perhaps if I can determine the cause...I can create some sort of serum that will fix her.' Vexen continued inwardly as he turned back to his computer.
After several hours, the platinum-blond couldn't help but blink many times at the result he found. "Just what is this?" he uttered out silently with widened eyes.
He slowly turned toward Xion with an almost fearful gaze, yet his next words were directed more toward Sora. "What are you?"
Current Day
As Xion stared at the last page in surprise, she lifted her gaze back to Vexen. The girl's eyes being filled with bewilderment, as she herself could hardly believe what she just read. "So...the reason why he's after Sora is..." she started, yet didn't need to finish as the man was already nodding.
"Yes, and it's the whole reason why you were doomed to fail from the beginning." he declared silently, a clear sense of annoyance in his tone.
Despite this news being quite heavy on the teen, he still couldn't help but be upset at the idea that he failed at something. Xion on the other hand, became fully silent for a few moments. Her stare not focusing on anything as she seemed to be looking straight through journal in her lap. She almost seemed horrified at what she had discovered, yet she slowly took in a deep breath. "Alright..." she whispered out, appearing to have come to terms with what she had learned.
More than this though, there was a new focus and drive visible in her eyes. Her turning back to Vexen with this stare and opened her mouth to continue, but was cut short as the man lifted a hand up. "Before you get too excited and start planning...there is one other thing I must tell you. It might be even harder to hear, but this is extremely important going forward." he claimed in a strangely serious and urging tone.
"If you will have any hope of getting through this without being destroyed, you'll have to plan for what's to come." Vexen continued, taking a silent breath.
After almost an hour, Xion reemerged in the Third District of Traverse Town. The door slamming shut, just as she rolled beneath it and swiftly leapt to her feet. With a quick glance around, there thankfully wasn't anyone nearby to see her doing this. As she stepped forward however, the quiet in the surrounding area seemed unnatural. While there had only been a few people walking around before she went in, there wasn't anyone now. Slowly narrowing both eyes, Xion cautiously continued to move forward and look around.
"Ah~, so 'this' is where you wandered off to." an all too familiar voice hummed out from behind the girl.
Whose blood went fully cold, as she turned her non-hooded head to look at Xemnas standing a few steps behind her. His piercing golden eyes focused fully on the teen, to which he slowly walked up to her side. Xion attempted to move away, but found herself too frozen in fear to move any of her muscles. Yet even when her fight or flight response kicked in, she still couldn't move. Once he reached her, the girl finally realized that it wasn't out of fear that she was locked in place, it was Xemnas' doing.
The man then placed a hand to her shoulder and gazed to the girl softly; "I despaired at your disappearance. I had truly believed you were gone, and that my plans for you were for naught." he said softly.
His tone being in a strange middle ground between honest and meaningful, but also mocking and taunting. But he merely let out a chuckle, which simply confirmed more of the latter emotions. "But it seems you are quite clever, and played all of us for fools. Quite the accomplishment I must say." he continued while circling behind the still froze teen.
Xemnas turned her slowly until she was fully facing the door once more, him leaning his head down a bit closer to Xion's. "However, it's time for you to fulfill your purpose. You will be my puppet...my instrument, in completing Kingdom Hearts. But in order to do that...you must get rid of all who stand in our way." he whispered in an openly manipulative manner, a small smile curling his lips.
"And right now...there is someone just beyond that door, who stands in our way." Xemnas continued, to which the fearful expression on Xion's face relaxed.
Her features became fully neutral, as though all the emotion had been drained from her. This also being reflected in her dull eyes as they stared directly ahead, vacant of all light. "Go..." the man claimed, giving the teen a gentle nudge forward.
"...eliminate the nuisance." he finished as Xion stepped toward the door and summoned a Keyblade.
Unlike the Oathkeeper blade she had been using all this time, this was instead Roxas' Oblivion. It having a visible aura of darkness surrounding it as she continued to stride forward. Even this was different and strange compared to normal. The girl typically having a sense of general caution when walking, something she developed due to her lack of strength. It being a natural means of always remaining ready for anything, no matter where she was. This was entirely gone now, as she appeared to move with absolute confidence and a full realization of power.
Upon reaching the door, Xion simply held her free hand out, causing it to shatter to splinters in an instant. She then walked into the cavern once more, all as Xemnas merely watched with a small smile on his features.
"Three more to go."
Now the 'search' for the remaining Organization members really begins. However, what did Vexen discover? Perhaps 'that' is revealed in the Kingdom Hearts II part of this story. ;) In the meantime, we're coming closer to the climax of this part. The days will be flying by, but now we'll be mostly following Roxas from this point on. I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.