Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days
Chapter 17: The World That Never Was part VIII
Roxas POV
"We've found one of our most important members." Xemnas declared with a small smile on his features.
As Roxas stared at the nearly emotionless Xion standing beside the man, his eyes widened greatly. 'Oh no...was she caught? Or is this part of her plan?' he questioned rapidly in his mind.
However, he soon received an unseen nudge from Axel behind him, obviously urging the boy to keep playing along. Yet the silver-haired man merely continued on with his words, not appearing to have noticed this brief interaction. "It seems that she took it upon herself to fake her death. All to selflessly hunt down the traitors on her own." he declared, sounding entirely truthful in his lie.
"Which, she has already succeeded in part. As, by the time I found her...she had already disposed of Vexen, the Freezing Scholar." Xemnas added in a proud manner, to which he placed a hand to Xion's shoulder as if congratulating her.
Hearing this, everyone else's eyes widened slightly, surprised to know that the creation destroyed the creator. The tan-skinned man merely smiled wider when seeing these reactions, to which he released the girl's shoulder and looked to each of the others. "And thanks to the information found in Vexen's possession, we were also able to discover the location of the remaining traitors as well." he claimed as his gaze slowly drifted down to look at Xion.
"So...for all your hard work and dedication to the Organization, you shall be rewarded with the honor of personally finishing off the remaining renegades. In addition, you shall be given the official title; 'Xion, the Mastermind of Destiny." the man almost seemed to order, yet his voice sounded cruel.
It becoming clear to Roxas and Axel of what transpired. Xemnas had indeed caught Xion, placed her under some kind of mind control, and was forcing her to destroy the defected members as punishment. Atop of this though, the title was clearly taunting Xion for trying to escape the Organization. But even with this knowledge, the pair did their best to act as natural as possible. Knowing that if they were to make a scene right now, they would be silenced immediately.
Thankfully, Xemnas had just pat Xion on the back, as though urging her forward. "So then...Mastermind of Destiny, your mission begins now." he stated in a more firm tone, no longer seeming to be hiding the fact that he was literally controlling the teen.
Upon hearing these words, Xion just turned to the side and began walking away. Her movements looking oddly rigid, as though she was trying her best to stop an invisible force from pushing her onward. As the silver-haired Nobody turned to the others once more, he immediately spoke up just as it appeared like they wanted to say something. "Now..." he began in a calm voice that sent a shiver up everyone's spines, silencing any arguments that might be made.
"...the rest of you have duties to attend to." was all he finished with, before heading off on his own way in the opposite direction of Xion.
Said girl using a corridor of darkness and disappeared in an instant, making Roxas' jaw clench tightly. He was hoping to try and talk to her once the Superior was gone, but it seemed that simply catching the girl would be harder than he thought. As the blond shared a quick glance to Axel, the pair turned toward Saix and Luxord at their sides. This was far from what they expected would happen after their return, and was quite disconcerting for all of them.
'We'll save her somehow.' Roxas promised to himself with a silent sigh.
Roxas' Log: Day 180
It's been a number of days since Xion's return, but I haven't been able to catch her alone...much less speak to her. It's frustrating, and I'm really beginning to worry for the others.
Xemnas announced that Xion had located Larxene, but it seems she got away. I tried to go and search for her myself, yet didn't find any traces of anything. I really hope that the others can keep evading Xion...at least until I can figure out a way to free her of whatever hold Xemnas has over her.
If the worst comes, Axel and I will simply take Xion and run.
As Roxas readied for his next mission, he immediately rushed out of his room. 'Axel mentioned that Xion does return in the mornings to report to Xemnas. If I can just catch her before she leaves, I might be able to get some kind of insight as to how Xemnas is controlling her.' he thought quickly, all while picking up his pace down the long hallways.
Upon arriving in the meeting room, the blond did see the raven-haired girl across the way. Her already walking toward a corridor of darkness she created; "Xion!" he called out quickly as he kept running forward.
Despite pausing in her steps ever so briefly, the teen continued on and disappeared through the portal. Roxas came to a stop as the corridor vanished before he could reach it, to which he took in a few deep breaths. The boy not only trying to calm his frustrations, but also to actually catch his breath. Him having pushed his body quite a bit to arrive so quickly, despite it still not being enough. His head tilted downward, not even bothering to look up when hearing rapid footsteps approaching from behind. These belonging to Axel, as the man also tried to get here sooner to reach Xion.
"Still always two steps ahead of everyone." the red-haired Nobody muttered out in a slight pant.
"She's still in there though." Roxas claimed silently, slowly looking to his friend from over his shoulder.
"I saw her stop for a split second when I called her name...so she's still aware of what's going on." he continued in a serious tone.
Hearing this, Axel's eyes widened slightly in shock and a bit of horror. Both of them realizing that if this was the case, Xion was literally watching herself destroy those she was ordered to hunt down. Making her suffer all the more, knowing that she couldn't do anything to stop the very hands that dealt the final blow. "We have to save her, before it's too late." the blond stated in a firm manner, to which Axel simply nodded in agreement.
"No matter what." the man added with a great deal of conviction, seeming to be agreeing with the idea that Roxas had earlier.
If it comes to it...they'll flee the Organization.
Roxas' Log: Day 200
Xion keeps avoiding me and Axel each and every time! Regardless of how, when, or where we try to confront her. She is constantly ahead of us. I never realized just how sharp she really was, until it was being used against us.
But worse yet, we're being called into a meeting. And judging by the mood of everyone present, I'm dreading what news Xemnas is about to announce. Please don't let it be what I'm afraid it is.
As Roxas looked up from his spot, his eyes slowly narrowed on the silver-haired man sitting in the highest throne. All of the remaining Organization members being present, save for Xion. "I bring great tidings my companions...Xion has eliminate another traitor. The Savage Nymph, Larxene...is no more." he called out with a smile on his features.
Hearing this, the blond's jaw tightened as his hands clenched into fists. While he silently mourned, he kept as straight of an expression as he could, as to make sure no one noticed how upset he was. It was painful to hear such news, but even more so having to pretend as if it was a positive thing. With a few deep breaths, Roxas simply continued to listen to Xemnas speak about Xion's next target. "We've already located Zexion, the Cloaked Schemer. With any luck, he too will be eliminated soon." he declared in a confidence that showed he didn't believe in needing 'luck' for such a task.
'This is it...we can't wait or pretend anymore. He just have to get to Xion and run away. If we don't, they're all going to perish as Xion's hand.' Roxas claimed inwardly, his eyes narrowing a bit further.
'But how can we get to her? Even without sneaking around, will we actually be able to catch up to Xion? Much less subdue her long enough to escape?' he continued as his gaze slowly drifted down to the floor in his thoughts.
"Therefore..." Xemnas spoke on, breaking Roxas' concentration briefly as he looked up once more.
"...I will send Xigbar together with Xion, just in case Lexaeus, the Taciturn Stalwart, is there with the other remaining traitor." he announced, to which the blond and Axel slowly shared a brief glance.
Both of them knowing that if they couldn't follow Xion, they should be able to track down the scarred man. After sharing an understanding gaze toward one another, the two turned their eyes toward the others in the hall. Not only to throw off the idea that they were planning something, but also to judge how everyone else was reacting to this news. Yet, to neither of their surprise, none of them truly seemed eager to hunt down the others. Even Xigbar himself, had a clearly uninterested expression on his features.
"If we are fortunate...we shall be rid of the defectors in just a few more short weeks." Xemnas called out as his voice echoed through the room.
'Not if I can help it!' Roxas proclaimed, tightening his fists briefly.
Roxas' Log: Day 205
Axel and I finally managed to track down Xigbar. While he kept his movements shadowed and hidden at first, he stopped after just a few days. Xemnas probably ordered him to hide his presence, but became more lax as time went on. Which has worked to our advantage, now that we've finally managed to follow them to an abandoned castle in Hollow Bastion.
Though we briefly considered trying to go forward in secret, both Axel and me decided right away that our time in the Organization was done. We were going to take our friend and go far away. Even if we couldn't break Xemnas' hold on Xion's mind, we had to at least get her away from him.
It's time to leave Organization XIII.
Roxas moved silently forward together with Axel, the pair keeping to the shadows as they watched Xigbar and Xion walking by. The former seeming to be conversing, yet the latter merely remained silent the whole time. "Are you sure Zexion is here? As if. This place looks way too run down for someone like him to be hiding out." the scarred man commented in a huff.
The two were just outside the back entrance to the large building, despite there being multiple holes where they could probably jump through. All the while, Xion just remained emotionless as she moved up to the door and placed a hand to its surface. "Hmph...you're even less fun than before. Back when you simply chose not to talk." Xigbar continued silently, rolling his visible eye in the process.
His comment however, immediately let Roxas and Axel know that the eye-patch wearing man did in fact know what was going on, to some degree. After the hiding two gave one another a quick nod of acknowledgment, they swiftly rushed up from behind the other pair. The blond teen summoned his Keyblade, before leaping into the air. With his weapon out in front of him, Roxas formed several pillars of light in a circle around him. Each of which seemed to radiate large amounts of energy, to which they all swiftly moved forward and toward his opposition.
At the same time, Axel brought his chakrams forward as they were instantly coated in intensely burning flames. He then lifted both weapons over his head, causing the fire to flare even more just as he threw them at his opponents. The fire contained on each chakram being highly concentrated so that they would explode violently upon impact. It was his and Roxas' hope to knock out the pair before they even knew what hit them.
While Xigbar was taken by surprise by this, Xion however, appeared to actually be expecting it. The girl simply flexing her already outstretched hand. But rather than effecting the door ahead, a wall of thick ice shot up from behind. This causing the chakrams to explode against it, creating a large cloud of fog and steam that blocked Roxas' view of the two. Yet his attack continued forward, now simply hoping that it would hit at least one of them.
With these towers of light hitting the outside of the castle, the mist was swiftly joined by dust and rubble. This made it all the more difficult for the two to see their foes, as the haze was too thick. The blond let out a silent growl, instantly realizing that Xion likely knew they were following her from the start. 'She must have been planning a counter since the moment we arrived.' he mused to himself, not knowing for sure if this was the case, even if it felt that way.
"You're now traitors to Organization XIII..." Xion's emotionless voice suddenly spoke from behind the two, causing them to turn around immediately.
"...I must eliminate you as well." she finished, just as Roxas and Axel were blinded by a huge flash of light.
It seemed things have taken a turn for the worst. Stay tuned for the fight between friends. Anyway, I hope all of you enjoyed this chapter and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.