Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days

Chapter 19: Hollow Bastion part III

Eyes slowly widened in utter horror as Roxas gazed to his red-haired friend, the ebony blade of Oblivion pierced through his chest. "AXEL!" the boy called out in a panic.

Yet as he moved to rush forward, a swift blur of red struck the side of his head. The blond's vision darkening as Xigbar walked up to his side; "Sorry Roxas...but you're still needed." the man claimed, as the boy fell to the ground with his body going limp.

"X-Xi..on..." was the last thing he managed out before losing consciousness.

At the same time, Axel weakly and shakily lifted a hand up to the Keyblade pierced through him from behind. His breathing immediately became ragged, while his sight started to haze. The red-haired Nobody knew this was his end, but he still looked to Xion from over his shoulder. Once he did though, his eyes widened slightly as the girl herself was gazing back at him. Unlike the vacant and emotionless expression she's had for most of the fight however, her eyes were filled with tears and held a deep despair in them.

As she opened her mouth to speak, only silent and strained sounds came out. The sheer anguish she felt seemed to free her will just enough to show her emotions, but she was still unable to break free entirely. During the girl's continued attempts to say something, anything, Axel just offered her a small smile. "It's okay...Xion..." he started in a near whisper, his form already starting to disappear.

The teen herself simply held an expression of utter desperation. She wanted to stop herself from destroying her friend more than anything, but she couldn't even say how sorry she was in this moment. While Xion couldn't manage these words, the man seemed to understand her regardless. Him giving a slightly wider smile, along with a weak wink; "We both forgive you."

"So don't worry...we'll meet again, somehow...somewhere..." Axel finished, before completely fading away, his smile remaining all the way till the end.

Xion just stared at where her friend had been for a few long moments, unmoving and entirely silent. All the while, Xigbar watched carefully and took a few cautious steps toward her, unsure if she was breaking free of Xemnas' influence or not. As she lifted her eyes to meet his, they were void of emotion once more, despite the tears rolling down her cheeks. Upon seeing this, the man let out a sigh in relief. "Ya know, it's a little scary how strong you are." he muttered aloud, yet his words were clearly directed at Xemnas.

Xigbar then turned back to Roxas with a small smirk curling his lips; "Alright...lets get him back to the castle." he claimed while leaning down to pick the boy up.

However, both he and Xion felt a sudden impact against their sides, causing them to be flown in the opposite direction. Tumbling across the ground many meters away, the pair jumped back to their feet and looked toward whatever just hit them. As they did, the two stared with surprised gazes at a somewhat out of breath Kairi. Her eyes narrowed and determined while stepping between them and Roxas. A staff clutched in one hand, as she held it out in a defensive position. This weapon being nearly as tall as the girl herself, with all manner of crystalline flowers and vines embedded into the wooden surface.

"Sorry...but he's coming with me." she claimed in a firm tone, lifting her staff into the air.

Though Xigbar moved to point his weapon at her, the auburn-haired teen slammed her weapon onto the ground. Of which caused a large wall of ice to form between them in an instant. Along the outside of this wall, facing the two, was an engraved magic circle that immediately flared to life. Gasping in shock, Xigbar tried to turn and run away, but the explosion that burst from this magic detonated beforehand. Xion herself being too drained of magic and stamina to even attempt to dodge, as both of them were thrown back by the blast.

Even after landing hard on the ground once more, they still got back to their feet swiftly. Upon turning toward where Kairi was, they simply saw a thick mist and fog obscuring the area. Yet they didn't even need to wait till it dispersed, to know that the teen had already fled with Roxas. "Well crap...looks like she got away." he said while shrugging his shoulders, not seeming overly disappointed in this outcome.

Roxas' Log: Day 207

Axel...

Xion...

Why?

Why did it turn out like this?

We were supposed to be friends...friends till the very end.

As Roxas groaned silently, his eyes slowly opened. Though the boy's head throbbed in pain, his vision slowly focused on the room around him. Which he quickly realized was not in the Organization's castle, like he was expecting after what he saw and heard last. While he was immediately on edge, it was somewhat less so, knowing that he didn't appear to have been taken by the Organization.

Gradually and stealthily, Roxas sat up and began glancing around to determine where he was. The room itself was a warmly-lit interior, with many stacks of books scattered all over the floor. There also being a table and chair placed near of the bed he was laying upon, though there wasn't anyone currently sitting in it. On the opposite side however, Roxas did see a few figures standing close to the only visible door. They appeared to be speaking to one another in a hushed tone, all while facing an auburn-haired girl with her back to him.

Upon seeing her though, there was a flash of memory in the boy's mind of this teen. She felt so familiar to him, as even her name seemed like it was right on the tip of his tongue. But he was shaken free of these thoughts when the girl spoke up in a bit of a louder tone. "We have to at least try." she claimed in a firm voice as she looked between the others.

Each of whom slowly nodded in response, unable to argue against her words. Yet they all eventually turned their gaze toward the blond himself, just as he laid back down, pretending to still be asleep. A few brief moments passed before Kairi continued on silently, looking back to the others once more. "After what I saw, he deserves at least that much." she claimed in a very hard tone, as though she was trying to keep herself from crying.

Roxas' jaw clenched when hearing this, piecing together the fact that this girl had witnessed Axel's death as well. His throat tightened slightly, which made it harder to pretend that he was sleeping, since his breathing hitched with every other breath. The boy could even begin to feel tears welling up in his closed eyes. While they weren't falling yet, it was only a matter of time as Roxas couldn't help but replay the scene in his mind. And with both eyes closed, the blond's imagination was free to continue showing him the moment of Axel's death, over..and over..and over..and over...

He was thankfully pulled free from this dwelling, when a familiar voice spoke up from near of the bed. "You don't have to pretend to sleep anymore, Roxas. You're safe here."

The boy's eyes snapped open as he turned in the direction of the voice, where he saw Zexion sitting in the seat at the table. Though he hadn't been there previously, he certainly was there now. But before the blond could speak, the older teen waved a hand slowly. "It's alright...no one in the Organization knows where we are. We've fooled Xion and Xemnas into thinking we've gone elsewhere." he stated in a confident tone.

Upon saying these words, the pair gained the attention of the others. All of whom turned in this direction and began walking over to the bed. "Ah~, so you must be Roxas, Xion told us a lot about you. My name is Merlin." an elder man spoke up with a small smile from beneath his long white beard.

"This is Leon...Yuffie...Cid...and Kairi." he continued, gesturing to each individual as he introduced them.

Roxas himself just glanced from one to the next a blinking gaze, him being somewhat surprised to hear that they knew Xion. But he slowly sat himself up once more, shifting his eyes from one person to the next. "How long was she here?" he asked silently after clearing his throat, it still being somewhat clenched.

"Not overly long, she stayed mostly in Twilight Town during her time with us." Leon answered with a slow shrug of his shoulders.

"But her contributions were really big. It was even her idea to put the illusion spell we have around this place." Yuffie added in a gleeful manner while smiling, attempting to add a little levity to the conversation.

While appreciated, the mood in the room clearly showed that it was still too soon for it. Upon seeing this, the older girl just offered an apologetic bow and took a step back. Cid immediately took her place as he moved up and shrugged his shoulders; "Well, not to rush ya or anything...but we have decided to strike back against the Organization some time soon. And this one figured you might want in on it." he stated, making a brief gesture to Kairi before crossing his arms.

Roxas blinked once more in response, yet his eyes drifted down to his gloved hands. He was clearly trying to focus his mind, but it was difficult to do so with all that has happened. Though, just when he took in a breath to possibly answer, Kairi's hand slowly came into view and clutched one of his hands. "I know...you don't have to answer right away." she started in an encouraging tone.

"Our plans are still in development, so take some time. I don't want you to force yourself into anything." Kairi claimed while giving his hand a gentle squeeze, before releasing it.

Looking up to meet the girl's gaze, Roxas just seemed to stare silently. 'I can see why she...' he thought briefly, the image of a familiar brown-haired girl flashed in his mind for a quick second.

"I'll...I'll do what I can to help." he answered silently, earning a soft smile and nod from Kairi.

Roxas' Log: Day 210

Axel really did let the others escape back when they left the Organization.

I had a feeling that was the case from the start, but it's nice to hear that my guess was right. I just wish Axel could still be here...

No...I can't focus on that now. Zexion mentioned his theories about what happens to people after their Heartless and Nobodies have been destroyed. So if we're truly lucky, we might still be reunited...in time.

Right now, the big issue is fighting against the Organization. Even with fewer members, they're not to be underestimated, especially since they have Xemnas and Xion. Which is why everyone seems to be aiming to gain powerful allies.

But the main plan that all of them appear to be banking on, is this person called; Genesis. Apparently, he's very strong and will serve as an unwitting distraction for Xemnas. Xion herself came up with the idea of bringing him into a confrontation with the Organization. Though it all seems like it'll work flawlessly, I can't help but feel like there is something wrong with the plan. I don't know what it is...I just hope I'm simply overthinking it.

"Are you sure about this?" Roxas asked with a raised brow.

"What do you mean?" Kairi asked, tilting her head to the side curiously as the two were looking over a roughly drawn map of the town located outside of the Organization's castle.

"Even if we manage to draw them away from one another, and thin out their numbers...each member is still really powerful. Plus, they can all call lesser Nobodies to their side at any given time, so we won't really win the 'numbers game'." Roxas explained while looking to the parchment rolled out in front of them.

"And with corridors of darkness, distance doesn't mean much...since we can traverse it in an instant." he claimed, pointing from one side of the map to the next in order to further his point.

"Hmm...true, we didn't really consider that." Kairi muttered as she gained a thoughtful expression.

"What would you recommend?" she continued, slowly looking between the boy and the map.

"We'll need to find a means of keep their focus on whomever their main opponent is. Probably someone whom they would feel could serve as a challenge to them. Or, depending on who it is, they would believe they could easily defeat without too much worry. Which would leave them open for a sneak attack from someone waiting for the right moment to strike." Roxas claimed in a rather confident tone.

"You sound a lot like Xion." Cid uttered out from the side, as he was currently at the computer nearby.

Roxas looked to the man from over his shoulder, arching a brow slightly in response to his words. Yet he slowly turned away once more and shrugged; "Well...we did work together for a while, so I guess she rubbed off on me a little." he said silently, a small smirk curling his lips.

'Lets just hope it's enough.' the boy added inwardly as he glanced to the map again.

And so, the final stage is being set. Much earlier than in the original, though...what does that mean for our heroes? Find out in the next chapter, which will be the main confrontation. I hope all of you enjoyed and will let me know what you thought. Until next time.