A bit of a shorter chapter, but it was honestly all I wanted for this one. I hope all of you enjoy regardless.
Inverted Sky: KH 358/2 Days
Chapter 24: The World That Never Was part XIII
Xion gazed silently down to Roxas laying in front of her, the gold in her left eye slowly vanishing and returning to its normal blue hue. All while her power diminished rapidly, leaving the teen appearing extremely haggard and barely standing. Though the girl's expression remained mostly emotionless, there was a slight change in her demeanor. An almost defensiveness was visible in her as she lifted both eyes to stare at Genesis. A flash of light passed through them, leading for her eye lids to begin twitching ever so faintly.
Despite the red-haired man seeing this, he merely stepped to the side of Roxas and approach Xion. A somewhat curious gaze arose on his features as he spoke up; "Are you really unable to speak?"
While his question was simple, the implication behind confirming it felt heavy in its consequence. Genesis clearly desired information of some kind, and had every intention of lashing out if he didn't get it. Even in Xion's current state, she knew that by his mere presence here, it meant his search for answers had something to do with his recent battle against Xemnas. The girl's eyes narrowed ever so slightly in this realization, her previously subconscious mind starting to finally rise to the surface. But regardless of her slow grip on retaking control, the man didn't seem patient enough to wait.
Upon receiving no immediate response, Genesis let out a silent huff and shook his head in annoyance. "How unfortunate." he muttered with a sigh, briefly turning to the side as if looking at something or someone.
"Oh well...I have no further use for either of you." the man continued while shrugging, turning his gaze back to Xion.
Said teen breathed heavily as she was barely able to remain conscious. Not only had she used up nearly all her strength, but she also took an immense amount of damage from Roxas. Despite the sudden increase in power, Xion was not any more durable than she normally was. But as she watched Genesis turn toward her with his blade, the girl's eyes showed another faint glimmer in them. The teen's mind continuing to push closer and closer to the forefront, yet it simply seemed too slow.
The red-haired man merely rolling his eyes to this, before glancing down to Roxas on the floor. "I'll start with your friend here...maybe it'll give you a bit more time to speak up" he uttered out in an impatient and cruel manner, flipping his sword in a reverse grip while hovering the tip of the weapon over the blond's chest.
A sudden strain in Xion's limbs caused them to begin shivering once more. Not from weakness though. This looked as if she was pushing against an invisible wall that stood just in front of her. The girl's jaw clenched tightly as a spark of anger and desperation flared through her eyes. All this merely made Genesis gain a small smirk, now seeing that she likely only needed one more push. "Too bad you can't wish him goodbye." he stated while plunging his sword downward.
In the time it took for his weapon to reach Roxas' coat, Xion made an upward slash against the man's hand with the Oblivion Keyblade that appeared in her hand. The force of her attack caused Genesis to actually stumble backward, as his blade never found purchase in his target's chest. However, the man just chuckled lightly as he looked to Xion. "There you are." he hummed in a clearly pleased tone.
The raven-haired girl had her eyes heavily narrowed in anger toward the man, the emotionless expression finally giving way slightly. While it was still prominent in her features, there was a hint of rage that broke through and allowed her to take back even a fraction of control. "And here...I am..." Xion whispered out with a strained voice, obviously using a lot of effort to speak.
"Hmph...it seems you're only just barely holding on." Genesis commented while looking her over with an unimpressed glace.
"Regardless, I'll make this quick..." the man continued, flipping his blade into a normal grip.
"...what does this 'Organization XIII' want with Sora?" Genesis finished in a very demanding way.
Xion simply glared at the man, her grip on the Keyblade tightening further and further. The girl able to tell that not only had the man lost to Xemnas, but he was actually nervous about having to go against the man. It let her know that the reason he still here, was because he wanted some kind of confirmation that would allow him to not fight the Organization again. Even when Xion lost, she still won.
"You wouldn't believe me..even if I told you. So..just assume they're going to destroy her..without a trace." she answered back firmly, still appearing ready to attack at any given moment.
While the red-haired man appeared somewhat disappointed by this, he merely nodded his head slowly. "You're not wrong to suggest that, though it is still a dangerous assumption to make." he claimed with a sigh, making another cursory glance to the side.
"That 'Xemnas' is not someone I wish to fight again. Even with nearly with my full power...he was still toying with me." Genesis added, his jaw noticeably clenching in aggravation when admitting this.
"There was only ever one other person whom did that to me, and I have no intention of letting it happen again." he continued in a slight growl to his voice, a sense of old and burning anger rising upon his expression.
"If you think Xemnas is bad...then you better not mess with Sora." Xion claimed as the Oathkeeper blade swiftly appeared in her free hand.
"She'll be stronger than him in no time...so I suggest you just leave her be...before you get yourself hurt." she added with a clearly threatening tone, despite her current state of barely being able to stand.
Genesis himself merely chuckled in response, finding her attempt at intimidation to be amusing. "We'll see about that." he said quickly before immediately stabbing down at Roxas once more, knowing that the girl wasn't going to be sharing anything further.
Xion herself was already prepared for this as she deflected the man's sword to the side, missing the blond by centimeters as it pierced into the floor. But just as Genesis retracted his weapon to then stab at the raven-haired teen, she had swiftly brought up her Oblivion Keyblade to block it. Upon doing so, the man's eyes widened slightly before swiftly narrowing when his strike didn't even budge the girl. Whom had an aura of dark energy beginning to surround her once again, but even more power and intense than before.
"See you around." Xion whispered silently as she swung Roxas' Keyblade up to force Genesis' own weapon in the same direction.
In the split second opening this offered, the girl used her very being as power to thrust her Oathkeeper against the man's chest. Upon contact, a silent burst of energy poured forth. It being a pure white wave of power that streaked through the dark sky of this void of darkness. Like an aurora borealis across a lightless sea, it illuminated everything in its path for the few seconds the attack lasted. Once the light faded, so too did the last of Xion's essence holding her together.
A small smile curled the girl's lips as both Keyblades vanished from her hands. Immediately following this, she simply dropped to both knees and fell onto her back. A slowly forming pool of darkness began to gather beneath her. It being similar to the liquid that poured from her eye on that first day. As, now that her very core was gone, her body was swiftly breaking down. While not melting in a literal sense, Xion was very quick beginning to fade away like her many Nobody friends had.
Taking in a deep breath, the raven-haired teen simply stared up at the false Kingdom Hearts above. Her head slowly shook, with so many moments of regret flashing through her mind. "So much...for something so simple." she whispered softly, her head turning to the side as she was less than an arm's length away from Roxas.
Said boy was still unconscious, though his expression was a pained one. Despite him not sensing what was going on, he clearly still felt the failure of upholding his promise. Xion sighed softly and reached a hand out to his cheek, the two laying almost side-by-side, if only at a slight angle. The replica smiled gently, as her body was disappearing rapidly. "It's okay Roxas...it's over now." she whispered, lifting her hand up to tap the boy's chest.
Whereupon, a slight shattering noise was heard from something within his coat, to which Xion just smiled a bit wider. Her body going mostly limp as she let her arm fall to the side; "You know, that day when you first invited me to have ice cream with you...it was the happiest day of my life." she uttered out silently, a slightly wider smile on her features.
"While my life wasn't all that long...that moment was when I realized what having a friend felt like. Though it also made me see just how lonely I was, especially when you and Axel were no longer there beside me." Xion continued, a faint light starting to emanate from Roxas' chest.
"When you see Axel, tell him...I'll see you both soon." she said in a soft chuckle, her eyes slowly closing.
"You're both...my best friends. I hope you never doubt, or forget that." Xion finished softly, just as she faded completely and Roxas teleported away.
In that same moment however, the blond teen had awoken from his comatose state. His eyes snapping open while sitting up instantly, tears already running down his cheeks. "Xion!" he called out, seeming to have heard the girl's last words to him.
He tilted his head down slowly, both hands clenching into tight fists while gritting his teeth. Though many of the others were off to the side and saw his distress, they simply stayed back. Each of them able to quickly piece together what must have happened, simply from the boy's current state. Roxas himself immediately let out a yell of anguish, allowing himself to cry. The tears falling from his eyes hit his hands as they clutched at his tightening chest.
At the same time, Zack pushed Xemnas onto the same peak where Roxas and Xion had just been. Him quickly looking around, before back to the silver-haired Nobody when no one else was seen in the area. "Looks like they're gone, and you failed." he claimed firmly, not actually knowing what had truly transpired.
Xemnas himself glanced from side to side briefly, a brow slowly arching upward. Him seeming to be sensing the recent events through whatever remnants of power were lingering. But he soon let out a long sigh when appearing to have understood the events that occurred. "A mild set back, but nothing that cannot be fixed in time." he declared while turning back to Zack and a newly arrived Mickey.
"Keep telling yourself that." Zack almost growled out before rushing forward with his sword slashing toward the silver-haired Nobody's left side.
At the same time, Mickey came at the man from the opposite side and behind. The mouse's Keyblade striking at Xemnas' legs once more, yet this time, it was to make sure the pair's opponent would be forced to block or dodge either attack. As experienced fighters, both Zack and Mickey knew exactly how to work off one another at any give time. Which made it all the more surprising however, when Xemnas took Mickey's attack without flinching and even caught the Buster Sword in a now gauntlet-covered hand.
The King also realizing that his Keyblade struck a set of dark metal chausses', rather than a simple pair of boots. This made the two immediately gaze at the now armored form of Xemnas in utter surprise. Said man merely chuckled from beneath the crown-like helmet, before speaking up. "Most impressive I must say...but I'm afraid my patience for this charade has ended." he started as a large blade appeared in his grasp.
"It's time that I remind my enemies exactly who and what it is they face." Xemnas finished, a flash of gold emerging from the helmet where his eyes would be.
And there you have it, the final chapter for this part is next. I hope all of you have enjoyed the new version of this part of the story. It was honestly way more satisfying to write than the original, and hope each of you found it more satisfying to read. Let me know your thoughts. Until next time.