Authors note: hope you've been looking forward to this chapter because it's about to become all hell for our favorite characters especially with lil' Kiyoni in the mix. Hope you enjoy and read and review.
Chapter 2: Shattered hearts shatter hopes
The door to her room once more swung open but she didn't regard it as she stared into nothing. Axel returned looking questioning at the girl in her chair that seemed as lifeless as a doll in a shop.
"Kiyoni I've come for your answer." He said approaching her and feeling the air around her thicken, even with the restraints her powers flooded out in small torrents. He hesitated and caught the taunting grin, pained, but taunting at his intended reaction.
"You're stronger than you seem." He commented and her blue eye looked towards him, her other once more shielded by her white, blue tipped hair.
"Enough for DiZ to recommend I wear these," she lifted both wrists allowing the braces to jingle at her sudden movement." At all times." She growled hatefully before fixing that gaze upon him.
"Axel, you are one of his organization members am I right? I've looked into your actions only once before but I recognize you." She said with an almost weary expression.
"Another underdog, another pawn in his game of power and supremacy. How does it feel?" She asked dryly.
Axel frowned, obviously disliking being compared to a mere tool. But then again, what else was he to this man? Where did his loyalty lie? To his members or to himself?
"My answer is yes."
He was jogged out of his thoughts as she responded finally to the anticipated question.
"I'm surprised." She gave him an inquisitive glance as if surprised that he was surprised.
"You don't strike me as someone to give in. Your defiance towards DiZ proved that." He smirked causing the same reaction from her. A wry smirk but a smirk none the less.
"What would you do when your last chance of freedom comes, quite literally, knocking on your door. I've been trapped here a year now and all I've accomplished is physical and mental discomfort." She stared off again but her expression no longer blank and placid, but sad and woeful. "I want to leave. Even if my only escape is death…."
Axel nodded. "You're a strong person, even if you're somebody else in another body." He said exiting the room and leaving her alone again. In the end, she was always alone.
How much time passed she wasn't aware of. It was neither night nor day, never sunny never dark. It was just…white. Never any different. But this was all going to change. She was going to leave these walls behind and witness the worlds beyond it.
The door once more creaked open and she was confronted with DiZ and Axel.
"I hear you have consented to run my little errand?" He asked and the intense wave of contempt seethed from her eyes once more. However she nodded to show she had indeed agreed to his terms.
He grinned once more and again it was not that of friendliness. It was the conspiring grin of a conniving beast lurking under the cover of night awaiting its unsuspecting quarry. But this quarry it had chosen would not be fooled.
"I want a full evaluation on this errand that you want me to do. What is it exactly?" She urged staring at the figures.
"Roxas the key wielder is beginning to realize that his dreams are more than just dreams and that he has some connection to the true keyblade's possessor. He is beginning to unlock his forgotten powers." He explained, Axel leaning against the nearly nonexistent wall. His brows furrowed hearing this from his leader, ultimately resenting that fact that he would try and conspire against Roxas. He himself had declined this job and was disappointed as well as unhappy that she had taken it up,
"Before that happens, I want you to take the Keyblade from him and bring it back here. " He approached the girl whose gaze intensified. He pulled a silver key from his robes and seized her wrist again, unlocking them.
Intuitively she began to rub her wrists and stared uncertainly up at the man. "You will need some if not all of your powers to capture it. However to ensure that you do not attempt to take more than what is offered, or take your own life,"
He upturned his palm and power began to manifest and solidify in his hand until he had produced a similar manacle she'd worn around her wrist. It was larger and looked too big to fit around her wrist without falling off.
"I have commissioned this to endorse our agreement."
She went rigid as he neared her and her power seethed and snapped at him, but then they began to ebb away and she looked frightfully at the contraption that he swiftly snapped around her neck. She felt the restraint weigh on her throat until it was actually an effort to keep her head up.
"It has all the properties of the shackles but allows some use of your powers. If you exceed that limit it will render you powerless. Be warned it will reprimand you if Axel is not capable of doing so." He said turning to the red head who stared vacantly at him.
"Do as I say," he said capturing her chin in his hand. "And your freedom is but one small step away." Kiyoni jerked out of his grasp glaring angrily at him.
"I'd like to see that." She reproached stepping away from his daunting figure.
"We will, we will." He said opening the door and leaving but sparing a glance towards Axel. "Take here there and see that she does as you should have." He spoke and sauntered out of the room.
Axel dared a scowl as the man departed their company before turning to the girl who was more than ready to leave.
He sighed heavily and extended his hand. "I want no part in this. You do whatever it is you want but I'll have no part in it." He growled tonelessly as she moved to take the hand.
"I won't need it." Came her reply equally masking her emotions as they flashed out of the room
Night had fallen in Twilight town until it truly represented its christened name. Twilight had come and the moon hung above illuminating the city below, basking it in its soft glow. Stars littered the sky and clouds drifted languidly across the sky in their deep grays and lighter shades. Peaceful and untainted by the darkness that hovered about it this hour.
However something had roused the young Key wielder from his sleep. His reoccurring dreams of a boy he knew only vaguely.
…Sora…
….Who are you...?
…Why can I see you…?
….What are you to me…?
His hand went absent mindedly towards his hair that he hadn't bothered to tame since he didn't plan on meeting anyone so late. Roxas walked sluggishly down the pathway, staring bleary eyed at the ground.
Sleep had come only to greet him with more images of Sora and his companions that flashed in and out of his view. People he'd met, and knew but not people he recognized.
Why was he dreaming of this? What was it about? These scattered fragments of information that plagued his mind. He sighed heavily halting and looking into the moonlight sky.
"What do you want from me?" he growled exasperated with the fact he couldn't enjoy sleep without being inundated with what he had to call memories from someone else since they were too real to be dreams. But then again, maybe he was wrong?
He was about to turn around when he saw something out of the corner of his eye.
He turned to see the end of something white run down another path and vanish. Curious he darted after it and spotted what had attracted his attention.
It was a cat. Its coat unnaturally white, actually radiating a white aura around its lithe frame. It stopped, turned to stare at him and he saw its mismatched eyes. One was a blank blue the other a wild honey gold. The fur on its head unruly compared to the sleek fur that lined its sides. It about faced and took two bounding leaps and stopped again to stare at him tail flicking lazily.
He was compelled to go after it. He didn't know why but he needed to touch the strange beast.
Its glow was extremely odd and its body language even more unnatural and he felt compelled to follow after the strange creature. It took off in a flash, streaking down the stairway and bounding away. Roxas dashed after it out of curiosity instead of the odd feeling tugging at him to follow.
It would stop and look back to make sure he was capable of following before resuming it's 100 meter dash and finally disappearing just when he was sure he had cornered it.
He panted leaning over and bracing his hands on his knees. Where had it gone? He looked up startled that he'd mindlessly followed the cat and was now at the train station. Where did it go? He'd seen it and then it had vanished.
Just like that man….
He recalled a similar incident when him and his friends had raised enough money to go to the beach and then a man in black had taken it without his notice and then vanished.
He frowned seeing nothing out of the ordinary and turned to leave.
"Roxas,"
He turned immediately after his name was called and was greeted with another figure.
Kiyoni stood before him, blue eye flashing intently as she surveyed him. She'd expected a little more resistance from the wielder or the key. But he had been as besotted as anyone when she wished it and he'd followed without complaint. He was older than she and even that held some reason for him to put up a bit more of a fight against her magic.
Roxas stared uncertainly at the girl who had simply appeared there. "Am I dreaming?" He murmured unsure if this was reality or another figment of his dreams.
She smirked ironically. "If only it was, then I wouldn't feel bad about this."
She lifted her left palm, exposing the hand that began to glow at her whim. A soft flickering light that grew and brightened and suddenly Roxas felt as if the energy around him and within was being drawn out. He stumbled backwards and stared at the ball that had begun to manifest in her hand and then lengthen. She grabbed hold of it and the beam of light split apart and then became two sickle-like blades.
They too emitted the eerie light and he felt his heart skip a beat as she charged at him. He rolled a fraction of a second before she made a swipe for him, however he didn't escape unscathed.
She had made a shallow cut in his left arm, tearing the shirt cleanly. She stopped her back towards him and looking expectantly at him. "Well?"
She urged as if waiting for something to happen. Roxas was at a loss. "Hey wait a minute why are you attacking me? I don't even know you!" He exclaimed as she dashed forward again in a zigzag pattern crossing her blades together to make a lunge for him.
Again he dodged and again he was cut this time in his right arm. And once more she stopped to wait for him. "Draw your weapon." She growled fixing her blue eye upon him with an uncanny wave of remorse emitted from her voice.
"What do you want me to do? I don't have a—"His mind regurgitated that strange key shaped weapon he'd produced when he was in danger of those strange creatures that had attacked him.
"Yes you do." she said about facing so she stared at him. "You have a weapon with you at all times and you've used it. The Keyblade." She bared her weapons again, crossing the blades again and leaping in the air and coming towards him.
Roxas was frozen as she plummeted down to him while his mind was amidst his memories of the strange weapon.
"SHOW IT TO ME!"
He jolted and brought his hands up to shield his face and braced himself. His hands shook with the impact of steel clashing with steel and soon he felt reassuring warmth creeping into his arms. He tentatively opened his eyes and saw he had once more summoned the key shaped weapon that was glowing faintly as her weapons did.
"There." She grabbed hold of it and yanked it away, or tried to.
Roxas held fast, putting a grip on the blade that would do a vice proud.
"Roxas let go and you will live, for however long you can." She insisted and he realized she was still hovering above him. He caught a glimpse of her right eye and found a golden one instead of a blue one. The image of the frisky cat he'd chased returned, it's blank blue eye and its wild gold was the same as hers. So much the same he believed this WAS the cat. But that wasn't possible. But then again those weird willowy creatures weren't exactly normal everyday things either.
"What are you taking about! Are you saying I'm going to die or something?" He thrust his arms forward with enough force to release her grip. She wasn't in the least startled and fluttered to the ground with a soft tap as her feet touched the concrete. She gazed solemnly at him as if she knew something he didn't. Something about him that he didn't know, or was about to find out.
She sighed heavily before replying. "In a way, yes you will die" Her gaze shifted towards the twilight sky with a longing. "It is fated for everyone like us. To return from which we have come. Willing," she returned her gaze to him. "Or not."
"Roxas, you are a target at the moment. As long as you have that," she pointed towards his mystical weapon and bringing his gaze along with it to examine it. "You will be hunted."
She laughed sardonically. "Life's a funny thing. What's created must eventually be destroyed and then recreated. We're disposable and parasitic eventually returning to the host and living off it. Everything helps or hurts each other. Roxas," her tone had died and now gained volume as she once more bared her weapons in front of her. "Fight me as you would an enemy. Fight me as if your very life depended on it. Fight and try not to look into the face of who haunts your sleep. FIGHT FOR REAL!"
With that she charged forward, bringing both her weapons forward and making a slash for his abdomen. Roxas grunted but blocked the blow and leapt back. She knew something and wasn't telling him. She knew he was plagued by Sora's memories for she too was plagued by something similar.
She leapt into the air again but instead of leaping towards him she brought both her weapons back as one would a sledge hammer and brought them down. To his astonishment as well as horror the sickle-like weapons grew into two monstrous scythes and came plummeting towards him. He moved with no room to spare and found himself staring wide eyed at his reflection in the blades that were now bigger than he.
Kiyoni growled as she floated down and the weapons retracted becoming normal sized again but now embedded in the ground. She yanked one free, but the other was wedged within the cobblestone.
Roxas took this moment to launch an attack, slashing at her fiercely but effectively. With only one weapon to guard her with, Kiyoni found it was slightly harder to keep his strikes at bay until he successfully knocked her blade from her grasp.
The sickle whistled out of her hands and struck the ground at the tip. She was stunned for a moment and once more felt the fury of blows befall her, but this time without a weapon to help deflect them. She generated what powers she had access to and forced him back with a barrier. Panting lightly Roxas stood a few feet away positioned to attack again.
Kiyoni yanked harder and managed to free her second blade extended her right hand and the other sickle whizzed back handle first into her palm.
"You fight like him too." She said rubbing her chin from where held struck her face.
"You know him?" Roxas pried wanting more information on who and what was doing this to him.
"In a way. But I'm not here to tell you that, only to do what I have to." Kiyoni lunged again but this time mid-leap, she began to spin. Her spiraling movements creating a tornado of light and she crashed head long into his weapon
It was like blocking a massive drill. Roxas found himself slowly being pushed backwards and pushed into the ground. He gritted his teeth one eye closed from the bright intensity of the light and forcing himself to look into it. He saw a flash of gold and determined it was her eye and grunted as he felt the earth around him crack under her force.
Move Roxas! Move!
The voice was distant, intent and urging him to fight back. He dared to look behind him for whoever had called him hopefully an ally.
But nothing was there and when he brought his attention back to the drilling power it had disappeared.
"FOCUS!"
He whipped around in time to feel something with the force of a cart crash into his side. He caught a glimpse of Kiyoni as she hovered in the air her hands empty except for a pair of glowing white spheres that revolved above her right hand.
Roxas groaned, winded and in pain with the effort it took trying to restore oxygen to his lungs. He struggled to his feet clasping his side and snatching up the Keyblade.
"Don't pay attention to anything else. Focus on the threat, hone onto it and don't allow it the chance to react." She instructed as if this was a sparring lesson instead of a full fledged battle.
She grabbed one with her left hand and hurled it towards him. He braced himself and swung at the bright sphere and it rebounded, flying back to its owner. She snarled throwing the second one to counter the first making a bright explosion between them.
"Better!"
She generated another pair but instead of only throwing one both shot forward and curled as they flew at him. She didn't pause this time to see what he would do and simply created more and began hurtling them towards him relentlessly.
Roxas found the projectiles harder to bat when they were coming in torrents. He swatted them back at her but didn't get the chance to see if they connected since he had to deflect another round of them. His arms were tiring and he was poised to bat more when he saw what was flying at him wasn't a ball of light and his opponent was reaching for the Keyblade again.
He shifted positions ready for the close quarters combat and swept to the side when she had come within range and shot forward with the Keyblade catching her precisely in the side.
She flew a meter or so and landed on the ground panting slightly. He noticed her jacket was cut in places and she looked as if she was tiring even faster than he was.
She regained her footing and spread her arms wide as if for an embrace.
"You're going to give me that key!" She yelled as more energy began to generate and form another sphere but this one spanned at least three feet in diameter. Glowing brightly she leapt into the air and the air around her began to sizzle and crackle with power.
"This is the end!" She threw the ball once more Roxas anticipated it but he was unsure if he could hit something that size without damage to himself. He looked at his weapon that was puny compared to the ball heading towards him.
Use it! You can win if you believe in it! Do it! Now!
The voice bellowed and he got an idea. He pulled back and threw the Keyblade.
The sphere halted in mid air as the blade pierced the center. It shook and the air shook with it until he felt the earth itself begin to tremble. Roxas watched intently, now defenseless and hoping he'd made the right choice.
Kiyoni was astonished he would try such a move and thought the blade might actually be swallowed by her attack but instead without warning it exploded. The air literally blew away from it, throwing her backwards until she hit the stone of the station steps with a disorienting thud. She moaned rolling onto her side only to fall down the remaining stairs.
The wind in her lungs was gone and there didn't seem to be any air left to breathe at all. Sweat streamed down her face, mingled with blood as she knelt on the ground. The collar weighed heavily on her neck and seemed to have tightened during the duration of the fight with every ounce of magic she used. She was about to rise when a blade came to her throat threateningly.
She allowed only her eyes to shift and stared up at her opponent who glared disapprovingly at her.
"Surrender, you're in no condition to fight me now. You'll just be asking to die and I don't want to kill you."
She laughed; it was a throaty sound as she looked at the blade at her neck. "I've been wishing for death for a long time so that doesn't scare me anymore." She growled as she hauled herself up.
Roxas taken aback removed the Keyblade from her neck astonished that she would even attempt to continue the fight when he had clearly bested her. Kiyoni stumbled, disoriented obviously and swaying dangerously until she fell to her knees, no longer able to stand. Her arms trembled with the effort it took just to stay upright.
"Who are you? What do you know about Sora?" She looked up through her bangs and then resumed staring at the ground.
"A nobody," she replied causing him to frown uncertainly.
"You can't be nobody, you're obviously somebody if you're standing in front of me."
She reclined casually as if they hadn't just been battling it out like sworn enemies. "No Roxas I can. I'm the essence of another person. I'm not real in a sense that my true self lies in wait for my return. Going back will mean death; going back is what I've tried to do on numerous occasions. But I've been unable to accomplish that goal." She muttered resentment refilling her voice as she leaned against the stairs to look up at him.
For some unknown reason the collar literally began to tighten around her neck, she sensed the shift in its composition and immediately determined she was being monitored and her words were leading the boy down a path of awareness. Something DiZ didn't want to happen.
The boy was looking bemused at the ground trying to figure out the best way to approach this new entity that might be able to determine the meaning of his dreams and the strange events that only he witnessed. But what did she mean about being nobody, being the essence of another person. Was that possible?
He looked up in time to see she once more was standing and the once white blades had begun to gray and suddenly turn black. He took a cautious step back as the light engulfed her radiating its dark aura. Her gold eye flashed and for a moment time stilled as they stared at each other on mutual ground.
"To gain that freedom, I have to take that key from you." She said wobbling unsteadily but using every ounce of energy she had left. She took a shaky step forward and Roxas took a step back, the dark aura surrounding her intensifying. Blood began to drip from around the collar that he'd noticed had actually shrunk and was cutting into her flesh. However she was unfazed, wincing only slightly but trudging forward with every intention on continuing this futile battle.
"I can't go back," she grunted lifting her sickle like blades again. "This is my only option."
Roxas was bewildered, unsure of what to do. He could see the determination almost as clear as the black light surrounding her. If he didn't fight he had no doubt she would fulfill what she had come to do, if he did he might be forced to kill her. He took another wary step back but bumped into something.
Cautiously he looked up into the green eyes of Axel who stared past him towards the girl.
"That's enough Kiyoni; you're too injured to continue."
He took a step around him and then stood in front of the boy in such a casual manner that it didn't appear like he was trying to shield him. Kiyoni however didn't halt her advance.
"I…can't. Move Axel, I'm going to finish what I started." She growled eyes flashing once more as a sudden, energy flooded them the wind around them kicking up. The choker was now becoming embedded in her throat, the once blue collar glistened crimson as it cut further into the tender, exposed flesh to try and halt her enormous flow of magic.
For a moment she faltered, her shuffling becoming a stumble as she neared them standing in front of Axel. She looked up at him and moved to step around him but fell off balance, woozy and unable to see straight. Axel grabbed her but found that was a mistake. Her blade shot forward cutting into his stomach forcing him to jump away.
Roxas looked at the man who now stood beside him clutching the wound she'd made and had enough time to bring the Keyblade back up to block a half hearted slash.
Kiyoni growled closing her eyes and trying to focus her vision that had begun to swim in and out of focus. Her second blade rose but her wrist halted as she was about to bring it upon the boys head. She turned angrily at Axel who glared scornfully at her between his red bangs shaking his head even while he clutched his wound. She didn't have the energy to throw him off but she would make due with the hand she had free.
She unlocked her blade from her opponents finding it harder to lift it and clutching the hilt carefully. It was her last chance. The black glow intensified and the blood flow around her neck began to stream like a river down her chest, drenching her shirt and pants.
With her last effort she struck the Keyblade and the air around them thickened. Just as the tip of the blade struck the other a bright flash occurred, blinding them all.
Each was thrown by an invisible force. Roxas now empty handed thrown off to the side, Axel against the rail and Kiyoni against the steps. Her head collided with steps and she was out cold, no longer able to remain conscious. Axel looked up as the two weapons hovered before them each glowing their odd light as if trying to outshine the other. A faint sound began to sound from the two, a soft wrenching crack and to his horror both weapons burst apart and broke….
Kiyonis's weapons fell to the ground in small black, glistening fragments. However the Keyblade as it cracked began to screech and suddenly the hovering fragments separated and flew off. One shard flew right at Roxas, who sitting in utter astonishment was pierced in the chest by the shard.
Another shard whizzed past him and struck Kiyoni who groaned from the intrusion but remained unconscious. The remaining floating fragments threw themselves elsewhere like tiny comets and streaked across the dawning sky.
Hastily snatching up the fallen girl he flashed out of the station. To report to DiZ the Keyblade was broken….
Authors note: Hope you liked this one its edgy I think but ending it like this I can't tell what's going to happen. Give me some feed back and I'll update. But only if I get 2 or more reviews!