Look at that. A new update in less than a week. I'm actually making tangible progress.
Time to start facing down the various members of the real Organization XIII. Let's hope that the guardians of light are ready to fight the thirteen darknesses.
He was alive. Lea was alive.
The thought pounded through Saïx's head, sharp and loud. Pushing through the hopelessness and apathy. Shoving back the foreign emotions of hate, rage, frustration, and eagerness to achieve Master Xehanort's goal. The thought found that tiny and dim part of Isa buried in the darkness, feeding the fragile spark that had refused to go out. He clung to the single thought desperately as Saïx stumbled through the dark corridor at Xemnas's command.
Lea was alive. They hadn't killed him.
Saïx didn't get his best friend killed with his attempt to help.
"Perhaps I was wrong, but I was under the impression that the required components were thirteen darknesses and seven lights," said Vexen dryly. "I saw more Keyblade wielders than the established limits. Did they lack the mental capacity to properly count?"
The scientist's words pulled Saïx out of his continuous mental loop. Xemnas had brought the pair of them to one of the larger chambers in the stone maze. The other members of the real Organization XIII were scattered throughout the structure. All of them waiting to clash with the guardians of light.
Including Lea.
"It is better for them to bring too many members than for the guardians to fail to collect enough," said Xemnas.
Keeping his tone even and calm, Saïx said, "It would appear that Larxene and Marluxia exaggerated the extent of their success." Crossing his arms, he continued, "I suppose that is what happens when you rely on the efforts of those who have rebelled and betrayed you in the past."
Saïx met his withering glare with a cold stare of his own. There was no point in pretending that Master Xehanort didn't share his and Vexen's treachery with the others. Xemnas knew exactly what they did. He knew that it was only the foreign and darkness-filled heart jammed into Saïx that forced his current obedience.
"You still think that you can help your 'friend.' You believe that we will allow you that much freedom a second time," said Xemnas, almost mockingly.
Dropping his arms to his sides, Saïx said, "I know what is to come. We must clash with the guardians of light. You and the others have ensured that we have no choice in the matter. We will clash with them, regardless of my loyalty or lack thereof."
"There is a difference between a simple clash to forge the χ-blade and a true battle. And it would be very easy for you to let the guardians win."
Saïx didn't say a word, neither confirming nor denying Xemnas's statement. But his silence was enough.
"Such a simple and painless fate would not suit a known traitor. Neither you nor Axel and his friends," he continued. "Do you know why I brought you both here?"
"Because you wanted to put us in the path of specific guardians," said Vexen. "Those that we would either be the most effective against… or who would cause the most pain if we were to face one another."
"Correct. Unless they become especially lost in the maze, the first group to find you shall be the one with your fellow traitors. And you will fight them. You will also destroy a few of them completely, if you are able. Body, heart, and their very existences. They did go to the trouble of bringing spares, after all."
Saïx clenched his teeth, but he managed to keep silent. There was nothing that he could say that would help the situation. He would be facing Lea. And possibly Roxas and Xion. A cruel decision meant to cause Saïx and Lea the most pain possible. Killing Lea was something that Saïx refused to consider, but forcing Lea to destroy him would hurt his friend. And if Roxas or Xion should strike him down, that act could damage Lea's friendship with them. No matter how things turned out, someone would suffer.
All he could hope was that Xemnas would leave him enough room to slip between his commands. He could only hope that there would be a loophole for whatever Xemnas intended.
"If the Superior would recall, I am not the most proficient when it comes to the combative arts and my last encounter with Axel did not end well," said Vexen. "Nor did it last long."
Giving them both a cold and merciless stare, Xemnas said, "The final outcome of your battle does not matter. Your fates do not matter. Master Xehanort merely requires that lights and darknesses clash in combat. Victory or defeat makes no difference. What I require is that those who betrayed the Organization and those that betrayed me pay for those actions. And there has only ever been one punishment for traitors. The two of you, Axel, Roxas, and Xion must suffer for your crimes. Destruction of several of those guardians would be preferable, but I will settle for Axel falling at the hands of someone that he considers a friend."
His words held no heat or fury. They were cold and detached. But there was something in his eyes that revealed Xemnas took all the disrupted and ruined plans very personally. He'd been prepared to an extent for Roxas and Xion to be difficult to control, likely due to their connection to Sora. But Axel had always been beneath notice. His repeated disruption to long-term goals hit harder because of how unexpected they were.
"The heart is such a fragile thing. Easily wounded and slow to heal. Perhaps death itself will be a balm to the pain of being struck down by you, Saïx."
Xemnas lifted his hand, letting an orb of crackling nothingness form in his palm. The sheer absence of existence was a power somewhere between light and darkness, a wrongness in the world. The summoned power grew until it was nearly the size of his head. But his golden eyes never left Saïx.
"And you will fight to your fullest abilities," he continued firmly. "Your obedience is guaranteed, even if your loyalty has crumbled like sand. The heart in your chest. The Recusant's Sigil carved into your flesh." Xemnas stepped closer to Saïx, the orb crackling with energy. "And the Berserk form that leaves your mind hazy, indistinct, and disconnected from the battle rage that grips your body. No rational thought, resistance, or hesitation. A perfect weapon that can be directed towards any target that I choose." He gave Saïx a cold grin. "I believe you would be more useful to the Organization if you remain in that state for the foreseeable future."
Xemnas slammed the orb of nothingness into Saïx, making him gasp as the unpleasant sensation poured into him. Unpleasant, uncomfortable, and empowering. Nobodies were composed of nothingness and Xemnas had dominion over nothingness. Saïx could feel him strengthening and manipulating the essence of his nonexistence. It felt wrong in a way that he couldn't properly describe.
It would be easy for Xemnas to twist and drain away every shred of sentience until Saïx turned into a mindless Dusk. That had happened to others who were not chosen for the original Organization XIII. Not many, but enough that they knew it was possible. But that's not what Xemnas did now.
Instead, Saïx felt like every nerve was burning. Xemnas pushed more and more power into him. Too much for him to contain properly. His skin felt too tight, old scars stretched tight until they were nearly splitting. His thoughts grew cloudy, his vision darkened, and his mind dulled. His breathing and the pounding in his chest raced. Too fast and loud.
Awareness slipped away. Time had no meaning. A heavy weight settled into his hand. His claymore, Lunatic. An extension of himself.
Destroy. Slash. Burn. Crush. Stab.
There was no Saïx left. All that remained was destructive violence and aggression given shape.
The sounds of fighting drew Sora through the maze. He ran through the dusty paths until he turned a corner and spotted a larger chamber up ahead. Several figures dashed and jumped around the open space. And three of them were targeting a familiar figure.
"Riku!" shouted Sora as he ran towards him.
Glancing over his shoulder without lowering his Keyblade, he called back, "Sora!"
They couldn't spare time for any further words. Not with their current opponents. None of them were particularly easy ones. But they were all far too familiar.
Ansem, the Seeker of Darkness, mostly levitated above the battlefield. Summoning dark orbs of energy to fire lasers or surrounding himself in those spheres to generate a damaging barrier as he rushed to attack. He almost seemed bored; his arms crossed in front of his chest through most of his attacks. The lack of his Heartless bodyguard, the Guardian, was a small comfort.
Xigbar was more focused on the fight. Firing his arrowguns at the pair and teleporting around the chamber, occasionally floating upside-down as he shot at them and ignored gravity. Some of the energy arrows would home in on Sora and Riku. Larger energy arrows would fire in a wide-spread shot that would then linger on the ground, ready to explode if they came too close. Occasionally Xigbar would fire into portals, the shots emerging from other portals to hit them at unexpected angles. Sora quickly decided that his worst one was when he would land in the center of the chamber and combined his arrowguns into a large bow. He fired an energy arrow into the air, opening a spatial rift that rained down countless arrows of dark energy which slowly expanded outward to the edge of the room. That one was a pain to avoid.
And dashing around mirroring several of Riku's moves and a few of Ansem's tricks was the younger, more arrogant, and darker version of Sora's friend. Dark Riku had discarded his black coat at some point, wearing the dark purple and skin-tight outfit that he wore when Sora faced him in Hollow Bastion a couple years ago. He remembered that day with far too much detail and those memories served Sora well in his current battle. Everything about him was almost painfully familiar. Dark Riku even used a three-hit combo so much like the one that Riku had used back when they were swinging toy swords at each other on the Destiny Islands, granted with a finishing shockwave instead of just jumping up and hitting Sora with his feet.
The battle only lasted a few more minutes before Xehanort's Heartless apparently grew tired of toying with them. He threw out a hand and darkness climbed up the walls, sealing the chamber. Then he floated upwards with the clear intention of leaving.
"Wait!" shouted Riku, charging forward before leaping after the humanoid Heartless. "Ansem!"
Jumping up alongside him, Dark Riku glared and snarled, "Where are you going?"
A vicious kick sent Riku crashing to the ground. Ansem turned briefly to smirk before vanishing into darkness. Sora barely noticed his exit beyond that, already running towards his downed friend. The impact must have at least knocked the wind out of him.
"Riku!" he shouted.
Xigbar, recognizing an opening when he saw it, fired at the pair of them. Sliding into place in front of Riku, Sora dropped into a guard position and deflected multiple shots with his Keyblade. He didn't waver even as he heard Riku climbing back to his feet.
"Hey," called Xigbar, "let's speed it up. Keep the line moving."
Sora glanced over his shoulder and met Riku's gaze. He responded to the silent question with a short nod. Sora then raised his eyebrows questioningly and Riku's head twitched to one side. Then they both grinned, years of close friendship making the wordless exchange possible.
Two Keyblade wielders. Two opponents. The easiest and fastest way to handle it would be for each of them to pick a specific target and stick with it until they fell. And Sora let the older boy pick.
Riku against his dark doppelganger. And Sora against Xigbar.
Sora ran, twisting slightly to avoid the shots. He no longer needed to split his focus on multiple opponents. Riku would handle that problem. He wouldn't give his darker past the opportunity to get past him. All Sora needed to worry about was the sharpshooting Nobody.
Xigbar tried to teleport away to find a new angle of attack. His fighting style worked better at a distance, after all. But Sora had already reached him and didn't give him the chance. One vicious combo immediately connected to another, Sora stringing them together as fast as he could. And when Xigbar managed to finally break free, he sent three Thundagas after him to keep the Nobody in place long enough to close the distance again. Somewhere in the middle of his fast-paced attack, Sora managed a quick Curaga for himself. But he never gave his opponent a chance to recover or retaliate.
There was no need to divide his attention now. No need to worry about anyone else on the battlefield. He knew that Riku had his back. He could make Xigbar is sole focus. And Sora could be brutal on his opponents when he put his mind to it.
While Xigbar managed to get a few more trick shots, they weren't enough to turn the tides. And at the end of a particularly aggressive air combo, Sora sensed something give way. As Riku and the younger version continued to fight somewhere behind them, darkness shot up from Xigbar in a thick column.
When the darkness dissipated, Xigbar collapsed to his knees and muttered, "Figures. If I had a Keyblade, it'd be different…"
"Like you're actually worthy to use one," said Sora.
"Oh, I am worthy."
Confused and slightly surprised by the assertion, Sora asked, "What do you mean?"
Xigbar slammed one of his arrowguns into the ground. Using it to steady himself, the Nobody slowly climbed to his feet with extreme effort. While his personality always rubbed Sora the wrong way, Xigbar wasn't weak-willed.
"The old coot promised to bequeath me his," said Xigbar. "Why else do you think I would ever put up with all his nonsense?"
Sora knew what kind of harm that a Keyblade could cause in the wrong hands. He knew that Terra, Aqua, and Ventus all had their lives torn apart because of a single Keyblade wielder whose curiosity led him into the deepest darkness. A Keyblade wielder was meant to protect. To protect the different world and the people who lived there. They were supposed to help. Master Xehanort was the opposite of everything that a Keyblade master was meant to be, causing so much pain, fear, and loss.
And Xigbar with his own Keyblade…
"It'd be wasted on you," he said quietly.
Giving a short chuckle, Xigbar said, "As if."
Visibly struggling, he used darkness to teleport to the top of the wall. Sora stared up at Xigbar, the Nobody smirking as he clutched at his arm. He took several staggering steps backwards. His one remaining eye never blinked.
Realizing a moment too late what was about to happen, Sora instinctively reached up in horror. But Xigbar took his final step backwards, letting himself fall. He disappeared over the far side. Choosing to end things on his own terms. Sora's hand slowly fell.
The abandoned weapons dissolving into scraps of nothingness banished any doubts. The Nobody was gone.
Sora spared a brief moment of regret, not exactly comfortable with someone purposefully ending their own existence like that. He'd done something similar when he stabbed his chest with the Keyblade of Heart to free Kairi's heart, but it was different witnessing someone else dying by choice. But he tried to take comfort in the fact it wasn't truly the end. He'd already seen that Nobodies could reform as their completed selves. Maybe Xigbar would be a better person once he regained his own heart. And with that last hopefully thought, Sora set the matter aside for the moment.
The battle wasn't over. And his time was limited.
Xigbar stumbled, still clutching his arm and everything hurting. Sora was a lot tougher than the kid looked. He'd known that before, but every fight only made it more obvious. He was going to be sore for a while and his stockpile of hi-potions turned out to be a smart investment. He'd ended up cutting things closer than he'd originally intended. A few more hits and he might have actually been destroyed. And being recompleted would take time that he couldn't spare currently. Things were happening fast now.
Thankfully, while strong and stubborn, Sora wasn't the brightest kid to ever swing a Keyblade around. He wasn't exactly stupid, but he was too trusting and too willing to take things at face value. It's why everyone could manipulate and lead him around with their plans so easily. The problem was that just because you could get him to do what you want to an extent didn't mean that he wouldn't barrel right through your plan anyway with sheer power, determination, and far too many friends.
But regardless, he didn't always think things through. And he'd clearly bought the whole dramatic death scene. Not even pausing to wonder how someone with such control over his own personal gravity could possibly fall to his demise. He just accepted it without question.
Seriously, Xigbar destroying himself by falling from a great height after spending half the fight floating upside-down shooting at the kid? As if.
It did work out perfectly for Xigbar though. He could patch himself up a bit and let Master Xehanort finish up his scheme. The whole mess would reach its inevitable and predicted conclusion. And with a little patience, he could then move on to the next stage of his long-term plan. All he needed was to collect a certain black box and wait for a few familiar faces.
And if Xigbar was good at anything by now, it was being patient.
Riku had fought with himself a lot over the last couple of years. But normally that fighting was metaphorical rather than literal.
Not always though. Unlike Sora, he actually remembered Castle Oblivion. And the fact that he'd had multiple literal fights with himself was probably a testament of how odd his life had been since they left their island.
This fight was definitely one of the more literal versions. The younger and darker version of himself was everything about Riku's past that he wished that he could forget. He was a reminder of every mistake. He even wore the same dark skin-tight outfit and carried the red, purple and blue blade shaped like a curved demonic wing, Soul Eater, that Riku did during the worst point in his past.
Dark Riku was fast. Blinding fast. His Soul Eater would slice at Riku during familiar combos or in lunges at lightning speed. And he used darkness far more directly than Riku currently did in combat. He would send out a pool of darkness that would generate claws that reached up to grab Riku. Or he would leave behind dark mines that exploded after a while. And sometimes when he was extra vicious, Dark Riku would just crash down on him repeatedly before finishing off with a shockwave of darkness.
But as strong as he might be, Riku was physically older and stronger than himself at fifteen. The last couple years of fighting and his growth spurt combined with Braveheart turned out to make an impressive difference. And while he didn't have quite as many flashy tricks as Sora, Riku had developed a few combos of his own.
Most importantly, anything that the younger version of himself tried, Riku was already familiar with it.
Not that Dark Riku wasn't holding his own. He refused to back down. Rather like Riku himself. He was stubborn and ruthless. Only quick reflexes and a couple of Curagas kept Riku out of trouble.
He'd almost forgotten about the other half of the battle. Other than the occasional stray shot flashing over their heads, Xigbar's attention remained on Sora as the younger boy gave him not even a second to rest. Riku didn't even realize that they'd finished until Sora suddenly dove into the fray, unleashing a vicious combo that Dark Riku didn't see coming.
Sora knocked him back, Dark Riku not expecting or bracing himself for the surprise impact. And before he could recover, Riku took over with his own combo. They trapped him between the two of them. And any remaining resistance that Dark Riku might have mounted was demolished between their combined efforts. A few moments later and something gave way.
Darkness shot up like a pillar from Dark Riku, leaving him staggering as it eventually faded away. He stumbled and gasped as darkness and nothingness seemed to flake off. Riku watched him look down at his hand and the way he was starting to come apart.
His voice shaking and struggling, he said, "You're not… real…"
Riku's eyes widened. Those words and that tone felt familiar, but in a different way than before. It didn't trigger memories of Hollow Bastion. They came from another time and place.
"Huh?" said Riku quietly, unable to word his confusion properly.
Hunched over and gasping, he continued, "I'm… the real one…"
"Aren't you my past self?" asked Riku. "From when Ansem possessed me?"
He felt something shift in his chest, leaving the comfortable place nestled in his heart. It slipped out of Riku. His replica's heart. A barely real figure, slightly glowing as he floated next to Riku. Almost like a ghost. Riku couldn't help startling when he felt the impossibly light touch on his shoulder.
"No, you beat Ansem and you're still here," said Riku's replica. "This guy…" He started flying towards Dark Riku, shouting, "is me!"
The Riku replica's hand stabbed into Dark Riku. The darker figure threw his head back and screamed as more darkness spewed out of Dark Riku. All that Riku could do was stare in stunned horror as the darkness slowly peeled away to reveal a limp figure in a black coat with the hood up.
"I knew it," he continued, hand still buried in his target's chest. "It's a replica. A soon-to-be empty vessel. I've been waiting for a chance like this."
He shoved his way into the replica. Darkness cocooned the figure once again and swelled around them. Then Riku's replica burst out the far side with the limp and ghostly figure of Dark Riku tucked under his arm.
One heart given shape carrying another.
Riku's replica looked aback as the body tumbled to the ground. All distinguishing features had faded away. The vessel empty and abandoned.
"Hey!" shouted Riku. "What are you doing? Take the vessel."
The replica remained quiet for a few moments, not looking directly at him. Riku noticed Sora drawing a little closer, a small frown on his face.
"No," he said finally, turning slowly. His expression was calm and accepting. "The world already has you. There's someone else who needs the replica more." He smiled wistfully. "You know who I mean."
"Naminé," said Riku with quiet realization. "You're saving her."
Riku's replica stared silently, his face completely content and accepting of his fate. The edges of him started to grow indistinct. The figure of Dark Riku under his arm was already disappearing, dissolving into light.
"Take care of her," he said.
"You can't…" said Sora. "That's not…"
Some strong and childish impulse rose up in Riku. And when he opened his mouth, he inadvertently found himself echoing the words that Sora shouted on a pirate ship years ago when Riku said something equally unacceptable.
"You're stupid!"
Both Sora and the replica stiffen, blinking in surprise at the outburst. Neither of them expected such a thing from the mature and level-headed teenager. Nor did Riku. But since he'd already said it, he kept going.
"Just because the world has me doesn't mean that it doesn't need you too. It doesn't mean that Naminé wouldn't miss you and want her friend back. Just because you share my face and some of my memories doesn't mean we're the same person."
"Yeah," said Sora. "Roxas and Xion… They exist because of me just like you exist because of Riku. But they are their own people and deserve to exist just as much as I do. And you deserve to exist just as much as Riku does."
Nodding, Riku said, "We can find a vessel for Naminé afterwards. They have Vexen's research and they should be able to make a new replica. And you should be there to greet her the moment that she has a body of her own." He took a step closer. "Take the vessel now or I swear that we'll stick you in Sora's heart. We both know that there's enough space in there."
Sora frowned slightly at the idea, but it managed to startle a laugh out of the replica. He released what was left of Dark Riku and the pieces dissolved away. Possibly returning to the past, depending on how the Organization created him. He vaguely noticed that the darkness sealing the walls of the chamber disappeared at the same time as Dark Riku. But after he let go of the other fading heart, Riku's replica nodded slowly.
"All right. I suppose that I have no choice," he said, his form trying to dissolve into particles of light the same way. "And I never did like the idea of letting myself fade into darkness alone."
Then he sank into the limp shape on the ground. Light flared up and Riku shielded his eyes. When it faded, the figure in the black coat was climbing clumsily to his feet. On the surface, he looked the same as the person that they'd been fighting. The only real difference was that he was wearing the black coat again instead of the skin-tight outfit. But his expression and the way he held himself were different than the aggressive person from before. Riku approached carefully, reaching out a hand to steady him when his replica stumbled.
"How do you feel?" asked Riku.
Giving an uncertain smile, he said, "A little tired. But… not too bad. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that neither of you would just let me go. I… think I'm going to stay. If you don't mind another you hanging around."
"Of course, we don't mind. And it wouldn't be another me. You're you and no one else. With your own heart, goals, and even a friend or two who would miss you if you disappeared."
"Naminé?"
"Yes. And me," said Riku. "After everything that's happened, I hope you can consider me a friend."
The uncertain smile grew a little steadier as the replica nodded. Riku gave him a grin in return before glancing towards Sora.
"Go help the others," he said. "We'll catch up after…" Riku trailed off for a moment, realizing the issue of finding the replica a name of his own was a subject that would need to be addressed sooner rather than later. "After my friend has a chance to catch his breath and we're ready to move."
"I'll be fine," said the replica, still reminding Riku of how he would push himself so much when he was young and still did to an extent. "It's not that bad."
Sora smiled and nodded. Then he took off running towards the unsealed door, heading back towards the rest of the maze. Riku watched for a moment before turning his attention back to the replica.
"Are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked. "Do you have a weapon?"
Riku didn't know if he'd be able to improvise and provide him with one if the replica didn't have a weapon already. Maybe if he'd known ahead of time, he could have come up with something. He gave Kairi a weapon to use in the World That Never Was, something that he came up with during the long year waiting for Sora to wake up and with DiZ building virtual worlds as part of one of his possible revenge plans. But creating a programmed Keyblade in the digital version of Twilight Town and then pulling it into the real world for later use took time to accomplish. Time well spent since the digital version kept her safe until Kairi could summon a real one, but Riku wouldn't be able to arm his replica the same way.
Holding his hand out, Riku's replica closed his eyes. After a moment, something manifested in his hand. Riku briefly thought it was Soul Eater. The colors and basic shape were the same, but the once curved wing was now straight and the tip had been shorn off. And the handle wasn't like the sword's hilt. It had changed. The guard was composed of one angelic wing and one demonic wing.
It wasn't the familiar sword. It wasn't Soul Eater. Not anymore at least. It was his old Keyblade.
Way to Dawn.
His broken Keyblade. The one that formed around the shape of Soul Eater when he finally became worthy again to wield a Keyblade. The weapon that he left buried on that distant shore in the Realm of Darkness.
"You left it for me," said the replica. "Even if it is broken, I can probably make it work. At least enough to be useful in a fight."
Maybe a broken Keyblade didn't behave like a normal one. Maybe it didn't mean anything. But Riku knew that Keyblades did not stay in the hands of anyone except those who were meant to have them. Anyone who didn't have the right quickly found the weapon disappearing from their grasp. And his replica was holding the broken Keyblade without any effort. As if it belonged with him.
Well, if Sora's Nobody could naturally summon a Keyblade, was it that surprising that his replica would gain the same abilities eventually?
"All right," said Riku. "Let's not make Sora wait too long."
No, Repliku is not disappearing into oblivion this time around. Because neither Riku nor Sora will put up with that nonsense. He'll still need a name of his own (which I've already picked out, even if I haven't shown it yet), but he's sticking around. Naminé might need to wait a bit longer for her own vessel now. On the other hand, she would probably think it is worth it if it meant that the Riku Replica stuck around.