Chapter 7: No One Knows Me Better Than Me

Sora was gone, just like that. Xion stared at the empty space that he had occupied only a few seconds before and stepped backwards. Had she been imagining him? No…he had really bed there; he had been standing right in front of her. Something strange was going on, but what else was new? Xion turned to look through the window at the inside of the lodge, where all of her friends were. They were just as frozen as Sora had been. Were they going to disappear, too?

Xion took a step toward the door and felt something strange in the air, like a chill—which wasn't really strange considering where they were, but still Xion felt suddenly colder than she had a moment ago. The world seemed to ripple and distortions appeared around Xion as she took another step forward, clutching her head. When the distortions halted the door in front of her opened slowly. Xion looked up in alarm, worried of an attacker, only to find a concerned face framed by messy blond hair.

"Xion, who was that guy you were talking to?"

Xion said nothing and moved right past Roxas, intending to head up the stairs and into her and Olette's room. Roxas's hand took hers, his fingers holding her with a gentle firmness, and Xion stopped.

"Xion, you can't just keep things inside. What's wrong?"

Where do I even start? "I don't want to worry you…" Xion muttered, pulling away from Roxas's grip. She pulled the hood of her jacket up to isolate herself and hurried up the stairs, her feet tapping against the polished wood steps. Behind her she could hear the worried voices of her friends talking among themselves, though she couldn't make words out. Never slowing down, Xion moved down the hall to the room and fumbled for the keys in her pocket. Her hand was shaking as she inserted it into the lock, and she actually missed more than once.

After hearing the click of the door unlocking Xion flung it open and moved inside, kicking her shoes off unceremoniously. She didn't even make it to the beds before dizziness overtook her and she leaned her back against the wall, breathing in heavily as she gripped at her chest.

"My heart…hurts…" Xion groaned. She slid down the wall and sat on the carpeted floor. Her breathing was heavy and erratic as she gulped for air and sweat began to trickle down her cheeks and dampen her brow. She could only assume that all this stress was finally taking its toll on her physically. Roxas was right; keeping things bottled up wasn't good for her. "Maybe I should go back downstairs and talk to them…" But despite her decision to do so, her body disagreed. Xion's legs wouldn't move, and as she glared down at them as if that would get her feet going her hands began to shake again.

Why was it so cold? A lodge in the mountains should have better heating than this. Xion rubbed her arms, both to warm herself up and to stop the shaking. Her breathing had evened out somewhat, but that was the only thing that had calmed down.

A howling sound blew through the room and made Xion freeze up. Slowly she looked to the source of the noise, only to relax when it became evident it was simply the wind blowing in through the open window. Willing her legs to work, Xion climbed up to her feet. Vertigo washed over her but she nonetheless moved forward to the window and closed it shut. Maybe that would help the temperature somewhat.

Xion was about to turn around when she saw a figure standing in the snow. "Sora?" She looked closer and the figure tilted his head upwards, looking right at Xion—looking at her despite the black mask. Xion gasped and stumbled backwards, tripping over a bag on the ground and falling onto her back. It was him, the one in black and white. He was here. He saw her.

"Xion?" Xion stiffened at the sound of someone calling her voice, but knocking on the door and the concerned tone told her it was only one of her friends.

"Yeah?" she asked, standing up and using the nearby bed for support.

"We just want to make sure you're okay." It sounded like Pence on the other side of the door.

Xion sighed and looked down at her shaking hands. No, she wasn't okay. But what could she tell them about the things she had been seeing? She inhaled deeply before replying to Pence. "I think I'm going to go to bed early tonight."

There was a prolonged silence on the other side of the door. Xion knew why; it wasn't exactly an answer to his question. "Okay," he said at last. "We'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." She listened as Pence's footsteps grew quieter while he walked back down the hall, and let out a breath when they disappeared entirely. Then Xion turned back to her problems. The vertigo and heartache were gone, and she wasn't quite as cold, but still she felt a chill and still her hands were shaking. I need a way to calm down…to just take a deep breath and think things through…

A shower sounded really good right now.

Xion made her way into the small bathroom by the room's door. Small, but she didn't need anything fancy. Locking the white door behind her Xion turned the water on as hot as it could go without burning her and started getting undressed. Xion narrowed her eyes at her white top; it was completely soaked. Had she been sweating that much, even when chilled? Once again, Xion decided bottling up all her worries was not helping her body. But what was she supposed to do? Her friends would only think she was crazy if she tried talking to them. Sora maybe? Sure, if she could find him.

Xion stood under the running water for a long time, alone with only her thoughts.

x-x-x

"You've been to see her?"

Braig's voice came out of nowhere—there was no swirling sound of a corridor of darkness and no crunching of snow beneath his footsteps. But then, Vanitas had expected that. Unlike him, Braig was only projecting himself into this world and not physically inside it. He didn't interact with the world quite like Vanitas did; he was more like a ghost.

Vanitas turned from the window that Xion had shut and looked over to Braig smirking under the moonlight. "She looks a lot like me," he said simply.

"…How?" Braig voice was filled with genuine confusion, his smirk fading.

Vanitas placed a hand on his mask, glaring at the white leather separated by black glass. He considered pulling the mask off but decided against it, opting instead to look back over his shoulder at the window. "We're both just mirrors of someone else with black hair, aren't we?"

"Well I suppose when you put it like that…" Braig shrugged. "But man, we seem to find a lot of mirrors and doppelgangers in our lives, right? As if you're anything special."

"I know that."

Braig crossed his arms. "Anyway, get out here for tonight."

"Why?"

"Didn't you see her reaction to you a few minutes ago, man? Little Poppet is terrified of you—yeah getting her heart racing is nice and all, but work a heart too much and things go south." His smirk came back. "Or do you just get off on scaring little girls?"

A little from column A, a little from column B. Not that Vanitas would ever tell Braig that and give him the satisfaction of being right. Besides, there was a column C, too. "I was feeding."

"Feeding?" A single golden eye narrowed, and then Braig chuckled in realization. "Oh, right; you're an Unversed now, aren't you? Anger, fear, despair—they're your bread and butter." Vanitas acknowledged Braig by looking back at him, but he didn't say anything. "Speaking of Unversed, how's it going for you?"

Right…

Vanitas looked down at his hands and clenched them into fists as darkness began to swirl around his body. His shadow extended in two directions, becoming a ring that wrapped around him and Braig. Throughout it all Braig stood with no emotion or acknowledgement save for a toothy smile.

The shadows twitched as little black wisps lifted up from the ground. The darkness coalesced into a ball, shifted color to blue, and then flew toward Braig, taking on a new appearance as it did so: a little blue creature with four limbs and red eyes. The Flood vanished before it ever reached Braig and Vanitas felt a twinge of pain in his chest. He leaned over and relaxed his clenched fingers as the darkness flowed back into him and his shadow returned to normal.

"Eleven years I've been trying, and I still can't create Unversed like I used to." He stood up straight but continued to stare at his open palms.

"But…?" Braig was prodding him on.

"But I am getting closer. The negativity recently has been stronger. I just need a little bit longer…"

"I don't really see the point," Braig said while scratching the back of his head. "Why do we bother with the Unversed when Xion's almost ready to make the χ-blade anyway?"

"It never hurts to have a backup." Vanitas held his left hand out and opened a corridor of darkness. On the other side was Braig – the real Braig – sitting at a computer in a dark room with blue walls, with multiple screens before him. Braig pressed a key and the digital projection of himself on one of the screens vanished. Vanitas leaned against the wall with his arms crossed before speaking. "What about you? Have you found Xehanort's Heartless?"

Braig spun his chair around leisurely. "Nope, no sign of Riku yet. The guy's been MIA since everything went down at the World That Never Was."

Vanitas grimaced behind his mask. Back then, on that day, he had actively encouraged Riku to purge himself of the darkness, else he risk of his existence fading away to be replaced by 'Ansem'—and that wasn't a lie. Ansem would take over sooner or later, though it wasn't really out of any concern for Riku that Vanitas had proposed it.

"I had hoped we'd find and kill the Heartless soon after Xemnas died," Braig said, echoing Vanitas's own thoughts. "Getting rid of Riku won't work?"

"No. Either Riku purges the Heartless from his heart, or the Heartless takes over and then we kill him. It won't work if it's Riku who vanishes. Riku isn't a part of Xehanort."

Braig leaned back and crossed his legs. "How do you even know this will work?"

"Call it a hunch." He didn't know. Vanitas was far from an expert on Nobodies, and he had admitted as such. "But if a heart and body that have both faded into darkness meet…what happens then? I think we'll both be pleased."

x-x-x

Morning came too quickly. Xion groaned and sat up in bed, covering her eyes from the sunlight coming through the window. She still felt a little light-headed, but overall things were much better than they were last night. Climbing out of bed and getting dressed, Xion caught sight of something sitting on the little white table between hers and Olette's beds.

'Xion—

'It's 7 when I'm writing this. You look exhausted, and after last night I decided it's probably best not to wake you. Take all the time you need and sleep in. We'll send someone back every hour or two to check up on you, just to be safe. When you wake up feel free to come out and join us.

'We're all really worried about you, Xion. Please tell us what's wrong.

'—Olette'

Xion looked up at the clock—1 PM. She'd been sleeping half the day already, and after Hayner and Roxas had done so much to set this trip up. "I'm an idiot," she muttered, walking over to the door and putting her shoes on. "As long as I just sit around they're wasting their munny on me." Standing up after tying them tight, Xion opened the door and found herself facing a very surprised Roxas.

"Oh. Hey." Roxas's hand was raised like he had been just about to knock. "It was my turn to check up on you. How are you feeling?"

Xion shifted her weight from one foot to the other and smiled softly. "Better than last night at least…"

"But still not quite right, huh?" Roxas sighed and put a hand on Xion's forehead, surprising her. "You don't have a fever. Xion…Pence thinks whatever is wrong is psychological. We all know something's wrong. I keep asking you what and you keep pulling away. Please, just tell me."

Xion took in a deep breath and leaned against the door frame. "I'm…seeing things." Roxas tilted his head slightly, urging her to continue. "People in masks, or that door that didn't exist at the mansion. I'm remembering people no one else knows—Vivi, Seifer, Fuu and Rai." Xion shook her head. She could feel tears welling up. "Roxas…do you think I'm going crazy?"

"No way," Roxas said, putting his hands on Xion's shoulders. "Xion, look at me." She complied, locking her eyes with his. "We can get through this. We'll figure out what's wrong—we'll go see Doctor Sweet."

Xion groaned. Doctor Sweet was out of town for the holidays, visiting family. "You believe me that those things exist—or existed?"

"I… I don't know what to believe. But I do know you aren't crazy. I can promise you that much."

Xion suddenly lurched forward, embracing Roxas tightly and catching both him and herself by surprise. "Thank you." A dizzying feeling came back to her then and Xion stumbled, losing her balance and leaning into Roxas more.

"Xion? Hey, Xion!"

x-x-x

He should have known bringing her up here was a mistake.

Roxas kneeled over an unconscious Xion, trying to shake her awake. She had suddenly collapsed out of nowhere, yet another worrying thing to add to the growing list. Hearing footsteps behind him, Roxas turned to see Setzer and Terra approaching from the lobby. The two of them stopped dead in their tracks upon seeing Xion on the ground.

"What happened?!" Terra gasped, running over and kneeling down beside Roxas.

"I-I don't know Xion had been acting strange all week, and slept in a lot today, and now she just fell down!"

Terra placed a hand to Xion's neck and Roxas held his breath. "I'm not a doctor, but her heart rate seems really high. You said she's been strange all week?"

"Yeah. She's been seeing things and people that aren't there, and last night I saw this guy with brown hair talking to her. After he left she seemed really out of it."

"She needs to see a doctor," he heard Setzer say. There was a brief moment of silence before he continued in an annoyed tone, "No reception up here."

Roxas pursed his lips and stood up, grabbing Xion as he climbed up to his feet. "When my friends get back, can you apologize to them for me?"

"For what?" Terra asked.

"For leaving early." Roxas supported Xion on his shoulder. It wasn't exactly the best way to hold her but there wasn't much else he could do. "I'm taking Xion home."

"By yourself?" Setzer asked as he pocketed his phone.

Doctor Sweet's words from their first meeting echoed in Roxas's head: "It's a man's job to protect their friends, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Roxas felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up at a smiling Terra. "You're a good kid, Roxas. We'll tell your friends."

"Thanks. Well, I guess I should go… Um…" He could hold Xion up like this fine, but walking through the snow? That was another story.

"Let me help." Setzer moved over to the two of them and picked Xion up. Roxas fought him – he was supposed to be the one helping her! – but the man proceeded to place the unconscious girl on Roxas's back with her arms wrapped around his neck. "Not very gentlemanly I'm afraid, but much easier to handle."

"…Thanks."

x-x-x

Well, there was nowhere else to run now. After a chase throughout Twilight Town she had finally been cornered, trapped in the empty lot in a little corner of the Tram Common. Hearing footsteps behind her, she stood up straight and pulled her hood down before turning to the boy with sorrow in her eyes.

"Xion. Where have you been?" Roxas stepped up to her, his black coat brushing against his legs as he walked. "Axel and I have been looking all over for you."

Xion looked down at the ground to avoid Roxas's own sad eyes. "You have? Sorry."

"Let's go home," Roxas said in a pleading tone. "If you come back voluntarily, Saïx will let all this drop. He has to." Xion was silent, replying by tilting her head to the ground. "I don't care what he said to you. I'll be there." Roxas smiled and held a gloved hand out. "Me and Axel will make sure-"

Xion stepped away, her heeled boots clicking against the stone ground. When Roxas gasped Xion's frown deepened and she shook her head, bringing a hand to her chest. "I really can't."

"Why not? Come on…" Sora reached for Xion's shoulder and Xion took another step backwards from the brunet. He stared at her in silence while Xion went through a variety of emotions – despair, mostly, but also a bit of self-loathing and even jealousy – before turning away and walking off.

"Wait!" Sora called after her and grabbed her wrist. Xion's fingers twitched and she called her Keyblade, Two Become One. The black and white sword was leveled at Sora's face while Xion continued to avoid looking at him, and she felt his grip on her wrist release.

A whooshing sound caught Xion's attention and she held up the Keyblade to block a red and silver chakram as it flew through the air. The spiked wheel rebounded off her weapon and dug into the ground before vanishing into flames. Xion and Sora both turned to the newcomer, who was walking toward them.

"Well, hello there…Xion." Axel called out.

Xion charged at Axel, ignoring Sora's "No, wait!" behind her. He ducked under the swing of her Keyblade and formed a wheel of fire in his hand that formed into a chakram, and then swung it upwards. Their weapons met and Xion jumped away, then ran right back at him.

Vanitas jumped out of Xion's reach with a laugh, sailing past Sora who was looking around at the two of them with confusion as they fought. Vanitas landed on the ground and crouched low as darkness swirled around his Keyblade. He pointed it forward and fire a burst of black magic at her, which Xion would have reflected had Sora not chosen that moment to interrupt their battle.

"Stop!"

Xion turned to look at her friend and got a blast of darkness to the head for her troubles. The darkness surged through her body and Xion felt her limbs go numb, but she was still conscious. Vanitas's powerful hand wrapped tightly around her neck and pinned her to the wall. "No escape this time."

x-x-x

"Stop it, let me go!" Xion cried out in horror. Then she stopped and looked around at her surroundings in confusion. "What…?"

"Hey, easy there." Xion looked over her shoulder to see Roxas walking down the aisle. Except for the two of them the train was empty. "I put you on a bench alone so you could have room to sleep, but thrashing around like that isn't going to help." He sat down next to her. "It was just a dream, whatever it was."

"Why are we on the train?" The last thing Xion remembered was opening the door to her hotel room and finding Roxas, then suddenly waking up here. Had they even talked? How much time had passed?

"You fell unconscious in the middle of the hall," Roxas explained in a quiet voice. "And I decided it was best to bring you home. Terra and Setzer promised to tell Hayner, Pence, and Olette."

"Oh…" Xion twined her fingers together. "Sorry I ended up making you waste money, Roxas."

"It wasn't a waste."

Xion didn't reply, instead leaning her head against the wall of the car and listening to the train ride along the tracks. Outside the snow and ice were still just as pristine and beautiful as they had been on the way up, but Xion didn't really care for them this time. Her mind was in other places.

"Four months ago you woke up here, right? But think hard: what about before that? Xion, this whole town is-"

What was it he was going to tell me? It was almost like he was saying she wasn't here before four months ago. But that was crazy. She had memories of her entire life here in Twilight Town, growing up alongside Roxas, Hayner, Pence, and Olette. She had memories of her parents, of Doctor Sweet, of Kronk, of Seifer's gang. There were important ones and insignificant ones, like the first day of Freshman year when Roxas and Hayner had gotten in trouble for…for…for what? What was it they had gotten in trouble for?

Okay, well, that wasn't important. What about when Olette won those tickets to Disney Town? They had all gone that week, and Xion's favorite ride was…was…

…It was like she only knew a summary of her life before four months ago. Why didn't she remember anything clearly?

Xion felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Roxas. "Xion. Are you okay?" She gave Roxas a look and he looked down at his feet, grimacing. "Hey, listen…who's that brown-haired kid? Is he hurting you somehow? Is he behind this?"

"Sora? No! He's… I think he's my friend."

Roxas raised an eyebrow. "You 'think'?" His inquisitive tone was harsh.

"Just drop it, Roxas. Okay?" Please.

They sat in silence for a while longer, the only sound the bumping of the train against the tracks. Xion glanced at Roxas, guilty for snapping at him when he was only looking out for her, but at the same time she could just tell Sora wasn't behind this. Even though they had barely met, even though she just learned his name the night before, something about him was…familiar. Calming.

Roxas finally broke the oppressive silence when they were almost back at the clock tower. Twilight Town's orange buildings were rushing by them as he spoke. "Hey, Xion… What do you want, you know, for Christmas?"

Xion started. Christmas Even was tomorrow, wasn't it? And she didn't have anything for Roxas, either. "I guess…" She didn't know. How could she? She had barely thought of the holidays in the last week, since there were more important things going on. "…I guess that our friends are always together."

Roxas was silent in reply, save for the smile curling in the corner of his mouth.

x-x-x

It was snowing in Twilight Town. Atop the clock tower, Sora held a hand out and caught a snowflake, frowning slightly as it melted in his palm. Next to him Tron was trying his first taste of ice-cream.

"Users come up with the most wonderful things, don't they?"

Sora let out a good-natured chuckle. "You really haven't had ice cream before?"

"Never. Even when I left the System Sector to come into town, I haven't really lived like a User would." He took another bite of the blue bar and smiled. "Though now I may just start."

A whistle caught Sora's attention and he turned his head to the oncoming train. "Xion's aboard that," Tron said from behind him.

"Xion is?" Sora grew silent and watched as the train pulled into the station, leaving his sight. "…Tron, how are we supposed to fix her without Naminé?"

"It's a simple rewrite of her source code. When she leaves this world she should be fine."

Sora bristled and turned to face Tron. "'Source code'? Xion isn't a program!"

Tron shook his head. "When she's in this world, she is. Same as you. We programs are only what our codes define us as." He pulled up a screen and passed it to Sora, who took it with curiosity. The image on the screen was of a cartoony computer with a blue smiling face above it. A stick figure typed something, and then the face turned angry and red. "Our memories, our personalities—they can all be altered like it's nothing. But when Xion returns to flesh and blood, she should remember everything."

Sora closed the screen. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. If nothing else, you can be sure of that. Now…" He stood up and opened a Backdoor. "I should finish working on that program that will hide you from Braig. It should be done by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow…"

One way or another, no matter the outcome, tomorrow was Sora's last day in this world.