Alright guys! It's the final chapter. I finally did it! I have finished another story! Thank you everyone who has stuck with me through this story!
Ch.6
"Maria's Heartless half took control of her again and she escaped. I believe she is somewhere back outside of the castle. You must go out there, find her, and dispose of her."
Roxas's mouth dropped wide open. He couldn't have heard Saix right… could he have? Did he really just tell Roxas to go find Maria and destroy her? It just didn't sound right at all. "Dispose of her!? What are you talking about?!
"She escaped from her cell and-"
"Cause you put her there! She didn't deserve to be there!" Roxas grumbled angrily.
Saix inhaled deeply, keeping his seriously call composer. "If you had let me finish… The reason that she was kept in there was to protect her from causing any damage or hurting anyone. It was meant to keep her contained until we could possible do something about it. But it was already far too late."
"What do you mean too late? Just tell me! What did you do to her?!"
"I did nothing but talk to her. Her Heartless half was already far past half way of consuming her when you brought her here. And now it has almost completely consumed her."
"Then why didn't you do something before!?" Roxas shouted as he gripped her fists.
Saix closed his eyes. "I wish there was something I could have done. But as I said it was already too late for her from the start. But that is not the point to argue on. What does matter is that she needs to be found and disposed of."
"Don't say that! I'll find her, but I am not disposing of her or anything else like that," Roxas replied as he summoned a dark corridor, ready to leave.
"Roxas," Saix said, putting what sounded like urgency and concern in his voice. "You are not listening. You cannot save her. It is not possible. The only way to 'help' her is to dispose of her. That way she will not have to go running around as a mindless Heartless for the rest of her life."
Roxas's narrowed his eyes at Saix. He still couldn't believe Saix was suggesting such things. He didn't to believe that was the only way… there had to be something else he could do. "I will not hurt her. You'll see. I'll find a way to save her."
With that Roxas entered the dark corridor, not caring one bit what else Saix had to say. Saix though watched as the dark corridor faded away after Roxas left. He closed his eyes again as he let out another deep breath. He had no more words to say… Roxas was going off to try to do something that just was not possible. He couldn't even think to wish him luck on his mission… for it was a mission that would not be fortunate for either sides.
Roxas exited out into The World That Never Was and began his search. He thought it would be back to check back in the area that he first found Maria. He slowly looked around the area as he walked. He saw many Heartless hiding in the shadows, watching him. But they were all Shadows and Neo Shadows.
As Roxas went further through the world, he saw no sign of Maria anywhere, and he started to really wonder. "Saix said… the Heartless half had almost completed consumed her… She wouldn't have… turned into a actual Heartless from that? Would she? No… she is out here… and she needs my help."
More and more Heartless started to pop up as Roxas watched further. He didn't really know where he was going, but he felt that the more Heartless that showed up… the closer he could be to Maria. He also didn't notice the dark clouds looming over ahead in the sky. It didn't worry him though, The World That Never Was was known for dreary weather.
"Maria!" Roxas called out. "Are you out here?"
There of course was no answer, so Roxas continued to walk through the world. Though soon enough he swore he saw something lurking around in the far shadows. It didn't look quite like a Heartless so Roxas saw this as his chance. He ran forward forward, ready to see if he was right or not.
"Maria is that you?! Are you okay?"
The figure didn't answer, but the closer Roxas got, the more he could see that it looked nothing like a Heartless. It did in fact look like the outline of a person. But… if it was Maria… why wasn't she saying anything? Something didn't seem right, but Roxas tried not to let that cloud his thoughts.
"Maria. Are you hurt or something? Just let me know. I'm still going to find a way to help you," Roxas said, speaking loud and clear, hoping Maria would understand.
The figure that he thought was Maria staggered forward. At that time a flash of lighting stuck over head, illuminating the area where they stood. Roxas gasped as he saw who stood before it. It was in fact Maria… but the darkness on her face… from where Roxas stood it looked like it completely covered her now. Both her unblinking eyes glowed a bright eyes and she moved forward, her body twitched and moved in a irregular fashion.
"She's... She's moving like a Shadow Heartless," Roxas thought to himself as he slowly took a step back. He stopped himself through and stood his ground. He knew he couldn't give up yet. "Maria's still has to be in there somewhere. She isn't gone… she can't be."
"Maria! Listen to me! I know you can hear me. You can snap out of this!"
Maria didn't stop moving though. She continued walk forward right towards Roxas. Within a second she jumped in the tha air and headed right for Roxas. With a gasp Roxas tumbled out of the way just in time. He turned around to see Maria had landed on all fours, her body still shaking and twitching.
"M-Maria…" Roxas stammered. This wasn't what he wanted to see. "No… It's not true. Come on…"
Maria still did not seem to hear him as she face him, eyes still glowing brightly. She lunged forward again, but this time Roxas summoned his keyblade just as she got close. Maria now had her fingers wrapped as she stared right into Roxas's eyes. Even though her eyes glowed brightly, now that she was so close, Roxas could still see her eyes under the glow. They were not round pure yellow like that of a Heartless… her eyes were still her normal shape. But they were dulled and vacant looking.
With a quick shove, he pushed Maria off of his keyblade and she tumbled to the ground. "You can't be lost yet. I know you still have to be in there somewhere. I don't want to fight you. I just want to help you."
Everything seemed to be hopefully and Maria got up again and just ran towards Roxas. In response he held up his keyblade and blocked her next attack. She only used her hands to fight, but the way her hands were positioned… they were like claws. The more Roxas defended himself against her attacks, the more he saw how she acted like a Heartless.
"Maria…" Roxas sighed in his thoughts. He didn't want to admit that Saix was right… but now that things seemed more dire… he felt what Saix was trying to tell him before was true. He still did not want to have to fight her though. It didn't feel right. He had wanted to save her… not fight her. This wasn't how he wanted it to end up.
Maria repeated tried to claw at Roxas, but he kept his keyblade up in a defensive position. Darkness started to envelope around her, as her attacks became faster and faster. The stretch was not what Roxas was expected as his legs almost gave way from the pressure. Sooner or later though he knew he would have to make a move. With a deep breath he moved his keyblade and struck Maria to the side.
Once again she tumbled to the ground, albeit a bit more harshly this time than before. After a few seconds she didn't back up, though Roxas could still see her faintly breathing. Slowly he approached her, still holding his keyblade in his hand.
"Maria?"
To his surprise he heard a groan as Maria's moved her head slightly. "Nehmmm…"
"Maria!" Roxas exclaimed as he got closer. He knelled down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're… You're okay right?"
Though her eyes still glowed she slowly looked up at Roxas, her eyes seeming to be a bit more in focus. "R-Roxas….What…"
She blinked a few times as she looked around. Her eyes widened as she crawled backwards from Roxas. "S-Stay back!"
Roxas felt a slight deja-vu from the first time he met Maria. But he still held hope that he could do something. He if managed to get her back to her senses… that was all the hope he needed.
"Don't be afraid Maria. I'm here to help."
Maria shuddered as she scooted a bit farther back. "No Roxas… You can't… Not… Not like how you want."
"What are you talking about? You snapped out of it. That means we can still find a way to save you." Don't give up."
Maria shook her head. "There isn't a way… I don't know how I managed to snap back… I thought I was nearly gone. I… I only slightly continuous instead of being blacked out. I knew… I saw what I was doing. I tried to attack you."
"That doesn't matter," Roxas said as he held out a hand towards Maria. "I'm still going to help you."
Maria started down at the ground for a moment before she stared back at Roxas. "If you want to h-help… then… end me."
Roxas's hand dropped to his side. His eyes widened as he tired to process what he just had heard. "Wh-What?"
"You want to help me… then end me. Please," Maria replied with a dead serious tone.
"No Maria. I don't want to do that. You're my friend. I wouldn't-"
"Roxas!" Maria shouted. "I thank you for being a friend to me… but if you are my friend… You'll do this for me."
"But…"
"Please!" Maria pleaded. "Please…I can feel it taking me over again. Just please promise me…"
"Maria… that isn't what I want to do though," Roxas replied, not liking where this was going.
"You promised you'd help me right? Didn't you promise me that you would help me?!"
"Y-Yeah… but…" Roxas started to say, but then he trailed off.
"Then end me! Please… I'm suffering… I can't stand this anymore…" Maria said as she placed her hands on her head. "Please… please promise me…"
Roxas sighed heavily. This wasn't at all how he wanted it go to. But he realized that he couldn't get through to her. And… if she was suffering… Roxas did want to help her as best as she could. Even if the way was not the way he wanted to do it… he knew he would have to help her.
Roxas lowered his head. "I promise…"
He waited for a response, but no more words came from Maria. He looked up to see her on all fours again, twitching back and forth… the Heartless half had taken control of her again. Had she even heard him? Or was it too late again? Roxas sighed as he readily his keyblade, this time ready to fight.
"I don't know if you can hear me any more Maria. But I will help you… I'm just sorry… "
Roxas charged forward and swung his keyblade at Maria's side. He knew he was doing what she wanted, but he still did not truly want to hurt him. He closed his eyes as he felt the keyblade hit into her side. He opened his eyes again to see that she had skidded to the side, but still remained on all fours.
Roxas took in a deep breath before he ran at her again, and struck again. He closed his eyes each time the keyblade. Maria tried to move fast and hit him from any angel she could, but Roxas made sure to keep a steady eye on her. Darkness was surrounding her again, making her attacks stronger.
"I promise…" Roxas kept reminding himself. No matter how wrong it felt to be doing this… he knew now he had to do it.
Roxas then started to use a bit more strength in his attacks. He swung his keyblade quickly to the side as he dogged out of the way of another attack. He positioned himself and jumped at Maria and struck down again.
This time though, compared to before, Maria let out a cry of pain. Roxas stopped and looked as Maria fell to the ground and stayed there. Her breathing much fainter than before. Though as he watched, he saw whips of darkness coming off her.
Roxas knelled down next to her and stared. "M-Maria?"
Her breathing was slowing as she could barely keep her eyes open. She tilted her head back to look at Roxas. Her eyes we focused again… though they looked tired and the glow was actually fading.
"Tha… Thank you… Roxas…" Maria said between breaths.
"But… Maria. You're fading away now…"
"Oh…" Maria muttered quietly as she closed her eyes. "It's nice though…No longer in… pain. No longer...suffering…"
Roxas lowered his head. "I'm sorry I couldn't actually save you…"
"You did… Save me… Saved me from… Heartless… mindless… in darkness…" Maria's words started to become more spaced out and more faint. She was slowly fading away now. She opened her eyes and tried to look at Roxas again. She slowly placed her hand on Roxas's knee, as it was the only thing she could do. "Thank… you…"
"You're… welcome Maria," Roxas replied.
The faintest smile appeared on Maria's face. She let out a heavy exhale before her entire body disappeared into wisps of darkness. Roxas watched with mournful eyes as the wisps started to head up into the sky, but faded away before they got very far.
Only now did the rain finally start to shower down. Roxas sighed as he looked up at the rain, letting the little pellets of water hit his cheek. He didn't understand it… he didn't know why it had to come to this. But he also knew Maria had asked him to do it. Roxas knew he didn't want to see her come a Heartless… but he really wished there had been another way.
251 Days later
Sora had started to wander through the town of Twilight Town alongside Donald and Goofy. None of them knew how they had ended up in that town, but they thought they would walk around until they found something.
They were walking around down towards an area called the Sandlot. No one was really down there at the time, expect for one person who was sitting on a bench. As Sora walked by, he noticed something about the person standing there. He stopped in his track and stared.
It was a girl who sat at the bench and she was staring up at the sky. Her black hair was pulled back into a short ponytail and she wore a dark colored tank top and blue denim shorts that ended just above her knees.
Sora slowly started to walk forward as he tried to get a better look at this girl. He had no idea who she was, but it felt like something was nagging him in the back of his head. Something about this girl… he didn't know what… there was something about it that felt… familiar.
She stopped looking at the sky and turned to look at Sora. Now he could see she had vibrant green eyes. "Oh, um can I help you?"
Sra shook his head and stood up straight. "Uh… Sorry! I was just wandering around and I got a bit lost I think."
"Ah I see, well that can happen sometimes," the girl said as she replied with a laugh. "Do you need any help? Are you looking for anyone or something?"
"N-No I don't think so…" Sora said as he shook his head. "Oh! I'm Sora by the way."
The girl smiled. "My name's Maria."
There was that feeling again. Something nagged Sora again at the back of his head. What about his girl was making him feel this way. He felt a bit sad… but also relieved and happy seeing this girl. He knew though he had never seen her before in his life.
Sora tried to think of a reply though that he could say. He didn't want to just stand there looking dumbfounded. "Well it's nice to meet you Maria."
"It's nice to meet you too Sora," Maria said before she paused. "Are… you sure there isn't anything you need?"
"Ah… No... No. I don't think so at least. I guess I'm just a bit tired," Sora said nervously as he scratched the back of his head.
"Sora!" Donald called out to him. "Come on! We gotta go!"
"Oh that's right!" Sora said aloud, glad Donald interjected. "Well nice to meet you Maria, but I gotta go."
Maria laughed a little. "You said that twice now, but all right. Bye Sora." She waved to him as he started to walk towards Donald and Goofy.
"Bye Maria," Sora replied before turning away and quickly walking forward.
A minute later Donald and Goofy walked up beside Sora. Goofy decided to speak up this time. "Are ya okay, Sora?"
"Y-Yeah… I think so.."
"What was that about?" Donald asked. "Did you know her?"
"No. I don't think so at least. I just… had a weird feeling," Sora replied as his vision started to blur. He reached his fingers up to his eye and realized he was tearing up. He did strangely feel a bit sad… but there was also having that happy feeling again along with the relief. It didn't make any sense… but seeing the girl Maria made him feel that way for some reason.
"Maybe… Maybe one day I'll figure it out," Sora thought to himself. "But I guess if seeing her gives me this feeling of relief… Whatever ever it means… it must be a good thing."
Heh so yeah that's where I decided to end it! :D
Thank you everyone again who had read this story. I can't believe I actually completed this one, but here it is! I hope you all enjoyed!