Silver Linings
Chapter 7: Maybe I Should Fade...
A/N: Thank you to all my reviewers, with whom I've been holding conversations over PMs and sketching out the plot of this chapter! Here, Xion will make her decision to leave the Organization and cease to exist for Sora's sake.
What, you gasp? That's way too soon? Well, Namine could have had Sora up and about in less than a week if Xion and Roxas hadn't been there. They don't have a year to angst over it anymore, either, because Relius is already working to smash the two timelines together in typical crossover-story fashion. I'll be working on the explanation for why it would be a very bad idea to do that, and technically I've been dropping hints ever since Dark Clouds. So Xion has her work cut out for her dragging Roxas back to Sora with her. There are other important players interested in this exchange too, so without further ado, let's get started with Chapter 7!
But first, some clarification: In Blazblue: Continuum Shift, and I think also in Chronophantasma, Tager's storyline was always told from a first-person perspective, using "I" and "me" instead of "Tager." I'll be doing the same in this chapter. Just a heads-up. If someone doesn't like switching POVs, tell me in a review. I'll fix it, upload the fix, and never do it again.
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Next to Sora's Pod...
"His progress has gone down! What's going on?" DiZ raged.
Namine shuddered, but held firm. "Xion is taking more of his memories. It's not passive, like I first thought. It would speed up his recovery if she gathered them all up and gave them back voluntarily, though," she added, tweaking DiZ's desire to spin a giant scheme out of all this. Two could play at that game, as much as Namine hated to admit her own skill at it.
"Hmm... That appeals. See that she does." DiZ turned to leave.
"You want me to go to her myself?" How typical of him, to sit at his computer and watch others do his work.
"Of course. You said yourself that it is the most expedient solution, yes? She has been here in Twilight Town for two days now, according to my surveillance devices. Additionally, she cannot summon the Keyblade she used against Riku, whatever the reason may be. Go now, and catch her at her most vulnerable." DiZ created a Dark Corridor, but Namine had already left through her own.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
With Lambda...
Lambda reappeared in front of a tall tower, which by all rights should have toppled over ages ago, having been constructed with smaller towers bending out of its crooked sides. "This doesn't look quite like Twilight Town..." still, Lambda was looking for answers, and the tower was a good place to start.
The simple, wooden door was unlocked, and let Lambda in easily. She began climbing the spiral staircase inside. After a few steps, she realized that she had somehow begun climbing a straight staircase instead, which floated in midair without support as it rose through a massive indoor space. Clouds of magic in strange colors obscured both the ceiling above and the floor below, and Lambda used the Magic Exception Rule to ignore these developments and walk through the door at the top that should have led nowhere, but instead led to another section of stairs.
By the time she reached the third section, having fought through a few random Shadow and Soldier Heartless, Lambda had grown quite sick of stairs. Luckily, the next aimless door led to the top of the tower.
This room had a few bookshelves around the edges, and a large door to some kind of side room, but what dominated the space was the large wooden desk and high-backed chair in the middle, where an old man sat stroking his long, gray beard. "Welcome, visitor from another time. I have been expecting you." He spoke slowly, planning and deliberately pronouncing every syllable.
This man's pointy, star-spangled hat and long, blue robe advertised his position as a powerful sorceror. Lambda could have started with any number of questions, but for some reason, she led with, "How did you get your beard to grow in two separate bunches like that?"
The old man chuckled. "Of all the myriad questions that are appropriate to ask an old sorceror at the first meeting between us, you chose such a trivial matter? I merely spend a long time grooming my beard each morning. It is a point of pride for me. But enough of this. I am Yen Sid, a sorceror by trade and Keyblade Master in retirement. You surely wish to locate Riku, correct?"
"If you can find him, then yes. He's probably really worried about me." Lambda's mind glossed over Yen Sid's claim to be a retired Keyblade Master for now. Riku was more important.
"As you are for him, it would seem. Fear not; finding him will be easy. Give me a moment..." Yen Sid waved his hands over an empty section of his desk, and clouds of magic and sparkles began to swirl beneath his palms. In the center of the magical whirlpool, an image of the town of Hollow Bastion appeared, then zoomed in on a house Lambda recognized.
"Merlin's place? How did he get there?"
"By fate, no doubt. The stars have ways of making situations like these work out in the end. I can easily contact Merlin on this matter." The scrying spell disappeared, and Yen Sid levitated his chair to spin around until he faced away from Lambda. The Prime Field Device moved around the table to see what he was doing. The sorceror raised a gnarled hand to gesture for silence as he focused his stare on a glowing pink gemstone embedded in the far wall, between two star-shaped windows. "...What could he be working on this time? ...Pick up..." Yen Sid mumbled along these lines for about fifteen seconds until the crystal began to shine brighter. "Merlin. Send Riku to Twilight Town as soon as you can. His friend is here with me, worrying for his safety... She went what on him? ...May the stars have mercy on him... They want to install what in your house? ...No wonder you waited so long to answer... An admirable cause, to be sure... Agreed. I will send her to Twilight Town on the usual train... Just do it before you are distracted again. The last time you attempted to... Truly? ...That is very impressive... Farewell, colleague."
"What did he say?" Lambda asked. "I only caught half of that, and I understood even less." What she did understand mostly just made her more curious.
"...Most of it was of no importance." Yen Sid's expression spoke otherwise (was that fear?), but Lambda didn't press him. It must have been embarrassing for the two of them, and embarrassments could become far greater and more dangerous with powerful magic involved. "I will send you back to my front door. From there, take the train at the edge of this floating island. It will let you board without a fee, and take you to the main station in Twilight Town. Riku will meet you there."
"Does that mean we're not in Twilight Town right now?"
"This is a tiny, secluded world on which I built the Mysterious Tower. It was the perfect location to live out my retirement in solitude, though I believe I will receive further visitors soon enough."
"Speaking of retirement, is it even possible to retire from being a Keyblade Master?"
"I have made it the final goal of my long life to learn the answer to that very question. The worlds certainly seem to be conspiring against such a thing," Yen Sid chuckled, though his expression was exasperated, "but I will remain here in my tower until my star blinks out."
"I guess I'll leave you to it, then, sir. Thanks for all your help!" Lambda was teleported to the base of the tower, and a flash of light at the edge of the island heralded the summoning of her ride. The train was a single car, decorated all over with golden stars and moons on a purple background. The door hissed open to reveal an entirely empty vehicle; the train had to be either automated or sentient, but it didn't matter to Lambda which one. She climbed aboard, and the train accelerated through a tunnel of green space and aurora lights. She arrived at the familiar Station Plaza in a matter of minutes.
"I could wait here for Riku, but as long as we're in the same world, we'll find each other eventually..." Lambda decided to look around town again.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
In the Tunnels...
"So what's this is all about...what did the Organization want me for?" Xion had come here at the request of the girl in white, Namine. She claimed to have answers, and a way to help, and Xion had been desperate to be useful again, instead of powerless.
"Not the Organization. Xemnas wanted you to be his perfectly obedient Keyblade wielder. Most of the Organization is as fooled as you were, since Xemnas never intended to help them regain their hearts."
"Oh, no... Is that why half of us were sent to Castle Oblivion? To eliminate them, now that Xemnas is done using them to...create me?"
"That must have been part of his reasoning, yes, but not all of it. I was there, so I know that Marluxia was actually planning to betray the Organization with Larxene. I was the cornerstone of their plan, in fact."
"But...how could you pose a threat to Xemnas? No offense, but you don't look like someone who can stand up to Organization XIII..."
"None taken; I was just a means to an end, for Marluxia...I was a way to control Sora, the same as you are." Namine's smile was bitter; the memory was more painful than she let on.
"Sora...?" The name resonated with Xion at the deepest level she could imagine. But who was this person?
"You know him, of course. You must have seen him in your dreams."
Xion remembered with a gasp. "So he's the boy in red...? I have seen him. I have such vivid dreams of him, so often, that sometimes the dreams feel more real than my own memories. But who is he? Why is he so important?"
"He wields the Keyblade to protect the worlds from Darkness and other dangers, but for now, he's sleeping. And as long as you exist, he will never wake up."
"But why me?"
"You should know the truth, before anything else happens. You're a Replica of him. Vexen made a device called the Replica Program, and with it he made three Replicas of important people: You were the Replica of Sora, and there were two weaker Replicas of Riku and his friend-the ones you know as 'the impostors.' You were special among them, created to catch Sora's memories after I was forced to scatter them away, so I wouldn't be able to put them back in their place. You also took some power from Roxas." Namine took a breath, to recover from the long explanation and give herself time to prepare for Xion's final reaction.
"Roxas? How does he fit into this?"
"He's Sora's Nobody, although Sora isn't a Heartless anymore. His name is an anagram of Sora's with an X added to it, the same as all the Organization's members. That's why Roxas can use the Keyblade, and why you can, too."
"But...I can't wield the Keyblade anymore." Xion's tone carried an air of thanks for the reminder.
"Only because you doubt yourself. You still have the power you caught from Sora and Roxas, and you're getting more from them even now. Roxas should have had two Keyblades, which is positively unheard of."
"Then...I'm holding him back. I'm keeping Sora asleep, I stole Roxas' second Keyblade. But I don't know how to give those things back."
"I'm sorry, Xion. You deserve better than what you got. But I called you here to help you give that power back. I need to wake Sora up-I made him a promise, after all. To do that, I'll need your help, and Roxas' help, too. I'm sorry for manipulating you."
"It's fine." Xion wasn't any happier with being manipulated than Namine had been, but she had to consider Roxas, too, as well as the rest of the Organization. Xemnas had to be stopped, and if Sora could do it, Xion had to help him. And if she and Roxas returned to Sora, they could be friends inside him, right? "How can I help?"
"I'll send the rest of Sora's memories into you. Sora will wake up faster if you have them already organized, and it will give you the power to face Roxas, if he doesn't want to come back with you."
"Roxas..." Xion whispered to herself. He was the first person to encourage her, and the first to see her as a person, not a puppet. A foolish ideal, maybe, but it was nice while it lasted...
"Can you bring yourself to fight him, if it comes to that?"
"I...don't know yet. He asked to be my friend... What would happen if he beat me?"
"Well, if you won, you'd be able to absorb him and return his portion of Sora's memories with the rest. If he won, you'd return to Sora anyway, and Roxas is destined to follow. So it would just take longer if you lost. The fastest way would be if he went willingly, but..."
"Then I only lose if I don't try. I have to try, at least. I want to act of my own will, even if I'm just helping your plan. I know Sora is a good person, and the worlds need him...more than they need me." It was awful, it was still wrong, but it was less wrong than everything Xion had done until now.
"Thank you, Xion. Thank you so much..." Namine looked ready to cry in relief. "We can finally save him..."
Xion grasped the blonde girl's shoulder, her eyes shining with new determination. "When can we start?"
"Right now. Roxas is here. I'll give you the memories I've gathered before you go...but this will hurt. A lot. Are you ready?" Namine closed her eyes and focused.
"I'll never be more ready than I am right now..." Then the memories began to flow in. They pounded into Xion's mind, crushed her chest, and threatened to sweep her away in a sea of experiences far deeper than Xion would ever have. The Destiny Islands... Building the raft... Sparring with Riku... "The score was 0 to 25" ...A necklace of thalassa shells... "It's my lucky charm! Be sure to bring it back to me!" ...Kairi.
When Xion straightened up, her face was completely different, though her voice was the same. "I think I'm ready...so this puppet will have to play her part." She put on her hood, and set off to find Roxas.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
With Riku...
"Thanks for picking me up, Merlin." The wizard had appeared in front of Riku fifteen steps up, and with barely a word from either, Riku found himself at Merlin's house. Which meant he'd gotten a free pass on climbing those accursed stairs!
"I sensed your anguish, crying out at an unfair and uncaring universe! In my opinion, your reaction was only slightly exaggerated. We wise elders hate stairs even more than you do! I'll never understand why Master Yen Sid put so many blasted stairs in his tower..."
Riku decided not to comment on what Merlin probably meant by "wise elders." There was no telling what might anger a powerful wizard...
"Hey, Merlin!" An extremely chipper and upbeat female voice called over the door to the outside suddenly banging open. "I just joined the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!"
"That's wonderful, Yuffie my dear..." Merlin sighed. "But as you can see, I'm already busy with this visitor-"
Yuffie interrupted the wizard by squealing. "RIKU! You're here! Where did you run off to?"
Riku started automatically looking for places to hide. He recognized this pattern. "It's a long story..." Light help him, hadn't he had enough fangirls on the Destiny Islands?! Selphie was far from the worst case he'd seen at their school. And now that Riku actually had a girlfriend, he was even more obligated to shut down the squealing. "I'll tell you about it later, but right now I need to ask Merlin if he's seen my girlfriend, Lambda."
"...Oh." Yuffie deflated. "You got over Kairi, then?"
"Don't even start about that. Sora and Kairi are meant to be; I was an idiot for not noticing sooner. Lambda's a better match for me, anyway."
"But who is Lambda?"
"I met her in the Realm of Darkness, and she helped me get back out. She helped me fight Ansem, and we eventually beat him so he can't possess me again."
"Wow, she must be really strong. Nowhere near as strong as the Great Ninja Yuffie, but okay in a pinch."
Riku scoffed. "No, she's definitely stronger. I'm practically shocked you haven't asked me about this yet." Riku tapped his blindfold.
"Oh gosh, how did I miss that? I need to work on my epic ninja skills of observation."
"Tell me about it. Normally all the girls like you would be all, 'I could drown in your eyes forever,' or something along those lines. You know even less about me than the other fangirls."
"FANGIRLS?" Yuffie was suddenly outraged. "I'll have you know that my love is true, pure as untouched snow, and-"
"Fifty-seven."
"...What?"
"That's how many times I've heard some variation of what you just said, after one of my fangirls learns about the others. I started keeping track in fifth grade. And really, we just met today. 'True, pure love' is kind of a far-fetched idea."
"...Well, shoot. When am I going to find a nice guy for myself, then...?" Yuffie grumbled. (The townspeople were mostly aware that Yuffie was on a perpetual hunt for "Mr. Right." Riku wasn't the only one she'd latched onto like this.)
"Sorry, I'm no expert on destiny. Speaking of experts, though, Merlin? Do you know where Lambda is?"
"I do not, but I'm sure I could find-"
"Oh, that's right!" Yuffie was suddenly back to being chipper, completely unfazed by the rejection she'd suffered fifteen seconds ago. "I came in here in the first place to tell Merlin we're setting up the computer in here!"
"Don't you mean, 'ask Merlin if we can set up the computer in here'?" Merlin asked, irked at the interruption and worried he already knew the answer.
"Nope! We kinda had the meeting this morning. It's already settled. The new HQ of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee will be right here!"
Merlin's eye twitched. "If they try to invade my home, I'm going to personally-"
"What's that thing?" Riku suddenly asked. There was a pink crystal floating in the corner of the room. "I think it's been floating there for a while, but it wasn't there when I got here."
"Blasts and curses! My vengeance will have to wait; that's Yen Sid calling me. Could you wait right there for a moment, Riku? I have to take this." Riku nodded silently, listening in as Merlin mumbled at the crystal. "Hello, Master Yen Sid. I'm sorry you had to wait. Yuffie barged in here and went full fangirl on him... You heard me right... He's standing here right now... That part's taken care of, but now the Committee wants to put their HQ and some kind of computer in my house! ...One of Cid's projects, I believe. They want to rebuild the town, but why did they need to do it from my house? I'll send Riku over there; I was always better at advanced teleportation than you, after all, but I might need a minute to sort out my other uninvited guests... Hey, I used that kind of explosion to destroy a whole platoon during the invasion! Granted, it was our platoon, not the Heartless, but I could do it again on purpose if I had to! Yes, stroke my feathers. I'll spare you for now... Farewell, colleague." The crystal faded away.
"Okay, now I'm curious..." Riku started.
"Don't be. Anyway, I imagine Yen Sid will explain more things to Lambda for at least another minute, then she'll be in transit to Twilight Town for five minutes on his personal train. Let me check something..." Merlin pulled out a familiar gold pocketwatch from the Bag of Holding, the magical satchel that he was never seen without which contained all his worldly possessions in one pocket. "Hmm...Yes, that gives me enough time to teleport you there and have you arrive just in time for whatever grand moment approaches! But wait, I never expected you two to end up separated in the first place. Here, I'll give you your own World Clock!" Merlin handed Riku the timepiece he just checked. "Like I told Lambda, I have spares. You might arrive a bit late, now. Seek Lambda out immediately!" Merlin waved his hands around, and the last thing Riku saw of that world was a cloud of magic sparkles.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
In Kokonoe's secret lab...
"And that should do it! Okay, Tager, boot up." Kokonoe finished welding a panel back into place on Tager's left arm, put away all the tools she'd used, moved him right back to where he was when he shut down, and allowed the Red Devil to awaken.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Iron Tager's point of view...
"What happened? My internal clock says I'm missing ten minutes of memory files." I rubbed my hair as the boot-up process completed. "You were saying something about an upgrade, right? Don't tell me..."
"Yep, already taken care of. At least you know when it happened this time. Now I have to run the first field test of the Time Breaker! And... CLICK!" Kokonoe slammed a big red button on her computer console, and my arms suddenly began to vibrate.
"What on Earth is..." A blast of electricity arced from both of my gauntlets, meeting at the midpoint between them and releasing brilliant sparks. I attempted to pry my arms apart, which was fortunately what I was supposed to do. The motion caused the electricity to rip open a jagged hole in the air. When my arms were extended fully to my sides, the electricity cut off, but the hole remained. "Kokonoe, what am I looking at right now?"
"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Kokonoe took a second to do her patented Mad Scientist Cackle before responding. "This, Tager, is what success looks like! You just ripped a stable hole in the continuum, and on the other side is a completely different timeline! I snooped on Relius when he did this himself; he calls this hole a Time Break. Judging by what we can see through it, you should be able to just walk through and end up in the other continuum! Relius is planning something with these Time Breaks, but I'll beat him at his own game!"
"So, judging by how my luck has held so far, your next orders for me will be to investigate the place we can see through the Time Break..."
"Good, it looks like you're finally using that RAM upgrade! Yep, go on through. The first thing to test will be communications. It should work fine, but just in case, come right back if you can't reach me by radio."
"When did you give me a RAM upgrade...? No matter. TR-0009 Tager, commencing mission." I stomped through the Time Break with a little more force than technically necessary, ending up right in the middle of a city at sunset. What time was it outside Kokonoe's lab? Why would my clock say Data unavailable? "This place is strange...but down to business. This is Tager. Kokonoe, come in."
My radio crackled like usual. "I read you, Tager. You've got better reception than usual, actually. Anything immediately jumping out at your sensors?"
Actually, yes. "It's odd... I'm not getting any readings of seithr at all. That's no problem for me, of course-that's why you use science in the first place, right? It is still strange, though."
"That's one reason, yes. One day, I want to clean the world of all the raw seithr the Black Beast left behind. When I do, every form of Ars Magus will stop working, and the society that currently depends on it will fall apart. It'll serve them right for relying on the Black Beast's power over something that can be understood and controlled." Kokonoe was ranting now; I noticed she used the terms "when" and "will," implying that her success was only a matter of time. But then, that's how Kokonoe always was. The world needs driven people like her. I internally scoffed at the memories of Hakumen repeatedly asking why I follow her so loyally, as though he had a better plan. But Kokonoe was done ranting by now. "Wait just a minute! What are these readings...are these sensors broken?!"
"What did you find, Kokonoe?"
"Lambda...I found Lambda! She's very close to your position, within 100 meters. And she has the IDEA Engine! I know she gave it to Ragna already, and he still has it! How is she even alive? Tager, I need you to confirm these readings. Follow the indicator I'm putting in your HUD." A green arrow popped up at the top of my field of vision.
The arrow pointed behind me, so I turned around. The entire world seemed surreal as I saw my target walking barefoot down the ramp from a more elevated section of the town. I realized I had never seen her unarmored before, and her red eyes had certainly never displayed this level of curiosity and tension before. Or any emotions, really. What was going on? "Kokonoe, come in. I've already found the target. It looks like your readings weren't wrong after all."
"It's still hard to believe, but I guess the sensors were right. What are you waiting for, Tager? Make contact with Lambda! From what I'm seeing, it should be possible to do this without fighting her, so hold off on the fisticuffs unless she summons a weapon. I'd really rather not have to break her again."
"Ah, so that's why you're so invested in this..." I lumbered towards the Prime Field Device.
"What are you implying, Tager?" Kokonoe's voice in my radio got very quiet, with an undercurrent of danger that would send most grown men scrambling away. I said nothing; The Professor was easy enough to read, after a time. This was her own way of backtracking from an emotional attachment.
"Please hold, Kokonoe. I've made contact with the target." I finally reached Lambda, who had to crane her neck up 80 degrees to make eye contact with my opaque glasses.
"Who are you, and why did you just refer to me as the target?"
Time to try and head off a confrontation. "I am Iron Tager. At the moment, I mean you no harm. Kokonoe gave me specific orders to contact you in a non-violent manner unless absolutely necessary."
"Kokonoe? That name came up in the dream I had, right before the IDEA Engine was copied to me. Other than that, I have no clue who you're talking about. You must have come here from the Azure Timeline, right? I'm not going back.
"So you do have the IDEA Engine, then? Kokonoe, what do you make of it?"
"Let me take the conversation from here, Tager." Kokonoe connected to both of us over her mental radio. "So you're Lambda, huh? I'm Kokonoe. Are your memories fried? You should probably remember who I am."
"My current theory is that time looped around between when I fell through the rift and when you repaired me, so you know a different 'Lambda,' the one from the last loop. I still have no clue how her death copied the IDEA Engine to me. It's your work, right?"
"Ah, that explains it. Apparently, I misinterpreted the data. Yes, the IDEA Engine is my invention. My masterpiece, actually."
"It's well made," Lambda complimented. "For me, it takes time to synchronize in combat, but it works wonders for the effectiveness of Murakumo."
"Ah, so you still have the Nox Nyctores from your timeline! I designed the IDEA Engine to replace that thing, but it works as an amplifier! I'm a genius! But... how are you getting the Nox to run over there with no seithr? It should be downright impossible."
"There's a different power source here called the Power of Darkness. It could be even more dangerous than seithr, since I've heard it destroys worlds. It's... I guess a good word would be transphysical. Darkness is a substance, like seithr, that removes some energy from everything around it. But it's also formed from negative thoughts and emotions, and embodies the power to control and destroy. I can use the Nox outside the Realm of Darkness because my own heart has the Darkness it uses."
"That's a lot of highly useful information. Thanks, Lambda. I won't ask you to come back to this timeline-did you call it the 'Azure Timeline?' But could you keep in touch? I need informants on both sides of the Time Break."
"The 'Azure Timeline' is what this clock I got from Merlin called your world. I don't like to think of it as my world. The clock is enchanted-there are more mages in this timeline than there ever were over there." Lambda pulled out what looked like an ordinary pocketwatch, stored in a pocket of the black coat she wore. World Clock was printed on the cover. "So that rift between us is called the Time Break? I guess I could help. I've got your frequency stored, after all, so calling back won't be a problem. What are you trying to do?"
"Aside from killing Terumi, saving the world, and doing science? Not much. I know this one bastard, Relius Clover, is trying to mess with that timeline, too, whatever you call it. I'm sure you know Relius, at least."
"The World Clock calls this the Heart Timeline. Yes, I know Relius. His stupid protocols still dictate what I say and do at times. If you're trying to stop him, then sure, I'll help. I've got to meet up with Riku first, though. I bet you didn't think it was possible for a Prime Field Device to catch a boyfriend."
"You caught what? And this person isn't Ragna? I'd ask for all the juicy details, but we're on a schedule. Call back if you think I need to know something. Use your judgment, since you have it. Huh? Oh, crap!"
I chose now to jump into the conversation. "What's the problem, Kokonoe?"
"The Time Break is expanding! It's slow, but it must have started growing the instant you passed through! Dammit... Hey, all personnel! The lab is compromised! Initiate Evacuation Protocol T-9! If you don't know what that is, just run! Your lives are more important than any data you can't save! No, don't stand there asking questions! You have two hours to get out! No, I can't stop the problem by then! GO!"
Evacuation Protocol T-9? Overloading the teleportation devices to get everyone out? Not taking the time to set the coordinates would send everything to different places, which could be disastrous. "Kokonoe, should I return through the same Time Break?"
"Yes, but doing so might speed up its expansion even more. I don't want to know what happens if this thing gets too big or intersects a second rip, but we don't have much choice right now. Once you cross back, I'll teleport you to my backup lab. Get moving; your Time Breaker might be able to fix this."
"Roger. TR-0009 Tager, returning to base." I made my way towards the Time Break (which was much larger than before on this side, too) as quickly as my legs could go.
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
With Roxas and Axel: Twilight Town: Station Heights...
"So our mission today is to track down Xion?" Roxas looked up at Axel as they exited the Dark Corridor.
"Yep. She never RTC'd from her mission three days ago. Sai'x says she never finished it either-something about a giant Heartless. At least we know she never left this world." Axel ran over the mission brief.
"Maybe we should ask the townspeople if they've seen her."
"Her? Xion's a girl?"
"Yeah, and she has a Keyblade like me! You didn't know?"
"She never dropped her hood around me. Now I've got two half-pint zombies to babysit..."
"Hey! At least with two half-pints, you get a whole!"
"Ha ha! A whole zombie, that is!" Axel chuckled. "Seriously, though, you've gotten a lot better about the zombie thing since we first met. You're doing good, Roxas. Got it memorized?"
"Really? Yeah, I got it memorized. Let's track down Xion and have ice cream together!"
"You don't need to... I'm right here." Number XIV walked out of a side alley with her hood up.
"Xion! We were just about to search for you! Sai'x assigned the mission, so even he wants you back!" Roxas ran over to his second friend, but stopped short when she put a hand in front of her.
"He wants me back, all right. But not because of me. And without my Keyblade, he won't want me back at all."
"Xion... What? You can't use the Keyblade anymore?" Roxas took another step forward as Axel watched with interest.
"It stopped coming to me when I fought the impostors. But that's okay; they showed me what's really important." Xion stepped back a pace, and removed her hood.
Roxas stopped dead. "You...your face... That's..."
Axel recognized it, too. "Him? That's their plan? Geez, I always get stuck with the icky jobs."
"Look at my face, Roxas. Who do you see?" Xion's voice remained unchanged, even as it came from the mouth of that boy Roxas saw at the end of his coma. "If you see someone else's face...a boy's face...then that means I'm almost ready. I'm a puppet meant to look like him...and this puppet will have to play her part. Roxas... This is him. It's Sora." Xion gave Roxas a sad smile that looked entirely out of place on the face she wore. That face should be wearing a goofy grin of humor and inner Light, but she looked as though such goodness was unreachable.
"No! Xion, what are you talking about? Come back with us!"
"No, Roxas. I have to make you a part of me, too, and bring you back to him. Don't you see? This is why I was created!" Xion put her hood back on, and Darkness began to swoop towards her from all around the area. When the cloud of black lifted, Xion looked entirely different, like a cross between "Sora" and a simple Nobody like a Dusk. She spoke with a distorted version of her own voice, despite no longer having a face. "Namine poured all the memories into me. Eventually, I would have gotten them from you, but now I feel about to overflow. Before I drown, I'll bring you back to him, and the worlds can be saved!" Darkness flowed over the street, swallowing Xion, Roxas, Axel, and one more person, who was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time...
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
A/N: Super finishing move: Cliffhanger Crush! Don't worry, I have the next parts, the ones with the epic final battles, mapped out already. Since that would leave us with only eight chapters, I'll continue into Kingdom Hearts 2 after that.