A/N:6.15.11: Added in the name of Reixka's keyblade... because it's annoying to see "Reixka's keyblade" repeated over and over again.
Old: Thank you fanfiction for having maintenance. ' Anyway, this would have probably been up sooner had it not been for that and had it not been for the... erm... rough times that have been happening around here. But that's alright because half of it is over, and the other half probably won't end for a good long while, so there's nothing to worry about. :D
Here's a key for this chapter:
'A nobody's thoughts.'
'A somebody's thoughts.'
Disclaimer-I do not not not not not own Kingdom Hearts or Nightmare Before Christmas, even though I've wanted it for my own since I was like one.
"What could Organization XIII possibly want with Santa Claus?" wondered Riku as Sora led the way through the graveyard, and stopped at the gate with the curly hill beyond it. The gate was locked when Sora attempted to push it open, and his response was to shake it angrily. Jack put a calming hand on Sora's shoulder as he pulled a bat key out of one of his pockets, and unlocked the gate once the Keyblade Master moved.
"Heh." Sora rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner as Kairi gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. They followed Jack and Sally toward the hill; it was the only place they expected to find Santa and Reixka, and it was empty.
After they searched the entire area, Roxas sighed, "Now how are we going to find them?"
"There's still one more place left," stated Sally.
Sora thought for a minute before nodding his agreement. "The ruins of Oogie's Manor, you mean? Why would she go there?"
"Why would she come here?" replied Sally, smiling grimly.
Kairi turned to face Jack. "How do we get across?"
Jack chuckled. "It's simple. Follow me!" He walked up the curly hill, and, as he walked, the hill began to uncurl, making a little bridge so that they could get over the stone wall. Everyone hastily followed, for fear of the bridge re-curling right after Jack got off. Luckily, they all made it across before it curled back up.
"Be careful," warned Sora as Jack and Sally crossed the bridge leading to the manor's ruins and disappeared from sight. Kairi glanced downward; the water was barely deep, but it was a sewer, so she wasn't so sure that she wanted to fall in. She tightened her hold on Sora's hand as they crossed, but, when they were halfway, they were interrupted by three Dusks on either side of them. Keyblades materialized in flashes as the group was ambushed by Nobodies.
"This seems familiar," mused Roxas as Oblivion and Oathkeeper came to his aid.
XxX
"I thought you were going to kill me." Santa Claus demanded in a brave voice even as a trickle of sweat rolled down the back of his neck.
"I am," replied Reixka as she held Sakura Dawning upright in order to get moonlight to properly reflect off of it. Though she would not admit it, she knew she was trying to waste time.
Santa seemed to sense this, at least in part, as he pleaded, "Killing is not as easy as the innocent seem to think. You don't have to do this."
Reixka laughed, turning her head slightly so that she was facing him. "You think I'm innocent?" She asked, shaking her head while she wore a cold smile. "I am a Nobody." Although she had hoped this would explain things to him, it only sent the old man down a different road.
"I'm sure that's not true. There are probably plenty of people who care about you."
Reixka rolled her eyes, dropping her keyblade-wielding arm. "No, I really am a Nobody; the shell left behind by someone who has lost their heart. Essentially, that means I have no feelings, which means that I don't care much about your blood being spilled." 'This stupid heart does, though.'
Santa seemed to stiffen at the thought of a being with no heart, and, essentially, no conscience. "Does it scare you?" she murmured, only, this time, she looked sad. She was looking toward the cliff wall again. 'Nobodies are unknown and unliked. That is just how it is,' a voice that was not her own reminded her.
When a voice from above shouted, she started out of her depressing thoughts, "You, there!" Reixka and Santa both looked up at the skeleton man and rag doll standing on the remains of a bridge. "Unhand Mr. Sandy Claws right now and the consequences will not be as dire."
Reixka shook her head and sighed. At the snap of her fingers, Assassins, Wight Nights, Gargoyles, and Sorcerers appeared. "Spare me."
Jack angrily strode forward, and, forgetting that Oogie's manor was no more, fell several feet downward. Sally gasped, but he easily landed on his own two feet. "You asked for it." He ran forward, the Nobodies and Heartless flocking to meet him.
XxX
"That was annoying," grumbled Naminé. She and Kairi were sitting beneath the bridge, murky water coming up their stomachs with wet hair and bangs plastered to their forehead. Kairi recalled Radiant Destiny as she grasped the bank and attempted to stand up, which wasn't too hard because the water flow wasn't strong. She turned and lent a hand to Naminé.
"Stupid heartless," growled Kairi as the two of them returned to the bridge. Unsurprisingly enough, Riku, Sora, and Roxas had finished off the last of the enemies.
"I told you to be careful," reminded Sora as he rubbed the back of his head; it was obvious that they were trying not to laugh at the girls' appearances.
"Oh, ha, ha. Very funny," murmured Kairi as she and Naminé crossed the bridge and disappeared into the distance without a second glance. In her fiery hot fury, the seventh princess ceased to notice her surroundings, and was surprised when she felt nothing but air below her feet. She finally took in everything and realized that the bridge was broken. Her body plunged downward a split second after her realization, so that she didn't even get the chance to scream.
Naminé quickly reached over to grasp one of her hands. "Kairi!" Kairi sighed with relief; she wasn't going to die. But, even Naminé wasn't that strong. Her footing began to slip, and she was quite lucky when Sally grabbed a hold of her left arm. Still, the two of them were not strong enough to hold on, not that it mattered.
As Sora, Riku, and Roxas joined them on the remains of the old bridge, it refused to hold any longer and began to crumble beneath them. "We're going to die!" Kairi heard herself cry as she was pulled onto a small chunk of rock.
"No, we're not!" Naminé's voice was just as shaky with fear, but it still held an edge of confidence. Still holding Kairi's hand, she used her free one and put it to what was left of the ground, instantly summoning a portal. Naminé assumed they had seconds before they'd hit the ground. "Go on, trust yourself," she told Kairi, who crawled in first with her other in hot pursuit.
Roxas sighed with relief as he, Sora, Riku, and Sally began to delicately glid toward the ground. "Good thing that you remembered to bring Tink's fairy dust with you, Sora." Sure enough, when they had begun to plunge downward, Sora had taken out a leather pouch with golden fairy dust.
"Quick thinking," agreed Riku.
They landed in time to see Jack destroy two assassins in his path, so that only the Organization girl was left, "Very good." She said, clapping her hands together; Riku recoiled at her cold voice.
"How could she be the Nobody of Stefa?" he mumbled.
Roxas shook his head. "She's trying to put up a front, Riku."
Sora looked around. "Where are Kairi and Naminé?" Riku and Roxas also searched when, but a few seconds later, the two girls walked out of a portal on a rock. "Sally, while she's distracted, could you free Santa?" The rag doll nodded and hurried off to do so.
"Should we help him fight?" Kairi asked when she and Naminé joined them, glancing at Jack.
Riku nodded. "It might be a good idea to weaken her before we try to get Stefa back."
"How are we going to do that one, by the way?" wondered Roxas.
"Don't worry," said Naminé with a smile, "Riku will know what to do." Riku stared at her dumbly for a minute before they rushed in to help Jack fight. He cast a blizzard spell and then fire, but it only seemed to anger the Nobody.
"Hey, Jack, we thought you might need some help." Sora called from behind the skeleton.
"It's good of you to offer." Jack replied with a smile as he swiped at Reixka, who barely managed a good dodge.
"Ah, Keyblade Master, what a pleasure!" Reixka lashed back at Jack with Sakura Dawning; Riku blocked the blow with Way to Dawn, pushing her keyblade to her side. At once, her heart did a strange flutter, and she cursed it as she fell backwards. "So, you're him."
"Who?" asked Riku, holding Way to the Dawn in an offensive manner.
Reixka smirked. "You're the one that she likes. Riku, is it?" She added before lunging at his legs with Sakura Dawning, but Riku, anticipating some sort of attack, immediately jumped back. "I'm her shell, you know; I have her memories. She went on about not trusting the Organization and getting completely claimed by the darkness. I wonder how terrible that makes you feel? You did let that Heartless take her heart, after all."
Reixka's emotional attack on Riku had succeeded; he stared at her blankly, his weapon arm dropping to his side. "Watera," Naminé muttered under her breath, aiming her spell at the Nobody; the spell was strong enough to knock Reixka onto her side.
She aimed a glare in the blonde's direction and jumped to her feet. "Naminé, the weak pushover; Larxene and Marluxia told me that if I were to see you that I should see if I could make you grovel. You know, once I beat you," she proclaimed arrogantly. Instead of making the blonde somber as she had expected, Naminé ran forward with Chain of Memories raised. 'That's... unexpected,' thought Reixka as a familiar voice countered, 'Not really. It's been a while since those two have seen Naminé; she isn't so frail anymore.' Reixka felt vaguely annoyed, knowing that Stefa was taking strength from seeing her old friends. 'Stop interrupting my thoughts.'
"You'd be surprised," remarked Naminé in a growl as Chain of Memories slammed against Sakura Dawning.
Rexika pushed her keyblade harder against the other's. "That's some anger you have there... Trying not to give in to your heart's despair? Iwonder, since you were a Nobody when you realized Sora didn't want to remember you and it hurt back then... I wonder, what does it feel like now knowing that he didn't really remember you and you finally have a heart to feel?" Naminé's grip on her Keyblade slacked a bit, and it was just enough for Reixka to be able to push her off. She pointed Sakura Dawning at Naminé's throat. "You're just as weak as they said." As she moved in for an attack, a beam of light knocked her away.
Reixka promptly regained her balance. "Jesus! You people make it impossible to fight, you know." Kairi was now standing before her with her Radiant Destiny. "I see, sticking up for your Nobody? How sweet."
"Someone needs to control the malice in their heart," remarked Sora as he stood beside Kairi.
Kairi narrowed her eyes. "You can't really fight; you rely on your talk to win battles. That's despicable. We all have things we regret, but the best thing we can do is accept them and move on."
"That's some talk coming from you, Princess, when you've done nothing wrong in your entire life. That's how a pure-hearted one lives."
"Hah! Shows what you know!" replied Kairi, a wry grin on her face. Sora looked from her to the Nobody; he had never seen Kairi so angry before. "I regret quite a bit, actually. I regret not staying with Sora and helping him. I regret waiting for so long to come back for him. Hell, I even regret forgetting so much about him, even if I couldn't control that." A whimper from the sidelines told Kairi that she needed to tone it down a little. "But I can move on, anyway. You can only move on if you accept the past. You're not exactly Stefa's Nobody, are you? Not completely."
Reixka flashed a grin, "Pretty much, yeah. I have glimmers of Stefa's heart, but really, all I'm doing is containing it. It's always tough to get the pure side into a Nobody. But what are you going to do? Stefa's long gone; she isn't coming back."
"You're wrong," replied both Kairi and Naminé. "Her body may be gone, but her heart is still there. All she needs is some light to bring her back."
Reixka quirked an eyebrow at this. "Is that so? No amount of light can bring her back. Stop pretending!" She rushed at them with her keyblade again.
"Sure it can." Sora slashed at her with Ultima, "Riku just needs to call her back." Reixka fell back again and hit the ground hard. The heart within her was beating viciously, as if it knew what was coming.
"No!" shouted Reixka, angry tears filling her eyes. "I'm the Somebody now and she's the Nobody! She can't have these feelings or memories." Suddenly, it became clear to her as to why she was sent to Halloween Town. "They knew you would all be here." Reixka realized, a little dumbfounded, glaring into Sora's eyes as she looked up at him.
"Your feelings and your memories... aren't yours," stated Roxas, who was holding Oathkeeper in his left hand and Naminé's hand with his right. It was difficult for a Nobody to accept that their existence was a lie, but, this time, he didn't really think this Nobody deserved an existence.
Riku had regained control some time ago, but now knew this was the moment. This was the time to call Stefa back from the darkness, but he didn't know how. He glanced around, feeling unsure for the first time in a while. "Riku," Kairi spoke clearly as she turned to face him. "Call out her name. Let your heart call hers and she'll come back... You are her light..." She smiled confidently at her best friend and, after he released a deep breath, he returned the smile.
'Stefa... Stefa. Stefa!' "Stefa, come back to us!" He shouted, surprised as the words left his mouth. Reixka's heart was beating furiously, and then... she felt it flutter. She knew what was happening, but she didn't want it to. Even as her body was engulfed with the silvery light, she tried to fight it.
"No! But I...!" And then, she noticed them, several portals appearing very suddenly around the group. Had the Organization arrived to save her? But they simply watched as she felt the heart being torn from her and the memories flooding into a new body. She heard two loud thuds and knew that not only her body had hit the ground...
XxxxxX
"Good ol' Stefa," remarked a brunette girl with a smile. She was standing inside of a familiar cave, looking at pictures that had been drawn on the walls. It suddenly hit her, as she stood there, that her best friend was not lost to darkness forever like she almost had been. No, Stefa was alive and breathing fine in a different world, and she'd soon be returning here, the place where it all started for them. "It's too bad that Quince can't do the same."
XxxxxX
Reixka pulled herself into a sitting position as she glared at the figure before her, a girl in a long black robe down on all fours. She was staring at the ground, and, when she looked up, her pale eyes met Reixka's. The girl was helped to her feet by Sora, and, when she stood, Reixka examined her fully. The gothic slayer costume that the girl was wearing had very long sleeves with golden designs and rubies outlining the ends of the sleeves; the very bottom of it had the same design.
She was wearing black leather go-go boots and black and white stockings that were only visible when she kicked her legs out to stretch them. A blue leather necklace with a diamond was around her neck along with a black cross and black mirror necklace. By far, the most unusual thing about the girl was the fact that she had red and black streaks running throughout her blond hair.
And, yet, it was the one thing that told Reixka that she had lost. "Stefa," muttered Reixka as she scrambled to her feet. There was no comforting heartbeat and there was no emotion when she spoke. "I hope you didn't enjoy your few seconds alive again because I'm going to kill you!" She growled, swinging Sakura Dawning, but her revenge was short-lived. Someone had seized her by the neck of her coat; a fellow Organization member. "Wha?" Reixka tried to look back at the person who had grabbed her.
"You're not allowed to kill her until we get our hearts," a male voice reminded her. He shook off his hood to reveal his strange haircut and blue eyes.
"Demyx..." Reixka whined in protest.
"Now then, will you cooperate, Princess?" Xemnas asked as he strode forward and unhooded himself.
Stefa stared around, trying to make sense of everything around her, particularly the large amount of Nobodies. "Cooperate? For...? Your hearts? Oh, hell, no." Her reply was raspy, speaking for the first time in a while. Xemnas shot Demyx a look, causing the musician to immediately release his younger friend. Again, Reixka lunged for her, like a vicious, senseless, attack dog. Instead of calling upon her own keyblade, Stefa kicked her Nobody in the shin. Hard.
The Organization, apart from Saïx and Reixka, disappeared into portals. Saïx shot Reixka a look. "Stop whining about that petty little pain that you should not even feel," he ordered. "Defeat her, and, if all else fails, you know what to do." With that, he disappeared into his own portal. Reixka nodded slowly, glaring at her counterpart.
"Let's see who's a better fighter, the original, or the copy," she spat her final words icily. Stefa looked around worriedly once she realized what was happening. She hadn't fought or existed for at least a month, and, now, she was supposed to jump into gear? She barely had another second to spare before Reixka closed the distance between them and swung Sakura Dawning. A half a second too late, Stefa tried to flip backwards and was hit in the process.
She hit her back hard as she fell and stared up at the clear night sky. Reixka blotted out her vision as she placed a foot on her stomach and pushed down. Stefa winced at the pain and thought, for a minute, that she was a goner. "I guess the copy wins," decided Reixka, smiling with malice as she swung down. Another keyblade blocked the hit, and Stefa couldn't really recognize it at first. Then, she realized, the dragon design was unique.
"Elie?" exclaimed Stefa, sure her head was about to explode. Sure enough, standing over her was the brunette, still dressed in an Organization coat, but, otherwise, recognizable. Then, Stefa felt herself being pulled back and up by two sets of hand. Staring at her were the familiar, relieved faces of Naminé and Kairi; her right-hand women.
"Your Nobody sure is something, huh?" remarked Kairi, smiling.
"I am so happy right now that I could scream and jump, but I think I need to be filled in first. Where are we? And why is that rag doll guarding Santa Claus?" Stefa asked, staring at Sally and Santa at the sidelines.
Naminé and Kairi exchanged looks. "You tell her, Nam," decided Kairi, the smile still on her face as the three girls embraced. Naminé calmly began to explain as Elie, Sora, Riku, Roxas, and Jack fought against poor little Reixka.
Once the explanation was finished, Stefa belted out, "This is Halloween, this is Halloween. Pumpkins scream in the dead of night! This is Halloween, everybody make a scene!" Both girls fixed her with confused stares, obviously afraid that the time in the darkness had damaged her. Shrugging, she explained, "Sorry, I came up with it spur of the moment... It seemed like it fit."
"Oh, yeah, Stefa, that song definitely fits." Kairi said, her voice laced with sarcasm. (A/N: I had to. x3)
"Putting that aside, shouldn't we help them?" asked Naminé, glancing at the group of fighters; Kairi and Stefa both nodded their agreement. The three of them recalled their keyblades and joined the fray.
"Elie, thank you so much!" Stefa said as she slammed Shadow Heart onto Sakura Dawning, blocking the attempt on Roxas.
Elie grinned. "I'm just happy to see you again!"
"What is this, gang up on Reixka time?" whined the Nobody as she stumbled backwards.
"You kinda asked for it." Stefa pointed out before shaking her head. "I'll make you an offer." Shadow Heart disappeared, and she extended her right hand. "I told you that I can't give you a heart, so, if you join me, you'll be complete again."
"Yeah, right," spat Reixka. "Look at Naminé and Roxas; obviously, they didn't like being one with their Somebodies."
Stefa fixed her with a hard stare. "I just gave them hearts, they didn't ask. But you already knew that."
"I'm not going to put myself in a position where I'll no longer be me."
"You'll never be you!" exclaimed Stefa. "You're not a regular Nobody; you're my Nobody. You don't have an existence and you never will."
"Oh, yeah?" Reixka took a few steps back, resisting the urge to slam Stefa with her keyblade. "As it happens... I have the Organization; that's all I need." She closed her eyes and snapped; the ground began to shake. "I've failed, but not for long." Reixka summoned a portal and promptly disappeared, chest heaving, "Try to escape from this one."
"What?" Stefa muttered. Then, the shaking stopped.
"That was odd." Jack said, shaking his head and shrugging. "Well, fellas, Sally and I are going to head back to Christmas Town to bring Santa home. Meet up with us after you're finished with your... reunions." The skeleton waved before he, Sally, and Santa walked through the waterway in the distance, heading for the passage back to the square.
They watched Jack, Sally, and Santa go before turning back to Stefa. She could only grin dumbly. "I'm back." She muttered, staring at the ground shyly, and then looking up at Riku. Without really knowing what she was doing, she threw herself at him, wrapping her around his body. "I'm back." She repeated, like she didn't believe it.
Riku returned the embrace with haste. "I know, you've been missed." Stefa looked up at him, smiling softly.
Then, the ground shook again. Roxas seized Naminé and Elie to prevent them from falling and Sora quickly grabbed Kairi's hand. Had Riku not already had been holding Stefa, she probably would have fallen. "What was that?" Elie asked as they looked around the area; it was utterly deserted.
The ground ahead of them began to crumble away, and they immediately retreated; something very large was rising from the ground. It was a particularly gigantic dragon with sharp teeth and huge white wings. It flapped its wings, sending everyone flying backwards. Imprinted on its back was a familiar sign; the symbol of a Nobody.
A/N: And there you have it! More happiness for the gang. I wonder how they'll fair against this one... Really, I do. I haven't got any plans yet. x3 Please read and review, and I'll see everyone next time!