Chapter Twenty-Three: Battle in the Moonlight
"Okay, now. My job is to take out Xehanort," I muttered. "As Roy would say, it's Knight against Knight."
I slowly got out of my chair, going to the exit of my shop. I stepped out into the desolate town, which was eerily silent; I hadn't noticed everyone leaving, so it was a bit odd. I remembered something...
"I need a Gummi Ship to get around, and that, I don't have," I said. "Looks like I'm stuck."
"Well, you would be, but I'm willing to give you a choice," a voice said. I turned around to see a black-coated man. "If you can best me, I'll give you a Gummi Ship. If you fail, you die."
"Hah. An agent of Organization XIII," I said to the hooded figure. "Lemme guess... Xigbar."
"Wrong."
"Xaldin."
"Wrong."
"Lexaeus."
"Wrong."
"Then who are you?!" I shouted furiously.
"Saïx," he said, taking off his hood. His hair was long, blue, and disheveled; there was a cross-shaped scar on his nose; his ears were pointy. It was indeed Sa?.
"So, Saïx, why give me a Gummi Ship? It'd be very troublesome if I left..." I tried to reason. "If I stayed on this island, there would be no threat from me."
"Well, you see," Saïx told me, "if I'm gone, I don't see what the trouble is. It would scare Xehanort's heart if you were to leave."
"I see. So it's venegance you're after," I deduced. "Venegance on Xehanort for not giving you a heart when he had that mass of hearts he called 'Kingdom Hearts' and venegance on me for helping Sora back then. Either way, you win."
"Exactly," Saïx said, summoning his huge claymore.
"Well... I won't go down so easily," I told him. "I DID have a hand in beating Xemnas, you know."
I summoned Way to the Dawn.
"Perhaps so... but you've never faced me, and Sora was, in the end, the one who truly defeated Xemnas," he said, raising a hand. The sky turned dark, and a full moon started to shine. A savage, almost feral look, crept into Saïx's eyes. "In addition, it took two of you to take down Xemnas."
Saïx looked like he was about to burst with rage.
"Well, I've gotten stronger since then," I muttered, getting into a battle pose. "So come on!"
At that utterance, Saïx let out a savage shout, charging at me with his claymore. I ducked under his horizontal slice, attacking his shins. He jumped over my attack, trying to bash me in the head. I rolled and attacked his back. This blow landed, and I tore into his back a little.
Saïx stepped forward a bit while I got off of the ground. It was like he was unfazed...
Saïx charged at me again, this time, sidestepping and releasing energy with each step. I clashed with his claymore when he attempted to strike me, dropping down to sweep his feet. Saïx backflipped to dodge that, but I got up and dragged my sword up his coat, shearing it in half diagonally across the chest.
"So, I've underestimated you," he said, turning around. Blue fur poked out of the cut in his coat. "However, I'm not finished. In fact, with the moon constantly shining, I've been holding back."
"Hmph. Do you really think upping your strength will help? It's not like I'm really trying right now," I said, taunting him, brandishing my Keyblade.
Saïx's eyes turned red.
"You might have guessed it," Saïx said, getting down on all fours while still holding his claymore. He bared his teeth, which had become visibly sharpened, and short claws grew out of his gloves. "I'm a werewolf."
"You think that's supposed to scare me?" I asked arrogantly.
It really does scare me, but I can't let him see that.
"Now," Saïx said, sounding furious, "let's begin."
He charged at me, snarling savagely, running on all fours. Saïx savagely attacked me, whirling his claymore and claws around, I barely managed to parry his claymore when I was hit in the shoulder with his claws. Before I could recover, he attacked me again, savagely shouting. I parried that blow and dashed out of the way of his claws.
I brandished my Keyblade while Saïx made another dash. This time, he made a whirlwind of slashes and swipes I could barely keep up with. Even so, I parried or dodged all his attacks, calling on the training I had done with Roy before he disappeared four years ago.
I eventually knocked him back after Saïx had been mercilessly attacking me over and over, hopping off my Keyblade to remain in the air. He savagely rushed at me again, but I ducked as he lunged, sticking him in the chest with my Keyblade. I used my body as a lever to slam him on the ground behind me. The sky got light again.
He's finished...
"Gurk... so, you really do... ugh... have what it takes," Saïx gasped. "Maybe you and Sora... ngh... didn't best Xemnas through luck, after all."
"Even if I didn't give out the finishing blow," I said, "I'm still strong enough to contend with him."
"Maybe not... but... urk... Xehanort is far more powerful now that his heart, body, and soul act as one," Saïx gasped. "I was nearly as strong as Xemnas... ugh... but Xehanort himself is in another league."
"The level at which Roy fights...?" I asked. "The strength of the otherworld?"
"Yes... but he's having some trouble," Saïx gasped. "That Roy you mentioned and someone named Jason have been eliminating members of our Organization. They're strong..."
"Well, what do you expect? Xehanort resurrects past warriors from shadow, and you earnestly you can match our strength? Especially Roy..." I trailed off. "He's... not human."
"So... it's true. A One-Winged Demon wanders this world..." Saïx said slowly. He then reached into his coat, pulling out a small button.
"Take this. It's a transponder to teleport you to a Gummi Ship," he said, tossing it at me. I knelt down to pick it up.
"Hey... thanks..." I said. But I got back up to see Saïx fading into darkness.
"So... it really starts here," I said, pushing the button.