Chapter Thirty One: Explosive Attack!
I came out of the Realm of Darkness to see Roy, still a bit out of it, leaning against the Emperor's throne.
"So... I take it Marluxia's done for?" he asked, walking over toward me.
"Yeah... he resigned himself to his death when he saw it was inevitable," I said to him. "So... wanna go take on Xehanort now?"
"I'll go... but I can't guarantee how useful I'll be," he answered. "I'm still not in the best shape, ya know... and that little Aether outburst doesn't help, either."
"Yeah, yeah... well, want a lift?" I asked him.
"Naw, I'll take my own ship," he said, pressing a communicator he was holding in his hand. I did the same, and when I got to my ship, I was surprised at the ship next to mine.
It was distinctly humanoid, with a pistol in a holster and an energy sword.
"What is that monstrosity?" I shouted into the comm.
"Oh... nothing, I just modeled it after a person. Took forever..." he grumbled. "So, you ready?"
"Yeah... let's go," I said, pushing the throttle to max. Fortunately, the World that Never Was wasn't too far away, so it was a short trip.
We landed in the Alley to Between.
"So... are you sure you're ready for this?" I asked Roy.
"Are you sure YOU'RE ready?" he asked back.
We stared at each other for a moment, then began walking forward. Dozens upon dozens of Shadows and Neoshadows attacked us, but with our combined strength, it was child's play. We forced our way through the sea of darkness to the Memory's Skyscraper, where the Black Knight stood near the doorway to the interior of the Skyscraper with his back turned to us. His red cape fluttered in the light breeze.
"Hey, Black Knight!" I shouted. "What are you after?"
The Black Knight turned around, stared at me for a few seconds, then stared at Roy for a few seconds before walking down the stairway. He then walked down the stairs and passed us, not saying a single word or even sparing us a passing glance. I could tell he'd left the World that Never Was when the ground stopped shaking every second or so.
"That Black Knight... he seems familiar," Roy said.
"How so?" I asked, summoning Way to the Dawn for our first battle with the 'Lower Organization' which surely laid ahead.
"His aura... it's familiar, but odd..." he muttered. "I know that aura, but it's different... hollow."
"I thought Nobodies lacked aura," I said to him.
"There are special Nobodies born in special ways... like Roxas and Naminé," he said. "Maybe special Nobodies have aura."
"Well... whose aura is his like?" I asked.
"I don't know... it's too empty to tell," he replied before taking out his Judgment Blade. "Well... let's go."
We passed to the Edge of Despair, taking the lit ramp up to the entrance of the Castle that Never Was. Before we could even make our way to the elevator, there was a black-coated man standing in front of us.
"So... the Organization's really worried about us?" I asked the man, who promptly removed his hood.
Zexion.
"A librarian? Is that the best they can do?" Roy laughed. "This'll be easier than I thought."
"You shouldn't judge anyone by appearance," Zexion said, taking out his book. "Especially when you've never fought me before."
I shot at him with a Dark Firaga, which burned his book. Roy scoffed at him.
"Is that all? Stand aside, Cloaked Schemer. You're not the opponent we seek," I said to him. Roy knocked him off of the castle with a single swipe of his sword once we reached the same level as him, then kept going to the Hall of Empty Melodies.
There a very big and muscular, unhooded man waited for us.
"Lexaeus... the Silent Hero," I said aloud. "Organization XIII's Number V."
He turned around and summoned his massive tomahawk, then got into a ready stance.
"This is why you're here, right?" he asked.
"Of course!" I shouted. We dashed forward, clashing with Lexaeus, who seemed to hold us back effortlessly.
He is the most powerful... physically... member of Organization XIII, so...
We dashed back, then to the side, dodging earthen stalagmites that rose up from the ground. Lexaeus charged at us, rending the earth beneath the space between Roy and I, before we hit him in the back. He quickly recovered, then lunged at Roy, who repeled the attack. He then raised a stalagmite under Roy, dashing to attack me. I parried his blow, striking his shin, though it had little effect.
Roy, having recovered, lunged at Lexaeus from behind, though Lexaeus countered the move fast enough and sent him flying into a wall. I couldn't pay attention to him, though; Lexaeus had moved to strike me, and I blocked the blow.
He's strong! Way stronger than before!
I strained to hold him in place until Roy, hanging onto the walls with aura, rocketed and struck Lexaeus in the back. At the same time, I leaned in a bit and threw him into a wall, but Lexaeus quickly used a stalagmite to push himself back onto the arena.
"He's... good..." Roy muttered, breathing heavily. "I'd transform, but I..."
He didn't get to finish... too busy blocking Lexaeus' swift hammer strike. I dodged to the side, striking Lexaeus' shin again, though it was still ineffective. Lexaeus began to beat Roy to the ground with his powerful hammer strikes, but Roy lowered his sword, dodged to the side, and then struck Lexaeus in the shin again.
I stepped back, narrowly avoiding stalagmites and hammer strikes, before coming to a stop beside Roy.
"All tuckered out from Marluxia?" I asked, blocking a hammer strike. I moved to hit Lexaeus' left arm, but was blocked by the handle of his tomahawk. I spun around to strike him in the torso, but was again blocked and knocked aside. Roy had finally mustered some strength and struck Lexaeus in the side, sending him flying into Naught's Skyway, though he came back soon enough.
I could feel the platform beneath me beginning to quake.
"Now you've made him mad," I said to Roy.
"Oh, can it," he said, leaning on his sword and sweating heavily. "Nobodies don't feel anything... not pain, sorrow, joy, or despair."
He steadied himself, still breathing heavily, but ready to charge.
"Okay... let's end this," he said as Lexaeus began to walk toward us. I saw the resolve in his eyes...
"Right," I muttered, getting into my ready pose. We waited until Lexaeus had stopped.
Even I could feel the aura Roy was exuding just to stand on his feet... he must have been very worn out from transforming before.
We dashed at Lexaeus, circling around and striking both of his shins simultaneously. We managed to dodge the upcoming stalagmites, then dashed to the side to avoid falling stalagtites. We struck Lexaeus in the back, sending him forward a bit, but then stopped and turned around.
"Okay, you inhuman freak, time to die!" Roy shouted, making hand symbols. Soon, his hand was crackling with lightning...
But then that 'wound of his heart' burst open, tainting the lightning blood red. The scent of blood hung heavily in the air, just above us, even; the aura Roy was exuding vaporized the blood that was spilling out of his wound.
He dashed forward, and an odd sound began to ring through the empty air of the Hall...
Chirp, chirp, chirp...
He moved forward in a beeline to Lexaeus, dashing along the ground without even stepping. Lexaeus managed to sidestep just in time, sending Roy careening off of the Hall, though I could tell he was still around... somehow... that noise hadn't faded.
I glowered at Lexaeus, who stepped forward to meet my blade. We began a series of superpowered clashes, each sending out small sparks from our blades, until I found a weakness in his technique. I exploited it and stuck Lexaeus through the left part of his chest...
While a bloody, electrified hand went through the right.
Lexaeus staggered a bit, slumped over as we pulled our blade and hand out of him, respectively, then turned into an earthen pile of dust. Roy then staggered, exhausted, and slumped over.
"You're... not dead, right?" I asked him.
"No... way... I won't... die that... easily..." he gasped. "Never... count me out... unless you've got... my corpse..."
He passed out soon after that.
"He's awfully stubborn," I muttered to myself, then made my way across Naught's Skyway up to the Proof of Existence.
Three portals were now open; Vexen's, Xaldin's, and Xigbar's.
"Who should I take on next?" I asked.