A/N:
Hello all!
Here's the next installment to Infallibility! I'm glad I was able to get this out earlier than the other ones. I'll attribute it to how short this one was. But boy, did it involve more thinking and plotting for reasons you will all find out!
As promised, I will mention the people that reviewed the past chapters. Thanks for your kinds words of encouragement Sentinel07, TheSapphireRose, and Zigbon. This chapter is dedicated to you three.
Hope you, the reader, enjoys it!
SL
Chapter 5: Mission of Chasers
A sealed tale of truth
Master of the Keyblade…the lost two…Chasers…Memory of Xehanort…Keyblade War…
Erase me…
Roxas
Words flash through my mind forming images of people and places I've never seen. My body feels heavy and hot. The sound of metal clashing against solid ground reverberates through my ears. I try moving my arms, but find I can't. I try moving my legs, but get the same horrifying result. I begin to panic inwardly. Then I realize I am moving. My limbs are mobile, yet I have no control over them. I open my eyes and see a dark world surrounding me. I can see the sun in the distance, but a helmet on my head with a visor darkens it, changing the color. The weight all over my body is armor. Through the shaded visor, I see another armored person walking next to me. From the curvature of the body, the wearer appears to be female. A tall, armored man waits at the end of a crossroads, supporting a massive sword on his shoulders, standing in front of three Keyblades. My head moves slightly, allowing me to get a glimpse of the world around me.
I take in the colossal amount of old, rusted Keyblades stuck into the ground in what appears to be a deserted area, forming an X or a cross depending on the direction. Only the path that I walk on is deprived of the Keys. The woman and I grab our respective Keyblades and stare off into the distance. I scrunch my eyes, noticing a figure in the dust that was lifted into the air by the wind. As he comes closer, I notice his hunched body, unhindered by the sand blowing all around him, moving with an ease any older man is not prone to having. Something was threatening about him. I've never seen him before, yet somehow I knew he was a menace, a being so evil that he must be destroyed.
I gasp, startled by my own thoughts.
I focus on the old man again. His body suddenly becomes translucent and splits into two, making another person in an organic suit resembling the muscular anatomy of the human body; a mask with a dark visor shielded his face. Although, I want to feel surprised or horrified, I do not. This person is someone I know. He's hurt my friends. He's hurt me. He's even worse than the old man. This person standing at a distance in front of me had to die. A fury that cannot be contained flows through me, fueling my resentment and hatred for the figures up ahead. In a split second, I realize these emotions are not resonant from within me. This can only be credited to another source.
"Behold." The old man's voice rumbles in the distance, as he sweeps his hand towards the broken swords surrounding us. "These lifeless keys used to be full of power—united with the hearts of their masters. On this barren soil, Keyblades of light and darkness were locked in combat as a great Keyblade war raged. Countless Keyblade wielders gave up their lives, all in search of one ultimate key, the x-blade, forged only from the purest of hearts." He centers his sights on me.
Once again, with no control over my movements, I step forward, ready to charge at the two threats. A hand on my shoulder pushes me back roughly. I turn to look at my male comrade in confusion. He charges at the old man at an incredible speed, but as he jumps to strike, the old man merely lifts his arm and the ground comes with it. My comrade inevitably hits it without any form of defense, landing on the newly formed plateau. The old man, M. Xehanort, raises the ground where he and his apprentice, Vanitas, are standing, looking down mockingly at my comrade, Terra.
If I could move my body, I'd be holding my head to subside the pounding in my skull. How do I know all these names?
Terra! Always trying things by yourself! Let us help you once in a while!
I listen to the voice inside my head, similar to mine, if not identical, but I am not speaking. This voice—these thoughts are not mine. They belong to someone else.
Vanitas jumps off the cliff with electricity coming out of his hand. He strikes Terra without remorse as Terra lies on the ground defenselessly. The person within me can no longer hold back. My anger compels my body forward as well as my female comrade, Aqua.
We rush past the new cliffs rising all around us, sending sand and dirt in our faces as we try to reach M. Xehanort. The visors protect us from breathing the dust in, or letting it get into our eyes. The armor shields our entire bodies from the debris. As I try to understand what's going on, I realize that this battle was premeditated. This conflict is not an occurrence of chance. I came here for the purpose of eliminating these people. I came here for murder.
Terra lags behind, watching M. Xehanort with contempt before following closely behind Aqua and I. M. Xehanort waves his hand in the air, facing the rusted Keyblades. They pull out of the earth with the sheer force of the wind, lifting into the air in a whirlwind. Terra chooses to fight M. Xehanort while Aqua and I find the Apprentice. I swoop on Vanitas with an aerial attack while Aqua unleashes Blizzaga. Peaceful days in the Organization while facing giant Heartless seem like child's play as I battle with one of the most hateful threats I've ever encountered. Vanitas blocks my attack with ease, but Aqua manages to hit him with her magic. I notice her look up at something and see the oncoming whirlwind of Keyblades falling toward us. We run faster than we'd already been running, exerting our bodies to their limits. As we evade our brush with death, Vanitas jumps on the rotating blades when they lower to the ground to pick him up. He proceeds to barrage us with multiple Blizzaga spells as he gains control of the vortex. We manage to outrun most of the attacks, especially Aqua who's ahead of me, trying to reach Terra. From my peripherals, I see Vanitas quickly jump off the Keyblades, alarming me, but I am too late in reacting. The blades slam into my body from under me, causing me to fall into the ground, rolling over the hard rock. The Apprentice takes advantage of my moment of weakness and casts a Blizzaga spell at me. In under a second, I gain control of my body, roll on my side, reverse the direction of the momentum and propel myself upwards, swinging my Keyblade at him twice. He retaliates both times and pushes me back. I react rapidly, positioning my hands to my right and build up energy for a Thundaga spell. I bring my arms forward, aiming at the menace in midair. The lightning extends to him as I pump more energy into the attack to reach him. He performs a backflip and whilst suspended, the Keyblade whirlwind comes from his left acting as a moving platform as he lands on it. He successfully—but barely—dodges my attack. The Keyblades light up, receiving the full blow of my magic instead. The electricity surges though them before dissipating.
Hope that managed to hurt him somewhat.
The Apprentice takes the Keyblades over the cliff, where Terra's trying to climb up to reach M. Xehanort, and hits Terra from behind, causing my friend to lose his footing and fall off the edge. The Keyblades go through the top of the cliff, breaking the cliff to rubble. Down from another cliff, Aqua sees the falling Terra stabbing his Keyblade into the side of the cliff, but the crumbling rock can't hold him and breaks off with Terra still clinging onto it. Aqua keeps her eyes on Terra, but suddenly feels the cliff she's on drop slightly. While she looks down, the Keyblades come from above and dig her deep into the ground. She can't counter the weight and falls all the way to the bottom level, landing on her stomach, creating a crater around herself. A sharp pain in my chest propels me to her faster than all my other movements. I recognize these emotions as worry, horror, and fear. Terra's taken by the Keyblades, ironically saving his life, but they keep buffeting him, not letting him escape their deadly embrace.
I reach her, focusing my attention on her wellbeing. Her helmet had broken off, exposing her light blue hair and face. She struggles to get back up, breathing raggedly, using her Keyblade as support, stabbing it into the ground, giving herself enough leverage to balance on her left arm and kneel, unleashing a spell. I look up and see she's aiming for Terra, who's still stuck inside the whirlwind of Keyblades. The spell activates when it touches him, creating a shield made of hexagonal shapes. The shield momentarily disperses the oncoming Keyblades and halts the attacks. For a moment's respite, Terra is allowed time to breathe. But his time is cut short as the blades attack him with a vengeance, pushing him upward. However, the shield endures, protecting Terra in its interior. To his right, I see Terra is pushed to the cliff where M. Xehanort stands, waiting for him. Suddenly, the shield gives into the attacks and spontaneously combusts with Terra still in it.
Torn between helping Aqua and Terra, who seems to be in more immediate danger, I quickly decide that Aqua is in better shape—no matter how difficult it is to leave her when she needs me. I look at her from my peripherals one last time, seeing her eyes fixated on Terra, urging me to help while she can't. Her panting worries me, but the anger in my chest overpowers it.
He's not only hurt Terra, but Aqua, too. I can't stand by and do nothing. Aqua, forgive me for leaving you here. But I'll do as you ask.
I find it difficult not to feel the emotions swell within me for these people I don't know. The person-inside-me's feelings prevail over all my senses. This doesn't feel like I'm watching something through his eyes anymore. It feels like I'm living the turmoil. My body, in accordance with this person's decisions, rushes over to Terra, leaving his most important person behind. The Keyblades no longer move on their own and begin to drop to the ground. Terra lands on the cliff M. Xehanort stands on. I trek the cliff as fast as I can, knowing that time is of the essence. If I don't hurry, both my friends could end up severely hurt. A sense of pride flows within me as I notice the speed at which my body moves.
My name's not Ventus for nothing.
I slam my Keyblade into the side of the cliff, not before grabbing a secondary Keyblade, do a side-flip and propel myself from the rock, pulling my Keyblade out with the momentum, while stabbing the other one into the rock. I maintain this technique for as long as possible. As I near the top, I hear the sound of metal clashing and a body of armor dragging on the ground. The crystalizing sound of a Blizzaga spell reaches my ears.
Who shot it?
With no time to lose and fearing that it hit Terra, I give one final jump, forced to leave one Keyblade behind, reach the plateau, and swing at M. Xehanort with all my strength, catching a glimpse of Terra's left arm frozen up to his shoulder.
But before my eyes can process that my swing hit nothing but air, I feel a presence behind me, and a harsh grip on my helmet, suspending me in the air by my head. My neck stings with the weight of the rest of my body underneath it. I kick and flail around, trying to get out of M. Xehanort's hand. His grip tightens around my helmet and cracks when he applies more and more pressure. A sudden feeling clouds my mind. A Nobody, like myself, can never imagine such a horrible sensation. It's as if a poison, an acid tears through my insides while I can't even writhe in pain.
This is fear in its purest form.
I flail around, not allowing the trepidation to stun me immobile, watching Terra face me, holding his left arm.
No, Terra. I don't want to be seen like this.
Terra stumbles to get up and attack, but suddenly from above, an oncoming barrage of Keyblades smash onto him and throw him off the cliff. Vanitas lands next to M. Xehanort. Ventus stops flailing, the paralysis from the fear finally entering his system as his impending doom draws nearer. The Keyblades continue down the cliff, not giving Terra a chance to get out of their grasp. By myself, in the grip of the enemy, Ventus can't help but panic.
I have to get out of here. I have to get out. I'm at their mercy. What are they going to do to me? Terra…Aqua…
I search for her with one last flail to the left. The right side of my visor breaks off and my eyes connect with hers, a small body on the ground.
I'm sorry.
For a split second, both Ventus and my thoughts align to form one.
Help me.
Sudden pressure spreads through my body excruciatingly painfully. No sound comes out of my mouth.
I won't yell. I won't give him that pleasure.
The pressure encompasses all of my senses until I have none. They all melt away. No more pain. I can't feel. I can't move. I'm deprived of everything. I shift my eyes back and forth. My entire body's frozen.
Suddenly, Ventus's heart drops as he realizes we're suspended in the air. My body turns. We're falling off the cliff. We're going to shatter. My left arm suddenly feels lighter. I use my peripherals to see that my Keyblade shattered to bits. Then it dawns on me like a bucket of cold water. The fall isn't going to shatter me. This cliff is. I hit more parts of my body, but don't completely have anything break off. Until I see a protruding rock heading for my head is that I think about my end.
This is it. It's over. I let everybody down.
I hit the rock with great pressure due to gravity and hear my helmet shatter off. At the bottom of the cliff, where my life would be coming to an end, I see Aqua dive and catch me before I hit the ground. Her armor creaks under the stone as she drags her body over it, holding me in her arms.
Ventus's heart skips a beat, palpitating inside our mutual body. She rearranges my rigid body and stares at me, making sure I'm alive. I move my eyes in silent gratitude.
Aqua…thank you…
M. Xehanort, from the highest cliff, gathers dark energy in the palm of his hand and shoots it up into the sky. The clouds in the sky above disperse, revealing an all too familiar heart-shaped moon. Aqua holds me tighter, blocking my view. I can only see her devastated face as she stares at the moon.
Kingdom Hearts.
The once brightly lit sky darkens with the power of M. Xehanort. Aqua holds me, looking up at the highest cliff, wondering what's happening to Terra.
"Why don't you let me hold the popsicle for you?" A man says, "Get him off your hands, so you can go get revenge on your master, huh? Wasn't it your friend, Terra who offed him?"
Ventus can't recognize the voice, but I do. I know it all too well.
Aqua frowns, "Who are you?"
"You think both of you have a huge role to play in all of this," Xigbar ignores Aqua's question, "As if. You're really only here so I can kill you and have Terra turn to darkness. Won't take that long, seeing as how he already has a death on his hands. So, who wants to go first?"
Enraged, I crack from the shackles of ice, turning my head to the tertiary threat. "Shut up!"
I hesitate in my past assumption. This man isn't Xigbar. He looks like him, but slightly different. Could he be his Somebody? Interesting how he's exactly the same way. Nothing about him changed after he lost his heart. I wonder if I'll be here to see it happen. The man with the eye-patch laughs at my attempts to speak.
"Ha! Think you're a true Keyblade wielder? I don't know, but I'm not the one frozen solid now, am I?"
Aqua retorts in my defense, "Your mind tricks are on deaf ears! Regardless of what Terra did, he's a good person that can overcome any obstacle. Don't underestimate him!" Aqua puts me on the ground as I try with all my strength to thaw out of this annoying frozen water.
She stands, summoning her Keyblade, "Terra will prove to you he's stronger!"
She lunges at Xigbar's Somebody (Xigbar S.), summoning her Keyblade, raising it high, then crashes it into the ground, creating a shockwave of light.
Xigbar S. jumps, smirking at her power, calling forth his Arrowguns. "You might want to be careful. Wouldn't want to hit Icicle over there."
Aqua ignores his taunt, watching as he lands behind me, putting a foot on my chest.
"Leave him out of this!" she yells.
Xigbar S. chuckles, "Puppet, why are you so angry? I'm not doing anything." He lets his foot land heavily on my chest. I hear my armor crack. Aqua aims in less than a second, and unleashes a powerful fireball. It's dual-purpose serves me well. As it passes over me, it not only repels Xigbar S., but it also manages to thaw me out more. The ice melts over my body, but not enough for me to get out. I continue my struggle to help Aqua.
Xigbar S. shoots arrows of light while Aqua dodge rolls. Her armor makes it difficult for her to jump high, however she makes up for it with powerful magic spells and demonstrations of physical strength. I can see why she's Ventus's most important person.
Xigbar S. runs up to me again, figuring out that I'm currently Aqua's weak point. Nonetheless, Aqua runs up the cliff in front of us at a forty-five degree angle, twists her body, and launches herself with light surrounding her, rotating her body. Xigbar S. doesn't have enough time to react and is hit by her Keyblade head on. She rebounds off him and comes in flight again, slashing at him with her blade. As she batters him with her aerial attacks, Xigbar S. lifts his Arrowgun and shoots her in the chest. Aqua grunts, falling to the ground. Xigbar S. immediately buffets her with arrows of light again and again. Aqua's body jolts upward with the hits. I groan loudly, trying to thaw myself out until finally, my armor cracks. A few pieces of metal fall off my body as I jump up and kick Xigbar S. in the back, giving Aqua enough time to shoot him with Blizzaga. His body freezes momentarily.
"Are you okay?" She asks, wiping a string of blood that came out of the corner of her mouth.
"How can you be worried about me, Aqua? You're the one that was—"
"Yes or no, Ven?"
Ventus slouches his back in defeat, "Yes…"
"Good." She mutters, watching Xigbar S. thaw. "Since you don't have a Keyblade, use mine."
Ventus takes her blade in confusion. "What will you use to fight?"
Aqua stands straight in her fighting stance, "I don't need a Keyblade for this guy."
Inside me, I can feel Ventus's admiration for her grow. Oddly enough, he sees her as an older sister and a woman.
"Alright, Aqua. Whatever you say." Ventus hunches in his fighting stance, grabbing the blade in reverse hold, waiting.
As soon as Xigbar S. breaks through the ice, Aqua bombards him with three fireballs, surrounding them with lightning. Xigbar S. barely has enough time to get his Arrowguns out, shooting at the flaming spheroids, making them explode in his face, electricity surging through the air. While he's distracted, I rush underneath him and buffet him in the gut with a light attack. The assault pushes him back into the cliff, creating a crater around his body. As he lifts his head, momentarily disoriented, Aqua sweeps in with a fierce yell, kicking him in the stomach, her foot powered with light. He falls to the ground. We wait for him to stand.
"How honorable. You don't kick your opponent when he's down." He chuckles, blood coming out of his mouth, "That'll be your downfall."
Aqua charges up lightning in the palm of her hand, demonstrating a small amount of her immense power, "You are in no position to talk down to us."
Xigbar S. chuckles, spitting the blood on the ground, he raises his arms in defeat, "I lose. Two against one is no fair, puppet."
Aqua frowns at him, wondering what he's up to, but releases the energy to the side, stretching her arm to her right while keeping her eyes on Xigbar S.. I watch as the lightning illuminates the area, leaving traces of electricity behind. That attack would have been fatal.
"Distraction complete." Xigbar S. smirks.
I notice movement above us. As I look up, I see Vanitas jump off the top of the cliff. I aim Aqua's Keyblade at him, but miss, not used to the weight and length difference.
"Aqua!" I push her to the side, getting the full blow of the hit.
Aqua lands on the ground and looks up.
Time seems to stand still as I process what has just occurred. My head jaggedly looks down at my chest, noticing the sword stabbed into it.
I hear Aqua gasp.
I meekly grab at the Keyblade, attempting to pull it out. The motions make my body seem heavy and the air impossible to breathe. I see Vanitas peering at me with interest, watching, waiting.
"Ven!" Aqua shrieks, her voice slowly dissipating.
"Without you in the way, I can become the x-blade wielder." Vanitas murmurs, watching me as my eyes continue to close. Aqua growls in anguish, summoning her Keyblade, and shoots Vanitas with a combination of fire, ice, gravity, and lightning. He dodges her half of her attacks with the help of shield, however, he is still affected by the lightning and gravity push. Vanitas manages to disappear using a dark portal. Clearly, he'd accomplished his goal.
I fall to the ground, a gaping hole in my chest, emitting light.
Aqua shakes her head back and forth, "No, no, no. Ven, you can't do this me. You can't die."
I laugh at the notion of dying. What was so wrong with it?
A portal opens behind Aqua. Vanitas steps out of it as she holds me in her arms. I take short, jagged breaths as the light escapes my chest.
"Ven, I'll protect you! I promise! I'll definitely protect you!"
I can't smile at her. I can only see Vanitas lifting his blade to pierce it through her heart.
"Aqua…"
I close my eyes, but not before I see her turn around, hoping she managed to stop the Apprentice in time. I exhale my final breath, letting darkness envelop me.
Let me protect you once.
Xion
I place the 7th shell on the stack that had accumulated in the past few days. I kneel on the floor to rest my head on the side of the bed.
"Roxas…what's happening to you? Why haven't you woken up?"
Not expecting him to answer me, I caress his cheek once more and attempt to move his bangs from his eyes to no avail again.
"Nothing new to tell you. Axel's still a no show and so is that mysterious guy that confronted me. He might even be lurking among us and I would have no way of knowing. Missions have been lonely. Ice cream has gotten dull. Nothing's the same without you, Roxas. I don't know what to do anymore. It feels like I'm just doing things automatically. Go in, come out, eat, sleep, wake up and do it all over again. And for what? Kingdom Hearts? I stare at my window and see it every night, but I still don't understand why I'm doing what I'm doing. What's the point?"
I stop venting and sigh. "It's not just that. I don't understand anything. Like how we got here. Who found us? Why are we 'born' at a certain age? Why can't we be with everyone else? Why can't we live in Twilight Town or in other worlds? Why do we force ourselves to be isolated and alone? What good do we get out of this?"
I stand up and sit on the edge of the bed, looking down. "Sometimes I think of running away. But you know the one thing that stops me?" I turn to him, "You. I can't leave you behind with these people when you're helpless and dependent. You're my first friend. The least I can do is stay by your side. I'll wait for you until you wake up. I promise."
I stand up and walk to the door, taking one last glance at him.
"Thanks for letting me vent."
Kairi
I dab a wet cloth across Roxas's face.
Riku opens the door to my tree house and steps in. "Anything new?"
I shake my head. "Nothing. He's been like this forever."
"Is he dead?"
I smack Riku hard on the arm.
"Ow! Just asking!"
I frown, "Not funny, Riku!" I turn back to Roxas, "It's not normal for him to be like this. Something's wrong."
Riku shrugs, "It could have been caused by anything. I mean—we hardly know the guy. We've gotten to know him more by watching him sleep."
I gaze at Roxas, "He sometimes mumbles and grows restless."
Riku frowns, "What's that mean? He's dreaming?"
I nod, "Probably. He's been sleeping a lot. Remember when we found him? He was sleeping. And then the first time I found him, he was snoozing by the shore."
Riku shrugs, "Guy likes to catch his Z's."
I hear another knock on the door.
"Come in!" I call.
Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka walk in.
"How's he doin'? Selphie asks.
I shake my head, "He's just sleeping."
"Has he shown any signs of waking up?" Tidus interjects.
I shake my head again. "No. He's just been like this for—"
Rustling from the bed makes me stop midsentence. I slowly look down at Roxas, who had turned on his side. He moans. He bats his eyes slightly, trying to get accustomed to the light coming from the outside. He stretches his hands into the air and yawns. He sits up and opens his eyes slowly. All five of us stare wide-eyed and open-mouthed. I drop the towel on the wooden floor.
"Roxas!" Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka explode.
"You finally woke up!" Selphie exclaims.
"What's going on?" Tidus asks.
"How are you?" Wakka questions.
"Are you okay?" I inquire.
Roxas just sits and stares at us, unable to listen to the barrage of questions after his long nap. Instead, he addresses me while the others ramble on.
"What happened, Kairi? Why am I here?"
I frown at him, "You mean, you don't feel anything?"
He furrows his eyebrows, "Like what?"
"Pain." I suggest, "Your body doesn't hurt?"
He shakes his head, "Why? How long was I out?"
I resist the urge to hug him from how happy I am that he's awake.
"Roxas, you've been asleep for four days."
A/N:
Shorter than the last, but more action packed, no?
Just what the heck happened here? Why did Roxas just go through inception? (Mind you all, I wrote this before Inception came out, in my high school days, so this was an original thought without a name. :P)
Anyways, why'd Roxas wake up in the other reality? Is it a reality? Is it a dream? Just what is the meaning behind all these friendships? Why does Roxas spend most of his time in comas? What changed Vanitas's agenda? Why is he intent on killing the person that can create the x-blade? What will M. Xehanort have to say about this? So many questions and once again, they will all be answered in due time!
Until the next chapter! (which is also kind of short, but not really)
SL