WOW. I cannot believe you guys got the reviews up to 200. That is pure insanity. I never thought this story would get so popular.
My gigantic list of thanks: Witchgirl590, Taeniaea, TheKeeperofKingdomHearts1, Island-style-girl, Clarissa Avila, pandabearmusic, Kuro Neko to Kuro Bara, NinjaSheik, Lumen, Ark Angel, RedQueen, Monkeychicklet23, Kokoro Hikari, Chocoboco, animechick247, Xynlake the 14h member, and celtic-roses.
I won't lie to you, I've barely had time to work on this story since I have about four other writing projects that I'm working on...but never fear! I will dive back into the waters and produce some more updates for you. Like I said, everything's planned, and all I've got to do is write it down.
Since we've made it to 200, I really don't know what to ask for in terms of reviews. Just keep 'em coming and I'll be happy :)
"Gawrsh," Goofy announced. "It's the whole gang from Twilight Town. There's Hayner, Pence, Olette, and...um..."
"Roxas," Sora said instantly.
"You know him?" Donald inquired.
"No..." Sora replied honestly. "The name just popped into my head. This is...Roxas."
Vilixa smiled sadly, biting her lip to prevent the tears from welling up in her eyes. She didn't realize how much she missed Roxas until that photo was presented to her.
"Hey, are you alright?" Sora asked.
She gave a nod. "I'll be fine."
Goofy looked over at Donald, who had the bar of ice cream in his hand. "Gawrsh, are you sure you wanna eat--" he questioned as Donald shoved the bar into his mouth, "--that?"
"Salty..." the duck puckered, then relaxed. "No...sweet!"
Then the sea-salt ice cream bar started emitting a strange glow. It burst into an explosion of blinding light that washed over all four of them. Vilixa could feel herself basking in the warmth of the light, but as soon as it came, it was gone. Her eyes readjusted, and she realized that they were back in Hollow Bastion.
"How'd we get back here?" Goofy finally asked.
Sora shrugged. "Magic ice cream?"
Vilixa let out a giggle. "I guess...maybe we had a little help."
"I guess so," Sora agreed. "Come on, let's go back to the ship."
* * * * *
"I have spotted Axel lurking around that world known as Hollow Bastion," Saix reported in the meeting room, seated on his tall, white chair that was raised high off the ground. "What do you wish to do with him?"
"Axel has become rogue," Xemnas concurred. "He no longer seeks the best interests of the Organization. We must ensure that the traitors are eliminated. See to it that he is found and taken care of."
"Yes, Lord Xemnas," Saix nodded. He was about to teleport himself out of the room when Xemnas' voice stopped him.
"Also, do not forget what I told you," he said. "Do not forget that Vilixa is a target as well. You also had the chance to eliminate her, and you did not follow through on my orders. See to it that it does not happen again. Do not forget that I keep a constant surveillance on the remaining members of the Organization."
Saix grunted slightly, but nodded again. "Of course. My apologies, sir."
* * * * *
"Where are we and why is it so cold?" Vilixa shivered, regretting the fact that she didn't own a decent coat. Her arms were bare and exposed to the elements as she, Sora, Donald and Goofy hiked up a snow-coated mountain.
"This is China," Sora replied. "It's only cold up here in the mountains. Down in the Imperial City, it's a lot warmer."
"I hope so," she declared, teeth chattering. "I've never been here before. It's not exactly getting the best first impression."
"I wonder how everybody's doing," Goofy pondered aloud as they neared a small village. Vilixa frowned as she observed her surroundings. Everything was burnt to the ground.
"Sora?" she peeped. "What happened to the village and all the people?"
Sora sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, the last time we were here, there was this guy named Shan-Yu, the leader of the Hun Army, and--"
"Hey, look!" Donald interrupted, pointing to the other side of the tiny collection of charred houses. A tall man in a black cloak turned to look at them, and then ran off, higher up on the mountain.
"Wait!" Sora called, starting to run after him. The sound of his name being called stopped him in his tracks. He turned back to see a Chinese woman with short, straight black hair dressed in what was typically thought of as men's clothing running towards them.
The woman held her hands against her knees, trying to catch her breath.
"Hey, Mulan," Sora said hurriedly. "No time to talk right now. We've got to catch that guy!"
"I'm following him, too," she explained.
"Then let's go!" Donald ordered, scrambling off in the direction of the cloaked man.
Vilixa followed after the group. Turning to Mulan, she asked, "Why are you dressed in men's clothes?"
"I stole my father's armor in order to take his place in the Imperial Army," she explained. "It was the only way I could protect him from being killed. Together, Sora and I defeated Shan-Yu, and that is why I am now allowed to serve the Emperor directly."
"That's amazing," Vilixa stated. "You must've brought a lot of honour to your family, saving the Emperor."
"I did," she smiled. "But now we have more pressing matters. We've got to track down the spy in black."
"The spy in black..." Vilixa repeated under her breath. "Could it be Riku?"
They all ran up the mountain, following his footsteps in the snow. After a while though, they seemed to have disappeared.
"It looks like he got away," Mulan huffed.
"How come you're after someone from Organization XIII?" Goofy asked curiously.
Mulan shrugged her shoulders. "What's that?"
"The guy in black," Sora clarified.
"One of the bad guys," Donald added.
"There were rumours going around the Imperial City about a spy in black," Mulan explained. "I was up here tracking him, but after I ran into you, I lost him."
"Ahh," Sora groaned.
"Sorry," Goofy said quietly.
She smiled. "Don't apologize. But I do wonder where he went."
An eerie silence settled over the mountain. Vilixa could swear that she heard the faint sound of wings flapping from not too far off. Turning to the highest mountain peak, she let out a gasp as she saw a huge cloud of Hearltess flying towards them.
"First thing's first!" Sora declared, directing his friends to safety. Vilixa wouldn't move. "Vilixa, you have to go!"
She shook her head and pointed behind Sora. It was the cloaked figure.
"Hey!" Sora pointed his Keyblade at him. "Quit sneaking around!"
"Sora, look out!" Vilixa screeched, pushing him to the side as five of the small orange Heartless started pecking mercilessly at her back, knocking her to the ground.
The man in the black cloak looked immediately alarmed and started charging at the Heartless that surrounded her. Sora was confused, but took the opportunity to try and defeat his opponent. Vilixa lifted herself off the ground and saw that the cloaked man was materializing a weapon. In his hand was a sword in the shape of a long, red and blue bat wing.
She knew it from the moment she saw him. It was Riku.
Rising to her feet, she summoned her own Keyblade and slashed at the Heartless that were mobbing the three of them. Sora kept attacking Riku, not realizing who he was.
It didn't take long for all of the Heartless to be destroyed. Vilixa watched as Riku shrugged his shoulders at Sora and ran off.
"That guy..." Sora mumbled to himself. "No...why...would he? Riku?" He ran after him and Vilixa followed close behind.
"Sora!" she called to him. "Sora, stop!"
"Was that Riku?" Sora asked, turning to her. "Please, just tell me. I need to know if that was him so I know whether or not he's okay."
"I...I don't know, Sora," Vilixa said, shaking her head. "I'm really sorry, but the Imperial City needs you. Go, if there are this many Heartless in the mountains, what about down there where all the people are?"
Sora bit his lip. "Okay."
He turned to go reunite with Donald, Goofy and Mulan, but stopped when he noticed that Vilixa wasn't following him.
"Aren't you coming?" he asked.
She looked at him over her shoulder and nodded. "I will...I just..." she paused, trying to come up with the right words. "Don't worry about me, Sora. Go help the people. I'll meet you there."
He reluctantly nodded and ran down to go meet with the others.
Vilixa turned back to where Riku had run off and walked on. She looked around a snow drift and saw him standing not far off. His arms were crossed over his chest, and he was shaking his head.
"He came too close to finding out," he said once Vilixa had caught up with him. "He can't know."
"I'm aware," she nodded. "But...Riku...do you really think this is fair? He's worried sick about you, and all you're doing is making him more anxious."
Riku sighed. "I don't want my best friend seeing me like this. Sora embodies light, and I embody the darkness. I won't face him or Kairi until I can vanquish the darkness in my heart."
Vilixa frowned at him, but walked over and hugged him around the waist. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"I do," he replied, resting his chin atop her head. "You'd better go back and help Sora now. I've got a bad feeling about the Imperial City."
She nodded and let him go. "When will I get to see you again?" she asked before heading back down the mountain.
"I don't know," he told her truthfully. "But don't worry. I won't be far away."
As she walked down the mountain trail back towards the Imperial City, she mumbled to herself, "I'd tell you that you were in my heart. The only problem is that I don't have one."
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:)