So to recap: Xilvin, Xaldin, Saix, and Axel are fighting Lord Nameless, Xhostam, Luxord, Demyx, and Roxas are fighting Odium, and Xigabr's doing his teleporting thing between the two fights, blasting away where he can. This is going to be messy…
27: Friends in my Heart
"And where the midsummer tree grows tall, by Pendragon's sword the Dark shall fall." –from "Silver on the Tree" by Susan Cooper
"Let's get Chaotic!" The Howling Storm shouted and ran full tilt at Nameless, whip raised and ready. Nameless sneered and shouted an incoherent battle cry, racing forward to meet him.
Out of the corner of his eye, Xilvin saw Axel and his chakrams coming up on his left and Saix and his monstrous claymore running up on his right. Xilvin raised his whip, tightened his fingers around the handle, and spun it in his signature move,
"Shriek in Rage, Ghosts of Eternal Torment!"
The air vibrated and the whip screamed, making their ears ring. Nameless howled as he was thrown backwards, the force of the noise ripping his skin. His glasses flew off his face and smashed into a wall, shattering violet glass that glowed in the moonlight.
"RRRHHHAAAAGGGGGG!" It was a wordless scream of absolute wrath and detestation. The room shook, rocking the Organization members off their feet. Lord Nameless leered over Xilvin, grabbed him by the throat, lifted him into the air, and threw him against the far wall. The Howling Storm left a dent in the wall and remained lodged there, head hanging. A large glob of crimson blood slid from the back of his head, down the side of his face, and splashed to the floor. Another soon followed.
"Xilvin!" Xhostam cried and tried to get to his companion only to have his way bared by a laughing Odium. Xhostam threw his hand in front of his face to stop himself from looking at that awful, awful eye and lashed out with his other hand. He felt clawed gauntlets catch the fabric of his Heartless' shirt and tear it. He jumped backwards and chanced a glance around.
On the other side of the room, Axel, Xaldin, Saix, and Xigbar were battling it out with Lord Nameless. Demyx was lying on the floor a few feet away, his shoulder wound healed by the looks of things, but he wasn't moving. Luxord was charging Odium and Roxas was nowhere to be seen. Odium lunged and then stumbled back with a sharp yelp as cards shot out of the ground and knocked him off his feet.
"Xhostam!" Roxas dropped from above, spinning Oathkeeper and Oblivion in his hands so that they caught Odium in the back and knocked him down, "Whatever it is you did yesterday do it again! We could use that kind of power right about now!"
"I…I don't know how I did it, though!" The Winged Slayer cried in return, skipping backwards as Odium flung a couple of knives at him. They landed uselessly on the floor and the Heartless snarled angrily.
"I'm sick of you." Tom's Heartless flung an arm out and batted away the oncoming Luxord who soared through the air and landed with a sickening crack across an easel, "You're ruining my fun! I'm hungry! I want hearts!" He held his hands out, palms up, two great cleavers formed there, swirling with dark energy.
Roxas charged him but Odium turned his freakish right eye on the Key of Destiny and Number XIII froze in his tracks. Paralyzed. Odium turned back to Xhostam who was shaking his head back and forth slowly. Not like this…not like this. He looked around for help but Xilvin was still incapacitated and the others were too busy with Nameless. Xigbar was hanging upside down from the ceiling again but not of his own volition; he was strung up in the light structures.
Xhostam was alone.
Number XV turned back to face his Heartless, setting his face in a scowl of determination that he didn't believe in. If he defeated Odium, at least the beginning of the end would start and give Xilvin a chance to fight Lord Nameless.
"Get up, Xil," Xhostam whispered under his breath, "and don't you dare Fade!"
"What're you whispering about!?" Odium hissed, hair once more curtaining his eye, "Come on! Share with rest of us!" He laughed mockingly, "I'll keep your secrets, Nobody!"
And he attacked, swinging his cleavers around in blazing silver that glowed in the moonlight coming through the windows. Xhostam let a wordless cry of fear slip past his lips and snapped his hands up. One of the clawed gauntlets caught one of the oncoming cleavers but his other hand missed, raking through thin air, and the blade lodged itself into his side. He screamed and Odium laughed, twisting the handle about in his grip.
"Fade back into the Nothing you came from!" Tom's Heartless roared with sadistic mirth, one cleaver twisting deeper into Xhostam's flesh and the other fighting against the clawed gauntlet that blocked its way, "Just FADE!"
Xhostam's pale eyes flickered away from Odium's face for a brief moment, sweat trickling down from his forehead, and then he shook his head, shaggy black hair matted with blood and sweat.
"No." His voice sounded thick with pain and sorrow, "I can't. Because I…my heart is…" He screamed as the knife twisted deeper, "ROXAS!"
Odium didn't have time to react. Oblivion sprouted from his chest, jagged blade tearing through the front of his jacket and snapping the laces. It kept coming and sliced into Xhostam.
The cleavers dropped from the Heartless' fingers and clattered to the floor.
And he howled in defeat.
Everything stopped. Nameless backed away from the Organization, staring with wide red eyes at his partner in crime.
Xhostam looked into Odium's staring, neon blue eye and smiled, "Tom's coming back."
"NO!" Nameless yelled and made for Odium but Saix's claymore smashed into him and knocked him aside.
Lights wove around Xhostam and Odium, brilliant silver, blue, and white. Odium lifted up his trembling fingers and stared at them. They were fading into black and flaking away to mix in with the swirling light. Xhostam closed his eyes and tilted his head back, feeling himself break apart. A smile lingered on his lips,
"Bye, Xilvin. It's been fun."
Across the room, the Howling Storm groaned and lifted his head up in time to see Xhostam and Odium disappear in a rolling mass of black and dark violet that mingled with the dazzling lights.
"Xhostam…"
"MAGGOTS!" Xilvin's head snapped around to look at Nameless. Kaz's Heartless was standing in the middle of a mass of wreckage, visibly shaking with abhorrence, "SCUM! IDIOTS! FOOLS! YOU'RE ALL GOING TO FADE RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW!"
"Enough, Nameless." Xilvin said and his Heartless spun around to face him, "You're finished. There's nothing left. It's at least six against one."
"NEVER!" Nameless brought his hands into the air and all of the large pieces of junk in around him floated up with the gesture. He focused his glowing crimson orbs on Xilvin and hissed between jagged, fang-like teeth, "Never."
"Burn!" Axel shouted and flung himself at Nameless only to get caught in the chest by a filing cabinet and pinned against the wall with a grunt of pain.
"Axel!" Roxas raised Oathkeeper and aimed it at Nameless, "Deep Freeze!" Ice shot out of the end of the Keyblade and was headed right for Kaz's Heartless. It met only a small writing table that quickly flung itself at the Key Bearer. Roxas dodge rolled out of the way and landed in a crouch.
Nameless had a hoard of tables, easels, and filing cabinets rotating around him in a protective barrier. It seemed impossible. Xilvin looked around the room, hoping to see something that might aid him in getting at his Heartless. His gaze fell upon Xaldin and his lances that were spinning on the wind.
The wind…
Xilvin raced over to the Whirlwind Lancer, dodging the heavy chair telekinetically thrown his way, and skidded to a halt next to Number III, "Xaldin, I need your help." And he stood on tiptoe, speaking softly into the Nobody's ear to reveal his plan. Xaldin blinked once, twice, and then a malevolent smile made him look all the more foreboding.
"You are a smart one, Number XIV." He raised a hand and the lances froze in place in a ring around his arm, aimed right at Nameless who was preoccupied with Saix, Luxord, and Demyx who had recovered from whatever Odium had done to him, "When you are ready."
Xilvin took a stance in front of Xaldin's outstretched limb and started spinning his whip around once more, holding his weapon out to the side. But he withheld his power, merely rotating to weapon to gather the speed and strength he desired. Nameless caught the movement and flung heavy furniture in his direction but a couple of blasts of red energy stopped them short.
Xigbar stood, perfectly poised, in front of a window, almost a silhouette against the silver-white moonlight. He hefted one of his odd guns onto his shoulder and grinned, "Lock. Reload."
Xilvin nodded his thanks and returned his attention to his Heartless. Then, still rotating his weapon, he sucked in a huge breath and held it for a split second. He felt Xaldin tense behind him. And opened his mouth, letting out a loud, long scream of defiance,
"RRRRRRRHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
At the same time, he brought his revolving weapon around in front of him and unleashed his powers. The result was a wave of raw sound and energy that got caught in the vortex of his whip and obliterated anything in their path.
Including Nameless' blockade.
Kaz's Heartless threw his arms in front of his face on reflex, skidding backwards to smash into the wall as the attack hit him. His view blocked, Nameless didn't see Xaldin's lances heading for him until they'd pinned him against the wall. He struggled, snarling but it was to no avail.
The Organization members walked slowly up to him, dragging their weapons behind them, exhausted. Xaldin staggered into Axel and the Flurry of the Dancing Flames grabbed him around the middle, hoisting him up on his tired feet.
"Number IX!" Saix snapped and they all looked around, "Back away!"
Demyx, who'd wandered too close, yelped and tried to skirt the Heartless but wasn't quite fast enough. He screamed and tumbled to the floor, smoking, as a blast of super-heated darkness hit him in the side. Nameless let loose a loud, mocking, "HA!" and then growled as Roxas' two Keyblades suddenly pointed themselves at his chest. The Heartless looked down the lengths of the blades to Roxas' face and then flicked his crimson eyes to lock them with Xilvin's hazel ones.
"There is darkness within every heart!" He spat, "And there will always be darkness!"
Xilvin didn't answer, he just stepped between Oatherkeeper and Oblivion and his Heartless.
"Hey Roxas," Xilvin put his hands into the pockets of his black cloak, trying to look nonchalant and hide the fact that his hands were shaking, "What's going to happen? And where'd Xho—Tom go?"
"He's probably waiting for you in the Realm of Darkness." Axel said with a shrug, helping the groaning Demyx up, "Wouldn't put it past the kid."
Xilvin smiled and looked at Roxas. Then he nodded. Roxas hesitated for one second and then plunged Oathkeeper through the Howling Storm and into Lord Nameless.
"Ro…Roxas…" Xilvin gasped as the light sparkled around him and his Heartless, "I h-hope…I hope you find your Other." And then the dark tendrils consumed them both and they were gone.
"Yeah." The Key of Destiny said softly, letting both Keyblades vanish from his hands, "Yeah…"
"Hey, I've been waiting."
"I know."
He smiled.
Um, I know that ending is a little confusing but the next chapter should clear it up. We're really coming to the end now. I think one or two more chapters should about wrap this thing up. It's always sad to see a fic end and I'll miss Xilvin and Xhostam but "nothing gold can stay", right?
Well anyway, I won't keep you guys any longer. Read on. Find out Tom and Kaz's fates.
As always, thanks for reading, please leave a review, and byes!