I don't own anything associated with Kingdom Hearts. It belongs to Square Enix/Disney.

Setting: The end of Days, where Roxas ended up defeating Riku

Sacrifice

Rain fell on the World That Never Was. Xemnas stood in his room, staring out a window. His attention, was not drawn to the falling droplets, but the bright form of Kingdom Hearts, as usual. Although the skies were dark and stormy, the area around the moon remained clear, so that no part was hidden from prying eyes.

He held his hand up to the source of all hearts. "Soon," he said, "I may have need of your power, though I doubt he has enough strength to defeat me."

The moon predictably said nothing. Yet Xemnas still smirked to himself, as if the celestial body's silence was a language of its own.

His eyes closed.

Without turning, without shifting his stance or otherwise moving, he said, "Hello, Thirteen."

The Key of Destiny stepped into the room. He wore his cloak, but the hood had fallen down to his shoulders, revealing the furious boy beneath. He held not one, but two keyblades that dragged along the ground, one black and one white.

"You killed her," Roxas snarled.

"Her?" Xemnas looked over his shoulder. "Who is this her you speak of?"

A keyblade slashed through the air. "You know who I'm talking about! It's . . . she's . . ."

He smiled. "Yes?"

Thirteen continued to fumble over the name.

"Are you sure any of our members have perished?" Xemnas asked. "Excluding those lost at Castle oblivion, they all seem to be present."

"I don't . . . I don't . . ." Suddenly, the fire in Thirteen's eyes reignited. "No, her name was Xion! It was Xion! You killed her!"

He chuckled humourlessly. "I killed her? But was it not you who delivered the final blow?"

Thirteen turned his head away, and for a second, Xemnas thought he saw a tear. "It's your fault," Thirteen said. "You've been wanting us to fight since day one."

"Indeed, I have." The pain in his subordinate's face was reward enough for the confession. "Now, Thirteen, are you truly so foolish as to challenge me?"

"I'm going to stop you," Thirteen said. "I'm going to set Kingdom Hearts free and destroy your Organization."

Xemnas laughed, facing the window again.

From behind, Thirteen lunged at him, starting with a backwards swing much like another Xemnas used to know. The Superior's hands closed, grasped tight the handles of his ethereal blades, and he swung around to meet Thirteen squarely. The boy's eyes widened as a single blade stopped both his keyblades.

"You are a fool," Xemnas said.

Thirteen countered, "Saïx and Xigbar couldn't stop me!"

He merely said, "I am not either."

He unlocked his blade from Thirteen's, sending the boy stumbling back. Every attack he met with a block and smile, acting passively until the heat of Thirteen's rage wore off.

With a scream, Thirteen smashed his keyblades into his crossed ethereal blades one last time. Then, he finally ceased his fruitless attacks, but his face held all the fury and will of a tethered wild stallion.

"You are outclassed," Xemnas said.

It was probably just his imagination, but Kingdom Hearts brightened, its light warming his back. He pushed Thirteen back, watching as he charged again, then slapped the boy aside with no more than a swing of his blades. The boy crashed into the wall, standing again with a grimace, looking not the least discouraged.

"Weak."

Never one to be on the defensive, Thirteen attacked again. This time, Xemnas threw a barrier up, and watched the boy bounce off.

"An embarrassment to your cause."

He teleported behind Thirteen, knocking him to the ground with one well-placed strike. Before the boy could stand, Xemnas grabbed him by the throat and lifted him high.

Coldly, watching the boy's struggles, he said, "The Organization no longer has need of you."

He reached inside Thirteen's chest, grabbed the heart inside –

"NO!"

A flaming chakram cut through his back, distracting enough that Xemnas dropped his prey. Eight stood in the doorway holding his other chakram, every inch of his body speaking of fear.

"Roxas, run!"

Eight charged him, an endeavour that easily described as suicidal. Although the Flurry of Dancing Flames was vicious and precise with his strikes, he was much too slow. Xemnas tore the weapons from his hands, tossing them through the window's glass.

Eight did not surrender. His body lit up with his element as he repeated his order for Thirteen to run. The boy did not seem at all keen to obey, being the rebellious child he was, but Eight grabbed him by the scruff and shoved him. And while Eight was distracted tracking Thirteen as he stumbled out the room, Xemnas saw his chance.

As the ethereal blades went through his chest, Eight gagged. He fell to his knees, still staring at Thirteen who had frozen in front of a swirling portal.

"Go," Eight choked out.

To Xemnas's surprise, Eight lasted for another three minutes, during which Thirteen could have fled anywhere. When it was over, he looked out at Kingdom Heart's with a sigh, stepping over Eight's disintegrating body. Finding Thirteen would be . . . troublesome. But they would. They had all the time in the world.

Through a dark, sleeping town walked a single figure. Hood drawn, cloak hiding his body, there was no indication as to who that mysterious figure was.

From beneath the hood, blue eyes blinked. Above the figure, a moon – not a heart-shaped one, but a full, normal moon – dwelled. It illuminated the figure in silver light, like a spotlight falling on an actor.

The figure bowed his head. "I'm so sorry, Axel."

The stars twinkled. A cold wind started up, rustling the figure's cloak.

"I'll avenge you," he said. "Both of you. Somehow, somewhere, I'll make Xemnas pay for what he did."

And with that final vow, Roxas walked onwards into the darkness.

Review Response:

Yue Asuka: Well, if you look at the summary, the whole point of this collection is that things always end horribly XD Although this is probably a happier ending than all the oneshots so far... plus after A Small Problem, you can't accuse me of never writing happy endings ;)