Okay, I might not update for while, because of school and such. Oh well. At least enjoy this chapter!

Kyrie (c) Me

Kingdom Hearts (c) Square Enix

Kingdom Hearts

Bonded Soul

Chapter 74

The group was quiet as they entered the Addled Impasse, Axel and Sora in the front as the others trailed behind them. Axel looked around warily before stopping, causing the others to stop as well. Saix was standing a few yards away from them, gazing at Kingdom Hearts as it shone down on him.

"Only you three could have made it this far in one piece, Roxas, Axel, Xigbar." he grunted in disgust. Sora growled.

"That's really getting old!" he exclaimed, annoyed that yet another person has called him Roxas. Donald and Goofy stepped in front of him, arms held out protectively.

"Yeah! He's Sora!" Donald protested. Saix gave a small smirk as he turned, his eyes focused on Sora, Axel, and Xigbar.

"Either way, you will all share the same fate as the others. A fitting fate, for a group of traitors such as yourselves. Especially you, Axel." he growled as he pointed at the pyro. Axel glared right back, his chakrams appearing in his hands as he got ready to fight. "You and I would have done well together, Axel. But instead, you betrayed me in favor of him, and that girl. Once I'm done with you, maybe I can get the girl to-"

"You leave her out of this!" he snapped, tightening his hold on his chakrams as he glared at the man who was once his friend. Saix glared right back before summoning his claymore. "I'm afraid I can't. She gave you a heart, something that I too, desire. I cannot let the opportunity slip by when it presents itself on a silver platter." he paused for a moment, before preparing to swing.

"Enough talk. Time to accept your fates!" he swung his claymore, forcing Kairi and Riku back and behind a barrier while Sora, Donald, Goofy, Xigbar, and Axel remained in the barrier with Saix, having held up with weapons to fight off the gust of wind. Axel and Sora looked at each other, before looking back at Saix.

"Let's go!"

-Meanwhile, Demyx-

Demyx watched in dismay as the girl twist and turned in her sleep, her fever getting worse as the minutes passed. He looked at the portal that led to the Addled Impasse, his expression grim as he thought about what could be happening to them.

"C'mon guys…hurry!"

…

…

Where…?

"Hello, Kyrie." a woman's voice spoke, stirring me awake.I opened my eyes to see a familiar face staring down at me, a woman's face. Yes… this is the woman I saw back at Betwixt and Between…

"You…" I started, my voice weak and raspy from the pain. She immediately placed her finger against my lips, silencing me, before pulling it away. She smiled and brushed my bangs away from my right eye as she stared down at me.

"I know that you're in a lot of pain right now, and I am sorry. Even though this Kingdom Hearts is a mere doppelganger, it still possesses hearts like our friend. So, in turn, it will affect us just like our friend would if it were in such danger. Thankfully, since it is a doppelganger, if it were to disappear, we would be fine." I blinked blearily at her, what did she mean? Our friend? Doppelganger?

Suddenly, she placed her hand against my head, and I felt an energy flow through me. It wasn't my energy, but it wasn't completely foreign, either. It felt vaguely familiar, like a memory calling to me from some other life.

"Now, it is time that we stand and fight…" and that was the last thing I heard.

…

…

Demyx was staring anxiously at Saix's proof as he waited for the others to return, before a figure moved from behind him. Turning, he gasped as he jumped back.

"Kyrie?" he gasped. Indeed it was the girl as she stood, her head tilted down. After a moment, a white aura began to form around her and she looked up, causing the young man to veer back in surprise. Her eyes were now a bright silver, not the usual brown that he was used to. Before he could open his mouth to ask, she was already at the portal, keyblades drawn.

"Come." she ordered before entering the portal, even her voice was distorted, sounding like a grown woman's as well as her usual voice. Demyx nodded and followed after her.

"What in the world is going on?"

-Sora and Axel-

"Ack!" Sora exclaimed as Saix sent him flying, deflecting his keyblade with ease. Axel growled and ran over, trying to make sure that the boy was all right. But Saix was in front of him in seconds, ready to bring his claymore down on his head. But the pyro was quick as he raised his chakrams, blocking the deadly blow as the two were locked in a deadly power struggle.

"If you think I'm going to let you defeat me… then you must be blind!" Saix growled as his eyes began to glow, his hair becoming wild as his scar became jagged. He quickly threw Axel aside, thanks to his increased strength in berserker mode.

"Agh!" Axel exclaimed as he slammed against the wall, the wind knocked out of him, as he slumped to the floor. "Damn… Saix is in berserker mode. At this rate, we'll-"

"Kyrie!" the group looked up at the voice and were surprised to see Demyx standing with Riku and Kairi, his eyes wide. Xigbar blinked as he lowered his arrow guns.

"Demyx? Where's-"

"Argh!" Saix roared as he flew back, a familiar flash of white zooming in and slashing him across the chest with two very familiar keyblades. He growled, bringing his claymore down on the person, only to have them jump away and avoid the attack completely. Once the person stopped moving, everyone gasped.

"Kyrie?" everyone exclaimed in confusion. Axel was on his feet in moments as he started running to her, worried about her safety instead of his own. But a voice spoke up, causing him to stop.

"Stand back. I will finish this quickly." she spoke, her voice distorted, as she turned to him. Her body was alight with a white aura that seemed to wrap around her, a strong energy emanating from it. Not only that, but her eyes; they were no longer the dark brown that he had grown accustomed to, but a bright silver with a tint of red in the right eye. She gave him a small smile.

"Please, Axel. Let us help you." she cooed. He blinked, us?

"Who are you? And what have you done with Kyrie?" he demanded. She opened her mouth to answer, but movement from the corner of her eye made her eyes narrow as she jumped, just barely avoiding a blow from the angered Saix.

"You accursed wench! I'll erase you completely!" Saix roared, his strength increasing thanks to the moonlight. But she simply glared at him, before running at him and slashing him once more with her keyblades. With that, it was all blurs as the two attacked, Kyrie dealing him deadly blows as she moved swiftly and gracefully. Saix seemed completely taken aback, surprised at the increase of strength and speed that the girl was demonstrating.

"This strength… it does not seem to be her own. Some other entity must be involved, it would explain the white aura and the distortion in her voice. As well as the change in eye color. But what entity could it be?" he thought as the two fought, dealing and blocking blows just to stay alive. But this thought didn't deter him as he swung his claymore, catching her off guard. She gasped, holding her keyblades up in an 'X', protecting her from the blow. But it sent her flying into the wall, making her gasp in pain as she slumped. Saix smirked as he walked over.

"Now, time to end this." he quickly raised his claymore, only to jump back to avoid the chakrams thrown at him. He growled. "Traitorous pyro…"

"You keep your filthy paws off her, Saix!" Axel growled as he ran in, helping her to her feet before standing protectively in front of her. The girl blinked at him in confusion, stumped by his actions. Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Xigbar; who had been watching the entire spectacle the entire time with wide eyes, quickly rushed in, joining the two as they surrounded Saix.

"To get to her, you have to go through us!" Sora exclaimed. Donald nodded as he prepared his staff.

"Yeah!" the girl blinked at them in confusion, before a small smile graced her features. She nodded.

"Very well. Let's finish this together." and with that, everyone moved in, each dealing Saix serious blows as they attacked. It wasn't long until the man was finished, dropping his claymore with a clatter as he turned to Kingdom Hearts. He was holding his side with one arm as he panted heavily, his time running out.

"Why… Kingdom Hearts… where is my heart?" he spoke as he reached out to the heart. But his body began to dissipate, and within moments, he was gone. Axel looked away, feeling the hurt and guilt well up inside him. Kairi, Riku, and Demyx approached the group, the barrier having been lifted, as Sora turned to them.

"I don't get it. Why's everybody been calling me Roxas?" Sora asked as he stared at Riku. Demyx, Xigbar, and Axel looked away, an uncomfortable aura wafting around them. Riku glanced at them before turning his attention back to Sora.

"Because, Sora. Roxas is your nobody." his eyes widened at this.

"My…nobody? But that's crazy, I never turned into a heart… Oh, right."

"It was when you came to rescue me, remember?" Kairi spoke, reminding him of the events of the previous year. He nodded as Riku continued.

"Xemnas was the one who found Roxas. He could use the keyblade because he was your nobody. That's why-"

"That's why Xemnas brought him into the organization. But… Roxas betrayed us." Axel spoke, cutting Riku off. The man nodded as Sora looked at them. "And Roxas was your best friend…"

"And Kyrie's, too. She knew Roxas and we were her first friends in the organization. Later, Xig and Dem became her friends, too."

"Yeah, we did." Demyx agreed. Sora nodded as Riku continued. "After that I fought him because I thought it would help you wake up. I lost, but the next time we met I made sure I was the stronger one. Maybe I didn't need to fight him after all. I think he left the organization because-"

"Because he wanted to meet you. He wanted answers about himself and the keyblade, and why he had dreams about you. Got it memorized?" Axel answered, again cutting him off. Riku gave a stoic glare at the pyro, but he brushed it off. Sora looked down sadly at the revelation as he thought of the boy with blonde, spiky hair.

"Roxas… I wish I could meet him, too."

"You can meet him, Sora." all eyes turned to Kyrie, who had her back to them as she stared at Kingdom Hearts. "Because he is apart of you, you can see him whenever you wish. Just dive into your heart, and you will find him there. There, he will wait for you. All hearts are connected, when you meet someone new, the connection grows. As with Roxas, everyone he has met is now connected to you, and vice versa. Sora, you and Roxas are one. You mustn't forget this." she explained. Sora nodded before smiling, relieved that the girl was on her feet again.

"Okay, Kyrie, I won't. But I'm glad to see you on your feet again, and the way that you fought Saix-" he started, but stopped when he saw the white aura that had surrounded her dissipate. She turned to him, holding her side tightly as she panted heavily. Sparks began emitting from her, making her wince in pain.

"I'm afraid…that this one is at her limit. The pain…is too much. Until we meet again…" her eyes slowly closed shut as she fell forward. He gasped as Axel rushed in, arms held out to her.

"Kyrie!" he exclaimed as she fell, before Axel caught her. He quickly knelt over her as he held her against his chest, looking her over in concern.

"Kyrie…?" he asked softly as he cradled her. The girl gave a soft moan as her eyes fluttered open, showing the normal shade of brown that he had grown to love. He smiled in relief. "You're okay…"

"Ax…el? Wh…what hap…pend?" she asked blearily as she gazed around the room. She had no memory of getting here, and had no idea where she was. The last thing she remembered was the white-haired woman… The pyro blinked at his girlfriend in confusion.

"Huh? Don't you remember?" he asked. She shook her head slowly, making the others stare at her in confusion. But Axel gave a small chuckle as he shook his head, before holding her close. "It doesn't matter. You're okay, that's what counts. Got it memorized?" he chuckled. She smiled before wincing, burying her head into his chest. This made his new-found heart drop.

"You're…still in pain?"

"Y…yes." at this, Sora growled as he clenched his fists.

"Then c'mon, we don't have time to waste! We have to take Xemnas down, now!" Xigbar nodded as he knelt down beside Kyrie and Axel, agreeing with the boy. He wasn't even a foot away, and already he could feel the heat radiating off her. Reaching out his hand, he placed it against her forehead and sure enough, she had a fever through the leather of his gloves.

"Yeah, Angel's not gonna last long otherwise."

"All right. Let's go." Riku ordered as he, Kairi, Sora, Donald, and Goofy began walking out. Axel was about to lift the girl so he could carry her, but she stopped him.

"P-please… let me… walk. I… d-don't want…to be a b-burden." he stared down at her before nodding, placing her on her feet as he wrapped her arm around his waist. "Better?" she nodded before they began walking, following after the group. The two were quiet for a few moments before Axel stopped her. She blinked at him in confusion as he pulled her to him, holding her against his body as his arms wrapped around her tightly.

"Kyrie, you're not a burden, and I don't ever want to hear you say that about yourself. Sometimes you just need to let us help you, let me support you when you need it. Got it memorized?" she blushed a little at this and nodded, smiling.

"Yes, Axel. G-g-got it…memorized."

Aw, that's so sweet... and Saix got his ass owned big time. Well, I'd best be off!

Please review!