Hi there.
I hope you guys like this one. It's personally one of my favorites.
So, I'd be my pleasure to stop wasting your time and let you read.
Continue on.
It's been too long.
I don't know how much time has passed, as time does not flow in here.
I just know that somebody should have found us by now.
She keeps telling me it will be alright, and that we'll get out soon.
I want to believe her, I really do. But, there's something off about what she is saying.
I feel like...she's starting to lose it.
It's exactly as I feared. The darkness in this place is starting to get to her, seeping into the cracks in her heart.
And she's not the only one.
Yeah, I did beat Maleficent, but that doesn't mean the darkness has gone away.
Being here has only made it worse.
I feel as if Ansem is trying to take control over me again, even after we locked him away.
I'm starting to wonder if I'm actually going to fall into the darkness, again.
If that happens, she's going to try and save me. I know that without a doubt.
But...I can't let her do that.
I've already gotten her stuck in the realm of darkness. I can't let her fall even deeper in.
...
Geez, why do things have to be so complicated with her?
Kirux walked up to her slowly, finding her in the same spot he had when he had left.
The two of them frequently went out to look around.
Why? Well, they were both looking for a way out. One at a time, they'd go out searching, only for the attempts to constantly end in failure.
Kirux's trip this time was no different. He looked far and wide, and found nothing.
...
Xion noticed him, "Anything?"
He sighed, sitting down next to her, "No."
She frowned, looking back at the sun.
"I'm starting to think we'll never get out of this place." He said.
She looked at him, "Don't say that. We will, I know it."
"We just have to keep looking. We'll find something eventually."
She went to stand up, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back down.
"Don't, Xion. You need to give it a rest."
She sighed, "I just...can't stand to stay here in the darkness any longer."
...
"It's finally starting to get to you, huh?"
"Yeah. You too?"
He nodded, "It has been ever since we got here."
"Is this what...the darkness does to people?"
He looked down, "I don't know, and I don't want to find out."
"But, no matter where we look, we can't find anything."
...
Xion spoke then, "I think...I think you're right."
"Right about what?"
"We'll probably never get out of here."
Kirux was surprised. He went to speak, but she stopped, "You said it yourself. We've looked all over, and we don't ever find anything."
"If we haven't found a way out by now, then..."
She looked back down, "What's the point in even trying anymore?"
...
...
...
Kirux wrapped his arm around her, "Hey, what happened to you? You were so optimistic a minute ago."
"I'm sorry, it's the darkness from this place."
Her hand went up to her chest, "It's just...I don't feel like I'm myself sometimes."
"Is that what was happening to you, while we were with the Organization?"
He shrugged, "Sometimes. I guess it's not affecting me as much because I got used to it."
"All that time, it was pretty much trying to tear me apart."
"How so?"
"It wanted me to give in, just accept that I had nothing in the world."
His eyes closed, "It...it wanted me to do terrible things to you. Roxas and Axel too."
"I only managed to keep control of myself for one reason."
"What was that?"
He smiled then, "You."
"If I hadn't met you, I would have fallen right in a long time ago."
Xion didn't know what to say.
So, she let her actions do the talking.
She grabbed his face, and kissed him. Kirux, even now, still didn't know how to react when she did that.
When she pulled back, he spoke, "You've got to stop catching me off guard with that."
She smiled, "Oh, be quiet. You love it."
...
...
...
Eventually, Xion fell asleep. She was resting her head on his shoulder, her arm wound around his waist.
Kirux, however, was still awake. His mind was still racing.
...
'The darkness in this place is finally starting to get to her.'
'She said she doesn't feel like herself sometimes.'
'Is she fighting it off, like I had to?'
'What am I saying? The darkness can't take her over. Her light is too strong.'
'But me, it's a different story.'
'I've got mostly darkness inside my heart, and the only light I do have came from her.'
He looked down at her.
'All I want is to be with her, and to get out of this place.'
'In our current situation, I'll probably end up having to choose.'
'I don't want to abandon her, but at the same time, I don't want her to be trapped in this place.
'It's my fault we're here in the first place. All because I couldn't fight off the darkness.'
...
...
...
He got an idea then.
Normally when he got ideas, things didn't work out well for him.
But he knew, in his heart, he had to do this.
He rustled out of Xion's grasp, and stood up.
...
He sighed, "I'm sorry, Xion."
"You're not going to like what I'm gonna try and do. But...I know it's for the best."
"We may not be together, but we'll both get out of this place. I'm sure of it."
He crouched down, and kissed her forehead.
"Never forget. I'm always with you."
He pulled his hood over his head, "Stay safe, Xion."
He walked away, into the darkness.
...
...
...
When he was far enough away from Xion, he spoke again.
"Alright, Maleficent. Where are you?"
Play: Aqua - KH Birth By Sleep
You already know her story.
She sacrificed herself so that her friend could get out of the realm of darkness, only for her to get trapped herself.
Nearly a year ago, she had come so close to finally getting out. If it weren't for the Heartless, she'd be back in the realm of light.
Ventus would be awake.
Terra...well, she didn't quite know.
...
The point is, she's been in this place longer than she probably should have.
Escape, for the most part, seemed only like a distant dream.
She had come close that one time, but that was the only time.
Now, all Aqua could do was walk through the endless darkness, and defeat any Heartless that she ever encountered.
...
...
...
Now was just like any other moment. She was walking forward, not bothering to stop.
At least, until she saw somebody running in front of her.
The person was wearing a black cloak, with a hood covering their head and face.
Aqua was stunned. The last time she had encountered anybody was back with Mickey.
Other than that point, nobody except Heartless.
"Could they be...trapped in here too?"
She yelled out, "Hey! Over here!"
She continued to call out and wave for them, but the person didn't notice.
Soon, she lost sight of them.
...
She let out a sigh, "Who am I kidding? It was probably just an illusion."
"A shadow, created by the darkness in this place."
She shook her head, and continued walking.
...
...
...
She soon found herself on a beach. There was a blue "sun" on the horizon, and the waves were crashing against the sand.
Oh, and also a person sleeping.
Aqua noticed them when she walked past a large stone. They were wearing a black coat, similar to the person from earlier.
This one was a girl.
...
'I wonder...does she know the one I saw earlier?'
...
She was about to walk over, but the girl started stirring.
Their eyes opened slowly.
She went to the ground next to her, finding nobody. When she noticed that, her face changed.
"Kirux?" She called out, looking around.
Aqua could see she started to panic.
She stood up then, "Kirux?! Kirux, where are you?!"
...
'Kirux. Have I heard that name before?'
'No. Not that I recall.'
...
Aqua thought about walking over to her, but the girl noticed her first.
"Who are you?"
Aqua did walked up to her, slowly, "I'm Aqua. Are you trapped in here too?"
"Yeah. I am. I was with my friend, but he..."
She trailed off, "Have you seen him? He's wearing a coat, the same as mine."
...
'So it was that person I saw.'
'Is that person Kirux? I can only assume it was.'
...
"I did, yes. But, he's run off into the darkness."
The girl nodded, "Okay. Thank you."
She went to head off, but she stopped when Aqua spoke again.
"Hold on. What's your name?"
"Xion." She said, without even turning around.
"Running into the darkness after him won't help you find him."
"Why should I listen to you? You hardly even know me."
"That's true. But I've been in here for a long time. And just running off without thinking about what you're doing will only get you hurt."
Switch to Xion's perspective.
'Why?'
'Why did he have to go and leave me, again?'
'Did I do something wrong? Was it something I said to him that made him leave?'
...
Xion was starting to get a little tired of Kirux doing this.
The first time he did it, it pretty much broke her heart. Then, he wanted to leave her behind in the realm of light. Now, he's left her in the realm of darkness.
She heard him speak to her in her dream.
...
"We may not be together, but we'll both make it out of this place. I'm sure of it."
"Never forget. I'm always with you."
...
Xion was hurt by what he had said and done.
They said they'd get out of the darkness, together. He knew that they'd get out of this place at some point.
Kirux had forgotten something though.
The fact that they were supposed to go together, not separate.
And she didn't want that.
She wanted to be with Kirux, when they finally returned to the realm of light.
She wanted to be with him period.
But now, he's up and run away without a single trace.
...
...
...
Xion was so focused on her own thoughts, she forgot Aqua was standing behind her.
"Xion."
She jumped, and turned around.
"Sorry, I just...uh-," she rubbed her hair, "I zoned out for a second."
Aqua sat down on the beach, facing the sunset, "So, have you and Kirux been stuck in here for long?"
"It certainly feels like it. I don't truly know how much time it's been, but...I feel like I've been in here for years."
...
Aqua laughed at that remark, which confused Xion.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing. It's just...I've been here a while too. And I, well..."
"It's a little complicated."
Aqua turned towards her, "How did you end up here?"
Xion walked up and sat next to her, "Well, it's a bit of a long story. To put it shortly, somebody tried to take over the darkness inside my friend's heart, and well..."
"We defeated him and Kirux got his body back, but...we got stuck here in the process."
Xion's eyes went down to her hands, "I...don't know why he went away. We've always stuck together, once we got in here. But now...he's gone off and didn't tell me."
Her hands clenched together, "I don't know what I'm gonna do without him."
...
"You two are close."
"Extremely. He's...my best friend."
...
'No. He's a lot more than that.'
...
"You know," Aqua started, "I got stuck here a similar way."
"How so?"
"My friend's heart was being taken over by darkness. I tried to stop it from happening, but...he fell into this place. I went in after him, but..."
She trailed off, "I...sacrificed myself, so he could escape."
"Do you know where he is now?"
She shook her head, "I've been in here ever since."
She sighed, "That was ten years ago, as I was told."
...
Xion gasped, "Ten years?!"
"It's probably close to eleven by now."
"How have you not escaped?"
"Once again, I gave myself up to save others. Mickey and Riku, they helped close the door to darkness, and saved the worlds."
...
She pulled out a blue star, similar to Kairi's good-luck charm. Xion had seen it plenty of times in her dreams.
"All I want it to spend one more night beneath the stars, with my best friends."
Xion took that in, "I know how you feel. That's really what I want too."
...
They both lapsed into silence, up until Xion broke it, "Aqua. You're best friends. Can you tell me their names?"
She smiled, "Yeah. Terra and Ventus."
...
'Wait, she knows Ven?'
'Oh, now it makes sense. Aqua is the girl he talked about, his friend.'
...
"Oh," Xion said, "You're that one he always mentioned."
"Who's he?"
"Ven. I've met him before."
Aqua was stunned, "You have? Is he safe? Did somebody finally wake him up?"
Xion shook her head, sadly, "No. He's still sleeping, somewhere. He didn't tell me where."
...
Aqua sighed, "Figures. But, how do you know Ventus?"
"Uhh, well..." she stuttered, "It's...a bit complicated. You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"But, he's safe. There's not need to worry."
Aqua smiled, "Okay."
...
...
...
"Say Xion. Do you think...Kirux might have plan to get out of here?"
She shrugged, "I don't know. We've been looking all over, but there's nothing."
"He did say something about a person he had encountered. Some sort of witch."
"What's her name?"
"I think it was...Maleficent."
Aqua gasped, "Maleficent?"
"Yes, that was her name. She's in here, and apparently tried to get Kirux to give in to the darkness."
Aqua stood up, "What else did he say about her?"
"Well, she's one of the ones who tried to destroy the worlds before, I knew that before. But...I think something might be up with her. Someone who tries something like that doesn't just give up."
...
"Xion, do you think Kirux went after Maleficent because she's planning to spread darkness to the worlds again?"
Xion thought it over.
...
'Maleficent had Riku to help her when she first tried to destroy Hollow Bastion.'
'Maybe, she tried to do the same to Kirux.'
'I can only assume that he figured this out before I did. I can't ask him, unfortunately.'
...
"It's...possible. Kirux must have figured this out, and never said anything."
"Probably because...he didn't want me to get involved."
Aqua spoke then, "He must really care about you."
...
She smiled, "Yeah, he does."
"But, what are we gonna do? If Maleficent wants to unleash darkness among the worlds again, then..."
"We'll just have to go and stop her."
"Just us?"
"Of course not. Your friend is already there. He got a head start."
"Yeah, I know that, but..."
"Do you really think that the three of us could take down her?"
...
Aqua smiled, "Of course we can. With this."
She pressed her finger to Xion's chest, and an aura of light surrounded her. Something rose within Xion, a power she had never felt before.
"I just awoke the powers you had stowed away in your heart. The light inside you is powerful, Xion."
"Now, it's time you should let it out."
...
Xion's Keyblade appeared in her hand, out of nowhere. It was glowing with the same aura.
"I noticed you had the power of the Keyblade when I met you."
"You can use it to release the new powers you have, but not now. Save it for Maleficent."
She nodded, her Keyblade fading away.
...
"Let's go. Kirux is waiting."
The two of them walked off, in search of Maleficent.
Stop: Aqua - KH Birth By Sleep
Kirux had been walking for a long time. As he did, the darkness got more intense.
His body was reacting to it, and he walked slowly, with his hand over his chest.
...
'This is her doing. It's got to be.'
No matter what, though, he kept moving forward.
Whatever Maleficent was doing had to be stopped.
The outside world depended on it.
Play: Disquieting - KH ReCOM
He eventually found himself in a large area. It was shaped somewhat like a building, but clearly wasn't.
"Alright, this is it." he said.
"Maleficent! Where are you? Show yourself!"
...
He heard her laugh.
"You have returned to see me. I'm truly flattered."
...
She appeared before him.
"What are you planning?"
"Oh, nothing new. Just getting back to my original plan."
"What plan?"
"Don't be a fool. You're the other half of Riku, you know very well what my plan is."
...
'Wait a second.'
'Wasn't she trying to unleash darkness into Hollow Bastion?'
'I know I don't like that place, but I still can't let that happen.'
'The darkness in this place has no business being out there.'
...
"You're...you're trying to unleash darkness on the outside world again!"
Maleficent laughed, "Yes, you are correct. However, one world will not be all I'll take."
"All of the worlds will fall to the darkness that I command, and you are powerless to stop it."
"You know that even you, a being made from darkness, can't stop a darkness greater than yourself."
...
"So why? Why is it your intent to continue to fight the darkness?"
...
Kirux scoffed, "Are you really going to ask me that?"
"It is nothing but a simple question. Besides, you know that your fate leads you right to it."
"You're crazy!" He yelled at her.
"The darkness is my enemy, and being in this place has only made it worse!"
He looked down, "All I want...is to be free of this place and this darkness."
"Then you know I can help you."
...
He gasped, and looked up at her.
"I can let you free of this place, you and your friend."
"And for what?"
"Your darkness."
...
His hand went over his heart, "What are you talking about?"
"You give me the darkness in your heart, and I'll release you from this so-called prison."
"Have we got a deal, Kirux?"
...
...
...
The more he thought it over, the more tempting it got.
He wanted to leave, more than anything. He wanted to be with Xion, too.
But, what would extracting the darkness inside do to him?
...
He didn't want to find out.
...
"Sorry," he said, "But I thing I'll hang onto this."
"I thought you said darkness was your enemy."
"It is," his Keyblade appeared, "but I know that the darkness I have can't harm me."
"My heart may be filled with darkness, but there's always light inside, one that will never go out."
...
He raised his Keyblade, "Unlike you."
Stop: Disquieting - KH ReCOM
Play: Struggle Away - KH ReCOM
Maleficent grew angry, "You insignificant fool! Do you think you can defeat me?"
"I did it once. I can do it again."
...
Maleficent didn't turn into her dragon form this time.
"You fool!" She yelled, and she launched a blast of dark magic at him.
Kirux deflected it, and he ran towards her.
He missed with his first swing, but his second did not.
Maleficent went flying backwards, but Kirux didn't stop attacking there. He launched a dark fireball at Maleficent, which found its target easily.
...
...
...
Their fight, if you want to even call it that, didn't even last a minute.
Maleficent was clutching her chest in pain.
"You...you speak on how much you hate the darkness, yet you can wield it oh so easily."
She smiled, "You hypocrite. You speak on how much you hate us, but you're one of us the whole time."
"I know who I am."
"Yes, you do. A true...soldier of darkness. You're not meant to be one with the light, but to destroy it."
"You truly are a seeker of darkness, just like Ansem and I."
"Not anymore!" He yelled, and ran at her. He struck her one last time.
...
"That ought to put a stop to your plan."
"There...you are wrong, boy..." She struggled to say.
"What?"
"Look above you, and see!"
Kirux did look up.
...
What he saw, was what looked to be a massive portal. Darkness was flowing into it.
"You are too late, you and your friends!"
...
'Friends? I thought it was just Xion and I in here.'
...
He remembered then, that voice he heard earlier.
'It really was a person.' He thought to himself.
...
"If leaving the realm of darkness is your wish..."
"...then your wish is granted!"
...
The wind picked up, and soon Kirux was lifted off of his feet.
"Maleficent, no!"
She laughed, "You could never stop me, Kirux. The darkness is far too strong."
He grabbed onto something, he wasn't sure what it was, stopping himself.
...
He saw a burst of light to his left, and saw something he didn't think he'd see.
Xion was there, along with someone else, fighting a massive Heartless.
"Xion!" He yelled, but it was no use.
...
His grip lightened on whatever he was grabbing.
"No..." he said, as he lost it.
He flew up, into the dark portal.
...
...
...
He lost consciousness.
Stop: Struggle Away - KH ReCOM
Xion could sense something. Something...dark.
Of course, she could sense the darkness in this place. But this darkness was a lot more...sinister.
She could sense Maleficent, or what she assumed was Maleficent.
...
"She's here."
Aqua stopped, "Really?"
"Yes, I can sense it."
She looked up at the building like area in front of them.
"If Maleficent is anywhere, this has got to be the place."
"Xion!" Aqua called.
Play: Wave of Darkness Phase 1 - KH 0.2
A massive Heartless appeared out of nowhere. It was similar to the tower she had fought with Kirux when they first arrived.
Only difference was this one was flying in the air.
Aqua's Keyblade appeared in her hand, same with Xion.
"You think this was sent by Maleficent?"
"Doesn't matter." Xion responded, and ran at it.
...
...
...
This one was definitely harder to hit, as it was flying around in the air. Xion struggled at times, compared to Aqua.
She had been in here for a long time, and had fought these Heartless plenty.
At one point, the Heartless had knocked Xion away. It had caused her great pain, but Aqua had cast a healing spell on her immediately.
...
Aqua smacked away two Shadows, yelling to Xion.
"Come on, Xion! We can do this!"
She nodded.
...
'It's probably time I use some of those new abilities.'
...
She felt the new powers flowing into her.
An aura of light enveloped her, just like it had once she first gained these powers.
...
The Heartless immediately went towards Xion, but she was ready.
When her blade made contact with it, a large burst of light was emitted.
...
When it cleared, Xion was on the ground, her Keyblade in both hands. Her breathing speed had picked up significantly.
She noticed then that the wind had picked up tremendously.
"Aqua?!" She yelled, not finding her nearby.
...
Aqua was nowhere to be seen.
Before she could do anything else, she felt the wind starting to pick her up.
She struggled to stay on the ground and fight the wind.
Eventually, she was lifted off of the ground.
...
Her vision went dark, as she continued to fly upwards.
Stop: Wave of Darkness Phase 1 - KH 0.2
There we go.
By the way, the abilities Aqua referred to are powers to control light with ease, same as Kirux with the darkness.
Hope you enjoyed!
-Broncozfan623