Chapter Thirty Seven: Trial
Journal: Day Ten
Yesterday started off so well. The mission in Halloween Town was fun. But after…
Vexen and Lexaeus are dead. It's…
They're...
I might not have known them too well, but Zexion's really broken up about it. I know they were close friends...
I don't want to lose my friends.
I really don't want to lose Naminé.
I hope I see her again soon.
In the morning, the sound of swirling shadows startled Naminé, making her jump to her feet. After so many of Roxas' visits, she had grown accustomed to hearing the door opening in the morning or afternoon.
But Marluxia had no such compunction. Naminé was to be ready on his schedule. Walking through the dark portal, he met her wary gaze with cold eyes. "Are you prepared, Naminé?"
She nodded and began to conjure another world card. "I'm ready to head to Neverland."
Only to stop as Marluxia held up a hand. "Actually, we'll be skipping that part of Sora's journey. A more accurate test of your abilities would be in Olympus."
"The Hercules cup," Naminé realized with a slow nod. She couldn't help a hint of disappointment in her voice. She had wanted to meet Peter Pan and Tinkerbell with Roxas and his friends. Maybe they could have learned to fly.
They might have been able to learn if the happiness inside the two of them was real enough for that.
Still, it would be easy enough to make an update to the world card. Again, light glowed in her hand as she retraced the memory of Sora's struggles in the Coliseum. When it dissipated, she held two cards with the image of the world on it. "I'm guessing you want a card for Roxas too?"
"Yes, good of you to anticipate the need," Marluxia replied as he took the card and conjured a portal. As he turned to leave, he glanced back at Naminé and added, "There's one other change. Hercules won't be the final opponent for either of you."
Naminé had a horrible suspicion of who would be taking the spot of her last trial today, but didn't want to give Marluxia any satisfaction in her trepidation. So, as he momentarily left to hand the card over to Larxene, Naminé quietly took deep breaths to try and steady her nerves before Marluxia returned to usher her into a new trial.
Fighting was something he was good at. It was the sliver of comfort that Roxas held as he went through fight after fight in Olympus. Soldiers were easy, barely needed more than a few swipes of the keyblade and maybe some spells for crowds. Guardians and their shields were becoming more common foes, much more formidable than the unwieldy Large Bodies.
But Roxas was more than fast enough now, weaving through them as they swung monstrous shields to take him down. Even as the latest batch of heartless fell, Larxene just tapped her foot as she watched from her seat with a satisfied smirk. His sole audience as he ran the trial she and Marluxia had called for. A return to the Coliseum with stronger foes to fight.
But all these fights meant so little compared to his experiences in the worlds of Sora's memories. Meeting new people, exploring worlds he could hardly imagine. All alongside his friends.
Axel might have had some kind of quip to lighten the mood. Zexion would've given some insightful advice. At the very least, it'd be better to have a friend at his side, rather than someone that he would rather fight than trust.
With Naminé, there was something else. The two worked so well together, like two halves of a whole. Seeing new worlds, and learning new things alongside her was just so much more enriching. Even if it was just Sora's memories, it felt more like his own experience when it was both of them seeing it. One day, he hoped to show her Twilight Town. The world he woke up on, and one he wanted to return to and re-explore.
But the future would have to wait. Already, he had made it to the final round. As the last shadowy motes of Roxas' opponents scattered, Larxene approached the arena with a chuckle, "Well done! There's just one more challenge."
Despite the compliment, Roxas held onto his keyblade."So you're finally getting up from the sidelines?" The glint in Larxene's eyes meant nothing but trouble.
"Of course," she answered as she gathered knives into her hands with a flourish. "I need to see if you're up to snuff!"
Larxene vanished in a flash just as Roxas blocked; his keyblade met a charged fist aimed right for his gut. Feeling the hair in the back of his neck stand up, he dived away as one of Larxene's doppelgangers swung for his head. Taking aim, he shot a blast of ice at the two of them, throwing them back.
Picking herself up off the ground, Larxene smirked. "You're good." Another flash, and a new duplicate appeared above him. "But I'm better!"
Jumping back, Roxas couldn't avoid the electric blast that followed as Larxene smashed the ground. Still, it wasn't anywhere close to taking him out.
Focusing on his blade, he coated it in ice before striking the Larxene that just landed in front of him. With a cold blast, he knocked her into one of the other clones, and in a flash the two pulled together, Larxene looking a bit more scratched up even as she kept to her feet."Alright, not bad. But…!"
Roxas focused, letting Diamond Dust gather around him. Refusing to let up the pressure, he chased after Larxene even as she dashed away. From there it was a high speed game of tag. The two Larxenes swung at him, sometimes scoring a glancing hit before he evaded. Roxas then cornered one of her duplicates to strike at her with his cold infused keyblade.
But Larxene was hardly a fan of the game, judging by her growl growing into a scream. Her duplicate vanished and she came to a stop with lightning arcing around her. "Fine! Let's kick this up a notch!"
Roxas couldn't agree more.
Feeling the energy built up inside him to a new peak, Roxas focused it into a Blade Charge. Magic light illuminated his blade and made it grow. As Larxene shot a beam of lightning at him, Roxas narrowly dodged it and used his much extended reach to strike a blow. Following up, he continued his assault while Larxene staggered.
Roxas spun the blade of light in his hands, slashing into Larxene as he pushed her back. Ending the spin with a push, he knocked her to the ground. Roxas raised the keyblade high for one last blow.
"Okay, you win!"
Only to stop as Larxene shouted and held up a hand. Smirking, Roxas let the energy and his keyblade fade. "What was that about you being better than me?"
Larxene got up and dusted herself off. "Fine, I retract the statement. You can be a vicious little brat, you know that?" But as she collected herself, a smile came to her face. "I'd say you're ready for the last step in our plan."
Even with his victory, a chill settled in Roxas' gut, paralyzing him with a sense of foreboding. He had learned well that Larxene's happiness meant nothing good. "What last step?"
As the Sorcerers conjured up magic, Naminé held back her own in favor of closing the distance. Approaching with a leap and dispatching the heartless with a series of slashes, she took comfort in the fact that she had gotten better. Just a week ago, she couldn't imagine lasting this long against a confrontation of any kind of heartless, let alone some of the stronger ones.
But her growth had a catch, as many things in Naminé's life did. As always, her strengths were just seen as a tool by Marluxia and Larxene. Ways to further their aim with the wielder just a pawn in their eyes. They had no care for her beyond that.
Yet she didn't have the same resignation that once ruled her just over a week ago.
Back then, Naminé didn't have anyone who cared about her. But then she'd found friends where she never expected them. It might have been a twist of fate that let her connect with Axel and Zexion, but now it had become a strong bond between them. And Roxas. The one who had been a light in her dark life, who was someone so dear to her and made her life feel so much less like a prison. It was hard to believe, but she'd managed to find friends.
And then she lost them.
No hint on when she might be reunited with them. A small part of her, still bound in despair, wondered if it would have been better not to have gotten close to Axel or Zexion. Finding people she could be comfortable with, only for Marluxia to pull her away from them.
But she could hold that part of herself back when she remembered Roxas.
She could never regret meeting him and she yearned to see him again, to explore real worlds instead of these memories. To journey with the one who gave her a dream for both of them to be free. To protect the bond she had made which was more precious than words.
Perhaps it was that bond which spurred her onward towards the end of this tournament. As the last of the heartless faded, Marluxia gently clapped as he got up from his seat. "We're almost done, Naminé."
She steeled herself, even as a familiar fear began to take hold. In spite of her newfound strength and his apparent kindness, the memories of Marluxia's cruelty were all too fresh in her mind.
But if she wanted a chance to see her friends again, she had to fight this last round.
Against him.
Taking position at the other side of the arena, Marluxia called on his scythe. In a flash of petals, he vanished and appeared before her, weapon pulled back and ready to strike.
Every instinct in her screamed 'Move!'
Diving away, she avoided his slash and took aim with fire and ice spells. Though some of them struck the target, Marluxia smirked as he began to parry the magic missiles. "You cannot keep your distance forever." Striking the pommel of his scythe to the ground, a wave of energy swept across the arena.
Naminé frantically leapt over it and brought her keyblade down on Marluxia. Even as the scythe's edge met her blade, she didn't let up. For a moment, she remembered every threat, every speech. Every time he told her she was nothing and hurt her until she believed it. In that moment, she screamed and slashed away, overtaken by the burning desire to prove him wrong.
But all too soon he was knocked too far back for another swing, and he vanished again. Tension flowing through her, Naminé tried to catch a sign of when and where he'd reappear.
A gentle breeze blew through the arena.
Petals gathered near.
There.
A split reaction was all she had to raise her keyblade to parry the scythe swung to her head. Marluxia followed up with swing after swing, smiling all the while. "Good reaction. How about this?" Stepping back, he waved his scythe to conjure small tornadoes filled with razor-sharp rose petals around him.
Gripping her keyblade, Naminé steadied her nerves as she backed away. In an opening between the swirling vortexes she caught sight of him, focusing as he controlled the wind. Conjuring flame to her blade, she let fly a volley at Marluxia, and felt the energy within build to a Firestorm. In a brief moment, the wind parted just enough.
Seizing the opportunity, she dashed forward and swung her blade at him, trying to break his concentration. He used his scythe to parry with one hit. The wind started to converge. Another hit parried. Naminé felt a scratch on her shoulder, wind pulling at her hair and dress. The third strike…
It slipped past his weapon and knocked him back. The wind calmed as Marluxia stumbled back from the blow. Naminé rushed forward to strike him with a fiery keyblade, but he vanished again.
And then she stopped.
A chill gripped the back of her spine.
She knew this feeling. What it meant Marluxia was ready to do.
He had used it once to try and get her to comply with their plan.
It was the last threat he used. The last threat he needed.
It was hard to muster resistance in the face of one's doom.
"You pass."
And with his words, the tension knotted inside her eased. Letting out a breath, Naminé turned to face Marluxia, mustering a small nod. "Thank you."
"There is only one last task you must fulfill."
With that sentence, Naminé's unease returned. She had fought so many rounds, the fact that there was one more trial Marluxia had planned slipped her mind. Nevertheless, she met his eyes that seemed eager to reveal her final challenge.
"Slay your other half."
She stepped back, mouth gaping as Naminé processed the blunt and brutal command. Her gut felt like it was rotting as she tried to find a response, any response. "Wha..kill Kairi?! But why?!" What purpose would it serve?! Naminé resented the fact that the original plan would harm her, why in the world would she even want to kill Kairi in the first place?!
Calmly, Marluxia held out a hand to her. "Power ebbs and flows between you. Killing Kairi will allow you to take all of it."
"Take her power?" Naminé couldn't help a hint of incredulity. Even now, Marluxia was still obsessed with controlling a keyblade wielder's strength.
Slowly, he closed that hand into a fist with a smile. "Correct. With the power of pure light, you can protect what is precious to you."
And there it was.
Naminé couldn't help but slump as the reason for her to follow through on his plan became all too clear. Despite her improvements, she doubted she'd have the strength to fight Ansem, or anyone stronger in the Organization. And it wasn't just her own life to consider. Without strength, how could she protect her friends? Protect the one she loved?
But if the only way for her to get that power was to kill someone who trusted her?
"Do you understand?"
"I understand, Marluxia," she muttered, unable to meet Marluxia's cold gaze.
He cocked an eyebrow. "Then why the anxiety?"
Realizing she'd begun to shake, Naminé tried to steady herself and answered, "I've…never killed before."
"It can be trying, the first time taking a life. Even without a heart, it is a weighty concept to wrestle with." Putting a hand to her shoulder even as she flinched, Marluxia smiled. "If it helps, keep in mind what might happen if you fail."
As he left the Arena, Naminé could only stew in the cruel irony. Marluxia once commanded her to tear Sora's mind to pieces, in exchange for an imitation of affection.
Now she was asked to kill, lest she lose what she truly loved. To destroy the one with a heart of pure light. Someone who saw her as a friend. No matter what, Naminé would lose a part of her that made her believe she was anything more than nothing. She had asked Roxas to help her in protecting their other halves, but now Marluxia had made destroying them something worth considering. And she hated it.
It was close to dinner when she left the arena. But she had little appetite that night. Not in the face of her own powerlessness.
Roxas ran down the halls of Castle Oblivion. The shock had worn off from when he heard what his final task was.
Kill Sora.
This wasn't just another heartless, someone already lost to darkness. This was a real person, with hopes and dreams. A love that was unlike anything he'd seen before. And he was being asked to snuff out that life.
When Larxene revealed their goal, she barely seemed to care about his shock.
"Oh right, this is your first time killing someone. Well, Axel might have some tips, go bug him."
He was so taken aback by the request he couldn't even ask why! He'd promised Naminé that he'd protect Sora and Kairi, that their bond would not perish. Even without that promise, Sora was someone Roxas honestly respected as a fighter, maybe even as a person.
To kill him for no reason?
It was why threw open the doors to Zexion's lab, panting as he saw Axel and Zexion looking over one of the consoles. "Axel, I need your help!" One thing Larxene said was true. Roxas needed assistance if he wanted to try and stop this.
As the two of them shot up at Roxas' sudden entrance, Axel rushed over. "What's wrong? You didn't fail, did you?"
"No, I passed but," Roxas paused and screwed his eyes shut as he tried to collect himself. "Larxene and Marluxia want me to kill Sora."
Raising an eyebrow, Zexion rubbed his chin and mused, "I see. Right now the power is shared, but destroying Sora would allow all of it to flow into Roxas." With that, the reasoning behind the plan was horrifyingly clear. Marluxia and Larxene wanted a strong keyblade wielder after all.
But there was something wrong. Zexion was smiling. As Roxas looked to Axel he saw that he was smiling too. "Then we kill Sora, and that solves all our problems!" And the worst part was that they weren't the smiles of someone hitting on some scheme or plan. The two of them seemed relieved that they had a way to fix everything.
Despite having seen these friendly faces before, Roxas didn't know them at all.