Xemnas had not expected that Xion at her present level would lose to Axel. But perhaps that was the power of one touched, however indirectly, by the boy with the Keyblade. The depth of one’s connection to Sora would be borne out in battle.
If there was a way for Nobodies to gain what they lacked—namely, hearts—perhaps a link to Sora would serve as the catalyst. A very particular Nobody and a puppet…and a Nobody deeply linked to both of them. Something was bound to happen. And the most powerful of them was not the puppet after all.
When Axel at last staggered into the castle, his legs buckled beneath him, and Xion tumbled from his arms as he fainted.
Xemnas moved in to take over and scooped up the puppet.
If it was not powerful enough, the only thing to do was to give it more power.
So long as one was within his grasp, it didn’t matter which. Roxas and Xion would assimilate into a single being, and so long as one remained, that was enough. In the end, all they needed was Kingdom Hearts.
Xemnas vanished with Xion.
Where am I?
Oh. I’m in that pod again. This isn’t a dream about Sora, is it? Why am I sleeping in here?
…That’s right. Because I couldn’t beat Axel.
Why wouldn’t he let me go?
I wanted the three of us to stay together. And Axel wasn’t the one saying that was impossible. Why did he have to say those things?
Maybe because he’s a Nobody. He doesn’t have a heart. Maybe that’s why he could say something that brought me so much pain.
Someone is looking in the pod at me. Who’s there?
Xemnas?
What does Xemnas want with me?
“Now you will be complete,” said Xemnas.
Complete? What’s that mean?
Xion felt sick. Something was rushing into her, sudden and fierce. It was hard to breathe.
These are Sora’s memories. The source of my power. But I don’t want this much. I ran away so I wouldn’t have to be a part of Xemnas’s plan…
I’m sorry, Axel. I don’t want this. I don’t want to be what Xemnas tells me to be.
I’ll have one chance. Even Xemnas will let his guard down at some point.
And then I’ll find Roxas again.
I’ll find him and tell him the truth.
I wish we could have stayed together, I really do.
Roxas, Axel… I’m sorry.
Nobodies aren’t supposed to exist. And neither am I.
I have to go back to where I belong. Because I am Sora.
And I’ll never, ever do what Xemnas wants.
Roxas came to the usual spot atop the clock tower. The sunset was as striking as ever.
He had no idea where to go or what to do. A dry shadow of a laugh escaped him, and he hung his head.
I deserted from the Organization because I wanted to know what I am, why I’m here. But what am I doing? Where am I trying to go? I had no reason to stay there, and I didn’t. But if there was a reason for me to leave, I’m losing track of what it is.
And here I am. I don’t know where else to go.
Then—Roxas felt another presence. He looked up.
“Xion?!”
It was her face under the dark hood. She sat beside him and wordlessly offered him an ice cream bar.
“Thanks.” Roxas wasted no time taking a bite. Sweet, salty, cold. How many of these ice cream bars had he eaten since joining the Organization?
He glanced at Xion enjoying her own ice cream and took another bite himself. He didn’t know what to say.
She must have heard that I left the Organization, he thought. Why does she have her hood up, though? She deserted, too.
Maybe she’s here for the same reason I am—she can’t think of anywhere else to go. But that can’t be right…
Roxas was thinking too much to taste the ice cream, and before long, it was almost gone. The stick was blank.
There was a lot he’d left unfinished with the Organization—and with Axel. But at the moment, the thing that concerned him the most was the stick that said Winner. Why had he held on to it for so long? He should have given it to him sooner.
He finished the ice cream. When he looked at Xion, hers was gone, too. At length, she placed the stick down next to her.
“Roxas…I’m out of time.” She stood up and pushed back her hood.
The face she revealed…was not hers.
Roxas gasped, dumbstruck.
It was a boy with brown hair, blue eyes, and a face that looked—just a little bit, maybe, a tiny bit—like Roxas himself.
“Even if I’m not ready, I have to make this choice. You have poured so many memories into me, given me so much, that I feel like I’m about to overflow.”
Roxas couldn’t quite grasp what she meant. But he remembered what Axel said. Xion’s memories…are from me?
What should he say? He didn’t even understand what was happening to her.
“Look at me, Roxas. Who do you see? If you see somebody else’s face…a boy’s face…then that means I’m almost ready. The puppet will have to play her part.”
Xion— No, it’s not her. It’s someone else. But it is her. What’s going on?
She stepped off the clock tower ledge, but she didn’t fall—she walked on thin air like it was solid ground. Roxas couldn’t follow her.
Then she turned back to him. “Roxas… This is him. It’s Sora.”
Sora.
This is Sora.
“You’re next, Roxas. I have to make you part of me, too. Don’t you see? This is why I was created…!” Xion flung away her cloak.
And there stood…a puppet?
Is that Xion’s true form? No—this can’t be—
The puppet reached out and opened a dark portal that swallowed up everything—and Roxas with it.
They emerged in Wonderland. And Xion was no longer Xion.
She stood in the middle of the room, in front of one of those devices.
The Organization had made these to collect pieces of Sora’s memory, which would amplify her power. But she had faith. Roxas would put an end to her.
That was the only way forward.
“Xion!” he cried. “Why—? What are you doing?!”
Roxas needed more time to understand. But she had no time left. He would try not to fight her. So she had to attack him for real.
And in the process, she might completely lose any last vestiges of herself. Still, she believed in Roxas. He would defeat her—this shell of her, this fake.
No, I won’t! I don’t want to fight!
But she was actually attacking him. She meant it.
In the strange room in Wonderland, Xion—or the puppet who had been Xion—blasted him into the wall.
Axel had said his hand was forced when he attacked Xion that time. Roxas remembered the flat certainty of the reply when he protested that Axel didn’t have to do that to her. “Didn’t I?”
But still…he refused. He wouldn’t fight her.
He tried to get away, and Xion chased him down. What could he do?
She’d said she would make him part of her. Was that true? What for?
What would happen if she did?
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. Maybe he would rather let that happen than fight his friend.
He blocked her strike, and the momentum drove the Keyblade into her.
In that instant, it seemed he could hear her voice.
Roxas, please…
And then she opened the Corridors of Darkness again. This time—they were back where the Organization had tricked them into fighting each other.
There was a device here, too, and in front of it, Xion transformed.
What’s happening? Roxas thought, but he could see that even in the brief moments of his confusion, Xion was gaining still more power. And her attacks were whittling away at his strength.
If he let this go on, he would be done for.
Do I really have to fight her…?
He had no idea
what to do. But he couldn’t let himself fall here. He still wanted to find out who he was—it would tell him something about Xion, too.
He took a few slow breaths, gathering his resolve.
So I have no choice.
But the moment he thought that, Xion opened the corridors once more. The yawning portal dragged him in, this time to Agrabah, where yet another of those mysterious devices stood in the cave chamber.
More power flowed into Xion, changing her form again, and Roxas made his decision.
I will. I’ll fight. Because there has to be a future for us.
I might be able to stop what’s happening to her.
He shifted his stance with the Keyblade and charged Xion. The strike hit home.
Another dark portal opened, and Roxas could see the Xion he knew, there beyond the darkness—but when he emerged from the corridors, the sight that met him was a colossal, doll-like thing, silhouetted against the sunset colors of the sky.
In Twilight Town, in front of their usual spot, the giant puppet swung its bladed arms to fling Roxas away.
He didn’t want to believe that this was Xion. Maybe it was something else that had taken over her—it had to be.
Xion… I just…
I just want to have ice cream with you again!
Roxas got up and launched himself at the creature, at Xion, attacking in earnest.
I hate this. I hate it so much. But maybe, if I can just do it, we’ll get to be together again. I won’t deal her a finishing blow…
Xion.
We’ll have ice cream again together.
Axel.
You have to let me treat you with the stick that says Winner.
Something in him ached.
And suddenly he didn’t know what was happening.
What? What’s going on?
My head hurts. Everything’s fuzzy. I’m dizzy… Who am I fighting? What was I trying to do?
Who am I again?
I’m Roxas. Number 13 in the Organization.
I’m in Twilight Town, in the station plaza, in front of the clock tower where we always go.
And in front of me is…a girl. She’s on her knees, about to fall over.
“Who are you…again?” he asked. The girl had black hair and a cloak just like his. “It’s weird. I feel like I’m forgetting something really important.”
The girl opened her eyes. “You’ll be better off now…Roxas.”
Her strength gone, she collapsed into Roxas’s arms. What was wrong with her? She seemed to be in terrible pain.
He tried to help her up. “Am I…the one who did this to you?”
Everything was hazy. He just couldn’t remember. Shards of light began drifting up from the girl’s limp body.
This light… It’s…
“No… It was my choice to go away now. Better that than to do nothing…and let Xemnas have his way.” She placed her hand on his. “I belong with Sora… And now, I’m going back…to be with him.”
Her eyes closed for a moment, and then she spoke again.
“I need you…to do me a favor… All those hearts that I’ve captured—Kingdom Hearts… Set them free…”
Roxas could barely hear her faint, halting sentences. “Kingdom Hearts… Free them?” he repeated.
Why? What did that mean? Collecting the hearts from the fallen Heartless was his job, wasn’t it?
Suddenly, he saw her feet were transforming, and the cold, unforgiving light was climbing up her legs.
“It’s too late…for me to undo my mistakes… But you can’t let Xemnas have Kingdom Hearts… You can’t.”
She’s gonna disappear, Roxas thought, and for some reason, it made him ache. He didn’t want this to happen.
“Good-bye, Roxas. See you again.” She managed a slight smile.
I know I’m forgetting something… Something important.
The girl reached up and traced his cheek. “I’m glad I got to meet you… Oh, and of course, Axel too. You’re both my best friends. Never forget. That’s the truth.”
“You’re both my best friends…”
Best friends?
Something that meant so much to me… Twilight Town, the clock tower, the usual spot… I used to go with Axel and…who was it?
Her hand dropped.
“No… Xion!” Now he remembered. She was Xion. How could he forget? The sunsets together, the ice cream together—he would never, ever forget. “Who else will I have ice cream with?”
Xion quietly shook her head, and then…her eyes closed.
“Xion—!” Roxas screamed her name, but she was already turning to light in his arms.
Nothing was left but a thalassa shell.
His cheeks felt wet.
What…have I done?
As the sun sank below the skyline, he picked up the shell and held it tight.
He woke up in his bed, as usual. He was bruised and aching all over. But what had given him such a beating?
His head felt heavy and full of fog. Axel shook it as he gingerly sat up in bed. “Ugh… What’s the matter with me?”
On top of the bruises, he had the feeling that he’d forgotten something vital.
There was just…a gap. Something was missing.
Oh, I know—this is loneliness.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Axel noticed a white envelope on the nightstand. There were two names scrawled on it—his and that of his best friend.
Right. Roxas left the Organization. Maybe that’s what I was blanking on.
He picked up the envelope. No one had mentioned leaving anything for him.
When he opened it, the only thing inside was a stick. It was from an ice cream bar, inscribed with the word Winner.
“Roxas…” He mumbled his best friend’s name.
Xion.
Xion.
Xion.
Xion… Xion, Xion, Xion, Xion Xion Xion Xion Xion Xion.
He was afraid of forgetting her name if he stopped repeating it. So he murmured it to himself over and over and over.
Xion.
My best friend. A girl I care about. Xion.
Roxas ran. She had told him to set Kingdom Hearts free.
If that’s what she wants, then I want to try. If I can do it, maybe I’ll get to see her again. Xion, my best friend, who I destroyed with my own hands.
I’ll have to go back to where Xemnas is to free Kingdom Hearts. Back to the Organization’s castle.
Roxas leaped out of the Corridors of Darkness. It was raining.
He’d never seen rain fall in the World That Never Was. And despite the rain, Kingdom Hearts still shone in the sky above with the light of all the hearts he had to set free.
And Xion—he would get her back. They would have ice cream again together.
He ran through the neon-lit city streets, just like he’d done not so long ago. Dusks, fellow Nobodies, swarmed him.
“Get out of my way!” Roxas cried, summoning his Keyblades—both of them. One had belonged to Xion.
In a burst of light, the two weapons transformed, but he didn’t stop to see how. It didn’t matter. He charged ahead, Keyblades whirling. I don’t have time for this.
Xion. He said her name to himself once more.
Now there were Heartless surrounding him. He slashed through them and stood catching his breath.
Xion. As he repeated it again, he noticed a figure watching him, neither Dusk nor Heartless. Someone in a black cloak, atop a skyscraper. The figure hurtled down toward him, but it wasn’t an Organization member.
Roxas leaped and dashed up the facade of the building. They passed by each other—and Xion’s Keyblade fell from his hand. It happened between breaths, too quickly to make any sense, but it was like the Keyblade simply left his hand of its own accord.
The other man snatched it from the air.
It’s him…
Roxas landed on the ground and faced him. He had silver hair and a black blindfold hiding his eyes.
“Who a
re you?!” Roxas demanded.
“What does it matter?” the young man said. “I’m here for you.”
“Why are you trying to stop me?!” Roxas had entirely lost patience. You’re wasting my time!
I have to do what that girl—Xion! I have to do what she asked me! And then everything will be okay. There’s no time—I’m on the verge of forgetting right here.
Xion… Xion… Xion. Just keep saying it. I don’t want to forget, but it feels like I will.
“Because I want back the rest of Sora’s memories,” the man replied.
“Sora, Sora, Sora! Enough about Sora!” Roxas snapped.
Xemnas had said the same thing. “They were connected through Sora.”
And the girl—Xion. She had told him something like that, too.
“What are you going to do?” the other man asked, so calm it annoyed Roxas even more.
“I’m going to set Kingdom Hearts free! Then everything will be the way it was! She’ll come back…and the three of us can be together again!”
We will. We’re going to have ice cream all together again and watch the sunset from the clock tower. And we’ll go to the beach. It’s going to be okay. We’ll have more time to spend together, the three of us. I just know it. Right, Xion?
“Her? You mean Xion? It’s a struggle just to remember her name now, isn’t it? Either way, I can’t let you do anything crazy.”
The young man still held Xion’s Keyblade. But something was different about it.
Roxas shifted, preparing to fight. “I have to find this Sora person, and freeing Kingdom Hearts is the only way! I want Xion back. I want my life back!”
Everything will go back to the way it was, he told himself one more time and charged at the other man.
“If you try and make contact with Kingdom Hearts, the last thing you’ll get is your life back. The Organization will destroy you.”
“Shut up!” Roxas snarled. What else was he supposed to do?! He swung his Keyblade in a ferocious strike, and the man blocked.
But he wasn’t going to lose. Not to this impostor getting in his way.
They clashed again, and again, racing up and down skyscrapers.
Kingdom Hearts 358-2 Days Page 32