"Always remember that someone is out there, fighting for you. Always remember them, no matter what." ~Madoka Kaname (Pullea Madoka Magica)
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I stood up top of the skyscraper and watched as the hooded Roxas stood, circled by a group of Neoshadow Heartless. He drew two Keyblades-one was Oathkeeper and the other was Oblivion. He spun them in his hands casually before dashing at each o the Neoshadow Heartless, annihilating them with one swipe. Even from up here I could see the fury in his movements as he took each and every one of the Heartless.
Roxas noticed my presence above on the skyscraper as he dodged the oncoming attacks of more Neoshadows as they appeared and jumped onto the building, running up the building as he threw Oblivion at me. I caught it and fell off the building. I scrunch my face up in pain as a rush of memories of Xion went through my head. As I fell to the ground, Roxas and I locked eyes for a moment as he continued to scale the building until he was at the top of the skyscraper and i was on the ground with a circle of Neoshadows surrounding me, as if we traded spots. I gripped my head in pain, still recovering from the flash of memories and a Neoshadow took it as an opportunity to try and attack me but I destroyed it with one swipe of the Keyblade.
Roxas fell off the building and joined me in the center of the encirclement of Neoshadows. With a slash, we took out the circle of Neoshadows surrounding us. Then, it happened again. Another flash flood of memories of Xion, but this time it ended with her fading into static. Surprised, Roxas and I turned around to face each other for a moment before jumping away from each other. "Who are you?" Roxas demanded.
"What does it matter?" I replied coolly. "I'm here for you."
"Why are you trying to stop me?" He shouted.
"Because I want back the rest of Sora's memories," I stated bluntly.
"Sora?!" Roxas growled. "Enough about Sora!"
"Do you have some kind of plan?" I raised a brow.
'I'll set Kingdom Hearts free!" Roxas stated. "Then everything will be the way it was! She'll come back...and the three of us can be together again!"
"You mean Xion?" I recalled before her name slipped out of my memories permanently. "It's a struggle just to remember thee name now...either way, I can't let you go doing anything crazy."
"I'm freeing Kingdom hearts and I',m going to find Sora!" Roxas repeated. "I want Xion back! I want my life back!"
"If you try and make contact with kingdom Hearts, the last thing you'll get is your life back," I warned. "The Organization will destroy you."
"Enough!" Roxas shouted.
Roxas dashed up to me and swung his Keyblade but I summoned up a barrier and blocked up. He then slid up behind me and struck me there. I gritted my teeth, bearing the pain as I spun around and retaliated, striking back at Roxas. He endured a few hits before jumping back and dashing up to me again. I blocked him once more and I dashed up to him with my Keyblade but he dodged and swung his Keyblade, interrupting my attack and causing me to fall down. As I sat up, Oblivion next to me, I looked up at Roxas through his hooded face."Why?!" I demanded. "Why do you have the Keyblade?"
Roxas quickly glance at Oathkeeper before glaring at me, "Shut up!" He raised his Keyblade in the air and I grabbed Oblivion and swung it to block his attack. The swipe struck him as he flew back, his hood coming off and revealing his spiky blonde hair. I approached him, seeing that my sudden attack had knocked him unconscious. I lifted Oblivion into the air, and instead of stabbing him and ending him entirely, I struck it into the ground next to his ear. That woke him up as he jumped up, grabbing Oblivion and running up to attack me. I shot a Dark Firaga at him but he blocked it with his Keyblade and he swiped me as I jumped back. "Why won't you quit?" Roxas demanded.
I remained silent as I smirked. "Come on, Sora," I taunted him. "I thought you were stronger than that."
"Get real," Roxas snapped. "Look which one of us is winning."
He covered his mouth once those words left his lips. "So it's ture," I said. "You really are his Nobody. Guess DiZ was right after all."
"What are you talking about? I am me! Nobody else!" Roxas shouted as he summoned Oathkeeper and ran up to me. I dodged as he slashed me with Oathkeeper, but once he swiped Oblivion at me, he struck him.
I sank to the ground, holding my side where Roxas hit me. Riku, please! You have to stop him! Xion faintly begged in my head. The more time passed, the dimmer Xion became and the more I forgot about her.
"How many time to I have to beat you?" Demanded Roxas.
"All right," I gasped. "You left me with no other choice."
"What?" Roxas blinked.
I stood up as I took my blindfold off my eyes, "I have to release the power in my heart-the dark power I've been holding back. Even...if it changes me forever."
I spread my arms out and screamed as I let the dark powers surge through me and blanket me with darkness. When the darkness faded away, I crossed my arms as I was Ansem in the Organization coat with the guardian Heartless behind me. I teleported in front of Roxas and the guardian grabbed him.
Roxas yelped as he was lifted into the air. He began to struggle to get out of its grip. His face paled and he dropped the two Keyblades he was holding. They disappeared as soon as they clattered onto the cement ground. "I have accepted it." I told him, but in Ansem's voice.
The guardian put Roxas down and disappeared from behind me and I was on the ground again. A Corridor of Darkness appeared and I put my hood over my face as DiZ stepped through it. DiZ approached Roxas' body and stared at it. "DiZ...he could feel Sora," I informed.
"Oh, he told you how he 'felt', did he?" He sneered. "Ridiculous. A Nobody cannot feel anything."
"If he had met Sora, things might have been different," I stated.
*~*~*~*~*~
I sat on a couch on the lower floors of the Haunted Mansion, waiting for the return of Riku. When I saw a Corridor of Darkness open, I jumped from my seat when i saw a hooded figure enter with the unconscious Roxas in his arms. "Riku!" I sighed with relief as I ran to him. I reached up to pull off his hood when I noticed something very, very, wrong about his appearance. Riku was tall-no, it towered over me. When I took his hood off, it confirmed my worst fears. Riku wasn't Riku anymore. His face was entirely different. It was the tanned face of a man with orange eyes and long, silver hair. "Are you Riku..but in a different form?" I asked him quietly.
"No," DiZ replied as he stepped through the portal. I yelped as I pulled the hood back over Riku's head once more. "That is not Riku. He is someone different."
As the DiZ shifted the furniture around, revealing a secret door on the floor that opened into a stairway, he went down it and Riku followed. I trailed close behind. I didn't believe a single word DiZ said. I knew it was Riku, even if he had a different face and body.
We entered DiZ's lab, which was a bunch of monitors with a giant keyboard. Diz began entering something into the keyboard when Riku placed Roxas' unconscious body on a circular platform. "Naminè hopes we can squeeze in a little more time until Sora's memories are completely restored," DiZ explained. "Until then, we will transplant new memories into him and let him live in the simulated Twilight Town. That will throw off the pursuers-the Organization. Once the time is ripe we can dispose of him."
I watched as the platform underneath Roxas lit up and white numbers outlined in green began to surround Roxas' unconscious body as he slowly began to disintegrate. "Poor thing," Riku remarked. I flinched slightly at hearing his voice. It was so much deeper than it usually was. Not only his appearance had changed, but his voice has changed as well?
"It is the fate of a Nobody," DiZ stated bluntly. "It is a luxury for him to live in a dream his end-there is nothing better."
To lose the only existence he ever had, I thought to myself. No matter what dream they give him, will it ever be enough to compensate...?
I turned back to Riku. "If you aren't Riku, then what should I call you?" I asked him.
Riku fell silent for a moment before responding with, "Ansem."
As I watched Roxas' entire body to disappear a shiver ran through my body. I knew that our side of the fight has accomplished a lot and it seems like we won the battle, but the war isn't done yet. There's more to come and we have to be ready to fight.