The Final Battle Within
"Sora...I just hope he's okay...", Kairi whispered, "That man with the scar looked powerful."
"He'll be fine.", Riku said, running up the stairs, "He can take care of himself."
Rixa ran behind Riku and Kairi, not speaking a word.She had shut herself off after discovering Axel's demise and no one had managed to make her respond to anything.Riku was worried, but he knew that nothing could help her at that moment.Looking up, he saw Mickey arguing with a man wearing the same clothes as DiZ, but not the bandages around the face.
"Ansem, please reconsider!What if the plan fails?", Mickey asked in desperation.
"I am sorry, Your Majesty, but this is what I hope to do to atone for all the mistakes I made.Please forgive me...it's the only way to stop Xemnas from using Kingdom Hearts to fulfill his own needs.", the man whispered.
"Mickey, what's going on?", Riku asked, stopping right in front of the man.
"Riku, you're here!But where's Sora?"
"He's just taking care of something, Mickey.He'll be with us soon enough."
The man who was apparently named Ansem started pressing buttons on a machine he had brought with him.It's purpose was unknown, but Mickey was uncomfortable with what he was doing.Kairi finally caught up and stumbled to the floor in exhaustion while the machine started glowing.It shot a beam into the sky and it hit Kingdom Hearts.The machine beeped and slowly transferred data from Kingdom Hearts into it's memory.
"Now with it transformed into data, Xemnas will have no way of using it.", Ansem said, holding the machine in place.
All was well until the machine started shaking uncontrollably.Ansem tried to find out what was wrong and realized that it was too much effort to try to convert Kingdom Hearts into data.Knowing that there was nothing else to do, he extended his arms in a signal, telling them to back away.
"What are you doing???", Mickey yelled.
"Your Majesty, it seems that my plan will not come to fruition.The machine is not strong enough to finish the converting and it will soon overload.Promise me that you will stop Xemnas and prevent him from causing any more damage to the worlds.Farewell, my old friend..."
With those final words, the machine exploded and covered the area in smoke.Riku had jumped away and held Kairi in his arms to protect her from the explosion.Sora and his friends had just finished fighting Saix when they saw the smoke.Running inmediately in the direction of the explosion, they saw Kairi curled up in Riku's arms and Mickey looking around in confusion.Kairi opened her eyes and realized that Riku had changed back into his old self.
"Riku, you're, you're you again!", Sora yelled in excitement.
"What?...I'm me!But how?Was it the explosion?', he mumbled.
"It must have been!It's a miracle!", Sora yelled again.
"Alright, calm down.We still have to deal with Xemnas and we don't have much time.", Riku said calmly, "We have to hurry!"
The group nodded in agreement and ran up the stairs once againe, preparing themselves mentally for the upcoming battle that was going to ensue between them and Xemnas.None of them had realized that Rixa wasn't with them.Instead, right before Riku and Kairi had reached Mickey and Ansem, she had stopped and had begun running the other way.She didn't feel anything, not pain, not sadness, nothing.There was only emptiness.What did it matter if Sora defeated Xemnas?It wouldn't bring back Xion, Roxas or Axel.They were gone and that was it.Reaching the Grey Area, she looked out the window and stared at her reflection.Her eyes had no light in them, they were almost like ghost eyes.
"Axel...Roxas...Xion..."
"Hey, Lil Sis, get over here!"
"Rixa, hurry up, you're gonna be late!"
"Oh, stop it, you two!We're only girls!"
Their voices kept resonating in her head over and over, causing the pain to come flooding back.She covered her ears and fell to the floor, screaming in agony.
"Just make it stop!"
"Why?", an unknown voice said.
"What?Who...are you?"
"Who else would I be?I am you, just as you are me.Or did you forget about me already?"
"What are you talking about?I am me!"
"Hehehe, just listen to yourself.'I am me!'How weak.And we're supposed to be the darkness itself.You're such an excuse.I should just be rid of you here and now."
"Just shut up!"
"Shut up?I don't have to listen to you!You are nothing, while I am everything!The sadness in the darkness, that's you, but I am the hatred, the rage, the one who reminds people of the pain inside their hearts!Never forget that darkness has two sides."
"Darkness only destroys!Riku was wrong all along.I've lost too much...What's the point of me even existing in this world?"
"Oh, what is the little weakling going to do?", the voice whispered, forcing Rixa to look in the window to see a darker version of herself staring back.
The reflection glared and walked right out to stand before Rixa.She was an exact copy, except in reverse.Instead of white hair, she had black, red eyes instead of blue and she wore white clothing with black runes on her long sleeves.
"You don't want top exist anymore?Fine by me.Allow me to put you out of your misery.With you gone, I'll finally have a body to myself and not have to listen to your whining anymore.", the copy screamed, pulling out a replica of Rixa's sword, "And I might as well have my fun with those pathetic boys while I'm at it."
Rixa reacted inmediately, remembering how Riku had stayed by her side whenever she was in pain or feeling sad, how he looked at her with those blue-green eyes, how he kissed her...
"You will not lay a hand on Riku!!!"
The copy appeared surprised at Rixa's shout, but charged anyway.Rixa summoned her sword and they began to hack away at each other, spilling blood all over the floor.The darkness began to swirl around them and the area distorted itself, reflecting the battle Rixa had within herself.She had yet to accept that she was the darkness and that darkness was only evil when a corrupted heart came in touch with it.She believed that all the pain and suffering was her fault and no one else's, that everyone would be better off without her.But she couldn't let her other half hurt Riku.She cared about him, even...loved him.She wasn't emotionless, she could feel like anyone else.She could be happy, sad, angry, and even love others.She wasn't some empty beast bent on destroying the lives of others!She finally realized it.Her friends may have been gone corporally, but she still had the memories of the time spent together.They would never be truly gone if she remembered and even so, she had others who cared about her as a friend and someone who loved her.She couldn't die there when Riku was off risking everything to defeat Xemnas!
"I am Rixa, the vessel of darkness and I will not allow you to control me!You won't lay a hand on my friends or my family anymore!"
With one quick slash, she had sliced the copy in half, who was apparently smiling back.The copy fell to the floor, disintegrating into shards of glass.Rixa looked at her and turned away, unable to keep looking.
"Why look away?This is what happens to creatures like us...Heartless and Nobodies, we all disappear."
"You're wrong.They don't ever disappear as long as I remember.And you won't either.", Rixa whispered, taking the copy's left hand into hers, "You are me, just as I am you."
"Heh, so you won't be rid of me after all.", the copy snickered before changing into a wave of energy that was assimilated by Rixa.
Rixa groaned a little, but regained her footing.Her injuries started burning, but she ignored the pain.She had to help Riku, even if it was at the cost of her life.Spreading her black wings, she broke the glass with her sword and flew straight at Kingdom Hearts without thinking of what would happen to her.Kairi and Mickey were waiting by the door to Kingdom Hearts when they saw Rixa fly in.They yelled at her to stop, but she didn't hear them.Kairi covered her mouth in dismay when she saw the blood that had fallen on the floor in front of the door.
"She's hurt!She can't just go off injured to fight along them!"
"I know, but there's nothing we can do.She's a stubborn girl and this was her decision..."
After flying through the door, Rixa found herself lost in space.It was quiet and it seemed that she was the only one there.
"Please...", she whispered, feeling herself fading from consciousness, "Let Riku...be safe..."
