Someone From The Dark

The Hunt

"Xena!"

My vision kept fading in and out, as did my hearing. I could barely feel the grass beneath my hands and knees, so i assumed i had fallen again.

An intense, excruciating pain had erupted in my head again, nearly making me faint.

Memories flooded my mind again; Roxas must have triggered more...

"You haven't broken through all of Namine's barrier's yet..." He quietly pondered out loud as my vision and hearing slowly started to return.

I was propped up against Roxas' chest again, and he was sitting up, leaning backwards onto a tree. His left arm was firmly wrapped around me, holding me up, and his fingers softly rubbed my shoulder in an attempt to comfort me.

"What did you remember..?" His voice flowed across the sound of the soft breeze after a few minutes.

Sitting myself up, his arm dropped back down to his lap as his gaze focused on my eyes eagerly, awaiting my answer.

"My parents..." I finally managed, choking up immediately. His lips curled down, and his eyes softly closed, as he realized what i was about to say.

"My real parents are dead," An abrupt, dark laugh escaped my lips as a single tear slid down my cheek.

"I'd been waiting so eagerly to see them again." Shaking my head, i sniffled.

Roxas' head was laid back against the tree he was propped against, staring intently at the still dark and gray sky.

"False memories," he finally piped up.

"I asked Namine to plant a few in order to ease any suspicions you'd begin to have as you aged. I guess she wanted you to know what the love of a parent was like, since your real ones died long ago."

His voice remained very mono-toned and melancholy, almost as if he felt the same pain i was enduring right now.

"Sean and Steven are still technically my brothers... The brothers of my Somebody."

"Namine was sure to let me know how excited they were to have you back, especially since your Somebody is dead. They're as much yours' as they are her's."

At this point, i noticed his eyes were on me, scanning my facial expressions and reactions.

"You do know that you and i aren't just Nobodies anymore, right?"

I laughed at that; this time, it was a genuine one.

"Yes, thankfully i got that memory back as well. We have hearts.. Our own minds, emotions, feelings and memories."

My hands grazed across the soft, dew-covered grass in temporary silence, until a hand draped itself over mine.

I smiled at that, and lifted my eyes to meet Roxas'. He grinned softly at me, his eyes squinting a little bit in exhaustion.

"We're our own people now."

I gave a nod, and a loud snap of a twig a few feet behind us nearly made us both jump out of our skin.

Roxas jumped to his feet, grabbing my hand and yanking me deeper into the thick forest in a matter of seconds.

My legs screamed in protest; i was going to be extremely surprised if my ankle wasn't broken. I fought to ignore the pain and kept trying to put one foot in front of the other as Roxas continued to practically drag me behind him.

In a flash, he had picked me up and placed me on his back with my arms wrapped around his neck and my legs around his waist. I winced heavily in pain and bit my lip to suppress a scream.

We didn't get far until something smashed into us, sending us both flying. Thankfully, neither of us slammed into a tree, but we did skip pretty nastily across the harsh ground and brush of the forest. I could feel more tiny nicks and cuts form across my exposed skin as i hit the scattered debris. The impact of finally crashing and staying to the ground knocked the wind out of me, otherwise i would have screeched like a dying walrus. I heard Roxas land roughly a few feet from me, groaning as he quickly tried getting back to his feet to defend against whoever/whatever our current attacker was.

"You really thought you'd get away that easy?"

This bitch doesn't know when to quit...

Picking up my head, my vision began to fade in and out a tad, but i saw and heard enough to know Xyla had found us again.

"I'll do this world a favor and take both of you pests out." She grinned devilishly from ear to ear, her keyblade held firmly in her hand.

"Not on my watch," Roxas growled, already back on his feet.

His keyblade, Oblivion, materialized in a small portal of shadows from his hands.

Being able to put a name to things, people and places was going to take some getting used to.

Roxas assumed his battle stance as Xyla began again, "Why don't you try letting the worthless excuse of a keyblade wielder try winning one of her own battles for once? Oh wait- It must be because even though i triggered at least a good portion of her memories to return, she's too weak now to even materialize her keyblade?"

Steadily, i got to my feet beside Roxas, who's expression was now drenched in anger.

She's right.

"Face it, she's beyond salvation. No matter how hard you and your little clan of heroes try, there are some mistakes you just can't fix."

I'm endangering everyone i care for by being so powerless and fragile.

"How does it feel, little Roxy, knowing that you were what did this to her? If you both just would have obeyed like good little Nobodies, none of this ever would of happened." Xyla sneered and giggled darkly, going all-out on her 'victory speech.'

"Face it, Fifteen; you're nothing but baggage now. Dead weight. Feeble, helpless, broken, purposeless-"

"Shut the hell up!" In a flash, Roxas' keyblade clashed with Xyla's, sending sparks flying. The level of impact alone made her stagger, almost losing her footing on the uneven forest floor.

I should just disappear.

Roxas kept aggressively hammering his keyblade in different swipes against Xyla's, his blood boiling with fury. After a few good swings, her balance slipped and she fell to one knee. Roxas saw the opening and took it, preparing to end this quickly and just stab her straight through the heart. His arm pulled back, then lunged forward, only to be knocked off course by an unknown object that had come flying out of the trees a few feet away in a flash of gleaming red.

Before i could comprehend what exactly had even just occurred, a sharp, intense pain broke out in my ribcage, and i felt the similar ooze of hot liquid begin to trickle down my skin. In shock, i slowly glanced down to my torso, and my eyes rested on a familiar red chakram that was lodged a few inches deep into my abdomen.

"Xenaaaa!" Roxas screamed louder than i've ever heard before.

The amount of blood i had already lost before was astonishing, and i wasn't exactly sure how i had managed still walking around and all, but this...

My vision slowly began to fade to black as my body gave up, plummeting down to the ground; i silently accepted death.