Connected to the Chain - Pt VIII

Xanarian dragged Javelin along the shadows, trying her best to not be a little freaked out by his resemblance to that man from earlier. I wonder why I picked that form. She looked back at Javelin, and Javelin looked back, its yellow eyes showing no emotion. Sighing, she gripped its hand tighter, finding her way back to Castle Oblivion.

"Larxene again?" Larxene and Sora were fighting for a second time, and Xanarian was surprised to see Naminé sitting there, watching over a broken Riku. There's nothing there anymore, she thought to herself. It made her sad. The only Riku she knew was lying there dead.

Larxene was out for blood in the same fashion as Vexen was before, but since it was Larxene, she had faith in Sora's capabilities. She was surprised, however, as Larxene was utterly defeated, and faded away. She had imagined Larxene's disappearance before and figured she'd be happy, but she felt nothing. Nothing at all. All she could do was stare at Sora. "How strong…" she murmured to herself.

Sora and his companions came and started talking to Naminé, and though she looked as if she felt guilty, she was so happy to have them there that Xanarian smiled a bit. As she explained what was really going on to them, Xanarian realized that more was going on than she originally thought. "Where's Axel and Marluxia?" She couldn't sense them anywhere without losing focus on Sora, so she left it alone.

"In your true memories, I was never really there," Naminé explained. "I can fix everything if we go to the 13th floor. But, Marluxia, he…" she drifted off in fear.

"I bet I know who that is," the miniscule bug on Sora's shoulder mused. "Is he the one who forced you to do all this?"

"If I didn't obey, he said I'd be locked in this castle forever!" Naminé explained desperately. "I've been alone for so long!"

They were extremely sympathetic toward her, and watching from behind the wall, Xanarian smiled for Naminé.

"I'm really not happy about you messing with my memories," Sora explained. "But, you know, I really can't get mad at you for it, either. These memories you gave me, in my head, I know they're lies, but they still feel right." He kept on, urging Naminé not to cry. "It makes things easier on me," he finished with a smile.

"Oh, super smooth, Sora," Xanarian chuckled as his friends also gave him a hard time. They left Naminé to watch over the fallen Riku Replica as they ran up the stairs.

"Good luck, Sora," Naminé smiled.

Xanarian knocked and Naminé turned with a smile. "Xanarian!!"

"What happened here?" she said kneeling to examine the fallen Replica. She touched its face sadly, moving the hair from its face. Naminé told her everything that transpired, and hearing that Axel let Naminé go made Xanarian smile. I knew he wasn't a part of it. "Where is Axel now?"

Naminé shook her head. "I don't know."

Xanarian frowned in concern, but nodded. "Alright. I'll go keep an eye on Sora. You'll be okay?" Naminé nodded. "Alright. Sora will be fine. Don't worry." She faded back into the shadow.

Xanarian and Javelin went to the 13th floor and watched Sora wander the halls of Castle Oblivion. "He looks rather confused," she pondered as he stopped behind his companions, complaining of not being able to remember Kairi, or as he called it, "the girl that means the most to him."

They kept going, however, and as he kept going, Xanarian was developing a plan in which Javelin would face Sora head to head. "I know!! Javelin, follow from this shadow." After the Heartless nodded its understanding, Xanarian snuck into Sora's shadow, flying toward his heart.

"Left," she said with certainty. "Ahead. The second door." As Sora obeyed, she slid out of his shadow, preparing the room she led him to. The shadows were intense in this room, so dark that everything was pitch black. She called to countless hearts, and soon shadows and neo-shadows were hiding in almost every inch of the floor. Javelin stood behind her, and she smiled at it. "Your time will come. Stay hidden."

Sora opened the door and Xanarian smiled. She could see him, the light of his heart and the hearts of his companions making them clearly visible. Knowing she couldn't be seen in this room, she stayed in the room, waiting for the moment they reached the center.

"Ugh, I can't see anything in here," Sora complained.

"I guess we should look out for traps," the tall, dog-like companion declared.

"Let's be careful," agreed the duck companion.

They walked toward the center, and Xanarian's smile turned somehow devious. "Now."

The Heartless emerged from the blackness and started attacking Sora. "Woah!!" They defended themselves, the sheer multitude of Heartless giving them a hard time!! "Goofy!!"

The dog-like companion knocked several Heartless into the air with his shield. Sora knocked them with his keyblade, and Goofy seemed to spike them down on the ground. Hearts flew to Xanarian, and she redirected them to her Kingdom Hearts. This was the first time she was there to collect the hearts directly from Sora, and the volume of hearts coming at her from such a short distance was almost overwhelming.

"Donald!!"

The duck companion raised his staff in the air and bolts of lightning struck the Heartless, sending more hearts her way. As they took care of each Heartless, Xanarian was awed at their efficiency and unity, taking care of the Heartless faster than Xanarian expected. They were tired, and she could tell that Sora was exhausted and anxious. She took a deep breath. "Javelin," she said quietly. He appeared next to her. "Your turn."