Chapter Text
Naminé remembered being surrounded by the sweet scent of citrus and sea salt, staring out at the sea within the depths of Kairi’s heart. She was seated at the edge of a cliff, overlooking a field of flowers surrounding a clear lake. It was easy to tell what Kairi was feeling, based on the weather changes and the way the lake rippled.
Not long after she felt an unseen force tugging her away from her sanctuary, Naminé found herself in the midst of a battlefield or, at least, what seemed to be the end of a battle. Her hands instantly flew to her body and that’s when she realised that they were gloved and that the rest of her body was decked in the familiar coat reminiscent of Organization XIII. Beneath her coat, she could still feel the fabric of her white dress, clinging to her like a second skin.
She remembered being the realm where finality felt certain and then, conversing with Sora there as Kairi held him together while he went ahead to save the others.
There was only one road open. She took a step, the step that would lead her closer to where they are.
As Naminé drew closer towards the next location, she could hear voices engaged in conversation — a serious conversation.
“It seems you’re not as good as winning people’s hearts as you think."
That was Roxas' voice. Naminé hurried, making her towards the source. As soon as she reached her destination, Naminé made sure to keep herself hidden behind the stone wall.
“Ah, I see,” was Xemnas’ curt reply, his face betraying no expression as her friend levelled his gaze with him.
“There was one last thing I needed in order for me to be whole again,” Roxas continued, lapsing into a brief silence. “A connection. Sora helped me find my way back here… to my friends.”
“I don’t need hearts. I’ll scatter them all to the winds!”
“If you don’t need hearts, why do you still require Kingdom Hearts?” Naminé questioned, stepping out from behind the wall to reveal herself to the group before her, her voice ringing out loud and clear throughout the battlefield. Her eyes swept across the barren land, acknowledging the individuals.
As she made eye contact with Roxas, she could see him beginning to move towards her, but she shook her head.
Don’t, she hoped her message got across to him before she levelled her gaze with Xemnas.
“You say you need them but you wish to discard them away. Have you ever thought that Kingdom Hearts just reflects the desires of the heart, the very thing that you believe to be useless?” Naminé continued on, her confidence growing with each step.
She came to a stop next to Kairi, nodding at the girl. With the two of them together, side by side, she was certain that they were stronger.
“Not everyone might necessarily agree with you but because you can’t accept that, you decide that it’d be better if everyone followed what you said because it’s what you want,” Naminé emphasized even further. In spite of his calm composure, she knew her words held some modicum of truth to it.
The fact that he had already been thrown off by Roxas’ return was a sign of his efforts crumbling right before his eyes, and he was evidently angered by that.
As Xemnas stepped forward, Naminé braced herself for something else. From the corner of her eye, she saw a flicker of movement. Just as Xemnas appeared behind Kairi, the blonde-haired girl shoved the redhead away from him.
Instead of his intended target, he ended up grabbing the white witch instead, twisting her arm as an unnatural angle, but not quite breaking her petite form. Naminé tried to break away from him but all she could feel was pain travelling up her arm, forcing her to resign herself to her current fate.
“Naminé?!” Kairi cried, with others echoing her name in her wake, along with Roxas yelling at Xemnas to unhand her.
“You can cut them loose from all they know,” Naminé spoke, defiance blazing in his eyes as he tightened his grip on her. “But remember they have triumphed over you once: they will never fail, not as long as there is strength in their hearts.”
She winced when he showed no mercy. It was not like he would be able to, not when her presence infuriated him, just like how Roxas’ re-emergence had clearly disrupted his plans.
Now, she had disrupted his original plan. Xehanort, Xemnas, Ansem — they were all the same person, but there was a flaw: in spite of their meticulousness, he certainly did not prepare for Naminé’s return.
Xemnas said nothing, the silence stretching longer than he expected before he finally spoke.
“No matter. I can take the Princess’ Nobody and turn her into a puppet,” he remarked, sneering at her as she did so. “I’ve done it before and I can do it again.”
Naminé paled, realising that he had just used what she said against her.
“You are important but not to just Sora or Kairi,” Xemnas added on, shifting his gaze towards someone else.
Naminé followed his line of direction and her frosty blue eyes rested upon Roxas, eyes widening at the sight of him now: instead of the cool, confident expression he had carried earlier, he seemed to have lost all sense of composure.
“What difference does one little light make, let alone half?” he questioned them. “You have others, just as we have more darknesses to replenish our ranks. Who knows? Maybe the witch here could be one of them too.”
She made eye contact with each and every one of them: Axel (or was it Lea now?), Xion, Kairi, Sora and finally, Roxas.
“Don’t let him win,” was all she said before the shadowy tendrils swallowed her whole, transporting the both of them to who knows where.
“Be careful.”
When Naminé appeared, Roxas could not help but be more relieved at the appearance of her friend. If she was here, that meant a vessel was secured for her and that she managed to form a connection through Kairi as well.
With an unusual amount of confidence, Naminé walked towards them. Roxas’ eyes sought out for hers as she headed in their direction. Just as he was about to move towards her, she shook her head, indicating that there was no need for him to protect her.
Don’t, was all he saw in her eyes, pleading with him to not move a single muscle. His azure flickered to Xemnas, Saïx and then, to Axel. His friend was injured; if he moved, he’ll be left vulnerable to any surprise attacks his former superior had in mind.
All of them listened to what she had to say. The weight of her words latched onto him and he could feel his heart soaring. Sora had a bright grin on his face, glad that Naminé had made it back but quickly turned his attention back to the Nobody in front of them.
Like Sora, Roxas kept an eye on Xemnas, his Keyblade still outstretched. He refused to let his guard down.
Yet, that was not enough. Everything went wrong in a matter of seconds.
Xemnas disappeared from in front of him and he looked to his left and right, unable to catch sight of the man until a cry from behind caught his – everyone’s – attention, accompanied by the sound of a body hitting the ground, followed by Kairi crying out for her other half.
Instantly, the air was filled with everyone calling out for her, save it for himself who demanded, “Let her go!”
In spite of her dire situation, Naminé still faced the situation with such vigour. Axel found herself marvelled at the amount of strength she possessed, considering that she once had been so afraid of someone like Marluxia. Yet, she was fearless in the face of Xemnas, intent on proving him wrong.
Nobody dared to make a move, fearful of endangering her life even more.
He could feel fury and rage radiating off Roxas, unlike moments ago where he was displaying a subtle sense of cockiness, knowing that he had thrown Xemnas off-guard with his return. The man spoke of Naminé’s importance to certain people and, when his gaze flickered over to the blonde-haired kid, Roxas could feel himself snarling at the man.
As Xemnas spoke of making use of Naminé’s special ability once again, Roxas clenched his teeth together, not liking the direction this was going. When Naminé’s face turned even paler than it already was, Roxas could only tighten his grip around the hilts of his Keyblades.
Kairi, on the other hand, had scrambled towards them. Xion, being the closest to where she was, had already taken the initiative to tug the princess closer to them. Her own eyes were filled with distaste for the man who had tried to use her for nefarious purposes.
If anything, Axel – or rather, Lea – had spared her in order to save his best friend. Not only that, she had done her part incredibly well, at the expense of herself.
Naminé made eye contact with each of them, recognising the fear and hatred in all of their beings. Each of them could see the utter faith she had in them and when her eyes landed upon Roxas, her gaze softened – for just a moment – and he saw vulnerability and fear flicker within her icy hues before she and her captor were swallowed by the dark corridor.
“Don’t let him win,” she had said, echoing their sentiments.
With that, she was gone.
“We’ll get her back,” Xion reassured her friend but it did little to ease his frazzled nerves. Despite getting caught up in an unfavourable situation, she still put others before her.
Kairi was equally distressed, having witnessed her Other take her place as Xemnas’ hostage. Sora was already by her side, concern written all over his face. Lea came over to where they were, looking at the other two. Within his emerald eyes, an inferno blazed, enraged that Naminé had been taken. Not only that, to think that Xemnas had aimed for Kairi in order to use her against him.
“We will,” Roxas swore to himself, just as Sora shifted his gaze. His head snapped upwards and the next thing he knew, all of them were being swept off their feet. The blonde-haired regained his composure and flipped while mid-air, landing gracefully on his own two feet.
“After we handle him!” Sora chimed in, determination evident in the way he spoke, as they faced the man named Saïx.