#khxmas

There was nothing quite like having a replica of your own weapon thrust in your face to infuriate you, Dilan decides.

He shoves his lance through the Dragoon like a hunter gutting his prey, stalking past its remains as the creature fades into Darkness.  Instinctively his fist closes around the staff even as it reforms in his hand; the echoes of further scuffles in the halls below the castle barely register in his mind as he storms into the remains of Ansem’s study—

—only to find another weapon pointed between his eyes.

“Hello, Dilan,” Braig says, grinning behind his arrowgun.

----------

The irritation and fury that coursed through Dilan’s veins dies away, but it is replaced with the chill of something greater.  “Why are you here?”

“Not a very nice way to treat your best friend, now, is it?” Braig counters, lifting an eyebrow.  Dilan sees it, though—how his eye hardens despite his friendly tone.  “Put the lances away, maybe I’ll explain.”

“Please, friends.”

Both the walls and Dilan’s bones seem to resonate with the vibrations from the new, deep voice, but as always, Xehanort acts oblivious to the impact he creates.

“Let us speak plainly, as we once did.”

 ----------

It is not the older Xehanort who stands behind Braig, where he has been since before Dilan knew of his existence.  It is the younger Xehanort Dilan first met twelve years ago, though his brown eyes have given way to an unnatural gold the same hue as Braig’s.

“Come on, man.”  The gun in Braig’s hand does not waver, but his entire body is relaxed, ill-prepared to silence Dilan if he does not comply.  “For old times’ sake.”

Old times.  Days of possibilities and camaraderie instead of ruins and dust.

The lances slip into thin air.  For old times’ sake.

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“What a wreck.  You would have thought Even had this place clean by now, as obsessive as he is.”

“You didn’t separate me from the others just to insult Even again.”  Braig smirks at Dilan’s defense and kicks at the rubble still piled against the wall, his gun long since dismissed.  “What is it that you want?”

Straight-backed and composed as ever, Xehanort reviews the wreckage of the study, both engrossed by this part of his past and yet far above it, divided against himself—but at Dilan’s question, he smiles thinly, stepping forward to the center of the room.

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“We accomplished much here, the three of us—“

“With the help of the others, yes.”  Dilan never had tolerance for romantics to begin with.

Braig outright laughs; Xehanort smirks but nods his head.  “We discovered many secrets of the Heart and the Heartless, some of which my former self knew—and some of which he realized he could use toward his ultimate goal.”

“Kingdom Hearts.”

“Indeed.  And yet…“ Xehanort’s smirk grows into a smile—the smile of the man who emerged from Ansem’s experiments.  “None of it would have been possible if you had not helped Braig retrieve me.”

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“My patience is wearing thin, Xehanort.”  The bitter chill in his limbs is still there, still growing as dread pushes it onward.  Against the back of his mind, the magic to summon his lances makes itself known.

“What Xehanort is getting at,” Braig interjects, sneering, “is that we’d like to reward you for being a good pal.”

Xehanort’s eyes pierce him like a pin in the wing of a dissected butterfly.  “As I’m sure the mouse king has told you, we are still seeking a thirteenth member of the New Organization.”

The silence following Xehanort’s words echoes in his ears.

----------

“I offer you the honor of becoming the thirteenth vessel of Darkness—the chance to rule and remake the universe as we see fit,” Xehanort finishes, uncrossing and lowering his arms as Braig appears behind him, uncharacteristically serious.

“You ask me, then, to sacrifice an existence I have only just won back?”

“For something even better,” Braig says.  “Trust me, it only hurts for a minute.”

A lance bursts into shape in Dilan’s hand.

“Whoa, cool it, man—“

“For old times’ sake?” he spits.

Both Xehanort’s and Braig’s expressions turn dark, and Braig opens his mouth to retort—

“Xehanort!”

----------

Consumed by cold hatred, Dilan does not turn to acknowledge Sora and his band of misfits.  While Braig glances at the intruders agitatedly, Xehanort ignores them and glares at his former friend; no one dares to breathe, and all eyes watch Xehanort.

“I assume, then, that you refuse?” Xehanort asks at length, his voice cold with contained fury.

“Friendship is hardly worth my existence,” he says, cognizant of the gazes of the Key Bearers behind him.  “Besides, had we truly been friends as you claim, then I would have known I already had the Heart I worked to regain.  Farewell.”

-----------

Xehanort’s fist curls, but instead he bows his head and curls his lip in a grotesque smile to the Key Bearers, opening a Corridor of Darkness around himself and vanishing.  His accomplice turns to escape into the Corridor himself—

“Braig.”

He stops, looking over his shoulder at Dilan.

“In the old days,” Dilan says, his voice slowed with the weight of his words and his anger, “we worked together to keep Xehanort in check.  If you are part of Xehanort now, it falls to me to do the same for you.”

After a moment, Braig laughs bitterly and walks away.

----------

Ansem’s study feels oddly smaller now, more cramped but emptier.

Dilan grits his teeth and closes his eyes, breathing deeply against the cold in his heart.

Someone takes a step toward him, breaking the stillness.  “Dilan?”

The voice of the puppet—the doll they hid from him.

“I do not want sympathy from a creature never meant to exist,” he shouts, and he isn’t sure if he or the windstorm his words unleash roars louder.  “Leave, all of you.”

This was the first time the three of them spent the holidays away from home. It was the first time they were together while spending the holidays away from home, and that was the reason Kairi wanted to make something special. She had been training really hard the past few days with everyone, and the few times she was alone she spent thinking and planning what to do for Christmas.

She didn’t want to ask the boys about what to do because she wanted to make it a surprise, but Kairi had no idea what would surprise the boys enough to make it special. She asked Aerith for help first, and her idea was amazing, a Christmas filled with flowers and fountains in a world nearby, but Kairi knew Riku wouldn’t feel right knowing that he could ruin Aerith’s garden at any moment (and Kairi thought Sora would end up making a mess somehow). 

Kairi was sitting in one of the benches in Radiant Garden, twirling her keyblade in her hands, when she felt someone sit beside her.

“I heard from Aerith you’re looking for a gift,” Yuffie smiled when the redhead turned to look at her, “You could just give them a place to train.”

Kairi sighed. “That would be pointless though, we’ve been training all over the place, and as much as I would love to be able to stay in one place all the time, I know they won’t do it.”

“Ah… specially if the pyro’s involved.” Yuffie laughed and tilted her head to the side, looking at the younger girl, “why don’t you try asking them?”

“I was thinking about it….” Kairi’s voice faded. She had been thinking about asking the boys she loved so much what they would want, but that would ruin the surprise (or so she thought). The only think that got her out of her own mind was the sound of Yuffie’s laugh. 

“Don’t think too hard, you might end up breaking that pretty brain of yours.” Kairi laughed softly and nodded towards the ninja, who kept on smiling as she waved as her.

   It was getting closer and closer to Christmas and Kairi was starting to get nervous. She had seen the boys with their heads huddled together, and whispering to each other whenever she would walk by them. She smiled knowing that they were also thinking about her, but she needed to make sure. She needed to give them something that will make them forget what was going on about them for a bit, and more than anything else though, she wanted to see them smile. 

She was getting desperate enough to ask for advice from people she barely talked to, and this meant the two men that were training her: Cloud and Leon. She approached Leon first, as he was the only one available at the moment.

“Why don’t you just make them something?” was what the man had finally answered after a few moments of silence.

“What do you think two guys would want?” Kairi asked, trying to imagine what she could make.

“….Clothes?” Leon looked a bit more lost than her, and that made her giggle, which I turn got her a glare from the male. 

“I’m sorry,” Kairi bowed her head, a smile still on her lips.

“I think Cloud might be a little bit more helpful,” Leon said after sighing and scratching his neck, “He has dealt with Yuffie and Aerith a lot more than me.”

Kairi thanked him and went to look for the blond, finding him practicing a few moves and tactics with Lea. She waited until the two were done, and approached them before they could leave.

“I’m sorry for disturbing you, but it is okay if I as you for your advice?” She said looking directly at Cloud. He raised an eyebrow and motioned her to keep speaking. She always felt nervous when she was around Cloud, but having Lea there just arching his eyebrow and crossing his arms, seemly interested, made her feel a bit more brave. “I was wondering if you knew what I could give the guys for Christmas.”

Cloud stared her at her for a bit, looking towards Lea and then back to the girl “take them to see something they’ve never seen before.”

Kairi gasped, and smiled, holding her hands to her chest “that’s a really good idea!” she was starting to smile but suddenly her face froze “oh… they’ve been everywhere already.” And just like that all her hopes were gone.

Cloud patted her on the shoulder and apologized, to which she smiled. It was not his fault she couldn’t figure out what to give her two best friends.

“You know Little Red…” Lea started, walking slowly around Kairi, a grin on his face “I heard them talkin’ about wanting to see a certain big man dressed in red making presents.” He stopped in front of her and put his hands on her shoulders, “want me to help ya get to Christmas Town?”

Kairi laughed and hugged the redhead, thanking him over and over again. How could she forget what Sora had said before! He wanted to show Riku that Santa was real, and he wanted to go back and see the big man himself. She started thinking about what she should prepare to make the trip the next day (you can’t bother Santa on the actual day!) when she thought of something else.

“Hey, Lea?” Kairi said, looking at his face (which was a bit taller than she was used to looking with other boys).

“Yes princess?” He responded, curious, arching an eyebrow yet again.

“Would you like to join us in our trip? We could celebrate together.” She wanted to make everyone happy, and that included the guy who stood in front of her.

“It would be an honour,” he made an exaggerated bow that made the girl giggle. “I’ll help ya with the ship and the things we need, you get the clothes and the boys.”

Kairi smiled and nodded, running off to her room, looking for Sora and Riku in the process.

  To say Sora was excited to be back in Christmas Town was an understatement. The moment the boy set foot in the snow he jumped up and down, pulling Riku and Kairi with him, which ended up with them falling on the snow and fighting each other with it. By the time they got to Santa’s house they were covered in snow, with their hairs dripping wet.

“Oh hohoho look who we have here!” Was the first thing to come out of Santa’s mouth, “if it isn’t Sora himself!”

“Hi Santa!” Sora beamed, smiling at Riku, “See? Told you he was real!” Riku clicked his tongue and crossed his arms, looking away, to which Sora laughed. “Santa, these are my friends, Riku, Kairi, and Lea.”

“Nice to meet you everyone!” Santa laughed, “now, now, come on in! You’re already wet and cold, don’t want you kids catching a cold during Chrismtas!”

Lea said something about not being wet but no one really paid him any attention as Sora was pushing everyone inside, smiling and dripping water everywhere he went.

“Kairi?” Riku said, after being forced to drink a mug of hot cocoa in front of the chimney. Kairi turned to look at him, her hair still damp from the snow fight, a questioning look in her eyes as she took a sip of her own mug. “Thank you, for bringing us here I mean,” Riku turned to look at the fire, a soft smile on his lips, “It was a good idea to come here together for Christmas.”