Even though she was racing off at full speed towards what might be her final battle, perhaps against a person she considered to be her best friend, Xion couldn't help but enjoy the feeling of the wind on her face and the gorgeous view of the land from the edge of the airship.
Celestia, Luna and the Ambassadors were on the airship deck with her, with Luna at the helm while Celestia provided lookout. The Ambassadors talked amongst themselves, with occasional glances over at Xion that they didn't know she was aware of. All of them were thinking about the upcoming battle, except for Pinkie, who was thinking of what kind of party she would throw for their victory.
Yet their thoughts of battle and victory were interrupted when they looked overhead to notice that the sky had turned black. A chill filled the air, one that seemed to be created by evil intentions instead of cold air. And when Xion looked over the side of the ship she could see that they were flying over a wasteland filled with thousands of stumps, informing her that what they flew over was once a forest.
"Heads up, ponies! We've just entered the Forest of the Forgotten. And from the looks of things, we're not the first ones here," Luna called out from the helm.
"Indeed, it's look like an army cleared out the forest to make the land more like a battlefield," Celestia confirmed for Luna and the other ponies. "And unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, I believe I can see the army of Heartless that the Maestro mentioned to Xion. It's larger than he said."
"Perhaps your eyes are playing tricks on you, sister. After all, the are millions of years old, just like you!" Luna teased from the helm, getting Celestia to give her sister a look.
"Xion, it seems that a Heartless managed to stow away on the ship. Would you please throw it overboard?"
The Ambassadors laughed at Celestia and Luna's words and the two sisters smiled at each other before they went back to their tasks. Even Xion, who felt the weight of what was about to happen far more than any of them, managed to crack a smile. She then glanced down to notice that there seemed to be a darkness coming onto the ship. A darkness akin to that of the Heartless.
'This is it, Xion. Time to see if you've really cut the strings that originally bound you,' Xion thought to herself before she extended her hand, summoning forth the Perfect Harmony to her hand. The light generated from the keyblade pushed back the darkness that had been seeping into the ship. Yet another darkness filled Xion's heart and on instinct she reached into her pockets in a vain hope that Sombra's horn would be there.
"Why the long face? You should be the happiest out of all of us!" Xion turned her head to see that Pinkie had hopped over to her and was now looking up at Xion with excited eyes.
"I don't see any reason why I should be all that happy," Xion replied.
"Don't see the reason?! Today's going to be a great day for you!" Pinkie exclaimed, getting Xion to raise an eyebrow. "Think about it. Today you'll drive the Heartless from this land, finally stop the no good meany that's been messing with your life and save your best friend and finally reunite with him! That sounds like a pretty good day to me!"
"If I can do all of that," Xion muttered.
"No negative talk. You're going to do this and then we're going to throw an amazing party to celebrate. And I'll make sure to invite everypony that you've ever helped just so that they can thank you for what you did for them in pony," Pinkie replied with an excited look on her face.
"But if we pull this off, we'll have saved the entire world," Xion pointed out.
"Then it's going to be one massive party. I'm looking forward to it."
Xion felt herself smile at Pinkie's overwhelming confidence despite her less than positive outlook on how the battle would go. Pinkie began to mutter to herself before she pulled out what looked to be the beginning of a very long list from her mane and walked off, occasionally smiling to herself. Rarity and Rainbow walked over after Pinkie walked off, watching the pink pony go while shaking their heads slightly.
"Come on, don't look so down. It's not like the fate of everything depends on this battle," Rainbow Dash pointed out, her words getting her a look from Rarity.
"What Rainbow is so poorly trying to say is that there is no reason to doubt yourself, darling. You have dealt with everything that has been thrown at you and you have prevailed each time," Rarity said with confidence. "And this time you have us with you and we will make sure that you do not face your demons alone. That is what friends do."
"Yeah, because you've shown us that you're completely helpless without us there to bail your flank out," Rainbow said with a smirk. She got another glare from Rarity for saying this, but to both ponies surprise Xion smirked at Rainbow's words.
"You're not wrong, Rainbow. I have need your guys help. I probably wouldn't have made it this far without the aid of the ponies of this world, actually. So I do feel more comfortable hearing that you're there to...bail my flank out," Xion said to Rainbow. Rainbow Dash then gave Rarity a "I was right" smirk while Rarity did her best to avoid looking at the rainbow mare.
Fluttershy and Applejack were the next to join Xion once Rainbow and Rarity left. The two didn't say anything to Xion, then just rested their hooves on the railing and joined Xion in looking out at the oncoming darkness. Fluttershy looked up at Xion, opened her mouth to say something, and then though better of it and simply went back to enjoying the silence with her friends. Yet despite neither of the ponies saying anything to Xion, she felt a sense of comfort wash over her, knowing that she had friends beside her.
"We are here," Celestia said. All eyes turned towards her, with Xion, AJ and Fluttershy walking over from the edge to join the princess and the other ponies at the front of the airship. All sets of eyes went wide at the sight that greeted them, except for Xion who narrowed her eyes in response to what she saw.
The Heartless below them were uncountable and instead of an army they looked like a swirling sea of darkness. Amongst the swirling darkness Xion could make out a few flashes of silver, telling her that there were a few Nobodies in the army as well. But at the edge of the army, next to the one tree that was still standing despite the army's best effort, stood the Maestro and the cloaked boy, both of who were looking up at Xion. And she glared back down at them.
"You all remember the plan, correct?" Celestia asked the group, who all nodded in response. None of them wanted to speak at the moment, as they weren't certain if a scream would come out if they opened their mouths. "Very well. Ambassadors, time to Rainbow up. Luna, Xion, you two are with me. We will escort you to the Maestro and Roxas. Ambassadors...clear a way."
Six explosions of rainbow went off behind Xion and a moment later six streaks of rainbow soared across the sky, clearing away the dark sky with their light. The six then came to a stop over the heads of the Heartless, who all began to back away from the blinding light. Twilight gave the order and a moment later an onslaught of rainbow light bombarded the army of Heartless, decimating their ranks and banishing hundreds of them back to the shadows.
"And that's our entrance," Celestia said before she used her magic to place Xion onto her back. She then nodded to Luna and the two princesses took to the skies, flying as fast as they could straight for the Maestro and Roxas. Some of the aerial Heartless that hadn't been decimated by the rainbow light, upon feeling a keyblade wielder getting close, soared towards Celestia and Luna with every intent to rip their hearts from their chests. But before they Heartless could eve get close to the princesses, orbs of light flew from Celestia's back and blasted apart the Heartless in seconds, leaving the path clear once more.
"I didn't come this far to be stopped by the grunts. I'm here for their leader," Xion told the princess in a powerful tone as her body glowed with light. Celestia and Luna shared an amused look before they propelled themselves towards Maestro, landing in front of him on the only area of land for miles that wasn't covered in Heartless. Xion flipped off of Celestia's back and landed in her fighting stance, her actions getting the cloaked boy to summon Oblivion before he began to walk towards Xion.
"None of that now, it is not yet time to fight," Maestro told the boy, who glanced over his shoulder at the Maestro before he stopped in place. "Xion. I am so glad that you decided to make it. I thought you might run away from this like you tend to do most of your problems."
"Sticks and stones, Maestro. You know why I'm here and what I'm about to do to you," Xion promised as she pointed her keyblade at the Maestro, who chuckled at her action. "You've messed with my life for long enough and I'm not going to let you try to harm these ponies any longer. I won't let you have your way!"
"My way? Fool, have you not been paying attention. I have had my way ever since I brought you to this land," Maestro reminded Xion, who narrowed her eyes at him. "I brought you here because I wanted to see something different. Now originally I had hoped that you would unlock the Ambassador's hearts and show me what made them so immune to the darkness, but that plan didn't last long."
"However, in your desperation to deny me what I wanted you to do, you have given me a completely new avenue that, I will admit, intrigued me far more than the other path," Maestro revealed. "You have achieved a living form. You have been chosen by a true keyblade, one made up of the power of the Ambassadors and their friendship. And you have overcome most of your past and struck down the Organization members that affected you the most...aside from a few."
"I'm not going to kill Roxas, if that's what you're implying," Xion spat back. In response to her words Maestro shrugged his shoulders.
"I doubt you would. But I honestly don't know at this point. And that gets me...excited," Maestro said in an ominous voice. Before Xion could reply Celestia and Luna stepped forward, getting a sigh of frustration out of the Maestro. "You two. Let me guess, you are going to say something noble, then something about how you're going to stop me and then we will "fight". How about I skip all of that and just get to the part where I kill you both?"
A blast of shattered magic erupted from the Maestro's hands and tore across the air to Celestia and Luna, but before it could strike them Xion placed herself between it and them. With a roar she slashed at the magic with her keyblade, yet to her amazement the key didn't destroy the magic. She tilted her blade to the side and angled the magic away from the ponies, where it flew off into the sky. Xion then turned her gaze to the Maestro, glaring at him while shaking out her hands.
"Celestia. Luna. I want the two of you to assist Twilight and the others in fighting the Heartless," Xion instructed, getting Celestia and Luna to look at the girl like she was crazy.
"Xion, you cannot be serious! You cannot fight the both of them without help!" Luna told her.
"I can't fight either of them if I have to protect the both of you while fighting them," Xion snapped back. "And it won't be two on one. Maestro has made it clear how easily he could kill you two, yet he hasn't tried to kill me yet. I think he wants me to fight Roxas first, just so he can see what happens."
"Ah, some of Sombra's feeble brains have worn off on you. Yes, I am far more curious to see the outcome of your battle with the one you call Roxas than I am with watching the princesses die again," Maestro confirmed for Xion. Xion took a risk and glanced back over at the princess, whose eyes made it clear that they had no intention of leaving Xion alone.
"I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you guys to trust me," Xion said to the both of them in a far more pleading voice. "I need to do this by myself. I need to show him...and everyone else that called me a puppet, that I am not their toy for amusement. That I am my own person."
"Hmph, so you say," Maestro replied. Celestia and Luna shared a look, neither one of them liking what Xion was saying. But then the two spread their wings and ascended to the sky, giving Xion one last look to let her know that they weren't happy with her plan.
"We do not like this plan of yours, Xion. But after what you have done for us and the ponies of this land, you have earned our trust. We shall allow you to go through with this," Celestia said.
"But the moment things start to go wrong or that monster tries to cheat, then we shall descend upon him like a storm of fire and pain," Luna promised as she glared at the Maestro.
"Leave my sight before I decide to kill the both of you," Maestro snarled in reply. Xion nodded to the princesses, who flew off a few moments later. Once she was alone, Xion turned her full attention to the boy in the black cloak, knowing that he would be the first obstacle to defeating the Maestro. She also knew that he would be the hardest to overcome.
"You hero types are always the most interesting," Maestro said once the princesses were gone, yet Xion didn't dare take her eyes off of the cloaked figure that stood before her. "It is always interesting seeing how you react to certain situations. Will you have to do something you would normally never do in order to save the day? Will you damn a nation to the fire just so that you can save a single soul? Or will you stand against me in an unwavering way that I find annoying, just like that damned silver being tried to do?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Xion replied in an emotionless tone.
"I suppose you don't. That is not your fault. You didn't ask to be created. You didn't ask to be stuck in such a confusing story as you did. And you didn't ask to be brought back. But that is your flaw, Xion. You never had ambition. And that made you so easy to take advantage of. A puppet with no soul is the easiest puppet to control."
"Then that makes you a crappy puppeteer, because I didn't do anything that you wanted me to do," Xion spat back, but all her words did was get a chuckle out of the Maestro.
"I brought you back to life so that you would entertain me. And you have been a constant source of amusement this entire time. You went beyond my expectations, my dear. The only question now is how will you end this enjoyable tale? Will you become the warrior of the light, just like all of the other keyblade wielders? Will you surrender to the darkness in a vain attempt to defeat me? Or will you do something different?"
"I'm going to beat you. I'm going to save Roxas. And then I'm going to take a permanent vacation at the beach," Xion replied. Once again Maestro smirked.
"Fool. You have the heart of a hero. You will never rest. Not until you finally die. And speaking of dying, I believe that we have put this off long enough. Boy, kill her."
In a flash of movement the cloaked boy was upon Xion, who deflected his strike and retaliate with a punch to the side of the boy's head. The boy staggered back before he backflipped away from Xion. He rubbed the side of his head before taking up a fighting stance, holding his keyblade to the side while gripping it with both hands. Xion crouched down and mirrored the stance, getting the being to tilt his head at her.
"That's right. We both have the same stance. We have the same moves and we have the same style. That's because I was based off of you. That's because you and I are best friends," Xion said to the cloaked being, who gave no visible response.
"Your words will not reach him. Even if he understood what you were saying, he is far too gone," Maestro told Xion. "He has done countless terrible things under mine and the Organizations order. Struck down his friends, damned worlds to the darkness and even brought down other keyblade wielders. What makes you think you can get through to him, when nobody else could?"
"Because I'm a part of him. A piece of his heart, if you will," Xion replied, getting a chuckle out of Maestro.
"Well, you're not wrong. But you are dead. It's just a question of how long it will take you to die."