Hi! I'm finally back to writing after a 5- fuggin-month break! Whew.
I'd love to kill my writer's block, but hey, I can't blame it. Everyone has it once in a while.
Several things to know before I start:
1. This is a short introduction. I'm going to try for a third fic, Duelist.
2. My other fic is currently on hiatus, because cleaning that thing up is going to take a long time.
3. The mechanics of this story:
Travel by Corridor of Darkness takes at most 5 minutes. By Gummiship, the longest it takes is three hours, assuming that there are no enemies that interrupt the travel. Using a glider takes about as much time, and using the star shard takes about a minute to travel from one world to another, regardless of destination (I'm assuming that the star shard acts based on a teleport mechanic.
Combat is going to be a little different. Most enemies do not suffer cuts/bruises. They are made out of essence (well, how the heck am I going to make combos connect ?) Essence is basically flesh, blood, and bone into one. Whenever someone takes a hit, they bleed their essence away. When characters with essence die, they disappear (characters made out of essence are either nobodies or heartless. Y'know, DEAD stuff.) Characters without essence (Sora, Riku, anyone that's living) bleeds and dies normally.
Also, while I don't like crossovers, elements from other stories will occasionally pop into the story. Here, I'll give you a preview:
Riku pointed his Keyblade randomly, jabbing into empty space now and then, like a blind man trying to get a feel for his surroundings. After a while, he found a spot that seems to satisfy him. He thrust the Keyblade into that spot, and turned the weapon.
Bright light shines, and a Keyhole in the air appeared, and through it, he can see...
Better stop before I get too far, but kudos to you if you recognize where it came from.
Also, reminder: Sora will NOT be the main character here. Although he does get side stories... because he's just that important.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, or any of the elements from another series that I decide to incoporate into this story. If I did own Kingdom Hearts, then I'd order my staff to make a movie out of it.
Chap 1: Sunset Again
You can't have a light without a dark to stick it in. ~Arlo Guthrie
Darkness rising...
She awoke to the sound of the waves rippling in the Dark Ocean.
Aqua groaned. Her black and blue, high-collared halter top no longer felt comfortable; she felt like her ribs are being squeezed in. Her black shorts and leggings felt stiff, and for a moment she thought that she was paralyzed. However, as the chills kicked in, she realized that they were almost frozen solid.
Muttering softly, she managed to move her frozen fingers enough to cast a full-bodied fire spell. As the last of the ice fell off, she wondered how long was she asleep.
Time held no meaning in the Dark Meridian. She could have been asleep for a second or an eternity, and still wake up feeling like she slept for a solid nine hours. This made sleeping quite dangerous - sleep too long, and if the freezing cold doesn't kill you, the Heartless, randomly popping out, might devour your heart. But she didn't have a choice- she was trapped, unable to leave the darkness, and-
She was snapped out of her reverie by the voice of her companion. "Welcome back to the land of living."
She stared at the hooded face. She can just make out the outline of a neatly-trimmed blonde goatee, before the moonlight shifted, extinguishing what little light remains inside the hood, plunging his face into darkness. "Nice to see you too, Ansem."
Like herself, Ansem was trapped in the Realm. Attempting to transform Kingdom Hearts into data form, the machine that he used overworked itself and exploded, throwing himself into the Realm of Darkness. He wandered about for a while, luckily avoiding the swarms of Heartless that swept itself over the Dark Meridian over and over again. Eventually, he came to this spot in the Meridian, and he settled down there.
Aqua hadn't met him until recently. She had been wandering about the Dark Realm, thrown into it eleven years ago. She managed to find a safe spot, in which she settled in for nine years, using her magic to sustain herself via deep hibernation. The heartless did not disturb her... until her ninth year, where she was awoken due to her body sensing another Keyblade Wielder nearby.
She started searching for him or her, glad to find another companion stuck in the realm with her- and possibly with the power to get herself out. Unfortunately, after two months of fruitless searching, she sensed that the man/woman she was looking for disappeared into the heartless breeding ground, where Heartless spawns from in the realm. She mourned, realizing that even she, whom managed to defeat Xehanort himself, could not have possibly survived in the valley.
She started wandering again, and finally settled down in the Dark Meridian.
She smiled, a half-bent smile that could best be described as sardonic. She was quite certain that her magic was quite unparalleled in this universe. And yet she could do nothing but observe her partner approaching the dark water's edge.
He bent down, pulled his hood up, and started drinking from the dark water. While in the Dark Meridian, he explain, the water sustains you, giving you no need for food and keeping you alive at the same time. He found that out the first time that he was here, and that was as unpleasant - or even worse, due to lack of human companionship.
He took another deep gulp, then motioned for his friend to follow him down to the water's edge. Feeling the hunger in her own guts, Aqua complied...
A strong pulse of darkness shook her to the very core. Ansem spat, then choked on the water he was drinking.
Aqua scanned the perimeter of their area. Surely the Heartless couldn't have invaded... but the pulse she felt was far, far too strong to be created by any Heartless. In fact, the only one that...
She saw shadowy movements at the corner of her eyes. Acting upon instinct, she struck out at her assailant with her magic, throwing a fireball at it. The fireball soared wide, and the creature raised a burly fist, ready to smash her head in. With unerring grace, she cartwheeled away, and the creature stumbled, unable to recover its balance. She drew her Keyblade, and quickly slashed at it once, twice, then a stronger slash to finish her combo. The creature fell, its essences quickly burning up in purple flames.
Despite her short victory, she still felt scared. She recognized what it was...
"Help!"
Her companion's cry jolted her back to her senses. Ansem is surrounded by three wiry purple creatures, surrounding him like a wolf pack closing in for the kill. One of the braver ones swiped at the man. Ansem jumped back, the pointed edge missing him by a short centimeter. He stumbled, lost his balance, then fell. The circle grew tighter as each of the mysterious creatures began to move in for the kill...
"Ansem!"
Far too wise to waste time, she ran, leapt, and landed in the middle of the circle. The creatures struck. She held up her arms and cast a quick spell, trusting her impeccable timing to save them from a grisly death. Not a second too soon, a sphere of hexagonal panels of light blossomed around the duo. The attacking creatures collided head on with the sphere. The seemingly fragile shield held, and convulsed; then the shield pulsed, sending out a seemingly- weak spray of light.
However, when the spray collided with the aggressors, they were lifted off their feet and knocked back far away.
Ansem pushed himself off the ground into a kneeling position. "Here..." he heaved, exhausted, "..I was... thinking ... that... you... could've been... better than that."
Aqua heaved a breath. "It's been a while since I fought."
Her companion stared at the rapidly disappearing remains of his assailants. "What are those creatures? They are no Heartless nor Nobody!"
"Old man... I don't even want to think about how they are here." Aqua scanned the perimeter for more hostiles.
"Then what are they?"
"They are..."
People dying...
Purplish shadows were moving across the ground.
The old man didn't notice. He was too busy to notice.
He wore thick blue robes, reaching down all the way to obscure his feet. He was tall, and although the thick robes made him look large, he was actually rather spindly beneath them. He wore a thick, pointy wizard's hat, adorned with silver stars. Once he was asked why did he bother to wear the many thick fabric. He answered that where he lived, it was freezing.
He simply didn't expect it to be this cold.
The man was frozen in place- arms and limbs covered in a dusty mote of ice that restricted his movement greatly. His face remains mostly untouched, and he can feel something in his fingers, but the rest of his body has gone numb. He tried to focus. Along with the rest of his body, he can feel the numbing cold in his brain, leaving little room to think of a plan, a spell, anything, to help him escape from this predicament. He tried to focus his attention on his captor, fiery black pupils never leaving his face.
A grunt of laughter escaped his captor's lips. Internally, the old man snarled.
"Pfft... which idiot named this guy a master?" The voice was cynical and deep, the voice of someone at the edge of madness but not quite there yet.
His captor wore purplish armor covering his whole body. However, instead of steel-hard immobile protection, the armor looked organic - fleshy strips of fabric that covered everything from his shoulders to his shoes. A black symbol is emblazoned on his chest- however, the old man's eyes are focused on his younger captor's face - which he can see nothing of, save two scornful orbs staring back at him.
His captor held up his right arm. Transparent shadows swirled around it. Instead of black, however, they shadows are colored a sick, chaotic shade of purple, and are more reminiscent of fleshy tentacles than wispy ethereal projections.
"I really should finish this right here and right now..."
The shadows wrapped around a shaft of invisible thin air, moving horizontally, forming a pointed, spiky, tip. The shadows no longer look transparent, instead, they seem to hold something inside them - then abruptly, they dissipated, and the old man's captor held a Keyblade in his hands. The teeth and head are black with a red outline and possesses a round, cog-like shape. The handle is red and the guard has the same coloration and cog-like shape as the teeth. The shaft is predominantly colored in shades of grey and sports a copper-colored gear in the center, with two intersecting, black chains wrapped around it. Two more chains are wrapped around the base of the shaft in a similar fashion. And it has two, blue reptilian eyes- eyes that twitched back and forth, as if it is still alive.
His captor drew his weapon back, and slashed.
Expecting death, the old man muttered a quick prayer.
He was surprised when the weapon chopped into the ice covering his cheek with a small tinkling noise, as if the man simply tapped a spoon against his cheek- a razor sharp spoon.
"But I find torturing you much, much, more satisfying."
The old man's captor laughed manically. The old man had enough. He had found out what he was after - right now, he needed to escape and tell the Keyblade Masters about this man's return. He channeled what little magical energy - or mana, as youngsters these days call it - into his body. The ice on his shoulder cracked. His captor froze. "What -" but that was all he got out before the old man engulfed himself with grand, crimson flames that reached the dark inky sky.
"You... do not... ever... underestimate... me." spoke the old man through gritted teeth.
The younger man simply shrugged. "I suppose I'll torture someone else later..."
He disappeared.
The old man stared, then spun round, looking for his assailant. Incredible speed...
"Over here." Two monotone words with great- and alarming- meaning.
He looked up.
And he saw the blade of a Keyblade swinging down at him from the skies, a black blur growing ever larger...
He stepped back in time, and the deadly weapon missed its mark by inches, cracking the floor. The younger man swore, then quickly brought his blade up in a quick combination of an uppercut and a stab, aiming for his throat. The elder man simply stepped back, and his head hit a wall, trapping him in a corner. He cursed. He broke the single rule of combat:
"Never panic. Feh, and I thought THAT was basic," said the younger man, slashing at the elder one horizontally. He stared for a while, then turned back and ducked, narrowly dodging a fireball burned straight through the wall behind him. He growled.
"Right, playtime's over..."
He sank into the ground. The old man's eyes widened, and he quickly jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a powerful uppercut that followed his captor's re-emergence from the ground, and put up a golden shield of light- just in time, as his captor dashed towards him and slashed down. The shield resisted, then broke into golden pieces of light, but not before giving its conjurer a chance to escape. The elder man pointed at the golden shards, which hurled themselves towards the man in the purple armor... before he disappeared again with a blur, only to reappear in front of the old man. Before he can react, the figure punched the man in the guts with enough force to lift him off his feet and land several meters away. The elder man doubled over.
"Your only weapon's magic, eh?" growled his captor. "Let's see you fight without them..."
Confused, the elder man looked down on his stomach. Dark, purple flames burns on them, and though he felt no pain, he can feel his magic locked out. He was helpless. He doubled over. A few decades ago, all he needed to beat this youngster is to snap his fingers. Age, he reflected, really does have an effect on himself.
But it can't end here...
After all, who else can unlock the powers of the Keyblade? While the King is stronger than he is, he does not have the necessary knowledge to unlock the true potential of the Keyblade... his fingers grazed the burning purple mark on his chest. He needed to at the very least transfer what remains of his knowledge to the three Keyblade wielders. He looked back to his manic captor.
But how can he, when his magic is gone and diminished, and he has no more tricks up his sleeve?
He had to try. As his captor thrust his weapon forwards, he didn't dodge it.
The blade struck him straight through the chest, going through the burning symbol. Pain filled him, pain that he had never felt before, pain that he didn't even know was possible. Miraculously, however, he managed to keep a level head despite of the pain, and he can tell that the seal is somehow removed, and he is free to re-use magic again.
As stars danced around the edge of his vision, and his soul struggling to float out of a deep, dark abyss that seeks to imprison him forever, he crafted his final spell...
The younger man removed the blade with a sickening squelch. Any moment now, he was going to strike again...
The elder man started to panic. He stopped caring about his life - his sole purpose in the seconds remaining to him is to finish this last piece of magic, and he is running out of time. Desperately, he tried to hasten the process, trusting his almost-habitual magic casting to take care of all the flaws in his work.
The man drew his arm back...
He was truly panicking now. He was that close to finishing the spell...
The younger man struck first, a horizontal slash that tore the body through the waist, cutting through sinew and bone. Faster than lightning, he managed two more slashes that struck the now-detached upper body, effectively mutilating the arms off. He slammed his weapon into the ground, creating a dark shockwave that ripped through the lower part of the decapitated body, tearing it into shreds.
He stepped back, surveying the mutilated body, before flashing a slight grin. He loved the smell of blood in the morning.
"There's no way you'll come back from that..."
The air behind the man rippled. Inky darkness flared out, forming a Corridor of Darkness. The man stepped back. He was finished.
He did not notice the three glowing orbs that rose from the mutilated remains of the master of magic, that flew away into the stars...
Cheers!
I'll update around next week or so, but it will be shorter than this, because of school and meh.
So, whaddya think? I made it dark... hmm... should I change the rating to M? It IS a little gory... but nothing compared to the other fics I've read. Tell me if I should upgrade the rating or not.
The first person to spot who is the (painfully obvious) duo that fought in the second part... hmm... well, I dunno what I would give you. But the first person who found out what are the glowing orbs of light are for gets to pick a power for Riku to use! Nothing overrated, please.
I'll be out till next week. By then, I hope we get to where the real adventure begins.
Kila, signing out!