Chapter 1 - Arrival
Soul spat blood as he stood back up, the red liquid hitting the pavement only to be washed away almost immediately by the pouring rain. Around him were what looked to be hundreds of Heartless, all of them false copies of his friend, Black Star. The young ninja had gone missing a few days before, leaving behind his Weapon Partner, Tsubaki. Soul feared the worst, but refused to give up hope. The Heartless had the same basic body type of Black Star, but their faces and hair were all black, with beady yellow eyes glowing maliciously. Their clothes were the same style as the young ninja, but the coloring was off; mostly blacks and blues. Lastly, the Heartless symbol was on each of their shoulders, rather than Black Star's trademark star tattoo.
"Come on then," Soul said, taking a glance back at the unconscious and bloodied blonde behind him, her back resting against the red brick wall that blocked their escape. She had fought hard, but had eventually been overwhelmed. Only Soul's quick thinking and quicker feet had gotten them this far, but now they were stuck. Dead end.
"Don't worry, Maka," he thought as the madness, as well as the Black Blood, began to take its effect on him, "they aren't going to get anywhere near you as long as I'm still breathing." Turning his attention back to the situation at hand, Soul watched as one of the Heartless lunged at him, aiming to spear him in the gut. Soul lifted a foot and caught the creature before it could get any closer, smiling maniacally as the scythe blade shot out from his heel and impaled the monster. It struggled for a moment before dissipated in a cloud of black smoke. As he brought his foot back down to the ground, two more Heartless grabbed his arms and pulled them back, trying to knock him prone, only to be decapitated as scythe blades shot from his shoulder blades. As they disappeared, one got past him and went after Soul's downed partner only to be caught by the throat with a swift motion from the Weapon. Soul glared at it angrily before his fingers became tiny scythe blades that sliced into its flesh, destroying it.
The battle went on like this for what seemed like hours, and though Soul was strong and fueled by the Black Blood, he couldn't hold them off forever. Eventually he began to fatigue, and soon he was caught by one, then two, then three, and more and more until he was buried under a veritable mountain of Heartless. As he began to lose conciousness, he heard a familiar voice and smiled.
"Aero!" Wind began to howl amongst the buildings. Nothing really happened at first but, as the spell gained power and the wind picked up strength, Heartless began to fly off of the white haired Weapon, slamming into walls or into the ground and making them burst into clouds of black smoke. When he could move again, Soul dropped to his knees over his Meister, shielding her unconscious form from the wind as best he could. When the spell ended, he was alone save for a few familiar faces.
"Are you all right, Soul?" asked Goofy, the shield on his arm flashing and disappearing; his Weapon form returning to normal. Donald walked behind him, the end of his staff glowing softly as his spell faded. Sora and Riku hung back, the latter trying and failing to summon his Keyblade while the former looked around as if he were searching for someone.
"Yeah," replied Soul, lifting Maka off the ground, "but I'm lucky you guys showed up when you did. We've been fighting all day; not even Shibusen is safe anymore. In fact, the only place that is safe is a small oasis out in the desert. Kid is there now, trying to keep the Heartless away from the people of the city. That's where we were going, actually." Meanwhile, Riku gave his friend a panicked look.
"Sora...I can't summon my Keyblade. What's going on?"
"As soon as I find mine, I'll show you," the younger boy answered, still distracted. Both turned as a new voice called out from behind them.
"You won't find Light, Sora," the voice said, revealed to be coming from a black haired girl wearing a denim jacket. Sora recognized her immediately.
"Oblivion! What do you mean I won't find her?"
"Well, when you guys entered the world, she appeared in an...unsavory place. Long story short, she was captured, and since I seem to have appeared as well, I'm obligated to help you out. Oh, and Riku?"
"Yeah?" asked the silver haired boy, arms crossed.
"Allow me to introduce you to someone." From around the girl emerged a young man. He was around Riku's height, and had the same haircut. He wore regular street clothes; a white tee-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and red tennis shoes. Really, the only thing strange about him was that his eyes were an electric blue color with cats pupils instead of the normal round ones one would expect. Along with this was a pair of wings on his back, one an angels and one a demons. He looked bored and had a pair of earbuds in his ears. He flicked his eyes up to Riku with a blank look.
"Sup. I'm Dusk, your Keyblade."
Meanwhile...
Light sat in a dimly lit room, her slender arms held up with chains, and her eyes were fixed in a blank stare at the floor. She was doing her best to show absolutely no emotion. Next to her was a boy she recognized; Black Star. He was unconscious and there was a small trickle of blood coming from somewhere beyond his hairline. Directly ahead of her was a large bed, fit for a queen, and upon it were a black haired woman that she had learned was called Arachne, and sitting with his head in her lap was the Kishin himself. Kneeling before them was a pure black entity.
"Riku," Arachne said quietly, "how is your plan coming along?"
"Exactly. Better than planned, actually," it said, it's voice a dark, raspy mockery of the original source. It stood and turned, taking a few steps toward Light and gripping her chin with a shadowy hand and pulling her eyes up to meet his despite her struggling.
"Who would have thought that the Keyblade would simply drop into our laps? Her form will make a fine addition to the ranks of my army," he said, the smirk on his face more audible than visible as he dropped her face with a little toss. Reaching into a shadow on the wall, the Heartless Riku produced a small Shadow Heartless. It struggled for freedom but was no match for the larger ones superior strength. With a curt turn he knelt again, holding the pathetic creature up to Asura and Arachne.
"Kishin Lord! Change this pathetic thing into something useful!" he cried, and was answered with a blood-curdling scream. The madness pierced through the Shadow, changing it until it became a crude copy of Black Star. It was akin to the others, but this one lacked an emblem, and instead had a star on the shoulder. The Heartless Riku dropped it and sneered.
"Good enough."
