Oh look, a fast upload. For what will probably be the longest chapter in this series as well. Who woulda thunk?

Alright, this is the moment everything has been leading up to kinda. Despite that, this was actually one of the easiest chapters to write. Huh.

Even though this is the part where the actual war happens, don't think this is the end. I still have a few more events planned for this story.

And I realize that the longer I type this, the longer you have to wait to start reading this crappy fanfic, so get to it.

The Keyblade War

The War: Part 1

The word 'bloodshed' could not describe everything happening in the Barren Wasteland.

Keyblade wielders from both sides were falling left and right. Those fighting for light died while believing they were keeping the worlds safe from a greater threat. Those fighting for darkness fell knowing that they were one step closer to their ultimate goal: the X-Blade.

Among those fighting, however, were two warriors who were fighting on their own, not officially on either side, but battling harder than anyone else on that battlefield was.

Drake and Amanda stood back to back, both fully in their armor, fighting off warrior after warrior. As Drake would parry a warrior's strike and impale him with his Keyblade, Amanda would clash with another blade, then use her other hand to send a beam of light through the warrior's chest. A larger group surrounded them, and they jumped apart to cover more ground. After slaying several warriors, Drake hurled his Keyblade to Amanda, who grabbed it and used it and her own blade to fight against her opponents while Drake fought with magic. Amanda then rejoined Drake and returned his Keyblade. When they were surrounded, Drake grabbed Amanda's hand and swung her in the air around him, while she had her Keyblade extended, slashing through all the warriors around them. They were fighting like they never had before.

Warriors of darkness were falling to the ground and fading away, leaving only their Keyblades behind. Many warriors on the side of light were dying as well. Keyblades slowly began to clutter the battlefield.

As the two of them fought together, a giant pillar of land shot up from the ground, rising high into the air. Drake stabbed another dark warrior, and tried to look and see who had caused it. Though it was too high to tell, Drake knew who it was. Only one person he had met here had darkness that powerful.

Her…

Drake slashed down another warrior and quickly turned to Amanda. "She's up there! I have to take her down!"

Amanda nodded, and turned to see that the warriors of light were starting to get overpowered by the warriors of darkness. "I'm going to stay here! I know that you can take her on your own, and I'm needed down here!" Drake was about to object to leaving her alone, when she suddenly reversed her grip on her Keyblade and stabbed a man who was behind her. "I can take care of myself down here! Go!" Drake nodded, and began to run for the pillar of land. While running, he slashed down another two dark warriors who here in his way. He then transformed his Keyblade into its Rider form, and flew up the giant pillar.

. . .

On top of the pillar were several Keyblades lying on the ground, two warriors of light, and Jess. One warrior ran towards her, but she countered by stabbing him through the stomach. With her blade still in the man, she raised his Keyblade, tearing through his body up to his chest, and then pulled it out. The man then faded away, leaving behind another woman to fight. The two clashed, but Jess pushed her away and slashed her neck. As the woman fell to her knees holding her neck, Jess impaled her through the chest, and she faded away into light. Jess then heard the sound of a Rider approaching, and turned to see Drake fly up into the air, jump off his Rider, and land on the ground. He was still in his armor. Jess smirked. "So you've decided to show up."

Drake glared at her through his helmet, though he was slightly distracted. She's different from the last time I saw her. Her hair was now black, instead of the red that it usually was, and a small aura of darkness surrounded her. She's far stronger than she was before? What, was she holding back all those other times we met? Drake, however, didn't voice his concerns, instead saying in a quiet voice, "This ends now."

Jess had a serious face as she looked at Drake. "Don't have to tell me." Her empty hand began to burn with darkness, and she shot a Dark Firaga at Drake.

Drake began to charge at Jess, slashing through her Dark Firaga as he continued running. The images of Aaron's death, the images that Amanda had recounted to him, began to flash in his head. Filled with rage, Drake swung his Keyblade at her. Unfortunately, Jess expected this. She sidestepped his attack and made a strike of her own, but Drake blocked it with the armor on his arm. He turned, and the two began to clash quickly and relentlessly. In time, the two pushed each other back. Both of their Keyblades began to glow, Drake's with light, and Jess's with darkness. They both swung at the other, and a blade of light shot from Drake's Keyblade, and a blade of darkness shot from Jess's. They collided between them, and caused an explosion, pushing Drake and Jess even further apart.

Jess quickly looked over the edge of the pillar they were standing on. She saw that the warriors of light now outnumbered the warriors of darkness. She turned her head to face Drake, who was now quite a distance away from her. "This won't do. Maybe I should even the odds a little bit." With that, her left arm began to glow, and an orb of darkness appeared in her hand. She shot it down at the earth far below them, before turning her attention back to Drake, who was charging at her once again.

. . .

Amanda performed a backflip to dodge another strike, and raised her Keyblade to the air. A bolt of lightning came from the sky and struck the warrior she was fighting and killed him. Another dark warrior attacked Amanda, but she ducked under the swing. She used her empty hand to use a Blizzaga on the warrior, who was then frozen solid. Amanda then gently pushed him over, causing his body to shatter and fade away. She looked around, and felt that the warriors of light were starting to gain the advantage.

From high in the air, though, she saw a small orb of darkness shooting down. It blasted into the ground some distance away from her, and a small hole of darkness appeared where it hit. A figure coated in darkness slowly began to rise out of it, and the hole disappeared. The dark coat faded away, revealing an armored figure with glowing red eyes.

Jess's spawn.

It turned to the warriors of light that were surrounding it, and drew a Keyblade. Then as the warriors charged it, the spawn effortlessly slew every single one of them. It walked directly into the army of light, and one by one, began to destroy every warrior of light it saw.

Then a female voice pierced the air. "HEY!"

The spawn slowly turned to see the armored Amanda standing behind it. Though her face was covered with her helmet, no one needed to see it to feel the vibe of hatred she was giving off. "You owe me my best friend's life." The spawn slowly began to walk towards Amanda, slowly gaining speed. Amanda began to approach it as well. "It's time for me to collect!" The two then dashed towards each other at incredible speed.

Once they were together, Amanda immediately stabbed it through its abdomen, but this had already proven to have little effect. She pulled back as it tried to counter with a slash of its Keyblade, and extended her hand. Her Keyblade pulled itself out from its stomach and returned to her grasp. Her Keyblade began to glow, and it shot a beam of light, Amanda now knowing that the creature was vulnerable to light magic. However, it quickly evaded the beam, and punched into the ground. Pillars of darkness then began to shoot up, knocking Amanda into the air. The spawn then jumped after her, and slammed its Keyblade into her stomach, sending her flying into the around. As it fell, it prepared to stab the fallen Amanda, but she managed to roll out of the way at the last second and slashed its ankle. It fell to a knee, and Amanda blasted another beam of light. The spawn sent a beam of darkness to collide with it, and an explosion occurred. Through the smoke, the spawn charged through and caught Amanda off guard, grabbing her by the helmet. It then dragged her across the ground before hurling her into the wall of a cliff.

Amanda fell to her knees, gasping. But she couldn't take a break yet, because the spawn was charging at her again.

. . .

Jess flew back after a strike by Drake, and hit the ground hard. Drake slowly walked up to her fallen form. "Doesn't feel good to be on the receiving end, does it?" Drake lifted his arms to prepare for another strike, but in the blink of an eye, Jess raised her hand and shot a beam of darkness at Drake. It hit him directly, and it sent him flying through the air and hitting the ground hard, sliding across it for about 5 meters. As he picked himself up, he saw that half of his helmet was on the ground, shattered. Breathing deeply, he tore off the rest of his helmet and stood up.

He looked at Jess, who was standing up again. His left cheek was bleeding, and his face was covered in dust and dirt. Jess laughed mockingly. "Doesn't feel good to be on the receiving end, does it?"

Drake gave a small chuckle, and then charged at Jess once again, their Keyblades clashing together. However, he knew something was wrong. He was tired, growing weak, but she still had tons of energy left in her. He was losing. He was parried after another strike, and prepared himself for a barrage of blows from Jess.

. . .

Amanda and the spawn clashed blades again and again and again, neither one letting up on the other. It felt like there was no end to that thing's energy, while whatever power she had left was fading quickly. The two were held in a bitter clash, neither one giving up, but Amanda knew it was only a matter of time before she was finished.

The spawn harshly pushed her back and slowly walked up to her. It swung its Keyblade slowly, but with great force. She barely deflected its first swing, but the second hit her directly. The armor Amanda was wearing did little to comfort the force of the blow. Despite this, Amanda managed to stay on her feet, refusing to give in. She tried to make one, final slash, desperately hoping that it would be enough to undo the being. The spawn effortlessly parried the attack, knocking Amanda's Keyblade out of her hand. As it fell to the ground behind her, the spawn stabbed Amanda through the stomach.

Amanda gave a sharp gasp of pain, and then felt her senses slowly beginning to fade. Her legs were giving out underneath her, but it mattered little, as the blade through her stomach was forcing her to stay standing. Her armor vanished from her body, and Amanda's hair fell over her face, covering the blood that soaked it. She slowly looked at the spawn standing there, holding its Keyblade through her stomach. It gave a slight tilt of its head, almost as if it didn't understand the concept of the pain she was experiencing. Particles of light started to rise from her body, and Amanda closed her eyes. She tried and failed. It was up to Drake now, to stop both this being and Jess, but she could feel that he was weak. He would be killed. A tear fell from Amanda's eye. She had failed to save herself, and had failed to save Drake.

Just like Aaron.

Aaron.

That name was all she needed.

The particles of light stopped rising from her body, and instead, a powerful aura of light surrounded her. The spawn was clearly surprised by this turn of events, as it seemed almost paralyzed by the light she was giving off. Amanda slowly lifted her head to look the creature directly in its 'eyes'. Her hand opened, and her Keyblade returned to her grasp. She took a slow step forward, further impaling herself of the being's blade, but closing whatever gap there was between the two.

She raised her Keyblade, and pointed it directly at the creature's helmet. It gathered energy, and then shot a beam of light.

The blast pierced right through its helmet, and its body jerked back. It released its grip on the Keyblade piercing through Amanda. Particles of darkness quickly began to rise from its body, and the spawn fell backwards. It had faded away before it even hit the ground. After this, the Keyblade in Amanda's stomach turned black, and melted away into darkness.

Amanda fell to her knees, the aura of light fading away and her breathing erratic. She raised her Keyblade to try and use a cure spell, but she had used all of her magic reserves in the moment beforehand. Her armor was trashed, so she wouldn't be able to summon it for a while. All she could do was hang on to her life until she could heal herself. All of a sudden, she turned to the pillar of earth that shot up to the sky. "Drake," she muttered. She managed to pick herself up from the ground and began to stagger forward. "Drake… Drake…" She turned her Keyblade into its Rider form and, barely managing to hold on, began to fly up the pillar.

. . .

Drake was unable to pick himself up from the ground. He had already used a Cure spell previously in the fight, so his magic reserves were drained. All he could do was lie on the ground in agony as Jess stared at him. She clearly looked disappointed in him. "Is that really the best you can do? Come on, get up! I can't forge the X-Blade if you're a pathetic, slobbering mess lying on the ground!" Drake tried to stand up, but quickly fell back to the ground. Jess shook her head. "You really are worthless, aren't you? Well, if you can't give me the X-Blade, I'll just get one of those other ignorant fools down there to help me. Well, it looks like you're no longer needed."

Jess slowly began to approach the fallen Drake, when she suddenly heard the sound of a Rider approaching. From out of nowhere, Amanda landed on the pillar, standing between Jess and Drake. As Drake slowly lifted his head, he could see in her stomach what was unmistakingly a stab wound. "Amanda…"

"Stop… get your energy back…" Amanda was breathing heavily, clearly on the verge of death, yet still holding on. "I'll protect you… I promise…" Amanda slowly turned to face Jess, who was smirking.

"So," Jess said, "it's some girl who can barely stand, and a guy who can't even do that, against me. This is almost unfair." Her smirk turned into a smile. "Oh well, this can't hurt your odds any more than they already are." She opened the palm of her hand, but nothing came out. She shook her arm, but nothing was happening.

Amanda gave a cocky smirk. "What's wrong…? Not getting… any backup?"

Jess looked once again at Amanda. "So you took it down, huh? I'm genuinely impressed. Don't think that helps you in any way, though." Jess dashed at Amanda and went on the offensive, with Amanda barely able to keep up with her strikes.

Drake wiped some blood off of his face, and pressed his hands on the ground under his body. Slowly, he began to push himself off the ground, managing to get to his hands and knees.

Amanda gave a desperate slash at Jess, but the dark warrior caught her blade in midswing, gazing at Amanda. "I sincerely hope that isn't the best you have to offer. If so, then killing you will be doing those light guys a favor!" Jess then gave a devastating backhand to Amanda's face, and struck her in the stomach with the hilt of her Keyblade, hitting right where her stab wound was. Amanda gasped, and fell to her knees.

Drake managed to get himself on his feet, though his legs were shaking. He took a step forward, but his legs then gave out, and he fell to one knee.

Jess suddenly vanished into thin air. Amanda looked around to try and find her, but suddenly found her self unable to breathe. Jess had reappeared behind Amanda, and now had a firm grip on her neck. She slowly began to lift Amanda off the ground.

Drake had finally summoned the strength to stand on his own two legs, partially motivated by the sight of watching his only remaining friend being slowly killed. He drew his Keyblade, but still didn't have the strength to use a ranged attack. All he could do was stumble forward. "No…" His stumble slowly turned into a walk. "Let her go…"

Amanda's breathing was starting to slow down, when Jess slightly loosened her grip. Amanda managed to get in a sharp breath of air when she heard Jess softly speak to her. "Enjoy it. That will be your last."

Drake was very slowly gaining his strength back, and now was beginning to increase his speed, when he heard the sound of a Keyblade being drawn. Jess's Keyblade. He quickly raised his hand and stretched it out, hoping in vain that it would do anything.

"AMANDA!"

Then Drake watched as Jess's Keyblade shot into Amanda's chest, right through her heart.

At that moment, there was nothing else. Jess seemingly vanished, and the sounds of the ongoing battle below them faded away. There was only Drake and Amanda, who now had particles of light rising from her body. She slowly turned her head to look at Drake, who seemed frozen. He wanted to run forward and hold her, but every muscle in his body refused to obey him, like he was in shock. Drake saw Amanda say something directed to him, but he couldn't make out what it was.

Drake could only watch as Amanda, the only loved one he had left, turned a bright white and faded away, and her Keyblade fell to the ground.

The sound of Jess's voice snapped him back to the real world. "Looks like I'm 2 for 2." She smiled evilly. "How about I make it 3 for 3?"

Tears were falling down Drake's face, but his fists were clenched extremely tightly. A powerful aura of light took over his body, outmatching the one that Jess had around herself at the moment. All the sadness and pain he had felt, had transformed into rage. He felt strength pour into his body like he had never felt before. Letting out a piercing cry, Drake zoomed in on Jess at a speed that managed to catch her off guard. The ensuing strike sent her flying across the pillar, nearly over the edge. Jess barely managed to get back on her feet before Drake was on her again. Their blades clashed again and again, each strike faster and more powerful than the last. Drake could see Jess mouthing the word "Perfect" during one of their clashes.

Finally, the two of them pushed each other back, and charged at each other. The ensuing clash was stronger than any one beforehand.

That was the moment where their powers were equal.

A giant beam of energy shot down from where they had clashed, knocking the two of them to opposite ends of the pillar. Both of them dropped their Keyblades, and stared at the red blast of pure power shooting up to the sky. After about a minute, the energy vanished, and the two of them saw a weapon stabbed into the ground.

It appeared to be made of two Kingdom Keys crossing over each other, their handles fused into one large handle. From between the crossed blades shot out one larger, bright gold blade. From the look on Jess's face, and the unique appearance of the weapon, Drake knew it could only be one thing.

The X-Blade.

Both Drake and Jess immediately stood up and began to run for the weapon. Though Drake had no interest in the power it held, he knew that he could NOT let Jess get her hands on that weapon. If she did, the war would end, and no one would be able to stop her. Both leapt as hard as they could, hoping to get there before the other.

Jess's hand closed around the handle of the X-Blade a millisecond before Drake reached it. That was all she needed. She yanked it out of the ground, rolled, and stood up once again, holding the most powerful weapon in existence in her hands. Drake stood up as well, quickly drawing his Keyblade in an attempt to stop her. However, Drake saw the aura of darkness around her body grow immensely, and turn from black to orange. Her golden eyes now seemed to be glowing. Drake knew it was over.

Jess let out a powerful laugh, and raised the X-Blade to the sky. "Now…. let's finish this!" An orange beam shot up to the sky, and shockwaves of energy began to shoot in all directions. Drake raised his arms in front of his eyes as a bright light covered his vision.

Remember when this story was funny?

Anyway, there's still gonna be at least two more chapters to this story, so it's almost done.

Thank God.

So review, tell me how this sucked, and what didn't suck, and how to make it suck less. It'd be appreciated.

Also, thanks to all of the people who have reviewed my story so far.

baylaust out.