I come from a world that was touched by the Keyblade.
Originally, we held little in the ways of mystical arts. Things like magic, telepathy, reality distortion…they were believed in, but only in pockets. Our technology did what it could, but we had many limitations.
But then one day, the world shook.
We never figured out what it was. Was it in response to a great need? Was it because the human race had lasted long enough? Or perhaps someone finally succeeded in performing some sort of distorting ritual that changed the fabric of our reality? We never learned what caused it. But one day, the Keyblade appeared. At first, it was rare. It appeared in the hands of certain beings, during times of immense emotional duress. A need to survive, a need to continue.
But over time, more and more people began receiving it. Eventually, our way of combat, of contact, changed. Our way of life was distorted. Through the Keyblade, the manifested Light of the Heart, magic was now capable. The elements were bent by the will. People studied the Keyblade, how it worked, how it altered the reality around its wielder. They didn't get many answers, but it didn't matter.
As if its appearance was a catalyst, the world changed further. People were finding themselves exhibiting powers beyond the norm. Abilities that made them stronger than the average person. Finding skills to bend fire, breath earth, fly in water, make solid the air…impossibilities. But they became real. Our reality was shattered, our way of life changed. There was more convenience now. But there was also more strife.
Soon, people wished to control the Keyblade. Those without it became jealous, fearful, angry. Some wanted it, some wanted it gone, others simply didn't care either way.
And then the Wars started.
As the Keyblade became more and more commonplace, theft, assassination, battle, occurred more than ever before. Soon, hatred, fear, greed, desperation, desire, envy...love…all of these feelings became prevalent in the world. And the Keyblade fed off of them. More and more people were given the Keyblade. To the point where life was falling apart. Fathers, jealous of the power, raping daughters in a sick attempt to tarnish their souls, banish that Keyblade, for if they couldn't have it then nobody could. Mothers suffocating sons upon the Keyblade manifesting, out of fear that their child would be persecuted and hunted. Better for their child to be dead at their own hands, than at the hands of some stranger, was the thought.
Children killing adults, adults killing children, children killing children…be it for power, for greed, for their lives…it didn't matter. Death and destruction was commonplace. It was simple to step outside a building and see glittering crystals fluttering through the air, as the freshly removed Hearts of the slain were expelled. It was common, to see someone tap their Keyblade against a door, the door swing open, screams to come from houses, and that person walk out, arms full of valuables.
And it was just as common to see many, protecting groups of others, some with Keyblades, some without. Entire buildings covered in seals, magical barriers, defensive turrets, powerful arrays, created to protect those who had been displaced by the wars. Conventional weaponry quickly became useless. The Keyblade allowed the bending of the fabric of reality, bullets alone would not stop a wielder. Wounds could be healed in seconds, death itself could be defied by a wielder. The only things that could stand up to Keyblade wielders were powerful mages, specifically created blades, and other Keyblade wielders.
The world fell to anarchy and chaos. And during that time, I met my three most cherished people. They all had Keyblades, but they all met me long before theirs awoke. They were my most important people, the only people in the world I could count on, especially since my own powers were not as strong. I had no Keyblade, and my own element was weak. I watched them die, one by one, to other Keyblade wielders. I watched them die, one by one, protecting the rest of us.
I watched them all die, leaving me alone.
But I wasn't alone for long. Not long after my Apprentice perished…the world collapsed.
And when I woke up, it was to some asshole sticking his arm through my chest.
Kingdom Hearts Re: Order
Chapter X: Comprehension
They all sat, horrified. Kairi was openly sobbing into Sora's chest, with Naminé being comforted by Roxas. The reason for that, being that as he spoke, they saw images related to his tale, felt the emotions he felt during those moments.
"I'm…sorry I asked…" Tifa said. She was the one to pose the question asking who the hell he was, what his deal was.
"You aren't…sad at all?" Cloud asked, barely breaking his monotone. Seth responded by pointing with both hands, to Kairi and Naminé.
"See those two?" Cloud glanced at them. "Naminé's gotten every bit of info Red has. And Red's still linked to me. I'm so messed up by it all that I barely even notice it anymore. Them though? I dunno about the Wave but I know Red's getting stuff I can't hold back. It's been a long time since I bothered crying. Figure, at least it's going somewhere. Thanks for that by the way, Red."
She just kept sobbing but nodded, waving her hand at him in a shooing motion. He understood what she was trying to say.
"Why is that, by the way?" Aerith asked, not sure if she should be helping Sora comfort the redhead.
"Said asshole was the remains of Xemnas, who Sora and Riku defeated but epically failed to erase. I was apparently in some dark corridor in some kind of coma – don't ask, I don't know how or why – and he decided that he was going to hijack my unconscious body and use it as his own. Well, he did, but I was able to follow him, where I tried to jump him and get my body back, but Red over there had nailed him with a very delicious dropkick and knocked him out of the way."
Many were blinking at how he described it, while Kairi gave a sharp laugh through her tears.
"So there I was thinking I'd get my body back and instead I'm finding myself in control of a very tightly wound redhead with nice perky tits and a pert ass that I'm going to kick if she keeps trying to mentally glare my head off." He stated, turning his gaze upon Kairi, who was now clutching Sora very tightly. She pulled away from the brunette and growled.
"One of these days Seth…"
And then suddenly She, Naminé and Seth all spoke at the same time. "Bang! Zoom! Straight to Not-Spain!"
Kairi just sighed, at Naminé's giggle and Seth's shit-eating grin. She shook her head, blushing slightly.
"I know what you know. You know that I know what you know. And I know that you know that I know what you know. You're a hundred years too early to be trying to out-predict me, Red. Even if you've got some of my head in yours."
"Anyway." He continued, as if the last exchange never happened. "After kicking him around a bit cause even with a sudden pair of tits to deal with I still know my way around in a scrap and Mansex wasn't expecting Kairi to suddenly know how to kick ass, I managed to kick him out of my body, and put me back in it. Side effect is, because my heart and her heart shared the same conceptual space, we were pretty much one person for a little while. And when we split back into two, because our hearts once shared frequencies, we have been forever linked."
"Conceptual…space?" Yuffie muttered.
"A literal 'space' of 'concept'. Think of it as…the 'location' where everything that makes 'Yuffie Kisaragi' exist, resides. Every single thing that makes you, you, is contained in that spot. The very idea of your existence."
She blinked. And then nodded. "I…think I get it now. So because your hearts were in the same imaginary spot, you two are linked?"
Seth nodded. "Exactly. The connection is through our hearts, and not our minds, so it's not like we can share thoughts or something. Or she'd probably never stop blushing."
Kairi sighed. "Yeah, probably."
"What does that do? I mean, what does it mean?" Tifa pressed.
"We can sense when the other is near. If one of us, - mostly me right now – is feeling a particularly powerful emotion or bout of will, our hearts will start racing, the closer proximity to one another we are. To the point where, if our wills are at odds, or in any sense, clashing, you'll be able to tell by these weird red lines coming from our hearts, following our veins. Whomever's will is stronger, will begin subverting the other's. Meaning say I'm focused on something, and Red isn't, and Red's instinctively trying to fight my will, she'll start feeling weaker and tired. As she as a concept gets stronger, that weakness will become lesser and lesser, until she's able to stand it without any adverse effects."
Kairi nodded. "It was really annoying at first, because if he was nearby, and doing anything other than being relaxed, I'd…barely be able to do much of anything. But I've gotten stronger since then, so now it's less of a reaction."
"Also, because of this connection, if we touch in some way, and one of us has the will to, our hearts will start beating as one. In that synchronized state, we can exchange information without needing words. Kairi's used this to glean things about me that would have taken forever to explain, as well as learn some instincts and battle tactics. And I've used it to learn things I needed to know about her, and the Keyblade that I didn't before."
"And Riku still thinks it's just an excuse to feel me up." Kairi huffed.
"Pfft, as if I need an excuse to do that."
Kairi rolled his eyes, knowing what he meant. But to avoid any awkward questions, she continued on.
"The downsides are, whoever's got the stronger overall will, starts implanting some of their personal traits onto the other. To the point where if one side forever dominates, the other will become an essential copy of that person. Thankfully…Seth is a wonderful Master." Kairi spoke with a bit of…something in her voice. Before she blinked rapidly.
"…wait what?"
Even Seth was looking at her funny.
"…dafuq'd that come from?"
Kairi blinked again. "I…I don't know! It just…came out! I was just thinking that I was lucky that you naturally aren't the domineering type and I just…wanted you to know what a kind and sweet Master you are." She explained, again vocal tone turning slightly higher pitched with an almost…longing waiver to it. Her cheeks flushed as she realized it happened again.
Leon stared and then turned a glare to Seth. "What are you doing?!"
"Fuck off! It's not me! I can't do that to her! That's not how it works! It's a bleed-off thing. She gets vague traits of mine, bled into her own. It's gradual, and only picks up if I'm pushing but even then. The way it changes a person is to bring them around to that person's way of thinking and living. She's gotten a bunch of what I know and felt, and she's definitely started exhibiting some of my traits and tics but that isn't something from me!"
Kairi shook her head. "Ok…this is completely not relevant to anything anymore. Can we move on?"
"Gladly."
"What do you know about what happened Yesterday? With that…Ansem…clone…thing." Yuffie asked.
"Ahh…yeah…yeah that's kinda big. And also a problem. And to answer your question, a bit, but not enough."
He wiggled a bit to adjust his position on the wall. Miri looked up at him. "I'm fine Miri, just had to shift a bit." She nodded.
"Anyway. That…ok…As I said, that thing was something that was impossible."
"Why?!" Leon spat.
"Because that thing was a Gaia Memory, and it shouldn't have existed."
"Why shouldn't it if you know about it?!"
"Because I only made thirteen of those fuckers and that wasn't one of them."
That shut Leon up. "…what?"
"Ok, let me break it down for you. A Gaia Memory is a small device that contains every scrap of information on a concept. Life, Death, Love, Hate, Time, Sweets, Space, Food, Weather…anything you can think of, a Gaia Memory, if it existed, would contain every piece of knowledge about that. Even shit nobody knows or remembers. Because it's literally a mechanized condensation of a Planet's Memory of what was once upon its surface."
"Sounds like a Materia." Aerith spoke.
"Kinda, but different in that Materia is naturally growing from excess energy condensed into crystals. A Gaia Memory requires a human hand to create. Plus, there are restrictions in using it, unlike Materia. A Gaia Memory requires a certain Synchronicity level between the Memory, and the person who's trying to use it. The stronger the level, the more power can be drawn out from the Memory. However, usually in order to use a Gaia Memory, you have to use a special device to basically tattoo an installation port upon the body. And even then, it only allows connectivity with that particular memory. It's possible to use a Gaia Memory without that connector port, but doing so has an extremely high chance of injury."
"Then why-
Seth cut Leon off.
"Let me finish. There's a second class of Gaia Memory that exists. And this is what I think that…and something I found on Wonderland was. This second class allows the use of a Gaia Memory without a port, because it only activates for the person that has a one-hundred percent Synchro rating with it. It then makes a temporary port."
"What happened to the ones you made then?"
"Ino."
"Yes?"
"No. I mean Ino is what happened."
That caused everyone to pause.
"…Wait…but…" Roxas tried to figure it out.
"I'll make this brief. Ino was once known as Xion, the Fourteenth member of Organization Thirteen. You all remember them, right?"
"Fourteenth?!" Sora yelped.
"Yes, but she wasn't normal. Ok, lemme rephrase that. She was even more abnormal than Roxas or Naminé."
"…ouch…" Naminé muttered.
"Sorry Wave."
"No…no it's the truth…"
"Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. But I'll move on for now."
"Thank you." She said softly.
"Xion wasn't 'born' or 'made' the way a Nobody normally is. She was created as a clone. A clone of Roxas, who is Sora's nobody. Mansex, also known as Xemnas, decided he wanted to have backups of backups, and created Xion to leech off of Roxas' existence until only Xion remained. But what he didn't count on was Xion forming ties with Roxas and later Axel, that forced her to grow into an actual person, with will and drive and desires of her own. She learned her continued existence would be the end of Roxas, which would then be the end of Sora, so she went and forced Roxas into a battle that she lost, and died in. The cost was all knowledge of her existence being wiped."
Ino bowed her head, tearing up.
"Everyone, even the worlds forgot about her. But…there was one thing that changed. She forged herself a heart. It was small, it was weak, but it was there. Her memories remained, her will remained, her existence remained. So as she returned to Sora's heart, she ended up creating her own space within it, buried deep down, to a point that not even Roxas could reach, after he'd returned to Sora."
"…wait." Ino spoke, tears stopping suddenly. "…why…why do I get the feeling you're about to tell me something crazy?"
Seth grinned. "Cause I probably am."
She whirled around. "You figured out how you met me?!" She said frantically.
"I've got a running theory."
She nodded rapidly.
"Ok, the way I see it is, Kairi is connected to Sora. Has been since Ansem dicked around with things. But that connection was weak. Weak, but it was still there. I'm thinking, because I linked so completely to Kairi, I could ride that link to Sora. And that's what happened."
"…you…you ended up going so deep into Kairi's heart…that you rode her connection to Sora…and got pulled deep into his heart…where you ran into me…?"
"Aye. That's my theory. You were conscious, and active in his heart, but in your own little pocket, away from everything else. My consciousness appeared in your little Marble, because it went too deep. It was still re-forging connections to my own body, and trying to compensate for now being linked to Kairi."
"And instead, it overcompensated and you ended up in Sora's heart, where I was. And…and…because that place…was a manifestation of my heart…"
"That's why I could come back, almost at will. And why I could bring Miri with me."
"Because now…someone acknowledged it as an actual space. One that could be travelled to…"
"I think that's also why you woke up drenched that one time…"
Ino flushed heavily as her head snapped to Seth. "What?!"
He nodded. "Yeah. Think about it. You were in Sora's heart. Sora's heart that is connected to Kairi's."
Realization dawned upon her. "So…because I was in Sora's heart…and because his heart is connected to Kairi's…and because their hearts were resonating…"
"Lose all cognitive ability and motor functions, end up riding a really good orgasm, brought to you by two extremely horny teenagers. Combined."
Sora flushed. Kairi's eyes widened and her face looked as red as a tomato. Ino was blushing as well but she was shaking it off.
"So I wasn't in danger of fading…" She whispered to herself.
"Nope. Your own heart was so fresh and weak at the time that it was easily overwhelmed by two sources of powerful emotion. That also goes to show how deep Kairi got into Sora."
Roxas couldn't help but notice the embarrassment Seth was putting Sora through.
So like any good brother-figure, he added to it.
"Shouldn't that be the other way around?" he quipped.
Seth did nothing more except stare right at Kairi. "Oh, I think my statement was quite apt."
Cue middle finger from the Princess of Heart.
"Anyway, this ties into another question I'm sure you have: Why I did all the things I did to get the Life Materia. (Cue nods and some glares.) The answer to that, is also, Ino. Because I was dealing with something that was mind-fuckish even by my standards, I decided to try skipping all the bullshit and going right to the source. I thought, originally, that maybe I'd be able to find some scrap, some piece of her. A footprint, a strand of hair, a glob of spit, anything. But no, she was erased almost completely. To the point where only she knew she existed."
Again, Ino looked down, feeling sad, remembering the loneliness. A small pair of arms wrapped around her torso squeezing her gently brought her out of it. The soft gaze of Miri brought her out of her building depression.
"Since I couldn't find jack shit, I started looking for a way to bring things into existence. I got a tip from someone that there existed a gem that had the power to bring life to the lifeless. I thought, if I could get that, then maybe I could do something to stretch its concept further, and bring life to that which didn't exist."
"And you attacked us, to get the Life Materia, so you could bring her back? Why didn't you just-
"He already explained that." Yuffie cut Aerith off. "He told us yesterday, well, more like me, but I know you all heard him. He knew he wouldn't be able to get one of our most powerful and useful Materia without conflict, especially since he couldn't tell us why he needed it."
Seth nodded. "Which is why I used that little experimental fusion to do it. I also didn't want it getting out who was doing the attacking. Honestly, I didn't really plan on coming back here, but then I had to Break a Gaia Memory copy of a very massive asshole, and realized I was once again, in over my head. But regardless, with the Life Materia, my knowledge of Xion's existence, thirteen Gaia Memories drawn from the battle data of the Organization, and Xion's own write-up of who she wished to be, I figured I had enough to maybe barely forge an existence."
"Wait…The thirteen Gaia Memories you made were of the Organization?!" Ienzo questioned.
"There's a hidden room here, where I'm guessing Xemnas stored all data about the Organization member's combat prowess. In this room, are thirteen chambers that house data copies of the thirteen Organization members, each one programmed to go all out, no holds barred, full power on whoever enters. I'm guessing it was either to be a defense mechanism, a backup plan, or just a training room. But anyway, I was able to take that data, house it in Gaia Memories, and used those along with the other pieces, fueled by the Life Materia, to bring Xion back to life, as Ino."
"…is that…why it felt like our bodies were being torn apart?" Ienzo queried further.
"Eh?"
"About a week or so ago…maybe a bit more…" Roxas began. "Lea told me that around then, it felt like his head was about to split open…like someone was trying to tear his heart out of his chest…"
"Hey wait, around then is when you all had that light come off of you!" Aqua spoke to the Island Trio.
"Oh…oh yeah…before…before Naminé was…" Kairi muttered.
"I…could hear it…" Ino whispered, catching everyone's attention. "I could feel the screams…I could taste the pain…and the world around me started to crumble. It…hurt. It hurt so much…but I needed to be real again…" She looked back, to Seth. "Since I woke up, I…knew things. Things about…stuff I never learned before. Things that only they knew. But…it only had things to do with how to act during a fight. So many different ways…but it's all quiet. There…but not loud…"
Seth nodded. "I suppose…that…maybe the Gaia Memories reached out to their original selves…and forcefully unlocked everyone's memories of Xion. I mean…I'll admit I was a little worried for a bit, while it was happening. They were…overloaded. The Gaia Memories weren't designed to be pushed that far, or maybe I screwed up somewhere, I don't know. But…I guess you absorbed all that data into yourself, as you were being re-forged. We'll have to test that…"
Ino nodded.
"Is that…how you made Naminé real again…?" Kairi asked.
Seth held his hand and teetered it. "Kinda. I didn't use any Gaia Memories. I just had Miri forcefully separate 'Naminé' from 'Kairi' and pull 'Naminé' out, condensing her essence into a crystal. Since Naminé was both an Observed existence, a continued physical presence, as well as a continued acknowledged one, it was easier than bringing Ino back, to make a body for Naminé."
"…Why though?" Kairi asked. "Why go through the trouble?"
"I guess it was supposed to be a gift." Was his answer.
Kairi stared at him, running her knowledge of him through her head, trying to figure out why. And then it clicked.
"…so I could have my own Life." She said.
Seth nodded. "You've already got me connected to your heart, and that's one mostly unwanted connection. Then you've got Sora, who's wanted. To have Naminé in there as well, as an actual presence? One that could interfere and maybe even take over?" Kairi nodded.
"Plus, Naminé deserved a chance to be her own person as well. I can only imagine what it must have been like to exist, find out you're not a 'real' person, and then find yourself fading back into who you were 'born' from. With this, Naminé is her own flesh and blood being, with her own existence, heart, and will. She is now a completely separate existence from 'Kairi', rather than being some partial fragment."
"Doesn't explain why she attacked her though." Riku bitched.
"Jealousy. Irritation. Loneliness. Hatred. Take your pick Riku." Naminé retorted, tonelessly. "Do you have any idea what it's like to constantly be told you aren't even real? To have proof that everyone was right? Do you know what it's like to have been used from the moment you were 'born' by people who were dicking around with things they shouldn't have been? To be treated like a pointless doll meant for only one thing? You know what I did, and you know I only partially regret messing with Sora's memories like that. Because even though I was taking someone else's place in his heart, for me, it meant I was wanted by someone. And then to know that it was wrong, and to break that connection, to become unwanted again, to go back to being some dickhead's puppet!"
Why do I even speak anymore? I just keep pissing the girls off… Riku thought to himself.
"And then there's Kairi. Everyone loves Kairi. And she fucking earned that! But it didn't change the fact that I hated her for having what I didn't! And even though I knew she needed me to be complete it still didn't feel right to me! To know that my own existence was meaningless in the end, because all I was, was a missing fragment of someone else! None of my experiences or thoughts or wants or wishes meant jack shit! And I know for a fact that even when I started talking to her again, after thinking I'd just fade away into nothing, after thinking I was going to die completely; not once did any of you even fathom of thinking of a way to split us!"
Sora, Riku and Kairi all looked guilty at that.
"I fought you, Kairi. Because I needed to get all that festering hatred, out. Before you all showed up, Seth explained it to me: for the longest time I was little more than a being of pure Emotion. I had no outlet because I had no true self. But now, now that I was real again, I could choose my own path. I could get that aggression out. Clear the air, so to speak. And…I needed it."
Kairi nodded, going over and hugging the blonde. "I understand, Naminé. I was a little…pissed with you…but I was mostly confused. You sure kicked my butt though."
Naminé gave a half-grin. "Can blame Seth for that…I was paying a lot of attention to how to fight whenever we connected to him."
"How'd you get a Driver like Kairi's though?" Sora asked.
"Because Naminé was originally a Shadow created by Kairi's light." Seth stepped back into the conversation.
"Eh?"
"Naminé was Kairi's original Anti-Existence, created by her immense light. But she was born from Sora sacrificing himself. Jury's still out on why but at this point it might not matter. Since Naminé and Kairi shared existences, on a more permanent level than I did, she got a sort of copy of the Driver that I gave Kairi. Because what I did, was give Kairi a resonant frequency inside her internal magical core, that would draw forth power based on her heart and imagination. But because Naminé was also inside Kairi's heart at the time, Naminé got a lesser version of it.
Kairi's driver took the form of the ability to mimic Sora's transformations. Naminé's driver can only focus on one transformation, but that one transformation wields powers linked to Sora's bonds at the time of Naminé's encounter with him. Naminé's Limit Form is based off of Sora's, which apparently throws his abilities back to the days of fighting against Ansem. But Naminé's Limit Form is also based off of her own powers, which is to fuck with people's heart-links, as long as they're connected to Sora."
"Which is why she could use other people's abilities through those cards!" Sora exclaimed.
"Castle Oblivion used a strange interference field that caused everything, from weapons to memories, to be encased in Cards." Naminé explained. "Spells, powers, abilities, swords…everything was contained within a card. The Driver…draws from our hearts, and grants changes based on our imaginations. I guess that's why mine works off of cards based off of Sora's memories."
"And with it, came your own Keyblade." Seth added.
Why does it always end up like this? It's like the Greater World just wants to prove Seth is some level of Evil.
Ino sat, a mildly cute frown on her face. She was irritated, greatly. Ever since returning her to Reality, it seemed like someone was constantly keeping her from spending time with her new best friend, and crush. On top of which, said unknown entity continuously forced events to occur that made her new best friend seem like a great threat. She watched Kairi nurse her aching back, absently reaching back in reaction to a phantom twinge. She recalled her own impact with a solid wall, not too long ago.
Turning her eyes, she gave a half-glare towards the reason of her thoughts. Not half an hour ago, while Seth was walking around to stretch and get a bottle of water, two mouse people, a duck and a dog-man walked through the doors of the Gathering Hall. They were introduced as King Mickey and Queen Minnie, rulers of Disney Castle and staunch defenders of the Light Realm, along with Donald Duck, the Court Wizard, and Goofy Goof, Captain of the Royal Guard.
Sora was most pleased to see the group, more specifically Donald and Goofy, whom had accompanied him during his travels prior. She knew of them, from what she absorbed before her untimely erasure, and felt twinges of desire to greet them as well, but fought the phantom emotion away. Those weren't her own emotions. They were memories of a feeling belonging to someone else. Still, at the time she'd given a small smile, for she and Roxas both knew first-hand how much the teen cherished those two.
Of course…friendly good times can never seem to last if Seth is present. She sighed, running the last half hour through her mind, trying to see…well, anything, that might help make him not seem like he's insane…well…more insane.
-HALF HOUR PRIOR-
While Mickey was catching up with the boys, giving time before he confronted and apologized to Seth, who was expressly ignoring the King's presence and instead speaking with Yuffie about something, Minnie had decided to speak with the little girl sitting off in a corner, gazing at everyone with a blank – yet at the same time – calculating look. Of course, if she had known what was to come, she'd have left the girl well enough alone, if not stayed far away from Radiant Garden proper.
The moment the Queen's hand touched the girl's arm – to try to get her attention, you see – there was a soft sizzling sound. The girl's eyes widened just as she violently flinched backwards, mouth opening in an ear-piercing screech of unmistakable agony. Stunned by the reaction, Minnie could do nothing but stand there as the girl fell backward, clutching her arm, wailing. Upon seeing the girl fall, Minnie – being a practitioner of the White Arts; magic focused on the element of Light and slanted more towards healing and rejuvenation – stepped forward to try to see the unexpected wound. Miri, being no fool, knew what the cause of her sudden reaction was.
"Get Away!" the child screamed, fighting past this unknown sensation that was not at all pleasant.
Of course, that was more than enough for Seth.
The next instant, Seth had vanished in what was slowly becoming a frequent thing, a ripple of distorted air. Moments later, as Minnie took a hesitant step backward, he re-materialized in normal space, swinging his arm viciously to the side, both backhanding the Queen, as well as applying a considerable amount of Force to the blow. The mouse woman was launched through the group containing her husband and his allies, crashing painfully into a wall, where she immediately lost consciousness from the impact.
Horrified, Mickey turned angry eyes to his wife's attacker, only to freeze as he saw Seth tending to the still wailing child.
"Shh shh, fight it back Miri, fight it back."
"wh-why?!"
"It's pain Miri. This is pain." He explained, gently pulling the shuddering and crying child into his arms. He was rubbing her back softly with one hand, while grasping her cloak-sleeve with the other. Slowly, the girl nodded, finally having a name to go with the sensation. She hissed again, a fresh wave of tears flowing out, as he exposed the burnt flesh to the air.
Felt by her, but unseen by others, he was already taking steps to heal the wound. Quickly piecing together what must have happened, he'd begun reaching his will, through her. At the same time, a small green orb raced through the air and landed in the palm of his free hand.
"Wh-why…?" Was all the girl said.
"Pain…" he began, clutching the Materia. "Exists as a warning. It's the brain's reaction to an unwanted change upon the body. It's a living being's way of being told by their own body that something is wrong." He explained, as a small glob of water formed from the air, gently flowing around Miri's arm.
"That's physical pain. It's not at all pleasant, though there are some people who draw a twisted form of pleasure from it. Their reasons are their own, and somewhat difficult to understand, such as being proof that they still live."
She nodded, still shuddering, still in agony, even with the attempted soothing cool of the Water, the wound gave off an odd heat to it, causing the water to warm and nearly boil before Seth replaced it.
Mickey and Donald were throwing Healing spells at the unconscious Queen, but both froze when a familiar sensation of cold washed over them. They turned, with many others, to see a portal of Darkness tear itself open, a man flying out. The man was clothed in a crisp business suit, with short, brown hair. He looked around wildly, with immense fear, but was held fast by, of all things, an Invisible Heartless. Sword in its right hand, the floating man-demon grabbed the human by his hair, lifting him up.
All around, Keyblades appeared, but none were as fast as Seth's. In his free hand, his angle-hooked black Keyblade formed, before he launched it at high speeds, in the direction of the man and Invisible. But unlike what anyone expected, it wasn't the Heartless that was pierced.
The man stared in shock, as the weapon sunk into his chest, noting his vision beginning to fade. A single tear slid down the left side of his face, as he realized what was going on. This…was penance. Despite it being a shock, and most definitely unwanted, his life flashed before his eyes, and he understood. This was his reward, for all the horrible things he'd done, up to this point.
With that final regret in mind, that he did not lead the life he should have, he closed his eyes, accepting his end. His body shattered into fragments of light, as a small glittering crystal, surrounded by a field of energy in the shape of a heart, was left behind. Seth's Keyblade dropped to the ground before vanishing, the Heart flying towards him, landing in his hand.
"C'mon baby, open up. Say 'aaah'."
He pantomimed opening his mouth wide. Following his desire, the girl did the same, even making a shaky 'aaah' noise to go with it. Gently, he slid the Heart into her mouth, which she closed, and then gulped it down. Her hands gripped his arms as she gave a violent shudder, a heavy veil of Darkness ripping out from her body. There was a soft skittering noise, like tiny claws on wood, and Seth looked down at her injured arm, watching it slowly heal. The damaged flesh cracked and slowly chipped away, until there was naught but pale white skin left behind.
Miri, however, was still sniffling.
"There…all better now…see?" She nodded at him. "Now c'mere. Why don't you come home for a bit? Get some rest. I know you like being Outside." She nodded again, leaning against him. "You can come back Out later, and we'll take another bath, ok?" She nodded one final time, before being engulfed in wisps of Darkness, slowly fading into his body, back to her personal space in his heart.
As the last wisps of Darkness vanished, he let out a slow, shaky breath, and stood, back facing the group.
And then vanished.
CLANG
It took all she had, just to block that initial, and attempted final, swing. She had to force every bit of will contained in her petite body to not shudder under the force of his will. The ground beneath them cracked as she had swung her Keyblade up, meeting his Katana. Kairi barely held back a flinch, as the very eyes he gave to Lea, were now glaring down upon her.
Everyone could do nothing but stare in shock that the girl had anticipated what he was going to do, and managed to block him. Barely. Even Naminé was quite surprised at her other half's foresight, not to mention her speed. Kairi had started moving the moment Seth stood, which was only half a moment before he disappeared. They all stared as the girl's limbs began to vibrate, her eyes widening and tearing up, her mind fighting the commands her body was being given.
Without warning, red streaks began tracing themselves rapidly up their connected arms.
"You are becoming a nuisance, Princess. I am beginning to believe it would be simpler just to kill you."
And now, she was terrified.
This was extremely bad. Seth already was still irritated from earlier in the week, despite Miri taking him out to calm him down, and his venting on Yuffie yesterday. From her own glimpses into his heart, she knew he was a bundle of tightly wound emotions, having no proper release, or even time to sort his thoughts and feelings out. It's been one thing after another, after another, after another, with him. And he was reaching the bottom of his admittedly large well of patience. It was obvious he was ready to kill. Anyone. With marked targets being whoever stood in his way.
And guess where she put herself?
"If Master wishes for Us to die, We'll gladly die." She spoke suddenly, her voice higher pitched, breathy, almost…reverent in its tone. Her eyes had widened, Seth's narrowing as the left one turned red, a ring of black in the middle of the iris, the pupil flanked by two comma marks.
"However…if he wishes for Us to be dead, Master will have to kill Sora, Naminé, Ino, and Master too."
The pressure upon her body, her existence seemed to double.
"Life-Link…" he growled out.
Kairi gave a shaky nod. "Y-yeah…W-we're linked to Sora…and to you. A-and you're linked to N-Naminé and I-Ino…s-sorry…"
The pressure increased. A glance downward showed her that her hair was beginning to…fray. Along with her clothes. Her heart was beating impossibly fast, his will dominating her own, with her just barely able to put up a meager defense, that was still holding. She knew, it only held because it wasn't her he wanted truly ent. But he was beginning to lose control. Proof was that just by being near him, it hurt. She could feel her skin trying to tear itself open, she could see her clothes beginning to break.
"And you know of this how?" he growled.
"Th-the perks of being a P-Princess of Heart…?"
She winced as a veritable wall of rage washed over her.
"As much as We would like to see Master's true power, We know this isn't the proper target. It was an accident, Master. We know you love Miri, We do too. The Rat-Woman has already paid her price. The scales are Balanced, Master. We don't want you to imbalance them against yourself." The high-pitched voice spoke again.
CHHKKK
Kairi gave a soft whimper. The ground beneath them broke even more after the other voice's statement. The others saw the wall of force rip from around them, the pressure wave cracking some of the ceiling too.
"P-please…I'll do anything…"
Oh Gods it hurt! Was this what Ino felt? The total rejection of her existence? The feeling like your body was trying to tear itself apart from the outside, in? Only for Kairi it was compounded by his will to tear her apart from the inside as well!
"A-anything at all! A-anything you want! At all! Ever! Nothing is restricted!"
For a moment, she thought he was going to kill her anyway. That's what it felt like, when the pressure suddenly stopped. As if it were that brief moment, before death. She'd have to ask Yuffie if that's what it felt like.
And then the pain hit.
She loosed a soft groan, sliding down the wall, Keyblade far out of reach. She blinked at the blurry image of Seth, blurred from tears, pain, and his own field having hyper-activated. He must have broken the lock and thrown her aside. It wasn't until she saw wisps of Darkness flowing around him, gathering and condensing into a Corridor, that she began to calm. As the pressure of his Will faded, his existence shrouded by the Realm of Darkness, she saw…something, standing in his place.
It was her. Only naked, with black hair and glowing red eyes. The other Kairi seemed to glare at her, before a low, breathy voice spoke into her mind.
"You owe me."
And with a flicker of light, like a hazy mirage, the girl vanished suddenly. A wave of self-loathing washed over her, as if coming from both within and without. She didn't hear the voices of her friends, asking her if she was injured. All she could do was think…
Is this…what it feels like…to be broken…? Ino…I think I understand you now…
A flash of steel. Body torn. Clothes shimmering.
Missed. A clone.
Ducking low. Sword rising up to block an overhead swing.
Desperation.
A pulse of will. She went flying.
No, that was another clone. Dammit!
How many was that? Two? Three?
Spinning pinpricks of metal. Twirling the blade. The shuriken were deflected. Jump! A sweep of her leg missed.
Vulnerable! Swinging blade down, meeting kunai. An attempted kidney strike. That was close.
A push of desire. It wasn't much, but distance was created. Shoot…she disappeared. Concentrate…
Concentrate…
…There!
A gasp of surprise. Resistance! This was her!
Eyes opened. No…
The blade was right through her chest.
No no…
Warm blood dripping to the ground.
No!
Her mouth moved, but no sound.
No! You can't die! This isn't what was supposed to happen!
The woman smiled softly, body growing limp. Dark green eyes staring, but not judging.
A feeling of acceptance.
A kiss upon the cheek.
A final breath.
Should the blade's owner still live, the only way to claim it, is to slay its Master.
There can only be One.
Eyes snapped open. A wave of pain washed over her. Tears spilled out as a surprised sob blurted from her throat. Why did it hurt so much? What was that?!
"So you've seen it."
Her head snapped up, hair lashing herself in the back. In front of her stood…her.
"Y-you…"
"That was his memory of the day he Claimed the Kitetsu. The woman's name was Midori, she was his teacher in the art of sword-fighting. She was a ninja."
"Wh-what-
"He made a promise to her, that day. That if he claimed the blade, he would carry on her dream of creating a space where wandering swords like them could live in peace. A place where all who were displaced by the wars would be welcome, defended by those who could battle. A safe haven from the Keyblade."
Kairi's anti-existence, her Anti-Form, stood, back facing the redhead. Tears still flowing down her eyes, Kairi sat transfixed, staring at her darker mirror image.
"Since he's been awake, it's been promise after promise. Ha hasn't had time for himself. If it weren't for Miri…he'd have gone insane by now. With her hurt…the old hatreds are coming back. There's a reason why it's called Dople oz Lusye."
"What…? What does that-
"It doesn't matter right now."
The black haired teenager didn't let Kairi get a single word in.
"I showed that to you, to show you where it all started."
"Where what all started?!" Kairi was starting to get annoyed.
"His spiral into madness. He's been holding on, barely, for all this time. Doing things like drawing from you, restoring Xion, training Yuffie and eventually you as well…they're just distractions. Things to keep his mind off of how badly he wants it all to end."
The Anti-Existence finally turned to Kairi, red eyes staring into blue.
"We cannot let that happen. His end would be explosive, and messy. He's lost too much, felt too much hurt to simply let himself end alone. He would purge everything around him into death, if he got that far."
"…what do I do…? I don't even know…"
"Stop rejecting."
The redhead blinked. "What…?"
"I exist because you made me. You made me by rejecting. Stop it."
"I don't…I haven't-
"Stop lying to yourself! You've built up so much bullshit because you've been rejecting for these past few years! Stop it! You want to keep him stable? You want to keep Sora alive? Then stop rejecting! You think he is going to stop just because he's caught in a web of Life-Links? You can't underestimate him. He'll find a way to break them if that's what it takes. And with a Keyblade now, he very well could succeed!"
"Well what do I do then?! I barely even know what you're talking about! Besides, why should I listen to you anyway?! You're just a fake!"
The naked, black haired Kairi's eyes seemed to flare a darker red.
"I am you. You are me. I am your Shadow. The being created by the light of your existence, your constant rejection of the parts of you that you fear, that you dislike."
Kairi shook her head. "No. No way! You're not. You're nothing but a clone. You're not real. You're not me!"
The Anti-Existence shook her head. "Tch…worthless human. You're not worth anything in this state. Fine. Keep hiding. You'll see. Stupid cunt. Get out!"
It felt like she was slammed in the stomach with an iron pole. Her whole body felt compressed, torn. Blackness overtook her vision as the sight of her Anti-Existence grew smaller, those glowing red eyes being burned into her memory.
"You owe me. There will come a time when you need my power. And then…then you'll see the Truth. I'll see you then, Red."
Once again everyone had come together at the Gathering Hall. The Queen had recovered nicely, her injuries being very mild, and quickly resolved with rapid applications of healing magic, her own internal stores, as well as a much needed massage from her husband. Not to anyone's surprise, she held no ill-will against Miri nor Seth. Minnie had reasoned out in the few seconds travel time before the impact knocked her unconscious that Seth had reacted the way a loving caretaker would.
While it wasn't intentional, she acknowledged that she had harmed the strange child, and that provoked a deadly reaction from Seth. She was a little worried, but mostly unphased upon finding out he'd intended to kill her.
"Not unlike a parent in defense of child. I cannot truly blame him for wishing to end a threat to his charge's existence. He did merely what would have been expected of someone in his position. I'm glad that he was stopped, but I can't say I'm unsurprised he would go that far."
She was suggested to by her husband to stay back, at the hotel they had spent the night in. She refuted, claiming she wished to apologize to both personally. It would be unbecoming of her if she simply let things stand, and considering how powerful he was, she believed it best if she kept his feelings towards their kingdom at least neutral. After all, Kairi was overcome by his will once before, and they both apparently channeled power that was supposedly just a sliver of what he was truly capable of. And that nearly destroyed the castle.
Naminé had taken the King and Queen aside, after Minnie regained consciousness and explained a little to them.
"We'd brought up the idea of having a base of operations. Riku and Sora wanted to ask if we could use your castle, but Seth rejected that violently. He said he wasn't going anywhere near your world if he could help it. I asked why, and his reason is that the Cornerstone is an object of Pure Light. Your world is bathed in its energies, and he fully believes that Miri could be hurt just by being there, if not outright destroyed. And he won't go anywhere if she can't follow. He believes that even if she hid in his shadow she would be harmed. So even if he were to wish for your destruction, its doubtful he'd go to your world…but…if I may, it would be better if you didn't antagonize him. Keyblade aside, he's smart, and crafty, and when he wants something done, he'll find a way. So…it's honestly better if we don't push him to deciding to think of a way to block out the Cornerstone."
The Cornerstone of Light was, for the moment, the only thing keeping Seth from deciding to simply summon the Heartless to consume their world, if he so chose. It was clear to Minnie that he cared for the child like his own daughter, especially with the way he apparently taught her the meaning of what she was feeling before restoring her. Neither Mickey nor Minnie were pleased that his method was to kidnap someone and steal their heart for the girl to consume, and Mickey voiced as such, but it was Alicia, surprisingly, that gave him something to think about.
"Ahh, you forget, Sir Mickey, but Miri is not a normal human in the slightest. It's easy to forget, seeing him interact with her, but she is still a Heartless that has somehow taken the form of a human. Any of our healing magics would probably only hurt her further at worst, if not do nothing at best. He performed the only act he knew of that would stabilize and recover her, which was give her a heart to consume. Human looking or not, she is still a Heartless. And from her reaction, she'd never been hurt before, thus it's unlikely he'd explored any other method of recovery for her."
They didn't like it, but considering that, even though it was accidental, Miri's injury was Minnie's fault, they could say nothing against it. Minnie, after hearing Naminé's explanation, spent much of the remainder she was awake the previous night, puzzling out why Miri would have such a bad reaction to her touch. Her only suspected answer was that because Minnie was such a powerful practitioner of the Holy Arts, combined with constantly being in a rather close proximity to the Cornerstone, gave her a sort of 'aura' of Light energy. This 'aura' must have permeated into her very physical touch, and would be like acid to an unprotected being of Darkness.
Still, it had been an hour, and still no sign of Seth at all. Silently, Leon, Cid and Cloud were happy about that development. The Women understanding him or not, they viewed Seth as a credible threat, and bad things seemed to keep happening whenever he was around. Yuffie was their youngest member, she was like a younger sister to them all, and he'd killed her without preamble. Despite him reviving her in the end, they didn't trust him. Not after everything he did.
If only they'd known how little he cared for what they thought. Strong as they were, none of them would be a match for a skilled Keyblade wielder. Sora alone had beaten them at various times, both at the Colosseum tournaments, and outside those defined fights. And that was when he was still inexperienced with the Keyblade, or wielding powers he wasn't completely used to.
Seth was a seasoned warrior, having lived around Keyblades for years, fought against them for half as long, and now wielded his own. Combine that with that strange sword he had, and his powers that, to be honest, none of them could counter, save maybe with a few specific Materia, and they got a very large threat to them.
And that's if he decided to fight them head on. As they were repeatedly reminded, Miri was a heartless. And through her, he could control them. If it was his wish, he could plunge the world back into darkness, consuming it completely, like what nearly happened before when Ansem and Maleficent were around. It was understandable, that they were wary around him. Especially since he still hadn't fixed their defense system. All they were able to do was turn the whole grid off.
Still, lack of Seth was almost as bad as him being around. At least they could react to anything he did…
Sadly enough, it was just as well that Seth didn't know how they truly felt.
He'd likely have killed them, and saved himself the time.
Another half hour had passed. Still no sign of Seth. Knowing he held many of the answers that they all needed, the large group remained in the hall, a specific few of them hoping he'd arrive soon. Kairi blinked suddenly, swearing she saw something out of the corner of her eye. A shimmer of air that didn't come from a breeze. Almost like a ripple…
Ino was speaking with Roxas, listening to him tell her about the fight he had with Sora, where Sora beat him by using the Recall function of the Keyblade, a function he didn't know about until that moment. She was listening intently, but a small part of her couldn't stop worrying about her crush.
Kairi blinked again. There it was again! Another ripple like before! Almost like…wait…
Tch…idiot. He's cloaking himself.
Kairi frowned. Not only was she a little peeved that the voice of her Anti-Existence was once again in her head, but she was confused as to why she couldn't see him as well.
Isn't it obvious? He's hiding from even you.
That shouldn't be possible. Great. Now she was talking to it.
He's rejecting you the same way you are rejecting him.
I'm not rejecting him!
Oh? Then why can't you see him? You could see him just fine before.
I…I don't know! Maybe he found a way to-
The Anti-Existence laughed. Oh you are sooo desperate. Trying so hard to ignore what's right in front of your face. He can't hide from you, or rather, he shouldn't be able to. He was able to keep one secret from you because it wasn't his secret to tell. Outside of that, you two cancel each other's invisibility powers. He would always be able to perceive you, just as you should always be able to do the same with him. But if you two are rejecting one another…
Enough. He's doing something strange. I don't have time to listen to you.
The voice scoffed. You'll regret those words soon enough.
Ino got up for a moment, to stretch her legs, you see. Lea was rubbing the back of his head, embarrassed, while Ienzo was once again shifting through the pages of a book, and Isa was just shaking his head. Roxas had gotten to the part where he'd kicked Axel's ass, after the redhead had been trying to get him to remember. Ino turned around, hands on her hips, ready to berate Lea for his foolishness when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something strange.
What seemed to be a vague shimmer of light, just off to the side of her view. She blinked and turned, only to blink again in surprise as the shimmer rippled, revealing Seth lunging forward.
"Wha-
WHAM
Shocking everyone, Seth slammed his right fist directly into Ino's left cheek, a small ripple of air echoing out from the impact zone. Ino was bodily thrown away, as the others started getting over their shock. But Seth wasn't done. With a pulse of will, he rocketed forward, crashing left knee to Ino's stomach, throwing her upward into the air, before he deftly spun around and delivered a backwards axe kick, throwing her back down to the ground.
As she crashed into the floor heavily, Ino coughed out a small mouthful of blood, mind racing to push past the pain, and figure out what the hell was going on. Unconsciously engaging the regeneration ability that most Nobodies had, she slowly pushed herself to her feet, just in time to narrowly shift to the left, evading an overhead lunge from Seth, holding his Keyblade.
It was this moment, that something in her clicked. In a rush, her thoughts centered on one concept.
If he wanted me dead, I'd be dead from the first attack. If he wanted messy, he could have crushed my skull with that punch. If he wanted clean, he could have just impaled me with his sword or Keyblade. Even if he wanted to deliver maximum pain, he'd have used his field to slowly crush the bones in my body. This…is different. He's slower than he could be. He…wants me to fight back. I get it now. He's testing me!
In the second her thoughts raced and came to that conclusion, Ino consciously grabbed the part of her that governed recovery rates and pushed it to maximum. As Seth was turning his missed swing into a reverse-grip upward chop, Ino stepped again to the side, but retaliated this time. Left foot rising, she aimed a kick for his temple, only to have her foot blocked by his Keyblade.
A thrust of his empty left palm, and she was sent flying by a small field of repulsion. But to everyone's mild shock, she simply flipped back with the motion, and threw her arms to the side. Her momentum all but halted, and she landed on her feet gracefully. Holding his Keyblade still in a reverse grip, Seth charged forward, using his field to propel himself. Just as he was almost upon her, Ino instinctively flicked her right wrist, a trio of small crackling knives appearing between her fingers. To Seth's surprise, she ducked low just as he'd swung his blade to the right, - after flipping its grip in his hand – and swung her right arm up. Eyes wide, he lurched his head and upper torso back, just out of reach of the makeshift claws. His shirt, however, was sliced open, showing how close Ino got to actual contact.
Because his motion was unplanned, he had little time to properly react, and could do nothing but eat a foot to his gut, throwing him back. Like Ino, Seth went with the motion and flipped backward, landing on his feet, but having to hop a few times to bleed off the momentum. Then, to everyone's shock, including Seth, Ino seemed to give off a violent crackling glow, before there was a brief shimmer to her sides, and now there were three of her.
Seth blinked, mentally gaping. Clones?!
Two of the three Ino's charged at him, both crackling with electricity flowing around their bodies. Clones with electrical fields?!
The left one swung her arm out, Seth repulsing the thrown knives, only to have to throw his left arm up to block an overhead axe kick from the other. Solid clones?! What the fuck is this shittery?! Even Midori-sensei didn't have those!
Unknown to him, many others were thinking the exact same thing.
"…Lene…isn't that your trick?" Lea asked the blonde woman next to him.
The woman once called 'Larxene' wanted to be seething with anger. But she wasn't. She was just numb to it all. She never wanted to be human again. The moment she woke up, all the pain, all the memories came rushing back. Made worse by how she'd treated others while a Nobody. So happy…so free to be without her heart, her memories capable of being buried, no emotional tie to them, no constant pressure of sealed feelings and hatreds and fears. But by doing so, she ended up becoming like them.
Her memories of her tormentors shaped her Nobody self. She often wondered why they did what they did, spoke the way they spoke, performed the horrible things they'd done. But as a human, she was in too much pain, to afraid to lash out, to even fathom looking into it. She didn't want to become a monster like them.
But without her heart, she couldn't keep the drive up. She couldn't remind herself why she was afraid. So she looked into it. And unconsciously began emulating them. 'The Savage Nymph' they called her. Because she'd just as quickly suck your cock as she would shove a knife through it. It was sheer luck none of the other members asked anything of that nature of her. She was…somewhat respected, or rather, her powers and skills were. And some of the more flighty, or rather, more animated members were too 'afraid' to do anything suggestive to her.
Except Xigbar, but he was an asshole even before becoming a nobody, not that she knew it.
Honestly, she hated what she did as a Nobody. It was just like them. She wanted to apologize to Sora but…
Well it's hard enough to admit to yourself you've done wrong, when you're emotionally fucked up the way she was. Harder still to say it out loud. It was disturbing to think about it, but when the pain hit that day, and the light ripped from her chest, a part of her welcomed it. Punishment, for her foolish crimes. She took a risk, coming here. And so far she hadn't gotten any payoff. But…
Why was it…that by acknowledging what she did…here and now…did she feel…lighter?
"Y-yeah…" Still, regardless of her emotional state – which is even more chaotic than Xion's was – she was a little…annoyed, to see the once Puppet pulling off her techniques. But then she remembered what Seth had said the day before, that 'Ino' was 'born' through absorbing the information within Gaia Memories containing data on all thirteen Organization members. Herself included.
"Holy crap she's good…" Roxas uttered in awe.
He'd defeated Xion. He beat Riku, before Riku did his own Ansem transformation. He beat Axel. He almost beat Sora, and only lost because Sora knew more about the Keyblade's capabilities than Roxas did. Roxas clearly outmatched Sora in raw power and skill, but Sora had knowledge. Roxas never needed the Recall function of the Keyblade, thus he never learned about it. Roxas basically had treated the Keyblades like normal swords, only with his heart as their sheaths.
But Roxas was considered to possibly be the strongest next to Xemnas, and most definitely the most useful to the Organization's plans. So to see Ino manhandling Seth, almost effortlessly, after his surprise attack – which took everything Lea had to keep Roxas from reacting to – was mindblowing. She really had grown and changed, thanks in part to her memories of Roxas, but also because of Seth's influence.
Which is why what came next, didn't really surprise him in the slightest.
Weak…
Too weak…
Why is…
He's not keeping up. He's better than this, I know it!
He's distracted. He's overloaded. He's holding back. He's forcing himself to hold back!
This is stupid.
I can't let this keep going.
A wall of light comprised of multiple rectangles snapped into view as Seth swung his Keyblade overhead. The sudden barrier repelled his attack, before splintering away, Ino able to smash the flat edge of the oversized massive sword she was now holding, into his chest, launching him backwards. His recovery was slower than before. She was wearing him down.
No.
He was wearing himself down.
She could feel it. Somehow. He was holding back. It made sense to her, slightly. He was only trying to assess her battle capabilities. But…
She knew him. She knew him almost as long as Kairi did. And even though Ino lacked the Heart-to-Heart bond that he and Kairi share, Ino knew loneliness, solitude, breaking, better than Kairi ever could. She knew what those feelings did to a person. She knew firsthand how badly stress could fuck with even the most focused of minds.
And she was seeing signs of it, during their not-spar. He'd employed his field, but the range was closer to him than it should have been. And he never used his Driver. She'd long since expected him to activate it to balance the scales, but instead he didn't. He was taking her seriously…but…still restricting himself. And she could see why. He was afraid of losing control.
The past weeks hadn't been easy on him. At all. And he still hadn't been able to truly have time to come to terms with his newfound reality, drowning himself in busywork to keep from going crazy. But the past week especially had shown he was close to his limit.
He'd vented a little on Yuffie, but again, that was on a request. And even though it ended in Yuffie's death, something literally told him it wanted her alive. He was being jerked around like a tool, constantly. No time to rest, not giving himself time to rest.
His eyes were flickering between the brown that she always got lost in, to a bloody orange-red. His pupils kept expanding and contracting, narrowing into slits like a beast, and returning to normal. He was at his emotional limits, the intended spar-turned-battle pushing him to the edge.
It wasn't hard for her to understand her feelings anymore. They didn't break her like they did once ago. She was an entirely new existence. A true Self. She understood her emotions, even if they confused her sometimes. She owed him. She owed him everything. He gave her life. He gave her Roxas.
She hadn't said it to anyone, let alone Roxas himself, but Ino had a running theory that whatever he did to release her from the depths of Sora's heart, set Roxas free too. And while she needed outside help to gain a physical form, and finalize her heart as her own, using Seth's logistics; Roxas, being a life-form that was remembered, acknowledged and sustained by many, including Sora himself, already had enough of a heart to not need any extra assistance, and merely needed to be freed and given enough 'power' to maintain a stable physical form.
In essence, Roxas only needed someone or something, to make or give him a body. Roxas was no longer the Nobody of Sora. Roxas, like Ino, was a true Self. What little knowledge she gleaned from Sora before their forced connection was broken, had told her that the Worlds themselves had Hearts, and could sometimes enact their own wills. It wasn't much of a stretch to believe that whatever world Roxas' heart ended up on, likely this one, had acknowledged his actions and concept, and used its power to 'birth' him.
But even if that theory was correct, it was only possible because Seth freed her, which freed Roxas.
She owed him everything. And she wanted to give him everything. But she had nothing to offer him, save for herself.
And by Tia that's exactly what she was going to do.
"…Stop it."
Seth, the others just blinked at her.
"Stop it! Just Stop! Stop holding back!"
What the hell was she on about? The guy nearly takes her head off and she calls it holding back?
"Ino-
"No! I know what you're trying to do, and if it were any other time I'd go along with it, but I can't let you do this to yourself anymore! You're barely holding onto yourself as it is!"
Seth's eyes narrowed, even as his pupils widened. His vision swam for a moment, a voice echoing in his mind.
"You haven't been the same since then Master. More guarded, less…you."
"I don't need to be Kairi to see that you're overstressed! You haven't had time to deal with everything, but it's too late for that now. You need to let it all go."
His hand began trembling on its own. What was this…feeling…? Familiarity. But it wasn't a pleasant sensation. No…it felt like…trespassing. Like she was stepping somewhere she didn't belong.
"You feel like shit cause of all of it. We all know you do. You need to let it out Master."
"Please, Seth. Trust me. I can take it! Everything you dish out I can handle! You don't have to worry about me…I'm the only one who can. Anything you do to me I can handle. So please…"
Did…did she even know what she was saying? What her words were doing to him? She was right in the fact that he was overstressed, horribly so. He was already at his limits of focus, and will. And here she was…pushing him to let go?
"Please Master. You need this. I can handle anything you throw at me. I'm me, remember? Whatever you do I'll just undo. I've already made a Restoration Solution, just in case. So please."
For a moment, he wasn't looking at Ino. Instead, he saw a glasses wearing girl with a soft, sad grin on her face. Brown hair to her shoulders in soft flowing curls, bobbing in a phantom wind, grayish eyes staring at him, begging him to let it all go, to release the locks on his emotions, to open the floodgates and allow it to overflow.
"Let me have it."
"Let me have it."
This…girl. This…this puppet…this stupid petulant child thinks that she can equate herself to the one being who was his equal?! Of all the arrogant things to believe in, this…this…Nobody though she could match her?!
Destroy.
Destroy the faker! Crush this fool into oblivion! Show her the folly of her actions, the foolishness in her ideas, her beliefs, by bringing her the death she so obviously seeks!
"Let it go…Master. I want to feel everything."
Kairi gasped. A wall of sheer hatred swept through her. The air around Seth began to cloud in a dense haze, his loose vest beginning to flutter as his field slowly pulsed to full power. Red streaks began echoing from her chest, sweeping along her veins. She gave a low, throaty, pained moan as once again his sheer force of existence was beginning to crush hers. She tried to resist, but felt her very will being sapped.
But not from him.
Not this time little girl. It's high time you truly felt him inside you.
Kairi stumbled, her knees becoming weak, unable to hold her body up. She fell back into Sora, who quickly caught her, worry on his face. He wasn't feeling a thing, and that was scaring him.
The ground began to rumble, as Seth continued to stare blankly at Ino, a soft but defined tinny buzzing becoming present in the air around him, growing louder as the seconds passed. Clutching her Keyblade in hand, Ino stared him down, watching his eyes fade completely into the demonic orange-red they'd take on when his emotional state hit a certain level. She'd gotten a glimpse of it back with Lea, and a confirmation the day prior when he attempted to murder Minnie for harming Miri.
It didn't take long for her to figure out it was a telltale. An outward sign of danger. That he was close to losing himself in his emotions. She didn't exactly know where it came from or why, though it was likely he knew about it. And she knew he was only in this state because he never had time to dive and assess everything. To him, it had been a week tops, since his last tie to sanity died for him, when he was forcibly awoken by Xemnas.
It was only a matter of time before he snapped. So she chose now to do it.
If she were how she was back when she was Xion, she would definitely die in seconds. But now…with the powers of all thirteen Organization members flowing through her, along with their knowledge of battle, on top of her own abilities…she was confident she could provide the proper vent he needed.
After all, despite her obvious attraction to him…she wasn't yet mentally ready to just grab him and screw his brains out. While that would have been an option, under normal circumstances, it had been so long with him having to disregard himself in order to complete his tasks, even that might not work, though it would honestly be a…markedly less dangerous path to take.
Slowly, he rose from his crouched position. The air was tense, thick with his gravitational field beginning to expand around him, tagging everything in the area. A subconscious ability of his that he called Event Horizon. By expanding his field in a certain radius around him, he could note the positions of everything, by periodically sending pulses of lightly compressed air to act as a makeshift mental sonar. It granted him a vague mental picture of what changed in his surroundings, but was highly inferior to other sensory techniques.
It was crude, but it did its job. And it also marked things with a small piece of his field, allowing for faster anchoring, be it of himself, or an object to him that could be used as a weapon or otherwise shield.
But the most dangerous thing was that his Keyblade slowly crackled out of existence, before it was replaced by that strange, faintly glowing Katana.
Kairi's eyes widened as she realized what was going on. She didn't know where that thing had come from, but she could tell it was bad news.
That, is the Kitetsu. His original weapon before he gained his own Keyblade.
It's presence seemed to add to the pressure.
What…he never…
He didn't know he could still access it. I don't know too much more than you, but I know enough. It was a surprise to him when it appeared in his hands when he was going to kill that idiot Lea. Especially since it isn't a Keyblade, or even fashioned in the same way. Apparently, before the world ended, he somehow made a Vector Trap, and locked the Kitetsu, along with other things that he still isn't completely sure about, inside.
He gripped the katana, body tensing, eyes narrowing as they seemed to lock on to Ino.
Vector Trap?
Kairi was barely holding in the shudders. Her body was reacting badly to this type of pressure. It felt…twisted.
A sort of 'pocket dimension' created by folding space around the user. It is literally infinite in span, and anything can be stored inside. But living organisms can't survive within it. It doesn't hold the capabilities of sustaining life. Though, time doesn't exist there, in a sense. Or rather, there is nothing that causes the concept of time to pass. To give a better example, if he were to lock a way a frozen bottle of ice water, and then pull it out fifty years later, it would be completely unchanged. Things in there enter a sort of stasis.
And…he can do this?
That's the thing. Before he was awoken here, he knew of the idea, but lacked the power to do so. All the things he's been doing with his field? It's all been reactionary. The potential was there, but he could never push his power beyond a certain point until now. He had the ideas, and the base to do it, but lacked the push. Flight, disruption, dissipation, erasure…all the things he can do now, he was only able to do weaker versions of, if he was pushed into a corner. Until he woke, he could only vaguely influence the pull of gravity on things.
How do you know all this?
When it comes to Destruction…I know everything he knows, up to the point I was created. Everything else, I only know what you know.
And then…a THOOM of force as he rocketed towards Ino.
And the black haired girl stood ready for him.
Ok…maybe I bit off just a biiit more than I can chew…
The battle, for that's what it had become, was going…well. Everything he threw at her she was able to match. He was fast, almost faster than she could keep up with, but she was pushing everything she had into at least dodging. So far he hadn't landed a single hit, though there were some very close calls. He was recovering from missed swings, repelled strikes, almost faster than she could react. But she was keeping up.
And then he started getting faster.
Her cloak began shredding itself due to his proximity. It wasn't even because of near-misses or improperly dodged or blocked swings, it was because he was in front of her. The ground beneath his feet would crack and begin to crumble with every step, she felt herself being compressed by the very fact that he was there. It was very similar to the short time his subconscious had classed her as an enemy.
But because of then, she knew how to deal with it.
A quick wall of light that blocked his horizontal swing, three thrown daggers that were blown aside just as they left her hands, two condensed fireballs that were quickly dispersed before even getting close to him, and she was given just enough time to tap Xigbar to create a counter effect. A small ripple of air washed over her, and no longer could she feel the pressured effects of his field.
What she'd done, was create a continuous folding of space around her that negated his pressure. It wouldn't do much more than keep him from being able to actively effect her with his powers, but it was only applied to her. The space immediately around her body negated his fields…but she knew that he was creative, even when clearly angry as he is now. Without that pressure upon her, she was able to react better, blocking and even parrying some of his swings. Their fields met and canceled one another out, letting her see his movements clearly, and not through the blurry haze that had existed before.
And it was very obvious that he wasn't happy about it.
Suddenly Kairi began to shudder. She couldn't hold it back anymore. Another wave of hate washed over her, causing her to cough. This…hurt. It all hurt. It hurt so much she couldn't even fathom fighting the pain. All she could do was focus on the voice.
Oh…yessss…
Are…are you enjoying this?! Are you seriously getting off on his hatred?!
Not his hatred. Him.
I…wait you ARE?!
No reason not to. Might as well ride the wave as it comes. Hah…innuendo.
…you're insane…
Best way to cope Red. Besides…he's really lost it now.
What do you mean?
Oh right you don't know…well, sit back a spell and I'll tell you. Just keep your eyes on the fight.
Something had changed. His swings were…faster. Wilder. Less coordinated. Less calculated and focused. They went from specific and direct to wide and all encompassing. He'd even summoned the phantom image of his katana, swinging both down in opposing directions, only for Ino to throw her empty right hand up, a second Keyblade appearing in hand, blocking his attack.
Ooh…that's a neat little trick. I get it now…
How can she…how?!
Roxas. Ino's been channeling the Organization this entire time. She just tapped Roxas to block that.
I…why…why her…? Why not…
Jealous, are we?
Wh-what? No! I'm not-
Oh Tia…when will you learn? Whatever you reject, I get. You're jealous of her. Jealous that she can do something for him you can't.
…yes. Yes I am.
Good. You're learning.
…you said he'd lost it.
Yes. It's not fully obvious yet but he has definitely lost control. You'll start seeing it now. Notice how his swings aren't as focused. He wants to cause pain now. They're wider, to try to catch her in a failed block, or a mistimed dodge. He's not being as technical. You know his fighting style.
Use the world around you. All as one, one as none.
Exactly. He's only using his sword. He's not even really kicking at her anymore. He wants blood.
Why…? Why is he getting like this? Is it really stress?
That and more…
Ino ducked and twirled, narrowly evading the spinning whirlwind of death that had become Seth's katana. He'd attached the hilt of the dark echo to the actual blade, and was now twirling it like a polearm. She was amazed and very impressed by his dexterity, even though she had to focus on evading. She knew he was losing himself in his emotions, possibly even a memory of some sorts. That was her plan though.
Still, she was pressured to not get hit. At the speed he was moving a block would only cause recoil that would make her lose momentum. She was using every trick she could. Clones, barriers, walls, spears of light, gales of flame, even whips of water.
And he was repelling it all, if not outright cutting through it. But even so, she could tell his frustration was mounting. The floodgates were open, he had no control over his emotions now. Due to that, all the frustration would just come right back out, at her. It was a dangerous game she was playing…but death meant nothing to her.
After all, the Life Link would just bring her back. And even if it didn't, he had brought her back to existence once before. She knew he'd feel guilty about this, not that she wanted him to.
Ducking under another horizontal swing, before pivoting on her left foot, throwing her weight in that direction and tucking in her right leg to avoid getting it chopped off – that'd be really shitty after all – She was forced to do a quick handspring backwards to avoid the follow up, saw-like spinning upward slash, instinctively spreading her legs so the blades would pass through open space and not actually chop off a foot – she must have gotten that from Larxene, she thought to herself – before curling her body inward, pushing a large amount of force into her small hands to throw herself up and over Seth, who whirled around angrily.
Some of his strikes should have hit. But she kept bending space around her to temporarily phase out of existence when one got too close. A small thought in the back of her mind called it Phasewalk, though she didn't truly know why.
But now…things changed. The swords vanished, and he lunged at her, faster than even before. He swung his bare hand, fingers arced like a claw. She hopped back, out of his range, confused.
And then flinched violently as the front of her cloak shredded open, three long gashes appearing. Her eyes widened in shock. He'd bypassed her space compression!
Oh crap!
What…what's he doing?
Master has hit the second stage…
Second stage of what?!
The first stage was his eyes. Those showed he was at the end of his rope. The second stage is the body. He's attacking more like an animal now. A raging beast wanting to tear its opponent to shreds. Notice how feral his swings are. The air itself is being rent by claws that don't exist, yet they still do. The upside of the change is that he's returned to using the space around him as a battlefield. Mobility and ferocity are now his weapons.
Why…? What's causing this?
This is the result of the Blood Pact.
The what?
You'll understand soon. Ino is too good. She can play the dodging game all day, especially now that she knows his range is longer than it seems. He won't land another hit on her in this state.
That's good though…right?
Hmph, you would think that.
What's that supposed to mean?
You'll see…
Slowly, a single eye opened.
What was it that called…? Why was it being prodded awake?
The World came into focus, as the eye opened fully.
Her Champion…? He is awake?
She felt for his energy, gazed upon the World until she could See him.
He felt…different. Off. There, but not quite fully himself.
She was not referring to his near berserker state, swinging away with claw at the strangely powerful black haired girl that seemed to give off a counter echo to his own. And yet at the same time, a lightly harmonious one as well.
A connection of Life? Interesting. She saw other ties as well, one to a blonde female, and another to a redhead. Oddly enough, all three girls shared similar facial structures. She Looked.
Ahh…the one He was fighting was once a false existence, who took the appearance of the Redhead's negative. The Blonde was a shard of the redhead, given flesh. That explained why they all looked nearly the same. Still, it did not explain the pull upon her.
She Gazed upon him again. He was awakened prematurely, it seems. And given a Keyblade? Interesting, so something had finally triggered it within him. Perhaps it was that event…
She Beheld his existence, his very Being.
Interesting. The Heartless Child would be good for him. Very good for him. He needed her. But it was quite obvious his insanity was building. She was impressed he kept his eyes Unclouded for so long, despite his eroding mental state. The girl…ahh, she called herself Ino. Very well. The girl, Ino, was right in her attempts to free him from the shackles of his bound emotions. And it looked like the girl could actually survive it.
Good. It wouldn't do for her Champion to be clouded as such. Still…what caused such a block to begin forming?
Oh…that's what. That blank zone at his core was still present. His mind had been arranged to allow his emotions to flow and process, but that blank zone was…corroding them. The flow was slower than it should have been. It definitely didn't help that his feelings of arousal and lust were being shunted aside. Hmm…she could not interfere with the outside…not yet. T'was the reason for her slumber. To regain the power she lost upon the end of that World.
It seemed that the redhead was rather taken with him…but she was pushing it away in favor of a brunette. Ahh yes…that boy. No match for her Champion but quite powerful. Outside of her Champion, and the girl calling herself Ino, he was likely the third most powerful in that gathered group.
Regardless, however, she needed to do something to assist her Champion. Their exchange went both ways, after all. She noted the similarities in situations. The first time he called upon the power she gave him, he was afraid of himself for a time after. Pushing his emotions away. Thankfully that girl was around to help him Comprehend.
But she wasn't any longer. However that Ino girl was determined to fill her role. And that was what seemed to set him off. Good. He needed to release it all. But that blank zone was making it difficult.
Still, she now knew why she was awoken, even if only temporarily. The redhead had brushed her sleeping mind, and was repelled. But she was awoken because he was calling to her. Silently, subconsciously, of course. He already held a second fragment of her power in the form of that strange device. And had given a copy of that fragment to the redhead. That amused her. He enjoyed that little program. She must have guided him through the Awakening unconsciously. Regardless of it all, he needed to let everything go. The blank zone was slowing the process, but she could do nothing about that. That was a lock he must have placed on himself, and she was uncertain what could be behind it.
What was to come next, was already going to be potentially devastating enough. No need to make a possibility a certainty, after all. She pushed upon their connection. It was time she gave a warning to the World.
After all, Chaos will do whatever it pleases…
Ino was getting a little worried. Seth was becoming more frantic and well…not very him as the seconds turned into minutes. But she'd figured out what was going on with his swings. He wasn't rending air with every wild slash, he was rending space! It was no wonder he bypassed her compression field! Even her Phasewalk trick didn't protect her fully, the spatial contortions created by his non-existent claws cutting through even her compressed states. There was a small gash on her left cheek from one of her attempts to dodge through Phasewalking. She barely noticed it, however, so focused on not getting hit.
She didn't have any time to retaliate or even try to counter in any way. She was on the defensive, entirely. She needed time. Some breathing room. Clones wouldn't do shit, he was able to cut through them in a single swing. Most physical elements just splintered around his field, which was still active. She needed something to stop him.
And then it hit her.
She jumped back, out of the way of yet another clawed swing. A flicker of a barrier blocked the following disruption in space. As Seth leapt at her, to cover the distance between them in the blink of an eye, as he was doing this whole time, she calmed her breathing, focused her will, and gently lifted her right hand, reaching out and making a clenching motion, as if squeezing a ball.
The air around Seth buckled and suddenly space around him turned dim. He found himself unable to move, stuck in a swirling orb cage of spatial construct. While active and almost overloaded, his field still wasn't strong enough to repel the compressed space around him. The rage flowing through him flared as he realized he was helpless. And that enraged him further.
Ino let a sigh of relief. She could take a breather for a second. Or so she thought.
A strange sensation filling the air made her head snap up to Seth's location. There was…an odd violet glow beginning to form around him. The Phaselock she placed him in seemed to shudder violently, before it shattered, dropping Seth to his feet.
He…broke it?!
A low rumble echoed from his throat. His body seemed to shudder with palpable rage and hatred. The faint violet glow around him became a largely pronounced veil of wispy energy.
And then he roared.
The pressure wave that followed was immense! Everyone was knocked off their feet by it, a spiral of violet light whipping around Seth's body, as small particles of light began to form in the air, spiraling inward like some sort of whirlpool. Slowly, the light gathered into a single point, before the point expanded outwards, hollowing internally, like a ring. The ring gave a soft pulse, and three lines emerged, forming an upside-down triangle.
From the points of that triangle, formed three more. And in the spaces around the ring, at the north, south-west and south-east sections, three more outward facing triangles formed. And then, the ring pulsed again, sending an echo of itself outwards, to encase the symbol that was always on his jacket. The light encasing the glyph seemed to shatter into small, strange squiggles.
Minnie stared in horror at the Glyph. It was different than the one at Disney Castle but even she knew that any glyph tied to Seth was going to cause problems. The glyph pulsed once, and the still roaring Seth leapt through it, the violet energy field around him compressing to his body, seeming to splinter into tiny hexagonal shapes coating his very flesh, like scales. The strange aura gave a visible glow, seeming to flow along him like a second skin. Hands and feet were encased in glowing claw shaped energy, his shoulders and forearms covered in extended glowing strands that seemed like slightly curved blades. Behind him, the glow took the shape of a long tail, thrashing about, small spikes leading downward to the tip, which had four hooked spikes coming off of it, almost like some twisted drilling mechanism.
Deep in all of their hearts, they felt a primal fear unlike none ever felt before. As he roared again, the air itself shook, their hearts and minds with it. They didn't know what this power was, but they wanted away from it. Just looking at him gave them the feeling of staring into the eyes of a predator, pacing around you, deciding upon whether or not to make you its meal.
Worse…was that suddenly the air was filled with a series of distorted male voices, chanting some unintelligible language. The distortion from the voices made their hairs stand on end, as if they were listening to the very sound of rage itself.
Ino was the only one who realized that once again, Seth had somehow taken control over the concept of existence in this area.
Really though? His music player had activated itself, shuffling randomly to a specific song. This device, technology from his dead world, used energy fields to transmit sound. This way, after designating a certain area of effect, music could be listened to without issue from generally anywhere. They just didn't realize the blasted thing had activated. Even with the sudden obvious increase in power, if anything, Ino would have been able to fire off music by way of reality distortion.
Even so…it was fitting, for what was coming next.
(BGM: Nier Gestalt & Replicant OST – Blu-bird)
The shape vanished in a flicker of movement. Ino had time to make a small 'eep', before she was blown backwards by the force of his punch, the aura itself seeming to follow his will, echoing his strike.
What?! What is-
Stage Three. The Cloak of Tia. The voice of the Anti-Existence seemed to be…wistful. Reverent in her tone. A hint of lust, and an obvious tone of awe were present as well. She couldn't understand it. Rather, she didn't want to. Why was this…thing…this so-called Shadow of her…so obviously in love with him? Was it truly all from suppressed emotions? Or was there something else involved?
She was shuddering violently now. Not that she really noticed. Her eyes were glazed over, tracking Seth's every move. But her body was practically vibrating. The telltale lines of red that signified a Resonance Reaction were flowing blindingly fast. Not half a second passed without red streaks crossing her body. Her heart was beating far beyond its normal pulse. Her body was reacting as if gripped by a primal fear, mixed with a vicious poison. But she didn't feel it.
Kairi supposed that was because her Anti-Existence was so close to her now…and was happily drawing in the mental pressure for herself.
What is Stage Three.
Master loses himself in his emotions entirely. It's the final step in the Ritual. His wild emotions connect with the will of Tiamat, to destroy the given target. That Ino was able to push him this far…incredible. Moreso that the only damage she took was two hits. And yet she's still standing.
How strong is he now?
A single punch from him in this state holds enough conceptual pressure to level a building. You have to understand, however. We are not dealing with normal strength. It is not the same kind of strength that allows one to lift boulders or shatter wood. It's a strength of Intention. A strength of Desire. The Shroud that coats him is one of Destruction. If he wishes it destroyed, it will be destroyed. Nothing is meant to be able to stand against it. And yet Ino can. She must be even more powerful than we thought…
How do you mean?
Since this is a purely Immaterial strength, physical things should easily crumble. Yet she is somehow still standing. Still…she made it this far…if she can hold out just a bit longer…
What? What's going to happen now?!
If she can survive the next few minutes…it will be over. The threat will be gone.
Kairi was about to respond positively, when a carry-over of Seth's mentality struck her.
…does that mean we'll all be dead…?
Hah! Caught on did you? Even I can't say. He's only been pushed this far once before. When they almost took her from him.
…'her'?
Ino must have triggered a memory…that's the only thing that can explain this. Wild as his emotions must be, it's likely he couldn't think straight…misinterpreted something she said…
Hey! Who are you talking about?!
The voice sighed. You hold his memories too, and yet you do nothing with them…
Just tell me!
Out of the corner of her eye, an apparition of the Anti-Existence appeared, shaking her head. The naked Kairi clone turned her head slightly, looking at Kairi almost derisively.
His wife.
A raspy growl of rage. Left arm swung downward. Ino hopped to the side, the air literally curling from force and speed.
She'd gotten hit once, and it hurt like a bitch. Nope, she wanted nothing to do with getting hit again.
He lashed out a fist. The aura launched forward, spreading out in the shape of a clawed fist. She jumped to the left, the fist smashing into the wall, kicking up dust and almost breaking it in one shot. A quick thought, and a pair of spiked Chakrams formed in her hands, the girl hurling both forward at once, paying no heed to them bursting into flames. A second set appeared, she hurled those too. Same with the third and fourth sets. She doubted they'd do anything. It was just a distraction.
She couldn't read the 'lettering' on the edge of the glyph, but she noted the rotating ring of symbols was growing smaller.
Slowly.
That meant the glyph was powering a spell or enhancement, and was on a time limit. When the second outer ring connected fully with the first, the glyph would disperse, and the effect would end. Problem was, she didn't know the time limit on this enhancement. Nor did she really know what it did other than make him look like some cross between a man and a lizard…no…dragon – and give him that glowing aura.
Oh and the constant feeling of 'I'm going to tear your lungs out through your asshole and shove them down your throat'. Can't forget about that.
Suddenly he stopped, growling.
…ok…what's happening now…?
Her answer was a small glow just to the upper left of the glyph. The glow turned into a ring, which then narrowed into a very tight vertical oval. A second ring formed around it, surrounded by a third, horizontal oval. Blinking at it, she thought it resembled an eye. There was a small symbol 'carved' in the center of what would be the 'pupil'. The symbol glowed a soft yellow.
And then he roared.
The ground tore itself apart around him, shattering into particles of dust. Dust that seemed to swirl around into a tight, almost rope-like form. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what was happening now. She was answered by the rope-like dust strands lashing out and tearing through the air at her. She jerked back in surprise, but they wrapped around her arms, like coiled whips. She couldn't react in time, and they yanked her forward, where Seth's right hand was crackling with dark violet sparks of electricity. She gasped, as he tore forward, a deep, gravely voice ripping from his throat.
"CHIDORI!"
The hall was blinded by the impact, the sound of hundreds of thousands of crackling, squealing volts tearing through the air. The light faded and they saw Ino crashing to the ground, body split in two; as Seth landed on the ground behind her. He growled again, before loosing another roar. But this one seemed…angered. Not Triumphant as they expected. The body of Ino on the ground shattered into wispy fragments, the real thing appearing away from Seth.
He growled, jumping into the air, flipping forward once, and slamming his hands – and the aura claws – onto the floor. Streams of violet electricity raced along the ground, halted when Ino stomped the floor, a pillar of stone erecting itself in front of her. Banishing the pillar after it had intercepted the streams of purple lightning, she 'eep'ed again before throwing her weight backwards, narrowly evading three glowing yellow sword shapes that screamed towards her from the air above the screeching Seth.
They all crashed into the ground, exploding in golden yellow energy fragments. He roared again. A soft red glow behind her drew her attention away from him for a moment.
A second 'eye' had opened. The red glow coming from it. She blinked, trying to understand what that meant, before Roxas' yelled sharply at her to look out. Her head snapped back around, just in time to see a massive fireball burning through the air at high speeds. She squealed in shock, throwing her arms up, calling out a wall of compressed space. The fireball was snuffed out, as were the second and third ones behind it. Her head gave a sudden lurch.
O-oh crap. I think I'm overdoing it…
But she couldn't relax. Not when a sudden shadow beneath her alerted her to the falling Seth's approach. Hands wreathed in flaming claws, he came down upon her like a bird of prey swooping upon a field mouse. Quickly, Ino swung her hands up to meet his, her own shrouded in large bubbles of freezing cold water. The claws came down upon her hands, the two locking fingers as a painfully loud hiss created by the wall of burning steam that erupted from their contact deafened the hall.
The steam cleared, showing Ino on her knees, barely holding back Seth's claws. She was panting heavily, sweat dripping down her cheeks, arms shuddering violently as if they were to break in any moment. But her will was unbroken. She grasped deep within herself, pulling forth Lexaeus.
To everyone's surprise, even the animalistic Seth's, a massive wall of energy ripped from Ino's body, taking the form of a wild, flaming aura. The moment this field emerged, Ino slowly pushed back, rising to her feet, causing Seth's eyes to widen. She stared into them, seeing surprise, but also hatred, rage, pain, sorrow, loneliness…all the things she felt before her return to existence. He was still hurting, and that hurt was being radiated outward…but that was all he could feel.
Her own eyes narrowed, before she started pushing upon Seth. He struggled, pushing back, the two stepping back and forth, locked in a battle of wills, and strength. The others could only gape that such a small, willowy girl could even match his freakish strength. But she didn't just match it.
With a flare of the Aura around her, she pushed forward again, Seth being pushed downward, forced to one knee. Their positions were reversed now. But Ino knew she couldn't keep him there. You never stayed near a cornered animal. There was no telling what they'd do. So instead she hopped. The imbalance of weight pushed Seth down further, to both knees. She took a second hop, using pure upper-body strength to hold herself into the air. Seth was being forced backward, into a painful looking lean, before she threw her legs over her head, yanking Seth along the ground, before hurling him through the air.
"HOLY SHIT!"
Was yelled by no less than four separate voices at once.
While the spectators were getting over the shock that Ino had not only overpowered, but tossed Seth away from her, the raging man in question had recovered in the air, landing and skidding to a stop, claws carving grooves into the floor. A huff of astonishment came from his mouth, before he slammed the ground with his claws, roaring once again. A soft green glow appeared in the corner of Ino's sight, a third 'eye' opening. The girl braced herself, as Seth reared back and slashed his claws forward in an X motion, a nigh invisible wave of shredding force ripping through the air.
She threw up her arms, pulling Xaldin into the area around her, a swirling current of wind whipping into a frenzy as a wall of protection. The main form of the attack was blocked, but the stone pillars to her sides were deeply gouged. Her eyes narrowed. It was already dangerous enough before, but now the others were really at risk. She had to keep him from using ranged attacks at all costs while in this state.
She didn't really understand what was going on, only that every time one of those colored 'eyes' appeared, he gained an element, and insane control over it. The first one was lightning, she thought, but that didn't make sense. And then she remembered, he associates Earth and Lightning under the same element, with Lightning being a sub-element of Earth. So the first was Earth then. The second was obviously Fire. And this was clearly Wind.
If this was a pattern, then that meant the next to awaken would be Water, with Darkness and then Light after. And if she was right, he would cycle through all of them before the glyph faded. Still, all the other elements she could see coming, somehow. There would always be a tell of some sort. That's just how it worked. Even if he were to localize a storm of fire right on her location, the air around her would heat up a split second before it happened. But Wind was the most invisible one. It was almost like his natural Gravity powers. All you would see, if you were lucky is a distortion of the air, before it was upon you.
She had to act quickly, and carefully. It was draining, keeping the Compressed Space wall around her. But…he was halfway through the glyphs timeframe. Just a little longer still…
Magnificent…simply magnificent…hey…do you think Ino's into girls at all?
I-wh-EWW! What?! No!
Oh don't be such a homophobe.
I have nothing against homosexuality in the slightest! I just don't feel that way!
Clearly you do if I do.
Kairi could say nothing to that. The constant presence of her Anti-Existence, as well as the continued pressure upon her being from Seth, was taking its toll on her. She was finding less and less reason to fight against what the other her was saying about herself.
I…I can't think about that right now.
Ah well…I guess you have a point there. There was no point in ribbing Kairi for now. She was finally starting to listen.
…what do you know about those…eyes?
The Eyes…I really don't know. Those…seem to be a new development. The glyph never did anything like that the first time around. I wonder if She's watching…
..you mean…Tia?
Yes. It might explain why he's able to wield elements suddenly.
That's…a good point. He can manipulate them in a loose way with his powers…the tangible ones at least…but…
Good, you're paying attention. That's right. His element is the Void element, the element of essentially Nothing.
Like Xemnas.
Not quite. The Void element is a catch-all title for those who don't fall in the six main elements. The Void element covers intangible concepts like Time, Space, Gravity…things like that. In a sense, that Xigbar asshole that Sora killed was a Void elemental.
Ino seems to be using Space Compression a lot…
It's the best and sometimes only counter to Seth's natural powers. His gravity fields move things, compress them, even break them, through Space. So someone who could bend Space around them can nullify all but the most powerful gravitational fields. He'd have to compress something to the point of nearly tearing open a black hole before he could bypass a spatial compression.
"…she's grown…"
Roxas nodded to Ienzo's absently spoken statement.
"You mean she wasn't like this before?" Spoke the voice of Alicia, who had slipped around the edge of the Hall to the group of Ex-Organization members.
Roxas shook his head. "No…to be honest? She was probably the weakest and most unstable of all of us."
"Because she wasn't an actual…Nobody?"
"That…and she didn't have as much battle experience." Answered Isa. "The potential was there…primarily because we put it there, but she was still too fresh. That she kept 'breaking' as well didn't help. But now…"
"Now she's practically a Goddess." Roxas spoke softly.
"Still got the hots for her, eh Rox?"
"Not gonna lie. I have the weirdest boner right now." Lea gave a soft chuckle. He'd have laughed harder, and much louder, but really didn't want to chance Seth coming here and ripping his head off.
Or drowning him, since it seemed he was playing with Water now.
"Never expected to see her throw him like that. Hell I never expected her to be so damn ballsy…" the redhead quipped.
"She's always been ballsy. She was the first to try to leave, remember? And she was willing to fight you…and me…for what she believed in…honestly…she found her heart long before any of us did…and she was never Banished in the first place." Roxas countered softly, watching Ino fight.
The girl was swinging her own whips of water around, lashing them in random shapes and spirals, blocking rapidly fired globs of liquid from the air around Seth, while almost dancing around launched spears of ice and frost.
"And now she's matching Seth, who is quite possibly the most powerful non-god I've ever met." Alicia finished.
"How are you not terrified?" the blonde woman who was with the group asked.
"I've faced down multiple Gods, I technically died twice over, I gave my existence up to house the full power of three god-class beings fused into one, fought copies of two of the most powerful Gods of Valhalla, including its ruler, fought a copy of a false-god born from a powerful human mage, and then fought a Goddess that even Odin himself would have struggled against, and won. I'm scared, but it's a primal fear, and after all I've dealt with, I can mostly ignore it."
Alicia held out her hand, which was gently trembling.
"See? I can't ignore it entirely. My body reacts even if I'm keeping my mind from it. But…well I only just started getting to know her, but Seth spent far more time and effort to bring her back than he did me. If he had faith in her existence to screw reality the way he did, I can have faith that she can keep him busy. The Glyph seems like it's almost run its course."
The five looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Alicia blinked. "That giant symbol in the air. It's a glyph. I don't know much about glyphs to be honest, we mostly used runes of a sort to enhance our equipment. That…bastard Lezard would probably know more. But…I know a little. I know enough to know that certain glyphs are basically tell-tales of what's going on. You notice how that bigger ring is slowly shrinking?"
They nodded. Absently at some point they'd all marked that in their minds but paid no attention to it.
"Well, from what I remember, if its doing that, it means its on a time limit. When the outermost ring touches its mirror, the glyph will fade, and the effect will end."
"What about those weird marks on the sides?" Lea asked.
"The eye looking symbols? I can't say…but they seem to be part of the glyph. Each time one appears, he gains a different elemental enhancement. Likely, he'll cycle through them all before it fades."
Ino stood her ground, panting heavily. The second Keyblade in her right hand slowly faded away. The Seventh eye had opened, and she was just barely able to keep up with him. He'd engaged a power similar to the Clock Up, moving outside the concept of normal time-space. Tapping Luxord, she did the same, but all of the days efforts were finally taking its toll. The glyph was just about expired. Just a few seconds more.
And then things went to shit.
(BGM: Concealed the Conclusion: Lunar Clock – Luna Dial)
She jerked her head to the glyph, as the 'music' flowing through the air suddenly changed. Her eyes widened as a third ring shot out from it, this one larger, but collapsing much faster than the others. A screech-roar from Seth, as the dragon-shaped field around him flared back to life. In seconds he had torn his way to her. She closed her eyes, accepting her death, when she was thrown to the side.
Seth barreled past her, not even trying to attack, blowing his way out the closed doors of the hall. She stumbled to her feet and raced after him.
Last word?!
Sora! Carry me!
As the others got over their confusion, they too ran outside, Sora lifting Kairi – as he'd sensed her intentions, though her words he couldn't hear – and carrying her with them. What they saw caused even him to despair.
"…fuck."
In the air, high above the town, Seth floated. His arms were over his head, before he spread them rapidly, as if casting something from his back. Six strands of colored light ripped from the aura around him, growing and placing themselves in six of eight directions. Above him formed a ring of light, created from the lower tips of the arrows of colored energy. Within the ring formed an obvious feral looking eye.
The light seemed to be sucked towards his body, as the arrows of light began rotating around the ring. The eye seemed to flare, before a massive orb of pale grey energy emerged. With a roaring yell, he slammed hands upon the orb, sending it flying down towards the town below.
"Ino…" Riku spoke hesitantly.
"I…I can't…I don't have…I can't stop that. Not something that big…not with it still growing!" Now she was terrified.
"…is this…is this it…?"
What the HELL?!
This…is the Last Word.
What the fuck is a Last Word?!
A pre-programmed final intention embedded within an enhancement array. Upon the completion of the initial Intent, if the desired solution isn't reached, one final attempt is made. In this case…a final, full-power attack designed to destroy the target, and everything around it. An attack of this magnitude would easily wipe out the entire town, and much of the landscape around it.
I…no…
Such amazing power…oh Master…so this is what gave Elle her idea…
You…you…how…
Do you see now? The truth of his existence? He is Destruction, he is Chaos. You've shared his heart and yet it was Ino who could see the Truth before you could.
Kairi was silent. Tears flowing down her cheeks. The orb continued to grow.
…but it would be no use to either of us if you died here. Even should you revive…
The voice was…distracted.
No…this would be needless guilt. Hmph…for once your rejection of your feelings towards him is a good thing.
Wh…what…
Out of the way, idiot.
Kairi's body jerked violently in Sora's arms. He looked down at the girl, seeing her shuddering as if she were having a seizure. But before he could open his mouth, she'd literally reached up and smacked him away, the girl falling to the ground. This caught the attention of the Restoration Committee, whom were turning around to try to evacuate the town before the orb hit, even though deep inside they all knew it was useless.
Slowly, jerkily, the girl rose to her feet, stumbling forward as if in a drunken stupor. Her breathing was ragged, as if she'd just run for hours, her body was twitching everywhere…she looked like a Zombie. The red streaks were flowing faster than ever before, so fast that there was only a half-second's gap between them, appearing as a near constant glow of red lines along her veins.
Listen carefully, Kairi. All of this…was a message. A message from a Goddess. He is an example of what happens when you improperly chain your emotions. Normally he can let them flow, but he's been so backed up to the point of near rejection that this was able to happen. You are doing the same thing. I exist because you created me, no matter what it is you want to believe. And if you keep rejecting…well…
There can only be one Kairi. And I'll be damned if I let you be the one to exist, if you can't even love all of yourself.
Kairi's head tilted upwards, eyes wider than they'd ever seen before.
"As much as We'd like for the Idiots on this world to be erased…too much death for not enough reason. We can't let you feel such needless guilt, Master. You've lost yourself…but after this…you'll be found again. Please don't become so blocked up again, Master. It hurts Us all when you do. We'll always be with you, when you need Us."
Her voice was higher pitched, reverent, loving.
Her eyes closed slowly, as she took a deep, shuddering breath.
By the way, this will hurt.
Wait what-
"Kamui."
Her left eye snapped open, flaring a blood red. Were anyone to see it directly, they'd have seen a ring of black in the dead center of her iris, three black comma shapes positioned upon the ring, tails pointed facing clockwise. The observer would then see the ring seem to rotate, the commas spinning three times, before they grew, fusing with the ring and pupil into a sort of tri-bladed pinwheel shape. Clearly unnatural, this shape would then rotate even faster.
There was a deafening THOOM above them, and everyone stared in shock as the orb seemed to buckle before collapsing upon itself, sucked into an obvious distortion at its core. They watched the orb fold and crackle, before it vanished, the only sign of it remaining being a small ripple of distorted air that washed over them, causing nearby trees to gently sway.
Seconds passed, the group, and the townsfolk that had seen the orb of Destruction descending upon them, shocked into silence. Silence broken by Kairi giving an earsplitting scream of pain.
Her hands flew up to her left eye socket, the girl dropping to her knees, yelling her agony to the world.
This…is proof of my claim. Proof that you are incomplete. I warned you, you would need my power soon. And you will again. But that took a lot out of me. Be happy, your thoughts will be your own…for a while. I will be back again, Kairi. Try not to die until then…
Sora had rushed to her side, trying to get the redhead to show him whatever wound she'd somehow gotten. Slowly, as the stabbing pain faded into an irritated prickle, the girl pulled her hands away from her eye, shuddering and gasping as they were covered in blood. She could still see, even if things were a bit blurry…but…
"K-Kairi…what just happened?"
She shook her head, wincing as the motion irritated her eye and brain. Sora pulled up a corner of his shirt, dabbing at the area around Kairi's re-closed left eye, wiping away the blood.
"You gotta open your eye Kairi…I need to see if anything obvious is wrong with it."
She hesitated, clutching his shoulders…and nodded. Slowly, she opened her eye, blinking rapidly, noticing Sora jerk backward with surprise on his face.
"Wh-what?"
"I…uhh…w-well…"
"What Sora?!"
"Uhh…are you…umm, having any trouble…seeing?"
"N-No…?" She was now very worried.
"A-ahh…well…uhh…it's just that…y-your eye…it's…"
Sora sighed, gathering his courage. "It's…red, Kai. Your left eye is red."
"W-well no duh-
"No…your left eye isn't blue anymore. It's…red. What was blue is red."
She blinked, a pit forming in her stomach.
A…sign of my…rejection…?
…what…what's happening to me…?
While Kairi was screaming her lungs out, and bleeding all over herself, Ino had sprinted ahead to where she saw an object fall from the sky. Lo and behold after a minute of jogging, she reached the location Seth had landed, seeing the young man slowly pull himself to lean against a building's wall. Hearing footsteps, slowly, blearily, he looked up.
"Hey." Ino spoke softly.
"…hey." Was his response.
"How do you feel…?"
"…like shit."
Ino gave a half smile. "Yeah…you would."
"…sorry about your jacket thing…"
"eh?" She looked down. Her cloak was in tatters, burnt in places, frayed in others. It barely resembled clothing any longer. She shrugged and unzipped it, before tossing it away.
Seth blinked. "…triangle bikini top…?"
Ino flushed slightly but shrugged. "If I wear an actual shirt under that thing it gets too stuffy. And it's not like I've had time to go shopping for clothes or anything. And…even though I'm only supposed to have battle information from her, Larxene's data says that wearing any normal bra for an extended period of time, let alone in a fight, would start hurting after a bit. At least with this, I can get a nice soft material that won't dig into my skin if I have to move around a lot."
"heh…you know me…any reason for a girl to go shirtless is fine by me." He said tiredly.
Ino rolled her eyes.
"You gonna be ok?"
He nodded. "I think so. I can still feel it all…bubbling at the back…but it's quieter. It won't go away until I address it but…I'm alright now."
She kneeled next to him, wiping the dirt off his cheeks. Slowly, and to her surprise, he reached up and the cut on her face. "…sorry."
She blinked at him. "Eh? Oh…it'll go away by tomorrow. I kinda had to push myself more towards not getting hit than healing myself."
"…still."
"Don't worry about it, ok?"
He nodded, and the two fell silent again. The sounds of murmurs coming from the town square, which wasn't far from where they were gave them a quiet ambience.
Slowly, an impulse built within her heart. On instinct she lowered herself, reaching for him and wrapping her arms around his torso, leaning into his shoulder. She sighed in contentment.
He gave a gentle huff.
"…you did good, Ino. You did good."
Smiling into his shoulder, she squeezed him slightly, reveling in the acknowledgement.
A/N: And here we have it. Crazy action, explanations, and Ino shows her stuff. Those that think Ino or Seth is suddenly overpowered, i point to Borderlands 2's Lilith. I wont say for risk of spoilers, but after seeing what she did at a certain point in the story? Basically all on her own only with a bunch of god-powered rocks to supercharge her? Yeaaaah fuck all the haters.
I'll explain a bit here: Ino is as powerful as she is now because she was "born" with the powers of all 13 Organization members inside her. she can access ALL of their powers, at any time, in any combination. She is, quite possibly, even more deadly than Seth.
Some people might have an idea of who that strange being was, that could see Seth's Existence. i wont say anything, cause it's kinda obvious. also, by next chapter, we'll have officially hit the halfway point in my plot! Victoly!
The Pyromaniac Druid: Thank you for the praise! I try my best. The Imari is indeed the same as the Tailed Beast Ball. I named it after what the "original" name for the TBB was. Anti-Kairi AND Miri can use techniques similar to that of Bayonetta. There is a reason for this. Also damn right she does!
GodofLazors: hot naked women all over the place. cant go wrong with that. As you can see, i've punched the writer's block in the face. this took me a couple weeks to craft together but ultimately this slab of pure awesome is what i needed to get back in the groove. i wont give a time frame for the next chapter, cause it'll be done when it's done, but i've already started work on it. cant promise it'll be THIS long, but...well, the story's just going to get more insane.
Jesus H...still cant believe i've written over 20k for this, and that's before author's notes. ahh well. cant be helped.
