Chapter 11: Darkness and Chaos
Thump-Thump, thump-thump, thump-thump
"Riku, please! You have to stop him!" She kept remembering that last thing she had said to him, when he had confronted Roxas some unknown time ago. What should she say to him now; here he is, standing right in front of her, yet no words would go through her agape mouth. She looked up from the shadowy floor to where Riku stood, as if waiting for her to speak. "C'mon, Xion; it's pretty dark in here; I don't want you to get scared of the dark." He said, holding out his hand. Slowly, she stepped closer to take it, but felt herself being pushed away by an unknown force. She then saw Riku being pulled away by a completely black and grey being with yellow eyes and into a dark void, with the white-haired teen being completely unfazed and his eyes completely fixed on her like a statue. Running towards him, the effort being in vain as she her pace brought her nowhere even remotely close to him. All she could do was say one thing:
"RIKU!"
Gasping for breath, struggling in the cocoon of darkness, Riku could do nothing as the cold eerie sensation swept over his senses. As for the others, they saw the shadows that had engulfed Riku harden into a black cocoon.
"IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE! WE COULD'VE WISHED NAZO INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE SUN, BUT NOOOOO! WE HAD TO MAKE A WISH WHERE RIKU HAD TO TAKE A NAP!" Knuckles ranted in a rage, Shade trying to calm him down. Shadow made a soft grunt at the flaring echidna.
"I really hate to say it, but you're right. Why on Mobius would we want to waste such a concept?"
Gemerl interjected, "Gee, I don't know. Maybe our blue, now clad in magic armor and holding a talking sword leader made a mistake by summoning a ring genie with powers? Hmm, now that's a tough one... Seriously, I don't know much about Super this and Excalibur that, but what I do know is that Sonic never fails to deliver the heroics, right?" Hearing this, Knuckles gave nod and Shadow merely scoffed. "And on top of that, these guys," He gestured to King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy, "Seem to know Riku better than us. If they think he can do it, then I think so, too." They all nodded, knowing that all they could do is make a plan and hope that Nazo doesn't...
"I seeeeeee youuuuuu..." Seethed an evil voice from outside the building. Everyone turned to see Nazo hovering outside, an menacing sneer on his face. Sonic lunged forth, Excalibur out in a powerful thrust. Nazo pinned the blade between his arm and chest, then held Sonic by the throat.
"Grrrgh!" The resulting sound was enriching to Nazo, he would take pleasure in obliterating this weakling in front the eyes of all who were close to him. Then something stopped him; he sensed something powerful nearby. He moved Sonic from his vision, seeing the black cocoon resonating a faint glow.
"Hmph, it would seem that whatever trump card you had is now useless. Allow me to take out the trash." He fired a single blast, aiming right at the dark object.
"No! Don't hurt Riku!" Cream cried, throwing herself in front of the blast of energy.
"CREAM, NO!" Sonic choked, muffled by a sudden explosion.
Cream had fallen on her face; something had pushed her, caught the blast, and somehow stopped it from harming anyone. Smiling, she turned, "Riku!" then her expression became a new one; one of shock and awe all in one.
A black, clawed hand poked out of an opening in the cocoon, which now appeared leathery and thin. It was lifted away and was revealed to be wings, four attached to the back of a slowly-being-consumed-by-darkness Riku. The only normal parts remaining were his head and the center of his chest. However, soon those parts had begun to change; Riku's chest took the form of a *heart (*Like the keychain on Way to the Dawn) outlined in red. The back of his collar opened bright yellow eyes of its own, the rest of the collar turning into the maw of a frightening creature that closed its jaws around what remained of Riku and began to tighten into a mask. Eyeholes formed to show Riku's once teal eyes now half and half with golden amber on the opposite sides.
With his transformation complete, everyone could see him clearly. He was encased in an armor unlike anything, metallic yet shifting like the shadows it was darkened by. The mask fit his hole head, also dark with a hole in the back where his silver hair flowed out like a mane and broad horn-like protrusions on the top of his head. Hollow breathing was all that could be heard as he stepped towards the edge were Nazo hovered closeby.
It was then that Nazo felt whole new sensation come from within. An urge, a result of instincts that told him that there was a much more powerful enemy before him; he wanted to escape! This feeling, this emotion had only one name.
"Fear? Why do I fear him? I have ultimate power, all the power of chaos and more! I FEAR NOTHING!" Nazo yelled, throwing Sonic into the side of the building and diving into Riku. Unfazed by the impact, Riku's wings outstretched as he pushed Nazo away and scissor kicked him in the neck. "Darkness..." he brought the summoning charm he had given Revrs, with the intent of using it. "Vergil!" A curtain of darkness surrounded the charm, then out stepped a man in a blue trench coat, white swept back hair, and a menacing katana in his left hand. He eyed Nazo with disgust,"Hmph, how boring..." he says, adjusting his collar and placing his hand lightly on the his sword's hilt.
*Click
Vergil swung his sword in a flash, destroying the rings around Nazo. Then, he dashed forward, "Die..." flashed his katana once more; he had summoned small vortexes around Nazo's body, cutting him multiple times and made the Chaos emeralds fall away from him, reverting him back into his normal form. He then sheathed his katana, vanished, reappeared over Nazo, and hammered him further into the ground with swords made of energy. "Foolishness..." Shadow saw his oppertune moment and took it. He shot for the seven emeralds, began hovering right in their midst, and transformed into Super Shadow; his black fur slowly changing from black to platinum gold as his power increased beyond his normal threshold and Arondite transformed into a long black and red sword. "Witness the true power of the one and only ultimate life form! ROAR, DRAIG GOCH!" Shadow warped behind Nazo and slashed him multiple times. "CHAOS..." He wrapped his arms around Nazo and dove towards the ground. Upon nearing the end, "BLAST!" A large red explosion of energy erupted from where they landed. Fatigued beyond compare, Nazo began to limp towards Riku.
"It doesn't matter how much power you have." A cold voice emanated from Riku as Vergil vanished without a word. He picked Nazo up and tossed him outside where he caught himself and looked for Riku, who had vanished in an instant. "If you don't have the heart to wield it..." His echo sounded in all directions, confusing the imitation of life and making check all directions, except for one space; right behind him. "You're gonna lose it all!" He was then engulfed in an enormous orb of darkness. Inside, white and dark blue lights struck him at every possible side. Stunned by immeasurable pain, Nazo floated in the air in a daze. Before him hovered Riku, Way to the Dawn in his right and in his left was a Keyblade that was barely visible in its radiant glow. "Time's up." Riku said as his wings exploded into grey angel-like wings and he shot through Nazo's body, a black heart clutched in the cage of his claws.
The orb vanished, an armor-less Riku being pushed into the safety of Mickey and a normal Sonic's arms as a Revrs-shaped shadow consumed the black heart hovering in the air. Almost exactly afterwards, Nazo cried out one last time before shattering into dust and scattering into the wind. From a far distance, the Dark Stranger looked on at what had transpired. "That Keyblade..." He uttered before opening a Corridor of Darkness. "It constantly gives him power that should not be his!" His voice corroding with rage, he roared as he yanked his helmet off and threw it down the corridor. His amber eyes burning with rage and his silver hair bristling with fury, he seethed his anger through his gritted teeth and flaring nostrils, "IT SHOULD BE MINE!" Then he flashed on a satisfying thought; he had something he doesn't. "Yes... Of course..." He chuckled, picking up the discarded helmet and placing it in its rightful place as he stepped through the exit and into his domain. After typing a seven key code, he entered a small room with a large glass cylinder in the middle. Within he enclosed space was a girl with long raven hair submerged in clear liquid. "You will be the one to even out the scales with that miserable fraud..." Upon hearing a voice, the girl opened her eyes and set them on him. "Isn't that right, Xion?"
FINALLY! I have the next chapter done! I have had so much drama going on that I couldn't do anything with my story. But now I have returned and my ideas are wired like dynamite! Just stick in the right places and light up! Wait a minute... NE-D! Have you been messing with the teleprompter again!
Revrs' Journal
Hey guys! Since I'm new here, I'll be Jiminy's equivallent and make notes and entries regarding the Path of Shadows storyline. Who knows, maybe you'll see into the future! That or melt your eyes... anyway, Here's the bits and pieces we'v covered so far!
Necromorphs-
Species category: Non-Human/?
World: Space Graveyard/ USG Ishimura
Description: An until-recently-long-dormant race, these creatures were sealed away by the Black Marker by an unknown force. The Black Marker was removed by a group called the Unitologists by their beliefs that it was connected to God and the creation of all existance. Soon after, the crews of the Ishimura began to wipeout each other and soon did the Necormorphs join the fray by inhabiting the bodies of the dearly departed. Virtually invincible and never the same in form or physical ability, the only way to eliminate them is through tactical dismemberment. These foul abominations first appeared in the Dead Space series.
Sonic the Hedgehog-
Species category- Neo- Human/ Blue Pygmy Hedgehog
World: Mobius/ Far away from Water... XD
Description: A worlds-famous hero that has recieved the respect of King Mickey himself with his selflessness and heroic deeds. With the nickname "The Blue Blur," he puts any other fast character to shame with his blinding speed and quick wit in even the most intolerable situations. He first appeared in the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Shadow the Hedgehog-
Species category- Neo- Human/ Black Pygmy Hedgehog
World: Mobius/ The ARK
Description: Created to be the savior of humanity in the time of great calamity, this ageless and immortal hedgehog has been dubbed as the "Ultimate Life-form" by Prof. Gerald Robotnik and dear friend to Maria Robotnik, his creator's granddaughter. He has the ability to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds and wield Chaos Control, which freezes time and allows Shadow to equal, if not surpass, Sonic's speed. After losing Maria before his very eyes, Shadow vowed revenge on the world. But after meeting Sonic and his friends, he chose to save it from the evils that threatened it, as were his creator's and Maria's wishes. He first appeared in Sonic Adventure 2 BATTLE
The Dark Stranger-
Species Category: ?
World: ?/?
Description: Has been seen almost everywhere Riku has gone with the power of darkness at his side and a mysterious story of actually knowing Riku. Who is this mysterious being? And how is it that he came to know our young Keyblade Master? Only time will tell... He first appeared... ?