Happy New Year!
And a late Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!
So yeah. I'm back and one of my resolutions for this year is to actually put out more than one chapter a month. I've been really bad about that lately, haven't I?
Has everybody seen the Jump Fiesta Trailer for Dream Drop Distance yet? If you haven't, go look it up on Youtube. It's worth it. More about KH:3D after the chapter because I don't want to keep you waiting.
Disclaimer: (Insert generic and possibly witty disclaimer here)
Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty Eight: Anti
Sunday, June 27th, 4794 P.C.
RGLAC Hang 'Em High Bridge
Lynfael
Sora's claws narrowly missed slicing into Roxas' shoulder as the blond rolled out of the way. Roxas exited the roll on his feet, the Oblivion and Oathkeeper clutched in his hands and ready to strike. Sora growled at the blond. Roxas flourished the Oathkeeper and rested it on his shoulder while he held out the Oblivion towards Sora. He motioned with two fingers towards the Darkness covered teen, encouraging him to attack. Sora growled and pounced towards the blond. Roxas spun as Sora's claws drew nearer and avoided the attack. Before Sora could react, Roxas slammed the hilts of both Keyblades into his back. Sora let out a grunt and collapsed against the ground.
"Roxas, be careful!" Naminé shouted to him. She didn't sound angry, just concerned. She was watching the fight anxiously as she and Nanaki knelt next to Kairi. "Sora's still in there somewhere!" Roxas opened his mouth to respond but was cut off as Sora's foot shot up and struck the bottom of his jaw, forcing the blond to bite his tongue. Roxas stumbled back with a gasp of pain, and spat several droplets of blood out of his mouth. Sora flipped himself back up and stared at Roxas with his unblinking yellow eyes. A low growl emanated from his throat.
Roxas spun his Keyblades around in his hands and charged at Sora with a shout. Sora fell onto all fours and dug his claws into the ground before propelling himself forwards. Roxas slid to a halt and braced himself as Sora barreled towards him. The blond raised the Oathkeeper above his head and brought it down on Sora's head as his dark claws stretched out towards him. Sora hit the ground face first and slid past Roxas. The blond turned to watch his brother force himself back into a standing position and readied his Keyblades. Sora turned to face Roxas and cracked his neck side to side.
Before Roxas could react, Sora became a blur of Darkness that streaked across the room and slammed heavily into him. The blond was torn off his feet and thrown into one of the few workstations still intact. Roxas cried out in pain as his back hit the workstation. His grip slackened on the Oblivion and the obsidian weapon clattered to the ground. He started to fall forward but was instead knocked to the side by a punch thrown by Sora. He hit the ground hard and quickly rolled to his feet, holding the Oathkeeper in a defensive stance with both hands as Sora continued his attack.
"We have to stop this," Naminé said nervously as she watched Sora break past Roxas' guard and slash at the blonds' exposed chest. "Roxas can't fight back against Sora properly."
"Worry about it in a minute," Nanaki said hurriedly. Naminé glanced over at the purple-haired teen. She was digging around in a small bag she had been wearing under her torn cloak and was pulling out several Elixirs and placing them next to Kairi's head. "Right now, we need to do what we can to heal this wound or your sister is going to bleed to death." She gestured down at Kairi's body. Naminé spared Roxas one nervous glance, before nodding in agreement and turning towards her sister and Nanaki.
"What do we have to do?" She asked. In response, Nanaki tossed her an Elixir. Naminé reacted on instinct and grabbed hold of the golden bottle as Nanaki pulled the top off of hers.
"Just repeat what I do," she explained. Naminé watched as she leaned over Kairi, placing one hand on the ground to support her weight as she carefully began to pour the Elixir directly into the wound. The bright yellow liquid sizzled as it touched the bullet hole, steam rising from it as it was absorbed into Kairi's body.
The auburn-haired teen's eyes snapped open suddenly and she let out an earsplitting cry of pain as Nanaki continued to pour the Elixir into the wound. Nanaki winced but didn't falter. She had to make sure to get as much of the Elixir into the wound as possible.
"Aren't you supposed to drink potions like this?" Naminé asked nervously.
"Under normal circumstances, yes," she said as calmly as she could, but her voice still shook. "But with wounds like this, it's better to apply directly. The nice thing about Elixirs is that it enters the bloodstream one way or the other, so it's generally faster to just pour it into the wound like I am now."
Roxas twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding Sora's claws when Kairi's cry pierced through the air. Sora flinched back away from Roxas and turned his head around to look at Kairi. He let out a whimper that turned into a growl as he realized that Nanaki was the reason Kairi was crying out. Roxas' eyes widened slightly as he realized that he was no longer Sora's focus. The Darkness-covered teen turned towards the three girls and fell onto all fours, preparing to charge across the room.
Kairi's cry of pain died down as the last of the Elixir in Nanaki's bottle dripped onto the bullet wound, becoming a barely audible groan as she stared up at Nanaki. The purple haired teen smiled kindly at her and backed off, tossing the empty Elixir bottle aside. Nanaki placed her hand over the wound and cast a Cura spell on Kairi. Kairi's eyes squeezed shut as a wave of pain racked her body.
"Oh no you don't!" Roxas shouted at Sora. He aimed the Oathkeeper at Sora's back and created a swirling orb of bright Light on its tip. Sora glanced behind him and Roxas fired the orb off of the Oathkeeper like a gun. The kickback lifted Roxas off of his feet and propelled him backwards through the air and into a conveniently placed chair. The orb of light crashed into Sora and exploded violently, blasting him across the room and into the hallway leading away from the bridge, narrowly avoiding Richard as he flew past.
"I can understand it if you don't like me," Richard called over to Roxas, "Most people don't. But is it really necessary to throw things? That's just childish."
"How about you help me instead of just standing there?" Roxas snapped at the warlock.
"Technically, I'm sitting," Richard pointed out, gesturing to the chair he had fashioned for himself out of the wreckage of the bridge, without even using a single piece of an actual chair, Roxas noted. "And it why interrupt a good show? I'm enjoying this. The dark one is behind you, by the way." Roxas spun around and was greeted by Sora's foot, which slammed into his chest and kicked Roxas into the front viewport of the bridge. The glass shattered and Roxas found himself tumbling to the main body of the ship a good fifty feet below. He landed hard and rolled for several yards before coming to a stop.
He let out a low groan and forced himself back to his feet. Twinges of pain shot through his ribs and up his back with every movement and the cut on his cheek was bleeding again. "Damn it," he muttered under his breath as he called his Keyblades back to his hands. He looked back up at the bridge in time to see the dark form of Sora leap down after him. With a grumble of irritation, Roxas hefted his Keyblades and prepared for Sora's next attack.
The Darkness covered teen landed heavily several yards away from Roxas, leaving a considerable sized dent in the hull of the ship. Sora didn't seem to notice, however. His faintly glowing yellow eyes were fixated on Roxas.
"Sora," Roxas said, taking extra care to make sure his tone was calm and even. "I know you're in there. You need to stop this. Kairi's safe. This fighting isn't getting us anywhere. So can you please stop?" Sora growled and pounced towards Roxas. The blond groaned in frustration and ducked under his brother. Sora sailed inches over Roxas' head and slammed into the hull of the ship a few feet behind him.
"I'll take that as a no."
LD
Sora let out a roar of frustration and collapsed to the stained glass platform beneath him. Try as he might, he couldn't break his way back through his own Darkness. He stared down beneath him at the image of himself sleeping with the Kingdom Key in hand. The platform looked different from the last time Sora had seen it when he had fought Roxas in the World That Never Was.
The four circles that had featured the images of Kairi, Riku, Donald and Goofy had increased, and the images of the four had changed. Kairi and Riku's circles now displayed them with their current looks, not the ones Sora had seen them in before he had first started wielding the Keyblade. Kairi's circle itself had changed shape, becoming a heart that glowed faintly, making it stand out against the rest of the platform.
Donald and Goofy still looked the same, except their expressions were less serious and both had huge grins on their faces
Three new circles had formed along the edge of the others. One contained the image of Roxas, who had a smug smirk on his face, and another showed Naminé smiling softly. The third was faded, the only part of the platform that wasn't lit and clearly visible at all.
Sora frowned as he stared at the dimmed circle. He could vaguely make out the silhouette of a girl, but any defining features were lost to him. He let out a sigh and stared up at the murky Darkness that surrounded the platform as he tried to think of a way to take control of his body back.
"Let me out of here!" He shouted in frustration. His voice echoed all around him for several moments. "This is my body, don't I get a say?"
"No."
Sora nearly jumped out of his skin. The last thing he had been expecting was an actual response. He looked around for the source of the voice, but he was all alone.
"Hello?" Sora called out into the Darkness. "I know you're there."
"Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?"
"How should I know?" Sora asked. "I'm not even completely sure where 'here' is."
"We are in your heart." The voice seemed slightly annoyed at the fact that Sora hadn't figured it out. "Well, not your physical one, anyway, your spiritual one. The one the Heartless seek to claim."
"And why are we in my heart?" Sora asked, looking around for the source of the voice. "But more importantly who are you?" As the question left his lips, tendrils of smoke-like Darkness seeped onto the platform of Sora's heart, twisting around as it took on a humanoid shape. Sora watched in interest as the Darkness parted and he stared at the source of the voice.
The person standing opposite of him now looked, more or less, exactly like him. The only noticeable differences were the other person's hair was jet black, even darker than the Darkness surrounding the platform. His skin was so much paler than Sora's it seemed to glow and his eyes were a vibrant golden-yellow. He wore a simple black robe that was open in the middle, revealing his chest and notably more muscular build. The boy smirked at Sora.
"I am you," he said in a complacent tone. "Well, not all of you. I'm your Darkness personified."
"You're my Darkness?" Sora repeated.
"The sentient part," the other replied. "I wasn't even that before today. So I suppose I should probably thank you." He bowed slightly to Sora. "You can call me, Anti."
"You've lost me," Sora said, eyeing Anti suspiciously.
"What else is Darkness, but hatred or rage?" Anti asked. "When that dude in the white armor kidnapped Kairi, your anger began to grow. When he shot her, you developed an instant hatred towards the man and wanted nothing more than to tear his worthless heart out and grind it under your heel. Or am I wrong?" Sora remained silent. He couldn't deny it, even though he wanted to. When he had heard the gun fire, seen Kairi fall and watched as her blood pooled around her, he was overtaken with bloodlust. He had never felt anything like it before. He had never wanted to kill anything. Ever. But then, he had blacked out, and woken up on the platform he stood on now.
"No. Of course I'm not wrong," Anti said. "I do reside in your heart, after all. You can't hide anything from me. I know everything there is to know about you. Would you like to know your greatest weakness?" Sora didn't say anything. He simply stared at Anti as he grinned sinisterly at Sora. "It's her." He pointed to the image of Kairi's face on the platform. "Ironic, isn't it? That a pure Light can create such a powerful Darkness? Your love and devotion to her is what created me, Sora. That love and devotion took the form of Darkness when she was shot. And here we are."
"So you're controlling my body," Sora concluded. The fingers on his right hand twitched, guided by the natural instinct to summon his Keyblade to his hands. Anti shrugged.
"Yes and no," he said. "I'm divided from myself. I am the spiritual representation of your Darkness while your Anti-Drive, your physical Darkness, has control of your body. Although your Anti-Drive is much stronger than it used to be. Another wonderful side affect of your love, if I might add. I would be in complete control your Anti-Drive hadn't taken form before I became sentient enough to be in control. But don't worry. When your Anti-Drive deactivates and you regain control, I will become whole again. And the next time you drive into your Anti-Drive, it will be me in control." Anti smirked at Sora.
"So all I have to do is avoid Driving into my Anti-form?" Sora asked. Anti's smirk vanished. "Easy enough."
"Such confidence," Anti said, he's casual tone vanishing in an instant. "But avoiding driving into Anti-form isn't enough. As time passes, your Darkness will grow stronger. I will grow stronger." He and Sora were glaring at each other now, slowly beginning to circle one another. "In due time, it won't matter if you stop Driving all together. I will be able to take over whenever I please." His smirk returned and he glanced around at the Darkness around them.
"And I will use the Keyblade to tear down the worlds. Casting them one by one into Darkness. No one will stop me. Not your friends. Not Maleficent. Not even Xehanort. And I'll do it all in your name," Anti grinned evilly at Sora. "Maybe I'll even make your Princess my personal slave. How does that sound?"
Sora practically bit his tongue off to hold back a retort. It was obvious that Anti was trying to fuel Sora's anger, and Sora had a hard time holding it back. The worst part was he was succeeding. Easy, Sora. He told himself. Deep breaths. There's nothing to worry about. This is your heart. Not his. He can't actually do anything he says. He's all talk right now. Just stay calm and think rationally.
Anti laughed a cold, cruel sound that caused Sora's hair to stand on end. "All talk am I?" Sora's eyes widened in surprise. How could Anti have heard what he was thinking? "How about I give you a taste of what I'm capable of, even in my current state." Anti held out a hand in front of him and a large flash of purple flame tinged with black cast a ghostly light across his face for a moment.
The flames died, revealing a Keyblade in Anti's hand. The teeth and head were black with a red outline and possessed a round, cog-like shape. The handle was red and the guard had the same coloration and cog-like shape as the teeth. The shaft was primarily colored in shades of grey and sports a copper-colored gear in the center, with two black chains wrapped around it. Two more chains were wrapped around the base of the shaft in a similar fashion. It also had two blue, reptilian eyes, one in the head of the blade and one embedded in the hilt. Its Keychain was comprised of three small, copper gears and ended in a charm resembling two halves of a gear arranged in an S-shape.
"Tell me, Sora," Anti said with a sadistic grin spreading across his face, "are you prepared to die?"
Sora took a deep breath in to calm himself. He wanted to be angry at Anti, but at the same time, he knew that anger would only fuel him. So he had to remain calm at all costs. A bright light lit up in his right hand as he summoned the Kingdom Key into existence. "I'm not going to die," Sora declared. "But now that you've told me what you have planned, I'm not going to just lie down and let you take control of my body either."
Anti shrugged and fell into a fighting stance that reminded Sora of how Riku looked when he fought by holding his weapon in one hand up by the side of his head. "Have it your way then," Anti said. Sora's grip tightened on the Kingdom Key and with a cry, he darted towards Anti. He threw the Keyblade ahead of him and it went spinning rapidly towards Anti. The embodiment of Sora's Darkness smirked and countered with a slash from his own Keyblade. The Kingdom Key was sent clattering across the platform before vanishing in a flash of light.
Anti looked up and saw Sora less than a foot from him, throwing a punch towards his face. Anti leapt back, just beyond Sora's reach. "Is that all you've got?" The momentum from Sora's punch caused him to spin around as he missed and Anti laughed. "You look ridic-" He never got to finish his insult as Sora's momentum brought him back around as the Kingdom Key appeared in his hand again. Anti's golden-yellow eyes went wide with shock as the Keyblade bashed him on the side of the head and sent him flying across the platform.
"You were saying?" Sora said with a grin as Anti slammed into the platform. Anti let out a snort of frustration and leapt back to his feet. Darkness swirled around his free hand, quickly forming a swirling orb which Anti flung at Sora. Sora swung the Kingdom Key like a baseball bat at the right moment before the orb could strike him. Anti smirked as his own attack shot back at him. He leaned to the side and the orb of Darkness sailed off into the gloom, vanishing quickly. He leapt high above the stained glass platform and swung his Keyblade behind his head.
"Too slow!" Bolts of purple and black lightning rained down on Sora as Anti swung his Keyblade in a wide arc. A domed shield of pale light covered the spiky-haired teen with barely enough time to shield himself from Anti's onslaught. The lightning hammered against Sora's Reflect spell for several seconds before dissipating in a shower of sparks. Sora dispelled the barrier and as greeted by the cog-like teeth of Anti's Keyblade with no time to react.
Sora cried out in pain and shock as he was sent crashing across the platform. Anti let out a sadistic laugh and casually rested his Keyblade against his shoulder. "You're pathetic," he sounded almost disappointed. "I expected more… well, more. You are the Keyblade's Chosen One, are you not?" Sora clutched at his chest as the pain from the blow Anti had dealt him throbbed violently. "You're hardly putting up a fight." Sora forced himself back to his feet and summoned the Kingdom Key back to his hands.
Anti smirked as Sora charged him with a roar. Sora stabbed at Anti, who easily sidestepped the attack, only to find Sora's free palm inches from his face. Anti's eyes went wide as Sora grinned triumphantly. "Firaga!" A large fireball blasted from Sora's hand and struck Anti on the left side of his face before exploding with enough force to send both Sora and Anti sailing to opposite sides of the platform.
Anti howled in pain, clutching the side of his face as he rolled to a stop toward the center of the platform. A dark cloud of Darkness-tainted smoke rose from the burn. Sora only managed to catch a glimpse of his foe before his own momentum carried his body over the edge of the platform and into the abyss below.
LD
"That was an uninspired and disappointing climax," Richard pointed out, gesturing at the broken viewport where Sora had jumped out from in his pursuit of Roxas. "I was hoping for more blood and severed limbs, so I'll give it three bodies out of five."
Naminé and Nanaki paid no attention to the warlock. Their eyes were glued to Kairi, carefully watching her to see if she was going to wake up. It had taken two and a half Elixirs, but the bullet hole in Kairi's shoulder was healed, leaving only a pair of faint oval-shaped scars on both sides of her shoulder. Kairi's breathing had returned to normal and her eyes were closed again.
Naminé was in a state of mild panic. She wasn't sure if Kairi was completely healed or even alright, Sora was being driven by Darkness and fighting Roxas and if her ears weren't lying to her, a large group of soldiers were headed towards the bridge at that moment. There were shouts coming from somewhere beyond the bridge and they were growing louder. Naminé glanced over at Nanaki, who had slumped back against one of the few still standing workstations and breathed a heavy sigh as she listened to the sounds of the approaching soldiers.
"Sounds like we're about to have company," the purple-haired teen said out loud, stating the obvious. "We'd better grab your sister and hightail it out of here 'cause I really don't want to get into another brawl. I'm too tired."
"That won't stop them from chasing us," Naminé pointed out as she stood up. "We'll have to fight them eventually." Nanaki grinned slyly at her.
"Not if we use what resources we have available to us," she said with a wink. Naminé shot her a confused look to which Nanaki replied by tilting her head towards Richard, who had abandoned his chair made from the wreckage of the bridge and was sitting instead on a throne crafted from an odd assortment of body parts. Silently wondering where Richard had found the time and the body parts to make the throne, Naminé gave Nanaki a look that said You-Can't-Possibly-Be-Serious. Nanaki only grinned and turned towards the warlock.
"Oh Richard," she called to him in the sweetest tone she could manage. "Would you be a dear and help us?"
"There's that word again," Richard said in a disgruntled tone. "Help. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm not exactly the helping kind. Actually, I'm definitely not the helping kind. I'm the slaughtering kind. If you were to ask me to burn down a village, slaughter its people and use their bones as musical instruments, I would do that gladly. But I don't help." He crossed his arms and twisted on his throne so that he was looking away from the two teens with an air of having been insulted.
"Would you help us if it meant you got to fight off a lot of soldiers?" Nanaki asked. "You can kill them if you want. I don't really care." Richard eyed her suspiciously.
"It depends," he said.
"Depends on what?"
"Can I keep their ears?" He asked eagerly. Naminé and Nanaki exchanged confused looks. Neither of them looked entirely sure on how to respond to that.
"Sure?" Nanaki shrugged. "Do I want to know why?"
"Souvenirs," Richard explained as a red, tear-drop shaped crystal with jagged edges formed over his left hand. The soldiers were closer now, and the stern commanding voice of a superior officer could be heard shouting at the others, telling them to kill anyone who wasn't Kairi or Naminé, which only made Nanaki's face grow slightly paler. "So if you'll excuse me…" He turned and strode towards the door, fire forming around his right fist as he went. Naminé watched the doorway nervously; several shadows could be seen in the hall beyond, rapidly growing larger as the soldiers rushed the bridge.
"Come on," Nanaki said to the blonde as she grabbed Kairi from behind and lifted her into the air. "You take her legs and we'll make a break for it while Richard keeps them busy."
"I don't know if you've noticed, but our only exit is blocked," Naminé said, gesturing at Richard as the warlock stood perfectly still in front of the door. "And this is a big ship. We can't exactly climb down the side you know."
Nanaki grinned and set Kairi back down on the floor gently. "Who said anything about climbing?" She reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a small cube which she immediately dropped. The cube bounced off the floor once and began changing shape in midair. It remained hovering as it flattened itself out until it was the size of a sled, large enough for at least four people onto it. A holographic control panel flared into existence at the front of the sled as a faint blue light pulsated from underneath it.
"Pretty cool, huh?" Nanaki said with a grin as she caught a glimpse of Naminé's slightly stunned look. "It's a Surface Skimmer. I'm not sure how it works, but if you want to outrun a fully-grown Veneschall, there's no better tool."
"What's a Veneschall?" Naminé asked as she and Nanaki loaded Kairi onto the Skimmer.
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Nanaki said with a grimace. She turned back towards Richard who still stood still in the doorway. "You gonna be able to handle them all by yourself, warlock?"
"You clearly don't know me very well," Richard said in a nonchalant tone as the soldiers finally came into view. The fire on his right hand intensified and the crystal blade on his left seemed to glow as he glared intently at the closest soldiers. "Come then, oblivion awaits."
"Everyone onto the Skimmer," Nanaki said in an obviously fake cheerful-tone as Richard began his slaughter. Ignoring the cries and shouts from the soldiers, the purple-haired teen leapt onto the front of the Skimmer remained standing as she began pressing several buttons on the holographic controls. Naminé forced herself to look away as she watched the warlock cut a man in half with his crystal blade. Shuddering, she climbed onto the back of Nanaki's Skimmer and placed Kairi's head in her lap. "Let's get the hell out of here!"
Nanaki placed her left palm against the holographic display over what appeared to be a dial. The display flashed and changed from blue to bright green in color. The anti-gravity generators built into the vehicle flared to life, lifting the Skimmer almost three feet off of the ground. Nanaki slid her goggles down over her eyes and rotated the dial. A small field of domed energy covered the front of the Skimmer as it blasted at full speed towards the front of the bridge.
Naminé let out a small scream an instant before the Skimmer slammed into the wall and tore through it as though it were made of paper. Naminé's scream was drowned out by the rush of wind as the Skimmer sailed out across open air for a moment before it began to descend rapidly towards the top of the Hang 'Em High where Roxas was fighting off Sora. Nanaki let out a whooping laugh as the Skimmer sailed over the two teen boys' heads. Both of them looked up from their fight for a moment to watch as the Skimmer nearly crashed into the hull of the ship, only for its anti-gravity generators to whine as they increased their field output, bringing the Skimmer to a gentle halt two feet above the Gummi plating that protected the Hang 'Em High's innards.
Nanaki let out a wild laugh as she glanced back at Naminé's terrified expression. "You should see the look on your face, Blondie. It's priceless."
"Don't call me 'Blondie'," Naminé said breathlessly as she placed a hand over her heart which was hammering at what felt like a million miles per hour against her ribs. "Could we please not do that again?"
"I refuse to make promises I know I won't keep," Nanaki said with a wink before she looked up at Roxas in time to see the blond bash his brother across the back of his head with the blunt side of the Oathkeeper. "Hey, Roxas!"
Roxas brought the Oathkeeper back down to deflect a swipe from Sora's claws in time while he stabbed at the Darkness-controlled teen with the Oblivion's tip. Sora hissed and leapt back several yards in a single bound, golden-yellow eyes locked onto Roxas' blades. Roxas threw a brief glance over his shoulder at his new purple-haired friend. "What? Can't you see I'm a little busy?" As if on cue, Sora lunged at him, claws outstretched and menacingly sharp. Roxas twisted to avoid the assault at the last second, but not in time to completely dodge the blow. One of Sora's claws tore through the blonds' jacket and left a shallow cut in the center of his back.
Roxas cried out in pain, stumbling forward in surprise before spinning around to kick Sora to the ground before he could react. "Careful with those!" He snapped.
"I'll keep it short then," Nanaki called as Sora's face smashed against the cold metal of the ship's exterior. "I'm going to take Blondie and her sister and get the hell out of Dodge while the warlock holds off the rest of the soldiers for us. Meet us back at your ship!" Roxas vaulted over Sora as the Darkness-controlled teen slid toward him with blinding speed, clearly intending to knock him down and gain the advantage.
"More soldiers?" The blond shouted in surprise as he landed on the other side of his brother. "There were more?"
"Do you see the size of this thing?" Nanaki gestured at the ship below them. "Of course there were more!" At her words, three bodies fell from the bridge in a flash of green light, with smoking holes left behind in place of their faces. Conveniently for Roxas, the bodies managed to land on Sora, knocking the unsuspecting teen to the ground. Sora's golden-yellow eyes rolled around of their own accord for a moment as he struggled to get back up. He shook his head violently back and forth for a few seconds, like a dog shaking water out of its coat. In a split second, he returned to as normal as someone possessed by Darkness could be.
"I'll take your word for it," Roxas called to Nanaki as he charged Sora again. "Get going! I'll nab Sora and meet you guys back at the Kingdom!"
"That's the plan!" Nanaki said as she slammed down on the Skimmer's throttle. Naminé spun around to look at Roxas as the three teen girls began to speed away toward the bow of the Hang 'Em High.
"Roxas!" the blonde shouted over the roaring that was rapidly forming in her ears. "Don't let Sora give in to the Darkness! Snap him out of it!" Roxas paused in his charge against Sora and flashed a grin so similar to Sora's that it was almost scary. In that one smile, Naminé couldn't help but feel strangely reassured that Roxas didn't intend to fail and let his brother fall to the throes of Oblivion.
She couldn't resist smiling back…
…only for it to be replaced by a scream as Nanaki drove them down the steep slope of the ship's bow. Naminé tightened her grip on Kairi's shoulders instinctively while Nanaki let out wild laugh that was lost to the air roaring past them. The Skimmer, once again, miraculously came to a sudden-yet gentle halt less than two feet above the stone surface of Lynfael before it took off at a breakneck speed towards a chasm leading out of the valley and into a canyon towards where Naminé assumed Sora and Roxas had landed the Kingdom .
However, the Skimmer came to a screeching halt as the three of them rounded the side of the Hang 'Em High's bow to find well over a hundred soldiers blocking their path with weapons trained on the three teens.
LD
"Do you still have confidence in the Keyblade's Chosen One?" Atticus asked Derrick as he watched the battle between Roxas and Sora on the top of the Hang 'Em High through a pair of binoculars.
"I do," Derrick replied. Atticus lowered the binoculars and glanced over at his companion. Derrick had lain himself back against a small rock and had his steel-gray eyes fixed on an oddly blank spot in the night-time stars.
"He's being controlled by Darkness," Atticus reminded him. "How can he stop the Infinite Night if he can't even stop the Darkness from controlling him?" Derrick only smiled. Atticus let out a grunt of frustration and jammed the binoculars back over his eyes in time to watch as Sora grabbed Roxas by the shoulder and threw him heavily against the ship below them.
"He is not the first Keyblade Wielder to be controlled by the Darkness within his own heart, nor will be the last," Derrick explained. "He will stop the Infinite Night. I know it."
"You can't know the future," Atticus said, watching as Roxas froze Sora's legs to the ship before whacking him in the gut with the Oblivion. "Even those who claim to can only see possibilities. The future changes constantly and is always under the influence of every decision made by every sentient being across every world. So how can you claim to know?"
"Because he is the only Keyblade Wielder to not only become a Heartless, but be saved from the Darkness of the Abyss by the light of one of the Seven Princesses of Heart," Derrick explained. Atticus shot him a slightly confused look. "Born into Light, the Chosen One will selflessly give himself to the Abyss to save another. By the Light of his Princess, he shall be re born through Light once more.
"That is the first part of the Prophecy depicting the one defining aspect of the Chosen One, the part that was passed on in secret to protect his identity through the Templar Order for thousands of years. Out of all the other 'Chosen Ones' that lived up to other parts of the prophecy, only he has ever lived up to that part."
"That doesn't explain why you have complete confidence in him," Atticus grumbled. Derrick laughed.
"And I was worried you weren't the same stubborn teenager I met almost ten years ago in Traverse Town," Derrick said. "After your explanation about how the future works, I was worried you had gone philosophical on me."
"Only in your dreams, old man," Atticus smirked. "Now, are you going to answer my question?"
"Fine, fine, I guess I've beaten around the bush enough," Derrick sighed. "I never said my confidence was only in him." Atticus stared intently at Derrick, waiting for him to elaborate. "I have confidence in Sora because I have confidence in the friends he surrounds himself with. He goes from world to world and no matter where he is or how far out of his element he goes, he always leaves a mark on the hearts of those he meets. What I'm saying is that my confidence in him is the same confidence his friends put into him.
"With that confidence at his back, I have no doubt in my mind that he can overcome any challenge presented to him. So what if the Darkness grips his heart tightly now? With a little help from the right friends, he can easily overcome it."
Atticus was silent; staring at the man he considered both friend and ally. Neither of them spoke as they watched three teenage girls fly out of the front of the bridge on a Lynfael Surface Skimmer, land on the surface of the Hang 'Em High and drive off, down the slope of the ship's bow only to be stopped by over a hundred armed soldiers. "You seem to know a lot about the Chosen One," he said, a hint of curiosity barely noticeable in his tone.
"I keep in touch with a few people he's close to," Derrick said cryptically. Both of them nearly jumped out their skins as something on the older man's waist stared vibrating loudly. Atticus shot him a confused look as Derrick pulled a small silver orb out of a pouch on his waist and held it in his palm. The orb stopped vibrating and pulsed with a green light as it produced a holographic video image. Derrick smirked over at Atticus.
"Speak of the Devil. Long time no see, your Majesty."
LD
"Berel's ass," Nanaki muttered in a low curse as she and Naminé stared at the soldiers. "We're screwed."
"What now?" Naminé whispered as she watched the soldiers taking aim at her, Nanaki and Kairi.
"We turn tail and get as far away from here as physically possible as quickly as this thing can carry us," Nanaki replied with a nervous chuckle.
"You do realize there's a ton of guns pointed at us, right?" Naminé said, gesturing at the soldiers. "I'm pretty sure they'd turn us into Swiss cheese before we'd even manage to turn around."
"I'm not worried about the soldiers," Nanaki said. Naminé raised an eyebrow in confusion. Nanaki pointed at large hill that rested between the soldiers and the gap in the canyon wall behind them. Naminé stared at the hill for a moment, unable to see what Nanaki was getting at. It was just a sand covered hill with nothing on it other than seven, blood red oval-shaped stones set into the side of the hill at even intervals.
Then the hill blinked.
Naminé's heart nearly stopped as she watched massive sand-colored eyelids close over stones and slowly open again. "Umm, Nanaki…" She whispered as cold dread began to settle somewhere in her midriff. "I think the ground just blinked at me?"
"As the ever vigilant voice of reason, I feel we should seriously consider dismembering Naminé before her crazy infects us all," Richard said from next to them. Naminé and Nanaki both gave the warlock perplexed looks.
"How long have you been standing there?" Nanaki asked.
"I've been here the whole time," Richard said. "I find it rude that you didn't notice."
"But you weren't-" Nanaki began before Namine cut her off.
"Nanaki! Hill! Blinking!"
"Oh, right," Nanaki swallowed hard and inched her hand closer to a holographic button labeled 'Reverse'. "Remember when you asked me what a Veneschall was? You're about to find out."
"Hand's behind your heads! Now!" One of the soldiers ordered. "In case you can't tell, we have you surrounded. Give up now! You will be taken into custody!" Behind the soldiers, the Veneschall began to move. Sand poured off of its body as it rose. Naminé eyes slowly followed its eyes as it rose from the ground.
The only thing Naminé could bring herself to concentrate on was the sheer size of the creature. It stood at over a hundred feet tall on eight long legs that were covered with what appeared to be a shell made up of shifting sand. Its body was made up of a large, bulbous thorax that was covered in several plates of the same sandy shell protecting its legs. Two short arms protruded from the sides of its abdomen, each one tipped with numerous, razor sharp claws. Its head rested at the end of a long, neck that twisted and writhed of its own accord as it stared down at the soldiers beneath it. Its mouth was filled with several rows of foot-long, rotating, razor-sharp teeth. Sand poured from the beasts' maw like drool and dripped onto the shoulder of the man shouting orders at Naminé and Nanaki. The soldier looked down at the sand on his shoulder and turned to look up into the glowing red eyes of the Veneschall. "What the fu-!" His words were drowned out as the Veneschall opened its jaws wider and let out a deafening screech. Naminé's hands flew to her ears as the creature's shrill cry echoed loudly for several agonizingly long seconds. In her lap, Kairi's violet-blue eyes snapped open and she quickly clapped her hands over her ears.
"Do you believe me now?" Naminé shouted at Richard, who seemed to be the only one unaffected by the Veneschall's screech.
"Perhaps," Richard said in a calm tone. "But I am a being of conviction. I stand by my previous decision."
"What is that?" Kairi cried out, her voice almost inaudible over the Veneschall. All around them, soldiers fell to their knees in pain, dropping their weapons to protect their hearing with their freed hands.
"Veneschall!" Nanaki shouted. "Let's get the hell out of here before-" The Skimmer's holographic console flickered suddenly and without warning before vanishing all together. Nanaki stared at the place where the panel had been in disbelief before the Skimmer shuddered violently and folded itself back into its portable cube-shape. The three girls all let out grunts as they fell to the ground. "Well, shit."
The air was quickly filled with the steady sounds of weapons being fired as the soldiers reclaimed their weapons and turned their attention onto beast towering over them. Their weapons didn't seem to do anything other than alert the Veneschall to their feeble attempts to kill it. It let out a growl and raised one of its legs, thick as tree trunks, and brought it down on a trio of soldiers, crushing them effortlessly.
"Ow," Kairi grumbled as she stood up groggily. "What is that thing?"
"Veneschall," Nanaki said hurriedly as she scooped her Skimmer back up and attached it to her belt. "We need to get out of here! Follow me!" Nanaki turned and ran a total of three long strides before she came to a halt as a thought occurred to her. She turned around and looked back at Kairi. "You can't run, can you?" Kairi shrugged and flinched violently as the Veneschall let out another shriek. The three girls glanced back in time to watch the creature's neck whip around, knocking at least fifteen soldiers on their backsides before it swallowed seven men whole.
"I think I can," Kairi said as she and Naminé began running at a pace too slow for Nanaki's liking. "It's not like I have much choice, do I? I don't think being eaten is fun!"
The set up was almost too perfect and Nanaki couldn't resist, despite the situation they were in. "Depends on the guy that's doing the eating, kiddo!" She added with a sly grin. She let out a laugh as both Kairi's and Naminé's faces turned beet-red.
"What the hell is that thing?" Roxas asked as he slid down next to them off of the bow of the ship.
"Veneschall!" Nanaki shouted. Said creature let out a loud screech as the soldiers continued to fight it in vain. "I told you that you didn't want to know what an adult one looked like."
Roxas' eyes bulged. "No kidding. That's a Veneschall?" He threw a quick glance over his shoulder at the beast. "Mother of God! That thing's huge! Is it made of sand?"
"I wonder what would happen if I tried to burn it with the full power of the sun…" Richard pondered to himself out loud. The others ignored him.
"It'll take too long to explain. But long story short, yes," Nanaki said loudly over another screech. "You can't hurt those things." Behind them, Richard raised his hands, both of which were now on fire and shot twin bolts of fiery energy at the Veneschall with a loud fwoosh.
"Then what do we do?" Roxas called out nervously.
"Walk up to it and see if it eats you," Richard suggested. The others all fell silent and gave the warlock perplexed looks.
"What will that tell us?" Roxas asked, unsure if he wanted to hear the answer.
"That it's hungry," the warlock replied seriously.
Roxas groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Someone please make him stop talking," he asked as they took off running away from the fight between the Veneschall and the Hang 'Em High's soldiers. "Why couldn't the soldiers have killed you?"
"I'm very hard to kill," Richard called back to him as he remained where he was standing. "You can give it a try if you want, though I doubt you'd be any luckier than the countless others who have tried."
"Don't tempt me," Roxas muttered under his breath.
"Who was that guy?" Kairi asked as she threw a glance over her shoulder back at the warlock. "Friend of yours?
Naminé shook her head. "Far from it." Kairi raised an eyebrow at her. "He's a summon I found that decided he didn't want to ever go back into the charm."
"They can do that?"
"Unfortunately," Naminé said before looking to her left at Roxas and catching sight of the blonds' left shoulder. "Roxas! You're bleeding!"
Roxas nodded and spared the four deep scratches a quick glance. "It's nothing too serious, I can still fight."
"Where's Sora?" Kairi asked Roxas. She was already out of breath and looking as if she was going to pass out on her feet. Naminé and Roxas both shot her worried glances.
"Richard blasted him away from me," Roxas explained as the maimed and bloodied body of a Recovery soldier was thrown over their heads with tremendous force. "I didn't see where he went though so be careful."
"You lost me," Kairi said, stumbling a little as she nearly tripped over a large stone jutting out from the ground. "Why should we be careful of Sora? And who's Richard?"
"Richard's the homicidal warlock in the cloak back there," Naminé panted, gesturing with her thumb back towards where the warlock stood, watching as the Veneschall tore apart the last of the soldiers.
"Your summon?" Kairi asked her blonde sister. Naminé nodded in response. "But what about Sora?"
"You're about to get your answer," Roxas said darkly, sliding to a halt as he caught sight of movement above them. In a flash of light, he summoned the Oblivion to his right hand and fell into a fighting stance similar to Sora's.
The others all came to a sudden stop as a black streak fell out of the sky and slammed into the earth in front of them, shattering the ground and leaving a shallow crater. Thick clouds of dust rose from the point of impact. Roxas' eyes narrowed as he tried to get a clear view at his target. A bright flash of orange-ish red light from behind them revealed a dark, human-like shape standing in the center of the crater.
"There you are," Roxas whispered as his grip tightened on the Oblivion in an attempt to stop himself from shaking. Nothing he had done to Sora so far in this battle hadn't even fazed him in the slightest and Roxas was coming close to reaching his limit. He didn't know how much longer he could keep it up. Especially now that Kairi was awake and he didn't know how she'd react. "You ready to finish this, Sora?"
From within the fading cloud of dust, Sora answered with a low growl.
Kairi felt her heart practically come to a stop as the dust settled and Sora came into view. His glowing, yellow eyes were fixed on her. His obsidian claws glittered under the pale moonlight. "S-Sora?" She whispered. Sora growled.
"You guys keep going," Roxas said gravely. He turned back around to look at Naminé. "Follow Nanaki to the ship, she knows where it is. If I'm not there after ten minutes, then take off." Naminé nodded and opened her mouth to speak, only for her words to become a cry of surprise and worry as Sora suddenly appeared next to Roxas in a dark blur.
Roxas turned back around and let out a shout as he found Sora's face inches from his own. Sora let out a roar and before Roxas could even bring the Oblivion up to defend himself he head-butted the blond with enough force to knock him back several feet. Roxas slammed into the ground and came to rest, unconscious, at Naminé's feet.
"Roxas!" Naminé dropped to her knees by Roxas' side and gently cupped the side of his face as she tried to wake him up. "Wake up, Roxas. Come on!" She shook him as hard as she dared. Her eyes focused on Roxas' forehead. A large gash was leaking a large amount of blood from where Sora's head had made contact with Roxas'. Naminé immediately cast Cure on it before looking up to see where Sora was.
She saw Nanaki standing between where Sora had been standing and where Naminé now knelt with Roxas. The Keeper's Crest reflected the moonlight brightly off of its lavender blade. Naminé leaned to the side to peer around Nanaki and spotted Sora. He stood exactly where he had been when he had knocked Roxas out, and to the blonde's surprise, Kairi stood in front of him. Fear rippled through Naminé as dozens of different scenarios of what could happen to Kairi played themselves out in her head in less than a second, and none of them ended well.
"Sora," Kairi said gently as she took a step towards the Darkness-controlled teen. A deep rumble emanated from within Sora's chest, a subtle growl. Kairi stretched a hand out towards him. "You need to stop. Please. Come back to me." Naminé and Nanaki watched the exchange with fascination. Sora allowed Kairi to place her hand over his heart before he finally reacted.
A blood-curdling roar left his throat and he raised a single clawed hand above his head, poised to strike. Nanaki pounced, yelling a wild battle cry as she sprinted towards Kairi and Sora. Kairi's hand never left Sora's chest, even as he began to swing his claws back down towards her.
"You're not him," Kairi said, a hint of anger in her voice. "You're not my Sora. Give him back." Sora's claws were less than an inch from Kairi's throat when a bright flash of blinding-white light flared up between the two of them. Naminé and Nanaki both cried out in shock as the light continued to intensify, making it impossible to see Kairi and Sora.
LD
Sora breathed a sigh of relief as he stared down at the dark void below his dangling feet. As he had tumbled over the edge of the stained glass platform, Sora had stabbed the Kingdom Key into its side at the last second, allowing him to hang from the side of the platform by both arms. Somewhere out of his sight, he could hear Anti groaning in pain. Sora grinned smugly and with a grunt of effort, pulled himself up onto the Kingdom Key so that he was standing on it rather than hanging off of it.
Using the Keyblade as a springboard, Sora leapt up into the air and grasped the edge of the platform. "Had enough, you arrogant prick?" He asked Anti as he pulled himself up onto the platform. "Or do I still need to beat some sense into you?"
"Neither," Anti growled from somewhere out of sight. Sora got to his feet and called the Kingdom Key back to his hand in flash of light as he walked towards the center of the platform. The sound of rushing air filled his ears as Anti materialized out of nowhere inches away from him. Sora's eyes went wide as Anti's hand grasped him by the throat and hoisted him into the air. Sora gasped, struggling to breathe as Anti slowly tightened his grip.
"Do you know what you are?" Anti asked, sneering up at the spiky haired teen as Sora dropped his Keyblade. "You're worthless and weak. That's all you've ever been and that's all you'll ever be. Weaklings like you don't deserve the powers they've been given. Only strong people like me deserve that power: people who will use that power to shape the worlds in their image and bring about a perfect paradise."
"That doesn't sound like paradise," Sora managed to grunt out through gritted teeth. "That sounds like Hell."
"It's paradise to me," Anti said with a smirk as he tightened his grip further, making it impossible for Sora to make any sounds. "But you won't be around to see it. Such a shame."
"Neither will you!"
Anti and Sora both gave a start as a female voice reached their ears. Anti looked around and was greeted by the 'teeth' of the Kingdom Key less than a foot from his head. He was forced to drop Sora to the ground as he ducked under the blade. Sora collapsed to his knees, coughing violently as he drew in breath. He looked up and to his amazement; Anti was being driven back by someone who looked similar to Kairi.
She was dressed in a black cloak identical to the ones worn by the former Organization XIII. Her facial structure and hairstyle were extremely similar to how Kairi had looked before the Islands had been lost to Darkness and Sora had set out on his first journey. The only noticeable differences were that this girl's hair was jet black and styled only slightly different and her skin was slightly paler than Kairi's had ever been. Clutched in her left hand was the Kingdom Key, which she swung with astounding speed and skill at Anti, who was being driven further and further back from where Sora was kneeling on the ground.
"Annoying bitch," Anti snarled as he summoned his gear-like Keyblade back to him. "I thought I had taken care of you!"
The black-haired girl said nothing as she leapt over Anti and stabbed at his shoulder in midair. Anti blocked the attack with the flat of his blade and rolled to the side as the girl landed and spun around to continue her attack. Sora was terribly confused. He could understand Anti being there, because he looked like Sora and represented his Darkness, but he couldn't comprehend who the girl was or why she was in his heart.
He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt someone else place a hand on his shoulder. Sora's jaw dropped open in surprise as he looked around to see who was touching him. A grinning, spiky-haired blond teen stared back. "Roxas?" Sora exclaimed. "But how? I thought you had your own body now." Then it occurred to Sora, that while this boy looked like Roxas, there were several noticeable differences.
The blond was dressed in clothes similar to the ones Roxas wore. His jacked was white on the right and black on the left. The collar of the jacket was red and pleated. Underneath this, he wore what appeared to be a grey vest with a single button and several white, angular patterns decorating it. Beneath that, he wore a plain, high-necked, black shirt. A chunk of dull green and grey armor on his midsection was visible under his vest, and he had yet another piece of the armor on his left shoulder, though neither seemed to provide adequate protection and seemed pointless. A pair of crisscrossing leather straps met in the center of his chest where a heart-like silver emblem shone brightly. His pants were similar to Roxas' only the boy's pants ballooned outward slightly before narrowing down about halfway down his calves. His boots were an oddity themselves, as they looked like an armored version of normal street shoes.
Like the black-haired girl fighting Anti, the boy clutched a Keyblade in his hand, although he held it with a reverse grip unlike how most people would wield a sword and the Keyblade clearly had been designed for that style. The black handle was offset from the Keyblade as opposed to being aligned with it, and the guard is equally misaligned. The guard was a dull gold color and joined with the shaft of the Keyblade to fully enclose the handle. The shaft was grey, thin, and had a very slight curve outward and was surprisingly short in overall length. There are three thin, dull gold lines that decorate the middle of the shaft. Two short bars connect the main blade to the 'teeth'. The 'teeth' themselves were grey like the blade and had a curved, wing-like shape. They were comprised by five curved bars that decreased in size the lower they were on the Keyblade. The Keychain sported a green gem with two silver feathers spiraling around it.
"No, I'm not Roxas, but good guess," the blond said with a grin that was uncannily like Sora's.
"Then who are you?" Sora asked as he got back to his feet. "And what are you doing here?"
"We're here to make sure you stay in control," the blond said. "So you need to get out of here. We can handle Dark-boy over there, so don't sweat it."
Sora glanced over at Anti as he deflected the girl's next attack and landed a punch in the small of her back, sending her tumbling away from him. He looked back at the blond who was staring intently at Sora. "That still doesn't tell me who you two are," Sora pointed out.
The blonde smiled and stepped away from Sora and towards the fight. "Just think about that letter the King wrote you. If it doesn't come to you, you could always just ask him," he replied cryptically. Sora's brow furrowed in confusion as a blue-tinted light began to surround him. "But you've spent too much time with your Darkness, right? Go spend some time with your Light." The light intensified around Sora, making it impossible for him to see anything. From somewhere nearby, Sora heard Anti's defiant shout which was quickly silenced as the sound of rushing air filled his ears.
LD
Naminé and Nanaki looked around as the light rapidly faded away. To their amazement Kairi was unharmed and Sora's appearance had returned to normal. Naminé breathed a sigh of relief and turned her attention back to the unconscious Roxas lying next to her. Kairi stared up at Sora as the last of the Darkness visible on the side of his face faded, leaving behind his natural, slightly tanned skin. Sora opened his eyes, once again a brilliant cerulean color rather than the harsh golden-yellow that had been moments before. He blinked several times before his eyes found Kairi's.
"Hey, Kairi," he said hoarsely. He winced in pain as he spoke. His throat felt raw and shredded, like he had been shouting at the top of his lungs all day.
"Hey yourself," Kairi said with a wide smile as she pulled him into a tight embrace. Sora smiled softly and wrapped his arms around her.
"I thought I lost you," he whispered as they held onto each other. Kairi nuzzled her cheek against Sora's chest and pulled away from him just enough to show him that the bullet wound was healed.
"I know," she said. "And it's alright. I'm all better now." Sora smiled widely and leaned in to give Kairi a kiss when Nanaki gave a loud, interruptive cough. Sora and Kairi looked around at the purple-haired teen that had an eyebrow raised at them.
"In case you've forgotten," Nanaki said, directing her words mostly towards Kairi, "there's a Veneschall very close by that would like nothing more than to turn us into dinner. So if you don't want to get eaten, I suggest we high-tail it outta here and get all cozy with one-another later." Sora and Kairi broke apart, their cheeks flaming red.
"There's really a Veneschall nearby?" Sora asked, looking around. "I don't see anything."
"That's because it's on the other side of the ship," Nanaki said. "Now can somebody pick up the blond so we can go before we die? I don't want to become Veneschall chow!"
"I wouldn't worry too much about that thing," Richard added, once again startling everyone by his sudden and unexplained appearance.
"Quit doing that!" Nanaki shouted, clutching at her heart. "And why shouldn't we worry about the Veneschall? They're the most dangerous predator in all of Lynfael."
For an answer, Richard pointed behind him. "Look at what I made!" He explained with a joyous tone. Richard had brought the Veneschall back with him, and the entire thing had been turned to glass. Nanaki's mouth fell open as she stared up at the creature.
"That's a Veneschall?" Sora asked. "It doesn't seem so scary to me."
"You should've seen it before it was turned to glass," Naminé said.
Nanaki opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to come up with something to say before she gave up with a groan of annoyance and started heading in the direction of the Kingdom. "Let's just go. I can't wait to get off of this rock," she grumbled before adding under her breath "I can't believe it. I've run away from those things at least twenty times and now some pathological warlock comes and effortlessly kills one. Unbelievable."
Sora grinned and gave Kairi a quick kiss before walking over to where Naminé and Roxas were. "I don't know about you guys, but I've had it with this place." Naminé and Kairi both nodded in agreement and moved to help Sora place Roxas on his back before following Nanaki. Richard however remained behind the others for a few moments as he stared up at the glass Veneschall, trying to find some way to bring it along with them.
"So who's the guy in the cloak?" Sora asked Naminé as they walked away.
"Just trust me," Naminé said with a groan. "You really don't want to know."
LD
What's that? I didn't end on a cliff-hanger for once? The world must be coming to an end!
Well, not really. Unless you believe in that whole December 21st, 2012 bull.
Anyways, 3D related topic! My brother recently posed an interesting question to me; since Dream Drop Distance is coming out, how do I plan on working with that?
I finally have a response. Since Looming Darkness is still in it's infant stage (in my opinion) I can work with some of what 3D will provide me. Mostly for worlds and what-not. But because Looming Darkness and 3D basically take place at the same time, Looming Darkness is officially AU. However, if I can make some canon material presented in future games work into the plot. I will.
That's it for now. Reviews are welcome. Any artists out there? If you're up for it, I'd like to see some Looming Darkness artwork. Not necessary, but I think it'd be pretty kick-ass.
See you all next time!
Aspicio, diluculo Infinitas Noctis.
Shadow Horizons
P.S. My beta just suggested that I do this because several of her favorite FF authors are doing this, if I made a Facebook page, how many of you would actually join it? I'll probably put this as up a poll. So you can either vote there when it's up, or you can PM me. Or leave it in a review. Anyway, peace!
