Hey, I'm back! Sorry to keep you all waiting, but the planning process and my own personal life kept getting in the way. Anyways, shout outs:
The Unknowing Herald: Thanks. I know, they're both going to be addressed very soon.
Legionary Prime: Thanks, and I'm glad! It's been a long time coming!
Lucenthia: Yeah I know. Really I was just proving a point with that conversation, but I guess I kinda went overboard. Me too. The Kingdom Slayers are the first of two major enemies I'm introducing in Part 3 and I'm excited for both of them.
soraroxas123: Thanks, I'm glad you liked it. I hope I deliver as much as I promised, haha.
T1M3: Ha, well there will be several nods to the rest of the series in this Part, as well as addressing characters who haven't really been seen very much yet, but I hope it comes out as awesome as it is in my head.
Kristen Verne: Thanks!
Alright, I may have been gone a little while but hopefully everyone remembers what I own!
Part 3 Intro/Chapter 51: Rising Tide
(Terra's Theme, Birth by Sleep)
The snowy forest of Camelot, though peaceful several hours ago, was now filled with the stench of death and the sounds of heated battle.
Dozens of fallen knights littered the frozen ground, where they had been cut down mercilessly. Those lucky enough to still be alive were falling back, unable to hold their ground against the oncoming tide.
Facing them from the other direction were dozens upon dozens of Ancient soldiers. They were charging eagerly with Saenatar at the front. The brutish General grinned wickedly as he drew back his battleaxe in mid sprint and swung heavily, impaling a Camelot knight and knocking him through a nearby tree.
It was then that a certain man among Arthur's defenders turned and stared at the Ancients angrily. He shook his sweaty black hair out of his eyes and held up his sword. "All of you, we must fight! For Camelot!" he yelled to those around him still fleeing. Many of the knights ignored him, but a precious few reluctantly stopped and turned back to face the invaders. Saenatar sighed hungrily as he stared at Gwaine and readied his axe.
"Come then, and meet your ends!" he roared as he charged forward. Gwaine, however, smiled and suddenly crouched low to the ground.
Saenatar's eyes widened in surprise as a grey and silver Keyblade rider swooped in, right over the knight's head and collided with him, knocking the General a hundred yards farther back into a great tree trunk. Without hesitating, Jack turned his rider into blade form and descended among the Ancient soldiers. He hit the ground and began a savage onslaught.
"It's Rikkison!" one of them yelled just before Wanderer's Judgment cut his throat. Jack threw his Keyblade forward, downing one soldier as he turned and zapped another with lightning. He dashed forward as his blade returned to his hand and blocked a vertical strike from a soldier. Sensing movement behind him, he moved his right arm around and blocked another strike with his gauntlet. Trapped between the two Ancients, he narrowed his eyes and spun upwards, dragging both men with him. The Wanderer twirled in mid-air to dodge their blades, bringing his own weapon back around and slashing the first man across the chest. He glanced around at the remaining Ancient as they began to free fall. The man glared at him and reared back with his sword, but Jack reached out his hand and cast a magnetic spell. The Ancient screamed as he felt himself telekinetically pulled toward the Rikkison, who made sure he landed on Wanderer's Judgment.
Jack then landed among the Ancients again, who warily surrounded him with drawn blades. He calmly cracked his neck and got in a ready stance.
Suddenly, the bushes behind the group parted and Terra leaped out with a war cry. Ends of the Earth aimed downwards and slammed into the ground as its wielder landed. The following shockwave knocked every Ancient around off their feet. The two Keybladers looked at each other for a short moment. "Kept you waiting, huh?" Terra said with a faint smile. Jack rolled his eyes as they turned to look at the next battalion of incoming soldiers, with an angry Saenatar at the front.
"He's already lost two battles against us this week. You would think he'd have given up by now." the Wanderer muttered. His fellow Keyblader laughed dryly and rested Ends of the Earth on his shoulder.
"Roxas and Namine are in position. Should I send them out?" he asked. Jack nodded.
"Saenatar will never see them coming." he agreed. Terra touched his earpiece.
"Now." he said simply. The two friends watched patiently as Saenatar and his forces continued to run right at them.
"After so long of being the Ancient General, you'd think he would have learned more tactical knowledge by now." Jack observed. Saenatar's forces crossed into the clearing, but that was when Roxas sprang up out of the snow and kicked him in the face. Saenatar grunted as he stumbled back, but angrily swung his axe and felt it collide with Oathkeeper. Roxas narrowed his eyes as he front flipped over the General and went to strike him across the back, but Saenatar brought his axe over his head and sent it crashing down to his new position. The former Nobody let out a gasp and crossed his Keyblades over his head, just barely managing to block the attack.
"He needs help." Terra said and started forward, but Jack held up his hand.
"He's fine, Terra. Our concern now is damage control." he replied.
Roxas glared up at the Ancient as he struggled to hold off the brute strength behind the axe. Saenatar continued to push him farther down until another figure in Keyblade Armor leaped out from cover and shot him in the face with a burst of light. "Gah!" he groaned furiously as he fell backwards. Namine looked over at Roxas, who smiled gratefully before they both looked at the General.
Saenatar angrily stood to his feet and charged with energy. He became enveloped in an orange aura as power swirled chaotically around him. "Face destruction!" he roared as he swung his axe back and prepared to slam it into the ground. Roxas and Namine readied themselves, but suddenly the Ancient stopped and looked at the skies. "But, my lord, that is not necessary! I can finish these pests myself! Very well….." he argued to the sky. He then looked back at the two and frowned, his facial scars stretching immensely. He then placed the pommel of his axe on the ground. A glyph erupted underneath him as he continued staring at the Keybladers. "It is your lucky day, humans. Lord Omnivion wishes you to see the might….of the Kingdom Slayers!" he yelled. Both of their eyes went wide.
"Kingdom Slayers?!" Roxas questioned as he readied his blades.
From across the clearing, Jack and Terra were listening while fighting the soldiers. The new Grandmaster quickly touched his earpiece. "Dawnomar, you better still be on the comms! Maechil's sending in the Kingdom Slayers! Who are they?!" he demanded.
Static echoed for a moment, before the Ancient's raspy voice came through. "This is not good. Jack, you must order your people to fall back. The Kingdom Slayers are Maechil's assassination team. His own personal killers. The Ancients' equivalent to the Light's Enforcers!" Dawnomar informed him. Jack's eyes widened.
"Ancient Keyblade Wielders?" he whispered in shock. He then grunted. "Why haven't you said anything about this before?" he asked.
"Maechil has never dared send them into battle before. They operate in secrecy, not in open combat. He must be truly desperate. Still, there are older and fouler powers under Maechil's dominion. Count yourself lucky that he chose the Slayers." the Ancient replied ambiguously.
"Not much help!" Terra cut in as the two ran toward Saenatar in order to help their comrades.
They quickly reached Roxas and Namine, and the four stared down Saenatar as his glyph erupted in energy. "Whatever comes through, it does not make it to the city!" Jack ordered firmly. The other three nodded and readied themselves. The General let out a loud bout of laughter as blinding light exploded in every direction.
When their vision returned to them, they could see a new figure standing amidst the Camelot knights on the other side of the clearing. It was broad enough in the shoulders to be male, and Jack knew immediately that the knights stood no chance. The new Ancient held his hand out and summoned a Keyblade. The blade was mostly crystalized, like the city he came from, but jagged and sharp looking as well. Gwaine stared at him for a moment before running forward with his sword raised. The remaining Camelot knights followed in his wake.
"Gwaine!" Jack yelled as he took his focus off of Saenatar and ran for them. Terra let out an angry grunt and swung toward the General. Saenatar held up his axe and blocked the attack. He then pushed to the side, sending Terra off balance in time to deflect an aerial strike from Roxas. (end Terra's Theme)
Jack ran his fastest, but knew he was not going to make it in time. The Ancient Keyblade Wielder dashed toward his prey so fast that he was a blur, his blade dancing through the air like a knife through butter. One by one the knights fell, impaled through the heart. Except for Gwaine. The black haired knight watched his comrades fall and swung with all the fury he could muster. The Ancient easily blocked the strike, before reaching in and grabbing him by the throat. He held the knight off of the ground and stared at him indifferently.
"Who are you, warrior, that you believe you can stand against gods?" he asked calmly, almost curiously. Gwaine struggled to breathe as he took in his surroundings. He was the last of his company. But he heard the man's question and glared at him.
"I'm a friend of his." he replied, nodding behind the Ancient. The man smiled slightly and turned around, only for a burst of light energy to connect to him and knock him off of his feet. Gwaine fell out of his grip and landed in the snow coughing for air. Jack glanced at him and nodded once before looking back at their new enemy.
The Ancient stood to his feet and brushed off the dirt from his armor. He was now facing Jack, who took in his features. He wore white and gold armor with the Council's insignia on it, that of the Golden City. He had bright red eyes, a rather pale complexion, and brown hair that was buzzed close to his head. A jagged scar ran down his left cheek, and in his eyes Jack could see the experience of a thousand battles.
(Fate of the Unknown, KH2 Final Mix)
"And you are?" Jack asked, trying to remain civilized as he furiously looked at the bodies of the fallen knights. The Ancient smiled as he stared unblinkingly at his human opponent.
"Jack Rikkison, it is my honor to finally meet you. We have heard many things about you. Maechil respects you, but he grows tired of your meddling in his affairs. He has sent me and my allies to stop it once and for all. I am the Commander of the Kingdom Slayers. I am their Grandmaster, so to speak. I am Sacron, the Devastator. The title was given to me after I defeated the great Lukas the First, the original human Keyblade Master. I bested him, and threw him into the arms of the darkness. You know what remains of him this day, yes?" the man elaborated, bowing as he said his name. Jack narrowed his eyes.
"You destroyed Lukas and turned him into Wrythenann. You were responsible for the Realm of Light losing him." he realized. Sacron smiled proudly.
"All that and more. Our exploits are spread all across history. Today, I may add the death of the Wanderer to it, as well." he declared and twirled his Keyblade. Jack readied Wanderer's Judgment and dashed through the air.
Their blades met with a clang that echoed through the entire forest. Jack pushed the advantage, shoving his blade forward and forcing Sacron to backstep. He swung low, but the Ancient jumped over it and punched him in the face. The Rikkison grunted and swung in a wide arc. Sacron nimbly ducked underneath him and tried to counter with a strike of his own, but Jack managed to grab onto his wrist with his free hand. He then tried to impale his opponent, but the Ancient grabbed onto his weapon hand. Caught in a temporary stalemate, Jack looked over at Gwaine. "Get to the city! Let them know what's going on!" he yelled. Gwaine nodded and unsteadily began making his way in the other direction.
Jack groaned as Sacron leaned back and kicked him in the stomach. Angrily, he ran back at him, charging his fist with electricity as he reared back and punched forward. Sacron twirled around the strike and smacked him in the face with the hilt of his Keyblade. The Wanderer furiously slammed his weapon against Sacron's, before pushing it out of the way and head butting him. Both combatants groaned and stumbled backward for a moment. Jack managed to recover first and stabbed his Keyblade into the ground. The ground beneath the Ancient exploded in a cloud of snow, dirt, and debris.
Sacron came leaping out of the explosion and kicked him in the face as he flew past. Jack groaned as he fell flat onto his back, beginning to feel the effects of the battle. He was not used to battling Keyblade Wielders, especially not ones with Ancient capabilities. Sacron was highly skilled, he had to admit. He groaned as he stood back to his feet. "The perseverance of the Wanderer. How admirable." The Devastator complimented casually as he watched him rebelliously get back up. Jack spit a mouthful of blood out onto the white snow and looked up at him stoically.
"I've faced worse things than you, and never once did I surrender." he stated. Sacron chuckled lightheartedly.
"I think you are not perceiving your surroundings, Rikkison. You are losing this battle. Perhaps the death of your father has taken away your edge. You have lost your battlefield ferocity. You have forgotten your will to survive." he remarked, but Jack dashed forward before he had finished speaking. Their blades met and stuck in a weapon lock, and the two immediately used their free hands to fend off each other's punches. They stared at each other for a long moment before Jack spoke.
"I have lost nothing. You are the one who is about to lose it all." he seethed. Sacron narrowed his eyes happily.
"Look around you, Wanderer. This world shall fall, and it will not be the last. This is but the beginning. The Kingdom Slayers ride at the forefront of the Adamant Army. We stand shoulder to shoulder with the Organization. Our cause is united and unwavering. Your house yet remains frail and divided. You shall never triumph. I have seen your bark, but where is your bite?" he taunted. At that moment, Jack reared his leg back and brought it crashing up between the Ancient's legs. Sacron gasped in surprise and fell backward in pain. Jack smirked as he stepped toward him.
"That would be it. It hurts, huh?" he asked as he held up his arm. Light energy curled down his arm and exploded outward, connecting to Sacron and blasting him back through half a dozen trees. Jack sighed, only to look up and see Terra crash through a tree to his right. He quickly ran over to him. "Terra?" he asked. The brown haired man groaned and staggered to his feet, only to point back to where Saenatar was.
"They're not alone anymore." he muttered. Jack looked up and could see Roxas and Namine running over to them. Behind them, Saenatar was smirking widely.
In the distance, they could see a great force of Keyblade Wielders marching in tight formation through the forest. "As I said, Rikkison: This world shall fall, and so shall you!" Sacron yelled as he appeared next to Saenatar and crossed his arms.
Terra, Roxas, and Namine looked to Jack with horror-filled eyes, and he knew how desperate things were becoming.
"Fall back to Camelot. Arthur must prepare the city's defenses and we will do whatever we can to aid him. This battle is far from over. Send word to the Council. We need forces deployed her as soon as possible. Until then, we contact Sora and get as many reinforcements here as we can. Go. Go now." he ordered. Terra, Roxas, and Namine exchanged glances and nodded as they followed their new Grandmaster back toward the city. (end Fate of the Unknown)
MEANWHILE, RADIANT GARDEN, HALL OF THE KEYBEARERS…..
In the Command Center of the LE's new base, Sora was manning the computer and sending out multiple distress signals at once. Obviously, the current crisis in Camelot was the priority, but other enemies had been spotted. Rayne and Marek were still nowhere to be found, but the Temple Team(Ven, Lea, and Kairi) were investigating a lead on Vanitas and Blaze circling around Traverse Town. Pierce's team were already on their way to Camelot to back up Jack, Terra, Roxas, and Namine. Riku had gone to meet with the Council of Sovereigns, with Jason gone and Jack off world. Dawnomar was with him, however, providing counsel over the comm. channels. Xion and Aqua were following up information that Zane had given them on the Prince of Darkness. Tahara had been confined to her quarters since they had lost Jason. Popular vote had kept her in the Agency, but her consequences had yet to be determined.
Mist, Andrix, and Zane walked into the room and looked at him. "All hands on deck, right? Let's go already." Andrix muttered to his master. Sora glanced over at him.
"As hard as it is for you, be patient. I know from experience that having a plan beats going in blind." he replied. His apprentice rolled his eyes and walked back out of the room. Mist raised her eyebrows.
"You don't want him in Camelot, do you?" she asked. Sora sighed and shook his head.
"The Kingdom Slayers have Jack on edge. Anyone that powerful needs to meet our best agents. I don't want him or Tahara anywhere near that world right now." he explained. Zane calmly walked over and stared at the computer screen.
"None of you seem to want Tahara at all right now." he observed. Sora shrugged his shoulders.
"That's not my call, I'm not the Grandmaster." he replied. Mist laughed coldly.
"Yeah, but Jack didn't decide that, either. Why is she under lockdown? I heard you and Roxas arguing about it yesterday." she pressed. Sora stopped typing on the keyboard and turned to look at her.
"Most of our colleagues blame her for Jason. They blame her for everything that went down with Jack and the Keyblade Hunter, and they blame her for us losing the Land of Departure. There were centuries of Keyblade secrets stored there. Jason gave his life not only to stop Maechil from following us, but also to make sure the Ancients did not get the secrets of the Order. Most of them think that without her, none of those things would have happened. We agreed to keep her in the Agency, but most of them agreed only based on what she already knows about us. Mist, they don't trust her, and frankly neither do I." he explained. Zane grunted thoughtfully.
"In my experience, protecting one's family comes above all else. Was that not what she was doing?" he asked calmly. Sora looked away from him.
"As I said, it's not up to me." he repeated and turned back to the computer. Mist opened her mouth to speak again, but Dawnomar cut her off.
"This conversation can be returned to at a later time. For now, we must focus on Sacron. He holds the title of the Devastator because he defeated Lukas, the first human Keybearer and cast him into darkness. Sacron inadvertently created Wrythenann, and he slaughtered thousands of human Keyblade Wielders after the First Keyblade War. He took pride in hunting them down. In truth, he is the real Keyblade Hunter, though that title is not something he would claim. He leads the Slayers and he must be stopped. There is only one man in all of history who has faced Sacron and survived." he cut in. The others listened intently, and Zane nodded.
"The Prince." he agreed. Dawnomar nodded.
"Finding him must now become our highest priority." he stated. Sora sighed.
"Well, let's just get through this battle in Camelot, and then we'll assemble a team to find the Prince." he suggested. Zane nodded curtly.
"An excellent point. I will go myself and see what assistance I can be. When it is finished, I shall lead the search." he stated firmly and walked out of the room. Mist and Sora both stared at the Ancient as he departed and then exchanged a glance. Despite having been allies with him for a few weeks now, they still knew almost nothing about him. She looked to Dawnomar.
"Are you sure we can trust him? He's been acting strangely ever since we met him." she asked quietly. The former Council member chuckled and turned to her.
"You must forgive him. Zane has been through much, and he has his own reasons for standing against Maechil. His drive to find the Prince is how he thinks we are going to end this war quickly. He believes that the Prince holds the key to final victory." he explained vaguely.
"But what HAS he been through? He's still a ghost, and yet you expect us to fully trust him? We fully trusted Tahara and you saw what happened. I'm sure you can understand our worries about a guy who has told us literally nothing about himself." Sora pointed out. Dawnomar sighed.
"It is not my place to tell. Zane's secrets are his own, as are the events of his past. You do not have to trust him, but you can trust me. Zane is on our side, so long as Maechil is within our crosshairs. That is his ultimate goal, to help bring about Maechil's utter end." he told them. With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.
"Sora!" Jack's voice screamed through the computer's speakers. Sora sighed and tapped the button on the microphone.
"Don't worry, Jack. Pierce and his team are almost there and Zane is leaving now. The Council's army is mobilizing. Help is coming." he promised. He heard the Grandmaster sigh on the other end.
"Good. I don't know if I'm just off my game today, but Sacron isn't something I can take down easily. I met my match in him today, Sora." the other man admitted shamefully. Sora looked over at Mist, who cupped her hand over her mouth and closed her eyes.
"Jack, it's alright. You'll get him next time." Sora told him, trying to sound calm. Jack's voice sounded less than convinced.
"Just make sure help gets here soon. I'm still adapting to leading from the battlefield and trying to handle everything back there." he replied and ended the transmission. The two looked at each other again and shook their heads slightly.
"He may have agreed to be Grandmaster, but Jack was never the type to sit behind a desk. For everything everyone said about Jason, he had the patience for the politics the role entails far better than Jack or me." Sora laughed. Mist nodded worriedly.
"He would rather lead from the battlefield. But maybe that's why everyone looked to him instead of Jason in the first place. Gosh, I hope he's alright." she whispered and walked out of the room.
Well, we jumped right into the action, didn't we? The Kingdom Slayers had their grand unveiling, or at least Sacron did. They are the first of two major villains to be introduced in the early stages of Part 3, and as you can see we're wasting no time in getting to the good stuff. For those of you who have been waiting to see Zane in action or to finally see the Prince of Darkness, the time is drawing near. I hope you're all as excited for Part 3 as I am, because this will be the defining chapter for the entire series.
