Chapter 3: Weapon of Twilight

He and the girl landed back into the room they had just tried to leave, as she was flung into the corner of the room. Ekiken landed right in the center, as a mysterious shadow loomed over the hole in the ceiling. The unknown creature then leapt in, making its descent right in front of Ekiken. On the ground, Ekiken coughed as he lifted his head to see what this new affront to their liberty was.

The creature that stood before him was humanoid in shape, about the same size as a regular person. However, it bore plenty of thin, dark armor, covering every bit of whatever equivalent of skin it may or may not have had. Its face was covered by a mahogany knight's helmet which bore bat-like wings coming from the back corners at the top. The wings hung down slightly, mimicking the wings on his back, which Ekiken had just noticed. It's lower body was cloaked under a long, temple knight's robe which was a sort of purple-mahogany hybrid. It gripped a long, polearm weapon - a glaive - which had a deep violet tint; its blade tempered in black. "I've never seen this kind of Heartless before." Ekiken whispered to himself. The thing before him seemed to hear him as it twirled its weapon quite rapidly before abruptly halting its rotation, its blade now mere centimeters from Ekiken's nose. "I am no Heartless!" it cried out in a mid-pitched tone. Ekiken rolled to the side, getting to one knee, as the creature brandished its weapon, obviously wanting to fight. Noticing this, Ekiken checked to see if the girl was alright without moving his head, so as not to alert his opponent, then pulled out his keychain. "You want a fight? So be it! Prepare for the hail! Diamond Dust!" The knight stepped back in shock. "A Keyblade?!" Ekiken spiraled around as the keychain exploded into the long, icy saber; the armed enemy snarling in annoyance at his foe's possession of the sword.

The two circled each other steadily, neither one making a move. Each had their arms tense, gripping their respective weapons, ready to pounce at the slightest whim. This steady motion continued for several minutes before someone did something. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Ekiken boasted, smirking. No immediate response came, as they continued to walk around each other. Around half a minute passed before the knight responded. "I'm waiting... for you... to attack... Come on... coward..." he answered, each fragment of the sentence in sync with his steady movement. His expression returning to one of blank determination, Ekiken steadily let go of the sword with the hand that the knight could not see, as he cautiously dug into his jacket pocket. However, in doing so, the loose bottom of the jacket fluttered. The knight noticed this, and immediately made a break for Ekiken, driving his glaive out in front of him with an angry cry. Not caring what card he had picked, Ekiken immediately tossed out whatever card he had grabbed, hoping it was something that could stop him. He struck the card with his blade, and instantly, the knight froze up completely, halted where he stood. "Excellent, I must've grabbed Stop. This will keep him occupied for a few minutes." Recalling his weapon, Ekiken put away his keychain, reclaimed the unconscious body of the girl, and one again began his ascension from the dark wave.

Meanwhile, back at the city, the rebels gasped in relief as Kit slowly opened her eyes. "E... Ekiken..." As if on cue, a spiral pillar of light began to rise from the center of the square where the wave had been sealed, which had already been covered with a thin layer of snow. The snow joined the spiral of the light, forming a snowy tornado, which then exploded to reveal the Keyblade wielder on one knee, carrying the girl on his back. He got to his feet before he helped her to the ground, as the Saenthart rebels cheered with joy that Ekiken had returned safely, as Kit sat up, also happy to see him; happy to see anything, rather. He saw her sitting there, and immediately rushed over. "Kit! Are you OK?" She weakly nodded. "I'll be fine; don't worry yourself." Ekiken nodded before returning to the befuddled young girl kneeling on the pavement.

"Hey, are you OK? That creature seemed to be drawing strength from you." The girl weakly nodded. "I don't remember anything... except my name. I'm Holly, I think." She held her head in confusion. "Oh!" her eyes lit up. "I remember that I have this!" She dug into her right hip pocket and pulled out a small keychain shaped like a star, which was orange colored. Everyone but Ekiken gasped in amazement, as his eyes lit up. "Th- the Oathforger!!" Kit exclaimed. "Oh? You know about my Keyblade?" Holly asked, eyes blinking in oblivion. "This is the Twilight Keyblade, Oathforger." Ekiken explained, "We've heard stories about it; it's supposedly very powerful, though we're not sure about the extent of its abilities. How did they capture you with that at your disposal?" Holly's expression turned to one of shy innocence. "I... I don't really have much swordplay skill." Kit laughed eccentrically. "Just watch us! You'll learn in no time!" Holly nodded in unsure compliance.

More rumbling was then felt from underground. Ekiken rolled his eyes on annoyance. "Oh cripes, what now...?" The star on the Oathforger began to pulsate, emanating a small aerial vibration in a pattern that seemed like a warning. As if they couldn't already tell something was wrong. The building on the northeastern corner of the intersection began to crumble away. Something was coming. Something big. "As if we need another giant monster." Kit said, obviously speaking sarcastically. As the large group of fighters prepared for battle, the building began to crumble away, as walls came down in pieces, whoever was under the descending rubble getting out of the way with little hesitance. With one last, tense rumble, the building exploded completely, as everyone immediately used their Shield cards to deflect the rubble from the demolished building. Before the dust could settle, it was sucked into whatever was behind it, in a vortex-like motion, as the fog was sucked up into the large, looming figure of darkness. It was bigger than the building, by a meter at least. It had a humanoid shape, with arms and legs. Its "feet" were long and upwards curved. Its head had Medusa-like "hair," in long, thin, spikes. In the center of its body was a large, heart-shaped hole. A Heartless, without a doubt. Ekiken's eyes narrowed in realization. "Darkside..."

Everyone brandished their weapons as the battle began. Half of the rebels began to hack away at the beast physically as the other half began shooting off random spells at it. Ekiken and Kit knew a more strategic approach was necessary, as they examined the battlefield. Kit pointed to the building beside the one the Darkside had come out of. "Let's attack it from the roof there; from behind." Ekiken nodded, as he motioned for Holly to follow. The three dodged the battle and approached the building; formerly an apartment. Breaking through the door with a hard slash, Ekiken entered, looking for the quickest way up. The others followed him in as Ekiken failed to get the elevator to function. He slammed the elevator's doors in frustration as Holly pointed out the stairwell entrance to them. Sighing in defeat, Ekiken led them up the stairs, ascending the spiral staircase several floors before kicking down the door at the top, revealing the roof of the apartment. They could clearly see the back of the Darkside's head, to just below its shoulders. "Alright, so what should we try?" Kit asked. "We may only have one shot." Ekiken took out his remaining cards. All he had left was a Thunder card, an Aero card, and a Cure card. Not much help. "Let's each try a sleight; we'll dish out a string of attacks in succession. Ready?" Kit and Holly nodded, gripping their respective swords in front of them.

Each of them then dashed towards the beast, with Ekiken leading, then Kit, and Holly bringing up the rear. Leaping off the edge, Ekiken's cry echoed throughout the city. "Ars Arcanum!" The Diamond Dust flashed a bright cyan color before Ekiken became a mere blur of existence, moving incredibly fast as he swiped and slashed at the Darkside with the Keyblade, as large, white scrapes began to appear on the Heartless's "skin." As the last blow connected, Kit leapt off of the building. Ekiken called his Aero card to bring him safely to the ground as he turned to observe his allies' attacks. Kit hovered in mid air, caught between gravity and her own momentum, as her Lionheart began to glow. "Strike Raid!" she called as he hurtled her blade forward, over the Darkside's head. Just before it hit the ground, it halted, immediately beginning to spin at a high rate. It then drove itself through the night sky, straight for the face of Darkside. With its large size and body density, it wasn't swift enough to dodge the oncoming assault, and it was hit squarely in the forehead with the weapon; the key accurately stuck in its head. Curving her hands around each other, she cried, "Judgment!" as the key began to vibrate increasingly powerfully. The Darkside's skin began to ripple in response, causing it great pain, as it cringed and roared. Snapping her fingers, Kit signaled the end of her attack, as the key let out a loud roar from the lion emblem on the end which was currently lodged in the Darkside's head, before releasing a large explosion. As the dust shot out, the Lionheart returned to Kit, undamaged, before she grabbed onto the side of the building and made her way down, jumping to the pavement where the others stood, ready to act if necessary. Holly stood on the ledge of the building, ready to unleash her attack once she could see her target. The beast once again sucked in the dust like a whirlpool, as Holly leaped off of the roof on reflex, chanting, "Aerial Sweep!" in a determined voice, as she thrusted her Keyblade to the right, as her body followed, sending her into a spiral. The Keyblade connected with the Heartless, as she began her rotating assault. Each hit connected, deepening the scars Ekiken's attack had left. After about five hits, her momentum had stopped, as she immediately called her own Aero card to bring her down to the others.

The Darkside writhed around, unable to withhold its pain. Then, in its wild movements it spotted Holly. It then halted, its skin releasing small amounts of smoke. It slowly began to extend its right hand towards her, possibly in an attempt to grab her. Ekiken and Kit immediately intervened, brandishing their blades and stepping between it and her, both with determined expressions on their battle-worn faces. The Darkside's hand came back a bit, hesitant to try and break through them. Instead, its eyes glowed for a second, as small shadows appeared beside both of the two defenders. Out of each shadow came two Gargoyle Heartless, as they both turned to meet the challenge, Holly gawked between both of them, unsure what to do. She shrieked as she noticed the real danger; the Darkside was once again reaching for her. Acting instantly, the rebel warriors surrounded her, each one ready to defend the rescuee. Yet again the Darkside pulled back its attempt, clenching its fist in frustration.

Meanwhile, Ekiken and Kit had their hands busy dealing with a two-pronged attack from the Gargoyles. Every time they would lock with one, the other would come up from behind and attack them. "OK, enough of this," Kit thought, now frustrated beyond caution. "Firaga!" she called, breaking three Fire cards, as a fireball twice as big as the Fira appeared at the tip of the Lionheart. The Gargoyles backed off as Kit motioned for them to come. "Who wants some, huh?" They floated there with no response, as Kit kept looking back and forth, getting more and more annoyed. "OK, you both get it up the rear!" Rolling forward, she landed on her back underneath the Gargoyles and then fired the giant ball of flame upwards, as the two flying Heartless crumbled and dissolved from the intense heat, leaving no remains. Ekiken had already finished off his enemies with another go of Ars Arcanum.

The rebels had been fighting off the Darkside during this time, moderately succeeding. However, their resistance was beginning to wear, as the Darkside began firing spheres of dark energy at those which stood between itself and its frightened prize. In an angry rage it began to shoot out energy pulses, which did little damage, but scattered them across the intersection. Ekiken and Kit's attention was called back to the main threat, as they promptly stood between Holly and the Darkside, blades held in a classic swordfighter's pose. The creature's temper rose again as it began to slam the ground with its fist, dark vortexes forming in each crater. Clusters of Shadows crept out of each of them, as they engaged the Saenthart soldiers. The Darkside took a step forward, as it began to advance towards the three. Holly, who had been sitting there, in fear of the whole situation, finally overcame her fear and took a stance between Ekiken and Kit, Oathforger brandished. "You won't have me!" she shouted to it; it seemed to ignore her as it crept towards them, its hand ready to snatch her. Ekiken and Kit looked at each other, then nodded. They leapt at each other, soaring beside each other, landing where the other had stood, as they let their Keyblades flow behind them. Once they had stopped, the two Keyblades' edges were touching, as a spark of light energy appeared. "Suihou!" they both shouted, as the spark immediately formed a large, clear sphere which expanded into a dome which protected the three of them. The Keyblades parted as the dome split into three separate bubbles around each of them. "Holly!" Kit called, "this will protect you, and you can use the energy to power up your attack if you need to!" Holly firmly nodded as Ekiken and Kit began their next attack. By this point the Darkside was directly in front of Holly, but as it reached down to grab her, the shield forced it back with a burst of light.

The light seemed to be poisonous to the beast, as it held its arm and cringed; a spark of light still on its hand. With one flash, the Darkside's entire right arm had disappeared. This had been the others' cue to attack. Ekiken pierced the surface of the bubble with the Diamond Dust, as the shield began to fade into the weapon. "Ligh Arcanum!" he shouted, as he had his weapon absorb the entire shield. Kit, too, had drained the shield's defensive power into her weapon, before shouting, "Strike Light!" Kit hurtled the light-charged weapon at the Darkside, as Ekiken dashed towards it, releasing a cavalcade of attacks upon it, each leaving a large, light-made scar. The spinning Lionheart attacked the beast in a spiral formation, making a clean cut around its body. The light scars began to widen, as its entire body was soon engulfed in light. It growled in pain as it completely disappeared, the light charges disappearing. The Shadows the Saenthart had been fighting disappeared too. Kit caught her weapon as Holly sighed a breath of relief. Suddenly, with a burst of light, a large, blue, heart-shaped energy appeared. "Its evil soul..." Ekiken said in awe. The pulse of energy began to ascend, returning to its origin. Before it could take off, a beam of energy came out of the sky and absorbed it, taking it back to where the beam had come from. Everyone's attention was called to the beam's source, as a familiar figure emerged from the sky, landing on the roof of the northwestern building. Ekiken's eyes widened in horror. "It's..."

"Well, if it isn't my worthy adversary from inside the wave." it exclaimed, holding the air below the evil heart as it hovered there. It was the knight Ekiken had fought when he had rescued Holly. "Tell me! Who are you?" he demanded to it. The knight laughed amusedly before continuing. "I go by the name... Ixida."
"Ixida...?" Kit said to herself. "Ekiken, do you know this weirdo?" He nodded in response. "I fought him after I had rescued Holly while I was still in the wave." His attention returned to Ixida. "What is it you want?"
"I'll show you!" he shouted, as he drew his weapon. "Behold; the Keyglaive; a weapon which can harness the power of a defeated Heartless!" He tossed the blue heart into the air before stabbing it through with his polearm, as it evaporated itself into the cold, black, metal point of the weapon. The weapon itself then grew in length, as a curved hand guard appeared in the two places Ixida was holding it. "You see?" Kit and Holly gasped in horror, as Ekiken tightened his grip. "You leech! I'll get rid of you once and for all!" Ekiken leapt towards the knight, jumping from windowsill to windowsill in an attempt to reach him. "Ah ah ah," Ixida said happily, "Red light! Stop!" He pointed the Keyglaive at Ekiken, as a faint image of a clock appeared on the glaive's tip before Ekiken froze completely. Damn you... Ekiken thought. "Haha! Ironic, isn't it!" Spinning his weapon, he shouted, "Flight!" as he began to hover in the air. He leapt off the building and floated next to Ekiken's halted body. Before he had been stopped he had grabbed onto the window, so he was stuck hanging on there instead of falling. He floated behind Ekiken and laughed. "Well, isn't this familiar?"

He then backed off and called off the Stop spell. "That's it for now; we'll fight soon enough. I'd like to see how far you can get." He ascended slightly, swirling his weapon in the sky. A large vortex appeared, as Ixida disappeared into it; the vortex closing once he was through.