Chapter Fifty Eight: The Extreme

I don't know why, but I felt calm. Standing in the starry ether, I felt all my emotions flow out of me. I was left with nothing more than my resolve. I was turned into a demon, with my closest friends standing beside me. We stood on an invisible floor on the Celestial Plane, and before us stood the embodiment of eternal darkness, and just beyond it waited the True Light...

"You guys..." I muttered. "We have to end it now. This is it!"

"Right!" Riku shouted.

"Let's get to it!" Sora yelled. We dashed at the dark being, using our swords to literally slice the air. The air ripped as we approached, but we were pushed back by a wave of invisible energy. A flare of darnkess erupted behind me, distracting me. A flare of fire erupted beneath my feet, completely consuming me...

I screamed as the flames burned me, but after the fire died down, I felt unharmed.

It seems my full-demon defenses are better...

I staggered forward, injured but nowhere near finished. My next move was to dash forward, but this time I jumped over the invisible wave of darkness that was thrown at me. I had to dodge flares of fire and darkness as I continued dashing forward, intent on slaying the darkness. Just when it seemed I had made it, a dark flare consumed me. The darkness tempted me... if I gave in to my sorrow now, I'd never feel pain again...

No! I've come too far! I won't give in again... not now!

The darkness faded, and now, I was where I began.

I see... if I get hit by those dark flares, I start again.

Sora and Riku were there too... I guessed they'd been hit by those dark flares, too.

"We can't get hit by those flares. They'll tempt us and bring us back here," I said, "or roast us alive. Dodge them at any cost!"

We dashed forward again, dodging waves of darkness, dark flares, and plumes of molten fire. We came so close, I was able to swing my sword. It looked like it had hit, but the move stopped on the dark flames. I had to move a second later in order to dodge a dark flare. I attacked again, but still no result.

Okay. Time to use some light!

I split my Judgment Blade into Illumina and Gaia's Edge. I attacked in a flurry of strokes, releasing energy along with my strokes with Illumina. It almost went through... but was stopped just before it would do anything... even the aura ribbons.

I dashed back, where Sora and Riku were waiting.

"Nothing's getting through... not Illumina or our Keyblades," Sora told me.

"It doesn't look like we can make it... this is the eternal darkness, after all," Riku said. He seemed resigned to losing.

"Not yet. We have one option... one hope left," I muttered, breathing heavily.

"What's that?" Sora asked.

"A... Mega Drive," I muttered.

"Mega Drive?" Riku asked. We dashed aside to dodge a flare.

"Well... since you guys have already drived, if two of us drive with another, we'd Mega Drive... right?" I asked. "It's just a therory, but if it works, we might get the strength we need."

"I suppose... but how stable would a fusion of that magnitude be?" Sora asked. We dodged another flare.

"Not very... but with that much strength, would we need much time?" I asked. A plume of darkness erupted under me, but I narrowly managed to dodge it.

"I guess you're right. So, who's going to drive?" Riku asked.

"I am," I said boldly.

"Why...?" Sora asked as we dashed to avoid a dark flare.

"This is my fight. It's personal," I told them. "You could say it's my ultimate battle against my inner darkness. If I can't defeat it now, I'll never know inner peace."

"I see," Sora said. "Okay. Let's do it!"

"Right!" Riku shouted.

We all stood still, gathering energy. A plume of darkness erupted beneath us, but it was too little, too late...

I crouched down as the darkness dispersed, leaving me in the perfect attack position. I lunged forward, using my Judgment Blade to break through the dark flames. The dark being's arm was cleaved off, but the flame armor was still there. I felt some sort of otherworldly power coursing through my entire body, but it was rough... very difficult to control.

"It's over now!" I shouted, hearing an even rougher distortion in my voice. I dashed forward, dicing the dark being as best I could. I got knocked back a long way onto the planet behind us, bracing for the impact. Fortnately, there was no atmosphere; I landed, making a huge crater, but dashed forward with all of my strength. I blazed, making a flame trail behind me, and cleaved the dark being in two. Its flames died out...

I felt that otherworldy power... the one far beyond my ability to control... fade from my body as I lost consciousness...

MORE ON 'MEGA DRIVE'
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Mega Drive, a technique employed by Roy to overpower the Darkness while transformed into his Demon Form, is a highly unstable, but immensely powerful ability; so much so that it can literally cleave a planet in two. While it would be different for every person, Roy's Mega Drive bestowed his Demon Form with four more white demon wings and three black angel wings, hence the name of his Mega Drive form, 'Twilight Seraph.' The technique is called Mega Drive because it involves driving with people who have already driven with others; theoretically, a 'Giga Drive' would require 7 people, while the upper limit Drive, 'Tera Drive,' would require 15 people.