Mwahaha! I have returned! I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter! Or if you don't celebrate Easter, a fantastic Sunday of eating candy that went on sale at your local supermarket.
I've also realized that not having any plans for more than three days is dreadfully boring. But that's less significant.
I'm on a roll with writing this month! Three consecutive weeks with updates and I've completed seven chapters in the novel I'm working on. April has been a great month for me so far! I hope all of you readers have had a great month as well.
Thanks go out to all of those who have recently reviewed! You guys are awesome!
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Square Enix, Disney, or the characters and events described from Black Cat. I do own my plot and original characters/artifacts/events/worlds.
Enjoy! I'm going to go brutally devour this defenseless chocolate rabbit. Mwahaha!
Edit: Timeline and Xanthos' age corrected.
Chapter Seventeen: Overrun
Friday June 4th, 4794 P.C.
Twilight Town
Alarms began to blare inside the Twilight Town Natural History and Science Museum, but were easily drowned out by the screams of panicking party-goers as Heartless emerged from the ground. Olette stared; emerald-eyes wide with shock and mouth open in disbelief as her silver-eyed companion shattered a display case with his elbow and grabbed hold of the jet-black orb inside.
"What do you think you're doing?" She hissed at him. "That's stealing!" The silver-eyed man scoffed at her.
"Thievery?" He said, faking his offense at her accusation. "It's simply taking back what is mine."
"But it's not yours!" Olette snapped. She was faintly aware of her parents calling out for her from somewhere in the crowd. "It was found in an archaeological dig in the great forest and now it belongs to the Museum!"
"Except for the fact that this map was left for me by my Master!" The silver-eyed man growled at her. "After he sealed us away, he must've made this map so we could find each other after we woke up."
"What are you talking about?" Olette demanded, her confusion level rising. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw several inky-black shapes moving rapidly towards them. The silver-eyed man groaned and rubbed his eyes with the back of his gloved hand.
"I don't have time for this," he muttered. His black and white suit vanished in a flash of light, replaced by a black cloak decorated with a pair of silver tassels and a slightly oversized zipper. Olette felt her blood run cold. This man was wearing the same style cloak as the red-haired man who had kidnapped Kairi had been. The silver-eyed man muttered something under his breath and the orb in his hands shrunk down to the size of a small marble.
He slid the orb into a pocket on the side of the cloak and held his hand out in front of him. Olette gasped as an obsidian, key-shaped weapon appeared in the man's hand.
"A Keyblade," she whispered in mild awe. The man raised an eyebrow at her.
"You know of the Keyblade? How?" He asked.
"I'm friends with someone who has one," Olette said, still trying to wrap her head around everything taking place around her.
"What's your friend's name?" The man asked.
"Sora," Olette replied. The man smirked.
"Is that so," he said softly. "Why am I not surprised? The Chosen One certainly has touched an awful lot of hearts." Olette noticed they were completely surrounded on all sides by the Heartless, who seemed to have ignored the other party-goers and gone straight for her and the silver-eyed man.
"You never told me your name," Olette said, nervously staring around at the Heartless. She was suddenly grateful the thief she was standing next to had a Keyblade. The surrounding Heartless began to close in on them, shrinking the circle they had made. Olette backed into the man and placed her hand on his Keyblade to make sure it was real and not an illusion. The Keyblade seemed to glow with an other-worldly light for a brief moment. Every Heartless' head turned so their yellow eyes were fixated on Olette. The man looked down at his Keyblade than back up at Olette with a look of mild surprise on his face.
"It's Master Xanthos," he said. He twisted his Keyblade from Olette's grasp and shifted his grip on it so that he held it in a reverse grip. A bright blue and black blade of energy appeared in his left hand. "Now stay put while I give these Heartless a proper greeting." His entire body became a blur as he leapt at the nearest Heartless. Olette stared in shock as Xanthos moved fluidly through the ring of Heartless, leaving only black mist in his wake. Olette stared in amazement. In less than fifteen seconds, Xanthos had annihilated more than thirty Heartless.
"Olette!" Olette turned at the sound of her mother's voice. For a woman in her late forties who never got out of the house very often, Shiori Fairchild was running towards her daughter at a pace Olette didn't think possible.
"Mom!" Olette cried out as she ran to her mother. "Why are you-" Olette was cut off as her mother let out a blood curdling yell. Olette's eyes widened in disbelief and fear. "Mom?" A jet black claw lined with blue veins jutted out from the center of Shiori's chest. The older woman stared down at her chest in shock. There was no blood, only faint wisps of Darkness that gently floated to the ground. Shiori collapsed to her knees, revealing the Neoshadow that stood behind her.
The Heartless wrenched its claw from Shiori's chest, dragging a pink, crystalline heart out with it. Shiori looked up at her daughter with wide, terror filled eyes.
"Olette," she managed to whisper before Darkness rose up and swallowed her body.
"Mom!" Olette cried out, tears beginning to stain her face. "Mom! No!" Xanthos spun on his heel, beheading a pair of Neoshadows as he did. His eyes locked on the Neoshadow that was triumphantly holding the heart in its hand. The Neoshadow paid him no heed as Darkness consumed the heart in his hand. Instead, it turned its attention to Olette, confirming Xanthos' fear. Rather than going for the experienced Keyblade Wielder, the Heartless were targeting the newest one. Olette's cries were becoming hysterical. The Neoshadow lunged, its movement going unregistered by the girl's grief filled mind.
"Stop!" Xanthos shouted. Time came to a complete standstill in the museum. The clocks on the walls were frozen seconds from striking the new hour. The Neoshadow hung in midair, suspended mid-leap while Olette was inches from collapsing onto her knees. Xanthos panted heavily as the Stop spell he was using drained his energy at a rapid rate. He had no time to lose.
Moving quickly, he ran through the frozen Museum, slicing Heartless in half as he went. He thrust his blade through the abdomen of the Neoshadow that had been about to attack Olette before dispelling his Keyblade in a flash of light. He grabbed Olette by the waist and hoisted her onto his shoulder before he released the spell. The entirety of the Museum's insides was filled with a black mist and freed hearts that hung in midair as all of the Heartless inside were defeated.
The sudden blindness sent the remaining party-goers into a panic as they stumbled around, trying to find the exit. Olette's cries were replaced by a gasp as she tried to make sense in her sudden change in position and orientation to the ground. Xanthos ran to a nearby window and leapt through it. Olette let out a scream as they plummeted down the three stories to the hard earth below. Despite their speed, Xanthos managed to land gracefully on the ground.
"Put me down!" Olette shouted, pounding her fists against Xanthos' back. The Chaser complied and placed the brunette back down on her feet. Olette stared painfully up at the broken window that Xanthos had leapt out of with tear-filled eyes for a moment before turning to leave. Xanthos grabbed her forearm.
"I can't let you do that," he said. Olette spun around and slapped Xanthos angrily. The Chaser, to his credit, didn't even flinch.
"Let me go," Olette growled. Xanthos shook his head.
"I can't let you go. You're safer with me."
"Why the hell would I be safer with you? The Heartless seem to be focused on you and your map thing! Because of you my mom's dead!" Olette shouted angrily. Her hand struck Xanthos across his face again.
"I won't deny that the Heartless being here is my fault," he said, his head hanging slightly in guilt. "Someone is after this map and I'm in their way. So they sent their Heartless to do both. But when you touched my Keyblade in there, you accidentally triggered an Inheritance Ceremony, and the Heartless abandoned their orders. Now they only want you." Olette scoffed at him.
"And why would they want me when they were sent after you?" She demanded, the anger from losing her mother taking over. "What did I ever do to them?"
"You inherited a Keyblade from me," Xanthos answered. Olette's anger vanished in an instant, replaced by disbelief. "Now the Heartless will come after you, a new Wielder, because you have yet to summon your Keyblade. They're coming for you and you alone." He pointed his finger up at the winding streets of the downtown Districts of Twilight Town not far from where they were. The streets were black as night, thousands of glowing yellows eyes shifted like an eerie river as an army of Heartless moved slowly towards where she and Xanthos stood.
"I have a Keyblade?" Olette whispered in stunned disbelief. "But, why would the Heartless come after me then? Wouldn't they run away?" Xanthos shook his head.
"The Keyblade is the only weapon that permanently vanquishes the Heartless," he explained as he tugged on her arm in an attempt to get her moving. "The Heartless are afraid of it. So, in an attempt to defeat the object of their fear, the Heartless will relentlessly pursue anyone who wields a Keyblade. It is very unfortunate that they were around when you inherited the Keyblade from me because now the Heartless view you as an easy threat to eliminate." The sea of Heartless was drawing closer.
"We need to get to the forest," Xanthos said. "The Heartless will follow us en masse and that should keep the other citizens safe." He shivered slightly as he remembered the last time he had seen this many Heartless, back when the instigator of the Keyblade War summoned nearly half a million Heartless to lay waste to the Kingdom of Keys. Xanthos dragged Olette behind him. She followed half-heartedly as she stared behind her at the endless sea of dark creatures, trying her hardest to convince herself that Xanthos was wrong, that they weren't after her, that this was all a bad dream; but deep down inside her heart, she knew she couldn't hide from the truth.
Xanthos' obsidian Keyblade flashed evilly in the pale light cast by the waning moon overhead as he and Olette ran through the many alleyways that wound through Twilight Town. Neoshadows and Soldiers exploded into black mist and pink Hearts under his unrelenting strikes. Olette gasped for breath, determinedly keeping her mind focused on anything other than her mother. The screams of terror from the residents of Twilight Town filled the air.
There didn't seem to be an end to the Heartless, everywhere she looked, their inky black bodies were moving towards them. Xanthos' hand flicked upwards. Several orbs of black and bright blue light flared into light over their heads and rained down countless beams of blue energy down on the Heartless, slicing the Denizens of Darkness into pieces. The pair of them burst free from the Heartless waves into the sandlot, a large square in the central part of Twilight Town where teenagers would frequently hang out and where the Struggle Competition took place each August. The entire square was completely devoid of any moving creature apart from Olette and Xanthos. Xanthos held his hand out in front of Olette to bring her to a stop.
"Something's not right," he muttered. "Why aren't there any Heartless here?" He glanced behind him. "And why did they stop following us?" Two black and purple portals of Darkness erupted from the ground in the center of the square.
"Look at what we have here, brother," a boy in his late teens said as he emerged from one of the portals. His features were hidden by the black, hooded cape he wore. "I do believe the Chaser has the map Mother wants us to retrieve."
"He even has a little pet with him," another boy said as he emerged from the second portal. "And isn't she a pretty one? A little young for you, wouldn't you say, old man?" He called out to Xanthos, who smirked.
"I'm not that old," he said. "I just haven't aged in the past century and a half or so. That's all." Olette looked around at him in surprise.
"Wait, you're more than four thousand years old?" She asked.
"Four thousand, eight-hundred and sixteen to be exact," Xanthos replied. "That's what you get when you're frozen in time and unable to age." He turned to face the two newcomers. "Alright then, who are you, what do you want and who sent you?" A second obsidian Keyblade flashed into existence in Xanthos' left hand. "And I suggest you make it quick." Under the hoods of their capes, the two boys glanced at each other before removing their capes in unison and tossing them to the side.
Both boys were nearly mirror images of each other. They each dressed in jet black pants and matching shirts. What appeared to be small sections of silver and red armor were attached to their shoulders. They both had golden-blonde hair that fell across their eyes.
"I am Kiram," said the one who had been the first to speak when he and his brother arrived.
"Etos," the other twin said. Both boys had sea foam green eyes. Or they would have, if each hadn't been blind in one eye, resulting in a milky-white color. "And we want the map for our Mother. Hand it over." Kiram held out his right hand and an Inverse Kingdom Key flashed into existence. Etos placed his left hand over his right hip, and as if he was unsheathing a sword, summoned his own Inverse Kingdom Key in one fluid motion.
"'Hand it over'?" Xanthos repeated with a small chuckle. "That's a rather rude way to talk to your elder, isn't it? Didn't your mother ever teach you two any manners?" Kiram and Etos both growled at Xanthos and leapt towards him. "I guess not." Olette winced as the sickening crunch of bone snapping, followed less than a split second later by a pair of pained cries sounded from the bodies of the twins as Xanthos' Oblivion Keyblades struck them down.
"You two are pathetic," Xanthos sneered down at them. "I've had a harder time fighting Shadows than I did you two." He kicked Kiram in the side of his head as the teen tried to get back to his feet. He turned to face Olette and gestured towards the alley that led to the Tram Commons. "Shall we?" Olette nodded and allowed Xanthos to lead her along.
Slowly but surely, Heartless were beginning to reappear around them at an alarming frequency, only now they were joined by the silver-white humanoid figures of the Dusk Nobodies. Xanthos groaned.
"If it's not one thing, it's another," he mumbled as he struck down a pair of Dusks, causing them to explode in a shower of bright light and what appeared to be tiny bubbles. He glanced up ahead and saw, to his great dismay, that their path was blocked by a small army of Berserker and Sniper Nobodies. The Berserkers hulking forms filled the narrow alley while the Snipers hung in midair, their arrow rifles zeroing in on Xanthos and Olette, who clutched to Xanthos' forearm as a fresh wave of fear coursed through her. She had never had to deal with death before and yet, she had found herself running for her life. In high heels, no less.
"Stay close to me," Xanthos whispered. "I'm going to-" Olette never found out what he was going to do. Several columns of fire roared to life and began to work their way through the Berserkers, reducing their bodies to piles of ash. The Sniper Nobodies spun around, trying to find the source of the flames. A pair of them dropped from the sky as a red and silver blur cut through them and flew back to the person that had come to their aid.
"Starting the party without me?" A voice called through the flames. "That's not very nice you know." Xanthos relaxed his grip on his Keyblades slightly and straightened up. Olette stared through the flames looking for the source of the voice. It sounded so familiar to her but she couldn't quite place her finger on it.
"About time you showed up," Xanthos called out as their mysterious companion emerged from the still raging flames. Olette's eyes were drawn to his jet black suit and fire red shirt, which was somehow able to avoid the burning effects of the flames surrounding him. Three concentric circles were embroidered with golden thread over the breast pocket. His vibrantly red hair was spiked and slicked backwards from his face. In his left hand, the man carried a large, red and silver disc that sported four smaller discs spread out at even intervals along the main disc. Small spikes adorned the tips of the smaller discs and the spaces between them. Olette's eyes traveled up to meet the emerald-green eyes of the newcomer. Olette let out a cry of shock and rage as she recognized the man.
"I'm the life of the party after all," the red-haired man said with a grin. "Got it memorized?"
"Where's Kairi?" Olette demanded suddenly, breaking free from Xanthos' guiding grip and storming her way over to the object of her frustration. "Where did you take her?" The man did a double take as he recognized Olette.
"Oh, hell," was all he managed to say before Olette raised a fist to punch him as hard as she could.
"Axel, you two know each other?" Xanthos asked in mild surprise.
"I uh, kind of kidnapped Kairi a few months back in front of this girl and her friends," Axel said with a nervous chuckle.
"What did you do to her?" Olette demanded again. She could feel her frustration building. Not only had she lost her mother, but she had been running through the city in high heels and a dress while being led by a thief and attacked constantly by Heartless. Now that Axel had arrived, she was practically at her breaking point and she figured the best way to relieve her frustrations was to take them out on the pyro. "Where'd you take my friend?" Olette drew back her fist to strike Axel. She didn't care if it hurt him or not, she just needed a reprieve.
"Kairi's just fine, kid," Xanthos said from behind her. Olette stopped her fist mid-punch and glanced behind her at the silver-eyed Chaser.
"What?" She asked, anger still prominent on her face.
"I said, Kairi's fine," Xanthos repeated. "Sora managed to rescue her."
"How would you know?" Olette snapped, her anger still boiling just under the surface of her usually calm exterior. She, Hayner and Pence had spent the past few months worrying about their new friend after the man in suit, inches away from her, had kidnapped Kairi right in front of them.
"Because I met her and Sora a few days ago," Xanthos said as he cautiously approached her. "Trust me, they're fine. And there's a good chance you'll run into them after we get the hell out of here." He jerked his thumb to gesture behind him. The sea of Heartless was back, although the endless black was now interspersed with the silvery-white forms of several dozen Nobodies.
"Okay," Olette said, relaxing her fist and letting it fall to her side. Xanthos pushed her towards the man in the suit.
"Axel, get her to the extraction point," he said. "I'm going to see what I can do about slowing these Heartless down." Axel nodded and spun his chakram around in his hands, making sure his wrists were still up for throwing. He turned on his heel and began to make his way towards the Tram Common. Olette hesitated. She didn't trust Axel. The only time she had ever met him before now was when he had dragged Kairi into a dark Portal, while she, Hayner and Pence hadn't been able to stop him. She glanced up nervously at Xanthos, who nodded comfortingly towards her before turning to face down the sea of Heartless. Realizing that she'd rather risk being kidnapped by Axel than losing her heart like her mother did, Olette took off after the pyromaniac.
"Okay then," Xanthos called to the Heartless horde as bright blue lights began to form at his fingertips. "Who's first?"
LD
Onboard the Dawn's First Light
Riku stared at Sephiria from across the small kitchen table. The blonde haired leader of the Chronos Numbers casually sipped at the tea Riku had prepared for them. Riku's own cup sat in front of him, untouched and rapidly growing cold.
"So, this Creed guy used to work for Chronos until he defected and formed the Apostles of the Star?" Riku asked, finally breaking the silence that had settled on the room since Sephiria had told him all about the Numbers, the Apostles and Maleficent's plans.
"Correct," Sephiria said as she gently set her cup down on the table. "Creed was one of our Erasers. An assassin. He had the potential of becoming Number XIII, but he's unpredictable and mentally unstable. So we gave the position to his partner instead."
"Black Cat," Riku said, making sure he understood everything. Sephiria nodded.
"Number XIII became one of our best Erasers. He carried out his orders flawlessly and killed who needed to be killed, regardless of who they were. However, about a year ago, he failed one of his missions. When the elders sent him again to clean up his mess. He refused to execute the target for whatever reason. I sent Creed after him to bring him back, or kill him if he refused to return to Chronos."
"You'd kill one of your allies?" Riku asked in mild shock.
"'Either live in Chronos, or die outside.'" Sephiria recited. "That is one of the rules we follow in Chronos. Chronos will deal with those traitors of Chronos in the Chronos way."
"You think you could say Chronos a few more times?" Riku asked sarcastically. "What exactly does that name mean to you?"
"That's exactly what Black Cat said to me that night when I confronted him," Sephiria replied. "I told him, 'behind the name is effort; effort to make this corrupt world a just place again.' I stand by that belief now more than ever. On that night, Creed had not only failed to bring him back or kill him, but he killed three of our intelligence officers who had been sent to make sure the job was done. He betrayed us.
"Creed killed many of our agents shortly after that, and he announced his intentions to bring down Chronos with a powerful group of Taoist revolutionaries he called the Apostles of the Star. Creed desperately wants the Black Cat to be on his side because Black Cat is the only man Creed respects. When he thought that a friend of Black Cat's had made him soft, Creed killed her in an attempt to win him over. Black Cat swore revenge against Creed and I firmly believe we need him if we are to ever bring down Creed."
"So you want me to find out if Black Cat survived the destruction of your world," Riku said simply. Sephiria nodded.
"Yes. While you are out traveling the worlds, I humbly ask you to seek out the Black Cat. We need him now more than ever," Sephiria said. "Creed and his Apostles are powerful. Even more so now that they have joined forces with Maleficent. This isn't just about the war between Chronos and Creed anymore. It's about all of us against them. Will you help us?" Riku stared at her for a few moments before letting out a long winded sigh.
"I suppose you're right," he said. "Yeah, I'll look for him. Do you have a picture?" Sephiria smiled and handed Riku a photograph of a man in his early twenties. He had ruffled brown, golden cat-like eyes, and a red choker necklace with a bell on it. The numeral XIII was tattooed on the left side of his chest, barely visible under the white shirt he wore.
"I'll keep my eyes open for him," Riku said as he got to his feet to attach the picture to the fridge with a magnet. Sephiria finished off the last of her tea and rose to her feet.
"Thank you for helping us, Master Riku," she said with a bow. "And thanks for the tea too. It was well brewed." Riku grinned.
"Thanks," he said. "Where would you like me to drop you off?" Sephiria smiled softly.
"No need to worry about it," she said as she pulled a small remote out with a bright blue button in its center. "My personal ship is maintaining orbit close to yours." She pressed down on the button and vanished in a flash of bright light. Riku stared at the sudden emptiness in the room and sighed. He placed the empty tea cups in the sink, making a mental note to wash them before he crashed on the king-sized mattress waiting for him in his bedroom.
He snatched a bottle of Coke from the fridge as he headed out the door, and popped the lid off. He quickly chugged the soda down as he made his way down the hall towards the only bathroom on the ship. Placing the drained bottle on the sink counter as he flicked on the light switch, Riku couldn't help but smile at the bathroom. Gleaming white tile, a bath-tub the size of a small hot-tub with whirlpool jets built right in, a standalone shower that was beautifully clean, and of course, several sets of incredibly fluffy white towels.
Riku quickly discarded his clothes into the laundry basket that was set into an alcove in the wall and stepped into the shower. He let out a sigh as the warm water sprayed against his shoulders, relieving a lot of muscle tension he had been carrying in them. Twenty minutes later, after he was satisfied that he was perfectly clean and well relaxed from the much needed shower after being in a jungle for more than a day, Riku stepped out of the bathroom to be greeted by the grinning face of Dawn's holographic image.
He let out a comedic cry of surprise and nearly fell backwards. Dawn chuckled at him.
"Have a nice trip?" She teased. Riku rolled his eyes.
"Oh, ha ha," he said sarcastically. "Care to tell me why you were standing at the door?"
"There aren't any holo-projectors in the bathroom" Dawn explained. "I couldn't appear to you in there." Riku continued to stare at her. Dawn cleared her throat. "Anyway, remember how I was telling you before about how I've been monitoring the positions of the worlds?" Riku nodded. "Well, just after you left, I used some of our power to boost the range of the radar and I discovered this." A holographic image of innumerable Gummi ships appeared in the air around her. Riku's eyes widened.
"What is this?" He asked. The image zoomed in on one of the ships. The Heartless insignia prominently displayed for Riku to see.
"This is a Heartless Armada of well over a thousand ships," Dawn said. "An invasion force by the looks of it. The ships remain close together and aren't traveling. I've come to the conclusion that they're waiting to join up with additional ships." Riku swallowed hard. "But that's not the worse part. I've discovered fourteen similar fleets all within our maximum radar range." Riku's mouth dropped. Fifteen-thousand Heartless ships? No world could possibly stand up to a force that size alone.
"I also think that this sudden increase in Heartless ships as compared to the data I've retrieved from the past few years is directly related to something I've noticed about the worlds," Dawn continued. The image of the Heartless armada vanished and was replaced by a star chart. Several of the stars were labeled. Riku glanced around and spotted Destiny Islands, Radiant Garden, Twilight Town, and Disney Castle.
"We're here," Dawn said. A star nearby the one that represented Destiny Islands flared brightly to attract Riku's attention. "The Heartless fleets are scattered throughout this empty space over here." The chart shifted position and zoomed in on a large, blank space where there were no stars. Fifteen red triangles appeared to mark the positions of the fleets. "And all of them seem to be converging on the center fleet right there." The triangle that Riku assumed was the centermost one changed to blue. "Now, over the past few days while you were on the world away from the ship, I noticed a subtle but still distinct change amongst the worlds."
"And that is…?" Riku encouraged her to get to the point. He was only dressed in a towel around his waist and the ships heater wasn't exactly set to a temperature he wanted to have it at while standing in a metal hallway.
"The worlds are moving apart from each other," Dawn said. She displayed a small chart indicating their distance from Destiny Islands. In the few days Riku had been down on the world, the time between here and his home had gone from being just a few hours to a day and a half.
"How is this possible?" Riku asked. For an answer, Dawn pointed at the image of the Heartless fleets and the map zoomed in on them.
"It is my belief that the presence of so many Heartless in one area has caused the worlds to attempt protecting themselves by moving further away from one another. It sure is going to make travel more difficult," Dawn said, shaking her head exasperatedly. "Anyway, I examined this area; because I found it odd that there wouldn't be any stars in it at all. That's how I found the fleets and the resulting conclusion I reached about the movement of the worlds. But I found something even more interesting than that." The map zoomed out and away from the markers of the fleets to show the blank space in the middle of the star filled space. "That empty sector is a perfect sphere. At first I thought it was an anomaly with the radar so I checked half a dozen times and calculated its size. I couldn't find an explanation for the shape anywhere."
"Maybe the Heartless took the hearts to all of the worlds in that area," Riku suggested grimly. Dawn shook her head.
"I thought that too, but look here," she said as the map zoomed in on a jagged black shape in the stars. "This is what it looks like when the Heartless take the hearts of worlds in a general area, they couldn't have possibly made a perfect circle like the one I found."
"Then what is it?" Riku asked as he leaned against the doorframe.
"I carefully examined the sphere zone to find an answer and I think I might know where it is," Dawn said. She placed one of her glowing fingers in the exact center of the sphere. The map zoomed in quickly until the image of a flat, diamond-shaped object came into view.
"What is that?" Riku asked, stepping into the projection to get a better look.
"I believe it's a world," Dawn said simply. "It gives of a similar energy reading to the ones I've registered coming off of several worlds."
"This flat thing is a world?" Riku asked in disbelief. "How big is it?" A three-dimensional image of the Dawn's First Light appeared next to the diamond-shape.
"It's barely big enough for us to land on," Dawn replied. "That's what makes it so intriguing. With your permission, I would very much appreciate it if we could travel to this sector and examine the object for ourselves."
"Are you forgetting about the Heartless fleets that are gathering there?" Riku asked the A.I. "I don't think this ship has the firepower to fight its way through fifteen thousand Heartless ships."
"We wouldn't have to sneak past them if we acquired a cloaking device," Dawn suggested. "And a radar jammer of course. Heartless ships all are equipped with poor radar so they usually rely on sight. If they can't see us or find us on radar, we'd be able to slip right past them." Riku considered it for a moment.
"Alright," he said. "But let's go get that cloaking device and radar jammer first. And something that packs a bigger punch than those Thunder cannons we have equipped. And faster engines." He paused as he reached his door. "On second thought, let's just go give this thing an all around upgrade, how's that sound?" Dawn beamed at him.
"Now you're talking," she said. "These Kingdom model Gummis are too bulky for my tastes and I think you'd prefer something a bit more sleek and stylish." Riku nodded in agreement.
"Where can we get all of these upgrades though?" He asked. Dawn vanished in a flash of orange light.
"Just leave it to me," her voice said. "I know just the guy to go see. I'll get us underway and you can go get some well deserved rest. I can see those bags forming under your eyes." Riku rolled his aquamarine orbs and headed into his room to fulfill his deepest desire of putting on a pair of sweatpants and crashing onto his mattress for a good night's rest.
LD
Twilight Town Forest
Olette followed Axel to the best of her ability through the thick nightly fog that had settled in the trees of the forest. The former Nobody weaved his way in and out of the trees, cutting down the occasional Heartless or Nobody with a slash from his chakram.
"Almost there," Axel called out to her. "The extraction point is in that clearing up ahead." Olette glanced past Axel's vibrant hair and could see the Old Mansion looming over the fog in the moonlight. A flash of blue light from somewhere behind them temporarily illuminated the forest behind them. Olette paused to look behind her.
"We've gotta keep going!" Axel shouted at her. "He can handle himself, trust me! That guy fought in the greatest war in history and he's still around to tell about it. Let's go!" Olette looked nervously in the direction of the city for a moment before she turned and continued to follow Axel up the hill to the small clearing in front of the Mansion.
Axel reached into his jacket and pulled out a small blue crystal, which he crushed into dust and tossed into the air. The pieces of the crystal hung, suspended in midair for a moment before vanishing into thin air as a large column of light erupted high into the night sky.
"What was that?" Olette asked.
"The signal," Axel said simply. There was a flash of blue light next to them as Xanthos appeared, panting heavily.
"We need to go," he said. "Now. The Heartless all just vanished and as relieved as you think I'd be, I don't like it when countless Heartless vanish for no apparent reason."
"Could they have found the Keyhole?" Axel asked. Xanthos shook his head.
"I doubt it. More than half of the world would have been consumed by now it they had," Xanthos said. "Although, I'll admit that I didn't expect there to be this many Heartless on just this world."
"What are you guys talking about?" Olette asked confusedly. "What Keyhole?" Xanthos began to say something but was cut off as a shout reached their ears from the entryway to the Old Mansion.
"Olette!"
The three of them turned to see Olette's two best friends, Hayner and Pence, both looking like they had just emerged from an all-nighter of killing virtual zombies in the basement. Hayner and Pence paused as they raced towards their female friend when they spotted Axel. Their excited expressions quickly became cold.
"Hayner! Pence!" Olette called out, relieved to see that her friends were alright. "What're you guys doing here?" Neither of the two boys responded. They were staring straight past her at Axel, who let out a groan as he recognized the two boys.
"Hey! It's that guy that kidnapped Kairi!" Pence shouted.
"He's trying to kidnap Olette!" Hayner growled. Olette slapped herself in the face in exasperation. "Let's get him and force him to tell us where Kairi is!" Hayner cracked his knuckles menacingly as he and Pence both charged at Axel, who turned to Xanthos.
"Nobody's going to let that go, huh?" He said. "You wanna handle these two?" Xanthos sighed and snapped his fingers. Hayner and Pence both let out cries of shock as they were hoisted into the air by a pair of Xanthos clones.
"Calm down, boys," he said coolly. "We're not kidnapping her. Axel here is on our side."
"Who are you guys?" Hayner demanded. "Olette, why are you with them?"
"I am Master Xanthos," the silver-eyed Master said. "I brought Olette along for her own protection. She accidentally initiated a Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony with me tonight at the Museum."
"She initiated a what with you?" Pence asked.
"Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony," Xanthos repeated. "Long story short, she touched my Keyblade and because her heart is strong enough, she can now summon a Keyblade of her own."
"Wait, so you're like Sora?" Pence asked, calming down a lot quicker than Hayner was. "You have a Keyblade." Xanthos nodded and hoisted the Oblivion for them to see. "And why are you taking Olette exactly?"
"Because there were Heartless around when the Inheritance Ceremony was initiated and they immediately made her their primary target," Xanthos said. "Basically, any Heartless close to this world is descending upon it like starved wolves to the slaughter because they see Olette as an easy target; a new Keyblade Wielder who doesn't know how to fight them off is always at a high risk for Heartless attacks."
"So basically, you're telling us that Olette's in trouble because of you?" Hayner demanded, his anger rising again.
"In a way, yes," he replied. "But that little issue will have to wait. We have unwelcome company." Glowing yellow eyes appeared in the forest on all sides of the Old Mansion as the Heartless began to surround them. The Xanthos clones tossed Hayner and Pence closer to the others. Axel and Xanthos both summoned their second weapon and began circling the three teens while facing outwards towards the Heartless.
"That is a lot of Heartless," Axel muttered.
"You're not scared, are you?" Xanthos asked. Axel let out a bark of laughter.
"As if," he grinned. "But the last time I faced down this many enemies, I had to sacrifice myself so Sora could go rescue Kairi." Hayner, Pence and Olette all turned to look at Axel in surprise.
"I thought you were the one who kidnapped Kairi," Hayner said. Axel nodded.
"I was, but she was taken from me by-" He was cut off as half a dozen Neoshadows leapt from the ground barely feet from him. "Son of a- Burn!" A massive fireball appeared in the sky and crashed into the Neoshadows closest to him, reducing them to ash and black mist.
"Let's even the odds a little shall we?" Xanthos said. He snapped his fingers and two dozen Xanthos clones appeared, helping the original Xanthos and Axel to close the perimeter the pair had formed around the teens. In all of their hands, they held replicas of the bright blue Ethereal Blades Xanthos was capable of summoning.
"Let 'em have it boys!" The Xanthos clones all charged into the sea of endless Heartless, hacking and slashing at every enemy within their reach. Xanthos himself leapt into the air, dozens of bright blue and black orbs of energy forming around him that rained beams of searing energy down upon the creatures, accompanied by a down pour of ice shards as sharp and long as broadswords and bolts of lightning that descended from the heavens in rapid succession, blasting the closely gathered Heartless into oblivion. Axel's flaming chakram spun wildly, mowing down any Heartless that got past Xanthos and his clones. The three teens could only watch in amazement. Bolts of lightning descended from the heavens in rapid succession, blasting the closely gathered Heartless into oblivion.
"Where the hell is the Reflection?" Xanthos shouted to Axel as he landed next to the former Nobody. His twin Oblivion blades slashed through a pair of Neoshadows like a flaming knife through partially melted butter. "Shouldn't it have been here by now?" As if on cue, a beam of bright green light descended from the sky in the center of the perimeter Xanthos and Axel had been holding. "Never mind, everyone into the light!" The three teens obeyed and all moved towards the light. "You too, Axel! I'm going for one final blast to take as many of these bastards out as possible!"
"Okay!" Axel shouted as he burned himself a path through the Heartless to reach the light. "Just don't die!" Xanthos let out a laugh. A dozen Neoshadows piled on top of one of the Xanthos clones, slashing at it with their claws until it no longer moved. They looked up at the original Xanthos and made him their new target. Then the clone exploded violently, wiping out a ten foot radius of Heartless in a single blast.
"I have walked through the fires of Hell itself and through the pools of endless Darkness in the Dark Realm. I don't think anything I can do could possibly kill me!" Xanthos said. Another clone was overpowered by the Heartless. An explosion shook the ground. "Now go!" Axel ran up to the light where the three teens were standing hesitantly.
"Everybody in," he said before he proceeded to push each one of them into the light. One by one, they vanished as they were pulled up into the Gummi ship waiting for them in orbit. Axel took one last look back at Xanthos before stepping into the light as the last of Xanthos clones exploded.
"May this blessed sword of Light purify your heart of Darkness," Xanthos said under his breath. An ancient rite always read back in the old days when a person whose heart had been consumed by Darkness had no hope of ever coming back to the Light. A rite of death. High above him, innumerable swords crafted from Xanthos' bright blue light appeared in the night sky. The sea of Heartless looked up at the Light, the Darkness in them sensing the presence of a powerful Light.
"And may the Light guide you to paradise everlasting." The swords fell from the sky and impaled Heartless after Heartless, never missing their mark and never leaving any behind. Xanthos stared grimly, remembering the hundreds he had slaughtered with that same attack back in the War and the blood that had flown on the air that day instead of the black mist now rising in the night sky.
For in paradise, we shall be no longer be enemies. We shall be brothers and sisters once more.
LD
Memory's Skyscraper, The World That Never Was
Creed Diskenth, former Eraser for Chronos and current leader of the Apostles of the Star, couldn't help but grin snidely at the two Numbers who had shown up to take his life. Number V, Naizer Bruckheimer, and Number X, Ash Delfonte. Both were dressed in traditional Numbers clothing, a black suit, dark purple shirt underneath and a golden tie with black lines crisscrossing it in a random pattern.
Naizer's shaved head gleamed in the dim lighting naturally cast by the world that had no sun of its own. The numeral V tattooed onto his left temple. And of course, his well trimmed, jet black goatee. In his right hand was clutched his faithful pair of tonfas, the Dioskouroi, both decorated with the traditional jet black metal and ornamental gold pattern inlay of almost all Number's weapons. The black crystals set into the sides of both tonfas bore the same numeral V.He was exactly as Creed remembered him.
Ash still wore his spiky blonde hair up, supported by his trademark red bandanna he used to cover the scar his mother had left on him as a child. His hard, blue eyes stared into Creed's lavender ones. The numeral X was tattooed in the cleft of his chin. He leaned heavily on his gold and black cane, the Judgment. He hadn't changed either.
"Your time has come," Ash proclaimed. Creed's grin became more pronounced. "Creed Diskenth, you are to be executed for treason against Chronos."
"Drop your blade, now," Naizer ordered in his gruff voice. "You know you can't escape from us." Creed chuckled sinisterly.
"The two of you, against me? You know you're outnumbered," he teased.
"Mock the Numbers all you want," Naizer growled. "It won't save you.
"You think Chronos is going to last forever as the perfect example of society?" Creed asked. "From Atlantis to Rome, they all fell."
"They were bound by borders," Ash said as he raised his cane. Naizer tossed his tonfas into the air and spun them around flamboyantly as he caught them.
"And we're bound by nothing!" He finished for his partner as the two of them charged towards Creed. Creed's eyes narrowed gleefully in anticipation of the fight to come.
LD
Onboard the Reflection, Twilight Town Airspace
The three teens stumbled out of the receiver node of the transport as Axel pushed them through. The red-haired man guilty of the act stepped through almost immediately after them. Hayner and Pence stared around the Warp System room in awe. The entire room was the size of a large classroom and seemed to have been made from white marble. Twenty doorframes were set up in a semicircular pattern across the majority of the room. There was a bright green glow filling the doorway they had stumbled out of. Several anthropomorphic swans dressed in bleached white lab coats bustled about several stations covered with computer equipment and helped the three youth to their feet.
Olette thanked the swan that had helped her up and glanced around at her surroundings. She noticed that a recurring motif in the room seemed to be the three concentric symbol she had noticed was embroidered on Axel's suit jacket. A pair of double doors slid open and Olette saw the living inspiration for the symbol; an anthropomorphic mouse dressed in regal, red robes with a small, golden crown adorning his head. The swans all bowed to the newcomer and even Axel fell to one knee before lowering his head as the mouse King approached him.
"Your Majesty," Axel said, keeping his head lowered. The mouse King stopped short of Axel and placed a hand on the man's shoulder. Axel stood up and glanced at the three teens, who were all staring at the King with wide eyes. He raised an eyebrow at them. Olette caught on and bowed to the King. Hayner and Pence followed suit. The King glanced at them before looking back at Axel.
"What happened to Xanthos' plan of not interacting with civilians?" He asked the pyro in a high-pitched voice. Axel placed a hand behind his head and chuckled nervously.
"It's actually kind of Xanthos' fault," he said. His eyes met Olette's. The King followed his gaze and stared at Olette for a brief moment. His eyes widened in surprise as something clicked within his mind.
"I see," the King muttered under his breath. He glanced around the room. "Where's Master Xanthos?"
"Right here," Xanthos said as he emerged from the glowing doorway. He bowed to the King. "Your Majesty. I have it." Xanthos held up the black orb. The King breathed a sigh of relief.
"You can still read it, right Master Xanthos?" He asked hesitantly. Xanthos nodded and gently caressed the orb.
"Yes, now we can get to the other surviving Chasers before Xehanort's minions can," he said. "Speaking of which, I encountered another pair of Wielders from his army. I believe he sent them to retrieve the map before we could."
"It's entirely possible," the King said. "But I do want to know, did you perform a Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony with this girl?" He gestured at Olette, who blushed slightly as she felt the eyes of everyone in the room fall upon her. Xanthos nodded.
"I did, but it wasn't a proper one. She caused the Inheritance when she placed a hand on my Keyblade after I summoned it to fight off a group of Heartless that invaded the Museum. Now the entire world's swarming with Heartless because the damn Ceremony happened in front of the Heartless." The King's eyes went wide.
"How long 'till they find the Keyhole do you think?" He asked grimly. Xanthos shrugged.
"A week at most," he said. "I decimated a fair amount of the Heartless that had been chasing us while we made our way to the extraction point with the Purifying Blades." The King's face fell. "We need to get a hold of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee. They have the resources to pull off a full-scale evacuation and the space to fit nearly the entirety of the civilians of this world." The King nodded.
"I'll put in a call to Leon at once," he said. "Then I'll contact Mayor Lumen of Destiny Islands and see if he can take in any of the citizens Radiant Garden might not be able to." Xanthos nodded.
"I'll make sure the Equus is properly prepared for retrieving the other Chasers," Xanthos said as he and the King began to make their way out of the room. The King gestured for Axel and the three teens to follow them. Axel nodded and began shepherding the three teens out of the room after them.
"Sounds good to me," the King said as the doors to the Warp System room slid shut behind Axel. He turned to face the three teens. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm King Mickey Mouse." The King held out his hand to the three teens, all of whom seemed slightly intimidated by the presence of Royalty.
"I'm Olette," the brunette Wielder said, breaking out of her nervous shell and taking the King's hand. "This is Hayner and Pence." She gestured to the her friends, both of whom quickly followed her lead and shook the King's hand.
"Pleased to meet ya," the King said with a smile. "Well, I suppose a grand tour is in order." A large explosion echoed throughout the ship, quickly followed by a blaring alarm that wailed loudly. "But it looks like it'll have to wait. Follow me!" The five of them followed the King as he ran quickly through the labyrinth-like hallways of the Reflection.
"The Reflection is a Class-Six War Gummi," Axel explained breathless as the five humans attempted to keep up with the amazing agility possessed by the King while dodging numerous anthropomorphic animals running throughout the hallways. "They are capable of transporting several thousand troops as well as a few hundred Gummi ships. The Reflection had her inaugural launch just a couple days ago, so we're about to see how well she'll hold in battle." Pence grinned excitedly.
"An actual space battle? I've gotta see this!" He took off at a faster speed and managed to keep pace with the King, much to Hayner and Olette's surprise. The group burst into the main bridge of the ship which was lined with several control stations that monitored and commanded various ship wide function and all were manned by anthropomorphic dogs with jet black fur, long snouts and floppy ears. One of the anthropomorphs was standing close to the window, dressed in orange and bluish-gray armor and wearing a helmet so small it didn't even fit on his head. A large, round shield emblazoned with the King's seal was attached to his right wrist and he was staring out of the viewport through the wrong end of a pair of binoculars.
"I dunno, fellahs, they look like they're too far away to have been able to hit us like they did," he said as the King walked up to him. Axel sighed and flipped the binoculars around in the knight's hands. "Uh, never mind that last part."
"How're things up here, Goofy?" The King asked his trusted Captain of the Royal Knights. Goofy gave a start upon hearing the King's voice and quickly saluted him, knocking himself on the side of his head with his shield in the process.
"Ow! Just fine your Majesty!" He said in a professional tone as he massaged the rapidly forming goose egg on the side of his head. "Those blasts didn't even break our shields. Those there Heartless ships aren't suited for dealing massive damage."
"Good to know," the King said as he sat down in a chair. "Bring us about, Mr. Jones. All weapons online and ready to fire. We need to get to Radiant Garden ASAP and I'd rather not be stuck here fighting Heartless ships all day long."
"Aye, yer Majesty!" Mr. Jones said in a heavy accent that made one think of plaid kilts, bagpipes and haggis. The Reflection slowly turned to face a fleet of several hundred Heartless ships. "I think this might be takin' us a bit longer than expected."
Pence grinned excitedly as the start of the space battle drew closer. Olette looked nervously around her. She wasn't entirely comfortable standing near a window that lead out to a vacuum of nothingness during a firefight. Hayner looked almost as excited as Pence. The pair of them exchanged a high five, which elicited a snicker from Olette.
Boys and their spaceships.
Axel and Xanthos both seated themselves at available weapons stations and began searching for targets.
"Contacts in range!" One of the crewman nearby shouted. The King pressed a small green button next to a microphone built into his chair.
"All weapons, open fire!"
From the viewport, Olette and her friends watched in amazement as the sky in front of them glowed blue from the beams of energy that tore across the empty space in front of them towards the enemy.
Their first Gummi battle had begun.
LD
Twilight Town
Kiram and Etos slowly sat up as their broken bones snapped into place. The twins groaned and glanced at each other in confusion before they each received a smack to the back of their heads. Both of them leapt to their feet to confront the offender, their Inverse Kingdom Keys appearing in their hands. There was a loud clang of metal on metal as they were instantly disarmed.
"Mother actually sent you two to get the map? Jesus, you two are pathetic," Keila's voice snapped. The twins stared at her.
"Sister, keep your nose out of our business," Etos retorted. Keila snorted.
"You two morons think you can talk to me like that?" She snapped. "Now that Xanthos has the map, Mother is going to flay you alive. You two screwed up big time. You know the other Chasers all hold a grudge against her for betraying them back in the War. Especially Xanthos. He won't stop hunting Mother until his hands are dyed with her blood." The twins glanced shamefully down at their feet.
"What should we do then, Sister?" Kiram asked, his head hung low. Keila smirked and held up a photograph of Radiant Garden.
"Go steal it from him and take it to Mother," she said simply. "If you fail, you either should get yourselves killed or never come home. Your choice." Kiram and Etos smirked slyly at each other.
LD
Memory's Skyscraper, The World That Never Was
Creed quickly weaved his way in and out of Naizer's heavy, lightning fast blows that would've reduced any normal man to a barely recognizable pulp while leaping out of the way of Ash's heavy strikes that shattered the fronts of buildings.
"If that's your best, Naizer, just pack your bags right now," Creed taunted as Naizer's blows flew past him.
"It'll be hard to laugh with no teeth!" Naizer retorted as he backed Creed into a corner. His tonfas slammed into the side of the building with enough force to bring it down as Creed leapt several yards into the air above him to avoid the strike. Ash leapt down from an even higher point, the tip of his cane stabbing down at Creed with rapid, bone-crushing force. The former Eraser grinned evilly and dodged the blows. Ash slammed into the ground, the strength from his strikes shattering the concrete and leaving behind a large crater around him. There was the sound of a sword being unsheathed and the building behind Ash was split in two. The two Numbers spun to look at Creed as he landed on top of an overturned truck.
"You got me worked up to draw my Kotetsu," Creed said in an amused tone. "Very impressive, even for a Number." In his hand was a the purple hilt of a sword, but with no blade. Naizer and Ash stared at the bladeless hilt in confusion.
Naizer recovered quickly and leapt at Creed only to hit the truck as the former Eraser jumped over his head and darted towards Ash. The truck exploded violently. Ash raised his cane above his head with a battle cry, preparing to bring it down on Creed's head. Creed grinned sinisterly.
"One number down," he said gleefully as he slashed at Ash with the bladeless hilt.
"What, you gonna club me to death?" He mocked. He had enough time to let out single bark of laughter before his entire body was split in half from head to groin with a sickening squelch. Blood flew in the air as Ash's body fell to the ground. Creed chuckled maniacally as Number X's body fell.
"Ash!" Naizer cried out as he watched his partner die. He looked down at hilt in Creed's hand and saw Ash's blood hanging in midair where the blade would normally be on a regular sword. The air beneath the blood shimmered slightly and Naizer understood. "We don't use that kind of alien technique in Chronos. What is that?" Creed chuckled evilly.
"Oh, I don't think it's any of your business."
"You," Naizer growled. "You killed my partner you bastard!"
"Ha! You worked with him. He wasn't your partner," Creed laughed. "Maleficent and I, we're real partners. Although we don't always see eye to eye. Now, if you want to live you should start your begging on your knees." Creed waited expectantly. "Well?" Naizer hefted his tonfas and charged at Creed with a roar. "I guess not."
"You think you can trick me with your invisible blade?" Naizer demanded as he ran. "I can see the whole thing! It's covered with blood all the way to the tip!"
"Trick you?" Creed asked with a snide grin. "Oh, please. I know you're much too good for me to bother with trickery." He leveled his blade with Naizer's chest as the Number drew nearer. The invisible blade extended, stretching its length to pierce Naizer through his chest more than a dozen meters away. Naizer let out a cry and collapsed to his knees, Creed's invisible blade still buried in his chest. His Dioskouroi clattering to his sides. Ash's blood still remained on the invisible blade, glowing faintly from the mysterious power creating the blade and revealing its full length.
"I missed the major arteries," Creed explained, "on purpose of course." The blade retracted back to its normal length as Creed rested it on his shoulder, staining his clothes with blood.
"But how?" Naizer asked weakly. "How could a former Eraser beat the Numbers? You're nothing."
"Crawl back to Sephiria," Creed told the wounded man. "I want you to tell her the end of Chronos is finally beginning. The times, they are a changing." Creed chuckled. His tongue flickered out and lapped up some of the blood from his blade. He licked his lips in satisfaction. "And tell her, that Maleficent's victory over all the worlds is guaranteed. It is absolute and undeniable." He turned on his heel and began to walk away from the crumpled form of Naizer. "As is my ascension to godhood." Creed's maniacal laughter echoed throughout the alleyways of the World That Never Was as the daily rain came and began to wash away the blood leaking from the fallen Numbers.
LD
Well, that's it for this was one of my favorite chapters to write, despite the fact that it has a slightly darker atmosphere to it. First of all, we get to see the return of that loveable firestarter and he's wearing a suit to boot. Second, we get to have a taste of why Creed is my favorite all time villain with his Imagine Blade Level One. Thirdly, we meet two very important characters that will play a major role in the future.
Anyway, for those of you who haven't voted in the poll, please do so quickly. I'm closing it tomorrow, or today I guess at 12 P.M. Noon. (American Central Mountain Time). For those of you who have voted, thanks a million! Your opinion has been heard and appreciated.
Speaking of opinions, reviews are welcomed always and greatly appreciated. Your thoughts, opinions, and theories matter people! Don't think that they don't!
Finally, for any of you artists out there who want to do some Looming Darkness artwork, I would very much love to see it. Just send me a message with a link to the work and I'll post it on my author page for all to see!
That's that for this week! See you all in May!
Aspicio, diluculo Infinitas Noctis.
Shadow Horizons