The night air in the center of the park parted and two ominous figures stepped from the Darkness. The wicked gleam and terrifying smile upon the face of 'The Monster' had not disappeared and if anything he looked even more pleased than before.

The alarms and calls to evacuate that were spreading in a quickening ring outward from the castle hadn't reached this city yet so what was coming was going to take them completely by surprise, which he felt was a good thing for he knew that the last place he was to visit this night would be forewarned.

Six orbs of black flame sprang up around him like dark will-o-wisps. For a moment the balls of Dark power hovered in a circle around him doing nothing more than casting an eerie not-light upon his features. He raised his right hand pointing north and snapped his fingers. One of the orbs turned into a Neo-Shadow and melted into the ground, a pool of Darkness that quickly moved in the indicated direction. He quickly repeated this process for the other four directions then pointed to a large building at the edge of the park that bore a sign naming it the Institute of Heart.

One of the two remaining orbs sped off to the building and struck the brick wall with no apparent effect for a heartbeat. A split second later there was a deafening thunderous roar and the ground trembled as the building was devastated by an explosion powerful enough to level a city block in a fan shaped swath of destruction past the point of impact. Only two corners of the building were left standing in flames black as space.

"Ash, find the one guarding your sister, kill anyone who gets in your way. Bring your sister here so that she too could be free." The armored figure bowed gracefully and her voice, tinged by Dark amusement, rang out from behind the face shield of her helmet. "As you wish master, I shall bring her to you."

Disappearing more quickly and effectively than a ninja Ash rushed off to her task. He inhaled the scent of the chaos he had caused and smiled, pleased with the trouble he was causing this night which would hopefully be long remembered by the survivors as the end of the Light.

A couple Large Body Heartless lumbered past him, completely ignoring his presence, with the single minded determination to find more hearts to consume. His final remaining orb placed itself above his head and began to absorb the night gaining in power as it did so.

He was content to stand there and wait as long as required for Ash to return to him. He however was not ready for the sight that greeted him when she did. She held her helmet in her left hand and balanced fearfully on her right hip, held in a vice like grip that could easily have crushed her bones, was a child of three years of age.

Not a sound came from the child even though the city she knew as her home was quickly falling to chaos and discord. With surprisingly strong fingers she gripped the edge of Ash's armor where the helmet was to lock into place. Her quick, intelligent and curious eyes seemed to take in her entire surroundings in a single glance and assured that nothing was coming for her immediately she studied the man she was being brought before.

Ash stopped before her master and waited, knowing that all too soon she would be allowed to embark upon the mission burning through her blood. The unlight of the orb cast a sickly purple gleam upon his forehead as he leaned toward the child to examine her. "Such interesting purple eyes she has. Pity one so young must be forced to bear such a terrible burden. Shall we set you free little one?"

In a movement so fast that even Ash barely saw it he shoved his hand through the girl's chest, causing no physical damage, and tore her heart out. Slowly she blinked once before a Dark fog enshrouded her and covered half of Ash's body as well. The heart floated up to join with the others combining with Kingdom Hearts and the wind blew the fog apart in wisps of foul blackness.

Ash promptly dropped the Neo-Shadow that had appeared in her arms staring unnervingly at her with its still oddly purple eyes. Standing next to a shapeless fleshy lump upon the ground was a Nobody strong enough to retain its human form, though the three year old child it resembled still made no sound. It was clad in a black cloak that covered it from neck to toes and the child promptly drew the hood, covering the upper half of its face in shadow so that only the gleam of the Darklight off her purple eyes could be seen.

The long sleeves of her cloak were tight to her arms until they met her elbows, at which point they grew large enough to swallow a basketball. The child brought her hands together before her, causing the unusually large sleeves to droop like a monk's robes off her hands which remained completely covered.

The figure on the ground rose up a little with a groan and shook her head. She, like Ash, was completely nude, yet she had a full head of hair that ran in black and purple streaks down her back. Her eyes were molten stone as she rose to her feet, displaying the dancers curves of her body. As she stood the black fog enveloped her forming her armor before she had gained her full height.

"Master, I am Cinder, Harbinger of Destruction. Once again I am free. And once again I know. Locked alone in the light of a child's heart for too long has left me bereft of the power and communion that are our birthright."

No transition could have shown how it happened, one second she was unarmed and a blink of an eye later she held two Keyblades that matched the coloring of her hair and seemed more at home in a torture chamber than in the middle of a cheerful city park. The names Bonesplitter and Shrieker almost whispered upon the night air to cause shivers to run down the spine of anybody sane who could have heard it.

"Come Ladies, let us find your brother, and now we have a retainer to care for our needs as well. Aren't we becoming quite the family here?" A portal of Darkness opened before them and he allowed them to proceed him in. As the Neo-Shadow and the Nobody entered the portal he looked to the stars.

"This night is easy, almost too easy. Complications are bound to arise and we shall be ready when they do, though I can't help but feel that there are forces even now working to balance what goes on tonight." He too entered the portal and it was gone, the energy used to keep it open sucked into the orb of black fire which had now changed to a deep purple.

The orb flew up three hundred feet into the sky and like a comet streaked toward the ground gradually changing colors back to pure black as it did so. When it struck the ground it released all the power it had gathered in a devastating blast of Dark nuclear fire that erased the city and all of its citizens who had not managed to escape from the face of the world, the ruined stone landscape and the hundreds of Heartless roaming restlessly through the blasted rocks all that remained.

Somewhere far away a lone figure sitting upon a throne of pure Darkness enshrouded by shadow smiled, nearly blue lips from either cold or lack of breathing almost cracking from the unfamiliar activity. There was nothing to see but the lower half of the face and the gray hands resting upon the throne.

One of the hands lifted a little and formed into a slow fist. A dry whisper that sounded more cruel and evil than even the Monster's voice sounded in the apparently vast, empty chamber echoing through the space as though shouted.

The 's' sound of the voice seemed oddly drawn out like the hissing of snakes but it still spoke clearly enough to be understood. "Yes. This impertinent child race. Crush them before you. Let us that were before come to rule again."