Chapter 2: Whispers Loudening
"As you all most likely know, the Alliance as we know it today arose out of the strife-filled period called the Empyreal Period today, where Lord Cavendish, the Cavendish Shinobi, and his various Generals and Commanders swarmed over the worlds, adding countless worlds to their sway! The fiendish Cavendish, some say, threw open the doors to the feared "Darkness"!"
Black smoke poured out through a number of devices positioned around the area. It was transparently obvious the special effects were poor quality and probably made on a shoestring's budget;
"Cavendish at first seemed unstoppable! His forces were like a pestilence – yet a brave light stood forward. The heroic Sora, Riku and Kairi all stood forth, and though their paths are recorded as dividing, ultimately, they came together and faced the forces of Cavendish time and again!"
A number of paintings slid across the ceilings, some depicting battles with a white-clad shinobi, others depicting the Key-Wielders facing off against three figures who were depicted as red-faced battle armor clad beings – veritable War Gods, all of whom wielded a different weapon and a scroll of some kind.
"It all seemed lost, however, when cowardly General Ameba, vicarious, manipulative schemer, opted against a clean fight and kidnapped Riku to use as a hostage!" He gasped, clearly expecting others to as well, "However, a divine incident of martyrdom occurred – Riku sacrificed himself to throw Ameba into the yawning pits of hell!"
A large, well drawn picture, almost disturbingly so, depicted Riku as some sort of white haired mystical figure with no face, casting Ameba into a pit full of giggling demons who happily skewered Ameba a number of times with bronze pitch forks.
"Now, however, the martyr laid dead. Destiny Islands wept for the loss of its brave hero, and in this sorrow, their prayers were heard! Riku returned from the dead, and now all that remained was to dethrone Cavendish the Mad! And yea, the heroes of the worlds threw Cavendish into a hell of his own making!"
A painting showed Cavendish still smirking madly, his face-mask removed, in front of a massive swirling vortex with numerous swirling pieces to the vortex, all resembling black wings;
"It was this coalition which inspired the Universal Alliance, whose delegates met here, in Oceansburg! Electing President Sneer, the new Alliance would see its mettle tested by the devilish Midnight Faction, and its powerful commander, Sirius Viicous, his Sword Generals, and numerous other branch factions from the Empire! Cavendish indeed struck from beyond the grave!"
The presenter became more animate, trying to depict a scenario of a disembodied Cavendish guiding his forces, even when most present had read their history books and knew established fact from conspiracy theory;
"And once again, Sora, Riku and Kairi, and numerous others from the Disney Kingdom, and others from countless other worlds banded together! They fought the dread Midnight Faction, fought it until the Arakis Foundation turned to the side of Good!"
Some groans at the notion that this was all black and white;
"With the Dark Axis fractured, it was only a matter of time! With General Saber, the infernal monster, stricken down like a beast, Sirius Viicous too met his end in Cetorburg."
Even though some others suspected such was not truly the case. Which this presenter would ironically depict as a conspiracy theory.
"And that ushered in the period called The Last Remnants' Time, where the glorious Alliance Army marched world to world, crushing to dust any hold outs from the Empire or Axis! Alas, many great heroes were lost in these campaigns."
Paintings came up which depicted these, making Jonahs grimace at how appallingly tasteless this was, to depict the death of heroes like it was just a stepping stone to something.
"Commander of the Disney Knights, Goofy, lost aboard the vessel of the Crimson Corsairs Pirates!"
"Court Wizard Donald, lost in dimensions in battle against the fiendish harlot Liana Hellish!"
A large, obviously well paid for painting depicted Donald pushing a screaming, snake-like woman with odd, fallen angel-like traits tacked on into a dimensional rift. And Goofy was depicted fighting a legion of giant freakish ogre things unto his last breath.
Because, Jonahs reasoned, that was obviously what the painter thought pirates looked like.
"While regretable, these heroes died so that others could live in peace! And when Sneer retired, the Conservatori Party, glorious patriots, them, led by the illustrious war hero Alric Maynes and his valorous, handsome sons Edric, Gale, Samson and Weston, took the reins! With them in power, we have never had a war since!"
And his political leanings come to light. Just when Jonahs thought this couldn't get more disgusting, it did. Turning history into a play for the political party used by a family to launch their little dynasty.
Thankfully, though, he was not the only one to think so. A long haired young woman wearing an army uniform marched to the front, her attention-grabbing hair was a dark shade of silver, her skin a tan color likely resulting from outdoors work.
That was not the only thing attention grabbing about her. Jonahs grinned slightly when he saw the assets, but one cross look from Eva basically calmed him down.
The woman outright slapped the presenter across the forehead with a history book, "Does this book ring a bell? Most students here have read it, and it most likely contains next to none of your partisan hack behavior, nor does it baby our visiting students!"
She proceeded to open it and shoved it into his hands, "Go home and read it yourself."
The presenter turned bright red, both with fury and embarrassment, "...Do not...undertake such brash displays, Anesha. You may hold some sway with Alric, but...remember your real place, woman."
"...My real place? How cliché. Why don't you scurry out of here, you disgusting beetle, before I teach you your true place," she then leaned in and whispered, "That's not something strange to you, given where you go every night."
The man looked shocked, as if she had read his mind. That, or she had tabs on him somehow.
She was lightly caressing the side of his face now, but going by how the guy was sweating, you could tell he somehow thought he was close to death. Jonahs admitted, there was a frightening aura around this lady.
Frightening, dangerous, probably a good hand in a fight...maybe he could get her for a spar some time.
The presenter, evidently, did not like the idea of further angering her, and so he hurried off with the history book, "W-Will do, m'lady Anesha." It was evident in the way he hurried off that he feared her. Even though Jonahs couldn't see a weapon, he knew she could bring one to hand somehow.
Is it Requip? So he thought to himself. Going by her posture and the way she was so easy about going in close to people, that was most likely the case.
By now, though, Jonahs' thoughts had drifted to the mysterious wanderer he had seen before. Wolfang Richler. The police were still a heavy presence around this area, and he had to wonder if this was really a wise idea, letting everyone in here just for a partisan showboating.
If this was really all that was intended to be shown, then he was severely disappointed. Enough that he decided to just lean back and try to get some sleep against one of the walls.
As he rested there, thinking about things like the Wolfang encounter and the fact that it seemed odd they were let into a place where two people were petrified by a highly dangerous man, he made sure to keep enough of his awareness.
Which paid off when someone threw a pen at him.
He suddenly snapped into action, bringing a hand up and catching it, though noting it had slightly scraped his hand. Someone was pretty good with their physical abilities if they could use such a thing as a pen as a weapon.
He looked over to see another of those army types that it seemed were working with the police in here. The guy had some weird haircut that involved dyed blond hair and backfacing prongs, and looked like he was built like a tank.
He wore rather old fashioned armor rather than the army uniform his ally evidently preferred, and Jonahs did admit, he sensed something dangerous from those two. And somehow, he had found the right moment to throw it at Jonahs through the throngs of students and other people moving through the museum.
He pocketed the pen, and took this to mean that either he was being watched by a hostile force, or that there was a message of "we're about to go after you", or maybe they were trying to tell him to not lower his guard...
Yeah, he gave the impression of laziness, but that was because Jonahs liked to rest. He enjoyed excitement as much as the next youth, and-
That brought back what he had said to Wolfang. There was no doubting it now, he decided, he had said the wrong thing to the wrong person. He did not know what Wolfang was, but there was every hint he was more than just a sorcerer.
By the time the presentation moved on, Jonahs moved with it. He could sleep later. There were things he would need to do. He didn't like being obligated to do anything, but the fact is, he was not the kind of man to dodge something once it started.
As they moved on to the next room, a room depicting numerous important battles, evidently Anesha took over from her lacklustre colleague. She started on the final battle of the war with the Midnight Faction, Cetorburg.
"In the battle of Cetorburg, the notorious enchanted castle disabled advanced weaponry, such as airship batteries and other distanced weapons, necessitating brutal, old fashioned fighting. Our Partisan Hack may have been eager to skip past it, but there can be no discounting what happened at Cetorburg."
She seemed to know this personally, somehow. Jonahs remembered that his father fought at this battle too. Jonahs remembered his father's stories of the army of Keyblade Chosen, but when Jonahs asked if his father knew Perseus' father, Sora got rather vague and evasive about that answer.
"The battle saw the intervention of large numbers of Keyblade Wielders suddenly chosen, including the father of Destiny Islands' infamous Swordmaster, Perseus Sarasho. Perdus, among others, fought in this battle. It was here that heroes were made...and it was here where those who did not have such grandiose destinies perished."
She once again seemed nostalgic as she gathered her voice to continue, "What the history book will not tell you is that Sora, Riku and their Team, KH, broke through the siege and personally battled Sirius Viicous, and it was there that they struck such a blow against him that he ended hostilities. What happened to Sirius is not my concern, but what is evident is that the rest of the Dark Axis fell in short order as more of their leaders found themselves dead."
Jonahs grimaced. Yeah, it was pretty clear, going by some old stories Riku told him that Sirius Viicous probably had some hand in it. He'd thought it was just a conspiracy theory, but evidently, Sirius had lived.
He doubted the man yet lived today, but this put several things Alric Maynes wanted pushed as fact into doubt. And if those things were dismissed, how many of the other facts presented even in the history books or stated by historians were outright lies?
There was a damn good reason they had brought in that partisan hack – they wanted to ensure one way or another that the story was set in young peoples' minds. If they were trying to become dictatorial, they were really, really bad at it.
With that, and the crime that had happened there, the students were encouraged to leave the area. Well, not so much encouraged as forced out by the police. Jonahs made sure to watch them for any hostile actions.
When they exited, however, it looked oddly dark out. Jonahs did not like the feeling he was getting outside. He turned and looked at the police, the leader among them brooked no argument, "I was told you are to leave and go to your assigned hotel for a set time before further activities later. You will not be allowed back in the museum."
Jonahs did not feel safe out here, and he doubted it was safe for the girls, or the regular students. So he wouldn't take this from some police officer probably taking handouts from Alric!
"It doesn't feel safe out here. I can just kinda...tell. Its not a good atmosphere, I guess."
He cursed his inability to sound convincing, though. He was no orator, and his tongue always got tied up when he tried to vocalize these things.
The officer simply forced him back with one hand, though he looked surprised by the resistance Jonahs showed to him, and walked forward looking around, "You kids and your fear of the dark."
Jonahs had to rub his eyes as the officer looked left and right, darkness was surging up behind him. The rest of the officers were cowering now. Black wings were starting to show from the surging darkness.
Wolfang. Jonahs tensed, ready to move in case this turned uglier than it already was. He looked back at the other students, "You guys, get back in the museum, and don't come out. Setanta..."
Setanta, the ever diligent grandson of Cuchulain, moved to do so – he remembered his grandfather's tales of battle with the Darkness Shinobi, but this seemed like the work of someone a lot more advanced in the Dark ways than that guy.
The son of Sora looked over at Eva, concern evident in his eyes, but she seemed to be steely and ready to go. He showed a slight grin. Looked like there'd be excitement here after all.
Setanta tapped him on the shoulder again, now revealing that he had somehow managed to smuggle his collapsible lance into the city. "Ready to hit em hard, J?"
Jonahs knew he couldn't really do much without his weapon, but he wasn't just trained in armed combat. He was still pretty good unarmed just as well!
The officer finally got the hint that there might be something behind him as the darkness released something. It looked like some sort of figure, clad in black armor and wearing numerous dead branches across his frame. War paint was smeared across a skull-like face, glaring red eyes evident, ghastly chalk white hair upon its head.
Next to it was a large Heartless with a pair of rather goofy hands, its body seeming fat, and its head small. He remembered his father had told him about Large Body Heartless.
The other two were not out of any stories. They were black, jet black, constantly looking for any sign of prey that broke from the group. They only tangentially looked like wolves. The hungry death glare and darkness seeping out of their mouths full of fangs told him they were Heartless, through and through.
Pure-breeds, a vastly more dangerous sort.
But even they were incomparable to the sentient...intelligent...dweller of darkness that had exited that portal.
The officer barely had the time to register what he was seeing as he looked over his shoulder when the elf-like creature struck, so hard and fast that the officer's limp body crashed into the ceiling of the building.
It chuckled maliciously, "Pfahahah...barely even a challenge. And these disgusting cretins of the Realm of Light are trusted to serve and protect flocks...now to gorge myself on the sheep he guarded."
Jonahs had not heard of anything quite like that monster before. Maybe it was some sort of other being from the Realm of Darkness. Maybe Wolfang had sprung a few of his old friends, being that he seemed like something from that Realm.
Setanta whispered excitedly, "Hey, dude, you handle tall dark and cocky, I'll take the Large Body..."
Eva butted in and sighed, "You're leaving the mutts to me? Fine, I'll beat them into house-worthy condition."
She extended one arm and darkness flowed from her arm, slowly condensing into the form of a long, two sided silver blade. She knew what was to come after the battle, but it would be better than allowing these creatures to run roughshod.
The teenagers moved forward to undertake their missions, even as more portals opened across the area, with Anesha and the Pen-Thrower running off to take care of those.
Setanta leaped up, taking aim at the Large Body Heartless' vulnerable head, and remembering what his father had showed him before.
Jonahs, however, rushed forward at the creature he supposed fit the old stories of elves, and struck out with his right hand first, finding his frontal strike blocked and forced aside, to which he responded with a kick at the side of the creature's torso, which it simply took in stride.
The young son of Sora just looked astounded. He'd fought a lot of tough opponents in the sword tournaments on the island, but this guy was leagues and beyond anything he'd fought before...
The dark creature grinned, a sallow, joyless expression that looked more like mimicry than anything else, "Is that all? The Dark Angel informed me that there would be a son of the Keymaster. However, all I see..."
Just as it raised a hand to attack, Eva jumped in, pursuing the mutts, which yelped and bit in at her, to which she responded by impaling one of their heads to the ground, then leaping above the other attack, helping Jonahs by necessitating a distance between the fighters.
She looked on as she defeated another of the beasts, only to be bitten on the shoulder and forced down as the Shadow Dog that she thought beaten before dragged her to the floor.
Jonahs found himself distracted by the sight of Eva in trouble, and he abandoned the very thought of fighting the "elf" and vaulted toward her, he would not let the old sad stories happen again, he would not let himself fail to save her!
However, that was when something earth-shatteringly powerful cracked into his back. He felt his spine shatter at the impact sight, a widening numbness and dread spreading through his frame as he went flying forward, skidding roughly on the ground – his face badly bruised in the process.
The dark creature he had previously been fighting licked its lips as it stood there, its fist crackling with almost electric looking black energy. It slowly walked forward to the paralyzed son of the Keyblade Wielder, savoring every step.
"Shadow Dogs. Bring the girl over." Even as she struck outward one last time and destroyed one of the Shadow Dogs with her blade, the others ganged up and dragged her over to Jonahs.
He wished he could get up and help her, he wished he could cast something, say something, kick at the damn monsters, just...do something! Do something, he screamed at his body, but not a sound came from his lungs. And not a movement came from his body.
He could not move. Absolutely nothing could be done.
Setanta was over dealing with the Large Body, his spear stuck in it, and the creature was wrestling with him as he tried to stab deeper, he had to kill this damn thing and go...and go...
A snarl of fury showed on his face, his eyes showing tell tale signs of a certain familial curse, the Large Body starting to quiver as his spear started turning inside it...
However, Jonahs barely heard any of this. His entire body was failing. He could barely see well any more. Was this it? Was he really gonna die, here, on account of some Heartless and some sort of dark creature...he was. He would die on what should've been a simple, boring field trip. He then realized it and a bitter smile showed on his face.
He had wished for excitement. He told Richler he wanted excitement.
His excitement had ended in his death. It was a bitter, horribly ironic fate so terrible, he thought he heard the black haired man laughing somewhere.
Even as Eva was dragged over, he still tried to move again to protect her. He could not...he could not accept this, as he laid there, he would break himself time and again if it meant protecting her...neither he nor her could admit it but he...he...
And she...
And then he found himself drifting, on his feet, in a deep, dark black void on one side, and a bright white light, golden particles drifting up. He would've thought this was death when he saw Eva floating there, obscured by several black wings folded about her body.
It seemed she was curled up.
Accept this power.
Wha? He looked around, for the source of the voice. It sounded like Eva, but older, assured, some sort of incredibly wise person. He could barely describe the way the voice seemed to echo in the "room".
Accept my power, and live, Jonahs. Please. For the sake of Eva, your friends, both here and at home...you are the new guardian. Inherit the gold and the black.
Well, you're not giving me much choice, he tried to say aloud, but found he simply thought the words out toward her. He was not really the type to take deals with disembodied female voices, but this was...this was his last chance.
Jonahs...you must unseal this girl's heart, so that the cursed girl forsakes her curse forever...
He somehow understood. That was to be his path. He would see the Keyblade after all. This was his decision, though, either die and be free of the pain, or live...and live for her. He would do it. He loved her. And he wished she felt the same way for him. For this unworthy son of a most worthy man.
A bright gold sphere followed by a black sphere floated forward out of the floating Eva-Angel and entered Jonahs' chest, he felt an explosion inside him, rocking his body, every molecule making up his being vibrating, internal temperature soaring. A sun burned in his chest.
He heard a vastly different voice; The Single Molecule made up of Many Atoms has excited its Mitochondria. Will he choose Light? Or Shadow?
Or, mayhap, neither, but such indecisiveness cannot be permitted.
The Will and the Voice will resonate within him Equally, this lone, but magnetic molecule.
He will bring unto himself...great despair...
He felt again. He could see. He could touch. He could stand.
Slowly, Jonahs found himself waking up to the world around him. He looked at the utterly astounded dark elf creature and the heartless at its side as he stood in front of Eva. Evidently, the creature had been mid swipe of using some sort of sword.
He grabbed it in his bare hand, and the "elf" found itself unable to free its blade from the iron grasp of the teenager it had only just defeated. When had he gotten this strong? How was he standing?
Jonahs took a step forward. His adversary took a step back. Another step forward, and another step back, there was barely any activity between the two of them at first, just a lot of staring...and the dark elf found it could not meet Jonahs' glare for more than a minute.
"Thunder." A bright gold blast of bright, crackling thunder smashing into the dark elf sent it flying backward, energy crackling from its being as it landed near the rest of the class, and immediately its thoughts went to hostages.
That attack had hurt more than it should have – a basic Thunder spell had nowhere near that much power, and as Jonahs walked forward, the Dark Elf immediately decided its fortunes had turned sour. The time was come to select a hostage.
Jonahs thought nothing of the magic he just used being much, much stronger than his usual attempts at Thunder, and he ran forward, faster than he usually did, a bright flash of light coming from his hands as he got between the Dark Elf – now more than astounded looking – and brought down a sword he recognized.
The creature was sent flying backward, its arms giving off a trail of smoke from where the Keyblade had hit, from where the "elf" had tried to defend itself. "This is impossible...the Keyblades are gone...!"
Jonahs now stood with a strange version of the Kingdom Key – it looked sharper at the front, more streamlined, less blocky, much, much more deadly looking and shaped like a sword more than a key. Yet there were still pieces to it which reinforced the image of a key.
The Keychain was now a golden bauble surrounded by black thorns.
In some ways, it was Kingdom Key, but in other ways, it was most definitely not.
It also had the effect of shaking a berserked and still stabbing Setanta out, leading to him finally finishing off the Large Body, and leaving him simply staring at the figure of Jonahs, standing there, crackling with energy.
Eva by now was stirring from a very odd trance, and saw that the Pureblood Heartless Dogs had, rather than sticking around to try to kill Jonahs, had retreated back into a portal. Evidently, those breeds had some form of self preservation.
She did not remember most of what happened after she was dragged over to Jonahs, just an overwhelming feeling of liberation.
The Dark Elf evidently decided if it was going to go down, it would go down fighting, its arm crackling with more darkness than even before, and it rushed right at Jonahs, who simply raised his sword as if daring him to come.
The adversary showed one last expression, a psychotic grin of glee at the prospect of breaking Jonahs again before the young man rushed forward, his sword breaking through the attack instantly, cutting through the arm underneath, then going right through the Dark Elf's chest and out through the back.
It had merely a moment to howl in rage as its body dissolved into black smoke. Jonahs watched the black smoke dissipate and he dismissed the Keyblade and fell backward, "Whew, I could sure use a nap after that one!"
He however brought himself back to his feet, looking at a calmed Setanta, who saw golden energy crackling across Jonahs, a benign, powerful aura covering him even now.
The youth landed on his feet and ran over to Jonahs, and both then turned to Eva, who was now stirring, and immediately the two started to help her up. As they did, she sighed, "You...did it..."
Jonahs looked rather confused, trying to remember what exactly he did. He remembered doing something in his sleep, but the memory was fading as if a dream; "What did I do? Why do I keep doing things and not understanding what I do?"
Setanta glanced first at Jonahs – remembering seeing that power – and then at Eva, who seemed to be thinking she had something to do with it. "All I know is that I saw you get up with a broken spine and destroy that dark elf-ish thingy! And it was pretty freaking AWESOME!"
He was now grinning, remembering the incident and that he hoped someone had it on tape. Whoever this Wolfang bastard was, it was pretty clear if that was the best he could throw at them, it was pretty pitiful!
"So, that's our boy?" Briadant Ray stated as he watched the events, the large pool of water in the midst of Wolfang's Chamber of Sorceries in the White Castle Tsare Viole. The chamber was empty, white, like Castle Oblivion in many ways, including the manner and purpose of its creation.
"To strike down such a creature as a Dark Denizen, he has demonstrated above average strength and skill."
"Not skill. The boy only just awakened to his power. We must ensure that we take what we need from him while he remains young and soft." The old, weathered Morgan Hirath stared down at the pictures of Jonahs and friends, smirking a little.
Much as he disliked working for Wolfang Richler, this was proving to be too entertaining to let go. The boy was possibly exactly what he was looking for, and he did not doubt there were others here that thought the same thing.
It looked like Wolfang had found others willing to play along with his tune, people desperate enough to get what they wanted to ask for the help of a self proclaimed angel. Whether this proved a bargain with heaven or a deal with the devil remained to be seen.
The first was a mostly silent man in heavy armor and a cloak, who seemed to have been brought in relatively recently. He did not seem to want to speak of the young key-wielder, though when he saw the reversal play itself out, there was a spark of interest.
The other was a young, black-haired teenager and initially, Morgan wondered if Wolfang picked this one for the similarities between them. He wore strange armor and a circlet of some sort on his head, and was almost too handsome for masculinity.
He immediately identified himself, "...So, I gather you're the alliance of rascals and miscreants Wolfang has gathered. I am Loki, some on my home world called me the God of Mischief."
Wolfang smiled widely, "Nothing will stir up excitement quite like a god of mischief, wouldn't you guys agree?"
Loki turned to look at the smiling, ever optimistic-seeming creature, and stated, "I will wreak my mischief, so long as you uphold your end of the bargain."
"Oh, don't you two worry about it, by the way, this dignified man over here..." Now gesturing at the silent man in armor, Wolfang was about to introduce him, "He calls himself..."
"Doom. And it remains to be seen whether this motley gathering is truly worth Doom's time."
Morgan nodded to himself, while Briadant seemed to become ever more enthused. Briadant seemed to gravitate toward the young trickster, and started sharing his story - "Truly? You're the God of Mischief...then surely, your hand was at work in my world!"
Loki seemed to decide this merited his attention, "Well, then lets hear it – I may or may not count my involvement in those affairs."
Wolfang leaned back against a pillar that it seemed only he could experience, "I suppose getting to know one's allies is an important part of the process – so, go ahead, you guys, I'm gonna head out and check things out."
With that, Wolfang seemed to vanish – though hints of his presence could be detected even after he was gone by both Doom and Loki – and this left both of them wondering what, precisely, they had decided to travel with to this new vale of villains, as he called it.
Briadant started, "So, to start, my homeland was one of the few that refused to allow the tyrannical Maynes Family to assert their Way over them, but during the time when they stomped out their opposition, the Maynes Family likewise forced their way over my home world. However, in the modern day, me and my friends – the Blasting Society – decided we were not going to settle for this selfish order."
Loki decided he knew where this was going – Briadant Ray was some form of anarchist. Morgan already knew this, and this cemented his view.
Briadant continued after a pause to look around, as if he felt something odd, "I fight on the front lines against the selfish, stagnating forces of order. The banks that enslave us to our Maynes Masters, the infernal Islander and his money, and the key-wielder that executes their will."
Loki noted to himself, Scratch that – conspiracy theorist anarchist with a tendency for paranoia.
"Now, I am not a schemer, I leave that to you guys who're really good at it, but I just want to make sure that people like the KH Team who are nothing but Maynes' minions are left with no power at all. I want to destroy their pride, their affluence."
Briadant, being a front line fighter most of the time, was not really a schemer, so he mostly left those roles to his commanding officers. And both Morgan and Loki both noted the fringe elements in his screed, as well as a vaguely personal notes present.
Something worth looking into later. Evidently, Briadant was going to take something personal into battle with him against those who would see the current order perpetuated.
Loki mused about this, He could be a dangerous variable depending on how deep the grudge runs. I just need to find out what Wolfang promised him, though its probably something reasonably easy to predict, like, say, chaos in his home world that lasts forever.
With that, Briadant Ray decided to leave to prepare for his own role, as Wolfang had informed him. Whatever occurred, though, as long as it destroyed Kairi's family's fortune...was worth his time. "So, I leave the advanced preparations to you guys."
With that, the revolutionary left to go prepare for any battle they might find, by himself, as he thought of how this all came to be for him. He had always despised the way things were now, and how the new order invariably favored the powerful.
He had utterly nothing personal against people like Kairi or Sora, but he simply saw them not as humans, but as emblems of a deeper corruption. They had sinned against their real natures by becoming so involved in the financial systems, and that required a degree of repentance. He forgave them already for their trespasses.
They just needed to die to complete their repentance. Redemption for their crime of ascending from warrior to overlord required their personal demise.
Doom spoke on Briadant's departure from the chamber, noting how the young man seemed to ideate somewhat as he left, "At least the boy knows his place, and does not scheme when it is impertinent of him. Such makes his role easier to craft."
With Briadant out, Morgan looked across the room at his odd new ally, "I trust, then, that until we both find out more about Wolfang, we don't trust him any further than we're able to throw him?"
Doom nodded, "A wise idea, Doom agrees with this hypothesis – how would Wolfang know such sensitive topics, when he comes from another world? It suggests either a disturbing personal possession, or power we do not know of. Until a more thorough measure of his character can be achieved, I would only advise that the utmost caution be used."
The iron-clad dictator also mused, to himself, that this was perchance his best chance to both use his newest "allies", as well as gain a view of the universe opened up to him.
Morgan was used to hidden agendas, hells, he made use of numerous ones himself. While if this turned out to be something he could not support, he had ideal blades prepared for Richler's back, he was also extremely intrigued by everything insofar.
Wolfang had recruited people from worlds far and wide, and that meant to the gray haired "fox" that he was someone that had enough power to be wary of. If the backstab did not take, it may well be Morgan himself on the end of a blade.
Loki, meanwhile, focused on Morgan Hirath for now – the old man was definitely hiding something. He knew entirely too much for someone who was simply picked like Briadant and the others here. He had to complete his plans for this little alliance – and he couldn't do that with this silver haired fox's eyes on everyone.
Morgan thought about the idea of this alliance itself. The prospect was all at once amusing and exciting. This was the first time he had engaged in a plan with someone who might actually be his equal. In bringing together so many different people with so many different abilities, Wolfang diversified his forces and made predicting their moves more difficult for the Alliance.
No small scheme, especially when one considered what happened if the scheme failed – even if Wolfang's plan was found out, he had seen enough of this castle to know that was a requisite of a certainly quite nasty scheme.
Equals. Morgan looked across the aisle at the deity and the dictator and then shifted the viewing pool again, as he saw Wolfang flitting in and out across the worlds, approaching people with the intention of recruitment for the cause.
Doom watched this process on the watching pool as well, Who do you recruit, black winged angel...and for what purposes...?
Lirh Sarkhan looked across the table at the guest as the Crimson Halfrek kept sailing through the dimensional sea, skirting clear of populated worlds and centres of law and authority. Lirh was a strong youth, a tall, stocky build with wide, powerful muscles. Wolfang was not exactly ashamed to be ogling the red head's appearance, not the least his startling red eyes that matched his hair.
Lirh smirked, and said in a sultry tone, "Like what you see, guest?" He wore an outfit that, while ragged and besmirched with stains and blood, confirmed he was indeed a pirate. It would remind any very old viewer of Captain Hook – who was an inspiration to Lirh himself.
Even though Hook was definitively defeated by Sora during the Dark Empire events, Lirh had found the old ship's pieces, and now reassembled Hook's ship as the new "Crimson Halfrek". The level of work it required spoke of Lirh's determination...and what he was willing to do to further himself.
Wolfang looked him over further, considering his aura and the look of pure strength and determination Lirh gave off. Not bound by morality or any silly thing like ethics, once Lirh Sarkhan set his eyes on something, he got it.
Nobody told Lirh no for long, he'd always find a way to get to his destination. That was what Wolfang needed for his forces. That determination, that raw drive, that nigh on objectivist surety of his own righteousness in selfishness.
It didn't matter if he needed to carpet bomb a world or two in the process, so long as, in the end, he did what he committed to doing.
"Yeah, I do. I love what I'm seeing so far."
Lirh grinned, "Then how about you tell me what your business is here, sorceror-king? I am a busy man, after all, I have to surpass my father some day." He looked forward to hearing this. He had heard Wolfang was out and about, but to get a personal visit...that was an honor.
"I want you to help me spread excitement and activity throughout the worlds. Everything's been so very boring for the last few decades...as I understand it, your father carried a similar view." Wolfang watched him for a reaction.
Looking for an instant like he was uncomfortable, Lirh straightened his posture, "Yes, my father was quite...excitable. In the end, he died as he lived – fighting. Took down that dog of an imperial guard, and gave me a mountain to overcome."
Lirh then relaxed and awaited a response. Lirh remembered the day well, his silly old first mate had expected the young Lirh to break down crying when he was told his father was dead, truly dead. Instead, the young boy broke up laughing and said he simply now had to work even harder than before to surpass his father's achievements.
"There are some who would call your family murderers of heroes...an idea I'd like to take advantage of. How would you like to expand your family's "dead heroes" count by a few dozen?" Wolfang smiled as he said this, envisioning the bodies slaughtered by his newest weapon.
"Truthfully? I'd like to kill all of them." Lirh beamed as he said this, thinking of the songs they'd sing of him. Songs of dread, songs of horror, songs of the new dread pirate.
Wolfang motioned toward him and Lirh's old pirate sabre vanished, replaced with what looked like a sabre with a ruby encrusted handle, numerous veins flowing through it which showed bright blue energy underneath.
Lirh himself did not even seem too shocked by this, almost like he was expecting some form of new weapon to show up.
"That is Huron's Sabre, use it against the Keyblade Masters well. I need you, Lirh..." When he detected Lirh was about to break up laughing at his wording, he continued, "I need you to raid Destiny Islands, while me and my friends are causing some trouble elsewhere. When you're done, simply hold this stone aloft, and you'll find yourself in the hideout, with some...other friends."
Lirh nodded as a stone dropped from above. He caught it in his free hand without even really thinking about it. "I heard about you and your alliance...word is, you busted the rune that was keeping Claiom in his castle...one vicious bloodsucker, I've heard...you can handle that?"
Wolfang bobbed his head up and down, his grin never abating, "Yep, all he wants is the head of Alric's little brat. We all want things, and we all need to go a certain route to get them. When enough people decide they want something badly enough to go to battle to get it...that's excitement, isn't it?"
"Fundamentally, yes. There's nothing more chaotic or natural than such a battlefield resulting from numerous, seemingly contradictory human desires." Lirh stated, almost relishing the image before it left his head.
"Good...then I have to go tell someone their excitement is on its way."
And so Wolfang was gone, and Lirh was left thinking to himself, You magnificent bastard...who'd you dupe into wishing for YOUR sadistic brand of excitement? Well, should be exciting to kill the fool who thought to wish to Old Black-Wings.
"I told you he should not have gone!"
Kairi fretted, as usual, about hers and Sora's young son, Jonahs. He was so lazy most of the time, and if she wasn't getting up in age, she would have to wake him up on the beach every single day, just like his father. Thankfully, that Eva girl was picking up the slack in that regard.
Yet, somehow, he always managed to get himself into trouble like this. Fighting heartless in the Capitol City of the Alliance, finding his...his keyblade...
Sora shook his head, "If he found a Keyblade, it was meant to find him that day, at that hour. There is no possible way of forestalling these things, except to divert their course from one person to another. We all know that."
He was slightly morose. He had felt that this was an unusual summoning of a Keyblade. Rather than being of pure darkness or light, there was darkness, light...and something else in that keyblade. His abilities had atrophied over the years from the lack of the need to actually use them, but he could still tell when these things happened.
Especially when it was with Family. Jonahs was always a quiet boy, lazy and loving his sleep, when he needed it, but oddly attentive to his training when he was awake. He'd train himself till he was falling over, and that was usually what Kairi fretted over.
Not today.
Insofar as they had seen on the news report, the school students were attacked by some form of Heartless, as well as a dweller of the World of Darkness. Whatever it was, it had proved more than a match for the kids before Jonahs manifested that strange Keyblade.
The report said that, rather than remain in a possibly dangerous world any longer, the visiting students would be returning home to Destiny Islands while the security team investigated the disturbance and the creatures that had appeared.
The black winged creature also came up again. He remembered the reporting done about the thing that emerged from Hell's Vortex, and it almost gave Sora a heart attack, a full blown, real heart attack, thinking it was Cavendish returned.
Thankfully, he calmed down, though not for long. Whatever had escaped that place was not something that should have ever returned from where it had ended up. Its imprisonment was meant to be eternal, its punishment just, even if it was executed by Cavendish, in all likelihood.
Just the description was enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up – apparently, some sort of black winged creature likened to some "angel", though it wreaked havoc on the bodies of two of the guards before making its escape. Presumably, given it exited so easily, just to amuse itself.
Luckily, as Sora saw, the Capitol Guard were taking this seriously, and had formed a special unit for hunting down anyone suspected of being connected to this creature. He remembered the news report saying the head of this special unit was called Esdese, or something similar.
And there was no question the recent attack was likewise caused by the creature from the Hell's Vortex.
He would need to contact Riku – this was possibly something that could involve 'Daj and Marcus as well. And it certainly painted Perseus' recent nagging in a rather darker light. The Deputy Mayor was the son of a war hero, so there was no way he was not involved.
But whatever side he was on, there was a significant likelihood that this stood to increase his capabilities in Destiny Islands. In the event of a crisis the Mayor and Deputy Mayor picked up additional duties and powers – which meant Sarasho could be more of a pain than he usually was.
Everyone still remembered the funding incident, and given his recent activities, it was most likely that he was not going to let up any time soon.
So Sora walked out of the house, ignoring any further speculation on the news, and prepared his vehicle for an outing – and he was not going to be riding in the backseat while some chaffeur drove. Nobody liked it, it seemed, but he had to make sure...
And so off he went, for the bridge that led to the old island where he and his friends were once at play, and as he drove, he considered his children. Jonahs was a lazy little guy, like he was in his youth, at least when he had no commitments.
But pressed, he had seen a side of Jonahs that brought a smile to his face – namely, a determined persona that refused to accept surrender.
His sister, younger by a year, had remained home during the trip due to a "malevolent sensation". It appeared what his brother had derided as a superstition had some basis in reality. Elza was...troubling. She seemed to have various, terrible nightmares, and had grown up rebellious outwardly, but entirely too dependent on what she already knew.
In many ways, his daughter seemed like the type to take more after Riku – her dreams aside. Even the Mage they brought in had no idea what her dreams were all about, and they were certainly vague enough for many different interpretations.
By the time Sora arrived, the sun was starting to exit the sky entirely, and he was reminded of the night when the Heartless first appeared, before even the Dark Empire appeared.
He clutched his fist – too entirely eerie for his tastes, but even still, he headed off for the old secret spot, where he and Riku drew on the walls.
Even as he entered, he got chills up and down his spine. Someone was here. He remembered the man with the cloak – you who know nothing, can understand nothing – and the creatures that had emerged from that door.
The roots in here had only solidified their grasp, but some were dead due to urban encroachment, leaking a fluid Sora immediately avoided. It was a stark difference from the beach outside, which now had a parking lot and several shacks.
As he continued in, he saw drawings, fresh drawings, on the walls. As in, mere hours fresh. He prepared himself for anything as he turned the last time in this place, looking at the old door, now firmly sealed shut.
And the man, standing there.
Not cloaked like that dark man, its hair was black, long, and well combed. Blue eyes stared out of the head, a good deal too blue, not human – not human at all. A grin had settled on its face. After fighting the Heartless and Nobodies, he could tell a human from something that was distinctly not.
And this was not a human man. No, there was entirely too much power radiating scarcely beneath the surface. "Ah, you're Sora...a bit older than in all the pictures I saw, but still, I can tell you're experienced...oh, but what amazing pictures I saw depicting a triumphant hero..."
This was the thing from the Capitol! Sora managed to restrain himself from either bolting or making aggressive moves. Either could provoke this creature. "I did what I did to protect Riku and Kairi. But that was a long time ago, I'll admit, and I'm not the man I once was."
Wolfang chuckled and amiably leaned up against one of the roots, "Obviously so, but I'm still admittedly a little bit shocked you guys decided not to use what was readily available to you..."
He knew...then did that mean he was like Sirius Viicous after them for the use of those items? "Sneer told us that life goes on, and we should not fundamentally alter the course too heavily with items of power."
"Oh, but what use is power unless you can wield it! The old frog was a fool, and selfish besides – easy for him to say, do not wish upon those items again, never losing a loved one. How's Riku, by the way?" Wolfang never broke his composure – it was almost like there was malice in his bubbly, good natured appearance.
How much did this man know? Where did he find all this information? Sora took a step backward, and found himself grasped, by a three pronged claw connected to a yellow eyed creature. "Do you know what it is you're doing? Bringing them here!?"
Wolfang outright ignored his tone and stated further, "Yes, Sneer, lets keep the magical wish-granting spheres locked away rather than use them. Yes, Sneer, lets allow the Maynes Family to assume power and make their malignant little madman of an eldest son a Marshal..."
Sora argued back, a grimace showing on his face, "We did what we thought was best, and a man who would gladly cast peace aside has no right to-"
He realized he lost his temper, and momentarily considered running as quickly as he could when the expression shifted on Wolfang's face to a perceptible grimace. This was a horrible monster that could kill him as simply as saying "Die".
So when Wolfang's mouth opened, and started the syllable, Sora's heart caught in his throat, and he was prepared for whatever horrible end Wolfang devised. But he was not, he decided, going to beg for his life.
"Die." He expected some horrible pain to assault him, but instead, he felt a wet burst of liquid from his right side.
He turned and saw that someone had apparently walked in, and now...he restrained himself from being sick. He had seen war, and far more horrible things than this. Wolfang's simple command, "Die", had caused someone right at his side to explode into a red and black, liquid mass.
The mass was thick, heavy and like some form of tar, covering the walls of the Secret Place, the smell of death everywhere now. The ooze slowly descended from the walls, consistency quickly abating, and he saw Wolfang's expression shift back to a normal, bemused look.
Wolfang walked over and smeared his hand in the mess before bringing it to his lips, licking his fingers clean, "That...was apparently an admirer of yours, who followed you in, hoping to get an autograph. Ahh, but instead, he walked in during a really bad time. He seems to have surprised you by exploding."
Sora could not hope to keep it down after that one - "You...you damned monster! Do human lives mean literally nothing to you? Are we to be nothing but your play things!?"
Wolfang slapped his knee as he chuckled like a child, repeatedly slapping his knee as he rocked back and forth, "Oh, you really are something – spouting heroic one or two liners like you're thirty again. But, hey, you know what, maybe if you catch up with me, I'll make it worth your while."
The Heartless Sora now realized had bubbled up all around him started to mass, but instead, formed near Wolfang, a phalanx of shadows surrounding the dark angel.
"You...where are you going? What is it you're up to?" He demanded angrily, there was no way Sora, being a Keyblade Master, even a former one, was going to let this creature harm his children!
"Now, you'll have to excuse me, I have appointments to keep, chaos to bring, lives to change, people to...evolve...and frankly, this is all the time I have for old Keyblade Masters. Get a little younger, and we can have more time together." Wolfang started melding into the shadows, one of his eyes glowing far, far brighter than it did before.
All of a sudden, he could see a far more dangerous side to this entity – much as he wanted to, he could not go running after it. There was entirely too much power in it, a malignant, deep magic to its form that was strong when the stars above themselves were young.
He was not going to let this thing threaten him and his children, but a dark, gnawing fear had settled into his innards like a parasite.
Sora could just barely make out the form of a series of wings on his back, his shoulders, his arms. He was glimpsing the true nature of something barely comprehensible, and it terrified him.
Wolfang's voice reverberated off of the walls, inflection deepening it to a tone darker than anything he had ever heard, "Run home to your little wife, Sora. Its about all you're good for now."
Before he could shake himself from the sensation of helpless terror that invaded his being just due to the sight of this abomination, he blinked – and Wolfang was quite simply gone. The Secret Place was clean, no roots, no new drawings-
-Except one.
It depicted two families, and one child far away from them. That child was holding a sword, which was colored a bright red. The message was loud and clear.
This was a threat on the security and mental health of his children, on Riku's children, and on any child related to them. There was no doubt about it – Wolfang would pay for this, direly. He had paid in blood, sweat and tears for this peace, for this happy life with his family, and he was not going to allow some petulant, childish false deity to destroy their lives for its own petty reasons.
He would find a way on his own to strike back at this creature.
Sora ran out of there as safely as he could, looking down at his chest as his heartbeat slowed – he barely even knew he had been so panicked, so thoroughly disquieted. He had to take a moment in the car to gather his bearings, and it almost felt like coming down from what could have been a life-ending heart attack.
It felt like, even then, that his heart was going to explode out of his chest, that it was ticking so loudly that everyone who had been on the beach would be able to hear it.
There he sat in his car, thinking about the message he had received. He was thought little of by this creature, which now freely thought to target his children. And Sora, ever the concerned father, did not even want to think of what it was saying with that last drawing.
When Sora returned to the house, he found Kairi standing there, looking worried – she had gotten a call from Riku's son, 'Daj. Apparently, there had been another incident at the college. Sarasho's minion Shalor had harassed Daj about going back to the Heartless Exterminators, and / or simply meeting with Perseus.
Perseus Sarasho, ever since he had ascended to that position of power, had been a strong if negative influence on the lives of the Keyblade Wielders and their family. He had attempted to veto the idea of a KH Memorial Museum, simply on the grounds of "too much expenditure / money problems".
Sora knew personally there was no such money problem, and Sarasho knew that just as well. The man was simply hellbent for some reason or another on becoming a painful thorn in their side.
Most likely, it was because of how his father was treated, while Team KH was given the full honors of war heroes and local paragons. The former Key Master knew it was wrong, how Sarasho's father was treated, but it was no reason for the Deputy Mayor to act out in such a way.
He would need to meet with Sarasho and tell him to withdraw his shadow and stop harassing a young man whose only crime was withdrawing from an activity he never enjoyed in the first place.
There WAS also that chance that Sarasho simply wanted 'Daj to go back into his force, the Heartless Exterminators, but with the way things worked, nobody really knew if what they were doing was really permanent, or even all that wise.
To keep delving into the darkness, even when Perseus knew about Daj's family's issues with it...obviously, it would make the young man uncomfortable.
But right now, sadly, Sora was in no shape to go rushing off to confront Sarasho. Much to his chagrin, he truly had aged, and Wolfang's words sunk in well and truly. He decided to give Riku a call about this, but inwardly, he felt a stab of anguish.
He was old, he was not going to be doing any more fighting...he would need to give the wheel over to the new generation. So, first off, he walked over to the phone and dialled Jonahs' cellphone number.
It took a while, given they were in different worlds, but eventually he reached his young son. It sounded like there was something going on in the background. Jonahs spoke first, "Oh, uh, hey dad...what's going on?"
Sora began, a little morose at first, "I heard about what happened, and...it appears you and I have met the same raven." He coughed a little, and shook his head when Kairi approached, "No matter what, son, I want you to know...you have my faith in your abilities."
"Why are you telling me this...Dad, what raven are you talking about? Why are you telling me this?"
The sensation of a deep weight in his chest was intensifying, but Sora did not get this far by capitulating, "Son, no matter what, do not let the Light escape your vision. That thing you met, that...Wolfang...is a worse evil than anything I have faced."
Kairi by now realized what was happening and grasped her husband's shoulder, ready to help him. Elza was out with friends, so she'd need to be ready for what came next.
Sora continued through what was oncoming, banging around, burning in his skull, "Promise me, son...promise...that you'll wield that blade and defeat Wolfang, no matter what. But...do not get caught up in your...fight...the Maynes Family is not to be-"
He could not keep on his feet and started hacking again as what looked like black blood dripped from his mouth, his similarly elderly wife leading him to a bed. This had been a recurring event since the big speech at the museum.
This black substance would well up, and result in terrifying hacking, coughing fits that the doctor claimed could be lethal if they did not find out what was causing them. Of course, knowing this, he would run off to that Island. Of course he did.
He was Sora – he wouldn't let anything stop him from doing what he deemed necessary.
Kairi looked at an old photo of her brother Kirin, and sighed – just how many of the old team were going to remain at the end of this week? At the end of the next?
No, no she would not see things that way – she would not let Sora be the only one trying to help any more. She was not some powerless, scared little girl any more. Even though she stepped away from most of her responsibilities, she still had a great deal of worth behind her name.
And she would not make it easy on Perseus.
A/N And that is the next chapter. Sorry for the long delay. Hope you all liked it as much as I liked writing it.