Welcome to Gaia! ::

Lexaeus had taken a seat to listen to the message. He quietly sat, elbows on his knees and fingers laced together. He even rested hi chin on his hand, taking in every word.

So...Zexion was at least still 'alive'. That was a plus. But...working on things he normally wouldn't work on. The slave crowns...and then not remembering things. But he had three targets, now, that'd know where he would be.

Ajora.

Lugae.

Xaldin.

Three names, one of which he knew personally. Those were the next keys to the puzzle that was Zexion's whereabouts. That, and 'Ribo' and the amount of darkness in the place. It wasn't a lot, in the long run...but it was something he could work with.

[[Cue: Luna Dial & A Pocket Watch of Blood ナイフが語るは真なる正義 by Tutti Sound]]

"Joe! With me," Louis shouted over the hoards of enemies and their battlecries. The two moved in tandom, striking one after the other and cutting down one heartless where the other was left open. Their teamwork was ironic, less an interest in protecting the other as much as a drive not to allow the other to be struck and be held accountable. In short, the two were more in competition with each other than comrades but their teamwork struck a positive chord.

Whirlwinds drove up the flanks as Dawn and Sayrike rode the wind, fans and mirrors alike acting as buzzsaws against the creatures of darkness. Sayrike reflected every move Dawn had to offer, their combined powers turning the front lines into no less than the eye of a hurricane, winds crushing all their targets outside it.

Spears arced overhead as Noelle gave the order to a line of spined flowers, launching large spikes like a garrison of archers. The middle of the advancing force was made quick work of by the ranged attacks, running through countless heartless and saving allot of trouble for the forward combatants. There was an army coming for them, master unknown, not that that mattered. It was a struggle for survival. The earthlings would stand together and fight till their last breath if that was what it took. Hordes of enemies charged, with no end in sight. Hundred, thousands, hundreds of thousands of heartless marched in their dirrection. They had their weapons and each other and nothing was going to pry either from each other's grip.

"Incoming," Amy shouted as she aimed her pistols to the sky. A large explosion of darkness shook the group but miraculously, thanks to the white mage, left everyone unharmed. The gunner let lose a string of glowing white bullets that only grew in intensity as they flew. Then, like cannon balls, the bullets dropped onto the swarm of monsters, detonating like grenades.

Louis cut another shadow down by Joe's side, turning to find a single enemy slip through both of their defenses. As it raised a greedy claw to strike, a golden chain cut between the two fighters and broke the creature into pices. Anthony shouted something over the noise about being careful, then turned away from the main enemy force to give Kyle a swift nod. A flicker passed over the battlefield, shifted things, then set them back as they were.

"All clear! Everyone get back!"

Kyle ran forward as Louis and Joe split up, turned to the flanks and the girls, and lent their aid as shields from the inevitable shockwave to follow. The holy dragoon was glowing, golden light encasing his body, shining light giving off an image of what could be recognised as the iconic dragoon armor. He ran up to Anthony who held out one of his massive gauntlets. A song carried over the battlefield at the same time, the enemy force slowing to almsot a complete stop as Jenny held the note on her flute.

At last Kyle reached Anthony and lept up on his arm. Anthony pulled around and threw Kyle with all his might to the sky. The dragoon activated his leap and soared ever higher in the blackened, gloomy sky. At his command, the sky grew black, then dotted itself with hundreds of stars. It was, for a moment, a beautiful sight to behold, before the sky returned to its gloomy color and with it, a shower of falling stars bombarded the ememy force, completeing with a finalle as Kyle collided with the center of the enemy force. Light spred to ever corner of the battlefield along with a wave of black dust and enough kickback to knock near everyone by themselves right off their feet.

When the light and soot cleared, Kyle stood in the middle of the empty field with golen wings spread out to each side. Green grass and sunlight covered every inch as far as the eye could see. Another flicker as his visage shifted just a little bit, white to red and back again.

"We did it," Louis cheered along with the others, shouting priase and blessings across the battlefield to one another.

Louis strolled forward, shading his eyes as he looked up at the brilliant blue sky, "We did it."

As he reveled in the peacful moment, a high pith whine in his ears followed by a erruption of force behind him, knocked Louis from his peaceful reprieve. He scrambled on the ground, gripping at every parch of grass to stop his quick, unexpected acceleration. As he regained his blance and was albe to stand, he glanced around the battlfield to assess the damage.

To his horror, everyone, all of those he fought alongside, lay scattered and bloody. In the center, holding Kyle by the throat was a monster, unlike any heartless, but unmistakable as one. With bladed fingers and a razor sharp mouth, clad in jagged black armor, it held Kyle up with one arm as though he weighed little more than a feather.

"Let him go," Louis seethed, gripping his rapier tightly as his temper rose, "I said, put him down."

"Run yourself dry," it hissed, "...and drop dead."

Louis screamed out but his voice fell sillent as the creature closed its grip and promptly threw the bosddy aside. The two met, rapier against claws. The monster efortlessly overpowered Louis, and cast his rapier aside. Before he could even recall it, he was thrown back and cut across the chest. He collapsed on his back and struggled to stand.

The dark dark creature stood over Louis, its dark purple eyes burrowing into his, its bladed fingers and arms drenched in his comrades' blood. Static shifted the image again, Louis now standing over himself, rapier poised over his free hand, leveling for a clean killing blow. Another flicker, another shift, the monster again hovering at his throat, bladed maw curved into a grin. Louis' breathing quickened, panic overwhelming him. Please... no... somebody... anybody...

The monster raised its claw, another two flickers in quick succession, blurring the image, please... "HELP ME!"

Louis awoke from his dreams with a start, throwing himself forward into a sitting position. His breathing had not lessened, his chest still heaving in and out as sweat coated his forehead, neck, and back. His hand immidiately went to his throat as the feeling of butterflies and mosquitoes still swarmed the area of the wound. His hand caressed the unbroken skin, allowing his nerves to settle.

As Louis pulled his hand away, a flicker shifted his vision for just a moment, turning his hand into a blood soaked talon before flashing back to reality. Louis felt a tear run down his cheek from his watery eyes and quickly ran a hand over them to clear any sleep. Louis took his head in his hands and curled up as he felt his stomach turn. Just go back to sleep... it was just a dream.

The High Seraph stood along the ledge of Kyle's Station, arms crossed and eyes narrowed in analysis. Even now, she was still trapped in an adolescent form, restrained from what would be considered her full power. But what she had was still ample enough for Kyle's devices, as his body was still getting accustomed to the new, mystical rules of this new existence. He was growing-- they all were, but he was growing into a fitting Avatar for her to fill.

He pushed himself. Too far, perhaps, but he pushed regardless. His reasons were not unknown to her, but they perplexed her all the same. Yet, at the rate he attempted to progress, she feared she might not have her Avatar for much longer.

"Kyle, this is not the wisest choice," she voiced, staring at the web of prismatic lights that enveloped the blackness around his Station of Awakening. The multi-colored veins of mana appeared like a spherical, labyrinthine barrier, with various colors such as gold, white, green, teal, lavender, maroon, red, blue, and indigo alternating in places.

.:Perhaps not, but if it gives us any sort of advantage, then it's worth the risk..:

Ultima rolled her eyes before turning around, walking on bare, tan-blue feet back into the Station's main mosaic. Her eyes wandered over the picture, or what was visible of it. "Perhaps, but simply because you have the will does not mean your body or heart will have the endurance," she explained, kneeling down for a moment to look at something.

.:The needs of the many, Ultima.:.

"'Outweigh the needs of the few', yes, yes, I've heard it a thousand times," she groaned, running a hand over the black stain that covered the face on the Station's mosaic. The stain had been there since she'd arrived, but it had since grown, censoring the body and various faces in the smaller circles nearby. Such blots had come from the times when the Darkness was simply forced in, like the battle with the nameless hellion, or during his time with that empathy curse.

.:And you'll hear it a thousand more, if it takes that long to sink in.:.

In the past few hours, the Darkness had grown restless. It ebbed; it flowed; it fluxed. As Kyle pushed himself further, the blot seemed to become irritated... or excited. It responded to the Seraph's touch, acting almost as an adhesive as she tried to move her hand. She pulled back, but doing so did not calm it; on the contrary, the stimulation seemed to give it the idea to rise somewhat.

"You're no good to anyone if your body gives out," she explained, cupping the rising Darkness into her hand. It separated from the blot, acting almost like living mercury in her palm as it retained its slowly shifting form.

.:And what good am I if I don't try my best? I'll not live with any more regret than I already have. I will do everything in my power, just as they will. If Joe had the option, if Noelle had the option, or Mathy, or Jenny, they would all do the same. But they don't have this option-- only I do. So it's my job to complete.:.

Ultima remained silent for a moment, watching the black mass fluctuate in her hands with neutral eyes. "So be it, then," she responded, cupping the mass with both hands, cradling it between her palms.

"Yeah, makes sense enough." Noelle replied softly, relaxing more and more. She concentrated, trying to visualize it as Riku had suggested--perpetually moving energies.

Her mind traveled to the time she had gone to her heart station with Titan. There was a large puddle, a mass of darkness there, ebbing and flowing like it had life. That's what she wanted to get to. But in order to do that . . . she guessed she'd just start with her "vices." What she had would be plenty of fuel for seeking out her darkness--a whole lot of emotion. She knew what to go to first. Anger. As much as she hated it, she had a lot of anger, especially for a certain person in her life. Noelle began trying to evoke it with memories, reviewing times where she was yelled and snarled at, the names she had been called, the emotional abuse, the neglect of her little sisters, watching her mother spiral . . . the memories started acting as a magnet to those crests and waves that Riku was talking about. The agromancer was beginning to feel them now. Had her counterpart had his eyes open he would have seen different brief expressions jump across her face like a nervous twitch.

". . . Okay," Noelle said eventually, an emotional strain in her voice making it sound slightly agitated.

Noelle felt some relief at being told she could let it go. She was used to having emotions stirred up inside, gnawing at her conscience, but it didn't make it any less unpleasant. Riku's voice was all that she could hear, keeping her entranced with its guidance. The small blonde began to release her emotions, exhaling and inhaling uniformly, pulling farther and farther away from the living form of Darkness in her heart. She made sure to be very aware of where it receded to so she could immediately go back there next time. From there she purposefully let it go completely, wanting to challenge her ability to find it again. A few moments passed where she was relaxed and basked in the Light that filled back in where the Darkness had washed in. After taking this brief break, she began the process again.

The agromancer did the same thing three more times, feeling it come more and more easily each time, though still feeling unnerved at its presence. Each time she felt this fear that it would not recede back into the corner of her heart where it belonged. She hoped that eventually that fear might fade, but the caution would always remain. The course of her meditation took quite a time, but she did not tire. Her determination was too great.

"I think . . . I'm starting to get the hang of it." Noelle said eventually, her voice very soft and calm.

Noelle nodded, then felt silly because Riku wouldn't be able to see her. Feeling out the Darkness outside of herself proved similar, but much more difficult. Her first attempt was with the most obvious source she could find--Riku. Her concentration deepened as she took long, steady breaths. The longer she concentrated the more she could feel the forces outside of herself. Riku's was the most apparent, so she focused on it. It was almost like seeing an aura in her mind's eye--a faint glow from his chest, but it wasn't all a light color. It was a moving mix of two different shades, though with distinct borders. The more she branched out around her the more she could see the same thing in everything, and yet Riku's was different. His balance was . . . off.

"How far out can you see?" Noelle asked, brows furrowed. "And what, if anything, might affect my ability to sense the balance?"

"Harmony..." Louis said slowly, letting the word sit on his tongue as if tasting its meaning, "I don't know if the power I offer can grant you harmony by itself, but I promise power to seek and find an answer for yourself."

Louis waved his hand in a circular motion, "Moving along, first we need to see this potential for ourselves. We'll start by trying to recall any memories that stir up the darkness inside you. But before that..."

Footsteps echoed quickly as Louis closed the short distance between the boys. Grabbing his arm, Louis pulled Anthony close and slammed an open palm into his chest. Then, carefully, Louis set Anthony down on his knees as he'd likely find it difficult and rather dangerous to stand. Louis stood over him and sighed a small breath of relief, "The feeling you're experiencing is a violent invasion of my darkness weaving its way through your paths or roads of darkness as I would like to call them."

Louis' words would sound faded, distorted, and far away and the poison-like effects spread, "While this is uncomfortable, it will help you focus. While your darkness both exists in you on a physical or magical level, it also exists on an emotional or mental level. The physical discomfort you experience now as my darkness conflicts with yours, can be used to find where your strongest darkness lies in your mind and heart. Knowing this will make it far easier to draw out darkness and learn to harness it as you see fit. Take deep breaths, try to remain calm, and try to focus inward where the pain is at its greatest, from there, follow where your heart leads and you will find your center of darkness, where your greatest potential lies."