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[[ATE: Louis? : ??? : Dream Dive]]

The young man stared at the girl's hand for a moment, then followed the arm up to her face and then met her eyes. She was so honest, her warmth was enough to bring color back to the boy's otherwise pure white skin as he blushed a little from embarrassment, "Heh, guess you could see right through me huh? I am a little scared of the dark to be honest, especially when I'm alone. I couldn't bring myself to leave the fire because I was afraid I'd get lost in the dark and never find my way back... but if I have you here... I'm not really worried anymore."

Reaching up and taking her hand, the boy rose and brushed his back off with his free hand as though shooing away non-existent dirt. Then with the same hand hand he reached out to the flames which came to life and glided through the air like countless ribbons before settling over his palm.

"As long as I have a friend, I think I can make it," still holding Kyla's hand, Louis listed his palm cupping the fire up to eye level, "Come on. The light will guide the way," the flames gave off a shiver and flare up, almost immediately, a path became visible upon the ground. It was gray, opaque, and translucent on top of barely visible farther than the few feet the light spread. It wasn't much, but behind them there was nothing but abyss, forward was the only logical decision.

He looked to Kyla smiling as far as to close his eyes entirely while lifting his shoulder with a childish giggle, "I'm really glad you came when you did, Kyla. I'd be lost if not for you."

[[ATE: Louis? : ??? : Dream Dive]]

The young man nodded and proceeded next to her down the path. Neither of them could be sure how long it was they walked or how far. With no scenery of light to judge by beyond the flame in his palm, the two just kept walking. All the while, Louis never released Kyla's hand, his soft grip was comfortable but fleeting as though prepared to retract at any moment. After awhile it might have been noticable color had returned to his skin, a still pale, but natural peach filled his cheeks along with deep red in his lips, no longer like a ghost, he looked alive.

Around them, sounds could be heard, like whispers on the night air. Words spoken but indecipherable, but as they walked they grew louder, from the faintest whispers to distant conversations shared in secret.

"Why are you so nice to me," a voice finally decipherable reached their ears, but the boy seemed to pay no mind, as though the words were completely unheard.

"It isn't that surprising is it? That's what friends are for, right?" this time it was definitely Louis' voice, but his mouth never moved.

"You're like a brother to me, you know that? Blood or not, you're the sibling I never had," it was Louis again. His words continued, though seemingly from another conversation entirely, "My friends... they're family to me... and I'd do anything to protect them. Because if not for them... I wouldn't be alive."

"Best friends forever super celebratory awesome birthday bash weekend of epic!"
"Dude, that's so corny."
"I know, but it's true! I couldn't think of anything better than to spend my birthday hanging out with my best friend," Louis and another's laughter echoed into the distance and it seemed the voices had passed for the time being.

[[ATE: Louis? : ??? : Dream Dive]]

"HEY! LEAVE HER ALONE!" Louis' voice boomed suddenly. There was a sudden change in scenery, or more, the phantom of one like fog on the glass of a moving vehicle. Again, unnoticed by Louis, an opaque figure dashed across their path. Joined by several other figures, they faced the lone one which came into focus as the same boy holding Kyla's hand, only younger.

"Huh? Oh great, it's the freak. What's your problem? You have a thing for this fat b***h? You like ugly girls or something?"

"I said leave her alone or else."

"Pfft, whatever. Come on, let's go. We're gunna be late for class. We'll kick your a** later. f**."

The group of figures left, leaving only the one recognizable as Louis and a lone heavy-set female on her knees. He knelt down next to her as he spoke, "Ignore them, they're idiots," he offered a hand to the girl, "You're not ugly at all. You're beautiful just the way you are."

"Aren't you worried? They're going to come after you now."

"Bah. They were going to beat me up later anyway, most everyone here hates me, so it's not like I lost anything. So don't mention it. This is your first day right? Sorry, guess you're associated with me now. What do you say? Want to be friends?"

As she took his hand, a small fire lit in their place as the phantoms faded away into scattered dust. As the images faded, the world around them seemed to brighten a bit. From a pitch black, to a dark gray, the path before them extending and gaining a glossy texture.

[[ATE: Louis? : ??? : Dream Dive]]

As they walked, and Kyla's phantoms vanished, the fire in Louis' hand continued to light the way on their ghostly trail into nothingness. Once more, as light bounced off shadows, more shades and phantoms came into being. This time, little Louis could be seen once more only likely no older than 10. Before him was a young woman their age, crying incessantly as he reached up, handing the girl a tissue. A touching scene before he turned around, and fire literally burned in the child's eyes. He stormed from one side of the path to the other, greeted by a tall, thin, older woman. The tiny voice, furious and serious as a tiny kitten hissing at a bull dog seethed, "How DARE you!"

"Excuse me?" the woman replied, "Who do you think you are?"

"Who do you think YOU are? You have no right to treat her like that!" the young Louis lifted his hand and pointed it at the woman's face threateningly, though even at the pinnacle of his reach he could only just barely reach her chest, "Apologize! Say you're sorry for hurting her!"

"You will not speak to me that way! I'm only telling that sinful girl the truth. That she's going to hell. Now be quiet and go sit down or I'll have you expelled!"

"Bring it! Expel me! But the only one who's going to hell is you, lady! You hateful, evil woman. That's not how you treat people. If getting expelled by you is what happens, so be it. I'll be happy because it means I'm nothing like YOU."

The woman stumbled back tripping over herself in the face of the boy's fury. But soon after, the boy and the woman vanished, but the young girl who sat behind, tissue in hand glowed from her core, until a floating flame was all that remained. Once more the world grew brighter, this time, the abyss burst into flames. As far as the eye could see, with the exception of their pathway, now clearly defined and made of stained glass, was heat-less, but beautiful fire of countless colors from the progression of flame constantly shifting from one shade to another.

[[Cue: Forgotten Sorrow - Piano Cover]]

Ahead, the end of the path was finally visible. A massive circle, a stain glass platue upon a pillar that continued endlessly into the flames below. As they climbed, one could hear something new, a small note, music from a piano playing a sweet, but sad song.

"They're all gone..." Louis' voice could be heard once more, not resonating from the boy next to her, but this time ahead in the center of the stain glass platform, "I couldn't do... anything..." The boy's sobbing could be heard clearly, no more phantoms, but another Louis clear as the one next to her on his knees, hugging his shoulders and shaking as he caught his own breath over and over during one lone inhale.

"Everyone... why? WHY?!" his screams were sharp and cracked viciously, "I'm all alone...I have nothing..."

As Kyla took a step forward, the Louis next to her jerked her arm suddenly, pulling her back to reality. It was at this point, the station came into clearer view, cracked and splintered everywhere, with gaping holes everywhere,one in particular directly where Kyla was to step. Regardless, the scene continued to play out, darkness seeped through the cracks, splintering glass could be heard before at last the platform exploded into thousands of pieces, allowing the boy in the center to fall and vanish into the black pit below.

All that remained of the platform was the single shard, barely big enough for the two, on which a sleeping visage of all things, Carbuncle lay curled up. Louis looked at the dead end with a neutral stare, apparently un-phased by anything that took place, Louis tilted his hand and allowed the flame to fall from his grip. It fell into the abyss that was once the platform of awakening... down and down it went till it was only a dot of white like a star in the night sky. Then suddenly the entire platform filled with fire, a tower of flame filling in the space missing, though still nothing more than flame. Once it settled into a steady burn, Louis sat down and crossed his legs, looking out over the fire and surrounding shards of the platform that still floated freely in the space around them, "So this is the end..."

With a small screwdriver in his mouth and a monkey-wrench in his hand, the blond-haired "king" twisted a small bolt in a tight crevasse within the Negator's shell. He was in more casual attire for ease of movement while he tinkered; Zexion was nearby at a computer terminal, which was linked to various ports on the Negator. Eden hovered around boredly, a distant look on her face.

After finally loosening the bolt enough and pulling it out, he was able to open a small panel, with countless wires. Before, he wouldn't have had the slightest clue what anything meant. Since copying the knowledge of Zexion and Lugae, however, he had an easy enough time figuring out what to do. At the moment, he needed some pliers.

The problem was that the pliers were on the other side of the room. His eyes narrowed at them and his shoulders slumped; of course they were all the way over there.

"I igh I huld...," he grumbled under his breath, screwdriver still in his mouth.

You already can.

He stopped when the dragon spoke to him, confused. Eden peered up from what she was doing with a raised brow, wondering if she was about to be needed.

We are kings, lords. Reality itself bends its knee to us. Have you not noticed the clarity with which you can now feel the world around you?

I'd... just attributed it to a general increase in power or something.

Focus on that sensation. Feel your connection to the world.

Gilgamesh went silent as he closed his eyes, determined to understand what his summon meant. He tried to cut off as many senses as possible, and eventually, the more he focused, the clearer it became. He could feel the very connection between him and his surroundings... and, pushing outward, he could feel out his surroundings, but not physically. Magically.

He was seeing the circuits themselves.

He snapped back, his eyes shooting open, as he realized the intensity of this new sense. Even now he could feel them, spreading out in all directions, connecting everything from the items on the desk to Eden and her lamp to the very molecules in the air.

Now you see.

After he calmed from the revelation, he smiled and lifted his free palm to face the distant set of pliers. With a thought, he reached through the circuitry, and they came soaring toward him--fast. With a jolt, he dodged the blurring tool, which then slammed with a loud bang against the back wall. To the side, Eden doubled over laughing in midair, and he gave a sheepish chuckle.

"Right. Magic," he said, this time more carefully calling it over to his grip. Still, he didn't immediately get back to work, instead tapping his chin with the pliers.

"Hmm... alright," he began, shrugging before turning to Eden. "Okay, so, you know that spear I had before? How it was linked to me, unbreakable, and I could summon or desummon it on a whim? What do you call that?"

"I thiiink that's called heartbound," she said, turning rapidly through her massive dictionary. After it stopped flipping and she read down the page a bit, she nodded. "Yep. Heartbound: an enchantment that binds an item to the user's heart--or, in certain exceptions, the soul--that gives it the strength of the heart--or soul--to which it is bound, as well as allowing it to be stored in and called from the bound essence."

"Perfect," he said, grinning as he leaned against the Negator. "In that case, I wish to be able to make any object I want Heartbound, with no numerical limitation."

"Greedy," she grumbled, zapping him with another dose of cosmic energy.

"Just a collector," he mused, lying the pliers down on top of the Negator and reaching out with his free hand toward the red greatsword that leaned against the wall. With a mental pull, he called the blade to him, the handle landing in his grip. With a thought, the blade glimmered with magic--and then disappeared in a flash. He grinned. "Veeeery good."

He casually leaned against the machine, contemplating what to do next. He glanced to Zexion, who was still working at the computer. An idea struck him.

"Alright, this is a weird one, but," he said, biting his lip as he tried to think of how to word it. "I wish that I was unidentifiable by any extrasensory means, such that if I changed forms and voice, there would be no magical clue to my true identity."

"Uh, okay, oddly specific," she said, hitting him again. "Paranoid much?"

"You don't live long in this atmosphere if you're careless," he said, chuckling somberly to himself as he looked down at his hand. With a shrug, he called the pliers back to his hand and went back to work on the Negator. "I can tell you that from experience."

[[ Kind of a work in progress, we'll see ]]

After her conversation with Noelle, Dawn took the time to wander around the airship. Since everyone seemed to be resting after the events of the day, the halls seemed rather empty. As she continued to walk her mind started to drift to past events.

It had been only days, though it felt like it was longer some moments, since she woke up in the Bamboo Thicket in the Land of Dragons. Too overcome with guilt and grief, Dawn did nothing. She wandered the thicket, with no real purpose. All she knew was she failed those she was responsible to protect and watch over.

'Shalynn... Eli... Krystal...' Dawn stopped walking and closed her eyes as the three faces of the three children flooded into her mind, 'I wonder, sometimes still, why I am here. Why I was able to survive when I am no stronger than I was before. I couldn't protect them. Yet, still I do nothing to help anyone....'

~'Excuse me, what is this self doubt I am hearing? You need to stop blaming yourself and thinking you can do nothing. Since you've been here, you've done your best to help everyone. Sure sometimes your heart runs to your brain sometimes and then causes you to think illogically, but it is never without pure intent of trying to protect someone else.'~

"Name one time in those instances that it actually did any good!' Dawn communicated back to her summon. Which left her summon silenced, 'There has been none. Why do I press on when it does no good? Why do I even bother... ?'

Silently, Dawn continued down the hall ignoring the angry tears that were starting to build in her eyes. Without thinking she walked to the Training Room. Needing some time of her own, she went in and shut the door, activating the room's magic. Dawn summoned her Tessen as she walked to the room, bringing out several dozen of the dummies. Instead of instantly attacking them, she stood and stared at them, with memories flooding her mind and ears.

~"Dawn!"~

Dawn slowly closed her eyes as she remembered the sound of the voices of Shalynn and Krystal.

~"Aunt Dawn!"~

Mind started to play that fateful day once more...



"Noooo!" Dawn shouted as she opened her eyes as she charged at the fighting dummies. However, in mind they were not fighting dummies, they were the Heartless that stole away the hearts of her nieces and nephew. Relentlessly, she started to hit them one after another with her fans. She had no strategy. She was just beating on them.

Soon, the fighting dummies started to fight on their own in reaction, thanks to the magic of the training car. This didn't matter to Dawn. Her mind was in a different time and place. At this moment she wasn't on the airship with others who survived that day. She was fighting a battle that was lost days ago.

As her personal battle raged on, Dawn got careless as she started to get minor injuries from her enemies. As she hit one with the blade of her fan, she got hit with the blunt of a weapon in the center of her back stunning the dancer. The blow was soon followed by a blow between her shoulders in which knocked her to the ground.

With guilt weighed tears, Dawn slowly started to push herself up.

"I failed them." Dawn said to herself, "and I continue messing up. Why do I continue to press on, when there is no purpose for me to be here?"

~'You press on because you have no choice. You want make up for your mistakes. Like it or not, you are here for a reason. Which is something you shouldn't need to be reminded of. Stop wallowing within yourself in self pity and do what you need to do now. Continue fighting! That is the only way anything can be restored to how it should.'

'But I can't...'

~'Not the way you are now, you can't. If you continue trying to do this alone, you will fail. If you should learn anything from the battle earlier, it is this: You are part of a team. Fight with them at your side. In the end, everything will be better off.... Now break down these demons inside you and press on. Like I know you can!'

Dawn looked up at the testing dummies that were still surrounding her. Despite everything Gaurda said, Dawn couldn't forgive herself for letting the Heartless get Shalynn, Eli and Krystal. However, she couldn't let them win any longer.

Dawn quickly raised and charged at the dummy in front of her, As she did, the blades of her weapons started to shine as she started a relentless attack on it.

'Eli...' she struck it 2 times '...Shalynn... then 2 more, '...Krystal...' 2 more strickes ...I promise... 3 more slashes, ...I won't let you down. with 3 more attacks, Dawn rounded around to do the final blow, 'I promise... The last strike, combined with wind knocked the dummy to the wall.

[Dawn learned:: Tessen Arcanum]

After her attack, Dawn fell to her knees staring at the wall as she cried silently.

There was a light clattering of metal on marble as a sixth, and final, slave crown fell to the floor at his feet, the black flames of another heart-less replica vanishing into his form. The self-fashioned king heaved a sigh, his breathing deep, meditative.

"That makes seven," he sighed, leaning back against the ledge of the Altar of Naught. "Arabella, the Jenny duplicate, the Kuro, Elleon, and Janex duplicates, the failed... blue mage chick, and that rebellious little gunner replica."

Quite voracious, aren't you?

Well, if I could still channel all that energy into a more powerful form, I wouldn't have needed to resort to this.

Indeed. Our... 'Driving' would be potent, but not so much as that bloody form you could originally take.

Balanced heart means no boss forms, I suppose. Not without risking the limiters...

True. This should suffice, I would imagine. Though...

What?

The dragon chuckled within his mind.

There is room for two more morsels.

Gilgamesh paused for a moment before smirking, his body quickly vanishing into gold dust as he teleported away. "Perfect. And I know just the fellows..."



He wasn't particularly surprised to find his target in the mountainous region of the Land of Dragons. The area had been almost entirely corrupted, consumed by the darkness called by Kuja barely an hour earlier. The lands were dead, the skies were filled with black, crackling clouds, and shadows roamed the land in unnatural dominion. A Replica would have felt quite at home here--especially considering this was where his original had first come into the universe.

No, what surprised Gilgamesh was how little the assassin seemed to be doing.

The monastery of monks was empty. They had likely been killed or otherwise consumed by Heartless. The only actual "life" in the area belonged to Valmar. "The Black Viper," Ajora would have mused, had he gotten the chance to really know the younger man--both biologically and chronologically.

But Ajora was dead. And Valmar would soon follow, though his path would be far different.

The replica in question was lying on perhaps the only particularly soft piece of furniture in the monastery--the cushioned master's seat. The Heartless had no use of food, so the bowl of fruits that Valmar was currently savoring was fairly clean. The storms outside caused thunder to echo throughout the halls, the air murmuring with small gusts.

The invisible king hovered off the ground, watching the back of chair. He made no sound, no movement--nothing that could be seen or heard above the external racket. Finally, he closed his eyes--and psychokinetically threw the unguarded man skyward, straight through the roof.

Valmar, of course, quickly began to charge the earth with his magic, causing sinister rock spikes to jut from all direction, tearing apart the very foundation of the monastery. Simultaneously, he began exerting magic through his body, breaking the mental hold that held him so high above his natural element--but then, the skies began to lash out at him, and vicious razor winds ripped at his flesh, his entire body surrounded by a twisting Aeroja spell.

Eventually, he broke free of the mental hold, plummeting to the ground, calling up as much stone as he could. Even that, however, proved a mistake. Every chunk of earth that came to meet him suddenly broke apart, eaten away by Root Needle vines that quickly launched toward their target to ensnare him. He tried to open up a Corridor for a quick escape--

--yet as he rushed toward it, he found himself suddenly encapsulated by a white Lotus Shield... and as if to torture him, the air within began to spiral, razor gales once more ripping and tearing away at him. Stone and rock rushed the cocoon, only to be decimated by Root Needle vines that surrounded the cocoon, lashing out at anything that came near.

After a few moment of constantly-cursing pain, Valmar finally fell to his knees, his bleeding head leaning against the cocoon's wall. His breathing was labored, even as the lotus slowly bloomed, even as his body was once more lifted up by some mental grip, high into the sky. Finally, what seemed like a quarter mile off the ground, he stopped.

"Show... yourself... coward," he grunted, unable to move, unable to do much at all.

"Funny words from an assassin," Gilgamesh spoke, appearing only as he launched his hand at the man's chest. Blue light encompassed him for a moment as the golden-armored victor drained him of what little life and mana he had left. Beaten as the replica was, his heart then came out fairly easily--and Gil's other hand launched forward, gripping him, converting his dying body into absorbed energy.

Black flames engulfed the form, and within moments, he was gone. The King sighed, acclimating to the energy. He had no delusions--the ease of his victory was due entirely to the element of surprise. He would have likely won anyway, but he would have taken severe damage in the process--and "likely" was too much of a risk against an assassin class, even if Valmar's magic was sub-par.

"Hm."

He shrugged, disappearing into golden dust once again.


"Tch!"

The clash of metal on metal echoed throughout the empty coliseum, only to quickly be replaced by the roar of a revving engine as the arrogant ronin bounced back, readying his next strike. The defender, his two shields encased in static electricity, gave a wild smirk as he twirled them at his sides.

"What's wrong?" Timmy taunted, his yellow eyes flashing dangerously. "Had enough?"

"As if!" Cory shouted, azure flames erupting from his blade as he revved it more and more.

The grimace he wore, however, revealed a bit more strain than he'd probably have liked. Something the invisible King found particularly interesting. It seemed that since he'd last sent Celia and Lettie to check up on them, Timmy's descent into Darkness had become complete. As a result, he was quite a bit stronger than Cory, who had previously overcome his personal darkness, but refused to give in to its tempting power.

Gil used his time to carefully and thoroughly Scan both of his targets, getting as much information as he could. Getting it out of Cory was easy; his magic resistance might as well have been the equivalent of s**t. Timmy, though, took time--quite a bit of it. It was no wonder, really--the defender fulfilled his role extraordinarily, particularly due to the amped darkness. His defenses, both physical and magical, were astounding.

It became fairly obvious who the tougher challenge would be. He frowned, walking away into an empty side corridor while the two finished their work, slowly returning to visibility as he got out of eyesight and earshot from the two fighters.

Cory will be easy prey. Timmy... If I drag it on too long, he could just leave, no matter how angered I make him. It needs to be quick, but with those defenses, I'd only make any progress with his weaknesses...

He strikes with lightning, powers himself with darkness... you do have a blade of light.

That still requires getting a solid physical hit. I'll need a magical advantage as well, and I only have a small number of ice and earth spells... I can sort of combine magics, but the spells I have wouldn't mix well, I just need access to the basic element itself--

Then what are you waiting for?

He furrowed his brows in thought before it finally clicked, and his summon chuckled once more in the back of his mind. Mentally, he smiled--it was nice having a spirit that was actually cooperative. With an outward smirk, he pulled Eden's bottle out of his dress sphere. With a light shake, the green spirit popped, covered in a bathrobe with a towel-turban holding her hair up.

"Can't a girl get any peace and quiet?!" she grumbled, crossing her arms; in one hand, she held a magazine that looked as if it had a particularly hunky djinn on the cover.

"Just a one and done, chica," he mused, his red eyes rolling as he made an effort to ignore her reading material (or at least not tease her about it). "I wish to have a basic mastery of the magical elements."

"Uh... right," she said, scrunching up her face for a second before opening her magazine--which immediately poofed into a giant dictionary again. "Uh, which ones?"

It was Gil's turn to look confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you've got your base elements--fire, water, earth, wind, ice, lightning," she began, listing them off with her fingers (growing extra fingers as necessary). "Then you've got your primal elements, light, darkness--" a third hand, holding up two fingers, sprouted from her side under her other arm, since her second arm was holding the book. "--then the dimensional elements, time and space--" another arm, another two fingers. "--and finally, the natural elements, nature and poison, representing life and death, respectively."

"Oh. Well, all of them," he replied, tone blunt as he raised a brow as if to question why she thought there was another option.

"Of course all of them," she grumbled, quickly blasting him with more cosmic magic. "There. Basic mastery. Can I go back to my spa now?"

"Yes ma'am," he replied, grinning as she slipped back into her bottle, and he slipped that back into his sphere. With that taken care of, he walked back toward the corridor exit, the earrings dangling like wind chimes with each step. As he stepped out into the sunlight, the glare off his golden armor caught the fighter's attention, both of whom had gotten entangled in a melee. It was Cory who jumped back first before turning his blade on the approaching challenger.

"Well, aren't you shiny," he said, a s**t-eating grin spreading across his face. Timmy seemed to catch on, smirking as well as he turned to face him. "Whadya want, we're in the middle of sparring."

"Sparring?" he repeated, scoffing derisively. "That implies the two of you are equal."

"Oh?" Cory asked, the grin lessening somewhat, his eyes narrowing. To the side, Timmy laughed somewhat, watching the ronin for his response. "What makes you think we're not?"

Gilgamesh turned to Timmy, rolling his eyes--as if the two had some sort of bond as superiors. "Does this ant really think he's worth your time?"

"Tell me about it," Timmy said, sneering.

There was a glint of light, and Cory was directly in front of the golden royal, staring down an inch into his eyes, smirking. "Think you can take me?"

Gil's smile vanished, his face deadpanning in apparent disdain. "Why should I bother kicking a weak hound?"

"Ha! Got smack. Alright," he said, and suddenly, the two were surrounded by thick azure flame--the beginnings of the Maximum Bet. "Let's have a gamble. You and me, one on one, no limitations."

Gilgamesh raised a brow, but otherwise gave no emotional response. "Hmph. If I must waste my time, I'll need more incentive than that."

"Oh? Well what've you got to put up?"

He paused, as if to think, before pulling out Eden's bottle. "You get three wishes from a certified genie if I lose."

"Ho-s**t! Timmy, are you listening to this dope?!" Cory shouted, laughing. "And if you win?"

He grinned. "You forfeit your three wishes to me."

Cory sneered. "Deal."

The azure flames suddenly erupted, and when they finally died down, the two combatants were transported to the Betting Table, the strange pocket dimension of endless fields. The two were suddenly just over a dozen meters apart.

There was hardly a breath's time before Cory burst forward, his attitude completely changing from the arrogant ronin to the cold killer. However, he stopped just short of his target when Gil vanished into thin air. He snarled.

"Think you can hide?!" he shouted, quickly bringing up his free hand to "rip" away at his eye, activating the energy-tracking Oni Eye.

He didn't even have time to blink after it activated--in the same instant that he saw the trace signature, he was locked in time as Stop kicked into effect.

Gilgamesh reappeared, though now his red eyes flared with power, and finally, he gave a sinister smirk.

Pulling back both hands to one side, the Wyrmhero Blade appeared in their grip. He placed the tip on Cory's chest--and with sickening ease, thrust forward, piercing his chest through and through with the blade.

And then, he set it ablaze with a basic En-Fire spell, charged to full magical strength. He twisted the blade in his chest. That blaze then spread throughout the ronin's entire body with a vicious eruption, like a bonfire's blaze.

After a few moments, the Stop spell ended--and all of the damage struck Cory at once. There wasn't even time for him to shout before everything erupted in azure flames, bringing them back to reality.

Now back in the Coliseum, Gil remained in his position, holding the bottle as if nothing had changed--but Cory was on his knees, grunting, having lost all but the last sliver of his life force as a result.

"Dude, you weren't even gone three minutes!" Timmy shouted, laughing at his "partner" so hard that he was bent over.

"You... b*****d," he growled, holding his chest. There was no wound, but he still remembered the pain. "They always... use fire."

"A bet's a bet," he said plainly, keeping his grip on the bottle firm. "Own up."

At first, Cory didn't seem to move; however, after a moment, azure flame engulfed his right hand, and with a grimace, he lifted it up to touch the bottle. Without any words, the flames suddenly seeped into the bottle before vanishing, letting him pull back his arm.

He raised a brow, looking down at the ronin. "Your skill forces payment?"

"Tch," he said, spitting off to the side as he stood up, dispelling his blade. "Typical summon bullshit. Probably wouldn't even work on anyone else with my shitty magic."

Gilgamesh grinned--before thrusting a hand out and grabbing Cory by the throat. The last sliver of his life left him, knocking him out, as a blue aura surrounded him for the briefest of seconds. By the time Timmy shouted and began to charge, Gil had already slipped a Slave Crown over the ronin's head and tossed him aside, turning to face the defender, who stopped in his tracks.

"And you?" he asked, smirking. Suddenly, a fiery red blaze surrounded the two of them. "Will you accept my challenge?"

Timmy snarled, Darkness slowly coalescing around his body as his eyes flared dangerously. "I'll kill you!"

"A yes, then," he said, grinning dangerously in the flickering light. "If I lose, you get my three wishes, his three wishes, and him. If you lose, I get your three wishes."

"Ha! You think you can beat this unbreakable defense?!" he growled. "You're on! Deal!"

Everything erupted into red flame, and when their sight returned, they were back in the Betting Table's fields.

This time, it was Gilgamesh who took the first action. Once again, he slipped into invisibility, followed by boosting his strengths, eyes flaring up unseen, before he quickly called forth the Wyrmhero Blade and began to rush around Timmy's side.

His opponent wasted no time, either. Immediately, he activated his own defensive version of Dragon Force, and with Clarity, Gil noticed Shell, Protect, and Faith suddenly stack on him. The royal mentally hissed, his blade quickly freezing over with ice.

"Is this how you beat Cory?!" he shouted, smirking wildly as he looked around. "Try running from this!"

Without warning, Gil felt a sudden tug from behind, strong enough to make him stumble. Turning around, he noticed a Magnega spell hovering and spiraling quickly in front of the defender, and its constant pull was enough that he was slowly being dragged into it.

Fine.

Turning, he forcefully leapt toward Timmy and the Magnet spell, using the pull to add to his momentous force as he slashed at Timmy's back with the ice-light blade. The defender shouted, releasing a powerful burst of electric magic in retaliation, the lightning eruption shoving Gil fully into the Magnega. The defender wouldn't get in a second shot--

"FO KRAH DIIN--"

From his mouth, Gil unleashed a gravely potent ice breath. Timmy was able to throw up his shields to defend, but with Gil's magic temporarily boosted, the blizzard still overcame his defenses, pushing him back several feet--and cutting off the Magnega.

He dropped the invisibility, deciding it wasn't worth wasting either of their time--he'd just keep using the Magnet ability. Instead, he tensed, coating himself in Hastega.

Timmy, quick to recompose, rushed forward toward the golden man, his shields heavily charged with "Inazuma" lightning. A head-on assault, however, was easily dodged--and Gil did so, twisting his body and once more slashing at the man from behind. This time, he aimed for his legs, tripping the assaulting defender by causing frostburnt-gashes on his calves.

Shouting in rage, the darkness slowly growing more potent around him, Timmy activated his Defib skill, and without warning, began to spin like a blur. His shields spiraled around him like a tornado, lightning crackling in a deadly spiral as a magnetic force pulled Gil into the deadly combination. He snarled in pain as he was trapped spinning in midair, and used a free hand to pull up an earthen spike directly underneath the shield-wielder. The spike once more tripped the defender in his spin, making him fall forward with a bloody ankle.

His skin singed by the electricity, Gil rocketed away from Timmy, who had used the forward momentum to dive into a front flip, landing on his feet and resummoning his shields as Gil did a swift twist to face him. With the doubled speed, Gil unleashed three Twisty-Turny Blizzaja spells, the waist-high, spiked ice spheres tearing up the ground as they rushed the defender from three different angles. Despite taking a deal of damage, he remained standing after knocking all three back with his defensive stance.

"Fire, ice, earth, invisibility, and now you're hovering? Who the hell are you?!" Timmy snarled, sparks flying along his skin.

"Forfeit and I'll tell you," he sneered, though he made no motion to attack. His strength boost had faded--but Timmy's defensive boost had faded as well. He ran his mind through his arsenal of tricks--but without warning, Timmy violently lifted his hands, as if calling something forward--and Gil was pierced by a rising blade of pure electricity, causing the energy to surge through his body.

The defender followed up by roughly pulling his arms back down, but Gil blurred to the side, dodging the descending blow. Without wasting another second, he soared straight at Timmy, bringing the frost-crusted Wyrmhero Blade down for a powerful strike. Timmy brought his shields up, barely parrying the blow with the first before thrusting forward with the second. Gil used the parry's momentum to twist into a spin, bringing the blade back around for a horizontal sweep. Timmy pulled the second shield hand back just in time to withstand the blow, but the added frost and light damage was felt throughout his body.

In a rage, he ducked and tried to do an electric leg-sweep, but Gil jumped--literally Dragoon jumped-- into the sky, only to fall seconds later with his blade aimed to pierce Timmy to the ground. Timmy leapt out of the way, and Gil made impact, exploding outward with massive frost crystals that erupted. Some managed to slash at Timmy, though most were blocked by his shields.

In retribution, the defender tossed his shields, one after the other, with a Reflect Raid, hoping to take advantage of Gil's kneeling position. However, with the Hastega still in effect, he was up and capable of deflecting both blows--except the first ricocheted around and struck him from the back, making him curse in frustration.

Momentarily, he held his ground, scanning Timmy as he resummoned his shields. He had taken significantly more damage than Gil had thus far--but also had quite a bit more to go.

I need to end this quickly, before...

"No more games," Timmy snarled, the Darkness that had once simply lingered now spiraling around him rapidly, coagulating within his body. "You want a fight? I'll give you one."

... he goes into his ******** boss state.

There was a powerful pulse of blackish electricity as Timmy's power sharply escalated--at this point, he was technically better off than Gil. The king still had the elemental advantage, but...

Gil watched as six large, greenish-black orbs of electricity surrounded Timmy, growling. His thinking was giving the defender time to set up his cover--he couldn't allow that.

Once more, he initiated Hastega, followed by the boost to his offenses--which was then quickly followed by another triple Twisty Turny Blizzaja assault as he began dashing around his target. Though Timmy was able to dodge them for a few seconds, he was forced to guard against them. Two lightning orbs collided with each sphere, cracking them and making them easier to defend against.

Meanwhile, Gil combined the Harmattan bladed winds with a Blizzaja spell, creating spiked, glacial armor, as his blade covered itself in frost. With a loud grunt, he threw the Frosthero Blade, arcing it with his psychokinesis to strike from Timmy's back while he defended. He continued to run, his hands charging spell after spell.

The blade was barely dodged as Timmy turned to watch his speeding opponent. In a shout of rage, he called down the Storm Coffin, hoping to trap Gil in a cage of lightning--except the ice-covered king managed to push through the pain. All the while, the blade, still mentally controlled, had swung back around, slashing at Timmy's back and preparing a second strike. However, he bashed the blade away with one shield, quickly beginning an empowered V.M. Twister once again, aiming to pull Gil in.

Gil smirked. Stone quickly rose around him, elegantly molding to his armor, fusing with the Frost Harmattan. It did not completely cover him; rather, as Elleon's Itzpapolotl was designed, he appeared more like a winged death. He soared forward, allowing himself to enter the vortex of lightning without argument.

The moment he was above Timmy, as electricity surged around and through him, Gil called up stone whips, a combination of the Root Needle and the earth element, to lash at the defender's ankles and legs, some even attempting to grip his heels, bringing a painful stop to the twister--and opening up for the king's two-pronged assault.

As he landed on the ground to one side, the frost-enchanted blade hovered on the other side--and simultaneously, they began to assault the defender in the middle, all while the stone whips continued to assault his feet. He danced around, blocking blow after blow, his health whittling away, until he growled, surging with "inazuma" static. The next blows pierced straight through him--before his body exploded in a dome of electricity, sending both the blade and the king back a few meters.

Timmy, however, had already teleported behind Gil--the body that had erupted was a clone--and thrust forward with a quick volley of shield blows to his spine, chipping away at the ice-rock armor coating. The third strike missed as Gil slipped underground into shadow, rapidly slithering behind Timmy and rising with a spiral eruption of ice. The defender had spun around in enough time to block, but the explosion of frost was still enough to knock him off his feet.

The moment Timmy landed, stone whips rushed out and wrapped around his arms and legs, holding them tightly against the ground, and the blade hovered dangerously close to his neck. Gilgamesh slowly walked forward, breathing heavily--both of them were.

"Submit," he declared, standing upright as the skeletal stone wings spread, glimmering with bits of frost spikes.

"Not fair," Timmy hissed, looking at the blade. "You're a damn cheater. You knew our weaknesses beforehand."

"And had Cory not been so arrogant, the two of you together could have beaten me."

"... How did you know his--"

Gilgamesh interrupted him by making the blade slash his throat, finishing him off. However, the blaze didn't reclaim them. He hesitated, looking around, taking a cautious step back--

--just in time for Timmy's Aura to erupt, decimating the whips with a black shockwave and regenerating the skin on his throat.

"YOU CHEATING SON OF A--" Timmy shouted, trying to jump up in outrage at the revelation of Gil's foreknowledge.

However, the king thrust both hands forward and unleashed a two-handed Ice Beam assault, combining the Blizzaja spell with a simple Laser spell from a Sonic Blaster. Timmy threw up both shields to block the constant assault--and Gil mentally thrust the Wyrmhero Blade through the back of the defender's chest. Timmy staggered, his defense weakening enough that his shields dropped, the beam of frost directly impacting his chest. At that moment, Gilgamesh ceased his assault, called the Wyrmhero Blade to his arms as he lifted them high into the air, charged the blade with ice magic, and unleashed the entirety of his magical and physical strength in a single Abyssal Break strike.

He hadn't even had time to admire the damage he'd done when the ruby flames erupted around them, transporting them back to the Coliseum. Now, it was Timmy on his knees, and Gil took a large, refreshing breath, the pain fading away almost immediately. Strolling forward, he held out the bottle, narrowing his eyes. "Pay your dues."

Timmy spit on Gil's boot, but with a rush of ruby flame, his hand lifted up and touched the bottle; the flames seeped into the bottle and vanished, allowing Gil to slip it back into his dress sphere.

After which, he mentally forced Timmy into an upright, standing position, and he grabbed his throat, engulfing the man in blue light. The defender passed out... and Gilgamesh used his other hand to rip his heart out, holding on to both with a small smirk.

"Now, for that last bit," he said, beginning to convert the useless body into energy...

... except that never happened.

He tilted his head, frowning before rolling his eyes. Earthlings. Probably had some... protection or whatever.

So now I have to waste time replicating the freaking body to finish the damn process. Lovely.

"Pocketing" the heart and slipping a Slave Crown on the unconscious body, he sighed before mentally lifting up Cory's unconscious form nearby, pulling it closer. From there, he also pocketed the ronin's heart, just in case, and after physically gripping their shoulders, he teleported all three of them away.

[[ATE: Louis? : ??? : Dream Dive]]


[[Cue: Gwyn Lord of Cinder]]

Louis looked at her before smiling meekly, "Thanks. I appreciate that," It was honest, but clearly he didn't quite grasp what she was saying fully. He paused, looking at her face framed by her soft chocolate hair haloed by the light of the inferno of a sky behind her. It seemed he was about to add something, but tilted his head to look past her. His eyes widened, "Wow, would you look at that," He pointed past her to the sky above. At what appeared to be so far away, the sky looked as though its burning visage had split, a hole formed and spreading out like glass turned to dust, turning the inside of a sun to a night sky painted by the center of a milky way, stars like the northern lights painting a portrait of intangible beauty.

As the line of fire drew a contrast line across the horizon against the pitch black of a alien night sky, the duo was greeted by a swarm of orange gold shards, raining like slow-falling shooting stars that passed through everything like ghosts. In every direction, space was ablaze, brilliant light scattered fireworks of colors, dazzling the senses. The boy was in a trance, watching the phenomenon play out before him with a childlike innocence and amazement.

"Amazing..." he said, his words sleepy, his eyes glazed over. It looked as though he was about to fall asleep when a voice whispered in her mind, "Don't look away..." encouraging her to keep watching the lights.

As the stars fell, in each, a face could be seen, a short glimpse of someone, each inspiring an emotion to rise up and fall as quickly as it was scene and vanished into the passing ray of starlight.

"I am the combined effort of everyone I've ever known," the voice returned, quoting a famous author, it was Louis', but did not originate from the boy she stood next to...

Midst the crystal rain, one spot stuck out from the rest, a single dim shard. As it caught her eye, its shade infected the rest, quickly darkening her sight, till everything faded black once more. Then, another light in the distance. She felt her feet move on their own, her body take off into a full fledged run. It was tough she were controlled, her body moving like on the strings of a marionette. At last she reached the light and sprinted forth into a new setting.

[[Cue: Dark Souls]]

Around her, a painful image not easily forgotten replayed itself in an unknown place. The sky painted black and purple, people screaming, cars wrecked on the side of the road and abandoned in ditches, fires ablaze as downed power lines jumped to nearby greenery. She looked both ways, then back, suddenly feeling the grip of another on her palm. It was a woman, middle aged, medium length bown hair with blonde highlights, someone she'd never seen before yet somehow felt familiar.

"It's the tribulation," she said, looking around, panic in her eyes, "The end of the world!"

"It's not the end of the world," she felt her mouth spit out the words, but it wasn't her voice that followed. At last she'd realize she was no longer in her own body. Louis gripped tighter one hand in this woman's, the other holding a thin short-blade, Kyla could feel his chest heaving in and out as he attempted to catch his breath from running, "We'll make it through this, we just need to stick together."

"Don't you see? It's all coming to an end! The demons are taking over the earth!"

"They're not demons," he shouted, "Just keep trying to call Dad. Try and warn him. With any luck, he'll get the message before it's too late!"

"It's no use, it's all over," she laughed and pulled her hand away, " We should just sit and pray... yes... God will protect me."

"No! Let's go! If we move quickly, we might be able to meet up with Daniel. We need to stick together," It was no use, she wasn't listening. She turned around and began walking back towards her home of 30 years, "No! Not that way! Come back!"

It was too late, as he reached out his hand to catch her, she walked into a pool of black sludge, falling in just the same as though there were just a hole and nothing else. His hand trembled, still outstretched to the space his mother once occupied. Tears could be felt running down his face, followed by gritted teeth under a clenched jaw. He turned away and ran, ran as fast as his feet could carry him. He passed through a once busy intersection, glancing at the stores to his sides, the people coated in black smog breaking windows and ransacking the stores, monsters springing from the clouded, dark corners as thugs smashed the lights. Glowing images moved like ghosts around the stores, Louis and friends laughing and goofing off before fading out and reality coming back to view.

He crossed over the rickety drawbridge, climbing over a pair of cars that suffered a head on collision, no sign of their once proud sports car owners. Ignoring the cuts stinging his hand and elbow, he made his way to the center of the next intersection, glancing down the tree lined street, darkness saturated the gap in the forest, jaws open wide to devour any who entered. He could only hope his friends down that path were safe.

In the distance, the skyline became dotted with the heads of monsters standing stories tall, Darksides. His heart raced. Those whee in the direction he had to go.

Suddenly, his heart sank, his hand dialing on his phone, calling one person after another as he continued to walk. No answer. No answer. No answer. No answer. His walk became a jog, his jog became a run once more. He heard a group of screams behind he looked back to see swarm of heartless, akin to a tsunami, plowing over the stores, cars, and people, devouring them in their collective body. Forward focused once more he ran, fast as his legs could carry him. His ears felt their collective whispers, scampering over the drawbridge, metallic slaps upon the metal.

He trips, scrapes his palms on the blacktop. He's up again, forgets his phone and keeps running. The sound was right on his now. A sharp tug at the leg, he falls once more, this time pressed to the ground as the moving wave crashes into him, "No!" He screams, "I can't! I need to protect them! My family! My friends! They're all I have!"

He remained pressed down, arm outstretched as the heartless continued piling on and slowly closing up the gap feeding a final sliver of light, "Damn it..." he sobbed, "Please... It can't end like this. Not like this... what kind of ******** up world is this? Why? WHY?!"

As the light went out, the ghostly voice returned once more, "When all that made you is taken away, can one ever remain whole?"

The previous scenery returned, falling starlight glittering around the pair. Beside Kyla, the boy stood, reaching up to the sky, to the highest point directly above, where a single point of light burned brightest. His form, at first cast in red-orange light appeared almost akin to the crystal raining from the sky, before a blink later he appeared against as cloth and flesh, a tear clinging to the corner of his eye as his hand fell slowly to his side. It was unclear if the boy had experienced the same image Kyla had, as he seemed to show no other symptoms, but he stayed silent, watching the phantasmal light show with unbroken interest.